By
Mical Imbukwa
Superficially, goal
setting looks easy and fast motion requires lone walk. However the masters know
that goal setting is “as easy as Climbing snow-capped rocky mountains.” And no
worthwhile journey will be accomplished without team input.
Are you stuck in the
circle of draggers that weigh you down enough to prevent you from moving
forward? Are you stuck with a goal that you have tried to implement for years
without success? Wondering on how to
succeed in life?
The story of George
Wachiuri, CEO Optiven Group, as he takes us through the power of mastermind
alliance and goal setting, will get you unstuck.
“You cannot achieve
your vision if you are all over! Goal setting helps us to focus on one area and
coordinate. You cannot for instance move to taxi business today because you
heard that is where money is. When you focus on one particular goal, you are
able to achieve it within the estimated period of time. For instance at
Optiven, we have a goal to create 15,000 jobs by the year 2035, and that is
what we are focusing on,” Wachiuri kicks off.
He notes that goal
setting helps us consolidate our resources. This enables one to see the
particular resources they need to achieve a particular goal. Even as an
organization expands, it has to focus on its goal. Goal setting is therefore
very important for any organization or individual that wants to move forward
because it provides the spot around which to rally employees.
Wachiuri remembers
those years when he failed 15 times in startups for he didn’t have a particular
goal he was chasing. “There was no clear goal. I was younger and my goal was to
be in business, but that is not how a goal should be. The goal should be
solving a problem within the society. So I think when I focused and decided
that the goal of Optiven is to settle Kenyans and to make sure that every
Kenyan has got a home, new energy came in!” he notes
What is being
implemented now, according to the real estate mogul, is a strategy laid down in
2008 when a vision had been crystalised as “to be pacesetters in social
economic transformation.”
Through giving back to
society, the Wachiuri is also answering to a commitment he made to God at Uhuru
Park when the whole world seemed to be against him. He promised God that if He
gave him money, he will give back to society and he will never skip a tithe.
True to this commitment, God has always been his pillar and greatest
consultant. He credits God for his success.
“The mastermind
principle is also what is making us succeed as Optiven. The principle states
that you cannot achieve much alone for you need to consolidate your knowledge;
efforts and you also need to create the spirit of harmony and ensure that the
environment and the culture is good!” he points out
Optiven succeeds
because it is able to focus on its vision, and to see this bear fruit; it hires
the right people and has created a culture for them. At Optiven, the CEO is not
the boss! The bosses are the customer, values and targets. If all the three
bosses are happy, one gets a promotion.
“Don’t come to Optiven
to please George for he is nothing but a servant! I am also subject to the
three bosses. That is why you find we are careful on customer service and
target and it is no wonder last year 2015, we won the Company of The Year Award
(COYA) for best and overall company in Kenya.”
Optiven is also proud
of the following awards; Best and Overall Company in Top 100 Mid-sized
Companies in Kenya 2014/2015. Best Property Developer, 2014/2015. Still in
2015, Optiven got the award for Best & Overall Company in Customer
Orientation & Marketing, COYA Awards. To add on this, the CEO of Optiven
Group, Mr. George Wachiuri was awarded as the Best & Most innovative
entrepreneur in the USA Mashujaa Awards 2015, under the category of Business
and Entrepreneurship.
Wachiuri links the
achievements to the culture of performance that has been harnessed at Optiven
where he states that nobody is supervised. The targets do the supervision. “If
you want to come to work at 9o’clock and leave at three; that’s your own
problem. As long as at the end of the month you hit your targets, no one will
ask you anything!” he notes
Every organization has
particular traits they look for in the people they hire to aid in realization
of set goals. For Optiven, the number
one trait is attitude, then passion and finally skills, of which skills can be
trained but attitude and passion is inborn.
“Optiven is a very warm
organization where there are no bosses but servants. We therefore look for
people with the right attitude; for with it they can be trained and mentored,”
he says
As they say, success
follows success. In his mastermind alliance, Wachiuri has successful people who
keep inspiring him on the path to greatness.With great pride and admiration, he
lists them as Kingston Ogango, Head of Media & Communications at Christ is
The Answer Ministries (CITAM), Rev Bishop Philip Gatutu, his wife, Mary
Wachuka, who is also Managing Director at Optiven group, Hon. Okello, owner of
Sahel publishers and also publisher of his books, Dr Lettin’g Kebiwott, Vice
Chancellor MUWA and Mr. Mwenda, HR manager for CIC.
