Student Center Archives - Page 4 of 6

March 7, 2013

Defining Success

By Tunde Oseni

Success is a relative term. It means different things to different people. Nevertheless, we all know successful people when we see them. According to The Pocket Oxford Dictionary (e-version), success means ‘accomplishment of an aim; favourable outcome; attainment of wealth, fame, or position’. People admire success and society rewards it. Simply, to me, success is what you achieve as a result of a calculated effort. This is what I mean: you succeed when you set a goal and meet it.

Let us begin with the story of a ‘skinny kid with a funny name’ who attempted to give life a shot with the hope that his country had a place for him too. Barack Obama overcame the stereotype of being born by a white mother, who later died of cancer, and a black father, who he truly never knew. He was raised by his maternal grandparents in Honolulu in the State of Hawaii and went to college with the full hope of making it despite odds. Barack studied Political Science at the Columbia University, worked as a ‘community organizer’ in the Southside of Chicago and went to read Law at Harvard University where he rose to become the first black President of the venerated Harvard Law Review. Barack then became an attorney, elected a state senator, appointed an adjunct professor, and then elected as a national senator, and eventually the first man of his skin colour to become the President of the United States of America. That is success.

Now, success is not just about becoming a president or a governor or being awarded a Nobel Laureate. Success comes in different garbs, colours and sizes. At times success may connote such a simple achievement as getting one’s dream job. For instance, one of my friends, Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr., now CEO of CFA Leverage, shared with us how elated he became after securing a job with Globacom Limited. He said he was hopeful that he would secure the employment despite the discouragement by many of his contemporaries who insisted that getting such a job with a big Telecoms required ‘connections’ and since my friend didn’t have one he would fail. He succeeded.

I believe that anybody can set a goal, make calculated effort, through organised planning and self-motivation, and reach that goal. It is however important to differentiate between good success and bad success. This may be a paradoxical way of looking at the concept of success. But we probably do need to classify some success as good and some as bad in order to separate what is truly glorifying from what is merely vain-glorious. Continue reading “Defining Success”

January 14, 2013

Don’t Give it, Go First and Receive Feedback

Individual like you and me originate actions that spice up life but being a ‘starter’ is not always fun. Going first can be risky because it frequently attracts criticism and judgment, and to many of us, that is enough reason not to take the lead.

Generally, we are giving feedback, judging, or criticizing or we are receiving feedback, being judged or being criticized. In order to achieve you full growth potential, you must find opportunities to both give and receive feedback or criticism. Giving feedback comes naturally; doing the thing that will place you at the receiving end, that is, going first doesn’t come naturally. Many of us work to avoid that. Continue reading “Don’t Give it, Go First and Receive Feedback”

January 9, 2013January 9, 2013

Before You Click That Mouse

Most people especially in the corporate ‘world’ are conversant with the quotation above in-part which concludes with: ”do a re-check”, or with any other grammartical structure suitable to the writer/speaker depending on its purpose cum contextual usage. Due to the advent of infotech and its consequential effect on our lives viz-a-viz business activities, hardly is there any corporate firm regardless of its size and module operandi that does not operate with the use of computers. Gone where the days when businesses runned on paperwork en-mass, conversely today, most information are stored, processed and saved in computers, making work easy and fast to execute.

As an employee, how do you handle tasks delegated to you by your boss or supervisor/s in the office. Take for instance, a boss briefing you to type a short memo for official use. Imagine you have a very short period of time at your disposal to act as instructed by your supervisor. Two possiblities exist; one, that you would quickly within the time left typesett the memo and then move swiftly as with a predating hyena to your supervisor’s office for submission, alternatively, you would type as fast as you can, then do a thorough re-check on what you typed to ensure that words, phrases, clauses and sentences wrongly typed are rectified. Sometimes, an experienced colleague may be contacted to help edit your work. Continue reading “Before You Click That Mouse”

January 6, 2013January 6, 2013

It’s Not Bad to Be an Outsider, After All.

