hivos
NewsDay thursday FEBruary 20, 2014
H1
IN PROUD PARTNERSHIP
THE BLACK SHEEP TALK
‘Aim to be the best, not the biggest’ Business RepoRteR ENTREPRENEURS must aim to be the best, and not necessarily the biggest if they are to stand out from the rest in terms of serving their customers, renowned South African motivational speaker and entrepreneur Vusi Thembekwayo has said. Speaking at an AMH Conversations function held in Harare yesterday under the theme, The Black Sheep, Thembekwayo said: “Great organisations focus not on success, but being significant. They ask whether or not they can serve.” The seasoned speaker said many businesses fail because they focus much on expansion at the expense of quality. “Customers base on where they believe they will get the best prices and services,” he said. Thembekwayo, who speaks in four continents to over 350 000 people each year, urged businesses to formulate visions that are innovative and relevant to the African perspective: “Let us leave the old way of doing things in Africa. If we follow rules written about Africa, Africa will never be significant beyond the construct of those rules.” He said this extra innovation and taking of risks where others would fear to tread, enables busi-
nesses to go beyond the ordinary: “We need to compete at the edge of chaos. Keep pace where others would instinctively slow down.” Turning to competition in a business set-up, he said: “If you want to be the best, surround yourself with people who are better than you.” Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Thembekwayo said Zimbabwe’s situation was not moving fast despite things being better than they were a decade ago. Since 2000, Zimbabwe’s economy went on a free fall that resulted in the country having a world record rate of inflation, a worthless currency and company closures. An inter-party political agreement in 2008 provided respite, but continued political wrangles obstructed meaningful economic growth. “Zimbabwe had an amazing opportunity in 2008-9, but I do not think the political leadership used that opportunity. “The world has not taken Zimbabwe off. “There is still great hope and opportunity,” he said. Thembekwayo has travelled to 17 countries where he had been invited to speak and he has conducted 1 093 interviews. Speaking at the same function,
Vusi Thembekwayo during his presentation themed The Black Sheep which was organised in partnership with Hivos Foundation, AMH Chairman Trevor Ncube said AMH
would continue to seek to provide a platform for meaningful engagement of the corporate sector.
“Our obsession at AMH is to be the change that we want to see,” Ncube said.