One of the popular sayings in Bunyoro goes “You cannot hide an elephant.” The elephant is a very big animal. It is very difficult to hide it. If something is outstanding or extraordinary, it is very difficult to hide it. Always do your best in any setting so that you can get noticed. If you are very good, people will always notice you. One of Uganda’s former presidents, Idi Amin Dada, put it plainly “You cannot win a Whiteman by points in a boxing game. Beat him with a knockout.” Amin, once a boxer, had learnt that the only way…
The Bible lessons for your success
“Our systems are very strong. We cannot have been hacked. You are just alarmists. On your bullet number five: that you were able to capture all our passwords, including of the super administrator? That is not possible.” Such is the typical conversation in Uganda during the end of cyber security testing exit meeting with the client. It does not matter that we usually demonstrate the weaknesses found to the IT team. During the exit meeting presentation, IT staff will always deny even the smoking gun or plain view evidence. Many a time, we pull out the laptop and re-demonstrate the…
Gate keepers and gate owners
Are you playing with the gatekeepers or gate owners? Gate owners like to do business with fellow gate owners. A gate owner is a key decision-maker, usually the person who signs on the cheque. You have to be good at identifying gate owners. Most of the time they are not easy to find. In some companies, a person keeping the gate as a receptionist or personal assistant of the top honcho to be a close relative or a significant other. Sometimes you find decisions are taken by someone not physically present at the business. That is why as a shrewd…
Focus on what is urgent and critical, one at a time
Proverbs 5, “My son, stay focused; listen to the wisdom I have gained;give attention to what I have learned about life.” Barinaba. Barinaba. Barinaba. Went a loud voice of Mama calling me from a distance. I had just gone to fetch water in a jerrycan from a nearby open well, when Fr. Cosmas Adyebo, the then Headteacher of Munteme Fatima College (MUFACO), a Catholic founded and sponsored school, returned from Hoima town with Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) results. The year was 1995. I had passed so well that not only was the school record smashed, I was among the top…
Your on-line activity: The emperor has no clothes
A story is told of an Emperor who allowed himself to be dressed in the finest suite of new clothes, which he had been told “had the special capability that it was invisible to anyone who was either stupid or not fit for his position.” In his special suite, he held a procession through town, never admitting that he was too unfit and stupid to see what he was wearing. He was afraid that people would think that he was stupid. The story goes on that “all the townspeople wildly praised the magnificent clothes of the emperor, afraid to admit…
Here is how to excel in your accountancy job
Getting a job is one thing and climbing the corporate ladder is another ballgame. It takes talent, strategy and hard work. It is common to find folks who have occupied the same position(at inflation revised pay) for over five to 10 years! That is called career stagnation. You risk being vulnerable to your current employer as your transfer price (extra pay to leave your current job) lowers due to real or perceived limited experience. I know you could have been a recipient of lousy advice that the longer you stay on your job the better for. Well, you were misled.…