Working Smart

Tick says the clock, tick tick. What you have to do, do quick.

My first month as an entrepreneur has been quite interesting.
From dealing with diverse kinds of customers to attending top level meetings business, conducting recruitment exercises and so much more.

A lot of the skills I had acquired over the years not only saved me from blunders but helped in making my work, more productive.
My greatest challenge was staffing.
In fact, I had no personnel to work with or to delegate tasks to.

I had to relay on my internet connection, laptop, smart phone and my note pad.
Try using the below tips, it just might help improve your work efficiency.

(1) Take notes:
Every single meeting, idea, pending tasks etc was written down,
This helped me to be more organized. I was really overwhelmed with work at some point and putting down tasks helped me sort out things in an hierarchical order of importance.
As I resolved each task, I ticked it off and moved to the next till my daily task was completed.

(2) Be Mobile:
40% of my work was done on the move.
I had to attend meetings, got stuck in traffic and so much more.
The implication of this was that I had to rely on my mobile phone to send emails, follow-up on pendings, transfer funds and so much more.
This typified the term, "working smart".

(3) Time Management:
Trust me, the concept of multi-tasking is not an efficient way of getting things done.
The best way of accomplishing work is through "crunching".
This time management skill is such that you allocate a period of time to accomplishing certain tasks in you busy schedule or notepad..
For instance, devoting 1hr to finish on yesterdays pending, reading up an agreement or organizing a list of meetings in a particular location so you can attend to most (if  not all).

These applied skills not only rewarded me financially, but they made me more efficient.
I currently recruited some passionate staff and I look forward to an even rewarding future.

Till we meet again, keep winning.

Twitter: @MrChiaka

The Winner In You: Who Am I?

The Winner In You: Who Am I?: "Man, know thyself!' - Greek Proverb I have recently launched into the entrepreneurial market and this has caused me to r...

Who Am I?

"Man, know thyself!'- Greek Proverb

I have recently launched into the entrepreneurial market and this has caused me to reflect greatly on my life and times.

It just struck me that I have been helping Multinationals in starting-up certain segments of their corporate structures.

Permit me to give you a run down of what I have been doing since I got my Ba in the University since 2001:

My NYSC was in 2003 in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state of south eastern Nigeria.

In 2005, I worked with British Airways town office in Lagos, Nigeria. I worked as a Check-in Agent and I was charged with the goal of migrating customers towards the use of online check-in.
Today, BA customers can now purchase tickets online, select seats, check-in online and fly.

In 2006, I was selected amongst a team of 6 to start up the Kenya-Airways office in Lagos, Nigeria. I was also in a select team of 3 that test run the migration of our old reservation system to a customized Altea-Amadeus application. I can remember clearly, the night we all kept watch as we watched over the smooth migration by our "techies" and kept tabs with Corporate Head Office personnel in Cameroon to see if all was going well. Those were interesting days indeed. It was also this year that I first traveled out of the country on a course.

Between October 2008-2010, I was sent out to pioneer a satellite church in Surulere and in 1 year we grew from 2-98 members. The church still stands even as I assist my Pastor today in a Group church in Eric Moore, Surulere, Lagos.

Also in September 2008, I joined a renowned Nigerian Bank. We were a 2 man team. My first task in this bank was drawing up an international & local travel budget for the 2009 financial year. This task can only be likened to what is called "the baptism of fire".

I had to liaise with the Technology team to spool expense reports, then I had to project what the expenditure for the new year would look like. The budget was not complete till I kept vigil (yes, I slept) in the office. It is my nature to get things done at all cost. I paid this price the next year also, till I got a hang of it. 

I had an amazing time in this bank as I had to come up with ways of keeping costs at its barest minimum (each year). In 2011, I designed a request system where staff could request for local air tickets and choose from over 82 hotels in Nigeria. This was epic. We were able to reduce travel cost by 22% bank wide and it earned me a promotion in 2012.

I got married to my heart throb (Rejoice) in 2010 and she has brought me un-imaginable grace from God plus 2 beautiful kids.

In 2013, I had to join the Bank's 24/7 call center and this was quite interesting. With my call center experience in the Aviation industry, it was easy to blend in. I came to terms with another side of this unique bank. With the millions of retail customers the bank was enlisting, came the challenge of managing account related issues. You see, the banking halls could no longer manage the crowd, so we had to push customers towards the use of e-channels. We were charged with the function of managing the vast array of Customers bearing in mind that each customer was unique and very important.

I resigned in June 2014 to jump start my own business.

I had to write this all down this down because, it dawned on me that if I could do all of this, then I can make a profitable difference in the travel and tour industry.

Funny thing is, I had been test running certain aspects of my business to see its profitability and the response was quite encouraging. Visit www.chronussolutions.org  for more on what I will be offering.
It may not be easy, but am sure its going to be worth it.

So lets go make that money!!!

Be inspired.

Till we meet again, keep winning.

Twitter: @MrChiaka

The Evolution of Change

"Change is the only constant thing in life" - Anonymous

The concept of change goes beyond terms and definitions. Its a driving force that is embedded in our very DNA's. Whether we like it or not, from the time we are born, the change effect kicks in. We cry, eat, excrete, stretch and grow.

This force governs everything we come in contact with. From our education, politics and even business. Our very syllabus is evolving. Previously established educational concepts and propounded theories et al are being changed. The worlds very socio-political landscapes are changing.

The rise of the middle class and the freedom of speech and association started the "arab spring" that culminated in the famous #Occupy movement.

I hear people in Nigeria complain that "talk" on the social media has no effect but I disagree. We did not have this level of freedom in the time of IBB and of course Abacha. Imagine the likes of Omojuwa & El Rufai talking this much and replicate the events of missing journalists and Saro Wiwa. Get my point?

The level of freedom to speak and associate has indeed changed. We saw it gradually ease off from the civil tenure of President Obasanjo all through to the advent of President Goodluck Jonathan. Remember the stand-off of the #OccupyNigeria campaign? Who would have thought that it was possible for the people of Nigeria to bring the economy of Nigeria to a standstill and stand up to its President at the same time?

Change has hit the Nigerian business scene. From the reduced prices of GSM telecommunication, to competitive internet services. Now, we can see a rise in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) firms. People can now search the web, get new ideas for their businesses, advertise through facebook and other social media channels and even work from home.

Even the banks are not left out of change. The CBN's initiative under Gov Lamido Sanusi has reduced the excess cash flow in the economy and helped drive the use of cashless alternatives. The international economic community have even accepted our payment cards for cross border trade.

What this means is that, I can sit in the comfort of my home, login to my internet, purchase items from far away, US, London or even China, pay with my bank's Master or Visa card and have my items delivered to my home.

Now, to refuse to accept change will be our greatest undoing. Not to embrace the freedom of the social media to air our views will be to do ourselves a great evil.

Refuse to be left behind. That phone  (Black Berry, Samsung, Apple, Techno etc) is not just for talking. You can connect to the world, air your views and even trade. So don't just stay there. "Get cracking". Get internet access and hit the world wide web (www).

Search the web, find out new ways of doing business. Get an education and above all, add value.

I look forward from hearing your views after reading this piece.

Till we meet again, keep winning.

Twitter: @MrChiaka

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