Jannie Mouton: And then they fired me

What have I learnt? Don’t generate business from technology, but let technology support and drive the business. I believed the clients of PSG Online had wanted to stay anonymous and preferred no human interaction. That was a big mistake. Online clients prefer a computerised service mechanism, but welcome personal contact from Online’s side.

PSG Konsult shares are traded over the counter. PSG owns 73,5% and the rest are in the hands of management, branch managers and external shareholders. The company remains a living (and growing) monument for PSG’s model of ultimate empowerment: every manager shares in the profit, therefore he does what he can to increase growth. Quality fieldworkers

Yes, why didn’t I? But it’s too late for regret. What became quite apparent afterwards was that I hadn’t yet learnt the lesson of a due diligence about people. In my career many people have disappointed me, but if the risk emerged that the credibility and reputation of a whole business empire like PSG could be in jeopardy, your personal feelings of

Pure pleasure is what PSG Konsult signifies to me. If you’ve ever seen a business that’s running like a well-oiled machine, that would be Konsult. The only reason I’m still on the board of directors is because every time I want to step down, chief executive Willem Theron persuades me otherwise. The management team is so strong that they don’t need

77% of PSG is in the hands of directors, relatives or so-called friendly parties.

The main thing to remember is that people differ.

opinions until you’re blue in the face, but show me your balance sheet first. In a nutshell: start with about four or five good shares in the long term, diversify your investments across more shares for less risk and forget about short-term speculation. Five or six shares are optimal for diversification, as long as you invest in fairly diverse sect

To me it seems as if there is a high more or less every ten years. And even if you never wanted to believe your mother: pleasures are like poppies spread.

A negative person sees insurmountable hurdles and the proactive person looks for alternatives