The Comedian And Platinum Entrepreneurial Solutions Conference 15 : Was It A Success?

There is no doubt that we have entered a new era in Africa; the era of entrepreneurship. A clear indication that people are beginning to take the bull by the horns and blast their way into the next phase of Africa’s prosperity.

Week after week we hear of entrepreneurship conferences happening at one corner of town or the other. Week after week, new businesses are born. Week after week, global leaders emerge. Akosua Konadu Owusu, Platinum Exposure and the Knutsford Fraternity will not be left out of the game changers revolution. Theirs is the Platinum Entrepreneurial Solutions Conference (PESC 15) held at Knutsford University College on 22^nd October, 2015. The conference was billed to begin at 10am.

Knutsford University College is located on Bamako road behind Mensvic Grand Hotel. The University is hidden in the crevice of plush East Legon with a design like one of England’s Old Cathedrals. Painted colour white including the generator that sat at the entrance.

Inside the auditorium; I was amazed by the number of roll-up stands mounted. Akosua’s team had managed to secure sponsorship from Tigo Ghana, ASN Financial Services, Surfline, Kwaku David, Invents, First Capital Plus, America Cola, Rush energy Drink, FiestaGH, Ende, Roots, Indomie, Minimie, T-Best among others. This is by far the largest pool of sponsors I have witnessed for an event of this kind this year. Event organisers will help themselves by seeing Akosua for some tips.

Foster Romanus is in the building!!! The rising Ghanaian comedian hovered around. Initially, I assumed he was billed as one of the mentors for the day; perhaps, there are those who desire to make a living by ‘fooling’ themselves left right centre. I was wrong. He was to be the Master of Ceremony. Akosua paaaa!!! Hahahahahahaha

Mentoring Session

Ato Ulzen Appiah of Ghana Think Foundation; the face behind Bar Camps, Adu Amani of Adu Amani Clothing and Paul Agbai of Invents drove participants through this segment. Ato Ulzen molested his mentoring class with questions, such that when you answered, another was waiting. He’s got some amazing perspectives to raising capital and about understanding your Customer. Ultimately, he advised, ‘start small’ and ‘if your application for sponsorship is rejected, still invite the individual or organization to attend your event.’

We did not have to wait for long before the crème de la crème issue surfaced like in all entrepreneurship gatherings: ‘How to raise capital’. Ato surely knew what was coming. He asked, ‘For instance, if we gave you three thousand Ghana Cedis for your business, how will you use it?’ People’s eyes widened and they became ever alert. A middle-aged man answering said, ‘Ah! This money is too small for my business.’

Like seriously? I almost burst with laughter. There were some pretty answers though. Ato capped the session by sharing how his organization secured funding for the maiden Bar camp. Do contact Ato for details.

Akosua’s Birthday

Foster Romanus then ‘forced’ us to sing happy birthday song for the Lead Coordinator Akosua Konadu Owusu. Foster, fascinated by cute Adu Amani insisted she led the birthday song for Akosua. Ah! Singing too be force? (laughs).  Please come closer, I need to whisper what I’m just about to say.

(Earlier, in introducing Adu Amani, Foster Romanus said ‘Let’s welcome with a round of applause Mr. Adu Amani’. Like seriously? Ms Oyoo Quartey was the other victim of his overdose comedy. ‘Let’s welcome Ms. Oyoo Quartey, Co-founder of Story Foundry). How? Foster? How? It’s Store Foundry ok. Meanwhile, his eyes fixated curiously on the writings in the programme leaflet from which he read. Well?

Keynote Address by Mr. Kwabena Essel; Founder of Knutsford University College

‘By the 18^th century, the whole world moved to the use of machines to do what man earlier did with their hands. Those who took advantage today are called industrialized countries.’ Mr. Essel punched. He spoke at length weaving in and out of history, business, Ages, Psychology, Economic Outlook, Students, Entrepreneurs and the future.

‘See opportunities and think outside the box in solving problems’ was how Mr. Essel brought his train to a halt. The Visionary had spoken for close to an hour admonishing participants. Naa Oyoo Quartey’s task was to be more difficult. How? She needed to win back the attention of those students who felt they had just been subjected to a ‘boring’ doctoral lecture, lengthy? Yes, but any aspiring entrepreneur cannot ignore the admonishing of a successful entrepreneur in the person of Mr. Kwabena Essel who founded the University. What have you founded?

