Latest news with #stakeholders
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Kenya: Principal Secretary (PS) Oluga Calls for Increased Funding to Strengthen Family Planning Programme
Medical Services Principal Secretary, Dr. Ouma Oluga, has called on the Parliamentary Committee on Health to prioritise increased resource allocation to the national family planning programme. Speaking in Mombasa during a high-level stakeholder meeting on family planning commodity financing advocacy, Dr. Oluga underscored the critical need for sustained investment to ensure equitable access to family planning services across the country. 'To continue offering equitable and reliable access to family planning, the programme requires approximately USD 25 million—equivalent to Ksh. 3.2 billion—annually for the procurement, warehousing, and distribution of commodities,' he said. He noted that public education remains a key component of the programme's success, emphasizing that access alone is not enough without corresponding awareness. 'There is clear and compelling evidence that investing in family planning pays off. A 2018 cost-benefit analysis revealed that for every one shilling invested in family planning, Kenya saves up to four shillings in health care, education, and social services,' he added. Dr. Oluga identified low public awareness and limited access to commodities as major challenges hindering the effectiveness of the programme. He urged for deliberate efforts to address these barriers. 'We must help the population understand the value of family planning. As the Ministry of Health, our role is to implement what society needs and supports,' he said. The Principal Secretary affirmed that family planning is not only a health intervention but a national investment with long-term social and economic returns. 'It is a social equalizer, a means of promoting education, and a powerful lever for economic development. It is about saving lives, enhancing resilience, and securing a prosperous future for generations to come,' he stated. He further emphasized that children born into planned families are more likely to thrive—receiving adequate nutrition, accessing education, and reaching their full potential. Dr. Oluga described family planning as a cornerstone for public health, a pathway to unlock the demographic dividend, and a hallmark of a progressive, forward-looking nation. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Kenya.
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
The best leaders know how to inspire. Here's how
The goal for any leader is to build strong and productive relationships with their team and other stakeholders. And the best way to do this is by inspiring their audience every time they speak. This means creating believers with every set of remarks, whether they're having a brief hallway conversation or delivering a keynote speech. But how? To inspire others, embrace these five fundamentals: 1. ADOPT AN INSPIRATIONAL MINDSET The starting point for becoming an inspiring leader is developing the right mindset—one that is focused not on informing but on inspiring. Information, even when it's up-to-date and accurate, lacks the power to move others. Avoid content-rich presentations or conversations full of too many facts. Instead, always be in 'inspire' mode. Inspire mode keeps you away from delivering content-heavy slides or numbing statistics, and instead gets you to engage your audience with your belief or idea. Bring your listeners to the realm of possibilities. 2. LISTEN INTENTLY To inspire others, you need to listen intently. Leaders who fail to listen will not understand their audience's mindset and they won't be able to focus their message so it has maximum impact. There are three ways to listen. First, listen with your body. Face your audience and align your body with the person (or people) to whom you are speaking. Stand or sit up straight. Keep a receptive expression on your face and make strong eye contact. Keep your arms open. This body language will send a message that you care about your audience. Second, listen with your mind. You need to listen for the points the other person is making, and you also need to show that you've heard what they've said. You might interject phrases like 'Oh, that's so true' or 'Yes, that's a good point' or 'I agree' or 'Tell me more about that.' Such responses show that your mind is engaged and responsive. Third, listen with your heart. When you listen with your heart, you show that you are emotionally engaged. Heartfelt responses include being polite, being sensitive, and using expressions like 'I share your feelings' and 'That must have been difficult.' (For a full discussion of these three ways to listen, consult the chapter 'Listen, Listen, Listen' in my book Speaking as a Leader.) 