From when I was a young kid, able to comprehend the use of English, I was made to understand it is common practice to wait and prepare for opportunity to come knocking on your door. Well, I’ve come a long way since then and I’m not entirely discounting that, because it’s fantastic advise if you are a student awaiting a scholarship or a footballer, but certainly not applicable when you’re in business and you’ve got bills and salaries to pay weekly! So you need to be proactive and rather than sit around waiting for opportunity to knock on your door, or call your landline; instead we suggest you get off your chair and go seeking for opportunity’s door and knock on it!
Seriously, a lot of people are doing just that and getting way ahead of you! Ever wondered why some of your friends hardly visit? It may be because they’re too busy hosting visitors, so if you want to see them you’re better off not holding your breath and waiting; rather you go see them yourself.
Let me illustrate further with a more personal approach on how we operate sometimes in our team.
Our Challenge
I work in a growing advertising agency with a workforce made up of skilled professionals; it was pretty tough to get big customers without a seasoned marketer or accounts man as we call it. Well, we like to have big clients like a multinational or one of the Top 10 Banks, but we are based in Abuja and most of the decision makers of such organizations and their advertising agencies are based in Lagos, the commercial hub of Nigeria.
Our Strategy
Rather than arrange for meetings with lobbyists and send countless proposals to the ultimate demise of the diminishing rain forest trees. We decided to come up with an approach for a new marketing communications plan, complete with advertising artwork and marketing concepts and creative ideas all ready designed on a CD-ROM. It was totally unsolicited without a creative brief! We arranged meetings with a brand manager and presented our ideas!
The Outcome
They saw what they liked, but even more than that was the fact that we had come all this way, done up preliminary artworks and deduced their marketing direction from researching their current adverts in newspapers and on their website. We were signed up and hopefully we’ll work together happily forever after.
However there are key lessons to be learnt here. First, we did not sit around waiting to be called like most people would after submitting a proposal, instead we went further to show them what we’re made off, hence increasing our bargaining power over the competition. It made us look proactive, bold and sure of ourselves. This strategy is impossible to fault and always impresses anyone you’re hoping to do business with.
So the key question to ask yourself is this; if I could be more aggressive about seeking opportunities for my company, who would I approach? When I approach this client what can I do unsolicited that would impress these potential customers?
Here are some ideas:
1. Make a list of who you’ll like to be doing business with and brainstorm on ways to make something suitable and tailored for them without spending too much time or money.
2. You’re giving them a “free” present and that’s already unusual, so don’t just stop there. Be creative on how to present it to them as well. If you’re in our line of business i.e. advertising and branding, put up a free mock website of your potential client and send them a text message with the website link telling them to visit that page and see what it would look like; or design a new logo for them. Or if you’re in something as boring as insurance, you could deliver them lunch with a menu of your services. Be free to express yourself and create a lasting impression about you.
Don’t wait for opportunity, go out there and find it. Using this approach to life, you’ll be pleased to find out opportunity is a brilliant host and it’s everywhere.
Ebuka Anichebe is the Managing Director of Jean-Paul and Associates Consultancy. He has an uncommon approach to marketing media consulting, business development and customer experience evaluation. He’ll like to hear your views on this article and more, write to him at ebuka@jeanpaulconsult.com or call 07040448749
Monday, September 6, 2010
How to Catch a Man in 90 days
Most women have often asked me why they can’t seem to be able to find and keep a steady boy-friend despite an abundance of single guys on their Facebook friend’s list. Why can’t there be a Mr. Right? How can they attract men to them? The questions are endless. Well after trying my best to reassure them that they are beautifully and wonderfully made, the next step in our conversation is an analysis of their relationship with a view of finding out the problem area. Usually a breakdown of what they’re doing wrong and what they could be doing right quickly follows. I don’t hold any claim on the efficacy of these methods but I’ve successfully hooked up quite a number of couples in times past. Some that led to the altar; and as for the other couples? Well, their relationships fell by the wayside through no fault of mine. But I’ll share with you what a Nigerian man wants from a woman that would probably lead him to committing. This article is biased to suit Nigerian women so bear with me.
Men are simple to understand and train just like a good dog. You just need to accept what they can and can’t do or learn; then live with that. You won’t nag your dog to death for not being able to change the television channel to Big Brother and record it, so why do insist on doing that to your life partner? Men are also not very good in mind-reading, so you need to communicate your feelings with him and not expect him to decipher it. Remember women were created after men and as a newer version they came with new update such as Emotional Intelligence 8.0V and Intuition 6.5. We don’t have those features or they’re outdated so please use your words.
Speaking about words, women do have an ability to talk incessantly for hours while doing other stuff like pinging on the Blackberry, cooking, watching a movie and keeping an eye on the little ones. Most men do not multi-task! We do one thing at a time and then move on to the next one. So when you’re talking and going on about your colleague’s antics in the office and your boyfriend is on the Blackberry don’t expect to get any response other than an, “Huh-uh” and “yeah” at intervals. Most men have a short attention span to anything that’s not remotely related to football, more money, politics, cars or women. He’s not ignoring you; he’s simply just not interested, take off a few clothes and watch that change. Men like boys like colour coordination so before taking off clothes make sure the bra and the panties are matching!
Men don’t usually lie to their spouse unless it’s absolutely necessary to do so (now that’s a white lie). But when they lie and through your high emotional intelligence, do happen to find out, don’t make a big deal out of it. It’s probably in your best interest. How else would he explain that he went to see a movie with his ex-girlfriend and they talked business development without making it seem suspicious? Don’t be in a hurry to change his bad habits unless he asks for your help. Some smoke occasionally, other get drunk. Do not castigate them and blackmail them into submission. Accept them and let them know that you can be of assistance whenever they decide to become a better person.
Men don’t like women nagging on and on; so when you feel like nagging call your mum and spare him the details for a boring Saturday and not while football is on television or he just coming in from a hectic Monday! But if you must nag, do expect him to come up with solutions. Don’t expect he’ll want to hear you complain and whine for the next 2 hours, he’ll always like to cut a long story short and will always mistake his provision of solutions to problems will do the trick of making you satisfied.
Every bachelor loves to have a decent home-cooked meal especially during the weekends, so surprise him with an invitation for lunch on Saturday and Sundays and like a loyal dog he’ll love you for it and keep coming back. Most men are creatures of habit. He’ll also save a bit more money probably buy you that hand-bag you’ve been talking about.
Guys like to be in control and are naturally jealous by nature. Some guys do show it and others avoid it all together. But either ways, it is not the best method to get to a man, as it usually backfires on the girl. In line with this, do not by any means keep talking about the same guy over and over again like a broken record. It doesn’t matter if the guy in question is your cousin, colleague at work or ex-boyfriend. He’ll make him feel less special and so he’ll go out looking for another one that thinks he’s all that and more.
Avoid the B.B chats during dates altogether, because he’ll only assume it the “other” guy. When the phone rings, don’t rush to pick it up and hurry out of the room; again he’ll think it is “another” man and that’s not sending any positive signals that you’re ready to settle down. Switch off your phone or allow only special numbers of family and friends to call you. And when they do, allow him pick up the phone while you’re in the kitchen. It would mean the world to him! First it shows that you are loyal to him and secondly you that you also trust him and want him to be a part of your world.
Woman you need to empty your heart and phonebook and leave a more room for love. Most women have a trail of men that they have dated in the past and other “potentials” that they’re keeping in view. So these “random” men call them at random hours and the conversation can stretch for hours as either parties try to catch up. News Flash: When you’re with your boyfriend that’s not allowed! He may pretend it is okay but he’ll take note of it. Men have been known to suppress their emotions and later act out randomly once their patience expires much to the surprise of the woman.
