Walk into any boardroom, and you will hear a familiar story. The CEO takes their seat, leans forward, and narrates a string of crises they personally resolved: the supplier default that almost halted production, the angry regulator that had to be pacified, or the angry shareholder whose demands had to be contained. The board nods, impressed by the energy, the speed, the sheer effort. The CEO leaves the room as a hero, the “firefighter” who saved the day. But here is the problem: anyone can hold a hose. Few can design a building that does not burn. Who is the…
Why boards must treat risk as a living organism
Risk is not a box you tick once a year. It is a living organism that breathes, mutates, and adapts faster than any audit calendar. Yet most organizations still approach risk like a routine medical check-up: once a year, the auditors arrive, interviews are conducted, checklists are filled, and a glossy report is produced. That ritual may satisfy compliance requirements, but it is malpractice when it comes to real governance. Imagine telling your doctor, “Only examine me every December. If cancer appears in June, don’t bother until year-end.” That is exactly how many boards and management teams operate. The illusion…
Cybersecurity awareness, the open gate behind your tallest firewall
A castle may have the tallest walls and the deepest moat, yet it only takes one distracted guard to open the gate and let the enemy in. We once consulted for government agency whose IT director boasted of having “the best firewalls in the region.” During the session, we asked a staff member to log into her email on the projector. In minutes, the room gasped as we demonstrated how her password could be cracked, her inbox spoofed, and her boss tricked into approving a fraudulent payment. The real risk was never the firewall. It was the human sitting behind…
Why data Analytics is the new competitive advantage
Every Weekend| @ IFIS, Ntinda Complex, Block B, 4th Floor, Opp. St Luke Church, Kampala YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A TECHIE TO WIN WITH DATA. I have seen it again and again. Executives overwhelmed. Business managers are guessing. Teams are working hard, but not working smart. Why? Because they do not understand how to read, clean, and extract insights from data. They fear Excel. They think analytics is for the IT team. That ends now. This is your weekly 3-hour Data Analytics Breakthrough Session designed for professionals like you. Whether you are a banker, accountant, marketer, HR professional, engineer, or…
When did serving the public become a private affair?
Since July 2025, I have been chasing what should have been a simple appointment with a public officer. What unfolded in the process is not just my story; it is a mirror of what many Ugandans experience daily when they try to access public services. The officer in question gave me an appointment for the second week of August. I arrived on time 10:00 a.m. sharp, ready to meet him. He was not in the office. Fair enough, schedules sometimes change. So I asked his assistant for a way to follow up directly. “Not allowed,” came the answer. I pressed…
Why do leaders spend months hunting for “top talent” only to sabotage them on day one?
I see it all the time. A health agency hires brilliant young analysts. The CVs shine. The interview scores dazzle. Everyone expects instant miracles. Yet three months later, these same recruits are still stuck on basics. They keep asking where to find data, how to format reports, and who signs off on what. Meetings drag. Deadlines slip. Old staff grumble, “These new ones are slowing us down.” The problem is not the new hires; it is leadership sluggishness. Companies throw people into the deep end and call it “learning by doing.” That is not learning, it is drowning. You do…
