You're Never Too Young To Be A Leader: Here's How

Most people near the starts of their careers aren’t typically thought of as leaders in the workplace. Not only do they inhabit a low spot in the office hierarchy and lack experience and skills, but also many are too timid and insecure to assume a leadership role. But with the right attitude, an observant eye and a desire to learn, any young professionals can prevail early on.

The first hurdle to overcome is getting your colleagues to see you as more than a fresh-faced, immature college grad. Instead, demonstrate that you’re capable of leading without stepping on any toes. Once you do that, there are many more things you can do to become a successful leader in the early stages of your career.

Career experts and authors Al Coleman, Jr., Alexandra Levit, Ryan Kohnen, and Dr. Katharine Brooks weigh in on why senior employees don’t often regard their young colleagues as pathbreaking workers and how those newbie’s can emerge as leaders.

In Pictures: 10 Steps You Can Take To Become A Successful Young Leader At Work

“Most people view a leader as someone who can direct, guide or facilitate because of previously successful experiences,” says Al Coleman, Jr., author of Secrets to Success: The Definitive Career Development Guide for New and First Generation Professionals. Since most young or new professionals haven’t successfully managed others in the workplace before, they aren’t always taken seriously that way.

Ryan Kohnen, the author of Young Professional’s Guide to Success, points out another challenge: “Young professionals can definitely be perceived negatively by their more seasoned counterparts [because] the culture we grew up in of video games, internet, iPods, and Twitter has contributed to shorter attention spans and extreme multitasking, which is sometimes a positive and sometimes a negative, and this can be perceived as unreliability or irresponsibility.”

Alexandra Levit, the author of Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success, offers an additional thought: “I think older colleagues are wary of young professionals [as] a result of many years of new college grads coming into a workplace and trying to take over right away. Today’s young professionals have been humbled by the recession and come across less entitled and more eager to learn, but negative perceptions still linger.”

Assuming a leadership role without crossing any lines can be a trying task, but if as a young employee you get the lay of the land before you jump in, you can better understand what’s acceptable at your particular organization, says Dr. Katharine Brooks, director of Liberal Arts Career Services at The University of Texas at Austin and author of You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path from Chaos to Career.

Kohnen agrees: “The young professional is the new employee, going into an organization where people have a lot more experience and seniority in the organization,” he says. “It’s their responsibility to get to learn how things work in an organization and learn about the existing employees. Then they’ll find themselves in a much better situation than the traditional ‘Look at me, I’m here!’” Lesson learned: Get familiar with the culture of your new workplace to avoid rubbing your colleagues the wrong way.

In Pictures: 10 Steps You Can Take To Become A Successful Young Leader At Work

While you don’t want to come off too strong, flaunt your ego, or step on any toes—you shouldn’t withhold or be too hesitant, either.

“Those who are hesitant understandably feel that they don’t yet know enough to take on a leadership role and would rather take a few years to absorb the expertise of those around them,” Levit says.

Kohnen agrees. He says young professionals are often cautious because “they don’t exactly know what a true leader is, or they are unaware of how best to take on a leadership role in the workplace.”

Kohnen and Brooks both say you have to define leadership within the context of your specific field or organization. “It doesn’t mean just taking over, or jumping in with solutions to every problem that is brought up,” Brooks says. “That can quickly result in your ideas being dismissed as ‘already tried; didn’t work.’  Many student leaders worked with clubs or organizations where the student members didn’t always follow through, and as a result some of those leaders assume that leading means you take charge and run the show yourself.  That style of leadership probably won’t work in most new work settings—unless that’s what the new employee is instructed to do.”

Rather, leadership that is more aligned with being an active part of the team, communicating and respecting others’ opinions, listening, recognizing opportunities to help out and do the necessary work–even if it’s less-than-glamorous–and offering to take initiative to get things done are more appropriate ways to “lead” in the beginning, Brooks adds.

Coleman says studies have shown that leaders in the workplace—regardless of age—enjoy lower levels of unemployment, higher salaries and more opportunities for advancement in their organizations. “All of this leads to a generally happier and more engaged employee,” he says. So you might as well assume a leadership role early on.

