Happy New year(2014)

HAPPY 2014

BOOK OF THE MONTH-Nigeria Of My Dream,by Sam Adeyemi

Nigeria of my Dream by Sam Adeyemi, first published in 2010 is due for a reprint.  This pithy volume, 117 pages in all, is the answer to a nation in distress; and one confronted with many questions, of moral, ethical, leadership, patriotic, tolerance and power and resources sharing dimensions. It is an x-ray of the many problems of Nigeria.

 

This hardly utopic book is most propitious.  It singularly seeks to address how best Nigerians can overcome their self-doubt, their lethargic if not non-existent patriotism, their seeming intolerance of each other based of differing tribes, and overall, how indeed, to bring about the aspirations and dreams of greatness that Nigerians covet for their country.

 

Nigeria of my Dream falls clearly under the genre and broad rubric of national re-orientation --an academic and virtual reality exercise that is not totally alien to Nigerians and their leaders.

 

Sam Adeyemi postulates that just as there is an ‘America Dream,’ there could also be the ‘Nigerian Dream,’ either singularly or collectively.   This, though, will not happen except if each citizen is patriotic and seek to be the best in their respective areas of enterprise regardless of their standing in the community.  Read differently, the book speaks power to the truth about the need for the political will to transform the nation and lead it to path of greatness. Hence, as Adeyemi suggests, the aim of the book is to “inspire you to dream and create a country of your dream.”

 

Nigeria of my Dream is also a clarion call to “stir you to aspire for excellence because that is our destiny.”  Sam Adeyemi notes the numerous challenges confronting Nigeria and encapsulates it with this example: “Nigeria is like an aircraft that seats 150 million people who have not decided on the destination of their flight” (p16). Noting that a key challenge to Nigerians and their advancement is “poverty of the mind,” he asserts that “many of the things we consider luxuries in Nigeria are necessities, which can be enjoyed by the average citizen. We are suffering indignities unnecessarily” (p21). 

 

Furthermore, Adeyemi points to the continued lack of “Vision” both in the leaders and the followers as a national bane.  He notes that Nigerians blame and trusts everything to God, overlooking their shortcomings and lack of visions. He contends in that context that “Vision reveals the gap between your potential and your reality, and that motivates you to change your circumstances” (p33).

 

Invariably, Nigeria of my Dream grapples with various ideas that Nigerians seem to overlook but must inevitably address in the course of nation building and “in order to have an orderly society.”  These include “lack of value for life”; the need to “change some of our beliefs and value system”; “mould people with entrepreneurial spirit – inventors and job creators, not just job seekers” and becoming “change agents and history makers.”  Adeyemi is of the view that when these goals and disposition are attained, Nigerians can ultimately say, “I’m proud to be a Nigerian” without sounding glib or hypocritical.  Indeed, “I’m proud to be a Nigerian” a phrase not commonly heard from Nigerians, is a singular refrain that runs through the entire volume, which lays the blame of the trouble with Nigeria on the leaders and followers in equal shares.

 

Nigeria of my Dream points to the different strands of Nigeria’s misplaced priorities both in public and privates lives, as well and in the public and private sectors. Adeyemi notes for instance that it is now the norm that “we spend more on the dead than on the living” (p40).  Of our failing high school and university students and those youths who do not have access to education or employment, he notes: “They are a time-bomb for this country if we do not program them for success in adult life” (p117).

 

Nigeria of my Dream is encyclopaedic despite its size, proving that good things come in small packages. The volume is part philosophy, part proselytization, part civic education and part cultural reorientation.  Adeyemi point to the many follies and foibles Nigerians are well known for, while mapping out what the nation’s national priorities ought to be.  

 

Nigeria of my Dream belongs to every secondary school classroom in Nigeria and indeed, to every home and library.  In this introspective and retrospective noble exertion, Sam Adeyemi offers a broad rendition on Nigeria’s past, present, and prospective paradoxes.   In the end, however, two questions remain:  Who will bell the cat? And who will lead Nigeria to the Promised Land?

