Transition Chat

A Chat with Juuchini

Kindly reproduced on my Blog with permission from Juuchini. The original interview can be found on:

http://juuchini.com/2012/06/chat-with-oyolla-nokia-global-lead-market-activation-mobile-phone-activation/#more-1354

For those who have not been lucky enough to interact with Kenneth Oyolla, more popularly known as Ken from Kenya, he is the humble chap who headed Nokia as GM for East and Southern Africa up till sometime in January of 2012. He now holds the higher role of Global Head of Market Activation for Mobile Phones and sits in a big office all the way in London.




I had a chat with Ken on phone a while back and felt compelled to ask him how he’s coping with the new environment so I did a nice Q&A with him. Here’s what he had to say:



Juuchini: How has the shift been from local office to global office? What is your experience so far? What has changed?


Kenneth Oyolla: I see my move to from regional general management to global as two sides of the same coin. On one side you have a big team to manage that looks after a smaller region whilst on the other side you have a smaller team of specialist to manage that look after a global business. Whilst as General Manager “your word is the law” and goes and you bet your job on your decisions, in global you have a lot of matrix relationships to manage and you have to hone your rapport building skills as well as influencing skills to achieve your goals. You also have to contend with different time zones like the call I have to take weekly with teams in Sydney because there is a 12hour time difference. Different cultures also kick in when you have to deal with Chinese, Indian, European and American colleagues as well as the complexity of dealing with virtual teams using technology like video conference and Halo.




Juuchini: Having worked on the local level and seen the differences, what are your plans for the local market now that you sit at a global office?


Kenneth Oyolla: When you work in a global multinational at a local level, sometimes you do not grasp the decisions that a business has to make at global level that impacts you. Now that I understand more of this, if I were back in a regional role I would be able to better position the local business so that we anticipate rather than wait for global decisions to be made. A simple case which I have always believed in before and now even more is this: alongside bigger economies like Brazil, India, Russia and China, you may not punch much when it comes to the size of the business that you do BUT you can STAND OUT by being the most efficient business, with the best talent, fastest growing et al…Just make sure that you stand for something.


Juuchini:What is your global agenda with the new posting?


Kenneth Oyolla: A few weeks ago whilst still fresh in London, I was invited to be a panelist at the Cambridge Judge Business School. The conference was about doing business in Africa with eminent personalities like HE Olusegun Obasanjo and the Vice President of Zambia in the panel. In there, I stated what I believe is my key agenda while out here, which is to be an “apologist for Africa”. What do I mean here? A lot of the narrative about Africa and decisions made about her are largely by people who have limited working knowledge on Africa or who have not really done business in Africa apart from looking at economic, financial political and social indicators on Africa. As a result stories on Africa have not been told well. In a small way, I hope to be like that little singing bird that Prof Wangari Maathai referred to in her acceptance speech as a Nobel laureate.


ON the other hand I also believe that this role offers me the opportunity to look after exciting markets in Latin America, Europe, SEAP – South East Asia & pacific as well as China. There is a lot to be learnt and I look forward to stealing with pride some of the nuggets that have made trailblazing countries in these regions the darling of global economists


Juuchini: How has your social life changed after the move? How is the family handling this change? How long do you intend to stay in global office before you come back home?


Me:This is an interesting question. Over the past four years I travelled vastly across Africa and the Middle East hence I was not at home much. This made it a bit easier as I did not have much of a big social circle to walk away from. Coupled with this, the last two years as a young General Manager were lonely, as some may get to know when you step into a leadership role. That said, I desired many years ago that I’d want to work in London and this is my desire fulfilled. London is an exciting city and very rich culturally as well as historically. I am big on concerts and plays and I couldn’t be in a better place. It is pleasing to note that the public system works and much as I have a car but I hardly use it and I love blending into the crowd from the Holland Park tube station to Piccadilly Circus where I have to get off. I have shed my suits for more appropriate attireJ My two sons Keith & Kyle are still struggling to understand why the sun sets at 9pm and is up at 4am. I do hope they settle well and find the right schools for them


Juuchini: Any key learning’s on managements you would share with local managers in terms of managing resources and people to make the shift to ability to manage global-like facilities?