Do give him space to be with his friends on some days and then go hang out with your friends. Show him you have a life while he’s not around and it would keep him on his toes and leave him asking for more and wanting more of your attention. When the time comes, tell him that you believe in his dreams and ask him what his long-term goals are. Just make sure you know where his headed before proudly announcing that you hope to be richer than Oprah Winfrey! That would only make most scamper off, don’t ask me why… they just do!
All men are like flowers all we need is a little attention and we’ll blossom before your very eyes!
Men are simple to understand and train just like a good dog. You just need to accept what they can and can’t do or learn; then live with that. You won’t nag your dog to death for not being able to change the television channel to Big Brother and record it, so why do insist on doing that to your life partner? Men are also not very good in mind-reading, so you need to communicate your feelings with him and not expect him to decipher it. Remember women were created after men and as a newer version they came with new update such as Emotional Intelligence 8.0V and Intuition 6.5. We don’t have those features or they’re outdated so please use your words.
Speaking about words, women do have an ability to talk incessantly for hours while doing other stuff like pinging on the Blackberry, cooking, watching a movie and keeping an eye on the little ones. Most men do not multi-task! We do one thing at a time and then move on to the next one. So when you’re talking and going on about your colleague’s antics in the office and your boyfriend is on the Blackberry don’t expect to get any response other than an, “Huh-uh” and “yeah” at intervals. Most men have a short attention span to anything that’s not remotely related to football, more money, politics, cars or women. He’s not ignoring you; he’s simply just not interested, take off a few clothes and watch that change. Men like boys like colour coordination so before taking off clothes make sure the bra and the panties are matching!
Men don’t usually lie to their spouse unless it’s absolutely necessary to do so (now that’s a white lie). But when they lie and through your high emotional intelligence, do happen to find out, don’t make a big deal out of it. It’s probably in your best interest. How else would he explain that he went to see a movie with his ex-girlfriend and they talked business development without making it seem suspicious? Don’t be in a hurry to change his bad habits unless he asks for your help. Some smoke occasionally, other get drunk. Do not castigate them and blackmail them into submission. Accept them and let them know that you can be of assistance whenever they decide to become a better person.
Men don’t like women nagging on and on; so when you feel like nagging call your mum and spare him the details for a boring Saturday and not while football is on television or he just coming in from a hectic Monday! But if you must nag, do expect him to come up with solutions. Don’t expect he’ll want to hear you complain and whine for the next 2 hours, he’ll always like to cut a long story short and will always mistake his provision of solutions to problems will do the trick of making you satisfied.
Every bachelor loves to have a decent home-cooked meal especially during the weekends, so surprise him with an invitation for lunch on Saturday and Sundays and like a loyal dog he’ll love you for it and keep coming back. Most men are creatures of habit. He’ll also save a bit more money probably buy you that hand-bag you’ve been talking about.
Guys like to be in control and are naturally jealous by nature. Some guys do show it and others avoid it all together. But either ways, it is not the best method to get to a man, as it usually backfires on the girl. In line with this, do not by any means keep talking about the same guy over and over again like a broken record. It doesn’t matter if the guy in question is your cousin, colleague at work or ex-boyfriend. He’ll make him feel less special and so he’ll go out looking for another one that thinks he’s all that and more.
Avoid the B.B chats during dates altogether, because he’ll only assume it the “other” guy. When the phone rings, don’t rush to pick it up and hurry out of the room; again he’ll think it is “another” man and that’s not sending any positive signals that you’re ready to settle down. Switch off your phone or allow only special numbers of family and friends to call you. And when they do, allow him pick up the phone while you’re in the kitchen. It would mean the world to him! First it shows that you are loyal to him and secondly you that you also trust him and want him to be a part of your world.
Woman you need to empty your heart and phonebook and leave a more room for love. Most women have a trail of men that they have dated in the past and other “potentials” that they’re keeping in view. So these “random” men call them at random hours and the conversation can stretch for hours as either parties try to catch up. News Flash: When you’re with your boyfriend that’s not allowed! He may pretend it is okay but he’ll take note of it. Men have been known to suppress their emotions and later act out randomly once their patience expires much to the surprise of the woman.
Do give him space to be with his friends on some days and then go hang out with your friends. Show him you have a life while he’s not around and it would keep him on his toes and leave him asking for more and wanting more of your attention. When the time comes, tell him that you believe in his dreams and ask him what his long-term goals are. Just make sure you know where his headed before proudly announcing that you hope to be richer than Oprah Winfrey! That would only make most scamper off, don’t ask me why… they just do!
All men are like flowers all we need is a little attention and we’ll blossom before your very eyes!
HEAVEN IS IN OUR HEART
Our search for the lost Paradise for the Garden of Eden has proven quite elusive until now. Most of us are familiar with the story of Adam and Eve, and how they fell out of God’s favour by disobedience and banished from Garden of Eden which was God’s paradise for mankind. For most of us, we take a literal approach to the Garden of Eden and some have even gone further to explore the lengths and breadth of the Earth in search for this elusive and hidden garden that promises all that a man could ever desire to eat, enjoy and indulge.
While this futile search may make a good storyline for a Hollywood movie or a film series, it dawned on me that like other Biblical stories and parables in the Bible, perhaps there might be a hidden meaning in Man’s quest for Paradise.
Paradise has over many years meant several things to different people. Some refer it as the after-life. To others it’s a geographic location filled with beautiful flowers- a horticulturist heaven, as it appears in religious language as God's garden, where man was placed at first by his Creator. I don’t claim to decide which is right or wrong; however this is an alternative point of view. Paradise is here on Earth, well within our reach without the need to explore the Seven Wonders of the Earth or jump on a ship and travel halfway across the world.
For most of us Christians, we can all agree that God created Man in the Garden of Eden and filled it with all His goodness much like with the Earth we live in. When Adam disobeyed God however he was banished from His presence and out of the Garden of Eden. In my opinion of the Garden of Eden, God created Man and planted him in a garden where he (Man) too was to grow and bear fruit to fill this entire beautiful garden. Man in his sinful nature disobeyed God and fell short of His Glory and got banished from God’s presence. Christ through is obedience restored Man back to His former glory and fit to come to the presence of God by dying on the Cross for our sins. The presence of God is Paradise in itself. Most Christians will agree with this train of thought.
Now here’s the interesting bit, our very souls are all flowers in God’s garden. A garden that calls for sunlight, nourishment and water to grow; in this garden are the seeds of compassion, love, forgiveness, commitment, courage and all the qualities that inspire and encourage us. Alongside this garden has been sown by the Devil seeds of violence, jealousy, envy, strife, prejudice and all other hurtful and destructive ways of living that has become common place in our world today.
The good seeds that grow within us and make us beautiful flowers in God’s garden are those we give our attention to. Our attention is like water and sunshine and the seeds we cultivate will grow and fill our garden. However should we decide to grow the bad seeds of scarcity as planted by the Devil- greed, avarice, lust and deceit- then scarcity is what will fill the space of our life and our world! However should we rightly decide to tend to the seeds of sufficiency with all our attention, then we will enjoy a bountiful harvest and find that Paradise is indeed within us.
In our world today most of us have neglected or long forgotten the art of growing plants and nurturing nature. It takes a dedication and attention to grow a beautiful plant, and little or no time to grow shrubbery or weed. So when we look over the fence and have a sneak preview of our neighbour’s shrubs already in full bloom, it’s easy to think to ourselves, “Hmmm why is the grass always greener on the other side?” Or “Honey, there must be something wrong with our seeds”.
And so we borrow seeds of weed and roadside shrubbery from our neighbours. These may grow fast initially but we will most definitely not have the paradise or beauty of nature which we initially hope for. I’m not a horticulturist but from experience and the little knowledge retained from Biology classes I know that the weed will choke up the Red Roses, Lily of the Valley, Freesia bulbs and daffodils previously planted in no distant time. Just as these earthly seeds don’t cross-pollinate, the same principles also applies to our spiritual seeds as well!
