Business

Separate Your Seed from Your Bread

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

Life is in seasons. In the natural, we have two main seasons, the raining season and the dry season. Usually farmers plant their seeds at the beginning of the raining season so that the rains can water it and make it bud. Harvest is done towards the end of the raining season and into the beginning of the dry season. So what is harvested during the dry season becomes both the food for the dry and raining season, as well as seed to sow at the start of the next raining season.

This cycle is most instructive for us in our individual lives, businesses or national live.  Our harvest represents our incomes, profits and economic booms. Not all of these are to be spent on consumption (eaten as bread), God places the seed portion in every harvest we make. It is that seed portion that guarantees continuity of harvest. If you eat your seed with your bread, you will experience famine in the next season. Please note this, your seed should be your first priority from every harvest. Set it aside before you consume the rest. It is important that we understand this principle in order to avoid unnecessary hardship in life. Seed time and harvest will never end as long as the earth remains. So woe unto that man who has no seed during planting time.

Life obeys spiritual principles whether you like it or not, or whether you believe it or not. What you give to life will come back to you in multiple fold. Plant a grain of wheat and you will harvest sheaves of wheat. Plant a grain of corn, and you will harvest cobs of corn. It is a universal law and endures all times and ages. So the earlier you adhere to this principle the better.

Your seed is the source of your tithe, offering to God and to the less privileged, your savings or investment and your business capital. These are the various uses to which you can put your seed. If you constantly practice the art of seeding, you are guaranteed a lifetime of harvest. The size of your harvest is determined by the size of your seed. If you want a bigger harvest, sow a bigger seed. If you plant on a plot of land, you cannot expect the same harvest with someone who planted on an acre of land, all other things being equal. So seed and harvest are directly proportional.

It is equally important that you tend your garden after sowing your seed lest weeds overtake the garden. Pay attention to your business. Pay attention to your career. Pay attention to your source of income. Don’t be careless with your seed.

Be seed conscious if you want to be harvestful. Stop eating all your income no matter how big or small it is. There is a seed in every income. One of our problems as a nation today is that we already consumed the seed that would have yielded the harvest we need today. May God give us leaders who understand the principle of seeding and who are seed conscious. Amen.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Focus vs Multi Tasking

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

Today’s world is increasingly dynamic and with growing complexities. What used to be a solution yesterday no longer suffices for the same problem today, because the problem has grown more complex. In years past, we were contented with a 40gb hard drive computer, today, our computers come with dual hard drives and with space as much as 200gb. It is indeed a weird world out there today.

This increased complexity has lured us into trying to cope with all the challenges at the same time. We want to do several things at the same time because we want to step up our game. We call it multi tasking. We are on the phone, while typing a memo, and trying to take our coffee at the same time! Interviewers even ask you how well you do at multi-tasking and you are quick to answer ‘very well.’ Even as multi tasking seems to be having a upper hand, it is coming at a huge cost! Productivity is dipping and error rate is on the rise!

Steven Guise says, “A recent French study found that when humans were given two tasks simultaneously, one task was handled by the right frontal lobe and the other by the left!  Amazing, right?  But once that number was increased to three tasks, one of the initial tasks “disappeared from the brain.”  Even worse, with three tasks, the participants slowed down and made many more mistakes.  Tackling three tasks at once is like running Windows Vista with 256 MB of RAM, except that we can’t add more frontal lobes.” So, the cost of multitasking is drop in productivity.

The very reason why we are multitasking is to increase productivity and stay up with increased pace of activity, but in the process, we actually lose focus and can’t keep track of the multifarious activities we take on at the same time. If you are to multitask at all, keep it at maximum of two tasks. Your right frontal lobe will handle one and the left frontal lobe will handle the other. Anything more than two tasks at a time is disaster!

If you ask me, focus is still the best. You achieve a lot more and in less time with focus (or single tasking). Your efficiency is higher with focus than with multitasking. Error rate is lower with focus. Quality is better with focus. So, if you must choose between focus and multitasking, go for focus. For some interviewers, the moment you tell them you can multi-task, you have lost the job. Companies with passion for high precision and high quality products or services want more of focused staff rather than ‘multi-taskers’. You can time yourself trying to do two or three things at the same time, and check the time against when you do the tasks individually. The difference both in time and quality is always clear.

