Eagles Camp 2023 – Keynote Address

Ladies and Gentlemen, this says it all indeed. So many words of wisdom captured in a small capsule. Over the next few minutes, I am going to elaborate on just a few of the lines in this poem, which not only motivated me to the top but also guided me through particular phases of my career.

Let us begin by looking at these two lines:

“If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too;”

My dear friends, it is a tough world out there and the choices that you make would have far reaching consequences on your future. They may be choices to do with your career, choice of partner and many more. Several and varied factors will influence your choice. Your family, your friends, your peer group, even your detractors would all have a bearing on what you do. As important as these influences are, remember, at the end of day, the decision is always yours to make, and you will have to live with the consequences. Along the way, there will be many moments of reflection, anxiety, consultation and even self-doubt. But remember, you are in a very lonely position when you make that crucial choice. I’ll give you an example. When I left the sixth form and wanted to pursue mining as a career, all my friends, teachers and indeed my parents had serious doubts about the wisdom of my choice. I was expected to pursue a more glamorous profession. At that time, mining was associated with the wretched of the earth, the barely shirtless ones. Although, I listened to their doubts, the mining profession represented to me a unique opportunity. This was an industry which had little attraction to offer Ghanaian professionals. Because of its  colonial influence, the management was almost  exclusively expatriate. I knew that at some stage that

situation would change and for me, therein lied the  opportunity.  

Of course, I took on board the concerns, anxieties and the  advice of those who had my well-being at heart. At the  end of the day, when that lonely moment came, I stuck  with my conviction and determined that I would make my  choice work. I hope you’ll all agree that I haven’t turned  out too badly after all! I must admit that it hasn’t been  solely through my own efforts. I have been blessed with a  supportive family, friends, teachers, professional  colleagues and members of the Ashanti Goldfields team.  Friends, the lesson from my experience is that by all  means “listen to other people’s advice as it helps you  assess the risks, but always remember that you are the  creator of your own destiny.” Believe me, if you want to  achieve success, then you need to have a clear vision, a  strategic road map and the determination to achieve it.  Kipling explains this as:  “If you can dream — and not make dreams your master; If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim”.

The Bible says “where there is no vision, the people  perish”. There is also an American saying “If you do not  know where you are going, any road will take you there”.  Turn around and look at those who made roaring  successes of their careers on the foundation of a strong  vision. Take Bill Gates who built Microsoft and Richard  Branson who built the Virgin Empire from scratch – they  could accomplish this because they had both a clear  vision and the determination to achieve their goals.  On the way to the attainment of your vision, you will  encounter many challenges. There will be setbacks, there  will be disappointments, you will be ridiculed, you will be  betrayed. There would also be many happy moments. My  friends, if you were to ask me which of my experiences I  regard as most valuable in life  successes or failures. I  would say “Both” and as Rudyard Kipling said:  “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two imposters just the same;  ….Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,  And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;  And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; ……….And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”  As some of you will be aware, we built Ashanti Goldfields  from a single mine company (Obuasi) to a multinational  company owning six operating gold mines in four African  countries. Since 1996, Ashanti has acquired several  listed companies and built three new mines in Ghana,  Guinea and Tanzania. Ashanti was the first African  company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.  This experience was most satisfying and invaluable.  This vision was put through the acid test during the gold  price spike of 1999 which resulted in our hedge counter-  parties making cash calls as security for their exposure.  This resulted in a major liquidity squeeze, as it came at a  time when we needed US$125 million to build, what was  going to be one of our strongest mines – Geita mine in  Tanzania. This problem was worsened further by the  interference of the then Ghanaian government thereby resulting in the fall of Ashanti’s share price to such levels  that the New York Stock Exchange was considering de-  listing Ashanti. Rather than throwing our hands-up in the  air and walking, we chose to hold firm and rebuild the  future. Four years on now, Ashanti is a much stronger  company and it is an object of desire, indeed a much  sought-after bride.

What I have just said is true with most successful  entrepreneurs and leaders. I can give you a number of  examples of men and women who were frustrated when  they first came up with their innovations or vision, but  have gone on to make a success of their lives as result of  sheer courage and determination. The key here is to  persevere and never give-up, in spite of the odds.  I must admit that sometimes the odds appear most  overwhelming. Let’s look at our present circumstances.  Our continent is beset with many problems and  unemployment,  challenges  poverty,  lack of opportunities, wars, diseases, famine, instability etc. Our  country has had its fair share of problems, and despite  the progress made to date, we still have mountains to  climb. In circumstances such as we find ourselves in  now, it is so easy to feel helpless, hopeless and frustrated  to either give up or resort to all sorts of undesirable  practices to further once own self-satisfaction.  achieve nothing by doing this, other than to compound an  already worsening problem. Sadly, there is a rising trend  in our country for youth to resort to easy options to make  money. We see this around us all the time. I am sure all  of us have friends who have gone down this route, only to  fail.

Ladies and Gentlemen, there are no short cuts in life.  Whatever be your choice of career, apprenticeship is a  must. To achieve success in your careers, you need to  put in every effort to master the required skills set. There  is only one instance that I can think of in this world,  where the word ‘Success’ comes before ‘Work’ and that is  in the English dictionary. I compare a career to a tall ladder. You can only climb to the top by placing your feet firmly on every rung of the ladder. In your climb up the ladder, you will come to appreciate that success comes out of team effort and that it takes all  sorts to make a team. I always liken a leader’s role to that  of a conductor of an orchestra. His primary responsibility  is to ensure that the team plays in total harmony. His  challenge is to get the best out of everybody. Egos would  have to be managed, conflicts resolved and hurt feelings  smoothed. A leader must have the heart to rise above  personal feelings, forgive mistakes and pull the team  together. Contrary to what most people believe, it is not a  weakness to have a big and forgiving heart. A good  leader must be a conciliator, in fact every leader must  aspire to be a Nelson Mandela. Talking of Mandela, let me  say that we all have an awful lot to learn from the South  African experience. No country has gone through as  much pain and suffering and yet the world did not witness the nightmare of retribution and revenge which  was predicted by many. The country decided to put the  terrible past behind it and build a new future.  Let me share a recent experience with you. I was recently  in South Africa on business and was having my hair cut.  I started talking with the hairdresser and as you would  expect the apartheid experience cropped up in the  conversation. He confirmed that he, like many of fellow  South Africans, was affected by the many horrific and sad  experiences of yester-years. But strangely he recounted  his terrible experiences without rancour or bitterness and  made a most profound observation. He said that he had  been guided by his father’s favourite expression – “Whilst  walking, if you continuously look over your shoulder, you  run the real danger of tripping over your own feet”. It was  a profound message indeed. We must all learn to let go.  A successful leader is one who is prepared to let go, bury  the past and look to the future. This is the only way his  team can move forward.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we do live in interesting times.  The world is changing at an incredible pace. What  appears to be modern technology today, becomes  obsolete before you blink. To make a success of these  challenging times, you must always think outside the box.  A leader should always confront change, question the  status-quo and never take ‘no’ for an answer, especially  when confronted with what appears to be, at least  initially, a problem that cannot be resolved. 

Rudyard  Kipling in one of his other poems ‘Six honest men’ said it  brilliantly: