international news these days

case studies in bad leadership 

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about your salary

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Another awesome industrialist hangout

April 2019: 

Aliko Dangote, CEO of Dangote Group, in conversation with his friend, 

Sudanese billionaire Mo Ibrahim.  

45 minutes.  

 

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no borders. no boundaries. let's go there.

Just hired a developer from Nigeria (I’m in South Africa). Seriously underrated place to find tech talent.

— Shai Unterslak (@shaiunterslak) February 1, 2021

Nigeria is a reality show.
Please call momager @KrisJenner you don't have to be unemployed, come and produce content to your heart's delight. https://t.co/gd6IJWWfyC

— REALbubbler (@realbubbler) February 13, 2021

Check this: 

If an African man (ok, African-American) could become the president of the United States, there's no reason we can not invite Angela Maerkel (when she finishes working in Germany/Europe) to come and head one of our major political parties or the African Union.  

Let's be progressive, not regressive.  

WE DON'T HAVE TO BE UNEMPLOYED.

WE OPEN UP TO FIX UP!   

CH live now: Guy Kawasaki wants to be a honorary Nigerian! cc @LolaABakare 😃

— Opeyemi Awoyemi (@opeawo) February 1, 2021

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wash your hands with soap and water, again.
maintain social distancing to slow the spread. 
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another food-y blog post

Become an expert in African food

You can do it!  

View this post on Instagram

At Western University, the Student Council is making sure all students have access to healthy food. Kathy Yu helps run the Digital Food Bank, a student volunteer-run service that uses Google Forms to respond to growing food insecurity on campus. Students who struggle to afford nutritious food can anonymously submit their requests for groceries—then Kathy and her team prepare the orders for private pickup. See how the @WesternUSC Digital Food Bank works in our story. #SearchOn

A post shared by Google (@google) on Sep 24, 2019 at 11:38am PDT

A Michelin-star street food 🥘 pic.twitter.com/AwgPrXfdjJ

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) September 29, 2019

This year's theme is Rethinking Nutrition Innovations and application is still ongoing till the 6th of October, 2019.

To see more details on requirements, eligibility, benefits and application procedure, visit https://t.co/DlW9Mu20fi pic.twitter.com/H4Gkp9Cmqb

— FATE Foundation (@FATEFoundation) September 27, 2019

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onboard

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Readers are leaders, somebody said. OK. #FastFive

1. Your Better Self with Akanna: Overcoming the Scarcity Mentality 

2. #Futurists: Inspired by the man who showed the way to modern computing, tech-minded experts shared ideas for how to tackle climate change, nuclear proliferation, and broken political systems 

3. The link between migration and technology is not what you think: newer forms of social media activism are increasingly enabling disrupters to set the migration agenda, based on fear and lies, in a quest for power.

4. Medium-scale farms are on the rise in Africa. Why this is good news

5. World's most popular attractions, according to Uber 

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What's your next move? To Japan maybe?

The government hopes to attract more than 500,000 foreign labourers to nursing, shipbuilding, lodging as well as construction and agricultural industries by around 2025, the newspaper said. 

Prospective foreign workers in those sectors can acquire work permits for up to five years by passing occupational and Japanese language tests starting next April, in which they will be required to demonstrate they are capable of understanding slow conversations and conducting basic tasks, the paper said. 

A strengthening economy since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in 2012, rebuilding after the 2011 tsunami, a construction boom ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a shrinking and ageing population have aggravated Japan's labour shortage. 

SOURCE: Economic Times (India)  

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What's your next move? "Back to the village" and the businesses / technologies that support it

A world where workers will be empowered to dictate their own hours, their own wages, and most importantly, their own freedom to explore their passions. 

A massive shift that opens up the opportunity for numerous peer-to-peer services and networks.

Driven by a post-scarcity economic model whereby you can live very frugally if you choose to, some workers (mostly college-educated and urban) are opting out of the now traditional work structure and choosing their own path.

People are really doing this.  
Source: VentureBeat, please read.  

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Hang out with SRK

Watch and share: An Insight, An Idea with Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan.  You know I will never waste your time.
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You Can

Baby steps. 

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Wake up, Africa.

I have laughed so hard my tummy hurts pic.twitter.com/9KLDZ3eUv3

— Machiavela Nolstnme (@nolstnme) July 17, 2017

Just old men everywhere.   

