COMMUNICATION: THE MORTAR THAT BINDS EVERY BUSINESS VENTURE

This blog was written by Samuel "Fiifi" Okore Mintah, the Vice President of BMIC. As always his article is a most inspiring and refreshing piece, I hope you really enjoy this! :)

Communication; the imparting or exchanging of information

Rarely is it such a fairy tale for somebody to finish university and almost immediately be at the helm of his own company with an estimated value of almost $100,000 and counting. Well I did it, through cold nights and lonely days at Evandy Hostel where I marshaled my thoughts to build my imaginary company in the form of a well-written business proposal. Though I wrote that proposal under compulsion, I later came to appreciate the amount and value of the work that was put into the business plan. When this plan metamorphosed into reality, I surrounded myself with a team of some of the smartest and talented minds I knew. We immediately jumped into gear, business prospects were looking good then suddenly I watched it all slip out of my hands. But as a firm optimist who believes in determination, hard work and the power of dreams no matter the problems that one encounters, I knew I had within my power the tools to create new and even better opportunities. As the great Winston Churchill said during the blitzkrieg of London, “Never, never, never give up!”

I graduated from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology a year ago, with the grade class I had always wanted. But most importantly, I left KNUST with the right frame of mind and the right kind of friends, and these factors have been crucial to enabling my ideas and plans to come to life. As soon as this great opportunity to run this firm knocked on my door I called on the battalion to come aboard because I knew they were going to propel the business to the next level. Within a month of the platoon hitting the ground, problems begun to assuage the firm, unforeseen and unpredictable problems cropped up all over the place and I watched in horror as this amazing chance disappeared almost as quickly as it came into being. It was a real nightmare especially looking at the kind of personal investment I had made within that short period of time. I had sacrificed my valuable time, every single dime, and as a man in his prime I was ready to capably run this engine and yet, here was I going home without having barely started the engine itself. When I reminisce about that shattering week, I can only grin and sigh with relief that things are back on track now.

What happened you may ask? It had nothing to do with the team I brought on board to take the business to the next level but rather myself. Several minute flaws that I had neglected in my personnel life grew into the very same abyss that derailed my entrepreneurial train.  I have always been a smooth talker brimming with eloquence but a little miscommunication between my business partner and I created an air of mistrust. After many nights of reflection as to what caused this predicament, I came to the conclusion that communication is the most vital ingredient in any and all forms of business; something like the mortar that binds all the other components of a business venture to make it one big whole. In business we may agree, we may disagree and we may even agree to disagree. However without the essential ingredient – effective communication – which builds trust among all stakeholders, no business will be successful.

Since that fateful week, I have done a lot of soul searching and reassessment; I have completely revamped my way of handling business, and to tell you the truth now, I feel like I can walk on water. I am back on my grind with a big bang; thing is this time everything is in place and nothing is bringing me down. I have been thorough in purging those minute flaws, which do not augur well for business in favor of traits that can earn me the chips that can afford me that trip to Monaco twice a year, the mansion on the hill and that McLaren MP4-12c. What did I do to come back on track and resolve all the problems with my partners?  Well I have always been consumed with a burning desire to make it happen no matter the odds against me, but besides that I read voraciously to further become knowledgeable about the efficient management skills that still eluded me. I also delved into my inner person to discover my latent abilities, which I’m developing everyday, and also took the time to unlearn the unproductive things that were part of my psyche.  So now I am back, consumed with the fire of winning and trust me, I am winning. With my formidable team we have built those efficient mechanisms to weather any storms that may blow no matter how great. KTA is back, and here to stay!

Samuel “Fiifi” Okore Mintah,

Chief Executive Officer,

Kreative Terrain Agency

If KTA was possible, so is this! On track to make my dreams REALITY!