Your Company Needs Non-Partisan In-House Experts to Succeed (Features a True Story)

July 31, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

The following memo excerpt was written by a company’s in-house experts, to top management, about THE telephone:

“(It) has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us”. – Western Union Internal Memo, 1876.

The gross inaccuracy of that “expert” assessment is today obvious to anyone, based on hindsight. Back then it probably wasn’t – and those chaps may even have been commended for saving the company from wasting it’s funds!

Which is why I argue, that decision makers need to set up systems to help in-house experts better serve the interest of the organisation at all times.

Who Is An “In-House Expert”? (My Definition )

Here’s my “definition”: ANYONE – whether temporary, contract or permanent employee – whose opinion – based on his/her area of recognised expertise will be sought and used to decide what the company should do in a given situation with respect to a particular line of action being considered.

THEY(in-house experts) are often persons employed/authorised with the responsibility of providing related support to other employees using THEIR knowledge expertise to evaluate possible strategies, technologies or solutions that the company could adopt to IMPROVE her ability to achieve valued corporate goals.

Common examples include IT managers and their lieutenants.

Sometimes companies outsource their needs in technical fields such as IT, keeping a skeletal structure in-house.

Other times they engage consultants on a contract basis. And of course some companies feel more comfortable having a full fledged IT department in some cases with emphasis on development of in-house software solutions.

Other types of in-house experts are the Project Managers, HR managers, PR managers, Marketing Managers, Business Development Managers, People /Organisational Development Managers, Engineering Managers etc.

These individuals would usually be depended upon by various categories of decision makers(including their fellow in-house experts) in the company to EVALUATE – for instance – any new idea or initiative/concept being considered for adoption.

And more often than not, it is whatever they say that get’s taken as the “final word”, so to say. But that’s not bad in itself – so long as the in-house expert maintains a dispassionate and professional(UN-BIASED) disposition in giving his/her advice or recommendations.

The Problem: In-House Experts’ Can Sometimes Be Afflicted With “Experts’ Blindness”!

Do you have in-house experts whose word you take as gospel truth?

If you know them well, that would be safe to do.

But in life, nothing stays exactly the same. Much as you may trust and like your “expert”, s/he may not always be able to deliver to the same high standards.

Why? Because s/he – like the rest of us – is only human!

But again as a human being, when you get used to being “the expert”, in a situation where people often readily accept what you say/think, it can get quite intoxicating. Which CAN make you get just a little “too carried away” sometimes.

Only few people can resist feeling this way every now and then.

So, in my opinion, when someone functions as an “expert” to others around him/her, s/he becomes a little more prone to his/her human nature/weaknesses – making him/her more likely to make mistakes.

Chances are if/when s/he does slip up, it will be inadvertent rather than deliberate. Whatever may be the cause, the potential damage to you/your organisation in the event that this does happen (and it CAN!) is the most crucial thing to consider,.

What if the advice/tip given you by your “in-house expert” turns out to be based on statistics s/he checked two weeks earlier?

What if those statistics had changed since then without him/her knowing e.g because s/he assumed they wouldstay the same for at least 30 days, as had been his/her experience over that past five years?

The implication of the above is that your plans based on the advice of that “expert” may end up failing!

Just think for a moment what it could mean, if this were to happen to you.

The point I’m making is ANYONE of us can use past experience to take intelligent decisions.

But the key to our continuous successs will be diligent monitoring of changes that MAY occur, with implications for decisions we take.

Without staying alert to unexpected changes or new developments (some previously unknown to even the most experienced among us) that could occur, we stand little chance of achieving success with any degree of consistency.

And that’s why we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to our environment.

Anybody/anything can help us in this process.

The problem with some in-house experts is that they let their egos get in the way – AND block their view.

Whenever this happens, the organisations that depend on them often lose out as a result.

Help Your In-House Experts Remember To Act In Line With The Organisation’s Best Interests

When organisational decision makers engage an in-house expert, they are hoping s/he will justify the faith they place in him/her – by making decisions and taking actions with the BEST interests of the company in his/her mind.

They would NOT expect that s/he would allow personal egotistical selfish interests, concerns or biases to “sway” him/her.

Especially not when taking decisions that affect the company’s future well being in terms of competitiveness, growth, profitability etc.

