BACKSTORY: Earl Sampson of Spark Schools South Africa

Earl Sampson, MD of Spark Schools South Africa

What’s your top tip for doing a deal? 

Deals work only if both parties can quantify, justify and feel that they are winning, and winning fairly. It’s sometimes better to walk away when any or all of these elements seem to be lacking. 

What was your first job? 

Development chemist for a multinational oil company. 

How much was your first pay cheque, and how did you spend it? 

It was R2,050. I remember using some of it to buy clothing and a briefcase for my new job. 

What is the one thing you wish somebody had told you when you were starting out? 

That failure, both in work and in life, is part of the deal and can sometimes lead you to your biggest learnings. We are often too focused on success and achievement and as such become afraid to take risks and explore solutions that may take us out of our comfort zones.     

If you could fix only one thing in South Africa, what would it be? 

I would fix the education system, especially at the earlier stages, and broaden the opportunity for more people to access quality education. Education is one lever that could have a lasting and far-reaching impact on the future of our country.     

What’s the most interesting thing about you that people don’t know? 

On finishing matric in South Africa, I was awarded a student exchange scholarship where I landed up in a small city, Sucre, in Bolivia. I spent one year living with a Bolivian family (mother, father and five brothers) where I attended the Bolivian final year of school. Today, 39 years later, I still have very strong relationships with my Bolivian mom and all the brothers and their extended families.     

What’s the worst investment mistake you’ve made? 

Contributing towards and wasting money in a life policy for a large part of my younger life when I should have been investing that money into avenues of growth, whether formal or entrepreneurial.   

What’s the best investment you’ve ever made? And how much of it was due to luck? 

I spent 18 years working for a multinational oil company, both locally and internationally, starting in a pretty routine job environment and growing my career from there. This experience and investment taught me the value of hard work and “doing the time” but also exposed me to travel, allowing me to explore and work in numerous countries and cultures, which today strongly informs my world view.  

I think there is always an element of luck involved in life and I was lucky to encounter exceptional coaches coupled with sometimes simply being in the right place at the right time.     

What’s the best book you’ve read recently and why did you like it? 

I recently read Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder by Chip Conley. It resonated with me on several levels, as I explored changing careers in the second half of my life, and making a complete change from the industry I grew up in.

I particularly enjoyed the elements of being comfortable with the fact that you need to learn from younger colleagues who may well know more and have deeper experience in a certain topic. The ability to listen deeply and be vulnerable to the fact that you are outside your comfort zone, and then to bring curiosity to your thinking as you learn and formulate your views, is important.      

What’s the hardest life lesson you’ve learnt? 

That ego is almost always your enemy.

What phrase or bit of jargon irks you most? 

“I trust this finds you well.”    

What is something you would go back and tell your younger self that would impress them? 

That it is not always necessary to be, or appear to be, the smartest person in the room. That being grounded and listening intently with real interest to what is being said is infinitely more valuable than the energy wasted in too much talking and positioning, which unfortunately remains quite prevalent in the world we live in.      

If you were President Cyril Ramaphosa, what would you change, or do, tomorrow? 

I would take a much bolder stance on crime, specifically corruption, industry mafias and public safety. South Africans need to feel safe in their country. Taking a hard stance on crime will support businesses to invest and adopt a growth mindset.