HiTV 101- Toyin Subair

 
My great mentor asked me one day, a few years ago, why after the appointment of a Receiver/Manager by GTB over the assets of HiTV I gave up fighting and just rolled into a semi coma.
He said this because, he knew how hard we fought to save it. I responded with the story of King David crying to GOD over his sick child but then quickly wiped his face off, ate and started drinking, when the child was pronounced dead. You really just must know when to move on so that you can see and take the future opportunities that will come your way. Thereafter, Solomon, the wisest and richest ruler of Israel was born to David because he looked and lived forward.
 People who care, ask me what happened to HiTV and others in their supreme wisdom profess their own reasons. I have kept my peace and quietly moved on in life, until I wrote an article recently about 1 million Digital Jobs from the Creative sector. I realise, however, that if I am throwing a challenge to other entrepreneurs to be bold and creative, I, who used to be a poster boy for a generation and who failed after 5 years of a great business endeavour, owed it to them to share my HiTV experience.

1. Choose your shareholders carefully and know the implication of every clause in your Shareholders agreement, if you are going to sign one.

 HiTV collapsed essentially because of a clause in our original Shareholders Agreement, which allowed a group of founding shareholders to block the company raising money or selling off a subsidiary. This right was exercised to block our capital raise because it was believed to be a possible ploy by another group to take control of the company. We the management were caught in the middle and it took us another 8 months to pursue the alternative that was acceptable to the shareholders but by that time the equity market had gone bust, leaving us grovelling all over for debt.
Every power you give up has future ramifications so don’t sign away your life for what may be a quick fix or a “morsel of bread” as it might come back to bite you. The same right you give to Mr A and is used wisely, will in the hands of Mr B be used to destroy your dreams.
I failed to know and manage my investors properly, which made it hard for me to mediate when they didn’t see eye-to-eye.

1. Perception is EVERYTHING in Nigeria.

 Your neighbour, banker, staff, bloggers, enemies are watching you and it is not what you are that matters but what others see and are saying about you.
Once you are funded by other people’s money, either investors or bankers, it matters what they think. So your lifestyle must be measured. Even if you have access to other sources of income, you must be prudent in spending and seen to be prudent else it will be assumed that you are “extravagant” and/or diverting other people’s money for your own personal use.
Soley because it is common place in Nigeria for executives to mismanage corporate funds , people are quick to judge and assume every situation is the same . I never touched company money or take a single bribe or kick back. HiTV had full corporate governance rules in place and a budget that was jealously guarded by a Board that sat 6 times in a year. Even when I went out or travelled with a supplier, I always insisted on paying, but only my shareholders and management team knew that. This forthrightness of mine made me throw caution to the wind since I knew I was clean BUT unfortunately I didn’t realise the negative impact it could have on my reputation. The first thing your adversaries or haters target in order to bring you down, is your reputation. Protect it.

1. Whatever you do, train people and invest in them

 One thing we did right was to invest in the lives of our people. I inspired all my staff, which grew to about 380 plus, in 6 locations in Nigeria and a London office, including over a thousand dealers, by making sure I led by example, sent them on trainings, exposed them to the international market and bought them books to read about Media, and very importantly made them know we were all in the same boat. If I was comfortable they also had to be, and if they were going through pains, we had to do it together.
I have always marvelled at the Receiver/Manager and people who thought HiTV could be locked up with chains? HiTV is today a force in different companies making or waiting to make a difference.
However, make sure the people you train and inspire do the same to their sub-ordinates. Usually Nigerians are scared to pass knowledge for fear of being replaced and so you have to teach them to let others fly. Reading the 1 Minute Manager meets Mr Monkey taught me not to micro-manage and get people to earn their pay so that I can be free to do the bigger things. The balance to delegation is to make sure there is a system to ensure that those who are working are justly rewarded.
In the absence of a technical foreign partner, we learnt our trade on the job and intensive trainings and we were just implementing our robust researched systems and processes when the company was closed down. How I would have loved to see its results.