5 Winning Leadership Qualities-A Leader Should Have Strength of Character.

 According to John C. Maxwell, author of Leadership 101 and Developing the Leaders around You, the first thing to look for in any kind of leader or potential leader is strength of character. “I have found nothing more important than this quality,” he said.

First, we need to define character. D. L. Moody said, “Character is what you are in the dark.” What Moody meant by this is that character is what you really are when no one is looking, not the cover-up that you allow others to see. Character is what guides your actions and produces the words you speak. Character is your unique identity, your personality, the sum total of your individual characteristics.

Character can be good or bad. Strength of character refers to the strong and good character. A person strong in character is someone who stands for what is right, who has the “backbone” to express and live out his convictions.

What are the qualities that make up good character? These include honesty, integrity, devotion, self-discipline, determination, dependability, perseverance, conscientiousness, patience, and a strong work ethic. A person with right character does what he says, and says what he does. His reputation is solid. He respects himself, his family, and his nation.

As there is no perfect person in the world, all of us lack a few strong qualities mentioned above. It should not be ignored for, according to Maxwell, serious character flaws will eventually make a leader ineffective – every time.

Hence, if you notice any of the following characteristics and behaviour's below, you might be losing your potential to be an effective leader:
- not being able to do the tasks given to you
- undone obligations and broken promises
- not taking responsibility for your actions
- failure to meet deadlines and making tons of excuses
- being oversensitive to criticisms and comments

Start taking control of your actions and develop the right strength of character. Although character flaws cannot be changed overnight, it can be changed through right practice and attitude

  Bringing Out that Strong Character in You

You don’t want to be the weak link that will disentangle the chain that binds your team, do you? Being the leader, you should be the one with the strong character that your people would imitate. Be their role model and show them who the real boss is!

1. Believe in yourself. Before you expect anybody else to believe in you, you should be the first person to believe in who you are and in what you can do. Look at and see yourself the way you want others to see you. If you want others to respect you, learn to respect yourself. If you want others to love you, love yourself first. Focus on the things you do well and try to develop those you are not good at.

2. Engage in training. Practice makes perfect. Even if you think it is helpless for you to possess a quality you never really have, by constantly engaging yourself in situations necessary to observe such quality, you will eventually realize that you are slowly achieving it. For instance, if you know you lack patience (but since patience is needed to strengthen your character and you need to develop it), exercise it by falling in long lines, waiting to be served in restaurants, etc.

3. Develop mental toughness. No one can lead without getting criticisms or without facing discouragement from other people. A potential leader needs mental toughness for such threatening situations. A tough-minded leader sees things as they are and knows how to adjust when needed. Ask authorized persons to criticize your work constantly. Treat criticisms as constructive, and learn from mistakes. Never be oversensitive.

4. Follow right examples. Even leaders need a model. Get to know people with strong qualities. Make friends and blend with them. When you have chosen a person who possesses something you always wanted to have, you will emulate what he is doing in order to be like him.

5. Display integrity. Leaders must possess qualities such as honesty, uprightness, and trustworthiness before others will follow them. Warren Bennis says qualities that establish trust are competence, constancy, caring, candor, and congruity, which he defines as authenticity, reliability, and feeling comfortable with oneself.

To learn to assess your integrity, actively seek feedback from other people, whether they are friends, co-workers, and even employees, to determine your work attitude. Know whether your values and sense of responsibility coincide with expectations from you.
www.ncrier.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/NCrier
www.facebook.com/neicr
+2348189698012

Entrepreneurship: What It Takes to Be a Successful Entrepreneur!

Some say Entrepreneurs are born. Others say they are self-made.

Throughout history, Entrepreneurs are the ones who have forged new paths for others to follow.

Sometimes, they can fail.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison

 

 

 

And the lessons they learned made them stronger.

Entrepreneurs push past road blocks to turn challenges into opportunities.

They do not make excuses.

“Only the ones with buckets of cash succeed.”

Fact: Less than 1% of Entrepreneurs come from rich families

They are not limited to just the privileged or experienced.

