Tag: BTS

F.I.V.E Questions With Deon Greyling, Partner, BTS Middle East & Africa

  1. Briefly describe your background. 

I started life as the son of a policeman and a typical upbringing in South Africa – at the time the country was divided along racial lines with major divisions and inequalities. Although my father was a policeman in the old government, he taught me the value of the human being, and treating people of all walks of life with the same focus on potential rather than circumstance. I attended a local university studying B.Comm Law – a unique combination of law and commerce. I completed my LLB (Honours in Law) as well as my MBA along the way. Seeking knowledge, interacting with people and being curious about the world around me has driven my work experiences. I started out as a commercial lawyer (largely the fault of the portrayal of lawyers in a US TV Show of the mid 80’s, called LA Law). I soon realized that life was more precisely worded contracts and endless hours in courtrooms and meeting rooms. I joined BTS in 2000 and started a life of consulting. Working for BTS over the last 18 years has presented me with an amazing opportunity to work with some of the most inspiring  people (both internally as well as our clients and partners) and continually satisfy my curiosity on how the world works, how strategies are translated into reality and how great leaders inspire and motivate people to be their best.

 

  1. Flashback and then fast forward to the present, what has surprised you the most about your career trajectory and what tips do you have for other embarking on similar path?

My career trajectory had me as a managing director of a company at the age of 26 and partner in a global consulting company by 35. A couple of learning along the way:

  • People are as important as performance – care about your relationships with people as much as you care about results.
  • Never say “no” to learning opportunities that will stretch you.
  • Focus on your faith, your family and the future – having something that you deeply believe in, that drives your decision-making and value system creates stability and direction in your life, finding purpose in a cause bigger than you and your meager existence helps keep you humble and grounded in the course of life – focusing on family and the future (and not varnishing the past) helps me understand the reason and motivation for getting through the tough times, and for celebrating the small victories in life. Work and life in general would surely be of little or no value if you only lived for yourself and had no cause or direction
  • Know your values…never sacrifice or trade your values – no matter what your victory, if you have traded your values, you will always feel empty
  • Know your value – don’t settle for less than you are worth. People will pay you for the job you do – this is defined by market value for the services performed – but never let your job define your worth.

 

  1. Why is the cause you are pursuing or problem you are solving the most important for this generation?

Helping people do the best work of their lives by providing them and their organization with the required alignment, mindset and capability ultimately helps build more sustainable businesses, and a better planet. By helping leaders see the long-term impact of their decision-making, and then equipping them with the business, leadership and functional acumen to make the right decisions faster will shift not only companies, but countries and markets. The Middle East and African market contains some of the biggest differentials between the “Have’s” and the “Have nots” – reducing this differential and increasing people’s opportunity to actively and meaningfully participate in a global economy lies in developing people and companies in these markets to continue to grow in competitiveness. What we do at BTS helps accelerate this by innovating how companies and their leaders change, learn and improve.

 

  1. Why is now the right time for the world to pay attention to the Africa market?

The growth in Africa, as with many other growth markets, is not evolutionary – but rather revolutionary. The biggest misconception about growth economies is that they follow the same learning curve as more mature economies. The rate of learning in these growth economies is accelerating and tends to be more “step-changes” and skipping technology and learning curves as the global economy becomes more integrated and virtual. Companies will be able to immediately introduce new products and solutions – removing some of the barriers for smaller companies (and making markets more accessible). At the same time, Africa is an extremely entrepreneurial continent with amazing diversity of people and thinking – and the global economy now affords a more global contribution both inbound and outbound.

 

  1. What is the best piece of actionable advice you’ve received that continues to be a source of inspiration in good times and challenging times?

The best advice I have received is to focus on your passion and what ignites your soul – money, fame or other worldly achievements will follow. Do the work you love, and you will never work a day in your life.

 

Connect with Deon on LinkedIn.

Learn more about BTS.

