CEO magazine Volume 20 Issue 2

ceo

celebrating excellence in organisations Vol 20 No 2 - 2020

Intrapreneurs Precious Resource

Macadamias

Emerging Opportunity

Transformation

Holistic Approach

Markets

Three Drivers

Coveted & Attractive

Non- Executive Directors

9 771726 274709 1

R29.95 (INCL VAT)

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Dr Stan Moloabi, Principal Officer, Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS)

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A nnive rsa r y Celebrating 20 Years of Excellence GLOBAL

Expand your business Horizon

YEARS

2001-2020

G E M SFuture Embracing the

peek-a-boo Cyber CRIME - You never know who’s looking

Concerns over cybersecurity are growing globally, fuelled by reports of ever-larger data breaches and a lack of skilled cyber-security professionals.

What does it all mean?

Ginni Rometty, IBM’s chairman, president and CEO, said: “Cybercrime is the greatest threat to every company in the world.” And she was right. During the next five years, cybercrime might become the greatest threat to every person, place and thing in the world. With evolving technology comes evolving hackers, and we are behind in security.

of breached records came 95% from only three industries in 2016.

A computer hacker is the name given to the tech-savvy folks on both sides of the internet battlefront. Bad guys or ‘black hat’ hackers are the ones trying to break into computer systems, steal data, and install harmful software. The ‘white hat’ hackers are cyber security heroes that develop ways to catch bad guys and stop malicious programs from doing damage. That’s interesting nomenclature, right?

Ransomware is leading the way in modern cyber security events.

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that holds a victim’s data hostage until a ransom is paid. Instead of selling victims’ information on the black market, ransomware has established a way to make money off this stolen information directly from victims. The threat of ransomware is based on doxxing (publishing of the personal data) or blocking a victim’s online access to their own accounts.

Government, retail, and technology. The reason isn’t necessarily because those industries are less diligent in their protection of customer records. They’re just very popular targets because of the high level of personal identifying information contained in their records.

Approximately $6 trillion is expected to be spent globally on cybersecurity by 2021

The Global Cyber Exposure Index ranks sixth on the list of most-targeted countries for cyber-attacks.

South Africa

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The share of inbound e-mails that were phishing messages increased by 250% between January and December 2018.

According to the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report, Volume 24, 6.5 trillion threat signals go through the Microsoft Cloud every day. Microsoft analyses and scans more than 470 billion e-mail messages in Office 365 every month for phishing and malware, which provides analysts with considerable insight into attacker trends and techniques.

Sources: https://www.reuters.com/sponsored/article/staying-safe https://techcentral.co.za/the-state-of-cybersecurity-across-african-businesses/91570/

EDITORSNOTE

EDITOR’S note

More than just – Numbers

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he At the time of writing the fears (media-hyped and genuine ones) around COVID-19 and the impact it will have on the world continue to escalate.

While there is not much room for calm reflection on the impact of the virus as disinformation, economic reactions and medical realities are being factored into an ever changing equation, the one element that seems increasingly amiss to many observers is the impact upon the individual.

In other words, seemingly not much time is being spent considering the health of the persons that have contracted the virus – aside from the medical care they are receiving when diagnosed. They are, to be honest, merely reduced to statistics.

In some ways it is therefore a happy co-incidence that this edition’s cover story resulted in an interview Dr Stan Moloabi, the Principal Officer of the Government Employees Medical Scheme. His view on the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) financing system provided an interesting insight.

Large numbers of South Africans continue to die prematurely and to suffer unnecessarily from poor health. Treatable conditions are not being treated on time and preventable diseases are not being prevented.

The NHI will no doubt be imperfect in reality, as many financing systems are, but it will be a concrete move aimed at bringing many South Africans into the healthcare net – highly appropriate at a time when many people around the world are being reduced to mere numbers.

There is admittedly a long way to go before the continent reaches its full potential but the reality is that the perception is shifting and Africa no longer needs to be saved from itself.

Valdi Pereira

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INSIGHTS

Glenn Gillis found that using animated videos boosted students’ engagement and interest, improved their understanding of the subject matter and enabled more flexibility for self-directed learning.

Animation works because it encourages the suspension of disbelief, and it allows the audience to connect with the underlying stories and characters at a far more fundamental level. We know from psychology that behaviour change happens because of our relationship to archetype, and when the audience can relate (or not) to animated characters then we move beyond trying to convince people to do something different or new because of only facts.

While it can never replace the explicit transfer of knowledge, animation can teach skills in an implicit way. We can understand the subtleties and nuances in situations without having hundreds of specific rules and policies. We know right from wrong when we see it in a visual context, and it is the application of these fundamental principles rather than pure information, that drives true learning.

Another major benefit of animation is that it can do this at scale in a way that is very cost effective. We’ll never replace those teachers who with a great story and a piece of chalk can fire the imagination of young people, but we can extract, trap and make those stories visually engaging using animation, so that everyone, everywhere can share in the same journey of the mind.

animation

Could

Glenn Gillis, CEO, Sea Monster

make EDUCATION more accessible?

Studies have shown that 65% of people learn visually and it is certainly one of our most enduring forms of storytelling. From cave art to Greek theatre, humankind throughout history has sought to express ideas visually in a way that captivates their audiences.

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t’s no different now, we still tell stories to entertain, to inform, to trade and of course to educate (the why). Really, it’s only technology that changes (the how). And animation brings stories and visuals together in a way that can cut across cultures and literacy levels.

Benefits of animation for education Visual storytelling is incredibly effective in helping people understand and retain new concepts. A recent Australian study

Harnessing animation in the SA educational context Although there is certainly cause for teachers to have reservations about animation the arguments for it are compelling. Consider for a moment South Africa’s high smartphone penetration rate of over 80%, according to ICASA. Doesn’t that represent an ideal mass distribution platform? And given the fact that animation cuts across cultures, shouldn’t we be using this universal visual language to maximum effect?

It’s no longer fair to use antiquated arguments to deny learners the joy of learning through animation. If children themselves are watching Youtube videos on their phones, shouldn’t we be using the same technology to teach them the curriculum? What we really need is a new business model to fund the development of deeply researched, rich animated content that drives true learning and ultimately behaviour change, because the new definition of learning isn’t about what you know, it’s about what you can do that couldn’t do before.

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CONTENTS 10

LEADINGedge

We speak to Dr Stan Moloabi, Principal Officer of the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) about the need for universal healthcare, policy disruptions in the medical schemes environment, leadership at executive level and his passion for healthcare.

REGULARS 2 Your World Unravelled 3 Editor’s Note 5 Insight 8 Flip Side

PERspective 24 Private Education

32 What’s Hot or Not 72 In Conversation With

A Transformation Stumbling Block

27 Enterprise Transformation

ENTREpreneur

Culture Critical

28 A Serious Problem

12 Opportunity Driven

Cyber security

A new look at transformation

30 Working Tribes

14 Digital Doyen

Workforce perspectives

Opportunities in the Digital World

33 Xmas Gifts

16 Intrapreneurs

Get the Basics Right

Your most Valuable Resource

34 Positive Sentiment

18 Stories

A powerful tool

Powerful Brand Builders

36 HIV/Aids Still a cause for Discrimination

38 Africa Energy Much more than meets the eye

41 Longevity Generational Business

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42 Flexible Space The Future of Work

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20 Macadamias More than just Nuts

22 Blogging How to Build that Audience

INtheKNOW 44 Digital Workers Meet your new colleagues

46 Travel budgets How to Extract Value

48 The Value of Determination Brings New Rewards

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50 Business Complexity

54 The Distinguishing Factor

GLOBAL Expand your business Horizon

Its lies in your brand

56 Market Drivers Investment Trends

58 Non-Executive Directors The Real Responsibilities

Publisher CEO Global (Pty) Ltd Tel: 0861 CEO MAG Fax: (012) 667 6624 Tel: 012 667 6623 info@ceomag.co.za www.ceomag.co.za Chief Executive Annelize Wepener annelizew@ceomag.co.za

Driven by technology

Director: Strategic Development & Editor in Chief Valdi Pereira valdip@ceomag.co.za

52 The Digital Journey

Director: Corporate & Financial Services Carl Wepener carlw@ceomag.co.za

The Changing Way of Business

Business Development Manager Joseph Gumbo josephg@ceomag.co.za General Manager: Global Services George Wepener georgew@ceomag.co.za

LIFEstyle 60 Entrepreneur’s vehicle

Tawanda Mandizvidza tawandam@ceomag.co.za

62 Solar Lodge

Farai Mandizvidza faraim@ceomag.co.za

64 Luxury Workhorse Toyota GR

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CEO Class Administrator Nyahsa Rugara nyashar@ceomag.co.za

Invest wisely in business wheels

Off grid solutions

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Head of Production/Creative Manager Channette Raath channetter@ceomag.co.za

66 Honda Amaze A good drive

68 Beautiful Design Jaguar Design Secrets Revealed

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Manager: Corporate Support Raymond Mauelele raymondm@ceomag.co.za

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A nni ve rs a r y Celebrating 20 Years of Excellence GLOBAL

Expand your business Horizon

YEARS

2001-2020

* No article or part of an article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher. The information provided and opinions expressed in this publication are provided in good faith but do not necessarily represent the opinions of the publisher or editor. All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication. However, neither the publisher nor the editor can be held legally liable in any way for damages of any kind whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from any facts or information provided or omitted in these pages, or from any statements made in or withheld by this publication.

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FLIPSIDE

Big Ticket

Ghost Protocol*

Old habits With estimates of the average age of Catholic nuns in the USA suggesting that some 77% are older than 70 years, things are looking bleak for this important religious bastion of the Catholic church. It gets worse when you consider that young women are no longer finding religious orders as appealing as they did in the past. We’re no sociologists, but just perhaps, this signals the coming of new models for religious life.

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So, it seems like the South African government is doing business with 12 000 zombies. Yip, that’s right, the National Treasury, after some investigation, discovered that the government has been doing business with a number of deceased people. Fronting, no doubt, for funny business is going to new extremes. Perhaps it’s time for Ghost Busters. *With apologies to Mission Impossible fanboys and fangirls

FLIPSIDE

NO Horsing About Circa late 2017 the last automotive manufacturing plant in Australia was shuttered. In polite economic-speak this is now being referred to as the result of a ‘suboptimal automotive industry development trajectory’. Whatever. Recently an Aussie on horseback was charged for using his phone while riding his horse. The reason? In Australia, his horse has the same rights as any motorised vehicle and thus he has the same obligations as the driver of any vehicle – seems like that sub-optimal trajectory is starting to take an upward curve.

Off Side It seems that the intrinsically good benefits both from a physical and mental perspective of participation in various forms of sports are under serious threat. A survey conducted by The Telegraph (in the United Kingdom) reveals that many professional and amateur players suffer from some form of emotional stress. It appears to particularly difficult for women in sport, who are bearing the brunt of negative attitudes. Can’t say we are surprised – there is surely something behind those images of snarling professional athletes that have been so prevalent in the media over the years.

Fake News...

Okay, disclosure upfront, this is another Donald Trump story, that being said (or written) we promise this one is a little interesting. The Don has often slated the American intelligence community for being out of touch with reality and he has even suggested they should ‘go back to school’. A little research on our part has revealed an interesting anomaly on the CIA website (publications section). According to the CIA website the residency requirement for naturalisation in the Central African Republic (CAR) is 35 years. A little googling reveals that in 1984 an amendment was passed by the CAR repealing a 1966 provision that naturalisation required 35 years residence, to adjust the requirement to 5 years residence.

Could the Don be onto something….

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GEMS

Gearing up for Change

by Valdi Pereira

In this edition of CEO magazine we speak to Dr Stan Moloabi, Principal Officer of the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) about the need for universal healthcare, policy disruptions in the medical schemes environment, leadership at executive level and his passion for the healthcare environment.

Dr Stan Moloabi, Principal Officer, Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS)

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LEADINGEDGE - Government Employees Medical Scheme

At present the medical schemes environment is preparing for and undergoing a number of ‘disruptions’. What do you think medical schemes should be focusing on as they reposition themselves for the future?

Medical schemes and the coverage they provide is something we know we need, but we are never happy to pay for, that is until we fall ill and are vulnerable. In many respects it can be termed a ‘grudge’ purchase and one that the heightened economic challenges of the last few years has put into much sharper focus in terms of the value it offers, for many South Africans.

It sums up, I think, the challenge for medical schemes going forward.

How do we define value for our members and how do we deliver this to them? There have been many changes in the way healthcare insurance is covering for the needs of people and the way value is being realised is without a doubt an important aspect for members.

It is also important to note that the disruption we are facing is not solely driven by innovation, it is being powered by policy changes, which will affect the way healthcare funding is occurring in South Africa.

In terms of positioning medical schemes in the future, the reality is that the policy changes will force us to align with the objective of providing universal healthcare.

At its core National Health Insurance (NHI) seeks to address inequality in the healthcare space. Do you think this can be achieved without impact on the quality of health service provision?

It is important to understand that the NHI, is a mechanism aimed at facilitating universal healthcare coverage, with the objective of eradicating inequality in healthcare provision. While this is readily apparent to those of us in the healthcare sector, many people outside of this field are sometimes confused by the public debate surrounding this matter.

Is it achievable? I always say, ‘where there is a will, there is a way’.

This is not to suggest that it will be easy. It is about getting parity in healthcare provision. The current status we have means if an individual is employed, they can afford access to healthcare in the private sector.

This is not possible for individuals that are unemployed and they have to access public healthcare services, which nobody denies, is faced with some challenges.

It is therefore, about the noble idea of pursing healthcare provision, not based on what a person can afford, but rather based on their medical requirements at that point in time. Suffice to say it is going to be a complex undertaking and I encourage everyone to participate in the public discourse that is taking place – even for those people who are currently in the advantageous position of being able to afford a medical scheme membership, the reality is that it is becoming unaffordable and we need to find a solution that will work for all South Africans.

It is not often that one finds a medical doctor taking on the challenge of leading a medical scheme. What has taken your career in this direction?

Like most doctors that qualified in the early nineties I did a bit of public practice work and then went on to open a private practice. I started becoming intrigued by the fact that while I would

consult with a patient, I was often being paid by a third party, their medical scheme. I started looking at the Medical Schemes Act and in this way built my own understanding of this part of the healthcare provision cycle. The real impetus for me to enter this field is that fact that I found that healthcare funders and healthcare providers, who share a common interest – the wellbeing of the patient – were always locked in adversarial roles. I wanted to bring about change and bring these two important partners in the healthcare sector closer together.

Do you feel you have achieved this goal you set out for yourself?

[Smiles] It is fair to say I still have work ahead of me. That being said, I still believe healthcare funders and providers can work more closely together, to provide the best possible service for the patient, afterall, I am still a medical doctor.

Leadership is a diverse and increasingly complex undertaking in a changing world. Having held many senior executive positions in your career, what do you consider the most important lesson you have learned about leadership?

When you are leading an organisation, you have an executive team that drives the business forward - in effect you are a leader of leaders. It is important that your executive team understands your vision so that the entire team can move forward in concert with each other.

It’s only natural that you will find, especially at executive level, strong leaders who are highly competent and successful individuals, who may differ on how your vision needs to be executed. It is important in these instances that you act decisively to maintain cohesion and give direction – ultimately you will find that when everyone has the best interests of the organisation at heart, it is possible to combine leadership perspectives to achieve business goals.

In light of all the changes that are taking place in the medical scheme environment, where would you like to see GEMS positioned in the future?

As a medical scheme GEMS is in a rather unique position as it is the medical scheme for government’s employees and government is a key stakeholder in the GEMS environment. As the policy changes unfold the skills and knowledge that GEMS has gathered over the 14 years of its existence should be leveraged to assist in the delivery of universal healthcare. There is most definitely going to be a need for experienced healthcare funding practitioners in the universal healthcare space.

One day when it’s time for you to move on from GEMS, what legacy would you hope to leave behind?

I am definitely passionate about breaking down the adversarial climate between healthcare funders and providers. It is a big task that I am setting myself up for but I firmly believe the provision of universal healthcare is a noble endeavour that we need to pursue in order to build solidarity in our nation. This can only be achieved through collaboration.

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ENTREpreneur

Itu Assistance Services (PTY) LTD, Chief Executive Officer, Itumeleng Madikgetla.

DrivingTransformationThrough

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Assistance

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ENTREpreneur

Talk about a ‘go-getter’ – Itumeleng Madikgetla left home at age 10 to pursue a career in soccer, attending the Football School of Excellence.

After playing professional soccer for a few years, he was forced to retire due to a groin injury.

But that didn’t stop this natural-born leader, who proved himself as a team player time and time again. To the point that he now leads his namesake, ituASSIST, along with seasoned industry experts.

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hortly after leaving the soccer field, Itumeleng landed a job working in a clothing store where one day, he served a team leader from Europ Assistance SA. This team leader, impressed with Itumeleng’s customer service skills, asked for his CV and offered him a job. Over his 7-year tenure at Europ Assistance SA, Itumeleng was promoted 6 times. “I’ve always been an eager learner. I liked to do something different every year,” says Itumeleng. During this time, he also put himself through studies, obtaining a BComm in Management Accounting.

