I’ve been keeping a journal for nearly 16 years and each day, no matter how tired I am, I key in the day’s activities and my reflections on them into my laptop. I even did so during my time in hospital with Covid earlier this year, including when I was at my weakest. I started […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mikeeldon02.jpg546427artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-07-23 11:28:052021-07-23 11:28:05Why keeping a journal of events is a good idea
I have been reading an amazing book by an amazing man. The title of the 2020 book is Morality – Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times and its author is Jonathan Sacks. Sacks rose to become the Chief Rabbi of Britain, and was known as one of the country’s leading public intellectuals. He was […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mikeeldon02.jpg546427artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-07-08 10:54:062021-07-08 10:54:06Morality through the eyes of chief rabbi
Kenya’s 15 million pastoralists in the northern arid and semi-arid part of the country own 75 percent of our country’s livestock herd, which is valued at around $1 billion and contributes significantly to our GDP. But we all know what a hard time these pastoralists endure, in areas that suffer from a serious water deficit […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mikeeldon02.jpg546427artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-06-27 18:40:472021-06-27 18:40:47How to bring pastoralists into modern economy
Towards the end of last month I logged in to Kenya Private Sector Association (Kepsa’s) 17th annual general meeting, and what an impressive event it was. CEO Carole Kariuki Karuga reeled off the highlights of the year’s activities and achievements, and as we heard them all listed together we could hardly believe that such a […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mikeeldon02.jpg546427artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-06-11 10:25:402021-06-11 10:25:40What the new Kepsa leadership promises
Some of my readers are aware that I have been down with Covid-19 for several weeks, and I feel the time has come for my Kiraitu Murungi moment. Well sort of, as unlike the Meru Governor (whose article about his experiences was published in the Sunday Nation of April 25) I never entered the world […]
Four years ago I wrote a column here about interview panels, and I was reminded about it as I watched some of the grillings by the Judicial Service Commission panel of the candidates for the Chief Justice position, and then later some of the sessions for the Supreme Court judge ones. As Macharia Gaitho wrote […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mikeeldon02.jpg546427artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-05-15 10:43:142021-05-15 10:43:14A look at how interviews for CJ post unfolded
From time to time in our lives we are doomed to spend days and nights incarcerated in a hospital, as medical teams take care of what ails us while they set us onto the road to recovery. Over the years I have had the dubious privilege of observing at close quarters how complex and interwoven […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mikeeldon02.jpg546427artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-05-04 11:29:142021-05-04 11:29:14Awesome how hospitals have managed Covid-19
I hadn’t watched an episode of the reality television show Undercover Boss for some years. But recently I came across an episode as I was browsing the channels. For those who are not familiar with the concept, in a way it’s good, very good. The CEOs of large organisations have themselves disguised as someone applying […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mikeeldon02.jpg546427artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-04-15 13:29:432021-04-15 13:29:43Undercover CEO: Do you know what goes on here?
For the first 12 years of my career I worked for a British IT multinational, in both field offices and in the head office, and it was in the late 70s, for the last two of these, that I came to Kenya to manage its local subsidiary here. So from different perspectives I was able […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike.jpg400306artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-04-01 12:19:002021-04-01 12:20:34Who rises to the top of pyramid?
Like each of you, I experience both wonderful and dreadful customer journeys. And like my fellow columnist Sunny Bindra, from time to time I write about them. I enjoy recognising and celebrating the good by name, while venting about those at the other end of the spectrum, usually without revealing their identity. Today I want […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike.jpg400306artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-03-18 14:04:352021-03-18 14:04:35The good guys and bad guys in customer service
From time to time I have been asked to speak at the Kenya School of Government’s Strategic Leadership Development Programme (SLDP), and late last year I was invited to close its 224th iteration, virtually hosted by the Mombasa campus. The participants were informed that I was to be their “motivational speaker” but, as I did […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/mikeeldon02_280.jpg404280artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-03-04 15:57:232021-03-04 15:57:23Leadership messages for public servants
Last month the Kianda Foundation celebrated its 60th anniversary through a virtual event at which the keynote speaker was the chairperson of the Foundation, Olga Marlin. No one could have been better placed to play that role, as she was one of the four determined ladies who launched this pioneering initiative for educating African girls […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike.jpg400306artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-02-18 10:25:572021-02-18 10:25:57Kianda at 60 is a story of empowerment of girls
In my last article I analysed Donald Trump’s ego state, describing him as a deeply insecure man who was formed by his unhappy childhood where he was bullied by his domineering father and neglected by his absent mother. Trump’s “I’m OK, You’re not OK” behaviour, I wrote, masks his “I’m not OK, You’re OK” interior; […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike.jpg400306artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-01-22 13:41:032021-01-22 13:41:03Obama the “Adult”
As I have written in several previous articles in this column – the most recent of which was my opening one for 2012 – in much of what I do I refer to the pioneering Transactional Analysis work of Eric Berne, which he laid out in his 1964 book, Games People Play. I am also […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike.jpg400306artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2021-01-11 10:05:192021-01-11 10:05:19Analysing impact of spoilt child in Trump
A few months ago I wrote a column about my session at a Women On Boards Network (WOBN) event on building one’s brand as a board member, and today I share the views I expressed at the recent WOBN annual conference on how the presence of women on boards influences board governance and performance. Over […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike.jpg400306artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2020-12-25 12:53:552020-12-25 12:53:55Do women in boardroom improve performance?
