An Open Letter to the Leaders of the ANC

I am a middle-aged white Jewish male. I grew up in the old South Africa in a family who fought for equality and supported the ANC. My cousin is Professor Albie Sachs and my home growing up was always filled with people we were hiding or helping.

In those days, the ANC was a struggle movement - a revolutionary party trying not to use revolution as the tool to create peace but rather a growing world wide sentiment to force change.

Great leaders like Nelson Mandela helped to bring about one of the most bloodless coups in history - a sudden shift that defied logic. In one sudden breathless moment, a whole country came together as for the first time, a minority in power voted to give control to the majority.

It's much easier to use guns than words to bring about change - but these great men did it against the odds.

Yet you leaders of the ANC today are cowards. I call you this to your face as you choose to either line your own pockets at the expense of the country or - even worse - sit quietly whilst Zuma the thug rapes our beloved country.

Today we ceased to be a democracy and instead became a dictatorship. There is no difference anymore between South Africa and North Korea - the will of the people has been overridden by a single man - aided in this coup by cowards in positions of power who have let all their predecessors fought for disappear in a moment.

Shame on you all. You are an offense to memories of the true struggle leaders - portly, greedy and silent when you should be fighting with every breathe to save us.

Today the ANC died. And perhaps our great country with it.

Creating Shareholder Value through tenacity and effort...

Many years ago, when I was one of the directors who listed the Connection Group, and I arrived to visit my uncle in my new Ferrari, one of his friends commented "That boy is an overnight success", to which my uncle responded, "10 years in the making!"

I am always reminded of this when I think about the impatience of so many that seem to believe that if you have a good idea, and put money into it, that you are automatically, and quickly, assured of success. So many great companies and ideas have come and gone whilst I have continued on, good times and bad, to build my businesses from strength to strength over the years, surviving adversity and enjoying the good times - but always moving forward.

I sometimes feel like the ants working throughout the summer whilst the other bugs party whenever they find food, only to wake up when winter is there, and realise that I have built a base on which to survive the hard times.

It never ceases to amaze me that people can suddenly turn around and tell you that you are so lucky that your business is doing well, when all around you, others are failing.

So I thought that here on my blog, I would share something that perhaps might be valuable to others out there.

Most of the great and successful people of our time (and I say most, because of course, there are exceptions to every rule) are people who worked and sweated and stuck it out when others would have given in, to come out on the other side against the odds. It is often when things look darkest that entrepreneurs and their ilk are at their absolute best, refusing to believe that the bump in the road means the end of the path!

If I have learned anything in my years as CEO, it is this: "Never give up. Never stop pushing for what you believe in. and never think that a setback, no matter how severe, is the end of the road. It is often darkest just before dawn - that is the natural law and business and life are no different!"

Tolerance, tiredness and the end of a long year!

Last night, my wife and I were sitting at Melrose Arch, having a cup of coffee with our kids, when a really vicious fight broke out between 3 guys right before our eyes.

As a youngster, and being a DJ in many clubs, I saw a lot of fights. But this time it was different. I saw through the shocked eyes of my sons, and I saw it for the desire to do violence and harm that it really is.

And it ruined the evening. We all felt the horrible tension, the shock, of seeing something from a movie happen in a place of comfort and security - a place where we go to relax and unwind.

And I realised that at this time of year, everyone is a tinder keg.

Its been a very tough year - yet somehow, the shortest year ever! Its already December tomorrow - this year has really FLOWN past with very little regard for our desire to savour it. And I think that perhaps this is a blessing.

Time is relative, and hard years can often seem endless - yet this one has not. I must say that I find the odd combination of unpleasantness and speed to be relatively useful.

The worlds had a hard year. From recessions, to floods, fires and storms, e-tolls, crooked politicians and even hailstones the size of tennis balls in our own freak weather this week, theres been a lot of pressure on everyone in most walks of life.

Its really not surprising then that everyone is on a short leash, having no tolerance and losing their cool for anything. People are rude in the traffic, angry over little things, and generally ready to break out into a fight over pretty much anything.

I think its time to take a collective breath - for the world to slow down a bit, and to allow the peace and togetherness of this time of year to bring them together again. I could do with a bit of brotherly love and Christmas spirit right now. I'm ready to embrace it whenever you are!

