Thirst for Success

Success does not come to everybody but to only those that yearn and work for it. However, the way and manner at which we classify success differ. To some, success is measured by how money they have in your bank account while to others, success is the degree of accomplishment they attain on personal and/or organisational pedestal.

Leadership Traits You Need to Thrive in Tough Times!

Trying to grow your business in this sluggish economy is a little like trying to swim through Jell-O. Ineffective or uncertain leaders definitely need not apply.

So what does it take to lead a small business through this ongoing economic mess? The blogosphere is humming with ideas lately. Here's a roundup of the important traits for entrepreneurs in 2012:

1.Listen. Tune in to what workers and customers are saying, and you'll find great ideas for how to move forward.

2.Give credit. Workers love leaders who acknowledge their ideas.

3.Be yourself. In our age of sound bites and phony smiles, tell your story honestly. It's rare and refreshing, and makes workers feel like they know you -- and want to help you succeed.

4.Communicate. So much company dysfunction can be prevented with clear communication. Otherwise, workers are in the dark. And soon, they won't care.

5.Don't be trendy. Avoid the "strategy du jour" problem. Choose a course and stick to it.

6.Beat anxiety. Stop worrying and turn your negative emotions -- regret, fear, sadness -- into teachers that help shape your character.

7.Be service-oriented. Leaders can be sort of self-involved, forgetting that they are in a position of leadership. To serve customers, shareholders and workers stay focused on others.

8.Be accountable. Define the results you want, and acknowledge when a screw-up is your fault.

9.Use empathy. Demographic changes have foisted more and more women into the workplace. Make sure your communication and leadership style is a fit for today's workforce.

10.Share the big picture. If your workers don't know the company's overall goals, it can be hard for them to solve problems. That leaves you having to micromanage every problem instead of being able to delegate and offer guidance.

11.Keep your cool. The days when being a screamer worked are long gone. If workers are worried about whether you're in a good mood today or not, little gets done.

12.Think like an immigrant. When you arrive on new shores, you often see the business world with fresh eyes. Use your unique perspective to spot opportunities others are missing.

Culled from AFRICA BUSINESS FORUM CONSORTIUM.

The Efficient & Effective Leader

Who is a Leader? (Matthew 20:25-28)
In His instructions to His disciples on how they were to lead, Jesus sent a clear message to all those who would follow Him that leadership was to be first and foremost an act of service. Therefore it is correct to say that a leader is a servant. A glorified servant!

From His command, two points are cardinal. One, a good leader must be a genuine follower of Christ. Second, there is no exception to His command. As we all know, whatever or wherever we are in life, we are always at the middle. Today, you are leaders with vast followers, but you are all followers of another leader who is the ultimate. As Christian leaders, we must follow Jesus as our ultimate leader.
The truly exciting part of following Jesus is that He never sends you into any situation with a faulty plan or plan to fail.

What are the expectations from a Leader? (Titus 1:7-14)
If I should ask people that are here present, there will be array of expectations from our leaders. Apart from the fact that humans are Oliver Twist who always want more, leaders have the responsibilities of meeting some set goals even from moral point of view. According to the scriptures that we just read, the following are expected from leaders:
a) He must not be arrogant
b) He must not be a drunkard
c) He must not be greedy for gain
d) He must be hospitable i.e. approachable
e) He must be a lover of good
f) He must have self control
g) He must be upright i.e. a man or woman of integrity
h) He must be holy
i) He must be disciplined

Hmmm…discipline! This is the biggest of all. This is because if you are not disciplined it may be difficult for you serve the master Jesus diligently in the first place. For instance, it is easy for a disciplined brethren to accept Christ faster that a person who is undisciplined.

Other expectation is Commitment, that is a leader must at all times show
• Commitment to increasing knowledge of Jesus Christ
• Commitment to the body of Christ
• Commitment to proffering solutions to needs of the Church
• Commitment to the well-being of his followers
• Commitment to the Church’s vision and values

As a leader in the body of Christ, what is your role to the society at large?
Inasmuch as we dwell in this world, we have salient role(s) to play in the society at large. The onus is on you to evangelise the goodness of God to the society by your lifestyle. Being ambassadors of Christ here on earth, you are required to propagate the gospel by your virtues as leaders. The Bible in Matthew 7:16 states that “By their fruits we shall know them. Therefore, be of good fruit to the society.

Challenges facing Leadership in the 21st Century
Challenges facing Leadership in the 21st Century are numerous and insurmountable. Among them are:
1) Dealing with and accomplishing a mission with uncommitted people
2) The need to establish a clear sense of purpose and direction
3) Selection of right and merited people to carry on the work
4) Training, development and delegation issues
5) Constant conflicting demands on time, energy and resources
6) Fierce competition (inside and outside the Church)
7) Turnover, betrayal, and lack of understanding by friends and family
8) Constant scrutiny and challenges of commitment and integrity
9) Temptations of instant gratification, recognition and misuse of power
10) Effective handling of criticisms, rejection, distractions and opposition.

Frankly speaking, the above challenges make the art of leadership burdensome. Less wonder it is often said that “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”. Nevertheless, it is an easy task when you align yourself with the biblical norms of leadership. According to Roman 12:2, you should no longer conform to your old ways; you should rather be transformed by renewing your mind. It is important for you to know that leadership is a matter of the heart, head and hands. When you put these three to work, you can handle even the tempest challenges such as gratification, recognition and applause.

It is important for you to note that as you enter into this season of leadership, the quality of your service will be a direct result of your spiritual preparation. In other words, you have to be prepared. Study the words of God often, read books on the subject of leadership. There are inspirational authors such as John C. Maxwell, Ken Blanchard, Brian Tracy, Warren Blank, Warren Bennis, Max DePree, Stephen Covey and so on.

As a leader in the 21st Century, you are required to play both visionary role and implementation role by doing the right thing and doing things right, hence you are an Efficient and Effective leader.

‘Segun-Martins Ogunyemi, is a professional accountant, brand and management consultant. He is the Founder/President of JUST Leadership Foundation (an online-based leadership network).

Leadership Challenges in the 21st Century

When the word leadership is mentioned challenges which is otherwise known as responsibilities are vast and synonymous.

I want to welcome you all to the new world. If it seems that leading means striving, running as fast as you can and grappling with new issues every day, you are not alone. Leading effectively in the face of today's fundamental challenges requires greater skill, courage and integrity than ever before.

Being Plain...

Why complain; why explain...

Being plain means your life is explicit and devoid of ambiguity. I often ask, why do people have to always complain or explain when they can be simply plain. I have heard people saying they are hard nut to crack. Huh?! That's not virtue in anyway. Leaders and winners alike always Keep It Simple and Short (KISS)!

Africa that I know...

Africa that I know has strength, vigour and capabilities in all ramifications. Why are we belittling ourselves? Cultivating inner awareness, introspection and reasoning can be more effective than meditation and prayer. We lived greater part of our years as apologetic creatures who do more of prayers than working. I mean structural and intellectual works that imbibe promotion and growth.

We often subject ourselves to neurotic subservience before the Western world. It's high time Africa re-told its story. Enough of pictures of crying starving babies to get aid. What is the essence of celebrating annually Malaria Day, AIDS Day, Tuberculosis Day...?

These mediocrity must stop! We need to show our progress and successes.

THRIVE BEYOND SUBSIDY

The fuel pump price increase that greeted Nigerians on January 1st 2012 has made us almost forgotten the euphoria of New Year. It’s in fact a leap year! In reality, the hike in prices has come to stay hence we need to brace up to the task of making our little (in economic perspective) income count. As individual and/or business owners enormous challenges beckon in 2012. At this critical time or times ahead, information is key!

The road to abundance and prosperity starts in your own mind. Many people believe that government policies and their impact will help them to succeed. Many feel that subsidy on every commodity in the land will make things better. Do not forget that life itself is built on the concept of ‘give and take’. When government gives you succor in one hand (e.g. subsidy), it impoverishes you in the other (e.g. tax).
Still others maintained status quo of blaming the economy, taxes, the removal of subsidy on Petrol Motor Spirit (PMS) and countless other factors which are beyond the control of most people.

While all of these issues do have an impact on our collective abundance and prosperity, they are all inconsequential compared to the most important factor of all your focus. Energy flows to where attention goes. What you focus on has the greatest impact on your abundance and prosperity. Now more than ever, it’s important to realize that YOU and YOU ALONE hold the keys to your financial success.
In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter what happens in the Senate, House of Representatives, Aso Rock or any place else. The only thing that matters is what happens inside of YOU.

