WHAT MAKES A BRAND SOLID? PEOPLE.
1. People.
The quality of people involved with a brand from the founder to the management team, team members/employees will ultimately shape what the brand becomes.
What you can do.
a) Work on yourself. Don’t be an obstinate entrepreneur or executive. Provide quality leadership. We helped a client recruit and onboard a team of smart young people but they are ALL on the verge of exiting because the Boss makes the work environment very toxic.
b) Profile your desired team. Determine the kind of team you want to build and the kind of persons who will best fit into the team in terms of experience, character and all other essential qualities.
c) Position your brand rightly. Put the necessary things in place to attract, onboard, and retain the right persons for the brand. Your brand should also be appealing and inspiring to employees, not just customers. Sell your brand to the people you want to build it.
d) Provide growth opportunities. If the quality of your team will grow, then you must take training and growth seriously. You can organize in-house training and also engage external trainers. Give responsibilities to team members, so they can learn and grow.
e) Provide mentorship. If you are a small business or startup, chances are that most of your people will be millennials. For you to get the best out of them, you have to mentor them and help them navigate their path to success.
f) Set guidelines. Decide the direction you want for the brand and set the guidelines for every team member to align. Everything that matters to the brand and cannot be compromised, spell it out clearly.
This is why as a brand consulting agency, we also work closely with Clients on talent recruitment and development. We work with a lot of young people and in the process, we prime them for whatever brand they may get involved with.
Building profitable and reputable BRANDS is what we love doing. Let’s help you build yours.
More lessons coming on what makes a solid brand.
TIPS ON CREATING WORK LIFE BALANCE
For most people, creating stability in all spheres of life comes to them with ease, but for others it is a daunting task and the end result is worrisome.
For those struggling with finding work-life balance, be assured that you are not in this alone.
Balance is your ability to gain stability and fulfillment and if you are unable to create a balance, you stand the risk of having constant health issues, frequent exhaustion, financial loss, steady stress, and the feeling of underachievement.
For your sanity, productivity, health and clarity we have come up with these tips to help you achieve a work-life balance.
- The first step is to figure out who you are, your values, your goals (work, relationship, spiritual, financial, and so on).
- Track your time by prioritizing and keeping a log book.
- Create a “you” time.
- Leave work back in the office
- Take out time for outdoor activities
- Constantly do a self-evaluation exercise
- Read articles on other subject matters beyond work
- Attend social events or just hangout
Being a workaholic is counterproductive in the long run, but finding balance boosts your productivity eventually.
Empower your team members with this knowledge to get best from them.
#DoBusinessBetter
We could help you improve your employee relations to boost productivity while minimizing staff turnover. Send an email to wecare@mapemond.com
EMPLOYEE INSIGHT: “HARDWORK IS THE KEY TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY”- EZEUGWA GERRARD
Beyond working and earning monthly salary, there is a deeper desire for most workers, which is Self-sufficiency. Most people aspire to live above insufficient funds, daily toil, and tirelessly strive to attain a certain level of financial freedom. When the desire for self-sufficiency is not attained, dissatisfaction creeps in and then work becomes a tedious monotonous act.
This week’s guest, Ezeugwa Gerrard, strongly believes that self-sufficiency comes through one means, deliberate and consistent hard work. To drive his point home, Gerrard shared some personal experiences during his interview. Brace yourself as we get to know more about this young driven man.
CAREER TRAJECTORY
Ezeugwa Gerrard, is a Software Engineer who specializes in building software, developing websites and deploying them. “I write programs in modern programming languages and I maintain best practice in all that I do,” he emphasized.
Having made critical changes along his career path, Gerrard is not your regular kind of worker. He has courageously explored different career options all in different industries. “I had series of changes in my career. From the Oil and Gas sector to Banking Sector then finally Information Technology, the journey has been breathtaking and eventful.”
Gerrard indicated that he had no initial plan to divert from his course of study to his present profession. “I mean I never set out to be a Software Engineer. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Gas Engineering but today, here I am.”
He went further to express his thoughts concerning academic pursuit, indicating that the school environment served as a platform for self-discovery. “I feel going to college was just a mere certification exercise that laid the foundation for self-discovery. I feel I went to school just to find out who I am, my strengths, weaknesses and what I can do happily even without income.”
From his exposure, Gerrard now views the workplace as a school that facilitates all round personal growth. “Working is a school. It teaches you how to grow and do that very fast. You learn time management, personal development amongst others.”
He explained further giving an instance of an experience that stood out for him with focus on the lessons he has learnt from it, “For example, last year I worked in a Nigerian multinational bank. My most remarkable experience here thought me how to be patient. The most discouraging task involved parsing and rearranging business files that could sometimes take weeks to complete. I took the job just to fund my dream of working as a Software Engineer. I did not give up. I knew it was just a phase.”
Gerrard shared some tremendous ways his job has enriched his personality, “Working has given me the opportunity to understand the individual differences that exist among people and how to manage them. It has made me patient, more bold, outspoken and emotionally intelligent. I now know how to patiently and intelligently work my way to the top while leveraging the various situations I find myself.”