This handful of people
is the group Wachiuri calls on in moments of defeat and strategic positioning
alike. Their inputs come in various shades, but are invaluable.
The mastermind
alliance, in Wachiuri’s view, should have a great impact on an individual or an
organization. A good mastermind alliance aids one unpack ideas. Whenever he has
challenges, they are able to encourage him. The people in Wachiuri’s close knit
circle are good Optiven ambassadors. They also contribute towards the success
of Optiven. They are great supporters.
It is true that a team
can help one go far but some members of the team can drag success. Wachiuri,
therefore, categorizes people into three; those who will trust you, encourage
you, inspire you and lift you up. This category of people, are very good to
have around because when you have an idea, they will help you unload it.
There are those called
the weights. For these ones, you spend time with them, you feel so heavy
because they offer no motivation. The best thing to do with these ones, he
says, is to remove them from your inner circle and take them to the third or
fourth circle.
Finally, there are the
draggers; these ones always drag you. You tell them an idea, they pull you
down. They will tell you that others have tried what you are attempting and
failed and so you have no reason trying. For these ones he says, you have to
put them off your inner circle.
“I have thrown people
out of my life severally. In fact, there are people when they call me for
coffee, I don’t go because by the time I am done with them, I am so exhausted
from the negative talk. I tell people jokingly that, you have no need having
people in your phonebook that can’t even loan you 5,000 shillings!” he quips
He says that there are
people he meets whenever needs energy. Dr James Mwangi of Equity bank is one of
them.From him, he tries to know how he copes with such a broad-based bank. The
spirit of Vimal Shah, of giving back to the corporate/society,
inspires him. In fact he says he is the man who made him participate in KEPSA,
in the governor’s round table and Kenya Property Developers Association (KPDA).
He has taught him on how to negotiate with the government on corporate issues.
“From Manu Chandaria, I
get the spirit of giving back to society. You go to Nairobi hospital; you find
he has donated a whole wing. You go to the University of Nairobi, he has
donated. The power of giving makes him look so young yet he is an old man. He
is a man who inspires me a lot, especially on philanthropy.”
Challenges in the
mastermind alliance, he says, come in fostering culture and harmony in an
organization. When the culture is right implementing of goals becomes easy.
“This is one great challenge we used to face at Optiven but when that warm
culture was harnessed, the performance culture, the value based culture and the
culture of honesty, everything started moving in the right direction. Honesty
runs Optiven and we therefore have no room for dishonest people,” he notes
His advice to young
ambitious youth with regards to the mastermind principle and goal setting is
that;
“All the time, don’t
plan to work alone. Get your two, three friends and start a course. Always be
patient. Don’t go into betting because you want to acquire quick wealth.
Success is a step by step journey just like climbing a ladder. Optiven is now
18 years old. We have been here for so long and when people see George Wachiuri
shine, let them know it has been a journey of 18 years.”
He also adds that,
young people should avoid comparing themselves to others. If they have to
compare, let it be to build them and not to feel jealous of other people’s
prosperity. “Forget about competition! Compete with yourself. God has given
each and every one of us abilities that we just need the right resources to
explore. If it is education, upgrade it. If it is inspiration read
inspirational books such as the ones done by me.”
He encourages the young
ones to form chamas, form limited companies and to join Saccos. They have to
work together until the time they feel they are stable enough to stand on their
own.
And to owners of
companies out there, he urges them not to be bosses but the partner to the
people working for them. They have to work with them and show them the vision.
“That is what we do at Optiven. We don’t say Optiven belongs to Wachiuri, we
say it belongs to all of us. We don’t call them staff; we call them partners
because we are here to work together. Every morning we say, “Who is Optiven”
and the staff shouts, “I am Optiven!
He adds; “At Optiven,
we are one team, one goal. We believe we can make the cake big and invite
people to cut it by creating more jobs. When you are out there, don’t give up.
Persist for when one door closes, another one opens. Create a commitment with
God for He is able to show us His favor when He is within us and whatever we
shall touch will prosper.”
His parting shot;
“In Kenya today, we
have opportunities that we can’t be able to exploit because Kenya is expanding,
revenue and expenditure is growing, thanks to the huge
market. The infrastructure is developing; the democratic space is now bigger.
We have opportunities, so let’s open our eyes and grab them so that we can
offer solutions to the society. As you offer the solutions, money is a
byproduct and so let us not focus on making money. Rather, let’s focus on
offering solutions to our society and then money will follow.”
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