8 things you ought to do to improve your business in 2017!

As the year 2016 runs to an end, its time for us to focus on the incoming year with plans, strategies and prayers that would help us into 2017 and would also enhance our performance at our business. The world is moving at such a fast pace that he who holds back and does things the same way would fall back and find that people have overtaken him in more ways than can be imagined..

• Online Marketing: Now depending on the product or service you provide and the buyers whose needs you address, it just might be right for you to have a presence online and market your products there. Whether your product is tangible(can be touched or seen) or intangible( cannot be touched or seen) as long as your buyers go online via social media and use email, you ought to have a presence there and learn to market your stuff online. 
• Cash Cow Strategy: The cash cow strategy is a method embraced by organizations who have more than one product in the market. Those that have a portfolio of products would embrace the cash cow strategy when the do an analysis of the various products they market and see which one brings in the most cash. Once that is done, the strategy is to give the one that brings in the most cash more prominence in terms of accessibility innovation and promotions. The whole idea is to make sure the product is as close to perfection as possible so that it continues to yield the premium and it also entails taking a glance into the future and determining what the immediate and long term threats tot he product are and drawing up a strategy to deal with such situations. 
• Deals, discounts and options: In purchases of goods and services, the shrewd business person always looks out for special deals, discounts and options that would enable him save money or gain additional benefits. In seeking deals, discounts and options, there should be no compromise of standards and quality so as to ensure that integrity and customer care is not compromised. 
• Adding value to a product or a service is something we ought to strive to do in 2017 especially in an environment where you have competition. A little extra time spent in packaging, cleaning, talking to the customer assuring that he gets what he wants, how he wants it can make the world of difference on the long run! The principle is applicable to people who major in raw material production too. Can we engage in any form of processing that would make the product more valuable, durable and or give us extra income? We started experimenting with smoking our fish at the farm when we discovered that those who smoke it sell it for almost double the price we sell it. 
• Leveraging our networks: Many of us play roles in networks outside of our business that we are not exploiting. Friends, social societies, friends of friends etc. Don't forget to attend that party or gathering you were invited to. Your next client might just be lurking there. 
• Safe and secure investments are the secret weapons of enduring finances in 2017. The question on the lips of those of us who are in business should be what can I invest in, in the new year that would not be threatened by a turbulent economic situation? The answer is simple: Treasury bills and bonds that are backed by the might of a government. Most governments are into mopping up money in their fiscal strategies to control the amount of cash in circulation. The yield might be low but its safe.
• The watch word for business in 2017 should be lets minimize our risks and that would help us cut our losses. Make sure every risk is calculated with the worst case scenario clear in our minds. Its better to be safe than sorry. 
• Boundary hopping( see the article earlier published here) is when you seek to break into markets that have not been really exploited with your product. In 2017 we ought to find a way to exploit clientele that have not been on our normal list.Stretch your products as far as they can go, imagination and creativity could help you touch people that you never even thought of. The questions on our minds should be what can I add or remove from this product that would make it acceptable among a different class or group of people.

The power of positive self talk

Speaking to yourself out loud in an environment where there are people observing might be considered to be a dangerous, if not out of place trait. Those who catch you uttering exclamations to yourself might wonder if you have not taken leave of your senses. But it is a well known approach to engender self esteem and a positive state of mind to speak to oneself in a tone that is encouraging and up building. Positive reinforcement is a powerful strategy for strengthening ones mind, especially in a period of crisis when things are not going the way we planned them.
Psychological research has shown that it is the positive minded people who make headway in their chosen obligations. Such people are known to be so strong minded that no matter what people say about them they are not discouraged .They may not be able to control the environment they operate in all the time, but where they cannot get it under control, the adjust their thoughts and indeed actions to make headway and ultimately get close to the outcome that they desire in the course of things.
The process is a logical flow. Our thoughts determine our actions, our actions in turn out to get us to where we want to be or far away from our desired destination. There are very few actions taken by an individual that are not thought about first. If our thoughts help determine our actions, then those of us who want to succeed at what we do, ought to think about progress, success and all the positive thoughts we can muster to aid us in spurring ourselves into possibilities and progress we never imagined was possible. (Of course, that is not true) You imagined it and that is part of what helped bring it to pass! Remember the powerful thoughts are only part of the process. We have to back it up with action.
Therefore if you want a considerable change to occur in your life, begin by talking about what you want to happen to yourself and see what moves you can make that would take you closer to what you are talking about!

THE SELF MANAGEMENT PROCESS:

What am I telling myself?
What other meaning(s) have I attached to this situation?
How do I feel?
What do I fear?
What do I think it will look like?
What can I do to help myself?
IT HELPS TO ASK OURSELVES QUESTIONS SOMETIMES SO AS TO DEFINE OUR THINKING AND UNDERSTAND OUR DIRECTION

Retain your customers at a higher rate!

 Business is tough in many parts of the world today.  A lot of people who are in business have to rely on old customers and referrals to get by. The new customers are difficult to come by. So while you seek the new ones learn to leverage the ones you have already so that you do not lose them.  Retention strategies are important for you to be able to do this.
What is retention?

•        Customer retention is the act of implementing certain strategies which allows current customers to keep using the brand and potential customers to turn into regular consumers. In order to sustain in the tough market competitions, businesses have to follow customer retention strategies right from the time they get a new customer till throughout the period the person uses the product.Customer retention is not just a matter of offering quality products, but also how the company gives proper services and creates a dependable goodwill in the market. 

         You and I have to foster good will and consistently court the customers' attention if we want to retain them. We must not give room for them to think of the competition as being better in any sense, so we have to frequently benchmark the competition in our sector and find out where we are going wrong and indeed what we are doing right. 

        Retained customers are known to generate much more revenue than occasional or new customers. They feel more comfortable with our services and procedures and do not usually hesitate before paying. Sometimes it possible for us to predict when our retained customers would buy and how much they would commit to new purchases over a period. This helps us to forecast our income and plan our finances.  

