Andrew Rugasira: Discussion is the breakfast of champions

One man whose approach to management is centred around the fair and equal treatment of staff at all levels in his company is Andrew Rugasira.

As the CEO of the Rwenzori Coffee Company in Uganda, Andrew Rugasira's philosophy towards management is simple yet efficient. It is based on the age old maxim: treat others as you would have them treat you. Given this approach, it is little wonder that his operations split profits on a 50-50 basis with coffee farmers and the communities where the coffee is cultivated.

"Management is really the concept of dealing with people, defining goals and objectives and then rallying people and processes to succeed and achieve those objectives," Andrew says in the affable atmosphere of his coffee shop at Lugogo Shopping Mall in Kampala.

He adds: "It is fundamentally a process of interacting with people; how you deal with and relate to them, how to encourage and energise them, how to support and develop processes to enable people to perform to their greatest capability."