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Home Blog Page 5372

Outperform your past and be your best

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I never compare myself with others even though I get inspiration from others. But daily, I try to beat Ndubuisi Ekekwe of yesterday.  This construct brings calm to me and unleashes optimism in my spirit to outperform my past. No matter your circumstances, do not be hard on yourself because doing so freezes your energy.

But do all necessary to keep improving, no matter how little. And if you do, a positive attitude will unlock opportunities because humans who will help you, directly and indirectly, are attracted to positive people.

Comparing yourself with others misses the point because not all of us began from the same level. But be inspired by others, even as you work to outperform your past. Positive attitude makes friends because humans are attracted to positive people. Be your best. #FwdProgress

How the competition works and how to stay ahead

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Can you think of a single line of business you could start today and not have any competition? If you can, please share it in the comment section below.

Now to the topic. What does competition mean for you, and what do you need to do to stay ahead?

Competition means someone knows what you know (maybe even more), and is ready to put in the efforts to offer something better to the same customers you are hoping to serve, sometimes at a lower price than what you are offering, and maybe with some added benefits that you do not offer yet. Whether the competition was in business before you started, or started up after you did, it means the same thing. You are hardly ever in a vacuum. There is always competition.

This definition is explicit enough, yeah?

Now that you know that the almighty idea you thought you could use to change the world, might not be exclusive to you, what are you going to do to stay ahead of the competition?

Invest in your knowledge and your team

Your business will never perform better than what you know. Since you know that some other team out there knows as much as you do, one way to avoid being run over is to constantly invest in knowledge. You cannot afford to be stagnant or rely on what you know already. New information, new data, and new trends emerge daily. Be ready to put in the work. Learn them and up your game.

Mark Cuban says irrespective of the industry you pick, if you are ready to outwork others, be a little better and more prepared than everyone else, you will record more success.

Pursue innovation

In a market where every solution seems to be solving the same problem, only innovation can stand you out from the crowd. Originally, your business should be based on innovation but what happens when competition also has a solution that gives the same benefits as yours. You have to keep innovating to match and stay ahead of the competition. Upgrades, new product launches, new features, and the likes should constantly be on your radar.

Learn more about your customers and your industry

The more information you have about your customers, their needs, preferences, disposition, habits, etc, the more likely you are to produce solutions that will satisfy them. You may need to conduct customer feedback, reviews, market surveys, and more to learn more about the industry trends and the ever-changing customer habits.

Work on being the best, as an individual and as a brand

If the three best in your industry were to be nominated, would your name make it into the list? Are you doing enough to put yourself out there? Are you doing enough to show that you know exactly what you are doing at every point? If you are not, then you should be.

The world is becoming more compact and experts say we might be looking at a future where competitors will be doing more collaborations than before. This does not undermine the need to stay one step ahead of your game at every point.

When you see an open glass that is half-empty, remember that it is refillable!

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Every glass that is full was once empty or half-full. I believe that if I keep #pushing, I can get my own glass full (of abundance and opportunities). No matter your state, the fact you can read this, being literate, means your glass is not empty. I ask you to keep filling it!

In our careers, we’re constantly looking for “full” opportunities. We want to work in multinationals, oil companies, telecoms and banking because the glass is already full. They validate our career ascensions. Great if you can get them.

Interestingly, in an increasingly challenging labour market, develop ways to discover half-empty glasses which are refillable.  Yes, the job may not be great but as you pour more energy into it, it can lead to something amazing.

When you see an open glass that is half-empty, remember that it is refillable. Not every one of us can begin with a full glass. But with the half-empty glass, we can keep filling it with water – and can get it full.

Celebrate where you are today because you’re actually doing well, filling the glass, one day at a time.

Checking Nigeria’s Economic Status With Tech Measures

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Lagos Island (source: Guardian)

The last time I checked, Nigeria didn’t require a soothsayer to mention that the country is deeply in need of a rethink towards revamping the current pathetic look of her economy in its entirety.

The present Nigeria’s economy – likewise that of other apparently growing African nations – is arguably dwindling, thus requires a serious and candid measure if the governments at all levels are genuinely prepared to deploy the needed political will towards salvaging it.

However, it’s pertinent to acknowledge that the recommended measure cannot be successfully applied if we fail to employ a tech-driven approach. This implies that technology remains inevitable towards salvaging the country’s economic posture that currently bears a pathetic look.

Development at any phase is always linked to technology and the latter takes place when there’s advancement in science. In other words, science, technology and development are all proportional to each other.

It’s imperative to acknowledge that development is required in every individual as well as nation, in all aspects. And for such effect to occur, science and technology must go hand-in-hand. Science is known as the study of knowledge, which is made into a system, and depends on analyzing and comprehending facts. Technology is the application of this scientific knowledge.

For any successful economy, particularly in present times, science and technology are the rudimentary requisites. If any nation fails to utilize these, then the chances of getting itself developed becomes minimal.

Technology is associated in all means with modernity, and it’s an essential tool for rapid development. Hence, any country that’s not able to prosper in this regard would never be able to sustain the lives within its jurisdiction and may have to solely depend on other countries for survival.