The reality however, from repeatedly disappointing news of corporate scandals across the globe, is that NOT ALL corporate “leaders” are able to meet expectations in this regard.

In some cases, that has led to the collapse of the organisation concerned. Or the loss of valuable market leadership to “underdog” competition.

This would have been due to misplaced priorities, and lack of foresight arising from poor THINKING, on the part of some “blind” in-house experts.

Why do in-house experts behave this way at times?

As I said earlier, the truth is they are only human. It is possible – for instance – that some may inadvertently hold give recommendations based LESS on objectivity, and more on how they “perceive” an idea/concept/initiative “THREATENS” their status as “experts”.

The person “selling” the new idea/concept/initiative, if s/he is to make headway, must therefore find a way make the in-house expert sees how s/he can end up looking GOOD by endorsing it.

However the above can be difficult to pull off, if the “seller” is an outsider, like a consultant offering his/her services in a unique area.

Which is why I suggest that companies and their decision makers setup internal checks and balances, to help their in-house experts do what is best for the company at all times.

I offer some ideas for consideration in the rest of this article…starting with a true story.

The In-House Expert’s Ideal Role: To Add Tangible Value With His/Her Unique Expertise (True Story)

A manufacturing multinational company once had a challenge finding a commercial off-the-shelf software application. It needed one that could comprehensively handle routine data handling and report generation needs of its factory production processes.

Despite repeated efforts to use some of the more popular commercial software, peculiarities in their production process could not be efficiently catered for via customisation of the purchased software.

There was – among other things- a requirement for whatever software they used, to be able to generate reports conforming to an already existing “house format”.

Following some discussions, it was agreed that an in-house solution be developed.

The alternative adopted was a custom automated Lotus 1-2-3 based application, built from scratch by a young expatriate middle level manager over a period of some months.

Basically, he went around with a laptop speaking with those involved in data generation, analysis and reporting. From the Corporate Headquarters to the factories, Purchasing departments, Production Planning, Engineering Utilities etc.

Using the information he gathered, in conjunction with various recording/reporting formats he saw being used in the different units, he built an application, that did what the decision makers wanted.

To succeed, he applied his knowledge as an insider with experience in most of the key operations. The resulting application allowed entry of raw factory performance data, which were then used to automatically compute the company’s Standard Key Performance Indicators(KPIs).

The application also automatically produced a one-page report that identified TEN(10) specific areas in which the company had OVER spent and UNDER spent respectively, on materials usage.

This was displayed in an automatically generated comparison table, expressing the amounts SAVED or LOST in usage units (e.g. Kgs per litre of product) and monetary unit (e.g. Dollars per litre of product).

On the same page was also an auto-generated Variable Cost Analysis chart, as well as four process charts showing the progressive trend in key waste control parameters over a 12 month period.

The best part was that this nifty program was built using an already familiar spreadsheet application, in a way that a reasonably skilled user could easily make needed changes as the need arose over time.

Following reviews, the application was immediately put to use in preparing reports sent monthly from the factories to Headquarters, and also for the Monthly Review meetings held with Directors.

The In-House Expert’s Ideal Mental Attitude: Objective & Results-Focussed

I have narrated the above true story, with names etc removed “to protect the innocent”

It illustrates the fact that decision makers in the technical function of the company (who were a group of in-house experts) adopted an objective outlook being to SOLVE the data handling and reporting problem being experienced.

They liased with the IT department (ANOTHER group of in-house experts) to consider and test possible solutions. Over time, they settled for a customised, simple, yet highly effective/flexible solution ,which they then found someone to develop and implement on the inside.

Those senior technical managers – as well as the IT managers – functioned PROPERLY and successfully as the In-House Experts they were EXPECTED to be.

They knew they had the final say in terms of recommending what COULD be done to the company.

They could have INSISTED that the company improvise with the less flexible commercial off-the-shelf applications. Top management would probably have gone along with their “expert opinion”.

But a lot of things would have suffered, and the main problem of poor data handling/standardisation and reporting would have persisted.

Instead, they wisely remained objective and open minded enough to see that the unique problem in the technical function required a unique solution.

They must have left their minds “open” long enough, for someone (possibly the young expatriate Training Coordinator himself) to “sell” them the idea of using an automated spreadsheet application to solve the problem.

And that’s how in-house experts can justify their presence in, and earnings from the company: By adding REAL value to the company in such a way that it becomes better equipped to achieve its business goals more successfully.

