Living Naked: The Wit and Wisdom of Prince Kofi Amoabeng
Prince Kofi Amoabeng is a household name in Ghana, and a celebrated banker home and abroad. The story of his highly successful career has been told on many platforms.
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But never has it been stripped so naked such as Daniel Amuzu has done in Living Naked: Wits & Wisdom of Prince Kofi Amoabeng.
In this biography, Daniel tracks all the trajectories of Mr Amoabeng’s career path, from cradle to crest, in a compelling narrative of a 213-page book that holds the reader spellbound.
Cast in 17 chapters, the book extols the management acumen of the man the author describes as his mentor, and a venerable and admirable Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Right from the outset, in the preface of the book, Daniel underlines the claims and disclaims of his enterprise, thus:
“This book is not only a biography of Prince Kofi Amoabeng, nor a blind validation of a man I admire; rather, it is my frank observation about a man I work for and known closely”.
In Living Naked: Wits & Wisdom of Prince Kofi Amoabeng, the author begins his pry into the life of the CEO of UT Bank and UT Group by tracing his family roots to Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region.
There, Daniel discovers two significant character traits of Mr Amoabeng – first, the wisdom he shares in the adage that “A tree without its roots dies”, and second, the kingdom he has established in having a routine date with good old friends, good music, good food and nature.
The author recalls how Mr Amoabeng started it all in a one-room office with four staff members to nurture what has today become a leader in the banking industry, with seven subsidiaries of the UT Group spread across seven regions in Ghana and a staff strength of more than 2000.
As a retired military officer, Mr Amoabeng may have been decorated with some memorable medals, but as a banker, the number of awards standing in his name and that of his company is large enough to occupy substantial space in Daniel’s book.
And in chapter three, the author reveals one of the philosophies behind the success story of Mr Amoabeng – time consciousness!
He writes: “Mr Amoabeng’s business is all about packaging time and selling it! From the inception of his business, the slogan he added to loans giving is delivering the loan ‘in less than 48 hours'”.
According to the UT boss, time is of the essence, and it must be used judiciously; any wastage of it, as the author echoes, is tantamount to manslaughter!
This may come with a big risk though, but the author presents Mr Amoabeng as a very good risk analyst who took the money lending business in a whirlwind fashion with UT’s trademark – a loan in 48 hours!
Daniel further makes reference to another philosophy underpinning UT’s success story – The UBUNTU Spirit! That is the spirit of togetherness and unity of purpose.
Indeed, there are many lesson notes in this biography but what, perhaps, strikes a bigger chord in Daniel Amuzu’s book is a story Mr Amoabeng shared about a public toilet cleaner he encountered at Johannesburg Airport in South Africa.
The sanitary officer, according to Mr Amoabeng, discharged his duties with glee and welcomed everyone to his ‘office’ with an infectious smile!
It is the kind of story that provokes thought in a lazy mind and inspires action in a weary limb.
The author makes reference to Mr Amoabeng’s unbridled love, affection and respect for the staff of UT, both high and low, but he is also quick to add that the UT man is a disciplinarian who does not hesitate to apply the stick of sanction against any staff who crosses the red line in respect of the rules of engagement.
Living Naked: Wits & Wisdom of Prince Kofi Amoabeng is a very attractive book, from cover to content, but beyond its attractiveness, the author also succeeds in captivating the reader with beautiful photographs and intriguing and thought-provoking chapter headings and quotations at the beginning of every chapter.
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One of such interesting chapter headings is: “The smelly mouth, and the wisest brain”.
In that particular chapter (chapter 10), Daniel narrates how Mr Amoabeng is able to get the best out of his staff with simple, hilarious but rather inspiring comments.
An instance was at a strategic meeting of UT Nigeria in Lagos in 2010. The participants were supposed to proffer ideas but the meeting room was very quiet.
Mr Amoabeng decided to distribute toffees and chewing gum to the participants. Reason? Simple: So that people with great ideas would not shut up because they feared their mouth might smell. The experiment achieved perfect results.
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Jokes aside, Daniel also presents Mr Amoabeng as a man of serious business, truth, honesty and integrity, the strong pillars of virtue upon which the UT Group is founded.
Those virtues relate significantly to the core values of the UT Group which define the success story of the company – “Why not?” (meet needs of people); “Ubuntu” (togetherness and unity); “Stepping up to the plate” (commitment and hard work); “Respect” (service to all); “Professionalism” (expertise and efficiency), and “Integrity” (trust and honesty).
There is no doubt that Living Naked: Wits & Wisdom of Prince Kofi Amoabeng is an interesting book worth its cover price.
The book is highly recommended to the business community, students and anyone who desires to begin and grow a business, or interested in learning from the life lessons of a man who has impacted his generation in a very conspicuous manner.
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