Mel Clark

Mel Clark is the co-founder and executive director of Black Balance Projects, a multidisciplinary consulting company in the built environment sector. Mel, together with his business partner Malcolm Biggar, founded the company 16 years ago.

Mel is a product of both farm and city. His family were part of the John Dunn clan, and he grew up in an area called Mangethe, which is near the Tugela River mouth.

“My upbringing is worth mentioning,” says Mel. “It instilled the value of love for family, love for local community and a strong work ethic, as people from the farm tend to have. At that time in the late 70s and early 80s, I also acquired an appreciation of people from different walks of life. We spoke Zulu and it was a solid grounding as a young child.”

CRITICAL THINKING
As his high school years were quite a ‘hectic time’ in our country Mel got involved in student anti- apartheid protests. That experience, he said, really installed in him the capacity for critical thinking that has been a cornerstone for his development as a person. However, organisational skills, project management, and team building were big parts of his schooling and education. Mel completed a degree at the then University of Durban, Westville and studied further in industrial relations and law.

His involvement in the trade union movement led to his first job as an organiser in the Clothing and Textile Workers Union in Durban. His role included recruiting workers in the Jacobs Mobeni area, getting involved in wage negotiations, learning labour law, and learning from worker leadership. “It was not a normal first working environment where one would learn from bosses. I had to learn from workers, which was very fulfilling in its own way,” he reflected.

At Black Balance, Mel’s focus is on building the brand of the business, he also attends to project opportunities, town planning, architecture, quantity surveying, and engineering. He commented, “My role is to try to get the different disciplines to talk to each other around the common goal for a project and make it workable.”

BUILDING BRIDGES
Mel explained that his ‘why’ is building bridges and connections between people, spaces and ideas. The company’s name Black Balance is based on the photographic principles of white and black balance that make photos more real. A goal of Black Balance is to bring balance between Black and White people in terms of economic empowerment, as well as balance in ‘live, work and play’ spaces, including social and environmental aspects.

One of the life accomplishments that stands out for Mel is his involvement with the development of the KZN Provincial Growth and Development Strategy. He says, “In trying to develop a strategy that incorporates the visions of the many stakeholders in our society, we spent an enormous amount of time talking to people from all walks of life – business, trade union, community, government workers, unemployed, and academic and tried to knit that together into something that is workable, and that people can rally around.”

While the strategy has become a point of reference for planning in the province, it is a disappointment for Mel that all aspects of that strategy haven’t been implemented.

Speaking of who has inspired him Mel says that in his early working days in the trade union movement, he was mentored by John Zikali, a leader who had enormous stature and reputation.

“I came in as a young university student, overzealous to beat up the bosses and make sure of workers’ rights, be as militant as young students can. In his wisdom, John taught me that you’ve got to develop the capacity and capability to see things from the other person’s perspective, even the employee’s point of view, and why going for direct conflict is not always the wisest route.

“When, I went into government I had to able to appreciate the perspective of people who worked there. After that, going into the private sector, I was able to adapt and understand that perspective of people who worked in that sphere. His example allowed me to grow as a person, and to be able to engage with people in a more empathic and honest way.”

NEED FOR BALANCE
The challenge of personally coping with failure has been a situation that Mel has had to overcome when Black Balance went through troubled times. He reflected, “I was able to learn that business failure is not personal failure. In fact, like many wise coaches say, failure is there to teach you. I’m glad for that challenge and believe that it’s strengthened me. We have to teach our kids this type of resilience as well. We cannot run away from problems or collapse when we face tough situations.”

Mel, as a believer in psychology, tends to dig a bit deeper into the underlying reasons where there is conflict. Generally, this approach means he spends time and energy in trying to understand situations more clearly, which strengthens his team.

In terms of motivation, Mel enjoys helping people identify where their passion is when it’s possible to get the most from his team.

Mel’s family and those closest to him inspire him to achieve more. However, he explains that one should appreciate the need for balance between applying one’s skills in business and taking care of family.

Commenting on his vision for KwaZulu-Natal, Mel says he would want the province to regain and surpass its status as the warmest place with the people with the warmest hearts in South Africa. “Visitors not only enjoyed our natural beauty, but also our people and we need to work at rebuilding that image of KZN as a really welcoming place to be, to unlock the potential for investment.”

Mel concluded, “I’m very conscious about the cliché ‘time is precious’. I’m a project manager at heart. Value every moment, value all of the time that you have because time goes by so quickly. Enjoy life, make time for the things that matter, including that 10km run and that round of golf.”