Born to an unwed teenage mother, Oprah Winfrey lived with her grandmother, while her mother went North to look for work.

 

Entrepreneurs take ownership. In fact, they create ownership!

An Entrepreneur is a dreamer. They take what others believe cannot be done and do it anyway.

They are not limited by anything but their innovation and passion.

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs

 

An Entrepreneur’s performance is measured not just by the wealth they create, but by the people who follow them and how they inspire & engage them.

To make their vision a reality. Entrepreneurs create value where none existed before.

“Some people have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.” W. R. Whitney

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T. S. Eliot

 

Entrepreneurship is: Visionary, Innovator , Motivator, Communicator, Facilitator, Orchestrator, and Wealth Creator.

 

Do you have what it takes to be a Successful Entrepreneur?

 

Share your thought on what it takes with us and others, we want to make it more interactive this time.

Reply in this format: Yes!. I have what it takes, and what you think it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep it rolling

Enjoy your day!

www.facebook.com/neicr
www.twitter.com/NCrier

 

STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING CHANGE IN YOUR COMPANY

1.      Confront reality

2.      Be prepared to address all of the issues that may need to be changed or re-engineered to implement best practices in your company

3.      Focus your company’s resources on fixing problems that will provide the greatest payback

4.      Be realistic about the scope of change that can be achieved with your company’s resources

5.      Use Client-Centered communication skills to build the understanding and  the consensus that you need to implement best practices throughout your company

6.      Develop a compelling case for implementing  best practices and obtain senior management’s mandate to implement those changes

7.      Use objectives and key result to help you develop an action plan for each best practices that you plan to implement

8.      Use feedback from your customers to help your company refine its sales and marketing processes

9.      Be honest about deploying whatever resources are necessary to implement best practices in your company

10.   Build diversity within your company.

Mind Of An Entrepreneur

 

  

 

If you are still convince the entrepreneurial life is for you, then you can’t do better than to follow the sage advice of super-entrepreneur Meshulam Riklis, chairman of the $2.4billion Rapid America Corporation, whose counsel is “be stupid, be crazy, be naïve, and be lazy”:

“Be stupid enough to think what you want is attainable”.
“Be crazy enough to give every bit of your energy to what you want to attain…crazy enough not to stop when people throw stones at you (a moving target is harder to hit!)”.
“Be naïve enough to understand that you can’t take it all with you, so share with others as you go along”.
“Be lazy enough to find someone else to do the work. You must have time to sit back and think”.

Book of The Month-May 2013;by Keith Harrell .ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

Overview
In the world of motivational speakers, Keith Harrell is a star. Keith is one of the most in demand speakers on the circuit. Now, in Attitude is Everything, he shares the secrets that got him where he is today and provides you with a program for developing a healthier, happier attitude. This is an enlightening, inspiring, and practical guide for gaining control of your career and your life by ridding yourself of negative attitudinal baggage, building positive attitudes, and then turning them into actions to help you achieve your dreams. Now along with Harrell's The Attitude is Everything Workbook, you will have all the tools for developing and maintaining a powerful positive attitude in order to get ahead in life.Enjoy!

Book of the Month;by Michael LeBoeuf

                                                                     Overview

A powerhouse, a classic." —James B. Patterson*, bestselling novelist and former Chairman and Creative Director of J. Walter Thompson, U.S.A., Inc.

"An invaluable, easy-to-follow blueprint for winning, serving and keeping customers...This book is a must for any business." —Jere W. Thompson, President and CEO, The Southland Corporation

Michael LeBoeuf, one of the nation's foremost business consultants, presents a hard-hitting, action-ready rewards-and-incentives program for creating a winning sales team. This classic no-nonsense guide is completely revised and updated for today's computer-driven world. It contains everything you need to know about successful selling and—most important of all—how to win customers for life.

A hard-hitting, action-ready rewards-and-incentives program for creating a winning sales team, written by one of the nation's foremost business consultants.

Model to structure your company marketing plan

Acronym:S.O.S.T.A.C

S-Situation Analysis(where are you now?)

O-Objectives(what do you want to achieve?)

