Leaders & Thinkers by CoreElite

THE WARRIOR WAY
By Emmanuel Mnzava

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I speak to the warrior inside you.

You grow not in absence of difficulties but in overcoming them.

Your life is not perfect, you sometime fall and break, and get swallowed by failure. It is never too easy to simply dust yourself back up. It is through such adversities that make your spirit grow.

It is through embodying the warrior attitude that you will heal and overcome all forms of adversities. It is your warrior ways that will distinguish you from others. Through it, you will rise from darkness into light, get sharpened from blunt, and become victorious again.

When you seek inwards, you should seek to speak for your warrior spirit that is deep inside you. It is, this warrior spirit, that will make you go an extra mile, the one that will push you to stand up when you feel like sitting down, the one that will give you strength when you feel weak, and lift you up even when you are down. You should speak to it every-day and every-time.

To wake the warrior inside you is by choice and not by chance.
Heed to your inner voice and not random opinion of others; opt for self-esteem and not self-pity. It is your choice to be motivated and not hopeless, to be productive and not subtractive, to be a driver of change and not driven by excuses, to construct and not destruct.

And, most importantly, it is your choice to flow with the wind of excellence and not fiasco.

And, when you stand before adversities, be armored, be fearless and be ready to face it without mercy.

Choose the warrior way because it is through it that you will overcome all that comes your way.

Do it, not because it is easy, but because it is the right thing to do.

LIVE THE WARRIOR WAY!

YOU ARE A WARRIOR!

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Description
In this short motivational article, the writer is trying to awake the warrior mindset that we all have within us. He suggests that it is through embodying such warrior attitude when we are faced with real world challenges that we may find good source of encouragement to overcome and emerge victorious.

So, the least to say, be the warrior you can be!

Release Date: 28th March 2021

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STRATEGIC THINKING PLUNGE

By Emmanuel Mnzava

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Welcome to the short excursion on strategic thinking; dive with me in the shallow-end about this topic and later on submerge with me in the deep-end of the thinking process.
From one strategist to another, let’s plunge!

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[SHALLOW-END OF STRATEGIC THINKING]

Strategic thinking occurs in a regular basis. We indulge into strategic thinking all the time, knowingly and unknowingly. We do it in our normal lives, or formally at work in boardrooms.

Simply just getting things done in your organisation does not position your organition for success. Twenty first century is characterized by competitive business landscape – many organizations are moving from basic “strategic planning” to more of “strategic thinking”. The latter being the process of generation of insight while the former being the channel to which the generated insights are organized into an articulated plan to archive goals and objectives. However, to reap maximum benefits, both thought processes, must be carefully blended to work hand-in-hand, so that the former systematically feeds the latter.

The Chinese army general and philosopher, Sun Tzu, in his book the Art of War, he said; “All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.” You can see here Sun Tzu refers to the thinking process that led to the formulation of strategies that vividly manifest as tactics. Sun Tzu knew very well the secret to best strategies rests upon the ability for effective strategic thinking.

It quite fascinates me the varying degree of which strategic thinking happens in organisations, from excellent to non-existing. Some organisations have recommendable culture, appetite and prowess for strategic thinking while others seems unconcerned. Strategic thinking is a tedious process; it requires research, analytical thinking, innovation, problem-solving ability, effective communication and leadership, and decisiveness.
Recently, it is increasingly becoming a common denominator that most organisations seek for leaders that are “strategists”, “forward-thinkers” – the ones that are able to think strategically to discover novel ideas, re-write the rules of the competitive game, and set in motion a chain of events that will shape and define the future of an organisation. And, the leaders are also expected to be successful with minimal resources, time, talent and capital to outwit the competition.

It would serve this article right for me to dive deeper into this topic of strategic thinking, particularly zeroing down to the thinking process that concerns the subject.

Therefore, join me to the deep-end of strategic thinking: let us dive deeper into this topic, and immerse ourselves in the fundamental elements that form the strategic thinking process - for this article is motivated by the premise that new growth comes from new thinking.

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[DEEP-END OF STRATEGIC THINKING]

Let us approach the subject of strategic thinking and consider a perception which particularly concerns it, that of strategic reasoning – which requires a thought process that is intentional and rational to facilitate analysis of critical factors and variables that influence medium to long term success.

