Full transcript
0:00uh but if you're not committed as you
0:02can't become a CEO I'm sorry hardworking
0:05commitment and and also ability to
0:08deliver performance people forget
0:11your ticket to the game is perform
0:14>> you know being nice and and and and
0:17having you know then then that one gives
0:19you the license now to be
0:21[Laughter]
0:33my own experience. Now, so first of all,
0:35I took I took over from a chap who was
0:39Nigerian. I had
0:42had come in and run and run the business
0:44well and I went I took I mean I
0:46inherited also his house. So I remember
0:49we we lived together for for a week
0:53>> cuz his family had moved to the UK. He
0:54was moving for a for a senior role a
0:57more senior role in the UK and um so I
1:00was taking over the business. So you
1:02were going through induction on boarding
1:04and all that stuff and hand over and I
1:07was living with him and then the person
1:08who was making food for them was living
1:11with us. So cultural shock. First day
1:16food I find on the table. Um
1:20uh plantain
1:22>> second day yam. Third day uh uh I think
1:27it was can't remember fufu or whatever.
1:31>> Then on the fourth day I asked the lady
1:33what are you cooking tonight? Then she
1:35said I don't know yam and so on. And I
1:37said, "What about chicken or or meat?"
1:44Because in Ghana or generally in West
1:46Africa, the component of starch is for
1:49food is 3/4
1:52and is very normal. If when they come to
1:55East Africa, they find it very strange.
1:57>> They find the servings very small
1:59because actually the proportion. So they
2:02you you'll find they don't focus on
2:04vegetable and and protein especially.
2:08>> Um so I said can you just make me
2:13>> and I don't want anything else and some
2:16vegetable
2:18because by the end of the week and
2:20remember we are eating in the canteen
2:22during the week.
2:23>> Yeah.
2:23>> Again a lot of touch. So by the end of
2:26the week you know your body is not used
2:29to that much touch. Yep.
2:32>> Completely out of control.
2:35>> So, so food,
2:38>> culture, you know what food they, you
2:41know, West Africa, you know, the
2:43delicacies, you know, this the what are
2:47those things they have um called
2:51um snails
2:54>> are delicacies in the whole of West
2:55Africa. I told them, "No, no, me this
2:57one. No."
2:59And then the other one I told them no is
3:01you know in this in the wild rat family
3:04what is it called? There's a there's a
3:05big animal that they that that that is a
3:09delicacy in West Africa and it's
3:10actually roasted you know like the way
3:12you roast chicken and kept on the
3:13roadside.
3:14>> Yes. Yes. Yes.
3:15>> And and the people buy. So I said this
3:19one I'm not when I went to Nigeria and
3:21and this was the next move after Ghana.
3:24I remember in my first town hall I said
3:26the two things I won't eat are snails
3:28and these things. They told me no no no
3:30no. In fact one person got up and said
3:33I'm so sorry you
3:36this is our delicacy. You must eat.
3:40So I told them no. So anyway so in Ghana
3:44um cultural
3:46so Ghanaians are very welcoming which
3:48was which was great but they also
3:51smaller than Kenya. is smaller than
3:52Kenya
3:53>> but also they say less so you have to to
3:57extract
3:59>> you know to extract so so when I my
4:01first town hall in Ghana I said look
4:04guys
4:06here is what you need to know about me
4:08and I and I like I I like those
4:10declaration so that people stop playing
4:14it back in the corridors
4:16>> cuz you know what people are talking
4:17about when you're a senior person you
4:19know what people are talking about it
4:20doesn't matter or however you however
4:24illus you can have your own illusions
4:26but you know what they're talking about
4:28>> you can be
4:29>> who is this who is this Kenyan what why
4:31does he deserve to be here you know
4:34[Music]
4:36etc etc why should we not have local and
4:39all that sold them look I know what you
4:42guys are talking about here I then I
4:45said I didn't bring myself here I you
4:48should be telling me why we don't have a
4:49Ghanaian
4:50>> leading the business. Do you know they
4:52all laughed and actually that whole
4:54thing kind of dealt with that matter.
