SEAP FOUNDATION: ‘ENTREPRENEURSHIP THE NEW GOLD (IN MARKING THE WORLD YOUTH SKILLS DAY)’ ~ INN Nigeria

As The World Marks Youth Skills Day, Ikorodu News Network INN joined The SEAP Foundation on a Webinar To Moderate on Empowering the youths in Lagos State on Entrepreneurship as it evolves in the 21st Century.

FIRST SPEAKER’S BACKGROUND

Tosin Ikuyinminu is a young communication savvy whose life mission is to partner and work with brands, businesses and individuals in telling their unique story via digital media giving the brand a unique voice that distinct it from being lost in the crowd of other brands using digital tools.

His passion for digital inclusion, corporate communication, digital marketing, business branding and youth development made him
start a brand development and digital media agency called HypeMan Africa.

After being selected among the top 11youths in Lagos State under The Ministry of Youth and Social Development, he was elected as The Lagos State Deputy Youth Ambassador for Lagos Division.

He is regarded as a thought leader when it comes to the subject matter of Digital Media and has been
recognized severally as one of Lagos State’s Young Brightest Minds.

So far he has been able to partner with some individuals and businesses helping them with brand management and social media content marketing via his agency.

If he is not caught up with too much work as a digital marketer, you would most likely find him always
training young people like himself on digital skills, some of which include; Digital Marketing,
Branding/Graphics Designing, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Copy writing etc.

Above all, he is a young man that strongly believes he has the capacity to shape the world better with perspective becoming a thought leader and a global voice.

EXCERPTS

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX IN THE 21st CENTURY BUSINESS WORLD By Tosin Ikuyinminu 

First let’s understand what the 21st Century is all about. What is Changing?
It is obvious a lot has changed within the past few years.

As we have evolved over the years from;

– Agricultural Economy
– Industrial Economy
– Information Economy
– Digital Economy.

1st Industrial Revolution
Agricultural Economy

These economy was driven based on the impact farming activities and livestock.

During this period the prove for wealth was literally based on the land capacity a man has for farming activities.

In fact those day, One of the key reasons our fathers married plenty wives and gave birth to many children was a strategy to increase farm produce.

Interestingly those days what determines how wise a man is will be dependent on the number of children he has.

2nd Industrial Revolution
Industrial Economy

These economy was driven base on industrialization. Everybody wanted to go to school be educated and source for a job because companies started to spring up all over the country.

During this period the only prove of human relevance was the school you went to, How educated you are and the company you work.
Then the pride of every parent was to send their children to school.

Until we later evolved into
3rd Industrial Revolution
Information Economy

These was where the economy was now driven base on competence, skill and knowledge.
On this economy what will determine the result you get is how knowledgeable and skilled you are. It is obvious we currently operate on this economy in Nigeria today. 

This is the reason why you have a large number of people apply for a job with good certifications and at the end of the day the company will still be looking for specific people with the core skills relevant for the job.

This is the reason why many motivational speakers will say.
“No be by certificate but na by Sabificate.”

4th Industrial Revolution
Digital Economy

Where everything is going digital.

Money/Currency, Business, Relationship, Communication etc.

Absolutely everything is going digital.

These has strongly influenced our habit in such as a way that, We literally want to achieve anything and everything in our room without moving an inch.
Interestingly this is the obvious route every business must follow to thrive in this changing times.
Few tips:

– You must consistently study human problems to sustain your business idea because in the digital economy things change in a faster pace than ever.

– You must consistently study and observe what platform is trending, be on the platform, explore and maximize them to get the results your business needs.

SECOND SPEAKER’S BACKGROUND

Bamgbade Ademola Olanrewaju, an indigene of Lagos State.

After acquiring his national diploma in Public Administration, he has worked as the administrative officer with The Deputy Speaker Lagos State House of Assembly office.

He was the winner Kwara State Institutions Debates 2018.

He was also recognized as Mr Public Administration Kwara State Polytechnic 2017.

He also gained recognition in The Royal Honors Award Ogun State 2019 in The
Political Icon Award of Association of Public Administration Students (Kwara State Polytechnic Chapter) 2019
The Polytechnic Award for Outstanding Performance 2020

He is an advocate of change, an extrovert in personality and a public speaker.

He is The Lagos State Youth Ambassador for 2019/2020.

EXCERPTS

INSIGHT TO BECOMING AN UNDER 30 CEO By Bamgbade Ademola Olanrewaju

The very first question that came through my mind is Who’s a CEO?
A chief executive officer, or just chief executive, is the most senior corporate, executive, or administrative officer in charge of managing an organization – especially an independent legal entity such as a company or nonprofit institution.

Now as youths that are ready to take the bull by its horn in the 21st century, we need to understand the following!
As a young person When you commit to being a CEO who envisions and upholds a holistic growth plan for your company, employees, and yourself, it leads to success personally and professionally for everyone who touches the business.
How can you be a CEO who ups the game when it comes to creating this holistic-success mindset?