If they act this way often, the company they represent is unlikely to miss valuable OPPORTUNITIES to get – and STAY – ahead of the competition.

This is because it would be fully equipped to seize those opportunities as/when they appear using the INSIGHT of its results-oriented in-house experts.

Note: The young expatriate developer of the above mentioned program, was not an IT person. He was a manager in the technical function, who happened to have a flair for numbers and had also developed his spreadsheet programming skills quite extensively.

Your Company Needs “Non-Partisan” In-House Experts

To help you realise how NOT addressing the issues I have raised here can make your company MISS great opportunities to advance in quantum leaps, that I shared the Wester Union Internal Memo excerpt above.

These experts confidently gave that misguided assessment of a new invention that would go on to CHANGE the world!

Can you imagine just how STUPID anyone who took the advice of the guys who wrote the above mentioned memo MUST have felt AFTER seeing demand for the telephone in business and society skyrocket?!

That’s the price one can end up paying for FAILING to remember that EXPERTS will always be human.

Which makes it necessary to constantly check and ensure their human weaknesses do not prevent them from delivering EXPERT quality results as often as possible – in the BEST interests of the organisation!

Summary – Set Up Systems To Help Your In-House Experts KEEP Doing Their Jobs Properly

So what’s going to happen when next some UNKNOWN, inconsequential looking individual walks into your company lobby, and says s/he has a product or service or IDEA s/he believes your company will find useful?

What will you want your gatekeepers from reception, to your personal assistant(s) and of course the “in-house” experts to DO before they send him/her on his/her way?

In my opinion, it would not hurt to arrange for certain members of your team to give formal appointments to – and meet for a limited time – with individuals who come in sounding coherent, purposeful and convincing enough to the gatekeepers.

The fact that your company is BIG does not mean a seemingly “small” person cannot have a BIG idea that can make your company bigger!

And THAT is the classic mistake many people make – especially when they feel they are “successful” or more successful than the person who approaches them!

I would advise setting up a system for documentation, collation and careful REVIEW of EVERY idea, suggestion or proposal you get. Be they on paper or verbal. From employees or outsiders. Formal or informal.

Your aim should be to thoroughly review every new ideas, for its potential uses and applications!

Sometimes the solution you seek to a challenge being faced by your company can reveal itself to you, when you keep an open mind. And that may require paying conscious attention to IDEA(S) or SUGGESTION(S) from a junior employee – or unknown outsider service provider.

It will only be a matter of time before doing so begins to yield positive benefits. Some of which CAN lead to significant improvements in your company’s productivity, market leadership, profitability etc.

PS: This article is based on exceprts from the original write up first published online on 7th September 2007 via www.spontaneousdevelopment.com – my former 9 year old primary domain.

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, My DN Travel News, Self-Development

Achieve Success IN SPITE OF Adversity – 2 True Stories

July 30, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Adrenoleukodystrophy or ALD for short. That was the name of a terrible disorder that afflicted the child of an American woman in a film(based on a true story) I watched some years ago.

It was an ailment the child’s doctors believed could not be treated.

The mother of the ALD afflicted child was however not like most others and refused to sit back and watch her child waste away while she hoped for a miracle.

In this article, two true stories are narrated to illustrate how self-belief, and desire, backed by dogged persistence can help any person achieve a valued goal(s) despite the perpetual presence of adverse conditions.

A Mother Who Knew How

Through relentless personal efforts, she practically created the “miracle” that saved her son(the disease affects only boys – usually between ages 6 and 10). She went from doctor to doctor, specialist-to-specialist and visited libraries, reading all manner of books, articles, research reports etc that had even the slightest relevance to the subject of ALD.

She remained undaunted in the face of repeated discouragement from those she approached for help.

Instead, she chose to empower herself by becoming as knowledgeable as the medical practitioners themselves, on the subject of ALD and its treatment etc. It was this focus, determination and perseverance that eventually paid off, resulting in her helping to discover a viable treatment for her child – and by implication, those of others.

(The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) maintains an information page on ALD).

The foregoing narrative illustrates how an individual, through self-help/belief, can achieve what – before then – would have been considered “impossible”.

Michael Angier – in one of his SuccessNet.org articles(titled “Leaders are readers”) – once wrote that Abraham Lincoln used to walk miles (from/to his house) to borrow and return library books, which he read, by candlelight.

