Ask any competent consultant their first step in any project implementation, the answer is to understand the context. The more you know about the prospect or client, the better the advice you are likely to give as you can customize it to meet the unique circumstances. It is not about the consultant’s content – the tools, systems, data, or information – a consultant brings to the client. That is an internal focus. It is about the consultant’s awareness of the client which delivers magic. Whoever knows a lot more about their clients has an edge in adding value to them.…

Risk appetite articulation: do not bite what you cannot swallow You have probably heard about the common advice “do not bite what you cannot swallow.” It does not matter how greedy you are, be a brilliant greedy person. Do not bit what cannot go down your throat. It may chock and kill you. If you are an enthusiastic investor in stock markets, seasoned stockbrokers will advise you to only “invest the money you can afford to lose.” Avoid borrowing to invest in the stock market because share prices could up or down. Because investing in companies listed on the stock…

You need a process to win. I used the following four steps formulae: Plan Implement Measure Learn Plan better and continue winning. Whether it is your personal life or business, the formula works. Plan. What is it that you want to achieve? What is the mark you are targeting or aiming at? You cannot hit unless you have defined the target? What is your target or mark? How do you plan to hit it? Always think before you act and react. Be systematic and deliberate. You will have better chances of winning than folks who just jump into something. Implement.…

Before any competitive game, the players have clarity of what success means: win the match. Throughout the game, the scoreboard provides a real-time reminder of who is winning or losing. The mark is clear. Not machinery. Not money. Not any other kind of capabilities, the difference between great companies and average ones is people working as a team and not as an individual in a group. When one of the prospects in Nairobi Kenya wanted to undertake a staff rationalization exercise and approached us, we did not just send a proposal. We asked for a meeting to understand the context.…

The international humanitarian and development sector is facing rapid threats from the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the community has a considerable part to play, both responding to immediate needs and in helping with recovery in the medium to longer term. The pandemic has hit international donors the worst, especially Europe and America. This creates lots of pressure back home in the donor countries to fix their current looming health crisis. The funding constraints risk forcing the humanitarian sector to downsize and lay off staff at the precise moment when its work has become vitally important. And your NGO is no exception!…

My first consulting project was peculiar. I was asked by a restaurant owner to help make it better. I was new in the game and had no idea of where to start and what “better” meant. I called my then management accounting Lecturer for guidance, “if you are challenged to help improve a restaurant, how do you go about it and where do you start?” If you were with me and listening to that call, you would have heard the advice that would change your life. I know because it changed mine. He said: find out what the problem is…