Rwanda…On The Cutting Edge

I often share my thoughts on how leaders and organizations can leap forward and lead others into the future. Sometimes the examples come not from business, but from government, and in this case, perhaps an unlikely one.

Rwanda, a small country in Africa that barely survived a horrific genocide that decimated it in 1994, planted some of the seeds of recovery via cutting-edge technology. For example, starting in their capital city, Kigali, they are deploying a fully-integrated electronic information system that will replace all existing traffic management processes from drivers’ license tests to traffic fines. You’ll actually be encouraged to electronically pay the fine to the police officer issuing a citation right after you’re caught speeding! The New Times: How the hi-tech traffic control devices work, Times Reporter

The system automatically checks your license plate for outstanding offenses, checks the validity of your inspection certificate and insurance, and detects whether your license is forged. No more paper, no waiting in lines. And no place to hide for those with forged credentials.

In and of itself this is a small thing, but the implications are enormous. It’s illustrative of Rwanda’s mindset…race forward. This determination has paid off with an average 8% annual growth rate since 2001. Rwanda Vision 2020 lays out a path for the country’s economy to become based on communication and information technology earning its president, Paul Kagame, the nickname “Digital President”. Slate: High-Speed Recovery, Paul Hiebert

Rwanda has decided that the old ways of doing things are no longer good enough. To compete on the world stage, and to run their country efficiently, they need to leap to the front of the line.

The lessons from Rwanda got me thinking how similar countries are to companies and other organizations when it comes to a formula for being successful today and in the future. Some have well thought out and researched plans for addressing their current problems, building for the future, improving the lives of their people and communities, and becoming economic powerhouses by employing the latest technology. Others wallow in the past as the world races past them, unable to get beyond trying to save their outdated ideas and ways of operating, while thinking and acting as though the world hasn’t changed in the last 50 years.

These days it seems the gap is widening between those leaping forward and those falling back. And as the gap widens it becomes more and more difficult for the followers to catch up.

Leading and leaping into the future requires a leader with strength of will, a clear vision, willingness to take some risks, and an ability to pull everyone together and guide them down the same path. To the brave go success while the weak flounder as the world passes them by. Something to think about as you ponder how to lead your organization into a brave…and successful…new future.