As illustrated by one of the several parables in the teachings of Jesus, at the final day the weeds will be separated from the wheat in the vineyard and all will come to see the beauty of God’s own Garden can be found in mankind and not some heavens high above or a lost island in the Caribbean.
In the fertile soil of our appreciation of this new way of thinking, new possibilities take root, and it grows without limits in the light of our attention in keeping God’s word and paying attention to growing the right seeds of love, sharing and compassion in our hearts.
God bless your heart!
Ebuka Anichebe
http://ebukaanichebe.blogspot.com/
While this futile search may make a good storyline for a Hollywood movie or a film series, it dawned on me that like other Biblical stories and parables in the Bible, perhaps there might be a hidden meaning in Man’s quest for Paradise.
Paradise has over many years meant several things to different people. Some refer it as the after-life. To others it’s a geographic location filled with beautiful flowers- a horticulturist heaven, as it appears in religious language as God's garden, where man was placed at first by his Creator. I don’t claim to decide which is right or wrong; however this is an alternative point of view. Paradise is here on Earth, well within our reach without the need to explore the Seven Wonders of the Earth or jump on a ship and travel halfway across the world.
For most of us Christians, we can all agree that God created Man in the Garden of Eden and filled it with all His goodness much like with the Earth we live in. When Adam disobeyed God however he was banished from His presence and out of the Garden of Eden. In my opinion of the Garden of Eden, God created Man and planted him in a garden where he (Man) too was to grow and bear fruit to fill this entire beautiful garden. Man in his sinful nature disobeyed God and fell short of His Glory and got banished from God’s presence. Christ through is obedience restored Man back to His former glory and fit to come to the presence of God by dying on the Cross for our sins. The presence of God is Paradise in itself. Most Christians will agree with this train of thought.
Now here’s the interesting bit, our very souls are all flowers in God’s garden. A garden that calls for sunlight, nourishment and water to grow; in this garden are the seeds of compassion, love, forgiveness, commitment, courage and all the qualities that inspire and encourage us. Alongside this garden has been sown by the Devil seeds of violence, jealousy, envy, strife, prejudice and all other hurtful and destructive ways of living that has become common place in our world today.
The good seeds that grow within us and make us beautiful flowers in God’s garden are those we give our attention to. Our attention is like water and sunshine and the seeds we cultivate will grow and fill our garden. However should we decide to grow the bad seeds of scarcity as planted by the Devil- greed, avarice, lust and deceit- then scarcity is what will fill the space of our life and our world! However should we rightly decide to tend to the seeds of sufficiency with all our attention, then we will enjoy a bountiful harvest and find that Paradise is indeed within us.
In our world today most of us have neglected or long forgotten the art of growing plants and nurturing nature. It takes a dedication and attention to grow a beautiful plant, and little or no time to grow shrubbery or weed. So when we look over the fence and have a sneak preview of our neighbour’s shrubs already in full bloom, it’s easy to think to ourselves, “Hmmm why is the grass always greener on the other side?” Or “Honey, there must be something wrong with our seeds”.
And so we borrow seeds of weed and roadside shrubbery from our neighbours. These may grow fast initially but we will most definitely not have the paradise or beauty of nature which we initially hope for. I’m not a horticulturist but from experience and the little knowledge retained from Biology classes I know that the weed will choke up the Red Roses, Lily of the Valley, Freesia bulbs and daffodils previously planted in no distant time. Just as these earthly seeds don’t cross-pollinate, the same principles also applies to our spiritual seeds as well!
As illustrated by one of the several parables in the teachings of Jesus, at the final day the weeds will be separated from the wheat in the vineyard and all will come to see the beauty of God’s own Garden can be found in mankind and not some heavens high above or a lost island in the Caribbean.
In the fertile soil of our appreciation of this new way of thinking, new possibilities take root, and it grows without limits in the light of our attention in keeping God’s word and paying attention to growing the right seeds of love, sharing and compassion in our hearts.
God bless your heart!
Ebuka Anichebe
http://ebukaanichebe.blogspot.com/
2011: LOYALTY FOR SALE!
Being loyal to a particular cause, a party, a religion and even a tribe is a custom or at least it used to be the acceptable norm for most people across the world. But the situation is not the same in the present day dysfunctional Nigeria. Our loyalty to a political party, an individual, a cause or social movement is mostly influenced by the present day full face value. Not the labours of our heroes past. Nor the dreams we hope for the next generation. No there’s really no luxury for such values, at least not for now. Not in the face of widespread poverty and increasing gap between the rich and the poor. The only bridge between these two extremes is politics; nothing else. The political class knows this to be a fact, so use it as a tool or a bargaining chip. The middle class-poor are all too familiar with this; and so some pray that every year is an election year.
Anyways, man must survive, and so a few mart players assume leadership of the low income- middle class by organizing dubious social awareness groups, action committees, youth organizations and the likes. With these groups they lobby and vie for crumbs of the national cake. Everyone’s a politician nowadays. It is all that’s worth talking about on Facebook, Twitter and questionable bars and lounges all across town; a little like how the hot topic was on the Nigerian stock market a while ago! While we were sleeping, our political consciousness grew overnight while our moral conscience died of natural causes.
We (the unsuspecting citizens) join or “like” these groups on Facebook, and so they gain their numbers and use that as a bargaining chip when demanding for mobilization fees, bribes, tokens, gifts and that comes with buying the minds of the people. Some of us know these activities being carried out. Others just follow blindly without even knowing they are puppets in the grand showdown for 2011. The few that realize that belonging to a group must mean some sort of financial reward in current day Nigeria don’t really mind, just as long as there’s a fair price on their membership to be gained. Everyone has a different angle of gaining their share of the national cake.
Like a good friend of mine, Chinedu Onyewuenyi succinctly puts it; evolving loyalties in present-day Nigeria is the evolutionary law as proposed by Charles Darwin, and a race of the survival of the fittest. In such a scenario selfishness and greed and self-serving leadership are advantageous traits that are strengthened with each new generation of Nigerians. While obviously weaker traits of honesty, values and traditions are quickly swept under the kitchen. While there’s food on the table, all houseflies gather. The chow is politics, you and I are the flies, and the cooks are our politicians and members of the present kitchen cabinet.
So who’s to blame when our youths figure out that everyone’s loyalty including their traditional rulers and religious leaders have been bought or mortgaged with payments made in installments every four years or so? We take up the guns bought for us by the same politicians and resort to kidnapping them. It’s the same thing the elderly ones are doing only difference is that they do theirs in plush offices with ball-point pens. They hold us captive educationally and financially for long enough and release us only on the grounds that we solemnly pledge our allegiance and whole-hearted support in exchange for some pittance when it’s time for re-elections. It doesn’t matter if we carry guns, or steal ballot boxes or organize thugs. It’s really supposed to last for only for a short while and the benefits are quite lucrative. However after a few heated months, the elections results are out; it’s now business as usual with the rich minding their business and the poor doing the same. However some restive youths get impatient, and revert to kidnapping these politicians or their relatives and hold them ransom in order to collect more monies when it becomes impractical to wait till the next elections to gain the benefits of democracy just once in four years. Should the dividends of democracy be as seasonal as a World Cup event?
How long before our shouts and heated debates for “Say No to Zoning” and “Nigeria needs Goodluck”, is replaced by the deafening sound of silence and cold shoulders of indifference from the ones elected to speak on our behalf in the grand auditorium of the National Assembly and corridors of Aso Rock?
