In the past decades, Robert Kiyosaki taught and influenced millions of people, through his Rich Dad Poor Dad books. One of his teachings was on how to be rich. I remember my friend and I, as some of the people who made it to the list of influenced masses puzzled with these questions. “If this guy dedicates his life to decoding the ways of being rich won’t he create a world where everyone is enlightened to be rich? If so then who would work for the other? Secondly, most people have heard the teachings of Robert Kiyosaki but it seems no one is taking action on it, at least those we met, Why?” In my journey as an entrepreneurship student, the second question left me confused about how this world operates. Now I believe I may have the answer to the questions. An answer of two problems that cripple most people when it comes to entrepreneurship, Knowledge Problem and Execution Problem.

🍿A story of Doomsville, a tale of two dreamers

To help break down these two problems here is a story of Doomsville. There was a renowned barber in town, James was his name. It so happened that James was one of the people of the town of Doomsville to notice the potential financial returns in the poultry industry, hence he decided to start a poultry farm. Equipped with his goal James embarks on a journey to start his Poultry Farm, quickly he comes up with the name for his Farm he calls it JPF Chickens. A nice name for his realised ambition. Next, James identifies his potential markets for his poultry, in Doomsville there are 2 Supermarkets he can supply to, and he can also supply the St Dominic’s Boarding School nearby, the students there would definitely enjoy the chickens for sure. What a lucrative opportunity here James thought. On to the next step, dear James is stuck. He is confused about his next step. Does he acquire land first? or maybe he should secure the market first and get into contracts with his potential buyers? or maybe he should get the chicks first to show commitment? James is confused. He then thought even if he solves all these questions he has never raised poultry before and has no clue what is needed to start his Farm.

On the other hand there was a renowned teacher in Doomsville called Janice. Janice also realised the potential of the poultry industry and decided to start a poultry farm. Now Janice grew up on a farm, close to Agatanola the capital city. Her Dad was not selective he raised his children equally that is Janice and her two older twin brothers Elvis and Evans. Just like her Brothers Janice got the equal opportunity to learn about the Farm from her dad, which included Tobacco Farming, Fish Farming and Poultry Farming. As the children took turns to help their dad at some point they were well versed in the knowledge of running a farm, from carrying out day to day activities tendering tobacco, fish and poultry to even dealing with various suppliers and buyers from the big city. Janice was well knowledgeable about poultry one could say, but chose a teaching career path for some reason. She decided to work on her new dream after her working hours well but never seemed to make headway highlighting she was too tired to do so. She tried the weekends, but her friends always got her engaged with something. Weeks went by and months went by and Janice was stuck with the idea of a Poultry Farm.

Legend has it that in Doomsville there never was a poultry farm, neither James nor Janice managed to set up a poultry farm in Doomsville.

If we look at the two stories we realise that James could not find ways to realise his dream of a poultry farm, James had a Knowledge problem. In the case of Janice, she never got to act yet she knew ways to realise her dream of a poultry farm, Janice had an execution problem. These two problems are the reason why Doomsville never got to benefit from a poultry Farm.

🎓knowledge Problem

This is when one does not have the necessary relevant knowledge to pursue a certain task. Lack of relevant knowledge in short. Most people may know that starting a business of some sort is good but may lack the know-how to do so, they have a knowledge problem. Back to our Robert Kiyosaki case, in as much as people know that a business is a good asset to make you rich, they do not know how to build one. They have a knowledge problem. If you find yourself with this problem, to solve it you must strive to acquire the necessary knowledge. Find a mentor, read books, enroll for a course or even ask around, hire an expert or find a partner. These will help you to close the gap and solve the knowledge problem.

✅Execution Problem

This is when one has the knowledge to pursue a task but fails to do it. This is inaction in short. Most people read or have the necessary knowledge to start a business but for some reason, they do not, they have an execution problem. Back to our Robert Kiyosaki case, millions of people may know how to start a business or invest in a certain asset but not all will have the will and power to execute on it. Simply put people may have an execution problem hence no need to worry about who will work for who if everyone knows the ways to be rich. If you find yourself with this problem, to solve it you must invest in solutions that encourage you to take action. Find accountability partners, remove distractions, develop healthy systems, and modify your environment. These will help you take action and nudge you to act, solving the execution problem.

🧱Other applications.

The concept of knowledge problem and execution problem may be an answer to this entrepreneurial phenomenon, but it can be applied in various scenarios such as management, productivity, and goal setting. In management, when leading a team try to identify individual realities who has a knowledge problem and who has an execution problem. Help individuals with a knowledge problem to learn and help individuals with an execution problem to act. This is one way a leader can apply this. In productivity, at a personal level identify the tasks you have at hand and try to distinguish them accordingly invest in learning about tasks you find you have a knowledge problem, tasks you do not know how to do them. Then invest in taking action on tasks you are confident you have the required knowledge to carry them out. This can be applied to goal setting at an individual level.

Your honest assessment is crucial to determine if you have a knowledge problem or an execution problem. This can be a major factor in determining one’s success in business. As this answers why most people don’t act on Robert Kiyosaki’s teaching, it also answers why some people are more successful and others are not because it helps determine the potential solutions needed.