INSPIRED LEADERS NETWORK, 26th JULY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
THINK BIG, ACT SMALL
At the launch of the Inspired Leaders Network session at The Venue, Melrose Arch, Johannesburg Larry Drake, President of the Coca-Cola Company Nigeria and Equatorial Africa and René Carayol, CEO of Inspired Leaders were greeted by an expectant and hungry audience of over 100 of Johannesburg’s finest business leaders. It was a unique event in having two established inspired leaders with both a strong connection and a massive passion for Africa. As this was the initial Inspired Leaders event we were not clear what we should expect and how successful it would be. The event was met with rapturous applause and if ever there was a time that a service meets a definitive need this was it. The Inspired Leaders demonstrable commitment to leadership was not just timely it hit a nerve of a nation that is desperate not only to succeed but succeed in the right manner. It was obvious to all present that the Inspired Leaders Network was not only welcome but here to stay. Andy Rigg, CEO Inspired Leaders Network South Africa set the scene for the evening by bringing alive the theme for the event THINK BIG AND ACT SMALL. He explained the need for visionary thinking but also explained why a humble approach would work best given the recent history of this beautiful country.
LARRY DRAKE – CEO THE COCA-COLA COMPANY NIGERIA AND EQUATORIAL AFRICA.
Larry Drake is an accomplished and experienced African American with leadership credentials earned at the American giants, PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company. He was a gifted communicator who started off with one of the mantras that he lives by – BE, SAY AND DO! He made it abundantly clear that to have credibility as a leader you not only have to act the part and be that role model but it is also essential that you say what you’re going to do and most importantly of all then follow up and do it. He certainly lived up to this and in thirty high octane minutes he never let up on his belief in Africa and the emerging African leadership.
He told a story that will stay with everyone who was in the auditorium, about a woman in Lagos who sold Coca-Cola at a small street stand. She had approached Larry about a business issue and they found themselves deep in conversation. She shared with him that she had been at this particular stall for some 20 years now. Her son was studying at Harvard Business School and her daughter was also in the USA at Stanford University. This stunned Larry who was wondering how was this possible from a humble woman selling Coca-Cola on a street stand. She then shared that in the early days she started selling twenty to thirty cans of Coke a day, the business had grown and she now had a number of street stalls selling over two thousand cans of Coke a day which had enabled her to send her children to university in the USA. Think big, act small!
Larry had many of these brilliant stories and as we have all gathered at the Inspired Leaders Network the best leaders always tell simple but unforgettable stories. Here was a man with his finger on the pulse. He shared with us that the Coca-Cola Co was now the largest private employer in the whole of Africa. His energy and his enthusiasm were quite remarkable. The message that he left all of us with was his sheer optimism and passion for the continent of Africa. He was disappointed that many people in the west still saw Africa as the dark continent but most who took the time to visit and touch Africa left as committed advocates and Larry Drake was the most committed of advocates and a hugely Inspired Leader.
RENÉ CARAYOL – CEO INSPIRED LEADERS NETWORK
Given the setting and given the location, René had to follow the toughest of acts. He kept his message very simple, but it was also very compelling. He first of all talked about the common traits of today’s most progressive inspired leaders. These were self belief and humility and he used Nelson Mandela as the epitome of these traits. He then carefully allied this to his vision of an African Renaissance and used the upcoming 2010 World Cup in South Africa as an un- missable opportunity to portray not only what’s right with South Africa but what’s right with the whole of Africa. The atmosphere was highly charged and René was quite provocative as he pushed the audience with those famous words taken from John F Kennedy “Don’t think what the continent can do for you, think of what you can do for the continent.”
René introduced the word ‘Dimbalanté’, which in his native Wolof, means sharing together, helping each other and winning together. He left the audience with this lingering message of African togetherness and the African Renaissance contrary to popular belief, we can all be leaders if we choose to be, it’s not about rank, status or job title it’s about attitude. It begins with being absolutely clear on what our strengths are and then practicing these strengths relentlessly. To close, he shared a moving story of his business mentor who had found him when he didn’t quite believe in himself and took the time over many years to give René a damn good listening to and sometimes hurtful advice that perhaps has led him to some of the successful appointments and achievements throughout his career. He challenged the audience to find a business mentor and more importantly someone to mentor. Dimbalanté.
Larry and René were confident, straight talking and hugely respectful of what Africa has achieved and what it can go on to achieve, the audience’s response was overwhelming.
THE LEADERSHIP SURGERY
After an extremely vibrant networking session in the cool surroundings of The Venue the audience returned to throw challenges back at both Larry and René with Andy Rigg in the facilitator’s chair.
Q. What do you stand for?
Larry. Be, Say, Do – being the leader, communicate well and deliver on my promises.
René. Optimism.
Q. Larry, you eventually changed 98% of your workforce – why?
Larry. In the world of Coca-Cola, Nigeria had the worst customer service scores of any territory when I joined; they now have the best scores in the world. We had to take some tough decisions, and many people needed to change roles and many others had to move on!
Q. Why should the World Cup be shared with other African nations – especially when so many of them are clearly not the best or perhaps even corrupt?
René. This is perhaps a very inward looking view, a little short sighted and potentially damaging. There will be over one billion eyes on the 2010 World Cup it’s an un-missable opportunity for the African continent to get together and assist South Africa in creating a one-off memorable tournament that may well change some of the blinkered and ill-informed views of Africa forever. Why wouldn’t you want that?
SUMMARY
CEO of Inspired Leaders South Africa, Andy Rigg concluded, “A leadership master class delivered with both passion and pace has set a standard that will be hard to beat. But beat it we will!!
Future events will inspire and expose the real leaders as we bring global and local inspired leaders to tell their stories.
‘Dimbalanté’ says everything about inspired leadership, winning together and winning through our belief that leaders create leaders.
I know you share this passion so please confirm your attendance at the next Inspired Leaders event and forward this note to those who deserve to share this experience.”
