Dar es Salaam, April 23 -- DEAR our young professionals, yes, you with the sharp suits, sleek phones and a dream of owning a car last seen in a European action movie, this is a friendly reminder: patience and honesty still matter.

It is tempting to believe that within just a few months of work, you should be living the “soft life” you see all over Instagram.

But here is a reality check: no one builds a legacy or earns respect by spending office hours planning shortcuts, chasing hush-money deals, or daydreaming about smuggling a limousine from Berlin. If work were that easy, we would all be billionaires with bodyguards.

You have stepped into workplaces built, brick by brick, by your elders.

Many of them sat where you sit no...