Chronicle Editor
Sunday News Reporter
GROWING up in Luveve suburb in Bulawayo, Mr Innocent Hadebe never imagined he would one day be addressing Fortune 500 companies, but venturing into motivational speaking has seen him address executives of some of the world’s top companies.
What started as simple invitations to speak to small groups of people has seen the United States-based Hadebe taking up motivational speaking seriously and marrying it with leadership mentoring and business coaching.
Mr Hadebe recently registered the Innocent Leadership Group (ILG) through which he is focusing on assisting small, medium and large organisations drive excellence and provide tools for leaders who want to compete globally.
The former Milton High pupil has spoken to corporate organisations that include Wells Fargo, Chick Fil-A, United Technologies Aerospace Systems and also addressed business leaders during an event workshop organised by Absa (South Africa).
He has also addressed Catholic Leadership Groups and was one of the high-profile speakers at the 6th World Annual Operational Excellence and Business Transformation Summit that was held in Orlando, Florida last October.
“I have leadership seminars with Fortune 100, 500 and small businesses globally and in South Africa on topics that include business optimisation keys for success, levers for successful business transformation, strategy fundamentals, transactional versus transformational leadership, developing (operational excellence) OPEX Leadership, leveraging technology to drive OPEX, OPEX versus OPEF, challenges to achieving OPEX, serve model and Lead with HEART.
“I believe advances in technology are the silver bullet to the growth of the Zimbabwean economy and currently, there are a lot of organisations that are struggling to figure out and invest in technology; yet there are some that have taken advantage of the lion share in the tech space. I have developed some tools and frameworks that I believe can assist local (Zimbabwe) companies,” said Mr Hadebe, who holds Six Sigma Black Belt Certification
Having initially worked as a precision machinist after arriving in the United States in 1999, as he had trained at Shabanie Mine as a fitter machinist, he later branched out to focus on operational excellence giving him leverage in overall business management.
The certified John Maxwell Leadership business coach said operational excellence is one of the key tools in industry in the United States and believes local industry should adopt this practice to enhance industry output and be able to be competitive on the world stage.
“Through ILG I want to reach out to Zimbabwean entities and assist them in operational excellence and offer targeted seminars with company leadership as the focal point to ensure they grasp and appreciate the concepts which will then trickle down to driving the bottom line,” said Mr Hadebe, who is currently a director in business excellence at Chick Fil A.
He revealed he is investing in a software engineering firm, Ninkuro in Zimbabwe and believes there is a lot of potential in the country. Mr Hadebe said with the business landscape very dynamic and the need to adopt a global framework it is critical for local companies to widen their lens and reach out.
“For companies to succeed they need to up-skill their capabilities and prepare to be competitive in a global economy and look beyond our borders. Local industries need to understand that globalisation has widened their sphere of influence; making the world their oyster. The question has always been ‘Are you going to take the necessary steps to compete, or make excuses for not being in the arena’.”
The 6th World Operational Excellence summit was graced by world leaders in the Operational Excellence Society, with a mission to deep dive into capabilities needed to transform the global economy and Mr Hadebe spoke on developing OPEX Leadership and embedding future skillsets in Transformation, leadership and capability development and actionable insights in implementing OPEX in organizations.
His roots have always been close to his heart and ensured he is abreast with what is happening locally, something that led him to create a non-governmental organisation focused on providing clean water in Bulawayo following the Luveve diarrhoea crisis in 2020.
“I always follow developments at home and when the dysentery crisis erupted, I decided to assist through donating to a gofundme effort that was aimed at raising funds to assist the victims. As I kept on checking, I realised the effort was not really gaining traction so I began my own effort and within a few weeks I had achieved my target of raising US$16 000,” said Mr Hadebe.
The question was how to use the cash and after consultations with local leadership, he decided to drill a borehole and registered the Lot Water Project, which has drilled six water sources in the city since then.
The boreholes are in Luveve and Cowdray Park and are meant to provide alternative safe water sources as the city struggles with water provision. Mr Hadebe’s vision is to build a filtration plant in Luveve which will bring clean water closer to the residents’ homes. He joined United States-based international NGO, Water Mission to get expertise in providing safe water.
“Next year we are drilling more boreholes as we have managed to get more funding for our cause. We have also made a conscious effort to locate boreholes in schools and other institutions as a way of encouraging the learning of agriculture at a tender age as I believe this is a huge sector with lots of potential,” said Mr Hadebe.
An avid golfer, Mr Hadebe moved to the United States in 1999 on a scholarship and soon after joined an aerospace organisation and rose through the ranks.
He can be contacted on linkedin: innocenthadebe
Londile Moyo
Online Reporter