:
Introduction to Blue Ocean Strategy
View more presentations from Mohd Khawaja.
The essence of life is to share; experiences, ideas, resources, time. Today I share my thoughts and hopefully golden nuggets of insight that could bless you and bring you solutions to whatever challenge you may be facing.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Creative Thinking for small business
every business owners must know!!!!!!!!!!!!
Creative Thinking for small business
View more presentations from Joanna Maxwell.
Creative intelligence
you must use your head after this
Creative intelligence
View more presentations from Nils Vesk.
Creativity in business
this is a must love for anyone intending to make a mark in their business
Creativity in business
View more presentations from Pradeep Yuvaraj.
Change Management
one thing is constantly accompanying creativity and innovation and that this is called change, check this out
Change Management
View more presentations from Paras kaushik.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
problem solvers wanted
Look around you today, there are 2 things you will find literally everywhere, namely;
Change and problems.
There were days when writers used type writers, now I do all my writing exclusively on my handheld blackberry. That is change.
Our city of Kampala is having to deal with problem after problem, from fire to child sacrifice, butayimbwa and so on the madness never stops.
In such a world the most significant persons are them. That solve our problems or show us how to handle the transformations that life subjects us to.
Ultimately problem solving is more an attitude than it is a skill to prove this,
Imagine you come ho
When companies advertise for Jobs one common thing they are looking for are people with problem solving ability. Unfortunately, this breed of people is rare because our education basically teaches to look for problems but never to solve them.
Just look back at our exam questions, examine the challenges faced by the missionaries. What are the problems faced by fishermen in kasenyi? No one asks for the solutions that one would adopt, if they do, students must replicate what they were dictated to in class.( If this is describes you, there is hope, I will be discussing how to become a problem solver over my next 2 articles.
Employers and the economy of uganda and world over are looking for problem solvers.
The thing that is common in people and businesses that weather the storms of change and problems is a creative, flexible and adaptable mind set.
The world history is a collection of trends, and trends are simply series of interconnected changes and incidences over time.
In other word we see through trends, change happening and problems metamorphosissing into unfamiliar phenomena altogether. For example who knew that your phone could be a bank and a teller or that MTN is a financial institution, mobile money is an example of new problems new solutions.
As a business man you need to understand that customer satisfaction only happens when your clients' problems are solved, they come to your restaurant to buy juice but want to take it home, solution, pack it in a desirable container don't tell them you don't do juice take away.
Businesses are successful that last the test of time are those which are set up to solve community problems, in this regard to this Andrew Carnegie one of the worlds richest men and philanthropists said, ' if any man desire to be rich he must provide a service that solves the needs of people in commensurate proportion to their wealth.'
However the challenge your business may have set out to solve may not be necessary anymore, for example companies started to increase production of typewriters are now obsolete, those that didn't transition are no more, Xerox on the hand understanding that their solutions were no longer relevant have gone ahead to re engineer themselves again as market leaders.
Locally speaking, barclays used to be a bank for the privileged few high end clientele only, but today Barclays problem has evolved down to individual, student and small business accounts, this is a sign of anticipating changes in needs and solving them.
To further illustrate this point I will use the example of a car;
At one time you used to take taxis because you were all over, on the days you worked late you couldn't find a taxi in the pack to Butalangwa where you live.
So you saved or borrowed and bought a kikumi(toyota corolla se). It solved the problem and now can get home anytime.
Soon you were married and a baby came along, you realized you needed more space and comfort so you bought an Ipsum, enough leg room for mummy baby and nanny.
Soon you got another baby and was promoted at work and needed to travel very often, you decided to buy a van so that more people could fit comfortably on some of your vacation trips.
This here is a typical example of one problem changing into different things, these things happen in business, ask MTN that started out with voice and a couple of call centers, today MTN is a bank(mobile money), a radio(MTN tunez), an internet service provider, a business consultancy(MTN business training) MTN has grown because they anticipate and solve business problems, this ability is available to you as a business and individual.
What you started with in your job 5 years ago probably won't solve todays work challenges..
There are 2 things I will suggest if you want to be a problem solver;
1. Develop a Solution oriented attitude, quit looking at the problems and you will see the solutions. Remember it doesn't take psychic powers to point out problems, but we worship people who help us solve these problems.
2.Appreciate the challenge,
It is important for you to look at your challenge in proper perspective, presumption is detrimental to any problem solving attempt because you could end up with more problems than you are trying to solve, so appreciate the gravity of your challenges.
3.Suggest a solution.
This is a sign of initiative,everyone is looking for it, both in private and public practice.
Use your head
Change and problems.
There were days when writers used type writers, now I do all my writing exclusively on my handheld blackberry. That is change.
Our city of Kampala is having to deal with problem after problem, from fire to child sacrifice, butayimbwa and so on the madness never stops.
In such a world the most significant persons are them. That solve our problems or show us how to handle the transformations that life subjects us to.
Ultimately problem solving is more an attitude than it is a skill to prove this,
Imagine you come ho
When companies advertise for Jobs one common thing they are looking for are people with problem solving ability. Unfortunately, this breed of people is rare because our education basically teaches to look for problems but never to solve them.
Just look back at our exam questions, examine the challenges faced by the missionaries. What are the problems faced by fishermen in kasenyi? No one asks for the solutions that one would adopt, if they do, students must replicate what they were dictated to in class.( If this is describes you, there is hope, I will be discussing how to become a problem solver over my next 2 articles.