3. SPEAK WITH A MESSAGE If you want to inspire, you need to speak with a message. Without a big, central idea, you can't expect people to follow you. Your message should be stated at the beginning of your remarks and elaborated on by everything else you say. So, after opening your conversation or speech with a bridge or a grabber, get to your point. If you're giving formal remarks, you might say 'My message to you is . . .' If it's a less formal situation, you might say, 'I believe that . . .' Own your message and present it clearly at the beginning. After you state your message, prove it. This requires sharing supporting evidence, usually in two to four points. You'll lift your audience's thinking from 'what is' to 'what can be.' 4. USE STRONG WORDS Inspiring leaders use compelling language. They know that every word testifies to their credibility. A leader's language is confident. They own what they are saying with expressions like 'I believe,' 'I see,' 'I know,' and 'I care.' They avoid tentative language like 'I'm not sure,' 'I don't know,' and 'I can't.' They also avoid filler expressions like 'um' and 'ah.' 5. END WITH ACTION Whether you are giving a formal presentation or offering a comment at a meeting, be sure to end your remarks with a call to action. After a job interview, you might say to the candidate, 'This has been a great meeting. We'll be in touch with you shortly.' You might conclude a more formal presentation with 'If we take the steps I have outlined, we will be a much stronger company. I look forward to your support for these initiatives.' By ending with a call to action, you'll move your audience from the present to the future you envision. You'll inspire your listeners by taking them from 'what is' to 'what can be.'
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Is your business reputation currently under fire?
Going through a difficult experience like bankruptcy can damage a company's public profile initially, but acknowledging its shortcomings and creating a transparent action plan to turn the situation around also provides the business a unique opportunity to reinvent itself during the downtime. Forward-thinking leaders spend time reassessing their product offerings, customer service strategies, and market positioning to better align with current consumer expectations. Taking a proactive approach to get back into the public's good graces assures past and prospective stakeholders that the company is not only recovering from a bad season of missteps productively, but it's also evolving for future success. Below, 10 Fast Company Executive Board members each share an action step company leaders can take to restore confidence among former stakeholders and supporters after their recovery and reflection period. 1. BE RADICALLY TRANSPARENT THROUGHOUT THE JOURNEY. Company leaders should implement radical transparency about their journey through the financial crisis, restructuring process, and specific reforms instituted. Publicly acknowledging past mistakes while clearly communicating the concrete steps taken to prevent recurrence demonstrates accountability and signals a genuine transformation that previous stakeholders can trust. – Tarek El Ali, ZBIOME™ 2. CONTROL YOUR BRAND'S NARRATIVE. Use strategic reputation management to rebuild trust: Proactively publish positive news, optimize SEO with owned content, and engage stakeholders directly. Controlling the narrative online helps suppress negative articles and restore your brand's public image. – Scott Keever, Keever SEO 3. SHARE YOUR RENEWED COMMITMENT TO CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE. Just as we build system resilience by establishing data integrity checkpoints, leaders should rebuild their brands by implementing transparent recovery milestones, demonstrating their financial stability and renewed commitment to customer-focused excellence. Then, share these progress markers regularly with previous stakeholders and supporters to rebuild the brand's reputation and credibility. – Chongwei Chen, DataNumen Inc. 4. FOCUS ON HIGHLIGHTING YOUR INVESTMENT VALUE FOR THE FUTURE. Honestly express what you have learned. Don't explain or defend what happened or what you did. Create your business case for what's next and consider how creating that can bring value to stakeholders' investment in you and your plan. – Jay Steven Levin, WinThinking 5. OUTLINE YOUR ROAD TO RECOVERY AND RESTRUCTURE. Engage in transparent, consistent, and empathetic communication with previous stakeholders and supporters. This means openly acknowledging challenges the company faced, taking responsibility where necessary, and outlining the steps taken to recover, restructure, and ensure long-term stability. – Britton Bloch, Navy Federal Credit Union 6. ENSURE YOUR REBRAND ADDS TANGIBLE VALUE TO THE INDUSTRY. First, rebrand thoughtfully and ensure the information about the new leadership is clear and communicated across your website, marketing materials, and customer touchpoints. Consistency and clarity here build trust. Second, don't stop at the visuals—reinforce the rebrand with substance. Launch improved products or services that reflect the new direction. A fresh identity means little without tangible value behind it. – Al Sefati, Clarity