Oyoo Quartey Releases The Brakes and Accelerates

As first speaker of the day, Oyoo Quartey, Co-founder of Store Foundry and a Social Media Enthusiast knew that she had the unenviable task of setting the pace and energy that would mark the event’s success or otherwise. She released the brakes by opting to descend the podium and rather talk with participants. Her point was unmistakable. She had not come to preach.

‘How many of you are doing what you really love to do?’ Oyoo asked. She didn’t expect an immediate answer but to provoke participant’s thought process. Participants adjusted their bottoms in the red couches and sat upright in order to grasp the core of her message . She continued.  

‘We have to learn to kill mediocrity, we have to kill it.’ Oyoo challenged. I mused, ‘eeeii Oyoo, It seems like you have come paaa’. Clearly, she was levelling mental strongholds. Me? Lying? Alright, let me prove it. Oyoo asks two students who the founder of Facebook was. They had no idea. These are university students for God’s sake. She knew she could hit harder and score the goal. Their minds were fertile.

‘A lot of you waste time on social media just chatting your time away’ her sultry voice sank through; one could literally touch the passion which accompanied her every utterance.

‘We have to kill that thing where people say Made in Ghana goods are not good’ Wow, some rhyming. Good! 'We have to learn to talk less and do more, Something that cause people pain and you bring the idea, they’ll pay you for it.’ She took some questions. She was done for the day.

Jesse Jets Off

Foster Romanus in introducing the next speaker said ‘When I began my career as a comedian some years back, people thought I was an armed robber. It was this man who encouraged me and ten years down the lane; I look back and say wow’. ‘It is my singular pleasure to invite Mr. Jesse Agyapong, the Marketing Director of Tigo Ghana.’ Foster announced beaming with smiles.

A well groomed young man in his late thirties took the floor. His first statement was a question cum appeal cum instruction. He asked participants who sat at the back to move forward. Their response was snailish. He makes the appeal again and a third time. Still, the response was snailish. Jesse says, ‘If I fail at persuading you to come forward, I might fail at communicating my simple message to you today.’ Boom! Period!

Jesse takes off without further camaraderie, as if to say ‘Join the flight or join the flight’. In the most practical of ways, Jesse compresses a marketing degree course into a thirty minute presentation.

Using the case of the lanky student of New Century Training School who wishes to start a business in the energy supply sector, Jesse traversed the terrains of Problem identification and Analysis, Customer Identification and Segmentation, Competitive Advantage, Target Consumer Understanding Tool and Marketing Brand Funnel.

I was amazed at how he brought marketing home and explained the concept of ‘A day in the life of your customer’. People like Jesse are needed in classrooms too. No, he is more needed on the field. And to imagine that Jesse has not branded himself a speaker speaks a ton. If he does explore this area, Tigo Ghana risks losing him to full time speaking in the long run.

‘The greatest joy you have is when the customer moves from consideration to purchase your product’...Jesse Agyapong definitely went beyond the consideration stage in the minds of his listeners.

John Armah grabs the Baton

John Armah, Director of the Ghana Centre for Entrepreneurship, Employment and Innovation received the baton with firmly planted feet. He sprints forth with a talk on the essence of having a Business Plan.

‘I thought a business plan was not important until I went into business, so I refer to it being the document that will guide my thoughts’. John’s delivery is a replica of John the Baptist in the Bible. Though I could hand count the number of people in the auditorium, he spoke as though he were addressing a thousand-seater audience. There are those who get discouraged when the crowd they expect to speak with is less by one. He was not bothered by the numbers.

‘If you have the idea but don’t find the people who are ready to pay for it, then you are not in business. The idea is not the success; the business is the success, Let me tell you, ideas exists already, the difference is in how you structure yours.’  John said.

About funding, he opined that, ‘When you don’t have the wisdom to know where the capital is, how do you access it? I did not have a cedi when I started my business. You said you’ve done graphic designing, you have a laptop and you say you are unemployed, fire burn you!’

Not just these, he possesses a rare skill at posing red-hot questions. He asks questions in a way that stops you in your holy tracks, forcing you to go like ‘I think I can do better.’

I advise you get in touch with John for a chat. I intend to do same. In wrapping up, he quoted 1 Corinthians 3:16: ‘I planted, Apollos watered but God gave the increase’. Mr. John Armah, of the Orios Group had planted. Bernard Kelvin Clive was going to water.

