Read Chris every week in the African press.
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Category Archives: African ingenuity
Culture becomes central
After decades of being a ‘nice to have’, the idea of a deliberately created corporate culture is finally moving closer to the top of Board agendas. Around the world, an ever-lengthening series of corporate scandals and audit and governance bloopers … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, African Business, African ingenuity, Behaviour change, Brand Marketing, Brand Reputation, Branded behaviours, Chris Harrison Africa, Culture change, ICT, Internal brand, The Brand Inside
Tagged Bank, Board agendas, Corporate, Corporate culture, Culture, Customers, Institute of Business Ethics, Partners, Suppliers Stakeholders
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Let it shine
As every day passes there are fewer places to hide what a former American Vice President called ‘an inconvenient truth’. Al Gore was referring to climate change, but I’d like to put a fresh twist on his adage. It’s time … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, African Business, African ingenuity, Behaviour change, Brand Marketing, Brand Reputation, Branded behaviours, Chris Harrison Africa, Culture change, Human Relations, Internal brand
Tagged advertising, American Vice President, Climate change, Consultants, Consumer rights, Corporate leader, Corporate value statements, Fair employer, Financial services industry, Market, Nation builder, Organisational culture change, social media, Trade Unions
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Conservation culture
I’ve just spent time inside a successful conservation business. Surprisingly it wasn’t full of do-gooders. Instead it has harnessed the energy, humanity and collaborative spirit of a very diverse set of people. It has built a unified and positive culture, … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, Africa statistics, African Agriculture, African Business, African ingenuity, African marketing, Behaviour change, Brand Marketing, Brand Reputation, Branded behaviours, Chris Harrison Africa, Corporate Social Responsibility, Culture change, Internal brand, Local Brands, The Brand Inside
Tagged Agriculture, Collaborative spirit, Commercial revenues, Conservation business, Conservation culture, East African business, Education Healthcare programmes, Elephant, Energy, enterprise, finance, Game Rangers, Headquarters, Humanity, investments, Merchandise, Mount Kenya, National Police Reservist team, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Poachers, Rhino, Rhino Patrol Unit, Tourism, Tourism staff, Villagers, Wilderness
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Mind your language
We live and work in a region that uses language well. East Africans are not by nature profane people. Cursing in the workplace is frowned upon. Western expatriates are often surprised to discover that swearing at staff doesn’t work here. … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, African Business, African entertainment, African ingenuity, Behaviour change, Billboards, Brand Marketing, Brand Reputation, Branded behaviours, Chris Harrison Africa, Culture change, Internal brand, The Brand Inside
Tagged advertising, Billboard, brand, Campaign, Company, East Africans, GA, Insurance, Language, Mobile phone, Region
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Diversity can produce dividends.
Recently I was with a large group of staff discussing the positive aspects of their work culture. They were emphatic about one thing: ‘We are a very diverse group.’ Indeed, there were men and women, old and young, Asian and … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, African Business, African ingenuity, African marketing, Behaviour change, Brand Marketing, Brand Reputation, Branded behaviours, Chris Harrison Africa, Culture change, Direct marketing, Internal brand, Internal Communication, Market Research, Marketing Strategy, Talent Development, The Brand Inside, Workshops
Tagged advertising, African, Asian, brand, Business, Call centres, Campaign, CEO, Company, Culture, Diversity, east africa, Employee education, Environment, European, German, global, Italy, Journey, Magazine, Marketing, Organisation, Positive, Staff, Telecoms, UK, Vodafone, Workforce
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Have banks abandoned business?
In 2014 Ernst & Young released the results of a global study they had conducted into the nature of customer experience in banks. In our region, they reported that more than half of the banking customers in Kenya cited bad … Continue reading
Posted in African Business, African ingenuity, Behaviour change, Brand Marketing, Brand Reputation, Branded behaviours, Chris Harrison Africa, Crisis Management, Culture change, Kenyan Market, Market Research, Marketing Strategy, The Brand Inside
Tagged advertising, Banks, Business, Central Bank Governor, Credit card, Customer, Empowerment, financial, global, Kenya, Mombasa Port, Organisational, Overdrafts, Relationship Manager, Risk Committee, Technologies
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Respect for time
Time is precious, and it’s getting scarcer. Even here, on a Continent known for its relaxed approach to timekeeping. The relentless pressures and expectations of the western style of business are having a negative impact on daily behaviour. There’s no … Continue reading
Listen and learn
I saw a good meme the other day. It said ‘ Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching.’ This struck home with me after two months of unexpected loss, with an unwelcome number of friends and acquaintances passing on … Continue reading
Mind your language in the workplace
Have you ever listened to the language people use in the workplace? It’s more important than many organisations think. For example, addressing a group as ‘Team’ is often a sign of self –delusion in management. If the group truly was … Continue reading
Posted in African Business, African ingenuity, African Leadership, Behaviour change, Brand Reputation, Branded behaviours, Chris Harrison Africa, Culture change, Government, Internal brand, Kenya Government, The Brand Inside, Workshops
Tagged A glitzy reception, A workshop, African nations, Artifacts, Assumptions, Behaviours, Boardroom suite, Business, Culture, Customer service centre, Espoused values, Language, management, MIT Sloan School of Management, Organisations, Senior Government official, Team, Workplace
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Best face forward
Psychologists and behavioral scientists have long known that facial expressions, hand gestures, and voice tone provide more clues to listeners than the words themselves. “It’s harder to follow cues such as expressions on people’s faces in two dimensions,” says Dr. … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, African Business, African ingenuity, African marketing, Behaviour change, Brand Marketing, Brand Reputation, Branded behaviours, Chris Harrison Africa, Culture change, Direct marketing, Internal brand, Local Brands, Market Research, Marketing Strategy, Talent Development, The Brand Inside, Uncategorized
Tagged Behavioral, British Prime Minister, Business Meetings, Client, Facial expressions, Hand gestures, Hilton Hotels, London Financial Times, National University of Singapore, professor, Psychologist, Psychologists, Scientists, Voice tone
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