Education Can Stop The Vicious Poverty Mindset

Money can be a very personal and uncomfortable topic to discuss with a stranger. However, when the person sitting across genuinely cares and is equipped with the capability to help, the uneasiness slowly fades away and is replaced with an open and honest discussion. This discussion usually leads to knowledge sharing. With knowledge as the foundation, ideas are sparked. These ideas then turn into goals backed up with time sensitive actionable plans. Money Mondays is a financial literacy workshop carefully designed to turn basic financial knowledge into actionable plans that deliver the highest impact for people in low-income communities. The program content was developed by AVO Vision (a BTS company) and is sponsored by South African Brewers (SAB), one of the world’s largest brewers by volume, in partnership with Better SA, a leading volunteer organization in South Africa.

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I had a chance to experience this workshop first hand. There were 30 participants at the workshop which took place at the Thusong Youth center, in the heart of the Alexandra Township in Johannesburg, South Africa. The session started with the facilitator, Tlou (pictured above), encouraging the participants to share memories of money, both good and bad. As expected, the room was filled with silence as no one volunteered any stories. So Tlou then shared a personal story about how an incident that caused her to lose her entire month’s salary motivated her to get a better grasp on managing her finances wisely. Her story accomplished two things. First, she showed vulnerability which allowed the participants to empathize and relate with her. Second, she earned their credibility because she not only highlighted the expertise she’s developed over the years; she also affirmed her commitment to ensure they walked out of the session with a different mindset about money.

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The workshop touched on budgeting, financial goal setting, the different bank accounts and their advantages and disadvantages, the most common financial scams and cyber theft, how to boost your income and cut costs, basics of insurance and types of policies, and how to use credit responsibly.

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Later in the day, the participants were joined by Finance professionals from SAB. The Finance professionals acted as coaches and provided a second set of eyes on the personal budgets the participants created and their short-term and long-term financial goals. As you can imagine, the room was abuzz with idea exchange. The relaxed, fun and informal tone made discussing the tough topics palatable and it wasn’t random to hear groups burst into laughter, in fact it was highly encouraged. When I spoke with a few of the coaches after their one-on-one session, they all felt they were having an immediate impact and that the participants were responding well to their recommendations. When I probed further, a majority of the coaches pointed at the openness and keen desire of the participants to learn a new concept and immediately apply that concept as a sign that success is just around the corner for them. When I spoke with the participants, they all seemed excited to begin turning these recommendations into actions. Their choice of words in how they described what they would do next was an indication of their mindset shift.

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The coaches did point out a few potential challenges that could derail the participant from achieving their financial objectives. The challenge most commonly mentioned was accountability. To address this challenge head-on, one of the coaches set an appointment with his group to connect in a month’s time to measure progress on their short-term goals. In addition, they established and agreed on a regular cadence to ensure they hold each other accountable; now that is how you coach!

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One big takeaway for the coaches was that we all share similar aspirations for life no matter our environment. We can all have big bold goals, we just need to put together a plan of action and commit to following through no matter the obstacles that may come our way. Some of us are lucky to be born into more conducive environment that gives us access to amazing resources that we may sometimes take for granted, like 24/7 electricity and clean water. A couple of the ladies at the workshop shared with the class that their long-term goal is to build a school one day. The authority and confidence in which they spoke about their goal really inspired me. And by attending the workshop, they were taking the right steps towards their goal.

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I strongly believe that education can stop the vicious poverty mindset and uplift generations out of poverty. When a majority of people are educated, that can be the catalyst for progress and positive change. Governments, societies, families and organizations that prioritize education usually benefit from the investment. I am privileged to be part of an organization that dedicates resources to educating members of their community. If you want to leave a legacy, figure out ways you can transfer some of the skill and knowledge you’ve acquired over the years to someone less fortunate. When you do, you are impacting generations to come; also you may just get an invite to a wedding or a special invitation to an exclusive party. If you have any doubts, just ask Tlou; she’s been invited to countless weddings by former students.

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