1. Equity Vs Debt

We gambled on building a company with debt with the hope of converting it to equity once we proved the model. As I said earlier, we were impeded from doing this at the right time. At 25-27% interest on debt, most businesses cannot survive and you will be a slave to the banks for life. That is why they take collateral from you. They lend against your collateral not your business case. Regardless of our strong cashflows, the funding requirements continued to increase. Similar businesses in Europe like Sky, Virgin, Polsat etc had worse debt profiles whilst building up their Brands and subscription models but their markets have sophisticated equity and debt.
Unfortunately, we have no sophisticated equity market and I mean Angel investors and/or Venture Capitalist in Nigeria and without that, who can survive? It pains me to admit that someone told the then Minister of Information that Nigerians can’t fund our type of business and I was really hoping to prove him wrong but Alas!
 We paid 40 million dollars for the first year of the second term of the EPL from mostly equity. But still had to come up with a guarantee of about 70 million dollars for the latter 2 years and in Nigeria, guarantee requires cash in bank. The alternative bank we were forced to use despite all their assurances and being offered half of the amount by another Bank failed to issue same on that fateful Tuesday and only offered it to us on Thursday. Meanwhile the EPL sold it to our competition on Wednesday morning.
Watch your debt profile. HiTV was paying an average of 1.1billion Naira approximately in interests and guarantee charges annually, for over 5 years! For a new company, we did a damn good job but really got blown out once our house was divided. I never live by debt and so was really ignorant about how interest works up till HiTV and of course since then you wont catch me near it. But what do you do when you have to? They say internationally that “equity is more expensive than debt”, but that is NOT true in Nigeria. Debt is way too expensive and destructive.
At the end of it all I was sued in my personal capacity for the debts of the company by the bank, but we have since sorted out our differences, agreed, signed and filed terms of settlement in all legal actions. The Managing Director simply told me, when we finally met, that since we all owned the company I had to pay out of the liability and not just dump it on them. It made total sense to me and I offered them what I had, they accepted and that was it. Fair is fair. You can’t avoid a lot of skin in the game because investors will be looking for this.

1. You need Government and regulation on your side

 I ignored government to my peril. The competition spent a lot of time courting all arms of government and I was a simpleton. We just expected the whole world to cheer us on. The laws in Nigeria are as empty as they are full. A lot of writings but you have to make sure your business model is adequately protected.
What laws do you need, or what interpretations of the laws do you require, go and get it passed or adjudicated. Don’t assume its there and don’t be afraid of offending anyone. A few weeks before we lost the EPL rights we were approached by the competition to share it with them, in writing. We agreed and were completing the approvals on both sides when we lost the rights. Since they bought it, we asked them for it on the same terms as we had agreed to give it to them just 2 weeks prior, they refused. We ran to government to enforce the fairness clauses of the NBC Act but it fell on deaf ears.
We really should have actively pursued the enactment of anti- monopoly laws and competition rules early enough as exist everywhere else in the world. The truth is we never believed in monopoly and offered all our acquired TV rights to anyone who was ready to share the price with us. Our purchase of football rights was defensive, as that was the only way we could get it. Unfortunately, our government was happy to, as they continue to be, leave everything in the hands of foreign dominant players.
 And whatever we were ready to pay for those TV rights was still far less than what Nigeria was losing from the repatriation of profits by the foreign companies operating in the country!
They say Power is not served al a carte, you have to take it forcefully. And if you are going to take it, make sure you succeed! I didn’t, but I am glad I tried. It is the most meaningful, joyful and the greatest thing I have ever embarked on. I can still see the sparkle in the eyes of every true partner of that journey I meet.
 In conclusion of HiTV 101, I will say this, our thinking that we were doing the right things and following the patterns of all international Pay TV companies was not enough, we had to successfully domesticate those patterns and that proved difficult. Thankfully, our good intentions and hard work have helped most to get great jobs and new opportunities and challenged foreign companies to do more locally.
Whatever you do, live forward.

This piece was originally published on his LinkedIn page.

