Category: Short Thoughts (Page 2 of 3)

Effective Leadership

July 23, 2022 / David Alade

Leadership has always been dear to my heart. Can’t remember how that grew but I know it has always been there.

The first attempt I made at bringing people together far back in the University was when I created a group on Leadership. It was after I have taken a course on edX on Inclusive Leadership (also the first course I ever took after discovering the beauty of MOOCs).

When I join any organisation, the first thing I am looking to understand is also Leadership. How do they lead? What kind of examples do they set? What sort of behaviour do they incentivise? and so on.

It matters greatly because humans thrive and fall based on the quality of the Leadership that guides them. Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to witness some of the finest Leadership. And often, I wonder if I will ever match them, yes they are the finest. I also never shy away from asking them about their mindset to understand why they can lead finely.

I got a few of those this week that I love and it resonates.

1. Be yourself ( granted that you are fundamentally not broken)
2. Trust your team and
3. Know your people beyond work.

I find those 3 awesome because when I look back, it summarises a bunch of what I have observed in a lot of those I admire.

The most subjective is #1, it’s why I added the clause as well. But it also drives home an important point that if you are not a good person yourself, it will be hard to be a great leader. It also means different people will do leadership differently and that’s okay. As long as it helps achieve the goal and sets people up for success.

Important to add here that being a great leader doesn’t mean everyone has to like you. No! And your goal should never be to be liked. That’s a journey you don’t want to embark on. Rather, your focus should be on bringing the best out of your people, giving them a sense of purpose (building something bigger than them), and delivering on your core responsibilities. Otherwise, everyone will go home if they can’t deliver.

The End Is Greater Than The Beginning

June 19, 2022 / David Alade

The end of a thing is greater than the beginning.

It doesn’t matter the measure of energy you put at the beginning if the end is not pleasant.

It doesn’t matter the amount of enthusiasm you show at the beginning if you did not see it through.

A slow steady effort that ensures you finish is worthier than the hurricane enthusiasm that didn’t get you through to the end.

The end matters most.

Don’t store things in your brain

June 18, 2022 / David Alade

Nearly everyone has an interesting idea in their head. And we willl all like it better if we can generate more ideas, develop more solutions and become more creative.

The path to that however, usually involves freeing up the brain’s capacity to operate at an optimum level. But not everyone is ready to do the simple task of freeing up the brain.

The brain is a great tool for creativity and creation. But a very bad tool for storing. Unfortunately, we all tend to want to use it for both. And since storing tends to take more capacity, it prioritizes storing over creation. Hence, we generate lesser ideas, solutions and create lesser things.

The ONLY way to free up the brain’s capacity is to write things down compulsively. And as my friend, Ephraim said metaphorically, a simple jotting down your to-do list can free up to terabytes of capacity from the brain. Now imagine what capacity you can have if you don’t have to use your brain for storage at all.

I wonder if this also explains why the invention of writing was at the forefront of human creations and advancement.

Write down more things.

Give Yourself A Honest Feedback

May 30, 2022 / David Alade

Often, we ask others for their honest assessment of us. That’s noble and good as well. However, we are often the best judge of ourselves if we do enough retrospection.

We are the only one that knows the truth about what we are doing, what we are thinking and who we are (including when no one is looking).

However, because it is difficult for you to understand a system of which you are part, we tend to use others as a proxy for understanding ourselves (the system).

While others are a good proxy, they aren’t the only or necessarily the best proxy. Our introspection is.

Introspection is how we exit the system and observe it as objectively as we want. And it is only through introspection that we can examine our true selves.

Wining 40% > Winning 100%

May 23, 2022 / David Alade

Let me share something I learned from Gary Vaynerchuk (Vee) that I can’t seem to get off my head with you.

Never go about life aiming to win 10 of 10 attempts.
Rather, go about life to win 40 of 100 attempts. The secret here is more attempts, more shots, more iteration.

The former person is someone that sees failure in life’s journey as a bug. The latter embrace failure as part of the journey.

Over-optimization against failure is a futile attempt that keeps your back to the ground and perpetuates you in your comfort zone of zero growth.

Failure isn’t fun nor is it something to start looking around for. However, if you look for success well enough, failure is equally guaranteed to find you. Embrace such failure that you find on your way to success. They are good.

The most important lessons I will be taking away from my 20s

May 19, 2022 / David Alade

One of the most important lessons I will be taking away from my 20s will be “just keep showing up”

As the common saying goes, “if you stay long enough at a barbershop, you will soon get your haircut.”

Nearly all the good things that we desire in life require us to just keep showing up.

It’s tough letting go of the future but you have to let go

February 8, 2022 / David Alade

This is a personal story. But I have also spoken to a lot of people enough to know I’m not alone in the boat. That’s why I’m sharing my personal story. To help at least one person out there.

When I joined PwC a few years ago, it was only a matter of time before I started wondering about what the future holds for me. I worried a lot that it affected my mental health and ability to focus at work.

My worry was about where I will work when I leave PwC? What role will I have? How much will I earn? What skills do I need to develop ahead of time for that role? And many more of sorts.

