BUILD YOUR PEOPLE TO BUILD THE ORGANIZATION!

In recent times I have seen myself talking so much about leadership. Obviously, the lack of it is what has kept our nation at the level it currently is.

However, true to every act of learning, only those with capacity for change can learn. I want to take you through a simple class on leadership that can change your perception of leadership, particularly for leaders of organizations and business people.

Every individual, every group, every business cries for good leadership. Everyone either feels the effect of poor leadership or enjoys the result of good leadership.

As a leader, you hold a delicate key to the hearts of their lives, because every process a man goes through is a build-up to the dream height and the time you are with them is a PROCESS – if badly utilized will either make your followers good leaders or make them bad leaders.

When leaders are good communicators, encouragers and motivators, their members will not only enjoy the work and produce more, they will be loyal to the leadership.

Good leadership is not just important, it is indispensable. The better the leaders, the better the group.

If as a leader, all you think is how to get the ORGANIZATION better, without getting the PEOPLE better, the people you are looking away from will soon destroy the organization you are trying to build.

Your people must be your priority – your greatest legacy is the people. Beautify a life and the life will beautify the organization..... the greatest investment of life is the investment in lives.

You cannot be neutral: you either building the people or depleting them. Treat people well, that you lead them does not mean you created them. They still have choices, learn to respect their choices but give them direction so they can make informed decisions.

Your leadership ability is a compass to the growth of your staff/team members. They have dreams and aspirations buried on the inside of them. Every team member seems to has a secret cry: “how well you lead me is what determines how well I will function in that area….”

As a leader, you are either killing their dreams or building their hopes.

To be an exemplary leader, you need these 3 qualities:
1. A good heart
2. A good mouth
3. A good eye.

A good heart: You must love your members. Joseph was the only son that Jacob loved so dearly, and scripture records that he was also the only one able to dream. Think about this! It isn't a coincidence! Love release dreams and hopes. Show me you love me and I will put in my best into life and your work. Love awakens the confidence to believe in yourself. If you can make your people believe in themselves, they will produce terrific results. 1st John 4:18: “perfect love cast out fear…” Love your people. Don’t let them see or think of you and hate being a leaders.

Be interested in their development. Hear the cry of all your team members: If you can make me feel good, I will make you proud! Proverbs 27:23: “know the state of your flocks and put your heart into caring for them…” Swallow your pride - but for them, you won’t be a leader! The mental and emotional state of the people you lead is what gives colour to your leadershipstatus. It is better to be a leader of warriors than a leader of slaves. The difference is in how you've trained them.

A good Mouth: Your words matter. Words are powerful. Proverbs 18:21: “death and life are in the power of the tongue….”
Never ever curse or abuse your people out of anger. Don’t be tempted to do it and believe an apology may be all that will make your people pacified. As the saying goes, prevention is better and cheaper than cure. Else, your team members who always misbehave and decide to apologize later. This won't be healthy for your organization.

There is a force in our words that can transform or deform a life. The world is looking for leaders who know how to talk, leaders who understand the power and magic of words. People should hear you talk and pray for your kind of spirit and ability.

When they do well, appreciate them. Do not be known as one who rebukes people only, but never appreciates. People are desperate for love. They are desperate to feel valued. They long to be appreciated. Nobody is your dustbin, mind what you say.

When you conceal your love, you starve them of what they need most. Just imagine that everybody in your organization has a slate on his neck that reads: “PLEASE, HELP ME FEEL IMPORTANT TODAY…”
They come from different places, they have faced rejection, they feel pains, they have talked down on – they should find comfort in your organization.

A good Eye: people change. That they can’t currently talk sophisticatedly or convincingly to clients, dress stylishly or they sound uncultured doesn’t mean they will be like that forever. Every man has a great future, God never created a useless being. See your people like the stars their created them to be. Work to polish them, be part of their success story. Respect them. Do everything to see them succeed, be a part of their testimonies, not regrets.

There is a hidden paradise in everybody. The potentials in them can only be seen by uncommon eyes.
They have been around many people who never saw it - look deep! Be prepared to do all you can to prepare them for their future. Ask them questions to know what they intend to be and do. You must be interested in them!

You must happen!

THE BIGGER THE DREAM (PHASE 3)

Dear friends, we are still on the subject: THE BIGGER THE DREAM! In our PHASE 1 and 2, we established the fact that with a big dream comes a big reward. However, with the size of your dream comes great responsibilities and commitments. The bigger the dream, the greater the commitments, if you can stay with the commitments, your reward is sure.

