Posts in category: Uncategorized

[vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”‘It is worth every penny’” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%2345731f” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]For a small team one would not think that team building is of much significance neither would they be keen to spend money and time on that. But my view on this was challenged this week when the owner of a Business that has less than ten employees asked me to facilitate a staff capacity and team building retreat for the team. I gladly took it up with my focus biased towards capacity rather than team building. At the end of the retreat I asked the team to fill in an evaluation tool that had four questions, two of which were; ‘What stood out for you during this retreat? and, ‘What improvement would you want to see in the next retreat? For the former 80% of the team indicated team building activities is what stood out for them, mind you I was biased so the activities were few. For the latter an almost equal percentage indicated that they would want more team building activities and less of training in the next retreat, I was embarrassed. While I tackled other sessions during this retreat that were quite relevant and interesting, it turned out that these ‘fun’ activities that can pass for ‘time wasters’ is what the team appreciated most.
It is no wonder that team building is one of the most widely used group-development activities in organizations and is said to have the strongest effect (versus financial measures) for improving organizational performance. With the time we spend with our employees, the benefits of investing time and money in teambuilding cannot be overemphasized. Some of the benefits of team building include; responsive and meaningful communication, facilitates collaborative and motivated work culture, identifies and develops strengths of the team members, creates self-awareness of one’s own strengths and weaknesses, helps in problem-solving and decision making, boosts morale and job appreciation, helps in creativity, innovation and out of the box thinking, enhances productivity and improves organizational performance.
You may consider one or more of the following approaches;

• Interpersonal-relations; This emphasizes increasing teamwork skills such as giving and receiving support, communication and sharing. Teams with fewer interpersonal conflicts generally function more effectively than others.
• Problem solving; This emphasizes identifying major problems within the team and working together to find solutions. This can have the added benefit of enhancing critical thinking & creativity
• Role clarification; This emphasizes improving team members’ understanding of their own and others’ respective roles and duties. It also emphasizes the members’ interdependence and the value of having each member focus on their own role in the team’s success.
• Setting Goals; This emphasizes the importance of setting clear objectives, individual, team and organizational goals. Team members become involved in action planning to identify ways to define success and failure and achieve goals.

I applaud my client who did not hesitate to invest time and money in building their ‘small team’; it was worth every minute and every penny. Isn’t it possibly time that you considered investing time and money in your valuable team regardless of how few/many they are?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”835″][vc_column_text]Mary Kamore is the Founder and Lead Consultant, M_OliveS Mentors[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”The Power of positivity ” title_align=”separator_align_left” color=”green”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When I was in high school I went through a very wearisome experience which, ironically, was a lifetime opportunity. The president of the Republic of Kenya then, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, had been kind to our school by supporting the construction of a modern Dinning hall and in addition buying goodies for all the girls, as many as we were. To appreciate him for his kind gesture a student was to write to him a thank you letter, a minimum of one and a half foolscap. This student happened to be me, not because I was the best in writing letters but mostly because I was the school head girl (captain if you want) and according to my headmistress, I was the best placed to represent the school. This was definitely a privilege, a lifetime opportunity. But the tedious part was nothing to celebrate. I did not have a good handwriting and so you can only imagine how difficult it was for me to write the letter. When I wrote the letter the first time, the headmistress looked at it and said, “Mary I can’t read this letter and the President can’t read it either, write again”. This happened three times and each time it was getting worse and both of us were getting more frustrated. At the fourth time she walked over to me placed her hand on my shoulder and told me, “Mary I believe you can write better than this, Just try one more time; I will be right here beside you”. That did it and the next piece I wrote was good enough to be handed over to the president! My relationship with my headmistress moved to another level; she was more than just an authority, but a mentor.
What contributed towards the positive outcome in this difficult experience? It is the power of positivity. I was struggling with a shortcoming which I was painfully aware of. All through, I wished I could get it right, yet I feared to be condemned and judged if I don’t get it right. In the end my headmistress did what a good mentor should do-instead of being judgmental she saw beyond the negatives and conveyed hope. That is the reason I got it right at the last attempt. Lawrence club says, ‘Mentors speak three messages: ‘It can be done. You are not alone. I believe in you’. If my headmistress did not speak the positive words, I still wonder how many more times I would have tried to get it right or if I would have gotten it right at all.
In the Bible Paul as a mentor to Timothy spoke positive words to him many times; “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” 1Tim 1; 6, 7. It is no wonder that Timothy turned out to be the most effective Christina Evangelist in his time.
Would you this week consider using the power of positivity as a mentor? You will be surprised what this can do to your mentee. Try to apply the following tips;
 Be eager to ‘see’ not only the present reality but also the possible future for the mentee-Vision
 Be present to support and stick with your mentee-it makes all the difference in their ability to face the difficulties of life with hope-Encouragement.
 Take every opportunity to celebrate with them for those wonderful breakthrough moments in their lives-Celebrating Progress.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”The Business Champion” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%2345731f” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]This week I have been reading a book ‘Champion’ by David Ndegwa a former Golden Gloves amateur boxing champion and High School teacher. David uses his experience as a boxing Champion to demonstrate what it takes to fight life’s battles and become a Champion. Though the book was given to our 13 year old son as a gift upon his transition to adolescent I am learning lessons that apply to everyone not just a 13 year old.