It was estimated by the World Bank that seven of the ten largest economies of the world by 2020 would be in Asia, including Japan, China, India, Indonesia, South-Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan. The economic prophecy eventually came to pass. This is because the countries in question were able to leverage the impact of technology on societal growth.

Just a few decades ago, most of these countries were known to have poor policies, low discipline and no advancement. But with an effective introduction of technology, they have succeeded in making waves all over the world.

Nigeria obviously needs to emulate them. Rather than begging them to come over and help us develop the country, let’s ascertain how they made it to the top, so we can apply the same techniques without seeking their assistance since we have all it takes to perform independently.

The truth is that, the required manpower and resources abound in Nigeria. What the government needs to do is to recognize the needed labour-force and the available endowments, then consequently endeavour to do the needful.

They must be prepared to devote reasonable commitment, which is a product of time. This is where political will comes in. You must be willing to sacrifice your time and energy to a cause you believe in, if you really want it to become an absolute success.

Nigeria is ostensibly being taken aback by her leaders. If not, this country would have gone several steps ahead of where it is today. If the government must do the right thing as expected, it has to revive all moribund technical colleges across the country, resuscitate the ongoing Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), and adequately equip all the science-oriented departments in institutions of higher learning.

Furthermore, teachers’ wages must invariably be taken very seriously. These are the fundamental ways the country’s education sector can be strengthened. Similarly, the health sector, which is awash with outdated facilities, must equally be liberated by providing befitting structures and equipment that can stand the test of time. The country is already blessed with countless health experts, but they lack the needed environment to showcase their expertise.

Moreover, Nigeria lacks an industry where science and technology can thrive, thus she needs to create one by setting up an enabling environment that can accommodate every professional irrespective of their field or area of specialization.

Owing to the lack of such an anticipated environment, the country loses hundreds of talents and patents on a daily basis via brain drain. The government must be willing to assist anyone who has an idea, and not to abandon him or her to rot. A reliable agency that can listen to people’s ideas and channel them to apt quarters ought to be set up by the governments at all levels.

For urgency’s sake, we must embrace the agric sector through implementation of mechanized farming instead of the ongoing crude pattern. As regards the mining sector, the concerned authority must extend the hand of fellowship to the cognoscenti who must be indigenous, towards acquiring efficient output.

The power sector cannot be addressed if we fail to supplement the existing hydro pattern with other such available generation sources as solar, wind, biomass, and coal. The Tourism industry can equally be made more viable by inculcating tech measures in the system.

Security, on its part, cannot be left out while discussing technology. If the needed resources – both human and material – are eventually made available but aren’t well safeguarded, it would be an effort in futility in the long run.

Among all, tax evasion can only be properly tackled if we employ adequate forensic techniques. It’s not anymore news that countless establishments domiciled within the shores of the country have unabated dodged payment of taxes, yet nothing is being done about it, perhaps because the required mechanism to tackle the menace isn’t made available.

There’s no way we can solve Nigeria’s numerous economic crises without engaging technology. Even corruption, which remains the bane of the country’s democratic system, can’t be duly fought if we overlook tech techniques.

Someone who is still skeptical that tech measures are the only way out is apparently asleep, hence needs to wake from slumber.

Must we chose from two evils?

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“When the citizens of a nation deem their most accomplished thieves as the most electable then they lose the right to complain when theft becomes their national creed” ~ Modibo Keita (Former Prime Minister of Mali).

It is ridiculous that amongst all the persons who have indicated their interests for the presidential bid and those who are rumored to have indirectly indicated that they have eyes on the presidential seat, the most popular and most rooted for candidates are the ones who have a lot skeletons in their cupboard. Those that have been fingered for unspeakable and undeniable corruption cases and forgery of documents.

Nigerians are always placing themselves in between the devil and the deep blue sea; in a position where they can only choose from two evils thereby choosing the lesser evil and rejoicing that the made a great choice. It must not always be the case. We can start choosing from two good, forcing us to pick a better or best candidate from the good.

We are in the election period again where the citizens who have a lot unanswered question mark to their names are again fielded and aggressively campaigned for forcing a lot of citizens to question the sanity of the campaigners.

The Lagos landlord is again thrown around Nigeria while his supporters are doing all they can to wash him clean to become as white as snow before the electorate but history cannot be cleansed. This is a man who right from his name, his parentage to his education and source of wealth is questionable, but yeah, let him who have no sin be the first to cast a stone. This man is the same man who forged his way into every office he has occupied, it is an open secret, so why are his supporters forming blinds eyes to the mysteries that shroud this candidate.

This is however not a campaign for or against any of the political candidates but it’s a national call of duty for Nigerians to know that if we must get it right this time, we have look in-depth and see that there are far more qualified candidates with untainted record and with solid track record too, who have been asking Nigerians to give them a chance to effect positive changes. Why don’t we give them a chance instead of always rigmarolling around same set of individuals.

Some people have cried out that if by any mistake president Buhari hands over power to one of the candidates who happens to be the most popular at the time being; it will be jumping from fry pan to fire. This comparison is definitely not far from the truth and we can’t afford to wait to see if this comparison is right.