Employers and the economy of uganda and world over are looking for problem solvers.
The thing that is common in people and businesses that weather the storms of change and problems is a creative, flexible and adaptable mind set.
The world history is a collection of trends, and trends are simply series of interconnected changes and incidences over time.
In other word we see through trends, change happening and problems metamorphosissing into unfamiliar phenomena altogether. For example who knew that your phone could be a bank and a teller or that MTN is a financial institution, mobile money is an example of new problems new solutions.
As a business man you need to understand that customer satisfaction only happens when your clients' problems are solved, they come to your restaurant to buy juice but want to take it home, solution, pack it in a desirable container don't tell them you don't do juice take away.
Businesses are successful that last the test of time are those which are set up to solve community problems, in this regard to this Andrew Carnegie one of the worlds richest men and philanthropists said, ' if any man desire to be rich he must provide a service that solves the needs of people in commensurate proportion to their wealth.'
However the challenge your business may have set out to solve may not be necessary anymore, for example companies started to increase production of typewriters are now obsolete, those that didn't transition are no more, Xerox on the hand understanding that their solutions were no longer relevant have gone ahead to re engineer themselves again as market leaders.
Locally speaking, barclays used to be a bank for the privileged few high end clientele only, but today Barclays problem has evolved down to individual, student and small business accounts, this is a sign of anticipating changes in needs and solving them.
To further illustrate this point I will use the example of a car;
At one time you used to take taxis because you were all over, on the days you worked late you couldn't find a taxi in the pack to Butalangwa where you live.
So you saved or borrowed and bought a kikumi(toyota corolla se). It solved the problem and now can get home anytime.
Soon you were married and a baby came along, you realized you needed more space and comfort so you bought an Ipsum, enough leg room for mummy baby and nanny.
Soon you got another baby and was promoted at work and needed to travel very often, you decided to buy a van so that more people could fit comfortably on some of your vacation trips.
This here is a typical example of one problem changing into different things, these things happen in business, ask MTN that started out with voice and a couple of call centers, today MTN is a bank(mobile money), a radio(MTN tunez), an internet service provider, a business consultancy(MTN business training) MTN has grown because they anticipate and solve business problems, this ability is available to you as a business and individual.
What you started with in your job 5 years ago probably won't solve todays work challenges..
There are 2 things I will suggest if you want to be a problem solver;
1. Develop a Solution oriented attitude, quit looking at the problems and you will see the solutions. Remember it doesn't take psychic powers to point out problems, but we worship people who help us solve these problems.
2.Appreciate the challenge,
It is important for you to look at your challenge in proper perspective, presumption is detrimental to any problem solving attempt because you could end up with more problems than you are trying to solve, so appreciate the gravity of your challenges.
3.Suggest a solution.
This is a sign of initiative,everyone is looking for it, both in private and public practice.
Use your head
Thursday, May 20, 2010
on ambition
Too much Ambition will kill you! The old man ranted, ask Napoleon, ask Alexander, ask Julius Ceaser, ask anyone too much ambition will drive you to an early grave.' That is the story my old man has always reiterated every time I let him in on a venture I am under going.
I am always stopped short of answering him saying at least we can still remember them, even our country's syllabus accommodates them, but have you ever heard of lecture on people who had no ambition altogether, I guess not.
In business as in life it is imperative to have ambition,aspire to greatness, to the awards and so on.
I liken ambition to the power in Roberto Carlos foot as he took those signature free kicks, the more power and direction, the higher the chances of scoring. Without ambition nothing of significance would come out of life.
When John F Kennedy launched the space program back in the 60s the sentiments were similar to when Obama set out with his eyes on the white house. But today in our conversations we say 'who knew', man could walk on the moon, a black man could be president of the USA, that Africa could host the world cup and so many more. GNL and the late Wamala sung a song on the very topic Ani yali amanyi.
The answer is simple, the people who aspire big things and dream big dreams dare to see what others don't see, and hear things others don't hear.
To further expand on this animal called ambition I will use the common saying, 'Aim for the sun and if you fall short you might land on the star,' which is by far a better place than this dusty earth..
Unfortunately even people who wish us the "best" dissuade us from being ambitious, without even knowing what it is we see. When I quit my job to start my advertising and consultant practice, people were shocked that while people were looking for jobs they couldn't find, I was quitting the one I had.
What they couldn't see was my desire to home school my children and go speaking world over by the age 30, I want the freedom to give, to travel, the way I want see these this happening is through my private practice and business.
Recently I met an old school friend who had started her own business but was looking for a job as well, I told her this is like leaving your eratic but potential garden to go and leave in luzira because they have regular meals there. I emphasize that our ambition is fueled by our desire for freedom, and the innate compulsion to make a mark.
Interestingly people who aspire for conformity are never remembered for anything, if you run with the crowd you get lost in it.
Do you remember in school when we wrote on our walls, ' never forget so and so, the great this and the great that'. Right there is a testament to our innate desire to contribute to the conversation of history. Ambition makes that desire bigger and focused.
Being ambitious however is not a guarantee to a place in the hall of history, we must be willing to sweat, to sacrifice and to focus, ambition requires us to be ferocious about success, if you want to be great in business, you have to decide how great(focus), decide how hard it takes to get there(sweat) decide what you are going and are willing to give up to achieve what you want(sacrifice).
