Attitude is the strongest cologne you can wear.
Allan Bukusi
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Why Next Generation Leaders?
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The world has changed
dramatically over the last century. Changes in agriculture, industry, medicine
and education have made the world more productive, healthier and habitable in
many ways. But the world has also changed fundamentally over the last decade.
Education has revised the way children are education while information
technology has changed the way we define our world. Even war has been redefined
from fighting “objects” and people to fighting concepts such as terrorism and
“human rights” and “literacy”. The corporate world has challenged the image of
the super manager to run organizations and now demands process leaders to
ensure corporate success. No single manager knows enough to run the corporation
by him or herself. CEOs today must rely on leaders to run the business of the
corporation.
The Next Generation CorporateLeaders face a different set of dynamics that their predecessors. In the past
there was relative stability in professions, markets and industry structures.
In the early part of last century it was possible to plan for 50 years of
production for a stable market based on a single invention such as the motor
car. Today strategic plans are outdated by a single innovation in a matter of
months – and there are hundreds of innovations every day. In the old days
markets were closed. Today anybody can do business anywhere. In the old days
careers were guaranteed by education, today if you do not go for training you
are outdated as soon as you graduate from college. Next generation corporate
leaders must handle dynamics, diversity and turn dreams into reality.
Dynamics is not the same as
change or change management. Corporations today house dynamic order. People
come and go, technology is adopted and revised, products and processes are in a
constant state of modification in a bid to keep up with external competition
and innovation against the erratic demand of customers. Gone are the days when
careers were permanent and pensionable and staff were reliable and guaranteed
to stay for 20 years. The nature of the corporate process is “here today gone
tomorrow”. The leader must be comfortable with these dynamics.
The very definition and
advantages of a stable corporate culture demand a significant degree of uniformity.
However, the new world does not guarantee uniformity. Globalization goes
against the very core of uniformity. Organizations struggle with generational
ethics where old and young work in the same environment. Analog and digital
exist side by side. Diversity is more than race or color. Diversity is about
integrated systems, accommodating religions beliefs, worldviews and educational
backgrounds. It is about mainstreaming gender issues, but also providing
opportunity for minorities to develop themselves. The demand is for corporate
leaders to understand how to interpret a single product effectively in four
different countries with multiple cultures and several different time zones.
The next generation leaders will not deal with consistency indeed they must
master inconsistency!
The only way that the next
generation can advance the cause of their organizations is if they have vision.
Vision is the capacity to not only see the future but bring it about today. In
the past it was enough to see the future, today leaders are expected to bring
the future to the people. Such is the challenge of NEXT GENERATION CORPORATELEADERS – Today!
NGCL Team
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Saturday, July 25, 2015
Now I understand Leverage
Yesterday I learned the principle
of leverage. I’d like to think I knew the concept, but I did not understand it
because I have not used it much. The principle is very simple. We were taught
it many years ago in primary school. But the idea that you could use it to get
the most out of life was not in the curriculum. The syllabus said it would help
you open a bottle or enjoy a seesaw.
The principle as I said is very simple.
Do the least to get the most or use what you have to your greatest advantage.
What will give you your greatest return and what action will advance you the
furthest. Sometimes we are taught to prioritize, but that is not quite the same
thing. Priorities are elementary compared to leverage! Priorities means you put
all your energies on the most important things, leverage says to use the least
energy to get the most important things so that you can do more things.
By concentrating on some specific
and often simple initiatives leverage says your achievements will multiply
themselves. With a little focus and determination you can improve yourself from
a small position to one of greatness. That is easier said than done. What that
little focus and determination requires is a great deal of patience, diligence,
courage, unwavering will and dogged resolve to succeed – that is part of leverage.
Most of us know it but are not willing to follow through with it. Working hard
is a good discipline, but working hard and honest labor without leverage is very
noble, but wearisome and can be exasperating because everything depends on your
effort. Leverage on the other hand shares and spreads the risk along the lever and
takes advantage of available synergy to benefit everyone amplify, magnify and
multiply returns everyone can enjoy. Leverage takes work, but leverage is much
more important than hard work!
Allan Bukusi
Friday, July 17, 2015
Do you have a passion statement?
PASSION STATEMENT
You have heard and are familiar
with vision and mission statements. These are good. Visions excite you and
missions give you something you can commit to, but none of these things really
drives you. A passion statement is the sum of your dreams and desires that
inspires you and energizes you to pursue a vision and commit to your mission.
In this sense a passion statement of what you are willing to commit yourself to
bring about is perhaps the most compelling statement of achievement. It may be “I
want to improve myself” or as complex as “ I would like to see this place
turned green”. In both statements any incremental progress towards these
desires inspires a new surge of energy. In this regard, your passion statement
makes you courageous, resurgent and energetic when you make progress, but also bold
and positive when you face challenges. Make
such a passion statement as to empower any move you make towards your goals as
well as harness and inspire new vigor, energy and drive to achieve it.
When working with directors and boards
during strategy planning sessions, before into developing or interrogating Vision,
Mission and Values statements I take some time to assess the passion in the
room. How much emotional energy have the directors committed to the
organization success? How much energy are the directors willing to invest in
the business? This may sound simplistic, but when you compare the summary statement
of the hopes, dreams and desires of everyone in the room and compare it with
the vision, mission and values statements it will give you a very good idea if
you have the right people in the room, what direction the business is receiving
and/or if the organization is on the right track. Simply put the directors will
naturally place their energies where their passion is and if that passion is
not aligned or does not drive the vision and mission the business, serious
questions need to be answered.
A passion statement drives vision
and provides the get-up-and-go of the mission. The heart desire for a free
South Africa of Nelson Mandela and millions of Africans drove the vision of
freedom. The passion of entrepreneurs is what drives a business, vision alone
is not enough. Would be successful organizations flounder the CEO has a clear
vision but no passion to get the work done. Indeed finding a passionate (rather
than visionary) successor after the founding CEO is the greatest challenge of
successful enterprises. You don’t just need people who can do; you need people
who believe in what you do! A passion statement is as powerful in personal life
as it is to a corporation. A life with no passion is merely a passage of time.
A life with passion does not have to live a long time.
Allan Bukusi
Monday, July 13, 2015
Are you missiing out on life?
If you can’t make your bed and wash dishes, you are missing
out on life because life is about getting up and preparing the next meal.
Allan Bukusi
Sunday, July 12, 2015
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