Going From Nothing To Something

image: ndmonline.org

I had a chat with a big man yesterday. He is a briton who has headed multinational companies in Nigeria since the 1970s. He was to interview me for a consulting role in a company he now serves as a non-executive director. It ended up being a very friendly chat.

After we discussed the business I was to do for them and how long it would take as it was a project I had to deliver, we talked about other things. I asked him how the Nigerian business space had changed since the 1970s. He was really generous with his reply and told me a lot I learned from. Because of his management/head role in the companies he worked for he knew on a personal level so many of the big shots in Nigeria then. He said it's now their children running the shows now.

In his reply to another of my question, he mentioned how important it is for people to grow from nothing to something. That when leaders are hand picked based on criteria other than competence and experience, it causes a lot of issues for everyone. And that stood out for me.

Don't just plan to go from nothing to something, rather plan to GROW from nothing to something. It is the best way to go from nothing to something.

It got me re-evaluating my life. Maybe, I am doing great then. I am growing everyday and encountering new opportunities. It was even how I got referred for the consulting role. Everyday I feel myself growing and in the direction I want to head. And hopefully, into the someone I want to become.

I also learned that relationships/contacts matter. Even if its just a passing, hi-hi relationship. The more the faces that recognize you, the better your success story will be. So I guess I will have to re-start attending professional events and networking events where I will be sure to meet new faces. Hopefully, it will hasten my nothing to something.