Dear Michael and all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who participated and contributed to this 10day discussion moderated by MM. Indeed it has been an amazing 10 years, one that has helped begin a transformation of our country. Thanks too for those who did not contribute :) listening is part of the job, where would all those mobile calls go if no one was prepared to listen! Michael, thank you for having been such an active member of this very vibrant community, for always responding despite some rather difficult discussions that would sometimes border on the personal. OK, in fact often got personal, but I think you have heard just how highly we all think of you. We look forward to continuing to work and interact with you. We look forward to having similar interactions with new CEO Bob Collymore, welcome Bob. Listers, we intend to put together excerpts of this discussion and present it to Michael at a function we shall organize very soon to say kwaheri ya kuonana to him and welcome Bob. Thank you very much MM for moderating the 10 day discussion. Very best, Alice Munyua On 10/19/10 2:32 PM, Michael Joseph wrote:
Thank you for all your kind wishes, appreciations and words of advice. I
will attempt to respond as much as possible.
Muriuki asked me to response to specific questions which are listed
below and I will add other responses to comments expressed from other Listers.
- What is behind the success; is it luck, ability to manipulate
the environment around you?
There are many factors behind the success of Safaricom, but I would sum
it up as follows:
We determined that our core market was going to be the man and woman in
the street (matatu passengers if you will) and came up with prices, products and services that were accepted and used by this core market. We also make some wise (in hindsight) decisions like per-second billing, 24 hour 7-days a week free customer care, inexpensive handsets, pre-paid tariffs etc. We stressed our Kenyan roots both in our branding and our CSR programmes from the very beginning. It was a combination of knowledge and experience from the past (mostly what did not work), some knowledge of the local market, gut feel and luck.
- What drives you and can this be ported to other managers to
drive their enterprises to success like Safaricom
I am very ambitious, competitive and firmly believe in doing the very
best you can. I believe that we are all given great opportunities in life and its up to us to take these opportunities and use them for the benefit of our fellow man. I believe in integrity, care for ones fellow man and hard work and these credos can be used by anyone. Very few of us are born with a silver spoon in their mouths and therefore to be successful takes some effort. It came to me late in life but nevertheless it came.
- Is this specific to ICT sector or are these skills generic
and can apply to other sectors?
As above
- How do you manage time to handle all demands on your time
I handle stress quite well but I work quite long hours I start at 6am
and finish around 8pm and then usually I am required to attend some function. I use the hours of 6am to 8am to deal with all my emails and reading of documents and the rest of the day is for meetings both formal and informal. Weekends, wherever possible, belong to me and my family
- Going forward , how will you use your time
At this point, I have no idea. As the time gets closer I am getting a
little more concerned. I will remain on the Board of Safaricom for another 2 years, will maintain an office at Safaricom and will also act an advisor to Bob Collymore the new CEO, and the CEO of the Vodacom Group.
- And finally a chance to introduce the incoming CEO to the
listers
Bob is copied above and I have urged him to join this list.
Other comments:
1. I do respond to all emails addressed to me. I am particularly
2. I learnt early on to lead from the front. You need to be seen to be the leader and to act like one. The title of CEO or whatever does not make you a leader. When things are both bad and good you need to be seen and to take responsibility. I always admire people that when
3. I agree with Sam I need to achieve (its a fixation) and I am
4. To the PS (to whom I am eternally grateful), I still think some of your ideas are wacky but are probably right! I apologize about the lawyer no more can be said here! 5. To be clear: M-Pesa was developed by Vodafone using a co-grant from DFID. It was originally developed for the micro-finance industry for the disbursement and repayment of small loans. We were asked to
concerned when complaints are made about our service and we do not respond. I find this unacceptable but it is sometimes like pushing a large boulder uphill to get people to change although we are making progress. I want our subscribers to be satisfied with our service and I take it very personally when they are not due to our own inability to get things right they get promoted, suddenly have the wisdom they never had the day before (perhaps it came through the walls like osmosis). Take our Ministers as a perfect example. the second born! trial it in 2006 which we did and then Safaricom and Vodafone suggested and made the changes that created M-Pesa. M-Kesho was my idea as expansion of M-Pesa. Sambaza and Okoa Jahazi were ideas borrowed from other Vodafone companies Egypt mostly.
The future:
I have been urged to write a book, go in public service and or just fade
into the background. I really have not decided yet. A book sounds interesting but somewhat arrogant from my side, but maybe it will be necessary. I would love to do more for Kenya but NOT as a politician. Lecturing would be great but I have yet to be asked. I will take some time to think about it and then decide. Life will for sure present me with my next opportunity and challenge.
Thank you for allowing me to respond and once again thank you for the
many positive comments.
Regards,
Michael
CEO
Safaricom Limited
From: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2010 9:58 AM To: Michael Joseph Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] The big Kwaheri: reflecting on 10 years on the MJ 10 yrsafari and his-tory - day 1
Hi Listers
As you are aware , Michael Joseph (MJ) leaves the office of CEO on 31st of this month after a 10 year career at Safaricom. As is tradition, we at KICTAnet bid our members welcome/ farewell and certainly
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of muriuki mureithi this list is the tool of choice supplemented by a bash when feasible . this is what we want to do starting now from 10 hrs today the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10 year of the new century we wish to take just 10 days to reflect on the MJs 10 year safari ---- . As usual we expect fair and candid thoughts from our hearts and mind and the daily prompting questions will provide a structure for our discussion
we shall present your candid views in style to MJ at a suitable time
shortly after the closure of the list discussion----
To kick-start discussion , first lets look back over your shoulder -
just recall when he landed in Nairobi in June 2000 and went to work on/at Safaricom. At 17k customers , with barely 9 base stations , the operator was the smallest and in the eyes of the potential consumer, an appendage of the towering TKL of the day . that was then , its no more
· What still lingers in your mind of MJ early days at
Safaricom, his interaction with you , the customers , the media, the regulator , competition etc?
· What factors shaped MJs and Safaricoms destiny did he
create the opportunities or was he just smart enough to take advantage of the situation?
· In juggling between competing technologies, customer
expectation, staff demands, government, market competition, what strikes you as MJs character that produces the results we see
· What do you think he could have done differently?
· What actions did MJ take then that are still inexplicable and
you would want MJ to explain now?
cheers
Muriuki Mureithi
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