Lessons from the "trotro"

As a young professional, I always get to the bus terminal very early in the morning so as to beat the traffic that comes with the morning rush hour. Usually, the sight is that of drivers’ mates shouting names of various locations to attract passengers.  For me, my business has always been to identify a bus going my way and hop in with the hope of getting to my destination. 

However, my routine with the trotro turned into a class of lessons when I sat in one of the trotros and realized there was a television set installed in it. These were what I gathered from my “trotro” experience. Usually, televisions are found in buses that travel long distances. The reason, I presume, is to help kill the boredom that comes with travelling long distances.

LESSON I: If you want to succeed as a business man you MUST be smart and innovative, be different from the lots. I was very impressed as my mind was drawn to another significant thing; the energy with which the drivers’ mate shouted to attract the attention of passengers in a bid to fill up the empty seats.  I thought to myself, “Am I that determined to succeed in the business I am involved in?” Despite the many complaints that came from the passengers in the half filled bus, the driver’s mate paid no heed to them and kept shouting to get his half empty bus filled to the latter.       

LESSON II: When you put your hands to the plough, put all your effort to the task until your cup is filled to the brim. DO NOT be deterred by those who do not support your course, be focused.

Soon our journey begun and I held on tightly to the seat before me. I was filled with “fear of the unknown” because of the speed at which the driver drove, sometimes recklessly falling into potholes and other times crossing the bus stops where passengers wanted to alight.  As furious as we the passengers were, the driver thought we had no reason to complain because he did not want to spend forever on the road. 

LESSON III: Be in a hurry to reach your destination but do not be as reckless as the trotro driver. You CANNOT entertain errors on your journey to the top. I was glad the journey, which takes about 45 minutes to make each day, was cut to 30 minutes that day. Do not judge my gladness at this and say I supported the driver’s recklessness until you understand what I had to endure in my seat, holding my breath beside the driver’s mate - a shabbily dressed conductor with a bad body odour.                                                                                                                   

LESSON IV: A business man CANNOT compromise on appearance. Your outward appearance and the appearance of your working space have a lot of impact on the decision clients make about you, especially when you are involved in a service oriented business. As a business person you cannot trade a good appearance. Also, what made the journey shorter was that we were dropped a bus stop away from the actual “last stop.” Confused as we were, we asked questions because that was not the agreed on destination. However, what we received were insults from an angered driver and his conductor, who did not see any reason for us to complain. I believe if I should ever find this bus anywhere, I will not board it.                                                                                                                                                                                               

LESSON V: Never compromise your relationship with clients or breach the terms of a contract. You can appear in the best apparel, have the best product, deliver on time BUT a bad relationship with clients can be the beginning of your failure. So these are the lessons I learnt, hope you have picked a few points too.