Do entrepeneurs focus on the money or the journey?

Today is a public holiday in South Africa. Yet another one of those days that staff love and employers hate. Being a business owner, I used the day to catch up on work, and to have a meeting with fellow creative people that can never seem to get together during the work week.

Today reminded me yet again that owning your own business, and working towards that goal of having the big deal come in, is actually not the true reason we do it.

We do it because the love of the journey is what really drives us. Its why entrepreneurs are called serial - even though they've sold their business they start again. They start again because it just seems to be the right thing to do. If you really love innovating, then you cant help doing it. You just have to get back out there and do it again and again.

Today was a powerful reminder of that for me. Meeting with a group of highly intelligent, motivated, driven individuals, each of whom has built, started or run more businesses than most people do in their entire lives - that is what its all about.

The chance to see an idea, a small simple concept, morph from its rough and unformed state, into a fully fledged, multifaceted business plan with all the bells and whistles as a number of great minds get a chance to understand it, grasp it and fundamentally change it - thats why we do what we do!

What an awesome day. And what a privilege to be surrounded by people with so much drive, enthusiasm and energy. There is hope for the economy despite the downturn and the negativity, because there really are people who can make a difference.

Can you innovate from the top?

I read a really interesting article today, by someone who is quite obviously a leader in the field of innovation. He posed some interesting questions around a topic that I have been thinking about for some time, and it has prompted me to put down my thoughts on this topic.

The article was entitled On the Hypocrisy of Innovators, written by Jeff DeGraff, a Professor at the University of Michigan, and you can read it by following the link. 

In brief, the concept is - can you innovate when you are already a market leader, without challenging your own norms? By definition, the concept of innovation, as defined by the Oxford English dictionary is as follows:

verb: make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.

The key here is the first part of the definition of innovation: to make changes to something established. This is the part I am really questioning - as a market leader, you are established, you are the de facto standard for that particular product or offering. Whilst you may come up with new ideas, methods or products, you certainly cannot make broad sweeping changes to something you yourself have established without damaging your own investment.

If the general principle of business is to be followed, the bigger you get the more you have invested in protecting that base, not upsetting it. And innovation is precisely that - upsetting the generally accepted norms. 

Take the music industry for example. It has everything invested in protecting its current model of revenue generation, which is the sale of music through an authorized channel. Innovation in this respect does not come from those with the most to lose, the market leaders. Those companies have grown too reliant on their current business models to innovate too strongly around anything that may cause those streams of revenue to be damaged.

On the other hand, an amazing woman by the name of Amanda Palmer (you can see her awesome presentation at the TED Talks here) can turn the current music revenue stream on its head. She can innovate - because she has nothing to lose. She is taking on the established methodology, and making changes to it - changing it in a fundamental way that will mean that no matter what happens in the future, the way people view purchasing music will forever be changed. Now THAT is innovation!

Why do giants emerge, then fail over time? Has this not been a pattern we have seen over and over again in our industry? Hewlett Packard, Novell, Lotus, Nokia, Blackberry - so many massive companies have waxed and waned.

They've lost to the innovators - the newcomers to the market who have taken them on - changing core features that the incumbent players have not dared to change without the fear of losing their core business.

Look at RIM, and their Blackberry. The ubiquitous device was the undisputed market leader - now they're running a very sad third to Apple and Android. And why? Because they were too scared to innovate away from their trademark keyboard, even when the market moved that way. 

When they finally woke up, and launched their half touch screen, half keyboard model the 9900 - it was too little too late - innovation in the form of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy had come and they had missed the boat. Their market share fell faster than anyone could have believed, and what remains is largely history playing out, as they through caution to the wind and try to make their final comeback strategy with their new Blackberry 10. 

Oddly enough, they now have the ability to innovate. Unlike Apple and Android who have a lot to lose, and so cant make too many changes, Blackberry's failure to date has made them the new underdog. They are left with a few loyal customers wanting them to succeed, and little to no general market expectation. They will discover, as so many have before them, that innovation is a lot easier when your back is against the wall, and you have nothing left to lose.

Which brings me to my final point (for now) on this topic. 

