Times have changed. We now live in pandemic times. It started as Coronavirus, evolved into a pandemic, and now a keep a mask on your face virus. Now more than ever, people are the real asset that can make a break a company in times like these. Not finance. Not technology. Not lots of machinery. The most powerful tool that transforms organizations is people working as a team. The ability to have all people in their respective departments rowing the canoe in the same direction is the key differentiator between a successful organization and a mediocre one. Teamwork is…

A story is told that at the height of the space program, both Soviet and American Astronauts faced a big challenge. How to take notes when in space which has no gravity rendering the normal pens fail to work since the ink cannot flow. You can try to test it now with any pen in your hands. Try to place a paper on the wall, at a position higher than your head. Lift a pen and try to write on that paper overhead. At first, the ink will write. However, after two minutes, it will stop writing with consistency. That…

When you think ‘outside the box’ your view is limited by the box (A). Move away from the box. You will gain a better perspective. Your ‘box’ will reduce as you move away from the box. When faced with a challenge, try to think ‘away’ from the challenge not ‘outside’ the challenge. When you think away from the challenge, you gain wider perspectives. You think about bigger challenges and of course more strategic solutions. Think away from the box. Think big. Copyright Mustapha B Mugisa, 2020. All rights reserved

If you want to lose your head, accept a project that you cannot competently deliver internally. Welcome to the challenging world of associate consultants or subcontractors or independent contracts. In the engineering world, it is common to partner and wins a big project with many associates. Many times, the risk of project completion is shared evenly among the partners and the client is aware of the arrangement. The story is different with associate consultants. I learned early on that you cannot win in the consulting business by only accepting projects for which you have internal capabilities to deliver. We are…