Business

Activating corporate entrepreneurship

Published

8 years ago

February 2, 2017

“All humans are entrepreneurs, not because they should start companies but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA”.
This is what Reid Hoffman (co-founder and chairman of online networking platform, LinkedIn) and fellow entrepreneur and author Ben Casnocha profoundly put to us in their much empowering book, The Start-Up Of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career.

In agreeing with these entrepreneurs and authors, Nobel Peace Prize winner and micro finance pioneer, Muhammad Yunus, takes us back to when human history began.
He tells of how, when we were in the caves, we were all self-employed, finding food to feed ourselves.

With the advent of civilization, we began to suppress ourselves and became “labours” because they stamped us, “You are labour.” We forgot that we are entrepreneurs.
Such statements have a potential to spark robust debate on whether there is validity on the views held by the gentlemen referred to above. Be that as it may, I love the concept that these views invoke — that being an entrepreneur doesn’t always mean you have to go start your own company. One can be an entrepreneur with a job.

But let’s snap back to reality! If we are to stick to a narrow definition of entrepreneurial process (which includes all functions and activities executed in pursuit of business opportunities and creation of business start-ups in order to generate value) , entrepreneurship is often associated with starting a new business or activities of small and medium enterprises.
Indeed, starting a new business is the most evident and widespread form of entrepreneurial activity which somehow justifies this simplified characterization of entrepreneurship with business start-ups.

In the broader business sense today, being entrepreneurial has come to mean more than just the business acumen required to turn an idea into an enterprise.
It is also used to characterize a combination of skill and mindset to innovate, create, and take calculated risk-taking, amongst others.
Because the term is not exclusively used for individuals, it is applies to organisational teams and entire organisational cultures. That is where the concept of Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) comes in.

Approaches to Corporate Entrepreneurship. Although there is no unanimity on the meaning of the term or activities characterizing corporate entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship literature that has emerged in recent years provides consensus on using the term “Corporate entrepreneurship” to refer to different types of entrepreneurial behaviour in existing large organizations that seeks to encourage innovation to achieve competitive advantage at all levels of the business.

There are indeed different schools of thought on corporate entrepreneurship, the four basic ones being Corporate Venturing (related to investing in start-up and management of new small firms by a large company), Intrapreneurship (based on individuals employed in a large company to assume entrepreneurial behaviour), Bringing the Market Inside (market approach towards implementing structural changes in an organization in order to encourage entrepreneurial behaviour) & Entrepreneurial Transformation (emphasizes importance of adapting to an ever-changing environment).

To add a “caveat”, appreciating that corporate entrepreneurship takes many forms and shapes, this article is focusing only on the 3rd school of thought, which is Intrapreneurship.
Nurture your corporate entrepreneurs . So it is evident that there is a sweeping wave of entrepreneurs who intuitively understand the discipline of the marketplace in big organizations.
Some do not have the courage to take the leap of faith and start their own businesses. Others, who are gifted with entrepreneurial brains, or trained as such, choose to remain employed. Organizations cannot afford to be callous towards these employees.

It is important to create an entrepreneurship culture that allows them to thrive internally. An organisational culture does not grow on its own.
It must be deliberately cultivated through concerted action. Creating that sort of culture lies with management. Management’s ability to trust people is key in supporting entrepreneurial activity. Yes, managers have the responsibility to ensure that the company achieves its strategic and financial objectives; otherwise shareholders will continuously be on their case demanding return on their investments, and legitimately so.

This is not to say your employees need to be allowed to spend all work hours pursuing their delights and intrigues because that is not going to give you success every time.
However, managers need to create room for employees to explore new products and technologies that have potential to satisfy market needs whilst giving you impact and reward, lest you find yourself competing for the same customers.

Although it may, glance it, seem like fostering entrepreneurial employees is essentially shooting yourself in the foot since they will just go and start-up their business after all the effort, it’s inevitable that they will sooner or later seek spaces that will appreciate and nurture their entrepreneurial zest. The benefits of this effort for the organization more than outweigh these risks.

They won’t settle for anything less, at least not for long. And remember what they say, “the best startups typically are a group of entrepreneurs working together”.
This could start in your organization and explode into competition. So, again, it’s about managing the organisational paradox: balancing freedom and discipline. But that balance is always elusive; so one has to constantly work on it.

