A Software engineer Max Polyakov has a lot of money, owns several apartments and more. However, he had nothing in the past. There is a lot he had to do to get at the top.
The story of an engineer Max Polyakov
Growing up
Max Polyakov grew up in poverty but he always dreamt about becoming rich. His parents had moved from Poland to Netherland in search of a better life but unfortunately, they never had the required documents. So, they were unable to find good jobs. His dad had to do three different jobs in order to sustain the family.
The EOS football team
Max worked hard in school and he had a passion for football. He played in the university EOS team. Performing well in football earned him a scholarship to study in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam
In Amsterdam, Max Polyakov met successful people who inspired him to do better. But, Max’s story changed when one of his friends introduced him to gambling.
Gambling
Max Polyakov set up internet at his house and looked for gambling information online. He loved everything that he found and felt that gambling would bring him millions.
Max started missing classed because he spent most of his time at the casino. He even quit playing football.
A woman changed Max’s life
Max Polyakov met a girl called Maria at a local café. She was also a student trying to make some money. Maria was also from a poor family and had gotten a scholarship just like Max.
Max and Maria started going for dates at night when Maria was available. Sometime later, Maria got pregnant.
A choice that brought a big change
Max Polyakov knowing that he was now responsible for another life, he quit gambling, started attending school and working during his free time. Success
Max later graduated and got a job at an IT firm. He did his job well that he even got a salary increment.
Now that they had enough money, Max and Maria decided to have a second child.
New possibilities
Max Polyakov decided to start his own business. He got an office within the city centre and hired several coders. The business began with small orders but within a short while, the company was handling many big orders from everywhere in the world.
Max made so much money and he was able to buy a new house.
Conclusion
Max Polyakov made a good decision which made him successful in life. Presently, he is a father of three and he is planning to have another child and there are more other goals he wants to accomplish.
The biggest challenge in executing any career strategy is lack of vision. By that I mean, inability to articulate what you want to be. Interestingly, in this world, there are opportunities in many areas. As Tim Cook runs Apple, he has his place in the league of U.S. senators, and those senators have their own domains before entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.
The fact is this: there are many ways in this world to have fulfilling careers. The main challenge is when another person’s success becomes an overriding benchmark to yours. If you have that mentality, you would be rolling along with no core on what you want to pursue. Most times, despite your skills and capabilities, you will not have satisfactions.
Types of Career Problems (source: Arista Infotech)
In my experience, the biggest satisfaction comes when you know you are making progress on things which you have desired to pursue. And defining those things must come out of awareness, and understanding of many things which could help you to thrive in life. That is also where humility comes – what you have called great success may be things others passed over. But in the foolishness of a fool’s mind, he or she was thinking that was the pinnacle.
That your classmate is running a startup and has raised money must not truncate the joy you have in a promising career in a multinational company. Certainly, you cannot run to Corporate Affairs Commission to incorporate your own company so that you would be an entrepreneur. Doing otherwise without a clear roadmap would be carelessness. There is nothing wrong in working for another person. The key is making sure that it gives you fulfillment.
And if your classmate whose life has been defined by politics is elected a senator, certainly your trajectory to become a bank Director cannot be terminated by joining politics without many considerations. Doing that mindlessly means you have not defined what your purpose is.
Career Frameworks (source: Quora)
Look deep into that career and examine the game plan. You are actually making progress. Do not fall-off because your classmate has become a professor while you are still “not there”. Provided you never wanted to be a professor and that present job has a clear path for you to be actualized in your career, there is nothing to be overly worried.
In this world, there are many missions. You need to invest time and efforts to discover yours in your career. If you do, and you are pursuing it, do not allow “noise” to get in the way. I have seen entrepreneurs who toiled for years only to break through at the end. If you ask them, they would explain they believed there would be light at the end of the tunnel. When that light comes, the fulfillment is there.
All Together
Under the present entrepreneurial effervescence in Africa, please do not resign from your job because your friend has raised money in his startup. You need to consider that your present job could even make you an investor, putting money in companies. Yes, that job can take you to destination if you stay focused.
