Vision, Mission and Values for Long-term success

If you have interacted with the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S4, you can’t stop admiring its unique features. However the message and philosophy accompanying the smart phone is of more importance here and it all starts with its slogan “Life’s companion”. According to Samsung, it is a phone that simplifies life and even helps one check their weight and keep proper health balance. Specifically the company states in its website that the Galaxy S4 was “Developed to redefine the way we live, the Galaxy S4 makes every moment of our life meaningful. It understands the value of relationships, enables true connections with friends and family, and believes in the importance of effortless experience”.

Well I have been reading Jim Ware’s book “Investment Leadership: Building a Winning Culture for Long-term Success” that confirmed the vision and strategy of firms like Samsung. The book discusses the need for corporate organizations and corporate leaders to have a clear vision that goes beyond profits, a mission that has people as its motivation and a culture that is informed by the company’s values and unique attributes. Although the book is focused on the investment industry, I believe that private companies, public entities, partnerships, state ministries and departments, community organizations, churches among others can learn great lessons on the important basics for building a winning culture for long-term success. Remember that the emphasis is not just on success, but on sustainable and long-term success that outlives the people currently running the organization.

Companies and organisations that have an active vision and mission of their desired destination and keep working towards this vision, are more likely to have long-term success. The government has a development blue print – Vision 2030. County governments are also expected to develop economic blue prints. However it not a question of just having well written visions but are they living in the hearts and minds of all stakeholders.

In the corporate scene a common example is Equity Bank whose main vision is to provide banking services to the poorest of the poorest in Kenya and now the bank is implementing the same vision across Africa. You wouldn’t be surprised to meet an elderly lady at Equity bank seeking financial services because that’s Equity for you. So it is not just about having a vision in corporate marketing materials but the vision must be alive, it must speak every single day that an organization is in existence and building innovation in line with the vision.

The greatest lesson Jim Ware offers is that a vision must not be about money and profits, but about people. Jim interestingly observes that profits follow organisations that have a larger-than-profit vision. Listen to a CEO as he/she announces the full year results. Is the announcement just about profits or about the innovative products that have transformed customer’s lives?

The other most important lesson is the fact that all directors, managers and employees in the firm should have the vision at their finger tips. Once a customer enters the reception area the impact of the vision and the firm’s core values should be evident. Employees should be alive to the vision and be committed to achieve it whether they have a big, small or no title at all.

Lastly, for today, Jim shares on values and culture. He states that it is important for firms to have values that are not just well stated technical words like, integrity, efficiency and so on. These words do not communicate the values of an organization. Each stated value should be accompanied by an explanation in a language that is easy to read and understand.

For instance a firm can expand its commitment to customer service as follows, “Customer Service – at Kip Limited, we are committed to provide our clients with the right information at the right time to enable them make the best decisions for their family’s financial future. We shall listen more than we speak and therefore respond to all written and oral questions and complaints within 24 hours. We shall keep our client’s updated on the status of their account. We shall speak to clients with respect”. By reading this, a client going to Kip Limited knows the kind of service expected.

I encourage leaders across all sectors of our nation to build organizations with a living vision and mission statement and establish a value based culture to achieve long-term success.

Are you complying?

In the February 2013 issue of the Management Magazine, i wrote an article on "Towards a culture of Compliance". The article speaks on the need for entrepreneurs, investors and business managers to appreciate the new business environment. You may ask, when did things change? The answer is, the Constitution. Read the full article for more.

Want to buy a company, what about employees..

I recently highlighted the tussle between Kenon Kobil and its employee's relating to the acquisition of majority stake by Puma Energy.

Well this is the point. It is important to ensure a balance between the Kenol Kobil's rights and the right of the employees to fair labour practises.

So what should other companies learn from this. First, i support investments since they are a necessary part of our livelihoods. However i also believe that investments must be people-focused. As such a company cannot be stopped from entering into strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions and other forms of take overs. This is an important right for every corporation, since it ensures profitable growth by establishing new business lines or growing existing ones. If the deal has the necessary legal approval, the directors shake hand and move on.

Secondly, as executives shake hands and toast to a deal, they must be reminded that their decisions will directly affect employees. In this regard, the Talent Acquisition/Human Resource department should bring its employees to understand the deal. They should ensure that employees are well protected and make them know this. If employees will be retrenched, give them good send off packages, recommend them to prospective employers, help them develop business plans (to start their own small and medium ventures) and ensure that they leave peacefully.

Lastly, updating employees on the progress made in the deal on matters affecting them will also help avoid conflict (real or imagined). I have laernt that in life, people relax when given the right information and panic when kept in the dark.

I strongly believe that resulting to courts to resolve anticipated disputes is not good for the corporation or employees. The matter will most likely delay in court and both parties bear the costs. In addittion in a global business world, the reputation of the company may be dented if such a process is handled carelessly.

All in all a focussed balance of rights, entitlements and interests will go along way to ensure investors reap from their investments.

Where do employees stand when a company is bought?

Puma Energy is in the process of buying KenolKobil. It remains to be seen how this deal will be finalised and how KenolKobil prospect will change with such huge capital injection. However and most importantly is the various players in the entire deal, both direct and indirect participants and stakeholders. In this regard several questions came to mind after i read that employees at KenolKobil have sued to stop the sale.

So, do the employees have a stake in the deal? If, yes what is the extent of their interest? How do we balance the rights of the corporation to seek strategic shareholders through such a deal and the rights of employees? What is the best mechanism of balancing such rights; negotiations or litigation in court? These thoughts will occupy my mind in the coming days and i hope to address all of them.

Corporate governance for parastatals

There is ongoing debate on the role of the Board of Directors in state corporations in Kenya. The Boards seem to have unending conflicts with the management. The role of the state through the minister is also very confusing since ministers seem to hire and fire at will.

The suggestion of an oversight body to supervise all parastatals has come up strongly. The Prime Minister has opposed the creation of an oversight body to supervise Parastatals since this would only create government bureaucracy.

I must say that i buy the Prime Minister's suggestion since government bureaucracy does not attract investment both from local and foreign investors.

I believe that it is the high time the government embraced corporate governance principles in all corporations. If for no other reason, since these state corporations belong to the Kenyan public. The Board of Directors need to be appointed independently and its role separated from that of management. Interference from other state agents needs to be eradicated.

Image of an ideal board of directors

 Recently there has been interesting developments in relation to corporate governance in public companies and parastatals has got me thinking. What is the ideal image of a good board of directors? How can we identify a company that is run responsibly before investing? 

Well here are some cartoon photos that provoked my thoughts. Tell me what you think about them.

Add caption

Panel discussion on Corporate Governance

I enjoyed this discussion on corporate governance. Have a look at it.

But i cant help think of how such information can reach young people in my home village on the slopes on Mt. Kenya. Anyway please follow the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1JU05YP44I&feature=relmfu