Ebuka Anichebe
(The writer is a nonconformist and unpopular critic of the state of the nation called Nigeria. The lone voice of a dying conscience; his views will not be published by newspapers and magazines due to its apparent lack of diplomacy and ambiguity)
Anyways, man must survive, and so a few mart players assume leadership of the low income- middle class by organizing dubious social awareness groups, action committees, youth organizations and the likes. With these groups they lobby and vie for crumbs of the national cake. Everyone’s a politician nowadays. It is all that’s worth talking about on Facebook, Twitter and questionable bars and lounges all across town; a little like how the hot topic was on the Nigerian stock market a while ago! While we were sleeping, our political consciousness grew overnight while our moral conscience died of natural causes.
We (the unsuspecting citizens) join or “like” these groups on Facebook, and so they gain their numbers and use that as a bargaining chip when demanding for mobilization fees, bribes, tokens, gifts and that comes with buying the minds of the people. Some of us know these activities being carried out. Others just follow blindly without even knowing they are puppets in the grand showdown for 2011. The few that realize that belonging to a group must mean some sort of financial reward in current day Nigeria don’t really mind, just as long as there’s a fair price on their membership to be gained. Everyone has a different angle of gaining their share of the national cake.
Like a good friend of mine, Chinedu Onyewuenyi succinctly puts it; evolving loyalties in present-day Nigeria is the evolutionary law as proposed by Charles Darwin, and a race of the survival of the fittest. In such a scenario selfishness and greed and self-serving leadership are advantageous traits that are strengthened with each new generation of Nigerians. While obviously weaker traits of honesty, values and traditions are quickly swept under the kitchen. While there’s food on the table, all houseflies gather. The chow is politics, you and I are the flies, and the cooks are our politicians and members of the present kitchen cabinet.
So who’s to blame when our youths figure out that everyone’s loyalty including their traditional rulers and religious leaders have been bought or mortgaged with payments made in installments every four years or so? We take up the guns bought for us by the same politicians and resort to kidnapping them. It’s the same thing the elderly ones are doing only difference is that they do theirs in plush offices with ball-point pens. They hold us captive educationally and financially for long enough and release us only on the grounds that we solemnly pledge our allegiance and whole-hearted support in exchange for some pittance when it’s time for re-elections. It doesn’t matter if we carry guns, or steal ballot boxes or organize thugs. It’s really supposed to last for only for a short while and the benefits are quite lucrative. However after a few heated months, the elections results are out; it’s now business as usual with the rich minding their business and the poor doing the same. However some restive youths get impatient, and revert to kidnapping these politicians or their relatives and hold them ransom in order to collect more monies when it becomes impractical to wait till the next elections to gain the benefits of democracy just once in four years. Should the dividends of democracy be as seasonal as a World Cup event?
How long before our shouts and heated debates for “Say No to Zoning” and “Nigeria needs Goodluck”, is replaced by the deafening sound of silence and cold shoulders of indifference from the ones elected to speak on our behalf in the grand auditorium of the National Assembly and corridors of Aso Rock?
Ebuka Anichebe
(The writer is a nonconformist and unpopular critic of the state of the nation called Nigeria. The lone voice of a dying conscience; his views will not be published by newspapers and magazines due to its apparent lack of diplomacy and ambiguity)
LOYALTY IS LOVE
Ok first and foremost, let’s get something straight, a business is legally defined as a legal entity separate from its owners. In other words a business is like a human being capable of loving and being loved. However since the body chemistry and other factors necessary for human beings to fall in love don’t exactly exist in a business, most businesses don’t fall in love; rather they become LOYAL. Now the question is how often is your loyalty questioned? Loyalty means to be faithful and is something of value. Loyalty is a rare gem that is hard to find in today's society. Think of your loyalty to an organization. People do not spend the same amount of years working for the same company, as my parents and grandparents did. Think of the number marriages that end in divorce. People are quicker to terminate marriages for the smallest of issues, such as "irreconcilable differences." Loyalty is a strong force that will keep you in any relationship, whether business or personal.
Your loyalty to someone or even an organization will always have a high appraisal value. When your partner for example senses a hint of disloyalty in you, the level of trust goes down. When trust diminishes, the relationship deteriorates. The same is true for the organizations and customers you work for. When disloyalty is evident in you, your opportunities for growth in that organization are lost. Trust and loyalty go hand in hand in a business as it does in a marriage.
Now that we’ve established the facts above, we need to look into ways to make your businesses and customers stay in love or rather remain loyal to you! I work for a company with a huge goal of helping Nigerian businesses in creating great brands that can compete globally. We’re serious about this and because we love our business we are serious about our customers.
From first-hand experience we realize that being a small business does have its advantages if you know what you’re doing and constantly thinking about the customers’ needs and proactively fulfilling it with your services. Who knew attention to such small details could do so much and it helps cut our marketing and advertising budget. We don’t have any fancy billboards or ever had the need to advertise on television or radio, yet the new job orders keep coming in! It is amazing!
I’ll share with you briefly some of the five (because 5 is my favourite number) ways you too can benefit from intensely loyal customers. You can trust me, I adopted these while working at Jean-Paul & Associates and we’re already seeing results!
1) Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Dependability trumps skills most often. Trust is key in building customer confidence and relation and that trust must not be misused. I’ll give you an example; I went into a mechanic workshop after hearing some funny noise in the engine of my car. Turns out the engine was about to “knock”, or so. Luckily the insurance covers that! Who knew? Anyways I got a notice from the workshop telling me the car would be ready in 10 days. So I took a deep breath and waited. 10 days came, no phone calls came in, so I took a drive down there asked for my car and was met with apologies asking me to come in a week! The same thing happened again after that one week, and needless to say by the time the car came out I was tired of the car and vowed never to return to the mechanic! The same rule applies to client appointments, deadlines, etc.. Think before you give any promise – because nothing annoys customers more than a broken one. When promises are broken the trust ties break as well.
2) Listen to your customers.
Is there anything more exasperating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that that person hasn’t been paying attention and needs to have it explained again? From a business customer’s point of view or even a personal, I doubt it. Allow your customer talk and show him that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem or nodding while the customer tells you what he/she wants and not just pretending to listen; which unfortunately most men know how to do this especially through practicing the act in their relationships by grunting and make funny throat sounds to show their spouses that they following the story when they’re really just watching the football match or continue chatting on the Blackberry. Your wife knows this already and still feels the need to talk; most customers won’t be this nice. Listening to your customer makes you do your job better to suit his or her needs and makes the customer feel assured that the job will be done according to the given specifications. For more on active listening follow us on Facebook and read our article on Becoming a Rainmaker or in the alternative kindly wait for a few months till our next newsletter.
3) Be a Good Samaritan
People have a saying “Are we running a charity organisation?”, or “Am I the Good Samaritan?” You may not be running a not-for-profit organisation and your origins and ancestral descents may not be from ancient Samaria however you should when convenient and possible put customers and potential clients first. I’ll give you an example, a business developer from a firm we were trying to get to do business with, ran into our office requesting for an urgent design for an invoice and print as he needed it to close a sale. We had earlier given his firm a quotation for rebranding their organisation and that was still pending. We had two options; A) Tell him to get his boss to approve our bid and we’ll do so or B) Do him a great favour and expect he remembers this and nudges his boss to take up our proposal. Fortunately we went with option B, and not only were he pleased but his boss was impressed and gave us not just their account but their parent company too. In our day-to-day lives as human beings, according to your religion, your reward may be in heaven, but in the business world, you’re rewarded with referrals, word-of-mouth marketing and undying loyalty. Therefore if you have to bend over backwards just to please your client…THEN DO IT!!
4) Deal with complaints.