The sweat, focus and sacrifice required for achieving success is what scares many folk in their journey, but if your eyes are on the goal, dig your heels, get your hanky and go for it.
Do not shy away if you want to leave a mark on Gods green earth, have books written about you and being in history. Now I am not sending you to kill thousands just to make the name, the point is to get yourself to make a significant contributor to history.
I am always stopped short of answering him saying at least we can still remember them, even our country's syllabus accommodates them, but have you ever heard of lecture on people who had no ambition altogether, I guess not.
In business as in life it is imperative to have ambition,aspire to greatness, to the awards and so on.
I liken ambition to the power in Roberto Carlos foot as he took those signature free kicks, the more power and direction, the higher the chances of scoring. Without ambition nothing of significance would come out of life.
When John F Kennedy launched the space program back in the 60s the sentiments were similar to when Obama set out with his eyes on the white house. But today in our conversations we say 'who knew', man could walk on the moon, a black man could be president of the USA, that Africa could host the world cup and so many more. GNL and the late Wamala sung a song on the very topic Ani yali amanyi.
The answer is simple, the people who aspire big things and dream big dreams dare to see what others don't see, and hear things others don't hear.
To further expand on this animal called ambition I will use the common saying, 'Aim for the sun and if you fall short you might land on the star,' which is by far a better place than this dusty earth..
Unfortunately even people who wish us the "best" dissuade us from being ambitious, without even knowing what it is we see. When I quit my job to start my advertising and consultant practice, people were shocked that while people were looking for jobs they couldn't find, I was quitting the one I had.
What they couldn't see was my desire to home school my children and go speaking world over by the age 30, I want the freedom to give, to travel, the way I want see these this happening is through my private practice and business.
Recently I met an old school friend who had started her own business but was looking for a job as well, I told her this is like leaving your eratic but potential garden to go and leave in luzira because they have regular meals there. I emphasize that our ambition is fueled by our desire for freedom, and the innate compulsion to make a mark.
Interestingly people who aspire for conformity are never remembered for anything, if you run with the crowd you get lost in it.
Do you remember in school when we wrote on our walls, ' never forget so and so, the great this and the great that'. Right there is a testament to our innate desire to contribute to the conversation of history. Ambition makes that desire bigger and focused.
Being ambitious however is not a guarantee to a place in the hall of history, we must be willing to sweat, to sacrifice and to focus, ambition requires us to be ferocious about success, if you want to be great in business, you have to decide how great(focus), decide how hard it takes to get there(sweat) decide what you are going and are willing to give up to achieve what you want(sacrifice).
The sweat, focus and sacrifice required for achieving success is what scares many folk in their journey, but if your eyes are on the goal, dig your heels, get your hanky and go for it.
Do not shy away if you want to leave a mark on Gods green earth, have books written about you and being in history. Now I am not sending you to kill thousands just to make the name, the point is to get yourself to make a significant contributor to history.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Creative Thinking: Your Edge
Check out this SlideShare Presentation: If it doesnt change the your way of life then watch it over and over
Creative Thinking: Your Edge
View more presentations from Joanna Maxwell.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
On Following Instincts
HI guys i want to take some time to document this road i am walking, and a few years later i want to look back and know that the decision i have made today will not come back to haunt me.
A quick recap: i have been working as an intern with this consultancy firm for the past 7 months now, and it has been a more than great experience, it has been phenomenal, the growth and the opportunity as well.
I have been extended an opportunity to continue that internship for the next 6 months, that should be great, right, i think. any way for the past 5 months i have been doing a lot of thinking and developing new products for the company, which has not been fruitful save for the claps i received for a brilliant presentation.
as i look back today there is nothing i could possibly regret save that i had to cut off my hair when i wanted to dread it, i sacrificed it hoping to get a job. Well at least my fiancee has let me grow it after the wedding.
Today i want to specifically write about following that gut feeling to do something that is totally contrary to sound reason, every one of us has instincts that we can follow or can ignore. but today my wild idea is that you follow your instincts, as long as they don't involve you kicking your boss in the behind.
My instincts for the past few weeks have been telling me that it is time to leave and venture out on my own, now when i say on my own i don't have any thing in form of capital, as a matter of fact i will be vacating the house i have been living in because i can't pay my land lord, i have nothing else to sell to pay her. All i have is my BlackBerry and a crushed computer as well as some ideas, ultimately i have jesus but i am venturing out i am daring to step out of the boat.
i have asked myself what it is exactly i am going to do, am i going to beg am i going back home, none of the above, i am going to use my head. i have heard people telling me about working entrepreneurs, but that isn't me, i am a roving one, i am simply not cut out for a regular job, that just isn't me, i am a non conformist who will do my best to be different and not fit in especially where i have a choice.
honestly it is scary, how will i eat, i have a wedding coming up, bills and debts to pay and yet i am asking to walk away from a potential job. it doesn't make any bit of sense, but get this i have companies i have registered, ideas i have nurtured, things i believe i am well empowered to do given that i have sufficient motivation to do them.
