In 2002, Kojo announced the establishment of this institution with the primary objective of training students in the study of media and communication. I know the announcement was received with skepticism. I must confess I was one of the many who wondered whether there was the need for yet another institution to do what I assumed was being done by The Ghana Institute of Journalism and the School of Communication studies at Legon. What was this school going to add to an already crowded field?
Not long after the announcement, I had the privilege of meeting Kojo, and I shared my doubts with him. He put my mind to rest by articulating a vision of a different kind of institution, one which will respond to the challenges of the times with the emergence of new media, globalized news systems, and the like.
Journalism has changed from when Journalists only reported the news, today they are expected to make intelligent commentary and analysis, they seed minds and set the agenda for most issues. This requires a new kind of Journalist, the kind this institution is producing. Ten years on, with justifiable pride, Kojo can claim that he is well on his way to achieving that lofty dream.
Today, this institution which started with 60 Ghanaian students, currently has 1400 students from 15 African countries and by all accounts AUCC has earned an enviable position in the field of media and communication education. Indeed there?s the tantalizing prospect that in 2014 UNESCO will name this institution a Centre of Excellence in communication education.
Kojo we are all truly proud of you. You and another great Ghanaian patriot, Patrick Awuah, are true pioneers in educational entrepreneurship. We celebrate you. We appreciate it is not easy being a pioneer. As you no doubt would have experienced, the pioneer?s path is at times thrilling, at times terrifying and often both.
You and Patrick have showed remarkable vision, courage, perseverance, generosity and tremendous hard work. You dared to pursue a new path; you sought a different vision; you pursued a new perspective; you adapted to this new perspective; you overcame adversity and you have shared your achievements with the broader community of Ghana and Africa. You have indeed exhibited the hallmarks of great pioneers.
On the 14th May, this year I received an email from Kojo with news that the Governing Council of this institution had decided to name AUCC?s Business School after me. The mail stated in part?
?the reason for doing this is to give a personal honour. It is time, in our opinion, for Africans to honour and immortalize the names of men and women who have impacted society?.
As exciting as the news was, I must confess, it was a bit overwhelming. Usually such an honor is conferred on people who have passed on to the next world. My feelings were rather mixed and were not dissimilar to how I felt on another occasion when I received a lifetime achievement award in Denver. The organizers chose to host the dinner at the Denver Museum and throughout the dinner I kept wondering about what had informed the choice of venue.Were they telling me something? ? had I become a Museum piece?
And now Kojo is asking me to lend my name to this school, an honor which is usually posthumous. That got me wondering again? is there a hidden message in Kojo?s gesture? If indeed there?s a hidden message, then Kojo, let me assure you I ain?t going anywhere soon! ?. MI YAAA?
On a more serious note, there can be no greater honor, and I am truly humbled.
The decision to accept hasn?t come lightly, there was deep contemplation. As we all know, such an honor comes with tremendous responsibility.
Undoubtedly, this honor will link me to this institution in a way that will require that both the institution and I reflect positively off each other. The quality of the institution and its outputs will reflect on my person and what I stand for; just as my own actions will reflect on the school and what it represents.
Naturally, as part of my contemplation, I visited the school to gain an appreciation of what this Business School was all about; what was it?s vision? what was its unique proposition? how is this school going to be different in content, experience and output from the plethora of Business Schools springing up all over.
I met members of the Board, the Faculty and of course the President. And I must say, I left the meeting with an endearing impression of a team that is daring to be different.
Ladies and gentlemen, the world is going through a difficult time, there are unprecedented political and economic challenges. The terrible state of the world?s economy characterized by a sense of hopelessness, helplessness, and restiveness, particularly among the Youth, is being blamed on leadership or the lack thereof, both in governance and at all levels of society.
We are witnessing economic downturns unprecedented since the great depression.
The economies of Europe, Japan, and the US are in serious difficulties. Standards of living are deteriorating in a manner that none of us would have thought possible.
Unemployment levels in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, France, are shocking.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you may ask, what has all this got to do with Business Education. Well, Business Education has come in for some very harsh criticism and understandably, Business Schools are being blamed in part for the state of the world?s economy.
Opinions are so strong that questions are being asked about the relevance of Business Schools. From Enron through Lehman Brothers, to Parmalat and BP, at the heart of these crises are heads of institutions who were educated in the best and most expensive business schools in the world, places where many people aspire to go, and indeed pay hefty sums and attend.
It is therefore not a surprise that questions are being asked about the content of Business School education, and their products. What do they teach to make their Graduates do things like what we saw in Enron?
Indeed an article in a recent publication by the Association of Business Schools, UK, asked ?
?How can schools best convince students that a business education is worth ?9,000 a year?… in the midst of widespread public anger at the lapsed morals of some of our biggest businesses, can and should schools try to prevent their alumni from turning into a new generation of Gordon Gekkos?
(Gordon Gekko is a character from the Movie ?Wall Street? portraying the archetypical investment Banker who only cares about success regardless of the price.)
What is it about current Business Education that attracts such opprobrium?
While it may be unfair to single out Business School education as the cause of all this turmoil, the fact though is that, we are where we are because the turmoil is the natural consequence of the emphasis on short-termism, the ?you are as good as your last quarter syndrome?, which is a key feature of corporate life.