Digital, LLC 7. PAY YOUR BILLS IMMEDIATELY. The number one thing leaders can do post-bankruptcy to rebuild brand trust and credibility is to pay everything immediately as the bills come in. It will take some time, but doing that will show vendors and customers that you have made positive changes. – Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure 8. COMMUNICATE YOUR WINS AND STRENGTHS. We help our clients with this every day. Don't run from it, but don't lead with it either. Make sure your wins and strengths are front and center online, so when people look you up, they see progress, not just the past. If it comes up, own it, but frame it as part of the journey. – Travis Schreiber, 9. EXPLAIN WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN'T, AND WHAT'S CHANGING.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Former EFL club release statement after ‘very strange' delay in filing accounts leaves fans fearing the worst
FORMER League Two club Aldershot Town have released a statement amid concerns over the filing of their accounts to Companies House. Aldershot, who finished 16th in the National League this season, are overdue for the publication of their accounts for the last financial year. 2 The late publication of their accounts has led to the company being issued a notice for compulsory strike-off. A strike-off notice, which removes a company from the official register, effectively means a company ceases to exist as a legal entity if followed through. Aldershot are able to object to the strike-off and try and explain their situation to Companies House before the action is carried out against the business. Aldershot fans have voiced their concern online around the emergence of a compulsory strike-off notice appearing on the club's Companies House page, prompting a response from the club itself. A statement issued on X by the club's official account read: "The Club is aware of recent comments on social media regarding the delay in filing our annual accounts with Companies House. "The Club want to reassure our supporters and stakeholders that there is no cause for concern. "The delay, whilst regrettable, is administrative and the result of a migration to a new accounting system. "The transition has taken longer and proved more challenging than anticipated, but our finance team is working closely with our auditors/accountants to finalise the accounts, which we expect to file within the next seven days." Fans are still concerned by the situation with one supporter labelling it as "very strange". While a second wrote: "For full transparency, I think all of us fans would like to see how the accounts are doing". And a third added: "Well that eases no one's mind…" Aldershot won their first piece of silverware in nearly 20 years this season as they lifted the FA Trophy thanks to a 3-0 victory over Spennymoor Town at Wembley. The Shots have been trying to make a return to the EFL since their relegation from League Two in 2013, but are resigned to a 13th consecutive National League season following their 16th placed finish this term. 2
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Time for Hong Kong to step up as a restructuring and insolvency hub
When people talk about Hong Kong as an international financial centre, what immediately comes to mind are its vibrant capital market, its efficient banking system, the ease and economy of incorporating and operating companies here, and the robust and transparent legal system that supports them. But what is less commonly known is that Hong Kong is also a well-known international restructuring and insolvency hub. Restructuring and insolvency (R&I) refer to the situation in which a company and its business run into financial difficulty, with the company and its creditors (for example, banks, private credit providers and bondholders) first trying to restructure the company's debts to give it an opportunity to turn its business around. If that fails, the company is put into insolvent liquidation under court supervision for creditor protection. R&I mechanisms thus seek to help the company find a way out of its financial troubles and give it an opportunity to turn around and, hopefully, prosper again. A company may run into difficulties for reasons unrelated to how it organises or runs its business. More often than not – especially in recent years – those difficulties may be due to external factors beyond the control of a company's operators. R&I activities therefore serve an important function in facilitating the continuation of viable businesses for the benefit of stakeholders. When avenues have been exhausted and nothing works, the responsible thing would be to put an end to the company. It would then be subject to a statutory scheme managed by court-appointed officers under court supervision to secure the assets left, and to ensure the orderly distribution of those assets to protect creditors. The uniqueness of Hong Kong is not that it provides R&I services, but that it specialises in offering them across borders.
