By Onesmus Joseph & Maria Joseph
Today and tomorrow are no longer separated by time; they are separated by our ability to understand change and make sense of it.
If you have lived and observed closely, as we have over the years, you will recognise that change is indeed constant.
There is a fair acknowledgement of a continuous shift in business environment, yet very little attention is given to testing assumptions or developing foresight about what lies ahead. How often do we ask ourselves or the teams we lead; what is happening, what it means, and what it is telling us about the future?
This gap between awareness and understanding has real consequences for humanity. History offers clear and relatable examples of what happens when context is ignored. The global pandemic exposed how unprepared systems can be when early signals are not taken into accounts.
Economic crises have repeatedly demonstrated the cost of weak anticipation and poor alignment. The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, continue to influence oil supply chains and fuel prices, with ripple effects across economies and households.
Closer to home, youth unemployment and instances of governance failure reflect the same pattern; loudly that decisions made without sufficient consideration of the broader economic, social, and environmental context continue to affect lives and livelihoods.
We put it to you that organisational strategies have largely been shaped by past events, historical performance, and familiar frameworks. While this approach was once effective, the environment in which we now operate has fundamentally changed.
The pace of disruption driven by technology, shifting consumer preferences, economic volatility, and demographic transitions demands a different level dynamic capability. Take it from us: the illiterate of the 21st century is no longer the one who cannot read and write, but the one who cannot understand the business environment and learn from it.
The is an issue affecting individuals, businesses, leaders, and the country. Many professionals continue to rely on past thinking, even as technology and the nature of work evolve, placing their relevance at risk.
Entrepreneurs face a similar challenge; business fail not only due to poor execution, but because they are built without a deep understanding of the market and the customer evolving behaviours. In leadership, decisions may appear sound on paper yet fail in practice because they are disconnected from environmental reality.
At a national level, the signals are clear: a youthful population, high unemployment, and rapid urbanisation all demand more deliberate and informed thinking.
Let us be honest; the problem we face is not the absence of plans. We meant majority of organisation, particularly state-owned enterprises, has a five-year strategic, business, and financial plan in place. Yet the uncomfortable reality is that many of these plans are not contextually grounded. We have complied with the process but continue to face the same challenges, we tell you people don’t eat compliance.
This should compel us to ask a more difficult question: what exactly are we getting wrong? For us the answer is not simply execution; it is the quality of thinking that informs what we choose to execute. Too often, strategy has degenerated into a mechanical, tick-box exercise, where producing the document takes precedence over interrogating whether it will work in a changing environment.
It is easy to blame delays in implementation, but far more difficult to confront the possibility that we may be efficiently implementing the wrong solutions. When strategy is not designed with context in mind, failure is not accidental; it is by design.
Think of this: we have recently welcomed the move towards free education, and rightly so; it is a progressive and necessary step. However, the bigger issue we must confront is the creation of job opportunities to complement this policy and rate of graduates. Expanding access to education without opening channels for employment and enterprise creates a gap that cannot be ignored.
This is what should keep policymakers awake at night; not the policy itself, but how it connects to a broader value chain that ensures graduates are absorbed into a productive economy. Resources must therefore be deliberately channelled towards sectors and initiatives that enable sustainable job creation. This is not simply a policy matter; it is a matter of context and future literacy.
Context is for us all despite the level of operation. As you read, you may recognise that the signals of change are already present. We have seen how companies like Netflix disrupted traditional broadcasting models such as DStv. Today, platforms like TikTok are redefining how content is created, consumed, and monetised. In our own context, we must ask: what if innovations such as MTC Maris evolve into systems similar to M-Pesa? What would that mean for the future of banking in Namibia?
Moreover, will schools, as we know them today, still function in the same way in ten years? What will the future of transport look like in a rapidly urbanising society? These are the types of questions that context requires us to engage with as we make policies. They challenge us to move beyond routine thinking and develop a forward-looking perspective as a prerequisite for strategy. Any strategy that is not informed by the future is, by definition, incomplete.
This is the essence of Lead with Context. It is from context that stronger organisations are built. It is premised on a simple but powerful idea: effective strategy begins with understanding before design. It is not about providing answers in isolation, but about provoking thought, challenging assumptions, and encouraging leaders to become more aware of the forces shaping their environment. Leading with context is a discipline. It requires observation, interpretation, and the ability to connect signals and make sense of change. So, leading without context is no longer a neutral act. It is failure by design.
Onesmus Joseph is a Business Strategy and Chartered Corporate Governance Practitioner with a strong focus on strategic foresight and futures literacy. He is currently the Manager for Intellectual Property Enforcement and Frameworks at BIPA. He writes in his personal capacity.
Marial Joseph is a Counsellor and Organisational Psychology Practitioner with a focus on human behaviour. She is currently a Wellness Officer at NAMPOL. She writes in her personal capacity. Connect with them at philanthropycg@gmail.com
