Insights for Leading

One of the worst dilemmas I have observed in the school of success is that many people are not positioning themselves for what they want to attract and this is as a result of their history of wrong programming. For example, a young man strongly desires to be wealthy but when you recommend an event that you consider a must-attend for him, he walks away because “ the price is scary .” No wonder, my friend, Ezekiel Solesi, a fine strategist, remarked that “ We need to go from asking people what they want to ask them what they are ready to work for. ” The illustration also reminds me of the rich young ruler who consulted Jesus to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus prescribed that he should sell all he had and come to follow Him, the young man walked away sorrowful because he had many possessions. Isn’t it rather odd that the young man in my illustration is turned off by the price of a significant event that could move him closer to his dreams? He l

Last week, I facilitated an insightful session on leadership for a crop of next-generation leaders and one of the remarkable things I told them is that “ confidence is not a derivative of your competence or status but the knowledge of your value .” If confidence was dependent on competence, then the most talented and skilful people would be the most confident. But we have seen very skilful people who are shy even when it comes to unbundling their potential before others. There are even people with natural endowments like facial beauty and attractive features who are nervous in the company of other people. On the other hand, some people are less endowed with facial beauty and abilities who are confident of expressing themselves anywhere. Some other people are confident despite their low economic and social status. No wonder, it is not the best guy that gets promoted – it is the guy who confidently forms significant relationships that walks himself into the corridors of po

“ This guy on TV ” “ You mean Professor Pat? ” “ Oh, he is now a Prof.? ” “ Yes, that is Professor Pat Utomi. So, what were you trying to say? ” “ Enh Pat Utomi was my classmate. We used to play in class together! ” “ Okay??? ” Oftentimes, we hear someone beside us say that he knows a popular figure personally. He goes on to say that they have been known to each other from way back. But now, you cannot trace any connection between both people. They are simply worlds apart. So, what happened? First, the essence of the ‘mate’ word is merely assumed and indeed fallacious . Age mate, flatmate, roommate, classmate, office mate, and whatever ‘mate’ you know – none of these is a true reflection of equality. And when we try to make everyone equal in our sight, we blind ourselves to the advantages that they might have over us. To evaluate people based on where they are coming from or where they presently are is a bad mistake. You have to even recognize

Skilful men who are consistent at their craft eventually attract powerful men into their lives. That is what it means for kings to come to the brightness of your rising. And this is the summary of my last piece titled, “ Favour is to men of skill . ” In this piece, I want to examine how strategic relationships are formed. A few years ago, I heard one of my business mentors of inestimable worth, Niyi Adesanya, say that “success is based on your relationships.” If you have good relationships with powerful people, you too will become powerful! To fulfil purpose, you need to be a problem-solver; you need to have a solution and a platform to execute your solution. You need a lamp and a lampstand. Solutions are rooted in skills. The magnitude and intensity of the problems that your skills solve, as well as the scarcity of that skill, determine your extrinsic value. So, while there are many skills that you can learn, you should choose to master one that solves real problems of hug

If you put on a dark shade, everything would likely appear dark to you regardless of how bright they are. While people don’t always wear physical shades, no mind is without shade. Therefore, as humans, we always interpret life with a psychological pair of lenses (otherwise known as our mind map or mental frame or mindset) formed by the information we acquire over time from stories we are told, as well as our education and experiences. No wonder, memoirist Anais Nin long said, “ We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are ,” for as a man thinks, so is he. When lazy people ponder Solomon’s ancient muse, “ Favour is not to men of skill ,” they interpret it to suit their lazy disposition to life. They say things like “ Favour does not come by labour ” “ You don’t need to be so skilful; once it’s your time, it’s your time .” They end up with an entitled mentality, telling you to “ Better help me now otherwise when it is my time I will not look at your si

When a child is born, he automatically becomes the pride of his parents. The sheer joy of beholding the beauty of his “tear-rubber” face, the little grin on his lips, and that feeling from the tightened grip of his tiny fingers make everyone to regard him as a wonder of the world. That special regard equally comes with special treatment: his needs are provided for, his cries are attended to, and his mistakes are overlooked as “innocent.” It is this kind of special treatment given to him without his labouring to earn anything that makes him develop an “entitlement mentality.” It seems like he should never grow up and labour for himself. Alas, life happens inevitably and he loses almost all the advantages of childhood as he transits into adulthood. He trades his beauty for strength, his innocence for experiential knowledge and his meekness for some measure of ‘ego’ and dependence for independence. We all experience this phenomenon but what may be unknown to many is

There is an unpopular story told about Jesus walking on a Jerusalem street hungry. From a distance, He sighted a fig tree with leaves showing that it was mature and ripe enough to have fruits on it. He hastened towards it hoping to be refreshed only to discover that it had no fruit on it. Disappointed by its hypocrisy, Jesus cursed that tree! 2020 is not a year for busyness but for business. It is not for faking it on social media but for being privately effective, publicly productive and completely profitable. That brings us to the third key to make 2020 your best year yet:  Learn productivity – focus on getting results. Real growth is oriented towards specific results. And of course, results bring fulfilment. That is why you should set goals – and your goals should reflect specific results that you want to achieve. In 2020, don’t just get busy, get results. Do not count the days, make the days count. And as you seek to productive, don’t merely avoid mistakes; rat