 

 

Practical strategies for retaining your customers:

•Membership cards and programs that entitle your customers to special offers, discounts, or preferential treatment.

•Welcome, acknowledgement, sales recognition, thank you statements.

•After sales satisfaction and complaint inquiries and surveys.

•Event oriented communications in which the customer is genuinely interested.

•Enhanced and empowered customer, after sales, and technical support. 

          Companies must begin to institute  conscious attempts to retain their customers before someone else gets in the door and tries to take them over. The whole idea is to have a retention strategy and immediately a sale has been made swing into action with inquiries about the good or service from the customer with a view to trying to ascertain that the need for which the purchase was made is met and service as well as advice is offered free of charge as part of the customer care portfolio. 

Measures you can take to retain your customers:

The current economic climate is causing customers to be more selective. As a result, many companies are losing customers at a rapid rate.  

1. Find out what customers want and what causes them to stay or leave.

First, conduct a survey with existing customers. Ask customers what they want and need, as well as which specific aspects of your business, products, services they value most. In addition, conduct a separate survey with former customers to find out what specifically caused them to leave.

2. Proactively collect and promote customer feedback.

Do not wait until there is a problem to contact or follow up with customers. Instead, set up communication channels to encourage sincere two-way communication with them, and then use those channels to actively solicit and collect their feedback.

Examples of customer communication channels include: a feedback link or feedback form on your company web site, focus groups, comment cards, in-person visits, e-mails, letters, user forums, surveys, etc.

3. Use technology to manage and analyze customer feedback, and ensure the right people hear it.

        Companies can easily have as many as 35 or more tools in place to listen to the customer. These tools frequently duplicate efforts and consume a tremendous amount of time and resources. By the time feedback is tabulated, analyzed and shared, the input is weeks or months old. 

4. Analyze customer feedback to gain valuable insights.

Once you’ve gathered feedback from customers, analyze it to find out:

 The type of customer feedback and the percentage in each category (complaints, suggestions, comments, concerns)

The channel most used by customers to provide feedback (Web, phone, in-person, etc.) 

5. Immediately address customers’ complaints and concerns. 

         If you can address customers complaints and concerns immediately or almost as soon as they are brought to you, you will retain customers because of your promptness. No one likes to be kept waiting least of all the customer who wants proper and tailored treatment from your organization no matter how big or small you are. 

•6. Take action and Measure the Results. 

         Lining up what you will do to retain your customers, a phone call or visit even when you are not selling anything, needs to be followed through. Once you have started doing it then you can measure the effect 

•7. Actively measure and monitor your customers’ loyalty and engagement. 

         Using data based on frequent customers and their purchase behavior you can measure loyalty and determine if your engagement strategies have worked. 

•8. Create and nurture a company culture that embraces and is committed to using customer feedback. 

        Once you have started these strategies and approaches in your company you must makes sure it is sustained on an organizational or at least a departmental level. It should be part of the DNA of the organization. 

•9. Keep asking, listening, analyzing and improving.

       The customer is always right when it comes to quality of goods and services, so listen to him.  

 

Things to note about personal growth!

Personal growth should lead to promotion: the upward movement that increasingly frees you to do more thinking and than actual doing. In a Human Resource Management seminar the debate took place about why bosses who seem to do less actually receive more pay for seemingly being idle! The bosses compensable factors had to be stressed. Picture that all important meeting in your office for instance, a group of foot soldiers sit around the conference table with all manner of documents at hand and various sizes of laptops open to spread sheets and presentations. Then the big boss enters the room with very little. Why is that? Well he was not hired run computers, maintain schedules and carry files! Most bosses are hired for their expertise in a certain area and because of the power of the ideas. In the modern corporate world, organizations want people with the best kind of ideas to be in leadership. So that is why in competitive environments, the promotions and upliftment would go to the men and women who show initiative and potential for growth. How frequently can you generate new ideas in your work environment? Do you show aptitude for learning, are you  well informed, quick to understand things and willing to learn more?
Human resource studies show that there are a category of people who lose interest in their career after a period of time. If you have high levels of intensity and creativity you are not likely to lose interest, rather you are more likely to be spurred into finding a better way to do the job. Growth oriented people are too busy trying to stretch and break records, do the unimaginable and top their category in performance rather than being bogged down by petty details of the day.  Try this: spend more time expanding your knowledge and experience and see what effect it has on your person and your career! Your interest levels and excitement are bound to reach new heights!
When you stop growing there is a tendency for you to stop enjoying your work. The person who is growing continually in knowledge and experience never gets tired. He is always looking for the next level of achievement, the next milestone to meet, the next tape to breast. One way to stay fresh is to start spreading your knowledge or know how. Help other people to grow. See where and how you can identify useful knowledge and information and spread it among the people that need it or could use it! You would be amazed at what would happen. Create a curious mind for yourself. See how many ways a problem can be solved. List the different kinds of would-be solutions and imagine scenarios. Personal growth should help you focus on people, find out what they need and see how you could provide it. When you focus on people, people will focus on you!  It all begins with you questioning yourself: How can I...... Curiosity and drive are often more powerful than intelligence. Intelligence can be of great use, but most of what you need to complete tasks and bring projects to an end and search for new ideas and solutions is found in drive. So drive yourself to personal growth and see if you do not move up!

My learning curve

A question of ethics: Is what I am doing wrong or right?

