I recently returned to a subject that is very dear to me: conflict resolution and peace building, and it came through participating in a one-day event organised by the World Faiths Development Dialog (WFDD), a programme of the Berkeley Centre for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University. The idea for WFDD was born […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2015-10-09 14:32:442017-06-15 10:51:14Peace and Stability in Kenya
Together with a trio of colleagues, I recently developed a two-day leadership workshop to be run for several groups of managers. It was an interesting challenge, as several of the prospective participants had already attended various leadership programmes, and so we had to find ways of defying their expectation that this would be “just another […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2015-10-08 14:48:212017-06-15 10:51:29Rehearsing pays – and it’s fun
Last week two colleagues and I were preparing material for a leadership event when one of them challenged us to comment on the relationship between motivation and empowerment. As we shuffled around these words I thought of placing them on the two axes of a grid, with motivation on the vertical one and empowerment on […]
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A year ago yesterday I sat in a pew at the Church of the Torch, for the funeral service to celebrate the life of Dr. Magana Njoroge Mungai. I felt greatly saddened, but also quite upset with the man. For how could he do this to us? How could he deprive us of his inspiration, […]
In my last column I reflected on how I go about producing my regular articles for this paper, and while the thought of writing that piece was still only in my mind I found myself in conversation with a senior HR manager who envied me my life as a management consultant. She wanted to make […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2015-08-12 14:25:572017-06-15 10:51:56The exciting but uncertain life of a consultant
On the eighth anniversary of my first column in Business Daily I thought it would be good to reflect back on the 225 or so articles I have delivered since then. It was not too long after the paper was launched that its then managing editor, Nick Wachira, succeeded in twisting my arm into becoming […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2015-07-30 14:22:242017-06-15 10:52:13Writing a column: harder than it looks?
I recently ran a strategic planning session with a client, within which of course we reviewed their vision, mission and values statements. And as is so often the case with this topic I found the facilitation to be emotionally and intellectually exhausting. While some felt out of their comfort zones, others were filled with undue […]
For some time now I have been working with professionals in the development community who have chosen to throw themselves at the most challenging opportunities of all in their field: these are the heroes who try so very hard to make a difference in what are called ‘Conflict and Fragile States’. I offer no prizes […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2015-07-02 14:09:532017-06-15 10:52:49Manoeuvring in “conflict and fragile” states
It’s hard to get things done in today’s world, never mind in large organisations such as governments. Long-entrenched bureaucracies have added mile upon mile of red tape, with past excesses leading to more and more ways (often fruitless) of ensuring compliance with good governance. Meanwhile public servants the world over have always been known for […]
I’m very much a city fellow, but I was recently asked to join a small group that has been engaging with Narok County government officials to find ways of improving how the Masai Mara reserve is managed. Topping the list of challenges that need to be handled are the over-development of camps and lodges, the […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2015-06-04 14:03:322017-06-15 10:53:24A better future for the Mara?
Like me, you have sat with doctors who related to you as a live human being, vulnerable and anxious… and also with others who just honed in on your specific health problem and confined themselves to the technical task of solving only that. You have experienced the whole spectrum from medics possessed of a wonderful […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2015-05-21 13:52:442017-06-15 10:53:39What must you do well to be a great doctor?