Its much easier to innovate when you're starving than when you're not. There is no substitute for having nothing to lose when it comes to really upsetting an industry or a concept with something completely new. 

And that's real innovation!

Courage is the key to success

I've been reading a lot of management articles, and even more on the topic of innovation - two key concepts dear to my heart and core to my world.

The most clarity you can get often comes from the simplest concepts. In one of the comments on one of my many re-postings and blogs on the topic, my dear cousin Ivan Sheiham, PhD, came up with a lovely summary. He said that whilst many concepts rang true, the key to success was really courage.

Courage is, without a shadow of doubt, one of the key differentiators between those who succeed in business, and those who don't. Courage comes in many forms in business, and I can see the application in so many places.

It takes courage to present your ideas of change - to go against the crowd and see the world differently, and not be ashamed to share that vision with others.

It takes courage to take the criticism or lack of faith of others, especially negaholics who resist change and draw others into their dismissal of new things, and yet not lose your focus or belief.

It takes courage to go to financiers, funds and banks, stand in front of people, and give them your heartfelt assurance that you will succeed, and to accept rejection without allowing it to stop you from trying again elsewhere.

It takes courage to be the one to make the decisions, to be the ultimate point of no return, where the success or failure of the project depends on making hard decisions, and sometimes, being able to admit you were wrong, and realigning the project before it goes too far off course.

It takes courage to take on the responsibility of other peoples livelihoods, and to carry the pressure of being able to pay their salaries no matter what might happen, never letting them feel threatened or scared even when you are terrified yourself of where the next payroll might come from.

There is no doubt that courage is a key ingredient to succeeding in life and in business.

Those who falter or allow others to dissuade them from their course through fear - be it fear of embarrassment, of failure, or of ridicule - those people will certainly not change the world!

The law of unintended consequences

I was reading an interesting article today, one that made me think a lot about the title of this blog. In the article, which you can read here, the story of how Google may just have created its own nemesis in Samsung is told.

Apparently, with Samsung now owning almost 40% of the worlds smartphone market share, as opposed to Apples 25% (I'm rounding off of course, but its close enough), Samsung is now so powerful it has the ability to wag the dog - thus possibly forcing Google to give up some of their revenue share on searches to keep the relationship happy.

It makes me wonder how many times companies and individuals have carefully built and nurtured partnerships and relationships, only to discover some time down the line that the person or company they invested in have become their biggest rivals.

Whether its friends who end up dating a prospective boyfriend or girlfriend, or companies who ultimately end up funding their own successors, there must be countless tales to tell of a similar nature.

I recall hiring a young, aggressive guy in Cape Town many years ago in my previous business, Torque-IT. Seeing his energy, I decided to give him a chance over others who seemed more suited to the job. For many months, he applied himself diligently to learning as much as could about our business, taking any opportunity to learn from me directly about how I had grown my business, and what my goals were for the local market.

After about a year in my employ, he resigned one day with no advance notice, and I discovered some weeks later that he had started his own training company only blocks away from my own branch. Being local, and having the advantage of knowing every customer, method and marketing tool we possessed, he soon became a major competitor in the market place.

I wonder if there is any way to avoid such stories? If you never trust anyone, you can't grow and build the people you need to take your company to the next level. On the other hand, if you do trust too much, you often end up giving away too much.

The same can be said for business partners. In order to grow your own business, you often need to help a prospective partner build and develop their skills, so that they can successfully sell your products. The more they sell, the more you grow. But often, these partners use that growth to demand more margin for themselves, or more exclusivity, and when this is no longer plausible, often turn to your competitor to get better pricing.

Of course, competitors who didn't invest the time, money and know-how to grow those relationships are only too happy to jump in and "steal" the business with higher discounts just when the partnership has started to yield dividends for your company.

I'm not sure that there is any way to avoid this law of unintended consequences, which by its very name and nature is just that - unintended. Since you didn't anticipate the outcome, there is no way to plan against it.

I'm putting this rule down to one of the laws of nature that evolve logically to keep the natural equilibrium, and to ensure that balance is preserved in all things.

My condolences to Google, and my wishes for the best of luck in their attempt to take back control of the tail they have accidentally allowed to wag their very large dog!