Itumeleng went on to work as a manager for a company called 24Fix but couldn’t hold off on his desire for more.

After a series of events, Schalk Burger, the CEO of 24Fix and Rouxle van Molendorff , CEO of Europ Assistance SA, agreed to join Itumeleng in starting something new – their version of the ideal Assistance Services company. And so itu(meleng)ASSIT was born.

The three combined their skills, working together to perfectly combine the traditional ways of doing things with smart technology, allowing services to be driven in an intelligent way. But while ituASSIST is in the business of offering assistance services, its bigger purpose is to assist in transformation – for employees, for suppliers and as far as the company’s influence can spread.

While working as a call centre manager for a big corporate, Itumeleng saw how hardworking

people were being overlooked and not given opportunities.

That developed a desire to drive the assistance of clients in the most efficient way, while giving people opportunities. “I believe that intelligent systems and processes are not only essential for efficient and accurate service delivery, but also allow for the transformation of people and circumstance. We need to use smart systems and innovative ways of doing things to drive the growth of both business and the individual,” says Itumeleng.

“We’re not entirely doing away with the traditional ways of doing things, but we’re adding intelligence. Our system drives process workflow differently, allows us to know exactly what’s happening at every stage, and gives us the means to accurately assess the quality of our suppliers, and measure our service delivery timelines against industry standards. This truly gives us a competitive advantage and allows us to focus on what’s important.” “’Transformation has become a buzz-word, often used too loosely. I’ve seen that some companies have developed a sense of entitlement which can hinder focusing on the quality of service delivery. That’s why I aim far higher than industry standards and put so much emphasis on evaluating and improving skills and quality, through our system.”

“Being in the services industry, my work tends to revolve around compliments and complaints. While compliments are what drive me and bring satisfaction, I believe that every complaint is an opportunity to improve – to understand what went wrong and to put measures in place to prevent the same thing from happening.”

“Like most CEO’s, a large part of my role is to put out fires and to look for opportunities for our business to improve.

We’ve already introduced a lot of innovation into the industry and will continue to do so,” says Itumeleng. Within the next 10 years, he plans to grow ituASSIST into being in the top 3 incident management companies in country, known for fueling transformation and excellence. To date, ituASSIST have given opportunity to at least 80% black owned plumbing companies, with 30% of those being woman-owned businesses. Internally, the company has promoted at least 15% of its call center employees to management positions.

As independent as he’s always been, this is a man who understands the importance of a team working together. ”We’re working really hard to instill a family culture into every person who joins our team – it’s essential. We focus on helping our team members understand the importance of assisting each other and working on self-growth,” he says.

“As much as I’m driven to follow my dreams, I live by these three things: Always stay true to yourself, stay humble, and give other people a chance,” says Itumeleng.

“We as ituASSIST are driven by the positive impact we are making in the country,” he concludes.

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ENTREpreneur

4

steps to become a DIGITAL DOYEN in business

Digital transformation can unlock business competitiveness and success despite economy.

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he South African economy needs very strong growth for an extended period to start chipping away at an official unemployment rate of 29%.

The National Development Plan, and many economic commentators, place small and medium-sized enterprises, and a spirit of entrepreneurship, at the centre of the country’s medium to long-term recovery. In order to do this, they need to be agile, profitable and digitally relevant.

Serial entrepreneur and renowned global speaker Vusi Thembekwayo believes there are simple but profoundly effective things a business owner can do to make his or her business competitive in the digital age.

Representing Intuit QuickBooks - the leading cloud accounting software - at the Cloud in Practice conference in September 2019, Thembekwayo unveiled four laws to transform businesses, and accounting practices to digital doyens.

1. Walk the aisles and find the truth “Not a truth, not your truth, but the actual truth,” says Thembekwayo. He says all business areas have different versions of the truth. “When faced with a loss in market share, marketing will tell you the logo needs to be refreshed and IT will say this is due to the company being locked into legacy systems that aren’t performing at peak.

“Raymond Ackerman walked his aisles once a week, talking to customers, finding the truth,” says Thembekwayo, referring to the man who turned Pick n Pay into the giant retailer that every household knows.

“Businesses must find a way to walk their aisles and talk to their customers because when they find the truth, their path to success clears.”

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ENTREpreneur

2. Keep moving “Ask yourself what made Nokia great. It was the QWERTY keyboard,” he says. “With its single design philosophy, the ability for a human thumb to reach each key on the keyboard, Nokia, in effect, created the ‘thumb generation’. And then they stopped moving.”

“Blackberry came in with a QWERTY of its own, as well as a communications platform that let you speak to anyone on the platform for free. And then they stopped moving. Samsung soon followed, along with the iPhone, and today it is Huawei leading the innovation charge in mobile technology.”

Companies that stop innovating, he says, stop being the best and will be ousted by companies who are still creating and still thinking.

3. Treasure your vision “We’ve become very good at measuring our businesses but in truth, staff and customers don’t care about numbers, they care about the vision of the organisation,” he says.

“Martin Luther King said he had a dream, not a spreadsheet, a standard set of operating procedures, financials, and a business model – he had a vision. Give your staff a dream.”

4. Listen to your staff Staff give management very real feedback about their businesses every day during the course of their work, he says. “But if that person is a cashier or a car guard, for instance, the likelihood that you’ll actually hear what they have to say - the message - as opposed to focussing on who’s saying it – the messenger - is low. And these are the people who interact with your customers every day!”

Don’t pay attention to who’s delivering the message, listen to the business case, he says.

“There is sense and guidance and real change to be found in every person who touches your customers – you just have to listen.”

Head of emerging markets at Intuit QuickBooks Jolawn Victor says that in Intuit QuickBooks’ experience, the mind shift changes outlined in Thembekwayo’s four laws are crucial to taking a struggling business and turning it into an efficient competitor in the digital age. Once the mindset is right and the leaders are aligned, strategic partnerships are able to unleash immense potential.

Victor says that it has been proven time and again that leaders who are freed from the nitty gritty of daily operations, such a chasing up unpaid invoices, are able to lead with vision. Building a business that is disruptive rather one that is disrupted requires the management team to focus on the core business, says Victor. Solutions that run these tasks automatically literally untie the hands of the leaders.

However, innovative solutions and partnerships can do more than the daily slog work. They can have a measurable impact on a business’s competitiveness and agility, says Victor. “Cloud-based solutions can streamline actual processes by flagging anomalies such as higher-thananticipated project costs and expenses earlier on to save the company serious losses down the line.”

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INTRApreneur

HOW TO RETAIN THE

INTRAPRENEUR

By Diane Boorman – Business Enabler, Mentor and Founder at Brand Analytics

An intrapreneur is a person who has an entrepreneurial mindset but is employed by a company to drive innovative ideas and projects within their business. Yet many companies fail to retain their talented intrapreneurs.

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hese individuals are primed to see new opportunities and investigate changes to policy, technology or systems that will improve the functioning of a company or develop innovative new products and services.

Yet, they often find themselves getting bored or at odds with the very company who hired them.

Having been an intrapreneur myself I know first-hand the struggle companies face. Today, I feel sorry for my

INTRApreneur

the next thing to develop. They are quick minded and therefore need stimulation. If they don’t find it within your organisation, they will find it outside. Allow them to take leadership and personal development courses and learn new skills.

If they have learnt as much as they can in a one department, move them to another. If they are getting bored, find another path for them in your company – it is better to harness their drive and energy than to lose them all together.

Share new ideas and information Creative thinking is the cornerstone of intrapreneurship, so find a way to push them into a space to spark creativity and big sky ideas. Share new and interesting information with them often; an intrapreneur will absorb ideas vigorously, thinking continually about them to see how they can be practically applied.

Create social opportunities Intrapreneurs love meeting new people and interacting with others. When looking for volunteers to participate in business events or activities look no further than the intrapreneur; they will always put their hands up.

Manage expectations Ensure expectations and budgets are explained from the beginning. An intrapreneur will go all out often coming up with big ideas which can break the budget, so it is important to set the expectations up front. Let them know what is and what is not flexible. If a budget can be exceeded explain the criteria that have to be met before it can be even considered. This will stop the individual wasting time and energy on an idea that will never come to fruition.

bosses as I pushed against every boundary, every rule and every corporate policy in my career. In those days, working for yourself just was not an option: you had to get a job and earn a salary. While I was highly successful and worked on amazing projects, not having the freedom to experiment drove me to leave formal employment.

The reality is, there is a lot employers could to retain staff. Here are some of these ideas: Support their growth through skills development or training Intrapreneurs who are not using their full capacity will get bored. They are always looking for new ideas and

Time management The intrapreneur gives everything to their job, they will work long hours often getting lost in the pleasure their work brings them. Make sure they are managing their time well and balancing their work/life; the last thing you want is a burnt out intrapreneur on your hands.

Push them outside their comfort zones Intrapreneurs should be challenged; push them out their comfort zones and you will see them grow. Don’t let feelings of complacency set in, usually there are two things keeping a person in their comfort zone: fear and goals. When you notice complacency of any form, push the intrapreneur to set new, challenging goals or help them uncover any fears that may be limiting them. The intrapreneur grows quickly so expect fast reaction to your efforts and watch them bloom.

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ENTREpreneur

A Story to Tell Jimmy’s Killer Brands has appointed Idea Hive as the digital brand storyteller and marketing strategist for the innovative Jimmy’s Killer Express franchise. The Johannesburg through-theline agency also takes on digital marketing solutions for the newcomer in the Jimmy’s Killer Brands’ stable, Cheeeesa Mazambane.

Digital Marketing

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ince Jimmy’s Killer Prawns launched in 1990, Jimmy’s Killer Brands have been providing affordable, easy-to-set-up franchise solutions under the Jimmy’s Killer Prawns, Jimmy’s Killer Fish & Chips and Jimmy’s Killer Grills names in South Africa and internationally. Their vision is to establish franchises that are unique in appearance, quality, product and service and with low set up costs.

The Jimmy’s Killer Express franchise launched in 2018 and provides restaurant-quality take-aways. Cheeeesa Mazambane is at the cusp of its launch into all nine South African provinces as an inexpensive, quality meal option and one of the most reasonably priced franchise options.

Sizwe Dlamini, Acquisitions Manager for Idea Hive, says, “We’re eager to get started. Jimmy’s Killer Brands were looking for an alternative to traditional marketing and to distinguish

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themselves in the digital marketing space. As a diverse team of hardworking digital natives, we’re skilled in brand science and we specialise in telling African stories. We think our experience with a range of blue-chip companies makes us the perfect fit to provide the brand with 360-degree digital marketing solutions.”

Aneez Amod, CEO of Jimmy’s Killer Brands says, “We can’t wait to partner with Idea Hive to tell the different dimensions of the story of our truly local brand. Together we aim to grow the Jimmy’s Killer Express and Cheeeesa Mazambane brands to become a go-to franchise for investors and first-time business owners without much experience, to enter the fast-food franchise market.”

s peci al i si ng i n o n- l o c a ti o n c o r p o r at e p h o t o gr ap h y & v id e o grap h y

Over 17 years of professional photography experience working directly with clients, agencies and private individuals.

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monsoon P H O T O G R A P H Y

brenda 083 452 4530 brenda@monsoonphotography.co.za www.monsoonphotography.co.za Pretoria East | Gauteng

MACADAMIAS VITAL TO ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EMERGING MARKETS The impact of commercial farming can be viewed through a variety of, both positive and negative, lenses. The global population is largely fed through commercial farming activity, and this, is together with the agricultural sector, through the value chain, providing a lifeline of employment and other socio-economic benefits.

M

arried with the global trend to plant-based eating (for health, ethical and sustainability reasons) the high protein monounsaturated (good fat) macadamia is an interesting industry that comes to the fore.

Particularly due to its opportunity for scale. Climatically, macadamias do well in similar conditions to sugar and tobacco, and whilst these industries are experiencing lacklustre performance, macadamias offer a robust, healthier for the planet and people alternative, to farmers.

Leading macadamia marketer and exporter, Green & Gold Macadamias (G&G), is responsible for selling close to a fifth of the world’s crop. Added to, it has a perspective that is entirely unique and differentiated from other marketers, in that it holds the most extensive processor partner affiliations, in key growing regions in both emerging and established markets, around the globe. Producers and processors in African countries South Africa, Kenya and Malawi, together with Brazil and Australia form G&G’s network.

The majority (65%) of available macadamia supply is produced in the African collective. This has significant economic and social benefits for especially South Africa, Kenya and Malawi. Africa is home to the lion’s share of the globes arable land and macadamia plantings remain on the rise in these regions. Other regions experiencing strong growth include Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Swaziland “South Africa is the world’s leading producer of macadamia nuts, and through its domestic macadamia exports, provides the country with valuable foreign exchange

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currency. This is significant for an emerging economy like ours. Encouraging infrastructure and other investment forms the building blocks for sustainable growth,” comments Allen Duncan, CEO Green Farms Nut Company (GFNC).

GFNC values include inclusivity and building community engagement, it is financially invested in, and partnered with, initiatives that impact over 30 emerging farmers.

The business also runs mentor workshops for new, small farmers into the market, together with offering other skills development opportunities. It has built a nursery school for the children of those who are part of the project.

Kenya, for example, has led the way in negotiating and agreeing favourable trade agreements with key macadamia consumer markets and territories, setting a platform for the local industry to grow.

Brazil is faced with having to adapt from its predominant agricultural output, sugar. In 2018 sugar burning became prohibited in Sao Paulo state (responsible for 60% of Brazil’s sugar, and ethanol, production) following legislation set out in 2008; farmers had 10 years to comply. Other major sugar growing regions in Brazil are following suit.

This presents untapped opportunity for the country in that macadamias offer a viable alternative: orchard plantings can take place in existing agricultural hubs and not through encroaching on the surrounding natural environment.

“Cane growing region, San Paolo, alone has 5.1 million hectares planted to sugar. With, by comparison, around 7 500 hectares planted to macadamias in the whole country

(over 50% of which are in San Paolo state). The current macro context of Brazil’s agricultural industry is serendipitous in its timing to growing the macadamia industry at large. This comes with unparalleled scope for socio and economic upliftment too,” shares Maria Teresa Camargo, President, Queen Nut. Queen Nut is Brazil’s leading processor of macadamia nuts.

It appears these social benefits are already in play, in a big way. It is perhaps Green & Gold’s largest producer partner of macadamias in Africa (and top 5 in the world), Maclands, that best embodies this. This pan-African business has orchards and processing plants in Kenya, Malawi and South Africa, and creates 5 213 jobs through their operations in these regions.

“Maclands is deeply committed and invested beyond the obvious benefits of creating employment opportunities (in countries with significantly high unemployment rates).

Our ethos is about long-termism and sustainability. For all our stakeholders, not just shareholders, but customers, suppliers and importantly our employees too. We care about our people experiencing a rewarding existence when employed by the business and want to leave a legacy that local communities are proud of,” says Chris Flowers, Regional Director, Maclands.

It understands intrinsically that the business needs to exist in harmony with the community in which it operates; since it is the community that gives them license to do business in that region. This is demonstrated through best in class initiatives, including building houses for staff with running water and opportunity to create vegetable gardens.

Within the villages, children of employees have access to schooling; and medical care and clinics are available to staff and their dependants till they’re 18.

The organisation is rooted in creating a healthy agricultural environment supported by key infrastructure developments like building dams, and in Malawi specifically

a project that focusses on reducing deforestation of indigenous bush.

Queen Nut’s social programmes stretch far and wide from basic human rights initiatives to those that encourage cultural growth and participation. Many of which focus on women, and include:  Athlete of the Future Project, that aims to encourage low income children and adolescents to develop an interest in sport  Proerd Project, in partnerships with the military police, which is a drug resistance and violence education programme  Adolescent Apprentice Project, is a project around career preparedness through life skills training and exposure  Apae Pilot Project is a professional kitchen that teaches children and teens with special needs to make cake and salty pastries to help strengthen motor co-ordination  Child Friendly Company Project, that acts against child labour and promotes vocational training and access to protected employment for adolescents  The Macadamia Festival, is a cultural extravaganza to promote tourism, together with raising the profile and opportunity of the macadamia sector It too has a strong focus on employees through rigorous safety training programmes and access to medical, gynaecological and detail assistance. Study and career advancement opportunities are also facilitated. Queen Nut’s environmental awareness policy includes recycling, energy saving and driving water efficiencies.

“G&G is extremely proud to be partnered with business like GFNC, Maclands and Queen Nut. All of whom pave the way, and enable, opportunity to sustainable economic upliftment and growth. Particularly in rural areas, which are often most vulnerable to cultural and value system fragmentation,” concludes Brian Loader, CEO, G&G.

