Insights for Leading

Last week, I told you a story about how I won a mathematics competition after I was pumped up by the encouraging words I heard from my mathematics teacher. What I did not tell you was that I and my colleagues that formed our school team lost in the final to the host because we missed one question; nevertheless, I was awarded as the Best Mathematician at the tournament. Now, consider if while ‘feeling myself’ at the peak of my emotions, someone walks up to me and says, “Bright, you are so amazing!” What would ensue is a ‘dance of happiness.’ By that phrase, I mean that he will radiate positive energy to me in the form of happiness and I will do the same to him. Our energy will increase exponentially. Again, consider, if another person comes and says, “Wetin you dey feel like? Na luck una take reach final sef.” Either of two things could happen. I could allow his words to puncture my balloon of happiness if I reckoned it to be an attack, then my emotions will be reset to launch m

Growing up in the streets of Lagos, I discovered that one prerequisite you must have in order to maintain your peace on a public bus is a good sense of humour. It is both a helmet and a breastplate, keeping you immune to mental, emotional and psychological attacks. Interestingly, it is not only on the bus that you need this all-important tool. Today, tomorrow and the day after, you are likely going to be situations where emotions run strong and can tip off into anger, verbal exchange, and even physical attack and injury. Whether in the office with a boss or colleague, at an airport, or in the market place, to keep your peace intact, forearm yourself with a good sense of humour with which you can also transmute attacks into raw materials for social bonding. People are not necessarily bad, but when they are stressed, it is quite difficult for them to really be themselves and extend their goodness to you. Do not fall victim to ‘their other side’ lest you reg

“Energy cannot be created nor destroyed” we were taught in our science courses as the first law of thermodynamics. But when it comes to the dynamics of work and productivity, energy can be created and destroyed – and can be transferred. I recently pointed this out to someone who asked about how to create and sustain positive energy in order to stimulate and maintain top performance. “There are usually three important ways to create and amplify positive energy,” I told him. And I want to share with you those crucial ways of bringing freshness and vitality to your work. First, be intentional about your THOUGHTS. Your most prominent thoughts will determine your feelings and energy level. If you focus on positives, your energy increases. But if you keep your mind on negatives, your energy drops rapidly. My mathematics teacher in secondary school, Mr. Kola Deji, played that game with me. During a Mathematics Competition, I was to face a prominent school in my area. My friend

The very definition of competition is “the activity or condition of striving to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others.” Anthony Joshua’s weekend defeat further buttresses the key fact in our previous motivation capsule: The cat (Joshua) was committed to catching the mouse (Ruiz) to eat as a routine whereas the mouse was determined to survive. In fact, Joshua’s sloppiness eventually cost him his invincibility and three world titles. I have had my own share of such experience at different times, beginning from my primary school years. I was the undisputed champion until I was dethroned in the last term. I mean, I didn’t graduate as the best student. It was just crazy! Crying did not return my crown – hard work did. And in secondary school, I wrote a better story of consistent success. Many of us have also been there – slumping to defeat in a surprising and shameful way after being invincible for a long time – and the public never spares