TRANSFORMING ZAMBIAN POLITICS

THE INSULTS OF LEADERSHIP

2010-03-27T10:48:00.003-04:00

How Zambia's Leaders are Failiing the People

I've watched with fascination and frustration the political discourse in my native country. I've stayed silent about it because in many respects, I didn't want to add another voice to an arena with so many players and voices claiming to have a solution to our country's woes. However, I think that my silence and those of others serves no one. So in this article am attempting to voice *some*of the concerns that Zambians have.

For starters, our Leaders have lost the heart of leadership. Leadership has become a way for people to enrich themselves at the expense of others. The heart of leadership is to serve the people with integrity and making their welfare the first priority of what a leader says and does. Unfortunately, you don't have to look further than our newspapers to find a daily chronicle of character assassinations and personal insults that have come to characterize our political discourse. We need a change in the way our leaders carry themselves. We need OUR leaders to think of US again and not themselves. We need OUR leaders to SERVE US again, the people who elected them.

Furthermore, Leadership is about vision- a clear picture of a preferred future-but where are the ideas? Where is the vision and foresight? Where do our leaders see Zambia in the next 15-30 years? We are yet to see and hear a concrete plan to create jobs and deal with our broken education system. We are yet to hear of how our leaders plan to stimulate the business sector and
create opportunities for Zambians.
Yes, some progress has been made but we've been waiting for 20 years to see some tangible results; to see change come to the common man. Enough with the talk and statistical progress. Leadership is about results and the absence of results simply means the Leadership has failed.

Though the ruling party and government take most of the blame for what is happening in our country, what is the opposition offering? Its very easy to sit in the grand stand and watch the game on the pitch and have ideas of how the players can do better and score. However, the opposition has offered nothing concrete in dealing with the challenges. How many jobs will they create if elected to power? How will they reform our education system? How will they help Zambians to create wealth? Talk is cheap and until these parties come up with very REAL solutions and a VISION, they do not deserve to be elected into power.

Last week on Zambiablogtalkradio.com was asked to share my thoughts concerning the formation of another political party NAREP) in Zambia and whether there was a justification for another party. My answer in nutshell was that as long as the ruling party had failed to change Zambia and that the current opposition parties offered no solutions, there was certainly justification for another party. We are waiting to see what NAREP proposes and so we'll leave judgement for another
time.

Leadership must be confident. It must display power without being forceful. It must exhibit strength and courage without constantly reminding people of whose in charge. Leadership must have quite strength and command respect without stepping on people's rights and ideas. This, however, has not been the case in our young democracy. Over the last 10 years we've gone back subtly to some very dictatorial tendencies. The watershed moment for me was when the government threatened to regulate the media.

First of all, what does that really mean-to regulate the media? To me that is another way of saying do not challenge us or else you will cease to exist. This is a backwards step and our leadership should not have entertained this line of thinking. Democracy thrives on free and open communication of ideas and opinions. Democracy believes that in our disagreements we're made stronger, not weaker.
Frankly, this was a display of timidity and insecurity and a lack of leadership savvy on our leader's part. Can we agree to disagree? Can we have a robust debate without insults and still see ourselves as Zambians wanting the best for their country? Our Leaders need to grow up and someone must be the bigger person. Frankly, I hope our leadership elevates the level of the political discourse so that we, the people can benefit. Mr. President we're waiting for your leadership.

Charisma in Leadership only goes so far. There must be a turning point that ushers in transformation. We've been waiting for that moment for almost 20 years. We the people also have a part to play in our nation. We need to hold our elected leaders to the fire and ask the tough questions. We easily fall prey to politicians with silver tongues promising the world but we have to
ask them; how do you plan on achieving your goals? What kind of a nation are we handing down to our children?

WE must demand that they speak our language and not the common ambiguous political jargon that leaves us scratching our heads and my uncle's friend in Mbeleshi cannot understand. WE must demand that they manage our resources well. WE must be an active citizenry. WE also must realize that our leaders will not do everything for us; we have a part to play. WE must be innovative and demand that our leaders create an atmosphere in which our innovative spirits can thrive. WE must be active participants in the creation of our national destiny.

The politics of insults don't help anyone and they certainly don't help our nation. "Everything rises and falls on Leadership". Will the real leaders please stand up?

"We" are the Solution: The case for Social Enterprise in Zambia

2009-11-24T16:53:00.001-05:00

I have really been thinking of how Zambians can change Zambia. Social entrepreneurship is something that is foreign to our nation and has not been given the attention it deserves. For profit enterprises are the most common. A for-profit enterprise looks at the profit margin as its measurement of progress. Market share is another factor that is given much attention. There is of course nothing wrong with for-profit enterprises and entrepreneurs engaged in it should be encouraged because they are the engine of job creation in an economy though we are yet to see their impact in Zambia.

Social enterprises are driven, not by profit but rather by lives changed or improved. Their goal is to alleviate poverty or confront social ills by offering solutions through the vehicle of enterprise. These entrepreneurs should be encouraged to emerge and act on their ideas.

In an economy like Zambia, there of course many challenges for social entrepreneurs one of them being the fact that most of them do not have a steady income and, therefore, are more inclined to form for profit enterprises. This fear stems from the misconception that one cannot make a profit and solve social problems at the same time. The key to profitable social entrepreneurial ventures is to have a business model that is driven first of all by a strong social change agenda that has the potential to be an income stream.

For example, a social entrepreneur can be driven by a desire to solve the food crisis problem in a village by teaching peasant farmers how to grow crops that can yield more and can withstand drought conditions. At first glance this seems like a service that is given free of charge. However, after getting a good foundation in place and having buy-in from the villagers, the social entrepreneur can eventually offer this service for a small percentage of the harvest. He then can turn around and sell this harvest for a profit.

The other way would be to enter into partnership with the farmers in which the entrepreneur offers his knowledge of crop production and or high yield seed while the farmers contribute the land and labor. At harvest time, after making sure that the farmers have enough food supply for the year, the surplus can be sold for a profit which is shared by all involved. Again the entrepreneur achieves his goal of alleviating the food crisis and also turns a profit, however small it might be. This venture can grow if all parties involved decide to continue their partnership and expand the percentage of land cultivated.

This concept can be applied to solving many other social problems. My point is that WE the people are the solution. While I believe that government should be in the forefront of fighting social ills, we the people also have a role to play. We need to change perspective and look at the opportunities around us. We must take it upon ourselves to change our world and not rely on the politicians and technocrats to come up with a magical way to solve all our problems.

So what social ills around you can you solve? The ball is in your court.

Africa's new apartheid

2009-10-13T17:53:00.001-04:00

The continent is doing a booming business selling diamonds, oil and coffee to China, but is it benefiting Africans? Economist Glenn Hubbard weighs in.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- There's an irony afoot on the African continent. After years of state control of their economies, African governments are opening up to foreign business as never before.

Foreign companies are lining up to pump African oil, dig African minerals, build and run African ports, export African coffee and cocoa. But what about local companies? The World Bank's latest "Doing Business" report tells a very sad tale.
Let's take Angola. It has diamonds, oil and coffee. These commodities boomed over the past decade, and the government gave licenses to foreign companies to produce and export them.

These days, that includes the Chinese: Angola is now China's biggest African trading partner. China is also building infrastructure for the Angolan government using everything Chinese, including labor and cement. There are far more foreigners in Angola now -- European and Asian -- than there ever were in colonial times.
But what about local Angolan business? According to "Doing Business", Angola ranks now 169 out of 183 countries around the world. That means that the Angolan government essentially does not allow its own people to start and run their own businesses.

This restriction makes for a new kind of apartheid: the business community of Angola is European and Asian, not African. That might not be the intent, but it certainly is the result.
The same is true in country after country of sub-Saharan Africa. But not everywhere. Rwanda stands out as a positive model: it went from 143 on the list in 2009 to 67 in 2010. After years climbing the list, Mauritius now ranks 17.

These two countries show that it is possible for African governments to free their people to start and run their own businesses, and overcome the de facto apartheid that has spread through the African business sector.

China's role in this new apartheid is especially ironic. Twenty years ago Deng Xiao Ping freed the Chinese people to start and run their own businesses, for a very simple reason. He and his fellow leaders had become Communists fifty years before because they genuinely believed it would bring greater prosperity to their people, but over the decades it became obvious that wasn't true.

Just across the border, Korea was a clear example: the Communist North remained poor, and the pro-business South prospered. So Deng Xiao Ping switched. Today, 80% of China's employment and 60% of its GDP comes from local small and medium businesses, which barely existed twenty years ago.

In the old days, Communist China claimed solidarity with Third World peoples -- but what about today? As most countries of the Third World suppress their local business sectors, especially in Africa, China just goes right along.

Chinese leaders will argue that they do so to respect the sovereignty of national governments: if Angola wants to suppress the local Angolan business sector, China has no right to make them change.

But how is that different from South Africa under apartheid? In those days, the South African government put up enormous obstacles to prevent black Africans from starting and owning their own businesses. China joined the rest of the world in condemning South African apartheid, and rightly so. But today, China joins the rest of the world in turning a blind eye to the ongoing apartheid of the local business sector throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa.

But of course, the western powers are no better than China. They continue to lavish foreign aid on countries that suppress their local business sectors.
There is a collective amnesia among prosperous countries about how they themselves rose from poverty: their local business sectors. They have forgotten their liberal roots -- the term "liberal" first referred to pro-business Europeans struggling against feudal "conservatives."

China and the western powers today are only half-liberal: they foster their own domestic business sectors but tolerate the suppression of the domestic business sectors in the poor countries of the world.
There is an alternative, but it requires political will and leadership among China and other prosperous countries. They can redirect their foreign aid to help foster the local business sector in poor countries.

And there's a powerful precedent: the Marshall Plan of post-war Europe. It made loans to local European businesses, which repaid them to their governments, which used the money for commercial infrastructure like ports and railways. That same model can work today.
Two decades ago, outside pressure helped overturn apartheid in South Africa. Tomorrow, outside pressure can help overturn business apartheid in most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It's time for worldwide solidarity with the struggling local businesses in poor countries around the world. The new apartheid calls for a new movement against it. Who will lead the way?

--Glenn Hubbard, a former chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers, is co-author, along with Bill Duggan, of a new book, Aid Trap -- Hard Truths About Ending Poverty. He is also dean of Columbia Business School.

The Politics of Insults

2009-08-07T21:00:00.003-04:00

I've stopped reading news from Zambia of late because it does nothing but frustrate me. Our people deserve better. We do not need more visionless political parties or power hungry leaders; what we need is radical change.

Our current leadership has not been leading but rather maintaing the status quo. They have not been representing our interests but rather engaging in the politics of insults and character assassinations. This kind of political theatre does not help the ordinary Zambian. If our political leaders have no vision and plan, they should simply step aside and let others lead.

While I applaud the formation of new parties, they look like more of the same and while I applaud the efforts of other citizens forming semi political NGOSs, I am skeptical about their motives. If there is one thing we Zambians know to do is talk and a lot of talking is happening right now but I do not see any visionary leadership emerging. I am still waiting for the real leaders to stand up; Zambia's Obama if you will and we will know him/her when we see his/her vision for Zambia.

While we wait for the real leader to emerge, we the people need to remind ourselves that no one will bring the change we seek unless we demand it through our actions and words. Here are a few worthy things to fight for and pressure our government to deliver:

1. Quality education:
2. Quality Health care
3. JOBS

These are a few of my thoughts. What do you think?

NEW ORGANIZATION PUSHING FOR TANGIBLE CHANGE

2009-06-13T16:56:00.003-04:00

There is a new pressure group advocating for real leadership and vision for Zambia. Visit their website at www.zambiaunite4change.org

ERADICATING CORRUPTION IN ZAMBIA

2009-06-04T11:41:00.001-04:00

In recent weeks we have heard of how ministry of health workers and officials diverted funds in the ministry boost their own personal coffers. While the saying, “crime does not pay”, may be applicable in this case, we have to pose and think about the things that feeds this corrupt culture and indeed they are many. However, I would like to draw your attention to a few.

Firstly, the culture of corruption has been fueled by our country’s lack of sophisticated management systems that hold leaders and everyone accountable. For example, in the USA the president’s tax records are public knowledge because they are deliberately published. These records tell the public how much the president made that tax year and where his extra income came from if any. This is not the case in Zambia. The only time we hear of our leader’s net worth is when they are running for political office. Why don’t we institute a system by which we know how much our leaders make every year and how they have acquired that wealth. This will surely keep people accountable.

However, one can make the argument that people will simply hide their ill gotten wealth through corrupt avenues and that is a legitimate argument. However, if we ask for the cooperation of financial institutions and empower the Zambia Revenue Authority to enforce tax codes and an effective tax return reporting system, we will make tremendous headway. But the biggest problem in my view is leadership.

Our current political leaders MUST retire. They have run their course and should accept the fact that they cannot lead Zambia to a better future because they do not know how to lead in this new political and global economic climate. They continue to seek political office because of the benefits they reap through corrupt practices. Corrupt leaders should be pursued and prosecuted and pay a steep price for their corruption. Long prison sentences would help to this end because if someone faced the possibility of a 2o year prison sentence they would think twice about stealing from the Zambian people.

Secondly, poverty is another contributing factor to fueling a culture of corruption. While am reluctant to heap a huge amount of blame on this factor because of the entitlement overtones that legitimize people’s lack of ingenuity in seeking solutions to their poverty, I must admit that it plays a role in creating a culture of corruption.

If government does not make better conditions of service for civil servants a priority, people will be forced to find the much needed extra income elsewhere and corruption is the easiest way. However, this issue also has to be seen from the view of the “corrupter” because it takes 2 or more parties to make corruption work. Why do people pay other people to have certain services provided when such services should be offered upon request without further prodding? Therein lays the dilemma of civil service corruption. I think that if great customer service became a priority and the mantra of our government agencies and that this was acted upon, people would become less inclined to corrupt someone in order to have better service.

In his book “Leading at a higher Level,” Ken Blanchard says that organizations should focus on the triple bottom line: Becoming the provider of choice, the employer of choice and the investment of choice. In a nut shell, government agencies should offer such an excellent service to the public that they become the provider of choice. These agencies should also provide excellent conditions of service that people are waiting in line to work for them and thirdly, if these agencies do the first two things right, then they will attract investment from both the general public and the donor community.