The world's ethical preoccupation has gone to hell. Nobody cares about rules and regulations anymore. The end justifies the means, who cares how you did as long as you get it done? At a seminar on Management and Administration, I had the opportunity to discuss ethics and ethical dilemmas. The topic made me reflect on the kind of leadership we have in major organizations around the world today and even in countries. Everyone is talking about results these days, not many people are concerned about how those results are attained. Did we go by the book, use a little blackmail, arm-twisting, inducement or extra ordinary persuasion that borders on the ethical? Meet your targets, the boss says, do what you have to do as long as you get what the organization wants. 
If you believe in right and wrong, you will once in while find yourself in an ethical dilemma! Picture the situation you are in, in a sector where everyone is cutting corners to make profit. They know its wrong, you know its wrong. You are lagging behind in your profits and targets would you do it or not? What if you are getting queries for non performance?
Here's the catch: you ought to be able to get the job done within the ethical frame work of the organization and without cutting corners and going against your own principles and beliefs that are based on morals. 
Reviewing the following questions help to serve as a guide to what is ethical and what is not, what is wrong and right. Even if you do not want to answer, your mind will tell you the right answer.

—

Is it legal/ethical?

—Does it feel right?

—How would it look in the newspaper?

—Will it reflect negatively on you or the company?

—Who else could be affected by this?

—Would you be embarrassed if others know about your course of action?

—Is there an alternative action that does not pose an ethical conflict?

—Is it against your policy?

—What would a reasonable person think?

—Can you sleep at night?

The yes/no answer will help you know if you working on the right path.  

Growing a farm from subsistence to large scale: Bottoms up!

Alsatian

Pitbull

Its amazing what you can cram into a little space. At my house in Ota, Ogun State of Nigeria I have goats, banana trees and fish ponds. I like to believe that its a sign of what's to come. I see myself retiring to a serene easy going life on a large farm where I will grow crops for both subsistence and market produce business as well as raise animals. We started the fish with dismal 2000 and the goats with one female. For the fish we have to buy fingerlings but the goats have begun to multiply by themselves. Land is the challenge. I am looking for one acre even though I do not have the cash to buy it yet. But you know what they say: where there is a will there is always a way.
If I have my way, will not stop at the goats, fish and bananas. I fancy myself raising dogs. Not mongrels. Rare breed. There is a security alert in Nigeria today and part of the self sufficiency of the successful business person is  to rely on as few people as possible. There is no doubt that security demands that people should have dogs, so that they can send miscreants away with a bark. But imagine a doberman, Alsatian or pit bull biting its way into an unwanted intruders thigh. The bite will maim the person for life. He will limp like Jacob in the bible who had an angel dislocate his leg.
The focus for many people in Nigeria today is to see what they can do for themselves. The chances of getting a loan are very slim. The agricultural loans that government is singing a song about are for a chosen few. Not everyone can have the opportunity to get them.  So those of us who don't have access have to fight for ourselves.
The soil around the house is very fertile. We have grown green vegetables from that soil. Spinach and Okra to be specific. Although, as we approach the dry season I am aware that those crops will be difficult to raise unless we are ready to consistently water them.
We could do a lot on a acre of land. I understand that poultry farmers have a large demand for maize. I have been thinking that instead of bothering myself with chicken perhaps I should just grow the components of their feed for them. The feed market is another big business. Animal feeds are known to constitute a large proportion that goes into the agricultural market. Fish feed, Chicken feed, goats and cows also have their mash and concentrate that enables them to attain maximum weight for sale. It is said that farmers spend more raising their livestock than they spend on themselves in a life time. The difference is that they get it back through sales.Both chicken and fish feed have hit the roof in terms of prices per kilo in Nigeria. The tragedy for fish feed is the non availability of starter, a component needed to help grow the stock while they are still young. The components comprise of high proteins substances that give fish and chicken the wherewithal to grow to table size. The protein foundation is critical to their survival. Sadly, Nigerian companies have not been able to make much headway with the production of starter feed. Farmers have to rely on imports which are too expensive an investment for the farmer who wishes to break even from his sales. Some farmers  have started milling their own feed so as to reduce their reliance on the imports, but the components are difficult to understand for maximum effect. Most farmers are experimenting. For the fish feed, we find that locally milled feed does not float so the fish hardly get to eat it before it sinks and the farmer would end up draining massive residue with dirty water when he decides to drain the ponds.
Once the land is acquired me and my family have a lot of experience to use on the main farm. I have 20 ponds in mind to raise about 50,000 fish every four months, 100 goats, 20 dogs and at least two plots of banana trees and maize. It would be a worthy investment.

Maize farm

“80 percent of your sales will come from 20 percent of your clients !

Sorry if this sounds like Pareto but:
 “80 percent of your sales will come from 20 percent of
your clients"
...... and those 20 percent are the people you
are going to have long term relationships with.”


Know your Customers: When your product what you
are selling is the product as well as yourself to the customers. You need to know
  who your customers are and what medium they
would find useful. Find out what your customers do and
what thy read and buy. This knowledge of their habits
will benefit you in infinite ways.                                                                    
You need to know how educated they are, what they own,
what they might want to own, how much money they have.
You should not place  any promotions until you have
conducted solid   research. For example, how
many of your customers own a business? If your customers
are people who need security companies because they
own small businesses, there will be all sorts of other
services they will also need, such as short term
insurance and transportation.                                                                               

One thing you know already about your customers: You
know they are enlightened. If you are reaching the educated        
elite. They will probably want to educate their                            
children. Find out what courses are available for
learning in your country. They are
probably also interested in books. Find out what kinds
of books they like to read.
                                                                                                          

Know your product: Above all, you need to know your
product. You need to know the  quality and availability and have
proof of it.  You need to know where its available.


Developing Categories or variations of your product.
A number of categories of potential clients and
markets that can be developed, if you do that. You also need to                                                                 develop expertise about each category
about these products. You could start looking to find
out what you can learn about them them  

Prospecting clients: 80 percent of sales come from 20
percent of clients. Those 20 percent are the people
you are going to have to build the long-term
relationship with. You are also going to constantly be
trying to get more of your clients into this second
category. When you are prospecting clients you must
ask yourself a few key questions:

First, have they got a budget? Will they be able to
pay for regular products?
Second: Will they benefit from consistent purchases?


Are they reselling at a profit and using your products
as a major process?


