Perilous times often lead to consolidation with people gravitating towards their kind at the exclusion of others and unspoken law of the jungle becoming normalised. We could learn from ancient Egyptians when they faced 7 years of drought and starvation. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 28 February 2017. Continue reading
There are relationships, and there are relationships. As “woke” people would say, there are levels to this thing. Not all relationships are the same. It’s best knowing what kind of relationship one has with others and managing expectations accordingly than walking blind. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 30 January 2017. Continue reading
If there ever was a need for proof that observing Business 101 principles isn’t enough to bring about business success, a visit to a large and busy mall in the festive season to observe customers and business interactions provides proof of such inadequacies.
For some businesses, maintaining flexibility and dual operational strategy might be the additional missing link needed to ensure success. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 28 December 2016. Continue reading
No doubt barriers to entry for any business have been raised unless you are content with your business remaining a small outfit and settling for crumbs. But those with a vision to expand their businesses to reach wider geographical coverage cannot avoid investing in capacity increase to attain that growth. Although technology increases the agility of businesses to grow and lowers barriers to entry, the savvy are best positioned to make it. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 29 November 2016. Continue reading
The success of Land Rover, a company originally spawned off and owned by British carmaker Rover Company, saw its successes in the 70s dwindling owing to the parent company, British Leyland Motor Corporation’s financial troubles. As declines caused one takeover after another, the brand was then bought by BMW in the mid-1990s. But that too didn’t save the carmaker from its troubles. It was given another lease on life when Ford acquired the brand as part of its then Premier Automotive Group (PAG) in 2000, which then also included Jaguar, Volvo and Aston Martin.
The car manufacturer soon experienced financial performance troubles under Ford. The troubles compelled Ford to offload Jaguar and Land Rover to the Indian owned Tata Motors, and the Volvo brand to Geely Automobile of China.
Why couldn’t such previously successful brands be rescued by more successful and formidable carmakers like BMW and Ford? And why have the initially much “deplored” Chinese and Indian carmakers such as Geely and Tata, do the unbelievable and turn these companies around so quickly?
What lessons can we, as owners of small companies, learn from the history of Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo to ensure our growth and development isn’t stunted by the same challenges they experienced? By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 October 2016. Continue reading
It’s very rare interacting with emerging or small businesses and not face requests for upfront payment before any delivery of service or product is made. It’s quite refreshing, on the one hand, seeing small businesses focusing on the problem and related solution without first mentioning upfront payment.
I feel for small businesses and their need to increase working capital to fund business operations. I have found that many customers are turned off by upfront discussions of payment. When is it the right time to discuss matters about money? By Nimroth Gwetsa, 30 September 2016. Continue reading
My heart is filled with joy whenever I visit the hood (as youngsters would say) and seeing many smaller shops and businesses that used to be our source of supplies for goods and services throughout my childhood still running. Despite the onslaught of shopping centres and well-established national retailers cropping up in the neighbourhood, they are still straddling along. It’s a good thing that they have survived the worst and are still standing, yet also concerning that they seem to be stagnant or are dying slowly.
By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 August 2016. Continue reading
Coming to think of it, nothing on Earth is without some ability to transmit signals or some form of a dashboard when its state deviates from the norm. This doesn’t mean all things are alive and have some awareness, but all things show a sign of inherent changes over time.
Man-made creations and natural things alike, send out or show signals of some sort when certain conditions occur. Though not all signals are transmitted intentionally, some show signs indicating a change in condition of the substance. Some signals can be as a creek, showing distress or some strain. Others can be in symptoms pointing to the underlying cause of the problem for which a solution may need to be found to avoid destruction. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 July 2016. Continue reading
Persistent failure to persuade people to consider our proposals could sometimes be owing to our asking wrong people for help, seeking answers in wrong places and knocking on wrong doors. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 30 June 2016. Continue reading
Human beings are marvellous. Even without zoologist and scientists explaining differences between humans and animals, any sane person can easily see the superiority of humans over other creatures. A mere look at innovation and developments humans brought about and other feats achieved, shows the greatness of humans above other creatures.
Despite this greatness, human beings seem unable to resolve age-old problems whose remedies are known and documented. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 May 2016. Continue reading