That the knowledge he acquired from reading all those books made a significant impact on his ability to succeed is certainly not in doubt today. I once read somewhere that “books strengthen the mind”. In Lincoln’s case, his healthy reading habit apparently gave him the mental stamina to carry on, (DESPITE failing repeatedly in pursuing many important goals he set out to achieve in life) UNTIL he achieved noteworthy success.

As pointed out by Angier: in Abe’s case, the phrase “Leaders are readers” could not be more appropriate.

An Employee Who Knew How

Consider another true story of a 29 year old brewer in one of the Nigerian plants of a multinational blue chip manufacturing company.

He decided to attend a 3-month practically intensive French Language course in his spare time (which wasn’t much). During this period he would close night shift at 7.00am on Monday for instance, get home by 7.30am, sleep till 10.30am then rush out to resume French lessons by 11.00am for 4 consecutive hours.

Many times after classes, he would insist on staying on with his Cameroonian teacher to practice speaking/writing fluent and grammatically correct French.

He kept this up till the 3 months expired – and continued afterwards to visit the teacher to consolidate his learning.

The latter, being very impressed, arranged later that year for the “student” to spend 3 weeks in Cameroon living with his (the teacher’s) family.

During this period, the young man went out daily to interact with people in different places and practice carrying on everyday conversations in French with a view to achieving fluency.

As the end of his three week stay approached he was pleased to note – based on comments from his hosts and friends he had made, that his fluency had improved noticeably. The trip had served useful purpose after all.

A Run Of Bad Luck?

When it was time to return to Nigeria, things did not however go exactly as he had planned. As a matter of fact, his trip back home turned out to be most traumatizing, due to an unexpected failure of a friend he had made on arrival in Cameroon, to return an amount of money he(the friend) had borrowed.

In order to get back to Nigeria and resume shift duty on schedule in the brewery, he was forced to travel 12 hours overnight, by sea, under heavy rainfall, in a leaky boat from Douala Cameroon to Oron in Nigeria. Read the full story of that journey across the Ocean here.

Reaping The Rewards

That was in July 1999. In April 2001(almost 2 years later), this young man was nominated by his company along with 3 others to attend a 1 week International Course in Douala, Cameroon (note that the company/most of its managers had no idea at this time that he could speak/read or write French).

It was just a day after the course began, that the expatriate MD of their Cameroonian sister company visited, and joined the Nigerian delegates in their hotel bar.

For some strange reason, the MD singled him out and asked him “Tu parle Français?”(“Do you speak French?”).

The young man naturally responded “Oui, je parle un peu”(“Yes, a little”) a bit surprised at being taken up so directly. Both men went on to converse fluently for about 15 minutes in the same language while the other Nigerians looked on in amazement.

One of them was to later say to this young man “Ol boy, so you can speak French!? I knew you took some classes, but I didn’t know you could speak it so well. Man, I’m impressed”. Another said ”You’ve really demystified this language for me now – I must learn to speak French too”.

While they were still at the bar, the MD called another Cameroonian, a senior manager, and said (pointing to the young Nigerian) “Il parle Français comme un Camerounais!”(He speaks French like a Cameroonian!).

Needless to say, he subsequently became very useful as an interpreter for his Nigerian colleagues, whenever they visited their choice restaurant to eat – since the steward there could barely manage a few words of greeting in English. The same thing happened whenever they had to ask for directions when they went out on their own.

But most importantly, you can imagine the high regard in which his colleagues began to hold him for his ability to speak a foreign language they wished they could speak, and so fluently too.

Of course he got noticed for that many times afterwards, and made friends much more easily as a result.

In fact, after the course, one of the Cameroonian delegates invited him to spend a number of nights with his family at Yaounde – and even went out of his way to help locate the family of the young man’s teacher in the Francophone capital.

The significant recognition and high profile that his French-speaking ability brought him served to make the pains of learning to speak the language well worth it.

Now, Let Me Ask You A Question

What if his company’s management had later decided to send someone on secondment to work in the sister company in Cameroon? And what if they had to choose from amongst a large number of qualified managers – which included our young friend?

Do you think he would have been one of those to be given very serious consideration/possibly chosen?

I do.

And by the way, that young man was this writer.

