Konnected Minds Podcast

Segment: Integrity: The Foundation of Business Success - Dr Charles Yeboah

• Derrick Abaitey

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Trust isn't just a moral virtue—it's capital. When an entrepreneur needed to raise $400,000 from American investors for a school in Ghana, they secured the funding based solely on reputation, even from those who had never visited the country. "People give you money even though they have not been here?" government representatives asked in disbelief. The answer was simple: "It is trust, it is integrity."

The secret to sustainable business growth lies in what this educational leader calls the "three H's"—humility, honesty, and hard work. Humility keeps you learning and adapting. Honesty builds the foundation of trust that attracts both customers and investors. Hard work, manifested not just in long hours but in strategic thinking and leading by example, inspires your entire team. "If you want quick gains like some young people are doing, you will get it, but it won't last," they caution. True success isn't about cutting corners; it's about building something that endures.

After establishing the most respected educational institution in Kumasi, the entrepreneur made what they called "an audacious move" to expand to Accra following their participation in Stanford's SEED program. Despite financial concerns about the expensive East Legon location, they moved forward strategically, bringing their best teachers to ensure quality from day one. The gamble paid off spectacularly—the Accra campus quickly attracted students and now generates more revenue than the original location. But what's most revealing is how they approached this success. When enrollment boomed, instead of celebrating, they became more vigilant: "How about if we fail to meet people's expectations?" This mindset reveals perhaps the most profound lesson of all: genuine success requires remaining humble even when you're in highest demand.

Ready to build a business foundation that truly lasts? Listen now to discover how integrity and calculated risk-taking can transform your enterprise—and how the right mindset can turn even your most audacious goals into reality.

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Speaker 1:

you know, if I said I'll call you Derek, unless for some reason I didn't write it down and forgot or didn't put in my calendar and then didn't call you, then that is it right. But if I said I will call you, I will do this, I have to keep my word. My word must be my bond. I can't just say it and saying it really mean I don't really mean it. So I think when people begin to know, as for Charles, as for Derek, you can trust him. That is bankable, that is business in itself, business success in this form. People believe that, as for derek, as for charles, I can trust him with this.

Speaker 1:

I remember I was trying to raise some funds from the states and from a us government entity and I needed to raise money, you know, from some american partners, because the us government entity required that some American invested in the school. And I was wondering who am I going to ask? And I needed to raise almost $400,000. Thus 2006,. Who is going to give me $400,000? I just approached a few people, some American friends, and some of them had not even been to Ghana before. But because of what they knew and who they knew, I was and my wife and I were. They trusted us and gave us the money. And when this US government entity people came they couldn't believe it. People give you the money even though they have not been here. It is trust, it is integrity. So I think it is important for all of us to understand that Again.

Speaker 1:

If you want quick, you know, like some of what some other young people are doing um, you will get it, but it won't last. Then you have to be running. You know, hiding what, what, what, why, why would you want to do that? You want to be able to walk free, free conscience. Um, you're not afraid of the banks. You don't have to stop, you know, put your phones off. I mean, it's not even good for your heart and health. Live free by being such a man and woman of integrity, and that will take you very, very far. It gives you mileage. And then, of course, the third H is hard work.

Speaker 1:

It is important to work hard. Now, I know Ghanaians work hard. I mean, as for that, you can grant it to most Ghanaian business people. But hard work is not just being busy, it's also thinking smart. It's also being aware of trends in whatever industry that you find yourself in, and especially as a business leader. It's also not just folding your arms and checking to see whether everybody else is doing the work, but you are just collecting the money, right?

Speaker 1:

I think if the people that you work with find out that you are equally hardworking, it serves as an inspiration for the people. So my staff know and sometimes they don't know. You know where I get my energy from. You know and they know. Whatever I tell them to do, I will go the same extra length with them, if not more. So you have to set an example of hard work with the people that you work with.

Speaker 1:

I think if we do that, if we practice integrity, if we work hard, if we think smart and so for ICS, for example, one of the things I'm'm always thinking about what else can we do for young people? You know I'm traveling around the world, I'm looking for opportunities. Is it design for change that we should join? Is it round square? Is it this? Is it that for our young children, you know, so they can stand out, so that they can, you know, have a future, that is really great, you know, for them. So humility, honesty, hard work, all three are important. You can't just do and leave the other one. You have to go with all three, that was loaded.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

That was loaded yeah.

Speaker 1:

That was loaded. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

The time has come where you've become essentially the best school in Kumasi. And then you are thinking to yourself wait, I want to expand and then take this school to Accra. Talk me through that decision and actually the scare you had as well.