Amazon Best Seller Bernard Opens Doors

‘Most of us have lost our true identity. We have lost our identities in the shoes of others. We are in the wrong tracks but we are running very fast. When you look back, beyond your wigs and make-ups, who are you?’, ‘Are you sitting and your heart standing? You are doing one thing but your heart is in another thing’ Bernard asked. ‘I came to resurrect the dead.’ Bernard began with aplomb.

He then took participants through ‘PURPOSE’ which as he defines it mean Passion, Understanding, Resources, Position, Opportunities, Service, and Earn.

Bernard Kelvin Clive plays the ‘Sweeper’ role, a football term for a special kind of midfielder. I can even liken him to the Fernando Torres of Chelsea against Barcelona in 2012 and the Neymar Jnr of Barcelona against Bayern Munich in 2014. At his peak, He is the ‘Zinedine Zidane’ of Branding and Success Coaching.

He operates like the ‘queen’ piece in the game of Chess. He mops up the speech of his colleagues with such mastery that’s been tested of fire, brimstone, water, thunder, lightning and dumsor. No wonder he kept asking participants, ‘When you are naked, when you are naked, when you are naked, who really are you?’ (not physical nakedness though). Bernard is usually the last man to walk off the pitch. He symbolises the embodiment of Consistency and an amalgamation of little things done well.

No wonder he defines himself as ‘the man who opens doors’. He closed the Platinum Entrepreneurial Solutions Conference 2015 but no doubt opened the door of hope for his listeners and friends.

Closing

Yeah! There was a lunch break along the line. I had America Cola drink and 7A unique Pie, while chatting the time away with Adu Amani, Founder of Adu Amani Clothing. (A one-on-one with Adu Amani coming soon and I’m excited already) I used the lunch break to visit the exhibition stands and the items on display were amazing, mostly handcrafts.

The program closed around 4:30pm, only downside being delay in start of event. John Armah according to the programme line-up was to speak at 12:50 but it wasn’t until 3pm before it was his turn. Akosua admitted the delay, apologized and promised to incorporate lessons learnt into their next event.  

I made some new friends including Nana, Laud, Chris and Baaba. Wonderful people trust me. Thank you for staying with us. I hope you enjoyed the read. I’ll love to hear from you and very importantly, your suggestions and feedback. Also, do let us know if you have an event coming up, I’d love to do a special review for you. Spid-up

You can reach me directly at sharkmellon@gmail.com. I blog poetry at sharkmellon.blogspot.com.

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Pizza Wars. Eddys or Papas?

The eating of Pizza does not fascinate me as much as the names of Pizza joints. In Ghana like other west African countries, eating pizza is becoming a craze, a somewhat irresistible crave. Bread and stew? Whew! That’s the funny way some people refer to it. 

Trust me, there are people who eat pizza as much as politicians are daily accused of corruption. It’s that frequent, boy! For others, it’s a ‘dream come true’ on Occasions. No wonder, Pizza joints in Ghana hit the jackpot on holidays. Several see people throng them like Mega Church Crusades and or 31^st December Nights.

Congregants at a crusade drown the stage, in an attempt to catch the Preacher’s attention. Pizza Wait staff likewise witness all forms of threat from ‘congregants’ if their pizzas did not appear the next minutes.

‘Lady, if you need to get into that kitchen  and fan the oven, you better do so because if I don’t receive my pizza in sixty seconds, I will ...’ He doesn’t end his statement before another aggrieved customer jumps in, ‘Hey lady, where is my pizza? You took my money and now you are here doing what ...’ the staff is confused now. She does not know whose question she should answer. The customers are screaming now ‘Where is the manager!!!’

In Ghana, there are two names that lead the chart in the hearts of Pizza lovers. Common! Spare me that look, Its Eddys Pizza and Papas Pizza. My focus is to examine what these figure heads are doing to get your attention, as they fight for a larger chunk of the cake called ‘customers’.  This undoubtedly is a microcosm of Performance. ‘Microcosm, are you kidding me?’ Yes, microcosm. Assessing their performance will ultimately be measured by the level of satisfaction their customers enjoy.

Branches

The headquarters of Eddys Pizza sits on No. 66, Ringroad, the same building where Mr. Harry Zakour has run his famous Bus Stop Restaurant for about thirty (30 years). Eddys Pizza, when it began, enjoyed some goodwill’ as a result of its location on the same premises with renowned Mr Zakour.