My favourite line from President-Elect Joe Biden’s November 7 acceptance speech following the American election is this one, on the refusal over the last few years of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another: “It’s not some mysterious force beyond our control,” he declared, “It’s a decision, a choice. So if we can decide […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike.jpg400306artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2020-11-26 09:32:002020-11-26 09:32:00Embracing change is a choice we can make
Four years ago I wrote a column on the intergenerational challenges facing family businesses, admiring the way those who overcame such challenges did so while noting how too often the founder was reluctant to empower subsequent generations. I want to return to that topic today, thanks to the opportunity I have benefited from over the […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/mikeeldon02_280.jpg404280artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2020-11-13 12:15:292020-11-17 08:31:37Professionalising family businesses
I was recently invited to be the guest speaker at a Toastmasters event, and perhaps not surprisingly it was on the subject of public speaking. For those not familiar with Toastmasters Clubs — of which there are 16,800 in 142 countries around the world, with around 250,000 members — they develop them as communicators and […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/mikeeldon02_280.jpg404280artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2020-10-29 08:10:222020-10-29 08:10:22Toastmasters and the art of effective speech delivery
Even as many organisations continue asking for help with teambuilding, more recently change management has also gone mainstream. While the massive Covid disruption has brought change yet further front and centre, even before the pandemic spread around the world, the 21st century VUCA phenomenon of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity had confirmed constant change as […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike.jpg400306artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2020-10-15 09:52:552020-10-15 09:52:55How to lead people in embracing change
As my readers are aware I am a great advocate for emotional intelligence, in which context I often talk about how we are sometimes challenged to separate how we feel from how we behave. This allows us to act in ways that keep our interactions and relationships positive, by finding the strength to overcome feelings […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike.jpg400306artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2020-10-03 09:46:072020-10-03 09:46:07It’s wise to accept that you don’t have all the answers
Why keeping a journal of events is a good idea
/in My Articles /by artkenyaI’ve been keeping a journal for nearly 16 years and each day, no matter how tired I am, I key in the day’s activities and my reflections on them into my laptop. I even did so during my time in hospital with Covid earlier this year, including when I was at my weakest. I started […]
Morality through the eyes of chief rabbi
/in My Articles /by artkenyaI have been reading an amazing book by an amazing man. The title of the 2020 book is Morality – Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times and its author is Jonathan Sacks. Sacks rose to become the Chief Rabbi of Britain, and was known as one of the country’s leading public intellectuals. He was […]
How to bring pastoralists into modern economy
/in My Articles /by artkenyaKenya’s 15 million pastoralists in the northern arid and semi-arid part of the country own 75 percent of our country’s livestock herd, which is valued at around $1 billion and contributes significantly to our GDP. But we all know what a hard time these pastoralists endure, in areas that suffer from a serious water deficit […]
What the new Kepsa leadership promises
/in My Articles /by artkenyaTowards the end of last month I logged in to Kenya Private Sector Association (Kepsa’s) 17th annual general meeting, and what an impressive event it was. CEO Carole Kariuki Karuga reeled off the highlights of the year’s activities and achievements, and as we heard them all listed together we could hardly believe that such a […]
My Covid recovery journey
/in My Articles /by artkenyaSome of my readers are aware that I have been down with Covid-19 for several weeks, and I feel the time has come for my Kiraitu Murungi moment. Well sort of, as unlike the Meru Governor (whose article about his experiences was published in the Sunday Nation of April 25) I never entered the world […]
A look at how interviews for CJ post unfolded
/in My Articles /by artkenyaFour years ago I wrote a column here about interview panels, and I was reminded about it as I watched some of the grillings by the Judicial Service Commission panel of the candidates for the Chief Justice position, and then later some of the sessions for the Supreme Court judge ones. As Macharia Gaitho wrote […]
Awesome how hospitals have managed Covid-19
/in My Articles /by artkenyaFrom time to time in our lives we are doomed to spend days and nights incarcerated in a hospital, as medical teams take care of what ails us while they set us onto the road to recovery. Over the years I have had the dubious privilege of observing at close quarters how complex and interwoven […]
Undercover CEO: Do you know what goes on here?