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Economics is (of course very) useful and (of course very) flawed. Enjoy this essay and possibly the book.

Test your powers of concentration with this good long read. How economics became a religion https://t.co/t1rfeT3sHr

— Guardian Weekly (@guardianweekly) July 11, 2017

The long read - How economics became a religion by @jarapley https://t.co/LIdeNbVsuQ pic.twitter.com/EuZGXUIBnI

— Guardian Comms (@GuardianComms) July 11, 2017

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Utopia for Realists

 (ideas changing work, pay, borders to increase happiness) 

and how we can get there
  by Rutger Bregman
 
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Optimism // Beautiful world

How Bill and Melinda Gates have tried to make Warren Buffett's vision of optimism a reality - and how you can too https://t.co/EvLnEX1i07 pic.twitter.com/zbSbV642Ci

— CNN International (@cnni) February 14, 2017

Only 1% know poverty has halved since 1990. Optimism in pessimistic times. Read Gates Annual Letter – https://t.co/dKc994XAzq via @billgates

— Carlos A. Reck (@yuyay) February 14, 2017

Announcing the 2017 World's 50 Most Innovative Companies—from @Snap to @Glossier #FCMostInnovative https://t.co/FCIXTrYzaI pic.twitter.com/HVQS89WwGs

— Fast Company (@FastCompany) February 13, 2017

Announcing the 2017 World's 50 Most Innovative Companies—from @Amazon to @Chobani #FCMostInnovative https://t.co/Betg3uxDck pic.twitter.com/dvvHhBkFrU

— Fast Company (@FastCompany) February 13, 2017

She's the first woman to travel to every country in the world https://t.co/OfwVnh3Hf3 pic.twitter.com/79uj49TunQ

— CNN (@CNN) February 10, 2017

All these countries have had a woman leader before the U.S.: https://t.co/7bfYfLjDcW pic.twitter.com/KaY1YPmFIN

— CNN International (@cnni) June 10, 2016

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So you want to be an agripreneur / agropreneur / farmer / food businessowner, Part Two

 This is a story of opportunity. 
Opportunity, thanks to the terrible economic leadership in Nigeria, or as I call it, the olodocracy. 
Opportunity that means "make here, produce here," because the exchange rate is like a gazillion naira to one dollar.
Opportunity that means buy low, sell high translates to make local, sell global.  

Let us learn from this conversation between Ndidi Nwuneli and Wale Adefarasin. 

Grab a pen and write these down:  Bring farmers together in co-operatives  .  Alternatively, do the farming yourself  .  Agriculture is not just crop farming  .  Deepen value-chains by providing agric inputs  .  There's also Finance, Logistics, Transport, Delivery, Training, IT/technology, Processing, Marketing  ...

Trust UpNaira // More on agric here

Agricultural produce, see more in UpNaira: farming

Some subsectors, see more in UpNaira: farming

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BONUS: Food and Agriculture University 

Seven Things CEOs Need to Know About Change Management

A fortnight ago, NNPC (and indeed, the whole country) was in a furor because a plan to restructure the organization was announced without sufficient engagement of all impacted stakeholders. As a result, the proposed change was badly received by key internal and external stakeholders. It was a well-intentioned move but the resulting backlash ensued from the lack of appropriate change management techniques.

Unfortunately, the problem of effectively managing change is one that plagues not just NNPC but almost all large institutions in the public and private sector in Nigeria. Despite the urgent need for change, successful change is rare and difficult. The antidote to this difficulty is found in the emerging field of change management.

Change management is a structured approach that ensures your transition to the desired future state is seamless. Studies show that stakeholder resistance is the #1 obstacle to successful transformation. Hence, change managers provide strategic yet practical insights that will transform employee indifference to compliance.

Delivery of change in organizations is often derailed due to the following misconceptions:

The first assumption is that ‘’Not every change needs to be managed. Change management is only needed for very large initiatives.’’ The truth is that all change needs to be managed in order to achieve the most timely and beneficial business results.

The second myth is that ‘’Change isn’t that hard. People just need to execute. People need to stop bickering and just do it.’’ The reality is that change is hard, but with the right activities and techniques, resistance can be minimized. There is a ‘’change process’’ – with reactions that can be predicted and managed.

The third misapprehension is:‘’We don’t have time for these things.’’ However, the absence of change management increases the risk of project failure and inability to achieve anticipated benefits. Change management is an enabler that pays dividends on the time required to perform it effectively.

