If you want to do very well in business especially in Africa, invest to find a mentor. Business mentoring is very important and if you are lucky to have access to the legends, your path to glory is paved. Yet, you must work for it. Understand what you do, be concise and clear on what you want. Never ask for free money. Focus on the ideas!
Your mentor must be someone you know has proven that he/she understands the ecosystem you need help. And the person holds laurels. Business is not about who is the most intelligent person. It is about who can combine factors of production to solve market problems; that is not an easy skill to have. And that means your university professor, while your former academic mentor, may not be your business mentor.
As a young banker in Lagos, I read one book – The Richest Man in Babylon – and since then, I have mastered where to ask for help. I do not waste time asking a carpenter about clean water. Never. Find a mentor and make sure it is not parasitic. In short, that mentor must gain something as he/she mentors you.
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When I was starting, I asked Mr. Tony Elumelu many questions. In his responses, he cuts out the noise. He has more access to data and his perspectives are closer to reality than mine. Why? He sees Nigeria and Africa through the balance sheets of his companies! Simply, he feels the pulse of markets. His support made me better. Find someone who can make you better.
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On books and mentoring in Africa: . You do not need a mentor in US that much because their business leaders write many books. If you get the insights from books, perfect. But the books have to be written first. Have been waiting for Dangote to write a book; I will order 100 on day 1 for all our startups.
Comment #1: Prof: ‘Find a mentor and make sure it is not parasitic. In short, that mentor must gain something as he/she mentors you.’ This is an extremely important point Ndubuisi Ekekwe.
I get 5-10 requests to mentor per week. It is a rolling program ? Some even expect that at some point along the way, I will fund or sponsor something they are into. Can’t see how that can work.
Time = Money.
You invest one, you expect the other in return. They don’t both flow the same way.
I usually point to my writings on Tekedia Institute and let people know it is for free. There is a lot of good stuff on there that is open source which can be browsed. My content is just a very very small part of what is available.
If anybody is interested in a specific mentor then my advice would be to formulate what the mentor can gain from the process and lead with it as a value proposition instantaneously with the mentoring request.
This way the targeted mentor can weigh up if it works for them or not, and they can do that right away. Requests for mentoring that leave the prospective mentor scratching their head and having to tease out information like pulling a tooth will probably end right there.
My response
“Time = Money” . The first law of business
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Whether business, politics or family life, you need a mentor, someone who has excelled in that regard, at least by your estimate, and also possesses the ability to communicate same. There are those who are successful in business but don’t really know what to tell you when you enquire, sometimes confusion is communicated, as a gospel…
This environment isn’t richly endowed with successful people who can communicate with clarity and simplicity, and once the communication is muddled, you are left with more head scratching than clear direction.
Maybe our tycoons and aspiring tycoons should invest in communication skill acquisition, to be able to mentor those looking up to them, very important.