 Here are 10 steps you can take to become a successful young leader in the workplace:

1. Start preparing before you enter the workforce

Volunteer in social or nonprofit organizations or clubs where you can develop or hone your leadership skills, Coleman says. “Start with groups such as your church, synagogue, chamber of commerce, or a neighborhood or alumni association. These groups are full of opportunities to lead at the board, subcommittee, special projects or events level.”

Do this while you’re still in college or before you enter the workforce. “If students have cultivated their leadership skills while in college or worked in the field previously through internships or other experiences, they have more confidence generally in their ability to handle situations,” Brooks adds.

2. Do your homework

While most of what you’ll need to be a good leader you’ll learn through practical experience and observation, you can’t go wrong reading books or taking professional development courses on organizational leadership, Coleman says. “There are numerous resources out there for free or low cost that will help you to gain the tools and skills to begin practicing effective leadership in the workplace.”

3. Take time to assess the culture of the organization

Listen and observe how staff treats new workers—and learn what their expectations are, Brooks says. “If you’re not sure, ask. It’s appropriate to ask your new supervisor what his or her expectations are about your work.” Note your supervisor’s style. Is she more casual or formal? Does he want details and daily reports? Is she only interested in periodic feedback? Learn and adapt, Brooks adds.

Kohnen agrees. “Soak it up!” he says. “Learn about your teammates; learn their responsibilities, roles, professional goals, and business philosophies. Be a sponge.”

4. Keep a learner’s mind

Always be curious and eager to absorb new information.  “Try not to judge situations too quickly or make quick assumptions that may not be accurate,” Brooks says. “It’s okay to be a little overwhelmed at first.  Just do the best you can and ask for help when you need it.”

5. Identify areas where you can provide new insight or help.

A young new worker might be savvier with social media than the older staff, Brooks says. “If so, that would be a place to offer suggestions or ideas.”

Levit says you should act as a change agent, “aiming to fix something that’s broken with your unique perspective and skills.”

Meanwhile, Kohnen suggests challenging the norm. “Look at problem areas on your team or company. Sometimes there are ‘norms’ in organizations or teams that haven’t been challenged or where people haven’t looked for a better way of doing things for a long time. Usually there’s something that people complain about. That is a great opportunity to come up with a new solution or idea for a new way to do things.”

6. Offer your help

If as a new worker you start with an ‘I’m here to help’ attitude, it can help you move into a leadership role more quickly and smoothly. “Look for ways to serve even if you’re not asked to do so,” Brooks suggests.

Volunteer for stretch assignments or committees that will allow you to acquire leadership and management skills before you officially lead a team or a group, Levit adds.

“There are countless opportunities during meetings where someone is needed to lead a project or a specific section of a project,” Coleman says. “Step up and volunteer to take it on. If it’s too large or something that you have little to no experience with, you can offer to partner with a more established leader to gain the skills and knowledge to lead on your own the next time around.”

7. Do your work and abide by the rules

Some young professionals get so wrapped up in everything else that they fail to execute their basic required tasks. “If you’re given a deadline, respect it,” Brooks says. “Try to turn in the item early if possible. Don’t ask for extensions. Find a way to get it done. It’s also important to remember that your first few work assignments will likely not be glamorous—but it’s imperative that you do a good job. If you don’t do the basic tasks well, no one will trust you with more complex tasks.”

Also pay attention to the rules and policies of the office, both written and unwritten. Show up early and stay late. Don’t be the last one in and the first to leave, Brooks adds.

8. Communicate and connect

“Take the time to meet your co-workers and get to know them as people, not just co-workers.  This will take a little time, so don’t be in a hurry,” Brooks says.

You should also communicate assertively and broadcast your results in order to get your value proposition across, Levit adds.

9. Give credit where credit is due

“Ask advice when you need it, but also try to complete your work as independently as possible,” Brooks says. “If you complete a project and are complimented on it, and someone has helped you, mention that.”

10. Establish relationships with superiors and find a mentor

You’ll want to create mutually beneficial relationships with senior managers, mentors, and colleagues, and emulate their successful behavior and approaches, Levit says.