The fourth assumption is that ‘’Change Management should be handled by the Human Resources Department.’’ The truth is that change management is often complex. There are many facets requiring people throughout the organization to take responsibility. The Human Resources department does often facilitate change by getting the necessary people to the table and facilitating successful outcomes. However, it is important that business unit leaders drive actual change activities.

The fifth myth is that ‘’If we focus on the hard (i.e., logical) side of the project and do a good job, we don’t need to worry about the soft (i.e., emotional) side. In actual fact, the hard side can impact the way people do their work, what they are responsible for, and how they are compensated – none of which will be done until emotional acceptance and adjustments have occurred. Many projects fail due to both natural and irrational reactions people exhibit when confronted with change.

The sixth misconception is ‘’We don’t need change management’’. To increase the speed of adoption of change, ultimate utilization of the tools and the proficiency of employees in the future state, change management is a necessity.

The seventh assumption is that ‘’The unions will support all the changes.’’ However, many changes need to be negotiated with the unions and may require concessions to be made on both sides.

Are you trying to implement a new strategy? A new culture? A new technology? A new process? A new merger? New ways of working? New responses to competition and the business environment? A new operating model? Or any other change with organization-wide impact?

Get relevant change management advice today.

Published in Business Day on Monday March 21, 2016. 

Subscribe to The Change Catalyst to get more insightful change management information.

Redefining PR

I'm stealing this Chude Jideonwo piece on what he calls Empowerment PR.  Please steal it too and share...

Chude Jideonwo, photographed by TY Bello

 "There is an entire continent of young people – and other demographics – whose lives are hard, who need real help, who desperately deserve to be empowered. They want people, and institutions who care about their lives, their contexts, their futures."

The RED Media partners Chude and Debola, on the cover of This Day Style

"Brands need to begin to think of a new quid quo pro – empowerment in exchange for brand loyalty. The kind that audiences can believe in, and that can build a lifetime connection."

Full article: Redefining PR with Chude Jideonwo : Let's have a conversation about Empowerment PR

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Does Finance have a PR problem or a callousness problem? And Strategy?

In this piece for the Guardian (UK), Kenneth Amaeshi laments that the core of mainstream business education is
"firmly anchored on a worldview that prioritises the pursuit of self-interest above public interests, that prioritises organisational performance over societal performance and that is built on the false premise that organisational performance automatically translates to societal benefits. In other words the grand fallacy of "trickle-down effects". In my view, both fields of academic enquiry [Finance and Strategic Management] are the silent but deadly barrier to the sustainability agenda."

He states that other fields such as engineering, medicine, and the law, prioritize the society in their endeavours, and it is awkward that business / management education does not.

"...political lobbying and distortion of democracy by powerful businesses, for instance, has been positively framed by some strategic management scholars as corporate strategic competence." 

"...For the sustainability agenda to gain ground and be embedded in organisations, the dominant orientation of strategic management fixated on economic performance needs to change. The biased endless and futile debate about the relationship between corporate social performance and corporate financial performance needs to be dropped. Strategic management scholars need to bring back society into the core of their scholarship. They should think of the societal and sustainability implications of their theories, tools, and techniques in practice instead of trying aimlessly to force the sustainability agenda through its economic performance prism."

KA, Prof. at Edinburgh

Kenneth Amaeshi is the director of the Sustainable Business Initiative, and an associate professor (Reader) in strategy and international business, at the University of Edinburgh and a visiting fellow at Cranfield School of Management and Lagos Business School.

-------------------------------------
It would be great to get further intelligent reactions to his essay (see it here: Business schools: the silent but fatal barrier to the sustainability agenda) .
Nowadays I am learning the opposite view -
about financial 'innovation' along the path of rationality and progress in Financial Markets Yale+Coursera by R. Schiller,
about Western 'godlessness' despite its pitfalls creating better 'performance' than societies explicitly based on religious goodness in Muslim World Copenhagen+Coursera by E. Afsah,
and now with thinking about education (and teachers) being typically underfunded (or underrewarded) esp as the parties that pay for edu are usually kids, parents or governments (who have no money, no money, or no money)
I'm wondering if corporates should not be explicitly burdened with the funding of education since the rewards go disproportionately to companies after everything anyway, and why should we subsidize that,
and so on with all these ideas,
so this is a great time for you to tell me what to think :)