Most times when a client makes a complaint he can sound like a nagging partner. No one likes hearing these complaints, and many of us have developed a reflex shrug, saying, “You can’t please all the people all the time”. Maybe not, but if you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time - and position your business to reap the benefits of good customer service. Sometimes the customer just wants a phone call from the person with the highest authority to be emphatic to his/her plights and make amendments if possible at no extra cost.
5) Train your staff to become worthy ambassadors.
Do it yourself or hire someone such as me to train them. Talk to them about good customer service and what it is (and isn’t) regularity. Most importantly, give every member of your staff enough information and power to make those small customer-pleasing decisions, so she never has to say, “I don’t know, but so-and-so will be back at...” At our workplace usually we give clients a month’s notice to renew their domain names and hosting and usually amidst all the hustle and bustle in doing business, they forget but we automatically renew them anyways and then invoice them. They always come back bringing more business to express their gratitude.
6) Throw in something extra (like I just did)
I know this from experience to be true, so rather than five tips I threw in an extra. So whether it’s a signed letter for a future discount, a year of free domain name renewal or hosting, or registration of a group in Facebook for free and tips to market a website, people love to get more than they thought they were getting. Don’t think a gesture has to be large to be effective. We found that out when setting up a website for an institute for learning; for extras we threw in free articles to get them started and get others to follow suit. A small thing, but so appreciated.
If you follow these tips as listed above you’ll have the satisfaction of having repeat businesses and very happy partners clients. The sweetest part remains the fact that good customer service will bring in more new customers than promotions and price slashing ever did!
Your loyalty to someone or even an organization will always have a high appraisal value. When your partner for example senses a hint of disloyalty in you, the level of trust goes down. When trust diminishes, the relationship deteriorates. The same is true for the organizations and customers you work for. When disloyalty is evident in you, your opportunities for growth in that organization are lost. Trust and loyalty go hand in hand in a business as it does in a marriage.
Now that we’ve established the facts above, we need to look into ways to make your businesses and customers stay in love or rather remain loyal to you! I work for a company with a huge goal of helping Nigerian businesses in creating great brands that can compete globally. We’re serious about this and because we love our business we are serious about our customers.
From first-hand experience we realize that being a small business does have its advantages if you know what you’re doing and constantly thinking about the customers’ needs and proactively fulfilling it with your services. Who knew attention to such small details could do so much and it helps cut our marketing and advertising budget. We don’t have any fancy billboards or ever had the need to advertise on television or radio, yet the new job orders keep coming in! It is amazing!
I’ll share with you briefly some of the five (because 5 is my favourite number) ways you too can benefit from intensely loyal customers. You can trust me, I adopted these while working at Jean-Paul & Associates and we’re already seeing results!
1) Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Dependability trumps skills most often. Trust is key in building customer confidence and relation and that trust must not be misused. I’ll give you an example; I went into a mechanic workshop after hearing some funny noise in the engine of my car. Turns out the engine was about to “knock”, or so. Luckily the insurance covers that! Who knew? Anyways I got a notice from the workshop telling me the car would be ready in 10 days. So I took a deep breath and waited. 10 days came, no phone calls came in, so I took a drive down there asked for my car and was met with apologies asking me to come in a week! The same thing happened again after that one week, and needless to say by the time the car came out I was tired of the car and vowed never to return to the mechanic! The same rule applies to client appointments, deadlines, etc.. Think before you give any promise – because nothing annoys customers more than a broken one. When promises are broken the trust ties break as well.
2) Listen to your customers.
Is there anything more exasperating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that that person hasn’t been paying attention and needs to have it explained again? From a business customer’s point of view or even a personal, I doubt it. Allow your customer talk and show him that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem or nodding while the customer tells you what he/she wants and not just pretending to listen; which unfortunately most men know how to do this especially through practicing the act in their relationships by grunting and make funny throat sounds to show their spouses that they following the story when they’re really just watching the football match or continue chatting on the Blackberry. Your wife knows this already and still feels the need to talk; most customers won’t be this nice. Listening to your customer makes you do your job better to suit his or her needs and makes the customer feel assured that the job will be done according to the given specifications. For more on active listening follow us on Facebook and read our article on Becoming a Rainmaker or in the alternative kindly wait for a few months till our next newsletter.
3) Be a Good Samaritan
People have a saying “Are we running a charity organisation?”, or “Am I the Good Samaritan?” You may not be running a not-for-profit organisation and your origins and ancestral descents may not be from ancient Samaria however you should when convenient and possible put customers and potential clients first. I’ll give you an example, a business developer from a firm we were trying to get to do business with, ran into our office requesting for an urgent design for an invoice and print as he needed it to close a sale. We had earlier given his firm a quotation for rebranding their organisation and that was still pending. We had two options; A) Tell him to get his boss to approve our bid and we’ll do so or B) Do him a great favour and expect he remembers this and nudges his boss to take up our proposal. Fortunately we went with option B, and not only were he pleased but his boss was impressed and gave us not just their account but their parent company too. In our day-to-day lives as human beings, according to your religion, your reward may be in heaven, but in the business world, you’re rewarded with referrals, word-of-mouth marketing and undying loyalty. Therefore if you have to bend over backwards just to please your client…THEN DO IT!!
4) Deal with complaints.
Most times when a client makes a complaint he can sound like a nagging partner. No one likes hearing these complaints, and many of us have developed a reflex shrug, saying, “You can’t please all the people all the time”. Maybe not, but if you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time - and position your business to reap the benefits of good customer service. Sometimes the customer just wants a phone call from the person with the highest authority to be emphatic to his/her plights and make amendments if possible at no extra cost.
5) Train your staff to become worthy ambassadors.
Do it yourself or hire someone such as me to train them. Talk to them about good customer service and what it is (and isn’t) regularity. Most importantly, give every member of your staff enough information and power to make those small customer-pleasing decisions, so she never has to say, “I don’t know, but so-and-so will be back at...” At our workplace usually we give clients a month’s notice to renew their domain names and hosting and usually amidst all the hustle and bustle in doing business, they forget but we automatically renew them anyways and then invoice them. They always come back bringing more business to express their gratitude.
6) Throw in something extra (like I just did)
I know this from experience to be true, so rather than five tips I threw in an extra. So whether it’s a signed letter for a future discount, a year of free domain name renewal or hosting, or registration of a group in Facebook for free and tips to market a website, people love to get more than they thought they were getting. Don’t think a gesture has to be large to be effective. We found that out when setting up a website for an institute for learning; for extras we threw in free articles to get them started and get others to follow suit. A small thing, but so appreciated.
If you follow these tips as listed above you’ll have the satisfaction of having repeat businesses and very happy partners clients. The sweetest part remains the fact that good customer service will bring in more new customers than promotions and price slashing ever did!
Half Finished
Our country called Nigeria home to over 250 tribes is half finished today by two major vices! One is a usual suspect called corruption and it can be found everywhere from the public schools, journalists, churches, public offices all the way down to the police station in your area! The second is called tribalism also called marginalization, state creation, zoning ethnic nepotism, or whatever name they choose to call it! This is even more widespread but it’s so common it is overlooked by so many.
I can talk volumes on the issue of corruption but since you all have undoubtedly experienced it firsthand; why waste time telling a mother of nice children the unimaginable pains of child birth? We’ll just limit our discussion today on the issue of tribalism. Tribalism according to Wikipedia frequently refers to the possession of a strong cultural or ethnic identity that separates oneself as a member of one group from the members of another. This phenomenon is related to the concept of tribal society in that it is a precondition for members of a tribe to possess a strong feeling of identity for a true tribal society to form.
From an early age most children have been told by their parents, elders and members of their peer group of the difference between Good and Evil, Catholics and Jehovah Witness, Yoruba and Hausa, Igbo and Tiv, Urhobo and Ijaw, Christianity and Islam! We learn that a certain tribe (no need to mention names now) is known for their apparent greed for money and worldly things, and another for their greed for power and playing politics, and yet another for their inherent wicked nature!