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ENTREpreneur

5

tips for building an audience for your WordPress Selina Bieber, Senior Director for EMEA at GoDaddy

If you’re already running a WordPress blog or planning to start one, you are probably hoping to attract an audience and turn them into repeat visitors. Getting this right involves a mix of elements from the content to search engine optimisation (SEO) to the look-and-feel of your site.

H

ere are a few pointers for turning your blog into a bigger success and building your following.

1. Focus, plan and research If you’re running a blog for the fun of it, you can pretty much post what you like, when you like. But if you’re running a blog for your business, hoping to earn some income from it, or simply looking for public kudos, you need to decide which audience your blog is for and what content they’ll be interested in to take things to the next level.

general in nature, and shouldn’t be used too many times.

Tags are not to be confused with keywords. Keywords occur in the content of blog posts and are intended for search engines, while tags are strictly for the internal organisation of your blog.

4. Measure and optimise traffic You can’t manage or improve it if you don’t measure it. So, make use of reporting tools like Google Analytics to track your blog’s traffic. You can see who has been visiting your website, what pages or posts are the most visited, and then use that information to make a plan for creating more 2. Tap into Yoast SEO content for your blog.

Yoast is one of the leading SEO tools for the WordPress Google Analytics is free and relatively easy to use. Don’t platform. This tool is wonderful for beginner bloggers forget to add your site to Google Search Console to keep because it contains a content track of your blog’s health. analysis feature to guide you Google Search Console has through the process of creating lots of free tools to help you You can’t manage or improve it if a more optimised blog post. know how Google sees your you don’t measure it.

Additionally, Yoast SEO has a lot website. of other powerful features to take advantage of.

5. Get SSL SSL is a must for every blog. SSL is an acronym for 3. Make proper use of categories and tags Secure Sockets Layer. This is encrypted information, like In WordPress, categories and tags are known as form entries that is sent through the browser to the server taxonomies, and they organise blog posts. They make where your website is hosted. Search engines like Google content discovery easier for someone who is browsing your reward https-encrypted websites by pushing them higher blog. Four to eight should be fine for most blogs. in search results. Plus, having authenticated SSL security You can use as many tags as you like, as long as they helps establish trust between your audience and your blog remain relevant to your blog post’s content. Categories are in the anonymity of the World Wide Web.

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ENTREpreneur

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PERSPECTIVE

PRIVATE HIGHER

&

EDUCATION

THE TRANSFORMATION OF EDUCATION

Discriminatory practices still prevalent in the workplace despite a “democratised system”.

An integrated approach to employability will start to eradicate much of the discriminatory ills of our society, writes Dr Aradhana RamnundMansingh, an academic at MANCOSA and former Human Resource Executive.

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by Dr Aradhana Ramnund-Mansingh

W

hat does the mismanagement of parastatals such as Eskom, SABC and SAA in recent years translate to? The common public opinion when reviewing social media platforms is that “black people cannot manage organizations; they are corrupt and they practice nepotism”.

All the ills tantamounting to the failure of these parastatals are as a result of black people, so it seems. Eskom has had eight CEOs in the past seven years.

Earlier in the year, former finance minister, Trevor Manual, confirmed that the past 12 CEOs and executives cost Eskom almost R514m. The cliffhanger and the suspense in this movie have come to an end as in rides the caped hero, André du Ruyter, to save the day! And they all lived happily ever after…

If only it were as simple – let us rewind to “once upon a time” where the South African workplace was extensively divided, with all skilled and management positions reserved only for white people. Everything from education to land and freedom of movement was controlled. Even higher education institutions were divided. Black academics and students could only be affiliated with universities and technikons for either black, Indian or coloured people, otherwise known as “bush colleges”.

PERSPECTIVE

As South Africans, we believe ourselves to be free from the shackles of apartheid, to be a new democratic generation. The only thing that South Africans are free to do is vote! We have a backlash against our legislation of B-BBEE and Employment Equity reporting and targets, and the fact that there is no defined end period. The Human Rights Commission was scrutinised about Affirmative Action and Employment Equity policies being unconstitutional.

The burning questions that need to be asked are: In a free and equal South Africa, why do we still have under-resourced rural schools; why do we have a private schooling system which benefits an elite and privileged few and; how do we move away from legislation such as the Employment Equity when in a country with a population in excess of 58 million, 80% are black but hold only 15.1% of the top management positions and 8% of the white population hold 66.5% of these positions according to the 2018/19 analysis of the combined Employment Equity

reports for public sector and private sector. In all management levels, the statistics are consistent and whites dominate.

According to the termination statistics which include resignation, dismissal and retirement, 52% of white people were re-employed from a total of 59% which were terminated. In addition to this, JSE-listed companies in 2018 report that 10.2% of CEOs are black African; 1.7% coloured, 2.7% Indian and 85% white.

The current status quo of the country from a racial perspective indicates a somewhat slow and stagnant process of equal opportunities, where black people continue to be disadvantaged from a historical system, where education remains unequal and so do work opportunities. We look at a small percentage of black people who have thrived and focus on their successes, but where do the majority fit in?

In the field research work I undertook with manufacturing industries represented countrywide, the underlying and pertinent issues uncovered was that the workplace continues

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with discriminatory practices which seem like an extension of our previous separatist laws. In interviewing black and white engineers and human resource practitioners, it was confirmed to a large extent that black engineers are marginalized in many of these organizations due to the fact that they have no formal qualification from previously white higher education institutions.

The common perception is that they cannot be “trusted” as engineers. Companies recommend that they work under the mentorship of a younger, sometimes less-experienced white engineer due to the fact that the latter has undergone a more “reliable” education system.

In understanding what transpires in the workplace, we need to take cognisance of the fact that education systems have not democratised with our country’s democracy. This is one of the major reasons for the ripple effect of racial discrimination in almost every facet of South African society, irrespective of being a “free” country. What is democratized education systems? Coming out of the separatist laws, all educational institutions are now accessible to everyone. In saying this one needs to take note of the current 2019 statistics where South Africa has 1966 independent/private schools, 23 796 public schools of which approximately 11000 are rural schools, mainly found in the Eastern Cape, KwaZuluNatal and Limpopo. The challenges faced in these schools are immeasurable, from under-qualified teachers to the complete lack of any resources or suitable infrastructure. The question once again is posed, in a free and democratic South Africa, how free and democratic is our education system, and what is the extent of the transformation, post-apartheid?

So, how does all of this relate to Eskom and the saga of the failed CEOs, and why has the appointment of André du Ruyter created such controversy? Does this appointment for Eskom mean that it is on its way to privatisation? Or will he (Ruyter) succumb to the temptation that his white predecessor Sean Maritz did in 2017 or will he actually make a positive impact and “confirm” that “South Africa cannot succeed” as a country without white people in key leadership roles? Does it mean that he will condone Employment Equity targets to bring forth his own team under the pretense of repairing the situation?

All of the answers to these questions mean

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nothing to a country who continues to be wounded by the ills of apartheid.

As a sociologist, society is viewed as an integrated system, with education being fundamental. Education begins the moment a child is born, as parents, family, communities and religious organizations become a part of constructing that child’s reality. Therefore, from a sociological analysis and perspective, it would seem that the only cure and way forward is education - formal schooling, higher education and practical work mentoring. This is indeed a tall ask with the current disparities and bleak statistics shown above in the formal schooling system.

With the advent of the Employment Equity legislation, many companies elevated black individuals without proper guidance or mentorship and not taking full cognisance of our unique political landscape and how it has defined the manner in which our realities are constructed. If we continue this path of not growing black leadership and seeking rescue from white people, as is the case with our new Eskom CEO, how do we start moving away from historic ideologies of job reservation and start to balance the racial business leadership statistics in line with the demographics of the country?

To realise the mutually-inclusive and equal fantasy, where black South Africans are able to heal and succeed, private higher education is starting to play a significant role in the transformation of the way education is structured and facilitated. This may be a small step but a step in the right direction.

A holistic approach including a review of the entire formative school structure, working with higher education and large organisations is the key to growing South Africa. Based on international models, private higher education institutions are working towards focused practical workplace applications in line with theoretical frameworks.

This focus on an integrated approach to strive for employability will start to eradicate much of the discriminatory ills of our society. Business schools are educating their students on real life business practices globally and locally by firsthand experience.

While learnerships, youth grants and SETA-funded (Sector Education and Training Authority) training may benefit young learners, there needs to be a holistic drive towards developing black leadership in the country.

PERSPECTIVE

Real

Transformation

involves the entire enterprise, not just technology

by Allana Barber, Digital Practice Manager, Africa, Wipro Limited

The concept of digital transformation has received significant attention in recent years, touted for its ability to revolutionise businesses and drive innovation and enhanced competitiveness. The reality however is that digital transformation is only part of the picture. If organisations truly want to leverage agility and innovation, they need to do more than just modernise applications and infrastructure. Real transformation needs a strategy that encompasses the entire enterprise. The key to success lies not simply in a focus on the single element of digital, but on creating core changes across people, processes and technology.

E

mbarking on transformation from the narrow point of view of digital only can result in the creation of a strategy that has no depth. New technology may be implemented, but without looking at the impact of the technology on customers, employees and business processes, benefits often fail to be realised.

Successful transformation needs to adopt a people-first approach, not a technology-first. All aspects of the enterprise need to be considered and an overarching strategy should be developed. This will assist not only in ensuring more effective transformation, but will improve budgeting and realising a return on investment as well.

In reality, both digital and enterprise transformation are on-going journeys, and not any single destination. Technology and the world are always changing and agile businesses need to be able to adapt quickly. Effective enterprise transformation relies on adopting this mindset, and therefore it is vital to find the right transformation partner to ensure that the journey is designed and implemented in accordance with an effective experience led roadmap.

The key is to focus on building human experiences and transforming the organisation according to the needs of both employees and customers, rather than trying to change a business based on a specific technology solution. Agility is essential, so rather than one monolithic goal, smaller quicker sprints can often deliver more successful results. Having a clear understanding of the

interactions and integrations allows organisations to get a better picture of where innovation can be achieved. It is also important to bring in intelligent processes to measure the impact of transformation, so that value can be realised and adjustments can be made, as necessary.

Successful transformation should fundamentally change the way a business operates, and how its customers experience it. While technology is often an important part of this, changing people and processes is how businesses really move forward. Technology is simply an enabler, and while tools such as machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be instrumental, their real power lies in the ability to empower people to do more through design-led transformation programmes. Ultimately, transformation needs to be about cost efficiency and agility, by addressing people, processes and technology as well as innovation, and not just a single aspect. Transformation is essential to growth and continued competitiveness for all organisations.

PERSPECTIVE

Do companies take

CYBERSECURITY seriously enough?

Many companies are ranking cybersecurity as a top 5 priority, but their actions do not measure up to the claim, a survey finds.

T

he hard truth that companies must face is that there is no way that cybersecurity risk can be fully eliminated. On the other hand, there are steps that organisations can take to prevent many attacks or mitigate the consequences if any such attacks occur, says Carey van Vlaanderen, CEO at ESET South Africa. A recent survey by Microsoft and Marsh provides some valuable insights into how businesses perceive some of these challenges.

While 79% respondents on the study, called 2019 Global Cyber Risk Perception Survey, have made cybersecurity their top-tier priority, they are quite unsure as to how to best address the issue. In addition, the study – which canvassed views from 1,500 business leaders across the globe – shows that almost a quarter of the companies asked had ‘no confidence’ in responding to and recovering from cyberattacks.

The general decline in confidence from the 2017 edition of the same survey affects other key areas of cyber-resilience, such as preventing cyberthreats or even assessing and understanding them.

A total of 74% of organisations evaluate risks in some way prior to adopting new technology, while 54% assess them after adopting them. While that might sound reassuring to a certain extent, the reality is a bit different, as only 36% of the organisations asked, evaluate the risks both before and after the adoption of new technologies. A mere

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5% evaluate risks at all stages, whereas 11% don’t evaluate them at all. It is no surprise then that the potential risks involved may dissuade some organisations from adopting emerging technologies, the reason being that the risks outweigh the potential benefits. According to the survey that happens in 23% of the cases.

Then there is the issue of trust between companies and third-party providers. Certain levels of trust among these parties are indeed standard, with 32% of the survey’s participants claiming to trust the vendors to take the necessary steps to secure their products. On the other hand, 40% of the respondents are proponents of the trust-butverify approach where they do not accept the security claims of the providers. Instead, they always take the necessary precautions and conduct their own due diligence.

Even though more and more companies are starting to approach cybersecurity as a top-tier issue, there is still a great disparity between how cybersecurity is perceived and how it is approached in practice. The numbers mentioned above provide a narrative where a large percentage of companies are not sure about how to deal with cybersecurity, and we can go as far as saying that many of them underestimate it. By extension, it can be safely assumed that many organisations across the world have yet to ensure they’re well-equipped to counter the growing cybersecurity threats.

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PERSPECTIVE

WORKING TRIBES: 30 years of changing the way you work The world has changed considerably since Regus set up its first flexible office space back in the late eighties. In 1989, Sir Tim Berners-Lee came up with the idea of the World Wide Web, the Berlin Wall came down bridging East and West, and the first Global Positioning System satellites went into orbit.

T

he impact of those events reverberates through society to this day, changing both how we live and work.

While flexible workspace may not seem as historically monumental, it too has played a part in shaping how people work in 2019, with 85% of businesses introducing or considering a flexible workspace policy in the past 10 years.

So, to celebrate 30 years of Regus offices, we have looked at the new ‘tribes’ of workers that exist today, thanks to changes to the way we work.

The old fashion 9-5ers Let’s remind ourselves of the ‘regular’ working type, the steady employees who clock in at 9am and leave by 5pm. While we may still consider this to be an ‘average’ working pattern, a recent survey by IWG, the leading global workspace provider, found that 50% of employees globally are now working outside of their main office headquarters for at least 2.5 days a week and 85% confirm that productivity has increased in their business as a result of greater flexibility.

Side hustlers These are the workers who have a side project or business alongside their main gainful employment. This could be for

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additional income, to develop and hone new skills, or to set up their own business. More and more South Africans are taking up side hustles to supplement their income. According to Moneyweb, one in three South Africans are taking on additional jobs to make it through the month. Most of these individuals are doing something poles apart from their current roles to boost their income.

It’s been argued that the increased uncertainty about job security and difficulty finding work can foster a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurialism. Those that came of working age during this time have this instilled in them and have continued it beyond the 10-year anniversary of the recession.

Multi-hyphen workers Can be called freelancers, self-employed or those with portfolio careers: whatever the name, working for oneself in a career that utilises a personal passion or skill is on the rise.

Currently, over 10% of South Africa’s workforce is self-employed.

Much like the side hustlers, the multi-hyphens are partly driven by the fallout from the economic crash. There are other influences behind this trend, however. Many prefer the working style of sourcing numerous income streams that utilise their varied skills, talents and interests. According to a report released by the International Labour Organisation, the most common answer for why people are self-employed is ‘to gain greater independence’.

Digital nomads Also known as global grasshoppers, these free-spirited workers pick up freelance employment in different cities and countries around the world. Seen as aspirational by many, this working style offers personal freedom, the opportunity to travel and a rewarding work-life balance.

From copywriters to computer programmers, people with online-based jobs can take advantage of the remote nature of their work from anywhere. Of course, it’s not all plain-sailing or working with an ocean view. Organising visas can be costly and time consuming, tax returns can become extra complicated and you may have to contend with fluctuating currencies. Of course, there’s also the added difficulty of finding new work in different places.

Flexible workers From fully remote roles to requesting office hours that support working parents, these concepts of flexible working are increasingly available. But as the above working styles show, there is far more to flexibility than hours and location.

We’ve seen great change in just 30 years of flexible workspaces, and with the increasing application of AI, robotics and machine learning, we expect office space and the world of work to evolve even further over the next 30.

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What’s Hot or Not So long, Neutron Jack As this issue was being finalised word filtered out about the passing of Jack Welch. The man who revolutionised General Electric and executive management approaches to large corporations during the nineties. While he was alternately championed as a pioneering business leader or criticised for harsh business decisions, he certainly shifted the needle in many areas. Just ask any number of workers who have been at the mercy of crazy performance management routines in distribution centres across the globe and you will get sense of his legacy. Good or bad? Depends where you sit in the stakeholder landscape of business.

Wearables becoming Wearable

Corporate Cards No More One of the last vestiges of corporate prestige appears to be under threat from silicon value. Yes, that fancy expense account coupled with company credit card is under danger from a new generation of super number crunchers (artificial intelligence driven).

These companies and the software behind them, will analyse precisely how much you are over spending on lunch, or dinner that matter with the clients you are wining and dining. It is going to be a tough for road ahead for big spending business development honchos. Antacid anyone?

With industry pundits suggesting that smart watches are on a trajectory that will result in them becoming ubiquitous (we recommend you consider some of the elegant devices coming from European start-ups if you must have one). It is only a matter of time before the new class of nano-sensors used by some smartwatch manufacturers make their way into mass market clothing. Considering the way some companies are using technology to monitor workers, this is definitely going to give a new perspective to the idea of corporate wear.