“Find a mentor who’s successfully viewed as a leader within the organization and ask for opportunities to shadow that individual or work on a project with the individual to see firsthand how they successfully lead projects or groups,” Coleman says.

5 Ways To Control Costs

Driving the bottom line through profitable revenue growth likely is the objective of virtually every company.  This should be the number one focus, of course.  If you’re not growing, you’re dying.  But companies also need to focus on controlling costs.  Without constant vigilance, companies can find themselves in an uncompetitive situation with bloated overhead.  The episodic slashing and burning that then becomes necessary can significantly damage a company.  These efforts risk producing exceptions on the financial statements, drive “one-time” charges, and hurt company culture.  The better way to maintain the appropriate cost structure is to control them in a sustained fashion.  Here are 5 ways to control costs.
1)    Renegotiate all contracts annually.  For whatever reason, American businesses presume that multiple year contracts will result in lower costs.  Maybe sometimes, but not always.  A smart company policy is not to have the life of a contract exceed one year.  This forces annual bidding or at least renewal discussions with the current suppliers.  Almost always these discussions will result in lower cost of goods.  A multi-year contract will usually favor the vendor.  Of course this is a lot of work.  But it sure pays out.
2)    Ask your customers. Annual planning sessions with customers have many benefits.  Naturally these discussions primarily should focus on ways to grow the business.  But too often these discussions fail to address costs.  By discussing costs holistically up and down the combined supply chains, customers often can recommend ways to reduce costs.  For example, how to take wasted steps out of the process, or how to plan jointly to smooth production, or maybe even how to change the product mix to get rid of costly items and replace them with some that are more profitable.  Talking to the customer is never a bad thing.  But talking about how to jointly improve business deepens the relationship, shows them you care, and helps reduce costs for both parties.
3)    Match terms with turns. Each item in your inventory moves at a different rate.  And yet suppliers normally apply a one-size-fits-all approach to payment terms.  You can reduce your working capital to zero if payment terms were matched with the inventory turns of each item.  By negotiating this into your contracts it incents the suppliers only to sell the best moving items and to work with you to improve inventory productivity.  The results will free up cash that can be deployed elsewhere in the business and improve profits.
4)    Ask vendors to own “their” inventory. Better even than matching terms with turns is to have the vendors keep title to their inventory until sold.  Normally inventory acquired from a vendor is held in your warehouse for use in manufacturing conversion or resale to your customers.  But why think of it as your inventory?  It hasn’t been used yet so why isn’t it their inventory?  Best planning results in “just-in-time” delivery so there is no inventory.  But this isn’t always possible, for instance, in industries like retail where that inventory is necessary for your own customers.  But again, why are you paying them and then sitting on their inventory?  They need to own the inventory until time of sale.  This is commonly referred to as “scan based trading” or “just-in-time trading.”
5)    Hold headcount constant. For sure this is a blunt instrument and it won’t always work.  But….  A long time ago I worked with a founder of a
business we acquired.  I complained one day that the parking lot was too tight and we needed to expand.  He smiled and told me he knew exactly how many spots were in the lot and checked the number of cars regularly.  When parking became too tight he knew his headcount had become bloated and he needed to take action.  While this isn’t the best or even a practical way to track headcount for most businesses, the lesson still is poignant.  Efficiency is gained when revenue per employee grows.  Technology, lean techniques, process engineering, etc. all are tools to free up time so employees can become more productive and you don’t have to add new headcount to grow.  What if you could replace your lowest 10% of performers with new people that matched your top 10%?  This would result in a huge productivity boost at virtually no incremental cost.  There are a lot of techniques to improve productivity, but the point is that constantly growing headcount certainly will result in overhead growth but won’t necessarily result in profitable revenue growth.
A dollar gained in revenue is a very good thing assuming it leverages the current cost structure.  But remember, only a small portion reaches earnings.  A dollar saved from cost, however, goes directly to the bottom line.  So while focusing on the top-line, don’t forget to engage in a systematic approach to governing costs as a way to ensure long-term value creation.
– Steve Odland

6 Things We Can Learn From The Facebook Graffiti Artist

David Choe accepted Facebook stock instead of cash as payment for a freelance gig.

