On Thursday 23rd February 2017, I had a privilege of speaking to over 80 Head teachers at their regional meeting in Namagunga. We discussed on the topic of personal finance:  If you lost your job today, how long can you maintain your lifestyle? Whether dependent or not, salaried earner or not, self-employed or not, as long as you spend money, you earn something. How much of what you earn, do you save and invest? Remember it is not about how much you earn, it is what you save and invest wisely that makes a difference. I want you to take a…

To succeed, you need passion, skills and experience and market need. Focus on what you love, and acquire skills, as explained below:   The above is a slightly modified model first formulated by Dr Alan Weiss, on how to position yourself for success. From the above illustration, to succeed in Uganda, and elsewhere; follow the below:   I.         Passion + Skill + Need =Success Passion is something you can do even without being paid to do it. It is within your DNA. You love it. You don’t need to be motivated or forced to take any…

The fisherman’s credo states that ‘if you are not doing anything in the boat, don’t stay there.’ The fisherman will require you to deserve your seat in the boat. For any fisherman, there are two tools that are very critical; paddles and oars to row the boat and water cans to empty the boat when it floods. When I was a small boy in the early 1990s, I used to go fishing on Lake Albert. One of the challenging times whenever you go to L.Albert, you have to ensure you are hardworking. I would go in the lake with some…

As a fraud investigator, my finding is that many small businesses do not collapse or stagnate because they are not having revenue. They collapse because they are making a lot of money but losing it in small amounts that can be easily detected. And this is the biggest challenge in corporate Uganda; people steal small things but over a long period of time. My friends in Kenya call it ‘kula kidogo halakini kwa muda murefu.’ ‘Eat small but over a long period of time.’ A person of this nature in your company is the biggest cost. I know you have…

Are you a farmer or servant leader? Farmer leadership is a concept that looks at leaders (or farmers) who have good farms. They are always monitoring their farms so as to identify what is causing crops not to grow properly. Most of the time they will find weeds. They will remove it or prune it out. This is the kind of leadership you want to bring to your business or any kind of entity you are leading. You are always on the move to identify the best talent and mediocre staff. A mediocre is like a weed. Mediocre staff gossip…

Success through employment is one of the options you have. I recommend that your objective is to have clear career focus of the corporate/ organization level you eventually plan to reach. As a government employee or civil servant, however brilliant you may be, being well networked with political leaders and other high-level civil servants is critical for your fast career progression. You will likely complete university at 23 years. Get your first job at 25 years. And work for another 5 years to get a promotion into a managerial role. That assumes a merit system where performers are identified and…