Tag: Relationships

The Societal Imperative

While reading The Real Warren Buffet by James O’Loughlin, I encountered the concept of the “institutional imperative” as espoused by Warren Buffet. Contained in one of Buffet’s shareholders’ letter, he defined the concept as “the tendency of executives to mindlessly imitate the behaviour of their peers, no matter how foolish it may be to do so”. Months after reading that particular section, I encountered a scene that made me recall Buffet’s words. Continue reading “The Societal Imperative” →

Three Weddings and a Town

What do you do when three friends send you invitations to attend their wedding ceremonies holding on the same day? Decide on one to attend, right? What if the three ceremonies are holding in the same town? Would you still play favourites? What if one person was a leader at your undergraduate fellowship (marrying another former fellowship executive), one was your undergraduate classmate (marrying a “classmate” from civil engineering), and the other was a work colleague that served at the same organisation during your national service year? You now see my conundrum when three friends invited me to Ile-Ife, home of my undergraduate alma mater. Continue reading “Three Weddings and a Town” →

Death and the Anger Thereof

For almost a month, I have stayed away from writing any articles, trying so hard to stay in the shadows. If you read my somewhat philosophical New Year’s Day article, you may have looked into the mind of a person considering the possibility of a new operating principle. However, some things have the zest to fall even the best-arranged stack of cards.

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Biafra and the Knifing Calls

In recent times, the Nigerian polity has been flooded with secession calls by Nnamdi Kanu’s organisation, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Kanu’s request has been quite clear: take a knife, carve out Nigeria’s “Biafra region” and let it become an independent nation. In the midst of debates on what areas constitute the requested Biafra, secession calls have also come from other parts of the country. Apparently, many persons are tired of Nigeria’s present composition and feel a divorce is the best way forward. Continue reading “Biafra and the Knifing Calls” →

Another Lateness-triggered Rant

A quote attributed to Shakespeare says “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” If Shakespeare had lived in contemporary times, I may have been inclined to believe this quote may have been inspired by an encounter with chronic latecomers. Google “African time” and the results would show a shameful habit that has become accepted by many Africans, especially those from the country called Nigeria.

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To My Dad, For the Thanks I Fail to Say

Today, 18 June 2017 is recognised in several countries as “Father’s Day”. In a world where a substantial number of children now grow up with their mothers as single parents, the role of fathers has never been more critical. There are people with the natural ability to deliver semen and whose semen have found a way to fertilise a female’s egg, and there are others who have not just delivered semen but have helped to nurture the resulting new life. However, while demonising the former, society has failed to recognise the sacrifices of the latter group. Continue reading “To My Dad, For the Thanks I Fail to Say” →

An Introspection on Team Synergy

The American poet, Mattie Stepanek, once wrote that “Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved”. A look at books and articles pondering on productivity management shows that “the difference between success and failure is a great team”. Many authors and speakers reiterate the importance of teamwork in driving productivity, yet many persons find themselves in teams where the total output is less than the summation of individual inputs. I was recently involved in a team project and feel I should discuss some of the attributes that made that team outstanding.

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