I wish to address this article to individuals out there that are not satisfied with their lives and circumstances, people whose ambitions have been paralyzed by their fear of failure, i want to say that it could be worse for you, what you fear doesn't have to get the keys to your destiny if anything you can harness that fear into something that you can work with to achieve your wildest dreams.
you could ask me, am i scared? heck yes, petrified if you like, but i will not let fear hold me back and keep me unsatisfied and unhappy, if those things don't come to me while i am here i will go and get them where they are, but certainly they are not in this boat with me, they totally aren't.
follow your instincts, yes get the counsel on the possible worst case scenario, as in if the worst came to the worst, where would you end up, but also ask yourself, if the best came where would you rather be, comfortable or proactive.
I will let you know day by day until i have made my first million but, i will not give in i will not give up, and so shouldn't you.
remember that failure is simply an opportunity for you to start over more intelligently, and failure is not bad if it isn't fatal, if anything it is a raw material for the achieving of authentic and tried success.
A quick recap: i have been working as an intern with this consultancy firm for the past 7 months now, and it has been a more than great experience, it has been phenomenal, the growth and the opportunity as well.
I have been extended an opportunity to continue that internship for the next 6 months, that should be great, right, i think. any way for the past 5 months i have been doing a lot of thinking and developing new products for the company, which has not been fruitful save for the claps i received for a brilliant presentation.
as i look back today there is nothing i could possibly regret save that i had to cut off my hair when i wanted to dread it, i sacrificed it hoping to get a job. Well at least my fiancee has let me grow it after the wedding.
Today i want to specifically write about following that gut feeling to do something that is totally contrary to sound reason, every one of us has instincts that we can follow or can ignore. but today my wild idea is that you follow your instincts, as long as they don't involve you kicking your boss in the behind.
My instincts for the past few weeks have been telling me that it is time to leave and venture out on my own, now when i say on my own i don't have any thing in form of capital, as a matter of fact i will be vacating the house i have been living in because i can't pay my land lord, i have nothing else to sell to pay her. All i have is my BlackBerry and a crushed computer as well as some ideas, ultimately i have jesus but i am venturing out i am daring to step out of the boat.
i have asked myself what it is exactly i am going to do, am i going to beg am i going back home, none of the above, i am going to use my head. i have heard people telling me about working entrepreneurs, but that isn't me, i am a roving one, i am simply not cut out for a regular job, that just isn't me, i am a non conformist who will do my best to be different and not fit in especially where i have a choice.
honestly it is scary, how will i eat, i have a wedding coming up, bills and debts to pay and yet i am asking to walk away from a potential job. it doesn't make any bit of sense, but get this i have companies i have registered, ideas i have nurtured, things i believe i am well empowered to do given that i have sufficient motivation to do them.
I wish to address this article to individuals out there that are not satisfied with their lives and circumstances, people whose ambitions have been paralyzed by their fear of failure, i want to say that it could be worse for you, what you fear doesn't have to get the keys to your destiny if anything you can harness that fear into something that you can work with to achieve your wildest dreams.
you could ask me, am i scared? heck yes, petrified if you like, but i will not let fear hold me back and keep me unsatisfied and unhappy, if those things don't come to me while i am here i will go and get them where they are, but certainly they are not in this boat with me, they totally aren't.
follow your instincts, yes get the counsel on the possible worst case scenario, as in if the worst came to the worst, where would you end up, but also ask yourself, if the best came where would you rather be, comfortable or proactive.
I will let you know day by day until i have made my first million but, i will not give in i will not give up, and so shouldn't you.
remember that failure is simply an opportunity for you to start over more intelligently, and failure is not bad if it isn't fatal, if anything it is a raw material for the achieving of authentic and tried success.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Creative And Innovative Thinking Skills
Check out this SlideShare Presentation: it is a straith up way to developing a creative mind
bryan
bryan
Creative And Innovative Thinking Skills
View more presentations from kkjjkevin03.
Creative Thinking Skills
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
Creative Thinking Skills
View more presentations from Yodhia Antariksa.
Friday, May 14, 2010
thinking creatively
I am amazed at how many of us are content with being in the rat race of life.
Just today I told my accountant that I am tired of FIRE FIGHTING. She asked me what firefighting is, I told her it is living from paycheck to paycheck and from hand to mouth.
Earning money but never being able to enjoy it because you have problems to solve in reccurance.
This can be a very fruistrating existence, I call it an existamce because most of the time you probably are complaining and would trade places with a corpse anytime.
You don't have to live like that! Granted, life gives us circumstances that are grim and dark, it is these that should conjure up a desire for better things.
I call it creating the light for your darkness.
HOW?? THINK.
I know many of you actually do think, but unfotunately about the wrong thing. The only thing that could ever come from thinking about the problem is more problems and all sorts of diseases. So I suggest you begin thinking deliberately about the solution to your predicament.
I like to say there is no problem that can withstand the onslaught of sustained creative thought.
Just the other day I came home to find that my electricity had been diconnected for non-payment, and just as I was cozzying up to the darkness the landlady walked in to collect her money, which you can guess I didn't have.
She gave a 2 day ultimatum, I thought to myself ' bryan ngonzi' walk the talk of creative thinking or be evicted, I scratched my head sore and the only thing I could come up with was to sell my kidney, nuh!!! Would only do that for my children, but there were these two flood lights I used to practice my motivational speeches, and as you could guess I paid my land lady from what I got for them. And the rest is history.
Now you may not agree to my approach but, in my circumstances I chose not to be despondent but responsive, I will buy a mirror for practice but atleast have a roof over my head.
Focusing on the problem will take the very fight out of you, because the more you see the problem the smaller the solution looks.
What out for my next edition of, 'Creating your desired Circumstances'
Use your head
Bryan Ngonzi
Just today I told my accountant that I am tired of FIRE FIGHTING. She asked me what firefighting is, I told her it is living from paycheck to paycheck and from hand to mouth.
Earning money but never being able to enjoy it because you have problems to solve in reccurance.
This can be a very fruistrating existence, I call it an existamce because most of the time you probably are complaining and would trade places with a corpse anytime.
You don't have to live like that! Granted, life gives us circumstances that are grim and dark, it is these that should conjure up a desire for better things.
I call it creating the light for your darkness.
HOW?? THINK.
I know many of you actually do think, but unfotunately about the wrong thing. The only thing that could ever come from thinking about the problem is more problems and all sorts of diseases. So I suggest you begin thinking deliberately about the solution to your predicament.
I like to say there is no problem that can withstand the onslaught of sustained creative thought.
Just the other day I came home to find that my electricity had been diconnected for non-payment, and just as I was cozzying up to the darkness the landlady walked in to collect her money, which you can guess I didn't have.
She gave a 2 day ultimatum, I thought to myself ' bryan ngonzi' walk the talk of creative thinking or be evicted, I scratched my head sore and the only thing I could come up with was to sell my kidney, nuh!!! Would only do that for my children, but there were these two flood lights I used to practice my motivational speeches, and as you could guess I paid my land lady from what I got for them. And the rest is history.
Now you may not agree to my approach but, in my circumstances I chose not to be despondent but responsive, I will buy a mirror for practice but atleast have a roof over my head.
Focusing on the problem will take the very fight out of you, because the more you see the problem the smaller the solution looks.
What out for my next edition of, 'Creating your desired Circumstances'
Use your head
Bryan Ngonzi
my thoughts on creativity
we are all born creative and innovative but lose this ability to conformist tendencies, boundaries, safety zones and fear of failure. our creative ability is tied to a willingness to test limits and venture out onto uncharted territories.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Befriend your Clients
Recently I had a very bad experience with someone I had contracted to develop a website for me, we had agreed to a work fee of 350,000/= and work would commence on payment of 50%, to which I complied with, unfortunately the website he created for me, is not only dysfunctional, it can do totally nothing of the things I intended for it to do.
To solve this, I set up appointments to meet the young geezer and give him the information he wanted from me, he didn’t turn up for any of these meetings, one time he had the audacity to tell me to go to his office in Ntinda. Who ever heard of such a thing in the service industry. What ticked me off was the fact that every time I asked him to come for his money, he would come running, and when I asked for results he would be doing something else.
The final blow came when he told me he was going to work on my website provided ‘’we do things his way ‘’ seriously!
To cut the long story short, I asked for a refund which he has refused to give sighting absence of a signed contract and time he spent, not withstanding my time he wasted.
This is a typical everyday business experience in the in uganda, especially in the service sector. This young man owns an ‘’IT firm’’ and is gifted in what he does, unfortunately, what he doesn’t know is that;
Talent+bad customer care= no business. period.
It is imperative for the Entrepreneur to court or create an alliance with the client, remember everybody is a customer in one way or the other.
The INTERNAL CUSTOMER
This is that person you work with in that organization, including you. The cleaners, the accountants, the sales people, the managers, the suppliers, the executives, everyone who has a hand in making the business wheels turn from within is the internal customer.
You may ask yourself what it is these guys are buying, they are buying the vision of that organization and they are in turn selling their TIME to the company to achieve that goal or purpose.
These people are very important to the Entrepreneur because they directly affect the vision one has for the company. As the youngest person in the consultancy firm that I once worked with I came up with a couple of interesting business ideas and proposals on how the company could go forward, but I realized there was much resistance because I was young and in their eyes inexperienced.
Instead of allowing frustration to hinder me, I decided to develop a vision and align it to the vision of the company, after which, I begun to ally myself with individuals in this company that would allow for the change that I was seeing in the future, I would take time to listen to the directors, the managers and even the support staff, having gained their trust I could start to influence them in a way that was mutually beneficial to the company and employees.
In common business jargon it is called “buy in’’. John C Maxwell in his book 21 irrefutable laws of leadership says, ‘’if the led like the vision and not the leader they will drop the leader and keep the vision, and if they like the leader and not his vision they will keep the leader and drop his vision.”
You can imagine if you are the leader whose personality and vision the people you lead haven’t bought into. You will be dropped like a cold potato. In light of this, developing an alliance with the people in your organization will allow you to nurture buy in, both into you and into your vision.
It is a common thing for aspiring and ambitious young enthusiasts to become apple brushers and total pains on their way up, this is very counter-intuitive, if you are going to make it to the top your alliances should be balanced and not contrary to one another, remember you don’t want to inherit a split organization.
True success for the Entrepreneur has little or nothing to do with divide and rule, stay away from that.
There is another evil I have noticed under the sun, where super ambitious people pull and trample people on their way up.
This reminds me of an all too common saying, ‘’the people you meet on your way up will be the same you meet on your way down.’’ Imagine you were falling down a ladder strewn with your enemies, none would extend a hand of help, but if you fell down a ladder with friends they could make your fall less impactful.
I would encourage you to make friends on your way up, though remember you cannot please everybody so know your limits.
