September 2016

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on June28th 2016 I was recently reading an article titled “even dwarfs started small” and later learnt about the 1970 German drama by the same title. What does the obscure phrase mean? Are dwarfs still not small?  The size of a dwarf is beside the main point in the article. Though I am yet to watch the drama, I bet even the dwarfs in the drama started small. The aim of the article was to look at the strategic implications of age and size of organizations. This got me thinking about the level of customer service in small organization and in larger, in new organizations and in the older organizations. Which is better? Which is worse? As I was having these thoughts, I was sitting at a Coffee house in my neighbourhood. I had the previous day counted six Coffee houses of the same brand that have sprung up…

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on June21st 2016   “What motivates you”? Or even better “What inspires you”? Or “What keeps you going?” This is one of my best questions when conducting interviews. I would get very startled to hear someone say, “I get motivated by a motivational speaker”. I indeed get surprised when organizations call asking me to be a “motivational” speaker.  Off course, I say yes to the second part and put a small disclaimer on the first part. This is because I believe in self-motivation that comes from the inside out. It is true that self-motivation may be triggered by words that touch on the inner self but the onus remains on the self. That is why I like “guest speaker” better with the intention that a few words such as “it is all up to you” may touch on the inner self and inspire the listener to take action. If…

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on June 14th 2016 Most organizations start with just a handful of individuals. I recall Michael Joseph former Safaricom CEO at an interview, recalling how it was five of them at an apartment at Norfolk Towers in 2000. In an owner-led start-up, the founder is the only one and has to act as the sales person, the receptionist, the messenger and offer customer support all in one. In such a situation, the structure is as flat as a pancake (to remind myself of English similes that I have not used in decades). As organizations grow, staff are recruited and organizational structures start to change. Most entrepreneurs tell me that the first person they recruit is an accountant or a clerk able to do some credit and debit. Further growth results to the need for more staff and some important question arise. How best should we organize ourselves? Who should…

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on June 7th2016 Creativity and innovation seem to be favourite values that several organizations in Kenya and across the globe have adopted as core values. The question though is, are we innovating enough? Are we putting the novel ideas we receive from our staff and from our customers into use or are we killing them? We live in an era of constant change; there are changes in our staff‘s and customers’ demographics, in customers’ perceptions, in regulations, in knowledge, in technology and the like. Innovation is a change process and organizations that plan to survive cannot vegetate. Innovation starts with generation of creative and useful ideas subsequently put into action and successfully converted into business innovations. Christensen a thought leader on innovation argues that the ability to innovate is the “secret sauce” of business success. Many organizations have evolved through innovative products, processes and models. Unfortunately, in many organizations…

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on May 31st2016 I have always wondered if Jeff Bezos shops at Amazon.com. Bezos is not only the CEO of Amazon.com but he is the founder. In addition, Bezos is ranked the best performing CEO in the world according to Harvard Business Review and Amazon is the rated as the leader in the customer experience. Possibly, he does; and if he does, is his experience shopping at amazon.com the same as mine or does he get preferential treatment because he is well known? Given that Amazon.com is an online store, I doubt he gets preferential treatment. Closer home, has Bob Collymore ever tried using Mpesa services at a neighbourhood kiosk or called 100 for assistance? Does Dr. Julius Kipngetich go shopping at Uchumi Ngong Road? Does Richard Alden use Zuku services at his house? Did the former Nairobi Hospital CEO ever use the hospital’s outpatient services? Does Joshua Oigara…