And it did happen that during the course in Douala, the idea of having an international mix of facilitators to implement the roll out of the course within each country was muted.

A suggestion made by one of the expatriate course facilitators was that our young Nigerian, being already French speaking, would be well placed to help the Cameroonians with the implementation in their country.

NB: It should also interest you to know that my ability to read, write and speak French is what has since 1st April 2013, enabled me relocate and live in/work from French Speaking Benin Republic as a Location Independent Multipreneur. See how this works in your favor?

Were They Just Lucky?

It could be argued, that the individuals I have described above, were just lucky to have been in the right place at the right time.

My response would be that anyone who thinks so, has probably not heard the very apt saying that goes something like this: “Luck is often what happens when preparation meets opportunity”.

In other words, a person can ensure that he becomes perpetually lucky (successful) by simply preparing himself ahead of time for possible experiences (or opportunities) s/he might be exposed to in the future.

This can be done first by reflecting on previous experiences – and current happenings – as well as carefully evaluating signs or signals of likely future occurrences.

Having done this, the individual can then proceed to prepare –against the backdrop of the reflections – by acquiring the relevant skills and/or knowledge needed to effectively tackle the challenges that the future brings.

By the time s/he actually encounters the challenges or undergoes the experiences, it would likely be with a feeling of having done it before – what is sometimes called “Déjà vu”.

“Luck is the residue of diligence”

People in different areas of human endeavor sometimes complain that they can’t succeed or achieve advancements in their personal/work lives.

Their reason is often that they lack the needed resources or enabling environment for them to do so. (An example is the case of employees working in an organization).

The truth however is often that within that same environment, working alongside those same complainants, are some individuals who – despite the lack of resources/favorable environment – are continually achieving the desired successes.

By this I do not mean individuals who have godfathers making things happen for them from behind the scenes, regardless of their actual abilities or workplace performances. I also do not refer to persons who employ crooked means to achieve their “success(es)”. No.

Those I am concerned with here are persons who by dint of sheer hard work, diligent preparation, perpetual self-education, and rugged perseverance, continually overcome (perceived) limitations in their environment, to achieve practically ANY objectives they set for themselves.

FINAL WORDS : In saying the foregoing, I must emphasize that sometimes, one may have to (as Jim Rohn said) change the environment(s) in which one seeks to succeed.

This can be especially relevant to persons engaged in activities outside paid employment. In following Jim’s advice however, some people may need to improvise(like I have), as not everyone will be able to “re-locate” physically to another environment.

Thankfully, technology and the Internet have today made it easier to increase your chances of achieving success. They do this by affording you convenient access to more favorable environments that are physically beyond your reach, while you remain where you are.

One example: A freelance writer based in India can get better paid – than s/he would at home – to do work online for clients in the US, Canada etc.

Another example: If you’ve been following my work online for some time, you of course know that I earn income as a Location Independent Multipreneur, from providing a wide variety of products and services to clients in different industries.

I do this over 80% of the time via the web (a growing number of Farm CEOs from within and outside Africa buy my custom Excel-VB driven Farm Support software).

I also do it while traveling back and forth between countries e.g. Benin Republic and Nigeria. For instance, I’ve just finished web development projects for a startup consultancy and a private university here. And just two days ago, a Farm CEO in Nigeria sent payment for my Excel-VB Poultry Farm Manager (Click here to see 15 user guide videos for the Poultry Farm Manager).

To get to this point where demand for my products and services comes this often, I’ve applied the ideas shared in this article.

One More Thing : This article was one of the very first articles I ever wrote as an entrepreneur.

It was written in 2002 – my first startup year (click here to view the version I published on Ezinearticles.com in 2006). The fact that I’m come this far, 12 years later, proves I’ve been practicing what I preached back then.

If you seek success in your personal or business life, you will need to do the same thing. Need help? Click here to contact me.

15 User Guide Videos for Tayo’s Excel-VB Poultry Farm Manager

July 29, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Join my Cost-Saving Farm Business Ideas club & Get YOUR Ration Formulator software, Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook & Poultry Farm Manager software!
Signup at www.iff.tayosolagbade.com

First Screenshot Demonstration Video of the PFM – Posted on YouTube on 9th Nov. 2013 [Over 23k views]

[Update: Saturday 2nd Aug. 2014 – NEW VIDEO shows auto-generation of Hen Day Percentage charts using modeless floating form – see below] Last saturday (26th July 2014), an Abuja based Farm CEO who’d been discussing with me for close to a month, regarding my Poultry Farm Manager(which he saw on Youtube), sent payment for 2 versions via bank transfer.

