COMETSA is an acronym for Consulting Methods by Sam Tsima. It took Sam almost five years to search for the name of his organisation that would resonate with his diverse knowledge areas and interests. He fell in love with two concepts: consulting and methodology. It was okay to call himself a consultant, but he felt he was more than just a consultant. Most consultants rely on off-the-shelf tools, methods, templates, and frameworks. Sam believes in tailoring his interventions and approaches after listening to clients and diagnosing their challenges and problems. Of course, he will sometimes curate other people’s models and acknowledge them. However, integrating such models into his conceptualised approaches would still be his preferred solution.

When he successfully combined consulting and methodology into CONSULTING METHODS, he felt a massive relief that a unique name for his organisation was closer to being found. He then wanted to associate these two words with himself without it being obvious. He knew that this ought to become his consulting method. That is how his company became CONSULTING METHODS By Sam Tsima, in short COMETSA.

This brand is combined with the logo, which entails the founding year, 1997, in the middle, on the continuous development tube, on the burning platform. This signifies a lifelong learning journey, and the circle contains those the organisation has touched through sustainable relationships. They continue to benefit from the organisation, and in turn, the organisation benefits from their growth built on the foundation that the organisation started.

• The white colour signifies a clean, friendly, and healthy culture.
• The red colour represents energy and a burning fire in our belly. We are energetic and active.
• The purple colour signifies femininity and royalty. We believe in feminine power, which has nothing to do with gender. We all, male and female, have it. It is resourceful, nurturing, caring, and loving. It has reverence, which means respect and honouring Mother Earth.

The logo embraces our philosophy, The MIND! The JOURNEY! The DESTINY! We apply our MIND to the JOURNEY that takes us to our DESTINY! Through our human development interventions, we help people cultivate plugged and active minds, sharing, futuristic, and inquiring minds. The journey they travel is a progressive one. They enthusiastically promote their ideas, give as they learn, retain and invest their earnings, and continuously search for new opportunities. All these are driven by their destiny, which is productive and profitable, socially responsible, caring for others, guaranteeing growth and sustainability, and ensuring renewal and survival.

We apply our MIND to the JOURNEY that takes us to our DESTINY!

Since its formation, COMETSA has collaborated with other organisations. The collaboration was based purely on volunteerism. The beneficiaries of such collaborations are the members and friends of the organisations. We collaborated with schools, colleges, and professional bodies. Among those are Barnato Park School in Hillbrow, Central Johannesburg College in Parktown, the German International School of Johannesburg (DSJ), Dante Alighieri Society in Houghton Johannesburg, Goethe Institute Johannesburg, Commercial Advancement Training Scheme (C.A.T.S), and Southern African German Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

COMETSA believes in connecting organisations, businesses, and communities. As we develop relationships, we are guided by the broader vision of becoming the organisation everybody wants to be associated with. We reach out to communities as the beneficiaries of our development initiatives now and in the future.

We have always been mindful of the diverse interests of people in their personal and professional capacities. In their growth, individuals will tend to compete for opportunities. COMETSA holds the space and creates the environment for them to do so. Membership in the COMETSA Friends & Supporters Club NPO provides for this need for our members, friends, supporters, and associates.

Through COMETSA Global Online Channels, we use the LEKGOTLA methodology to create, store, and distribute content. We follow the principle called The IDEA! We Inform and Entertain! Develop and Educate! Empower and Support! Associate and Network! That’s The IDEA!

Our original idea was to be a non-profit making organisation. That is why we are still pursuing our model of incorporating for-profit and non-profit organisations into our business model. Our non-profit development organisations are based on the “RELEASE” Concept.

• R =RECREATION: We believe in the slogan, “Body, Mind, and Soul”. A healthy Mind in a healthy Body results in a healthy Soul.
• E = ENTERTAINMENT (incl. Music): We develop talent in modern, traditional, and global entertainment and music.
• L = LEISURE: The leisure industry holds a great future for our country.
• E = EDUCATION: Education is the central part of our programming. Hence, the launch of COMETSA Business Academy (CBA)
• A = ART (incl. CULTURE): We are gifted in Art. This gift must be enhanced and preserved. We believe in exchanging our cultural heritage with the rest of the world.
• S = SPORT: COMETSA was founded through sport, soccer to be specific, and grew into other areas of the “RELEASE” Concept. Sport remains our key mobilisation instrument for our organisation.
• E = ENVIRONMENT (incl. COMMUNITY): We teach and motivate our staff, members, and customers to care for the environment. They are encouraged to use renewable and environment-friendly sources of energy.

