Estie, Author at Consumo Publishers

Be a great leader

Marion Barraud for HBR
One of the most difficult transitions for leaders to make is the shift from doing to leading. As a new manager you can get away with holding on to work. Peers and bosses may even admire your willingness to keep “rolling up your sleeves” to execute tactical assignments. But as your responsibilities become more complex, the difference between an effective leader and a super-sized individual contributor with a leader’s title is painfully evident.

In the short term you may have the stamina to get up earlier, stay later, and out-work the demands you face. But the inverse equation of shrinking resources and increasing demands will eventually catch up to you, and at that point how you involve others sets the ceiling of your leadership impact. The upper limit of what’s possible will increase only with each collaborator you empower to contribute their best work to your shared priorities. […]

Estie2017-11-15T19:25:58+02:00November 15th, 2017|General management and CSR, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

The future of online shopping in South Africa is not quite what you think

Staff Writer 23 September 2017
This past week, Mastercard released its first South African SpendingPulse report. The report, which is published worldwide, is based on transactions across every payment medium – including cash, wire transfers and credit cards.
This equates to over 80 billion transactions processed annually in 210 countries, and provides an accurate representation of consumer spending habits.

Speaking at the report’s launch event, Sarah Quinlan, senior vice president and head of market insights for Mastercard, indicated that one of the biggest changes in shopping trends came after the 2008 recession.

She said that it was no longer “chic” for consumers to flaunt their wealth with flashy purchases, and those who had previously spent money on big-ticket items have now cracked down on the “appearance of being wealthy”.

This has coincided with the rise of millennials’ purchasing power, who […]

Estie2017-11-15T19:24:19+02:00November 15th, 2017|Environments, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

The biggest fast food franchises in South Africa in 2017

Staff Writer 7 May 2017
With the addition and growth of several new fast-casual food options in South Africa, it’s clear that there is appetite in the country for quick meals and treats – but the tough economic climate over the past 12 months has also clearly taken its toll.
Fast food franchise growth in South Africa has slowed over the past year, with the total number of chains declining year on year from over 4,841 stores in May 2016, to around 4,780 stores in May 2017.

KFC still reigns supreme as South Africa’s favourite fast food brand, with 840 stores spread across the country. Steers holds onto its second place spot with 542 stores, while Wimpy and Debonairs fight for third with 492 and 473 stores, respectively.
While new and established fast food brands in South Africa – like KFC, Steers […]

Estie2017-11-15T19:22:02+02:00November 15th, 2017|2017 Case Study, Recources|

Here’s how much your identity sells for on the Dark Web

Bloomberg 22 September 2017

How much is your personal data worth to you? A lot. And how much is it worth to an identity thief? You may be surprised, or insulted, or enraged, to find out.

Verified high-limit credit cards from countries including the U.S., Japan, and South Korea are selling on the dark web for the bitcoin equivalent of about $10 to $20, according to an annual report on cybercrime by Secureworks, a unit of Dell Inc.

The dark web is “the collection of Internet forums, digital shop fronts and chat rooms that cybercriminals use to form alliances, trade tools and techniques, and sell compromised data that can include banking details, personally identifiable information and other content,” as Secureworks defines it.
Verified means the seller has tested out transactions on the card and found it hasn’t been canceled yet. For scammers on a budget, there’s unverified […]

Estie2017-11-15T19:18:16+02:00November 15th, 2017|Ethics, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

Grit: The Elusive (But Essential) Entrepreneurial Trait

If you’re familiar with the startup world, you’ve likely heard a lot of entrepreneurs talk about a quality called “grit.”

There are many ways to define this trait, many of which reference passion and perseverance. Author Caroline Adams Miller, for one, defines it as “the passionate pursuit of hard goals that awes and inspires you and others to become better people, flourish emotionally, take positive risks, and live your best lives.”

There are a number of components to grit, said Miller, who wrote “Getting Grit: The Evidence-Based Approach to Cultivating Passion, Perseverance and Purpose” (Sounds True, 2017). However, at the root of it is “ikigai,” the Japanese term for “that which I wake up for” – in other words, your purpose.

“When we have a purpose that is authentic and connected directly to what we want to pursue for its own intrinsic value, it fills us with the passion that supports us through […]

Estie2017-11-15T19:16:20+02:00November 15th, 2017|Entrepreneurship, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

Fast food may lead to lower school results

Eating fast food may lead to lower student test scores in math, science and reading, a recent study of U.S. school children said.

