Ezra Ndwandwe's Blog

If It is to Happen, It's Up to You!

I do not consider myself to be a motivational speaker although I am often mistaken for one. I prefer to appeal to people’s reason more than to their emotions. So what I want to say today is more reality than an emotional boost.

The reality of life is that if anything was to happen with regards to your business, your career or even your personal life, it is up to you. No one is more responsible for your success than you.
 
Why is it that there are so many people that want to be successful, so many who want to be rich yet very few want to work? This culture of entitlement is destroying our society.
 
The truth of the matter is you are entitled to nothing you have not worked for. We may have interventions that seek to advance you as an individual or as a collective but, as far as I know, if you do not roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty, you will not succeed in doing anything. I’d like to think that we all believe that we are destined for bigger things, but belief alone is not enough. You may consult if you will but do not expect people to do things for you; you are ultimately responsible for what happens in your business and in your career.
 
So expect no favours and pass no blame, if it is to happen, it is up to you!

The Destructive Culture is Unfortunate

Let me start by saying that it is within the rights of the labour movements to go on strike if employers do not seem to want to treat any of its members fairly.|
 
However, I get disturbed when I see how destructive some strike actions turn out to be. It cannot be right that members are allowed to destroy public property during a strike. This kind of behaviour is self- defeating in that we cannot demand service and better living conditions and, at the same time, destroy whatever means there are to deliver service or improve the lives of our people.
 
I do not mean to sound unsympathetic to the frustrations of train commuters as an example but how can the burning of trains assist in making them punctual? We may think we are registering our frustrations through these barbaric actions but the truth of the matter is that such acts do not advance the cause of transformation.
 
It is a vicious circle; as you spend to deliver or improve service, you destroy the gains you’ve made.
 
Yesterday was even more disturbing when I saw school kids setting classrooms alight. Such lunacy should be criminalised. But, I’d venture to say that the chickens have indeed come home to roost, kids see us adults destroy public property in order to register our labour related frustrations; they in turn destroy schools and libraries to register their issues.
 
By all means, let us go on mass actions but let us do so in a responsible manner.

Know your Strengths, Use your Strengths

A lot of people know their strengths; a lot of people know what they are good at but unfortunately few people ever use their strong points to advance themselves or to achieve their ambitions.
 
This may sound like a terrible generalisation but I am of the opinion that many people are happy to do the bare minimum just to get by. It is not healthy for your company/business to have minimalists in large numbers. Rather a large number of underperformers or super-performers because you would know how to manage them, i.e. either they have a future or no future in the business. The difficulty with people that deliver the bare minimum is in managing them because they often stick to the employment contract agreement. They will arrive at 8am and leave at 4pm just as stipulated in their contract. They tend to give you no more or no less of their effort. They have no ambition to get ahead or even to get the highest increase based on performance. Because of this lack of aspiration they tend to be cynical and cancerous to an organisational culture of performance.
 
Now, you know that these people can do better, they know it too. They know their strengths but would not use them to benefit themselves or the business and sadly they tend to be in large numbers. The essence of this piece is if you know you can do better elsewhere, if you know you are underutilised and know your strengths then get to a place where you can use your strengths to achieve your greatest potential.

BEE Has Killed Our Innovation & Entrepreneurship Spirit

Whilst BEE is a good and worthy cause and one that has introduced the previously disadvantaged and economically sidelined majority to business, we have let BEE kill our innovative and entrepreneurial spirit. And I think it is time we rekindled that. If you think about it, we have created few, if at all, new industries since 1994 – Yes there are a lot more people that can boast ownership of shares in one business or another and some who may claim to have started their own business but if you take a closer look you will see only three categories created:

1.   Those who are buying shares in already existing businesses – scorecard entrepreneurs [window dressing, etc]

2.   Those who have started business through government tenders – tenderpreneurs

3.   Passive shareholders – Corporate empowerment schemes e.g. Nozala. BEEhive etc.

Where there is nothing wrong with any of this, it is not innovative or entrepreneurial.  Where are the new businesses and what happened to the thought of creating our companies even if they were in already existing industries. Why do I not see black owned banks, insurance companies etc.

