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Howard Schultz Returns in Starbucks

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Howard Schultz has returned as interim CEO of Starbucks, the US coffee shop giant, following the retirement of Kevin Johnson. For Schultz, that will be the third time he is taking the reins of the company. Schultz founded and ran Starbucks for three decades, building it from 11 stores and 100 employees to 28,000 stores worldwide.

But the succession playbook seems to be the most challenging part as no one, but him, he reasons,  seems to have a clear roadmap on how to unlock and sustain value in Starbucks. The market is not happy, for the return, as Starbucks is trading off by 4% today (possibly because he has killed the stock buyback).

Some founders and their companies are entwined. Lots of materials for business schools on succession and how to execute it in this age.

Just three weeks ago, Starbucks (SBUX) announced that it had big plans to lavish its shareholders with new rewards. The company said it was reinstating its stock buyback program, touting a $20 billion commitment over the next three years.

“While our growth this year will not be linear, we are confident our approach supports a profit positive company today and over the long-term, creating value for all stakeholders, our partners, our customers and our shareholders,” Chief Financial Officer Rachel Ruggeri said in a presentation to investors.
But that plan was thrown out of the window when Howard Schultz assumed the role of interim CEO on Monday, taking the reins of the company for a third time.

2023: Don’t Be Carried Away By Frivolities

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I thought it wise to come up with this topic solely to enable me to communicate to fellow Nigerians in a language they would understand. Hence, I promise to maintain it to a great extent.

I have noticed that oftentimes we spend most of our time indulging ourselves in issues that do not hold water or that should be discussed by men of the underworlds. This manner of act is simply unwholesome for our individual or collective growth, thus should be shown the way out.

It is no longer news that for some time now, some Nigerians have in their numbers been spending their precious time condemning certain politicians as regards the impending 2023 general elections. According to their opinion, the set of politicians in question does not deserve to be given a chance to emerge victoriously at the polls. They, on the other hand, shower praises on the ones they believe deserve to win the contest.

This kind of discussion begotten by mere hatred or ill-advised thoughts is definitely not unusual at such a period like this. This is one of the things I call frivolities as rightly captured on the above topic.

We must, at no cost, be carried away by frivolities; things that do not matter; issues that are of no meaningful content; issues meant to be deliberated by people that are educationally less-privileged. Read my lips.

At such a time like this, what ought to have been the topic for discussion is what actually the aspirant is made of; where he is heading to; what he is up to; what motive he has for the country at large or as the case may be; above all, his individual ideology.

The aspirants as individuals, should possess their personal sense of reasoning, thus must not act based on other persons’ reasoning. Just as every discerning individual is expected to have an independent mindset, so should he or she.

In other words, we are required to assess any of the aspirants in accordance with his personal ideology, orientation, background, antecedents, and aim, rather than by that of the people around him.

I am trying to inform us that analyzing the aspirants based on the ideologies of others around them, is very wrong. We need to analyze him according to what he, as a person, possesses upstairs. Hence, it is a wicked thing to be against the humble dream of a certain individual simply because he is affiliated to one or two persons we disagree with, or in affiliation with a particular political party.

Every aspirant has his own name and identity. He could boast of a certain background. He should also have some achievements credited to his person. Among all, he can boast of a unique dream just like any other rational creature should.

These, therefore, are the basic facts we should be focusing on instead of transferring aggression or making an effort to witch hunt someone who was uniquely created by God just as each of us was.

As a person, if he has a burning desire to occupy a certain position someday, why should we antagonize such lofty intentions? The funniest part is that each time I interview most of this set of Nigerians, they seem not to have any tangible fact that makes the politician in question unqualified.

We are really paying much attention to frivolities. We are spending most of our precious time discussing events that never existed and will never happen. Such an act is barbaric my dear brothers and sisters, hence the urgent need for us to wake up from slumber.  We must desist from it in earnest before it destroys our collective existence.

It is worthy of note that God Himself will never be happy with us as we are frantically condemning one of His precious human creatures. We must jettison this needless condemnation before it becomes so late. We are casting spell on, or eulogizing, someone without any justification.

A discerning mind, at this juncture, needs to have a close interaction with any aspirant before he or she could draw a holistic conclusion on his dream or political ambition. We need to sit down and directly hear from him towards finding out if he truly has what it takes to occupy the position being aspired for.

Whatever that is running in our various minds right now, the point I am trying to make is that every aspirant is uniquely created, possesses a unique mindset and background, thus it would be inhuman for us to continue condemning his harmless dream.

Mind you, such an attitude is liable to attract the wrath of God. Hence, I sincerely urge us not to be carried away by frivolities. Do not let your intuition becloud your reasoning faculty.

The time has obviously come for us, as a people, to make a decisive decision that would yield a befitting future for our collective existence.

How The Advancement Of Technological Tools Is Boosting National Economies

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If we observe the world economies, we will notice that over the last few decades, there has been a drastic transformation as countries strive for economies driven by technology. To compete efficiently on the global stage, countries have innovated and maximized the use of technology to boost its economy. One very important aspect of technology is that it bridges the gap between countries and citizens through technology-based products and commercial products.

