Attitude is how you react to what happens to you or what others do to you. A positive attitude helps you look at happenings to you or actions against you as a glass half full. A bad attitude will make you ask so many questions including why me? Why do people hate me? Why does the world always conspire against me? I love to tell the story of my rejection to sit for a Bailing Clerk Interview at BAT Uganda sometime in 1999. I was in senior six vacations and that job was my hope to progress to University. Throughout…
Growth is not glamourous
You cannot find road bumps, tight corners, or steep slopes if you do not go on a road trip. If you do not want to experience turbulence, you do not fly. If you do not fly, chances of tapping into a new culture, visiting new places, gaining fresh perspectives about new people, places, and food, will not be possible. Growth comes with discomfort. If you do not get out of your house, you may not get to know all the opportunities available. If you want to grow, get out of your comfort zone. “Get out of your house” is a…
Staying calm, amid tough times
Leadership is tested during tough times. It is easy to lead during days and years of plenty. But few people can lead during difficult times. Since February 2020, the world has been besieged by a deadly Coronavirus pandemic. The initial response was to curtail movements and enforce lockdown. But many people started dying in their homes from diseases like poverty, loneliness, financial stress, and general hopelessness. The lockdown had to be lifted. For many businesses, times are tough. Revenues continue to decline steeply, as customers churn or lack purchasing power. Costs of operations are increasing, as compliance costs raise. The…
11 principles you should understand about politics before you stress yourself over 2021 elections …
Nobody has your interests at heart. Everybody is chasing their own interests. Dealing with politicians is like sleeping with tigers; you must always have your eyes wide open. In any political equation, there’s always someone being used. If you can’t find one then it is you. Serving politicians is like being a bandage on a wound. Once the wound is healed, your usefulness ends. Politicians don’t recognise and reward value, they recognise their own needs and you are only as useful as the lifespan of their need for you. In politics never mourn or wail more than the bereaved. They…
Top insights you need to excel: 1 on 1 with Richard Phillip Sendawula
Godfrey Ssenyonjo met with Richard Phillip Sendawula of aBi Finance about his life’s journey. Richard advises that “old skills can no longer be relied upon for future business needs.” He is right. In these dynamic times characterized by a never ending pandemic, you must be agile and dynamic to win. Below are the excerpts. Qn. Briefly, who is Richard Phillip Sendawula? Ans. I am a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Accountants of the UK. I am also a member of CPA Uganda. I possess a Master of Business Administration from Uganda Martyrs University and a Bachelor of Science Degree…
To win with leaders, clarify the expected outcomes
You have been engaged as a consultant to lead a transformation project, where do you start and how do you give confidence to the client that the project will be delivered as planned? The starting point is to define and confirm the project outcomes. You want each outcome to be precisely defined in terms of measurable indicators. For a marketing intervention, instead of writing increase sales, it is better to write “grow sales from the current US $40m to the US $50 million after the project.” That way, you can break down the project and ask the right questions. For…
