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Successful innovation doesn't just happen overnight in organizations - it needs to be nurtured. The healthier the environment, the greater the results,according to Bob Rosenfeld, innovator-in-residence at the Center for Creative Leadership. He has some sound advice for organizations that want to be innovation leaders.
Remember, avoid the temptation to separate your "innovation" efforts from your everyday work. Instead, recognize that innovation is part of the real world, and strive to create a fostering, sustainable environment where it can prosper. In the end, innovation will either thrive or be threatened in any given working environment. Listen to these three principles to figure out what direction innovation is headed in your organization:
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Center for Creative Leadership- CCL
The perspectives that we uncovered from senior executives reveal that as today’s business challenges span across boundaries, so too must leadership.
The ever-increasing complexity and interdependence of today’s world calls for a critical transformation in leadership from managing and protecting boundaries to boundary spanning-the capability to create direction, alignment and commitment across boundaries in service of a higher vision or goal.
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As a country, South Africa is facing significant economic challenges. We need to accelerate the growth rate to create wealth that enhances the standard of living for all South Africans, dramatically increase employment creation; develop industrial capabilities to decrease our dependence on commodity exports; and transform the ownership and management profile of the economy to reflect that of the broader South African population.
A range of policies have been developed that demonstrate the commitment of the South African government to overcome these challenges, namely the Industrial Policy Action Plan, the New Growth Path and the Performance Evaluation Framework.
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It is evident that there are new marketing concepts and innovations emerging in Africa. A brand is a reputation. “Africa is unbranded. Brands are mostly competing on product quality and price.
However brands that deliver on experience, emotion and social responsibility will build trust, loyalty and love”, says Gary Harwood the director and founding member of HKLM.
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The importance of small and medium enterprises in South Africa’s economy is evident giving that they employ over 7million people. They contribute almost 50% GDP to the country’s economy.
Even though this group contribute a lot to the market economy, there are however some challenges facing them which includes access to finance, business development support and market access. Read More... |
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After the August celebration of women’s month, we take a holistic view on the success of women entrepreneurs in South Africa.
Speaking at the women in leadership breakfast forum, Dr Myles Munroe stated that some of the greatest leaders in history were women. Understanding the unique nature of women’s leadership is very important for organizations. All entrepreneurs are bound to face challenges but women because of their
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“Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible”- General Colin Powell. A global company thinks in its global context and acts consistent with the desires and aspirations of its local communities.
Leadership has many ingredients says Mark Cutifani and boils down to five key principles which positions Anglo Gold Ashanti as one of the best mining firms in the world:
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Conversation summary delivered by Toshiro Ozawa Japan Ambassador to South Africa, Mike Spicer CEO of Business Leadership South Africa and follow up research by Kizito Okechukwu.
The depth of condolences, sympathy and support received by Japan after the massive quake across Africa provided clear testimony of Japan’s contribution to the continent’s economy. Based on the most severe experiences, Japan will move to build a new society which is more resilient to natural disasters.
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One thing that most working South Africans look forward to is a holiday. Preferred holiday destinations for most are outside of the country. It is highly likely that when travelling abroad you will require foreign currency.
Foreign currency is often purchased at banks at predetermined exchange rates - making one a price taker. The same is true for businesses - they cannot control exchange-rate fluctuations.
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With the increasing change in organisational structures and technology innovations, businesses are devising new ways to motivate and maintain the effectiveness of staff.
Organisations and businesses experience technology innovations, increasing competition and dynamic environment, thus continue to seek for a more proactive and strategic approach in maximising efficiency and effectiveness.
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As social media is becoming more interesting and inviting, many businesses are now abandoning the use of email marketing. While internalising both media could effectively catapult your business, due process has to be followed to ensure that this is implemented properly. According to Lisa Morgan from Insights Online Merchants, linking email with social media is conceptually interesting because it combines two different animals: direct response and organic communities.
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One of the questions we often get is –do I need a coach or a mentor? The short answer is you may well need both. To some this may seem like overkill, but it all depends on where you are right now and what it is you want to achieve.
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When people get into business, they tend to focus on being a master of the technical job, for example a lawyer may tend to focus on being a master of law while they forget about being a master of running a business which requires a business owner to be familiar with all the areas of the business including sales, marketing, finance, teambuilding, systems development, legal, finance, taxation, goal setting, etc.
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A research presentation released today by South African Tourism at this year’s INDABA has reiterated the growing importance of African markets to drive future tourism growth, and outlined key strategies to ensure the continent’s tourism potential remains key on the country’s tourism agenda.
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Since customers are the main source of income in the business, everything a company does should revolve around their customer needs.
For that end, any company-big or small must know their target market and should be able to answer the following questions: Who is our market and what are the needs of our markets? Customers want businesses that meet their needs and once the business knows the market they serve, it makes it easy for the marketers to create a marketing campaign that appeals directly to the needs of their customers.
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Time and again small business owners often list access to funding as one of the biggest challenges to entrepreneurship.
In an environment where 63% of small businesses fail within the first two years of operating as stated by ABSA at its Small Business Roundtable, what can a small business owner do to ensure that his business can easily access funding and thus surpass the challenging first 5 years?
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With Africa’s history, investing in Africa strikes many investors and Entrepreneurs as impractical and unwise. It is however true that much of Africa’s region has become poorer and gained popularity for lack of Education or healthcare, wars, corrupt or weak Governments and crippling debts.
Most of the world’s poorest countries are in Africa. Its share of world exports has fallen drastically.
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The old saying, “The consumer is King” is making its way back to the South African business world. The end of March 2011 will usher in a new era for the consumer protection law in South Africa.
Since 1989, there has not been a substantial review of the Act which has caused South Africa to lag behind. Due to lack of understanding of basic consumer rights, inadequate consumer voice and continuous exploitation of consumers,
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As the international community celebrated women’s month and the recent statistics of the success rate of women entrepreneurs in South Africa, we take a holistic view to this success and analyse the challenges that women face.
Entrepreneurship has great potential to contribute massively to the economic growth and employment generation in South Africa.
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The textiles and clothing industry in South Africa is facing some challenging times. Major industry players have been forced to close doors, thousands of people have lost their jobs, customs corruption is rife and the market is forced to compete against cheap imports from the East.
Brian Brink, Executive Director at the Textiles Federation warns entrepreneurs wanting to break into the industry to do so with their eyes wide open. “Chinese imports and fraud aside, we are in the midst of an economic downturn, and those within the retail sector have been hit hard,” he warns.
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By Richard George
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Tourism is a growing industry in South Africa and it is considered an excellent source of income and employment. This can indeed be the case provided that you have the personality, knowledge and determination to succeed.
That said, starting a tourism business is perhaps not as straight-forward as one would think. There are several regulations and requirements governing the sector. Entrepreneurs should make sure that they are informed about these before setting up a business.
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Faisal Mkhize, managing executive of ABSA Small Business explains the steps of acquiring funding for different businesses.
Funding is one of the major stumbling blocks for aspiring entrepreneurs and people are often discouraged from starting up businesses because of this aspect. However, obtaining funding is frequently less complex than it appears at first: it all depends on making sure your business is sufficiently sound to attract backers, then choosing the option that’s right for you.
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By Chris Wild |
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So you want to start up a new business? Or perhaps you have already tested the waters and are ready for expansion. Presumably, you have given this business idea a good deal of thought and if you are serious enough, you have reached the point where your research is done, have committed your plans to paper and you are ready to look at your financing options.
But what ARE your financing options? How do you go about choosing them and why? And who can (or should) you go to in the best interests of your business?
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