Robert Dickenson – Should we diversify in business?

Robert Dickenson – Should we diversify in business?

Nigeria’s Professor Ilesanmi Adesida makes history – becomes the first black Provost/Vice Chancellor of the University of Illiinois at Urbana Champaign

News just got to us that yet another African in the Diaspora, Professor Ilesanmi Adesida made history this past August by becoming the first black Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the well respected University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in the United States.

Born in Ondo State, Nigeria, Professor Adesida is a Nigerian engineer whose outstanding work in the field of Nanotechnology has received much acclaim in the scientific community. He obtained his Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and subsequently went on to develop a body of work in the processing of semiconductors and other materials at the nanometer-scale level. After his studies, he worked in various capacities at what is now known as the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility and the School of Electrical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. He was also the head of the Electrical Engineering Department at Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria.

Commenting on his recently appointed role, Adesida said: 

“I’m honored and humbled to be selected as provost of this great campus. This is something I take very seriously. I know how to work very hard and I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get the job done.”

Adesida is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Vacuum Society, and the Optical Society of America. He is also the past-president of IEEE Electron Devices Society.

culled from Cp-Africa.com

TREASURES

Hello good people, TREASURES, the book is out again this time with a bang, because it's your time to get your own copy, beautiful, bold and creative. Treasures is not your everyday book and i say so!So check out this video, please share and reach me at victoriapraiseabraham@yahoo.co.uk to place your own order and you can order for your friends too. It's going for only N3,700

JOURNEY OF AN AFRICAN WOMAN

The Journey of an African woman is a stage play tailored towards exploring the life of the average African Woman in the context of culture, tradition, religion and civilization; It will capture her struggle, pain, happiness, her general reaction and the repercussion (the response from the society in general).

The ‘all female cast’ stage play written and directed by the ace writer Michael Asuelime features the popular stage diva Ireti Doyle, Uzor Asimkpa, the amazing multi-talented child actor Tosin Onanuga, sensational musician Aduke, and a host of others.

JOAW is the interpretation of the plight, reaction and repercussion of a woman, living in the African context. Her life is filled with music, dance and drama;

MUSIC they say is the food of love,

DANCE is the expression of joy,

DRAMA….is life!

DATE -   Sunday September 16^th, 2012.

VENUE – Agip Recital Hall, Muson Centre Onikan Lagos.

SHOWS AND TICKETS INFO

Matinee                                              2pm                     3, 500

Super Matinee                                  4pm                      3, 500

Command Performance                  6:30pm                10, 000

Red Carpet and Cocktail for the Command Performance starts at 6pm.

For ticket bookings, Call 08170036927 or 08035275486

Five Fashion Blunders You Should Avoid When Preparing For A Job Interview.

Five Fashion Blunders You Should Avoid When Preparing For A Job Interview.

Attention has been drawn to series of fashion errors most guys commit when preparing for a job interview, and I have here listed some of the blunders that may stand

 between You and your Dream Job. All you need for that interview is a good dress sense, relevant credentials and effective communication skills.

1) Oversize suit: A man who puts on an oversize suit has already downsized his chances of getting employed. If clothes maketh the man, then a well-made suit makes a man splendid. Suits are best appreciated when they are trim and proper. However, it has been said overtime that Black Suits have been found to be the coolest and most appropriate suits for all seasons and perhaps, Gray. However, avoid flashy colours like yellow, green or red as we have in some religious sect. When you wear your suit, a two button suit for instance, you are not expected to totally button up. You are expected to leave the lower button so as to give you convenience and candour (As we have in the picture herewith)

2) The Use of Brooch, Lapel Pins or Pocket Square: The use of Brooch or lapel Pins to Interview sessions is unconventional. Although some people argue that putting on Rotary Club brooch, for instance may introduce you to a member of the interviewer who may incidentally be a member of the Rotary club. But my answer to that is Yes and No! Because you are losing your chances in an establishment where recruitment process is going to be strictly to the last letter. Leave the familiarity of your membership to the pages of your CV. Avoid Lapels.

3) Stripe Tie or Stripe Shirt: Much has been said about the inappropriate combination of pattern ties (either check, stripe, flowered etc) on Pattern shirts. The best combination however is

* Pattern ties on Plain shirts

* Plain Ties on Pattern shirts

When knotting your tie, please make sure it does not extend beyond the navel or belt. Only fat men with protrude bellies are expected to wear ties which goes beyond their belt level. Make sure that your shirt is clean and neatly ironed.

4) Detached Suit Wrist Logo: It has become fashion in Nigeria for instance to see top executives wearing suits with the wrist logo shamefully/ignorantly displayed. However, your interviewer is not interested whether your suit is a designer suit from Calvin Klein, Versace, Giorgio Armani or Paul Smith, your interviewer is only interested in your presentable appearance. The first thing you should remove after buying a new suit is the wrist logo. You are not a billboard or an advertisement van.

5) Black Belt-Brown shoe Combination: Concord error in English Language arises as a result of non-agreement between the Subject and Verb, similarly is an agreement expected between your Belt and Shoe. A black belt should simply be worn on a black shoe and a brown belt also on a brown shoe and not vice versa. This rule is very important. The only exception to this rule is given to Masquerades.

Above all, wear a confident smile, a moderate perfume and a well-polished shoe.. Good luck.

Culled from the Facebook page of thirty things you must do before thirty.