So, it is time to get back to focus and adopt multitasking only when the tasks are not more than two. Even when you must adopt multitasking, the similarity or relatedness of the tasks matter. The closely related they are the better, which again buttresses the fact that focus is simple and better!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Copyright
adewumioni.com

Building your Brand Equity

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

Successful people or businesses ride on impressive and formidable brand equities. Some names are synonymous with certain skills, trades or vocations. When you mention Pablo Picasso, we know you are talking about painting. When you hear Wole Soyinka, you know it is about English Literature. Tiger Woods will bring golf sport to your mind, just as Serena Williams will bring tennis game to your consciousness. All these examples have succeeded in building their brand equities, and their services keep riding on their brands.

What is Brand Equity? “Brand equity is the value premium that a company realizes from a product with a recognizable name as compared to its generic equivalent.”(Investopedia.com). A brand’s power is derived from the goodwill and name recognition that it has earned over time, which translates into higher sales volume and higher profit margins against competing brands.(Business dictionary.com). Brand Equity has value and can be measured. However that is not the thrust of this write up. Our focus today is how to build your personal or business brand equity.

First, it is important to note that brand equity grows from brand’s presence, value, perception by customer, and loyalty by customer. James Carnrite listed the four components of brand equity as Brand Recognition, Brand Experience, Brand Preference and Brand Loyalty.

To achieve these, you need the following :
Create a niche: Define your market and carve out a position in the market that you are best positioned to serve relative to other providers of the same service or product. You might find a cost advantage position, a technology advantage position or a skill advantage position. Without a strong niche, you can’t build a strong brand. This is what will determine how your presence will be felt in the market. In the world of story telling, Nnamanda Ngozi Adichie has created a niche for herself as a non-fiction story writer. Find your niche, usually in what you can do better than anyone else.

Service Excellence: Beyond niche, you need service excellence to keep your market loyal to you. So whatever it is you offer must be delivered with excellence. Excellence in service delivery, after sale, and support is key. How can people reach you? How easy is it to pay for your services. Is your product or service worth just the exact value you have placed on it, or there is a premium that makes people feel they have more than enough value for their money? It must be total service excellence.

Business or Personal Character: With your niche and great service, if you lack the right character, you can’t build a successful brand. As a matter of fact, you will have a negative brand. It is important to define your values and let them guide you in your transactions and dealings. Be a promise keeper. Be a builder. Don’t be known as a bad employer. Aim to be the best place to work or the best person to work with. You can’t command good brand perception if you have a bad image out there. One of the reasons why we invest a lot in attracting foreign investments is because of our poor national character. Investors are interested in your character more than your skills or services.

Be Open: Honesty and transparency are great door openers. Be ready to admit your mistakes and to learn from them. Don’t be a buck passer. Be straight in your dealings. Communicate the features of your product or service correctly. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver. Be known for your integrity.

Social Responsibility: either as an individual or an organization, be socially responsible. Identify a good social cause to invest in. Be responsible to your environment. Be responsible to your immediate community. Make your presence felt.

In summary, a strong brand equity can keep you going when the chips are down and others are struggling. It is wise to build a strong brand equity.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Invest in Your Employer

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

Yesterday, I wrote on ‘Invest in Your Human Capital’, which was basically addressed to employers of labor. I feel it will be one sided if I don’t write a follow up addressing employees, hence this write up.

Your career is like a building. Each work experience you gather represents the bricks used in building. If you use a 6 inch brick where you are meant to use 9 inch, there will be defect in the building. If you fail to use the right mix of cement, sand and gravel in your columns, you may have cracks and eventual collapse of the building. The same applies to your career. If you don’t build it well, you may suffer a career collapse later on. There are certain obligations you owe your employer. Some of these are:

1. Duty to be professional
2. Duty not to compete with your employer
3. Fiduciary duty
4. Duty of non-disclosure
5. Duty of self-development

Professionalism: This implies conscious representation of your employer in all matters within the scope of your duties in a way and manner that will not damage your employer’s image. This includes your dressing, communication, punctuality, public conduct, integrity, work output and interpersonal relationship. When you are professional in carrying out your duties, it rubs off on you and makes you a professional.

