In Ghana, we have a way of talking about land that sometimes gets us into trouble. We call something “cheap” when really we mean the price was lower than we expected, without stopping to ask why. I have been in the construction industry for fifteen years now, working across the Ashanti Region, Greater Accra, and […]
A Cheap Piece of Land Can Become Expensive After You Buy It Read More »
You have probably met this person. Perhaps you have even been this person, for a season. Their LinkedIn headline reads: “Business Consultant | HR Specialist | Digital Marketing Expert | Project Manager | Real Estate Advisor | Motivational Speaker | Financial Planner.” Their business card has to be printed on both sides. Ask what they
The “Expert in Everything” Trap (and Why It’s Killing Your Credibility) Read More »
Ama Serwaa keeps a small folder on her laptop called “Memberships.” It holds nine years of receipts from a professional body she joined soon after her first job in Accra. One evening last month, she opened it, added up the numbers, and stared at the total for a while. Then she asked herself a question
Nine warning signs your Professional Body isn’t worth your fees Read More »
Araba keeps her membership certificate in a brown envelope in the bottom drawer of her wardrobe in Cape Coast. She is proud of it. She remembers the day she received it, the photographs, the congratulations from her mother, the quiet feeling that she had finally arrived. That was seven years ago. Since then, every January,
Your Professional Membership Is a Career Asset You’re Probably Wasting Read More »
There are two prices on every piece of land in Ghana. One is written on the receipt. The other one shows up slowly, over the months after you have already started building, and by then it is far too late to negotiate. I have been a project manager and contractor for fifteen years now, working
What Will This Land Cost You to Build On? Read More »
Ask a room of professionals in Accra what they do, and everyone will have an answer ready. “I’m a lawyer.” “I work in banking.” “I’m in HR.” “I do marketing.” The answers come quickly, and they are perfectly true. Now ask a different question: what do you want to be known for? Watch the room
How to Find the One Thing You Want to Be Known For Read More »
Akosua Frimpong was three weeks into her first job at a firm in Tema when a senior colleague leaned over her desk with some advice. “You should join a professional body,” he said. “Any one will do. Just get the letters after your name.” She joined the first one that came up in her search
How to Choose the Right Professional Body for Your Career Read More »
Esi and Nana Kwabena sat next to each other in the same lecture hall at the University of Ghana, Legon. They studied the same textbooks, passed the same exams, and graduated in the same year. They even joined the same bank in Accra on the same Monday morning, both of them nervous in their new
The Real Reason Equally Talented Colleagues Have Different Careers Read More »
There is a phrase I have come to respect more than almost any other in this business, and it is one most people are afraid to say out loud. “Not yet.” In a culture where building your own house is treated as one of life’s biggest milestones, right up there with marriage and sending your
The “Not Yet” That Could Save Your Building Project Read More »
In many Ghanaian workplaces, seniority carries enormous weight, and for good reason. We respect experience. We lower our voices when the longest-serving person in the room begins to speak. “Ten years in the service” is said with a certain pride, and often it is well deserved. But there is a quiet question that very few
Time Served Isn’t Expertise: Why Years on the Job Don’t Equal Growth Read More »