So they warn their little children not to associate so much with friends from certain tribes and keep their distance from people of certain religions; and if the child in their usual childlike nature should disobey the requests of their guardian and end up making friends from these cultures and religions, or a young man marries a lady from another tribe or religion; should a small quarrel ever comes in between such a friendship, the misguided parent is quick to say, “I told you, abi?” and they let little injuries fester on to become cancerous sores between families and friends.
So somehow along the road to maturity, the kids with their impressionable minds grow up and they marginalize themselves first by limiting their associations with certain people or well meaning organizations that are perceived to be founded by a person from “another” tribe or culture, so as not to rock the boat or become the victim of their “greed wickedness” as the case might be. Young kids grow up to young men in years and have an inordinate fear or phobia of their colleagues Universities or the workplace that are otherwise harmless. And as soon as they come across an article in the newspaper or by chance someone’s behavior falls into their misguided perception of the group; they immediately say “Aha, I’ve said it and now our eyes have seen it”!
Young men soon grow to older and in turn make their beliefs into national policies as well pass on these beliefs to their children and grandchildren as the case might be and who’s to say this cycle won’t keep on going on and on and on till there’s no peace or trust left in this nation of ours?
Nepotism that has been sown into the children of the sixties is currently being shown in the way we play politics and recruit young ones into our organizations! Oil companies make an effort to recruit people from the South-South, and most government agencies depending on who the leader is invariably recruits from his own “fold”. Interestingly outside the shores of Nigeria, we are viewed as Nigerians without bias on religious affiliations or ethnicity. More fascinating even is the way our young ones usually debunk any misguided affiliations when they bump into a fellow Nigerian in a library, a questionable joint or reputable shopping mall in other nations and greet each other fondly, “My Brother, how you de?!” seems to be the usual greeting.
Anyways there’s a point to this, I really do think that the Federal government should look into this issue of home-grown nepotism being brewed in households and schools and deal with it decisively like home-grown terrorism.
Luckily we’re at the Information Age and most of our youths are stuck to their television sets and believe whatever they hear on T.V more than the words of their parents these days, so it would be of great benefit to begin a nationwide Behaviour Change Communications (BCC) harping on the need for Nigerians to be united in our diversity and accept ourselves as Nigerians without resorting to old tribal ties and inquisitions to religious beliefs, only then can we move further together as a nation.
However truth be told, the majority of Nigerians are not able or willing to forsake their tribal allegiances so what do we do with this mind set. How can we channel this tribal energy into a national mainstream. We need to understand the tribes before we impose nationalism on them. Tribes are a contradiction in today’s Nigeria; they are an evil if your tribe is not in power and a benefit if your tribe is in power. This is due to the nature of our political and government systems whereby there are no checks and balances and the Federal Character Commission, only God and the Board of Directors knows what goes on there. This fosters a climate of absolute power resting on the Executive and by extension to the Executive tribe. So what should be done?
The first step to getting rid of an ailment is an acurate diagnosis and an admission by the patient that he has something that ails him. Once the diagnosis and admission have been made then a course of treatment is initiated that allows healing to begin. We need to admit that Nigerians are by nature tribalistic and this in itself is not inherently evil. The truth is that tribes had institutions and systems that catered for the welfare of all the tribal members. Could it be that Nigeria by totally disregarding tribal institutions and systems have weakened themselves? Could it be if you weaken the family you weaken the nation? Nigerians traditionally belonged to extended families, which in turn belonged to a clan, and which in turn belonged to a tribe. In our haste to make the absurd partitioned Nigeria which was the idea of our colonial rulers Britain into states we chose to totally disregard this established socio-political order to our own peril. So we have tried and failed at making the great leap from individual tribal members to national citizens. For one to have allegiance to a nation the benefits must outweigh those of belonging to a tribe. In Nigeria you are defined as a Nigerian citizen only in passport but your primary designation is that of an ethnic group. If you have ever applied for a government job, you’ll see a section that requires you to fill what ethnicity you belong to. This schizophrenic national mind set permeates Nigeria and its denial only compounds the problem.
Ok what’s the point of this and what is my possible solution? Like a colleague Stephen Isabirye suggested; we need to form governments and institutions that have their power base in the tribal institutions because this is where the real power emanates from. i.e. Most Nigerians respect and have primary allegiance to the tribal structure. The central government is viewed as an outside force that is often hostile and not relevant. I think that the national government would have more legitimacy if all tribes were represented. Balance both interests. In our Senate and House of Assembly perhaps a policy that allows all tribes be adequately represented. A government should be formed consisting of statesmen who command the most respect and support from each tribe. All tribes would be designated two members very much like the US Senate. This group will balance the nation’s interests versus the tribal interests. An equal representation will ensure that the rights and interests of minority tribes are not trampled upon by majority tribes.
Nigeria has tribes for better or for worse. It is the hand we have been dealt let us play it to our advantage; turn our cancer into HEALTH. Failure to heed to this warning and we will have another Nationwide Civil War brewing on our laps that won’t quite be like the previous war with “No Victor, No Vanquished”. We would be split into tiny pieces and what happens then to all the houses a Hausa Man built in Lagos and the factory and Igbo man built in Kaduna, and the Oil Wells the Hausa man has in Bayelsa?
I realize I’m only half-finished with the problems of our dear nation but then again they’re so many problems to deal with perhaps for some other time… Fellow Nigerians let me know what you think.
I can talk volumes on the issue of corruption but since you all have undoubtedly experienced it firsthand; why waste time telling a mother of nice children the unimaginable pains of child birth? We’ll just limit our discussion today on the issue of tribalism. Tribalism according to Wikipedia frequently refers to the possession of a strong cultural or ethnic identity that separates oneself as a member of one group from the members of another. This phenomenon is related to the concept of tribal society in that it is a precondition for members of a tribe to possess a strong feeling of identity for a true tribal society to form.
From an early age most children have been told by their parents, elders and members of their peer group of the difference between Good and Evil, Catholics and Jehovah Witness, Yoruba and Hausa, Igbo and Tiv, Urhobo and Ijaw, Christianity and Islam! We learn that a certain tribe (no need to mention names now) is known for their apparent greed for money and worldly things, and another for their greed for power and playing politics, and yet another for their inherent wicked nature!
So they warn their little children not to associate so much with friends from certain tribes and keep their distance from people of certain religions; and if the child in their usual childlike nature should disobey the requests of their guardian and end up making friends from these cultures and religions, or a young man marries a lady from another tribe or religion; should a small quarrel ever comes in between such a friendship, the misguided parent is quick to say, “I told you, abi?” and they let little injuries fester on to become cancerous sores between families and friends.
So somehow along the road to maturity, the kids with their impressionable minds grow up and they marginalize themselves first by limiting their associations with certain people or well meaning organizations that are perceived to be founded by a person from “another” tribe or culture, so as not to rock the boat or become the victim of their “greed wickedness” as the case might be. Young kids grow up to young men in years and have an inordinate fear or phobia of their colleagues Universities or the workplace that are otherwise harmless. And as soon as they come across an article in the newspaper or by chance someone’s behavior falls into their misguided perception of the group; they immediately say “Aha, I’ve said it and now our eyes have seen it”!
Young men soon grow to older and in turn make their beliefs into national policies as well pass on these beliefs to their children and grandchildren as the case might be and who’s to say this cycle won’t keep on going on and on and on till there’s no peace or trust left in this nation of ours?