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

TOP TEN WAYS CEO’S MUST CHANGE TO LEAD IN THE SOCIAL BUSINESS MARKETPLACE BY SIMON MAINWARING

The advent of the social business marketplace represents a startling opportunity for CEOs, both in turns of the upside for their corporations and shareholders, and for the positive impact that brands can have on their customer community and the world at large. But to get there CEOs must make several critical changes that are each very challenging in their own right. These challenges include new ways of thinking at the board level, new organizational structures, a new approach to customer service and new demands placed on all employees, including their supply chain. In execution, there are several changes a CEO must oversee. Here are a few of them:

1.    CEOs must embrace the role of serving as the public face of the company to their customer community and the marketplace at large.

2.    They must reposition their brand as the chief celebrant of their customer community, rather than its celebrity.

3.    They must shift the emphasis from a broadcast and self-focus mentality to one of listening and community service.

4.    They must shift their focus from short term profits to meet analyst projections to long-term investments in customer relationships.

5.    They must empower their customer community to become co-authors for the brand’s narrative in their marketing and communications.

6.    They must clearly define the brand’s core values and align their communications around those in order to attract a like-minded community of brand advocates.

7.    They must encourage a culture of risk, rather than guaranteed return, in order to continue to evolve and prosper in a fast-changing marketplace.

8.    They must overcome the inertia that any institution brings and replace it with a fascination with emerging technology.

9.    They must expand the focus of their business strategies and marketing to build social capital as well as financial capital.

10. They must understand and recognize the metrics specific to the social business marketplace and reframe how they measure Return on Investment (ROI).

Only when CEOs make these adjustments can they hope to not only inspire a community of loyal customers, but also serve as a leader brand within their category and for the community at large. Such changes are not easy to institute, but are absolutely critical.

ARE YOU AT RISK FROM CEO-IT’S?

ARE YOU AT RISK FROM CEO-ITS?

There's an affliction you could be at risk of contracting. It affects many people in positions of power and the symptoms include "a tendency toward isolation, belief that you’re smarter than others, preference for loyalists, aversion to changing course even in the face of failure – and love of royal treatment".

This is a condition described by Joann S. Lublin, writing for The Wall Street Journal. She calls it "CEO-its", and explains: "It appears to occur when promising managers reach the corner office or other C-suite spots. Once infected, once-successful executives often underperform and put themselves at great risk of early exits, experts say."

According to Carol S. Dweck, a Stanford University psychology professor and author, senior managers with an inflated sense of superiority frequently overlook information that has changed.

As a result, they repeat actions long after they have stopped working. They lose the ability to question their actions and fail to keep pace with changes.

Richard Boyatzis, an organisational behaviour, psychology and cognitive science professor at Case Western University, says CEO-it’s is "beyond epidemic". He believes the problem stems from stressed executives failing to open themselves up to new ideas.

Present and former CEOs share with Lublin their advice on how to avoid the affliction:

• Surround yourself with trusted lieutenants. Scott Wine, CEO of Polaris Industries Inc., says talented associates "make it easy to acknowledge I don't always – or even often – have the best idea in the room".

• Admit and correct your mistakes frequently. David Kirchhoff, head of Weight Watchers International Inc., says taking responsibility for your errors is "a very powerful way to keep yourself humble".

• Encourage dissent and be wary of sycophants. William George, a former CEO of Medtronic Inc., insists that leaders should reward people who challenge them, and says: "I didn't promote people who didn't take me on."

• Treat every employee with respect. Carin Stutz, recently appointed CEO of Cosi Inc., says: "I feel more responsible than ever to respect and support people," and explains she spent ten hours a day during her initial five weeks as CEO going through store-manager training.

• Find an objective sounding board outside the office. Lublin says: "A spouse, executive coach or informal group of advisors can alert you about looming signs of CEO-its."

culled from Leadership & Management Review

WELCOME TO KNIGHTZINE'S BLOG: INSPIRATIONAL

 INSPIRATIONAL: THE WORLD WIDE WAR, HOW IT CONCERNS YOU. by Yemi Aanu Join the CHANGE GAME (This is rather a Letter to a Christian). -----...

Have a nice week

Enjoy your week!!!

FOOTBALL TINZ

by Credits- Kevin Ruest

Nigeria 0- 2 USA: Falconets lose out to the USA on technical flaws

Revenge will have been sweet for the USA as they beat the Falconets of Nigeria 2-0 on Thursday in Japan at the on-going FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Nigeria had all the possession – about 60% but could not make it count as the USA team capitalised on two defensive blunders to make hay.

The Americans scored off an innocuous cross from deep midfield in the 22ndminute caught the Nigerian defenders napping and Morgan Brian easily headed past a stranded Ibubeleye Whyte in goal for Nigeria.

The Falconets responded with relentless but all they got were corner kicks which were not well taken.

The Americans killed off the game when another lack of concentration in the 70thminute allowed Kealia Ohai to score and the Falconets just could not recover.

Nigeria now waits for the third place match where they will face either Germany or Japan in the third place match. The American team just proved better technically prepared on the day and more than negated the Falconets’ strengths

YOU WIN Documentary

President launches YOU WIN Project

President launches YOU WIN Project

YouWiN! Women is the second edition of the entrepreneurial scheme which is designed for only female entrepreneurs aged 45 years or less.
TO APPLY CLICK THIS LINK  https://www.youwin.org.ng/howapply.php