Building your Client List: Once you’ve prospected your
clients, you need to begin to build up your client
list.
You do this two ways:
Develop your relationship with existing clients: If
they are still happy with you and still consider
themselves your client, nurture this relationship. If
they have purchased before, it is likely they will
 do it again. So start with your old clients from
your archives.  
Prospect for new clients: How are you going to do
this? Get the clients from your competition!


Keeping track of your clients: When you have developed
a category of clients, you are going to starting
building up your list of contacts. If you are working
with a contact book, you are going to need another
book where you put down the day’s date and you write
down and make notes on every phone call and every
visit you make. You might think this is a lot of
trouble, but it is like gold, because two months or
six months later, you’ll pick up the phone and you’ll
say to them what they told you when they spoke to you
some months ago and they’ll think ‘this person is
brilliant’.

Find a system that works for you! If you don’t already
have a method of building up a contact list, maybe you
can start this afternoon. Buy a book, or start a card
system. Or use a computer. The important thing is to
chose a system that works Even if
just write one sentence about a single phone call!

Africa's richest woman heads Angolan Oil company

Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos will have to explain to his country’s Supreme Court why he hired his daughter, who also happens to be Africa’s richest woman, to head up the state oil company. Dos Santos has to respond within a week, according to Angolan media.

Dos Santos appointed his daughter Isabel in June to manage Sonangol after a surprise axing of the board. But a group of about a dozen lawyers says the appointment breaks Angola’s laws against patronage, and have approached a court to have Isabel dos Santos removed. According to Angolan law, public officials may not appoint their immediate family, reports independent news site Rede Angola (site in Portuguese).

That the Supreme Court did not immediately dismiss their injunction is already a victory, lawyer David Mendes told Rede Angola this week. It’s the first time the president will have to account to the court, he said. They’re confident the law is on their side, he added.

Mendes is the same lawyer who successfully defended a rapper and 16 others charged with trying to overthrow the state after they were caught reading a book on non-violent protest. Mendes also defended Angolan journalist (and Quartz Africa Innovator) Rafael Marques when he was jailed for his reports on corruption. Activists, including the now free rapper, and the former prime minister Marcolino Moco, are also planning a march to protest Isabel dos Santos’ appointment.

On her appointment, Isabel dos Santos promised to save the struggling state oil company by increasing transparency and streamlining its operations. In August, dos Santos oversaw the $1.8 billion purchase of U.S.-based oil explorer Cobalt International Energy’s Angolan interests. That deal, however, was overshadowed by allegations of corruption around the Houston company’s local partner, appointed by the Angolan government, according to the Financial Times.

Angola is Africa’s largest oil producer, but Sonangol has been floundering due to falling oil prices and allegations of corruption. The younger dos Santos’ personal vast wealth, said to be around $3.3 billion, has also attracted scrutiny. Dos Santos and his daughter have yet to respond to the court’s decision.

Strategies for diversification

For companies or countries or companies that have one product as their income earner there is a need to start planning for diversification in a bid to either increase their products or make them more efficient at the production of the product that they have at hand. Diversification can come in the form of collaborative arrangements with other organizations that could help one company produce a high quality component of the product that they produce. For instance, a computer company could buy processors or mouses from another company that has the capacity to produce them better. Some companies often venture into the production of products that have no link to what they were producing before. The Flour Mills of Nigeria recently went into the production of fruit juice in powder form. The intention of the company was to break into the soft drink market which is ever expanding and appears to be very lucrative in Nigeria.
Once a company goes into varying businesses it needs different strategies at the various business unit levels to help leverage its competitive advantage. That means it would look for its strength in the product production and use it to its advantage to try to outdo the competition.
Before diversification there are somethings we ought to consider as businessmen:
1. How attractive or lucrative is the new business/product? Does it have a wide range of strong customers who would be willing to try new products? What are the cost involved in business at entry level?
2. Does the cost of entry eat into future benefits. Would we spend so much money setting it up that it would be impossible to make our return on investment as soon as possible? Can the break even period be measured?
3 There ought to be a competitive advantage in the new or acquired business from the outset. It could be a distribution network, better price,  or even uniqueness of the product.
Bringing significant advantage to the competitive environment is key to success of the business. This would be what the new business strategists would leverage on.
Sometimes the diversification could be a joint venture. Here's how to know when a joint venture is desirable:
1. When there is a need for strong portfolio management which requires another company making an intervention
2. When restructuring is required in terms of the managerial arrangement which could lead to success of the company or the product in consideration.
3. When there is an urgent need for a skills transfer
4. When certain extraneous activity that can not be carried out by one business unit is required for success. 

Africa's Billionaires list: Read about the richest in the continent and where the money comes from!

•  
  
  
   Africa’s richest have a combined $80.96 billion, a drop of $13.04 billion from $94 billion in 2015
  
• This year’s Africa’s Billionaires list is dominated by Egyptians, who have a combined net worth of $15.71 billion, just $1.31 billion above the net worth of Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote.

  Dangote continues to soar high according to The African Billionaires 2016 March list released by Forbes, though his net worth took a $1.3 billion compared to end of 2015.

  While this is a positive outlook for Dangote and other wealthy men and women in the list, there were only 24 African billionaires this year, which is a drop by five, compared to 29 the previous year.

  Africa’s richest have a combined $80.96 billion, a drop of $13.04 billion from $94 billion in 2015. The wealthiest group are South Africans with a combined net worth of $22.21 billion. From the 54 African countries, only eight are represented in the list and only two are women.