4 Habits Of Punctual People

 

Plan any event and chances are one in five of the people you invite will be late.
A study done at San Francisco State University found that about 20% of the U.S. population is chronically late—but it’s not because they don't value others' time. It’s more complicated than that, says lead researcher Diana DeLonzor.
"Repetitive lateness is more often related to personality characteristics such as anxiety or a penchant for thrill-seeking," she says. "Some people are drawn to the adrenaline rush of that last-minute sprint to the finish line, while others receive an ego boost from over-scheduling and filling each moment with activity."
In her book Never Be Late Again: 7 Cures for the Punctually Challenged, DeLonzor says our relationship with time often starts in childhood and becomes an ingrained habit.
"Looking back, you were probably late or early all of your life—it’s part physiological and part psychological," she says. "Most chronically late people truly dislike being late, but it's a surprisingly difficult habit to overcome. Telling a late person to be on time is a little like telling a dieter to simply stop eating so much."
DeLonzor says the majority of people have a combination of late and punctual habits—usually on time, but with a frantic rush at the last minute—but we can all learn from those who are chronically punctual. DeLonzor shares four traits that always on time share:

1. They’re realistic thinkers.

Punctual people know how long things take. Chronically late people, however, engage in what DeLonzor calls "magical thinking."
"If once, 10 years ago, they made it to work in 20 minutes, they believe that’s how long it should take," she says. "They forget about the 99% of the times that took 30 minutes."
To develop realistic habits, DeLonzor suggests relearning to tell time. Write down how long you think it takes to shower, get ready in the morning and drive to work. Then for a week, track how long those things really take. Chronically late people are often off of their time estimates by 25% to 30%, says DeLonzor.

2. They give themselves buffer time.

Punctual people are usually early, says DeLonzor. "Being late makes them stressed out and they don’t like feeling rushed," she says. "Late people get stressed out from being late, too, but they don’t strive to be early; they tend to time things to the minute."
For a 9 a.m. meeting, for example, a punctual person would try to arrive by 8:45 a.m. or 8:50 a.m., allowing enough time for an unexpected delay, such as traffic or a full parking garage. A punctual person reviews directions online, checks traffic reports before leaving, and some will even drive to an new location the day before to understand the route. To be punctual, plan to arrive early.

3. They’re organized.

DeLonzor says that 45% of everything we do on a daily basis is automatic: "Our lives are filled with habits—from the way you brush teeth to how you get dressed and leave for work," she says, adding that they’re necessary. "If we didn’t do things automatically, it would take us forever to get through our day."
The habits of people who are always on time are highly structured. They analyze their daily activities, set routines, and stick to them on regular basis. Chronically late people, however, don’t have structure and often fall on the attention deficit disorder spectrum, says DeLonzor.
"Instead of thinking about why their routines don’t work and trying something different next time, chronically late people simply hope that tomorrow will be better," she says.
To become punctual, DeLonzor suggests putting more routines and structure into your life. For example, do everything you can to prepare for the morning the night before.

4. They’re comfortable with downtime.

Being punctual often means getting to meeting or an appointment early. Punctual people use the extra five or 10 minutes as a chance to catch up on emails, read over notes, or simply enjoy the solitude.
Chronically late people, however, hate downtime. They enjoy the thrill of that last-minute sprint to the finish line and crave stimulation. To be more comfortable with downtime, bring along something to fill those spare moments.
"Knowing that you have something to occupy your time will help," says DeLonzor.

How to Write a Personal Mission Statement

There are many different ways to write a personal mission statement. Despite this there are also some commonalities and good guidelines you can follow when writing your own. Writing your own personal mission statement will give you a clear view of your goals, values, and relationships. Grab a pen and paper and let's get started.

1. Understand the benefits of writing your personal mission statement. Writing a personal mission statement can help you in many ways such as learning more about yourself, expressing your goals clearly, and becoming the person you want to be.

• Learn more about yourself. When you sit down to create your own mission statement it will force you to examine yourself in more detail than usual. You will need to learn just what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it.
• Express and understand your goals clearly. You might have a broad understanding of what you want to achieve in life, but it may be difficult to put that understanding into precise words. Examining your goals will allow you to focus them into clear and concise statements.
• Knowing your goals will help you to achieve them more easily.
• Relate your goals and how to achieve them to your values and beliefs.
• Make your statement a way of life. Creating a personal mission statement will allow you to start living your goals and values. After clarifying and focusing your ideals and life direction you will be able to work your mission statement into everything you do.
• Don't just settle for writing your statement on paper.
• Always strive to live in accordance with your values and beliefs.

2. Imagine who you want to be. The first main step in writing your personal mission statement will be to imagine exactly who you want to become. Examine the qualities you want to obtain, the relationships you want to have, and the way of life that you want to live.