That order, along with a Print On Demand book publishing project for one of my Cotonou clients, has kept me too busy to find time to put my new book titled “Kukuru Danger™ in my online store as I’d planned.

Complicating things for me, in many ways has been the challenge of erratic Internet connectivity. It has really slowed down the pace of progress on all my project fronts, since I need access to reliable connectivity.

It got so bad that at a point I had to go from cafe to cafe in search of better speeds over the weekend, and even yesterday (Monday).

Strangely enough, even the provider I use developed an unusual problem, and their Blackberry Internet Service stopped working.

In the past, I have actually sent buyers my Excel-VB apps they ordered in zipped folder formats via email from my Blackberry smart phone.

Unfortunately, this time around, that option became unavailable!

All of this got me thinking. Especially the fact that my Poultry Farm Manager has many different interfaces that I have used screen shots to describe in a necessarily large PDF user guide.

Seeing how bad the connection speed was, I knew sending the PDF would be a tall order. What was more, some of the interfaces were rather too small when inserted in the PDF, and I felt a need to offer them something more “friendly”.

So, I decided to create short video demonstrations for EACH of the interfaces in the app, then use Microsoft Movie Maker to convert them to high quality compressed video files for upload to my Youtube channel.

Now, this is an example of why it pays to always go the extra mile in serving clients.

You see, it was in the process of creating a video trailer for one of my Cotonou client’s companies, that I discovered a feature in the Movie Maker that makes it possible to compress files as large as 700MB to as little as 10MB!

And so, when faced with this problem of getting all the needed quick start tutorial information across to the buyer of my app, I recalled that solution.

Long story short, yesterday p.m., after battling for hours with connectivity, I got the app sent to him via email in a cafe.

Then, noticing a marked improvement in connectivity later in the night, and I began uploading the videos I’d created and compressed to my Youtube channel.

However, by 10.30p.m yesterday, I’d only succeeded in uploading 2. The others gave all sorts of errors. And by the time I played back even the 2 I uploaded, I discovered they were missing my VOICE narration!

Somehow, while converting the files, I;d unchecked the “Export Sound” option in the software I was using!

I realized it was destined to be one of those days of many missings. So, I decided to go home and get some sleep

But I also knew I still had to finish creating the remaining videos.

So, I was up from 3.30a.m up till 5.00a.m when all was still quiet in the compound I live in, here in Cotonou – recording the remaining demonstration videos.

And since 10.00a.m this morning, I have been converting and uploading the compressed videos to Youtube. Right now, about 10 are left, out of a total of 15. That means I’ve only managed to upload 5. Time now is 7.00p.m, as I type this!

Each video recording is between 4 to 9 minutes long. Yet, some took as long as 20 minutes (in between lots of stoppages from broken connections!) to export to AVI format, post recording, after which I used Windows Movie Maker to convert them to High Quality smaller sized WMV files – which were then uploaded.

It was while going through all this, that it occurred to me that I might as well share the videos on this blog, as well as on my Cost-Saving Farm Business Ideas website.

This is because they basically afford all who are curious an excellent opportunity to SEE exactly how this app really works, and hear from me the “thinking” behind the design of it’s intuitive interfaces.

Most importantly, the demonstrations are done in a way that succeeding videos build on what has been done in preceding videos. Almost the way the app would be used in real life.

So you get to visualize what is actually possible, if you were to make use of it.

I believe that any serious minded, results focused Farm CEO wishing to evaluate this app, will find this collection of video demonstration a perfect means of achieving that end.

So, here they are embedded for your viewing pleasure…and if you wish to contact me about the app, click here to send your message.

Enjoy!

NB: I continue to embedd them as the upload for each video is completed. So far we have 7. You can always return to watch the rest – which should have been added latest by tomorrow a.m.