David Choe, 36, is an accomplished painter in Los Angeles who has exhibited his work in galleries and museums. But he achieved worldwide fame this week when tweeters and headline writers dubbed him “The Facebook graffiti artist.” The accompanying story was less about his success as an artist, than about his success as an investor.
As you may have already heard (if not, it’s reported here), in 2005 Sean Parker, then Facebook’s president, commissioned Choe to paint graphic sexual murals on the walls of Facebook’s first offices in Palo Alto, Calif. He had a choice of being paid thousands of dollars (we don’t know how many zeros were involved) or receiving shares of Facebook stock worth an equal amount. Choe opted for the stock. When Facebook goes public, that stock will be worth an estimated $200 million.

 

It’s a great anecdote that we can all enjoy vicariously. But Choe’s success is the stuff of dreams. Most of us can’t come close to replicating it, either as freelancers, employees or investors. Those who try could get badly burned in the process.
Instead of chasing the next hot stock, we should look at Choe’s story as a parable. Here are some lessons we can learn from it.
1. Most freelancers need cash, not stock. As I wrote in my post, “How To Make Money Without A Job,” setting a fair fee and paying your expenses while you wait for clients to cough up what they owe, are two huge challenges of being self-employed. Choe’s investment only paid off because he could afford to hold the stock while it appreciated in value. If he had needed money to pay his bills, he would have had to opt for cash instead.
2. Invest in what you know. When you accept stock (or stock options) as compensation, you are making an investment. And to paraphrase Warren Buffett, you shouldn’t buy stock in companies if you don’t understand their business or can’t influence their bottom line.
People lost sight of this fact in the late 1990s when stock-option fever hit. Pay packages for everyone from secretaries to high-level executives were heavily weighted with stock options. Many people got rich on these options, but when the market swooned many others were left holding options that were underwater.
Choe actually made a mistake here: Back in 2005, when he took on the project with Facebook, he reportedly said he thought the whole idea of the company was “ridiculous and pointless.” He invested against his better judgment. And he happened to get lucky.
3. Be prepared to lose your entire investment. Most start-up companies don’t go public. For every dot.com millionaire, there are many more casualties of enterprises that failed. They include former employees whose compensation consisted mostly of stock in companies that went bust; independent contractors like Choe; and venture capitalists.
The stock that Choe received in exchange for his services turned out to be worth a lot of money. But what if Facebook hadn’t succeeded? In that case, he would have essentially painted the murals for nothing, or practically nothing.
4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Chances are, Facebook started out as a miniscule part of Choe’s investment portfolio. Once the company goes public, it will probably comprise most of his net worth. He should think about diversifying.

5. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The Facebook story is making us collectively giddy and euphoric. That could lead us to be more susceptible than usual to scams and get-rich-quick plans. When considering new investments, don’t slack off on your due diligence.

6. Do what you love. When he took on the Facebook assignment, Choe probably wasn’t thinking about getting rich. He was doing work that he enjoyed, which is always a good policy. That career strategy might not make you a millionaire. But one way or another, you’ll be richer for it.

The Ten Golden Rules on Living the Good Life

What is good life? What is happiness? What is success? What is pleasure? How should I treat other people? How should I cope with unfortunate events? How can I get rid off unnecessary worry? How should I handle liberty?