Technology-based economic development has indeed become a means through which a nation’s economy can thrive. Technology has been proven to represent a positive force that enhances human capabilities and expands resources. The use of technologically advanced tools by different countries has not only seen them invent the latest high-tech tools, but it has also led to the implementation of new ways of doing things, and also in the development of tools that aid in economic development.

Industrialized nations have been significant in the interaction system because these countries have transitioned from being based solely on Agriculture or extraction of raw materials, to being based on the production of manufactured goods through advanced technological equipment. Over the years, these countries have maintained a constant and significant economy at a very first pace. Looking at the impact of technology in the world today, it is widely accepted that technology is a key driver of a country’s economic growth.

Its implementation and use of it allow for more efficient production, and an easier way of doing things, which is what a country needs to boost its economic growth. In the labor market, technology is having profound effects courtesy of automation and digital advances where labor demands are shifted from routine low middle-level skills to higher-level and more sophisticated, analytical, technical, and managerial skills. In emerging economies, manufacturing-led growth has been the dominant driver, due to their comparative advantage.

Labor-intensive production, such an advantage has eroded the automation of low-skill work which has created the need to develop alternative pathways to economic growth aligned with technological change. According to research, studies have examined the contribution of individual use of ICT on economic growth. It was discovered that for every one percentage point increase in internet access, economic growth increased by 0.224 percent.

Social media is another application of individual ICT usage, which many firms now use for meeting the needs of consumers as well as building industry networks. It has been disclosed that there is a relationship between social media and economic growth. For instance, in developing countries, social media has become an indirect factor of growth, with new businesses created through social media platforms.

Most countries are beginning to adopt the use of technology in almost all of their sectors because they have discovered that a country that spends on the implementation of new technologies will grow faster than another country that is accumulating more capital but spending less on technological advancements.

Technology has been proven to be at the forefront in driving a nation’s economy. With so many start-ups springing up in Nigeria, and also the establishment of ICT centers, I strongly believe that the country’s economy will skyrocket. According to reports, the information technology and telecommunications sector is currently the largest contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Tekedia Live – Managing Operations for Productivity

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Tekedia Live continues tomorrow. We will be focusing on a critical component of business execution: productivity. Our Faculty is Modupe Olusoga, the Chief Operating Officer of Streamsowers & Köhn (a law firm), and a former HR Business Partner of KPMG Nigeria.

How do you combine factors of production efficiently to pursue your mission? Yes, elephants fly! Our faculty will provide the roadmaps.

Tue, April 5 | 7 – 8.00pm WAT | Managing Operations for Productivity – Modupe Olusoga, COO, Streamsowers & Köhn. Zoom in the Board.

Tekedia Mini-MBA >> learn from the best. Register here.

The Elon Musk’s $3billion Tweet

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As a citizen in the world reshaped by Elon Musk, I wrote last month: “Elon Musk is brilliant but there is one thing he cannot achieve: a zero-censorship social media platform… Will Musk provide that freedom? My answer is IMPOSSIBLE.” Yes, I used the word “impossible” for the generation’s finest and greatest innovator.

But today, the news is that Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has bought a big chunk of Twitter: “The billionaire Elon Musk has taken an almost $3bn (£2.3bn) stake in Twitter to become the social media platform’s largest shareholder.” The market has responded by shooting Twitter valuation up by 25%!

Yes, we were looking for a new social media platform. But he scored a slam dunk by going after an already existing one. I expect Elon to begin to exert his influence on Twitter as the nights and the days break in the coming months. Yet, I am not withdrawing my call that Musk cannot deliver a zero-censorship social media platform. Why? It is impossible.

People, the Western world censors via private companies. China and Russia censor via the government. And that means Twitter has to censor; I am not sure Elon Musk can change that outcome because, interestingly, censorship is necessary.

Case study: when the US killed an Iranian general via drone attack when Trump was president, I saw the power of fake news and the importance of managed censorship. Iran “retaliated” by sending missiles to a base in Iraq which killed none (it warned ahead that it was sending them). Later, it went on its public TV to show images of “American soldiers” who were killed. That was fake news, but it was a necessary one as once the citizens saw those images, the demonstration stopped because Iran had avenged the death. For that to work, they censored the real news and peace reigned!

The billionaire Elon Musk has taken an almost $3bn (£2.3bn) stake in Twitter to become the social media platform’s largest shareholder.

The world’s richest man, who has a penchant for eccentric behaviour frequently involving posts on Twitter, has built a 9.2% stake in Twitter, according to filings made to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday.

The boss of Tesla and SpaceX, who with more than 80 million followers ranks in the top 10 most popular Twitter users globally, paid $2.89bn for the stake at Twitter’s closing share price on Friday.

Shares in the microblogging site soared as much as 26% in pre-market trading on the back of the news, adding more than $8bn to its $31.5bn market value before Musk’s interest was made public. After the stock price jump Musk’s shares are now worth about $3.6bn.

But with a “tweet” of $3 billion, who knows? Waiting to read Trump’s statement on this….