LinkedIn Summary: Humility brings accessibility. Accessibility opens doors to do great things. Business is about expansion and addition, work out ways to manage how to do that.

If you have a habit where you do not respond to emails, you do not answer phone calls, and yet you run a business, you are in trouble in Nigeria.

Being an entrepreneur means losing some of your personal rights to time! But where you want to hold the full rights, you need to go and look for a job in a bank, oil company, telecom or government. They have systems that make money and even if nothing happens, your paycheck is going to come. But if you open a shop, you will fail if you have that attitude.

Do not take yourself too seriously. It would be impossible to serve markets if you do not have the spirit to connect with people. Returning a client’s phone call and replying that email could unlock a great future. Learn to be nice to people – good things will come to you. 

The best audition happens when there is no prize. Audition always.

You know them – they never returned emails. They never return phone calls. They see everyone (but few) as forgotten. If you want to thrive, as an entrepreneur, do not be like them. Yes, there are people who just build relationships upwards and never bother to check what is happening downwards.

The fact is this: to become a good businessman or businesswoman you must develop a skill to make people feel good around you. You need to make customers feel appreciated. And you need to make everyone feel that way because today’s stranger may be customer or partner tomorrow. That is why people with skills to connect with humans typically make good business leaders.

Responding with “Noted” or “Thanks” or “Not possible” over ignoring people will not make us lesser humans. One of the things I tell close associates is that as you begin to find success, do not get trapped into thinking so much about yourself. By that, I mean, categorizing people. You stop picking calls. You stop responding to emails. And you stop endless excuses why no one can reach you in a week.

But that was that guy that had no start or end time. People liked the ability to reach you. Now, it is 8am-4pm as though that works for small companies. Being an entrepreneur means losing some of your personal rights to time! But where you want to hold the full rights, you need to go and look for a job in a bank, oil company, telecom or government. They have systems that make money and even if nothing happens, your paycheck is going to come. But if you open a shop, you will fail if you have that attitude.

Yes, if people call you twice and cannot reach you, they move on. If you check carefully, it is arrogance. Avoid it by all cost. Do not get trapped into the “alpha personality”. You might have hustled to find success, do not change that.

Humility brings accessibility. Accessibility opens doors to do great things. Business is about expansion and addition, work out ways to manage how to do that. Why it may not be possible to handle all calls, emails etc that come to you, delegating and shifting responsibilities make sense. But if you begin to make yourself so busy that no one can reach you, you are saying that you are too busy for new opportunities and partnerships.

But I never believe it is really about work. Most times, you are taking yourself too seriously. Possibly, you have a new title or you have added a new degree. Interestingly, those things do not matter when you are running your shop. People judge your business in the value they get and not the degrees you have. If they hire you and within 48 hours no one can reach you on emergency because you are busy, that would be the last contract.

Croatia is a very small country. It is a country of about 4.2 million people (think of Greater Ikeja in Lagos). Yet, it has booked a ticket to the Final of the World Cup. Its players and flag would grace almanacs across nations where football remains a religion and sports. What they have accomplished is mind-blowing. In the world of technology, it was like the young Google in late 1990s going after Yahoo on search. The difference here is that sports is an ephemeral endeavor with no gross margin. But make no mistake: there is nothing that endures in any generation like when legends make histories in sports. When I visited Greece for a conference, many knew Nigeria because of sports and specifically Nigeria’s 1994 World Cup squad.

The fascinating achievement of Croatia should teach us a big lesson in business: building and nurturing teams matter. Except Ivan Perišic (Inter) and Mario Mandžukic (Juventus), I did not know of any other player in the Croatian national squad before this competition. These men came to play, and with commitment and dedication, they have reached the zenith of their professions. The coaches brought them together and executed a mission.

From companies to nations, those that answer great missions typically shape everything. But sometimes they do pay severe personal penalties. At different levels, a Call to Mission requires extremely committed people. Even in your business, you must have that capacity to find and recruit people that can help you execute a great mission. You must prepare them. Equip them. And push them to come and get glory.

Go back to your business. Check how you can build a team with what you have. There may not be Ronaldo or Messi. But you have people. It works for nations across sectors and industries. America continues its mission of technological advancement. China is doing just that also. Croatia has shown that even in sports, a nation can pick 11 men from a population of 4.2 million to win at least a silver medal when some with excess of 100 million barely qualify. Simply, if people commit to something, they have a chance to achieve.

Croatia will play France on Sunday for the Gold; they would look good on the medal stage. They have done well and would possibly expand the number of countries that have won the World Cup. France had experienced that glory before; Croatia will want to complete this Mission. It would be good they do it, though I have predicted that France will win this.