Richard Bekyi Receives High Performance Recognition

We have said time and time over that outstanding is not the same as normal—in fact they are opposites. This is actually a tautology of a sort. But often even those who think they understand end up confusing the idea. They have managed to convince themselves that different means getting out of line or perhaps start heading in the very opposite direction. You are different of course when you do that but different is not always useful. In a situation where everyone wants to live those commit suicide can also claim to be different. Those who rip off their clothes in public too are different of course but only because most of us want to keep our clothes on.

To address this conundrum we must first postulate a direction or perhaps a destination that will define progress for the larger society. When this is done, being outstanding will then mean you lead the pack in the set direction towards the destination. When you lead, you are different because the majority of people tend to hover around the middle bracket doing what it called normal, average or good enough. When they cook, you can eat it because it is ok. It has just about enough salt and pepper to give a fair taste. Those who are outstanding cook something that you can eat too, except you are left with a strong urge to indulge in infantile art of finger licking. It is just too damn good. Such persons are rare and we have found they are driven by a performance conscious mindset. Ripping off your clothes and heading in the regressive direction is the easy way out to different—way of the miscreant. Real performance takes more.

Mr. Richard Bekyi, a recipient of the SPID-UP® Performance Recognition Awards is one of such personalities who give you that strong urge to lick your fingers. He does this through graphic designing and printing. Richard’s customers are not ordinary folks either. They have a consuming appetite for outstanding. If you are normal you will have a tough time understanding this man. As one customer told us;

“I thought this guy was weird… I was sure he did not understand what we wanted and he won’t even compromise. He is very stubborn about quality and you cannot persuade him to do simple things. In the end I realized I really did not understand where he was coming from. You really have to stop thinking and let him lead the way because he wants to take you to new level”

Mr. Bekyi and his team at Iseeworks Limited craft some life-transforming designs and they are not going to sit around and let some printer make a mess of it. He controls the process from start to finish making sure their customer get exactly what he promised them if not more. It is easy to confuse his work with something that was crafted a Hollywood design studio. But that is not all there is to this man and his team. Anyone who knows anything about the printing business will tell you that it’s major plague in not only quality of work. There is also a severe case of untimely delivery and Richard Bekyi seems to have developed an antidote for this blight.

For us at SPiD-UP® that is hope. We are capable as a people to produce high quality only if we decide to and one of our many examples is Mr. Richard Bekyi. We hope he is inspires you to be performance conscious enough to give your best. Regardless of what you do, you ought to activate the urge to indulge in the art of finger licking in your patrons. Mr. Beckyi will be speaking at the Upcoming SPiD-UP® workshop on performance where he will share some thoughts on the importance of performance. We look forward to seeing you there. #spidup 

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James Ebo Whyte's Fellowship

I recently wrote an article about the symbolism of the mighty tree. The expression; a mighty tree has fallen is used often when a great person is deceased. This was the very essence of that article intended to honour the late Dr. Clement Hammond-Aryee who passed away recently. For reasons I now cannot recollect, I never managed to publish that article. I am now of the view that mighty trees must be recognized before they fall. This is not often the case as many of our standing mighty trees are not being recognized.  The great thing about might trees is that they are still extremely useful, serving countless purposes even when they have fallen. If you understand the word legacy, then you know what I mean.

I had an encounter with a standing might tree recently. Our search for high performing personalities led me to the Roverman production offices for a life-changing encounter with Mr. Ebo Whyte the playwright, entrepreneur extraordinaire and motivational speaker of a special class. One can always tell when he is in the presence of a mighty tree. The canopy of it’s leaves is a place of rest and comfort. You experience that phenomenon instantly when you are near uncle Ebo. Perhaps that is why he is called Uncle by everyone—he has the father to all kind of presence.

The roots of a mighty  tree go deeper than most of its neighbors— Uncle Ebo is a trained statistician, self-taught chartered accountant and marketing professional, whose career in management cuts across the Publishing, Financial, Pharmaceutical and Automobile industries. His wealth of knowledge and depth of experience is of great benefit to anyone who encounters him. When the roots are deep enough, they find sources for abundant minerals which manifest in the quantity and quality of the fruits. If you have seen an uncle Ebo play then you have an idea of what I am talking about.

The branches provide a place for the nesting of all kinds of creatures. Mighty trees are not made overnight. Og Mandino puts it in an interesting way in the book; The world’s greatest sales man;

 “To create the Olive, king of all tress, a hundred years is required. An onion plant is old in nine weeks”,

Uncle Ebo is not an overnight mighty tree and his depth and wealth of experience is demonstrated even in the simplest conversations. The impact of a mighty tree on its environment is very far-reaching beyond its majestic presence and this can easily be said of Uncle Ebo. He writes award-winning plays, produces and stages them. He writes for the monthly Roverman report. He writes and presents his daily food for thought on Joy FM’s super morning show and runs the whole Roverman operation all to the highest standard.  He has helped in the team building efforts and rebranding processes for many companies and is known to have helped and mentored numerous people in all walks of life through his hard hitting, inspirational and realistic presentations. He has successfully written and directed over 20 plays which have become reference points in many lives. I will not even begin to attempt a measure of the impact of the very personality and work of Uncle Ebo as it is not possible.