  A close look of the Top Ten African billionaires

  1. Aliko Dangote

  Source of wealth: Cement, Flour, Sugar, Salt
  Aliko Dangote comes from a family with a strong business background; his great uncle, Alhaji Alhassan Dantata was dubbed the richest African at the time of his death in 1955. Perhaps it is no surprise that Aliko had interests in business from an early age, he apparently started selling sweets while in primary school just to make money. The Nigerian businessman founded Dangote Group in 1981 and thereafter transformed it into a conglomerate comprised of Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Flour and Dangote Cement. Dangote Cement is the biggest cement producers in Africa with capacity of over 20 million metric tones per annum while Dangote Sugar Refinery boosts being the largest Sugar producers in Africa and third in the world, producing an estimated 800 thousand tons of sugar annually. Dangote has expanded his reach beyond Nigeria, to West Africa and across sub Sahara with major presence in Nigeria, Ghana, and Togo. Forbes estimates his current worth to be $16.4 billion. He has been Africa’s richest person since 2013 when he surpassed Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi.
  

  2. Michael “Mike” Adenuga

  Source of wealth: Telecom, Oil, Real Estate
  Mike grew up in the Lagos, Nigeria. Born in 1953, Mike worked as a taxi driver to help fund his MBA at Pace University in New York. He started by making his fortune in trading lace and Coca-Cola. In 1991, Mike then founded Conoil (formerly Consolidated Oil Company), the company operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta. The company has three major operating sectors, White products (Industrial and Aviation Fuel), Lubricants and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), it mainly engages in the manufacture and marketing various petroleum products. He also owns Globacom, the second largest telecommunications company in Nigeria; it also has operations in Ghana and the Republic of Benin. Globacom has an estimated 32 million subscribers in Nigeria. The second richest Nigerian has an estimated net worth of $10.3 billion.
  

  3. Nicholas “Nicky” Oppenheimer

  Source of wealth: Diamonds
  Nicky Oppenheimer is the richest person from South Africa. His grandfather Ernest Oppenheimer who founded the Anglo American, a multinational mining company and the current world’s largest producer of platinum. Nicky joined Anglo American as the Personal Assistant to the Chairman in 1968 and quickly moved up the ranks to deputy Chairman in 1983. While he amassed some of his wealth from Anglo American, the major source of his wealth is his inheritance of De Beers, one of the leaders in the diamond industry and Tswalu Kalahari Reserve the largest private game reserve in South Africa. Nicholas succeeded his forefathers as the Chairman of De Beers in 1998 in what is sometimes referred to as the Oppenheimer dynasty thus inheriting the family business. He stepped down in 2012 and liquidated 40% of his DeBeers shares to familiar face of Anglo American for $5.1 billion in cash. The 57 year old has an estimated net worth of $6.6 billion.
  

  4. Christoffel Wiese

  Source of wealth: Retailing
  Christoffel Wiese grew up in Upington, Northern Cape in South Africa. A lawyer by profession, Christoffer left the Cape bar to join a family business as a Director of Pepkor, which originated as the discount clothing retail chain Pep Stores. His Pepkor group currently operates more than 4000 retails with major operations in South Africa, Australia and Poland. Wiese took brief break from Pepkor to venture into diamond mining and politics. In 1980, he returned to Pepkor as Chairman, Pepkor has recently acquired Shoprite Holdings, which he turned into the largest food retailer in Africa. Shoprite operates 1825 corporates and 363 franchise outlets in 15 countries across Africa employing over 136 000 people. In February 2015, Steinhoff purchased Pepkor for $5.7 billion in cash and stock a deal that resulted with Christoffel owning 17% of Steinhoff. This South African has an estimated net worth of $7.3 billion.
  

  5. Johann Rupert

  Source of wealth: Luxury Goods
  Johann Rupert grew up in Stellenbosch South Africa. Born in 1950, Johann is the eldest son of Anton Rupert who founded Voorbrand, a tobacco company that was later renamed Rembrandt. The Rembrandt group founded Richemont a holdings Swiss company for leading luxury goods companies and Remgro an investment company with particular interests in food, liquor and home care, financial, and industrial companies. Johann Rupert currently chairs both companies. Rupert has a strong interest in sports, a former cricketer himself, he developed Leopard Creek Golf Club in Mpumalanga South Africa which is constantly ranked in the top three of best golf courses in South Africa and he owns part of Saracens a first division English rugby team. The South African has an estimated net worth of $5.4 billion with luxury goods as his main source of wealth.
  

  6. Nassef Sawiris

  Source of wealth: Construction, Chemicals
  Nassef Sawiris is the richest person from Egypt. He is the son of Onsi Sawiris a businessman who founded Orascom a conglomerate with primary focus on infrastructure, industrial and high-end commercial projects. Nassef joined his father’s venture in 1982, in 2015 Orascom split into Orascom construction that Nassef serves as its non-executive Chairman and Orascom Construction Industries where he serves as a Chief Executive Officer. Sawiris emerged as the largest individual shareholder of Adidas in October; he holds 6% of Adidas shares, which is approximated to worth about $1 billion. Sawiris recently founded Nile Holdings Investment, a private equity fund that invests in different industries with a major focus in Egypt’s health care sector. The 55 years old graduate of University of Chicago has an estimated net worth of $4.4 billion.
  

  7. Nathan Kirsh

  Source of wealth: Retail, Real Estate, Self Made
  Nathan Kirsh was born in Potchefstroom, South Africa. He later became a permanent citizen of Swaziland in 1986. Kirsh made his first mark into the business arena when he founded Swaziland Mills, a Swaziland corn-milling company. He later expanded the reach of this milling company to become a dominant food retailer in South Africa. The company overextended its reach by committing to building two-dozen malls; unfortunately South Africa was at the edge to extending increasing its international sanctions, a result of which cost Kirsh most of his fortune. Currently Kirsh’s fortune comes from Jetro Holdings, Inc, which operates Jetro Cash and Carry, one of the leading wholesale cash and carry stores in USA and Restaurant Depots in New York City. The Kirsh Holdings Group owns 50% of Swazi Plaza Properties, which is makes up his biggest investment in Swaziland. Kirsh has an estimated $4 billion net worth.
  