Me: One key thing a young manager just into the corporate world needs to determine is to shift their mindset to see themselves as global citizens. This is the start of it all. When you imagine that you are competing with a fresh graduate from New York, Mexico City, Hanoi or Jakarta, you start thinking and doing things differently. Today, unlike our days (I’m not that old) the internet is a big equalizer. The internet is not just there for Facebook and twitter but is a rich repository to arm yourself with knowledge in whatever area you need. Use it to broaden your world knowledge and understanding before you jump on that plane.


At the end of the day the adage holds true that if you are faithful with the little you will be entrusted with more or like Song of Solomon 2:2 in the bible says: Catch for us the little foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyard – meaning take care of the little things and the bigger ones will fall into place


Juuchini:Outlook on IT and Mobile infrastructure that you think Kenyans (and East Africans) should consider investing in to boost relevance in this dynamic market?


Me: East Africa is blessed with a good talent pool and we are making headway in many ways. However I don’t believe that we should rest on our laurels. We should also recognize that while we have the talent but the funds do not necessarily sit here. The key thing for a developer is to be the best in technical skills and business management so that they can attract venture capital or angel funding from the capital hotspots where fund managers sit like Brussels, New York and London. It would be great to see e.g. John Waibochi selling his business for $2B to a Silicon Valley blue chip company because they realize that the only way to get the skills that Virtual City has is through acquisition of the talent and the know. I also believe there is a lot of opportunity in the sub region. Whist Kenya is a leader but we have not looked yonder into Uganda, Mozambique or Angola to see how we can grow there.

Juuchini: Do you think emerging markets have a real chance in the Tech Scene? Why?

Me: I strongly believe that nobody knows Africa better than Africans. The social fabric upon which we build out business models is different from Europe and only we can understand that. If we use this as one of our key competitive advantage and always seek to be globally competitive then we will excel. It would be great also to see more unique innovation and less of me too innovation coming up. If I were a blogger I’d be endeavoring to learn how to write code or to learn the ropes on doing business as this is the time for Africa like the clarion call for the World cup says: Ke Nako! (The Time Is NOW!)




Juuchini: Are we far from the ultimate marketing experience in Kenya as you have experienced in London so far?


Me: I started my career as a graduate management trainee in marketing, so being back to marketing in the latter years of my life has been nostalgic. From a pure sense of marketing, there is a lot that I relate to when I walk around, watch media that I relate to deeply. That the brands I see are built on solid Brand promises and essence hence why they have survived over 100 years. The UK is steps ahead when you think about how they market everything, from public service like trains and business which have functional websites and communicate effectively to consumers to Local government which makes it its job to engage and market effectively to residents to marketing in retail. In closing I saw this interesting physical fitness programs one of which was targeted at the “bride to be”! That blew me away.


Juuchini: Any Advice you’d like to share with the young who want to be like you?




Me: To all the young people out there wanting to trail-blaze. Don’t just exist; You need to live!My advice is as follows


1.Get a good education (Bill Gates dropped out of college)


2.Be clear on what you want as early as possible (use mentors where possible)


3.Set your eyes on the world remembering that being No 2 in anything is not good enough (ask any Kenyan Vice President)


4.Wake up every morning knowing that you need to run the race faster than the slowest lion out there.


5.And finally, Always Remember: Jitihada haliondoi kudura (Working hard does not negate God’s Blessings/favor).