Interestingly, the Bus Stop restaurant, which has now a pale shadow of its former self now benefits from Eddys Pizza, which is generally viewed as the ‘People’s Darling’. ‘A good turn deserves another’, they say. How? You buy Pizza from Eddys and marry it with beer from Zakour (for those who take alcoholic drinks).

Papas Pizza, on the other hand, minding their own business at East legon, on the American House Road, suddenly heard a rumour about Eddys, bringing the game to their doorstep, right under their nose; their headquarters. Initially, it seemed a joke.

One morning in 2014, Papas woke up to realise that the Eddys Contingent had set up Camp about 200meters away.  ‘What?’ he exclaimed. A closer look revealed that Eddys had forgotten to come along with a generator (laughs). Like seriously? Going to bake pizza without power?

Papas began to hatch a grander plan. ‘An eye for an eye’. ‘A tooth for a tooth’.  By midyear 2015, Papas had set up on the Ring road close to the Police Headquarters, and ironically named the newest shop ‘Papas Pizza Osu’. Clearly, this is a Tyson and Hollyfield affair.   

Papas Pizza has a branch at Spintex, Eddys Pizza have an ‘Opening Soon’ banner at Spintex, mounted on the building they intend to occupy. Yes, a banner. The question is ‘Are they ready for another bout with Papas on the streets of Spintex?’ If yes, the earlier the better. If no, continued stay ‘Opening Soon’ could damage their general reputation. Opening soon? Hey! It’s almost two years right? What kind of ‘Soon’ is this?

Glo Telecommunications Network, prior to entering the Ghanaian market made all the noise. Remember? However, by the time they actually opened for service, they had developed sore throat from the loud singing.   

Pizza flavours

Papas Pizza manages with about twenty (20) varieties of Pizza while Eddys run twenty-two types. See? However, Papas Pizza has managed to attract John Dumelo, Ghanaian movie star and Businessman (of course, including his followers) to the Papas’ Home. The brains behind Papas have gone the next step to honour him with a J.Melo Pizza. That’s Strategic leveraging. Hold on! Before you run off, Caroline Sampson of Yfm (inside the Silverbird Cinemas, Accra Mall) fame is also on their train.

Which Star is on the Eddys’ train? Does it matter? Eddys have managed to transform the ‘Supreme’ and ‘Meat Lovers’ flavours into some kind of tin-gods. If you try these, you could go bankrupt in your attempt to satisfy your appetite. The only turn-off will be ‘delay’ in having your Pizza baked.  Just visit Trip Advisor for further details. Eddys Pizza. Their website puts ready time at 20 minutes though.  

Customer Service

I cannot say anything about this. Do visit any of their branches on separate occasions. Eddys, perhaps on a weekend and Papas, on a holiday. Your personal experience will be the best assessment of their performances in this area of hospitality. Oh blimey! Forgive me. Pizza eaters constantly leave their reviews on Trip Advisor. You can pause and check them out. Those who don’t take customer service seriously in their business lose out by huge margins and risk collapsing the business.

Staff Attire

Papas Pizza Front staffs are often spotted in Jeans trousers with T-shirt and a Cap to match. Shoes? They wear flats. In my mind, I’m thinking, this aids smart movement in serving customers. In developed countries, this is how Pizza front staff dresses. Talk of Dominos Pizza and Papa Johns Pizza in the United States of America.

Eddys Pizza management, on the other hand, have for a greater part of their existence, preferred to have their front staff don attires that could make anyone mistake them for Bank workers. They often don white or black long sleeves shirt over a pair of black trousers, a necktie and black shoes. Ladies wear black heeled shoes.  This may be the Eddys way of standing out from the crowd, but in a pizza joint, where movement and speed rank topmost; their mode of dressing will be counterproductive.

What have I been saying all along? *Sips Apple Juice* Eddys Pizza and Papas Pizza are in a race, One thinks he has arrived and is gradually losing out, while the other, relatively less popular, continues to push the limits in order to win more customers and conquer new territories. The former thinks he has the customers already while the latter is doing everything to win customer loyalty.

Ooosh! I did not comment on the taste of the Pizzas. *I will be right back. Two hours should be enough*

Thank you for staying with me. I took a break to do some consulting with friends who often patronise Eddys and Papas, so that I could juxtapose their experiences with mine.

Conclusion

Many pizza lovers claim and I agree that Papas Pizza does not taste as nice as Eddys but they are great with their time. Also, a good number of my friends think they have been improving the taste of the Pizzas.

Who is who? Eddys Pizza or Papas Pizza; War Of The Pizza Mongers.