Some of the sure responsibilities that accompanies a BIG DREAM includes:
(1). THE DEMANDS - Everything of lasting and incredible value must place a demand on you. Nothing of beauty and sure value comes cheap. Now, what is the major demand of a BIG DREAM?

Preparation. If you have a big dream, you must match it with great preparation; you don't pay a 'local' price for a 'global' vision. I believe preparation is the key to manifestation, every product that ever gets to the showroom must first go through the factory, the production house! When it comes to our personal dreams, the time of preparation is the all-important period when you seek answers relevant to the personal issues connected to the realization of your dream... It is the time of solidifying your assurance, convictions and dissolving doubts.

Preparation is a compulsory phase in your journey to success. There is no substitute to it. The time spent preparing is never a waste. Friend, invest time in getting yourself mentally, spiritually, emotionally and socially set for your dream.

You must establish a development program towards the accomplishment of your dream. You must train yourself. Your personal training is a proof of your commitment to your dream. Do not be deceived by conventional school qualifications or degree accumulation, there is no substitute for personal development. This is what ultimately counts, this is what brings the goods to your hands.

Learn a skill. Develop a deep expertise in an outstanding skill relevant to the fulfillment of your dream. Get a skill for your dream sake. In my view, a failure is just one skill away from success. This further means that a dream is not the only ingredient you need to succeed. Adequate preparation and skill development is what makes for colorful participation. You don’t stroll into success, you don’t sleep into it - you work into it!

Your dream can only develop to the extent that you do. It is the seed that create the fruit, it is what is under-ground that produces what is above the ground. Success is an inside-out thing. You must develop your ‘within’ and grow your capacity. When success comes knocking, let it meet you prepared!

On my next post, we will talk about the Demand #2.
Have a most productive day!

THE BIGGER THE DREAM (PHASE 2)

Sometime around last week, we started talking about BIG DREAMS; the how's and the why's.
Today, we will continue in that light, but we will take it a step further and a little deeper.

For you to be successful in life, you must first think success! You must see SUCCESS in your life as POSSIBLE. God told Abraham in Genesis 13:14 "As far as your eyes can see, I will give it to you..." It was now Abraham's responsibility to 'see' and imagine great things; away from the lack in his family, away from limitations in his life, away from the evil people were whispering around him about him, away from the shame in his life....! In other words, God was asking Abraham: "How much can you handle?" Whatever he finalized, God gave him. This same God doesn't show partiality, what He did to Abraham is what He wants to do to all His creation'

Dear friend, you will never get more than you can see. The size of your diving package is provoked by the size of your seeing. How much you see is what determines how much you will seize.

Dreams are developed by imaginations. By the way, your imagination is elastic. How far you can stretch is what determines how much you will get from life (Genesis 11:6). Imagination is the tool for dream formation. Your imagination is what prepares your destination. Every man who is a success or failure is actually a product of his imagination.

To be a success in life, it is not just enough to be a 'hard worker', you must also be a 'success thinker'. The bible says it clear: "By strength shall no man prevail..." but "Be get your transformation by renewing [and making use] of your mind..." Success is always inside-out and not outside-in. We have so many hard-workers who have nothing to show for it. It takes wisdom to triumph in this world of ours. It takes a 'good head'. You must use your head, you must let your mind work!

God will only reward you in proportion to what you can handle. The bible says about Him: "He will never put more on you than you can bear..." This works both for good and evil! So, you must stretch your imagination so can get as much as you should from Him. God cannot be limited by the weight of your desires. So, why pity for Him? Think the impossible, think the unusual. Set yourself up for it. That you could think it actually means it is possible.

We will talk about the next phase in my next post.

Have a super-productive day!

THE BIGGER THE DREAM!

I am a strong believer in the FUTURE of this country. The 'FUTURE' is not just some imagination, vague picture or wish. To me, the 'FUTURE' is a people. Whenever I talk about 'THE FUTURE OF NIGERIA', I am talking about ‘MY GENERATION’. I believe in my generation and the lot we have to offer our country. Irrespective of our horrifying past and challenging present.

It is for this reason I do what I do; inspire, provide direction and guidance to members of my generation to ensure peak performance and all-round successful living...

For the next couple of days (maybe weeks), I will be talking about DREAMS! I will narrow down my focus on the subject: THE BIGGER THE DREAM! This is a excerpt of one of my recent presentations!

There are some basic facts that none of us can argue. One of them is: everything outstanding begins in dream form. It first begins in the 'seed' form before developing or growing into 'food' form. Many people are quick to celebrate the 'food' state, forgetting there was ever a 'seed' form.

What exactly is my point? You cannot succeed in life without a DREAM! A man or woman without a DREAM will die a slave! Wishes are for slaves, DREAMS are for masters, pacesetters and front liners!