4:58>> Yeah. And I said my job here is also to
5:01create succession so that in future
5:03we'll have Ghanaians
5:06and locals being in senior roles and
5:08including the CEO.
5:10>> Yeah. And and actually we did. So it's
5:13confronting the issues that you think
5:16people are speaking about like the
5:18dealers. Oh yeah, this Kenyan is making
5:20some changes. Then one year later they
5:22say, "Oh yeah, Peter is fantastic. Why?
5:25I'm now no longer a Kenyan, you know."
5:27So when you are doing well, when you are
5:29doing well,
5:30>> you're the Kenyan.
5:31>> No, no, you're Peter.
5:32>> When you are not doing well, people will
5:34always
5:35>> see the ethnic, race, country, whatever.
5:41>> So you just learn, you just kind of say,
5:42well, you know, I will just do what is
5:44right and and so on and so. But
5:46fantastic experience. Four years in
5:48Ghana. Does that you do you have to have
5:51thick skin to be a CEO?
5:55>> Yeah, have but also learn
5:58>> because as I told you, you'll make
5:59mistakes along the way,
6:02>> isn't it?
6:03>> And also learn the mistakes to avoid.
6:05>> Mhm.
6:05>> Yeah. Like for example, to the need to
6:08say no and not to always give good news
6:11>> when you know bad news around the
6:14corner. You get what I mean?
6:15>> So almost like uh be real. It's more
6:18being real because sometimes many we
6:21want to manage, we want to cut off.
6:25>> Sometimes you just kind of shrug your
6:27shoulders and say, "Yeah, this is how
6:28life is what it is." However,
6:30>> your level of ownership cannot be cannot
6:33be questioned.
6:34>> Wow.
6:34>> Because he says if this CEO know I mean
6:38has given us bad news but his level of
6:40ownership of course correcting what is
6:43wrong cannot be questioned. So people
6:45will kind of say well you you'll figure
6:47it out.
6:48>> You get what I mean? So they won't see
6:49the emotional commitment. Uh but if
6:52you're not committed as you can't become
6:54a CEO, I'm sorry. Hardworking commitment
6:57and and also ability to deliver
6:59performance. People forget
7:02your ticket to the game is performance.
7:04>> Mhm.
7:05>> It's not being nice and and and and
7:08having, you know, then then that one
7:10gives you the license now to be nice.
7:15to offer gifts and so on. Yeah. But
7:19performance is the you tell me a CEO
7:21you've seen who is under delivering and
7:23has been left in role for more than 2
7:26years.
7:26>> Oo,
7:27>> it doesn't work. It doesn't work unless
7:29they own the business and in even in
7:31that case remember if it's an
7:34entrepreneur they are killing themselves
7:36to turn around that business
7:38>> isn't it? So
7:41the you know we used to say that
7:43leadership has three components judgment
7:48uh drive
7:50and influence. So judgment is how you
7:53judge what to do and the decisions you
7:57make and how you influence how how how
8:00you make those decisions. Could be from
8:02your experience, could be from your
8:04intelligence, could be from your uh
8:07background, it could be anything. but
8:09also maybe even your style.
8:13>> Drive is given for a CEO if you're not
8:16driven. I I've never heard people saying
8:18well that CEO is so driven or rather
8:22people saying well that CEO is not
8:24driven so it's such such a good thing
8:26isn't it? You know drive is an
8:29underlying ticket. is like a footballer
8:33in Arsenal, Liverpool who doesn't learn
8:35fast or who doesn't put the work the
8:38work in.
8:39>> There's no way at a very senior level or
8:43even at say if you look at elite
8:46athletes,
8:47>> the Tiger Woods,
8:48>> you know the BS. Yes. All those guys if
8:52you look at them their work ethic
8:55and they are so driven. So the drive
8:58influence you learn. First of all, it
9:00also depends on your personality how you
9:02influence. I'm introverted
9:04>> but it doesn't change leadership
9:06dimension is not you have to factor in
9:09where you come from but it it doesn't
9:11determine the strength.