I would not trouble you on the discussion of the depth of the thinking process, for it is complex and tedious, I have already been led deeper into that path more than I should have desired. Consider not the fact of the depth of thinking but the simple processes of thinking, the thing that is thought and the product of the thinking process. In other words, this session of the article explores the “what” and “how” of strategic reasoning – in a manner that problems are regurgitated through a thoughtful mental process to give birth to strategic solutions.

It is sometimes scary for someone to submerge themselves into strategic thinking, with the pressure of high expectations, many tends to shun way from it. Strategic thinking is like taking a cold plunge, once one is in, it is okay!
The expectation that one is hoped to continuously devise solutions to problems, necessitate the need for reasoning stamina; the stamina to continuously engage in reasoning strategically and thinking outside the box to produce new ideas. The reasoning stamina as a continuity of the thinking process about a problem – it does not depend on the prolongation of existence of a single idea but unification of combination of several ideas to form a comprehensive solution to a problem. In this order, the reproduction of new ideas forming solutions goes on in such continuous sequence where several ideas keep colliding and refined within the attentively thinking mind.

Strategic thinking requires attention, and depth in reasoning (which I promised earlier not to venture into in this article). As one reasons strategically, in this process, it requires them to attend fully. It may seem like a hush saying; but, a person who fails to concentrate; he or she may be considered weak. One must concentrate by withdrawing their attention from anything else and only attend to the problem at hand. To indulge deeply in strategic thinking, one must concentrate so that they can get the best strategic solutions to difficult pressing problems.

Attending to the strategic thinking process, tends to mold someone from a doer into a thinker. The more one indulges in it; the more they become synonymous with it, and therefore strategic thinking becomes part-and-parcel of their life.

Strategic thinking process is constantly being interfered with the ever-changing dynamic environment (of the competitive landscape). Problems that the mind entertains in this process of strategic thinking, prevails in an environment that is external to the thinking mind, and tends to change frequently in size and form. The dynamic nature of strategic problems requires the ability for one to switch their thinking context and reprogramming their mind fast and quick to formulate new insights.

The ultimate of strategic thinking, as a form of thing process, its end-product is a formulated thought – an idea in simple terms. After long mental deliberation, one’s mind tends to get elevated into a space of higher thinking order where ideas radiate and become formulated. These ideas tend to move freely in the moment of experience which brings what is present into ones intuitional grasp. During this time, one can follow up these connections of reality which immediately surrounds them (mentally). One can shift their stand point within their mind, in space and time, and be able to filter through clear and meaningful perceptions. At this moment of realization, one is being furnished with ideas that have strategic values which once applied may cause major transformation in the real world (the physical world outside one’s mind).

Once ideas are fully formed, they must be communicated.

Strategic thinking does not occur by transmission, by communication but rather it occurs in transmission, in communication. When the reasoning process produces a thought that is packaged in a form of an idea, one need to share and communicate it. Communication is the way ideas are shared between individuals so that they can be refined and consensus can be reached. It is a rule-of-thumb: consensus requires communication. The process of sharing ideas by itself tends to educate oneself and improve the knowledge of the group to which information is shared.

Strategic thinking process continues in increasingly complex forms. The continuation of this thinking process, therefore, means continuous seeking, information and re-adaptation on the environment of the problem that solutions are being sought for. This process almost asks one to be a dreamer, a forecaster of the future, and a medium to connect to breakthrough insights – so that one is able to see the future and find ways to mold it to the shape they want.

Strategic thinking prowess does not occur from an overnight of thinking, it is built over time.

Of course, there is shallowness of substance in ideas from the beginners of strategic thinking, which is surprisingly the same as those that do not do it more often. Strategic thinking, at the very fundamental level, requires practice to optimally stimulate and strengthen nerve endings. It is by strengthening the complex neural connection that someone can realize improvements in their ability to do something – be it performing in sports or for this particular topic, ability to reason strategically. It is simple: if someone does not practice strategic thinking, he or she will not be good in it! Practice. Practice. Practice. This is the only way to mastery of strategic thinking.

If one’s mind becomes dormant and their thought process is quiet on issues of strategic thinking, they begin to perish as a leader, and this is a sure way to loose their identity as a “strategist”. Strategic thinking is a self-renewing and -discovery process upon action on continued reasoning.

