After visiting a client yesterday, I bumped into a long-time friend. During our MBA studies, a guest lecturer came to speak about leadership. After the well-articulated lecture, I was nominated by my class to give the vote of thanks. Which I duly made to the beyond belief of our guest. He was surprised that I knew so much about his career and achievements that he asked me out for a date. I mean a business meeting. It is from that experience I made a resolution to never leave a public gathering I attend like a meeting, conference or forum without…

If someone does something to annoy you, and you get annoyed by it, you have actually shown weakness. That is why forgiveness is a powerful tool. They annoy you, and you just continue on your ambition, as if you noticed nothing. That is a strength. While in primary, teachers at that level behaved like the children they used to teach. At the slightest mistake- writing a wrong date for the day—one was visited with verbal artillery and canes. Over time we noticed the teachers grinning and showing satisfaction at pupils who cried at the top of their voices and threw…

After making a short presentation to the senior management team (SMT) of a bank today on the topic, revenue assurance and real-time data analytics, the CFO and MD invited me to the CFO’s office for a quick private chat. This is always a great pointer for me since contracts are not signed by a group of people. I always get excited about this side meeting. You get to understand the real need and the budget available if you ask the right questions. Plus, it indicates that people were actually listening to your presentation. While in the side meeting, the CFO…

What is your company strategy? What is the culture of the company in which you work? What is your company’s ambition? Ask any staff who pretends to love their job, you will be surprised that few, if any, know these things. Great performers share one characteristic – they take self-initiative to do the right things. They don’t just come to the workplace. They come to add value to the company. How you may ask? They understand the company’s ambition and strategic priorities by reading the company strategy and or asking senior colleagues where the organization is heading. Few companies win…

Digital marketing is upon us. How are you leveraging it to grow your business? Today, all institutions have some form of digital strategy. Winning organizations have some form of tools to measure and monitor the impact of their digital agenda on the business. Are you winning, losing or stagnating with your digital strategy? Here are two myths of digital marketing. Many social media followers equal to online success. That is a myth to some extent. You need followers that are relevant for your business, otherwise, you have a ‘tribe’ that is not helpful! The right strategy should be “many followers…

Have a daily routine that is productive. No team can win a game without scoring goals. Equally, no team can win a game by conceding more goals than it scores. That same principle applies in business: sale more (score goals) and spends less (do not concede). When a team has no goal, it cannot win. All players must focus on getting that one goal without conceding. That is why the goalkeeper, also tries to push the ball as furthest as possible to increase the chances of scoring. Great team players focus on the needs of the business that change often.…