The two critical roles of the board of directors are (1) oversight and (2) going-concern. The oversight role entails effective risk management and compliance enterprise-wide. While the going-concern role is about organizational sustainability through effective strategy formulation, business model, and execution. What is going-concern? It is the primary role of the board to sustainably grow the business. The board must make sure their business they preside over can never go burst or collapse, otherwise, that is a sign of a poor board of directors. The first duty of the Board is to ensure sustainable growth. This is achieved by discussing…
The ultimate question by CEOs: what is my business today?
If you are the CEO, you must constantly ask yourself and your executive team the relevant question: what is our business today? Is it still relevant? What needs to be changed or improved and what needs to be stopped altogether. Consider television for example. What is the best way to monetize your content so that your re-invest more in original and local productions to make even more money and attract more eye-balls? Where are potential growth opportunities? What are you missing which competitors could leverage on instantly and win? Instead of holding routine agenda meetings that make people sleep,…
Inspire your followers to win
The job of the most senior executive is to inspire people, not to issue commands. To foster commitment, not to enforce compliance. To instill a drive for efficiency and optimal performance in the team, regardless of the position or title, and not demand it. Working with executives and CEOs, I have noted that exceptional leaders take the blame while average ones place the blame. When something is not right, an average leader will find an excuse. Now with the #COVID-19 pandemic, most executive briefing reports start with the words “due to COVID19, we did not…” As early as March 2020,…
The villages have moved on. So have the people. have you?
Rural areas have moved on. Once places for substance and commercial farming, today, villages or rural areas have slowly metamorphosed into pre-mature urban areas. Many young boys and girls operate a bodaboda or a saloon or a chapati kiosk or just meet up to play cards at the trading centre. Going to the farm or school is no longer their thing, thanks to the Coronavirus induced lockdown. In the past, we looked to visit the village for fresh foods and free fruits. Not anymore. Now you have to travel to the village with fresh fruits. Being the centre of commerce,…
Are you ethical? Here is how to find out…
You cannot claim to be ethical if you lack values, beliefs, cultural experiences, principles, experiences both personal and professional and of course good conscience as a result of upbringing and exposure. To be a good man or woman, you must have some stock of “what good looks like” in your brain so that when you experience tough situations you have stock of leading insights or best practices to guide your next course of action. Different people will respond to situations that confront them differently based on their knowledge, exposure, desired outcome, and value system. For example, a person with…
The (un)ethical mind
As a forensic and cybersecurity researcher, I spend some of my free time on television watching documentaries like CSI Miami, Blood Relatives, Evil Killers, Murder Comes Home, Diabolical Deadly Love, and 48 Hours to mention but seven. These shows are not only interesting but teach a lot about the psychology of the killers and criminals – why do people commit crimes. Why do people live double lives? Why do seemingly good people during the day, turn into monsters at night or at their homes when they know no one is watching? Each of the show starts with the context of…