S-Strategy(how are you going to get there?)

T-Tactics(what are the details of the strategy?)

A-Actions(who is going to do what and by when?)

C-Control(how are you going to measure SUCCESS?)

A survey on "why customer quit" found the following....

3% move away

5% develop other friendships

9% leave for competitive reasons

14% are dissatisfied with the product

68% quit because of an attitude of indifference towards the customer by the owner, manager or some employee.

follow us on twitter: @Ncrier

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/neicr

Interview Session With Jesse Omoghene

Ncrier: Good morning Jesse Images. It’s a pleasure to have us interview you

Ans:  You are welcome. It’s a pleasure having you too.   

Ncrier: Could you please un-mask yourself. Who are you?

Ans:  I was raised by a single mum who instilled Discipline into me and my younger ones. That helped me to get focused early in life. I had my secondary school at Alimosho Grammar School in Lagos. As a child I discovered I just love to draw consistently, I thank God for my mum been a creative person too, she encouraged me all the way by getting me the necessary materials needed. This passion grew with me, at some point as a child; I had an interview with Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) on a program they called speak out. That even triggered the desire and passion to continue in art. I also represented my school Alimosho Grammar School, in several art competitions including Lions club art competition.  After my secondary school, I knew obviously that anything outside art as a career would be a mistake; my mum have always encouraged us to pursue anything we have interest and passion for. While I awaited admission into university, I went on apprenticeship under an artist where I learnt several things and basically where my confidence grew.  Finally I gained admission into Yaba College of Technology to study Art in 2005. Our first drawing class assignment got me the spot light, as my drawing was one of the best three chosen. Then the lecturer assigned other students to these three people to always show them through anytime we had his class. I visited the HND class regularly to see them paint and I asked loads of questions which contributed to the fearless approach I use in painting. I so loved and enjoy it as an artist, it was fun, and all I had in mind was how I can become a better artist. Photography began to beckon on me as I do say to myself –way back then when I see a painting, I see some painting look like a picture and some pictures I see a painting. It became a food for thought.  My mum got me an entry level toy professional camera at that time after she took me to a photographer  (an uncle) who gave her  a bill she wasn’t expecting, then she bought me the camera to practice on my own, knowing that I will get better with time. I kept practicing also with tips and words of encouragement from a renowned Nigerian documentary photographer Abraham Onoriode Oghobase. While practicing, I took some pictures with touch lights and different devices with light that got even me asking if it’s a painting or a photograph, the only thing that made me believe it’s a picture, is because I took the shot (laughing).  In 2007, Nokia organized a photography competition tagged ‘Nokia expression’ and introduced it to some polytechnics and universities in Nigeria; my school inclusive. i had no intension of participating as I thought  my pictures were not in line with the theme.  I was persuaded by my colleagues to submit the pictures I had with me on the day entries close. We were so much that registered, been one of the last set of people to submit my entry, I saw the serial number of entries, we were in hundreds. I was contacted two weeks after that day that I have been selected as one of the nine people selected to represent my school. This was where I met with the ‘God sent man’, one of the judges Kelechi  Amadi-Obi who told me in person that he liked my entry. Funny enough I didn’t know who he was when I met him till after the whole meeting when my neighbors exclaimed and told me who he is/was. Luckily for me, it was around my Industrial Attachment (I.T) period, I dashed down to Kelechi’s studio and he gave a task to be delivered the next day, which I did and he liked it and accepted me, I was a novice to the professional terms in photography and I knew nothing about editing, but in two months during my I.T., I began to teach the person teaching me editing, as I wasn’t close to the boss himself,  Kelechi  got to see the stuffs I did and he moved me to his side to watch him work, we connected so well as he is also an artist. That’s how my photography began to gain shape and direction.   

Ncrier: Akerele is a prominent name in Lagos-Nigeria, how on earth did you come about the name

Ans: (laughing)……Well, my mums maiden name is Akerele , she has contributed immensely in my life, so to honour her, I added her name to mine. However I am from Delta State 

Ncrier: H ow old are you?