Failure to do these 3 things, in my opinion, will not help the fight against corruption and if anything, this scourge will become an irreversible pandemic affecting generations to come.

ZAMBIA'S LEADERSHIP CRISIS

2009-05-12T12:31:00.002-04:00

"PATRIOTIC Front (PF) leader Michael Sata has said he will contest the 2011 presidential elections despite some people suggesting that he is too old and needs to groom a younger person (TIMES OF ZAMBIA)."

The insistence of Mr. Sata to contest the 2011 elections speaks to the leadership crisis that our nation faces. For the last 18 years, no viable young politician has come to the Zambian political scene and offered a sensible alternative to the old guard. Our leadership crisis has hampered development as we've had a shortage of radical ideas that would revolutionize the way development is perceived and pursued.

It is very easy for the old guard to say young people should be involved in national leadership but their words do not line up with their actions. How can young politicians rise to leadership positions if the right environment is not created for them? There must be systems within our political parties that allows young leadership to be groomed and allowed to test their leadership skills. This only happens if the old guard creates an atmosphere in which genuine sharing of ideas can happen coupled with a firm commitment to change. If these things do not happen, then young people will continue to be absent from the political leadership landscape.

On the flip side of things, young politicians can decide to form their own political parties and formulate their own agenda for development. They, however, have to overcome a great challenge; the people of Zambia. As Zambians, we are too patient almost to a fault. We will hang on to political promises for a very long time. It takes us a while to change and see the promises for what they really are; empty political gimmicks.
Therefore, if young people are to take charge and lead, they need to be in it for the long haul. They need to devise ways to communicate their agenda to the Zambian people and do so in a convincing way. There is no doubt in my mind that this can and must happen for our country to gain economic independence.

Our philosophy of political leadership must also change. Those of us outside the established political system must begin finding creative ways of implementing change in our communities through partnerships and the harnessing of the people's hunger for change and turning it into productive energy. As Zambians, we waste a lot of time talking instead of acting. We focus so much on government's ability to change our lives instead of focusing on our own ability to change dire situations in our communities. For example, when rainy season comes, drainage becomes a problem in many communities. Why not get together as a community to clean our surroundings and implement a food for work program. We will be helping to solve 2 problems; the drainage problem and the hunger problem.

Please do not get me wrong; I am a big proponent of government's involvement in changing the course of a nation by providing the framework and infrastructure for the people to maximize their potential and create economic freedom. However, WE THE PEOPLE, also have a solemn obligation to MOVE our government when it becomes idle through our ACTIONS and words. The person who gives the people a cause and shows them a better way of life will eventually become the leader. My challenge to Zambians is to start thinking of creative ways you can change your own community.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

2009-04-07T15:46:00.004-04:00

I am usually skeptical about posting specific political party information on my blogs but since we are talking about Zambian politics I might as well.
I have been following The Citizens’s democratic party and they have just posted a new page on Rural Development . www.cdpzambia.wordpress.com

There are some interesting things in there and I have some execepts below.

The CDP approach is informed by several factors:

1. Much of Zambia’s arable and fertile land and other natural resources are in good rural areas.

2. Poverty, disease and hunger levels are higher in rural areas than they are in urban areas.

3. Traditional leaders and NGOs directly work with the people most affected and would be a great partner in bringing direct aid and development to these areas.

4. The nation cannot have food security if it does not invest in these areas. Their success is Zambia’s success.

CDP will gauge the success of its approach if the following benchmarks are met:

1. Is rural Zambia producing enough food for itself and the nation? Is rural Zambia winning in the fight to provide good nutrition to its people?

2. Does rural Zambia have access to quality healthcare by way of good, well staffed clinics and medications?

3. Is rural Zambia winning the fight against malaria and other infectious diseases?

4. Does rural Zambia have access to quality primary, secondary and higher education? Does it have enough schools, teachers, and educational materials to accommodate the population?

5. Is rural Zambia well connected by way of good and well maintained roads, land, air, and water transportation, communication and electricity infrastructure? Do the people have access to mobile and computer technology?

6. Is rural Zambia benefiting from its natural resources by way of taxes, royalties and other commercial activity in the area? Are these resources being used to better the lives of the people?

These are the questions that our approach will answer and ensure that Zambia emerges an economic titan in Africa.

THE VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT TRUST

CDP will form what we are calling Village Development Trusts (V.D.T.). Each village will form one and its role will be to facilitate and manage local development with a focus on defeating poverty, disease and hunger. CDP realizes that for this approach to work, all stake holders must be part of the formulation of the plan. Though in here we outline the basics, our desire is that stakeholders will feel free to change the plan to suit their particular rural situation.

At the center of our approach are the traditional leader and his team who are the custodians of the people’s resources and culture. Other stakeholders such as NGOs working in the area as well as other donor partners will also have representation and a voice on the V.D.T.

Central government, in conjunction with donor partners will provide funding, infrastructure such as roads, schools, clinics, medicines, trucks, tractors, computers, stand-alone electric generators and communication equipment; technical support such as teachers, doctors, health workers, agriculture extension officers and agri-industry consultants will also be provided by government.

The V.D.T. will focus on Agriculture, Health, Education and infrastructure.

Read the rest of their document at www.cdpzambia.wordpress.com

JOB CREATION NOT IMPOSSIBLE

2009-04-02T15:06:00.001-04:00

A story that recently appeared in The Zambia Daily mail quoted the Minster of works and supply Mr. Mike Mungoloti saying that “GOVERNMENT is in the process of establishing an internal monitoring and audit unit under the Roads Development Agency (RDA), which will pursue contractors that fail to rehabilitate roads effectively……..has directed the RDA to terminate contracts for local and foreign contractors that fail to fulfill their obligations.”

The only question I have is “why is the government using foreign and local private contractors to construct roads instead of equipping our local councils to do this?

Furthermore, “RDA executive director, Erasmus Chilundika said reintroduction of advance payments to contractors was being addressed. Mr. Chilundika said once the practice was reintroduced, the agency would be strict in issuing advance payments to ensure that funds were utilized prudently by contractors.”
In other words, money is available to do the job but government stills opts to give such jobs to the private sector even when they have shown that they do not have sufficient operating capital. I believe in supporting local businesses but not at the expense of meaningful development.

For the past 15 years or so, the MMD government has failed to create jobs and they have said that free market policies and private sector investments will accomplish this. In my view they are doing this the wrong way. I believe that government should use its existing structures, with some much needed improvements, to drive development and create jobs. I am not advocating for a return to UNIP policies but there are ways to profitably put people back to work while at the same time upholding free market principles. Government cannot completely relieve its self from the role of creating jobs because it’s the only structure in our nation that is big enough to accomplish some big things.

For example Mr. Erasmus Chilundika also said “When you apply for advance payment, we will require you to specify what you want to acquire and we will make sure we follow you to verify if the equipment is bough.”

Wait a minute. Since when does government advance payments to private entities to buy equipment to do a job that they are being paid to do? I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised but if all the money given to contractors was used to equip local councils to construct roads and bridges, Zambia would have been investing in its short and long term development. Employment would increase, along with it a demand for goods and services which in turn will advance local economic development. However, this whole process would have been the result of a forward thinking leadership which Zambia lacks right now.

DIVERSIFICATION AS A KEY TO ZAMBIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH

2009-03-28T19:17:00.001-04:00

The Zambia-Economist blog has some very interesting questions about diversification as it relates to Zambia’s economic growth. It is worth a read HERE or copy this link into your browser: http://zambian-economist.blogspot.com/2009/03/five-questions-on-diversification.html

ZAMBIAN DIPLOMATS: ARE THEY NECESSARY?

2009-03-28T19:16:00.000-04:00

President Banda just appointed some new diplomatic representatives for Zambia. Personally I think our role in certain countries should be reviewed in order to cut costs. While I appreciate the fact that we need to maintain relationships in this global economy, our country is in some cases not able to sustain the operational costs of our embassies.
Apart from cost, we also need to look at the mission of our embassies. Why exactly do they exist? How can we effectively use them to further relationships and development?

UPND's Hichilema Meets President Banda

2009-03-13T17:32:00.005-04:00

Except Courtesy of Lusakatimes.com (click the title for the full story)

"United Party for National Development UPND- president, Hakainde Hichilema, says his meeting with President Rupiah Banda should not be politicized.

Mr. Hichilema says he met the president to consult with him on a range of issues affecting the nation.

He says the meeting gave his party an opportunity to make suggestions on the economic recovery of the country.

Mr. Hichilema says the substance of the meeting was essential and it is up to government to accept the UPND proposals or not."

THIS IS GOOD NEWS

I am glad that Mr. Hichilema had a meeting with President Banda and if the substance of the meeting was what Mr. Hichilema said, then it shows that suggestions from our recent article titled "impotent governance" were correct. This is not the time for political grand standing but rather a time to pull together as Zambians and solve our nations problems. I only hope that the president listened and took what Mr.Hichilema said seriously.
Therefore, there is no need for Mr.Hichilema to defend his meeting with the president.

IMPOTENT GOVERNANCE

2009-03-11T15:59:00.005-04:00

Zambia is facing a major economic crisis and we are beginning to see people lining up to get mealie meal. Soon this trend will spread to other basic commodities if government does not come up with a concrete plan to shore up the economy.
This is an all too familiar picture from the Kaunda era and unfortunately, President Banda does not have any answers for the Zambian people. He is busy playing politics and trying resolve wrangles in his own party instead of instilling confidence in the Zambian people by charting a vision for economic recovery and development. He is also resorting to the same old economic philosophy of government take over mining companies that have been operating at a loss.
Zambia needs to diversify its economy and move away from relying on copper as major a revenue earner and if these mines are failing, let them fail. That's a basic business principle- you do not invest in a company making losses especially when profitability is not in the near future. The one thing MMD has failed to to do in the 17 years is create jobs in other sectors of the economy and our current president has no plan to do so.

Here is what others outside government are suggesting and if the president has no ideas then these might help. You and I dont have to agree with these opinions but we might want to think about them as solutions to our economic mess.

The Citizens Democratic party recently put out a statement on its site suggesting a few things that goverment can do immediately(Follow this link or paste it into your browser)http://www.thecitizensdemocraticparty.com/nationalissues.html

1.Re-negotiation of Zambia’s debt:
We cannot keep on servicing our debts while our people lose jobs and
die of hunger. This economic crisis offers us an opportunity to go to our creditors and ask that Zambia’s debts be renegotiated or cancelled. The government needs to be relentless in the pursuit of this goal otherwise we will not recover.

2.Contain and reduce costs:
There is no justification for some government and political positions and/or
programs. We simply have to eliminate some positions and divert the supporting funds to more critical areas of our economy, which include support for the mining and tourism industry.

3.Revise the current Tax bands:
In order to put more money in people’s pockets and help the private
sector economy, the Government needs to raise the PAYE threshold to K1.5m. Furthermore, taxes for the other bands as outlined in the 2009 budget should be adjusted as follows: 25%, 30% AND 35% respectively.

4.Create Jobs:
The CDP is of the opinion that government creates jobs by heavily investing in
infrastructure by working with local councils, the ministry of works and supply as well as government and donor agencies. Water and sanitation infrastructure, communication infrastructure, city roads and highways, clinics, as well as low cost housing are all examples of investments that can be made. This plan should be focused on creating jobs for the people in the 0% tax band because that money will flow quickly into the economy thereby, creating demand for goods and services and in the process supporting private
sector businesses.

My friend CHO in the UK at www.zambian-economist.blogspot.com also has some great ideas:

Consult openly -
The government is notorious for not issuing Green and White Papers as is customary. These papers have now been replaced by "Cabinet Policy Papers" that ordinary Zambians never get to see. If we are lucky we sometimes get to hear the odd "Ministerial Statement". Consultation is the hallmark of effective government. Whether its ZAMTEL or bailing out Zambian Airways or reforms on FSP or dealing with the failed mines or borrowing more externally, Zambians need to have a say in these things. Things have become so bad that the State House website has been under permanent "under construction". Some government ministries simply have no websites and those that do hardly update them. Nearly all , ministers are basically unreachable via email or telephone. The situation is so poor that when Minister Musokotwane made available his email after the Budget 2009 we thought it was manna from heaven! Surely an e-mail address is the minimum we should expect from all ministers?

Allow criticism -
Divergence of opinion in government and outside is critical for creative and innovative solutions. It is critical that government recognises that no man knows everything. Rather than seeing people with divergent opinions as "enemies" it should see them as critical partners in ensuring that its policies are perfected. This is a serious point because things have become so bad that we are seeing running battles between Government and The Post. It is most sad when you read the President being insulted. My view is that such insults, however unwarranted, can be reduced if government was perceived to be more "listening". It would make it easier for those us that feel that the holder of the Office of the Presidency must be respected to come out and say so.

Bring all talents on board -
Zambia is blessed with many experts in many fields at home and abroad. A way must be found for putting together a brilliant group of these experts to provide government with the best advice in the core areas - finance, mining, transport, education and health. There should be room also for those in opposition to advice government. A government of national unity is perhaps beyond us given the entrenched nature of our politics and with 2011 on the horizon, but open and direct engagement with the leading opposition parties (Pf and UPND) would bode well for finding lasting solutions to our current problems.

Plan for the long term -
The danger of the current challenges we are facing is that we turn back the clock and implement dangerous policies that look like they are intended to save the day but imprison us in the long term. For example : we may start borrowing senselessly; or attract the wrong investors; or eliminate crucial taxes to please a certain group; or reduce certain taxes that do nothing for the average person; or enact bad media laws to deal with a particular newspaper; or maintain poor spending commitments just to control opponents (e.g. NCC); or handover our resources (and sovereignty) to outsiders. Desperate people do desperate things. This we must avoid at all costs. Yes we should strive for a better today, but equally we should be prepared to take the pain of today to secure a better future for our children. This calls for continuous updated long term planning that has the buy-in of all Zambians.

These and many other ideas can be tapped by our president to give Zambians hope in this crisis.