In the hour or so I spent with him, I got to meet some of his team members— very exciting people with high work ethics. I learnt about his abhorrence for corner-cutting while still managing to maintain a fun filled exciting climate. The whole atmosphere radiates with high performance. I asked questions about the production process and was baffled at how much work is injected into it. Uncle Ebo is uncompromising when it comes to quality and it reflects even on his choice of people. He wants to give the best possible and going the extra mile does not appear to cost him much in emotional labor. This will explains why his plays have revived what was almost a dead genre of our arts. He does not strike me as the type who is trying to be different—he is just doing his best and you are different when you are the best because everyone else is in the average bracket.

In the short while I was a there, I learnt a lot that will influence the way I do things. Sometimes you think you know what you are about until you meet some who actually knows. Uncle Ebo has a keen interest in what people think about his work; that’s the mark of a good entrepreneur who has a burning need to make sure that his patrons are happy. Personally my expectation was literally shattered when I went to see his play; Women on fire. If I could summarize his driving philosophy in one sentence, it will be;

“think more about the world you live in and the contribution you make to it”.

He clearly does this and as the saying goes, as a man thinketh, so he is. We presented him with the SPiD-UP Performance Recognition Fellowship Status (The highest category in the program) for his work. All around you there are people doing ordinary things in an ordinary way. Writing and producing a play was ordinary until Uncle Ebo wrote his first. 

 

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Edward Effah leads Fidelity to 79% Profit increase

In March 2001, Edward Effah was selected as one of the best twenty young leaders in Ghana for the inaugural class of the Ghana chapter of the Africa Leadership Initiative. Since then his name has never left the top performers list. Fidelity Bank under his leadership has recorded some phenomenal successes over the years and shows promise of continuous growth. In the industry, the bank has won several awards including the prestigious Best Bank- Customer Care for the Ghana Banking Awards under his leadership. He is by all standards a high performing individual.

In 2014, the nation was faced with an economic downturn that presented a turbulent period to the financial sector. In spite of this challenge Fidelity Bank recorded an appreciable performance under the leadership of Mr. Edward Effah in 2014 when profits increased by about 79% from the previous year’s GH¢63 million to GH¢112.5 million in 2014.

At the bank’s annual general meeting, Mr. Effeh said; “In the year under review, operating income was GH¢326 million, representing a growth of 67 percent over last year’s figure of GH¢195 million. Growth in operating income was as a result of a 59 percent growth in the net interest income from GH¢117 million in 2013 to GH¢186 million in 2014. Growth in fees and commission on the other hand increased but was below expectation due to the shortage in foreign currency and decreased international trade activities in the year”. He said that effective cost savings, notwithstanding the higher inflationary environment, supported the profit performance, saying “operating expense for the year came to GH¢183 million, 57 percent above that of the previous year.”

According to a news item published on the company’s website; assets of the group soared significantly by 85 per cent from GH¢1.69 billion in 2013 to GH¢3.14 billion in 2014. The bank’s profit after tax increased by about 90 per cent from GH¢43.86 million in 2013 to GH¢83.38 million at the end of last year, buoyed by about a 71 per cent growth in operating income from GH¢197.1 million in 2013 to GH¢336.7 million in 2014.

Mr. Effah attributes the Bank’s performance to improved internal processes substantially, enhanced delivery of service to customers and increased footprint in the Ghanaian banking landscape. He said the bank brought on board IBM, a leading IT company to provide the latest technology platform to serve its customers, invested in a state-of-the-art contact center to serve customers as well as the acquired ProCredit Savings and Loans Limited to ensure expansion of its activities. These factors are largely responsible for the growth. Mr. Edward Effah noted that the integration has been very smooth and that Fidelity currently has the best combination of Human Resources in the sector.

Board Chairman of the Bank, Dr. William Panford Bray, touching on the acquisition of ProCredit noted that the acquisition of ProCredit had helped the bank to increase its footprint across the country with an extended network of 80 branches and 110 ATMs. With the integration of processes and credit methodology well integrated, The bank can now boast of customer base increase from 485,000 to 621,829 helping to improve deposit base by 31 per cent to GH¢1.8 billion.

