Leadership Lessons from Dr Nkeng: Building Loyalty in the Entertainment Industry
The writer observes Dr Nkeng's sustained success in building and maintaining a cohesive video production team—CPE—as a rare model of organizational stability in an industry marked by frequent conflict and dissolution. Rather than offering a direct answer, the piece poses the question of what principles might underlie such loyalty and competence, positioning Nkeng as a quiet exemplar worth studying.
The entertainment industry is plagued with disloyalty amongst other ills. We have seen many brilliant initiatives fall in the face of sometimes even minute disagreements between team members. In the beginning we are always greeted with happy and excited faces when new joint ventures are announced only to see those same groups crumble in conflict right before our eyes. I was thinking about this the other day and Dr Nkeng came to my mind.
Dr Nkeng has been able to build one of the most busy and efficient video production houses over the years. I don’t think I have to state here the amount of work his team has produced because we all hear “we take another shot” back to back as we watch videos from Cameroonian artists. He has personally, through his facebook page, spoken of the great team behind all his works. CPE has everything from Nkeng himself to carpenters, electricians, and Duala Duala.
I have been to a couple of sets when CPE was shooting and the energy is always the same. Every member of the team always seems to be fully aware of his functions and duties. You get a sense of everyone being satisfied with what they are giving and what they are getting. I don’t think we have ever heard of any major disagreements within Nkeng’s camp. If there have been any, they have not spilled over to social media (correct me if I missed something) and that is also a sign of great leadership within the organization.
Nkeng has not only been able to build a loyal team, he has also been very loyal in his relationship with Steven’s Music Entertainment (SME). How many times have we seen people falling out with partners around here? Too many times if you ask me. I should also note here that Daphne started music under the wings of Dr Nkeng and till date, he still has a good working relationship with her.
What then could be Dr Nkeng’s management secret which seems to have evaded most people in the industry.
What are some of the things we can learn from him?
I hope I get a chance to talk to him personally and get his secrets because most of us need help with the leadership assignment.
- Tino Foy
This reflects a moment in Cameroonian entertainment (circa 2019) when public fallouts between collaborators were common enough to feel endemic to the industry. The observation speaks to a cultural moment where team dissolution, social media drama, and broken partnerships were treated as inevitable rather than failures of leadership.
The piece is notable for its refusal to sensationalize or theorize loosely; instead it uses careful observation to suggest that effective leadership—marked by clarity of role, mutual satisfaction, loyalty to partners, and discretion—is both rare and teachable. This quiet advocacy for competence and integrity still resonates because such stability remains uncommon in creative industries, and the piece's humility (ending in a question rather than a proclamation) feels more persuasive than any manifesto would.