Blakk ID’s modest groundbreaking launch

Product launches must soon become a collector’s item in the very near future. Brands try to outclass each other; innovating their way to mass attention leaving in their wake creative landmarks that sometimes even outlive the brand itself. Some of the activities can be that extreme. One worthy of note in recent times is the Star FM launch that featured camels and the works. Now that was a launch in a class by itself and it did get national attention. Perhaps it was all worth it as it seems to have worked miracles for the Star FM brand. I suppose it is what you can call a successful launch because it had the knock-punch effect—you couldn’t have missed it.

But is there an ethical question to be addressed in running these campaigns? Are the brands simply looking for attention or are they offering more. The world has gone past just doing things for your benefit only. Beyond that, phones now have cameras and flash lights. Some even have radio and TV. Innovation is when you can give more than your core promise in a creative way. A brand that seems to have captured this idea and is presenting what we think is bound to be a trend-setter is Blakk ID.

What if a fashion brand can sprinkle dashes of CSR over the launch even before they are fully in the market? Now, that will be a new way of thinking that also presents the full manifestation of the win-win-win idea. It also demonstrates that they are not just in the market to sell clothes; they also care about society they operate in. We can be sure then, that when they make a billion, they will give some of it back to help improve the lot of their fellow humans. Now that is a trait of a modern brand and the guys at Blakk ID clearly understand the dynamics of this thinking. So what are they doing exactly? They are going to the Akropong School for the blind to stage a fashion show as part of the launch of their fashion brand in an event dubbed Colours of Black. You might think there is nothing innovative about that until I tell you that all the models will be blind students. To answer your question, YES! Visually impaired people can model too. You may be familiar with the maxim “disability is not inability”. What it simply means is that, people you think are disabled may be abled in other departments and these blind students are going to demonstrate this idea in its fullness through fashion all made possible by Blakk ID.

YES! They have the materials; long legs, slender waist, muscular torsos — the whole works and Blakk ID is going to put them all to work on the 21^st of May at the Akropong School for the blind. If you want to support a blind student, witness a trendsetting launch, experience top-end fashion and be inspired, let’s see you there on the 21^stof May.

Blakk ID is an Accra based fashion brand run by Berima Kenneth Kobina Mensah; a Takoradi polytechnic trained fashion designer who has been passionately involved in clothing and dress making since his junior high school years.  

Blakk ID formerly known as Color Blakk is set to take African fashion to the next level. At SPiD-UP®, we are excited about the quality of their output and believe the future is bright for the Blakk ID team. It will be exciting to see you at Akropong on the 21^st.  Whatever you do, be the best you can be. #spidup 

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THE 7 LAWS OF SHATTA WALE

By Bernard Kelvin Clive & Jeremiah Buabeng 

Shatta Wale is a household name. No debating that. Before you start a long argument about your position on his brand and influence, pause and read what these thinkers/professional speakers Bernard Kelvin Clive and Jeremiah Buabeng have to say about the phenomenon that is Shatta Wale. 

1. The Law of Controversy: if I can stir a controversy at every unique point in time, I can keep my name on the lips of the Ghanaian on the street and therefore sustain my name recognition and my relevance. That's it! The Shatta brand thrives on controversy. And he doesn't fail to deliver one every now and then for our entertainment and for his profit. 

2. The Law of Anti-Establishment: Wale is not unaware of growing public sentiment against institutions such as Charterhouse. He takes advantage of it by calling them out for a duel every now and then and posturing as the victim. Does it work? You bet! 

3.  The Law of Disruptive marketing: he, unlike, other artistes always knows how to start top of mind and get the media to keep talking about him. In that way he thrives. He uses his cunning disrupting ways to break the news about his music and movements. Thinking about the fake Adidas move? Yeah! You have got the drift now! A savvy business man, he is! 

4. The Law of the Rebrand: When the first brand isn't working, rebrand! Wale strategically and successfully rebranded from the then 'Bandana' brand that failed to attract him the needed clout to the much widely revered brand “Shatta Wale".  His rebranding is arguably the most successful by any contemporary artist. It has worked wonders and still thriving. He didn't only secure a name rebrand, but also devised a strategy to annex his genre of music - dancehall. 

5.  The Law of the Tribe: he has built an enormous tribe - The Shatta Movement (SM), something most brands, his predecessors and even peers couldn't build or manage. He has a raving fan base that has become his core tool to push his brand to the masses and consequently to the top. A strategy emerging artistes must learn and adopt but of course one that takes genius to execute. 

6. The Law of Unconventional: it's the 21st century, folks, and you can't capture people's imagination if you are doing what everybody does. So Shatta's response to this is: be unconventional! Break the rules! Challenge everything the people are used to seeing and hearing. Some will hate you but that hate will still fuel your fame and keep you on top of your game! It's a formidable Shatta law and it works!!!

