In building and running an enterprise, many entrepreneurs usually do not look at the Trust element and its impact on business
Trust comes with varying inroads – integrity, transparency, principles, values, to mention a few. In building a viable business, the need to delegate and empower is very crucial to growth. Apart from growth, it also reduces key-man risk very critically and institutionalises processes. This also goes with empowerment, power devolution, succession planning as we strive to build sustainable franchises
The Trust element is very vital to all of this, as the entrepreneur is expected to concentrate on his visioning, growth plans, market expansion, amongst others, believing that he has capable hands that will execute the plans guided by Trust
In my quest to build a serious franchise both in theatre and in advisory, I have suffered very seriously in my attempt at devolving power and empowering staff to execute
You remember my first show in London where I was taken out to the tune of N50 million. Trust was breached in that case, as the delegation and empowerment I ceded to the Producer was abused. He negotiated with vendors, got funds in his account to pay, underpaid, issued dud receipts, did not pay a lot and bloated the figures in his report.
Today, I am faced with another kind of breach. Same scenario: devolved creative power, devolved power to negotiate with vendors and another breach costing millions, and impinging on brand reputation.
An Associate, upon hearing this latest breach, sent this message:
“… You give people responsibilities without double-checking. See the printing job Did u on your own even go and check the printing cost here to compare and negotiate what you were told. Did u see the invoice? As long as u don’t stop some habits in how u do some things…u will continue to be a victim to these people who scam you”
GUILTY as charged, but to an extent. As a visionary and main driving force of my enterprises, I cannot go granular – it’s not even a brilliant management strategy. Once I get competent hands, I move on
I will not scour printing presses and be asking how much is printing; I will not be chasing customers to be double-checking their price, nor chase the website developer behind my office to know if the receipt correlates with what he got
My guilty plea on this matter is my approach to Human Capital acquisition. So I get easily carried away with people because I love people.
I do not carry out the necessary background checks and stupidly expect people to behave like me
The London fiasco: he came highly recommended; they say he has been in the industry for over 30 years, he has a PHD and he came with the arrogance of all that. I saw a professional; I saw a visionary partner and promptly moved N200 million to him, and he promptly stole N50 million and said – I gave you a good show, so piss off. As we uncovered the scam, we saw underpayments, non-payments, bogus receipts, and direct theft. I cried
The same has happened here now.
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Bogus figures, fictitious receipts, invoices and labelling; at least in this case, I have the assets- books- with which I can recover my investment and make a little profit. So with these experiences, is it to devolve into a one-man model, where you are MD, accountant, driver,erdrivererd procurement in all? I think not. I think my style is still the best, as it’s the one practised by the greatest CEOs of our time.
I once walked into Herbert Wigwe’s office and saw nothing on his table but phones and a laptop, and that is what is expected of a CEO – visioning, building relationships, expanding horizons
But I must also build structures that will protect, audit and screen these things while detaching myself from the process and allowing it to flow unimpeded. To be a successful CEO in this guise, you must understand Human Capital and, much more importantly, understand the TRUST element in Human Capital deployment
This is where I have FAILED as a CEO,
Someone should come and beat me
Thanks.