A NEW ZAMBIAN POLITICAL PARTY

2009-02-24T15:03:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Multi-party politics, there is a new zambian political party on the rise. Though the party is yet to register with the registra of societies, they have outlined their vision and are working to change the face of Zambia's politcal scene. I was recently approached to sit on a commitee that looked at the 2009 Zambian budget. Though I am not an economist, I found the discuss fruitful and some of the commitee's opinions were pupblished on their site. Follow or copy this link into your browser. http://www.thecitizensdemocraticparty.com/nationalissues.html

TAKE CHARGE

2008-12-21T22:19:00.003-05:00

With all the turmoil going on in the world, its very easy to shrink back from our big dreams and actually find ways of justifying our timidity. However, life does not give its best to the people it pities, rather life rewards those who pursue its treasures.

I have a simple message for you today; TAKE CHARGE. Times may be difficult but titans rise in the most difficult of circumstances and you have the potential to be one of them. My quote of the month is from Sir Winston Churchill who once said, "history will be kind to me for I intend to write it." That sounds arrogant but true. You write the story of your life. You might say, "I am not in charge of unforeseen circumstances" but I would argue that the most important thing is not what happens to you buy rather what you do with what happens. You might not be able to control what happens to you but you certainly can control your response to it. Note I say RESPONSE and not REACTION. These are two very important concepts to understand if you are going to take charge. Response is a thoughtful, measured and objective set of actions that one takes to tackle a problem. Reaction on the other hand is quick, thoughtless and usually an emotional set of actions that one takes to tackle a problem. You might be saying, Campbell I don't feel in control of my life? How do I take charge? Before I answer that question, know that I believe that you cannot achieve anything without God. For me that is the starting point. I must find my strength in him otherwise all I do will be useless. Now I will give you a few tips on how you can learn to take charge.

1. CONTROL YOUR INTERNAL WORLD

Most people lose control of their lives because they do not know how to control their internal world. The center of your internal world is the mind. If you can learn how to control your thoughts you can control your emotions, reactions and responses. Emotions do do not act independent of your mind; they are a product of your thoughts. The feeling of fear is as a result of meditating on negative thoughts as is anxiety. Optimism on the other hand is a product of positive thoughts as is confidence.
Therefore, control what you think by regulating your mental diet. Feed your mind with positive things and your thoughts, life and emotions will be follow suit.

I know that most of you reading this are entrepreneurs and this simple principle also applies to you in business. Don't dwell on the negative news of the so called "global economic crisis." You do not know crisis and your mind should not go into crisis mode otherwise you will fail. You MUST think of opportunity and success amid what the world calls crisis. You are not like any other person; you are a success.

2. STEP BACK

This is the best technique that you can ever learn in life. No matter what is thrown at you life, you must learn to step back, think and conduct a situational analysis and take appropriate action. This stepping back process can take seconds, minutes, hours, days or even months in some cases but its a skill that will save your life. Stepping back allows you to take an objective look at the situation, ask some tough questions before you step back in to take appropriate actions. If you own a business and you are feeling the pinch right now, take a few moments to step back and ask some very tough questions and then make some decisions that will propel you to the next level. In my last post I talked about making adjustments but these adjustments should only come after one has taken the time to step back and analyze the situation.

3. MAKE BIGGER, BETTER AND BOLDER DECISIONS

Now is not the time to think small. Now is the time to raise the stakes. Now is the time to think bigger, better and bolder. The decisions you make today will determine the direction of your life or business for the next 5 to 10 years. Don't just think of surviving today, think of living tomorrow. Be bold about the direction you want to take in life. Have a bigger vision and become a better decision maker. People like to follow leaders who are not afraid to try something big and new. People want to reach for the stars but they need someone to lead them. I know that you want to see your dreams fulfilled so don't shrink back. Just go for it and make some big and bolder decisions.

These are just a few things I think will help you take charge of your life. Now go and make a world of a difference.

To your success,

BAD ECONOMY=UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY

2008-12-08T22:13:00.002-05:00

The global economy has been in a slow down for a few months now. Big economies such as the USA and other European economies are now in recession and the ripple effect of this down turn is having adverse effects on third world countries. For the past few months I have been encouraging entrepreneurs to follow their dreams but the economic climate can be discouraging. What do you do now? Do you shelve your dream and settle for an average life?

I believe that there will be unprecedented opportunity in this climate. People will have the chance to establish thriving businesses and create meaningful social change. Those who have some savings should take advantage of this situation and begin to acquire some assets that have been reduced in price. This is a moment ripe with opportunity for those who have vision and you should not stop in your tracks and be discouraged. Remember that with every economic contraction, there is an economic expansion. The next 2-3 years will be a contraction period and then the expansion will come. Those who make steps in the contraction period will reap a bountiful harvest when the economy expands.

With that in mind, I want to take a few moments to give you some pointers on the kind of out-look you should have and the simple steps you can take in this contracted economy.

1. DON'T PANIC
The last thing you want to do is lose control of yourself. If you lose control of your internal world, you will have no control over your external world. Panic produces instability and causes you to make bad emotional decisions. Keep your cool and be guided by your vision.

2. ADJUST
Some of your plans will have to change because they are based on yesterday's assumptions. Make some small adjustments in order to be effective and stay afloat. In your personal life you can look at your budget. Where can you save some money? Do you have to buy your lunch everyday or can you make something at home to bring for your lunch break? You cannot live the way you did a few months ago; things have changed.
If you are already in business, think of ways you can save without getting rid of jobs. Maybe you need to go digital and save on paper. I know that most of my audience is from third world nations but this applies to you too. Such kind of small adjustments will save you money and time.

3. FOCUS AND TAKE CHARGE
You cannot lose sight of what you want to achieve in life. This is the time to focus. You need to manage your life better and match your priorities with your vision. Review your written vision and make sure that you have a plan ready to go. I believe that there will be an injection of capital into the world economies one way or the other but the people that will benefit are those that have a plan and are focused enough to recognize opportunity when it knocks.

These are just a few things you can do right now that will chnage your life.

Now go and be a success!

WHY OBAMA WON AND McCAIN LOST

2008-11-05T09:02:00.003-05:00

As you know by now America has a new president; President Barack Obama. I woke up at 5;30am on Tuesday to take my wife to the polls so she could vote for Barack. She is a registered republican but Obama stole her heart and mind. Before she got out of the car I said to her; go vote for both of us. Wow!
But how did Obama win?

Obama was extremely disciplined with his message and his campaign strategy. There were times he was criticized for not changing strategy or message to suit the moment but in the end he came forth as prepared, calm and steady and plain presidential. I remember that he was criticised for not coming out quickly enough to make a statement on President Bush's proposed economic rescue plan or share his plan when the economy took a turn for the worst. But what everyone did not know was that behind the scenes, Barack Obama had read Bush's proposal and had convened a team of economic advisers from the Clinton years, the CEO of google and Warren Buffet the second richest man in the world to mention a few. His questions to them were simple: What is going on and what can we need do? In fact one of the advisers said; 'Barack said just give me the facts and what needs to be done-not a political answer to the crisis.' After this meeting Barack came and made a statement to the nation with a set of proposals to shore up the economy and prevent a collapse. He came forth as a candidate who understood what was exactly going on and how to fix it and again he looked presidential.
From this one situation we learn a few leadership lessons:

1. Maintain your cool.
You cannot afford to panic as a leader in a time of crisis.

2. Solicit Advisers
You don't know everything.Obama knew that he was not an economist so he brought in people who knew exactly what was going on.

3. Ask questions
Obama asked questions of his advisers. He wanted the facts and the suggested solutions. Someone who had worked with Obama in Chicago said; "when you are on a team led by Obama, the silent people will be interrogated until they share their ideas. He wants to know what everyone is thinking and then make a decision.

4. Make a decision
With all the information you get from your advisers, make a decision. This is your task as the leader.

5. Inform
The last thing Obama did was inform the nation of proposals. He drew a line in the sand and said this is where I stand. He was still flexible to other suggestions but he had some non-negotiables in his proposal as well.

This response and McCain's reaction to a crisis changed the trajectory of the election. Obama started leading the polls and this election was won on that day.

McCain on the hand did not have a measured response to the crisis. Firstly, he did not read Bush's proposed rescue plan until the 5Th day after its release. He was asked by a reporter in an interview about what he thought of the proposal and his answer was shocking. he simply said; "I have not read it and will get back to you after I do so." That statement was telling. He was a leader who had not taken the time to study the nation's present crisis and yet was running to be the crisis solver in chief.
Secondly, on September 15Th when it was announced that America lost jobs and that the stock market was going down the tubes, McCain said to the nation and I quote; "The fundamentals of our economy are still strong." That statement lost him the election. He showed himself to be a leader who did not understand the economic crisis and had no suggestions for fixing it.
As if this was not enough, McCain announced that he was suspending his campaign to go back to Washington and help solve this crisis. He got there and did not manage to move congress to work together.
So what did America see in these two leaders? They saw a steady, calm, knowlegdgable and visionary leader in Obama and an erratic, undisciplined, uniformed leader in McCain and America made its decision.

Therefore, as a leader remember that crisis can either make or break you. When you are faced with a difficult situation, take a step back, seek help and understand the problem and what it will take to solve it. This will establish your leadership and make you a success.

Now go and make your dream a reality and lead in a transformational way!
To your Success,

World Changer of the Month: Lubuto Library Project

2008-10-11T21:12:00.005-04:00

I believe that we need to promote other people doing good in our continent. Every month I will post a story of an organization or individual making an impact in Africa or any where in the world through innovative ideas and projects. If you know of such a story please email me at destinyleadershipinc@gmail.com. The article below is courtesy of www.azaonline.org

BUILDING LIBRARIES FOR STREET KIDS
Written by azaonline.org
Monday, 23 June 2008

The Lubuto Library Project grew from a seed planted at the end of the 1990s. From 1999 to 2001, Jane Kinney Meyers, the Lubuto Libary Project's President, was instrumental in establishing a ?street kids library? at the Fountain of Hope drop-in shelter in central Lusaka, Zambia.

More of a reading room than full-fledged library, it grew out of a weekly reading program that Jane Meyers began, which attracted a whole cadre of volunteers. As word of the reading program spread, individuals, publishers and schools in both the United States and the United Kingdom donated thousands of new and used children?s books.

A used 20 foot shipping container was adapted for use as a library by adding a door, windows, shelving and carpeting. Local embassies, businesses, charitable organizations and members of the Zambia Library Association facilitated the opening of the library. Two Fountain of Hope staff members were appointed to run the library.

The street children loved the library, and treated the books with respect. Some children used the library to study for the secondary school entrance exam, and were able to pass, earning a right to attend public high school, which in Zambia are boarding institutions, and a better future. The need to build on this experience was clear, and the Lubuto Library Project was born.

Lubuto libraries are special places where Africa's street kids and other marginalized children can read for themselves, look at books or have books read to them. In Lubuto libraries, children come in contact with and explore the world and their human heritage.

Lubuto library buildings are designed to give homeless children profound and rich spaces, a ?home? to read and learn in. The libraries are havens from a harsh life, where children can just be children, and where books can allow them to dream and envision a better future.

Giving vulnerable children the opportunity to learn to read and to learn, even if they are excluded from formal schooling, will help them to go in positive directions with their lives, knowing that society is providing a place for them and cares about their welfare.

Lubuto Libraries introduce the communities in which the are established to the role libraries can play ? and have played in the U.S. ? in opening doors of opportunity for marginalized populations. That these libraries focus on the youngest and most vulnerable members of society makes their societal impact potentially very powerful. Adults, and youth from intact families who attend school, will also want to be in Lubuto Libraries ? and the resulting interaction will allow Lubuto's kids to be more connected to their culture and society, to others.

Donations:

We need your help ? and even small donations make a big difference when every penny you give goes toward building and stocking Lubuto Libraries!

The Lubuto Library Project is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) public charity and donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. You may make a convenient and safe donation online by clicking the button at the left. We have partnered with Network for Good to securely process your donation by credit card. Make a one-time donation or pledge sustaining support to be charged monthly to your credit card. Our non-U.S. supporters can make a credit card donation on PayPal via Network for Good.

After you have made your donation, you will be returned to our website.

Alternatively, you can mail a check or money order payable to the Lubuto Library Project, Inc. in U.S. dollars to the address below:

Lubuto Library Project, Inc.
5505 Connecticut Ave., NW, #368
Washington, DC 20015-2601
U.S.A.
www.lubuto.org

An Entrepreneur's 1st Steps

2008-10-02T07:07:00.002-04:00

Entrepreneurship is a noble pursuit and could change the world for the better if approached in the right way. I believe that enterprise is one of the ways to fundamentally deal with social issues such as poverty, health and education. That is my philosophy.
Many people of religious persuasion have been taught for a long time that business is evil. This has been an erroneous teaching and has short-changed many a third world nation. Imagine if people with character, a love for humanity and a greater purpose beyond themselves, were engaged in enterprise-oh what difference they would bring to the world of business.
However, there are some important steps to take.

DREAM BIG

Most people limit their ideas to something small. Something to just meet their immediate financial needs. Entrepreneurs are big thinkers. They have big ideas that go beyond the average and change the world. If you are simply pursuing enterprise for the advancement of your own interests, then you are not living at all. You are merely existing.
In his book, "The Art of the Start" (By the way a must read for any entrepreneur-believe me),Guy Kawasaki talks about "making meaning" as the first step to your business. He says, "meaning is not about money, power of prestige. Its not even about creating a fun place to work. Among the meanings of "meaning" are: Make the world a better place. Increase the quality of life. Right a terrible wrong. Prevent the end of something good."
He closes this section by asking you and I to complete an important statement about our business and dream. He says, " If your organization (or business) never existed, the world would be worse off because (complete the sentence)."
That is an important statement to complete right now because your business should seek to make the world a better place because entrepreneurs should not just be "profit conscious" but "socially conscious" as well.

EXTERNALIZE

What do i mean by externalize? Dreaming is an internal exercise. It happens in your mind and your heart of hearts. But that dream now has to be communicated and lived-out. You can do this by simply forming what Kawasaki calls a "Mantra". Most companies call this a mission statement but Kawasaki argues that these can be long, boring and unmemorable. A mantra is a simple statement or sentence that summarizes what your business is all about. A mantra should be short but powerful. It can be as simple as "THINK" (IBM's mantra) or "Authentic Athletic performance (Nike's mantra). These are powerful statements that remind you of what you are all about because the fact is that when you get going, its easy to forget why you got into the business in the first place.

In concluding, Kawasaki advices us not to confuse mantras with tag lines. He says, "A mantra is for your employees; it's a guideline for what they do in their jobs. A tag line is for your customers; it's a guideline for how to use your product or service. For example, Nike's manta is "Authentic athletic performance." Its tag line is 'just do it."

