Five Career Lessons from Big brother the Chase.

While many view the big brother Africa Chase game as pure entertainment, the reality is that it’s a game about power. It’s a game of love, of betrayal, of scheming, of pain, of bitterness, all enroute to the prize of $300,000 (kshs25 million). Here are five career lessons from big brother.

1. Strategy.

When Denzel from Uganda was evicted, he said that he wished he would have hidden his strategy, so he wouldn’t be seen as a threat. Strong candidates are likely to be nominated by their fellow housemates for being a ‘threat’, while weak housemates are likely to be nominated by their fellow housemates for being ‘boring’ and not bringing anything to the table. Just like in an office, a strong
candidate might present a threat to his boss, while a weak candidate is likely to be dismissed as being their merely for salary.

2. Making hard decisions.

The hallmark of a great leader is making a hard decision, even if it might prove unpopular. The head of house is required to swap a nominated housemate with someone else. This is usually a tough decision, as happened when Selly nominated Koketso, only for her to end up being evicted; something that I bet Koketso (South Africa) has never for given her for.

3. Working under Pressure.

As noted, the big brother house is always a pressure cooker. You just never know who is gossiping you, backstabbing you, nominated you, is jealous of you yet laughs with you, and so on. Equally, the tasks are daunting, and especially for those who have been nominated, it could be hard concentrating when you know that you could be heading home the coming Sunday.

4. Living with people that are different from you.

The characters in big brother house are very different. There are ebullient, joyful and bubbly characters, there are reserved characters, haughty and arrogant characters, but one has no choice but to live with them. Equally, in the workplace, one has to work with different people, even if the might not like their personality.

5. Teamwork.

Each week, both houses, diamond and Ruby House, are given a task, in which they have to cooperate to win, and get a wedger from the big brother. Teams bid on the amount they want, and if they lose, they lose the whole amount. Such a scenario is similar to the office environment, where the marketing department has to collaborate with the technical team, which has to collaborate with the Finance team to see the company bring innovative products that beat competition to the market.

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