Gems of Wisdom Consulting, Inc. has taken on a number of complex and important assignments which demonstrate our expertise as systems thinkers and analysts who are dedicated to enhancing and optimizing the ability of clients to meet their goals.
The goal of the book is to serve as a clarion call to action by stakeholders, including Black people themselves, to lead with ethics in their thinking and actions to make the world a better place. Ethics is about âdoing the right thingââ as enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that promises fairness, protection, and equal justice for all.
I have written this book because Nigerian women and their fate are important, as is the fate of Nigeria. Their fates are intertwined and what happens in their future together matters not only to themselves, but to Africa and to the world. As the cover of this book conveys, unless that woman in the center, who is representative of the many is sorted out, what happens to the few lucky ones pales in comparison. While it might not be possible to transform her life at this point, what should be avoided at all costs is the perpetuation of circumstances that landed her in this condition.
This book aims to illuminate important issues about the Nigerian ecosystem of support for women. While the book has six chapters that delve into critical issues in their respective domains, the topic is very big and there are many perspectives about the 5Wsâwhat, where, who, why, & whenâand about how the condition of women has come to be what it is? Nigerian scholars have shed light on many of the answers to these questions and to the extent possible some of their analyses have been incorporated in the chapters of this book.
Featuring
#US Ecosystem of Startup and SME Support:
Focus on Selected Ecosystem Pillars
(Technology, Incubation/Acceleration & Financing)
What did Steve Jobs leverage from the ecosystem that enabled him to start something in his garage that has today become the first $1 trillion-valued company in America? Perhaps the question should be asked in the reverse, focusing not so much on what Jobs did, but rather on the absence of conditions that would have prevented him from succeeding.
Itâs reminiscent of what Sir Edmund Hillary allegedly said when people asked him why he climbed Everest: âBecause it was there.â In other words, there was an opportunity he seized it because he could, and nothing got in his way. It was the same for Steve Jobs; he climbed âMount Appleâ because he could, and nothing got in his way.
This book explains the 10 pillars and 33 sub-pillars of the ecosystem that enables startups to thrive in the U.S.
Gems of Wisdom Consulting, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Lisa McClennon as a Partner of the firm.
As partners, Dr. Sharon Freeman and Lisa McClennon will lead the firmâs consulting practice aimed at helping clients enhance their compliance regimes and lower their operational risks.
Ms. McClennon recently retired as the Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations from the U.S. Agency for International Developmentâs (USAID) Office of the Inspector General.
Lisaâs keen depth of expertise in investigations, risk management, and accountability has earned the respect of her peers in enforcement and in international development communities.
In my view, âLisa knows what she is doing, and 9 times out of 10 what clients are doing when they doing something they shouldnât be doing. She has seen a lot, knows a lot, and can help clients a lotâand thatâs why she will be an invaluable asset to the firm.â
Lisaâs experience aligns with Gems of Wisdomâs client-centric approach of providing value to companies in assessing and strengthening their compliance programs. Her proven ability to quickly and thoroughly review situations, investigate their root causes, and to recommend appropriate corrective actions to manage matters that have high-stakes impacts are the set of skills that are in high demand by clients for whom failure is not an option.
âThrough my 30 years of experience in federal law enforcement and in the Inspectorâs General community, I’ve learned first-hand what happens when a global organizationâs systems are inadequate to prevent, detect, and investigate fraud and corruption. I also learned the internal controls and best practices to imbed in those systems to greatly reduce instances of fraud in overseas operations,â said Ms. McClennon. With Gems of Wisdom, I look forward to assisting organizations with achieving greater business success in complex operational and regulatory environments, both in the U.S. and internationally.
Ms. McClennon holds a B.A. degree in criminal Justice, a Masterâs degree in Human Relations and Business, and has undertaken post graduate work in Urban Policy and Administration. She is also a Certified Fraud Examiner; Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (International); Leading Professional in Ethics and Compliance; and an international speaker on fraud, ethics, and investigations. Over the past 30 years, she has used her education, training, and experience in law enforcement to teach and facilitate anti-fraud/anti-corruption and leadership courses.
Since her retirement from USAID-OIG as a career member of the Senior Executive Service, her services are in demand to share gems of wisdom learned over a lifetime career.
Demystifies the 10 mail pillars and their 33 sub-pillars of the U.S. Ecosystem of Startup and SME Support. The success of Silicon Valley rests on these pillars!!!
The latest book by Sharon Freeman, Ph.D. draws on her 30+ years of experience as an entrepreneur of multiple startups and as advisor to stakeholders in the U.S. and countries around the world on developing their ecosystems of support.
It’s not easy being the County Executive of Montgomery County, Maryland one of the most successful counties in America. It also wasn’t easy winning all of the elections he won, as an African American, to lead the county. In his Gem article in our book, #33 Gems: Wisdom for Living Pieces of Life’s Puzzle, he gives us a glimpse into his world and into what it took to do what he has done.