/in My Articles /by artkenyaI hadn’t watched an episode of the reality television show Undercover Boss for some years. But recently I came across an episode as I was browsing the channels. For those who are not familiar with the concept, in a way it’s good, very good. The CEOs of large organisations have themselves disguised as someone applying […]
Who rises to the top of pyramid?
/in My Articles /by artkenyaFor the first 12 years of my career I worked for a British IT multinational, in both field offices and in the head office, and it was in the late 70s, for the last two of these, that I came to Kenya to manage its local subsidiary here. So from different perspectives I was able […]
The good guys and bad guys in customer service
/in My Articles /by artkenyaLike each of you, I experience both wonderful and dreadful customer journeys. And like my fellow columnist Sunny Bindra, from time to time I write about them. I enjoy recognising and celebrating the good by name, while venting about those at the other end of the spectrum, usually without revealing their identity. Today I want […]
Leadership messages for public servants
/in My Articles /by artkenyaFrom time to time I have been asked to speak at the Kenya School of Government’s Strategic Leadership Development Programme (SLDP), and late last year I was invited to close its 224th iteration, virtually hosted by the Mombasa campus. The participants were informed that I was to be their “motivational speaker” but, as I did […]
Kianda at 60 is a story of empowerment of girls
/in My Articles /by artkenyaLast month the Kianda Foundation celebrated its 60th anniversary through a virtual event at which the keynote speaker was the chairperson of the Foundation, Olga Marlin. No one could have been better placed to play that role, as she was one of the four determined ladies who launched this pioneering initiative for educating African girls […]
Obama the “Adult”
/in My Articles /by artkenyaIn my last article I analysed Donald Trump’s ego state, describing him as a deeply insecure man who was formed by his unhappy childhood where he was bullied by his domineering father and neglected by his absent mother. Trump’s “I’m OK, You’re not OK” behaviour, I wrote, masks his “I’m not OK, You’re OK” interior; […]
Analysing impact of spoilt child in Trump
/in My Articles /by artkenyaAs I have written in several previous articles in this column – the most recent of which was my opening one for 2012 – in much of what I do I refer to the pioneering Transactional Analysis work of Eric Berne, which he laid out in his 1964 book, Games People Play. I am also […]
Do women in boardroom improve performance?
/in My Articles /by artkenyaA few months ago I wrote a column about my session at a Women On Boards Network (WOBN) event on building one’s brand as a board member, and today I share the views I expressed at the recent WOBN annual conference on how the presence of women on boards influences board governance and performance. Over […]
Embracing change is a choice we can make
/in My Articles /by artkenyaMy favourite line from President-Elect Joe Biden’s November 7 acceptance speech following the American election is this one, on the refusal over the last few years of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another: “It’s not some mysterious force beyond our control,” he declared, “It’s a decision, a choice. So if we can decide […]
Professionalising family businesses
/in My Articles /by artkenyaFour years ago I wrote a column on the intergenerational challenges facing family businesses, admiring the way those who overcame such challenges did so while noting how too often the founder was reluctant to empower subsequent generations. I want to return to that topic today, thanks to the opportunity I have benefited from over the […]
Toastmasters and the art of effective speech delivery
/in My Articles /by artkenyaI was recently invited to be the guest speaker at a Toastmasters event, and perhaps not surprisingly it was on the subject of public speaking. For those not familiar with Toastmasters Clubs — of which there are 16,800 in 142 countries around the world, with around 250,000 members — they develop them as communicators and […]
How to lead people in embracing change
/in My Articles /by artkenyaEven as many organisations continue asking for help with teambuilding, more recently change management has also gone mainstream. While the massive Covid disruption has brought change yet further front and centre, even before the pandemic spread around the world, the 21st century VUCA phenomenon of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity had confirmed constant change as […]
It’s wise to accept that you don’t have all the answers
/in My Articles /by artkenyaAs my readers are aware I am a great advocate for emotional intelligence, in which context I often talk about how we are sometimes challenged to separate how we feel from how we behave. This allows us to act in ways that keep our interactions and relationships positive, by finding the strength to overcome feelings […]