Paranoia. The new Norm?

No, we are not referring to COVID-19, yet.

Instead we focus on something a little more insidious, the rise of the private security industry. Depending on which corners of the Net you like to hang out in, there are predictions that the private security industry market will this year reach US240bn. It’s hardly small change and apparently it outpaces the combined GDP of a number of countries around the globe. What’s driving growth that during the past decade average more than 6% annually? Quite simply sociologist say it is the fact that the wealthy classes of the world are bothered by the fact that they have made their loot by exploitation of the masses and fear retribution. Mmm, sounds all too familiar.

Pizza Pizzaz In an era where carrying a few extra kilos on your frame is almost consider criminal profligacy, not to mention the rise of low fat ‘this’ and gluten free ‘that’ (we won’t even get into vegan alternatives), the steady rise of the humble pizza across the globe is an intriguing story. In the USA it has been calculated that some 350 slices of pizza are consumed every second…no small crust for a product that is estimated to be a 1000 years old

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Get an early start,what

NOT

to ask Santa for this Christmas: The most frequency abandoned toys in South Africa

Every parent knows the frustration of presenting your child with a toy that they’ve been nagging you for ages, only to abandon it within a few days.

According to Gumtree Marketing Manager Estelle Nagel, Gumtree.co.za can easily spot which toys didn’t live up to the hype by analyzing the listings on the site.

“P

arents start listing abandoned toys between 28 December and the end of the first week of January, once it’s clear that their kids are not as enthusiastic about their expensive toys as anticipated,” she says.

According to an analysis on the site the following toys are the most frequently listed for sale: • Hatchimals These adorable animals remain a surprise until they noisily hatch from their eggs, but that is usually where the excitement begins and ends. Costing between R800-R1000 a toy, the hatched Hatchimals are often resold for R250-R500.

• Build-a-Bear Similar to Hatchimals, the fun of this toy lies in putting it together and customising it. Build-a-bear range in price from R250 – R1000 depending on accessories and type. “To cut the cost, take your little one to assemble the bear and buy your accessories secondhand on Gumtree. You can pick up wardrobes full of shoes, sunglasses and clothes for your bears for a tenth of the price.”

• Hoverboards This was all the craze in 2018 but frustrated parents started listing their hoverboards on 25 December already. “Last year we had dozens listed by Boxing Day for half price,” says Nagel. The cause is unknown but reports of injuries and accidents might be behind the steep abandonment rates.

• Lego Lego is incredibly popular, but once assembled, pieces invariably go missing and the novelty wears off. “The good news is that you can often buy secondhand Lego in bulk as incomplete sets - leaving your little ones free to use their imagination to assemble their own world.”

• Battery-powered cars Car enthusiast parents will shell out thousands for mini Ferraris and BMWs for their little ones, but they often end up for sale soon after. “The batteries need to be replaced, kids lose interest or simply outgrow them.”

Nagel says there are a few tips parents should deploy before shelling out on big presents. “Kids outgrow toys quickly. Before committing to a big ticket item, shop secondhand. You can teach healthy money habits by having your child sell their old toys to buy new ones. Make a point of donating or repairing old toys rather than throwing it out.”

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The power of

by Chris Botha, Group Managing Director of Park Advertising

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PERSPECTIVE

Positive Sentiment, rugby and great business

joy) given the airtime that he got? The ‘Siya sentiment’ is far more powerful, and will drive this country forward. We need to blindly ‘fake it till we make it’. It’s been proven by many experts that once you believe you can turn the ship around, actually doing it becomes so much easier. South Africans need to believe in the promise of the rainbow nation, and we as media and marketing experts need to lead the charge.

I am not saying we should be ostriches and dig our heads in the soil when it comes to our challenges, but there is something to be said for reporting our successes as well. Just recently Mpumelelo Mhlongo – a South African Paralympic athlete – broke his own world record at the 2019 World Para Athletics Games, that’s great news! In the past year, we have had new leadership instilled at SARS, the NPA and the Hawks. Our country is turning the corner, and we need to lead the charge in the sentiment states.

But then thank God for So here is my the Springboks. Just when the request to our media Just when the emigration office was emigration office was being owner partners, being overrun – 80 minutes of magical overrun – 80 minutes of magical clients and staff. Let’s rugby united us as a nation and made us use positive words rugby united us as a nation and made us all believe that We Can when referring to our all believe that We Can Do This!

Do This! Nothing really changed in industry, our country, the country. But the sentiment did. and our people. Yes A recent HSRC study looking at the effect of the Rugby World business is tough, but we are employed, we are working Cup win, found that 88% of respondents said that sport adds hard, and we are making money (well, most of us…). When to their sense of belonging to South Africa while 85% thought someone asks you ‘How is business’ – instead of replying with that sport can help South Africa to deal with xenophobia and a short four letter word – let’s start speaking positively. “It’s racism. tough, but we are working to change it. We believe we can There is definitely something to be said for that positive grow from here”. momentum. That sentiment. That hope. It does actually A quick glance at the financial statements of every major change behaviour. It makes you want to be a better person. It business shows that there is cash available for investment. makes you want to work harder. It makes you want to succeed.

I think that this cash will get freed up when consumer So this is my Christmas wish. That we as a nation start sentiment improves. We have the resources and the strength looking at the positive in our country. That we rabidly hold onto to turn this boat around. Now all we need is the belief. the things that work, and ferociously fight off what doesn’t.

I am really excited to get my teeth into 2020 and to make As media and communication experts, it is our job to it the best year ever? set the narrative for what works in our country. Why was I’m looking forward to playing my tiny part in turning our Mbuyiseni Ndlovu (the Grinch who stole the world cup country’s future around. I can’t wait.

It is human nature to ‘look forward’ to a better tomorrow. There is something quite natural about it. Our beloved country has been on a sentimental rollercoaster of note. We started with the same line we start every year – “2019 can’t possibly be worse than 2018”… Sound familiar? The eternal optimism exists that this year has to be better than last year. Add some Thuma Mina ‘gees’, and hope sprang up again. But post elections all it took was a few hours of load shedding and some bad news on the corruption front and we were back in the doldrums again.

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by Dr Marlini (Nair) Moodley

DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKFORCE DUE TO

HIV/ AIDS DISCLOSURE IS STILL RIFE

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Discrimination in the workplace against people living with HIV/AIDS is very much alive and threatens depletion of the country’s skills force, writes Dr Marlini (Nair) Moodley, a Marketing/ Applied Law academic at MANCOSA.

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he HIV/AIDS pandemic is still having a profound impact on businesses in South Africa. Discrimination against individuals with HIV infections in the workplace still prevails. Employees living with HIV/AIDS are unable to continue working under normal conditions in their current employment for as long as they are medically fit to do so. Constructive dismissal occurs as a result of employees revealing their status.

Work actually becomes intolerable because of the discrimination that they have to endure. Although many of these individuals still have many able years ahead of them, they unfortunately terminate their services prematurely. The steady depletion of our skills force is a reality.

In the early 2000s, South Africa had the highest number of people in any one country living with HIV/AIDS. Currently it is difficult to track how many people are HIV-positive because they have a basic human right not to disclose their status to their employers or to any other individual.

The disease affects the workplace in a number of ways. Employees who are HIV-positive and on antiretroviral medication find it difficult to concentrate on their work tasks as the effects of the medication can be harsh on some individuals.

This often results in a loss of experienced workers who are difficult to replace.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is having a cascading effect on all aspects of management from basic human resources to productivity issues. While the effects of discrimination continue to exacerbate the impact of the pandemic on the lives of individuals, it has also become increasingly recognised that human rights is critical to protecting the rights and dignity of HIV-positive people, and to decrease the vulnerability of individuals and communities.

Large numbers of employees can be reached through effective on-going prevention and treatment programmes and business is ideally placed to do so.

Companies need to take cognisance of the fact that direct and indirect costs of inaction far outweigh the costs of treatment.

The Peer Education Strategy is critical because this would reduce discrimination amongst employees. A supportive and caring culture needs to prevail. Religious leaders and support groups can be roped in to counsel HIV-positive employees into staying

on the ARVs. This transformational culture would certainly alter the mindsets of HIV-positive people as discrimination would be reduced or eradicated and they would not feel compelled to terminate their services.

The Durban Chamber of Commerce embarked on an initiative from 2008 to 2010 to counsel HIV-positive employees.

But sadly, due to the lack of funding, this much- needed programme came to an end. Voluntary Testing and Counselling services should be made available to employees and dependants through company clinics and external providers whose services are reimbursed by medical aid and government grants for those who cannot afford medical aid.

If corporates start to create a culture where everyone receives counselling, irrespective of their status, this would allow HIV-positive individuals to benefit from discreet treatment and counselling programmes within the company.

Workplace programmes should be designed together with staff members so that the programme can be successful.

It is very important that there is buy-in from all levels within the organisation. External counsellors may be brought in to facilitate the process.

The National Development Plan (NDP) asserts that health care can be improved through decreasing mortality by combating infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS and the emerging tide of non-communicable diseases.

The government objective, ‘Health care for all by 2030’ outlined in the NDP is aimed at reducing child and infant mortality; maternal mortality; and combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases by 2030.

However, employers still need to be proactive and aware of their responsibilities towards employees with HIV in order to ensure that they are treated fairly and with dignity.

Businesses should have the right procedures in place to manage complaints about harassment or mistreatment in the workplace. Staff should be provided with information on diversity and equality, and a culture of awareness and counselling on HIV should be created within businesses in order to prevent discrimination and stigma.

Employees who are HIV-positive and on antiretroviral medication find it difficult to concentrate on their work tasks as the effects of the medication can be harsh on some individuals.

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It’s Time to Negotiate for a Better Future for

Africa’s Energy Industry

by João Marques

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If you go to Amazon.com to purchase NJ Ayuk’s most recent book ‘Billions at Play: The Future of African Oil and Doing Deals’, which you absolutely should do, you will notice that besides his previous book, ‘Big Barrels: African Oil and Gas and the Quest for Success’, which I had the pleasure to co-author, most of the oil-related books suggested by Amazon have titles like ‘Cursed Wells’, ‘Curse of the Black Gold’, ‘Oil and Insurgency’ and the like (these are all actual titles of books available on amazon if you search for “African Petroleum”).

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his is hardly surprising. For the better part of the last half century, oil and gas has been portrayed over and over again as the source of all evil across Africa, responsible for instability, power struggles, poverty, death, pollution, corruption, etc. If this portrait really was the mirror of the truth, then African nations would be better off just living their oil and gas underground, but it isn’t the whole truth.

When Ayuk and I started working on Big Barrels, back in 2017, when the oil price crisis was at its highest, we started out with a simple idea. A simple but very strong and compelling idea, that maybe this portrait that seemed so prevalent for so long might not tell the whole story, or even the bigger part of the story. So, we tried to look at it differently. If you read Big Barrels, you know what I mean.

Throughout eight chapters we extensively document the best efforts made across the continent to develop, manage and monetize oil and gas resources. The success stories we uncovered focused on local content, on policy making, on environmental protection, on the structuring of a national oil company, on contract drafting, on civil society involvement, on capital resource management and use, etc. We looked around and saw that the story being told was not really telling what reality showed. It focused on the scandals, the negatives, the drama, and overlooked all the development, jobs and capital the industry was bringing.

It focused on the defeats and never on the victories. It was a different way to look at a story that had been told from a consistently negative angle for decades. It told a story of hope and optimism about an industry that had the promise to change African economies for the better.

Two years later, Ayuk is at it again, and this time he amped the game. Billions at Play does not tell the story of what good examples we had in the past anymore, it tells us how to shape the future for the better by making use of the resources we have.

Few have Ayuk’s industry experience and scope of vision, fewer have tried to promote that vision, none has been as loud about it.

Ayuk takes 20-plus years of experience as a successful lawyer in the African oil and gas industry, throughout which he was witness and participant in the shaping of some of

the continent’s most important energy deals, and drafts out a comprehensive map of what leaders, companies, dealmakers and citizens need to do to turn their oil and gas wealth into jobs, economic growth, power generation and better living conditions.

I do not intend to summarize here the extensive amount of knowledge and experience that Ayuk shares throughout the 250-plus pages of skillfully written and, at times, quite entertaining prose. But certain issues covered seem fundamental to me to highlight. First off, the solutions for Africa’s problems, Ayuk argues, must come from within.

Cooperation for development with supranational and international partners is great, and needs to be fostered, but only locally-developed solutions that combine indepth knowledge of the challenges faced as well as the idiosyncrasies of the local culture and population can hope to succeed. The book gives plenty of examples of programs that failed because they were designed abroad with insufficient knowledge of the situation on the ground, and of programs that succeeded because they were developed

by Africans to fix African problems.

This idea is not only conceptually important, as it empowers Africans, but it also represents a call to action for African leaders. The solutions for their country’s problems are in reach if they choose to make use of them.

From here the book focuses on enhancing oil and gas production to foster economic development.

Improving the business environment by simplifying red tape, streamlining the negotiation and licensing procedures, promoting regular bidding rounds, implementing transparency measures, establishing a strong legal framework and attractive contract terms are all fundamental parts of attracting foreign investment that can help develop the industry. Ayuk covers each of these issues extensively, showing how different countries have found solutions that match the needs of their own markets and take advantage of the specificities of their own resources, from the cross-border development agreements between Senegal and Mauritania, to South Sudan’s recent historic production sharing agreement that shows leadership and commitment in the aftermath of a deadly conflict with Sudan.

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Beyond attracting foreign investment, Ayuk takes a close look at Nigeria’s marginal field development campaign, that offered local exploration and production companies the opportunity to develop assets that were too small for the majors, thereby developing profitable fields, contributing to the economy and gaining a new status amongst oil and gas producers. Angola’s attempt to mimic these efforts is a clear demonstration of how African nations can learn from each other.

By enhancing production and streamlining resource management, african countries can finally have the capital to invest in industrialisation and in the diversification of their economies, a goal that informs most of the lines of action suggested by the book.

And how should we power these industries and economies? Billions tells us the answer lies in the abundant, accessible and affordable natural gas reserves that dot the continent. Equatorial Guinea has already stepped up its game and is positioning itself to become West Africa’s gas hub. Natural gas can power industries, produce electricity that will light the homes of hundreds of millions of people, feed a growing and profitable petrochemical industry across the continent and serve as an export to foreign markets, besides the fact that natural gas is the cleanest source of energy of all hydrocarbons, serving an environmental purpose in itself.

Unbundling national utilities and privatizing the power generation sector is another pillar in this path. Ayuk goes on, showcasing the need to integrate women in the oil and gas industry - how can we continue to snub half of the continent’s workforce? -, the need to attract American companies that will partner and share knowledge to develop the industry, the need to invest in innovation and infrastructure, focus on education, improve Africans’ negotiation skills and make use of the stand African nations have gained in OPEC and other international platforms.

They are all fundamental, for they inform a pathway to constructive and wise management and development of the continent’s resources to foster growth and improve people’s lives. No other book has told the story this way, and no other has presented such a definitive analysis of the

challenges and proposed concrete solutions for all of them. Billions can be a surprising book and it is a fundamental read for anyone involved in the African energy sector, from CEOs to political leaders, professionals and everyone that wants to better understand the inlays of the industry that has the biggest potential for change in the continent.

For me, there is one topic that is always striking above all others; intra-African trade, which remains dismal when compared to other regions. The continent has been shipping off its wealth abroad for decades. As the book exposes, African nations have had their backs turned on each other for so long they have failed to see what they could achieve if they worked together and promoted synergies and integration.

Ayuk proposes solutions to bring them together, by promoting an integrated energy market that can power economic development.

In sum, this book lays out the path for a better future for Africa through the use of its energy resources in a way that hadn’t quite been done before. A refreshing new narrative to overcome the traditional fatalist approach to the sector.

João Marques is an Energy analyst and editor. João Gaspar Marques is a seasoned Africa specialist with in-the-field reporting experience from Africa’s petroleum hotspots. Now based in Lisbon, Portugal, João writes regularly for numerous international publications and websites on issues of energy, policy and economics. In recent years he has published oil and gas industry reports on Gabon, Angola, Tanzania, Uganda, Madagascar, São Tomé and Príncipe, and South Africa, covering the full spectrum of Africa’s petroleum markets from frontier exploration to trading and petrochemicals

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HOW TO ACHIEVE

LO N G E V I T Y & REAP ITS BENEFITS

In today’s technological business market, starting an organisation has become easier than ever. Entrepreneurs have every advantage at their disposal. From formulating ideas through to execution and marketing; everything has become almost as easy as simply pushing a button. The result of this is that the market is flooded with options for consumers to choose from.

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Kyle Condon, Managing Director of D&K Management Consultants

hile this entrepreneurial boom is advantageous in areas such as job creation, there are some disadvantages. Many of these companies do not have the knowledge and expertise required to execute the type of professional services customers would expect. As a result, customer satisfaction decreases, and a high percentage of new businesses fail within their first five years.

