Pocket of Thoughts™ by Saint Akanji

  “ By the instrumentality of collective faith and work, Africa will become the best place to live and do business” — Femi Oni Prologue This is a clarion call. The purpose of this thought piece is to consider the knotty issue surrounding the future of Africa. For a continent that is home to the world’s poorest and a pocket of war torn countries, it has become increasingly crucial for citizens and people of African extraction as well as well-wishers to think more broadly and act decisively about dealing with the massive challenges facing Africa at this time because what happens in Africa will not stay in Africa. If this presentation should achieve anything, it should be to provoke this reader that the time has come for Africa to live up to its true potential. There are questions begging for answers.       Africa is not a country. By the end of 2013, the total population of Africa stood at 1.1 billion. This accounts for about 15% of the world’...

All hail the king. Every right thinking organisation in the 21st century know better to treat its customer well. Never has there being a time when the customer's claim to the throne has become a mainstay. Experts in the field of customer experience have never been busy. There are hundreds of literature on the subject of building bridges to the customers' heart. Today, customer's have become ' prosumers ' (a term that exalts the role of consumers beyond the traditional to now mean so much more such as being active to help personally improve or design the goods and services of the marketplace, transforming it). Looking back to the early days of consumerism and beyond into the future of enterprise , one can say without any shadow of doubt that the customer is and will be king. 80% of new products fail to succeed. In this piece, through the lens of a classic case study and business model principles, we will consider how businesses in this post modern...

  “I will either find a way or make one” (Hannibal Barca) Chutzpah is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad. The Yiddish word derives from the Hebrew word ḥutspâ ( חֻצְפָּה ), meaning "insolence" or "audacity". The modern English usage of the word has taken on a broader meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use in film, literature, and television. The word is sometimes interpreted—particularly in business parlance—as meaning the amount of courage, mettle or ardor that an individual has. Innovation occurs at the edge of chaos Reading through the pages of Malcolm Gladwell's David and Goliath left me thoroughly impressed and inspired. My personal review of the book is that although the author didn't give the impression that Outliers (a best seller from the same man who on his twitter handle refers to himself as a skinny Canadian) would have a part two, David and Goliath is indubitably a continuation of the story of u...

  T he best way to start is to start. According to the online Free Dictionary definition, Rubicon is a limit that when passed or exceeded permits of no return and typically results in irrevocable commitment. This is a point of no return. This maiden post is dedicated to rebels, misfits, underdogs and non-conformists. Adulation to those in pursuit of ideals greater than themselves. Once you cross the rubicon, things are never quite the same. Here is to the Good Life.    The legend of Julius Caesar In 49 BC, Julius Caesar and his army crossed the Rubicon; a shallow river ( rubico ) in northeastern Italy , about 80 kilometres long, running from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea through the southern Emilia-Romagna region, between the towns of Rimini and Cesena . The Latin word rubico comes from the adjective "rubeus", meaning "red". The river was so named because its waters are colored red by mud deposits. It was key to protecting Rome fro...