Michael Joseph on work, life and exit from Safaricom

Excerpts from an interview with Michael Joseph, who will step down as Safaricom CEO at the end of this month

What is behind the perceived success you have had at Safaricom; is it luck, or ability to manipulate the environment around you?

There are many factors behind the success of Safaricom, but I would sum it up as follows: we determined that our core market was going to be the man and woman in the street and came up with prices, products and services that were accepted and used by this core market.

We also make some wise (in hindsight) decisions like per-second billing, 24 hour 7-days a week free customer care, inexpensive handsets, pre-paid tariffs etc.

We stressed our Kenyan roots both in our branding and our CSR programmes from the very beginning. It was a combination of knowledge and experience from the past, some knowledge of the local market, gut feel and luck.

What drives you? And can this be ported to other managers to drive their enterprises to success like Safaricom?

I am very ambitious, competitive and firmly believe in doing the very best you can. I believe that we are all given great opportunities in life and it’s up to us to take these opportunities and use them for the benefit of our fellow man.

I believe in integrity, care for one’s fellow man and hard work and these credos can be used by anyone. Very few of us are born with a silver spoon in their mouths and therefore to be successful takes some effort. It came to me late in life but nevertheless it came.

How do you manage time to handle all demands on your time?

I handle stress quite well but I work quite long hours — I start at 6 a.m and finish around 8 p.m and then usually I am required to attend some function. I use the hours of 6 a.m to 8 a.m to deal with all my emails and reading of documents and the rest of the day is for meetings, both formal and informal. Weekends, wherever possible, belong to me and my family

What is on the cards for MJ?

At this point, I have no idea. As the time gets closer I am getting a little more concerned. I will remain on the board of Safaricom for another two years, will maintain an office at Safaricom and will also act as an advisor to Bob Collymore, the new CEO, and the CEO of the Vodacom Group.

I have been urged to write a book, go in public service and or just fade into the background. I really have not decided yet. A book sounds interesting but somewhat arrogant from my side, but maybe it will be necessary.

I would love to do more for Kenya but NOT as a politician. Lecturing would be great but I have yet to be asked. I will take some time to think about it and then decide. Life will for sure present me with my next opportunity and challenge.

Excerpts from the kictanet discussion list.