Following my visit earlier this year to Jerusalem, where I admired the 16th century walls erected by Suleiman the Magnificent, the then Chairman and CEO of the Ottoman Empire, more recently I was in the city that served as the great man’s corporate head-office, Istanbul. Together with other consultants from around the world, and hosted […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2015-05-07 13:47:212017-06-15 10:53:56Collaborative leadership and development
Imagine for a few minutes that you are the President of the Republic of Kenya. Less than three years ago you and your colleagues put together a manifesto for the TNA party and for the Jubilee Coalition, in which you laid out what your government aimed to achieve during its term of office. When teams […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2015-04-23 13:24:032017-06-15 10:54:07Big picture thinking needed from the private sector
Thursday 2nd April 2015 was a terrible day for Kenya. It will forever be associated with the devastating attack on Garissa University in which so many innocent people died. But for me and others who had been invited to lunch at State House that day for the 4th President’s Round Table with the private sector […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2015-04-09 13:15:282017-06-15 10:54:26More lessons on public private engagement
The other day, dotted around my mixed salad, I enjoyed both the sight and the taste of those small sweet cherry tomatoes, and I was reminded of seeing them grow at a research farm in Israel’s Negev desert during my visit there early this year. Driving south along the perfectly smooth road through the Negev […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2015-02-04 13:03:302017-06-15 10:54:39Let’s get serious about agriculture
Lots of local organisations, as they craft their vision statements, proclaim that their dream is to be ‘world class’. Nice thought. But let’s face it, some are distinctly more aware than others about what being world class actually means – never mind about whether they have a snow-ball’s chance in hell of becoming so. Let […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2010-08-31 18:44:062017-06-15 10:54:54Becoming a world class company
A few months ago I wrote a piece about how speaking of vision immediately leads (or should lead) us to speak of values. ‘Without living by a set of healthy values,’ I said, ‘we have no chance, no chance at all, of living the vision itself.’ And I continued by asking: ‘How do we develop […]
Not many people look forward to strategic retreats. Quite a few dread them. Sure, they often take place at fancy hotels and lodges by the coast or a lake, or in a game park. But how often are they productive, never mind enjoyable? And how much of what is discussed and agreed upon is ever […]
https://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mike300.jpg300300artkenyahttps://mike-eldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/logo.pngartkenya2010-08-31 18:38:112017-06-15 10:55:26How not to dread strategic retreats
Imagine you’re an invisible person touring the world’s organisations. What will you see and hear? What vibrations will be coming from those who work there, from leaders, from support staff, from this or that department? Will the vibrations be pleasing? Will you resonate serenely to the high and aligned energy? Will the faces be smiling? […]
Most people are desperate to learn how they can build their confidence. For what I have found is that there are very few on this planet who feel genuinely self-confident. Even many who appear to ooze confidence actually live in a turmoil of inner self-doubt. What an unfortunate lot we humans are. Sure, a good […]
Peace and Stability in Kenya
I recently returned to a subject that is very dear to me: conflict resolution and peace building, and it came through participating in a one-day event organised by the World Faiths Development Dialog (WFDD), a programme of the Berkeley Centre for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University. The idea for WFDD was born […]
Rehearsing pays – and it’s fun
Together with a trio of colleagues, I recently developed a two-day leadership workshop to be run for several groups of managers. It was an interesting challenge, as several of the prospective participants had already attended various leadership programmes, and so we had to find ways of defying their expectation that this would be “just another […]
Motivation and empowerment
Last week two colleagues and I were preparing material for a leadership event when one of them challenged us to comment on the relationship between motivation and empowerment. As we shuffled around these words I thought of placing them on the two axes of a grid, with motivation on the vertical one and empowerment on […]
Remembering Dr. Njoroge Mungai
A year ago yesterday I sat in a pew at the Church of the Torch, for the funeral service to celebrate the life of Dr. Magana Njoroge Mungai. I felt greatly saddened, but also quite upset with the man. For how could he do this to us? How could he deprive us of his inspiration, […]
The exciting but uncertain life of a consultant
In my last column I reflected on how I go about producing my regular articles for this paper, and while the thought of writing that piece was still only in my mind I found myself in conversation with a senior HR manager who envied me my life as a management consultant. She wanted to make […]
Writing a column: harder than it looks?