2. Non-competition: It is totally unprofessional and unethical to run the same line of business with your employer while still employed. As a matter of fact, some organizations do not allow you to be involved in any other personal business activities while employed. Also, even after leaving employment, some employment clauses may prevent you from engaging in similar trade for a time frame. So you need to familiarize yourself with the engagement clauses in your employment letter.

3. Fiduciary Duty: You are essentially an agent of your employer, so you are expected to act in the best interest of your employers always. This includes putting company first before self. An example is that of an Accountant managing a poor cashflow situation which requires payment of salaries in batches. Even when you are privy to availability of funds, you must ensure that you pay from bottom upward until it gets to your turn.

Non-Disclosure: You are not allowed to share information about the organization with third parties without necessary authorization and approvals. It is also called confidentiality of information. There are certain information that will come to your possession and that must be kept confidential. For instance, as a banker you may have information about the financial status of so many people. You cannot disclose such information or use it against them.

Self-Development: While your employer owes you the duty of training and helping you to become better, there is no better form of training than self training. You must always keep yourself abreast of latest developments in your field and even related fields. Be informed. Read widely. Make reading an habit. Reading opens up your mind.

These are some of the covenant obligations expected from employees. Do your part. Remember again, what you sow is what you will get. Sow right! Don’t kill other people’s businesses with your actions or words. It will always come back to you.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Invest in Your Human Capital

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

Companies don’t make the people, the people make the company. Stephen R. Covey said “Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.” Simply put, your employees are your first customers. If you can’t treat them right, how do you intend to treat your external customers right? It is impossible! A major reason why businesses fail is breakdown of trust between employees and employers. Once your employees lose trust in you, forget it, you are only keeping them for another employer. And when they leave, they leave with your customers.

It is therefore important to make deliberate and conscious decisions and policies to invest in your employees. They are your greatest assets. Without them, your services will be poor, your processes will be truncated and your controls will fail. Train them. Spend time to mentor. Create a mentorship scheme in your company. Engage them constructively such that they keep looking forward to the next working day. We often fear losing our employees after training, yes, you will lose some but you will gain many more, because the ones you lose will be your brand ambassadors. You can have a reasonable bond arrangement if necessary. Just focus on building your human capital, you will be amazed at the results.

One of the worst languages is when an employer says ‘I can get a hundred replacements for you immediately.’ Or ‘you are of no use to me.’ If he is useless to your business, then you have failed in making him a useful asset, so your business is also useless to him! An asset will be useless if not properly used, maintained or deployed. Likewise your human capital! It is the language of an employer who is completely ignorant about factors that engender business success. The truth is you will never build a team if you reason that way, and it is your team that will build the company. So treat them right. Pay them on time. If you treat them right, they will put in more than expected. I have been there before. I saw it happened severally. Even, if your business is undergoing challenges that may affect their pay, be open and let them know. You will be surprised at the sacrifices some of them will offer to make. Employees will only sacrifice for an employer who has sacrificed for them. Don’t demand for what you have not given.

The worst thing that has happened to our economy is the plethora of businesses that have no business being in business! They keep employing people when they can’t even pay those on ground. It is morally irresponsible for you to lure someone to leave his or her former employer to join your company and then you can’t pay him or her! It is sacrilegious! There are so many businesses like this in our nation today and this is why we have broken labor force, a largely predatory labour force, ‘unhealthily’ mobile. They are afraid. They can’t trust their employers to keep to their covenants! We must stop this dangerous trend. I believe we have reached that stage where a sort of Employment Bureau should be put in place, where job seekers can check on the status of a company before joining such company. The time is ripe for it.