The unintended consequences of BEE, to me are a risk averse yet debt ridden society of black people. This needs to change!

We need more:

· Pioneering business interventions

· As it is right now we have not grown our economic cake, it has in fact remained stagnant for the past 16 years so we need to grow the economic cake a bit more by exploring new spaces.

 

 

 

MY 100 DAYS IN OFFICE ASSESSMENT OF THE ZUMA ADMINISTRATION

First of all, one needs to understand the importance - or rather the significance - of a 100 days in office and perhaps to appreciate where this concept came from.
 
It is an American concept based on the impact that the Franklin Roosevelt administration had in 100 days. Franklin Roosevelt changed laws, presented bills to congress and the way business was run in America within 100 days. Ever since his administration, there is this desire to measure how much impact a new government/administration can have in a 100 days or less. Interesting to note that when Roosevelt was president of the US, it was at the time of the great depression, it is for this very reason (i.e.) recession/economic depression I think the Zuma administration has evidently not been sleeping too well.
 
We all wanted to see how he could weather the economic crisis storm, which can be very tough for a new administration. As if that was not enough, the township protests as a result of lack of service delivery at municipality level reared its head, then it was strike actions in the midst of international sporting events such as - IPL, Confed Cup, British Lion tour - proved that the new administration had to run before they could walk.
 
However they have done well in a 100 days (i.e.) to keep the ship afloat. The structuring of the new cabinet to include the planning commission, the economic cluster and the monitoring and evaluation ministry has sent positive vibes on the seriousness of Zuma to deliver services with a specific focus on the poor. The inclusiveness and open consultation processes proved that debate to reach better interventions to improve the lives of ordinary South Africans is encouraged. Whilst I will also admit that the new administration had no time to finish their spring cleaning in terms of ushering a new way, there is still more that needs to be done!
 
It is way too early to celebrate. The intention is there, but we do not get measured on intentions.

THE MANAGEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE WORKERS

The art of managing knowledge workers is ushering a new era in management and is proving to be key to talent retention.
 
Note that it is Knowledge workers as opposed to knowledgeable workers. These are not necessarily educated workers much as they are observant workers that can convert general information into critical insights, science and knowledge for the benefit of the organisation. So it means that a knowledge worker can be at shop floor level with only basic education but can find insights on how to optimize production.

It is unfortunate how organisations rush to employ skilled experts to assist in finding solutions when, in fact, internal staff have it in them to resolve what may be the problem, if only they were asked. This means organisations need to come up with what they call 'organisation knowledge management strategy' in order to allow for the conversion of information to valuable insights and knowledge.
 
Organisations need to also understand who in their employ are knowledge workers and manage them accordingly. A case in point is those employees that leave organisations only to come back to consult to them at an exorbitant amount because of their knowledge – that is a sign of an ineffective knowledge management strategy. Knowledge and insights if properly documented even in the form of a story or sequence of events will help to institutionalize an organisation in a way that will ensure that no one person is bigger than the organisation. Have you heard of people that are unlikely to be disciplined or fired because they are the only ones who can render a service critical to the running of the business?

SUCCESSION PLANNING

We have all seen how the lack of succession planning can lead to disastrous consequences both in business and in politics yet it still remains an afterthought to many.

Because of the lack of succession planning, the ANC had to go through a difficult time as an organisation. It will go through an even more difficult time if the question is not adequately answered this time around. Similarly, businesses go under and family empires are destroyed because of the lack of succession planning. This is why I so agree with Julius Malema’s very recent statement which questions the lack of succession plans in the economic cluster.
 
It is very true that, right now, the economic cluster is in the hands of minorities and we need not be emotional about it. Trevor Manuel, Gill Marcus, Pravin Gordon, Barbara Hogany, Rob Davies and Ebrahim Patel - I mean, where are the black economists, accountants and strategists? For this reason - and whilst not questioning the current incumbents - I would argue that we need strong black candidates as Director General who will succeed these individuals. The economic cluster is the economic nerve of the country and true to economic transformation needs to have better representation. If there ever is a good time to identify successors and to be true to transformation and sustainability, it is now. It is possible to plan and implement a succession plan and I would urge the party to open discussions on that. Investors are never worried by the current appointees more than they are by future appointees. It is all about foresight and sustainability.

