Njuguna worked quite
hard and he must have realized that by working harder he was doing better. He
must have have gotten sucked into long working hours maybe without noticing.
Most likely other areas of his life got neglected. He was most likely eating
poorly and probably never exercising. If this continues unchecked the guy will
run into health problems and he’ll wish that he found a better balance in his
life.
The biggest error of
omission or is it commission is failure to create a system that works for him.
How do you create such a system? We can learn a great lesson from the business mogul, the late Njenga Karume (RIP). He planned the succession of his business empires to able to run without him. He needed to have gradually let go of his
direct involvement in running the businesses:
1.
You need to spot talents and build a team
that shares your dream. The team will get you to your goals faster. He ought to
have a manager for the hardware who deals with operational issues. The manager
would probably have some sales person, procurement person, a person in charge
of delivery, person in charge of receiving cash, etc. Njuguna would maybe be
getting some periodic briefings and he’d probably concentrate on looking for
new ventures and generally strategizing on the business and where it moves.
2.
But how would Njuguna trust that these
fellows won’t steal from him? He ought to create controls at different levels
to assist tighten any loopholes in the system.
3.
How about his land business? I see no reason
why Njuguna would be chasing clerks at Kajiado when he can get someone to do
such errands for him. I am sure he can afford to a person or people to take
clients to site, chase documentation at lands office, chase consents with DO,
etc. Most of these operational tasks need to be delegated.
4.
He should also take advantage of having
people in his team who specialize in some areas. The jack of all trade
mentality never works well. Isn't it better to know everything about something
as opposed to knowing something small about everything?
5.
At that higher level, Njuguna should be able
to organize his days in such a manner that he will cover all the facets of his
businesses and spare some time for his family and he should rest more. Probably
eat better and exercise. That way he’ll be a more complete person.
Let’s get deeper into
what Njuguna ought to be doing?
1.
High Level Strategic planning : Setting
realistic goals and tracking the attainment of the goals
2.
Looking for new ventures and investment
options: How about going around the outskirts of Nairobi and looking for
land…at the state he was in….he thought that the best land deals are only found
in Kitengela… How about exploring other areas where timber is available? How
about expansion into new areas…replicating the Kitengela success say in Rongai
or Ruiru?
3.
Strengthening his team to help achieve his
vision faster and spotting new talents. He can also build on the strengths of
the existing staff and resolve some weaknesses.
4.
Creation of sales and marketing
strategies…after all his business is sales driven.
If all this is in
place, I think Friday afternoon he can join a member’s club and play golf.
After all this life is short and he can afford the nice things in life.
I never got the chance
to talk to him and I am sure this message may have never reached him before he
collapses in a heap due to exhaustion and weariness. I hope someday I’ll bump
into him and talk some sense into him. I hope he can listen to me...he sounded
too arrogant to listen to some young man who may not be as successful as him…
That
reminds me of some businessman I met who was so arrogant and was really blowinghis imaginary trumpet….Next post I’ll touch on that topic.
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