High performance in the financial sector enables high performance in all other sectors of an economy. With the likes of Edward Effah at the helm of affairs, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Africa as the Cheetahs, slowly move to the front-line. Mr. Effah is a classic example of high performance; a person who’s very presence in any group forces change in the upward direction.  Team SPiD-UP is working hard to find out what his driving philosophy is and when this is done, we hope to bring you an inspiring article that will encourage you towards being the best you can be. In the meantime, keep brightening your corner. #SPiD-UP

If you know other high performers, nominate someone into the performance recognition Program

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David Sakyi Recognized for High Performance

Since we announced our search for high performing individuals i.e. ordinary people doing ordinary things in extra-ordinary ways, we have received all kinds of nominations. The initial list was overwhelmingly long and the truth is that were not prepared for it. It took a while to go through it all. The very necessary assessment was another task in itself. We had to visit nominees at their locations to be sure they are what nominators say they are.

While some were a difficult decision to make, others made it very easy. One of the easy decisions was Mr. David Kwaku Sakyi; a well-known radio and TV personality who also runs the famous Kwaku David Photography here in Accra. Most people do not know that he also serves as a minister with the Lighthouse Chapel International. He is also a passionate speaker and has been featured on many frontline events like TEDx and PESC. He’s also been hosted on the KSM show.

But it is not his Jack-of-all-tradeness that fascinated us the most. It is more how he does what he does when he chooses something to do. Without training in radio, he very quickly became the main voice of Hebert Mensah’s Xfm when he hosted the Xpress Breakfast Show for almost 2 years. His outstanding voice and depth of knowledge won him a large following that is still growing with everything new thing he does. When he decided to move to TV, he was invited to host Capital TV’s morning show almost immediately after he had been guest on the show which was then hosted by Kwame Danso (E-nice) of Echo fame.

After leaving Capital TV, David was swooped up by TV Africa to co-host the flagship show Media Today. At the end of his tenure, David decided to concentrate on his photography business but was soon called into action by the Citifm’s breakfast show team. He had previously been a regular on Jessica’s drive time show, Traffic Avenue.

I have personally seen Kwaku David as he is affectionately called at work in his photography hat. What he does with a camera is astounding. He literally talks to the camera and makes it do the most amazing things. He talks passionately about unusual angles and going the extra mile to get shots that will bring memories to life. He puts a lot of time and energy training and retraining his team very regularly because he wants to make say they are always on point. But that is just the thing with people who go the extra mile. They always have some unusual idea in their head that needs to materialize. It is not the same with a person who shows up, points and shoots. He and his team travel regularly around the country and the continent taking pictures in the most unusual of places.

As an astute businessman, he has recently evolved his operation into what is now the KD Group where all his many hats have been brought together under one roof. Mr. Sakyi might be a jack of many trades but the various trades are not too far apart and he demonstrates passion in every one of them. Upon our assessment, it was easy to recognize him as a high performing individual who is also very likely to make the SPiD-UP® Fellowship status in the very near future. If we learnt something from Mr. Sakyi, it is passion for what you do and the ever elusive high performance mindset. 

Look around you; there are high performing people everywhere; working, pushing, fixing, growing, impacting and doing above-average things. You can brighten your little corner too by simply nominating them into the SPiD-UP® Performance Recognition Program to show your appreciation and contribute towards a better Africa. Most importantly, let Mr. David Sakyi inspire you to give your best wherever you find yourself. He will be speaking at our workshops in the very near future. Be sure to join us then. #SPiD-UP®

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Dr. Adjimani Recognized - SPiD-UP® Performance Recognition Program

It appears there are people who have no other interests besides making this world a better place. Such people seem to give their best purposefully regardless of where they find themselves. They do it so effortlessly it is almost as if they do not think about it. Dr. Jonathan Adjamini of the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of science —University of Ghana is one of such personalities.

We showed up in his office unexpectedly to present him with the recognition award. It was surprise visit of a sort. Nobody had mentioned it to him of course. From the moment we walked into his office it was evident that he was a high impact individual. He was in the middle of a private tutorial with a student. We will soon learn that he keeps a list of non-performing students for special attention. Now that must sound like a simple thing to do until you see the size of the biochemistry class and the host of other things clamoring for his at attention. If you know anything about Ghanaian lecturers, you know he is not the norm.

He gives meaning to high performance. The interesting thing is that he has a whole philosophy to what he does and you know that interests me a great deal. He has decided that in spite of the myriad of challenges he still has an opportunity to brighten his little corner. If you think that sounds like something you hear every day, rest assured; the majority of people who profess this idea do not even come near practice. This man lives the idea.

He pointed out; “I do not need a huge platform or fame to make impact. I can do that here. I believe that if I can come this far, these children can go even further because they have more opportunities than I did. Besides, many of them are actually very intelligent without knowing it. I do what I can to bring it out of them and the result is exciting”. We were told in confidence by some students that it is not unusual for Dr. Adjimani to go out of his way to do things that sometimes puts his hard-earned reputation on the line. He doesn’t just teach, he builds lives.