To stimulate business growth requires a multi-prone approach; one of those is to activate internal entrepreneurship. Survival and growth of your business depends on people.
Thus, if you don’t put efforts in attracting, motivating, and retaining those individuals who can help you achieve it is tantamount to betting against yourself.
Your internal entrepreneurs thrive in an environment like that. Once you have identified your entrepreneurs, you need to encourage them to take more chances and take lessons from failures they experience along the way.

In some organizations, one still gets a palpable sense that failure is unacceptable; it means you are not performing your job to meet expectations.
Stimulating an entrepreneurial culture also means creating room for failure, and accepting that to get successes, failures are inevitable. Failures can only propel organizations forward.
That way, your employees will start feeling like they are your partners, regardless of organisational hierarchy.
Deliberately stimulate corporate culture to capture opportunities

With growing consensus that companies should promote entrepreneurship within their organisational boundaries, the question is no longer whether large companies should or should not engage in entrepreneurial activity; it is rather what can be done to foster a culture of entrepreneurship within the organization. There has to be some sort of business strategy pursued by organizations (often referred to as corporate entrepreneurship (CE) strategy), which intentionally spells out how the organization plans to engage in various entrepreneurial activities to preserve and reinforce the innovativeness and flexibility from which it is to benefit. Stimulating an entrepreneurial culture has become an important advantage. In the fast-paced business environment today, most organizations no longer hope for an entrepreneurial culture, but rather should strive for it.

Pretty much all businesses need to strive for increased competitiveness and, at some stage of the business — leaders have to pay attention to business growth.
They have seen the ability of start-ups to trigger the impulse of creativity and innovation among their employees more effectively than themselves, and turning those fascinating ideas into commercial ventures — with less sustainability in some instances, but that’s a discussion for another day.

So there is evidence of a growing level of interest developing in corporate entrepreneurship, as should be. Indeed, there are companies whose ability to capture new opportunities, and creating success, is attributed to fostering internal entrepreneurial activity. Many organisations have done it and reaped tangible benefits.

This, they have done in different ways, with the right balance of freedom and discipline; through trial and error (as one practice is no bullet proof).
From decentralizing decision-making and pushing it down to lower organisational levels to diligently building a culture of entrepreneurship, they have reaped rewards.
Does your organization value an entrepreneurial culture? How has it added to your competitive advantage?
If you have not been paying attention, remember the Chinese proverb “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

Business

Take a Break from Summer

Published

1 month ago

December 18, 2024

The Post

Press release for KFC Lesotho

Date: Monday, 16 December 2024

Summer, what a wonderful time of year…

When influencing gets too much

When the news cycle gets too much

When the endless queues get too much

When the shopping chaos gets too much

When the unavailable transport gets too much

When the holiday work shifts get too much

When the lawn mowing gets too much

When the loud music gets too much

When the traffic gets too much

When the relentless schedule gets too much

When the heatwaves get too much

When the weather warnings get too much

When the suntan lines get too much

When the ever-growing laundry pile gets too much

When the festivities get too much

When the 2025 university applications get too much

When the guests overstaying their welcome gets too much

When the social media mayhem gets too much

When the out of sync traffic lights get too much

When the New Year resolutions get too much

When the travel expenses get too much

When reapplying sunscreen gets too much

When the packing and unpacking gets too much

When the photo-taking gets too much

When the flies get too much

When the pool maintenance gets too much

When the fully booked airlines get too much

When the mosquito bites get too much

When the fishing trips get too much

When the baking gets too much

When the road trip stops get too much

When the sand in the car gets too much

When the picnic ants get too much

When the papa and morogo get too much

When the braai smoke gets too much

When the television shows get too much

When the homemade cooking gets too much

When the hot car seats get too much

When the outdoor markets get too much

When the air-conditioning bills get too much

When the nature hikes get too much

When the garden-watering gets too much

When the hot sidewalks get too much

When the bike rides get too much

When the late nights get too much

When the impromptu trips get too much

When the 4×4 rides get too much

When the golf games get too much

When the ice cube trays get too much

When the late-night crickets get too much

When the entertaining gets too much

When the bumpy boat rides get too much

When the paddleboarding gets too much

When the public pool crowds get too much

When the lack of parking gets too much

When the summer internships get too much

When all you need is a breather

You have made it to the end. Take a break from summer with KFC Lesotho on Saturday, 21 December, a day to pause, refresh, and savour the start of holiday mode. Swing by KFC for a taste of summer and officially step into the holidays, recharged and ready. See you there!