This is an important step in developing your business idea because it will serve as a guide and encouragement to you.

JUST DO IT!

You can spend a lot of time just dreaming your business. The best thing you can do is DO IT. Begin working on your dream to make it a reality. Have you noticed that most people are always planning? They are always thinking of a business idea? They are always crunching numbers? But they never get going and they have several excuses which include: Fear of failure, Procrastination, Lack of capital,Age (too young or too old) and the list goes on. President Franklin Roosevelt said, "The only thing to fear is fear itself." And Eleanor Roosevelt said, "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face."
In dealing with fear my philosophy is that You MUST understand your fears.
You MUST Confront your fears. But most importantly, you MUST Overcome your fears.

Guy Kawasaki says, "the hardest thing about getting started is getting started...You should always be selling-not strategizing about selling."
Get going no matter what. For you it might be simply doing the things I've written about in this article. For another it might be buying the first product for your store or making a few phone calls to some would be suppliers. It can be as simple as getting business cards for yourself or making that headed paper you've been dreaming about. Whatever it is that you need to do to get going, DO IT!

Do these things and you will have a date with destiny!
To your Success!

AFRICAN ENTERPRISE

2008-08-19T00:30:00.003-04:00

Africa stands at the cross-roads as once again we have become the attention of the whole world as we now offer a new surge in natural and human resources. Ours is a continent blessed by God in ways many continents can only dream of. However, we also face great challenges such as poverty, HIV/AIDS orphans, street kids, poor education and health standards, poor governance and economic policies to mention a few . I have been looking for practical ways to solve these problems and I’ve come to the conclusion that enterprise is a great starting point. Enterprise is defined by the American heritage dictionary as “the industrious, systematic activity, especially when directed toward profit.” Enterprise is usually undertaken by individuals and not governments. Therefore, economic change comes from the bottom-up. However, government has a part to play in ensuring that the economic environment and policies support and sustain enterprise. America is a great example of how enterprise can build and sustain a nation.

Entrepreneurs are simply individuals who are involved in enterprise. They form businesses that provide services and products to the public while creating a profit. Entrepreneurs also create jobs and lead in innovating new products to solve emerging challenges. Entrepreneurs are an integral part of the development of any nation and as such should be supported. I believe that Africa must promote entrepreneurship as a solution to problems such as poverty and that we as Africans must realize that governments exist not to provide our daily needs but rather facilitate our efforts to meet our needs. This shift in thinking is necessary if we are to develop into a great continent that solves its own problems. Of course I do believe that governments have a responsibility to take care of their citizens but how this is achieved is certainly not through handouts. Handouts impoverish while incentives empower. This is why Africa must promote and support African entrepreneurs.

THE ENTREPRENEUR DNA
All entrepreneurs have certain traits in common and I want to show you that this person exists in you. Yes, there is an entrepreneur in you. Many Africans I’ve met think they need to be really special to come up with an idea that will dazzle the world. They think entrepreneurs come from somewhere else other than their own backyard. These are misconceptions we must deal with as Africans. We are intelligent, hardworking, creative and certainly world-class material. We are entrepreneurs. Here is how you can recognize the entrepreneur in you. Entrepreneurs are:

1.CREATIVE: Entrepreneurs are creative people. They are always thinking of how to do something better and make a business out of it. They solve problems by being creative. Creativity is not hard. All you need is the time to sit down and think through an idea. Brainstorm ways you can do something better or simply create a new product all together. Creativity is part of your DNA as a human being, therefore, use it.

2.PASSIONATE: Entrepreneurs are people who pursue their ideas with passion. They put their all into an idea to make it a success.

3.VISIONARY: Entrepreneurs are people of vision. They develop a clear mental picture of their future and pursue it. They can see what is coming down the road and prepare for it. They re visionaries.

4.RISK-TAKERS: Risk is part of the definition of an entrepreneur. They are always pushing the envelope and trying out new things. They are not gamblers but rather strategists who carefully weigh their risks and know the consequences of their decisions. They gladly embrace adversity and see it as an opportunity to improve themselves and their ideas. They realize that in adversity lie great opportunities.

5.CONFIDENT: They are sure of themselves and of their ideas. They do not listen to naysayers but rather maintain a positive attitude even in the face of failure. They are confident in their abilities and take the time to develop and use them. They realize that they are their greatest asset.

6.DETERMINED: They never say die. When they fall and fail, they simply get up and try again. They never give up and never take no for an answer. They are determined to make their ideas a reality.

These and many more are traits of an entrepreneur. Now this person exists in you and I ask you to simply believe in yourself. Begin to see this person in you. Look beyond the negative notions that have been planted in your mind by the naysayers in your life. Look beyond the damage caused by a low self-esteem that developed as a result of hearing people repeatedly say to you; “you will never amount to anything.” Look beyond the wounds caused by failure and begin to dream again because there is an entrepreneur in you. You were meant for greatness and in you is the next big idea.

I am absolutely confident that if we can have a few Africans dedicated to becoming entrepreneurs, our continent will never be the same. A band of young men and women whose sole desire is to see Africa rise above her troubles through the idea of enterprise. I challenge you to begin finding peers that are like minded and begin to pull resources together and venture into business. As we will learn in a few weeks, there is power in “WE”. So go ahead; dream, create, innovate and change the face of Africa.

To African’s Success,

THE POWER OF AN IDEA

2008-08-07T12:08:00.002-04:00

Look around you. Everything you see is a product of thought. Before it became, it was idea in some one's mind. An idea is a thought, a conception, a powerful impression in one's mind. The computer you're looking at was first an Idea in someones' mind before it was made. Ideas are all around us and most importantly IN us.
As a leader, you have ideas and remember that I've always said you don't have to be in a position of authority to realize your leadership because you are first and foremost a leader of one follower-YOU!

Ideas are powerful and in fact the possession and actualization of an idea usually establishes one as a leader. Take for example Bill Gates who had an idea of developing computer software and putting a computer on every desk in the world. That idea birthed Microsoft Windows and established him as the leader in the industry. Ideas birth leadership. So what Idea do you have?

However, the presence of an idea does not guarantee its actualization. For an idea to be realized you must do certain things.

1. WRITE AND THINK IT THROUGH
Many ideas die because people do not take the time to write them down and to really think about them. Will this work? How will it work? Will it meet a need? All these and many more are questions that come up when one becomes focused on a written idea.

2. WORK AT IT
Just do it. Its that simple. Some people might do the first but they have every reason imaginable for not doing this second step. Everything from having no time to my wife doesn't like it, you name it. Many of us sabotage our own success by not acting on the ideas we have. We procrastinate and talk ourselves out of success. Many people want to be wealthy and some even pray for it. However, God's answer is not a trunk of money falling from heaven but rather an idea or opportunity. Henry Ford once said that "many people miss opportunities because they come wearing overalls and they look like work." Many of us want effortless success but no such thing exists in this world. So what are you doing to make your idea a reality?

3. DISCIPLINE
Discipline is simply regimented activity that develops or improves an idea, skill or self. Discipline is the key to making your ideas a reality. If you purpose to work on your idea everyday without fail, you are exercising discipline and you will make your idea a reality. Habit is disciplined activity and we all must make a habit of working on our ideas.

As a leader, your ideas can propel you to greater success but it takes thinking, action and discipline. Keep on working on those ideas because your mind is the richest Goldmine in the world.

LIVE TO SUCCEED

AFRICA ROBBED IN BRAOD DAYLIGHT: Watch out for China and Russia

2008-07-14T09:02:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone,
I've watching the situation in Zimbabwe with keen interest and concern for our brothers and sisters suffering at the hands of a dictatorial leadership. Russia and China just vetoed a vote for sanctions against Zimbabwe and Mugabe. Russia and China are not interested in peace for Africans because they want our natural resources; plain and simple. Their economies are growing at a very fast pace, therefore, needing inexpensive resources and Africa has become the source for that. Supporting turmoil is a strategy to rob us blind. As long as we keep on fighting with each other it shifts our focus from developing and guarding our resources. Is our African leadership so blind and selfish?

Mugabe should be removed from power at all cost. He is nothing but an old colonial leader who is unfortunately showing his true colors. Where are the Kaundas and Mujomas as statesmen? Mandela spoke his mind but where is Mbeki's backbone? Our African union failed to act. What's their use if they cannot even protect Africa. I believe a change is coming and when it does every leader will be held accountable. China should stop fueling the war in Dafur and pay world prices for all the oil and minerals they are getting from Africa. They should succumb to the same investor policies that actually help Africa rather than rob her. Our current leaders may be old, selfish and blind but their is a brand of Leaders rising and they will deliver a new kind of leadership.

I just thought I should get that off my chest. Thanks for listening.

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM OBAMA-PART 2

2008-06-26T18:02:00.002-04:00

In my last post we looked at what we could learn from Barack Obama as leaders. Here is the second installment.

4. LONG-TERM STRATEGY
When Obama began his campaign, he was realistic about his chances of success. He knew that it would take a lot for him to win his party's nomination. The one thing he really understood was the fact that delegates and not popular vote decided the nominee. This understanding shaped his campaign's strategy. He competed wherever he could pick up delegates and also challenged his opponents in the more traditional battle grounds. He won eleven straight victories after super-Tuesday in small states and picked up a lot of delegates putting him ahead of Hillary Clinton. Clinton thought it would be over on February 5th and never had a plan for February 6th, therefore, she lost the nomination fight.

As a leader you must face reality if you are to succeed. Do not be deluded by your won ambitions but critically look at your chances of success.
Secondly, formulate a winning strategy and execute it with precision and patience. Strategy is simply a plan for fulfilling your end result. It has specific action steps and measurable goals which are implemented on a daily and consistent basis. Strategy is what separates Great leaders from good ones.

5. INNOVATION
Innovation is simply something new or the introduction of new methodologies and the Obama campaign had no shortage of this. They used the Internet to raise funds for their campaign at a rate never seen in U.S. politics. Obama raised millions of dollars by engaging the common man. He invited donations of 3,5, and 10 dollars. All of a sudden an ordinary American felt part of the political landscape and part of a Movement. The Internet also helped the campaign make a family on the web that allowed hundreds of thousands of people to know exactly what was happening next in the campaign. This also became a pool of talent that the campaign used to get volunteers as well as big crowds at events.

As a leader, you must innovate or you and your organization will die. We live in a world that is constantly changing and doing so at a very fast pace. Your organization has to embrace new ways of doing things and meet your customers where they are. Innovation is the life-line that will ensure your survival as a leader and as an organization. Many leaders get comfortable doing things the same way as long as its working for them. If it ain't broken, don't fix it; right? WRONG!
This may have been alright 15 years ago but the current market climate will not forgive such a misconception. You have to constantly evaluate yourself and your organization and ask the tough question: Can we do it better? Can I be better?
This kind of thinking is what is propelling companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and so many other entrepreneurs.

6. FOCUS
In the heat of a campaign, Obama maintained his focus on the issues that mattered most to him. He did not answer every critic but rather chose the important issues to handle. He had a few challenges especially with the incident involving his ex-pastor but even this was a lesson for the campaign and I think he learnt that when problems come up, deal with them promptly other wise they will derail your focus. When this issue subsided he called his staff and confessed to them the loss of focus and put the whole organization back on track to winning the nomination. This is what great leaders do.

As a leader,understand that you are not superman or wonder woman; you are human and as such will make loads of mistakes and may lose focus. Focus is essential to your success and must be closely checked. Remind yourself of why you are leader and why you are doing what you are doing as an organization. This will help you maintain focus. Keep your eyes on the prize. Here are some distractions to your focus:

a. Criticism: Don't take this to heart. Learn how to objectively take criticism even when you know that the critic maybe be wrong.
b. Ego: Get "yourself" out of the way. You are not the center of attention nor does your organization and staff exist to serve you.
c. Failure: Learn how to successfully fail. Failure is not really a bad thing because it allows you to make adjustments to your strategy. However, many people don't know how to take this. They think that failure is a death sentence and this kind of thinking throws your focus off. Learn how to successfully fail.
d. Unclear goals: Your goals should be crystal clear otherwise you will lose focus. Know what you want, how you want to get there and what it will take to get there. Your goals should address these areas.

These are just a few things I learnt from Obama. They have helped me and am sure will help you also in your leadership. Keep on leading and stay the course.

Live to Succeed

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM OBAMA-PART 1

2008-06-10T23:16:00.007-04:00

I am sure most of us are so excited to live at this time when history is being made in the world of politics. Barrack Obama, a junior senator from Illinois clinched the democratic nomination for president and now stands at the verge of becoming the first African American president of the United States and the free world. As a leader I was curious to know how he won the primary elections and what we can learn from him and his campaign as it pertains to leadership and success. Here are some lessons we can all apply to our areas of Leadership.

1. KNOW AND USE WHAT YOU HAVE
Obama is a gifted and articulate orator and he used these gifts to his advantage. His ability to inspire through words and action were key to his success. Obama did not look firstly to what was around him instead tapped into what was in him.
If you are to be a successful leader you must tap into the gifts, potential and talents that are already in you. YOU are your best asset. People will notice and gravitate to you once you announce who you are, what you have to offer and the confidence you have in your self to achieve your vision. What is in you? What gifts do you have? Use them and you will succeed as a great leader.
Obama also tapped into the life skills he had learnt and had been improving all of his adult life. He brought his community organizing skills to build what many have to call the best political organization in US history. What skills do you have? How can you use them in your organization to get the best results?

2. KNOW YOUR MESSAGE AND STICK WITH IT
For a leader, your vision must be translated to your people through a concise but powerful message. Obama achieved this by having one message-CHANGE. The message itself covered a large spectrum of issues but they all pointed to one word-CHANGE. His message was consistent and spoke to people's aspirations.
As a leader your role is to take people to a place that you alone have seen. Your message is the brush that helps paint a clear picture of your vision and solicits your followers undying support. Therefore, your vision should be easy to understand,speak to the aspirations of people, as well as paint a convincing picture of your destination.
One more thing-be consistent with your message. Consistency has to do with maintaining the content of your message as well has the number of times your message is presented. People don't like leaders who change their minds everyday-they love consistency. People also need to be frequently reminded of what you want to achieve. Share your vision as often as possible until it becomes the mantra of your organization.