  8. Isabel dos Santos

  Source of wealth: Investments
  Isabel dos Santos is the richest woman in Africa. She is the eldest daughter of long time Angola President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Isabel started her venture into the business world as a project manager for Urbana 2000 a subsidiary of Jembas that was contracted for cleaning and disinfecting of Luanda. She later set up a truck business company, this coupled with establishment of the walkie-talkie system paved way for her to move into the telecommunications industry. In 1997, Isabel started Miami Beach Club, her first business and one of the first night clubs beach restaurants in Luanda Island. The Electrical Engineering graduate of King's College owns a number of assets in Angola, including 25% of Unitel, the largest mobile phone company in Angola. Among her diverse investment portfolio is 19% of Banco BPI, Angola’s largest bank and 7% of Galp Energia, an oil and gas company. The 42-year-old Angolan has an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion.
  

  9. Issad Rebrab

  Source of wealth: Food
  Issad Rebrab is the richest man in Algeria. His industrial career apparently started in 1971, when one his clients suggested he take shares in metallurgical construction company. Issad, a teacher by profession said he took a calculated risk, and in the worst case he knew he could always return to teaching. He joined the industry by acquiring 20% shares of Sotecom, a metallurgical construction business. Issad stands out as one of the few African billionaires who come from modest families, his parents were revolutionaries who struggled for the independence of Algeria. His major installations where destroyed in 1995 by terrorist attack, costing him an estimated $1.1 billion. He came back stronger in 1998 with the foundation of Cevital, one of the largest Algerian private enterprise, with subsidies in agribusiness, distribution, glass industry and real estate. Issad has an estimated net worth of $3.3 billion.
  

  10. Naguib Sawiris

  Source of wealth: Telecom
  Naguib Sawiris is the eldest of three Onsi Sawiris’ sons. Naguib joined the family business Orascom in 1979. He played an integral role in the growth and diverse portfolio of the company turning it into one of the largest private sector firms. Sawiris, a Masters graduate of ETH Zurich particularly helped establish the railway, information technology and telecommunications, the success of these sectors led to the split of Orascom into Orascom Telecom Holding, Orascom Construction Industries, Orascom Hotels & Development and Orascom Technology Systems. He owns the liberal Egypt TV station ONTV. Perhaps he is most recently known for his desire to buy an Island between to give 100 000 to 200 000 refugees a home, this was after he saw a picture of a three year old Syrian boy who drowned trying to find refuge. The Egyptian has an estimated net worth of $3 billion.
  

  Global overview

  Even with a slight decline of $1.8 billion from last year’s Forbes Billionaire list, Microsoft's co-founder Bill Gates retains his position as the world’s wealthiest man with a net worth of $77.4 billion. A position he holds for the 17th time in the last 22 years.

  Gates is closely followed by Spaniard Amancio Ortega, who is the brains behind Inditex fashion group, which owns Zara clothing and accessories retail shops

  With $48.9 billion, Facebook's co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has moved up ten spots making him among the ten wealthiest people in the world. Zuckerberg holds the sixth position with his net worth increasing by $15.5 billion from $33.4 billion in 2015.

  
  

  https://www.africanexponent.com/post/africas-billionaires-list-2016-1738

  

10 considerations for innovation

Instead of complaining about constraints and complexities at our work or within organizations, its better to find a way to succeed within them. If enough effort and imagination are applied to a problem, its complexities are understood and possibly, opportunities are bound to emerge. The process is for us to rethink, reimagine and recast the basic dynamics of a situation and then in ways we never imagined, solutions will emerge from our creativity and that of the people around us. The major challenges to innovation are found in four key areas: technological, financial, organizational and political spheres. Innovation would make us tackle these constraints within the situations we find them, without necessarily trying an out right change. In order for us to employ innovation in anything we intend to do, we have to consider the following things:
1. Let learning lead: Learning is the driver of innovation. Sometimes a company, country or person who wishes to innovate would have to go through a process of learning and sometimes unlearning of old ways. Learning and innovation go hand in hand. 
2. Learn to see: The customers and members of the public we deal with on a daily basis can teach us profitable lessons for innovation. There is discussions, criticisms and desires could be a pathway to our success if we learn to see things from their point of view. 
3. Design for today: We need to focus on today's needs. Great ideas will always remain great ideas and nothing else if they have no bearing on the needs of the day. 
4. Think in pictures: Stimulating the minds of individuals is a grand approach to innovation as things that can be captured in a picture could attract the support of people that see it. 
5. Capture the intangible: Quite a number of solutions to major challenges in your environment could be found in the stakeholders minds. Try to address the emotional requirements of the people you relate with. 
6.Leverage the limits: Resource limitation can lead to creativity. Whatever resource we have should be utilized to its fullest.
7. Mastering the tension: In order to have a break through, you have to have a challenging situation. Turning tension and trials into achievement is the way to go!
8. Check the numbers: Analyze your costs and keep analyzing till you are able to learn how it can be done more proficiently. When we look at costs closely there is always some waste or oversight that can be eliminated. 
9. Strive towards perfection: We have to consistently try to improve upon what we are doing. We ought to get better as we proceed at whatever we are doing. 
10 Keep it lean: Complexity kills! Keep whatever you intend to do lean and simple. That way you will find it easy to repeat what you are supposed to. 
The piece was inspired by Sanjay Dalal who has written a lot about innovation.

Strategic issues you need to contend with in long term business management

In many small and medium sized businesses the directors double as managers. They may often be unclear about the extent to which they are thinking and behaving strategically as opposed to operationally. Difficulty might arise because in any one day business leaders switch between strategy and tactics without realizing it. The danger in this pattern is time and resources for strategic issues are sacrificed. on day-to-day issues. There is a natural tendency to focus to the here and now to address today's problems and to feel more comfortable steering away from the uncertainties of the longer term which could also be very complex. You need a way of assessing the balance of time spent on issues that concern the here and now and those of the future. There is a set of criteria that can be used to identify strategic processes and decisions.
Strategic decisions involve the following:
-Relating to the full scope of an organization's activities
-The products it chooses to produce
-The markets it wishes to operate in
-The key areas in which it wishes to focus its competitive efforts.
-Where it draws boundaries according to which activities are external or internal to its organization.