Speaker 1:

Yes. So before we made that decision, I had taken a course, and so I give a lot of credit to Stanford SEED. It's a program that Stanford University started running in 2013. And I enrolled in 2014 and one of the cohort two and in that program you were told to write your transformation plan and you were told to believe or to say to yourself that I can scale, I can grow, I can expand. So I wrote all those things down. I can scale, I can grow, I can expand. So I wrote all those things down. And then you assign a coach to help you really work, I mean, walk the journey that you have put on paper.

Speaker 2:

So this was 2014.

Speaker 1:

And so I wrote to my transformational plan that, next year being 2015, we will be in Accra. Now, that was an audacious move.

Speaker 2:

Did you just think about it when you were in the program, or it was already?

Speaker 1:

preconceived. No, this was actually came about because of the program.

Speaker 1:

While you were there, yeah, so the program is more like an MBA program. So after you've gone through it, you have to talk about what's next of ICS. What are you going to do After you've gone through this program? And now you know that you have the potential you can grow, your mind has been psyched. You believe that it is possible for ICS to grow. We said we'll grow. Now. I didn't say I'll go to the nearby town in kumasi. We said we'll go to accra. And I cry because we know in terms of disposable income, in terms of people that can really accept what we are trying to do, because even in kumasi early on, people said, oh, what you are trying to do, dr Ebora, dr and Mrs Ebora, I think Accra people appreciate this better. And people were saying why don't you take it to Accra instead of Kumasi? We said, no, kumasi, people need this too. Right.

Speaker 1:

But then in 2014, the time had come for us to now start thinking about maybe Accra is ready for us now. So we did it. But it was an audacious move because when we came to Accra to survey the place, the best place we also wanted to start was expensive East Lagoon and found a place on Lagos Avenue, the former Men's Vic building. It was an expensive lease but we had made a decision, we were going to do it. My wife said come on, can we afford this? And I said, well, if we think about it, we won't do it.

Speaker 1:

Business success requires some tactical moves and it does require, you know, sometimes facing your fears, you know. So what are we going to do now? I mean, we had Kumasi to back us up, but we started in Kumasi. The rent was so outrageous. We knew the first two years we were going to run at a loss in Accra. But we had made a decision, we were going to be in Accra and we stuck to it. We started with the summer school. Twenty-six people came for the summer from different schools around East Ligon.

Speaker 1:

By the end of the summer 23 out of the 26 decided they would stay with us. Wow, and that was incredible. And how did we do it? Well, prior to coming to Accra, the strategy was that we're going to bring to Accra the nursery, kg, year one and two classes that we're starting at the best of our teachers in Kumasi. So we recruited some teachers and put them to follow these best teachers in Kumasi, so they would then be supported by the rest of the teachers. If we removed, you know those best teachers or moved them, you know those best teachers or move them, you know, to Accra, and that's what we did. So already, from day one, parents that brought their kids to the Accra campus on Lagos Avenue saw good practices.

Speaker 2:

At this point did you have mentorship, so through the seed program.

Speaker 1:

I had a coach, right, okay, a business coach, okay. So I had Hansen. I had Terry from both from the state. Hansen was actually from UK.

Speaker 1:

UK and Terry Duye from California in the in the US, and they were a great guy. These are people that have run successful businesses in the US and they were a great guy. These are people that have run successful businesses in the States and the key thing is listening and wanting to apply, because they were not Africans and they understand the contest. It was kind of having conversation with you about how we're going to do this and all of that and you making the move with you about how we're going to do this and all of that and you making the move, but those mentoring and mentorship was very helpful. Okay, yeah, yeah. So that was how ICS Accra came about. It was an audacious move, but it was one that we did and did right. The whole ICS group, if I may call it that way, is today better because of that audacious move.

Speaker 1:

Accra has changed the ICS story. Right now, we have more children in Accra than we do in Kumasi. Accra gives us far more revenue, not because of numbers, because the numbers is just about maybe five or ten more, but it's also because of the fees and all of that, and, as I speak, we get more demand. We've become, in recent times, the fastest growing school in Accra and we've again applied the same model of differentiation trying to make sure that you know you set yourself apart, and we do that in ICS through strong professional development, you know of our teachers, and through listening, empathy and humility.

Speaker 1:

Don't think that even when you are growing and everybody said my managers and I said when everybody's wanting to come to ICS, what should happen to us? Should we stand up and jubilate and let the whole world know we have arrived because everybody's coming to us? No, we should actually be scared that everybody is coming to us. How about if we fail to meet people's expectations? Wow, so when your business is growing, when your business is getting all the attention, that is not when you put up attitudes.