In the middle of our conversation he dashed to his desk, spent 5 or so minutes looking for a document which he eventually printed out. “Let me show you something” — he handed me what looked like an article from a website. The heading read; Prof. Ada Yonath Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009; for the studies of the Structure and Function of the Ribosome. I do not know what ribosomes are and I frankly have no plans of googling it—these science things give me headaches. But this one was exciting; apparently the good Prof. Yamoth and his team made 25,000 attempts just to make this discovery. You might have heard about Edison and his famously worn-out 999 light bulb attempts. You have my permission to laugh at the difference. These people are on a whole other level; 24 steps up. You have to be out of your mind to want to attempt something 25, 000 times. Prof. Yanoth is clearly not a normal person and they do say like attracts like. I am especially fascinated that Dr. Adjimani was excited about this enough to take time and print out the article for me. It is a demonstration of his performance consciousness. High performance things excite him.  I learnt something new—if it excites you, share it.

I still have the article and it is going into a frame that will sit on my desk. Not because I plan to google the ribosome thing but more because I want to see it every time I sit down to work. To say I am inspired will be an understatement. There are those just want to do their best; they are different from those who do it because they want fame and money. Dr. Adjamani of the biochemistry department of the University of Ghana is of the former breed and I was honored to have met him. I rejoice in the fact that there are still men of his kind working in our institutions. Such men and women give me hope by keeping the dream of a better continent alive.

I had to do my very best not to take too much of his time as there were students waiting outside. I really wanted to stay and talk for a while. Dr. Adjamini was nominated into the SPiD-UP® Performance Recognition Program by a former student who is now a practicing dietitian. She thought it was a good way to express her heartfelt gratitude to this seemingly ordinary man doing extra ordinary things in the lives of young people. She told us, “at a point it didn’t look like I was going to make the grades until Dr. Adjimani stepped in to do a little more than he is paid for”. Our conversation with other past and current students revealed that they have all been impacted positively by him and are in fact very fond of him. No one had mentioned this to him until the surprise visit of team SPiD-UP®. Among his many achievements is the authoring of three books in his field that are used in universities across the country. With another book under construction, I could not think of a better way to extend one's impact.

   

He epitomizes high performance. For that we celebrate him and his work as well as the institution that thought it was a good idea to hire him. There are people out there doing wonderful work and not getting recognized. At SPiD-UP® we consider this an injustice. Like Dr. Adjimani, they may not be chasing fame and as such, will not indulge in the lobbying and the bribery that many do to gain recognition. This is because such people are selfless—they give without expecting anything in return. Performance theorists have taught us, that such persons are often high performers and Dr. Adjimani exudes the traits.  In fact you will find such traits with the likes of Einstein and Tesla.

It is imperative to recognize and celebrate such persons—it is our way of brightening our little corner and making our continent more performance conscious. Look around you; they are everywhere; working, pushing, fixing, growing, impacting and doing above-average things. You can brighten your little corner too by simply nominating them into the SPiD-UP® Performance Recognition Program to show your appreciation. Just like the person who nominated him. Most importantly, let Dr. Adjimani inspire you to give your best wherever you find yourself. He will be speaking at our workshops in the very near future. Be sure to join us then. #SPiD-UP®

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The Roverman Clockwork works

I have a reputation for being hard to please. I do not feel flattered by it and I can assure you of that—it is not very positive is it? I like to think of myself more as a person with high expectations. I just feel people can always do better no matter how good they are. On a continent where corner-cutting is the standard, I might be more of a blessing in disguise than a necessary evil depending on how you think as a person. Take your pick but at the end of the day; you want the best you can get and I just happen to be the guy who thinks you are entitled to it.  This is the reason we created the SPiD-UP® recognition program—so we can recognize people for their efforts when they do manage to put in the effort. You must like that somehow.

Over the holidays, I was literally blindfolded into the national theater in the name of surprise. Apparently this has become necessary because I spend “too much time” on my laptop and phone. I don’t get out much and consequently, I have not seen any of the famous Ebo White plays. Ordinarily, I would have thought it not a big deal. I didn’t see Luciano perform when he came to Ghana and I am still alive. After all, I have listened to uncle Ebo on radio and as far as I know, his thing is marriage. Not my terrain at all and you can ask the women who have suffered my…never mind. I was in for the surprise of my life and not many things surprise me beyond my continuous painful endurance of the lack of integrity and common sense that is ever present around me.

The first thing that struck me was that; the place was filling up really fast. Really, do people like plays in Ghana like this? Our tickets were reserved and the attendant had no trouble whatsoever producing the tickets as another steward ushered us in with utmost politeness. I became very suspicious; were we being set up for something. So you can imagine the alarm bells going off in my head when we were offered free ice cream from Fan Ice. Ok now I was ready to walk out of the place, I have had enough nice treatment for one evening. Something just wasn’t right. Then I was asked to fill a survey form before I got my Ice Cream—I knew it; there had to be a catch.