3. BUILD AN "A" TEAM
Obama could not have succeeded without the help of a dedicated and talented team. The Obama campaign was filled with people with all types of backgrounds who brought their skills to the campaign and used them to be virtually unbeatable. Obama's speech writer is only 24 years old and his website was created and run by one of the co-founders of facebook. Obama managed to assemble what Napoleon Hill would call the mastermind- a team of gifted individuals. He also managed to attract people who were calm and even tempered like himself to avoid in-fighting. This was brilliance at its best.
As a leader you are responsible for creating a team that takes you to your vision. Your team should understand you, be innovative, flexible and talented. Your team should have some people that strongly share your views as well as those who strongly disagree with you and yet are willing to reach a comprise and make sound decisions. What kind of people have you surrounded yourself with? What do they have to offer? Do they share your views or disagree with you?
One thing Obama emphasized to his team in one of his first meetings was that he did not want any drama-no drama Obama they would call him. As a leader its important to communicate to your team how exactly you would want them to work with you. You are responsible for setting the ground rules failure to do so will result in divisions and misunderstandings. Such things will derail and delay your progress.

There are many more Leadership lessons we can learn but for now let's reflect on these 3 and watch out for part 2 of Leadership Lessons from Obama.

Until next time-Live to Succeed

LIVE TO SUCCEED

2008-05-30T22:58:00.003-04:00

We are at the half way mark in the year 2008. Most of us are already looking forward to next year but are we archiving what we set out to achieve for this year?
Its almost tradition for me to set sometime aside to plan at the beginning of the year and also a separate time in June to reflect on my progress and recalibrate my goals to line up with my vision. I would suggest that you do the same as well.
For those of you who read this blog you might remember that I posted something along these lines to help you with your vision in the new year but I will remind us of a few things

1. Celebrate your successes

This is SO important because most of us get caught up in focusing on the negatives. What have you achieved in terms of your goals? Celebrate no matter how small it may seem. May be you said to yourself at the beginning of the year that you will join a gym but you are only getting to it half way through the year-Celebrate that effort. Self-encouragement releases doses of the winning attitude in you. Don't beat yourself up about your failures; instead develop the art of celebration. Magnify your successes and feed the champion in you.

2.Refocus

Yes you have lost track of your goals but its not too late. There are six more months in 2008 and this can be your most productive time. Every so often the lens of a camera loses focus but by turning some dials the focus can be regained. What dials do you need to turn in your life to regain focus? You can turn the dial of time management so that you effectively use your time on the things that bring you closer to your vision instead of spending it on things that don't value to your life. You can turn the dial of self-discipline and develop the habit of self-development through reading books and listening to motivational and educative CDs etc. We lose focus when we stop looking at the vision we see in our hearts. Get back in touch with your vision and refocus.

3. Plan your Work and Work your Plan

If you're serious about changing your life then you must have a plan. A plan is your road map to success and most of us start the year with a plan. Unfortunately as months go by we lose sight of that plan and begin to roll with the pouches. There is nothing wrong to roll with the punches but this is just your back-up. You should only do this when things are not going according to plan but not as your strategy.
You have a plan? Work it. If its too complex and overwhelming, break it down into bite size chunks and work it. Divide your plan into goals; goals into objectives; and objectives into action steps. Before you know it, you will be standing in the winners circle. Plan your work and work your plan.

This is it for now.
Live to succeed

Zambians & Africans take Responsibilty for Change

2008-04-30T12:28:00.004-04:00

Financial frustration is perhaps one of the most common situations in many people's lives. On a recent trip to Zambia my home country, I could not but notice the change in the attitude of many people concerning life in Zambia and personal financial stability. Just a few years ago many people were so disgusted by government policies that took away jobs and left many in abject poverty. People generally thought it was the sole responsibility of government to create and sustain jobs. I do agree with that notion to an extent but I also believe that the citizens do have the responsibility to effect change by becoming more innovation and industrious.

To my great delight people in Zambia are moving on with life armed with a new attitude;"We can make Zambia work for us!" This attitude has prompted many to go into Small scale businesses and have found ways of getting round the poor micro lending policies of the Zambian government. People all of a sudden have a realization that money is actually on the streets and not in some ivory tower office.
Even people in formal employment are taking part in this innovative and industrious spirit. Some people get loans from work and lend it to a business man or woman for a higher return. Granted, the interest rates are not exactly the most favourable but they put money in people's hands who in turn better their lives without whining about government not caring. The default rates are also high on these "street loans" but that has not stopped people from lending or borrowing to change their lives.

Young people are also taking part in this attitude change. Most of them who cannot find jobs want to start business with a little help from people who actually believe in them. I sat down with a friend of mine whose heart beats strong for the empowerment of young Zambians through entrepreneurial training and resources. Our hearts are one in this regard since we both know know that real success rides on the shoulders of sound financial, mental and spiritual education. If you're interested in helping please drop me a line and we can find ways to partner and help young Zambians and Africans.

My challenge to you is to invest in your country and its people. Find ways to make a meaningful contribution by starting businesses and or NGOs that have the welfare of people at heart.

Zambia is indeed changing and Zambians are leading the charge. You and I can sit here and argue about the legalities of micro-lending and or policy issues but the fact still remains; real change only happens when people decide to BE the change they seek.
To your Success,

The Changing Face of South Africa

2008-03-28T04:28:00.004-04:00

Disclaimer: I will use some language that might be sensitive to some but please hear me out. I know that in this racially charged world we sometimes can do a lot of damage with our words but please understand the history of south Africa and people like Nelson Mandela whose 27 years of imprisonment secured the rights of Black south Africans. I say "Black" because we also do have Caucasian friends who call this their land, and rightly so for their families have lived in this land for hundreds of years.

Hello friends,

I landed in Africa a few days ago hence the silence on my blog. I have to say that I am impressed with the progress that South Africa is making in regard to Black Empowerment initiatives. For those of you that do not know, South Africa was for many years under apartheid with native black people marginalized and practically banned from participating in their own economy. Today, this country's wounds are slowly healing and racial reconciliation is slowly taking place.

The economy is still strong but most impressively, native black Africans are taking part in the development as government has deliberately come up with programs to help them. Now of course there is still alot to be done but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I do not claim to know everything about South Africa but one thing I do know is that justice and equality for all peoples regardless of race are possible, and that we can all work together to better each others lives.

To your success,

The Art of Precision-Living

2008-02-26T22:56:00.001-05:00

Have you ever walked the streets of a busy city and noticed that everyone is busy going somewhere? Have you ever asked yourself where they were actually going?

I have come to learn that life is full of activity some of which is productive and progressive while some is unproductive. Some people are usually busy going nowhere yet they like the feelings that mere activity brings-a sense of achievement and meaning perhaps. However, such feelings are futile if the activity lacks direction and vision. Living is an art and must be approached with a plan and picture of a preferred future. I call this "Precision-Living".

Precision-living is the art of ordering your life to fall in line with the vision that you have; its about planning your life and living the plan. As a leader one of the things that people will first look at is how well you are directing your own life. This observation is critical because it will determine the level to which they allow you to influence them. People want to follow a leader who has a clear understanding of the course his life has to take. I usually tell people that the first level of leadership is self leadership. If you cannot lead yourself how will you lead others? Therefore, effective leaders practice the art of precision living.

Precision is really easy to achieve in your personal life. The first thing you have to do is know where you are going. We call this vision. Where do you see yourself in the next five, ten or fifteen years? Write it down for this is the beginning of your plan.

Secondly, how do you hope to achieve this vision? Set some SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Transferable Goals-more on that later). Set some objectives. A specific but realistic time frame in which to fulfill these goals. Write these goals and objectives as well. Its just as easy to come up with an idea as it is to forget it but a paper has a very long memory.

Thirdly, Work your plan. Wake up every morning with one goal in mind-to live according to plan. Many people lose sight of their dream because they never build a habit of living according to plan. This is the reason why new year's resolutions fail. You must have an extreme commitment to the attainment of your vision that you dedicate your whole life and time to fulfilling that. Let your actions be guided by your plan and dream. Successful people really live predictable lives. Yes, they do not imprison their creativity but they allow themselves to be creative within the confines of their dream.They are creatures of habit and systematic approaches to life. Tony Robbins says you too can be successful if you model these successful people (From his book Unlimited power-my own paraphrase). In other words you can reproduce their success by simply doing what they do but this is only possible because they are predictable and know the power of habit. So work your plan and develop your own systems of doing things in the most effective and successful ways.

Fourthly, Precision-living is about the organization of priorities. To be an effective leader you must know your priorities even as you lead yourself. Some things you treat as emergencies can really be dealt with lastly but you get lost in the maze of activity and cannot clearly discern what things should come first. Understand though that it is extremely difficult to have priorities if you first do not have a clear vision. Vision makes prioritizing easier. So prioritize.

These are just a few thoughts on Precision-Living but there are so many other aspects I can talk about including developing the right mental attitudes for success. But we will deal with that at some other time. In the meantime remember that NOW is your moment of greatness.
T your Success!

A challenge to African Youth-YES WE CAN!

2008-02-04T23:16:00.000-05:00

As we, in America, are on the verge of a historical moment in the life of this nation I am sitting down at my desk and thinking about Africa. For the first time in American history we have two viable candidates for presidency, on the democratic side, who are poised to go down in history as trail blazers, regardless of the primary election results on tuesday. Barack Obama, the first viable African American candidate, and Hillary Clinton, the first female candidate, go head to head to fight for their party's nomination.

On the other side of the world Kenya has just broken into a semi-civil war because of discrepancies in its recent general elections. At the center of this fight are two old men who are sabotaging the future of young generations because of their selfish ambitions to be president by whatever means possible. This is another HUGE indication that African politics need a major overhaul in terms of Leadership. I would venture to say we need young people in the spirit of an Obama who will call for a new kind of politics for new challenges led by a youthful generation.
The problems we face as a continet will not be solved until young people rise to the occasion and politely ask our fathers and grandfathers to take a seat and retire their colonial politics and mentality. We need a young generation of leaders that knows how to operate in a global economy and is sensitive to social justice issues that the majority of the continent is facing.
It is honestly beyond me how such a rich continent is still wallowing in the trenches of poverty. Our leadership has to change. Our politics have to change and WE have to change.

We have to change our thinking, because we have been educated to perpetuate a post-colonial type of politics and leadership which focuses on taking advantage of villagers who are satisfied with a bag of maize or a piece of clothing every five years at election time; politics that ridicule our dreams and dismisses them as mere fantasies and advocates for us to shut down our dream factory because nothing will become of them; politics that seek to make the wealthy wealthier at the expense of the poor. Such kind of politics and leadership are not welcome in our time. We have to be proactive in educating our rural masses and curing them of the fear of political machines that come to intimidate and not educate- political machines that are nay sayers and dream stiflers, and leaders that are so backward they have no idea that the rest of the world is actually 20 years ahead of them.
We as young people need to believe that our ideas are for NOW and that they are brilliant enough to create a powerful Africa, and that the past will not completely understand the ways of a future-focused political and economic agenda. We can, and in fact, we MUST come out from the shadows and refuse to be silenced by the voices of conventional thinking. Our time is now, but it requires us to act and liberate Africa from her self-defeating attitudes and practices.

Okay, I said it and its off my chest; BUT is there a young generation out there willing to take on the challenge of political leadership? If so, soldier on, get in that ring and voice your opinions and ideas; and in the words of Obama I say, "YES WE CAN."

To your success,

The Power of RE:

2008-01-06T16:29:00.000-05:00

Welcome to 2008. At the start of last year you made some resolutions-the things you wanted to achieve in 2007 and you have probably done the same for this year. My question though is; did you achieve all you set out to do in 2007? The answer is probably no and, therefore, I would like to give you some pointers on how to achieve your goals in 2008.

I believe in what i call the power of RE:

1. REFLECTION: Reflection is the ability to look back at the past with honest and objective self evaluation. Reflection allows you to celebrate your successes and failures as well. Celebrating failures because there are lessons that we would never have learnt if we had not failed.

2. REFOCUSING: Refocus on your goals. What is it that you want to achieve this year in line with your life vision. Most people never accomplish resolutions because they do have a deliberate plan for achieving them. Refocusing will help and energize your pursuit of destiny.

3. RECOMMITTING: Nothing can be accomplished without commitment. Commitment is the secret to success and you must decide NOW to be committed to your vision for life and committed to the goals that will lead you there.

These are just a few things that have helped me and am sure will do you some service in achieving your vision. I am so excited about this year and you will see me write a lot on leadership on this blog as well as other avenues. I invite you to tell your friends about this blog and the links I have especially New Zambia. Cho does a great job in provoking my thinking and I am sure you will discover the same.

To your success!

The African Mentality

2007-11-20T19:14:00.000-05:00

I have lived in the United States for some time now to warrant the general comment I am about to make. Through my observation of various people groups there are some that stand out in the American society; The Jews, Chinese, Japanese, Indians and Hispanics, to mention a few. These people group groups among many others, are in many respects successful and living the American dream. These immigrant communities own businesses and contribute to the welfare of America.In fact it is said the economy of the United States is run by 3% of the population and they are Jews (Couldn't find the source of my stats so he number could be higher or lower). However, one of the largest immigrant population in the U.S. are the Africans but the results are very different in terms of economic success. Though we have determined African like those from the western part of continent, it seems we still have not broken through and decoded the economy of the west to have the same success that other people groups have.

It is my opinion that the one thing that stands in our way as Africans is our mentality. When an Asian comes to the U.S. for example, he or she is not thinking "where can I get a job?" But rather what business can I open.
Therefore, you find a Chinese restaurant at almost every corner in New York city or a beauty spa operated by an old Chinese lady with an army of young women plying the trade. However, the other jobs such as baby sitting, house cleaning, older people care etc are left to the low-aiming Africans and Mexicans. I have met so many Africans for example that are satisfied at this level and will not aim any higher. Now there is nothing wrong with these jobs AS A STARTING POINT for your life in a foreign land. However, there is something wrong when people begin to think that this is all life has to offer and they are not capable of anything higher than this.

On the other hand, if you go to down town New York, you will find Africans on the streets operating little street businesses from their suitcases and running away from police to avoid fines for illegal business. This sounds all so familiar to me. What these African brothers have done is transplant the way they did business back home (Tuntembas or street stores) and are trying to use that same methodology in New York. This of course will not work. Not in this economy and that's why I believe that there is need for a mentality transformation.

