Saturday, March 26, 2016

. ^ .

Solomon, by therealikon : This is a tale based on true events.
A story of personal loss,
of fellowship,
and the glorious triumph over tribulation.
In memory of the ones we've lost.
...in mourning, may we not lose ourselves.

Have a Good Friday
25/3/16


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Thursday, March 24, 2016

SAVE THE DATE (April 20, 2016): Implementing Change in Sub-Saharan Africa



Date:April 20, 2016
Time:04:00 - 04:30 p.m (Nigerian Time - GMT +1.00)
Appearance:Radio Show: Implementing Change in Sub-Saharan Africa
Outlet:Enclaria Radio
Location:Online event
Format:Radio

Monday, March 21, 2016

Seven Things CEOs Need to Know About Change Management


A fortnight ago, NNPC (and indeed, the whole country) was in a furor because a plan to restructure the organization was announced without sufficient engagement of all impacted stakeholders. As a result, the proposed change was badly received by key internal and external stakeholders. It was a well-intentioned move but the resulting backlash ensued from the lack of appropriate change management techniques.
Unfortunately, the problem of effectively managing change is one that plagues not just NNPC but almost all large institutions in the public and private sector in Nigeria. Despite the urgent need for change, successful change is rare and difficult. The antidote to this difficulty is found in the emerging field of change management.
Change management is a structured approach that ensures your transition to the desired future state is seamless. Studies show that stakeholder resistance is the #1 obstacle to successful transformation. Hence, change managers provide strategic yet practical insights that will transform employee indifference to compliance.
Delivery of change in organizations is often derailed due to the following misconceptions:
The first assumption is that ‘’Not every change needs to be managed. Change management is only needed for very large initiatives.’’ The truth is that all change needs to be managed in order to achieve the most timely and beneficial business results.
The second myth is that ‘’Change isn’t that hard. People just need to execute. People need to stop bickering and just do it.’’ The reality is that change is hard, but with the right activities and techniques, resistance can be minimized. There is a ‘’change process’’ – with reactions that can be predicted and managed.
The third misapprehension is:‘’We don’t have time for these things.’’ However, the absence of change management increases the risk of project failure and inability to achieve anticipated benefits. Change management is an enabler that pays dividends on the time required to perform it effectively.
The fourth assumption is that ‘’Change Management should be handled by the Human Resources Department.’’ The truth is that change management is often complex. There are many facets requiring people throughout the organization to take responsibility. The Human Resources department does often facilitate change by getting the necessary people to the table and facilitating successful outcomes. However, it is important that business unit leaders drive actual change activities.
The fifth myth is that ‘’If we focus on the hard (i.e., logical) side of the project and do a good job, we don’t need to worry about the soft (i.e., emotional) side. In actual fact, the hard side can impact the way people do their work, what they are responsible for, and how they are compensated – none of which will be done until emotional acceptance and adjustments have occurred. Many projects fail due to both natural and irrational reactions people exhibit when confronted with change.
The sixth misconception is ‘’We don’t need change management’’. To increase the speed of adoption of change, ultimate utilization of the tools and the proficiency of employees in the future state, change management is a necessity.
The seventh assumption is that ‘’The unions will support all the changes.’’ However, many changes need to be negotiated with the unions and may require concessions to be made on both sides.
Are you trying to implement a new strategy? A new culture? A new technology? A new process? A new merger? New ways of working? New responses to competition and the business environment? A new operating model? Or any other change with organization-wide impact?
Get relevant change management advice today.
Published in Business Day on Monday March 21, 2016. 
Subscribe to The Change Catalyst to get more insightful change management information.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Win a Scholarship to an LBS Business Course as LBS Turns 25!



Want some world-class yet locally relevant business knowledge at zero cost?

As LBS turns 25 this year, and as part of the events lined up to mark our silver jubilee, it will be giving away 25 short-focused programme ‘seminar’ scholarships. 

To award these scholarships, grow its online community and generate some buzz around this initiative, it'll be launching a Facebook Video Contest tagged #LBS25for25.

This link - http://goo.gl/fqlpxG - provides more information about how to participate as well as terms and conditions that apply. 

In case you haven’t, like LBS on Facebook, connect with us on LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with the contest, support your choice entrant and share with your friends.

