The journey to the village on 24th December 2015 was a great one. Despite some poor planning on my part the previous day, we were finally on the road, and arrived safely. We had planned to be in Munteme village, Munteme Parish, Kiziranfumbi sub-country, Buhaguzi County in Hoima district at 12:30pm or thereabout. We did not make it on time. On 23rd Dec 2015, I was in office most of the day closing the year. I had just received two great end of year bumper gifts and closed a last minute business deal. Those were special Christmas gifts. Time check…
The Paul Ethical Dilemma: What would you do?
On 28th October 2014, I was asked to speak to a group of 210 staff about ethics and integrity. So, how do you effectively teach over 210 staff about ethics and integrity? My approach was to use a case study — how would they handle an ethical dilemma situation. And that is how my recent case of Paul [not my real client’s name] came handy. Below is the ethical dilemma. I would appreciate your comments. In Kampala, a woman (someone’s wife) was near death from a new kind of opportunist diseases that attacks HIV patients. There was one drug that…
Why this Mbarara Hotel may not be breaking even yet!
I am in Mbarara for two day, business. Usually, I give myself the best since I must be comfortable to work optimally. After a swift three and a half 220 Kilometer journey from Kampala, I branched to this hotel on the left. They told me it is great. The building looks great, and the reception too. My global trotting experience is that hotels housed in new buildings are usually better than those in old buildings. Lots of ‘ghosts’ are always lurking in those old structures – smell, insets and general dirt. Fee, US $100 a night. That’s a cool Ugx,…
The four lessons I’ve learned working with Finns
These are the four lessons I have learned from working with Finns. They happen to be great folks. I am increasingly meeting many of them these days, as my work cross paths. 1. Know your value; and be bold to say it 2. Deliver compelling value; and prospects will seek you out 3. Give them to test, so they know what they are missing 4. Set your bar high, those who get to you should be among the best ____ 1. What is your value? I am always dumb founded when at an interview panel, you ask a candidate “How…
Why Internal Auditors are Underpaid!
Despite a direct reporting line to the Board and or its Audit Committee, the perception of the value of internal audit department remains low. The executive management rarely appreciates the impact of the internal auditor to the business. The failure by IA to add real value to the organisation has reduced the value of the profession from the perspective of management. IA must offer pragmatic and proactive insights to management on strategy and risk management – the key challenges of any business. This is not so. The end result is general poor remuneration of Internal Auditors and lack of good…
Three signs of a bad CEO
Great executives excel at three critical things: (i) effective communication, (ii) rely on the people, trust in systems and procedures and (iii) continuous learning. A bad CEO or leader fails flat on all the three. Here is how to lead well. (i) Communication. By far, President Barack Obama is a great orator and an effective communicator. Before he speaks, he not only understands the audience by knowing “what the audience wants to hear”, he asks: “what is the key message I want this audience to take?” He then identifies three to four key points to illustrate and reinforce the message.…