The key in life is humility, and making sure that no matter how successful you think you are, some people passed the opportunity to do what you are doing, to become something else. No matter what it is, defining your career purpose would help you stay motivated in whatever you are doing. But if you allow any noise to get in your way, you would likely not make progress.
Last year, an Honourable narrated an experience. A man made it to House of Rep in Abuja. Then, at the end of the month, he received his paycheck. He looked at it, and left: the money was nothing – could not cover a container profit. He never made it back to the Chambers. Parade yourself to that guy as House member!
Career Groove: Find yours (source: Pinterest)
As they wrote in the Acres of Diamond, right in that career, great things can happen. Sure – that does not mean that you must stay as an accountant in a dying sector. Yes, you can stay as an accountant and move to a promising sector. But leaving accounting to join politics without much preparations may not help you.
Purpose is the pointer, but in a world where hysteria about ephemeral things always bang on our eardrums, many people end up losing their way, and their minds too. Many have ended up living another person’s dreams, and continuously struggle to fit in; but a misfit is always a misfit, and no satisfaction can be found there.
Again, there’s another notion we must correct: the mentality of ‘I don’t want to work for anyone’. People, all of us are working for someone, or even multitudes of persons; there’s no shortcut to it. If you are an employee, your only headache could be that you are answerable to your superiors or bosses, so if you find it to be too much or demeaning, the other route could be tougher. As entrepreneur, you are meant to be answerable to all kinds of people: big or small, and you are more likely to add ‘sir’, ‘ma’, even ‘chief’; if you wish the cheque to ever smile at you.
Humility remains the key to success, because if you are not a good employee for the wrong reasons, you are not likely to become good entrepreneur, for those same reasons. You are in this world to do certain things, not everything.
There’s no timeframe for success, but always ensure that you find satisfaction in what you do.
With free cash, anchored on a 21st century business model [from telecom to quasi-financial entity], Airtel Africa is emerging as a fierce competitor to MTN Group in Africa. In Rwanda, after Airtel bought Tigo, it became the leading mobile operator in that innovating nation. MTN is not waiting: it recently poached former Airtel CTO Fabrice Ndatira and also picked former Airtel Deputy CEO Chantal Umutoni Kagame.
Yet, I do not think unloading Airtel guys in MTN Rwanda will change the stage in Rwanda. The fact is this: Airtel has improved on service and customers have responded. So, the business model could settle all these issues: Airtel is increasingly a platform for connecting infrastructure providers, freeing cash at scale to do other things. Those other things include investing in customer experience.
To get a clue, read this piece where it was rumored in January 2017 that Airtel Rwanda was leaving the country. Just within months, Airtel Rwanda has fixed many things and is now the market leader. It did not invent any new technology; it simply improved its business model.
Airtel Rwanda has refuted reports indicating it was closing shop, terming the media reports pointing as erroneous.
Speaking to The New Times, yesterday, Airtel Rwanda CEO Michael Adjei emphasised that they are “here for the long haul.”
“That’s not true. That’s not the case. Airtel Rwanda is not leaving the market. We want to assure customers that we are not exiting Rwanda,” Adjei.
This follows recent media reports indicating that Bharti Airtel, India’s largest mobile-phone operator and parent company to Airtel Rwanda, was exiting Africa over financial challenges.
Few days ago, the chairman of Bharti Airtel, Sunil Bharti Mittal, told Bloomberg that the firm was “considering mergers or stake sales of some of its Africa operations” to cut debt with a view of making its biggest overseas acquisition profitable.
Airtel Africa, powered on this promising business model, recently raised $1.25 billion from Softbank and other leading investors. That money is to wage market share battle with MTN Group in Africa. And since it does not have to invest so much on core infrastructure, it would be an interesting game for Africa.
As Airtel Africa redesigns its business to become a quasi financial institution, Nigeria investors should encourage it to list in the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Among all the telcos today, Airtel is closest to the sector that typically does well in NSE. We have always punished tech companies but we like financial institutions. Airtel is closer to a deal house than a telecom company as it continues to outsource core infrastructure investments. The numbers have responded as the firm is recording improving margins. The firm just raised $1.25 billion from Softbank, Temasek, etc. IPO is next.