7.  The Law of the Ghetto: Shatta is popular for the same PRINCIPLE that made Peace FM worked; he reaches out to the masses, the people on the street, the ghetto. If you a Harvard-schooled prim and proper person, Shatta will likely not be your man. Unfortunately, for you, people like you are in the minority. The majority are on the street. He identifies with hustlers; people who have no strategy to succeed and are counting on their street smarts and aggressiveness to push them to the top. 

So there they are, the 7 laws of Shatta Wale. Now, let the controversy begin. 

"If you build a solid brand, even when you wear 'FAKE' it will be hot 'CAKE', because you have raving fans who will defend it to their death!" ¬ Bernard Kelvin Clive

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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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PESC 2016 at hand

Last year our very own Shakiru Akinyemi aka the Shakmellon was at PESC’15. He filed this tastefully detailed report that almost captured everything that was said at the event. We are especially excited about PESC because we believe entrepreneurship can eliminate poverty from the continent. High Performance in entrepreneurship can definitely do even more. We have to have entrepreneurs but we have to have results producing high performing entrepreneurs who can take us to the next level.  PESC is promising in this regard.

There are many entrepreneurship events in town these days. But they are not all the same. For any event like this one to be useful, two factors must be considered. Content; what is being said and who is saying it. The second is structure; how has the event been organized and how is it being delivered—this influences participant experience. The participant must leave feeling inspired and eager to start something.

PESC has achieved this consistently for the last three years. It is for this reason that we recommended the program to all entrepreneurs and even those who are waiting to make the jump.

Project SPiD-UP® supports PESC ’16. We think you should too.

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Preview: Role Model Africa Corporate Dialogue III

I saw this poster and it was easy to recognize the source. Samuel Agyeman-Prempeh! Invents!! Role Model Africa!! I took a closer look and what I saw drew a wide grin upon seeing two names headlining the poster. Michael Okyere Darko – OBRAFUOR and the ever enigmatic Bernard Avle.

(Food: paused, Standing fan: switched to maximum speed, Sleeves: Folded up, DVD: slotted in ‘Pae mu ka’ CD. Songs played in background)

About five years ago, on one quiet breezy afternoon, and in the company of three friends, I found myself in a certain house somewhere in Accra. Our hosts were setting up the compound to host a group of Believers to a bread-breaking time as Christ himself has ordained. As we waited for the action to begin, I saw this beautiful little girl, running around, playing and smiling. While my friends and i played with her, my host told me that the little girl is Obrafuor’s seed. Wow. 

Until then, I had not met the ‘Executioner’ in person though I have always admired his literary, oratory, musical and lyrical powers. He is in my candid view the Okomfo Anokye of Ghana Rap. Surprisingly, My host said Obrafuor was indoors.

“Obrafuor? Here?”

“Yes”

I did not believe my host for all the banku in the world. It did not strike him to challenge me to a bet; I’d have lost.

Nothing, Hell nothing showed that legendary Obrafuor could be in one of the rooms of that humble building yet it was true. We urged our host to let us see him. He agreed.

After few minutes, Obrafuor came out, smiling, saw his little girl and patted her before coming to greet each one of us who were then seated. My heart raced. We stood up too. I was dumbstruck as I peered into his face hoping to see the content of his mind through his head. I wanted to know how he does it. Ok, hold on right there. Something happened which fortified my respect for the General.

“Obrafuor, can you give us a free style?” I asked.

“Bro, my style is not free” he answered with a lovely smile of a father to a son.

My goodness! what a sharp mind in every sense of the word. We took photographs (not selfies. selfies were unimaginable then). He thanked us for our time and without fanfare went back into his room. That day, my love for his works and for the beauty of poetry in/and music was strengthened.

And for those ruling the airwaves now with their music; Sarkodie, Manifest, El and Co, who also are putting Ghana on the world map and generating millions in revenue, they have this man, Michael Okyere-Darko to thank profusely for setting alight their paths.

Bernard Avle? The first time I saw him, He was Master of Ceremony at a Fidelity/Graphic Business Meeting at Alisa Hotel. The second time, he was Master of Ceremony at the 2016 National Convocation of Springboard and after the event was hounded by ambitious youth who wanted all styles and degrees of Selfies. From a corner, I watched him, his fluidity and humanness. Twice, Yes, twice, but I follow his weekday acts on Citifm via my twitter handle @sharkmellon1

This is the third edition of Role Model Africa Corporate Dialogue. What do I expect to gain from the conference? To hear Obrafuor and Bernard say things I don’t already know, to challenge me to success and to blow my mind. What about you?

Samuel and the Invents Team. You are biiiiiiiggggggg men (In Bernard Avle’s voice). See you there people! 22^nd May, 2016. 3pm, African Reagent Hotel.  

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