Allow me to just to say this one last thing to prove my point. When people ask me which country I come from, I am quick and proud to say "I am Zambian." However, that sometimes is not a good thing to say because that is usually followed by; "wow you guys can drink and party." Now that is the legacy our nation is known for and that bothers me. I have heard of people travelling all the way from New York to Atlanta in hired Escalades to go and party and drink their money off. This is unfortunate and I do not want to be associated with that. We are intelligent people with tremendous potential.We can make a difference in our own nation and so I refuse to be known as a party animal. This is why I blog. I want to provoke you to become the best that you can be for the sake of our nation and those who do not have the opportunities that we have. This is why I do not want to waste my time in the U.S. making myself comfortable and living "my life" while ignoring my responsibility to be a change agent. By the way check out my links to some great Zambian blogs written by people with like minds.

Okay, got that off my chest but now how can you and I be part of changing the African Mentality.

1. Think Information instead of ignorance & naivety.
Unfortunately the information age is too slow in taking root in Africa but we must be pro-active in seeking information. Read widely. Have you read your country's Constitution? Are you informed of your government's education policy or do they even have one. How can you help?

2. Think Entrepreneurship instead of employment.
As an employee your employer determines how high you can rise in your field of work and how fast you attain that career height. However, as an entrepreneur you are in charge of your own destiny. You decide when you work, where you work and how long you work. You are your own boss. There is nothing wrong with starting off by being an employee but many people get stuck there because they never had it in their minds to open their own company. So go ahead and find what you're passionate about, find a way of making it into a business, have fun doing and become rich while doing it.

3. Think Excellence instead of Mediocrity.
Do not be satisfied with doing something well. Do it in an excellent way. Mediocrity is an enemy of success. Mediocre people are satisfied with average but people of Excellence are never satisfied; they keep pushing the envelope until all their potential is unleashed. Good is the enemy of Best. What are you involved in right now and are you doing it in an excellent manner? Even if you're working for somebody else, do your work with excellence and this way you will become indispensable. Seek to be an Asset rather than a liability.

4. Think Vision instead of mere existence.
Most people live life not knowing where they are going or what they want to achieve. Vision-a clear mental picture of your preferred future-is of utmost importance. You must see where you want you want to achieve only then can you make the necessary steps to get there. This is huge. Most people I meet and talk to don't know where they want to go in life. They are just here for the ride and where ever the bus of life takes them, they will go but not you. You must have vision.

5. Think Strategy instead of Harp hazard Action
People without a vision have no plan for their lives. They live life as it comes at them. Success is deliberate. You succeed on purpose. Hence you must have a deliberate plan for the achievement of your vision.

People may say, Campbell you say the same things all the time but that's because people are not hearing me. They choose to remain the same and as long as they remain that way, I will say the same things over and over again so that even if they did not plan on hearing me, it will at least get into their sub-conscious mind and provoke action.

Therefore, begin to change your mentality and together we can make Africa the place of progress and success.
Campbell

THE CHURCH AS A PROPHETIC LEADER

2007-10-22T09:23:00.000-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

You know that I rarely write concerning the church on this blog though am heavily involved in christian ministry. However, I am a bit alarmed by the attitude the church has, especially in Zambia, when it comes to politics. In the second republic, we had pastors talking to and courting government anyway they could because there was promised to them a brown envelope of cash for their loyalty. Most of them will not talk about it because they feel embarrassed by it.
My concern, however, is the stance the church bodies have taken not to participate in the National Constitution Conference which aims at forging a new constitution for the nation of Zambia which we hope will, among other things, limit the powers of the president and provide more accountability measures for government.
I believe that the church represents so many voiceless individuals and cannot afford to stay on the sidelines. I think the church needs to be bold enough to come into the arena of politics for the sake of the people to offer Godly counsel to the nation. Whether we like it or not religion plays a major role in government on earth. Whether we talk of Iran or Iraq,the muslim religion sets the tone in these nations. China has Buddhism and Japan has Shintoism. Why? Because religion plays a huge role in the human race. Therefore, it is only right that christians should have a say on what happens in the nation. The one thing the Zambian church forgets is that the Muslims have already declared their participation in the process. If they have their way we might see some muslim ideals tolerated in the constitution. CHRISTIANS AWAKE from your slumber. God calls us to believe, pray and most importantly ACT. Our faith only finds its expression in our action.

This is what I want to you to do. Ask your pastor whether or not you church will be represented regardless of whether the church mother bodies do or not. Ask him because YOU have to be represented,. YOUR VOICE needs to be heard. YOUR CHILDREN'S VOICES need to be heard. YOUR GRANDFATHER AND GRANDMOTHER'S VOICE needs to heard. THE VOICES OF THE DEAF AND DUMB need to be heard. Who else will represent them if the church chickens out?
This is no time to hide in our caves while Goliath hails insults at us. IT'S TIME TO ACT AND BE THE PROPHETIC VOICE WE WERE MEANT TO BE.
Arise and take action NOW! This blog receives an average of 200 people a month reading it and if each one of us would voice our wish to the church or educate our fellow christians and rally support, pastors and church leaders will have to listen.
Action is the only measure of Faith!

To your Success and that of mother ZAMBIA!

Accountability

2007-10-04T18:44:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been talking to a friend of mine about Leaderhsip accountability. Take a few moments and think about how many orphanages you see in your community or country. How many of those are really genuine? Yes they might be taking care of orphans but look at the lives of those spearheading them. Many people have become wealthy just by running orphanages in Africa. The source of their wealth are the funds that come from donors in the west. I do not dispute that there is some work happening but most of it is just to appease the hand that feeds them-just to keep the money coming. How do people like that sleep at night?
This got my friend and I thinking and we came up with one major reason for such a problem-the lack of accountability.

Accountability is allowing oversight from other people or organizations in the work that you're doing. Its voluntary submission to other's people's opinions, criticisms, encouragements and ideas. Accountability is accounting for everything involved in the vision and being answerable to other people. Most "founders' of these so-called NGOs have not been willing to let other people ask questions about what they're doing and as a result these NGOs-whatever form they take-become personal bank accounts and a source of livelihood.

Leadership in whatever area MUST involve accountability and systems that allow this to happen.Society MUST demand this of us as leaders in government, education, NGOs, business etc.WE must be answerable to the people that we lead or the people that support our causes. We must be transparent in our financial and managerial dealings.
Am honestly fed up of hearing people coming up with all sorts of NGOs that simply pledge to do what everyone else is doing and as a result we see the same level of impact-Average.

So are you accountable as a leader and to who? Who keeps you in check in your personal, financial and leadership dealings? If you don't have anybody begin to put systems in place. Accountability is the undiscovered secret for success. Many think accountability limits but this is not the case. If anything it opens tremendous doors for you because people begin to TRUST you. When your life and dealings become an open book, even those who don't know how to read begin to learn so that they can be part of your life story. When people see a worthy cause led by transparent leaders their hope for a better world and healed humanity are rekindled. So go and be that leader.

To your Success,

FOCUS

2007-09-17T22:56:00.001-04:00

I've been feeling overwhelmed by life and the many things I have to do. I was actually talking to a dear friend of mine and just getting some encouragement of sorts. I was again reminded of an important aspect of keeping a vision going-FOCUS.
Focus is something that keeps us on track with our vision and it is therefore, a necessary tool for any leader to have.
Some ways you can refine and return focus as a leader is to make a habit of reviewing your vision, goals and objectives. Are you on track to complete your objectives for 2007 or are you falling behind? If you're falling behind, there are several things you can do to recover.

1. Don't focus on your failure: Most people are held back by self pity because they've failed to maintain momentum or a firm grip on their goals and objectives. Winners know that crying over spilt milk will not change the situation. The thing that creates progress is to change direction and in some cases, methodologies. Learn from your failures.

2. Change some stuff Around: Why have you failed to meet your objectives? What do you have to change in order to get on track? There are some things that have led to your lack of progress and you must have the boldness to pin point them and call them what they are. For some of us its just pure laziness and procrastination. For others it might be discouragement from family or peers and still for others you might just be overwhelmed by the vision in which case I would say make your goals and objectives even smaller.

3. ACT: Get to working on your findings. If you need to challenge yourself and change some things about you, then JUST DO IT and begin TODAY. Put your plan into action. Start working on your goals and objectives before the year comes to an end.

One of the gifts that God has given us is the gift of reflection and a new day. Through reflection we can change for the better and ensure our success. Remember that "yesterday is a cancelled check, tomorrow is a promissory note, today is the only cash you have so spend it wisely (Newton-cant remember the first name)."

To your success and Progress!

THE FATE OF AFRICA

2007-08-27T10:43:00.000-04:00

This weekend I had the opportunity of hosting a friend from Zambia and we had some interesting discussions about Africa and the leadership crisis that we have. Our conversations centered around a book my friend is reading whose title is the heading for this post. Apparently this book is written by Martin Meredith, a journalist who started his career in post independent Zambia and first worked as a corespondent for the Times of Zambia.

We were basically revisiting our roots as a Continent through the eyes of our founding fathers like Dr. Julius Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah and the rest who fought for an independent Africa. My friend took an interesting slant to the transformation of African Leadership and Africans as a people. He sited the philosophy of Ujamaa as a viable option for social and economic change. Dr. Julius Nyerere was the architect of this philosophy and summarized his rationale in the famous Arusha declaration.

"Ujamaa comes from the Swahili word for "extended family" or "familyhood" and is distinguished by several key characteristics, namely that a person becomes a person through the people or community. For Nyerere, an African "extended family" means that every individual is in the service of the community.[1] Thus, Ujamaa is characterized by a community where co-operation and collective advancement are the rationale of every individual's existence. According to Ujamaa, personal acquisitiveness is prohibited, thus allowing the distribution of wealth through society horizontally rather than vertically."

While recognizing that this philosophy certainly had its flaws the premise was good. We both subscribe to the notion that there can be no economic and social change unless we revisit our African roots. At the core of our culture is a sense of community that we're quickly losing as a result of our desire to be like the west. While we do subscribe to the fact that there are valid advantages to capitalism and the mind set it advocates, we are quick to point out that community should be at the heart of the development of any economy and people. Capitalism stresses the need for individual success; " Each man for himself and God for us all" kind of mentality while "Ujamaa" advocates for national and individual progress through the context of community.

What do you think about the concept of Ujamma and the contrasting vertical distribution of weath that seems to be the driving force of today's economies? Please can we have some discussion about this community thing and begin to rediscover our roots as a people. Your comments please.

THE CHALLENGE OF PROGRESS

2007-08-08T22:25:00.000-04:00

Hey Friends
I've not posted for a while because I was on vacation and had the opportunity of sitting under the ministry of one my spiritual fathers who is visiting in the USA from Zambia. What an awesome time it was to be refueled for the challenge of Leadership. It is from this context that I write this post about a subject close to my heart; The Progress of Africa and The 3rd world.

We all have been given certain gifts and potential regardless of our ethnicity, economic status or place of origin. We all can make a tremendous contribution to humanity if we remain true to our earthly assignments.
However, it is with great dismay that I observe the state of third world especially Africa.
Africa is said to be the bread basket of the world yet the majority of her people live on less that a dollar a day. She is rich in natural resources yet she is continually plundered by the west and her own selfish leaders. The challenge that lies before her and before us is the Challenge of Progress.

What will it take for Africa to progress? What will it take for her to be what she really is-a power house and a force to recon with?
The answer is simple- it will take us; her people and our western brethren who have a heart for her to take action. We must become proactive. No longer should we stand aloof while she is destroyed and left bare by selfish leaders and her so called friends. We should get involved and be vocal about our involvement.
The greatest weapon any oppressive system has against its people is ignorance.
Therefore, we should begin asking intelligent questions like; what is China really doing here? Why do we have a sudden interest in countries like Zambia by the USA that it warrants a visit from a current first Lady and former President Clinton? Have they just now realized that we exist? Have they now just seen our orphan, AIDS and street kid crisis or does their country also want to participate in our new found riches? Hey am just asking but something must be cooking!LET'S WAKE UP PEOPLE!
Am not just yapping away because I've nothing better to do but the silence and ignorance that is exhibited by our people concerning such issues worries me. If we continue like this we wont have an Africa to hand down to the next generation.

All this aside; I have a very strong conviction that unless we-The Africans-change certain things about ourselves and change our perceptions concerning life and the world as it should be, we will never progress. The following has everything to do with your Leadership potential so don't dismiss it as having nothing to do with you as a Leader.
Here is what I feel you need to do as an individual in order to effectively participate in the progress of Africa and the third world:

1. Invest in yourself because no one will- Read more and develop a global mindset. Watch the news instead of those time wasters we call soaps in order to stay in touch with what is happening world over because it affects you.

2. Find your Place. Find a hill and die on it. Pick a battle you will stake your life on. This can be anything from education to health. Am honestly looking for teachers that are passionate about education rather than pay. Am wanting to encourage that one person who wants to get into the field of education because they want to revolutionize the way Africa is educated. Did you know that our school system is over 45 yrs old and that Britain wont tell you that. The plan is simple-keep Africa in the stone ages and rob her blind.
Finding your place is key because the right environment will make a demand on your potentials.

3. Get into Alliances. This is the missing link in most African cultures because we live by the principle; Each man for himself but God for us all. This principle is crippling. Look at our Indian and Arab counterparts-they stick together. Have you ever seen an Indian walking the streets of Zambia because he doesn't have a car? That's unheard of but in most cases you find that he came with nothing and his brothers and sisters helped him up. This my friends should be our culture. We should help each other to economically rise otherwise we die.

I have more to write but this should be enough to provoke you unto great works. Look am so convinced that if we ALL begin to do these things and stick together we will have on one to stand in our way in making progress for our nations. But until we realize that the answers to complex situations can be as simple as the above and that the future depends on our actions, we will remain an oppressed people.
BREAK FREE!

To your Success,

THE SEDUCTION OF POWER

2007-07-12T12:08:00.000-04:00

The Constitution of any nation is usually a subject that arouses interest and high emotions in both the political arena and the general citizenry. For any nation, the constitution is a document that gives guide lines on how the nation will be run and also elaborates on the rights of the citizens. The constitution also gives power to the president to do certain things and make certain decisions concerning the nation.

