I come from Munteme village in Hoima. Some of the iconic buildings in our village, we were told, were built by the Indians. When I was a very small boy in primary in the late 1990’s, the first special building with two underground floors which fascinated me a lot, had been built by Indians. Unfortunately, the ultimatum that was given to the Indians by the then Ugandan president, Idd Amin Ddada, led to the closure of this factory. But that is a story for another day. 30 years later, I am here in Kampala. I interact with many Indian brothers…
Why would it be hard to be fired?
Knowing your value on the job is critical personal career success secret. What special skills do you bring on the table? It is integrity? Are you a trusted person that even if you are a not so good performer, you are so handy that top executives trust you even for their personal errands? Ask yourself why would it be hard for you to be fired? That is your bargaining chip. Remember, it takes time for you to discover your value to the business. No executive wants any one put them at a ransom. But every executives wants to deal with…
Who are you?
Your biggest obstacle to growth is poor mindset. This morning, a top executive came to my office and said “Mustapha I looked at your proposal, and I thought maybe we find a better way of doing this assignment. I like your value offering and methodology, but your fee is a lot. I am suggesting, we have an internal staff to work with you so that they will do all your field work under your guidance. This will help us work with you within our budget that is 60% less what you proposed. What do you think?” This executive is brilliant.…
What is your most valuable possession?
You are 30 years old. You are still at University. You have a great job and two children. You live is a great apartment. You have heard about the green gold in farming and have bought over 20 acres of land up country. You have not yet started developing the land as you are waiting for it to increase in value. You feel confident. You are happy at work. And you are becoming a motivational speaker of sorts. Are you successful? How do you measure success? What is your current market value? The accountants ask: what is your…
Why do good strategies fail to execute?
If a strategy is good, it should be easy to execute. To execute a strategy, you need great leadership – you must align your strategy to the structure. Unfortunately, many companies are run like a riot group. Everyone is doing their own things. Different departments are not aligned. It is a challenge. To implement a strategy, you need great people in key positions. Most of the time, there is a skills mismatch. Many companies reward good performance and punish failure, which effectively kills innovation. You must reward behaviors that produce the results you need. And that way, you create a…
Of Tacca’s atheism and blasphemy
I found the article, Sorry, Prof Kanyeihamba, I am not for demolition, in The Sunday Monitor, June 11 2017 comical. Science was discovered by man and therefore cannot explain his existence. “If you want instant recognition, give contrarian views. Avoid the majority position. Try to challenge known thought leaders”, goes my mentor. Few people pay attention to popular truth. This is the foundation of all great comedy: create an expectation and suddenly break it. Luckily for Tacca, the expectation is already there in the form of religion. However, the belief in Allah or the Trinity (God the Father, the Son…
