Clock is running and our new leadership cannot waste time in election mode

You’ve got to know when to go. AB de Villiers has announced his retirement from international cricket at the ripe old age of 34.

Could he have added more to the game and played more for our country? Hell, yes! Will he be missed in the national team’s one-day internationals and Tests? Hell, yes!

Is it the best time for him to go? If he thinks so, yes.

Leave when you’re at your peak. There are very good reasons for that — in sport, in business and in politics.

In sport, time takes its toll on physical competitiveness, no matter how hard you train or how talented you are. At some point, the youngsters run measurably faster and have quicker reactions.

VESTED INTEREST

In business, the optimal term of the CEO is dictated by a balance of forces that make the deal fair. Beyond valuable incremental experience that you get in the hot seat, there is almost always a vested economic interest in the continued (or eventual) success of the company, through share options or other short- and long-term incentive schemes.

Perhaps the most empowering right you have as a shareholder is that you can sell your shares and walk away the minute you lose faith in the future of your investment under the current leadership.

There are no selectors or voters to persuade — your choice, your right, just leave.

Not so simple for the member of a team or the citizen of a country. And politics is a different matter entirely.

There are, I was once told, two rules for survival in politics. Rule 1: Get in. Rule 2: Stay in.

Nowadays, there seems ample evidence around the world that leaders want to stay longer, if not forever. Most heads of state can, constitutionally, serve for a limit of two consecutive terms, each ranging from four to seven years. If you can persuade the people to keep you in charge, you have about 10 years to get the job done.

Of course, there’s hereditary succession, with no set term and typically linked to the lifespan of the incumbent — as is the case with the few remaining ruling monarchies and other family dynasties. I can’t see how birthright can bestow rights of rule or in any way guarantee the basic ingredients required for the task. I’ve seen far too many apples that have fallen very far from the tree.

Constitutional change is required to extend terms in office, but that usually requires a hefty proportion of the vote.

INDEFINITE TERM

In a state with an already dominant leader in place that doesn’t, however, seem to be a problem. China’s Xi Jinping got 99.8% support to extend his term indefinitely, and Vladimir Putin got 76.7% to vote in favour of his second consecutive and fourth overall term. For a whole lot of reasons, it’s wrong.

The older you get, the less likely you are to accept and adapt to change. In fact, the less likely you are to see the need. Extended life expectancy serves only to exacerbate the problem.

Incumbent leaders, particularly those wishing to stay in power forever, see emerging competence in their subordinates as threats.

The temptation is to suppress new ideas, rather than embrace them. This clogging of the arteries of the organisation or the team or country eventually causes the organism to fail, along with the leader.

The real danger is that leaders who are off-course and do not tolerate interference inevitably lead us into destruction, which could be averted by listening to new counsel.

Leaders need time to implement decisions, particularly difficult ones, when you need to change course, as SA does.

Once a nation has established common purpose and endorsed the strategy of a new leader, a case can be made for a longer term. The challenge is to get to the difficult stuff as soon as possible. To do that, you can’t be in election mode (for fear of breaking the second cardinal rule: stay in).

SA is on the right track, but we’re going to have to fill holes before we can build castles.

So let’s have the election now, get it over with and start with the difficult decisions and hard work that has to be done if there is to be a better life for all.

THE OLDER YOU GET, THE LESS LIKELY YOU ARE TO ACCEPT AND ADAPT TO CHANGE … THE LESS LIKELY YOU ARE TO SEE THE NEED

LET’S HAVE THE ELECTION NOW … AND START WITH THE DIFFICULT DECISIONS AND HARD WORK THAT HAS TO BE DONE