Good luck!

Akoba, Adaba, ...

The legal dispute between a Silicon Valley VC and his former mistress is getting even uglier. 

Last week, Michael Goguen, a now former managing partner at Sequoia Capital, was sued for "sexually, physically and emotionally" abusing a woman for more than 12 years.

On Monday, Goguen filed a countersuit, alleging that the woman, Amber Laurel Baptiste, was extorting him...MORE from CNN/Money

Olorun ma je'a ri alakoba (translate) 

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Monday, March 14, 2016

Nigeria Manufacturing Expo

The Official Annual Trade Fair of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria
http://www.nigeriamanufacturingexpo.com/
Opens tomorrow,  March 15 2016, at the Landmark Centre

Visit nigeriamanufacturingexpo.com for (free) pre-registration, or to arrange sponsorships/partnerships

Will you like to report on the Expo / Trade-Fair for the UpNaira community?  

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Redefining PR

I'm stealing this Chude Jideonwo piece on what he calls Empowerment PR.  Please steal it too and share...
Chude Jideonwo, photographed by TY Bello
 "There is an entire continent of young people – and other demographics – whose lives are hard, who need real help, who desperately deserve to be empowered. They want people, and institutions who care about their lives, their contexts, their futures."
The RED Media partners Chude and Debola, on the cover of This Day Style
"Brands need to begin to think of a new quid quo pro – empowerment in exchange for brand loyalty. The kind that audiences can believe in, and that can build a lifetime connection."

Full article: Redefining PR with Chude Jideonwo : Let's have a conversation about Empowerment PR

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Tuesday, March 08, 2016

Get ready to fall in love with ... cool people



Quick question:
Something for the young ones:


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Celebrating the Fairer Sex



It is the International Women's Day and I celebrate my sisters, friends, and all women (biologically born with the XX Chromosome) around the world.  

Finding the underlying theme for this article was a bit of a struggle, as there a number of issues affecting women that are close to my heart. I asked one of my older friends which of the many attributes of the fairer sex, she would ‎like to see celebrated, and she said "our ability to multi-task".  We women certainly excel at this. Between being a daughter, sister, friend, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, employee, a day is too short for all that we have to do and somehow, we do manage. In spite of all of these beautiful things that our multi-tasking ability enables us to achieve, this ability does not echo the reality that I perceive the woman to be. Another friend of mine said, it is the strength of the woman but she didn't elaborate. Next, I considered the strides women are making in business, in politics, in my country Nigeria and all around the globe, but even these achievements did not cut the mark for me.  

I choose instead to celebrate the life-giving love of women. ‎ This I believe is the real hands down, show-stopper, top of the league feature that makes the weaker sex, the most powerful creature of all times.  It is not in vain that we rock the world because we rock the cradle.

I celebrate the love that propels a smart, high-achieving, Ivy League graduate to devote her best years, not to running a conglomerate, but to nurturing her family. To the love that chooses to let another live at the cost of her life, I stand in awe. To the love that forgives over and over again, and never stops believing in her loved ones, thereby giving them the strength they need to excel, even in the midst of staggering odds, I can not thank you enough. To the love that stands beside her man, in good times and in bad, to the faithful, sacrificial love of the wife, I celebrate your strength even in the midst of infidelities. To the love that keeps awake, after a full day's job earning an income to tend to the baby, while keeping her worries, tiredness and many times, tears, at bay, lest her kit and kin be worried, I am grateful.  To the love that provides counter-cultural life giving advice, I sing your tribute.  To the love willing to share the limelight and to step aside, long may you live.  To the love that celebrates the success, mourns with her bereaved, clothes the nakedness (material and spiritual) of her neighbors, ‎bears wrong patiently, and corrects with love, I salute you. To the love that recognises and acknowledges her weakness as her very strength, the love that is not afraid to ask for the help she needs, I thank you for teaching us humility.  To the love that rises above her pain, above the horrors of sexual abuse, to find the strength to go on and not to repay evil with evil, an ode to your strength I sing. To the love that keeps her baby in spite of everything (abandonment, betrayal, fears, the pain and the shame of being an unmarried mother, of having conceived the baby in rape), long may you live. To the love that forever acknowledges ‎the source of its spring, it's Life Force, and bows in adoration and thanksgiving to its Creator, I can only aim to walk in your shoes. 