Financial wise, working has made Gerrard fiercer in his pursuit for self-sufficiency. He indicated that he has become more cautious in his choice of activities in order to earn more income. “Work has made me self-sufficient. It has also given me the ability to be of assistance to those who genuinely need assistance. I mean no one wants to be a liability, or stay around a liability.
It made me a purpose driven person. I am now time cautious and every activity I indulge in has to be a money maker else I abandon it.”
He also mentioned some benefits that accompanies his job. “On my current job, I
became a full time staff within a short space of time. Free lunch,
accommodation on request, and others are my benefits. Since then my growth
trajectory has been on the y-axis.”
Gerrard shared some of his challenges with underpayment topping the list. Nevertheless, he proposes that working regardless of poor remuneration was better than being idle. “Remuneration is very poor. Opportunity for employee growth is also very poor, but I am patient because I have a goal. I know where I am going. I cannot say because the job pays a penny, then I sit back at home like a King, waiting for manna from heaven. God will bless the works of our hands, but when he sends his angels down to come and bless us, what does he find us doing? selling groundnuts? working in a construction site? or relaxing like the Sultan of Sokoto at home?”
Despite the disadvantages of his job, Gerrard remains optimistic about the future. “I’m blessed. A better move is on the cards and soon, the whole story will change. The story of poor remuneration and opportunity for growth will become history,” he said.
Gerrard admitted he has several side hustles which gives him some level of sustenance. “I have side hustles. I do quite a lot to keep my pockets friendly all the time. Most times I end up earning triple the amount I earn in my work place.”
Backing his reason for relying on other sources of income, Gerrard said, “As a young person starting out life, I learnt that hard work is the key to self-sufficiency and satisfaction. Hard work truly pays. If I depend solely on my work place earnings, it will not fund most of the courses I take for personal development. I mean, I have to grow, and do that very fast.”
Gerrard sternly admonished young career beginners on the need to scout for or create opportunities for themselves as against the watching and waiting attitude. “Don’t stay at home. Go out there and do something. Learn a trade or volunteer at events. Opportunities don’t come by staying at home but they come when you step out and get involved, meet people and learn new things.”
He advised that they start with the available jobs in their reach while they continue to aspire for the bigger paying jobs. “It is a common trend today where young people hold out for the job with the perfect pay, rejecting potential life changing offers along the way. The perfect job will most likely not come. Time is of the essence to any purpose driven person. Take that job, build yourself from there and move when its time. Do not sit back comfortably like all is alright. It might be too late when you realize your mistake.”
What is your route to self-sufficiency? Would you rather sit and wait for the ideal job or would you be a goal getter like Gerrard and make things happen?
Written by Jennifer Chioma Amadi
Are you looking towards recruiting a solid team? We have got you covered. Reach out to us at wecare@mapemond.com
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UNVOICED PERSPECTIVE: BREAK OR BUILD WITH WORDS
“Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”- Benjamin Franklin
An unknown tool instrumental to the growth of a business, which most employers and employees fail to recognise, is spoken words. Many times, the words we speak might seem inconsequential to us to the point we fail to pay attention to what we say. We frequently underestimate the power of our words both to ourselves and to our colleagues at work.
In some corporate firms, a boss or senior staff uses the name-calling approach towards a junior staff to address an offense or a mistake. In addition, colleagues exchange hurtful words. “You must be blind not to have seen this mistake!” “Only idiots make lame moves like this,” “fool, leave my office”, there are endless examples that could be cited to show the unpleasant attitude displayed in the workplace. All these are termed ways of expressing oneself, in the process ignoring the other person’s feelings.
Some people brag about being vocal and therefore believe they have the right to lash out irrespective of who is involved. Never does it cross their minds to examine the weight of their words and the aftermath. In the end, there are a lot of many bruised emotions and disconnected people in the work environment.
When people are disconnected, there is a nosedive in productivity. It is important to note that words can either make or mar and even destroy professional relationships. No client would appreciate having abusive workers execute their job. This makes the work toxic and less efficient.
The opening quote made by one of the founding fathers of America, Benjamin Franklin, explicitly suggest how best to speak at every point in time regardless of how we feel. Benjamin Franklin obviously must have worked with all types of people with different characters. Yet in the midst of them, he learned a better way to handle human relationship. This is what we often refer as emotional intelligence.
Unlike Franklin, in our present time, many leaders of organisations have not quite understood how to relate excellently which has been a major flaw on their part. Knowing that the words you say to your team could either encourage or discourage them, more of them may become cautious with their choice of words.
Employees are not exempted. They too must learn to control their words and speak right. The organisation functions better when everyone has a knowledge of what is acceptable and what is not. Proper communication between people within the workspace should be included as part of the work ethics of any organisation. This way everyone shares the responsibility of building the company.
Written by Jennifer Chioma Amadi
Would you like to run a training on emotional intelligence for your organisation? We’ve got you covered! Send us an email at wecare@mapemond.com
DO BUSINESS BETTER!
When we understand that words could either
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