Our belief in work-based learning led our organisation’s evolution into a human capital, management, and leadership development service provider. We partner with institutions of higher learning and vocational academies to deliver work experience for graduates. This practice is built on our Human Capital Development Networks Model, which informs our empowerment approaches for individuals, organisations, and communities. The model has three pillars and three bridges to ensure smooth transitions.

• 1^st Pillar – Communities Bases of Development: Learning Centres, Development Programmes, Development Clubs, and Youth Academies
• 2^nd Pillar – Learning Institutions Interventions: Cooperative Education, Work-Integrated Learning (WIL), Academic Support, Career Development, and Work-Readiness Programmes.
• 3^rd Pillar-Work Place Learning Interventions: Corporate Training Centers, In-Company Academies, Induction and Orientation Programmes, Coaching and Mentoring Programmes, On-the-Job Training, and Career Management.

The three pillars of the Human Capital Development Networks Model are connected to three bridges that support the human capital transition. They are supported by development networks provided by our development agencies.

• The 1^st Bridge transitions from Communities’ Bases of Development to Learning Institutions. This is a critical transition and bridge for graduates from high schools to tertiary institutions. They require a solid foundation to stand them in good stead at institutions of higher learning. It is the transition from your community-based development, which includes your childhood, primary, and high school education, to college or university. This transition’s baseline is early life development, underpinned by the community and family-based upbringing. Suppose you have grown up in a community with strong values, progressive culture, and development-based traditional practices. In that case, you should have a solid foundation to build your personal and professional development journey.
• The 2^nd Bridge providesa transitionfrom the Learning Institutions to the Workplaces. The cooperative education departments of the learning institutions prepare the graduates for a smooth transition and settling in the industry. They offer Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) interventions. The interventions cover, among other things, work readiness, writing of curriculum vitae, job application support, job interviewing skills, career coaching and mentoring programmes, industry visits, presentations by industry practitioners, etc. So, this is the transition from higher learning institutions to the world of work, either through an internship, traineeship, apprenticeship, vocational training, or straight hire into your first job. That is the beginning of a long career development journey. Success in this transition depends on the cooperative or vocational education programmes that your higher learning institution or vocational education has introduced to you during your studies or the theory phase of your development.
• The 3^rd Bridge provides a reverse transition from the Workplace to the Communities where the talent has experienced foundational development interventions. This transition is often voluntary and does not necessarily mean returning to your original community but toany community you identify with. It is the only transition of the three that depends on the person’s interest. It would be best if you have learned to become a good career development coach and mentor. It is also a social responsibility to call for a plough back. You are who you are because of your community. Even if you no longer live in your original community, returning and lifting others as you rise is worth it. Very few communities would be left behind if all successful people could play this role. The idea is to motivate all successful professionals to return and lift the youth from their communities. This transition depends a lot on one’s experience, knowledge and wisdom gained through many years of being in corporate. It is this kind of value add that communities would benefit from voluntary involvement by their members. The cultures in a particular community are dynamic and constantly evolving. They are a glue that binds all the community development programmes, projects, and activities that contribute to human development.

We have developed an approach and model for partnering with other professionals in our sector as associates. We incubate the professionals by assigning them to our clients as coaches, mentors, facilitators, advisors, consultants, and trainers. Not every member wants to become self-employed and ultimately be our professional associate. We, however, work tirelessly with our members until they discover the areas in which to partner with COMETSA.

We have identified the avenue into the international space through our online radio station, COMETSA Radio Worldwide (CRW). We stream a monthly live show, Bridging Cultures for Global Talent Mobility and Business Relations. By launching our Business Academy (CBA), we are making a statement about our commitment to our purpose, human capital, management and leadership development.