Avoid pastors, chiefs, politicians and families if you want your business to endure forever -Kofi Amoabeng advises
Prince Kofi Amoabeng, Co-Founder of the defunct UT Bank, has advised business owners to avoid interacting with Pastors, Politicians, Traditional leaders, and Families, if they want their companies to endure forever.
He claimed that these individuals’ actions regularly exacerbate business problems and cause them to crumble.
Mr. Amoabeng said this on July 26 in Accra at the launch of Fairgreen Limited, which was celebrating its 25th anniversary.
He called these influencers “necessary evils” that should be handled carefully.
“Politicians and pastors are necessary evils because they can give you the right connections. However, they also need to milk you, and they can raise your company to a high status if you have the right relationships. But be careful. Don’t accept chieftaincy titles. They will drain your finances and time, and you will be responsible for the expenses of durbars. These are the things that have set this country back. Make sure you don’t fall prey to any of them, whether it’s the church, chiefs, politicians, or your own families. You have to navigate carefully,” he advised.
Additionally, he warned companies not to let family dynamics affect how they hire employees.
“When you start a business, you are under the radar and can be a bit protective. But as you grow, you come under pressure. I call this pressure ‘dealing with the devil.’ You must deal with them. You can’t avoid them. Family, friends, and relatives will ask why you are always employing strangers when your family members are available. They want to kill the company. You need to be strong enough to fire them when they do something wrong. If you don’t have the will to fire them, don’t appoint them,” he urged.
Mr Amoabeng pleaded with Fairgreen Limited’s leadership to foster a work environment free of complacency, resentment, and an excessive reliance on religion.
“You need to create a culture that is different from the Ghanaian culture. Ghanaian culture is generally one of laziness, pulling people down, disrespect, jealousy, trying to shift blame, and over-dependence on religion to the point that people don’t come to work. When you have a team, you must create a culture that will protect the company against these influences,” he advised.