Now to the basics! One thing is certain, we didn't all come from same backgrounds. While some of us came from average homes, others came from affluent backgrounds, while some others came from terribly poor backgrounds.

To my mind, your 'background' is your door to planet earth. The quality of your background does not count much. For instance, there are many doors into a beautiful hall, it does not matter much which door you came through into the hall. What matters is that you end up getting into hall and securing a seat in the hall! This is what counts! Friends, destiny doesn’t care much which ‘door’ you came through into this world; you are already here – make impact.

Here is another illustration.
If you put a gold wristwatch into a dirt bin, the dirt-bin does not turn into a wristwatch. Neither does the wristwatch become dirt. The wristwatch may not have increased in value, but the dirt-bin increased in value. Why? It had a gold wristwatch inside it.

What is the lesson? It does not matter which dustbin you were born into, you are created to add value to it. You must add value to your family; you must add value to your nation.

Stop holding unto or complaining because of your background. Do not tie yourself to your past. There is more ahead of you than there is behind you. You can be all you choose to be, irrespective of how you have been.
There is hope for the man that chooses dream, against all odds...

We will talk about the ‘START POINT’ on my next post!

Keep happening!

DON'T HATE, APPRECIATE!!!

This is a like a follow-up to my earlier post. By the way, I got all your mails and also saw the fantastic comments you guys sent via facebook. Thanks guys.

Today, I want to look at an attitude that is gradually becoming a culture amongst us. In today's Africa, people speak negative of anyone better than them. A poor man believes every rich man is using ‘something’... this readily serves as a comfortable defense for his poverty. Any young lady doing well for herself is assumed to be 'using' her body. Any young man who is well-off is assumed to be into fraud.
Hardly will you find anyone who will effortlessly celebrate anybody who is ahead of him. To my mind, this is one of the foremost reasons we are still backward as a people. Why? We believe there is nobody worth learning from. The effect? This has made success to continually elude us. It is shameful that this mediocre mentality is been handed down my generation!

Fact is, you can’t become what you blackmail. You can never look like what you talk down. You can't learn from someone you are resent; you can only learn from someone you celebrate and respect. What you respect will inevitable come to you. What you do not respect will continually run from you. You attract what you revere.

In my own little finding, one of the reasons why some people are not still rich or up in their game is because they criticize the rich and those well-off than they are.
They just hate rich people! The Holy bible warns against this! In the book of Proverbs, King Solomon advised: “don’t criticize the rich, even in the privacy of your bedroom...”

Respect is poles apart from love. What is the difference? Love is when you find something attractive, while respect means to see something as valuable. Respect is not the same thing as love. That I love you doesn’t mean I respect you... It is the love of money that is the root of evil, not the respect of money. These two mindsets come with an attitude and approach. It is the attitude that always determines the end result.

There are people who are doing what you cannot do. Respect them, and show it! Don’t trivialize or belittle their efforts, eulogize them! The surest route to the ground is to continually criticize those who are up. Nature works with principles. God is a just God. He cannot give you what you openly or secretly criticize. He may not be fair, but He is just! His word says: “do unto others as you would they do unto you...” Here is the revelation: you will reap WHAT you sow, not WHERE you sow! If you appreciate someone’s crown and express it, you are explicitly telling God: “I love the crown; Lord, it won’t be bad on my head too!” It won’t take long, you would attract it. It is not people that give us our recompense, it is God!

Respect people doing what you cannot do. The Holy Bible says: “He that waters shall be watered...” In my own phraseology, this means that HE THAT WATERS WILL DEFINITELY BECOME WORTHY OF WATERING.... It is only a man that genuinely appreciates people that will experience appreciation in all areas of life. This is one fundamental law of success that cannot be broken by time, nature or persons.

Study carefully the lives of those who aren’t making progress in certain areas of their lives, chances are that they are the ones who refuse to applaud those who are ahead of them in their game/field. When they see somebody who is doing extremely well, rather than say: “THE MAN/WOMAN IS DOING VERY WELL, WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE HIM/HER TO CONTINUE...” Their pride won’t let them appreciate someone else's laudable efforts. You would hear comments like: “The Guy/Lady is ‘trying’... There is nothing special about what he/she is doing; it not something I cannot do............... I am just taking my time... Very soon, people will also know the stuff I am made of....”

You cannot resemble what you resent. A great man once said it is only those who respect money that can multiply it. This is deep, let's reflect on it!

