When I go invitation for ‘Brunch with Dick Kramer’, I knew that I would have to put forward all other appointments to honour the invitation. Dick gave a presentation on ‘The Nigerian Challenge of Nation Building’ with Dr Felix Ohiwere, an Elder and Industry Chieftain as Chief Host.
Richard (Dick) Kramer
Dick Kramer started the Nigerian practice of Arthur Andersen & Co in 1978. Dick was Managing Partner while I was there in the mid – 1980’s. He has a nearly 40-year career with the firm, which started in 1958 and been Managing Partner of the firm in Argentina, Uruguay and in the Benelux. He later established Andersen Consulting Nigeria, which metamorphoised into Accenture Nigeria.
He managed both Arthur Andersen & Co. and Andersen Consulting until his retirement in 1996. He holds a Havard MBA (1958) and an Accounting degree from the University of Kansas, USA. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA – 1960) and became an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ACA) in 1979.
Dick is still actively involved in consulting and is the Chairman of African Capital Alliance, the premier private equity firm in Nigeria. The letter of invitation stated that ‘Dick has a wealth of experience in building value driven and enduring institutions. He has been actively involved in over 10 organisations in Nigeria.’ Dick founded or has been actively involved in the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, the Enabling Environment Forum, Vision 2010, the Nigerian – American Chamber of Commerce, the Lagos Business School and Ikoyi Club 1938, amongst other organisations, where he was a trustee for several years. Dick holds a national honour. He is more committed to Nigeria than many Nigerian citizens. His work at professional and community levels has impacted positively so many people and institutions, as well as the country.
‘Brunch with Dick Kramer’ turned out to be a tribute to and a celebration of Dick and Wanda (His wife of over 25 years), while alive. Very few ever have the rare opportunity of genuine acclamation, while alive.
It was instructive hearing Dick talk constantly about the fact that he planned everything he did based on MOGOS: Mission, Objectives, Goals and Strategies.
He clearly advised all institutions and individuals to adopt and implement MOGOS. More interestingly, he said that he planned and reviewed everything – Annually, monthly, weekly and daily with Wanda under 5 headings: Personal, Family, Financial, Work and Community.
Dick has had a wonderful career and been an inspiration and a worthy example of leadership that can lead from the front and the rear! No wonder he has been on the Editorial Advisory Board, as well as the Board of Directors of BusinessDay, Nigeria premier business daily, for several years.
The Nigerian Challenge of Nation Building (Excerpts)
* We are a seriously under – performing nation (Peter Drucker would say we’re ‘under – Managed”)
* We must ask ourselves three basic questions: Where are we now and why? What do we want to be? How do we get there?
*Planning at the national level, must be based on what is best for the country and not what is best for Government or a particular industry
* Build strong people by employing the best and adopting best practices
* It is not you that is the problem, it is the system.
* You take the same people to a better environment and they perfom excellently
* Focus on impacting your circle of influence – family, church, workplace, community, nation…global
* There is no reason (other than leadership) for us not to be among the leading nations of the world – and certainly the driving force within Africa.
* A quote paraphrased by Dick: It will only take one deeply committed generation to transform this nation.
* You can change the world – you can fly if you believe you can.
Apostles in the Marketplace (AiMP)
The session for Dick was organised by the Apostles in the Marketplace, a network of professionals desiring transformation in the country and committed to making a lasting impact on society. A couple of the leaders of the AiMP are members of the top team of Dick’s Africa Capital Alliance.
Dick took us through a practical session on the impact of networking when he showed that half of the hall of invitees had come under his ‘circle of influence’ through organisations such as Arthur Andersen, Accenture, The Vision 2010 Committee and the Harvard Business School. It was amazing to note that half the hall (including myself) had either worked with Dick at one time or the other or had been influenced positively by one organisation or the other that Dick founded or was actively involved.
One of the aims of the AiMP is to facilitate the building of businesses on Godly foundations. The mission of the AiMP is to raise apostles in the Marketplace that will facilitate the emergence of a new Africa. The AiMP is open to people committed to providing leadership at the levels of human endeavour.
Memebers are expected to-
* Make lasting contributions as leader
* Avoid sharp practices
* Become agents of change
* Live above board in both private life and in discharging professional endeavours
One of Dick’s words of wisdom: Don’t cut corners. Think straight, talk straight, don’t do anything you won’t be able to go to TV to defend.
It is instructive that it was at an AiMP lecture a couple of years ago that I heard the now famous phrase “It won’t work.” It was a lecture by a gentleman called Dr. Udofia, who analysed the reports of negotiations between Econet Wireless Nigeria and Vodacom South Africa (before their entry into Nigeria) and said that the hostile take-over will not work. He was proven right eventually as Vodacom pulled out of Nigeria.
Leadership and service
Quoting from the brochure of the Apostles in the Marketplace: Leadership is all about service and responsibility. God chose David as his servant to be king over. …Israel. David served his generation by the will of God. Leadership is about doing the will of God. A leader is able to lead people into a life of fulfillment and accomplishment of agreed objectives. Leadership is about sacrifice.
A leader is a person of character. Character is not a gift, but it is developed over time. Leadership makes a difference in outcome and character makes a difference in leadership. A true leader can be described as one who obeys God. Leadership is the art of combining ideas, people, time and faith to achieve predetermined objectives.
Leadership can occur at various levels. It could be on a personal, family, corporate, community, church, national or global levels.
Visional
Dick emphasised the need for vision, especially for the nation. In my article ‘The value of a corporate vision’, BUSINESSDAY, Monday, August 18th, 2014, I quoted M.S.S.El – Namaki, the Director of the Netherlands International Institute for Management. He saw vision as: a mental perception of the kind of environment an individual, or organisation, aspires to create within a broad time horizon and the underlying conditions for the actualisation of this perception’.
Tony Epelle