However, for many third world nations the president has so much power that he can easily become oppressive within the confines of the Constitution because it affords him the power to do so. This is not a fair deal for the people because power vested in one man or woman can become lethal for the entire nation. As we speak, there is a battle for a new Constitution underway in Zambia and the issue of limiting presidential Powers and the separation of the Legislature from the judicial system is high on the agenda.

Is power bad? Of course not BUT how one handles that power is key. In fact I like the word Authority better than power because it seems to communicate the idea that one is actually placed in an authoritative position by some else- in the case of a president its the people that elect and give authority.
I do not mean to go on a political tangent but politics offers the best example for what I want to talk about; The Seduction of Power.

Have you ever been in a situation where your peer at work was given a promotion and his personality seemed to change overnight? All of a sudden he couldn't have lunch with you because he cannot be seen interacting with a subordinate. Believe me this does happen.
You might get this same reaction from a person who has moved out of your low class neighborhood into an upper class one. All of a sudden they cant interact with you because you're below them.

Well, power can do this to people and I want to deal with one major reason for this kind of metamorphosis. Now there are many reasons but I personally think this is the major one; Poor self Perception.

Self-perception is simply the way you think of yourself.
Power seduces when it finds a person with a poor self-perception. It makes you feel good about yourself like you're an achiever and can make things happen. Power in many cases motivates a person with low self esteem because with power you're somebody and people can listen to you. Power becomes bad when it finds and operates through such a person.
The possession of power does not necessarily mean you're a Leader and no one explains it better than Dr. John C. Maxwell in his book "Developing the Leader in you."
He says there are 5 stages in the Leadership Ladder. I've put his comments in parenthesis () and the rest is just my own expansion of what he was saying.

LEVEL 1: POSITION-At this stage ("people follow because they have to.")
Your influence is merely because you've been designated as the leader by virtue of your position. In my opinion this is the most dangerous place because its so easy to abuse power in order to get people to do what you want them to do.

LEVEL 2: PERMISSION- Here ("People follow because they want to.") This is where Leadership begins to feel like a good deal because everyone is a free participant. Yes you will get a good output from the people you lead because to a large extent they are self motivated for whatever reason.
But this is still not the best leadership has to offer.

LEVEL 3: PRODUCTION- At this point (" People follow because of what you've done for the organization.")
Your track record becomes a reason people would want to follow you. A successful track record would mean you're doing something right and people always what to be a part of a successful team.

LEVEL 4: PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT- ("People begin to follow because of what you've done for them.") Here you're committed to developing leaders that would carry on your success. You begin pouring yourself into people and their overall growth. When they progress your whole organization will progress.

LEVEL 5: PERSONHOOD- At this stage ("People follow you because of who you are and what you represent.") This stage is unfortunately one for seasoned leaders. You don't get to this place overnight. You must have a solid track record, a good following of successful proteges- people you've spent your life developing and growing through your experience. This is where we should all strive to be.

Now power and Authority play a major role at each stage. You will tempted at to be prideful and ignore other people because you think you've arrived. The moment you do that, you would have fallen prey to the seduction of power.
Power seduces when it senses a crack in your character and or personality. Every stage of Leadership calls for the mastery of power because the higher you go the more people will respect you and allow you to influence them. However, with such trust comes also the temptation to take advantage of the people we Lead.

Therefore, we should be careful in placing so much power in anyone individual as is the case in many third world countries. When power seduces Leaders they become tyrants and that's not what God intended power to do.
Therefore, be careful of how you handle power and authority because it will determine your longevity as a Leader.

Your Success,

For Such a Time as This!

2007-07-05T10:57:00.000-04:00

Dear friends,

Am sitting here in my office thinking of Africa!(WOW,I wonder why?)
I mean there is so much talk about Africa being the next bread basket of the world and all of a sudden we've become the talk of the world, yet again.
However, I must air a concern that I have and frankly its the main reason I started this blog. Am concerned that we'll become just another "rape victim" as the world mines our natural resources without mercy or concern for the well being of the indigenous African.

In recent years countries such as Zambia have become the talk of the copper mining industry world over as we stand at the brink of opening the largest copper mine in the world even ahead of Chile who have been the big guns for years.
In a recent report of copper profits, Zambia's finance minister Magande said the copper mining companies had made in excess of $300m for the year 2005/2006. But how much of those PROFITS did the Zambian government realize? A whole $9m. This my friends is a mockery of the Zambian people and we must find a solution to this daylight robbery. As you can tell am pretty angry about this situation and I think that WE can do something about it.

WE were born for such a time as this. WE, the People, can do something about it by becoming Leaders in every sphere of human existence. WE can shape the economies of the world. There has never been a hunger for authentic Leadership in Africa or the world as we're experiencing right now.
In talking to my one of my spiritual Fathers recently, he said something that stuck with me for a long minute. He said, " the people are tired, they are weary and their spirits are beat." And yes the people are tired of poverty, poor health care and poor education standards. They are tired of working hard just to barely survive.
BUT the answer to all these problems is AUTHENTIC, UNSELFISH, PEOPLE CENTRED, GOD FEARING LEADERSHIP and WE can provide that.

I recently had the opportunity to hear Dr. Nevers Mumba the former vice president of the republic of Zambia speak and I must say I was infused with hope not only for Zambia but Africa as a whole. He spoke with clarity and conviction and at the end of his sermon I could confidently say, "ZAMBIA AND AFRICA SHALL BE SAVED." For me, he spoke my language and that Language is the language of a better and vibrant Zambia; a better Africa. Honestly, I've not heard a person speak with such a love and conviction that inspired hope since our forefathers that fought for African independence. But I believe that this is the generation that IS capturing the vision of a better, strong and developed Africa and we will fight to make it a reality.

So here is my challenge; let us continue to develop ourselves in terms of Leadership potential BUT let us begin to be vocal about the problems. For those of you that feel you need to be in politics START NOW. Align yourselves with political Leaders that have Vision and aid in the development of our nations. YOU must bring a maturity to African politics by having vision and by thinking objectively. Your goal should not be to remove on political party from power for this kind of thinking is primitive. Your goal should be to develop your nation even when this means building on a good foundation laid by your predecessors. Don't just have a program for the nation; have a VISION.
For those of you that feel health care or education is your field, START NOW! Whatever your Leadership calling is, START NOW!
My role here is to help you develop and unleash that Leadership potential.

Many people can talk tough but when it comes to acting they are cowards but am sure that's not the kind of people we are. We are doers and mix our faith with action.
I just wanted to nudge you a bit and give you a wake up call.
Remember that not every battle is yours BUT you need to choose which battle you will fight; which hill you will die on because retreat is not an option.

To your Success and Progress

THE POWER OF ATTITUDE

2007-06-26T05:12:00.000-04:00

I don't know how many of you remember a song titled "Born to Suffer" by Lucky Dube, the South African musician in the early 90s but I've always thought that was an interesting title. Unfortunately some of us do subscribe to that message and just think that we were born to be failures and that the successful life is for the privileged few. However, let me encourage you with this quote from the wisest man who ever lived and it simply says this; "The race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant, or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all (Eccl 9:11).
In other words the rich and poor have two things in common; time and chance (opportunity). Furthermore, they think and act in a different way. Someone once said; "if you want to be rich, do what rich people do." Invest like they do and you too could be rich. Of course we all know that not all rich people got that way by being honest but there is something to be said about the way most invest their money and resources and the way they think.
I've said all this just to say this one thing;if you want to be a good leader, do what good leaders do. Think and act like they do and you will have success.

Attitude is key to your success as a Leader. Your Attitude (mentality) will make or break you. It will determine how high you rise (Altitude) and will determine if people follow you or not. Attitude is a key component of Leadership.
Lets break it down.

I think that if there was an equation for Attitude this is what it would be:
Attitude = Thoughts+Feelings+Actions+Expressions.

Attitude begins with thought. The atmosphere of the mind is the birth place of attitude. Our thoughts are created as we entertain various media i.e. words, images,people's opinions and perceptions of us.
Our thoughts then begin to feed and form our Belief system and this becomes the center of our perceptions, world view and most importantly, our actions. Most people down play the role of belief or personal conviction in how they act or react but this is the center of who we are. So our Actions are informed by what we believe whether consciously or subconsciously.
Our beliefs also determines how we feel and how we express those feelings and ultimately ourselves. Attitude is a combination of all this stuff.

Therefore, if we say some one has a negative Attitude, what we are saying in effect is that they entertain negative media that form negative thoughts, that form a negative belief system, that causes them to act, feel and express themselves in a
negative way. Hence they have a negative outlook on life.

The people with a positive Attitude do exactly the opposite. They entertain positive media which forms positive thoughts, which form a positive belief system, which causes them to act, feel and express themselves in a positive way. They have a positive outlook on life. They are not easily defeated or discouraged because they find a positive in every aspect of life including their failures.

As Leaders we need to understand that Attitude is contagious and that those around us can catch it. Show me a negative Leader and I will show you a discouraged, negative follower. When the head is not right the whole body is out of sync. Therefore, we need to ensure that we are constantly developing a positive attitude.
Leaders with a positive attitude will make their people believe they can do anything and people do rise to the challenge. If you want your company, church, family or business to rise to new heights-just change your attitude and you will increase the altitude of your team or following.
A Leaders positive attitude is both a motivation and inspiration to his team.

Your attitude will also help you face challenges in a positive way and actually turn them to benefit you. Your attitude determines how you speak to and treat your problems or challenges. For a Leader with a positive attitude failure is not even an option.

I hope that you've learned a thing or two about attitude and leadership because this is the stuff that will make you or break you. Develop a positive attitude and you will begin to see positives in your Leadership.
I will leave you with this famous quote.

To your Success & Progress!

If you think You're beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don't
If you would like to win but think you can't
You most certainly won't.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

LEADERSHIP MENTALITY

2007-06-13T22:38:00.000-04:00

Am sure that you've heard it said, "It's one thing to take a man out of the bush and another to take the bush out of the man." It's a funny saying but teaches a very important truth that is; A change of environment does not necessarily mean a change in thoughts, perceptions and ideas concerning oneself and or the world. Today I want to begin dealing with a subject that every Leader must study and be a student of; I want to talk about the Mentality of a Leader.

Napoleon Hill once said concerning the subject of getting rich that "Both riches and poverty are the offspring of thought (Think & Grow Rich)." The way a person thinks determines how they approach life and what they become in life just as the bible says in proverbs, "As a man thinks in his heart so is he."
Our thoughts inform our actions and actions are what create our quality of life or the lack thereof.
We must understand the basic make up of thoughts because understanding how thoughts are formed will help us in developing a mentality that enhances and enables our Leadership.

The first thing we need to know is that thoughts are first formed by words.

Thoughts are basically mental images formed by words. The words that produce our thoughts come from many sources- Television, Radio, Books, Everyday Conversations, positive and negative utterances by people close to us. Whatever we hear leaves a mark on our minds and could occupy our thought life if we let it.
It's these thoughts that mold our world view and inform our actions. Through the words that we hear we form belief systems and convictions on which we usually base our actions. Now am not talking about a weak belief, no; am talking about the belief that causes your blood to boil if someone or something seem to pause a challenge to your convictions.

People that say, 'I CAN'T', do not usually have a healthy thought life.

I remember teaching a young man how to play the bass guitar. I saw the talent and potential but he kept saying he couldn't whenever he made a mistake. I got upset with him one day and told him that he could do anything he put his mind to it. It so happens that this boy was always told (words)by his teachers at school and parents at home that because he was overweight he couldn't do a lot of things.
Now how many of you know that how you look has nothing to do with your ability to play an instrument like the bass guitar? But think about this. He was told he was no good in one area but that statement repeated over time affected every area of his life, his self image and perception.
My job and ministry was, with the help of God,to replace the thoughts that had been fed to him by telling (words) him that he could. You should have seen the dramatic change in his life after a few weeks of working with him. He could learn with a positive attitude without putting himself down and guess what, he now plays bass guitar in our church as he continues to learn. Words can KILL or HEAL-use them wisely.

The words that you hear are as important as the words you speak to yourself.

Self talk is one of the ways to replace bad thought patterns. I speak to myself and encourage 'me' especially when am faced with a challenge or negative situation. Am my best cheer Leader. I say, 'Campbell you are not a failure and your failure is not final. Its a positive learning experience and you won't make the same mistake again. Campbell you are great and have potential and you are a great Leader.' This is not pride or arrogance, its just what i call MIND CONDITIONING. Hey, you've got speak to yourself life and not death. The power of life and death is in the tongue so the bible says.

The whole point of dwelling on words and thoughts is that your mentality as a Leader will either make you a success or failure. If the way you think as a Leader has a direct impact on the quality of your Leadership, do you not think it would be a good idea to regulate what you hear, read and see and let into your heart?

In my next article I will continue dealing with Mentality as I look at the mechanics of activating this principle in your every day life but in the mean time think about this and challenge yourself in the area of your words and thoughts.

What are you reading to feed your Leadership Spirit and Mentality? What do you spend doing in you 'free' time? Is it challenging you to become a better person or is your time spent on non-essentials?
Who are you listening to? Who's speaking into your life?
One of things I've done is invest in some Leadership and motivational Cd's that I listen to in the car! I don't want to waste any opportunity to sharpen my Leadership skills and mentality and neither should you!

To your success and Progress,

THE HABBIT OF RENEWAL!

2007-06-06T23:15:00.000-04:00

I've spent most of today preparing a solo that am supposed to sing at a huge Salvation Army event in Hershey, PA.
I've kind of known what I've wanted to sing for some time now but my heart has been renewed as I've practiced this song. The title of the song is 'In your Presence' written by Lynn DeShazo and recorded by Paul Wilbur.
Yes its Old but its come again to me. The words are so powerful because they are a prayer that my heart echoes. I want to be in the presence of God for several reasons;

1. I think better
2. I can see the future in some clear detail (Vision)
3. I get my encouragement from him
4. I get energized for the fight
5. I enjoy spending time with him

My point is this; EVERY LEADER MUST HAVE A TIME TO RECHARGE! You may be reading this and you're a leader who's not a christian and what I've just said is foreign language-that's fine. But the principle is the same- you need to develop some habits that renew your spirit and energize your passion for the vision.
Just as you develop habits to more efficiently execute the vision you have for your life or organization; you must have habits that renew your strength for the fight.