Discover KFC’s Summer Delights!

KFC Summer Twisters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVlAX00WROU

KFC Summer Krushers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpCn-tFYrls

KFC Summer Buckets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbiOjRR58UA

End.

About KFC Africa

KFC has been in South Africa for over 53 years and has more than 1,300 stores across the country. The first KFC restaurant in South Africa opened in 1971 in Orange Grove, Johannesburg. KFC is the leading quick-service restaurant brand in South Africa with just under a third of market share, according to Brand Image Tracker. KFC serves more than 20 million customers a month and we work hard to ensure that no matter which of our restaurants they walk into, they will get that distinctive KFC flavour and have a great experience. KFC’s Original Recipe® Chicken was first made by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1940 when he perfected his secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices at his restaurant in Kentucky. Today, KFC is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant, still preparing our chicken with the Colonel’s secret recipe to his exact standards. Every KFC restaurant follows the same global processes and procedures to ensure that our customers get great-tasting food, every time.

KFC Lesotho socials:

Instagram – @kfclesotho – https://www.instagram.com/kfclesotho/

Facebook – KFC Lesotho – https://www.facebook.com/LesothoKFC

X – @KFC_Lesotho – https://x.com/KFC_Lesotho

Business

Demystifying death benefit nomination

Published

1 month ago

December 16, 2024

The Post

I recently attended a trustee training session, and it sparked a thousand of opinions and emotions to fellow trustees and principal officers.

It is remarkable how people approach their pension funds with a blend of care and chaos — carefully watching contributions grow but leaving the aftermath of their departure to luck and a roomful of trustees.

With the Pension Fund Act (PFA) 2024 in place, requiring members to fill out and update death benefit nomination forms annually, one would think the process is foolproof.

Yet, we find ourselves navigating the maze of member reluctance and the emotional minefield that comes with deciding who gets what.

The PFA 2024 makes an elegant appeal to order, asking pension fund members to take charge of their legacy by nominating beneficiaries.

But, instead of pens gliding over forms, there is hesitation, resistance, and in some cases, outright abstinence.

What should be a simple administrative act seems to invoke existential dread or, worse, familial politics.

When Nomination Feels Like Negotiation

One of the most notable trends is the discomfort married members feel at the mere suggestion of allocating 50% of their death benefit to a spouse.

For clarity, the PFA does not say they must — but logic and love might.

However, these conversations often spiral into arguments over “what ifs.”

What if the marriage does not last?

What if the spouse uses the money “irresponsibly”?

What if leaving an equal share to children or a secret favourite nephew makes more sense?

These “what ifs” often lead to another troubling “what if”: what if no nomination is made at all?

Emotions run high.

Sometimes, the process of completing the form turns into a reflection of unresolved family tensions, where the form itself becomes a battlefield for hypothetical posthumous power plays.

Trustees, meanwhile, are left to pick up the pieces, making discretionary decisions that almost always leave someone unhappy.

What the Law Actually Says

Let us address the elephant in the room.

The PFA does not dictate that anyone’s spouse, child, or distant cousin must receive a cent.

The law requires you to nominate beneficiaries but leaves the who and how much entirely up to you.

And yet, myths persist, leaving members to believe they are bound to make obligatory allocations.

This misunderstanding is not just inconvenient; it is entirely unnecessary.

The beauty of the PFA lies in its simplicity: nominate someone — anyone — so your trustees don’t have to piece together your
wishes based on tea leaves, distant

relatives, or that one time you mentioned something in passing to a colleague.

The Real Cost of Silence

If leaving decisions to trustees sounds romantic — think noble strangers making wise decisions — let me assure you, it’s not.

Trustees do their best with the tools they have, but without a completed nomination form, their decisions are guided by discretion rather than your explicit intentions.

And discretion, noble as it sounds, often breeds disputes.

Disgruntled beneficiaries are not just an unfortunate byproduct of silence; they are its loudest consequence.