Nepotism that has been sown into the children of the sixties is currently being shown in the way we play politics and recruit young ones into our organizations! Oil companies make an effort to recruit people from the South-South, and most government agencies depending on who the leader is invariably recruits from his own “fold”. Interestingly outside the shores of Nigeria, we are viewed as Nigerians without bias on religious affiliations or ethnicity. More fascinating even is the way our young ones usually debunk any misguided affiliations when they bump into a fellow Nigerian in a library, a questionable joint or reputable shopping mall in other nations and greet each other fondly, “My Brother, how you de?!” seems to be the usual greeting.
Anyways there’s a point to this, I really do think that the Federal government should look into this issue of home-grown nepotism being brewed in households and schools and deal with it decisively like home-grown terrorism.
Luckily we’re at the Information Age and most of our youths are stuck to their television sets and believe whatever they hear on T.V more than the words of their parents these days, so it would be of great benefit to begin a nationwide Behaviour Change Communications (BCC) harping on the need for Nigerians to be united in our diversity and accept ourselves as Nigerians without resorting to old tribal ties and inquisitions to religious beliefs, only then can we move further together as a nation.
However truth be told, the majority of Nigerians are not able or willing to forsake their tribal allegiances so what do we do with this mind set. How can we channel this tribal energy into a national mainstream. We need to understand the tribes before we impose nationalism on them. Tribes are a contradiction in today’s Nigeria; they are an evil if your tribe is not in power and a benefit if your tribe is in power. This is due to the nature of our political and government systems whereby there are no checks and balances and the Federal Character Commission, only God and the Board of Directors knows what goes on there. This fosters a climate of absolute power resting on the Executive and by extension to the Executive tribe. So what should be done?
The first step to getting rid of an ailment is an acurate diagnosis and an admission by the patient that he has something that ails him. Once the diagnosis and admission have been made then a course of treatment is initiated that allows healing to begin. We need to admit that Nigerians are by nature tribalistic and this in itself is not inherently evil. The truth is that tribes had institutions and systems that catered for the welfare of all the tribal members. Could it be that Nigeria by totally disregarding tribal institutions and systems have weakened themselves? Could it be if you weaken the family you weaken the nation? Nigerians traditionally belonged to extended families, which in turn belonged to a clan, and which in turn belonged to a tribe. In our haste to make the absurd partitioned Nigeria which was the idea of our colonial rulers Britain into states we chose to totally disregard this established socio-political order to our own peril. So we have tried and failed at making the great leap from individual tribal members to national citizens. For one to have allegiance to a nation the benefits must outweigh those of belonging to a tribe. In Nigeria you are defined as a Nigerian citizen only in passport but your primary designation is that of an ethnic group. If you have ever applied for a government job, you’ll see a section that requires you to fill what ethnicity you belong to. This schizophrenic national mind set permeates Nigeria and its denial only compounds the problem.
Ok what’s the point of this and what is my possible solution? Like a colleague Stephen Isabirye suggested; we need to form governments and institutions that have their power base in the tribal institutions because this is where the real power emanates from. i.e. Most Nigerians respect and have primary allegiance to the tribal structure. The central government is viewed as an outside force that is often hostile and not relevant. I think that the national government would have more legitimacy if all tribes were represented. Balance both interests. In our Senate and House of Assembly perhaps a policy that allows all tribes be adequately represented. A government should be formed consisting of statesmen who command the most respect and support from each tribe. All tribes would be designated two members very much like the US Senate. This group will balance the nation’s interests versus the tribal interests. An equal representation will ensure that the rights and interests of minority tribes are not trampled upon by majority tribes.
Nigeria has tribes for better or for worse. It is the hand we have been dealt let us play it to our advantage; turn our cancer into HEALTH. Failure to heed to this warning and we will have another Nationwide Civil War brewing on our laps that won’t quite be like the previous war with “No Victor, No Vanquished”. We would be split into tiny pieces and what happens then to all the houses a Hausa Man built in Lagos and the factory and Igbo man built in Kaduna, and the Oil Wells the Hausa man has in Bayelsa?
I realize I’m only half-finished with the problems of our dear nation but then again they’re so many problems to deal with perhaps for some other time… Fellow Nigerians let me know what you think.
COLLABORATION VS COMPETITION
Allow me to indulge you a little in a part of my life that I’ve mused endlessly about. I’ve argued it, debated it, so now I’m going to write about it so you too may see what part you belong to. Meet my two neighbors- Michael and Emeka (both fictional names).
Michael is in mid 30’s and quite successful and feels very confident of winning a “Mr. Swagger Man” award, whenever an organisation decides to start that. But he lives permanently in a hurried state just like a neighbor you too may know. He’s always hurrying to do stuff. Right from the moment the alarm clock starts buzzing in the morning. He is suddenly reminded of the need to do a million things within only 19 hours! Coz he sleeps by 2a.m and has to be up by 7a.m daily. So he jumps up from bed, says a hurried prayer (rarely) and is about to achieve what Hussein Bolt the Olympic gold medalist would be envious of, he’s in and out of the bathroom in less than 6 minutes. Has a shirt ironed and shoe polished and ready to go in less than ten minutes and is on the road for an 8 km drive to the office. Along the way, he calls the office to ask his secretary who’s in the office just before she had the time to say good-morning. He just wants to be sure, Emeka doesn’t get there before him this Monday morning especially as staff evaluation and promotion is around the corner at the end of the month. So he’s always 30 minutes earlier than Emeka each morning but still is paranoid that Emeka may do a turnaround and decide to become an early bird.
So he tries to make an 8km drive with four busy intersections and eight traffic stops in less than 11 minutes, enough to make even Michael Schumacher green with envy. He never succeeds but then he never stops trying even though the 11 minute benchmark was previously achieved during a bank holiday (which he didn’t hear of) with almost no traffic.
So he curses and swears at all the green cab drivers and he scrapes and dodges near accidents and by the time he is in the office, he is in quite a state and not in the mood to greet anyone “good-morning” with as much as a smile.
Now enters Emeka, a gentleman you’ll love to be with, more inclined towards living a comfortable than one of luxury. He doesn’t wake up in the morning with an alarm because he gets in to bed by 10:30p.m daily and is up by 5a.m and has adequate time to meditate before taking the kids on a 20 minute ride to school before making his way to the office. He volunteered to pick up his boss kids too so he’s never really queried when he comes in 5 or 10 minutes late.
In the office he coaches his team members on the need for collaboration and within them the reward system for remuneration based on commission is shared by all not just by the person who landed the job. This has made it possible for everyone to share contacts and delegate responsibilities based purely on perceived individuals strengths and skills. So naturally, the team is always ahead in regional sales year after year much to the consternation of Michael!
Michael on the other hand is what economists love to describe as a “hard-core capitalist”, so he drives his team like everyday is a race against time. He pitches them against each other and makes them compete directly amongst themselves for the big client or the highest sales weekly and he has a policy he calls, “The Winner Takes it All”. Something I suspect he learnt from a track from the 80’s music band ABBA. Needless to say, his team is constantly in a pensive mood and turnover is highest. However a member of his team is always sure to come out with topmost individual sales record and all others struggle with worst sales performance. It has become quite the norm these days.
Fast-forward to next month, evaluations have been done and recommendations have been made. Michael is called into the President’s office, and his boss says in a deep but friendly voice, “Hey Michael, you gave us quite a tough choice with deciding who would be the Vice-President, we went for the best option, do accept our decision”. Michael walks out dazed and wondering if this is a practical joke and how was he going to explain to his wife the new BMW X6 he just leased in anticipation of a new raise? Could Emeka become his new boss?
The President picks up the phone and calls Emeka on the intercom, requesting him to come into the office and shaking his hands, he says heartily, “Congratulations, my old friend you deserve it” They shake hands and Emeka walks out and five minutes later his team begins cheering and a bottles of champagne can be heard popping off like a gunshot by Michael in the next office.