Matching an organization's activities to the environment by:
-Responding to perceived threats in the environment
-Exploiting identified opportunities.

Matching the activities of an organization: to its resource capability and its capability to change.

-Building on what the organization is capable of today
-Devoting necessary resources to extending and enhancing existing capability.
-Allocating scarce major resources in the organization to the critical areas
-Looking at three to five years beyond the next budget horizon.

Rate your products and services: Cash Cow? Dog? Question Mark? or Star?

One product portfolio matrix that enables you as an industry leader or competitor to rate your products consists of categories such as: Star, Cash Cow, Question mark and Dog. The idea of a rating of your products is to know how to improve on the various products you produce and also understand how to categorize them.

Star- This is a product with a high market share and high growth rate result in break-even or perhaps small profits products and services in this category are typically supported by heavy expenditure on advertising, sales incentives, perhaps insufficient production run in order to achieve a dominant market position while there is still overall growth. T5he rationale is that costs should eventually come down over time, and turn the star to a cash cow via strategies such as reductions, product improvements, market coverage etc.

Cash cow- Cash cow is business jargon for a business venture that generates a steady return of profits that far exceed the outlay of cash required to acquire or start it.High market share in a mature market. Once market dominance is achieved and market growth subsides, there is less need of high investment and cost may fall as experience increases. This provides a high level cash income for the producer (who is milking the earlier investment) Such cash might then be fed back into the business to generate and support the next star. The organization would seek to maintain its position by investing in process improvements, technological leadership and differentiation.

Question mark (a.k.a Problem child) A product with a growing market share but a low share. Products and services in this category might be tomorrow’s star if they are given sufficient resource and attention or they might never blossom into viable options. It is usually a difficult management decision  to know which to back and which to let drop. This early stage in a products lifecycle can be extremely costly. The organization will invest in market share growth through marketing efforts (product, price, production, rapid increase in distribution) acquisition of competitors to obtain their share  a conversion might be made from a question mark to a star.

Dog- Low market share product or service.  The situation of the product is not sustainable in the long run as these products may become a cash drain to the organization. The company has to decide when to divest itself of these parts of its business producers someone use the scope of the product range as a unique selling proposition, so that “the dog” may be retained in the short term in order to make a product range comprehensive or because it represents the foundation of a reputation built on that brand. The organization will attempt to maximize the return from these activities by withdrawing support, attempting to sell the business to a more appropriate organization or seek a niche market where the business is still relevant.

Three main issues could be major considerations for changing or maintaining the category to which a product or service belongs:

Funds-(Cash cow is the future of business since it helps sustain the organization).

Resources-How much have really been given to those who are managing the product?

Does the balance of the products and services match the resources available? If the organization has high research and development skills it could enhance the transformation of a product or service. 

Facebook's Like Button to be revamped with reactions!

By Christy Glen

Last year, it was reported that Facebook was creating a new feature called Reactions. The company recently confirmed that it was working on this new feature and will introduce it gradually if it receives a positive response from its users.

During a discussion among the Facebook team, Chris Cox came up with an idea that shocked everyone, “We need to do something about the like button” he said. This was a drastic change, as the like button is like the engine of the “big blue app”, it is the most recognized symbol universally. Almost 1.6 billion users of Facebook click this button 6 billion times in a day. The number of clicks on this button affects billions of dollars in advertising. Brands and individuals post things on Facebook with an optimism to get maximum likes.

Likes drive the path of social activity. It also suggests Facebook on what to display on News Feed based on popularity or the posts that get the most likes. However, this button may sometimes create misconceptions. For instance, someone announces her divorce on Facebook, clicking like on their post might be misconstrued when you are only trying to show some empathy.

This feature is right at the heart of Facebook, and changing it is like Coca-Cola messing with its secret recipe. So, any changes made should be such that it does not degrade the experience in any manner. The obvious alternative of including a “dislike” button is no good, as it will drill too much negativity.

When Cox asked Mark Zuckerberg about changing the “Like” button, Zuckerberg says, “Go for it. Good Luck. That’s a hard one.” In next few weeks, Facebook will introduce its new feature called Reactions. This new feature will allow users to choose from a range of emojis including the default thumbs-up. Collecting the popular responses, Facebook has narrowed down the emojis to include into this feature to five: Love, Angry, Sad, Wow, and haha. Lately, “Yay” was removed from the feature as it is not understood globally.

 This feature will adorn the Like button, instead of replacing it. Whenever a user will hold down on the thumbs-up symbol, five emojis will be displayed to choose from, so that the design of Facebook remains the same.

Facebook will thus change their News Feed algorithm based on this new feature. This will create the universal vocabulary that will allow users to express emotions as their go through their feed

13 things that could be used to consider your next promotion!

 

1. Job knowledge and abilities(perform all aspects of the job)
2. Adaptability/Flexibility (Change multi-skillng for craft workers) 
3. Productivity(individual work output)
4. Quality to work(attention to detail)(Consistent quality)
5. Attitude to work(commitment, motivation, enthusiasm)
6. Interaction with others(team working ability communication.)
7. Originality of thought(initiative, problem solving)
8. Perception(ability to properly interprete job requirements)
9. Judgement, use of resources(setting priorities, ability to plan and organise)
10. Attendance and time keeping(numbers of, reasons for absence; punctaulity
11. Safety awareness(awareness of health&safety standards)
12. Need for supervision(leadership ability to develop others)
13. Performance against targets(extent to which previously set targets have been achieved)