Without clear instructions, your death benefits might fund lawsuits instead of legacies.

Is that truly the financial wisdom you have cultivated over a lifetime of disciplined contributions?

Completing the Form: The Act of Taking Control

Filling out the nomination form isn’t just compliance; it is an act of empowerment.

It’s the financial equivalent of saying, “I trust myself to make the best decisions for my loved ones.”

It’s an opportunity to assert control over your life’s earnings and ensure they benefit those you deem most deserving.

Let us put it plainly: by completing this form, you eliminate guesswork, prevent disputes, and protect your loved ones from unnecessary turmoil.

You also spare trustees from playing Solomon with your assets — a responsibility they never asked for but inherit when you opt for avoidance.

It is not that deep!

For all the effort we pour into overthinking, let’s consider the alternative — actually completing the form.

You’ve already made harder decisions, like choosing between investment portfolios or deciding on your retirement age.

Writing down a name or two, alongside their allocations, is, comparatively, a walk in the park.

And for those of you abstaining because “it’s complicated,” let us reflect: is it more complicated than the potential legal battles, heartache, and chaos that might follow your departure?

Or are we simply procrastinating because planning for death feels uncomfortably final?

Your Legacy, Your Way

At the heart of it all, filling out the nomination form isn’t about complying with a law or appeasing trustees.

It is about ensuring your legacy aligns with your wishes.

It is about giving your loved ones clarity and peace of mind when they need it most.

So, grab that pen.

Fill in that form.

It might not be the most exciting thing you do today, but it could very well be the most meaningful.

After all, if you’ve spent years building a financial future, why let your final act of planning be defined by inaction?

Teboho Makoetlane

Business

More US funding for development projects

Published

2 months ago

December 2, 2024

The Post

MASERU-THOMAS Hines, the US Embassy’s interim head, has applauded Lesotho for passing the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)’s scorecard, paving way for continued development funding.

The MCC is providing assistance to Lesotho to strengthen good governance, economic freedom and investments in the country, managed by the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA-Lesotho Compact II).

The MCC donated US$300 million (approximately M5.4 billion) for health and horticulture development.

For the country to qualify, it had to pass the MCC’s scorecards.

Hines told Prime Minister Sam Matekane on Tuesday at the State House that the good news is that Lesotho passed, although there are some other things the country has to improve.

For this year, the passing indicators are girls’ primary education completion rate, natural resource protection, land rights and access and fiscal policy.

Indicators that slipped below the pass rate are government effectiveness and freedom of information.

“Of MCC’s 76 scorecards, only 26 countries passed while 50 did not and the good news is that Lesotho once again passed the scorecard,” Hines said.

He said not only did Lesotho pass but it has also improved from passing 15 indicators last year to 17 of 20 indicators this year.

Hines said the accomplishment reflects Matekane and his government’s commitment to strengthening democratic governance and fostering prosperity.

“Noting the decline in control of corruption indicator, we seek avenues to do more together with Lesotho to combat corruption,” he said.

“Not only does regression in this area put Lesotho at risk of failing the scorecard we also know the corrosive impact of corruption on the economy and society.”

He said they seek to maximise the compact’s ability to ensure greater access to quality healthcare.

Matekane said the scorecards assess the government’s performance in key areas throughout the year to determine the continuing eligibility regarding MCC compact funding.

He said last year he urged the cabinet to build on the momentum from 15 out of 20 indicators.

“Let me take this opportunity to celebrate our sustained achievement of passing 17 out of 20 indicators which is a 10 percent increase from last year,” Matekane said.

“Specifically, I committed last year to ensure that Lesotho will submit data to support the assessment of girl’s primary education completion rate,” he said.

He said he was pleased with the progress overall and on gender parity in education and they aim to achieve better results next year.

In addition to this, he said, there is still a lot of work to be done, especially around trade policy, government effectiveness and particularly the freedom of information with a notable decline from 83 percent down to 43 percent.

“Our commitment to control and eliminate corruption remains steadfast. We are working tirelessly to expose corrupt activities, keeping the public sector honest and accountable,” he said.

“The commitment we have made of investing in our people has never wavered over the years and the government is also focused on improving access to quality health services to every Mosotho regardless of their background and location,” he said.

Moipone Makhoalinyane