When I finally left, not one of the ideas I had in mind played out. I grossly underrated the universe of possibility before me. What mattered in the end and what made the difference was doing a great job where I was then and then. Focusing on doing the best job possible. That was what got me an offer in the UK from Nigeria, not all the worries I had leading up to that time.

I used to worry about how to have a great network in the future. All the worry also didn’t matter and I doubt they would ever matter. So far, what has mattered has been focusing on the moment. Being as helpful to as many as I could.

I used to think about how I would get a beautiful wife. The one with whom I will be aligned with and we can journey this world together. On that as well, not one of those worries of the future mattered. Being in the moment and making the most of it was more important.

I used to worry about finances. About events that are even yet to arrive. But a time came when I needed to finance a project. One way or another I crossed the bridge.

It’s incredibly tough to let go of the future. But we have to let go of it. Just as yesterday took care of itself. Tomorrow will take care of itself as well. Today is our only responsibility. Take care of today. Make the most of it. That’s what can ensure that the dreams of the future will come true. Not one inch of the worries for the future counts.

Few lessons I learned along the way

February 8, 2022 / David Alade

My steps have been ordered to discover some secrets of the universe. I have applied them, watched others apply them and I have seen them always work. Well, they aren’t much of a secret because they all lie in plain sight.

A lot of people struggle with the question of what they should do. I found my answer in this verse. Do all things. Yes, all. There is no magic to finding it out. If you are searching, do all that interests you. You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigour. Follow the impulses of your heart. If something looks good to you, pursue it. – Ecclesiastes 11:9 MSG

Life should start out saying a lot of yeses… then with the passage of time, more clarity, and focus, you have to grow your number of nos. I used to say yes to everything that comes my way. I still say a lot of yeses today because I’m yet to arrive. Now my list of nos has been growing as well. The way that tends to work out is beautiful to behold. Start with a lot of yeses and then increase the nos with time. Don’t reverse the equation. You won’t be young forever.

Curiosity is not rated enough. It kills the cat but it liberates and gives life to the human mind. Curiosity is the fuel for growth and the oil of sustainability. It allows you to discover new territories and empowers you to gain dominion in those territories.

Embrace failure. A common question I like to ask anyone who wants to have an interesting life is how many times have they failed in the past and on how many things have they failed? I don’t know how you can have an interesting life without a lot of failed attempts. Remember what I shared on optimising your life for interesting stories. Failure is a feature then and not a bug, I concluded. I want to fail more.

Note, your failure should not come out of a bad work ethic. That’s not for us. It should come because you are too early, you tried all you can, you went to all lengths possible… Simply put, failure should be an inevitable one.

Take responsibility. It is so easy to shift responsibility especially if you are someone who has or knows a lot of “village people”. But come off it, my friend. It’s time you look beyond all those and start seeing yourself as being responsible for everything in your life. And even if it’s crystal clear that you are not responsible, still take responsibility. You will be amazed at how much that will accelerate your life to the desired destination.

God’s delight is hiding things. Human glory lies in searching things out. This was a revelation that I am still grateful until today for discovering. I doubled down on searching for knowledge and insights since I learnt this fact and the more things I search out the more the universe unveils itself to me. Crowned with glory. Learn to go down the rabbit hole.

How the world works. All attempts to build an aeroplane failed until some people understood better how the world works. And we wouldn’t even be where we are today until we learnt the laws of nature in physics, biology, and all else. The knowledge of how the world works will give anyone who has it an unfair advantage.

Be in haste to work to put food on your table. After that, put on the garment of patience towards the work of your hands. Because haste is not good for this business of life. Compounding is the rule of the world. And my friend, it takes time for results to show. You can’t hurry the sunrise no matter how hard you try.

Humans have all sorts of problems. But the most unsettling one is their inability to predict the future. Nearly all humans will withstand all forms of adversity. If they knew with certainty that at the end of the adversity, they will have the kind of end they desire. Faith is what gives that “certain knowledge”. I don’t dismiss faith, I live by it. It is nearly impossible to live without faith.

Let people be glad they know you

January 24, 2022 / David Alade

Before we talk about how you can become the kind of person people are glad to know, let’s talk about something else.

Do you know anyone right now and you consider it a blessing to know that person? Why would you consider it so?

Probably because the person is helpful to you.
Probably because the person is resourceful.
Probably because the person is kind.
Probably because the person always comes through for you.
Probably because the person is useful.

Whatever it is, we can summarise it as the person is valuable to you and others that you are aware of.

So how can you be the person people are glad to know? Be a valuable person to them.

Unlimited Choice Leads To No Commitment

January 23, 2022 / David Alade

The first time I heard about this idea was from a Ted talk titled “the paradox of choice“. Over the years, I’ve observed the idea to be not only true but also permeating.

I’ve been meaning to work on a project now but not even started it let alone complete it. Why? Because I have different options as to which direction to take.

And guess what? Instead of picking a direction, I am evaluating which direction will offer a perfect result. And one month is gone, yet, not a start nor a completion.

On the contrary, if my choice was one, as a minimum, I would have started. That is even if it is not completed yet.

We all go through this. And the only way around it is to build the restrictions in our life and plans. Even if they are not there by default. Restrictions are good. Unlimited choice leads to no commitment.

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