Here are some suggestions;
1. Start with your hobbies- what's fun for you? Do it and relax

2. Read and feed your mind- It doesn't have to be something heavy. It can be a story of someone who has made it in achieving his dream. Other people's testimony are a great source of encouragement.

3. Review your vision and personal goals- This keeps you on track and can be a great motivator especially when you've made progress.

4. Watch an inspiring movie- I find this to work for me; try it!

5. Think and Sleep- You heard me! I've developed a habit of thinking and visualizing my dream. I usually do it in the bathroom- works for me. I go into dreamland and see my vision complete. I inspect it and I even have meetings with very important people. I also do this visualization before I go to bed. My wife and I say goodnight to each other and off i go into dreamland. I usually fall asleep seeing my vision and such kind of sleep can be energizing. It might feel strange at first but train yourself.

Listen you will burn out if you don't get some habits in place for your renewal. This is important and though what I've shared may seem elementary; please don't ignore the principle- EVERY LEADER MUST HAVE A TIME TO RECHARGE!

Does anyone else have any habits that are working for them? Please share that we may use them in our lives as well.
To your success and progress,

VISION (Part 3): I can see clearly Now!

2007-06-04T09:55:00.000-04:00

"Any leader who has no one following him is just taking a walk (Old Chinese saying)."

The first challenge of any leader is self-leadership; the second is the challenge to lead other people. In both cases vision is paramount- you cannot lead without it.
Recently, I listened to someone give the difference between leadership and management. He said managers were responsible for the day to day running of a corporation. Their only problem is that they find it hard to look beyond today. A leader on the hand looks beyond today- a leader looks into the future and inspires people to go there.
However, its worth noting that for any organization to succeed you need both Leaders and Managers.Leaders provide the vision and inspiration and managers make sure that the organization stays on course with the vision on a day to day basis.

Leading people is a big challenge and am learning that rather quickly. The thing that makes people difficult to lead is that everyone has their own mind and its the leader's job to bring everyone to a oneness in mind. Without focus no organization can go anywhere and that's where vision comes in.
Vision provides focus. Vision inspires Action. Vision gives us a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Vision is the life line of any person and organization.

Dr. John C. Maxwell likens vision to a compass. In his book the 21 Irrefutable laws of Leadership; Dr Maxwell talks about The Law of Navigation. The Law of Navigation can be summarized in this quote; "Anyone can steer a ship but it takes a Leader to chart a course." Leadership is all about charting courses. Jack Welch, the chairman of general electric says " A good leader stays focused...controlling your direction is better than being controlled by it." Vision is what provides control.

Leaders always see the big picture. They anticipate the challenges and think through how they would handle obstacles that the journey presents. Leaders understand exactly what it takes to get to the place they have envisioned. They may not see every potential pitfall but they have the guts to handle each one as it presents itself. Leaders never cut and run; they face problems head on and see only victory.

Leaders are innovators. They are always thinking of how to do something better and more effectively.
Leaders are pioneers. They do not like to hear that something cannot be done. Leaders have a CAN DO IT ATTITUDE.

For Africa and the third world to move ahead and lead the world we need Leaders. Men and women who will steer the ship in the right direction. But it all starts with you and me. Our natural inclination is to point to other people as potential leaders and never see ourselves as part of the solution. If no one says it to you I will; YOU ARE A LEADER and begin to see yourself that way.
Develop vision and create focus in your life. We have the potential to do great things but it takes work. Potential energy only turns to kinetic energy when force and or motion are applied.

So what are you doing in terms of developing vision for your life? Are you working hard and smart and steering the course for yourself and those you lead?
For those of you that have not had a chance to read any of Dr. Maxwell's books please make an effort to do so; they will challenge your life.
The other land mark work is by Dr. Myles Munroe entitled THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP. This book changed my life. Check it out!!
I will leave you with this acrostic from Dr. Maxwell to remind you to always look and plan ahead.

Predertermine a Course of Action

Lay out your goals

Ajust your priorities

Notify key personel

Allow for time of acceptance

Head into action

Expect problems

Always point to the successes

Daily review you plan

Personal Vision and African Leadership

2007-06-02T13:35:00.001-04:00

When I did my last post I was wondering what you thought about the role that personal vision plays in our leaders lives. How many of them can we actually point to as successful people in their private lives aside from politics? Do you even think we should be scrutinizing them from a personal level or should we let their political manifesto speak for itself? Just some questions to ponder?

In the USA, personal track record plays a huge role in whether a person runs for political office or not. They never elect under-achievers. When a person stands for political office their whole life-their vision, accomplishments and failures alike are on the line.You cannot divorce personal vision from your political intentions and aspirations.
However, its not like that in Africa or many third world countries. Many politicians are elected on the platform of popularity rather than on vision and personal track records. Why do you think this is? Are they taking advantage of the lack of education or sophistication of the common man or woman? And what should be done to correct this anomaly?

VISION (Part 2): Developing Personal Vision

2007-06-02T00:22:00.000-04:00

Helen Keller, the deaf blind American author and activist was once asked what her greatest fear was; she replied "to have sight but no vision."
Vision is the ability to see the invisible and take steps to make it possible. "Vision is sight beyond sight (Myles Munroe)."

I want to talk to you about personal vision and please feel free to chip in with any comments or contributions you may have.
Personal vision is something any person and leader should have. This is because vision allows you to do certain things and brings order to your life. If you know where you want to be 5, 10 or 15yrs from now and have a plan; its unlikely that you will let people and circumstances limit you.
So we notice a few things about vision right from the start.

1. Vision brings direction and order to your life
2. Vision breeds hope and determination

I will get more into this stuff at a later stage but for now I want to give you a few pointers in developing personal vision. Personal vision is so important that if you choose to ignore it then you would have settled for an average mediocre life and I know that this is not you.

For starters its important for us to know that personal vision begins with a discovery of your unique gifting or purpose. Every person is a designer's original and your gifts and talents are unique to you. They may look like those of your friend or neighbor but no one can operate in them the way you can.
So, I want you you to take stock of your gifts right now. Get a paper and jot them down. Don't hold back. If you feel you have the gift to fly, write it down. If you feel you have the gift to encourage and motivate people, don't leave that off you list.
I want you to take notice of the greatness that's in you.
So often we spend alot of time wishing we could do what our friends can do that we completely ignore our own uniqueness and short-change ourselves. The gifts you have have been put there by God so that you serve the world.Its time to take notice of yourself!

Do you have your gift inventory list in hand? Good! We can now put that into a concise statement. Now the statement I want you to write is important and it will help encourage you when you really need some motivation. I call it your "Personal Purpose Statement." It's a statement that is a recognition of your own uniqueness and you need to hear it. I suggest that you make it as concise as possible so that you can memorize it and recall it from memory when you really need it. It can be something like this: My name is Campbell and I believe that I was created to .....(Your gifts here). Now its going to take some time for you to narrow it down but just do it. You will never regret it.

Now that you know your gifts its time to develop your personal vision. Let me share a method that I've used in my own life and I learnt from Mr. Todd Duncan. Life is multi faceted and therefore calls for a multi faceted vision. What I want you to do is go back to your paper and this time I want you to write the areas that are important to you; the areas you value most. For example you can say; family, marriage, finances,education,my dream or contribution to the world and so on.

After you've done this I want you to write what the Picture of this part of your life looks like in 5, 10, 20 yrs from now. This picture is your Vision for this particular area of your life. So let's say in the area of finances you want to be a millionaire-jot that down. Don't limit yourself; you're creating the future you prefer.
Do this exercise for every area you value most; describe the future.
Now ask yourself; how do my gifts fit into this vision?

Now that you've imagined your future- lets go ahead and create it. The third step is to set realistic goals for the attainment of your vision for each area of your life. Don't forget to set a time frame for your goal. Often people say they want to be rich and successful but they never put a plan and strategy in place to ensure their success. To fail to plan is to plan to fail.
Your goal should include a plan and strategy. This is where the work begins-this is where the rubber meets the road.

Fourthly and most importantly, get started on your vision and start NOW!Too often people air their intentions to be rich but it's always in the future tense. They never get started on their dream. A dream remains a dream if its not followed by planned and strategic action. Go ahead and take some risks and achieve your vision.

People that have a clear personal vision usually make great leaders.Show me a person without vision and I will show you a weak, irresponsible, disorganized,clueless leader.Vision is the mark of greatness and if you want to be a great leader the first follower you have is yourself. You are your first project and you better make it a success. If you cannot manage yourself, direct yourself and act on your goals with determination; how can you assume leadership of many people.
The journey to leadership begins here and it begins with you.
Develop a personal vision.

VISION (PART 1)

2007-05-29T08:54:00.000-04:00

Every successful person begins with a clear picture of his/her prefered future and we call this picture VISION. If someone was to give you a million dollars on the basis that you first produced an idea, what would that be and how long would it take you to come up with one?
Most of us spend time wishing we had money and resources thinking having these things will mean success. While this may be true in part I know that true success only comes when you have a clear vision of your future (more on the personal vision later).

When it comes to leadership, vision is what determines the success of a leader. Vision is not a program- though programs and goals are part of it. Vision is a clear picture of the future that solicits an unshakable conviction that it should be. True Vision outlives the leader and solicits a dedicated following from people.
Most African and third world nations do not have an outlined vision. Every political party that comes into power comes with its own ideas and discredits the progress of the previous regime. Hence, we're always "starting" something but not finishing anything.

Let me submit to you that what most politicians have are programs and not vision because if third world nations had vision they would certainly be competing with the rest of the world. The reason China is Emerging as a force in the world is because they have a Vision to be the next super power. This vision fuels their policies (though we may not agree with most of them), dictates their investmenst and thier foreign policy. Their leaders have a vision and they are working to make it a reality.
Do you know the vision of your nation and as a potential leader in whatever field you choose, do you have a vision?

LEADERSHIP INTEGRITY

2007-05-15T05:01:00.000-04:00

Recently the top story in the nation of Zambia that has caught the attention of the world is that of the "conviction' of our former president Mr. FTJ Chiluba over corruption charges brought against him. He was accused and convicted for stealing $41 million in his time in office.
My honest opinion is that we should forgive and forget and move on to more pressing matters in our nation such as the improvement of education infrastructure, health care, food security, and the issue of HIV/AIDS orphans and the street kid crisis. Now this is just my opinion and you're entitled to one as well.

At the core of this corruption crusade is more a serious issue that can plague Leadership at any level; that is the issue of INTEGRITY. The simplest definition of integrity I know is that Integrity is being trustworthy and transparent. If a person has integrity we should expect him to be honest and truthful in all his dealings. A leader's integrity builds trust among his/her followers and trust is the most important commodity that a leader should strive for if he is to be a success. Integrity is about character. People will usually forgive mistakes by a leader but they find it hard to continue respecting and trusting one who has a character flaw.

Anthony Harrigan , president of the U.S. business and industrial council said, "the role of character has been a key factor in the rise and fall of nations.And one can be sure that America is no exception to this rule in history. We wont survive as a country because we are smarter or more sophisticated but because we are-we hope- stronger inwardly. In short character is the only bulwark against internal and external forces that lead to a country's disintegration or collapse."

Lack of good character or integrity is what continues to plague the landscape of African leadership and my hope is that this young generation will earnestly develop character as a foundation for leadership. The lack of character makes any leader look immature and not worth following. John C. Maxwell put it well when he said, "Character makes trust possible."

So what can you start doing to develop your character?

1. Decide to be truthful to yourself and those around you. Don't be a habitual liar but a person who always tells the truth no matter the consequences.

2. Admit your mistakes, ask for forgiveness and move on. There is no turnoff like arrogance in a leader. The leader who earns the respect of those he leads is one that is willing to admit his mistakes openly.

3. Be transparent in your dealings. Never give people a chance to second guess or doubt you because of the way you deal with issues especially that of finances. Most leaders have a problem in this area. Build controls in your leadership structure that ensure that you are held accountable even by those you lead. I practice this in my job and my marriage. For instance, i will not make a purchase of $20 or more without consulting my wife.Why? Because we have chosen to be accountable to one another so that our finances are not destabilised. This way we both stay in range our budget. Now this system is based on our trusting each other; without integrity our system would fail.

This my friends is what will save us from our many woes in Africa and we must begin TODAY no matter what level of leadership we find ourselves at.

I will leave you with a quote from J.R Miller who said, " The only thing that walks back from the tomb with the mourners and refuses to be buried is the character of a man. That is true. What a man IS survives him. It can never be buried."

To your success!!

Educational Revolution-The Key to African Leadership and Emancipation

2007-04-16T17:35:00.000-04:00

Am passionate about education; both self and formal education. I believe that ignorance is the greatest prison that one can ever be in. Unfortunately, Africa has not progressed in education to the level of competing with the western world. This my friends is the key to the advancement of the first world. Yes we live in the information age but africa, with the exceptions of a few countries which i can number on one hand, is still in the dark ages.
When i recently visited zambia i was somewhat shocked at the level at which zambians have access to the internet. I can safely say 95% of the people dont have computers or internet access in their homes. Now why make a big fuss about this? Well, the internet is the embodiment of the information age; in this age information is literally at our finger tips. But how many Africans have access to this information? How many Africans have access to knowledge and information period?
Let's take a quick poll. How many public or private libraries are in your neighborhood? How many of them have free internet access? Right now as I speak I have access to 3 public libraries with just about anybook or internet access I want. All these within a 7 minute driving radius. I also have internet access in my home at a very affordable rate. Now that's living in the information age. Dont even talk about book stores.
What's my point? We need to improve our access to information in Africa. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power. Self-education cannot happen in the absence of readily available information. Our governments have to advocate for this and make it a possibility for every African. They owe us at least this much!

Now, What about formal education? For starters let me say not even the 1st world has it all down-packed and we can spend an hour talking about that. However, let me draw your attention to some of the major positives and suggest somewhat of a change in the african education system.
Firstly, if we are going to raise leaders in every sphere of human existence we must stop preparing people for exams and prepare them for life and leadership. Our education system must have the capacity to indentify students passion; help them set attainable goals and point them to the subjects that would better prepare them for their life's work.
Secondly, if we are serious about raising Leaders then we must teach leadership principles as a core subject in our curriculum from nursery to university.
Is this a pipe dream or something attainable? Now I think we can do it though am aware of some of the obstacles we may face. Let's talk! Lets inform each other but above all let's ACT.
Your comments please!