This article is based on one paragraph that I read in the very first chapter of the book. “As you strife to win your life fights, you will also face these four obstacles; Lack of resources, Poor techniques, Inexperience and Doubt” Says David in his book. As I reflected on this I thought, ‘How true this is, not only in fighting life’s battles, but also in fighting Business battles!’ These four are key determinants of Business success. In the beginning lack of resources, finances and others, always stand out as the missing piece for you to push that Business idea from your mind. But as soon as you apply all the resources at your disposal you are confronted with the next obstacle-poor techniques. You immediately realize that your Business is unique and the technique that seemed to work for your friend or competitor is not working for you. You also realize that you require different techniques at each stage of your Business.

The next thing you realize is that you cannot run your Business without relevant experience either in the your line of Business or in a related field. While it is true you can hire people with the skills and experiences that you need, as the Business founder and owner you cannot blindly get into a certain line of product/service with zero understanding. A couple of years ago my friend decided to gain entry into the shoe market and with a vision of manufacturing her own shoes. She signed up for one month course at a shoe making Industry just for her to have a general idea of what it means to make such a bold move-her background being in a totally different field she needed this. Mark you she will not be the one ‘stitching’ the shoes but she needed to know how it is done and what it takes.

The last obstacle I find it as unifying factor for most of us if not all-‘Doubt’. We always doubt our ability to start that Business, sell that unique product/service, change to that new line of product/service or even move into that new location or region. Many a times you realize that the difference between your ideal entrepreneur and the entrepreneur you are right now is doubt-that if you would be bold enough to get rid of doubt in your mind you would be surprised to find it is all you needed to become your best self.  In the Bible we are reminded of how doubt can make us unstable in all we do. “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” James 1:6. Will you allow doubt to make you like the ‘surf of the sea?’

To face your doubts this week I invite you to address some key Business Elements in your Business which I would consider important for you to become a ‘Business champion’.  We, however, at times leave them unattended because we doubt our capacity to address them.  These elements include; Vision and Leadership, Business Development, Operations & Delivery and Financial Management. To read more on the four please go to our facebook page[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Build a Business that you Love” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%2345731f” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]This week I experienced two related episodes but in different settings. I was having a chat with a business owner and she made this comment, “I am glad that, after five years, my Business is now past the delicate stage. I was away for the last one week attending to some personal matters and I returned to find my business still on. It did not close down! But I am just not sure I can be away for longer than that. It seems hard to predict what can happen to my Business at any one point in time”

I was among a group of mothers who were in a room waiting to receive our sons who had gone through rites of passage experiences (RROPES) program. After the pastor gave a talk to prepare these ‘mothers of sons’ one mom raised her hand for a comment; “Like all mothers here today I am grateful to God that my son has gone through this stage and I am receiving ‘a man’ who we brought here as ‘a young boy’. We are excited as mothers that this experience has prepared our boys to be strong and courageous, ready for life”. We all nodded in agreement as we clapped.

Business and children have one thing in common; both should grow. However, while we are deliberate about our children growth most often we are not deliberate about our Business growth. I was excited about our son’s transition and did everything possible to see it happen since I knew it is a start of his maturity process. How is it that we expect our children to grow, plan for their maturity and mobilize all the needed resources to ensure they eventually leave the ‘mothers nest’ mature enough to stand on their own yet we have no such plans for our Businesses. Some of us have changed diapers in our Business for years; we can’t be away for one hour because this baby needs ‘diaper change’ every other minute.

These two lessons from Chuck Blakeman can change the way you treat your Business.
1. It is possible to Build a Business that you will love and have a life too. Your Business should give you three things; Time, money and significance. But for some reason we only expect it to give us one: Money. And because we focus on just making money, our Business never gives back time or help us have a significant impact in the world around us. We most often find ourselves too busy making money that we hardly have a life!
2. Every Business, big or small has Two opposing realities; The Tyranny of the urgent vs The Priority of the Important. Urgent things keep us from paying attention to the important things in our Business. They fly at us all day, every day causing us to be reactive and defensive as we hold the business together as best as we can. We jump from one task to another or manage many tasks at once-‘multitask’. They rule over us and like small kids, they scream and yell. We don’t have to find them they find us and we become their loyal subjects. On the other hand important things require us to be proactive because they almost never seem urgent. Thinking about next month/year, Business maturity, customer responses, processes/systems is very important but never seem urgent. You will not make any money today by sitting down to write a plan, or work on your Business processes- this may not seem as important and definitely not as urgent as paying your bills.
However your Business and mine might never mature if we do not strike a balance between these two; Urgent vs Important. Be deliberate to build a Mature Business that you love.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Re-thinking your mentoring approach” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%2345731f” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]My mentoring relationship with Mercy (not her real name for confidentiality purposes) is unique because it’s neither one of those I planned for nor is it under a structured program. Mercy had just come back from the UK after being there for about 10 years. During this time she undertook a HR course and worked in the same line before deciding to come back home. As she was wondering where to go to church and find a mentor, her friend who is known to me invited her to our church and that is how we met. Young, pretty and educated Mercy was determined to find a footing in her own country. She further informed me she was looking towards achieving three things;

 Secure a job immediately
 Grow spiritually- be grounded in the word of God
 Get into a relationship that would lead to marriage.

