Business lessons from AIBUMA Conference

The much awaited AIBUMA conference finally came to pass last week .It was better than we anticipated,with the live broadcast on n.t.v and live stream on the website,there is nothing better we could have wished for, big up to The Business School,University of Nairobi. No wonder its among the best business schools in Africa and with numerous of its alumni being in the top circle of African  business.Its my hope that there will be more of such conferences.They give students a chance to interact and get ideas from the high and mighty in the business world helping them think outside the box

This years theme "Embracing the Changing Face and Pace of Business and Management" came at a perfect time with the recent discovery of oil in Kenya."oil is not a curse nor a blessing,its the leaders,regulations and governance that makes it either"said Ms. Summaiya Athman,MD National oil corporation. We must all agree that AFRICA is on the rise,21st century belongs to Africa. In 2000 The Economist Magazine stated that Africa was a Hopeless continent and 10 years later they say its a Rising continent. Its our time and I hope you will play a role in truly making Africa a shining star.

The keynote speakers did not disappoint from Patrick Quarcoo, C.E.O Radio Africa who helped us understand why Kiss and Classic F.M are ruling the radio climate in Kenya,Richard Bell C.E.O Wanainchi group who helped raise over 300 millions dollars in just a span of 5 years for his company,Mr. lesiyampe, C.E.O  K.N.H who has done a marvelous work in improving the reputation of the hospital,linus gitahi of Nation Media,Rita Kavashe of general motors,Tabitha Karanja of Keroche Breweries,truly women champions, These are some of the business gurus who addressed the conference.

Below is a summary of lessons that 21st century business should adopt to remain ahead of competition;

1. Innovation in face of challenges will help you succeed, innovation will help you stay ahead of  competition,embrace entrepreneurship and have a strong team that knows how to tap top talent.
2. Organizations should take advantage of geography,its time for them to look beyond the national and E.Africa boundaries,its time to expand to the rest of Africa and beyond.
3. Communication: organizations should take advantage of social media,it has completely changed the face of business,ensure you are part of that change,Lets engage on Social Edge Africa and learn more on social media
4. Cost management is a must,ensure that you get high quality goods for low cost.This calls for efficient supply chain-application of T.Q.M, kaizen, Hines value chain among others.
5. Change in culure: technology has completely changed the world,learn foreign languages to be competitive enough,like I recall generall motors C.E.O saying its hard to find a competent french speaking mechanic
6. Gender:women are on rise and always influence major purchasing decisions. With their multitasking power they are a + to an organization.
7. Partnership: investors are constantly looking for partners to do business together with in africa,as an entrepreneur stand out and go out for those opportunities
8. Think the oppositte; Some of the greatest people in the world are those who did things contraly to what was expected of them,kipchoge keino,
9. Do the unexpected: in business there are no set rules on how to go,only that people are used to doing things in a certain that they create rules,step out of that cocoon do what your competitors don't expect of you
10. Create a legend: Create excitement beyond measure in order to succeed and be great,it should not be about you anymore,its about what you can do to change the world.
11. Outsourcing: don't try to be a jack of all traits,concentrate on your core business and let other specialists perform the rest of the activities for you,when Bharti outsourced their network they realized more profit and they set pace in the telecommunication industry.
12. Benchmarking: It's a chance for one to learn from the best in the industry and also know what your competitors are doing to be a step ahead of them.
13. In order to have a productive workforce, leaders must try to understand each employees dreams,visions and goals in their personal lives in  to effectively integrate them into accomplishing the vision and goal of the organization
14. Ignite fire in the soul rather than the feet of your employees,share success ,show respect and appreciation to your employees,reward them as a team rather than individuals,change titles(from morgue attendance to farewell assistant,good work at K.N.H
15. E-generation; the so called generation y is here to stay,they are born in the technology era,give them freedom and time with technology and also understand their wishes,dreams and aspirations to have that productive relationship with them

I will leave you with some of the inspiring quotes that motivated me from the conference
      

    Be so good,they can't ignore you

When you are running for your life,you can run faster than anything

The secret of success is not what you are taught in school,college,university or years of experience but how you deal with emotions in the work place

 Die young,as late as possible

You don't have to do things according to traditions all the time.

Lets engage on twitter @Nairobiguruh