Footnotes

1. Eddys and Eddys Pizza are one and the same though used interchangeable to achieve certain effect.

2. Papas and Papas Pizza are one and the same though used interchangeable to achieve certain effect.

Image Credits

1st image: www.asiagopizza.com

2nd image: www.eddyspizza.com

3rd image: www.santabarbara.com

4th image: www.dailymail.co.uk

5th image: www.papaspizza.com.gh

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In Praise Of Our Ghanaian Foods

To say we're spoilt for choice when it comes to the wide variety of foods we have in Ghana would be a gross understatement!! Words like blessed, advantaged, favored

( and on and on) come into mind as I ponder over all the various staples we have in the country that can readily be combined into mouth watering  and healthy dishes that tickle one's culinary fantasy.

As we travel across the length and breathe of the country, across the various regions, we come across root crops, cereals, grains and a variety of vegetables that come together in culinary harmony to give us dishes that not only stimulate our taste buds but also serve as a befitting answer to our hunger pangs. 

Yam, cassava, plantain, maize, millet and many more are metamorphosed into foods such as 'Fufu' '3tó' , 'Banku', 'Gari', porridges and many more. Rice is reinvented into age- old favorites such as 'Jollof', 'Waakye' and 'Omo Tuo'. Our unbelievable array of vegetables are changed into various stews, soups and sauces that serve as worthy partners to these various preparations.

Wow! What more can a people ask for? It should be a walk in the park, a done deal when it comes to appreciating and utilizing our wonderful foods right? wrong. I would stick my neck out at this point and try to identify 2 major factors that serve as hindrances to us fully appreciating and benefiting from our enormous array of foods.

First, there's the issue of looking down on things that are our own. We sometimes tend to downplay what is typically Ghanaian, and our foods are no exception. Would we be willing to serve our dishes at parties, conferences and other special events? How far would we be willing to go in giving our foods the push and promotion they deserve? Some countries are stuck with monotonous and sometimes difficult to eat foods, yet their citizens patronize them. Let’s utilize what we have.

Secondly, there's that big issue of unflattering myths that surround our foods. Interesting stuff like 'gari' giving eye problems, 'Fufu' making children unable to walk and my all- time favourite, Okro giving waist pains and leading to impotence amongst many other unbelievable stuff are swallowed hook, line and sinker by many people.

These create unnecessary 'fear and panic' which leads to unnecessary avoidance of certain foods. Well, there we have it. Some food for thought (pun intended) and hopefully some praise for our Ghanaian foods. Let’s support our own.

The Writer is Dede Kwadjo, a Dietician/Nutritionist and a member of the Ghana Dietetics Association. She lives in Accra, Ghana. You may reach her directly via Dede.kwadjo@gmail.com

Footnotes

Fufu, Banku, Omo Tuo, 3tó are Ghanaian dishes.

Gari is an African food made from cassava tubers.

Okro is a slimy green podded vegetable grown in the tropics, and which supposedly originated from Ethopia.

Jollof is a popular one-pot rice dish eaten in many West African countries.

Waakye is a Ghanaian dish cooked of rice and beans.

(Source: Wikipedia)

  

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Was Maiden Role Model Africa Conference a Success?

I saw the event poster on Facebook and immediately, it caught my attention, perhaps, because I am biased towards the colour red. It was indeed a great design. You see the poster and you know it is the work of someone who understands his craft to details. The relevant information stood out. The theme chosen by Invents Foundation was ‘Doing Business with Integrity’ The event was a Corporate Dialogue. The stage was set.

I arrived at the African Regent Hotel, some few minutes before 3pm, when the program was scheduled to commence. Neatly groomed ushers smiled as they welcomed guests and led you to a seat.

The Keynote Speaker, Michael Ohene Effah was already seated. He had come with his son. The Role Model/Mentor, Dr. Samuel Ofori Onwona was also seated with his daughter occupying the immediate seat to his left. The room was cosy. It smelt good and the interior was inviting. Gosh! We were at the African Regent Hotel. Oh blimey! There was a Live Jazz Band inside the conference room. I feel the goosebumps all over again.

The program commenced at 3:20pm with an opening prayer. Master of Ceremony Samuel Bartels was on point, he exuded an irresistible demeanour. Mr. Bartels seemed to just know what to say, when and how to say it. How he spiced his moderation with doses of his personal accomplishments, without appearing imposing or boastful was masterful, almost impossible to notice actually. Organizers will have a tough time replacing him as MC at their next event. I will love the see Mr. Bartels MC the next season of the Corporate Dialogue. Organizers did well to include a brief session for participants to define who a mentor was and to tell who their mentor was.   