WOMEN IN CORPORATE SOUTH AFRICA AND WOMEN BUSINESS LEADERS

Let us appreciate that women bring a different pivotal perspective and thus have a different value-add to men in business. But there are certain unwritten values that women need to be aware of on which their character may be judged: - let me share some of those as tips to women in corporate and indeed those in business leadership positions.

1.        Learn to be more factual than emotional. If the work situation is so dire that it warrants crying, do it privately, in your office or in the bathroom, not in front of your male colleagues and certainly not in front of your subordinates. Just do not keep tears on stand-by as a defense mechanism. Tears are the opposite of authority.

2.       Observe your principles and in a less or non-offensive manner, confront sexual advances in a way that asserts your standpoint with regards to office romance, should this persist involve HR as the third party so this is addressed or raised as a grievance if need be so that you are protected at least from a Labor Relations Act point of view.

3.       Show commitment and do not keep a well of excuses overflowing for non-delivery. Be willing to be measured on your performance and your objectives. You are not a special case. Like your male colleagues, you too are an employee.

4.       Do not look for love and understanding at work, that is simply not the right place. Corporate and business are in short supply of love and that is the harsh reality.

5.       Do not react to a situation by writing an email as your first port of call. This is a general practice that has devastating effects especially if you copy the whole company. Emails, whilst they are a good means of communicating can be read out of context and may be subject to the readers mental state and may cause more harm than good. If you need to build a case, emails can be a source of evidence but should not be abused.

 

PRESENTING THE SOUL OF THE COMPANY

Gone are the days where companies were run mechanically and were simply concerned about maximising profits. Companies are now required to report on what is known as the soul of the company. The soul of the company is defined by how caring and ethical the organization is, (i.e.) three criteria:

1.       What programmes does the company have to show that it cares for its’ employees- this speaks to internal Employee Wellness Programmes.

2.       What programmes does the organisation have in place to show that it cares for the communities where it operates- this speaks to your Corporate Social Investments (CSI) programmes.

3.       What programmes does the organisation have to show that it cares for the environment- are you aware of what impact your company has on the environment and what are you doing about it? (e.g. Campaigns such as “Going Green)

Then of course the issue of ethics which really is about conducting business in an ethical way. The focus here is about what system you as an organisation have to identify, quantify and manage risks that may lead to unethical behavior such as ones we have witnessed on bread price collision or bribery or even white collar crime. Shareholders of many companies now insist that the board presents the soul of the company over and above company financials, in many cases the fourth bottom line has become an audit requirement.

FRANCHISES

Franchising may be a good business model if/when done correctly. Very strict rules apply when you operate a franchise since operations have to stick to or comply with a certain business model, (e.g.) you cannot buy a BP franchise and want to paint your station yellow. This may sound obvious but there are a lot of business people who currently want out of franchises because they did not exactly and fully understand the business model. How a franchise model works is based on taking advantage of economies of scales (e.g.) bulk buying of anything attracts discounts which sometimes get passed onto consumers and of course, the risk of a good franchise failing is lower than the risk of a start up but there is more entrepreneurial creativity in a start up than there is in a franchise.

A franchise operation does attract certain royalties to the franchisor (i.e.) the original founder. In essence what you pay for is tried and tested business processes, systems and procedures which in a way is comforting to some people. It saves you the trouble of market researching your product or service. However, like any other business, if the franchise is good/has a reputation (e.g.) Nandos and is well placed (i.e.) at a place where there is a need and there is buying power then it can work wonders, it can have very rich prospects. The fact that it is Nandos alone is not good enough, there has to be traffic with buying power and that you can get through correct positioning.

Of key importance is to understand your relationship with the franchisor and expectations from both parties before buying or signing a contract.