 

As we approached the entrance to the main hall, two stewards gestured us to come this way. We found the perfect seats after my usual mucking about what is the perfect seat for me without any interruption at all from the stewards. Really? They let me do what I like? Amazingly the play started exactly when they said it will. Not one second late. Wait! how does anyone get anything to start on time to in Ghana? I was honestly mystified at that point. I was in for a shock. From cast to costume to plot, this play was something out of this world. I never expected to laugh from start to finish and learn very valuable lessons about politics and human conduct and its influence on his environment at the same time. Nobody warned me about the humor especially. I guess I did not know this Uncle Ebo like I thought I did. To say I had the time of my life and regret missing all the previous plays will be an understatement of the worse kind. But not to worry, he has something called the festival of plays where you can see a lot him in a week or so.

Nowadays there is a lot of talk about brands and experiences. I myself am an adherent of the experience idea and I chant it every opportunity I get. The Roverman team has mastered the art of crafting life changing, perception shifting and hope building experiences. If I have seen high performance anywhere, this will be it. The play; women on fire, its writer, its production team, the company behind it and its leader all deserve a standing ovation. This is the reason whey I and the team at SPiD-UP® in our quest to engender high performance consciousness, have recognized Roverman Production as a high performance organization. We insist; If you are looking for great entertainment and an opportunity to learn something about society whiles laughing your lungs out, an Ebo white play is your best option. As for me and my household, we are converts for life. #SPiD-UP.  visit them here http://rovermanproductions.com/global/

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How Prince Kofi Amoabeng stays on top

In every generation, there seems to be somebody who rises past the echelons set by society, sends a shocking wave of their arrival by the way they think and act. These individuals stand taller than their contemporaries; defy the odds and take the bull by the horns in the most unimaginable way. The story of Prince Kofi Amoabeng of UT is no different. We can comfortably refer to him as the Messi of this generation’s financial space.

I will not attempt in my mind to digress into the technicalities of his work and success, but my focus rather, is to explore those ‘little acts’, which, having observed over some time stands out as reason his organisation remains the name on most lips. The fruits of his labour are there for all to see.

My position is that, these traits, one or many, if adopted can work ‘miracles’ for all leaders and their organization irrespective of industry or location. Let me add rather quickly, that these traits are easy to forget if you do not hold them tightly, they really want to escape already.

I have wondered in my mind how Prince Kofi Amoabeng has led his team consistently, caused them to think like he does, yet leaving them to keep minds of their own. I decided to probe deeper and look more closely. I loved what i found.

My belief is that Prince Kofi Amoabeng ingested without apologies to his personal feelings, the law as set forth by Napoleon’s Hill in his book ‘The law of success’ that ‘Desire is the starting point of all achievement’. My interest here is to place the binoculars on a man who has applied stratagems akin to those employed by Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Aliko Dangote et al.

These are my findings:

Military Background: Prince Kofi Amoabeng possessed a military background thus he understands discipline and strategy. The most notable trait of any soldier is their desire to die for their country even at the peril of their lives. No doubt Prince carried that mentality onto the making of UT.

Personal work ethic: Do you know that Prince Kofi Amoabeng has consistently maintained a rule in his organization that customers must never be kept waiting unduly as they wait to access a service. His understanding is that the single demonstration that you value anybody is to value their time. He would personally ask a customer if he observed that the person had been sitting in wait for some time.

The Goose and the Gander: Are you aware that Prince Kofi Amoabeng enters his name into the Attendance Book just like any other staff. Mind you, when he arrives late to work, he pays the fine just like any other staff. This may seem a trivial matter but it counts greatly in boosting employee morale.

Just call me: It’s amazing to find the telephone number of Prince Kofi Amoabeng hang boldly at the Reception of all Banks’ branches. Not only that, he does the same at all events he attends so that those who intend to speak with him can reach him. Now, you are wondering how he does that successfully right? I have no idea, but obviously, it’s working out just right.

Awards, So?: Prince Kofi Amoabeng has never let the number of awards he's received go into his head. He has stated several times that awards are the least of his thoughts, rather, how to serve customers better and help humanity ranks first on his mind. That is a winner’s mentality.

Position? Funny: He believes that role must supersede position. Prince Kofi Amoabeng as a practice does not allow staff carrying his bag as he enters the office. His response to whoever attempts it is ‘I did not employ you to carry bags but to think for the company’ Funny right? That’s classic and true.