The keynote address by Michael Ohene Effah was enlightening yet sensational, and best part was the delivery. It was so artful and showed that he invested maximum time and resources in preparing it. He made reference to Alcinda Honwana, who argued that ‘most young Africans are living in a period of suspension between childhood and adulthood’. Michael then submitted that ‘mentors inspire us to be better and be our best’. In ending his speech, he had some brilliant workable recommendations for business leaders in Africa. You should contact the organizers for the video clip. He ended with ‘This is how we learn; we learn to do by doing’. What an exciting way to prepare the way for Dr. Onwona.

The Host, William Okyere-Frempong, CEO of the HuD Group had the enviable task of facilitating the discussion with Dr. Onwona. He had two things on as usual, his spectacle and his smile.

William took his seat, 45 degrees to Dr. Onwona and at earshot, allowing himself to be taken around the world as we listened to the compelling story of Dr. Onwona’s early life, career and currently his work in God’s vineyard. Dr. Onwona treated the theme of Integrity with practical examples that stole rounds of applause from the audience. The nurse cum health activist cum husband cum photographer Kobby Blay constantly stole shots. Let me confess, I stole glances at the two ladies who sat by me. It was a night of delightful stealing.

Dr. Onwona seized every opportunity to emphasize the importance of Integrity, defining it as ‘what you do when no one is watching’ and he was quick to add that a strong foundation began from Home. I later realised that both Dr. Onwona and Mr. Okyere-Frempong did not even realise the chilled glasses of juice each that was set before them. Anyway...

The Questions and Answers time was enjoyable. Dr. Onwona answered all the questions put to him genuinely. A participant, whom I believe came in late asked Dr. Onwona to give him an example of a time when he exhibited raw integrity in the face of difficulty. The rest of us knew that Dr. Onwona had done more than enough justice to this question in his earlier presentations. At some other events, the Host, Guest or a wannabe MC will throw you a glaring embarrassment, reminding you that that question had already been addressed. Neither Mr. Okyere-Frempong the Host nor Dr. Onwona took that path. Dr. Onwona still answered the question the best way he could. That, for me was a moment of truth. Come on, that is inspirational.

I have left out the Resume of the Guest in this review because I will surely run out of steam, if i attempt that arduous task. Just google him and you will find more than you need to know. Below are two things he said which I will not forget.

‘If you have a dream that looks like an achievable dream, it is not from God’

‘If God were to open up all the things to you what you should be, you would give up’

The meeting closed with Poetry by Braa Kwaku, the worshipping Poet, which came after the Convener Samuel Agyeman-Prempeh, Head of Invents had briefly introduced his team members. Mr. Agyeman-Prempeh received a standing ovation and that was phenomenal. The Author and Social Entrepreneur is one for the future, but hey; do not be deceived by his tenor voice. He is a leader. He makes things happen.

After the closing prayer came the networking session, a favourite of most participants. I made some new friends and clashed into some old friends as well. Overall, I rate the event an excellent one. And it was free too, but there were envelopes for freewill donation in support of Invents. I gladly donated some green ghana notes.

The next edition I’m told is scheduled for the 24^th January, 2016. I cannot wait to be there. Do keep your eye on this space. I might be doing a review of your event also.

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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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The Great Myth of Balance

The decline of the great religions mean that there are fewer and fewer 'universal truths' in our world today, and what few pretenders there are lack the prestige and following of yesteryear's great maxims.

But if there is a maxim today worthy of the 'universal truth' status, it surely must be the widely celebrated notion of 'work-life balance'.

We are supposed to 'do what we love' and to prevent the burdens of the workplace from intruding into our 'personal lives'. To leave work behind and not to carry it 'home'. To nurture relationships that are meaningful and deep, which by definition must be external to our daily labours, and uncontaminated by the economic forces that rule our professional lives.

People complain of being 'burnt out', and workaholics are looked upon with a mixture of disdain and pity, consigned to statistics of psychiatric health and psychological well-being. Is this some form of modern conceit? After all, in those cultures where written records make it easy to trace the origin of names, we find that 'what one did for a living', 'one's place in life' and 'one's purpose for living' were often conflated and deliberately blurred. Hence such names as 'Hunter', 'Baker', 'Falconer', 'Brewer/Brew' etc.

