BUSINESSMAN, lawyer and paramount chief of the Herero people Vekuii Rukoro (VR) in his capacity as chief executive officer of the Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) tells Ndama Nakashole (NN) of The Namibian about what he has learnt in dealing with people and the best books he recommends.
VR: Respect every person irrespective of his/her standing in society. Listen carefully to what they have to say before you offer your opinions which may or may not be relevant. Always do not talk to people but communicate with people.
VR: Caring for and developing the internal talent that you have is much more economical than buying in talent from outside. Investing in your own home-grown talent is a more effective strategy of retaining talent than using belated counter offers to try to retain them.
VR: Not to grow and care for their managers; not to trust and empower their executives/managers and then hold them accountable; to mislead their directors and preside over a company with poor corporate governance; not to know when to quit when at the top of their game, but to overstay and be pushed out at the wrong time.
VR: Negotiate from a position of strength; seek a fair bargain in the form of a win-win outcome for all parties involved.
VR: First and foremost, introduce and maintain a robust control system which will prevent fraud, detect it when it happens, plug the holes immediately and deal with the culprits according to law. Generally, no-one person should have all the powers to authorise payment and then to execute payment!
VR: These are too many to mention. Examples are:
1. ‘Leadership: The Care & Growth Model’ by E Schuitema
2. ‘Executing for Results’, Harvard Business Press
3. ‘In the Driving Seat’ by Brand Pretorius
4. ‘The Bible’