My Shadow

My Shadow
BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.
He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see;
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an errant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

Superstition

I know
that when a grumbling old woman
Is the first thing I meet in the morning
I must rush back to bed
and cover my head
That wandering sheep on a sultry afternoon,
Are really men come from their dark graves
To walk in light
in mortal sight
That when my left hand or eyelid twitches
Or when an owl hoots from a nearby tree
I should need pluck
It means bad luck
That drink spilled goes to ancestral spirits
That witches dance in clumps of bananas
That crumbs must be left in pots and plates
until the morn
For babes unborn
That it's wrong to stand in the doorways at dusk
For ghosts must pass- they have right of way!
That when a hidden root trips me over
Faults not in my foot
It's an evil root
That when I sleep with feet towards the door,
I'll not long be fit
I know it - Yes I know it



Minji Karibo

The 4th of July

 

Today's date is a significant watershed in my life. 19 years ago in a campus room at the University of Nairobi, I got a new lease of life after my first one almost ended. So in many ways i tell my closet friends that i am living my second life

Its amazing that whilst i don't mark this day in my calendar or call it up but in every single year when this day comes, it springs into my mind and i recall and run through the events of that day, just like it was yesterday.

This is the source of my drive and zest for life: a desire to live and not just exist, to leave a legacy, a lasting impact, to live for a cause greater than myself. The words of Dr Charles Blair still ring in my heart and mind many years after I first heart them from him at a Morris Cerullo Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya

The greatness of a man is determined by the cause he lives for and the price he is willing to pay for that cause - Dr. Charles Blair

This recall of a cataclysmic event embedded deep in my conscious is a pointer to how strong the human instinct for survival is, conscious and subconscious...maybe this explains why even whilst asleep we can still breathe and dont stop to breath when we slip into deep sleep...

It is a beautiful day in Central London, as a contrast to that dark day 19 years ago, and whilst the English Summer has failed to manifest for the upteempth time but I am glad to be alive. Its been an epic 91 days so far in London and through the adversity I am learning to thrive, and thrive I am.

Over the weekend I went to Richmond park and whilst it is summer and i enjoyed walking through the grass and woods with Keith and Kyle, yet i stopped for a moment to consider how gloomy the same place would be deep in teh heart of the British winter. In spite of the winter that is coming the grass seem to thrive and the tree sway in teh wind without a single care in the world, fully cognisant that winter is coming and they may need to shed their leaves and go into a state of dormancy

Richmond Park sits right under the flightpath of planes landing and taking off at London's Heathrow. there was no one moment where the sky was free of any plane. literally evey miute a plane appeared from the horizon whilst another one was halfway through. statistics show that Heathrow is the the third businest airport in the world and the number 1 in handling international passengers. The moral of this part of the story is that amongst all the many flights that zoomed by was the Pride of Africa, Kenya Airways, the national carrier for the Republic of Kenya. we had moments of national pride and waved, nay, saluted the carrier for their fortitude in making it where many other african carriers have not made it.

So as another 4th of July rolls my for me, i am once again grateful for a second chance at life and go through it celebrating the goodness and favor of God, thinking about the things I would not have got to see and do if my life ended in that decrepit campus room in Kabete.

Today is 20th September 2009. Glad that it is a holiday in Kenya, Id ul Fitr, courtesy of our Muslim brohters and sisters across the world. Fors congratulations to you all who have succesfully been able to deny the flesh and discipline it during the past 30 days

Looking Back, Looking forward

The year just begun the other day and today February is in a mad rush, soon Valentines will be here, then Easter, and life goes on! Jeez, this life. I never knew that this soon I would be 36 and would be staring at 40 through the nose! At least i get wiser.

This year I have opted to travel less as I feel my ship has steadied or my plane has reached cruising altitude. This is the time to get biscuits and something to drink however my seatbelts must remain fastened as the ship could hit choppy waters anytime and theplane might run in to turbulence.