1. You must be mission-driven
A clear vision is critical to business success, but is your entire team on-board with that mission? And does that mission align with their own personal missions?

It’s not as simple as saying ‘Here is what we need to do, now go do it.’ You must also define the why behind the action AND ensure that each individual employee has their personal ‘why’ defined as well.

If they aren’t invested in where the company is going, they will stall and drag performance down with them.

2. You should create a culture
As a CEO, one of your jobs is to create and uphold a culture that differentiates your company. A culture is more than just a cool office, flexible work hours, and beer at 4:00 on Fridays.

A culture is defined by the inherent values, energy, and actions that drive you and every team member to do their best work.

It’s a comprehensive spectrum of factors including goals, benefits, environment, rewards, tasks, respect,and personality traits that create a culture. Each employee must fit into and value these elements or they will hold you back.

3. You need to be realistic
Many CEOs come on board with guns blazing, ready to rock the boat and change the game. However, With change comes stress. With change comes shifts in workload.

With change comes different ideas on how to make it happen. This can create chaos in an organization.

If you want to be a great CEO you will set realistic and achievable expectations that don’t burn out, frustrate, or overwork your team to ensure they are fully functioning and happy.

While you want to be strategic and vision-focused, you must also be aware of what is happening in the trenches. You were there once too. Care for your employees and they will give you massive returns.

4. You must manage stress
When you or your team are stressed out, it leads to sick days, reduced productivity, relationship problems, moodiness, and many other issues. Stress isn’t something to be taken lightly. It impacts health-insurance costs, innovation, employee turnover and general engagement and happiness with your job.

Smart CEOs know that not only do they have to manage their own stress at work and at home, But they MUST implement structured training, resources, and benefits for their employees too. There is no one-size-fits-all stress solution so you need to customize resources for each employee.

Work with a wellness coach or consultant (or identify someone within the company) to create a comprehensive stress-management program that is customizable to your team members.

5. You should customize benefits
As a smart CEO, you know benefits can’t fit every individual. Some people value pay and rewards while others value flexibility and freedom. Smart CEOs get to know their employees on a personal level to ensure they are offering benefits, rewards, and incentives that maximize what each person needs and wants in order to do a great job and bring their best to work every day.

ACTION STEP: Do a survey to really get to know what your team wants in terms of benefits. Then get creative in offering unique things to meet those needs.

6. You need to be flexible.
We don’t all work best in the same ways or at the same times. And while you do want to recruit and develop employees who fit the culture you envision for your company, you must also honor their individual work styles and needs.

Some enjoy teamwork and others are more independent. Some are early risers while others are night owls. Like benefits or stress tools, creating a workplace that is flexible also requires customising to each individual employees’ needs.

ACTION STEP: Instill in your management team the belief in flexibility so they can work with their employees to create schedules that work for them.

7. You must set the right goals
CEOs are always setting and measuring goals. There is nothing worse than setting goals and having them stagnate and cause stress because you’re not making progress. When this happens it is usually because they weren’t set with the right guidelines in mind.

A great goal should be gut-checked, obtainable, actionable, life-oriented, small, and supported. This goes for both personal and professional goals.

ACTION STEP: Work with an expert or coach who can help you create goals that fit your needs and hold you accountable along the way.

8. You should communicate clearly
A team in the dark is a team that can turn on you. When employees feel left behind, out of the loop, or out of control, they get stressed.

Stress leads to lack of productivity, worry over job security, and even sabotage if they feel so much anxiety that they blame the company.

As CEO, you must ensure you have a clear way of communicating changes, ideas, and company news that everyone can access. Plus be sure that your team has a way to communicate back to you.

ACTION STEP: Work with your HR or employee-relations team to create an open communication environment for your company.

9. You must listen well
When tough times hit a company, it’s not usually a blindside. Signs and indications were there long before it went bad. Listen to your team. Open your eyes to what is happening on the front lines.

Have open dialogue with employees. Use what you learn to drive goals, actions, and changes for the success of the company, the team, and you.

ACTION STEP: Be around. Don’t isolate yourself in meetings or your office all day. Hang out with your team to hear what is happening.

10. Don’t be a jerk
This should go without saying, but really, being a jerk never helped anyone. Many believe that being a success means being aggressive and plowing forward with your vision no matter who gets hurt in the process.

But it is possible to lead well AND be nice at the same time. You don’t have to be too nice. You still need to hire and fire and discipline and create growth, but that doesn’t mean you have to be the CEO everyone hates or avoids.

ACTION STEP: Get in touch with your own goals and personality. Be honest with who you are and how people relate to you.Work on the areas in which you need improvement and your team will see you as even more of a role model.

As an upcoming CEO all you need to know first is “What you want, Long term or Short term”?, After you can clearly define this, Then you can proceed to work in alignment with your set goals.