The title of this article is also a tribute to Alice von Hildebrand and her book, “The Privilege of Being A Woman.” Thank you for reminding us of the incredible beauty and incomparable dignity we have, because we are women. ‎Thank you for reminding us of the strength we enfold within ‎our apparent weakness and "special gentleness"; of the beauty and freedom there is in acknowledging that we are weak and fair. 


Mary E.

Friday, March 04, 2016

The Africa We See


Today I got the chance to tick off yet one more item from my MBA Bucket List: Attend a business conference.
On the 3rd of March, 2016, the Full-Time MBA Class of Lagos Business School hosted an Africa Business Conference. The conference kicked off with a video (which you can view here) tagged: The Africa We See.
After the Dean of LBS (Enase Okonedo) and the President of the ABC committee spoke, the  Co-Founder of IHS Towers (Mohamed Darwish) delivered his keynote speech. He spoke on the dynamics of doing business in Africa and shared 5 key steps for business success - timing, customer focus, product design, market and vision.
The second keynote address was delivered by His Excellency, Governor Mimiko, of Ondo State. Key takeaways from his speech include:
  • Africa's Potential:
    • Population: Lagos is the 4th most populous city in the world. Africa will account for 3.2 billion of the projected 4 billion increase in the world's population by 2100. Africa is the youngest continent and has the highest growth potential.
    • Enterprise: SMEs in Nigeria comprise 90% of all businesses in Nigeria, as against 50 - 60% in North America
    • Global Awareness: The  international narrative about Africa is changing - from Afro-pessimism to Afro-optimism
  • Our Limitations:
    • Leadership and Corruption
    • Technology: Africa represents only 9% of the world's Internet users
    • Agriculture: Africa's arable land makes up 40% of global arable land but only 10% has been cultivated. In 2011, Africa spent $43.6 billion on agricultural imports despite its vast agricultural potential
    • Tourism: Global tourism is worth $3 billion a day, of which Africa's share is 5% (North Africa's share alone is 2% while the rest of Africa is 3%)
    • Electricity: Almost 0.5 billion Africans do not have access to electricity. Nigeria with a population of 180 million has the same electricity capacity as Hungary, which has a population of 10 million
  • Growth Areas to Focus on:
    • Cultural Renaissance and Value Re-orientation
    • Education
    • ICT
    • Health
    • Agriculture and Wealth Creation
    • Creative Industry
    • Tourism
    • Industrialization
    • Urbanization
    • Land Reforms
    • Gender Equity
    • Democratization
  • Urgent To-Dos:
    • Deliberately re-jig our development trajectory towards industrialization
    • Encourage intra-African trade
    • Share technology
    • Protect our intellectual property
  • After the presentation, we had cocktails and a networking session. I met up with Ndidi Nwuneli of LEAP Africa, years after leaving the University of Nigeria as a NIA girl.

    Subsequently, we broke out into panel sessions (Energy & Resources, Education, Youth & Women, Agriculture, Healthcare, Creatives & Entrepreneurship, ICT & Infrastructure and Manufacturing & Retail).
    All in all, it was a tremendous learning opportunity. Kudos to the LBS FMBA students for pulling this off without a hitch!

Tuesday, March 01, 2016

HFM Shares, Anyone?


Over the weekend, I got to tick off another item on my MBA Bucket List - Join a study group.
Technically, I joined the study group almost immediately the MBA began. I was also nominated to serve as Group Leader during the first semester. 
There are ten of us in the Group, representing a cross-section of industries and functional areas: Mobolaji (Oil and Gas), Gbenga (Banking), Francis (Manufacturing) Hillary (Dredging and Marine Services), Maria (Renewable Energy), Comfort (Non-Profit), Chinedu (Financial Services), Akinwale (Public Service), Ambrose (I.C.T), Femi (Financial Services) and Babatunde (Investment Management)
We have lively sessions every weekend (solving cases, making presentations, analyzing business problems etc). Last weekend, we made a mock presentation aimed at convincing each other to invest in shares.
Here's the video of my presentation: Honeywell Flour Mills Pitch.
Enjoy!

Previously on UpNaira

 

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