In Rwanda, MTN is in the market to raise capital to improve its services; it is raising debt of $56.4 million. It surely needs to fight a strong battle. The good news is that if we have these companies battle in this way, consumers would win. And at the end, both Airtel and MTN would also win. African market is still growing: they just need to keep working.
The modernization and extension by the MTN Group’s Rwandan subsidiary of its network will help to ensure the loyalty of its current customers and attract new ones, in a context of increasing consumer complaints about the quality of service of the telecom company. and the fierce competition maintained by Airtel that merged with Tigo.
I spoke with an aide to a governor (Nigeria) today on the possibility of developing a framework on the Igbo Apprenticeship System. People forwarded the TED video piece and this one to His Excellency. They reached out. If this is something you would like to work on, please email my community manager here. I will be in Nigeria in February 2019 specifically for this courtesy of the governor’s office. I did note that the best roadmap would be to have a university level research because the processes involved are convoluted. With that level of research, it would be easier to make sense of the elements which make Igbo apprenticeship system function.
The Challenge in this System
To be honest here, I have no credible idea on how what they do in southeast Nigeria could be institutionalized. Giving out your 13 year old son to someone, to live and serve, with no absolute enforceable promise seems strange to my over-education.
Sure, I wrote about how Nigeria could learn from the apprenticeship system to fix our unemployment issues. But making it work in an institutionalized way should not be trivialized. The trust that goes into that cannot be replicated on any piece of document. The parents have to believe on the boy’s future master. The boy has to work for years (10 years is typical) for no pay on the promise that one day the master will settle him. He serves the master at home and office and practically becomes his son. And most times, the deal is kept, without any document.
I watched the scene live as a boy that grew in the village. As I was going to secondary school after primary school, some of my classmates went for trading. They went to cities for that, returning to the village during Christmas. Their parents’ homes became secondary; they made tents in the masters’. And the master would not even distinguish between his own sons and them. I am not sure there is any paper contract in this world that could capture that level of bond.
Getting to the Papers
Igbos are Africans; we did business for centuries without any written documentation. Yes, if they have figured out that lack of paper documentation was a problem, someone would have invented writing! But they did not [get me right, I am not saying that your contract with the bank is not good. My point is that some African institutions cannot be catapulted overnight]. Yet, someone has to try in our largely inventive societies.
As I had noted in my preliminary chat with the aide, one roadmap is evident to me: Go to a university system and fund one to make sense of the system. UNN or any state university in the east could lead this. That level of research will help everyone understand the different components before anyone can talk of formalization and institutionalization. I do not expect a 6-month consultancy to offer any useful insight; something long-term would be critical.
Yes, despite investing in a long-term research, the outcome cannot be guaranteed. You need to enter this work with humility because they are many players here. In February, I will make that case as we explore models. We can work out a process on how that engagement with universities would be structured to get the best results. It was evident that the governor’s office was looking for practical recommendation over an academic one. But here, there needs to be a fusion of theory and practice.
A Boy-Master Play
Let me give a stage on what happens when a boy, usually around 13 years is asked to live home for apprenticeship.
For a boy to leave his parents to move to city where he would live with a master, many things happen. These things have worked smoothly without lawyers and paper contracts. And if you bring those papers and lawyers, you may change the equilibrium point. First, the parents many not like to sign your papers if you are coming from government to “assist” to protect the boy. Secondly, the masters may not sign. Igbos largely do not really see governments as extremely necessary on their personal issues. In most villages, when there are erosion or local road problems, they call their sons and not government for help. Typically, the sons send money to village elders to fix the problems. The entrepreneurial individualism may make bringing government into the apprenticeship harder.
Sure, there used to be a time when banking was done without papers. Of course today we have modern banking in Nigeria. So, any system can evolve including the Igbo apprenticeship system. For that to happen, this play, which largely depicts what happens must not introduce frictions that could stop the deal – the boy going to Aba the next day.
Nigeria’s VP visits Aba (source: Aba City)
(Urum is the master; Uche is the boy’s father, Obidiya is the boy’s mother and Ike is the name of the boy.)
Urum: Mazi Uche, who is that boy?
Uche: That is my first son. He just finished primary school.