And yet, it is curiously in Marxism, that most post-industrially modern of creeds, that we find the most sustained assault on the notion that 'work' can be separated from 'life'. As Erich Fromm extracts from a summary of Marx's work: "History is....nothing but the self-creation of man through the process of his work and his production."

The ideals expressed in such maxims as: "dignity in labour", and "essence through human production" etc. lies within the very bedrock of all the materialist philosophies that accept human centricity in their conception of the world. Labour maketh the man.

There are of course perversions, such as the Nazi taunt that "work makes free". But the fundamental principle penetrates very deep into any logic that seeks to separate man from the other species.

Which is why even in the supernatural creeds, such as the great Monotheisms, we learn that God worked for six days and on the seventh day, 'rested'. The proportion is very clear: work is pre-eminent. Man, made in the image of deities, must also respect this proportion, and must mark the Sabbath not in the glorification of 'rest', but to give full meaning to WORK. In fact, in the Christian tradition, the Christ appears to condone the extension of labour into the Sabbath itself, strenuously refusing to chastise the Apostles that performed a harvest of grain on the holy day of rest, in defiance of the teachers of the Law.

And when you extend the idea of labour into the broader concepts of 'vocation' and 'duty', one finds in the Christian eschatology that the Angels and other divine essences 'worship forever' before the throne of the Monotheistic Deity. Worship being their vocation, their "life's work", they are called upon to do it without ceasing, to work incessantly.

Perhaps, then, a case can be made for 'fusing work into life', in much the same way that family law in contemporary times appear to have done for 'stay at home moms' and in its reinterpretation of domestic chores. Nowadays, child-rearing, home-tending, and civic duty, have all benefited from such 'reinterpretation', notwithstanding the capitalist surge in the production of so-called 'labour-saving' devices and advanced democracy's apathy-inducing side-effects.

Witness therefore not only the transformation of the home into a theater of labour-negotiation, but also, even more intriguingly, the emergence of full-time politicians and civic activists, some of whom now find sufficient means to live off entirely on what were once considered 'mere passions'.

Which leads to the heart of my concern: the perverse, in my view, morality that the operation of passion works solely in one direction: you must turn into a vocation that which you love already. It seems manifest by the record of contemporary lives that, very often, the key to peace of mind is to COME TO LOVE THAT WHICH YOU MUST DO. That which is your duty and vocation. For your means of livelihood must become your "life's work".

To my mind, by no means the sharpest that has contended with this subject, falling in love with your duty is a performance. It requires skill. Skill that must be acquired, through daily practice and perseverance. But, above all, it requires a mind-shift. And that mindshift is the centralisation of work in one's life. Work must define the being.

The artificial distinctions that have been erected by barefaced gurus have now come to a head in the religious vocations. Some people worry that other people earnestly work themselves into 'religious ministry' without a 'calling', wrongly construing the labour that attends the organisation of a religious mission as non-labour, and thus suffering unnecessary indignation when they discover that such activity is as much labour as any other form of work, to be harnessed by all who will to work.

That there are pastors and Imams, undercover journalists and spies, who hate their jobs as much as the next janitor or white-collar clerk is a notion unthinkable to those burdened with these delusions. To them, work is burdensome and a calling is sweet. I hate to break it to these timorous souls: here is the truth: all work is work, and there is no such thing as a distinction between vocations that are based on a calling and labour predominantly motivated, via cultural referents, by wage and service.

Understanding the preceding should open one's eye to the harsh reality of the human condition: we must PRODUCE OUR ENVIRONMENT, and this production is the day to day NATURE OF OUR VERY BEING. From the time we wake up till we drop, we are engaged in a constant pushback to re-orient our environment. The returns we get are calibrated by the success of this endeavour, and where those returns are 'wages' it simply means that the struggle we are engaged with has been codified enough to be widely performed, and through the various efficiencies of aggregation to generate wealth, and thus transform the environment at a much greater scale.

One may retreat from this types of aggregation. But one cannot escape the incessant throbbing of work in search of some elusive notion of happiness, unbound from the pressure of the environment, which is one's unending duty to produce. This is a grand delusion. Work stares into your soul, revealing your true worth.

The escape which you seek is the escape from the *MYTH of Work-Life Balance* into the universal truth of Work-Life Fusion.

