Utamaduni wa Kufanya Utafiti (Research First!)

"You don't have because you don't ask" - but how can you ask if you don't know and how can you know if you don't research?

If I got paid 10,000 Tanzanian shillings for each time somebody asked me to "help" them with something they could research all by themselves, I would have made almost as much as I have made since I have been in business. Jamani, kwanini hatupendi kujituma na kufanya utafiti kabla hatujaamua hatuwezi wenyewe na tunahitaji msaada?

There is No Shortcut to Success: The Law of the Farm

Aibu! No, really, the trend that has developed, with everybody living like they are in a Clint Eastwood westerner, is nothing short of despicable. Show me one respectable, wealthy individual who hasn't put in the time and sacrifice to reap the rewards. Nani? Reginald Mengi? Ali Mufuruki? Susan Mashibe? Emelda Mwamanga-Mtunga? Kila mmoja wao put in the time, made the effort, resisted temptation and made sacrifices to get to where they are. Sasa kwanini mimi na wewe tujidai tunajua zaidi na kutafuta dili za kuiba ili tuonekane kama na sisi tumefika? Huo ni ulimbukeni tu wa kawaida. There is no shortcut to success people. Like a farmer who cannot expect to sow today and reap tomorrow ama sleep all year round and start working like mad in the last month and expect to get his or her yield, we must all, in our respective areas, respect the law of the farm. 

Knowledge is Not Enough for Business Success

This topic keeps resurfacing so I'd like to put it to you to comment on. My take is that it is time we debunked the myth that all we need is to "know" and that "knowledge", which, kwa wengi nilioongea nao, wanamaanisha "information", will take us to our highest high. Sikiliza, kunatofauti kubwa kati ya "literacy" na "education"....

The Power of Networking

Apart from relying squarely on God, in the few years that I have been in business I have known no other strategy work greater for business development than ‘networking’.

You see, people buy people before they buy those people’s products.  We want to be around and develop relationships with those we feel (and the word here is “feel”), those we “feel” have similar interests and goals to us.

Since then, in decision-making, people “feel,” before they “think”, then continuously building relationships with people so that they feel trust, affinity, common identity and sense of purpose with you, plays a large role in influencing how they will eventually “think” about you and your business....