This archive report was first published on 13 December 2019.
December 13, 2019, marked a significant milestone for Equity Group CEO James Mwangi, as he was ranked among the world's top 50 business leaders. However, his path to success is not what one would expect.
According to Mwangi, business leaders must use both traditional and non-traditional sources of information to stay ahead in the market. He emphasizes the importance of seeking knowledge from outside the company's sectors, citing the benefits of a different perspective on industry trends, innovations, and business models.
"The information doesn't respect age, and so one goes to seek information from those who have it, including the millennials/Gen Z who may not be in Senior Management and Boards of Directors," Mwangi said in an interview with KPMG.
Mwangi believes that a bank must be a learning organization, seeking knowledge from anywhere and anyone in the world. This includes site visits to the best companies, sourcing new technologies, and recruiting staff from any company globally.
He advocates for the use of idea management systems to manage the flow of ideas coming from multiple directions. Mwangi also emphasizes the importance of getting out of one's comfort zone and acquiring companies in or outside their industry to continuously recruit staff with new competencies.
"Apple buys 40 to 50 new companies every year, almost a new company every week, just to keep up with competition and adopt new technologies much faster," Mwangi noted.
For Mwangi, a strong innovation culture is essential, and management must take responsibility for failure and shield staff to ensure that the culture of innovation is embedded without fear of repercussions.
"Companies need a failing fast culture where lessons from failure are meticulously and quickly documented and widely shared so that the institution doesn’t suffer from ignorance of past failures, management takes 100 percent responsibility, and the taskforces learns and moves to the next innovation," Mwangi said.