The EXTERNAL CUSTOMER
This is that person who moves your organizational cogs from the outside, they buy the product of your vision, they are so important that if they took their money elsewhere you would be downright out of business, ask METRO stores.
The Entrepreneur needs this alliance more because the business one desires to take over is dependent on these peoples goodwill.
If you don’t get anything from this article get this, your customer is not only your best friend, they are your spouse, they give you the satisfaction, they put food on your table, they talk nice about you, they bring people into your circles, they tell their children about you(my late grand dad God rest his soul- used Imperial Lather Soap before he got married, when he married my grandmother he bought her imperial lather and forbade her from using any other soap, 50 years later my grandmother still uses the same imperial lather, she passed the tradition over to me, and I intend to pass it on not just because it is a tradition, but the soap is actually good.)
This story brings me to a very important principle, called the lifetime value of a customer. Let me explain it. The true value of a customer is not what they pay you the first time they come to your shop or business premises, or what you see them wearing, clothes, watch, and so on
The first time someone walks into your business, you can’t straight away tell how much they have in the bank, who they have on speed dial, where they stay, what they do and so on. Because looks are deceptive do not allow yourself to draw conclusions on the worth of your customer. In stead like you wouldn’t marry someone you just met, but you take the time to court them, know them and see if they are worth calling your spouse.
From the experience I shared above, about the web designer, he conned me of 200,000/=, because he thought that is what I am worth, the part he missed out is that I have 3 more websites to do this year, and I just was about to get him a web designing contract worth 4 million shillings, but I cut that out of course.
To illustrate this point further I will use the experience my fiancées brother and I had recently when we dropped by a joint on acacia avenue. Being tired, he decided to get a massage but as it was his first time he requested for a special discount, to which they objected. The man went on and had his massage, but by the time he came out, one could think he had been run over by a 5 axle truck, ‘’this has been the worst experience I have ever had, my 5 year old daughter could do a better job’’ was his response when I asked him how it was, of course with a wry smile, seeing the dissatisfaction written allover his face.
Incidentally no one was there to ask him how his first experience had been, all they cared about was that they had taken his 35000/-, they didn’t know that he works and lives nearby and had plans of dropping by every 3 times a week, as I write this I can’t tell you how many workmates he has told not to go there, and am writing about it. Let’s do the math, had he been satisfied or reassured;
3*week*4 weeks*12 months+ 4 friends
35000*3*4*12+(4*35000)=5,190,000 worth of massages.
That is what these people lost just for this one year add it up over his life time. If you were the Entrepreneur this is very substantial money lost because you have not understood the “lifetime value of the customer’’. Why do you think they say customer is king.
“The opportunity cost you attach to the value of a customer could make or break you.”
This brings me to my final submission on allying with the client. In my experience of advertizing and PR I have come to notice that word of mouth is the most influential and credible way of doing publicity.
The twist is that while a happy customer will tell only 5-9 people about their experience, a dissatisfied one will tell not less than 20 people, now watch out if the client is a writer or a TV personality, because they will write or talk about it on radio.
I have had these radio shows where people call in to quarrel, is it called flashing down the drain or something like that, as the Entrepreneur if your customers are your friends you will have avoided this altogether.
The writer is an innovation consultant and co-founder of Wild Ideas Consult and mavericks unlimited.
7thepisode@gmail.com
To solve this, I set up appointments to meet the young geezer and give him the information he wanted from me, he didn’t turn up for any of these meetings, one time he had the audacity to tell me to go to his office in Ntinda. Who ever heard of such a thing in the service industry. What ticked me off was the fact that every time I asked him to come for his money, he would come running, and when I asked for results he would be doing something else.
The final blow came when he told me he was going to work on my website provided ‘’we do things his way ‘’ seriously!
To cut the long story short, I asked for a refund which he has refused to give sighting absence of a signed contract and time he spent, not withstanding my time he wasted.
This is a typical everyday business experience in the in uganda, especially in the service sector. This young man owns an ‘’IT firm’’ and is gifted in what he does, unfortunately, what he doesn’t know is that;
Talent+bad customer care= no business. period.
It is imperative for the Entrepreneur to court or create an alliance with the client, remember everybody is a customer in one way or the other.
The INTERNAL CUSTOMER
This is that person you work with in that organization, including you. The cleaners, the accountants, the sales people, the managers, the suppliers, the executives, everyone who has a hand in making the business wheels turn from within is the internal customer.
You may ask yourself what it is these guys are buying, they are buying the vision of that organization and they are in turn selling their TIME to the company to achieve that goal or purpose.
These people are very important to the Entrepreneur because they directly affect the vision one has for the company. As the youngest person in the consultancy firm that I once worked with I came up with a couple of interesting business ideas and proposals on how the company could go forward, but I realized there was much resistance because I was young and in their eyes inexperienced.
Instead of allowing frustration to hinder me, I decided to develop a vision and align it to the vision of the company, after which, I begun to ally myself with individuals in this company that would allow for the change that I was seeing in the future, I would take time to listen to the directors, the managers and even the support staff, having gained their trust I could start to influence them in a way that was mutually beneficial to the company and employees.
In common business jargon it is called “buy in’’. John C Maxwell in his book 21 irrefutable laws of leadership says, ‘’if the led like the vision and not the leader they will drop the leader and keep the vision, and if they like the leader and not his vision they will keep the leader and drop his vision.”