These traits are not taught in the limited walls of classrooms but to be harvested from the unlimited learning of highly successful men and women across history. If you ever discourage yourself from applying these secrets or allow anyone to discourage you, well. I think of Prince Kofi Amoabeng and I see a similitude to Richard Branson of the Virgin Group.

Let me end with a quote by John Quincy Adams ‘if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader’ . Clearly, Prince Kofi Amoabeng is one.

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SPiD-UP® Performance Recognition Program Activated!

It is a known fact that there are countless unsung heroes around the world who’s efforts in their daily occupations have very significant impact on their environment. Yet they do not receive any recognition for their hard work. Indeed there cannot be enough award programs as we know them; to accommodate the many people who are making change and brightening their little corners. According to president of CSD-Africa and projector director of project SPiD-UP®; Markus K. Katey, the SPiD-UP® recognition program was created to meet this very important need.

According to him, the objective of the project is to help in the quest for a performance conscious continent and one of the ways to encourage people to strive to be their best as a way of life is recognition. It is therefore unfortunate that very few out of the many who are really doing great work get recognized. He said it is also a known fact that many of the awards schemes around are not authentic enough and therefore there is a need for programs like this one. He insisted that the program is different from any award scheme in that, it is not industry specific and literally everyone qualifies to be nominated. It will then be up to the SPiD-UP® team to examine the nominee and ascertain whether they are in fact high performing individuals in their occupations.

He added that the project hopes to recognize and award 10 nominees every month across the continent and encourages everyone to take the opportunity to nominate people who are demonstrating high performance in their work. He stated; “If you appreciate someone’s work whether an individual or organization, or perhaps impressed with a product, you have an obligation to nominate them just as you must speak up when you believe they are under-performing. Together we can get the whole continent performing.”  I would like to encourage organizations to outsource their recognition programs to us as all they then have to do is nominate and sponsor staff members. We will take care of the rest and arguably give the nominee more than employers possibly can.

Nominations can be made on the project website; www.spid-up.com by literally anyone. Nominees will be screened and awarded in compliance with the terms and conditions (available at spid-up.com). It is indeed a commendable effort and the SPiD-UP® and CSD Africa team deserves our support. The project is currently recruiting sponsors. Get more info http://www.spid-up.com/p/recognition.html

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Africa calls through Black I

The review section of project SPiD-UP® helps to expose and promote great accomplishments by individuals and organizations who consciously and unconsciously pay attention to quality thereby bringing us all to a new level of development. We are especially interested in those that promise to push the set limits and take their vocations to the next level. This is based on the premise that; the world is the way it is because of what we have all done and not done. A better world therefore, is only possible with better performing individuals and organizations. To us at SPiD-UP®, quality equals high performance. It is when expectations are exceeded in a positive direction. In that spirit, we deem it fit to recognize a great piece of work delivered to us by Black I (AKA Nii Quarcoo) a Ghanaian reggae musician based in Atlanta, USA.

I personally chanced upon Black I’s work a few years ago when I heard a song titled “Tiniini kwano” on radio gold. I was quickly taken by the melody, arrangement and delivery. It was by all standards an outstanding piece of work. At the time I couldn’t figure out who the artist was as the presenter made no attempt at enlightening his listeners whatsoever. It will take a few years before I will meet the gentleman who will claim ownership of that outstanding piece of work. His proof ; a well packaged CD titled “African skies”  which represents his depute album. “Tiniini kwano” (“The right way” in Akan) which speaks from the very soul of Rastafarianism; reverberating the need to travel the right road by the guidance of God himself was the number 12 of the 13 track album. Anyone who has lived in Ghana long enough will understand the timeliness of this call. The focus of this article however, is another offering which is not even on the African Skies Album.

Our many conversations (primarily driven by my ever probing curiosity) will land me in the musical goldmine of works that are to constitute the many albums he plans to release in the next few years both on the local and international scenes. Among the many great songs I heard, one stood out: Africa Calling. The song featured a fellow reggae artiste Jah Hem a Bahamas born asset who’s vocal excellence is easy to confuse with that of reggae titan; Jah Cure. Those familiar with the work of Jah Cure will have an idea of what Jah Hem adds to the song as he opens with the unforgettable hook that is bound to leave even non-reggae fans asking for more. The song was recorded in Atlanta where Black I has worked extensively with ace producer Kaddafi to create masterful works of art in the reggae/dancehall genre.

The unusual thing about Africa Calling is the distinctly world famous Ghanaian Yaa Amponsah highlife guitar work that forms the base of the clearly unmistakable Jamaican dancehall rhythm. It is an enigmatic blend of Africa and the Caribbean. The song promises to redefine what Ghanaian dancehall is and provides answers that are certain to put critics in their place with its sheer authenticity.

