This article was published in Finweek Magazine on 9-Aug-2012
“The most valuable commodity I know of is information.” These are the words of the depraved Gordon Gekko in the 1987 classic film Wall Street. In simple terms, information is power. And the less information we share with others – even if it is relevant and helps them do their jobs better – the more power we feel we have. Does withholding information from others make us more powerful? Or is the opposite true?
This article was published in Finweek Magazine on 26-July-2012
Why don’t companies train principles rather than procedures? Why don’t they empower employees to use whatever sensible means necessary to achieve the ultimate aim, rather than force them to follow one rigid course of action? Continue reading
This article also appeared in Finweek on 27-Feb-2014
Investors often look at early-stage traction as a key indicator of a start-up’s potential to succeed. Yet despite their sizeable user numbers, success didn’t happen for US start-up Drawquest. Would Drawquest’s impressive stats have translated into success if they had started up in South Africa? And what are the valuable lessons here for entrepreneurs? Continue reading
This article also appeared in Finweek Magazine in their 20-Feb-2014 issue
Our generation, our parents’ generation and generations before that, were raised to go to school, get a grade 12, and get a degree in order to get a job. But the world has changed. Job security and certainty about tomorrow, no longer exist. We cannot depend on anyone else but ourselves for financial and career security. We as parents and our educational system should be training our kids to be entrepreneurs, so that they can create jobs instead of working in jobs for someone else. We should be teaching them to be resourceful, resilient and creative, so that they can create their own successful tomorrow and don’t depend on someone else for their future. Continue reading
This article also appeared in Finweek Magazine in their 07-Feb-2014 issue
We all know that South Africa’s school education system is in a shambles. But does this matter, if an overwhelming 81% believe that school does a bad job of preparing learners for the real world and the workplace? Actually, education is still the way out of poverty and here is living proof. Continue reading
This article also appeared in Finweek on 22-Nov-2013
In 2011, when Barack Obama had to approve the raid that would kill Osama bin Laden, he didn’t decide quickly. Instead, he chose to sleep on it first. After taking 16 hours to reach his decision, he got a lot of criticism. As a business leader, often you’re faced with complex, high-impact situations that call for big decisions. Should you make these immediately? Or like Obama, should you give yourself time to weigh up all the options? Research suggests that time (and sleep and meditation) can help you make better business decisions, even tapping into your creative side. Continue reading
This article also appeared in Finweek Magazine in their 2-Jan-2014 issue
Defeat your competition, is what we often hear in business. No company wants competitors, right? Wrong. Competition is good for your business. Here’s why. Continue reading
This article also appeared in Finweek Magazine in their 14-Nov-2013 issue and online
Raising capital isn’t an easy decision for an entrepreneur. In order to expand rapidly, do you give up equity and control to get the investment you need? Or do you take the slower growth track, where sales fund your company’s growth and you get to keep 100% control of your baby? South African-born software company Everlytic chose to go the funding route. Finweek interviewed managing director Walter Penfold about Everlytic’s recent capital raise and what they learnt from it. Continue reading
This article also appeared in Finweek Magazine in their 3-Oct-2013 issue
Worldwide we’re facing exceptionally high unemployment levels. And yet in spite of this, companies complain they can’t find good people. How do you explain this disconnect? And what can we do to fix it? Continue reading
This article also appeared in Finweek Magazine in their 26-Sep-2013 issue
Singer Eddie Cantor once said: “It takes 20 years to become an overnight success”. Behind every seemingly instant success, are years of slog work, learning, experimenting, and many failures along the journey. What differentiates great business people, however, is their very unique view on failure. Unlike most ordinary individuals, they are not afraid to fail. They see failure as a necessary part of the path to success, and an opportunity to learn and grow and do things differently.
So if success is a long and winding road of trial and error and iteration, are there any lessons we can learn along the way from successful leadership icons who’ve been there? Finweek asked South African business icons Alan Knott-Craig Sr., Kumaran Padayachee and Tony Leon what they regretted most about their careers, and what they have learnt or done differently as a result.
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