The latter indicates that customers will gravitate towards organisations that have proven longevity. “When a company has been around for a long time and has consistently delivered exceptional service, customers know that the company can be trusted,” explains Kyle Condon, Managing Director of D&K Management Consultants.

As the Managing Director of an organisation that has been in operation for 26 years, Condon explains how his team achieved and benefited from this type of longevity. One of the advantages that Condon outlined is the inheritance and continuation of industry expertise. “When a company has been around for almost three decades, chances are there has been a generational hand-over or two. For instance, my father established D&K Management Consultants and I have taken over the torch from him. What this means is that there is new and old knowledge blended in to the ‘brain’ of the organisation.”

The amalgamation of ‘tried and tested’ methods with the ‘new and improved’ technologies and techniques made available by the modern era puts organisations in a strong position to compete in the market. This allows for a type of industry expertise that can only be achieved by organisations that have enjoyed many years in operation, and that has focussed on the retention of historical knowledge as the business is transformed.

Condon further explains that the reputation embedded within the company name acts as a motivator, a standard benchmark, due to the level of expertise customers expect from the organisation. “It ensures that you constantly strive to improve and stay ahead of the game. Especially in our area of specialty, risk management, we need to ensure that we are constantly evaluating and improving our strategies and techniques to deliver the exceptional service that customers have come to expect,” concludes Condon.

While new organisations are certainly not to be looked down upon, these businesses need to ensure that they fully understand the field that they are operating in. By continually striving to improve their service, they are more likely to survive the five-year mark - and continue on to benefit from longevity and the expertise that only years of service can provide.

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Using

flexible workspaces to drive global expansion

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Expanding internationally is an important next step for growth and additional revenue stream for businesses of all sizes, but it can be very costly. However, flexible workspaces can allow businesses a risk-free and low-cost route into new markets.

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t the smallest end of the business market, we see online sellers, such as those operating on Hello Pretty, eBay and Etsy, use these virtual platforms to grow their global customer base. However, with the trend towards people wanting to buy local, sometimes a local address can be a critical component of that growth journey.

Virtual offices can allow businesses to build or maintain a ‘local’ presence with an office address and telephone answering service in their chosen foreign market to help ease logistics with local clients. This is a great benefit for firms looking to test the waters ahead of making a physical move abroad.

But often a virtual office just isn’t enough. Many organisations need to employ teams in different countries whether that is to be close to customers, suppliers or partners. This can be fraught with challenges as businesses unfamiliar with that country may not be aware of local cultures, ways of working, or even where best to locate their new overseas office.

In 2018, Wesgro reported that an estimated 51% of companies investing into the Western Cape indicated regional and sub-regional motives for investing. These companies indicated setting up headquarters in the Western Cape and using the province as a springboard into Africa. The Western Cape is beginning to become a recognised global hub for companies moving into Africa.

But international expansion doesn’t come cheap. If we just look at the cost of setting up an office, there’s construction, design, fit out, equipment, facilities management, IT and amenities. The list goes on, and that’s before you even start the local recruitment drive.

Companies don’t need the headache of thinking about the right size of building, the length of contract and the location of offices in a country they are unfamiliar with.

Nor do they need to make such an expensive, and often long-term commitment to multi-year leases and contracts.

Flexible workspaces allow businesses to scale up and down in terms of size, offers a choice of location and different contract lengths that adapt as the business’ needs change.

When a company moves into a new country, it will inevitably make some mistakes, so setting up in a flexible workspace allows for trial and error at a minimal cost and lower risk.

SMEs face the biggest risks and potential costs While they realise it’s an important step in their growth,

start-ups and SMEs can have the greatest fear about expanding internationally. After all, only about half of small businesses will pass the 5-year mark, with over a quarter struggling to fund the capital needed to operate , let alone expand overseas. However, flexible workspaces provide faster, lower risk options for SMEs looking to go global by reducing associated real estate costs, whilst also providing agile and adaptable ways of working, helping to manage uncertainty. IWG’s Global Workspace Survey (2019) revealed that 67% of South African respondents had chosen to adopt flexible working practices to increase the speed of set up in new countries (38% of US businesses reason that they adopt flexible workspace models to allow them to be more agile as they seek to grow ).

Flexible workspace offers multinational companies a hassle-free international expansion option While the risk for a multinational expanding into Africa or overseas has potentially less damaging consequences when they don’t work out - a decision for an SME to expand into the wrong market could kill their business, whereas it may just be costly for a multinational – it is still an expensive decision that requires serious consideration.

Increasingly, multinationals are recognising the benefits that flexible workspace arrangements and a more versatile workforce can bring when operating internationally, such as providing the perfect solution for long-or shortterm projects by allowing firms to scale up and down as necessary. By the end of 2019, 40% of global demand for flexible workspace is expected to come from large and corporate companies, with the average tenant taking seven or more desks in flexible space.

Additionally, these businesses are realising the need to attract the best international talent and one key way of doing this is by offering the option to work flexibly closer to home. IWG’s Global Workspace Survey showed that a rising number of firms are offering flexibility as part of the benefits package to attract the right talent.

With 75% of FTSE 100 companies incorporating some element of flexible workspace into their property portfolio and 4 in 5 people saying they would turn down a job offer that didn’t include flexible working, flexible workspaces could be a key weapon in a business’ armoury when expansion plans are on the cards.

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5

digital workers you’ll be meeting soon

by Ryan Falkenberg, co-CEO, CLEVVA

AI and machine learning are here, and working away in a company near you, and on your phone, in your car and in all sorts of places online. These technologies are most visible in the workplace in the form of digital workers, who are not a thing of the future but are already here, dealing with clients and handling all sorts of tasks. If you’ve not encountered one yet, you will soon.

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elow we outline five types of digital worker you’ll likely have on your team in the immediate future, if you don’t already.

1. The natural language boff - this colleague is a language specialist, who is able to understand natural language and have a conversation with a person in the language of their choice. Some do this using voice, like Siri, and others do it using free text - like chatbots.

2. The process navigator - this digital worker makes rulebased decisions and actions in line with all product, policy and procedures and, like the maps apps on your phone, navigates you through the decisions and actions you need to perform in a consistent, compliant and context-relevant way.

3. The data reader - this digital worker is a specialist at reading information off documents and images and converting it into a format that can be used by the other digital workers to execute their tasks. This is very useful for automating the capture of scanned order forms or pdfs.

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4. The predictor - this cognitive system or algorithm is a specialist in making predictions from data patterns and is very helpful, for example, in determining what your customers will want to buy next based on their purchase history or assessing if they are a fraud risk based on a huge range of possible predictors gleaned off multiple data sources.

5. The system processor - These workers are specialists in performing system actions; an activity that is often categorised as robotic process automation. They do this using existing system screens, just like a person would do it, only a lot quicker. For example, if you were asked to create a new client account in your CRM, the process you may need to follow is to first look up the account details off a specific spreadsheet and then copy across the details into the relevant fields across different screens in your CRM. Well, your system worker can now do this for you in a fraction of the time while you continue working on more important things - all you need to do is trigger your system worker and off they go.

Together these digital workers are increasingly taking care of all repetitive, rule-based tasks and freeing humans to tackle the parts of the job that require thinking out of the box, engaging with complex social interactions and performing physical tasks that robots struggle to get right.

As a result, this future human-digital worker team are able to do far more, far quicker, and at a lower cost than ever before. Take a rule-bound industry like banking or insurance as an example. Instead of trying to train staff to

perform complex financial need analyses, then be able to identify relevant solutions based on the identified needs, then complete all the processing to onboard the customer and execute the order in line with all the system and process rules, this can now be handled by an integrated humandigital team. Firstly the language boff can facilitate a free flowing digital engagement via the client’s mobile or the company’s web page. The questions asked and answers given can be provided to the language boff by the process navigator so they get it exactly right in line with all business rules. Then when needed, the client can be asked to upload scanned information that the data reader instantly converts to text - information that the predictor then uses to search off multiple sources to complete a credit risk and fraud check. Once this is done and the client is not found to be a risk, the system processor can then process the order via the relevant internal systems. Once the order is approved, a call can then be triggered in the contact centre where an agent chats to the client to confirm the order has been processed and to provide a warm human closure to the customer experience. If the customer has any issues or concerns, the process navigator can also help navigate the agent through this so they get it right, every time.

The same applies to work done by technicians or customer service specialists. In fact, any task that is defined by decision-making rules.

In a country like South Africa blessed with high emotional and physical intelligence, augmenting people with a team of digital co-workers who can handle the rule-based logic means we can turn automation to our advantage. If we leverage the machines to do the administrative heavy lifting - like making sure the right questions are asked, the right solutions identified and the right actions are performed - we can allow people to focus more on the customer engagement and the physical implementation of solutions that have been identified.

This can then create jobs for people who are currently unemployable because they lack the technical knowledge and therefore pose a risk to companies who are heavily rule based and regulated. By offering young people access to a team of digital experts who make sure they don’t make a mistake, it unlocks them to start working with less training, less support and less anxiety. And the best part is that this is not future speak. It can all be done today using technologies readily available to everyone.

In a country like South Africa blessed with high emotional and physical intelligence, augmenting people with a team of digital co-workers who can handle the rule-based logic means we can turn automation to our advantage.

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Five smart ways to keep your business

travel budget down If you’re the business owner of a small or medium enterprise, keeping your company’s travel budget in check is most likely a top priority.

Business travel has been rated one of the five most significant expenses for businesses of any size. However, Andrew Grunewald, Brand Leader at Flight Centre Business Travel (FCBT), warns against slashing budgets to make travel-budget ends meet.

“A

knee-jerk reaction to cut down on travel cost often sees companies limit employees to unreasonable per diems or put them up in more affordable accommodation,” he says. “Not only will this alienate your best employees, but it is also unlikely to generate the savings you are looking for. A cheap hotel might put your employee at risk. Or the amount you save per night could be eaten up in transport costs because it’s far from any convention centre or business district.”

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Instead, Grunewald suggests five ways companies can keep travel budgets down while still growing their business: 1. Offer your travellers value-for-money perks It might sound counter-productive, but, offering your travellers perks and luxuries could, in fact, save you money.

Value-adds don’t always have to be at the expense of a company.

“You can proactively offer your employees perks while staying within budget,” says Grunewald.

2. Make the most of loyalty programmes Loyalty programmes are a great way to keep your employees happy, while at the same time allowing the company to keep the budget down.

In fact, many international airlines have frequent flyer programmes designed to benefit not just the traveller but also the company, from free upgrades to lounge access and fast check-in. Similarly, large hotel chains have loyalty programmes that allow subscribers to collect points for each booking. Points may be exchanged for discounts and even free nights, meaning further savings for your business as well as increasing your travellers’ enjoyment.

INTHEKNOW

By including hotel and airline loyalty programmes on the travel policy, you ensure your travellers enjoy added benefits while your company wracks up free flights and more.

3. Discourage last-minute trips Last-minute business trips not only put the business traveller under stress, but they can also really drive up costs. According to FCBT research, business travellers can pay up to 200% more for airfares purchased one day out from travel. Simply by booking flights in advance, companies can save up to 21% of their travel spend.

A travel consultant will, for example, tell you that opting for semiflexible fares will save on the change and cancellation fees you would

have incurred when booking fixed fares. They will also advise that return fares offer better value than one-way tickets and that it is possible to save by booking different cabins for various legs of the journey.

4. Explore interest-free credit facilities Why put your business’ cash flow under pressure unnecessarily? Opting for an interest-free bill back service is a straightforward way to help save money and avoid having your travellers pay with their personal credit cards.

Instead of receiving receipts from all angles, or the business traveller paying with their card, the accounts department will receive one invoice showing the total travel spend.

“A 30-day payment option can offer SMEs much-needed breathing space when it comes to the payment of their travel requirements.”

5. Remember that time is money You may think booking on your own cuts costs, but have you considered what the wasted hours trolling the Internet for the best price is costing you?

On average, recent surveys suggest business travellers spend 20 minutes reading hotel reviews before they book. “Highearning employees should not waste time trying to pick the perfect hotel or spend hours on the phone with airlines trying to rebook a ticket. Enrol a professional TMC to help with those travel requirements,” says Grunewald.

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Nonhlanhla Dorcas Mbongwa, Manager: Statistics Branch, Supply Chain Management at eThekwini Municipality

DETERMINATION CAN OVERCOME ANY OF LIFE’S BATTLES

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Failure was not an option for Nonhlanhla Dorcas Mbongwa, 43, who defied a rare medical condition to pursue a BCom degree in IT Management which she passed with 11 distinctions. The mother of two from Newlands West, Durban, was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia – which manifests in intense facial pain – in 2014, a month after undergoing a root canal procedure.

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ather than being consumed with pity and fearing death, she enrolled with private higher education institution MANCOSA which she affirms had been most supportive during her studies which she completed while undergoing five surgeries to her jaw and brain surgery in 2018.

“Lecturers were ever willing to extend a helping hand and were available to communicate and clarify the study material while I was in hospital. It’s been an amazing and fulfilling journey. “I never get rattled. I deal with every situation that comes my way,” said Mbongwa.

A self-confessed risk-taker, she cited her mother as her source of inspiration. She remains focused on obtaining a Master of Public Administration degree in the next two years while her long-term goal is to establish a Foundation to provide small businesses with financial assistance in an effort to tackle unemployment and stimulate job creation.

When asked about the toughest decision she’s had to make in her career she said it was fighting her superiors for justice. “As a career woman in a man’s world, you are sometimes prone to exploitation. Never be afraid or intimidated to voice your opinions and speak your mind. Never stop chasing your dreams,” she said.

Mbongwa is currently Manager: Statistics Branch, Supply Chain Management at eThekwini Municipality where she manages the office responsible for collecting, analysing and reporting all procurement information to various committees. She describes her leadership style as transformational. “I want to see the lives of the masses being transformed.

“Leadership skills equip you to change people’s lives in a positive way. For me, being a leader means you look around, identify problems and come up with the best solutions to resolve them.” She finds it most rewarding when a participant from the work readiness programme which she spearheads calls to convey news of finding suitable employment. Two graduates have

already been employed by Ethekwini Municipality through the programme which is growing from strength to strength.

Mbongwa starts her day at 4:30am when she enjoys quiet time in meditation before getting ready for work. The early bird starts her day in the office at 06:45am with a to-do list which keeps her on track and on deadline.

She was born in Wembezi township in Estcourt where she attended Emahhashini Primary School and Abantungwa High School. She later matriculated at Mafu High School in Bergville. Her string of qualifications includes a national diploma in IT; and an advanced certificate in Public Administration and Management (2014) and an advanced certificate in Public Procurement and Supply Chain Management from UNISA (2008). She is currently pursuing an honours degree in Public Administration Management with MANCOSA. On balancing, work and family she said: “It is not easy but doable. With a supportive husband and family, anything is possible. Significant social and personal adjustments are necessary to cope with such a situation.”

She said that while the glass ceiling still exists in the workplace and more needs to be done to address gender disparity, women have ample opportunities to further their studies, to lead organisations and even the country, evident in the growing numbers of businesswomen, ward councillors and mayors.

“A woman always has a heart for other people and if a woman is empowered, she is more likely to empower others.”

Mbongwa commends Dudu Khoza or ‘Lady Dee’ of Ukhozi FM fame for her role in positively impacting people’s lives. Mbongwa is a regular speaker on the station’s Youth Ke Yona show every second Sunday where she imparts useful information to the youth to increase their employability prospects. She enjoys travelling with her husband Skhumbuzo, their 13-year-old son Minenhle and seven-yearold daughter Elihle. She said her favourite book – Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom – makes her value the era in which we live as South Africans.

A woman always has a heart for other people and if a woman is empowered, she is more likely to empower others.

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Cyber Risks

by Cybersecurity expert and J2 Software CEO John Mc Loughlin

are becoming more complex and challenging

The rate at which digital technology is evolving and disrupting traditional business models, cyber risks seem to evolve even faster. Despite declining business confidence in the ability to manage cyber risk, business leaders are now clearly recognising the critical nature of cyber threats and are starting to identify and embrace best practices to mitigate risks.

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yber risk has moved beyond data breaches and privacy, there are now sophisticated attacks that are disrupting entire countries, industries, businesses and supply chains.

This is costing the economy billions and affecting businesses in every sector. Unfortunately cyber risk cannot be eliminated, but it can be mitigated and managed.

The most savvy businesses are building cyber resilience through comprehensive, balanced cyber risk management strategies, rather than concentrating solely on prevention.

These more complex approaches account for the need to build capabilities in understanding, assessing and quantifying cyber risks in the first place, as well as adding the tools and the resources to respond to and recover from cyber incidents when they inevitably occur.

As cyber risks become increasingly complex and challenging, there are encouraging signs in the 2019 Global Cyber Risk Perception Survey that businesses globally are starting to implement best practices in cyber risk management.

Most businesses recognise the magnitude of cyber risk and many are shifting aspects of their approach to match the threat, and most are doing a good job in traditional cybersecurity, protecting the perimeter.

