Page 8 - KZN Business Sense - KZN Chamber

How CEOs Increase their Chances of Success

Professor Theuns 1. The “Heart and Soul” of the gone beyond their sell-by date. Previously, the focus was on having As part of this process, the
Pelser, Dean and Organisation. A successful business model is groups of people assigned to work occasional breaking of rules and
Head: Graduate essentially the formula or recipe in traditional teams, departments making mistakes are viewed as an
School of Business Obviously, one needs to ensure for making acceptable profits on or divisions. Now it is more about integral component of innovation.
and Leadership, that all key functions of the a sustainable basis, and ensures configuring suitable platforms of
University of business are efficient and effective, that the company stays relevant capabilities and deploying them as CEOs that take the helm have a
KwaZulu-Natal and that there is a drive to achieve in a rapidly changing world. and where required. singular opportunity to shape the
important strategic and operational Significantly, there is a strong companies they lead and will be
The targets. However, progressive product/market focus, taking 4. Innovation. the ones that will be successful.
companies now go beyond this into account existing, new and In most companies, there is The best ones use the four
success approach of focusing exclusively potential income streams. It business strategy building blocks
of CEOs on the “body and mind” of the revisits the entire value chain. A an abundance of new ideas and to transform their companies.
is deeply organisation. For them, the “heart vital part of this conversation is a large number of employees But this window of opportunity
linked to the success of the and soul” of the company is also the companies’ key differentiating are creative and have powerful doesn’t last long. According to
companies they lead. The a big thing – there is a caring features or competitive advantage. imaginations – however, a recent McKinsey study, an
latest research from McKinsey environment, people enjoy being the culture in many of these inflection point arrives during year
however shows that successful part of the organisation, there are 3. Structures Aligned to Strategy. companies is such that these three of a CEO’s tenure. At that
CEOs made bold moves − such high levels of trust and respect, As strategies evolve, companies elements are utilised sporadically, point, a CEO whose company is
as changing the management and a sense of purpose. Not rather than entrenched, and underperforming is roughly twice
team, mergers and acquisitions, surprisingly, these businesses have need to rethink the appropriateness creativity and innovation have as likely to depart as the CEO of
and launching new businesses higher staff retention rates and are of the existing company structures. not become a “way of life” in an outperforming one – by far the
and products. Some of these more profitable. To be successful, companies need the company. Recently, many highest level at any time in a chief
bold moves are underpinned to be agile, fast and flexible and companies have prioritised executive’s tenure. During this
by the following four business 2. Review of Business Model. these criteria need to be reflected innovation as a high-level relatively short window, fortune
strategy themes: Many companies are still in the selected structures. Effective strategic issue, and are promoting favours the bold. n
delegation, empowerment, and (and rewarding) a culture that
operating with business models decision-making taking place at the encourages fresh insights, pelser@ukzn.ac.za
that may have served them lowest possible levels, are needed. experimenting, and risk-taking. http://gsbl.ukzn.ac.za
well in the past, but have now

Taking Top Honours
Stella Khumalo, chief
executive of uShaka Marine As head of uShaka Marine
World, took top honours World, Mrs Khumalo faces a
in the government section of number of challenges, not least
of which is growing footfall in
the Durban Businesswomen’s the park during tough economic
MBAPursue an Association Regional Business times when people are cutting
at UKZN Achiever Awards 2016, reinforcing down their spend on luxuries. This
her achievements at the helm of entails dealing with issues such as
 Our MBA Programme is internationally recognised and accredited by the Council on Higher Africa’s largest marine theme park. seasonality, broadening the target
Education of South Africa. market of uShaka, diversification
On accepting her award at a of offerings, encouraging repeat
 The UKZN Graduate School of Business and Leadership is ranked in the top 10 of the PMR Africa gala dinner on Friday, 29 July visits and always giving visitors
2015 ranking of business schools. 2016 at the Durban International a ‘beyond our expectations’
Convention Centre, Mrs Khumalo experience.
 The UKZN Graduate School of Business and Leadership is ranked in the top 10 of the Eduniversal thanked both her team at uShaka
Rankings as an excellent business school. for delivering world class service As CEO, Mrs Khumalo is
on the ground and the uShaka tasked with delivering on this
 UKZN has been ranked the highest in the country for research output for three consecutive years – Board for their unwavering mandate. In addition, she is
Department of Education and Training Report on institutional research output 2014. support. also charged with aligning the
development objectives with
 UKZN is one of three universities in South Africa and indeed in Africa rated amongst the top 500 “As CEO, I aim to continuously those of its major shareholder, the
universities of the world according to the Academic Rankings of World Universities. make a difference. Being head eThekwini Municipality. uShaka
of uShaka Marine World means Marine World is about to embark
 The UKZN Graduate School of Business and Leadership is a full member of the Association of African ensuring that this ship remains on a programme comprising
Business Schools (AABS). buoyant, continues to sail short, medium and long term
smoothly and reaches new waters projects over the next 20 years to
 The UKZN Graduate School of Business and Leadership is a member of the South African Business that it has not reached before. ensure that it remains a must see
Schools Association (SABSA). I want to ensure that uShaka attraction. n
Marine World continues to grow
 Our MBA Programme is delivered through evening and block classes to accommodate candidates in stature and further entrenches
holding full-time jobs. itself as one of the leading edu- www.ushakamarineworld.co.za

 Our MBA students have access to leading academics and industry experts who are nationally and tainment and tourist destinations
internationally renowned specialists in their elds. in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal and
South Africa,” she said.
Join the UKZN Graduate School of Business and Leadership and excel in business administration.
Mrs Khumalo provides strategic
Applications for 2017 now open. management and leadership to a
staff complement of 500. Under
Tel: +27 31 260 8673 her tenure, uShaka has displayed
Email: gsbladmissions@ukzn.ac.za a commitment to sound financial
Web: gsbl.ukzn.ac.za management and good corporate
governance which resulted in
a clean audit during the past
financial year.

During her career, Mrs Khumalo Stella Khumalo
has focused on three key areas -
education, tourism and assisting
the previously disadvantaged.

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