I have seen folks who are every time uncomfortable being around individuals who are doing better than they are. They would rather be in the circles of those they are better than; so they can be seen 'stars' by those who they are 'better' than......... This is a defeatist mentality. In Africa, we call this: LOCAL CHAMPION! This is a inferiority complex and poor self esteem. If everybody around you is eating from you, you will soon dry up. Wisdom demands that you at least have someone you are also ‘eating’ from. Every child has a father... every father is [supposes to be] someone’s child!

In addition, that someone isn’t like you doesn’t mean he/she has a problem or is inferior. This belief has ruined many relationships - business and romantic. Over the years, I have noticed that people are not always comfortable with anyone who is different from them. This is wrong! How then can you grow mentally, if everybody around you is like you?

I am reminded of the university experience. Our belief then was that anyone who is studying a course different from ours is in a very easy-to-pass department. We always felt our course of study was superior to others. We were blinded to the reality that everything in life is interlaced. The doctor needs the accountant. The engineer needs the lawyer. The journalist needs the agriculturist.... At that point of our lives, we were blinded to this reality. Our feeling of self-importance clouded our sense of reasoning.

Whoever is not like you is not inferior. They are just who they are – DIFFERENT/UNIQUE! God never created anything useless. If you believe you are not useless, then nobody is. Refuse to think less of another man. Fact is, we don’t really see people as they are. We see them as we are!

It is high time we develop the praise/appreciation culture and dump the hate culture. The easiest and surest way up the ladder is the celebrate those who have succeeded in climbing. Like the bible says: “Seedtime and harvest time will not cease...” If you don’t respect other people’s authority, you will never become an authority!

SOME DREAMS WILL NEVER BECOME REALITY!

Anybody can have [or own] a dream, it cost nothing, absolutely nothing. In fact, it is the freest commodity on planet earth... I once said in one of my articles that the challenge of this generation is actually not the lack of dreams [or ideas], but lack of focus. Focus is the major prerequisite for the realization of any dream.... Every young kid on the street has dreams, but most of these dreams are still in the category of WISHES.

As I travelled around Nigeria during the month of October to honour several speaking engagements, I had the privilege of meeting a number of young Nigerians; the [supposed] hope and determinant of the beauty of the future of this nation.

I was really astounded with the discovery that most of these young ones may end up living the kind of sorry lives their parents had lived, if not worse! One of the core reasons for this conviction is that most of these young ones have very impractical dreams/ideas about the future, their approach and attitude to life and their dreams are not any different. The truth is, our parents had dreams of and for their future... But, where did they end up? Isn't it clear through their lives that having a dream is not the only basis/criterion for greatness? There is more to what success demands than just dreams.

Dreams can’t and don’t fulfil itself. While it is your responsibility to develop dream for yourself, it is also your responsibility to work it out. God’s responsibility is to reward you for fulfilling your responsibility. This is apparent in His word: “I will bless the labour of your hands....... Whatever you lay your hands to do, it shall prosper.........”

I have discovered that many young people in our generation have very lofty dreams, great and fantastic dreams. But, most of these dreams have no ladders. There is no [concrete] plan on how they intend to fulfil it; most of these dreams would finally end up in the trash can of wishes or in the comfort of their graves when they finally exit this earth! Someone once said: “If wishes were horses, everybody would own one!” The question is: “what is a wish?” A wish is a plan-less aspiration. Simply put, a wish is a desire without plans/strategies to meet its actualization. If only we could just think and ask ourselves why our fathers failed!!!

God had to CREATE planet earth... He went beyond dreaming; He constructed a ladder [plan] to the actualization of the dream. Developing a personal dream/vision is the first phase, but most people make it look like the only phase!

In one of my recent meetings, a young lady told me how she has dreams of owning one of the biggest schools in Abuja, she told me how the school would look like and lots of other fantastic things. I was so enthused by this great dream that I asked her: “what are you currently doing to ensure that this great dream become a reality....?” She had no answer, none! All she stopped at was the dreaming aspect of success actualization. I wonder how she hoped it will ever come true! It was obvious she was already thinking like many religious folks who always shy away from responsibility by saying: “God will do it....”

Truth is, every great man who is presently at an enviable height had to begin from where he was... he had to act on whatever dreams he had.... any man who got to the mountain top had to CLIMB there, not JUMP!

At another meeting I had recently, a young man said his dream is to become a presenter on CNN in the next three months... While his case looks in some way ‘nice’, this is because he has given himself a time frame... Yet, the laughable angle is that at present he has nothing to do with any media house in Nigeria.... He’s never had! But, he his dream is to become a top-notch presenter for CNN within a year!

Nothing wrong with the dream, but he needs to create a ladder! I told him CNN is like a ‘destination’. He needs to have bus-stops; places where he needs to horn and refine his skills – he just may need to start out as a co-presenter with any of our local TV/radio station, gradually he would build his confidence and know-how of the job.... A 'height' like CNN is not for amateurs. They don’t give starters the opportunity to learn there. They don’t groom starters, at least his kind.