You can imagine if you are the leader whose personality and vision the people you lead haven’t bought into. You will be dropped like a cold potato. In light of this, developing an alliance with the people in your organization will allow you to nurture buy in, both into you and into your vision.
It is a common thing for aspiring and ambitious young enthusiasts to become apple brushers and total pains on their way up, this is very counter-intuitive, if you are going to make it to the top your alliances should be balanced and not contrary to one another, remember you don’t want to inherit a split organization.
True success for the Entrepreneur has little or nothing to do with divide and rule, stay away from that.
There is another evil I have noticed under the sun, where super ambitious people pull and trample people on their way up.
This reminds me of an all too common saying, ‘’the people you meet on your way up will be the same you meet on your way down.’’ Imagine you were falling down a ladder strewn with your enemies, none would extend a hand of help, but if you fell down a ladder with friends they could make your fall less impactful.
I would encourage you to make friends on your way up, though remember you cannot please everybody so know your limits.
The EXTERNAL CUSTOMER
This is that person who moves your organizational cogs from the outside, they buy the product of your vision, they are so important that if they took their money elsewhere you would be downright out of business, ask METRO stores.
The Entrepreneur needs this alliance more because the business one desires to take over is dependent on these peoples goodwill.
If you don’t get anything from this article get this, your customer is not only your best friend, they are your spouse, they give you the satisfaction, they put food on your table, they talk nice about you, they bring people into your circles, they tell their children about you(my late grand dad God rest his soul- used Imperial Lather Soap before he got married, when he married my grandmother he bought her imperial lather and forbade her from using any other soap, 50 years later my grandmother still uses the same imperial lather, she passed the tradition over to me, and I intend to pass it on not just because it is a tradition, but the soap is actually good.)
This story brings me to a very important principle, called the lifetime value of a customer. Let me explain it. The true value of a customer is not what they pay you the first time they come to your shop or business premises, or what you see them wearing, clothes, watch, and so on
The first time someone walks into your business, you can’t straight away tell how much they have in the bank, who they have on speed dial, where they stay, what they do and so on. Because looks are deceptive do not allow yourself to draw conclusions on the worth of your customer. In stead like you wouldn’t marry someone you just met, but you take the time to court them, know them and see if they are worth calling your spouse.
From the experience I shared above, about the web designer, he conned me of 200,000/=, because he thought that is what I am worth, the part he missed out is that I have 3 more websites to do this year, and I just was about to get him a web designing contract worth 4 million shillings, but I cut that out of course.
To illustrate this point further I will use the experience my fiancées brother and I had recently when we dropped by a joint on acacia avenue. Being tired, he decided to get a massage but as it was his first time he requested for a special discount, to which they objected. The man went on and had his massage, but by the time he came out, one could think he had been run over by a 5 axle truck, ‘’this has been the worst experience I have ever had, my 5 year old daughter could do a better job’’ was his response when I asked him how it was, of course with a wry smile, seeing the dissatisfaction written allover his face.
Incidentally no one was there to ask him how his first experience had been, all they cared about was that they had taken his 35000/-, they didn’t know that he works and lives nearby and had plans of dropping by every 3 times a week, as I write this I can’t tell you how many workmates he has told not to go there, and am writing about it. Let’s do the math, had he been satisfied or reassured;
3*week*4 weeks*12 months+ 4 friends
35000*3*4*12+(4*35000)=5,190,000 worth of massages.
That is what these people lost just for this one year add it up over his life time. If you were the Entrepreneur this is very substantial money lost because you have not understood the “lifetime value of the customer’’. Why do you think they say customer is king.
“The opportunity cost you attach to the value of a customer could make or break you.”
This brings me to my final submission on allying with the client. In my experience of advertizing and PR I have come to notice that word of mouth is the most influential and credible way of doing publicity.
The twist is that while a happy customer will tell only 5-9 people about their experience, a dissatisfied one will tell not less than 20 people, now watch out if the client is a writer or a TV personality, because they will write or talk about it on radio.
I have had these radio shows where people call in to quarrel, is it called flashing down the drain or something like that, as the Entrepreneur if your customers are your friends you will have avoided this altogether.
The writer is an innovation consultant and co-founder of Wild Ideas Consult and mavericks unlimited.
7thepisode@gmail.com
UNIQUITY & VALUE INNOVATION; IS KEY FOR BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY.
Uniquity-(unique + personality)
This is a word I have coined to describe the peculiar characteristics that businesses adapt to distinguish themselves from others and consequently develop a following. Uniquity thus is a possession of an innovative uncharacteristic personality.
Innovation is imperative for business Uniquity. As said before, even in a not so saturated market like construction to think that copying and pasting will do, you have something else coming.
WHAT VALUE IS MY BUSINESS PROVIDING
Value is a very subjective phenomenon like quality; however, there is a 2 prong approach to value innovation. The formula would be; Perceived Benefit – Cost = Value Innovation
From this formula a business achieves value innovation through cutting costs and creating experiences for the customer, employee and the market.
The CASE of PETROL STATION A and PETROL STATION B
Let’s look at 2 service stations, located side by side, STATION B and STATION A on Bombo road, if you remember, STATION A came first, then STATION B followed suit, to many it didn’t make sense how STATION B was going to compete with the established STATION A, STATION B had no such plans- competition plans, instead STATION B provided something that created a steady, loyal clientele, mark the word created.