The answers to all these questions are condensed in a little book, The Ten Golden Rules  co-authored with Michael Soupios:
1. Examine life, engage life with vengeance; always search for new pleasures and new destines to reach with your mind. This rule isn’t new. It echoes the verses of ancient Greek philosophers and most notably those of Plato through the voice of his hero, Socrates.  Living life is about examining life through reason, nature’s greatest gift to humanity. The importance of reason in sensing and examining life is evident in all phases of life– from the infant who strains to explore its new surroundings to the grandparent who actively reads and assesses the headlines of the daily paper.  Reason lets human beings participate in life, to be human is to think, appraise, and explore the world, discovering new sources of material and spiritual pleasure.
2. Worry only about the things that are in your control, the things that can be influenced and changed by your actions, not about the things that are beyond your capacity to direct or alter. This rule summarizes several important features of ancient Stoic wisdom — features that remain powerfully suggestive for modern times. Most notably the belief in an ultimately rational order operating in the universe reflecting a benign providence that ensures proper outcomes in life.  Thinkers such as Epictetus did not simply prescribe “faith” as an abstract philosophical principle; they offered a concrete strategy based on intellectual and spiritual discipline.  The key to resisting the hardship and discord that intrude upon every human life, is to cultivate a certain attitude toward adversity based on the critical distinction between those things we are able to control versus those which are beyond our capacity to manage.  The misguided investor may not be able to recover his fortune but he can resist the tendency to engage in self-torment. The victims of a natural disaster, a major illness or an accident may not be able to recover and live their lives the way they used to, but they too can save themselves the self-torment.   In other words, while we cannot control all of the outcomes we seek in life, we certainly can control our responses to these outcomes and herein lies our potential for a life that is both happy and fulfilled.
3. Treasure Friendship, the reciprocal attachment that fills the need for affiliation. Friendship cannot be acquired in the market place, but must be nurtured and treasured in relations imbued with trust and amity. According to Greek philosophy, one of the defining characteristics of humanity that distinguishes it from other forms of existence is a deeply engrained social instinct, the need for association and affiliation with others, a need for friendship. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle viewed the formation of society as a reflection of the profound need for human affiliation rather than simply a contractual arrangement between otherwise detached individuals. Gods and animals do not have this kind of need but for humans it is an indispensable aspect of the life worth living because one cannot speak of a completed human identity, or of true happiness, without the associative bonds called “friendship.” No amount of wealth, status, or power can adequately compensate for a life devoid of genuine friends.
4. Experience True Pleasure. Avoid shallow and transient pleasures. Keep your life simple. Seek calming pleasures that contribute to peace of mind. True pleasure is disciplined and restrained. In its many shapes and forms, pleasure is what every human being is after. It is the chief good of life. Yet not all pleasures are alike. Some pleasures are kinetic—shallow, and transient, fading way as soon as the act that creates the pleasure ends. Often they are succeeded by a feeling of emptiness and psychological pain and suffering. Other pleasures are catastematic—deep, and prolonged, and continue even after the act that creates them ends; and it is these pleasures that secure the well-lived life. That’s the message of the Epicurean philosophers that have been maligned and misunderstood for centuries, particularly in the modern era where their theories of the good life have been confused with doctrines advocating gross hedonism.
5. Master Yourself. Resist any external force that might delimit thought and action; stop deceiving yourself, believing only what is personally useful and convenient; complete liberty necessitates a struggle within, a battle to subdue negative psychological and spiritual forces that preclude a healthy existence; self mastery requires ruthless cador. One of the more concrete ties between ancient and modern times is the idea that personal freedom is a highly desirable state and one of life’s great blessings. Today, freedom tends to be associated, above all, with political liberty. Therefore, freedom is often perceived as a reward for political struggle, measured in terms of one’s ability to exercise individual “rights.”
The ancients argued long before Sigmund Freud and the advent of modern psychology that the acquisition of genuine freedom involved a dual battle. First, a battle without, against any external force that might delimit thought and action. Second, a battle within, a struggle to subdue psychological and spiritual forces that preclude a healthy self-reliance. The ancient wisdom clearly recognized that humankind has an infinite capacity for self-deception, to believe what is personally useful and convenient at the expense of truth and reality, all with catastrophic consequences. Individual investors often deceive themselves by holding on to shady stocks, believing what they want to believe. They often end up blaming stock analysts and stockbrokers when the truth of the matter is they are the ones who eventually made the decision to buy them in the first place. Students also deceive themselves believing that they can pass a course without studying, and end up blaming their professors for their eventual failure. Patients also deceive themselves that they can be cured with convenient “alternative medicines,” which do not involve the restrictive lifestyle of conventional methods.
6. Avoid Excess. Live life in harmony and balance. Avoid excesses. Even good things, pursued or attained without moderation, can become a source of misery and suffering. This rule is echoed in the writings of ancient Greek thinkers who viewed moderation as nothing less than a solution to life’s riddle. The idea of avoiding the many opportunities for excess was a prime ingredient in a life properly lived, as summarized in Solon’s prescription “Nothing in Excess” (6^th Century B.C.).  The Greeks fully grasped the high costs of passionate excess. They correctly understood that when people violate the limits of a reasonable mean, they pay penalties ranging from countervailing frustrations to utter catastrophe. It is for this reason that they prized ideals such as measure, balance, harmony, and proportion as much as they did, the parameters within which productive living can proceed. If, however, excess is allowed to destroy harmony and balance, then the life worth living becomes impossible to obtain.
7. Be a Responsible Human Being. Approach yourself with honesty and thoroughness; maintain a kind of spiritual hygiene; stop the blame-shifting for your errors and shortcomings. Be honest with yourself and be prepared to assume responsibility and accept consequences. This rule comes from Pythagoras, the famous mathematician and mystic, and has special relevance for all of us because of the common human tendency to reject responsibility for wrongdoing. Very few individuals are willing to hold themselves accountable for the errors and mishaps that inevitably occur in life.  Instead, they tend to foist these situations off on others complaining of circumstances “beyond their control.” There are, of course, situations that occasionally sweep us along, against which we have little or no recourse. But the far more typical tendency is to find ourselves in dilemmas of our own creation — dilemmas for which we refuse to be held accountable. How many times does the average person say something like, “It really wasn’t my fault. If only John or Mary had acted differently then I would not have responded as I did.” Cop-outs like these are the standard reaction for most people. They reflect an infinite human capacity for rationalization, finger-pointing, and denial of responsibility. Unfortunately, this penchant for excuses and self-exemption has negative consequences. People who feed themselves a steady diet of exonerating fiction are in danger of living life in bad faith — more, they risk corrupting their very essence as a human being.