Urum: I need a boy in my shop in Aba. Can he follow me to Aba tomorrow?
Uche: Ike, come here (Ike comes). Tomorrow, you are going to Aba with Uncle Urum. He would be your master. Obey and listen to him. Anything you cannot do for him, do not do for me. And anything you can do for me, do for him. Give me your hand (the man spits on the boy’s hands): I offer my blessings to you. You would cross oceans and rivers. And you would come back to this land to bless your kindred. Your wealth will come home and not wasted in cities. Our ancestors, famous traders, will guide you. Virgin Mary and our Lord Jesus will bless you.
(Then turns to Urum (the Master): This is your son. Take good care of him.
Urum: Ike, come here. You have grown. I could not even recognize you (Urum holds Ike)
Uche: (He calls his wife): Obidiya, Obidiya. Come.
(The wife arrives) Ike will be going to Aba tomorrow with Urum. Please go and bring more ugbaa for us.
Obidiya: (Kneeling down, thanks Urum) May God bless you.
Urum: Ikochim (my kinsman wife), thank you for taking good care of my brother Uche.
That is the contract. In 10 years, that boy is settled with all possible support in the world. Then, one day, he looks for boys to do same. But as he does that, he remembers his home.
All Together
Many of you have written privately to me suggesting that you could develop a strategic document to institutionalize and formalize the Igbo Apprenticeship System. I would note that I think it is time. If you have interest, let us see what can be done to formalize it.
Nice scenario Ndubuisi, but in Nnewi, it is not just the nuclear family of Uche that will be involved. Uche will summon a meeting of his umunna who will probably come the next day.
During that meeting, Ikem will be handed over to Urum in the presence of everyone. Urum on the other hand will give an indication of roughly how long Ikem will be his boy (pronounced boyi), this is usually for a six year period. Everyone one gives their blessings and the matter ends there.
Nothing is written, everything is done on trust. But the presence of the umunna is a form of check and not only do they serve as witnesses (at the end of the six year period, they would usually congregate again for the settlement), it lends weight to the saying in igbo land that a child is the child of the community. So the Urum is not expected to make such an important decision on the boy’s future without the umunna. After all if things go wrong (and they do) the ummuna will also be involved in any dispute resolution.
I like visiting Sokoto. For all the states in northern Nigeria, it is the most hospitable. Despite being the seat of caliphate, the people are largely welcoming. I am yet to clearly understand why Sokoto is that unique. But looking at some institutions, there is a clue.
In one of the hotels I stay, I have noticed that they named the buildings after founding Nigerian statesmen. Typically, they always find space for me in Nnamdi Azikiwe building. Then in front of that building, they have a space, structured for Igbo people to congregate for the nkwobis, etc. But walk down: there is Obafemi Awolowo building with settings suited for the southwest. This is at the heart of Sokoto, and the businessman is bold to go national!
Camel in Sokoto. Sokoto is a hospitable place
I asked the manager how that thinking came. He explained that they wanted to make everyone feel at home. So, in designing the place, they went to the cultural leaders of the major ethnic groups, in Sokoto, to assist in the design and settings.
This is an example of the Nativity Design Construct. If a hotel can do it, banking and fintech could also explore how Yorubas, Igbos, Hausas, etc handle and manage money to architect services that fit.
In my teachings with startups in our advisory business, I have called that Nativity Design Construct. It is a way of looking at business from the angle of the customers by making sure that you deliver solutions and services within the natural nexus of the users, eliminating any possible assimilation friction.
The one-size-fit-all model has become obsolete, so any business that wishes to survive and continues to be relevant going forward, must learn to pay attention to finer details.
It is no longer tenable to spend all your time in the lab and conference room, and then hatch out and ratchet up products and services for users/consumers you do not understand. If politicians do same and survive, for businesses, the price you pay for your misdemeanour is higher; because opening a wallet is not same as flashing your voters card, no one jokes with the former down here.
The digital platform model innovation has helped to democratise this Nativity Design Construct, making the potential users key players during the design phase of the product development. The hotel owner did not close his eyes and imagined what every tribe would cherish, rather he went out and enquired from the PEOPLE how best to go about it. A big lesson there for our men and women in suits.