To meet this requirement, Business Schools place too much emphasis on financial indicators and performance figures, the so called ?hard skills?. It is the over dependence on these hard skills by business leaders which has deepened the culture of short-term orientation at the expense of long term considerations, and the wider good of society.
It is widely believed, that Business Schools pay insufficient attention to the so called ?softer skills? such as ethics, integrity, social responsibility, value based decision making, appropriate communication skills, and emotional intelligence, otherwise known as ?Effie Nyansah??
For example, communication skills in this new world are a sine qua non to successful leadership. Many otherwise smart people and Leaders have caused tremendous havoc to their organizations with inappropriate utterances. In this regard, two cases spring to mind;
The case of Gerald Ratner is a text book example of the dire consequences which can bedevil an organization through miscommunication. In the corporate world there is now what is known as the, the ?Ratner effect?. In a speech at the Institute of Directors on 23rd April 1991, Gerald Ratner the founder and Chief Executive of the hugely successful Ratner Jewellery Company made an incredibly insensitive statement, he said ;
?We also do cut-glass sherry decanters complete with six glasses on a silver-plated tray that your butler can serve you drinks on, all for ?4.95. People say, “How can you sell this for such a low price?”, I say, “because it’s total crap.” that statement was perceived as an upfront to his customers and in the furore that ensued the value of the company plummeted by about 500 million pounds, very nearly resulting in the company?s collapse .
Ratner was forced out and the group changed its name to the Signet Group.
You may also recall the recent Oil Spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Bob Haywood the CEO of BP in a moment of frustration, said ?I can?t wait to have my life back?.
We all know that this reckless statement led to his demise, and caused a public relations disaster, costing BP lots of goodwill and made it easy for the U.S. government to slap them with a 20 Billion dollar fine, amongst other punishments.
These two gentlemen would have benefited from courses in emotional intelligence.
What these two examples show is that communication skills are crucial in the successful management of organizations. Sadly, most Business Schools are now beginning to appreciate the importance of including communication and presentational skills in their curriculum.
So clearly, there?s a need for Business Schools to rethink the content, quality and output of programs they offer, in order to ensure that they are not producing more of the same. Indeed it is most important to ensure that a typical Business School Graduate acquires a set of values and skills which makes him a more rounded individual and leader.
Now this brings me to the dream I have for the Jonah School. What are the core differentiating values we should inculcate in our graduates?
I believe that these values are indeed not far from us, they are already well woven into our African Culture. Almost every African Child of my Generation is taught these values as part of regular upbringing; things such as ?
?have a Vision, [dwen Hwe kann];
?Plan for the future, good times don?t last for ever [prom prom nti ho daa]
?Don?t talk ?by heart? my mother used to say?(i.e. think before you speak)
?A good name is better than riches [dzin pa ye sen ahonya]
Respect for everyone, especially elders, humility, eschewing haughtiness and boasting, thrift, personal responsibility, appreciating everyone?s contribution, a sense of community and being each others? keeper. A typical African upbringing instills these essential attributes of successful leadership. It is a paradox that in spite of such strong leadership foundation for the African child, the continent?s politics has generally not been well served with good leadership.
These values are now needed in greater measure in all leadership positions. Indeed they are crucial for success and yet, they are the very values the world seems to have overlooked. In my view, this may well be the cause of many of the global crises we face today. These set of values may well be the antidote to the malaise of short-termism.
In my own career, these values have served me very well. They have indeed been the bedrock of my stewardship and leadership. I hope and pray that these values would be the core of the training that this school offers.
It is my expectation that this school will train people to be globally knowledgeable, but locally relevant problem solvers; there will be less emphasis on monetizing human values, training must humanize and give leaders a keen sense of connection to our common reality; one that does not make them aloof and detached from the misery of the average person.
Our training must make our students capable of putting themselves in ?other people?s shoes?, assume the burdens of others; and give them a passion to alleviate poverty. The leaders we train must work to ensure that every potential of every person is given a chance to blossom so that we will all rise together.
Ladies and gentlemen this is my dream for this school. In summary, a typical Graduate of the AUCC Jonah Business School must embody certain values.
They must be entrepreneurial and compassionate; must be ethical; must have integrity; must have a clear vision of what is best for the individual and also the general good; must have the ability to draw a balance between short-term decision making and long-term value.
They must have emotional intelligence; must have empathy; must have appropriate communication and presentation skills; must have respect for all and must have a keen sense of community. They must be the thought-leaders shaping society.
If the Jonah School will be relevant to the times we live in then it must take on this challenge wholly, and succeed at developing the right curriculum and producing the right people.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am a Miner, in our quest for precious metals, we miners tackle nature and the elements, we have a lot of respect for the odds we face, we approach our work with caution and awe for the formidable challenge we undertake, and we do so after careful consideration of the issues and after serious preparation. We ensure that whatever we undertake to do, we only start if we have a better than average chance of success. We then gather all the resources we need and tackle the task.
I come to this challenge as a miner, and I assure you that I do not take it lightly. Education is far more precious than Gold or Platinum, and the odds we face today as we chart the course for ?A Different Kind of Business School suited to our Times and Nation? are not minor, but with everyone here, and under the able leadership of The President, I believe our chances of success are better than average and with the resolve to work hard at it, I believe we shall Succeed.