9:14>> So introverted extroverted doesn't
9:16matter. Um it is how you lead. So if you
9:21lead sorry influencing is about how you
9:25influence others because leading is
9:28about influencing people
9:30>> leading people you lead directly
9:32influencing stakeholders influencing the
9:35public
9:36>> you know even when something happens you
9:38know someone's calls me names or or puts
9:41my AI fake AI thing and how I respond to
9:46it you know it's part you know how you
9:48influence part of it is also managed by
9:50the organization. But you set the tone
9:53for how you but as an individual those
9:56three elements you have to work on them
9:58and and and over time you learn you
10:01learn the elements that are important
10:02for certain roles and and which elements
10:05that you need like in the in as a CEO
10:09the inference side is so important but
10:12you have to back yourself up with. So
10:14you have to determine across those three
10:16dimensions. You have to ele
10:20and elements am I not where do I
10:25talent and actually talent that will say
10:27no or will not fit your
10:31I I I
10:33>> employ people who may not like me
10:37>> may not fit what I expect may not you
10:40know say yes and people wonder why is
10:42this guy and I say yeah you just have to
10:45let let the system work and uh and allow
10:50people to be themselves because if you
10:53just employ people like you then you'll
10:55all lead the same way.
10:57>> You get what I mean? Like that's why the
10:59C the I was given advice that
11:03your job is not to lead the function is
11:06to lead the people
11:07>> the leaders
11:08>> the people
11:08>> but also to lead the agenda that the
11:10organization so so Ghana was I I would
11:13say training but very good experience
11:16>> and did you did you do well in
11:18>> I did very well I actually did extremely
11:21well and I was now now going to be
11:26because I was in what they were calling
11:27L2 I was going to be promoted what they
11:28used to call SL senior leader within the
11:31DIO community. So I was going to I I had
11:34interviewed for a role to to lead the
11:36Australia business.
11:38>> Wow.
11:38>> And I got the role. So you were going to
11:40do a look L lookie you know when you are
11:42going with family.
11:43>> The same thing look. Yeah.
11:45>> So then one week before I went to to
11:49look I got a call from the same guy. He
11:52told me,
11:54"Peter, are you seated somewhere? Cuz
11:56you need to be seated because of what
11:58I'm about to tell you." Told me, you're
12:00not going to Australia, you're going to
12:01Nigeria.
12:03So instead of going to Lux in Sydney, I
12:06went to Lux in Lagos. And uh and in a
12:10way, and I didn't tell my wife that day,
12:13I because it was her birthday. Pure
12:15coincidence. By pure coincidence. The
12:17following day, I told her, "By the way,
12:18do you know what news I received
12:19yesterday? Here is the news." which I
12:21also didn't like.
12:22>> So we had to deal with it. So we went to
12:24Ghana, we went to Nigeria. Actually our
12:26experience was great and actually our
12:28experience in Nigeria, the three years
12:30we spent there was fantastic. And I then
12:33I I spoke to a few people and they told
12:35me if you want if you want great life
12:37experience, go to Australia. If you want
12:39a career uh and to be on the grid, go to
12:42Nigeria.
12:43>> And so it was fantastic. And actually my
12:46wife really loved loved Nigeria. The
12:48people are great. Now this is a bigger
12:50market than Kenya. much bigger market
12:52>> is Nigeria the biggest market for the on
12:55the continent
12:56>> at the time at the time it was it was
12:58the biggest but remember that East
13:00Africa breweries is a three countries
13:02>> it's not just Kenya
13:04>> as a market okay
13:06>> is a three countries while Nigeria was a
13:08single market South Africa was a single
13:09market South Africa three and Nigeria
13:12was one and then the rest were together
13:14>> so so basically the Nigerian market was
13:17similar in rating to the year role.
13:22>> So that's that's the
13:24>> So so then now
13:26>> and what year is this that you go?
13:28>> I went to 2015.
13:30>> So 2015 to 2018.
13:32>> 2018. Yeah. And then and then so let me
13:35give you the context. when I went to
13:36Nigeria.
13:39[Music]