‘Ubuntu’ set to shape world of work

Bulelwa Mokori speaks to proudly-African Kingdom entrepreneur Nicola Middleton

In today’s fiercely competitive global economy, many organisations consider profitability to be the de facto business driver, negating the value of people.

Nicola Middleton, founder and president of GodBrands, a young business with a global, Kingdom vision to express God’s love under a unifying banner, said in an interview: “Success achieved at any cost, driven primarily by profit margins, carries a costly price.

“More often than not this approach discounts the value of ‘we’, the community, in favour of ‘I’, the individual, which negatively impacts organisational health, resulting in a sliding, domino effect on overall productivity levels, ultimately impacting the bottom-line.”

“The reality,” Middleton said, “is that although the majority of businesses today can attribute much of their current success to this self-enrichment way of life, humanity as a whole is paying the painful price for this success.

“An aggressive, competitive, task-driven, masculine approach has brought business to the point it is today, but at what long-term cost,” she asked?

“This approach does not adopt an inclusive, creative, collaborative, open, honouring mindset, which is at its core based on the African Ubuntu philosophy, which focuses on the success of the collective and not merely the individual.

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Growing business trend
“Adopting the Ubuntu life philosophy into business does not only make practical business sense but is also a growing business trend that is shaping the emerging new world of work. This new world is evolving global business away from a transactional approach to one of being more transformational” explained Middleton.

The balancing force of the Ubuntu approach will realign business to be inclusive in terms of growth, prosperity, self-actualisation, global advancement and improved lives for the many, said Middleton.

Extolling the benefits of living in Africa, she said: “We can say that Africa embodies the heart of humanity and it is strategically helping to lead the awakening of humanity’s heart. Africans are naturally spiritually-led people who have for generations understood the importance and necessity of community – supporting and nurturing each other.”

“Hearts appear to be naturally open and alive in Africa, and while modern life has affected that openness, the heart of the continent is still alive and breaking through the negativity and selfishness of our current times,” she said.

Middleton aspires to launch a further seven brands over the next year. These brands include (but are not limited to): Kingdom Mums, Africa Rising, Beloved Sons, The Kings Body, Cool Compassion, Godchix and GodzKids.

She has also made an impact sharing the love of Jesus during school outreaches in South Africa with Save The World Foundation.

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