On the eighth anniversary of my first column in Business Daily I thought it would be good to reflect back on the 225 or so articles I have delivered since then. It was not too long after the paper was launched that its then managing editor, Nick Wachira, succeeded in twisting my arm into becoming […]
Developing vision, mission and values statements
I recently ran a strategic planning session with a client, within which of course we reviewed their vision, mission and values statements. And as is so often the case with this topic I found the facilitation to be emotionally and intellectually exhausting. While some felt out of their comfort zones, others were filled with undue […]
Manoeuvring in “conflict and fragile” states
For some time now I have been working with professionals in the development community who have chosen to throw themselves at the most challenging opportunities of all in their field: these are the heroes who try so very hard to make a difference in what are called ‘Conflict and Fragile States’. I offer no prizes […]
Rapid Results Approach
It’s hard to get things done in today’s world, never mind in large organisations such as governments. Long-entrenched bureaucracies have added mile upon mile of red tape, with past excesses leading to more and more ways (often fruitless) of ensuring compliance with good governance. Meanwhile public servants the world over have always been known for […]
A better future for the Mara?
I’m very much a city fellow, but I was recently asked to join a small group that has been engaging with Narok County government officials to find ways of improving how the Masai Mara reserve is managed. Topping the list of challenges that need to be handled are the over-development of camps and lodges, the […]
What must you do well to be a great doctor?
Like me, you have sat with doctors who related to you as a live human being, vulnerable and anxious… and also with others who just honed in on your specific health problem and confined themselves to the technical task of solving only that. You have experienced the whole spectrum from medics possessed of a wonderful […]
Collaborative leadership and development
Following my visit earlier this year to Jerusalem, where I admired the 16th century walls erected by Suleiman the Magnificent, the then Chairman and CEO of the Ottoman Empire, more recently I was in the city that served as the great man’s corporate head-office, Istanbul. Together with other consultants from around the world, and hosted […]
Big picture thinking needed from the private sector
Imagine for a few minutes that you are the President of the Republic of Kenya. Less than three years ago you and your colleagues put together a manifesto for the TNA party and for the Jubilee Coalition, in which you laid out what your government aimed to achieve during its term of office. When teams […]
More lessons on public private engagement
Thursday 2nd April 2015 was a terrible day for Kenya. It will forever be associated with the devastating attack on Garissa University in which so many innocent people died. But for me and others who had been invited to lunch at State House that day for the 4th President’s Round Table with the private sector […]
Let’s get serious about agriculture
The other day, dotted around my mixed salad, I enjoyed both the sight and the taste of those small sweet cherry tomatoes, and I was reminded of seeing them grow at a research farm in Israel’s Negev desert during my visit there early this year. Driving south along the perfectly smooth road through the Negev […]
Becoming a world class company
Lots of local organisations, as they craft their vision statements, proclaim that their dream is to be ‘world class’. Nice thought. But let’s face it, some are distinctly more aware than others about what being world class actually means – never mind about whether they have a snow-ball’s chance in hell of becoming so. Let […]
Vision 2030… and Values 2030
A few months ago I wrote a piece about how speaking of vision immediately leads (or should lead) us to speak of values. ‘Without living by a set of healthy values,’ I said, ‘we have no chance, no chance at all, of living the vision itself.’ And I continued by asking: ‘How do we develop […]
How not to dread strategic retreats
Not many people look forward to strategic retreats. Quite a few dread them. Sure, they often take place at fancy hotels and lodges by the coast or a lake, or in a game park. But how often are they productive, never mind enjoyable? And how much of what is discussed and agreed upon is ever […]
Building a healthy culture
Imagine you’re an invisible person touring the world’s organisations. What will you see and hear? What vibrations will be coming from those who work there, from leaders, from support staff, from this or that department? Will the vibrations be pleasing? Will you resonate serenely to the high and aligned energy? Will the faces be smiling? […]
The virtuous cycle of confidence
Most people are desperate to learn how they can build their confidence. For what I have found is that there are very few on this planet who feel genuinely self-confident. Even many who appear to ooze confidence actually live in a turmoil of inner self-doubt. What an unfortunate lot we humans are. Sure, a good […]