I once worked with a SACCO that had just launched an ambitious five-year strategy. The CEO was confident, the Board applauded and the strategy document was colorful and well-written, beautiful enough to frame. But when I got a chance to engage with the Head of Operations to walk me through what the strategy meant for his team, he paused and said, “Honestly, we were not really involved in developing it. We are still waiting to be briefed on what’s expected.”

Right there, I knew the strategy was already on life support.

Here’s the brutal truth most executives do not want to hear: your middle managers are the oxygen of execution. If they don’t breathe life into your strategy, nothing will move. It doesn’t matter how elegant the Boardroom slide decks look. Strategy dies in the corridors of the middle. Read more >>

"Strategy doesn’t fail at the top. It suffocates in the middle.”

Last year, I met a CEO whose leadership reminded me of a blindfolded boda-boda rider in the middle of Kampala traffic, full throttle, dodging potholes, trusting the wind to take him somewhere useful. His team was working hard, his board was impressed with PowerPoint slides, but the company was going in circles. Why? Because their vision, the one that was meant to provide direction, was a fancy sentence no one remembered and no one followed.

That’s your leadership issue this week: You are working hard, you have good people, but you can not scale. Because your vision, the thing meant to anchor your decisions and inspire your people, is vague, lifeless, and meaningless.  Read more >>

During an engagement with a mid-sized commercial bank in Kenya, we asked the risk and finance teams to walk us through their ICAAP submission to the regulator. Their response was full of vague statements “We use expert judgment to set capital buffers,” “We consider all risks,” and “Our board reviews the report annually.” Not one of them could show me a documented link between the bank’s strategy, its key risks, and the capital allocated.

That’s when we knew: this was not an ICAAP but it was a regulatory appeasement document. And that’s dangerous.

If you treat ICAAP as a compliance box to tick, your bank is exposed. But if you use it as a strategic management tool, you gain competitive advantage. Here’s how to do it right, step by step. Read more >>

Your workplace may be broken. It’s time to fix it.

Most organizations struggle with the same problems high turnover, low productivity, disengaged employees, and leadership that feels stuck. You think the issue is strategy, hiring, or motivation. It’s not.

The real problem is your culture.

Introducing the Culture Mastery Series by Mr Strategy, the author of “7Tools to Get to the Board and Add Value”, and “Execution is the Strategy” Newsletter series on LinkedIn.

This is not another leadership seminar. It is a culture transformation program designed for CEOs, HR leaders, managers, and employees who are ready to fix what is broken and build a workplace where results matter.

No theories. No generic advice. Only proven frameworks, practical solutions, and tools you can apply immediately. Read more >>

This thought-provoking book offers an incisive examination of corporate governance from both a historical and contemporary point of view…I highly recommend it for your useful and sustainable leadership benefit” – Michael Mugabi, Former President, Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda.