Are you self-driven? The issue Every employer states that one of the qualities they need in a prospective employee is self-drive. Now all job seekers now indicate they are ‘self-driven’. As an employer, how do you assess whether a prospective employee is indeed self-driven? How to assess self-drive? The quality of the cover letter and CV of an applicant says a lot. Is the cover letter customized to the new job requirements? Does the cover letter demonstrate the applicants understanding of the organization, business model and gaps which the candidate feels they are the best people to close? Is the…
Tell your staff the ‘why?’
How many of your staff know why you have implemented internal control systems? Why do you require people to come early at work and sign in the attendance register? Why do you require staff to sign a form that makes them acknowledge having ‘received, read and understood’ respective policies and procedures? Why are visitors required to register at the reception their laptops model, serial number and color, if they visit your office carrying private laptops? Why are staff required to provide accountability for money when they return from a trip? Any company that implements controls and fails to explain why…
Are you the right person for the job?
Always ask the following questions to assess your relevancy to any organization you join. Whether it is a political office or board appointment, are you the right person for the job: What value in terms of skills, experience, and networks do I bring on the table? After my term in office, what organization achievements will be identified with me? Considering the nature of the organization and its competitive environment, which kind of leadership is needed and how do I help fix it? I am the best person for this role or I am just being rewarded by the appointing authority?…
We were lied to: we were trained not educated
Our teachers lied to us. Our parents lied to us. Our policymakers lied to us. Our government lied to us. We were trained, not educated. We the people were given the wrong education. This is one of the biggest frauds of all time. We were taught to cram and reproduce to pass exams. We worked hard to cram contents in all textbooks. During exams, we wrote and wrote and downloaded everything.  Some of us – the chief crammers, got distinctions and made our parents proud. Thanks to our good end of Term results, we were given holiday gifts and…
The good employee thinks like a business owner
A good employee understands how the business owner thinks. Any staff who does work and takes decisions in the best interests of the business and not their personal or staff interests has the right mindset to lead. In today’s faced-paced business environment, business owners want to work with potential business partners other than employees. They need leaders instead of followers. Whereas the majority of employees think about salary and small benefits, outlier staff think about looking for a business to make more money so that they may share profits. They are natural hunters as than cooks. They focus more on…
A bad staff thinks about salary increment amind business struggles
I have worked with many entrepreneurs and no single one of them likes an insensitive employee –someone who works in the company but lacks an understanding of the challenges at hand. No business owner wants staff who makes outrageous requests oblivious of the realities on the ground. One such example is what a restaurant owner confided in me about one of his top management staff, who is privy of the challenges the business was going through but went ahead to ask for a salary increment. Really! For emphasis: imagine an employee going to the business owner to ask for a…