Today just under 6 years, STATION A is only a far cry, a ghost town so to speak in light of the STATION B phenomenon. STATION B understood that a service station is not just about car fuel and tyres, they are about people, and what matters to people most is EXPERIENCE.
Client EXPERIENCE
The experience that customers get when they consume a product or service is where they derive value and quality. Using our case of STATION A and STATION B, one sees 2 businesses doing pretty much the same thing, what makes them different is ‘how they do it’, I happen to love coffee, one of my best cafes being on Bombo road, simply because of the experience, the ambience, the relationship with the service people, I even can read a paper the café gives me,-that is when I am not reading a book from there.
One could wonder how coffee has got to do anything with a fuel station; simple, coffee is to the driver what fuel is to the car. That is why good coffee is important to STATION B.
Maybe coffee doesn’t really make sense, if you use the Bombo RD, by taxi especially, you notice they tend to turn off to STATION B even if to take liter of fuel, but mostly to get change. Yes, change is important to every conductor, while other service stations mise on change, STATION B takes the time to employ a change vendor, at no additional cost to the customer. Why wouldn’t taxis branch there, and how many taxis are going to Ntinda, gayaza, wandegeya that always need change?
Assuming you drive an ipsum maybe, because you have a family, on your way from work you need to fuel up for tomorrow, pick some groceries, of course you have your children in the car, at STATION B you can get high quality ice cream for jonnie and Jessie, while you pick up some substantial shopping in the supermarket.
I am not a PR person for the STATION B nor do I disrespect STATION A but as a consultant I need examples that point out my message of value addition.
My conclusion is that if your business is going to grow and be sustainable, do not do things everybody is doing, or if you must, do these things differently. This principle is a merger of 2 life truths;
1. There is nothing new under the sun.
2. We are born originals but die copies.
You may have an idea that is brilliant, but what will make it mint you the money is how different is it from your neighbor’s, and what do you do that keeps the customer coming back for more and bringing some one along. To see the importance of UNIQUITY and VALUE INNOVATION look at Metro and Shoprite, the Cash Flow game vs. Monopoly.
It is all about maximizing the clients experience, human beings are animals of habit and association, give them a great experience and they will keep coming back for more.
Bryan
Uniquity-(unique + personality)
This is a word I have coined to describe the peculiar characteristics that businesses adapt to distinguish themselves from others and consequently develop a following. Uniquity thus is a possession of an innovative uncharacteristic personality.
Innovation is imperative for business Uniquity. As said before, even in a not so saturated market like construction to think that copying and pasting will do, you have something else coming.
WHAT VALUE IS MY BUSINESS PROVIDING
Value is a very subjective phenomenon like quality; however, there is a 2 prong approach to value innovation. The formula would be; Perceived Benefit – Cost = Value Innovation
From this formula a business achieves value innovation through cutting costs and creating experiences for the customer, employee and the market.
The CASE of PETROL STATION A and PETROL STATION B
Let’s look at 2 service stations, located side by side, STATION B and STATION A on Bombo road, if you remember, STATION A came first, then STATION B followed suit, to many it didn’t make sense how STATION B was going to compete with the established STATION A, STATION B had no such plans- competition plans, instead STATION B provided something that created a steady, loyal clientele, mark the word created.
Today just under 6 years, STATION A is only a far cry, a ghost town so to speak in light of the STATION B phenomenon. STATION B understood that a service station is not just about car fuel and tyres, they are about people, and what matters to people most is EXPERIENCE.
Client EXPERIENCE
The experience that customers get when they consume a product or service is where they derive value and quality. Using our case of STATION A and STATION B, one sees 2 businesses doing pretty much the same thing, what makes them different is ‘how they do it’, I happen to love coffee, one of my best cafes being on Bombo road, simply because of the experience, the ambience, the relationship with the service people, I even can read a paper the café gives me,-that is when I am not reading a book from there.
One could wonder how coffee has got to do anything with a fuel station; simple, coffee is to the driver what fuel is to the car. That is why good coffee is important to STATION B.
Maybe coffee doesn’t really make sense, if you use the Bombo RD, by taxi especially, you notice they tend to turn off to STATION B even if to take liter of fuel, but mostly to get change. Yes, change is important to every conductor, while other service stations mise on change, STATION B takes the time to employ a change vendor, at no additional cost to the customer. Why wouldn’t taxis branch there, and how many taxis are going to Ntinda, gayaza, wandegeya that always need change?
Assuming you drive an ipsum maybe, because you have a family, on your way from work you need to fuel up for tomorrow, pick some groceries, of course you have your children in the car, at STATION B you can get high quality ice cream for jonnie and Jessie, while you pick up some substantial shopping in the supermarket.
I am not a PR person for the STATION B nor do I disrespect STATION A but as a consultant I need examples that point out my message of value addition.
My conclusion is that if your business is going to grow and be sustainable, do not do things everybody is doing, or if you must, do these things differently. This principle is a merger of 2 life truths;
1. There is nothing new under the sun.
2. We are born originals but die copies.
You may have an idea that is brilliant, but what will make it mint you the money is how different is it from your neighbor’s, and what do you do that keeps the customer coming back for more and bringing some one along. To see the importance of UNIQUITY and VALUE INNOVATION look at Metro and Shoprite, the Cash Flow game vs. Monopoly.
It is all about maximizing the clients experience, human beings are animals of habit and association, give them a great experience and they will keep coming back for more.
Bryan
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