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[SUMMARY]
In case you forget all that you have ready in this article so far, do not forget the following three things:

[1] Practice! Practice! Practice!
One cannot master strategic thinking by just reading articles and books. This article may give someone good suggestions on how best they should conduct themselves in the water. But, eventually they must get wet, and possibly get struggled and be scared to death. The only way to master the art of strategic thinking is to plunge. By incorporating strategic thinking into their everyday work and life routines, one may become more skilled at anticipating, forecasting, and capitalizing on opportunities. One should indulge in strategic thinking as frequently as they can.

[2] Capacitate self and others!
One should passionately seek to continuously grow their skills in strategic thinking, by seeking learning and development opportunities on strategic thinking. By doing so, one may be elevated from tactical to strategic thinkers and become a valuable leadership resource.

[3] Be an agile thinker!
One is required to be fast in taking advantage of new trends as they emerge otherwise they will be in the risk of being left behind. Strategic thinking requires agility and decisiveness in choosing correct strategies to correct problems in a very dynamic and unstable environment, therefore one is expected to perform a balancing act between consistency and flexibility.





Fellow strategist, keep on plunging into the strategic thinking pool!



----- The End ------

THE BOAT IS ROCKING
[Poem]
By Rafiki Mjumbe

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The land sunbaked and hot
the rocks endure it all
His feet are burning hot
No one is safe

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Stones withered into sand
A gale from hell washes the sand
His vision blinded by the storm
He has lost his bearings

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Sky engulfed in dark clouds
Ocean has unleashed its wrath
Turbulences weaken his stamina
Many are falling overboard

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The boat is rocking
Tides too high
Boat swallowed by the wave
He emerges from the tempest

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He sails above the storm
He is in control
He keeps afloat

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Vim possesses him
He possesses the boat
He stares far to the calm shores
He will survive


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Description:
In this chaotic piece of poetic writing, Rafiki Mjumbe captures the essence of hardships and tribulations that people and organizations go through in times of hardships. He insinuates that the future will be bright to those that persevere and outwit the challenges caused by the adversities.
By the time when this piece was written (2021) the world was experiencing economic recession, fall in world commodity prices, unprecedented collapse of the private sector, high rate of unemployment, and there was a health global crisis caused by novel corona virus (Covid-19).

About the Author:
Rafiki Mjumbe is a creative writer and thought leader, current a contributor of CoreElite's Thought Leadership series titled, "Executive Diary on Corporate Glory and Shenanigans".
Release Date: 15th March 2021

THE BOARDROOM
by Dimp Kiboma

Is this the council of wisdom, the collection of minds that have monopoly over wisdom? Is this a collection of oracles under one roof, seeking to see the future through a very special lens, forecasting and looking for ways to take advantage of future events? Seated side by side, to engage, participate and make all the decisions on behalf of the rest.

Is this a unique space, very special and sacred, the channel to connect to higher order of thoughts, a conduit between the known and the unknown, between today's problems and tomorrow's solutions, an eye opener, the seer of the future?

Is the ordinary servant, a peasant worker with little or no formal education deprived of wisdom? Do they have something to offer, are they part of the corporate knowledge body, are their voices nurtured and heard? Does their opinion sieve and twinkle through the process of decision making, and echo through the walls of the boardroom?

The boardroom!

A room it is.

A room constricted within four walls. Within it, opinions radiate from those endowed, bouncing on all corners of its four walls as they get refined and shaped into ideas. Ideas pregnant with solutions to problems.

Wouldn’t it be right to break apart the boardroom walls, rendering the boardroom wall-less, a place for all? Wouldn’t it be right to let ideas flow-in beyond the boardroom walls? Wouldn’t this be the beginning of all understanding, an all-encompassing relay of thoughts, and a sure way to multilayered corporate insight? Wouldn’t this be key in making informed decisions?

Is the premise, "all opinions count", really count? – Of-course some opinions matter more than others.