I was reading the transcript of an interview done with Chrystia Freeland, the Editor of Thompson Reuters Digital on her book Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else. In that interview, Ms. Freeland said something that I found very interesting. She said:

“I think it’s quite helpful in having both an outsider’s perception of the world, which helps to see change, and maybe an outsider’s desire to succeed”

That’s a very powerful statement: an outsider’s perception to see change, and an outsider’s desire to succeed.

This is my brief commentary on her statement. If you’re part of a system, if you’re an insider, you see change as a threat; you’re comfortable with the status quo. But if you’re an outsider, you see change as an opportunity to profit, a chance to succeed, an opening to take a new position. Continue reading “It’s Not Bad to Be an Outsider, After All.”

December 23, 2012January 5, 2013

How Old Is Your Knowledge?

A couple of weeks ago I was with my mentor in his office. I went to him not to be lectured, but for a different purpose. As I was about to tell him my mission, a woman came in. This woman, apart from being a veterinary doctor, also holds a Ph.D. in Innovation and Technology Management. She wanted my mentor to drill her for the interview she was to have the next day. Without blinking an eye, my mentor, in his characteristic manner, immediately began to ask some questions on current affairs. At a point I was wondering why my mentor would be asking a Ph.D. holder such ridiculous questions. To my dismay, she could only answer 1 or 2 out of almost 15 questions she was asked. Continue reading “How Old Is Your Knowledge?”

September 29, 2012October 4, 2012

What You Should Never Compromise On While Building Your Career

Kathy Caprino

As a career coach to mid- and senior-level professionals, and in my former work as a therapist, I’ve come into contact with thousands of questions, concerns, mistakes and crossroads that emerge in people’s personal and professional lives. Observing the long arc of many careers, I’ve noticed that the worst missteps – the ones that make us feel deep pain, regret, sorrow and remorse – are mistakes reflecting what people have chosen to compromise on or to give up in order to be “successful.” These compromises don’t feel like “choices” at the time, but they are, and they lead to common crises and challenges that are disastrous for the individual.

Below are the top five things you should never compromise on while building your career (or you’ll regret it deeply):

Your Standards of Integrity

I view “standards of integrity” as core principles and values that guide our behavior. Integrity is a choice, and while it is influenced by a myriad of factors (your culture, upbringing, peer influences, etc.), it can’t be forced. (If it is, you have played a part in that.) One who has strong and well-defined standards of integrity behaves with wholeness, integration, honesty, and does right by himself/herself and by others. Standards of integrity involve values and virtues such as honesty, kindness, trust, wisdom, loyalty, transparency, objectivity, acceptance, openness, empathy, and graciousness. Continue reading “What You Should Never Compromise On While Building Your Career”

August 4, 2012August 4, 2012

How to Avoid Age Discrimination in Job Search

Employment discrimination based on age is illegal but the fact is that it exits. It’s it impossible to completely eradicate the problem with legislation. It therefore becomes the responsibility of the job applicant to avoid placing him or herself in harm’s way. Below are some steps to avoid being a victim of ageism.

Remove the date when you graduated from college or high school from your resume, especially those of you in your upper 40s and 50s. These dates don’t add anything to your accomplishments and only make you look old in the eyes of the hiring manager or interviewers.
Focus on job experience over the past 10 years, unless it’s really necessary to go back over 2 decade of experience. Why go back 25 years of experience unless you‘re the architect of the Yamuna Expressway.
Show that you’re up-to-date with technology, which a common stereotype associated with ageism.

You obviously wished discrimination based on age didn’t exist but we don’t live in perfect world. However Continue reading “How to Avoid Age Discrimination in Job Search”

July 4, 2012January 6, 2013

Take Risk on The Cheap: A Lesson on Decision Making

In the NLF (National Football League) draft, a player may be labeled as a risky pick for a particular team, while another player is rated as ‘High Value’ pick for another team. As I wrote in my earlier post, great General Managers don’t make decisions based solely on analysts’ ratings.

Analyst and pundits may call a player ‘too risky’ for a team based on circumstances at theme. Again, note that a player may be too risky for a 1^st round pick, but if that same player is available for a 6^th round, he may be a bargain. Sometimes, the breakthrough to success comes by simply grabbing the opportunity to take something which has become dirt cheap because of perceived risk. Continue reading “Take Risk on The Cheap: A Lesson on Decision Making”