The fact is, you can still make money and enjoy a wonderful lifestyle regardless of what’s happening in the economy. All it takes is focus, simple knowledge, and realizing how powerful and resourceful you really are.

Sadly, many people relinquish their personal power by inadvertently giving it to other people, institutions and the government.

Personal power is also dissipated when we listen to the news, especially political and economic news, most of which have been terrible lately. Please note! I’m not saying to ignore economic and political news. That would be irresponsible.
But what I am saying is to not let it sour your entire outlook on what is and isn’t possible financially. According to Loesje “99.99% of what happens is not on the news.”
For many people, bad economic news is a self-fulfilling prophesy. It gives them an excuse to complain and be negative instead of being positive and focusing on opportunities to succeed.
Here are tips for thriving in times like this:

1 - Start Your Own Business
I’ve been urging and showing people (even here) how to start their own businesses for a very long time. It does not matter whether you are having a salaried job, start part-time business in the area of your utmost interest.

If one of your goals in life is to achieve material wealth and financial independence, one of the quickest and surest ways to achieve those results is through owning a business of your own. Period!

Owning a thriving and profitable business beats investing and speculating in the stock market.

It teaches patience and money sense: two qualities needed to make a fortune. If you already have a business, make it better by engaging in strategic thinking.

By taking advantage of tough time to think strategically, you can spot new opportunities you didn’t think you had. This includes tapping new markets, launching new products, streamlining operations and countless other growth-oriented maneuvers.

In effect, this will open a new stream of income for you.

2 - Pay Close Attention to What You Think and Say
During tough times, it’s easy to get into the habit of thinking negative thoughts, criticize and making negative comments, especially when the mass media makes it easy for you to do so.

Constantly thinking and talking negatively will only serve to bring you down. And it affects everyone around you. Before you know it, you’ll end up in one of those self-fulfilling prophecies mentioned earlier.

Stay informed, but don’t keep repeating what you hear on the news. Remember, energy flows to where attention goes.

Monitor your thoughts and speech at all costs. According to Frank Outlaw…
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny”.

By focusing on the positive, you’ll also do wonders for your creative thinking which allows you to come up with solutions to your problems. It also allows you to see new opportunities.

3 – Practise Frugality
In other words, take a sharp axe to your expenses. Tighten up your spending pattern. Not too many people like to talk about this, but if you want to thrive during uncertain economic times, it may be the perfect time to take a serious look at every single one of your personal expenditures.

Actually, this is good practice at ANY time, regardless of how much or how little money you have.

George Clason said and I quote “Do not confuse needs with wants. All are burdened with more desires than they can gratify.” This may be contrary to what prosperity teachers would teach you. It is a principle – you either maximize your income or minimize your expenses; or better still achieve both. Mind you, reducing your expenses does not mean that you don’t have enough money. I believe it tells the world that you are smart enough to handle more money.

Watch and moderate your spending on recharging phones, home Internet, running generators and cars; and boost your savings. Common! ‘tis doable.

4 - Stay Employable
Are you saying that I am contradicting myself? Nah nah…far from it. Inasmuch some of us even majority are still in salaried employment we still have to address this subject matter. Believe me, the uncertain moments may force businesses to downsize as we sail into the year proper. There’s no such thing as guaranteed employment anymore, but keeping your skills on the leading edge will go a long way toward staying as employable as possible. Within the ambit of your income, engage in courses and programmes that will add value to your career. At very least, make sure you're reading the latest books and leading blogs in your field.

However, a well-conceived personal business is always the last resort to keep you going when other doors are shut.

5 - Count Your Blessings Not Your Problems
If you really take stock of all the things you do have in your life, I bet you will be amazed.

Too often people focus on what’s missing in their lives and as a result, they ignore the riches they do have; like a great family, a loving spouse, wonderful children, fantastic pets, loyal friends, and a wonderful ideas-driven group like JUST Leadership Foundation. Do you know that that freedom you possess to think, act and relate is a blessing? In the affirmative, it is!

Focusing on your blessings will cause you to feel grateful. In the words of Charles Dickens “Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

And when you feel grateful, you create a shift in your thinking from the negative to the positive.

Being positive opens the doorway to your mind. Only when its open, can opportunity can jump in.

Your Financial Destiny is in Your Own Hands. Grab it!

‘Segun-Martins Ogunyemi, is a professional accountant, brand and management consultant. He is the Principal Consultant of Pro Logic Ideas Consulting, Nigeria.