I started out as a commissioned officer in the South African National Defence Force and grew through the ranks up to Lieutenant Colonel. After 17 years of service in the military, I then joined Denel State Owned Company as Strategic Relations Manager. Thereafter, I served eight years as Business Development Executive – Europe, Americas & Asia-Pacific until my untimely departure in 2021 due to liquidity challenges.
My research sought to design a normative model that can be utilised to analyse, evaluate, and explain the role and purpose of the South African Defence Industry in a developmental state South Africa aspires to become. The study discovered that the defence industry is a sovereign and strategic national asset interconnected with combined elements of national power crucial for the accomplishment of developmental goals and objectives. It is both a vanguard of home-grown innovation and technology and an essential instrument for geo-strategic positioning in the global community of nation-states. Therefore, a systems thinking philosophy is a critical success factor that makes all the difference between its sustainability or demise with consequences on national power to pursue or defend sovereign national interests.
I was both intentional and conscious about the historic milestone of this endeavour in my family tree. As a result, I charged forward heart and soul, from a position of self-knowledge to a desirable grand strategic trajectory. I am an indigo child in my family who shoulders the weight and responsibility of the sacred flame to reclaim our glorious cultural heritage. Therefore, I was determined to get to the other side, whatever the cost.
I was highly motivated when I started on this journey and told myself that I must maintain the momentum because I am the first person in the 18th generation of my family tree to embark on this academic endeavour. However, after almost three years of salary non-payment due to the liquidity situation of my previous employer and serious allegations raised at the Commission on State Capture, I faced the same physiological, psychological, and spiritual afflictions applicable to any responsible head of the family. I am happy that I had a robust support structure in these circumstances that helped to remain steadfast and resolute on my journey.
I found this journey to be instrumental in the quest to conquer my innermost fears. The discovery of the critical relationship between purpose and time, space and scale came as a revelation that life without a purpose is meaningless and is, therefore, a tragedy. Most importantly, I perceived this journey as a divine appointment with destiny through which I underwent exorcism and cleansed personal defects of low self-worth, self-esteem, and self-confidence. Therefore, this academic journey impacted my thinking in the sense that I developed a distinct model that can be applied as a compass to circumnavigate manifest system-and-environmental challenges, both in specific and generalisable settings.
Currently, I am in the final stages of completing my book titled: The Grand Renaissance of the Bakwena Monarchy – Naledi ya Mohlomi – Reclaim the glorious heritage of an interrupted destiny. It will be followed up by a documentary once it has been published. Ultimately, the kingdom is destiny.
My advice to doctoral students is that this journey is about holistic development. It teaches one ‘how’ to think as opposed to ‘what’ to think. Your intentions as an individual, whether you aspire to take charge of the system or fall under its domination, are the best predictors of the value to be derived from this academic undertaking. Lastly, strive to solve a problem in such a manner that your solution is already built into the analysis, and that it is both programmable and actionable. If you take heed of this advice, I will surely meet you on the other side.