Insights & Articles
Leaders see beyond what is to create what might be
I wonder what it’s like to work in the Post Office. What set me wondering was fetching a parcel on 12 May, posted in London on 1 November last year. On the one hand I was impressed that it reached me after six and a half months of travel. No one stole it. It wasn’t buried in a storeroom and eventually destroyed. It reached its intended destination. I didn’t realise this was still possible with the SA Post Office.
Customer service is the manager’s responsibility
I heard of a rural hospital that closed its doors to visitors on Freedom Day. A public holiday affords workers a rare opportunity to visit their loved ones during the week. In this case a man travelled overnight to see his father, only to be turned away: “It’s a public holiday; we’re closed.”
Viva the little people who create jobs and serve their communities
Dunvegan, a suburb east of Johannesburg, is bisected by a road with two large traffic circles. The circles feature attractive, well-designed and lovingly maintained gardens. That is both welcome and surprising, as the local government is not particularly known for its public gardens.
Practising respect can counter workplace toxicity
Will Smith’s Oscar slap has generated a huge debate about toxic masculinity, with some decrying his hitting Chris Rock on stage as an example of how men are programmed socially to be violent, some supporting his courage in defending his wife, and others looking for re
Turning chronic problems into acute challenges we can solve
Two years ago I wrote in this column that the entrepreneurial priority then was to save as many livelihoods as we could. “Many small businesses and gig workers face ruin in the coming weeks, with economic damage rivalling health threats; so our response should be as urgent as for the health threat.”
When Adversity Becomes an Opportunity: The Story of Lesengkeng Foods
Mzi Nduna, Director of Lesengkeng, a food business was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, Mzi enrolled in AMI’s Survive To Thrive (S2T) programme, which was designed to empower MSMEs to overcome Covid-related challenges.
A model of government and business collaboration to create jobs
The collaboration of governments and private sector is essential for the creation of jobs. Youth@worK, tells a great story illustrating how government and private sector can collaborate to create small businesses and jobs for unemployed youth.
Government creates the conditions in which businesses grow jobs
It is the job of government to provide the good soil and regular watering and weeding that businesses need to flourish.
A life lived honourably can help change the world
A past colleague and good friend, Conrad Viedge, passed away on Saturday after battling cancer. I was considering writing this column about business ethics, and the two came together rather well. Conrad was a good man in every sense. Not only did he pay his taxes, which I am sure he did, but when it came to work, friends and family he went beyond compliance to consider what would be best for them.
3 Ways Networking Can Grow Your Business in 2022
Networking is an increasingly important skill not only for career professionals but also for entrepreneurs who are thinking of starting or growing their businesses. People are the most important asset of any business. They determine how you sell, where you sell, and who you sell to. For your business to grow and succeed, you need to be in contact with the right people. However, the people part of any business is more than the employees and customers. It also includes your supplies, distributors, social networks, and even your competitors.
Careful planning can reduce the dreadful uncertainty we face
The last two years have seen the least predictable business conditions most of us can remember. Covid threw 2020’s plans out of the window and has made the future entirely uncertain ever since. We hope, but still cannot be sure, that conditions will return to some degree of predictability in 2022
Cinq réflexions sur le soutien aux entrepreneurs, managers et leaders en Afrique
Alors que l’année démarre, nous partageons cinq réflexions sur ce que nous avons appris en soutenant plus de 5 000 entrepreneurs et dirigeants africains l’année dernière, et sur la manière dont cela guidera notre action pour 2022.