Interestingly, a blogger, Adam Pagnucco, also wanted to know how Ike Leggett did it. He shared his insights on Ike Leggettâs leadership in a post in the âSeventh State.â
The following is repeated verbatim from Adam Pagnuccoâs article.
“As the primary election approaches and the six Democratic candidates for County Executive make their case, itâs worth considering the incumbent they are seeking to succeed: Ike Leggett. The countyâs steady helmsman is approaching the end of a thirty-year career in politics and he deserves much respect for his knowledge, temperament and savvy. But it is Leggettâs greatest achievement that sets an example for all who follow him and poses an important lesson for the next term.
Simply put, Ike Leggett saved the county from financial disaster.
When Leggett assumed office in December 2006, he was determined to cut back the rate of budget growth overseen by his predecessor, Doug Duncan. In his first budget, Leggett proposed giving MCPS $19.7 million less than its request. That was still a $117 million increase over MCPSâs prior-year budget, but it was a smaller increase than the schools wanted and the education community revolted. The council worked it out. The following year, Leggett proposed a big property tax hike which was mostly passed by the council. These events may seem unrelated, but they werenât: Leggett smelled trouble coming and he was battening down the hatches.
And boy, did trouble come. In 2010, the Great Recession hit the countyâs economy and budget with a fury that no one in government had seen before.
Leggett proposed what was then the ugliest budget of all time. It included hundreds of millions in cuts and double-digit reductions in many departments. 750 work years were reduced through attrition and position abolitions. A fire truck and an ambulance were to be taken out of service and four police sub-stations were proposed for closure. Employee raises were eliminated and furloughs were instituted. Healthcare for the uninsured was reduced. And Leggett proposed increasing the energy tax by $50 million.
The Executive didnât sugar-coat it. In his press release, he said: âTo those who object to these reductions, I have a simple message: I do not like these any more than you do⌠Hard choices must be made, and not just talked about, in this difficult economic and fiscal environment.â
And then, unbelievably, things got even worse. Revenues were written down twice while Leggettâs budget was under consideration by the council. The countyâs FY10 reserves were literally dwindling to zero. Leggett was animated by two goals: save the countyâs bond rating and save as many county employeesâ jobs as possible. To do that, he was going to have to battle every group that helped him get elected. In the end, Leggett and the County Council worked together to pass the baddest budget ever, a$4.3 billion nuke bomb that had the biggest county spending cut since the current charter was passed in 1968. And that wasnât the end of it â two more years of not funding collective bargaining agreements and fighting with the school system were ahead. But the bond rating was preserved and mass layoffs were avoided, laying the groundwork for recovery.
This was the countyâs worst hour.  It was Ike Leggettâs finest hour.
Leggett didnât do all this alone. The council stayed with him and all ten of them jumped off the ledge together. But as the Executive, Leggettâs role was absolutely critical. He could have pointed fingers at Council Members who voted for earlier large budget increases, thereby blowing up the teamwork between the two branches that was critical to getting through the crisis. He did not. He could have papered over the problems with band-aids and said next year would be better. That would have been very tempting for Council Members to go along with â letâs remember that 2010 was an election year. He did not. He simply told the truth and made the hard choices the voters paid him to make. And in the end, it worked out.
…letâs recognize a central truth. Leaders are not remembered for doing twenty small things really well or maybe not so well. They are remembered for how they deal with a crisis.
Ike Leggett passed that test.
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âŚAnd now you know why Ike Leggett is Gem 1 in our book:#33Gems:Wisdom for Living Pieces of the Puzzle of Life.
Available under the title name on Amazon and at #Gems of Wisdom Consulting at: www.gemsofwisdomconsulting.com
Compliance is a complicated business; it’s hard to get one’s arms around it because its circumference is so wide, encompassing both post-facto compliance on the back end and risk minimization on the front end. Dr. Freeman wrote the book she wished she had when she started out in compliance. It puts everything in one place and explains the meaning of things, not just their existence. It also distinguishes between what is meaningful and meaningless.
Dr. Freeman’s “workshop in a book” offers practitioner’s  gems of wisdom for managing USAID assistance awards that are worth their weight in gold. It’s an on demand tool for gleaning insights about how to manage USAID awards that can be read at one’s own pace on topics of interests; it’s even color coded for handy reference. But, be forewarned: This book doesn’t offer checklists; it offers deeper insights about what is being checked off and why?
The topics covered in the twelve chapters of the book are at the heart of USAID award management. Like a diamond, the gems shared have five angles:  What, Why, How, Who, and  When? Being able to ask and answer these five questions throughout the project life cycle is the key to unlocking the mystery of good project management. The “right” answers to these questions, it’s emphasized, lie within applicable regulations and terms and conditions of awards, as well as in the space created by unique situations and the responses to them in working in challenging and complex developing country environments.
Dr. Sharon T. Freeman, Â (Paperback, 344 pages) 2017
www.gemsofwisdomconsulting.com
ISBN: 978-0-9816885-6-5Â
$35.00 ($30.00 + S&H $5.00)