You may want to conclude that these two folks are really dumb. I beg to disagree! I see folks like these ones everyday... Theirs is quite reasonable, compared to others who can’t even explain their dreams, but they know they have one. This is the challenge of our generation.

Many of our university graduates either have no dreams of where they are taking their lives to, while others have some ludicrous and unworkable dreams. I believe this is one reason why the spirit of entrepreneurship is gradually dying in Africa; the spirit of responsibility! I have interacted with lots of university graduates who just stay in life to grow older – nothing more, nothing less and nothing else!

While I am a strong believer in having big dreams, what however makes a dreamer and his dream look daft and dippy is when there is no ladder to the actualization of his dream.

Success is a product of planning. Success is a product of strategies. Every dreamer must learn how to create plans. You must have a structure/plan of HOW you hope to achieve whatever great dream you have. Most probably, it will require you to start somewhere. Your plan will also tell you where you should start from, how and why.......... A dreamer without a plan is actually playing. He is but a joke, and his life may also end up same way.

In addition, you must learn, understand and appreciate the power of action. The difference between a failure and a success story is that one effectively used the gift called: “NOW!” Any man who truly wants to live his dream must first wake-up and if you will ever make progress, you have to first get started!

A conventional dreamer may know what to do, but the wise ones know what to do next. They don't just hope on their dreams, they ACT on them! They don’t squander their present, hoping miracles will happen! They know that success comes in bits. Thus, they look at their dreams and ask themselves: “What can/must I do now? How can I maximize my present so that my future will appreciate?” They create a plan ---- short term, midterm and long term strategies that will see them getting to top of their game............... These are the few ones that slowly but surely become the celebrities and success stories amongst us.

Folks, it is not enough to dream. Create plans. Start from somewhere. Align yourself with folks who have what you don’t have but what your dream needs. Access your strengths and your weakness. Start strengthening your strengths and look away from your weaknesses; the quality of people you connect with will help cover your areas of vulnerability and deficiencies.

You must happen!

HOW TO END THIS YEAR ON A HAPPY NOTE...

As we slowly but surely travel towards the end part of the year, it is so vital for us to review our strategies and dispose of whatever isn’t working or producing for us...
I have always believed that life is more spiritual than physical; despite all the book knowledge, broad exposure and wide ranging experiences we may strive for have, nothing substitutes for God-knowledge and God-consciousness.

Therefore, to have a productive and happy ending this year, you truly have to make God a central part of your every step.
The Holy bible says: “Who is he that plans a thing and it comes to reality, if the Lord’s hand is not involved...” It further says: “Except the Lord builds the city, the builder builds in vain...” and “Promotion doesn’t come from the South, East or West, but from the father ABOVE...”

At the end of the day, “Except the Lord watches over a city [business, family, relationship...], the watchmen watch but in vain...”

Dear friends, as we live each day and go about our dealings, let’s hold firm to the Creator of all creatures so we can enjoy His creation and live life as He designed.... No doubt, you may still have huge challenges and goals you thought you should have achieved or risen over before this time of the year.... It is still very possible!

Folks, it took God only 6 days to create this entire planet.... including all the wonders in it that amazes you...
Between now and the end of the year, you still have over 74 days for a miracle to take place in your life... there is more than enough time for God to do the unimaginable in and through your life.... This year will not end until your story changes and your dreams achieved!

THE KEY? ASK, SEEK, KNOCK! Nothing comes from Him except you A.S.K for it.... “For I will give you the desires of your heart...”
Your asking Him is a proof of your total dependence, reliance and confidence on Him and a reflection of the fact that your hopes are not entirely on your strength.... It is only Him that can crown the efforts of our hands with good success!

When you A.S.K, He will give you direction and send relevant people into your life to make your dreams fulfilled and desires achieved.

Dear friend, you can still end this year very happily. The key is in your hand... “For God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all you can think, ask or imagine...”

Your creator is interested in your wonderful and successful ending. But, it will never be possible when you alienate and keep distance from Him...
“FOR THE THIEF COMES TO STEAL, KILL AND DESTROY....” The goal of the ENEMY is to ruin your end part of this year. The ENEMY doesn’t fight your START; he waits for your END part. He doesn’t fight conception, he fights delivery... He didn’t fight January – September, he is waiting for October – December!
This is why it is very important to hold on to the one who came to: “GIVE YOU LIFE AND LIFE IN ALL ITS RICHNESS AND BEAUTY...”

You must happen!