This is a good time to take stock of the first 30 days and to cast the net forward on what is coming over the next 3 months. In January I was priviledged to visit Johannesburg, Maputo and Kampala last week. I know I have travelled less as I have taken only 6 flights. this is however still not good enough for me for it works out on average to a flight each week. at this rate this will end up being 52+ flights. working on that. Nothing much to write home about only that these trips helped me to tighten my resolve. It was not easy to stick to my one meal regime during travel as the greasy breakfast beckoned every morning. the lunch offers were irresistible but the wait made it worthwhile. During this time I leant a couple of things. I have gone through most of life being worried about so many things...am I saving enough, why have I done wrong things, why did I hurt some people, why did people opt to hurt me, have I done enough for those close to me, have I paid my bills, am I reading/studying enough...at some point I have said enough of this as i have spent more time worrying.

Instead now i have said that i will make everyt efort everyday to live right and to have the right relationship with God, I will pray as often as I can, I will say no to the things I consider inappropriate, I will love more, I will eat out more, I will follow my heart, I will work hard as I can but I will also take time to relax and take it easy. I will give more and I will live each day as if its my last.

Message from Maputo

It is a few mins to midnight, a few mins to 22nd Sept 2009. I have just completed an epic journey hat took me form Nairobi through Pemba to Maputo. A journey that would have lasted me about 3 hours took me 7 hours to complete. It was a different journey though.

At first I though that the only Pemba I know is a small archipelago off the coast of mainland Dar es salaam. I have however come to realise that there is a better and more serene Pemba whihc is an island to the north of Mozambique. This is a very picturesque island and I have promised myself to return.

My Journey into Leadership

Today is October 1 2010. Today marks my first 30 days as the General Manager for Nokia in East & Southern Africa as well as exactly 3years in Nokia. thats significant for me.

Day Zero Minus Fourteen

I am in the process of counting down my last two weeks before my move to start on a new role in London. I have mixed feelings about it. On one side is the apprehension and implication of what it means to uproot yourself from a place you have called home for a long time and going to a new city. On the other hand is the excitement of living a lifetime dream of living and working in a first world capital, and to boot, my favourite city long before I made up my mind about this move.


There are lot of the things that I had underestimated that are now coming back hard and fast at me. I have been reluctant to let go of some things that I will not need in a long while like my car, some household fixtures, friends that i will not see in a long while et al. One that is very devastating is letting go of Bishop and Knight to the kennel where I go them from. Regarding this I am holding on to the hope that the relationship i have built with my german sheperds is strong enough to last my time away which at present is undetermined. I am also holding onto the hope that dogs, unlike cats are more faithful and we will be able to pick it up at some point in our lives.

That aside, a lot of further adjustment has to be made. Three hours might seem little but that adjustment in timezone requires a lot of work. I already realise that I will have to take lunch 3 hours later! and dinner 3 hours later! yaaaawn...but that's the reality. The bit I am looking forward to is waking up 3 hours later:-) ...that my body will relish, but only for so long.


The biggest one for me for now is recalibrating my world view. For a while I have had Africa and my local regional and national statistics at my fingertips...populations, GDPs, mobile penetration, mortality rates, exchange rates, current affairs, name it. On this pedestal I stood and ruled the roost. The scientist in me has been very factual and kept abreast of everything that matters in this microcosm is now being challenged to spread my wings and fly, and fly I will.


Now I have started getting the feeling like I am in the movie "Who shrunk the Kids". All of a sudden, my known world has become global. I have to think about China, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, India...Oh boy and aren't the numbers staggering? Changing from managing a large team looking after a region to a smaller team of specialists looking after a global business is a different cup of tea that calls for a different skill set and gets me out of my comfort zone. I am in the process of evaluating if there is any additional help I need to make sure my "gun" does not get jammed and is always "smoking"


I am in the process of recalibrating my world view and I know that this is going to be exciting. I look forward to sharing every step of this journey for whilst i know nothing is new under the sun but peradventure it would help others coming along in the journey so that they may not have to reinvent the wheel.


So, London, here I come, a proud son of Africa with lots to offer and lots more to learn.