Effective cyber risk management requires a comprehensive approach employing risk assessment, measurement, mitigation, transfer, and planning, and the optimal program will depend on each company’s unique risk profile and tolerance.

This address many of the common and most urgent aspects of cyber risk that businesses today are challenged with, and should be viewed as signposts along the path to building true cyber resilience. Nonetheless, the survey shows that there remains a considerable gap between where cyber sits on the corporate risk agenda and the overall level of rigor and maturity of cyber risk management.

Many enterprises globally could benefit by applying strategic risk management principles to their cyber risk approach, supported by more expertise, resources, and management attention as they build cyber resilience.

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Technology is dramatically transforming the global business environment, with continual advances in areas ranging from artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) to data availability and blockchain. Especially in an ‘Internet of Everything’ era with digitally dependent supply chains and innovative technology, yesterday’s practices and mindsets are not enough, and may actually inhibit innovation.

Optimising security from the castle to the wider community is harder, but inevitable. It requires a shift from solely focusing on enterprise security to embracing responsibility for network security across the entire supply chain.

The survey points to a number of best practices that the most cyber resilient firms employ and which all firms should consider adopting:  Create a strong cybersecurity culture with clear, shared standards for governance, accountability, resources and actions.  Quantify cyber risk to drive better informed capital allocation decisions, enable performance measurement, and frame cyber risk in the same economic terms as other enterprise risks.  Evaluate the cyber risk implications of new technology as a continual and forward-looking process throughout the lifecycle of the technology.  Manage supply chain risk as a collective issue, recognising the need for trust and shared security standards across the entire network, including the company’s cyber impact on its partners.  Pursue and support public-private partnerships around critical cyber risk issues that can deliver stronger protections and baseline best practice standards for all.

New tech increases exposure Security challenges can manifest whenever new technology is integrated into business infrastructure, bringing new and additional complexity to the company’s

technology footprint. The risks and exposures presented by new technologies must be weighed against the potential transformative business effects, and risk tolerance varies both by industry and by individual company.

Businesses are embracing technological innovation, and most don’t see cyber risk as a barrier. But assessment of new technology cyber risk is not as rigorous and continual as it should be. The number of internet connected devices is estimated to be 75 billion by 2025. As the world moves closer to an ‘Internet of Everything’, the amount and variety of digital assets that are stored, processed, and shared by enterprises rises.

Even traditional sectors such as manufacturing expect almost 50% of the products they develop to be “smart” or ‘connected’ in some way by 2020, opening up new revenue streams in data-driven services.

Supply Chain Risk In increasingly interdependent digital supply chains, cyber risk needs to be a collective responsibility. In a world of hyper-connected supply chains, there is a critical need for trust among partners; a lack of trust risks impeding business performance and innovation.

Every business needs to understand, have confidence in, and play a role in the integrity and security of the components and software of its digital supply chains. The concept of ‘technological social responsibility’ — the recognition and acknowledgement by each company of its role and cybersecurity obligations within the supply chain — is on the agenda for many industry leaders.

But while many companies recognise the potential risks their supply chain partners may pose to their own cyber posture, most don’t fully appreciate the risk in reverse.

Regulations and legislation In recent years, regulators globally have enacted numerous measures to hold corporations and executives more directly accountable for ensuring effective cybersecurity and for keeping customers’ data safe. Many of these regulations and legal frameworks require a greater degree of transparency from companies at all levels of their data handling activities, and in their cyber risk management readiness.

According to the survey, government laws and regulations are less effective in helping businesses improve their cybersecurity posture compared to ‘soft’ voluntary industry standards and guidance.

Cyber investments Effective cyber risk management requires quantitative risk expression. Although more businesses measure their cyber risks economically, there’s a long way to go for all businesses to embrace this best practice, and then to apply that quantified measurement to drive sound cyber risk investment decisions.

Investments in cybersecurity technology are rising quickly and far outpacing spending on cyber insurance. The global cyber insurance market as measured by gross written premiums is forecast to be just under $8 billion by 2020, compared to a $124 billion global cybersecurity market.

Many companies focus their cyber risk management strategy on prevention by investing in technological frontline cyber defences. Meanwhile, spending on other tools and resources for cyber risk management, such as cyber insurance or event response training, remains a fraction of the technology budget.

This suggests that many businesses continue to believe they can eliminate or manage their cyber risk primarily through technology, rather than through a comprehensive range of planning, transfer, and response measures.

Best practices Best practice calls not for parity of spending, but an investment strategy that, reflecting a company’s unique risk profile and appetite, leverages the complementary roles of technology and insurance to deter cyber-attacks where possible and transfer the risk of those that cannot be prevented. However, the emphasis on cybersecurity spending and technology over other measures reveals that many businesses have not yet embraced this truth.

Ownership of Cyber Governance Despite cyber risk being ranked as a high priority, governance and ownership of it generally does not align with that ranking. Those who should be focused on cybersecurity are not, IT and information security roles continue to be seen as the primary owners of cyber risk management.

Businesses must build cyber resilience, approaching cyber risk as a critical threat that, with vigilance and application of best practices, can be managed confidently.

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INTHEKNOW

The road to becoming a

fully digital operator Nitesh Singh, Managing Director for Communications, Media and Technology at Accenture Africa

There are many paths in an operator’s road to digitisation and several questions that one needs to answer along the way. From the introduction of new digital technologies to the definitions of technical ever-changing industry terminology that daunts even the most experienced of industry players. Operators must understand how 4.0 concepts will impact their markets and plan accordingly. As Industry 4.0, or 4IR, gathers tremendous momentum as a key enabler for socioeconomic development; partnerships and collaboration across the public and private sectors will be fundamental for 4IR to evolve.

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he ICT industry has largely been formed on the basis of partnerships. When one thinks of the prevalent infrastructure it becomes ever more important to leverage off partners who will help operators in the digital age. A vibrant partner ecosystem – be it application and API developers, network players, cloud organisations, standards-based forums, system integrators – all play an important role in powering the Digital Operator.

Smaller operators need to collaborate with their larger peers.

In many markets, one has seen roaming agreements between smaller and larger operators and in the digital age, this should be no different. Collaboration and partnership will be crucial to take full advantage of what the industry has to offer for economic growth. Meaningful interaction and networking have become a top priority for both African and overseas ICT firms as they are in an urgent search for the right local partners in their particular markets, causing a shift from vendor-seeking to partner-seeking in the industry.

Software-based business models – to 5G or not to 5G As operators reinvent themselves one must think clearly about software-based business models to remain competitive.

In Accenture’s Asia Pacific markets, for instance, we are seeing clients in the e-commerce arena embrace Software Defined Networks (SDN) and are leading the way to a hyper software and network virtualized world, which will soon challenge traditional operators. This will be a real Kodak moment that will catch operators off-guard if not watched closely.

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Furthermore, digital operators need to adopt an open architecture that is vendor-neutral. As was evident from the event, operators who have been first movers in Open RAN are seeing success. Likewise, if one thinks about open transparent architectures on hybrid, private and cloud environments this will be key for an open ecosystem and one the operator is not locked into but rather one in which operators help to evolve.

Whether to adopt 5G is highly relevant to the state a market is in and the resources an operator has at its disposal.

As one panellist who operates in very remote parts of Africa commented; they are still operating at 2G and entering the 3G state and to them, this is what works. Of course, the industry is readying itself for 5G however it is clear that key business models and use cases will solve ‘the when to deploy 5G’ conundrum.

Regulators will also play an important role in answering this question. They must act fast to create an open and flexible framework, that serves the industry. It is vital that in markets where regulators have not yet allocated spectrum to operators (for 5G as an example), they should do so urgently. There is only so much re-framing that operators can do, and the net loss is the entire market, prices, QoS, and new business verticals all within the landscape that the framework will assist to resolve.

Digital culture starts at the top An efficient operator is one that considers the inclusivity of people in all aspects. This starts with the organisational culture which can either propel an organisation forward or sadly destroy its soul. The CEO is the catalyst to embark on a digital path, and

a well-thought-out strategy to move forward becomes a key pillar. As operators focus on becoming digital, cultural change becomes the lifeline of how this will evolve into the organisation.

Taking into account the skills and new ways of working that will need to develop inside the organisation, cultural change becomes an important discussion at the EXCO and board level.

One key competitive advantage is when an operator can extract efficiencies in all that digital processes and technology bring to the table. As important as digital inclusion, we are seeing the need for digital operators to consider new and innovative products that will allow financial inclusion. Globally, many digital natives have embarked on some type of digital currency, wallet or lending products to name a few and operators must look into the business model that works for them from a financial inclusion perspective.

The customer’s needs still remain at the centre Lastly, the interest of the customer must always come first.

Knowing the needs of the customer is one thing but to deliver them in ways the customer can engage positively and effectively with is another.

The consumer’s cost of a mobile handset, for example, is an important determinant of success in some markets. If the handset is 20-30% of a consumer’s monthly income this poses a unique constraint, and therefore cheaper entry-level devices are bridging this divide and pioneering a ‘connectivity for all’ mindset.

For operators to create more engaging customer experiences, they need to keep customer interfaces simple and user-friendly.

Those who are actively creating a strategy around digital to solve these issues must be applauded.

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Break the internet, not your

personal brand

by Lebo Lekoma, director of client services, Sea Monster

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What happens on the internet, stays on the internet, and this is not a good thing. Whilst the digital revolution has changed our society for the better, it has also brought along a set of new risks.

Poor, careless and reckless online behaviour, for instance, can have serious consequences - in the short and the long run. Our children must come to terms with this before they do irreparable damage to their personal brands, impacting their chances of succeeding in life. It may sound strange, but this is where games can help.

INTHEKNOW

I

n the analogue past, life was easy.

Good report cards meant you stood a better chance of getting into the university of your choice, with good academic performances helping you strike it lucky on the employment front.

Today, youngsters need more than good grades and an excellent CV to land their dream job.

Besides looking at candidates’ study results and resumés, employers care a great deal about the character of those they seek to employ. What you are saying and sharing online, and how you are interacting with others on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram have become crucial factors, too.

According to a 2018 survey by global recruiter CareerBuilder, 70% of bosses screen their candidates’ social media track records before even inviting them for an interview. Of those companies doing social research, 57% have found content that caused them not to hire a certain candidate. Red flags include provocative or inappropriate photographs, videos or information (40%), racist, sexist and other derogatory comments and posts (31%), poor communication skills (27%), and unprofessional screen names (22%).

Like youngsters need guidance in conducting themselves in real-life, it is important that adults teach them how to properly communicate, interact and share information online. This helps them prevent avoidable mistakes they may regret for the rest of their lives.

The difference between making an off-colour comment in real life and online is this: in a face-to-face setting, your comment will certainly upset the people involved, but often only the people involved in that particular conversation. Eventually, most of it will pass if you show true remorse and make amends.

Making that same comment online, with thousands of potential anonymous onlookers, may follow you for years: it is easier to say something online than to make it go away, no matter how much remorse you show.

What makes it worse is the risk of each onlooker sharing whatever you have said to their respective crowds, which

may include your future bosses. This could seriously impair your child’s personal brand before it has the chance to properly develop.

The trick is to talk to youngsters about this in a language they understand and in a way that grabs their attention. The days of wagging fingers and one-way communication are long gone. This is where interactive storytelling, augmented reality and even games come in.

The University of the Western Cape (UWC) launched one such game earlier this year. Ultimate Celebrity Manager teaches young adults about what can make and break their online reputation. It asks players to make choices to balance popularity, with data privacy in a fun and engaging way. By playing as a manager, trying to control the reputation of a celebrity, the messaging is subtle and non threatening, yet drives the underlying messages.

Another platform that helps youngsters become good digital citizens is The Carnegie Cyber Academy. The same applies to The Second Adventure of The Three CyberPigs, a game by Canadian EduTech company Media Smarts, which teaches children aged 8 to 10 how to recognise harmful content online and what the basic online etiquette rules are.

Proper online behaviour boils down to a few principles.

Firstly, make sure your online persona matches your offline persona at all times. Always be the same person, whether you are having a discussion with gaming buddies via WhatsApp or with a friend in class. This should be the cornerstone of any young person’s personal Netiquette.

Secondly, be aware that the person reading your comments and messages is a real human being with feelings - and not an anonymous screen or robot. The best way to go about this is for young people to live by this Golden Rule: what you wouldn’t say to someone in real-life shouldn’t be said in the virtual world, particularly if you don’t know the person you are dealing with.

Finally, the information you share via social media, messaging platforms and other channels must be true and accurate at all times. Perpetuating fake news and spreading false and potentially damaging rumours about people they don’t know will not count in your favour.

Young people, and anyone for that matter, must always be critical of the information they are receiving and most importantly, sharing. If it sounds too good, too strange, or too unbelievable to be true, then it usually is. Don’t break your personal image in an attempt to break the internet. It may cost you more than it is worth.

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3 INTHEKNOW

Where the puck:

drivers shaping markets

by Adrian Saville, Chief Executive, Cannon Asset Managers

History is one of investors’ greatest teachers, offering rich lessons and valuable guiding principles. But this aspect of investing is very much a level playing field – the past is ‘open access’. The distinction of the skilled investor lies in the discipline of applying the lessons and principles from history to the future.

As Wayne Gretzky – widely regarded as the greatest ice-hockey player ever –eloquently puts it: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

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owever, in applying Gretzky’s principle of figuring out the future, a material danger immediately presents itself in the form of forecasting. The seduction of forecasting is the precision with which it parades, and the confidence that forecasts instil in decision makers. Yet the risk – indeed, the tragedy – is that people are overwhelmingly weak in this ‘exact science’. As David Epstein noted in a recent article in The Atlantic: “The track record of expert forecasters … is dismal. In business, esteemed (and lavishly compensated) forecasters routinely are wildly wrong in their predictions of everything from the next stock-market correction to the next housing boom.”

In one study of annual exchange-rate predictions made by 22 international banks, the banks missed every single change of direction in the exchange rate over a decade. In six of the 10 years, the true exchange rate fell outside the entire range of all 22 bank forecasts. Such results led former US Treasury Secretary Donald Regan to quip: “If you believe [in forecasts], then you also believe in the tooth fairy.”

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A joke shared amongst economists drives the point home.

Albert Einstein died and met three people outside the Pearly Gates. To pass the time, he asked each of them their IQs. The first replied ‘190’, and they discussed atomic physics. The second answered ‘150’, and they debated nuclear-free legislation. The third mumbled ‘50’. After pausing, Einstein asked, “So what is your forecast for the budget deficit next year?”

However, as much as hanging onto point forecasts can feed poor investment decisions, a variation on Gretzky’s point is that if we can’t figure out the exact future location of the puck, perhaps working out its general travel direction could give us a powerful information advantage. As John Maynard Keynes put it: “It is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong.” This is the subtle but critical shift that sees ‘decimal-place-point forecasting’ replaced by ‘big-picture thinking’, giving weight to the structural drivers that will shape tomorrow’s investment landscape rather than next quarter’s company earnings.

Three such “big-picture” drivers that will shape markets over the next five years include fewer babies, older people and smarter machines: •

Fewer babies: In 1950, women had an average of 4.7 children, leading to global fears about a ‘population explosion’. Since then, higher incomes and gains in education (especially amongst women) have translated into the global fertility rate steadily falling to 2.4 children per woman in 2018. Note, when the rate drops below 2.1, populations start to shrink – what demographers refer to as a ‘baby bust’. In 2018 it was reported that half of all countries now face a ‘baby bust’, including India, Japan, China, the US, France, Russia, Bangladesh and finally Taiwan – which has just 1.2 babies per woman.

Experts suggest that the global rate could fall below the replacement ratio of 2.1 as soon as 2030.

•

More people: While fewer babies are being born, people are also living longer, helped by advances in medicine and science. Estimates suggest that in the pre-modern, poor world, life expectancy was around 30 years in all regions. At the beginning of the 19th century, no country in the world had a life expectancy over 40 years.

As recently as 1960, the average life expectancy for all countries was 51 years. Yet, today, the country with the lowest life expectancy is the Central African Republic with 53 years, and the world average stands at 72 years. Japan leads the world in life expectancy, having lifted from 68 years in 1960 to some 84 years today. Thus, despite falling fertility rates, the world population continues to grow – and to grey.

That computers are getting smarter at an accelerating pace this terrifies some people who envision a Matrix-like future where machines enslave us or exterminate us. Many fear such a future, because machines will change the world in disruptive ways. But the net effect will be a better world in which robots will apply their problem-solving capabilities to cure diseases, mine data, drive cars, reduce poverty and help reverse the damage of climate change.

How, then, do you invest for this world where the puck could leap to a completely different plane?

You could buy the iShares Global Tech ETF, which is invested in over 100 world-leading technology firms, including Intel, Samsung and CISCO. You could invest in Omega Healthcare Investors, which owns 900 skilled-nursing and assisted-living facilities in 42 states in the US and UK, as aging populations in these two large economies will see

•

Smarter machines: A third immutable force is the rise of machines, and specifically intelligent machines.