Herein lies the difference between competition and collaboration, in competition, there’s a 24 hours-a-day-365-days-a-year desire to climb to the top even if it means stepping on toes and climbing on heads of everyone around you. On the other hand collaboration makes great teams win awards. Teams would aspire to make their coach or captain win more awards selflessly. Great teams help achieve aspirations. Bad teams help create more perspiration. It’s really that simple.
Competition may pay off in the short run and thus seem good at first for the overly-ambitious person, business or country. But there’s only so much you can take from people without giving back; at the end of the day, they’ll have nothing left to give and you’ll have nothing else to take. What happens then? You’ll be gloomy that you’re not receiving anything anymore and they’ll be mad at you for taking all they have. How long do you think it would take before you’ll begin losing sleep and losing friends faster than a dog with a bad case of fleas loses its hair?
Collaboration doesn’t mean the absence of competition; it is however the appreciation of another’s unique natural gifts and abilities then finding a way to combine these unique qualities and making it work for the mutual benefit of all involved. Collaboration necessitates that all parties put their best foot forward and share the rewards afterwards. A simple analogy to illustrate this argument would be saying Hussein Bolt, might be the fastest runner in a 200m dash. But in a 1200M relay race, if he decides to run alone against 2 average runners, they will undoubtedly outrun him.
I run a partnership because I and my partner previously were working independently, but we decided to work inter-dependently as our skills complemented each other’s! In the same vein I believe companies can work together and avoid closing up completely especially during a recession. A good example will be banks and airlines sharing resources by identifying what the other party does best and entering a non-compete agreement in exchange for information or customers. Same goes with countries and multinationals fighting for scarce resources when the truth is: there’s more than enough to go around. The good book assures us that God created the Earth and the fullness thereof. Fullness means abundance, abundance means sufficient. Only stupid children struggle over food in the kitchen when there is more than enough to go around.
Ebuka Anichebe is the Managing Partner of Jean-Paul and Associates Consultancy. He has an uncommon approach to marketing media consulting, business development and customer experience evaluation. He’ll like to hear your views on this article and more, write to him at ebuka@jeanpaulconsult.com or call 07040448749
Michael is in mid 30’s and quite successful and feels very confident of winning a “Mr. Swagger Man” award, whenever an organisation decides to start that. But he lives permanently in a hurried state just like a neighbor you too may know. He’s always hurrying to do stuff. Right from the moment the alarm clock starts buzzing in the morning. He is suddenly reminded of the need to do a million things within only 19 hours! Coz he sleeps by 2a.m and has to be up by 7a.m daily. So he jumps up from bed, says a hurried prayer (rarely) and is about to achieve what Hussein Bolt the Olympic gold medalist would be envious of, he’s in and out of the bathroom in less than 6 minutes. Has a shirt ironed and shoe polished and ready to go in less than ten minutes and is on the road for an 8 km drive to the office. Along the way, he calls the office to ask his secretary who’s in the office just before she had the time to say good-morning. He just wants to be sure, Emeka doesn’t get there before him this Monday morning especially as staff evaluation and promotion is around the corner at the end of the month. So he’s always 30 minutes earlier than Emeka each morning but still is paranoid that Emeka may do a turnaround and decide to become an early bird.
So he tries to make an 8km drive with four busy intersections and eight traffic stops in less than 11 minutes, enough to make even Michael Schumacher green with envy. He never succeeds but then he never stops trying even though the 11 minute benchmark was previously achieved during a bank holiday (which he didn’t hear of) with almost no traffic.
So he curses and swears at all the green cab drivers and he scrapes and dodges near accidents and by the time he is in the office, he is in quite a state and not in the mood to greet anyone “good-morning” with as much as a smile.
Now enters Emeka, a gentleman you’ll love to be with, more inclined towards living a comfortable than one of luxury. He doesn’t wake up in the morning with an alarm because he gets in to bed by 10:30p.m daily and is up by 5a.m and has adequate time to meditate before taking the kids on a 20 minute ride to school before making his way to the office. He volunteered to pick up his boss kids too so he’s never really queried when he comes in 5 or 10 minutes late.
In the office he coaches his team members on the need for collaboration and within them the reward system for remuneration based on commission is shared by all not just by the person who landed the job. This has made it possible for everyone to share contacts and delegate responsibilities based purely on perceived individuals strengths and skills. So naturally, the team is always ahead in regional sales year after year much to the consternation of Michael!
Michael on the other hand is what economists love to describe as a “hard-core capitalist”, so he drives his team like everyday is a race against time. He pitches them against each other and makes them compete directly amongst themselves for the big client or the highest sales weekly and he has a policy he calls, “The Winner Takes it All”. Something I suspect he learnt from a track from the 80’s music band ABBA. Needless to say, his team is constantly in a pensive mood and turnover is highest. However a member of his team is always sure to come out with topmost individual sales record and all others struggle with worst sales performance. It has become quite the norm these days.
Fast-forward to next month, evaluations have been done and recommendations have been made. Michael is called into the President’s office, and his boss says in a deep but friendly voice, “Hey Michael, you gave us quite a tough choice with deciding who would be the Vice-President, we went for the best option, do accept our decision”. Michael walks out dazed and wondering if this is a practical joke and how was he going to explain to his wife the new BMW X6 he just leased in anticipation of a new raise? Could Emeka become his new boss?
The President picks up the phone and calls Emeka on the intercom, requesting him to come into the office and shaking his hands, he says heartily, “Congratulations, my old friend you deserve it” They shake hands and Emeka walks out and five minutes later his team begins cheering and a bottles of champagne can be heard popping off like a gunshot by Michael in the next office.
Herein lies the difference between competition and collaboration, in competition, there’s a 24 hours-a-day-365-days-a-year desire to climb to the top even if it means stepping on toes and climbing on heads of everyone around you. On the other hand collaboration makes great teams win awards. Teams would aspire to make their coach or captain win more awards selflessly. Great teams help achieve aspirations. Bad teams help create more perspiration. It’s really that simple.
Competition may pay off in the short run and thus seem good at first for the overly-ambitious person, business or country. But there’s only so much you can take from people without giving back; at the end of the day, they’ll have nothing left to give and you’ll have nothing else to take. What happens then? You’ll be gloomy that you’re not receiving anything anymore and they’ll be mad at you for taking all they have. How long do you think it would take before you’ll begin losing sleep and losing friends faster than a dog with a bad case of fleas loses its hair?
Collaboration doesn’t mean the absence of competition; it is however the appreciation of another’s unique natural gifts and abilities then finding a way to combine these unique qualities and making it work for the mutual benefit of all involved. Collaboration necessitates that all parties put their best foot forward and share the rewards afterwards. A simple analogy to illustrate this argument would be saying Hussein Bolt, might be the fastest runner in a 200m dash. But in a 1200M relay race, if he decides to run alone against 2 average runners, they will undoubtedly outrun him.
I run a partnership because I and my partner previously were working independently, but we decided to work inter-dependently as our skills complemented each other’s! In the same vein I believe companies can work together and avoid closing up completely especially during a recession. A good example will be banks and airlines sharing resources by identifying what the other party does best and entering a non-compete agreement in exchange for information or customers. Same goes with countries and multinationals fighting for scarce resources when the truth is: there’s more than enough to go around. The good book assures us that God created the Earth and the fullness thereof. Fullness means abundance, abundance means sufficient. Only stupid children struggle over food in the kitchen when there is more than enough to go around.
Ebuka Anichebe is the Managing Partner of Jean-Paul and Associates Consultancy. He has an uncommon approach to marketing media consulting, business development and customer experience evaluation. He’ll like to hear your views on this article and more, write to him at ebuka@jeanpaulconsult.com or call 07040448749
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