It is nature’s way; that every now and then something comes along that redefines the thoughts of the day and takes the world forward one step. For dancehall fans and all concerned, this could be the one song that sets the trend that Ghanaian and indeed African reggae dancehall must follow. Fusing highlife with reggae is not exactly a new idea as many prominent reggae musicians such as Peter Tosh, Buju Banton and Ziggy Marley have experimented in that area; yet this one brings the whole idea home to where it really belongs. We rate Africa calling a five star high performance product and encourage you too, to put more effort into whatever you are doing. So this world can improve because of you. Like I said, the world is the way it is because of what we have all done. #spidup

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Citi; a fantastic ten years

Last year Citi FM turned 10. Naturally this called for celebration but I do not believe they got the attention they deserved. I expected recognition from government and other institutions for the contribution of this small organization towards our democracy and the general welfare of this nation’s citizenry. The impact of Citi’s contribution is enormous and for us at CSD Africa and SPiD-UP® they epitomize high performance in every sense of the idea.

A high performance organization is intelligent; it understands itself, it understands its environment and knows the manner in which it can maximize its existence by affecting its environment. The folks at Citi have done this in the deftest manner. They appear to also understand performance theory and how the world works. They clearly ensured that every individual in the organization meets a certain standard. This comes about with the understanding that the performance of an organization directly depends on its individuals as the most active sub-components. High performing individuals makes high performing organizations and it is a simple as that.

A high performing organization understands how to leverage strength in order to make impact in an already saturated market. When Citi came into the business of radio broadcasting, there was a clear leader of the Bolt Caliber. To outclass them must have seemed an impossible task unless you understood strategy and had an unfathomable amount of confidence. This says a lot about the leadership of the organization as they clearly set out to lead the market with what will be referred to in business parlance as product leadership. Every single product they put out was above average and they seemed to have mastered the art and science of brand building quite well. In every area they appear to lead with a brand or two. This includes news and current affairs spearheaded by the nation’s number one breakfast show, entertainment, events and sports. 

The intelligence of the organization is clearly demonstrated in the brands as they appear to be aware of the idea of the influence of the sub-component. To have a high performing organization you need high performing units-- high performing products that are created by high performing individuals. I dare without sounding too esoteric; postulate the as above so below concept as the driving force behind such thinking. For a breakfast show for example, they pack in five people who on their own could have given any other breakfast show a run for their money. This is a clear demonstration of the intention to lead the market with a high performing product.

Intriguingly, they did not do all these at the expense of operational excellence. From where I sit, they match every best practice in running a modern business. They appear to have not have thrown ethics out of the window either and have consistently contributed to the welfare of the underprivileged. To understand our findings on the Citi performance analysis, it is necessary to discuss some thoughts from business theory and a bit of our own performance theory without over-digressing. 

According to business theorist, very rare businesses are able to master two of the three driving forces of business strategy i.e. Product leadership, operational excellence and customer intimacy. Most successful companies focus on one of the three and this enables them to lead the market in a way. This of course makes sense given that there is the need to prudently apply effectively the limited resources available to organizations. At CSD Africa we proposed structure and content both being of high quality as the means by which high performance can be attained. This is a question of what is being delivered and how it is being delivered both being of high quality. In practice this will mean that an organization must be high on both product leadership and operational excellence. This is not a deviation from the business theory of course as it proposes that whiles one may focus on one of the three, the other two must also be at appreciable levels. (I recognize that this needs further discussion)

Citi appears to understand both theories and have broken the barrier building the much needed bridge. Perhaps a new theory can now be formulated based on how they run their business. Although, I suspect the new theory will validate the idea of quality in both what is being delivered (content) and how it is being delivered (structure). We do not always have to look outside for our success formulas. We can formulate our own based on our own narratives.

So if there are any hints there, they will point to

Understanding your market and developing the right products
Understanding your strengths and weakness (I know it sounds a bit cliché-ish but it’s useful)
Being clear about your target
Having a reliable and modifiable business model and a clear strategy (extremely important as it shapes how the business creates and delivers value)

If you have any fear of a Goliath in the field the above will kill it in your head and you will walk confidently into your victory. Just like Citi has done. With that; it is appropriate to recognize key individuals, who by their performance as micro-components have ensured that the larger organization performed at a very high level.

Samuel Attah Mensah -        
 High performance in leadership

A great personality by all standards, it took one meeting which lasted not more than ten minutes for me to conclude that he is a masterful judge of character. By our second meeting which did not even involve a direct conversation, I begun to understand the depth of his social intelligence and integrity. Frankly we don’t have that many of his type in Ghanaian leadership.

Indeed one cannot discuss leadership in our time without mentioning John C. Maxwell. In his book 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, Sammens as he is affectionately called was clearly captured in the first law. A true leader is the one who raises other leaders. If there is any leader within visibility who has achieved this, it will be Samuel Attah Mensah. Another lesson from the Maxwell leadership class is: leaders are trail blazers, they lead by example and this man iconizes this in more ways than one. He has a great connection with his team and his leadership can only be described as exemplary. Bernard Avle appears to have learnt from this as he demonstrates this through his leadership of the market leading Citi breakfast show. 