Since 1960, computing power has, on average, doubled every 18 months.

More pictures are now taken every two minutes than were taken in the entire 19th century. In terms of raw computing power, computers now rival the abilities of mouse brains.

And it is highly likely that within the next 15 years, computers will have outpaced the processing capacity of any single human being.

Adrian Saville, Chief Executive, Cannon Asset Managers

an increasing demand for healthcare. Or, through investing in Japanese multinational Softbank, you could own Boston Dynamics, a world leader in mobile robots, whose products include the Agile Anthropomorphic Robot ‘Atlas’ – a six-foot bipedal humanoid robot designed for a variety of search and rescue tasks.

Knowing when, how, or even if Britain will Brexit is the stuff of forecasting. Most predictions are likely to be exactly wrong. By contrast, we can suggest with confidence that the world in five or ten years will have relatively more adults than children, who on average will be a little older than today, and will be working with smarter machines that are increasingly humanoid in their behaviour and thinking.

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The role of a

non-executive

DIREC TOR

by Tsholofelo Nketane

Pertinent questions to ask before accepting a position as a non-executive director. Tsholofelo Nketane delivers sage advice on the role, and why due diligence is important for both companies and candidates.

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INTHEKNOW

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ompany boards play an important active role in the dynamic corporate world. Professor Shirley Zinn, a leading director on a number of boards and a shareholder of Tuesday Consulting, says it is critical for board members to have the skills to oversee strategy, risk management and corporate culture in an ever-changing corporate environment.

The complex business environment is further challenged by digital and workforce transformation, increasing sophistication of consumers and customers, the impact of the political landscape and the resultant impact on corporate governance.

It is no longer merely an honour to be offered a position as a non-executive director, but an imperative so as to contribute to corporates using the diverse skills and experiences one has acquired over a career span. Joining a board affirms one’s position as an industry leader and requires one to uphold the highest ethical standards. It is also a privilege generally extended by association, rather than one that is openly advertised – making it even more coveted and attractive.

Taking up a position as a non-executive director (NED) can bring stimulating professional challenges, rewards and opportunities, as well as a chance to enhance one’s skillset and find innovative uses for existing skills.

If one looks at the recent failures in private and public spheres in South Africa, it is clear there is a leadership crisis on the country’s boards. This disruption, however, has provided new opportunities for boards to address the breakdown in ethics and return to good corporate governance practices.

What was also made clear during this upheaval was that being on a board can be challenging in that it can also expose directors to risks in terms of reputational damage, accounting irregularities, corruption and financial liability – which is why it is crucial to make a well-informed decision before joining the board of any organisation.

There is no legal distinction between executive and nonexecutive directors. Essentially, the non-executive director’s role is to provide a creative contribution to the board by delivering independent oversight and constructive challenges to the executive directors.

Non-executive directors typically don’t get involved in the day-to-day management; they are rather involved in the strategic input and policy making of the organisation, act in the interest of the shareholders and provide value through leveraging their network of outside contacts that can benefit the company.

The importance of due diligence – on both sides Companies and boards should ensure due diligence on prospective candidates, something a top-end C-suite recruitment company will do efficiently and effectively. It is to be expected, considering the power boards can wield.

But it is equally important for a candidate to do theirs.

Prior to accepting a non-executive director appointment, it is worth conducting an ethics risk assessment to determine

whether an organisation has unethical practices or beliefs. To operate effectively, it is vital the company’s values are aligned to your own personal and career values.

Advice on what to find out:  Request a financial overview Ask for and review copies of financial reports, annual audited documents, strategic plans and budgets, as well as a copy of the board manual, the company’s risk policy and corporate governance practices.  Board policies How often does the board meet, and for how long? Is the term of office for a fixed period, or open ended?

What is the policy on remuneration and reappointment of directors? What is the policy on handling conflicts of interest, should they arise? If NEDs are paid, what is the remuneration – and is it a fixed amount, or does it depend on specific activities or attendances?  Insurance policies Would you need professional indemnity insurance or does the company have a Directors’ and Officers’ (D&O) insurance policy?  Job description and suitability Ask for a formal letter of appointment that outlines your specific role and responsibilities and ensure that your appointment is a good fit for the board and for you – do you bring the right skill set and experience to contribute in an effective way? Does the board use a skills matrix when appointing directors?  Training and induction Find out if training is provided and an induction process is in place.  Explore board dynamics Review the management team in terms of qualifications, experience, reputation, leadership style and governance factors. How diverse is the board, how well do they get along as a team?

It is crucial that, on accepting the position, you are able to trust fellow board members and are positive that you can make a creditable contribution that is appreciated.

Tsholofelo Nketane is a shareholder and director at Tuesday Consulting. She brings international perspective and deep insight into her areas of specialisation, including healthcare, pharmaceutical, consumer services and education, where she focuses on C-suite appointments.

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Turning a

HOBBY

into a successful business

The general perception of a side-hustle is that it’s about survival – you either got retrenched, can’t find a job, or don’t earn enough to keep your head above the water or put food on the table. But, what if a side-hustle is not about survival and rather about passion – whether a passion for food, cooking and baking, or creating beautiful art. If you have a passion, why not turn it into a source of income.

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abette Kourelos of Babette’s Bread became obsessed with bread baking during her final two years of her BA LLB degree as she often found herself baking through the night. After graduating, Babette decided to trade law for bread and today runs a successful artisan bread business and baking academy.

“I started small, from home, and eventually found myself driving all over Johannesburg delivering bread to specialty restaurants, delis and independent coffee shops,” said Kourelos.

Just like Babette, that used her car to enable her business operations when first starting out, Datsun’s vehicles have proven to be quite popular with entrepreneurs looking for economical cars they can count on.

“Datsun is pleased to be able to support all types of businesses – whether you are an entrepreneur that just started out and you are looking for an economical car that will enable your business operations, or whether you are a bigger business like our NetFlorist fleet, one of the biggest

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flower and gifts delivery networks in South Africa, that were looking for a hard-working fleet to rely on,” said Hide Kuwayama, Datsun South Africa Managing Director.

We asked Babette Kourelos what her advice would be to entrepreneurs looking to make the big move to turn their hobby into their business:  Get all the training that you can afford.  Skill yourself with basic finances so that your passion does not ruin you financially.  If at first you don’t succeed, keep trying – refine your processes and get a mentor.  Don’t make debt that you will not be able to repay – I started baking in my mother’s kitchen and literally drove around Johannesburg looking for restaurants and shops to stock my bread.  Hire someone to do your deliveries if you get to that point so you don’t leave the area of your business that is your core competence. If you are a baker, be the baker, as customers in the bakery would want to see you.  You are your brand and therefore, use your name as your brand-name. For example, nobody knows ABC bakery, but everyone knows Babette’s Bread.

Reliable and affordable vehicles will contribute a significant amount when starting a new business.

The Datsun GO and GO+ models now come with a sixyears/150,000km warranty, which allows entrepreneurs to drive away knowing there won’t be any unexpected large expenses in a few years’ time. Also, as part of the warranty, Datsun will also offer roadside assistance and access to a customer contact centre that will be available for customers to call toll free every hour of the day, every day of the year.

The GO and GO+ now have redesigned front grille and bumpers (front and rear) and 14” wheels. The New GO and GO+ models are powered by the energetic petrol engine that produces 50kW at 5,000rpm and 104Nm at 4,000rpm paired with a smooth 5-speed manual transmission.

The Datsun GO also comes with a long list of safety features which will ensure that you are not skimping on what is really important. Standard specification includes reverse parking sensors, intermittent wipers, central locking, an immobiliser, ABS, driver and passenger airbags, and retractable seatbelts. In a first for the segment, all new Datsun GO and GO+ Lux variants have been fitted with a new stability control system called ‘Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC).

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LIFESTYLE

Off-grid Safari lodges turn to solar power

Facing hippos and elephants while transporting solar equipment to remote safari lodges by boat and 4x4 became all in a day’s work for the SolarSaver team when they recently installed battery-solar off-grid systems at the remote Nambwa Tented Lodge and Kazile Island Lodge in Namibia for African Monarch Lodges. Both lodges now operate 100% off solar power 24 hours a day.

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emote lodges are increasingly turning to solar power hazardous exhaust gases and noise, as well as being costly rather than diesel to operate off-grid, according to Stefan due to the high cost of maintenance and fuel transport to Kleemann, Senior Engineer for SolarSaver Group. The remote destinations. Solar power provides a peaceful, green provider of customised rooftop solar solution that has the photovoltaic solutions is currently added advantage of Namibia’s hot dry climate and completing a number of solar saving costs.” abundant sunshine for over 300 days per projects in Namibia and South Africa African Monarch through a rent-to-own model that year make it an ideal spot to harness the Lodges owners, Dusty makes it possible for businesses like and Tinolla Rodgers, energy of the sun. the lodges to completely switch are delighted with to solar power or supplement the switch to solar. grid power with no capital outlay. The lodges pay only for the “Our focus is on promoting responsible tourism and we greener power generated by the solar installation. are committed to the long-term conservation of the few Air conditioning, refrigeration, cleaning appliances, remaining pristine wildlife areas within the Zambezi Region in pumps, lighting, television, device charging and heating are Namibia. Solar power enables us to reduce our impact on the among the main sources of energy consumption at safari environment and give our guests the best experience. We are lodges. Nambwa Tented Lodge, perched high in the tree now even more ‘off the grid’ than before!” canopies on the elephant migratory routes in the Bwabwata Namibia’s former Miss Universe, Michelle McLean, recently National Park, required a 50kWp installation. Kazile Island stayed at African Monarch Lodges and visited a few of its Lodge, located on a private island in the park, installed 25kWp sustainability projects, including the solar power operation. to take care of all its power requirements.

“I have always been an ambassador for solar power and “Namibia’s hot dry climate and abundant sunshine for have a desire for Namibia to be the frontrunner in Africa for over 300 days per year make it an ideal spot to harness this renewable energy source. It’s encouraging to see that the energy of the sun,” says Kleemann. “These lodges are African Monarch Lodges has gone full solar at both of their in remote natural landscapes and are not connected to establishments, a move that is directly in line with their vision the national grid. Previously, the lodges were generating of sustainability and conservation of the pristine wilderness power on-site using diesel generators, which generate surrounding the lodges.”

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LIFESTYLE

Toyota

Double Cab GR Sport

by Carl Wepener

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The new ToyotaDouble Cab 4x4 GR Sport is the flagship and has arrived in South Africa in limited numbers. In actual fact the one I drove is number 244 of 600. The price seems heavy at R707 400.00, but goodness this GR, standing for Gazoo Racing, looks worth it and after having driven it for over 1 400kms, believe it is worth it and I fell in love with this black number.

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ith local competition I do believe Toyota has again lifted the Hilux GR Flagship to a level where everyone else would love to be at. Even in its basic form it is still looking awesome and where I have driven in Lesotho people came to look and ask questions. At the border post a gentleman from Lesotho came to me and asked if I am going to race in Lesotho later in October. I said to him sadly no as I will be in Ghana. He asked if I am going to race there and I just smiled. Damn after experiencing this great machine I wish I could go race in Lesotho.

The Toyota GR is based on the existing derivative with its 2.8 GD- 6, 4 cylinder turbo boosted engine, 4x4, producing a 130kW delivering 450Nm to all four wheels through its 6 speed auto transmission. I was not sure how the AT would respond when pressed or during off road jaunts. I was really impressed as it is a much nicer drive than the previous model and especially on bad roads it was as solid as a rock. You do, however, need some weight in the back to get optimum road holding ability. Gear changes are smooth, the steering gives good feedback and the GR is as silent as can be on the road. I found no dust

entering into the cab and what really helped a lot was the excellent seats and its support. I just love the inside of the cab as it is modern and the infotainment system is a breeze to work with. More than enough space for the bottles and cups and just about everything. I must also compliment Toyota on the positioning of the air vents as it gives more than adequate ventilation to the back, even with no air vents being placed in the back.

What makes this limited edition as special at the price? Well, I suppose because of the limited numbers and, sorry they have all been sold, and the heritage of the GR Sport. Add to that the looks of the special body decals like Gazoo Racing (GR) the unique grille design with ‘Toyota’ lettering, a two-tone colour scheme, a black styling bar, chunky running boards and colours and you find it is a magnet. The interior was not left in abeyance and the perforated leather seats was especially a nice touch. Red stitching, GR branded floor mats, starter button a numbered interior plate reading 0244, GR Logo on the headrests and the running plates makes for great looks and quality.

As I have stated the handling is great and that I do believe is because of the special off road suspension that affords it off the beaten track prowess. The front springs is hardened with double tube dampers and thus I could handle pot holes well. On uneven and gravel roads this really brings to the fore the real capabilities of the new suspension.

You don’t have to believe me as to how competent the GR is, just look at its accolades that it has already received:  The Hilux excelled on the international stage when the South African-built Gazoo Racing Hilux, driven by Nasser Al Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel, secured Toyota’s first Dakar win in gruelling conditions.  Toyota scooped the coveted Brand of the Year title at the #CarsAwards powered by WesBank.  Hilux is celebrating its 50th year in the South African market, which sets the scene for the Legend 50.

The Hilux is seen as the dominator of the bakkies’ world and has been selling as number one for most of its time on the market. It is produced in South Africa for both the export and the local market and the quality produced at the Prospecton plant is second to none.

Toyota, why then only 600 GR Sport units? As far as I am concerned clients will want it. Even my wife who does not like double cabs at all said she had never experienced such a nice ride in any other double cab. Over the 1400kms our fuel consumption was 10l per 100kms.

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Honda

by Carl Wepener

Amaze A cut above

The new Honda Amaze is in the compact sedan sector and although I say small, I was surprised with the space available in the vehicle. The exterior is stylish yet low keyed. A completely new design was conceptualised as a sedan from the very beginning. It allowed the design team to create a cohesive, streamlined shape with a flowing silhouette and a strong, individual character.

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he front is dominated by Honda’s characteristic ‘solid wing’ appearance, which manifests itself in a broad bar extending across the width of the contrasting black honeycomb grille. It also provides a visual link to the bold halogen headlight clusters.

Viewed from the side, the alloy wheels – standard across the range – are a visual highlight, while also reducing unsprung mass.

A crisp shoulder line running from the headlights to the taillight clusters highlights the Amaze’s sculpted flanks while a broad sill contributes to the sedan’s planted, powerful look.

The smoothly curved roofline flows into a neatly integrated, raised rear deck, which is accentuated by the notched C-pillar.

The rear view is dominated by the C-shaped taillight clusters, which frame a bootlid that opens wide and deep. An integrated spoiler on the bootlid’s leading edge adds a sporty touch, while the colour-coded, integrated bumper extends into a stylised rear diffuser. On Comfort models, comprehensive colour coding contributes to a pervasive sense of visual harmony.

The interior with its cream finishing makes the Amaze look very roomy, which it is and although it has a typical interior outlay I found everything to be where it should be and it functions well. There’s very little entry-level about the interior of the new Amaze. It is modern, spacious and comprehensively equipped across the range.

Smart cloth upholstery is used to trim the contoured, supportive front seats and rear bench seat. Genuine Honda synthetic leather seat covers can be ordered as a no-cost option.

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Gloss piano black detailing on the dashboard adds to the sophisticated ambience, while the ergonomically designed dashboard features a driver-centric instrument binnacle with analogue dials for speed and rev count. The binnacle also houses a digital trip computer.

The centre stack is home to a sound system offering FM/AM radio functionality, as well as MP3 music file playback and Bluetooth, which allows hands-free telephony and music streaming. The four-speaker system also provides USB connectivity and an AUX socket.

A multifunction steering wheel allows safe and convenient control of the audio system, as well as making Bluetooth-linked hands-free cellphone calls. Generous cabin storage includes pockets in all four doors and cupholders in the centre console, while a fold-down rear seat armrest also incorporates cup holders for rear occupants. The generous storage pockets and cupholders put many an upmarket contender to shame.

Because of the new Amaze’s comparatively long 2 470 mm wheelbase, the interior is airy and spacious, with ample leg and headroom both front and rear. The boot capacity is a best-in-class 420 litres – 20 litres more than the original Brio Amaze.

The all-new Honda Amaze, is set to define a new standard for compact sedans. I won’t call it a head-turning design but it is unmistakably a Honda and it oozes the Honda charm and quality.

Two equipment levels – Trend and Comfort – provide Amaze buyers with a choice of features, although both executions offer a high level of standard equipment. Safety remains a priority, with all models featuring a comprehensive array of active and standard safety features.

Honda’s renowned i-VTEC engine technology ensures that the new Amaze also gets the go to match the show, while delivering exceptional fuel efficiency of 6.1 litre per 100kms as tested by me. An extended wheelbase and fine-tuned suspension ensure confident road manners and a refined and comfortable ride. Further peace of mind is provided by a two-year/30 000 km service plan.

The new Honda Amaze is powered by an advanced and reliable four-cylinder engine. The 1 199 cc unit employs Honda’s i-VTEC intelligent valve timing management system, ensuring optimum performance and fuel efficiency.