8. Don’t Be a Prosperous Fool. Prosperity by itself, is not a cure-all against an ill-led life, and may be a source of dangerous foolishness. Money is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the good life, for happiness and wisdom. Prosperity has different meanings to different people. For some, prosperity is about the accumulation of wealth in the form of money, real estate and equities. For others, prosperity is about the accumulation of power and the achievement of status that comes with appointment to business or government positions. In either case, prosperity requires wisdom: the rational use of one’s resources and in the absence of such wisdom, Aeschylus was correct to speak of prosperous fools.

9. Don’t Do Evil to Others. Evildoing is a dangerous habit, a kind of reflex too quickly resorted to and too easily justified that has a lasting and damaging effect upon the quest for the good life. Harming others claims two victims—the receiver of the harm, and the victimizer, the one who does harm.
Contemporary society is filled with mixed messages when it comes to the treatment of our fellow human beings. The message of the Judaeo-Christian religious heritage, for instance, is that doing evil to others is a sin, extolling the virtues of mercy, forgiveness, charity, love, and pacifism. Yet, as we all know, in practice these inspiring ideals tend to be in very short supply. Modern society is a competitive, hard-bitten environment strongly inclined to advocate self-advantage at the expense of the “other.” Under these conditions, it is not surprising that people are often prepared to harm their fellow human beings. These activities are frequently justified by invoking premises such as “payback,” “levelling scores,” or “doing unto others, before they can do unto you.” Implicit in all of these phrases is the notion that malice towards others can be justified on either a reciprocal basis or as a pre-emptive gesture in advance of anticipated injury. What is not considered here are the effects these attempts to render evil have upon the person engaging in such attempts. Our culture has naively assumed that “getting even” is an acceptable response to wrongdoing — that one bad-turn deserves another. What we fail to understand is the psychological, emotional, and spiritual impact victimizing others has upon the victimizer.
10. Kindness towards others tends to be rewarded. Kindness to others is a good habit that supports and reinforces the quest for the good life. Helping others bestows a sense of satisfaction that has two beneficiaries—the beneficiary, the receiver of the help, and the benefactor, the one who provides the help.
Many of the world’s great religions speak of an obligation to extend kindness to others. But these deeds are often advocated as an investment toward future salvation — as the admission ticket to paradise. That’s not the case for the ancient Greeks, however, who saw kindness through the lens of reason, emphasizing the positive effects acts of kindness have not just on the receiver of kindness but to the giver of kindness as well, not for the salvation of the soul in the afterlife, but in this life. Simply put, kindness tends to return to those who do kind deeds, as Aesop demonstrated in his colourful fable of a little mouse cutting the net to free the big lion. Aesop lived in the 6^th century B.C. and acquired a great reputation in antiquity for the instruction he offered in his delightful tales. Despite the passage of many centuries, Aesop’s counsels have stood the test of time because in truth, they are timeless observations on the human condition; as relevant and meaningful today as they were 2,500 years ago.