Bernard Avle                   -         
High performance in radio broadcasting (Current Affairs)

As far as I know, breakfast show meant Kumla Dumor. Prior to that, it was good old TAF and Charlie Sam. In fact one might even argue that Komla brought the whole breakfast show hosting thing to a new level standing albeit, on the shoulders of the giants before him. I did not see how I was going to listen to anything or anyone else. What were they going to say and how were they going to say it?

All that changed of course when I stumbled upon the Citi breakfast show. I honestly didn’t know what it was that captured my attention. It appears the structure and the content were both right (pardon my need to use performance lingo). This means that both what was being delivered and how it was being delivered was of a high quality. The voice was distinctively Ghanaian without blemish and so was the language with traces of useful verbosity. Soon I was imagining a great personality behind the voice.  My dial started shuffling between Komla Dumor and Benard who? This was happening subconsciously until I woke up one day and realized I was listening to Bernard Avle all the time. When Komla left the local scene-- that was it. We gained in Bernard Avle an indisputable king of breakfast show hosting who did not drop the standard as we have seen happen in other areas. The lanky Ewe boy has taken the place of his mentor after giving him the only real competition in his breakfast show hosting career. To say it is possible Bernard was the reason why Komla moved on will be a fair speculation probably not too far off the mark. 

Bernard’s achievement can fairly be described as phenomenal and his portrait rightfully belongs on the same wall as the greats. He is clearly a market-leading individual who runs a market-leading product in a market-leading organization run by a market-leading leader. This is no coincidence at all if you understand performance theory (the behavior of the micro-components determines the behavior of the larger entity). He learnt from the best and is clearly applying his knowledge through the engagement of his gift. My only problem with him is that, he has done it all and doesn’t appear to know where to go next; this worries me of course because I happen to believe that it is continuous progress that sustains an entity’s existence and ensures its maximization. If you like something, you want it to be the best it can be. And that is what I will continue to insist on as far as Bernard Koku Avle is concerned

Jessica Opare Saforo - 
High performance in radio broadcasting (Entertainment)

I was being driven from the airport on the day I had returned from my sojourn in another country for a considerable number of years and naturally I had lost track of what was going on in the country. I asked to listen to the radio and when it was turned on the voice hit me. Who is that I asked almost instantly? Jessica-- came the answer. Wow! came my only response. That’s what happens when you encounter a great product. It was almost like my first encounter with the iPod.

I really didn’t care much for what she was saying and that is being plain honest. She was in argument with another presenter whose name I don’t remember (funny) about the man and woman difference thing. The question is; how do you like someone who is arguing against your very nature. High Performance. If it’s Jessica then you really don’t mind. You just want to listen.

There was another shift in power base when Jessica started hosting the Citi mid-morning show as she clearly took some shine away from good old Doreen Andoh who a priori had been the undisputable queen of mid-morning radio. It will be surprising if Jessica didn’t look up to her at some point given the age gap and depth of experience.

The thing with Jessica is this; she is just entertaining to listen to. She is incredibly smart, adoptive and a super-talkative. Most importantly, she has high social intelligence which makes her a great conversationista. Have you ever met someone who knows what to say and when to say it in the most entertaining way-- all the time? Erm…that will be Jessica. I guess you can call it versatility. Such persons are very aware of their environment and how it works. This makes it easy for them to fit in and affect it in their own way. Put her on another planet and all she will need is a microphone and some music.

Whiles there are other great personalities at Citi who by their effortless hard work have made it the outstanding radio station it is, these three personalities have been the key driving forces behind its leadership. However, it is important to mention names like Shamima Muslim; who put the evening news on top of the list, Gary Al Smith and Godfred Akoto; who put the sports in its own class, and Richard Sky who made short documentaries fashionable again. There are several formulas for performance as we have discovered at CSD Africa in our research. The one I would like to share in concluding this article is

What you choose to do + how much of it you do + the nature of your output / the period of time in which you do it – the comparison to others.

 

That may not sound functional now but take some time to think about it. Over the last ten years Citi have decided to do radio and they have done a lot of it consistently. I truly cannot recollect any down times since I have been listening to them and comparing them to the best, they have done better bringing broadcasting to a new threshold. All of this has been made possible by great leadership and performance consciousness. 

This article was written for the sole purpose of recognition based on our evaluation of the organization in question over the period of its existence compared to others.  It is possible that the writer may be Citi's number one critique. I do it for the good of mother Ghana and Grandma Africa. May you also be the best you can be in your field and get recognized for it. To ensure high performance this year get configure 1.0 now

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