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The MBA seminar got me more tired than I projected with questions flying from various quarters: I suddenly realized that everyone desires to increase their productivity but almost everyone goes through it the wrong way. Is it an expansion in business? Is it a promotion at the workplace? Do you want to improve your work ethic? Do you desire to pray more? Whatever you plan to do more in, you would definitely need a new eye in order to achieve this.

 

 

Let me start by making a distinction between struggle and endurance. According to Encarta dictionary, struggle is trying very hard to deal with a challenge, problem, or difficulty while endurance is the ability or power to bear prolonged exertion, pain, or hardship. The circumstance is the same for both elements (struggle and endurance) but one element shows an ability to go though the difficult times of your life.

 

 

I mentioned in my earlier write-ups (The Sun Comes Down, God’s Time, Friends Time, Stop Struggling and Turning the other CHEEK) that hard times are necessary for reformation; you cannot change your set attitudes and believes without going through the necessary pains accompanied with the night seasons of your life. How you go through it is crucial to your success; whether you are going to struggle or endure? Struggling is like kicking against the stone while endurance is leads to salvation. Your level of endurance depends on what you see.

 

 

In fact, what you see determines if you are either struggling or enduring. If you venture into any project without seeing the benefit of the end product, you would struggle through the challenges of the project but once you can see the benefit of the end project, it’s a done deal. This is why most times we need a fresh new eye to see in order to transit the challenges that accompany any good thing in life.

 

 

In a consulting session, a cat fish farmer complained bitterly to me about his inability to expand his business due to lack of funds. He told me a list of banks he has approached in order to fulfill this desire without much luck. I told him that he did not need more money to expand his business, he only needed a new eye; you can never grow your business more than what you can see. Pouring more money without getting a new set of eyes is a dysfunctional approach.

 

 

So I asked the usual routine question; “Why do you want to expand?” His answer to this question brought the solution: “I have huge demand but I cannot supply them”. “Wow, this was the best position any business man can be in”. He nodded in agreement to my last statement but still did not understand where the solution was without injecting more funds. So I asked him further questions like why customers prefer him instead of other farmers and he confirmed my notion.  

 

 

I gave him two solutions:

 

1.  Change your producer paradigm to a marketing paradigm; he did not need to produce more fish but collaborate with other fish farmers to sell more fish. You would make the producers and customers happy by being the middleman whilst getting your margin. There was however an initial resistance to this solution stating that other farmers had enough customers. Right in his presence, I called two fish farmers who were looking for customers to clear their products.

2.  If customers loved his product so much and complained about his inability to meet their demand. He simply needed to collect money upfront to guarantee their demand. He could use this upfront money to supply his customers whilst expanding with his own capital.

 

 

There was excitement in his face, he could not believe it; I had saved him so much grief and cost by just giving him a new eye. If you are interested in getting a new eye this worker’s day holiday – Friday, May 1^st, 2009, join me to listen to seasoned entrepreneurs and executives at THE PLATFORM with the theme; “Changing the Dynamics of Labor”. Time is 8 am prompt @ the Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan Lagos. It is absolutely FREE. There would be six sessions with six of the following speakers:

 

 

Tonye Patrick Cole is Managing Director of Sahara Group. In 1996, Mr. Cole and his two partners founded Sahara Energy Resource Limited, an oil and gas trading company with diversified businesses in storage and vessel ownership as well as upstream exploration assets. Sahara is spearheading the Local Content Initiative through a strategic alliance partnership with GE Oil and Gas.

 

 

Marshawn Evans is Founder of ME Unlimited (Marshawn Evans Unlimited), a corporate life-enrichment consulting firm focusing on peak performance and maximizing potential. she is also Owner and President of EDGE 3M Sports & Entertainment – a brand management firm responsible for elevating the profile of elite entertainers and athletes in the NBA, NFL, WNBA, and Major League Baseball. Her successes in the classroom and the courtroom took her to the infamous boardroom as one of Donald Trump’s handpicked cast members on NBC’s hit show “THE APPRENTICE.” As Miss District of Columbia, she finished 3rd runner-up at the Miss America Competition winning talent and interview.

 

 

Leke Alder is principal of Alder Consulting, an ideas, strategy and brand consulting firm based in Lagos, Nigeria with a subsidiary in London. Leke Alder has consulted on policy and politics at the highest levels and for the Federal Government of Nigeria. He has advised the Federal Ministries of Information & Communication, Education, Foreign Affairs, as well as Solid Minerals Development, amongst others. On the corporate front, Leke Alder consults for the leading lights in financial services, oil and gas, telecoms, IT and professional services. Alder Consulting is credited with introducing branding as a discipline in Nigeria. The firm pioneered a number of initiatives in Nigeria including the Alder Brand Report, the first ever industry wide brand research report card on brands in Nigeria.

 

 

Dr. Boyce Watkins is one of the most highly sought after African-American scholars in the world. Specializing in financial psychology, educational motivation, and black social commentary, Dr. Watkins has presented his message to millions, making regular appearances on CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, ABC News, BET, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Black Enterprise Magazine and many more national media outlets. Dr. Watkins’ research at Syracuse University is world renown and has been cited by a slew of national print media, including USA Today, Forbes Magazine, Essence Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. Dr. Watkins is a world-leading authority in Finance and Investing. In his fifth and most recent book, “Financial Lovemaking 101 – Merging assets with your partner in ways that feel good”, Dr. Watkins explains why millions of couples destroy their relationships with financially questionable choices. His test for FIV, the Financial Irresponsibility Virus, is one of many creative techniques used to get American couples to talk about money.

 

 

Fenorris Pearson is currently the Vice-President of Global Consumer Innovation and Global Capability Group, Dell Inc. Fenorris has responsibilities for over 300 employees globally located in Europe, Asia, and Americas. Fenorris and his innovation team is charged with defining the next big idea that produces a product or service that disrupts the competitive landscape for the Consumer Business at Dell Inc., with a goal of accelerating revenue by billions of dollars. Prior to joining Dell Inc. Fenorris was Vice-President of Global Organizational Development for Motorola, Inc. Motorola, Inc. is a Fortune 50 global company with revenues over $40 Billion. As an avid Philanthropist, Fenorris is currently serving on three boards: Alonzo Mourning Charities located in Miami, FL, Imagine Schools of Central Texas located in Austin, TX, SIFE: Students In Free Enterprise.

 

 

He discovered a unique passion for brain research and quantum physics as they relate to achieving success in business and life. For more than 25 years, John has studied the internal driving forces that create happiness and success at all levels. He knows what drives people, what inspires them and what it really takes to transform them from the inside out. John brings this critical insight to your audience or organization in a way that is immediately relevant, applicable and measurable. John will provide the tools necessary for any audience listening to him to break free from old habits, beliefs and ideas that keep them stuck at current levels of success or failure. An internationally recognized entrepreneur and student of brain research, John specializes in peak-performance thinking and behavior, and shares his innovative, unique and powerful principles with enthusiastic audiences around the globe.

 

 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK! You can follow my daily activities by clicking http://twitter.com/dipotepede and clicking the JOIN TODAY BUTTON. Ciao…..