Bulls n Bears Entrepreneurship Zone :: Meet the Boss: Peter Tshiguvho, CEO, Metropolitan Retail

Fri Mar 22 06:49:23 CAT 2019

 <http://www.willdale.co.zw/> 

1. What part of your job keeps you awake at night?

I would say that it is service and living up to the promises we make to our
clients. I need to ensure that not only are we making money on an ongoing
basis and that the sales team is supported so that the business can grow,
but, most importantly, that we deliver human-centric offerings to our user
base in a cost-effective manner.

2. Name three traits required to survive in this role.

i) You need more time – a 25 hour day – as, in many instances, there is so
much that one needs to cover. For me, as a new CEO, it’s even worse, but
after some more time in this role I will be able to create a solid team
around me that can assist.

ii) You have to be a psychologist because a whole lot of people look to you
for direction and sometimes they sit with challenges – be it on a personal
or professional level – and they will come to you with these.

iii) You need to be able to perform a balancing act when it comes to
expenses and sales and still ensure that you make a profit for your
business. In our business, we have quite a number of different stakeholders
– customers, shareholders, and employees – all of whom have different needs
and we need to balance these, but at the same time remain profitable.

3. What is the biggest misconception about your job?

I think that the biggest misconception is that when you are the CEO, you
must know everything. This is not the reality – there is no way you can have
all the answers. As the CEO, you must be self-aware so that you know what
you can and can’t do. That is why being surrounded by a solid team is so
important.

4. Who has had the greatest impact on your career?

I think that the one person who has really made a huge impact on me is Elon
Musk. He grew up in Pretoria and went on to influence the whole world.
Today, he is going even beyond the world! I try to put myself into his head
to see how he, as someone who breaks all boundaries, thinks.

I come from a very small village in Venda and used to walk 20km to school
every day when I was in high school – having to be on the road at 5:30am and
running some parts of the route to make it to school by 8am. Coming from an
area like that, you can sometimes limit yourself and think that your world
is going to end up there. Now, when I see someone like Elon Musk, who is
influencing the whole world despite where he comes from, I say to myself,
“Why can’t I do exactly the same, regardless of where I grew up?”

5. What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?

I remember when I started working, I was a graduate-in-training with
another insurer in Gauteng. After about 18 months of undergoing training, I
was asked to take up a branch manager role back in Venda. Having grown up
there, I didn’t want to go back and I considered resigning. Gavin Coetzee,
who was my manager at the time and is today a business coach, said to me:
“At this stage of your career, you are guaranteed that even if you have to
go to Venda, you will still get other opportunities to come back here. When
you do that, I can assure you that you will have grown and will be able to
do anything.” I, of course, didn’t like the idea but I went. I don’t regret
it – I learnt so much and after about five years, I did come back. I don’t
know what would have happened if I didn’t take that opportunity.

6. The top reason for your professional success?

For me, there is no substitute for hard work. Sometimes we set goals for
ourselves and hope and pray that we will achieve them. I don’t believe in
that. For every goal that you set, you need to consider what the minimum
effort threshold is that will enable you to achieve it. Then, if you are
struggling, or if you are not seeing the results you want, you have to work
even harder.

7. How do you relax?

I play golf and because I travel frequently, I also utilise the weekends to
catch up with family and play with the kids.

8. By what time in the morning do you like to be at your desk?

I would like to be at my desk at 10am, but unfortunately I don’t have that
luxury. I am normally at my desk at 7:30am or 8am. If I don’t have a morning
meeting, I am usually at my desk by 8:30am or 9am. Sometimes, to avoid
Jo’burg’s notorious traffic, I work at home from 5am to 9am and then go into
the office thereafter. However, I am most productive at night and usually
start after dinner at around 8pm and work until 1am or 2am.

9. Your favourite job interview question?

Whether I am interviewing or being interviewed I like the question … tell
us about yourself. The answer to this question allows one to go where the
energy is and allows you to talk about anything you want to share.

If I’m the one being interviewed, I like having the opportunity to share
some of the hardships that I have been through to show how I have overcome
these. Even if the question is not directly related to that, I will try
pivot it to tell my story. I do it to show that, given some of the things
that I have endured, there is no obstacle I cannot surmount. This allows me
to show what I have done to get to where I am as well as what I can achieve.

10. The biggest perk of your job?

Getting to host the top sales achievers on an annual overseas trip.—
Howwemadeitinafrica 

Peter Tshiguvho

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

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