Bright Simons is the Ghanaian social innovator, entrepreneur, writer and researcher affiliated with IMANI Centre for Policy and Education. He is the president of mpedigree network. Author Permission sought to publish this article which was originally posted on his facebook on 27th September, 2015

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A Night changed everything

It all began that night from a simple question a guy asked in a Whatsapp group of which I am a member.  “Supposing your best friend whom you chat with very often, almost every day suddenly stops contacting and chatting with you. You asked him or her and suddenly the response is that big excuse, ‘busy!’ How would you take that?

I read quite a lot of comment that were contributed by other members and finally decided to add mine, something that has sprung out of my own experience.

Sometimes we become sentimental in friendship. We do more and so we expect the other person to do more too. We love more, and so we yell at the other person to do same. None of these cravings are bad in themselves but the truth is, achieving them is close to impossible.  

We can’t force people to reciprocate love to us in the same magnitude we showed to them.  I have come to realize, that, quite often all these begin to happen and if we can be truly honest with ourselves, it all begins when one party cannot seem to draw the line between normal friendship and a state of admiration or let me put it simply “when we begin to fall in love with our friends”

Rule#1.
People need space no matter what and when they ask for it, give it to them. Hand them their space. We must be smart to know when they ask for it indirectly.

Rule#2.
Remember that your friends’ worlds are not revolved around “you” alone. They have a big world of other friends, family, work, happiness, quietness, and so we can’t always have their attention exclusively.

Rule#3.
Feelings are visitors. Let them walk in and walk out. Let them come and go. Quite interestingly, the very start of a friendship is sweet and interesting but when time and space begins to pass through, it becomes rough because, perhaps, we become tired of doing the same things over and over again.

Rather, stop complaining, let the person be, do as much as you are required (welcomed) to and just be you. Honestly, we all can’t be heroes in friendship, thus, we must know and define the limits of every friendship.

Our issue usually is that, sometimes with all our effort we desire to make some people “best friends or close friends” when they were just okay been friends. The fact that you told someone every detail about your life, even your greatest secrets, doesn’t automatically make them your “best friends”.

 I figured out that, sometimes, we are too quick to open up, mind you, not all openness means an outstretched hand of a life time friendship. Some people will like to listen to you but they can’t fix your issues, they can’t protect you and may not be the persons to make you happy, they are not bad people, it only means they cannot walk afar into our hearts.

That’s it, because, as we age, our priorities begin to shift and change and we become just too busy. That saying ‘if people love you they will make time for you’ has proven true over a life time.

Last month I found myself in a disagreement with a friend over the same issue. I sat down to analyze the situation carefully and I realized that i needed to know my limit in people’s life; I needed to understand how much of me they were willing to take and keep.

It was absolutely okay if they didn’t need me too much. It was even okay if they did and yet couldn’t prove it, it never meant there was something wrong with them or me. It is just as it is. As long as I was concerned I needed self-respect too, if they needed rest and space, I should be willing to grant it! If they were okay with us talking every year, so be it! I just had to define the friendship. (I must admit it was a painful process because it changed my perception about others and the fact that we have to be moderate in our expectation of others. And here I was, a sanguine lady, I had began to open up a little, just so little though.

Trust me people come in big surprises. Sometimes, they are quick to welcome you and then you begin to trust them, then, you become vulnerable and that is when they lose sight of your worth and unconsciously, sometimes consciously, they begin to take every bit of it for granted.

Who said change was wrong anyway? Often, we become a lot of different people before we settle into who we finally become. It gets scary to know who we have finally become, so toughened at heart that we can’t feel deeply anymore just because we are scared of being hurt again, that one too was okay.  Gradually, we become tired of being the “sentimental freaks” as we come to accept that, the compass to our emotional landscape does not always have to be directed to some particular persons anymore.

I hated this change but a lot of times I had no option, I wish I knew a better way and I realize I may have to lose a lot more friends because I prefer to enjoy that pure and genuine solace; my own place of quietness away from the world where I can totally transcend to find Love in my own self, where I could only believe my own mantra  ‘I will always love you’

With these experiences translated into words, I can say that mostly, it’s difficult to define the boundaries of friendship between a male and a female at a particular point in time  (not all the time though) and the challenge is when we can’t tell where friendship ended and love began, and as long as we can’t determine where we really want to belong, we will keep searching for love in different places.

The writer, Josephine Amofaah Nketiah lives in Accra, Ghana. She can be reached directly at abenamofaah@yahoo.com. She blogs at josiefin.wordpress.com 

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