Maximum power output is rated at 66 kW, reached at 6 000 r/ min, combined with a torque peak of 110 Nm at 4 800 r/min. In the baseline Amaze Trend model, a five-speed manual gearbox is standard, while buyers of the Comfort model can also opt for a new-generation Constantly Variable Transmission (CVT). The five-speed manual as tested by me was smooth and although I had to put pedal to the metal to get the Amaze going it never wavered and even then the fuel consumption was very good.

With a kerb mass of just more than 900 kg, the Amaze is able to deliver swift performance, and frugal fuel economy. Manualgearbox models will accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 12,3 sec, while the CVT version requires a still brisk 13,5 sec. Top speed is 160 km/h for all derivatives.

SAFETY As one would expect of a Honda, the new Amaze sedan doesn’t skimp on safety features. The all-new platform makes extensive use of high-tensile steel, ensuring a lightweight but extremely rigid construction.

It also features Honda’s Advanced Compatibility structure, which allows for specific, programmed deformation of body structures in the case of a collision, while ensuring the integrity of the passenger safety cell. All Honda Amaze models are fitted with dual front airbags, inertia reel seatbelts front and rear, and IsoFix child seat anchors. On the active safety front, ABS brakes with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) are standard.

RANGE AND FEATURES The most affordable Amaze is the 1.2 Trend, available as a manual gearbox model only. However, even this so-called base model offers buyers an extensive list of standard equipment.

Exterior features include 15-inch alloy wheels shod with 175/65 R15 tyres, a roof-mounted sharkfin antenna, and a high-mounted third brake light.

Inside, smart cloth upholstery is standard, as is the tiltadjustable multifunction steering wheel. The four-speaker audio system features FM/AM and MP3 functionality.

It also includes Bluetooth connectivity for audio streaming and hands-free telephony. Central locking is standard, while the exterior mirrors are adjusted manually.

Moving up to the 1.2 Comfort, the exterior gains colour-coding for the exterior mirrors and door handles, while low-mounted, recessed fog lamps are standard, too.

Inside, the Comfort includes everything that’s standard on Trend versions, but adds automatic air-conditioning and electric adjustment of the exterior mirrors, as well as automatic door locking once the vehicle starts moving.

The 1.2 Comfort CVT is identical in all respects to its manual-gearbox stablemate, but gains gearshift paddles behind the steering wheel to allow for manual shifts between the CVT’s virtual gears.

All three Honda Amaze models are available in a choice of four new colours: White Orchid Pearl, Lunar Silver Metallic, Modern Steel Metallic, and Radiant Red Metallic.

PRICING, WARRANTY AND SERVICE PLAN The new Honda Amaze recommended retail pricing is as follows: Honda Amaze 1.2 Trend: R179 900 Honda Amaze 1.2 Comfort: R197 800 Honda Amaze 1.2 Comfort CVT: R213 100 • Prices as at time of testing The range is supported by a full five-year/200 000 km warranty, as well as a two-year/30 000 km service plan, and a three-year AA Roadside Assistance package. Scheduled services are at 15 000 km intervals.

I do believe the Honda Amaze is good value for money and the package you get is well worth it as you will also get a good trade in when you want to sell.

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execution is everything Beautiful design has always been at the heart of Jaguar; exciting proportions, elegant form and innovative luxury. A recent World Car Design of the Year awards for the Jaguar F-TYPE, F-PACE and I-PACE are testament to the Jaguar Design team’s successful approach.

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ow Jaguar achieves its design leadership has always been a closely guarded secret with work happening behind closed doors in Whitley. But with Jaguar Design moving into a purpose-built studio at the Gaydon Design and Engineering Centre in September 2019, Jaguar has thrown open the doors to give a unique insight to the fascinating journey that will bring the nextgeneration Jaguar vehicles to showrooms – from initial sketching and clay sculpting to final engineering.

Across six-stages of the design journey the Exterior and Interior teams collaborate throughout a well-defined process that can move from inspirational first sketch to finished car in around four years. From start to finish, each project is overseen by a programme management team that ensures integration with all business functions at each of the six stages: 1. Sketching 2. Clay Sculpting 3. Digitalisation 4. Colour and Materials 5. Design Technical 6. Model Manufacture 1. SKETCHING – typically four years before reveal Jaguar designers never stop sketching. Pen, pencil or tablet, the studio team is constantly generating new interior and exterior ideas for future products. Hundreds of sketches are produced each day.

The design process for a future Jaguar starts with an internal competition. Designers – from across the studio – are tasked with producing their best sketches and creative ideas before entries are gradually whittled down through shortlist reviews.

Adam Hatton, Exterior Design Director, Jaguar said: “We believe Jaguar sits at the pinnacle of automotive design, and we now have a very special place to achieve our goals.

You always get the most creative results when a team works well together and that’s what we’re all about. We care about our design team. We wanted to give them the best environment to

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work in, and we take time to nurture our designers so they can evolve their very best ideas, starting with the creative sketching process.”

On each project, up to eight exterior key sketches will be taken through to the next stage, each demonstrating a different theme and approach to convey their own unique blend of Jaguar creativity and innovation. Computer-Aided Surfacing (CAS) specialists then create a digital version of the initial renders. This data is then used to accurately mill the clay models.

In the new Jaguar Design Studio, the teams can go from a sketch to a full size clay model in only two weeks. Moving quickly into a physical three dimensional model is very important, because Jaguar Design has always had proportion and sculpture at its heart.

The designers who sketch the ‘winning’ initial ideas stay with the project from the first sketch to the production car, ensuring the creative spark behind the original vision is maintained and refined throughout the process.

During the sketching stage, one design is selected as the ‘vision’ which is used by the design and engineering teams to outline the feasibility of the proposal, its planned dimensions, aerodynamic requirements and any regulatory conditions. These constraints are then fed back to the other design disciplines to help progress the ‘vision’.

2. CLAY SCULPTING – typically four years before reveal Clay sculpting is the lifeblood of the design studio with the sketches and engineering data turned into physical assets at this stage. An expert team of 46 sculptors, ranging from long term employees to new talent coming through apprenticeships, add the human touch – quite literally – to bring the sketches to life.

The six to eight projects that have been brought forward from the sketching phase, including the ‘vision’ proposal, have clay models created.

Each of the designers is given half of a full size exterior and is paired up with a clay team to bring their vision to reality. One sculptor will focus on the front, two on the side and another on the rear, though all sculptors are capable of working on any aspect of an exterior design. Following review, three different themes will be continued into a full clay with one final design signed off for further refinements to be made.

Alongside the exterior models, individual parts like seats and steering wheels, and even full-size interiors, are also sculpted from clay.

The new Jaguar Design Studio has ten clay model plates across two studio areas, each fully equipped with the latest automated milling technology and space for two full size interior or exterior models, allowing the team to work on numerous projects simultaneously. Jaguar worked with the experts at KOLB Design Technology to develop a bespoke solution to its clay sculpting facilities.

The sculpting area has 400m of custom-made floor-integrated machine rails across its ten clay milling areas, each one 20m long. Each clay model is positioned on one of 20 lifts, capable of lifting the full-size model up to one-metre and with a load capacity of 4.5-tonnes, which allows the sculptors to achieve the most ergonomic body position possible when crafting each part of the vehicle. The system allows

double-sided processing of models by the 3+2-axis Kolb Concept Line CNC clay milling machines, using the 1kw motorised spindle capable of 16,000rpm.

Each full-scale clay model comprises an aluminium chassis, foam core and, finally, up to 90mm of clay. The only part that is ‘real’ at this stage are the wheels. The clay is milled by machine using CeO 2020 Vol 20.2

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data from the CAS team before being ‘slicked’ and refined by the clay sculptors – this process can take as little as two weeks.

Using carbon fibre and sprung steel splines, the tools used to precisely shape the clay, the team handcraft each clay to perfect their designs. The clay models are frequently removed from the plates and taken outside to view in natural light to replicate how the vehicle will be seen on the road, and from a variety of angles and heights. This process takes much longer with revisions and adjustments made over the course of several months as each element of the design is refined and finessed to achieve a cohesive and elegant outcome.

The clay models are constantly scanned with data re-inputted to computer software to ensure engineering points are met, with clay sculptors operating to tolerances of 0.2mm. As designs are perfected, the clay models can be wrapped and painted to bring them to life.

Jaguar Design utilises Virtual Reality (VR) to stitch a real-life 3D clay interior model into a digital world so designers and ergonomics experts can experience the look and feel simultaneously.

On both exterior and interior clays, 3D rapid printed parts can be produced to help bring some of the beautiful details to life quickly and at an early stage.

3. DIGITALISATION – throughout the design process Digitalisation plays a pivotal role in Jaguar Design, and is integrated to every stage of the process from sketching through to launch animations.

From the early conceptual stage, the Computer-Aided Surfacing (CAS) team convert the design sketches into digital 3D models, gradually evolving the designs as engineering and packaging data is released by the Design Technical team. This data is then used to create the clay models with real world refinements then scanned back into the CAS team for further mathematical adjustments. The CAS team then exports the surface data ready for the model to go into production.

The Jaguar Design Studio also has an in-house Design Visualisation and Animation (DVA) team, made up of experts from the world of television, film, advertising and gaming. These specialists work closely with designers and data teams to animate the 3D models into immersive films that help bring the design concepts to life in real-world environments.

A material scanner supports the creation of photo-realistic textures of interior and exterior material options and Jaguar has a render farm, with 200 high-performance machines dedicated to producing advanced animations and graphics in minutes.

The DVA team continues to use virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies throughout the process to compliment the physical clay models and digital sketches.

When designs are at the initial concept stage, VR is used to create an immersive review process, helping designers settle on a direction or theme.

As a design evolves, VR and AR are used to advise on interior details such as headlinings, seat movements, active aerodynamics and the lighting and infotainment screen start-up sequences. This inhouse technology and expertise allows Jaguar Design to be flexible and efficient, with amendments made in a fraction of the time

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required by a full model recreation. Mobile VR stations mean each project can be brought to life in real-time anywhere in the studio.

4. COLOUR AND MATERIALS – throughout the design process The car design process extends beyond exterior and interior appearance, with tactility of materials vital to Jaguar Design. Sitting between the Interior and Exterior studio is the Colour and Materials team – a position that reflects its significance to both disciplines. Its role is focused on developing innovative new interior and exterior materials and finishes and is made up of experts from the world of automotive, fashion, jewellery and product design.

The team is involved throughout the design process – from sketching all the way to engineering – the Jaguar Colour & Materials Design team are continuously working to innovate and bring new, exciting and relevant design solutions into our vehicles. They touch every customer-facing surface to deliver a true Jaguar user experience. At the heart of its work sits Jaguar’s interpretation of ‘Britishness’ – an overwhelmingly positive and differentiating brand attribute – with the Colour and Materials team constantly evolving how this is woven into new vehicles. Individual members of the team hail from countries such as Sweden, Latvia, France and Italy, helping Jaguar to communicate what contemporary ‘Britishness’ means to customers across the world. Britishness is a dynamic concept and Jaguar Design embraces the innovative elegance and merging of past and future crafts and technologies to give its vehicles their unique character.

Megatrend research helps inform the team of ‘what’s next’ as well as helping predict the colour and materials that customers will want by the time a vehicle has finished its four-year design journey. The importance of this data means Colour and Materials plays an influential role throughout the process. For the interior, the team takes inspiration for material innovation from other sectors including sportswear, product and architecture to bring new processes into automotive design. To ensure the materials meet Jaguar’s exacting standards, the team makes full-scale models, to fully demonstrate the new application of materials. These models work alongside VR and clay interiors to help the team finalise a design direction and bring the tactility of the vision to life.

The department is also driven by sustainability, championing new materials that deliver improved environmental credentials, both in use and supply, with transparent sourcing key to selecting the right materials. Jaguar strives to ensure all materials are durable in all conditions while enhancing the comfort of our vehicles. For example, seat upholstery is subjected to 60,000 cycles of abrasion resistance using the Martindale rub test, which simulates natural wear of a seat cover in everyday use.

A key part of any vehicle design is the exterior with Colour and Materials responsible for developing new paint colours and material finishes. It takes four years to bring a new exterior colour to fruition.

Jaguar exterior paint testing follows a rigorous schedule to ensure that every aspect of the colour meets our expectations. This includes sending painted panels to Florida for two years’ exposure to strong sunlight, testing stone chip performance at -20 degrees C and adhesion after extended exposure to high humidity.

5. DESIGN TECHNICAL – throughout the design process Design Technical looks at creative ways to deliver the team’s vision by developing design-enabling technologies and solutions from the very

beginning of the process. This group of creative engineers sits at the centre of the design function to support the entire studio – helping to make even the most ambitious design a production reality.

The Advanced Design Technical (ADT) team work on whole vehicle layouts and architecture planning and form a key part of any project from the very outset.

Their job is to make sure the designs are feasible, identifying physical and legislative challenges and finding creative solutions to them with the aim of making the transition from sketchpad to production a smooth one. The team’s CAD expertise and understanding of the latest safety and sustainability requirements ensure the team is delivering plausible designs, covering everything from packaging and design-enabling tech to powertrain considerations.

The ADT team’s integration within the new studio places them in Gaydon among the core engineering teams. This has accelerated the resolution of complex problems, making it easier to bring other business functions into the studio to help overcome technical challenges as they arise.

With the entire design function under one roof, within the same facility as the wider engineering team, the new studio is making the development process more fluid and organic at every step.

6. MODEL MANUFACTURE – typically four years before reveal (vision model) Jaguar Design doesn’t just rely on clay sculpting to develop its vehicles; other full-scale models are created by the studio throughout the process. These interior and exterior models are used to evaluate

size and proportion and are developed from initial concept sketches in the first six to 12 months.

When one design is selected as the ‘vision’, a new model is created from milled resin, with non-functioning 3D printed lamps, grilles, mirrors and wheels with unique trims, production quality paint and plexi-glass glazing. Alongside these exterior models, full-size interior vision properties are also created. With real seats, steering wheels and trimmed and painted surfaces beautifully finished to a ‘real’ aesthetic standard, these models help to focus the business and can be used for market research and to ensure all engineering tolerances are met.

The step beyond the resin model is the exterior and interior Aesthetic Confirmation Models (ACM) produced when the design theme is frozen, the point at which clay modelling ends on the vehicle. The ACMs feature a higher level of detail such as milled metal components, functioning lamps, and are developed following design themes being refined and engineering feasibility work being completed.

The final model is the incredibly detailed Customer Design Reference Model – a full inside/outside driveable (low-speed) model created ahead of launch to showcase the vehicle before a full production version is available. It is built on a bespoke chassis with a body structure made up of a mix of carbon fibre and glass fibre, with fully functioning lamps, oneoff machined aluminium wheels, and a fully trimmed interior complete with functioning displays.

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Last Word S

he shares 5 laws of influence that have helped her remain a positive influence in business and in life:

1. You cannot influence what you do not understand: It makes sense really... no person, situation or outcome can be influenced by haphazard attempts. If you really want to have a lasting influence, you need to seek to understand your people and their situations first, and then second to be understood (if it even matters). Only once you have a relationship, can you influence - even if that relationship is through a social media platform, you need to know your audience before you can add any value.

2. People can smell inauthenticity: That’s right – here is the one realm where ‘fake it till you make it’ simply won’t work. If how you act when no one is ‘watching’ doesn’t match up to what you say, people will Jacqueline Raw, Owner and Founder of Ycagel soon realise that you’re not being real. We are all equipped with our sixth sense and quickly weed out agendas or subtle disconnects in what people say and how they operate. True influence comes from a sincere desire to create positive change for others – nothing less.

3. Influence takes time: In an era of immediate gratification, we all want to see results – fast – but forcing relationships and forcing trust will ultimately undo any possibility of influence. People need to understand your personal context for wanting to influence before they will be open enough to receive your input. Being consistent and developing staying power will strengthen your influence over time.

4. Influence is invisible: In so much as we would like to be transparent and always should be – walking up to a person and saying ‘hey, I’d like to influence this situation’ isn’t the We are all subject to influence - we’re either most effective strategy. People want to feel like they are being influenced, or we are influencing, there a part of something bigger and a big part of influence is simply is no middle ground, this is according creating a space where people contribute while you drive to Jacqueline Raw, Owner and Founder of the conversation. Influence shows up in the quiet spaces marketing consultancy Ycagel. She says, in-between conversations.

“Understanding influence and how to positively 5. Pick a side: We can either be influenced, or we can influence. The choice is ours. If your organisational leverage it enables us to be better leaders and culture needs to change or if the status quo needs entrepreneurs.” to be challenged, you can either lead the way or you can stay at the water cooler with all the other people moaning about the injustice of it all. The choice will always be ours.

“Influence is one of the most powerful gifts of great leadership and a forceful driver in business.

Understanding this and the working to grow and enhance your influence will set you and your business up for success later on,” Jacqui concludes.

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