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A survey showed that fast-food consumption by 8,544 fifth-graders forecast lower academic achievement in eighth grade, according to the study published in Clinical Paediatrics.

“These results provide initial evidence that fast-food consumption is associated with deleterious academic outcomes among children,” the study by Ohio State University and University of Texas researchers said.

Fast food eaters behind

In terms of growth in achievement, the researchers found that eighth-graders who ate fast food daily were behind those who ate no fast food by four points in reading. They were behind by three points in math and four points in science.

The results may be caused by lower levels of nutrients in fast foods, especially iron.

The high level of fat and sugar often found in fast-food meals also can affect attention and reaction times, the […]

Estie2017-11-15T19:14:33+02:00November 15th, 2017|2017 Case Study, Recources|

Entrepreneurs become this amazing intersection of leadership and economics…’

Why Yusuf Randera-Rees co-founded Africa’s most innovative SMME investment company….

Sonya & John Culverwell 6 September 2017
In 2009 Harvard and Oxford graduate Yusuf Randera-Rees, and his partner Ryan Pakter, started the Awethu Project with a modest R60 000 – however their vision was everything but modest. In fact it was huge. Their aim was to make a large-scale systemic impact on the country’s economy by elevating entrepreneurs who are trapped in the informal sector.

Follow the link to a video clip https://www.moneyweb.co.za/in-depth/fnb-business-leadership/entrepreneurs-become-this-amazing-intersection-of-leadership-economics/ 10 September 2017

Estie2017-11-15T19:12:35+02:00November 15th, 2017|Entrepreneurship, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

AI Comes to Work: How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Business

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not a new concept. The modern field of AI came into existence in 1956, but it took decades of work to make significant progress toward developing an AI system and making it a technological reality.

Today, AI and its commonly cited subset of machine learning are common, especially in the business world. Most of us interact with AI in some form or another daily, but the truth is there are vast applications of the technology, from the mundane to the breathtaking. As AI and machine learning further proliferate, they are becoming an imperative for businesses that want to maintain a competitive edge.

AI and business today
Rather than serving as a replacement for human knowledge and ingenuity, AI is generally seen as a supporting tool for the humans. Although AI currently has a difficult time completing common-sense tasks in the real world, it is adept at processing and analyzing […]

Estie2017-11-15T19:11:00+02:00November 15th, 2017|Environments, Other, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

Eight South African entrepreneurs

8 entrepreneurs who built proudly South African businesses

South Africa is a fantastically diverse country with not only a plethora of cultures to celebrate but also a truly distinctive business environment to operate in. Opportunities abound if you look in the right places.

These eight proudly South African entrepreneurs did just that. They looked to their heritage, discovered a market gap and ran with it.

Most of them are unconventional, and some have even been called crazy – but one thing that stands out above all else is their love for this beautiful country and their passion for making a success of their business.

1. MIKIE MONOKETSI

The Business: Mama’s Spices & Herbs

Mikie Monoketsi tapped into the lucrative township market with little more than a hunch and R10 000.

In 2011, Mikie Monoketsi had lost everything – her call centre business and marriage. Having read Dale Carnegie’s How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, she made […]

Estie2017-11-15T19:07:05+02:00November 15th, 2017|2017 Case Study, Entrepreneurship, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

The most loved brands in South Africa

23 September 2017

South Africans are open to change, particularly when it comes to trying to save money in tough economic times. They are also firmly under the sway of global energies that are reshaping society in significant ways, says market research company Ask Afrika.

Neither of which bodes well for brands that aren’t willing to adapt their marketing efforts to challenging times and a changing global milieu.

These and other top level trends were revealed at the annual Ask Afrika Icon Brands Awards, held at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg recently.

Icon brands are relevant across the South African landscape, it’s not a popularity contest but about which brands South African’s use regularly and loyally, Ask Afrika said.

The results were gleaned from surveys of 15,284 consumers, aged 15-years and older (representing over 25-million adult South African consumers) to determine how South African consumer are changing, how they think and what is important to them.

Overall top 10 […]

Estie2017-09-30T11:25:47+02:00September 30th, 2017|2017 Case Study, Environments, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

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