The public sector performance controversy

In the public sector the challenge of performance may be measured in different ways to those in private sector. Profit may not play the part, but we can measure activity against costs and use this to monitor the return on investment(ROI). Income is now often linked to output and outcom3esw, while expenditure is firmly controlled and audited.
Public sector managers are consistently being asked to manage their organizations i n a more commercial, effective and efficient way. Exposed to competition without any guarantee of survival they must show that they are making a difference in the scheme of things or be shut down, relegated or disbanded. Public sector management is a little different from that of the private sector with the same urgencies: the need to get results and satisfy the customers and the pressure to meet the needs of stakeholders within the framework of the budget. This is often exemplified by the increasing movement of people in between the private and public sectors in many countries. The modern public sector in many countries has tried to divorce itself from the tag of being a government corporation and therefore not having to tackle the day to day challenges and demands that private sector have.
The different organizations also witness the attitude and disposition of various kinds of leaders with different management styles.
1. Authority Compliance Management which values production over people and often sees creativity and human relations as unnecessary!
2. Impoverished Management which is lassez faire or laid back in attitude and has little concern for people and production
3. Middle of the road management which tries to balance production and people but falls back on tested theories for results.
4. Paternalistic(Father knows best) management speaks for itself. It is largely overbearing and loves to micro manage the workforce.
5. Opportunistic Management Combines the attitude of: What's in it for me to match goals with performance and gain trust. The opportunistic would use any approach to get the results it desires.
6. Team management-Shows a concern for both people and production. It works to motivate employees to their highest level and explores alternative strategies and people aggressively and openly. All in a bid to get results.  

Why we must speak out about race in the workplace

By Edith Cooper

Global Head of Human Capital Management at Goldman Sachs

As the head of Human Capital Management for Goldman Sachs, I believe our ability to create a corporate culture where people can come together to share ideas, solve problems and, in that process, learn from one another defines the strength of our organization. Ultimately, our experience at work is a collection of interactions with the people around us. When those interactions are stimulating and challenging and take place in an environment of inclusivity and collaboration, you have a better experience and, in turn, you perform better…because as a result of those varied inputs and insights, you are better.
Unfortunately, we are living through a period where, in some places, our differences are driving divisiveness. Like everyone else, I watch the news, see the headlines and am impacted by the images of communities torn apart by violence and divided by distrust. The topic of race is on my mind, it’s a discussion I have with my family and friends and it’s something that I bring to work. Of course my experience, I know, is not unique. The pervasiveness of current events affects everyone at our firm from summer interns to senior leaders. I know this because at Goldman Sachs we’re starting to talk about it…
More specifically, in the wake of the Baton Rouge, Minneapolis, Dallas and most recent events, the leadership at our firm decided we needed to provide forums for our people to share their perspectives and engage in this important discussion. With impassioned questions pertaining to race, fair treatment and equal opportunity being asked both in public and in private, we knew this was not a topic we could ignore. With this in mind, we posed the question: how do the recent events affecting us as people, in turn, affect our interactions at work?
The unthinkable tragedies taking place across our country are painful. Each new event brings with it shock and sadness, and as we try to make sense of the senseless, we can be left feeling confused and powerless. While the path to resolution seems unclear, one thing is certain – if we want to make real progress, we must engage in an open conversation about race. Through dialogue, we stand to gain an understanding of how each person’s experiences shape the lens through which he or she sees society. Conversations about race can be difficult and fraught with the risk of saying “the wrong thing”. As a result, too often people say nothing at all. But silence has meaning and can be interpreted as indifference – or worse.
I am a black woman, a mother, a wife and a professional. I am the daughter of a dentist and a sister to four siblings. I’m a runner, a golfer and a knitter. I graduated from an Ivy League school and earned an MBA. I’ve spent the past 30 years working on Wall Street, half of those as a partner at Goldman Sachs.
I am frequently asked “what country are you from” (I grew up in Brooklyn). I’ve been questioned about whether I really went to Harvard (I did) or how I got in (I applied). I’ve been asked to serve the coffee at a client meeting (despite being there to “run” the meeting) and have been mistaken as the coat check receptionist at my son’s school event. And, on the flip side, it’s also been suggested to me that I’m not “black black” because of the success I have had, or even where I live.
Early in my career, I returned home from a business trip feeling worn down. “I’m losing confidence and feeling isolated,” I told my husband. People frequently assumed I was the most junior person in the room, when in fact, I was the most senior. I constantly needed to share my credentials when nobody else had to share theirs. And, more often than not, I was the only black person – the only black woman – in the meeting. “E, pick your head up,” my husband said. “The good news is they’ll never forget you.” He was right – people did remember me. From then on, I tried to turn obstacles into opportunities and focused on making an impact at work – which I could control – rather than the perceptions of others – which I could not.
Focusing on what you can control and taking mindful steps and positive action towards what matters to you are things I learned from my parents, who grew up in the segregated South. They moved to New York with a singular goal – they wanted to raise their children free from the institutionalized racism they had known during their lives. They believed that through education the doors of opportunity would be opened; and, they were right. While I have faced some setbacks along the way, I live an incredibly fortunate life and am deeply aware of the privilege that is mine. That same privilege, which affords me extraordinary opportunity, also compels me to share – in fact, instills in me a responsibility to share – my experiences in the hope of advancing the diversity dialogue. It is in that spirit that I offer a few lessons I have learned on my journey, including those difficult interactions that seemed to be based primarily on the color of my skin:

• Engage in this dialogue; don’t be silent
• Misunderstanding and miscommunication can be tempered by the simplest acts most of us learned as children: listen well, choose your words with care and respect others
• Focusing on our differences is easy and divisive; leveraging what we have in common is harder, but will effect positive change for all

I know that many people in our country are being very personally and negatively impacted by the tragic events of recent months. In the face of this, my “lessons learned” feel, even to me, more than a bit inadequate. That said, I honestly believe that a mandatory first step in addressing the issues surrounding race is conversation – because honest dialogue reaps understanding and understanding reaps progress.
culled from Linkedin.com