Ans; You mean my age .hum, X+1=?   …….Laughing

Ncrier: now that you are living your dream as the creative director of Jesse images. How did the whole thing start?

Ans: It’s not so easy starting up and getting established.  But I do believe every great thing started small. Money wasn’t my focus when it all started, I was doing it all for fun, so I find myself doing lots of free stuffs for people all to learn on their job and see how I can satisfy them both in art and photography and move on to the next one.  At some point I compared what I was giving people for free or close to free to what the professionals gave and I saw my work fitting into that class also. Peoples’ response, reaction, demand and comments about my work, made me realize it’s time to begin something and that’s how Jesse Images started.

Ncrier: sometime last year on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/neicr) we posted a comment of you not leaving the circumference of the studio (from Photography studio-to Art studio-to Music studio) how true is that and how have you being able to strike a balance to keep focus.

Ans:  Well that’s true been multi-talented if not handled with care by the carrier, can lead to frustration. I had always sung normally, it is the second talent I developed. I use to make all manner of sound with my voice, I could imitate cartoon characters and animal sounds so this made people call me all sort of names in secondary school, names such as cartoon, Mickey Mouse, akuko (cock).  When I discovered my voice needed some fine tuning to sing like a professional, I began to pattern my singing with the likes of Boys 2 Men. Even in the midst of all this, my zeal to drawing wasn’t affected; I was just having maximum fun. During my first year in school in 2005, I had sleepless nights as I was asking myself what exactly do I want to do. I sing, I did comedy at that time too and I draw, can I really earn a living with art? I asked myself, should I have gone for music?.....it was a huge dilemma for me. One faithful day in church, the answer came. I looked at everything I know how to do and asked myself what’s that one thing that I can do that will carry everything I know how to do along? And photography came forth. I channeled all this various creative ability into my photography, then I came across TY.Bello (A Photographer and Musician) and I said to myself that I can still do my photography and music …yeeepiiiiii. I have also been to Orange academy for a course on advertising and branding, this also triggered the creativity in me, which is also channeled into photography. I sometimes help clients modify their ideas and concept or even generate ideas for them. I still paint when I am less busy and compose my songs also practice on the guitar, I intend having an exhibition with all of this (Paintings and photography).  This days, I have been coming across people who discovered their singing through mine and people who loved listening to me sing and were looking  up to me for more materials but they get disappointed when they discover I don’t do music. I was having a shoot with a music producer and his group some time in Nov.2012 and he heard me sing and said he would have said I missed my calling but my photography is “MAD”…in his words”. This is one of numerous comments, so I intend doing music just for the fun of it.

 

Ncrier: I followed you last year on NTN project fame, season 5; you didn’t make it to the top18 list. What happened?

Ans:  Well, I caused it myself with my choice of song. By the way, it’s a thing of chance and time. That’s if I have the time to try again, was just taking advantage of the opportunity.

Ncrier:  No doubt, you are a multi-talented man. How were you able to spot and develop it?

Ans: speaking about spotting it, I really was curious to know what talent I have but God helped me to discover my talent. Constantly doing what I enjoy doing grew into a talent I believe.

Ncrier:  What is the relationship between you and kelechi Amadi-Obi (creative director of Kelechi Amadi-Obi Studio)

Ans: Kelechi Amadi-Obi who I call Mr Kay. Is my boss, my friend, I respect him a whole lot, he took me as a friend, a colleague, even like his son, I will always mention him anywhere, anytime and any day to the world at large .

Ncrier:No dispute, in Nigeria, Africa and beyond Kelechi Amadi-Obi is a force to be reckon with in photography industry. As the creative director of Jesse images, what is your penetration strategy or blue ocean strategy against the sharks in your industry?

Ans:  It’s good to look up to established and well-grounded names such as K.A.O, and other established names. Apart from the fact that we offer creative photography services, One thing is to lookout for are the connectors, also marketing, but I think referrals work wonders , if we please one client, they go all out to spread the good news of working with you, and it keeps going and going, it’s like a chain you know. 