Ten Business Tips From Kenyan Multi-Millionaire Chris Kirubi

Chris Kirubi is a complex man. One of Africa’s richest and most successful businessmen, he’s that rare blend of Donald Trump, Jeffrey Sachs, Richard Branson and American music star DJ Khaled, in African skin. In business, he’s got the cunning and clout of Trump, the economic intellect of Sachs, the rebellion of Branson, and the musical inclinations of hip-hop act DJ Khaled.

                                           Chris Kirubi with Richard Branson

Here’s the reason why: In between running one of Africa’s largest privately held business conglomerates, delivering countless keynote lectures during frequent international economic gatherings, writing a weekly business column for a daily newspaper and mentoring young Kenyan entrepreneurs, Kirubi still finds time to make cameo appearances in Kenyan hip-hop videos, movies, and even hosts a rock show on Capital FM, a Nairobi radio station he owns. He’s the DJ!
Kirubi sits atop one of East Africa’s most successful business empires. His business interests are varied and far reaching. He is the chairman and founder of privately-held Haco Tiger Industries, East Africa’s largest manufacturers of some of the continent’s leading consumer brands in stationery, personal care and home care products. He also owns the International House, one of Nairobi’s landmark skyscrapers, and holds the largest stake in Centum Investments, a leading private equity firm listed both on the Nairobi and Uganda Stock Exchanges, among other holdings.
The Harvard-trained tycoon is one of the most tech-conscious and social media-savvy businessmen on the continent. He keeps a Twitter and Facebook account, blogs frequently, and was reportedly one of the first people in Kenya to own an iPad.

I actively follow the wealthy tycoon on his Twitter @ckirubi, where he gives his largely youthful followers tips on business, success and life.

Here are ten business success tweets in his own words, unedited:

“One of the ways I believe you can find meaning of your life is by creating a strategy that you can use through your journey. You need to keep the purpose of your life, front and center as you decide how to spend your time, talents and energy. Remember that without a purpose, life can be hollow.”

“Visualize your past victories while visualizing and anticipating future victories. Planting the seeds of positive expectancy in your mind is the best way to reap.”

“One of the most important lessons that has made me be a better employer and businessman is pointing out people’s strengths. I have come to learn that the praise of others may be of use in teaching us, not what we are, but what we ought to be. Enjoy your afternoon.”

“If you understand an idea, you can express it so others can understand it. However, if you can’t explain it, you don’t really understand it; and you cannot invest in a business you don’t understand. So friends, do your research well and understand the idea or concept you want to execute before investing in it.”

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day…but because I want to achieve my purpose and make a difference in society, I will stop focusing on the frightful things I see when I take my eyes off my goals and instead fix them there. With that said, I’m off to my meeting.”

“One of the most important lessons I have come to learn over the years is that you can’t do today’s job with yesterday’s methods and be in business tomorrow. You must keep learning new methods and ways of doing things to keep abreast with the world’s ever changing trends.”

“Business is always a struggle. There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to failure. Every great success has always been achieved by fight. Every winner has scars….The men who succeed are the efficient few. They are the few who have the ambition and will-power to develop themselves. So choose to be among the few today.”

“Whatever opportunity you decide to take should be in line with your vision. When I look at the opportunities that come my way, I often ask myself, will it add value to a business or individual? If I cannot add value or contribute to some sort of growth then I will not take it.”

“To prosper soundly in business, you must satisfy not only your customers, but you must lay yourself out to satisfy also the men who make your product and the men who sell it…So if your not doing too well in business, you should consider the above.”
 
“One of the most important lessons I have come to learn over the years is that you can’t do today’s job with yesterday’s methods and be in business tomorrow. You must keep learning new methods and ways of doing things to keep abreast with the world’s ever changing trends.”