• Find a person you admire. Examine that person that you most admire. Discover the qualities in them that you find so admirable. List those qualities and think about how you could best bring them into your own life.
• Try to make this list as detailed as you can.
• Start practicing these qualities from you list in your daily life.
• Imagine who you want to be. Try to picture exactly who it is you want to become. Envision the details of your accomplishments, your personality, or any future you may want to find yourself living in.
• For now, forget about how you will achieve this.
• Focus only on what you want to achieve.
• Think of the roles you play. Examine your relationships to friends, family, career, hobbies, or other areas of your life. Think about how you would want to be describe in these relationships.
• Understand your roles and what you want from them.

3. Start discovering yourself. Writing your personal mission statement isn't directly about laying out a path to your future. The main function of your statement will be to help you better know yourself. 

• The personal mission statement is focused on self discovery, rather than creation.
• Your mission statement should be written only to inspire you, not to impress another person.
• Knowing yourself will help you to relate to and engage with the world at large.

 culled from wikihow.com

7 Habits of Highly Emotionally Intelligent People

People with high emotional intelligence tend to do better at work. So what habits do they have that set them apart?

It has increasingly become accepted that emotional intelligence is an important factor in our success and happiness, not only at work, but in our relationships and all areas of our lives.
So what sets emotionally intelligent people apart? Here are seven habits that people with high EI have:

1. They Focus on the Positive

While not ignoring the bad news, emotionally intelligent people have made a conscious decision to not spend a lot of time and energy focusing on problems. Rather, they look at what is positive in a situation and look for solutions to a problem. These people focus on what they are able to do and that which is within their control.

2. They surround themselves with positive people

People with a lot of emotional intelligence don’t spend a lot of time listening to complainers and tend to avoid negative people. They are aware negative people are an energy drain and are not willing to let others exhaust their vitality. Because they always look for solutions and the positive in situations, negative people quickly learn to avoid positive people as misery loves company.
Emotionally intelligent people spend time with others that are positive and look upon the bright side of life. You can spot these folks as they tend to smile and laugh a great deal and attract other positive people. Their warmth, openness, and caring attitude leads others look upon them as more trustworthy.

3. They are able to set boundaries and be assertive when necessary

Although their friendly, open nature may make them appear as pushovers to some, people with high EI are able to set boundaries and assert themselves when needed. They demonstrate politeness and consideration but stay firm at the same time.
They do not make needless enemies. Their response to situations, in which there may be conflict, is measured, not inflated, and managed appropriately to the situation. They think before speaking and give themselves time to calm down if their emotions appear to become overwhelming. High EI people guard their time and commitments and know when they need to say no.

Personal Mission Statements

One of the most important things that corporate leaders do is define their organization's purpose, and identify what they ultimately want it to accomplish. They communicate this information in corporate mission and vision statements . These set a clear course for the organization, tell employees how they should focus their efforts, and prevent people going "off mission".


If mission and vision statements are so important to organizations, why don't we spend any time creating them for ourselves?
In this article, we'll look at the benefits of creating personal mission and vision statements. We'll show you how to create them, and highlight how you can use them to bring clarity to your own objectives and goals.

Why Create Mission and Vision Statements?

All of us have very different ideas about success. What's important, however, is that you spend time defining your version of success. Otherwise, how will you understand what you should be working toward, and how will you know if your decisions are helping you move toward your goals?
Used as part of your personal approach to goal setting , mission and vision statements are useful for bringing sharp focus to your most important goal, and for helping you to quickly identify which opportunities you should pursue.
Shaping this goal into a mission statement helps you keep it at the front of your mind, and helps you focus your energy and resources upon it. Without this focus, you can be distracted, or you can spread your effort too thinly across multiple competing goals.

Mission Versus Vision

So, what's the difference between a mission statement and a vision statement?

• Mission statement – This defines your purpose. It's what you ultimately want to achieve in your life or career, expressed in a specific, measurable way.
• Vision statement – This is a bit more emotional. Here, you define your core values, and how you'll apply those values to your mission.

Tip:

As your career develops, your goals and objectives are likely to change too. So make sure you revisit your mission and vision statements regularly, and update them as required.

culled from mindtools.com