Ncrier: Can you give us a run-down of your company profile

JESSE IMAGES is one of the leading photography firm based in Lagos, offering professional world class photography to various corporate bodies in Nigeria and across Africa through classic images. We give our client corporate identity and recognition in highly competitive market, by communicating their uniqueness and quality through photographic and breath-taking images. 

 

OUR DRIVE

To better yesterday’s best: setting the pace, breaking the record.

OUR VALUES

Innovation

Creativity

Excellence

Promptness

Client-centered

 

Ncrier: what is your business focus?

Our services include:

§  INDUSTRIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

§  ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY

§  PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY

§  FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY

§  FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

§  ADVERTISING PHOTOGRAPHY

§  WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

§  CORPORATE PHOTOGRAHY

§  LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY

§  PORTRAITS/FAMILY PORTRAITS

Ncrier: you won the Nigeria photography award 2012.Category: Still Life. How did you feel when you were announced as the winner of that category?

Ans:  I was excited, really excited! My colleagues and students were so convinced on my behalf that I was collecting that category. I was so happy. A senior colleague in the industry discovered it was the only category I put in for, and I won it, he rated that 100 percent. But all Glory be to my God of Double portion.

Ncrier: I have seen kelechi Amadi-Obi before, he’s cool calm and collected, and so are you. Can you relate to us what you both share in common apart from the aforementioned trait and your differences

Ans: We do share certain things in common one of which is our background as artists, good sense of humor as well. One difference is he does not sing….(laughing).

Ncrier: every body’s work/brainchild has an identity with which they are tag and known. Is it true that people mistaken your work for kelechi’s work.

Ans:  It is said that every picture you see, the photographer saw it first. We are both artists obviously; he also had an influence in me. But when I think of an idea, he isn’t there, neither am I there when he does. I said to myself, if there were no K.A.O today I would be the first of his kind because when I started photography I had in mind the type of photography that would amaze people, I like my photographs to have that WOW! Factor. That had and will always be my drive.  I say this with all humility.

Ncrier: what is your cutting edge

Ans: Aiming at been different. It’s the extra that makes ordinary extra-ordinary.

Ncrier: Last year you organized a photography workshop tagged: Shoot me now. What is the brain behind the training?

Ans: I started out with photography with my toy professional camera using all sort of existing light such as torch lights, bulb light, sunlight, window light e.t.c.  To practice and it became child’s play to me when I got into studio photography. If I had waited till I got into the studio, I won’t have the confidence I have in and outside the studio. Images I made out of using window lights, torch lights e.t.c were the images presented to an oil company in port-Harcourt whose intension was to fly in a photographer from the UK. The white guys were amazed at the image, that was how we got that job. Imagine if I had nothing that would have passed me by. My point therefore is the moment you have a camera you have started, don’t wait till you get your lights or till you get a studio. Whatever you have to shoot is saying “Shoot me now”. 

Ncrier: did the training achieve its objective?

Ans: yes it did.

Ncrier: when is this year (2013) photography workshop: Shoot me now coming up

Ans: most likely august

Ncrier: Apparently, your focus is on photography. What about art and music

Ans:  They are not very active I assure you, am going into the studio to begin my recording soonest.

Ncrier: Who is your role model?

Ans: My spiritual father  Bishop David O. Oyedepo and Kelechi Amadi-Obi,  Taylor James when it comes to photography

Ncrier: what is your source of inspiration

Ans:  Anything inspires me, my environment, what I see, read, hear….anything, I keep an open mind.

Ncrier: Can you share some of your images with us

Ans: yes

Ncrier: Where do you see Jesse Images in 5 years from now?

Ans:  By the grace of God, I see jesse images becoming a house hold name. home and abroad.

Ncrier:Are you planning for any exhibition anytime soon

Ans: yes I am.

                                                       PICTURE GALLERY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesse Images Contact Details

website: www.jesseimages.com

             www.jesseimages.shutterchance.com

             www.flickr.com/photos/jesseimages

email: info@jesseimages.com

          jesseimages1@gmail.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/jesseimages

Mobile: +2348160172257