Adinkra Symbols Series. Featured CEO: Ruka Sanusi

Drawing Business Values from Ghanaian Adinkra Symbols Series
Featured CEO: Ruka Sanusi

Values are an integral part of every business. They form the values and provide authenticity for the brand. Throughout June, Alldens Lane will showcase a series of entrepreneurs and their business values as derived from the Ghanaian Adinkra Symbols, and The Business Woman blog will be documenting these interviews. Our wonderful PR team, Inen Limited, decided to start with quizzing me on my favorite Adinkra symbol and why?

Favorite Adinkra symbol and why: It has to be the nyasapo. This is the symbol of wisdom, ingenuity, intelligence and patience. I draw a lot of strength from all of these values, so to speak. I am a lateral thinker and my mind works in a lateral way – I draw a lot insight, information, knowledge and learning from the simplest moments and experiences (that’s why I’ll escape to the Aburi mountains or to Kawhu every so often to ‘draw strength’), plus I think a lot, in an constant effort and quest for clarity. Life is also about purpose for me and purpose is very much about patience – being patient with yourself, your destiny and allowing things to unfold in God’s appointed time. Patience to experience what has been destined at the right time, in the right moment, at the right place and with the right people.

How have these values impacted your business? My business values are leadership, professionalism, excellence; and, not coincidentally, this demonstrates why the nyasapo symbol resonates with me. Leadership (literally leading a ship, be that your business, stakeholders and inadvertently your clients) and professionalism is key to business success. Yes, we don’t live in a perfect world and your professionalism doesn’t always get you the results you want because of collusion. I know. However, we must, must, must seek to execute our vision, activities and tasks, and run our business with professionalism, ingenuity and excellence. I see my clients as partners. Their success is my success – so I seek their business good at all times, even though it means being very tough with them sometimes with the advise I give. It is from that sense of partnership that ingenuity comes. Believe me, I want to understand, need to totally understand my clients and their vision thoroughly, or indeed help them shape it. It is from that ingenuity and ideas flow

Best career advice I ever got? Forge your own path. That was the advice I received from a client (would you believe it?) from Zambia some 20 years ago over breakfast. I think in life we often want to follow the pack, forgetting that we are uniquely formed and uniquely formed for a purpose at that. Respecting the views of others, I often didn’t agree or had different thoughts and ideas on how to do things during my corporate career. And I had to remind myself that I am not weird – I am a product of my experiences and upbringing, and I am uniquely formed. I am not supposed to always fall in line with the status quo.

Advise to aspiring entrepreneurs? Forge your own path! Yes, forge your own path, but do so with professionalism, do so with leadership and do so with excellence. Be ingenious. Be unique and be authentic. Therein lies your distinction. Don’t try to copy others. You have within you something that is tremendously distinctive. Have mentors, get professional help when needed for therein you shape your own thoughts and have clarity of vision. Without clarity and strength of vision, you will have little strength to persevere.