I realized that what I was about to commit to was not easy but being one who is naturally driven when it comes to helping someone achieve what they are capable of, I was determined to do it. It is during this unplanned, unstructured mentoring relationship that I appreciated the following rules of mentorship;

Sacrifice; I set aside one hour every Sunday after service to meet with Mercy. This was a sacrifice considering that Sunday is a family day meaning I had to momentarily deny myself this family time. I was not going to help Mercy if I was not ready to sacrifice.

Confidentiality; The issues that Mercy needed us to address were sensitive, so sensitive that she could often breakdown during our meetings. If it’s not a relationship gone sour it’s a turn down by a potential employer, a family member who‘s a nuisance or just feeling at her lowest. The best I chose to do for Mercy during this time was to hold all information shared with high level of confidentiality. Even when I needed to refer her for help in areas that I was not an expert, I avoided sharing any information to a third party without her consent.

Motivation; Though I do mentoring at a fee, this one was among the unique ones that I do not charge. Two things that motivate me; 1. Gratitude; as a young girl in my Church school class, we used to sing this song; ‘What do you have that you were not given X2, Do not behave like you were not given, Glorify God with what you have’. I am motivated to share what God has freely given me. 2. Love; I cared deeply for Mercy and I took it as my responsibility to help her unleash her potential. I loved to see her make small & major steps towards her desired goal. These two (gratitude & love) are my motivation in any mentoring relationship whether paid or not. They are fulfilling.

Transparency; At first I noticed that Mercy was shy and cautious, she could say little and leave it for me to fill out the blanks. That was frustrating because I wanted her to be as open as possible. I asked God to help me through this set back and He quickened something in me- the need to make the relationship less formal and share my life with Mercy. I started inviting Mercy into my life; sharing my own experiences; good or bad, introducing her to my work & family, praying together and so forth. This took our relationship to another level just because Mercy realized that I am also human.
Paul says; “so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well”. 1 Thessalonians 2:8. I doubt if I would have had the kind of breakthrough I had in helping Mercy if I never shared my life with her.
While it is true that different mentoring relationships require different approaches, I am convinced that as a mentor you will not help much unless you stir up your awareness and understanding of these four; Commitment, Confidentiality, motivation and transparency. Please take time and consider how you apply the four.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]entrepreneur-leader[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Becoming “The Leading Entrepreneur”

“Entrepreneurship is not even an option, it is a national necessity. It is the only way through which we can strengthen our currency, cure joblessness and uplift our standards of living”, Edwin H. Dande CEO Cytonn Investments. This is close to what Nicole Martins, an e-commerce Entrepreneur, says “An entrepreneur is the person who sees a problem in the world and immediately focuses on creating the solution. They’re the leaders that strike out on their own to improve society. Whether they’re creating jobs or a new product, they constantly take action to ensure world progress. As a result entrepreneurs create jobs, create change, give to society and add to the National income” While I couldn’t agree more, I thought, ‘leadership is a skill that an entrepreneur must have in order to succeed’ or simply put a successful entrepreneur must ‘lead’. We explore a few characteristics of “The Leading Entrepreneur’.

Focus;The leading Entrepreneur must focus on something. Steve Jobs returned to lead Apple in 1997. Upon his return, Jobs found that Apple had widely diversified its product lines. He concluded, “Apple is in serious financial crisis and we can’t afford to do anything extra…we have got to focus and do something we can be good at.” Under his direction the company reduced its offering to just four computers; two desktops and two laptops. This narrowed focus contributed to Apples remarkable turnaround. Could it be time for you to be honest and say, “we cannot afford to do anything extra…we have got to focus”

Influence;The leading entrepreneur influences. “The true measure of leadership is influence-nothing more, nothing less” John Maxwell.  As an entrepreneur your measure of leadership is determined by their ability to influence the resources at your disposal. Key among these resources is people and they include; customers, employees, suppliers, investors, directors, family and friends. Your success is dependent on all or most of these resources.

You are the product; The leading Entrepreneur makes ‘People buy into them’. “People at first don’t follow worthy causes. They follow worthy leaders who promote causes they can believe in” John Maxwell. This is true in entrepreneurship-people will need to believe in you before they believe in your product or service. You are the product-sell yourself first!!Give people a reason to ‘buy into you’ before buying what you are offering.

Character; The leading entrepreneur exhibits character. “The only thing that walks back from the tomb with the mourners and refuses to be buried is the character of a man. This is true. What a man is survives him, it can never be buried.” J.R. Miller. Character communicates consistency, potential and respect. As an entrepreneur you need to deliver what is expected day after day. It is important to note that talent, passion, great idea and commitment must be reinforced by character.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]