Wouldn’t it be right to reach everywhere within your organisation and teams, in all corners, for wisdom? Wisdom exists everywhere, in places most a time under looked - that secretary, that cleaner, that messenger, and for the matter of fact everybody in your organisation, houses plenty of wisdom. Empower your team, and you will be astonish with their ability to create and digest ideas. They can voice opinions, no matter how simple and not fully-formed they are, they may create a ripple effect in the thought process and stimulate the birth of new ideas, and become Ideas that can cause a major transformation in the organisation.

Perhaps the thing to do; is to listen to all the voices, small and big, discard the noises, heed to sounding reasons, nurture ideas, and of-course analyse and put them to use to bear positive fruits.

Wouldn’t it be right to do this, because corporate wisdom is non-located, it exists everywhere, far and beyond the boardroom.

Be wise!

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Description:
The Writer in this piece of inquisitorial corporate writing, he explores the concept of "non-locality of wisdom", he questions that corporate wisdom exists at all levels within an organization beyond the traditional boardroom setting. He goes further to suggest that wisdom has to be carefully tapped and sourced to make it resourceful in feeding into the decision making process of the organization.

About the Author:
Dimp Kiboma is a philosopher, a “corporate” psychologist and a Thought Leader. Mr Kiboma raises more questions than answers; in the process, he awakens the thought process of the readers on variety of leadership issues including but not limited to organizational culture and employee behavior. Mr Kiboma is a contributing writer of CoreElite's Thought Leadership series titled, "Executive Diary on Corporate Glory and Shenanigans".

Publish Date: 8th January 2021

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YOU MUST OBEY

by Rafiki Mjumbe

[A poem for corporate leaders and executives]

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You must obey.
Information, Knowledge, rest.
I resource you with these.
You must perform.
Problems you must solve.
Solutions you must bring.
This is not too much to ask you to do.

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You must obey.
Vision, mission, strategies.
We have set this journey ourselves.
Too far yet too near.
Our reasons of being runs through my vain.
Methodologically working in chorus.
Working on the future today.
Shaping our tomorrow today.
This is not too much to ask you to do.

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You must obey.
Change self, others and the organization.
I transform you all.
I lead you all.
Take you to the "promise land" .
We walk together and carry each other.
The journey is long and tough but sweet.
This is not too much to ask you to do.

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Obey. Obey. Obey.
This is the tall order.
The one thing,
You must obey.
This is not too much to ask you to do.
For the good of self, others and our organisation.
Obey, you must.
**

Description:
You must obey is a poem written by Rafiki Mjumbe. The writer wrote the poem in a form of inter-personal dialog, depicting a conversation of a corporate leader with his/her inner self. The conversation is centered on personal transformation, encouraging the practice of obeying one’s own ambitions – reminding people to focus on what they have set for themselves to achieve in aspects of personal and organizational development and growth.

About the Author:
Rafiki Mjumbe is a creative writer and thought leader, current a contributor of CoreElite's Thought Leadership series titled, "Executive Diary on Corporate Glory and Shenanigans".

Release Date: 8th January 2021

New Year Message

In the sequence of natural events, the old begets the new, there is no tomorrow without today, and yesterday expired to give birth of this present day. Every new beginning is born from an end, and every end marks a new beginning. Last year expired to give birth to this New Year.

Well,

The poorest way to enter this year, is to enter it while carrying over your shoulders the albatross of yesteryear, for they will drown you into hopelessness and despair, for they will continue to wear you down, and lead you to defeat.

The significance of New Year, of course created by oneself, is centered on the ability to psych oneself; ability for you to change your mental attitude and embody the spirit of renewal and rebirth. It signifies a new beginning, and seeks for you to personify an elevated sense of ones purpose and goals, and most importantly it requires a definite aim to develop oneself for own growth.


I say onto you;

Assess yourself – be truthful about your weaknesses that are holding you back and vigorously capitalize on your (untapped) strengthens.

Find and refine your purpose of being – you are here in this beautiful planet for a reason.

Keep your dreams alive; remember without a goal - dreams will remain just dreams and can never materialise to something. Keep on dreaming! Keep on setting goals!

Set goals for yourself; make them clear, concise and straightforward.

Draw a plan of action for attaining these goals.

Once you have done all these things…

I say onto you, “follow your plan religiously, and be a person of action!”

I wish you all the best in 2021!

Dimp Kiboma
(for Leaders & Thinkers, and CoreElite)