So please understand that life is a seed. The state of your business today, is an harvest of what you sowed. You will reap what you sow. If you invest in your employees, they will invest in your business. So, the Choice is yours!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

(Copyright)

adewumioni.com

Find Your Space

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

As a bird that wanders from her best, so is a man that wanders from his place. (Proverbs 27:8). Your place is your space. It is that which brings out the best in you. It is where you excel the most. Whether as an individual or a business entity, we need to find our space and stay in our space. Create your niche! Stop imitation. Your business has a unique strength, find it and deploy it well. It may be in your process, expertise, location, technology, etc. Find it and use it to your advantage.

It is good to step out of Comfort zone, but do it within the confine of your space.

Watch out for a business seminar in June!

Gratis!

Produce Your Product

/ Adewumi Oni / 1 Comment

Whenever you want to purchase a spare part for your vehicle or generator set or any other major equipment, there is always a major problem you will encounter, the problem of finding the right quality. Why is this so? Because there are multifarious types of that same spare part and from different sources. There is the China type, there is Belgium type, we have follow come type, we have the one they also call original. When you ask your mechanic to advise on which is the best, you sometimes end up being more confused, as he relates how each can still meet your needs though at different costs.

This problem is not limited to spare parts , even fashion, wigs, jewelries, and the worst of it all, drugs and food items. We have Brazilian wigs, Peruvian wigs, Indian wigs, etc. The question is why not Nigerian wig? Why not Ghanaian wigs? Why not Guinean leather? Why not Nigerian shoe? Why must it be Italian shoe? Why can’t we produce our own products? Or better put, where is your own product? I often tell people, if you check yourself from head to toe , nothing on you is made in Nigeria. Why must it be so? As a nation, as a continent, we have become extremely lazy people who always look for the easy way out. Always importing and buying other people’s products. Damaging our economy, damaging our currency through our affinity for foreign things. To the extent that we have even lost our local identity. Our languages are gone, our values have been replaced with sick and depraved foreign values! Our culture has been lost! Kai!

While I appreciate the fact that the government has a lot to do to create an enabling environment, you also have a role to play. There are things you can produce without too much need from government. Start something! Produce your product! Stop running to China! Think. Act. Be creative. Produce something! Be it a book, a matchstick, toothpick, whatever just produce your product!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Plan to Succeed

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

Prompt Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. He who fails to plan, plans to fail. Benjamin Franklin said ‘By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.’ A goal without a plan is a mere wish. Planning is extremely important to succeed in any aspect of life.

One of the major reasons why businesses fail is lack of planning or poor planning. As a business, you must plan your income and expenditure, this is called Budgeting. Regardless of the size of your business, have a budget. It helps to manage your resources most efficiently. Create time for strategic planning. At least, every business should have a strategy session once a year. And our plans should take all things into consideration, market, product, competition, pricing, government policies, and all. Don’t take anything for granted. J. R. R Tolkien said ‘It does not do to leave a live dragon out of consideration, if you live near one.’

In your personal life, you must plan making use of budgets, personal retreats and self evaluation methods. Don’t run your life by chance and expect a miracle. The greatest undoing of the black man is believing prophecies without commensurate planning and actions. Nothing happens by chance!

As a nation, we will keep struggling as long as we take planning lightly. We spend halfway into the year before we pass our budget and we expect to be a successful nation! How? The Senate just passed the 2016 budget yesterday when a quarter of the year is gone, I just don’t get it! We need to become more serious and discipline as a nation if we are to stand shoulder to shoulder with developed economies.

Take planning serious. Learn project management, Africans are too poor in managing projects. This project called ‘Africa’ must not fail, we have got to plan!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

The most diffic…

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

The most difficult management task and perhaps the most crucial is the task of managing people. If you get it right your chances of success is doubly assured. You must learn the art of people management to be successful leader. People make the company and not the other way round. Focus on building your people and your company will thrive. When companies fail, it is largely due to low morale, poor discipline, low productivity, lack of innovation, skill drain and mistrust. These are all people issues. So fix your people issues and you would have fixed 70% of the issues.