- June 19, 2015
- Posted by: Alldenslane
- Category: Uncategorized
Drawing Business Values from Ghanaian Adinkra Symbols
Mo Issa: CEO of Kimo Homes
In honour of Father’s Day this Sunday, we are excited to feature one of Alldens Lane’s favorite male entrepreneurs, Mo Issa. Mo exudes the epitome of authentic leadership. An accomplished entrepreneur with over three decades of entrepreneurial practice and experience, Mo has seen and enjoyed tremendous business success. However, as he indicated in his TEDXAccra talk on April of this year, his most life impacting and life transforming moments came when he endured a personal adversity following serious accident suffered by his brother and beloved nephew; as well as a threatening bankruptcy for his business, Kimo Homes.
Though both his brother and his nephew fully recovered, and Kimo Homes got its mojo back in a big way, both adversities led Mo to examine his own life and values. He transformed into a man who finds joy in simple things, a man who wants to give back of his personal success to the underprivileged in his community, and into a man who has found his authentic self. This authentic self has seen him transforming his business even more successfully, and being an authentic, transformational leader in the business sector as well as the social sector. A certified Life Coach and a writer, Mo Issa to us is the archetypical entrepreneur and leader par excellence.
What is your favorite Adinkra Symbol?
I have two favorites – the Adinkkrahene and the Ananse Ntontan
How have values from these Adinkra symbols impacted your business?
Adinkrahene: I always want Kimo to lead in our market segment and have always tried to be the first to start with innovative products. Also I love to inspire as I believe we all need to be inspired so we can grow and when we inspire others we also magically grow ourselves.
Ananse: I believe creativity is the way our souls connect on the ground and we need to keep doing that to stay alive and the minute we shut the door to creativity then we wilt away like a rose that loses its petals.
Wisdom is all about being objective and looking at things without putting yourself first. And since I was 10 years old I would always ask the big questions and would startle adults with my understanding of wisdom.
What is the best career advice you ever received?
Work smart, not just hard. Look at the big picture and focus on strengths while managing weaknesses.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Keep you self motivated and your workplace a motivating place so that you can always give 100%. The start of projects and when emergency happens are often exciting and keep you going but it’s the middle times when things are just grinding along that you need to have a good system that keeps everyone motivated.
Also, always be in the thinking mode that you are going to sell your company and in that way you feel responsible for it to be real effective and performing so well.