UPDATE (20th August 2020) | Video: Excel-VB Poultry Farm Manager [UPGRADE] – Auto Generate Payments to Suppliers In Imprest Cash Book [Click HERE to read true story about How an Ilorin based Farm CEO requested for this new feature to be incorporated into the app]

Update: 10.14p.m 29th July 2014 – ALL 15 videos now embedded below

NEW VIDEO: Automated Layers Hen Day Percentage Charts & Broiler Reports Generation

====

Video 1: Loading & Logging Into The Poultry Farm Manager

Video 2: Updating The Settings Table – Part 1 of 2

Video 3: Updating The Settings Table – Part 2 of 2

Video 3a: Setting The Age of Entry of Each Group of Birds Into “Production” (to enable the app calculate “Age in Lay” etc)

Video 4: Setting Up The Reporting Year and Month Via The Main Navigation Menu

Video 5: Updating the Layers Farm Operations Data Entry Table

Video 6: Updating the Broilers Farm Operations Data Entry Table

Video 7: Updating the Layers, Broilers & Chicks Feeds Stock Movement Tables – Part 1 of 3

Video 8: Updating the Layers, Broilers & Chicks Feeds Stock Movement Tables – Part 2 of 3

Video 9: Updating the Layers, Broilers & Chicks Feeds Stock Movement Tables – Part 3 of 3

Video 10: Generating The Dynamic Farm Operations Reports & Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Charts for Layers and Broilers – Daily/Weekly/Monthly

Video 11: Updating the (Feed) Suppliers Schedule

Video 12: Updating the Sales Schedule

Video 13: Updating the Imprest Cash Book

Video 14: Generating the Dynamic Income & Expense Summary Report (Weekly & Monthly)

Entrepreneurship, General, Public Speaking, Writing/Blogging

No. 152: Do You Need Blogging To Achieve More Speaking Success?

July 28, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

I say YES, because to become an expert-who-gets-paid-to-speak, you NEED to establish yourself as a thought leader – indeed an authority – in the minds of your target audience. Blogging is a powerful (and zero cost) strategy that can be used to achieve that outcome for the long term.

I say this as an expert-who-gets-paid-to-speak, who has now been blogging Mondays to Saturdays (sometimes Sundays) for over a year and a half.

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

Click now to view the latest issue of Tayo Solagbade's Public Speaking IDEAS page

Publication: Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 28th July 2014

No:152

Title: Do You Need Blogging To Achieve More Speaking Success?

Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [Tel: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic) ]

Blog URL: http://www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets

Archive (E-mail version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view

Archive (Blog version started 24th September 2011): Click here

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NB: This newsletter is published every Monday. Point your browser to www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays) in line with this publishing schedule

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IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS newsletter is published online on the “reincarnated” version of my Self-Development (SD) Nuggets blog. I continue to put finishing touches to the content. If you encounter ANY bad/dead links, and you can spare the time, email it to me via tayo at tksola dot com. Thanks in advance

No. 152: Do You Need Blogging To Achieve More Speaking Success?

I say YES, because to become an expert-who-gets-paid-to-speak, you NEED to establish yourself as a thought leader – indeed an authority – in the minds of your target audience. Blogging is a powerful (and zero cost) strategy that can be used to achieve that outcome for the long term.

I say this as an expert-who-gets-paid-to-speak, who has now been blogging Mondays to Saturdays (sometimes Sundays) for over a year and a half.

The results I’ve gotten in that relatively short period (like this recent one), prove that blogging, properly done, deliver significant, yet timeless self-promotion benefits!

Before I began blogging, I used to publish a monthly web based html newsletter (called the Self-Development Digest™) which I emailed to subscribers.

I did that – monthly – from 2006 right into early 2012.

Then in June 2012, I came across Patrick Meninga’s very educative 1 hour interview with Yaro Starak.

In it he shared the secret of how he started a blog, and through diligent and intelligent hard work, grew it to earn over $2,000 US dollars monthly via Google adsense..

And he also shared details of how he eventually sold the blog for an amazing $200,000 US dollars – becoming an Internet celebrity in the process.

Google “Patrick Meninga” to learn more.

After listening to Patrick’s MP3 interview, I distilled useful lessons I learnt from it, into an article on my blog – for others to learn from.

I did so because I realized blogging provided a much more effective means of promoting one’s work to a target audience. And could see it took much less effort, than I was expending in manually updating my HTML newsletter and website.

WordPress – being the powerful Content Management system that it is – makes the process of writing and publishing one’s ideas so much easier.

And it also lends itself much more readily to being indexed by search engine, by the very nature of its design.

As long as one publishes content that will be considered interesting or potentially useful by one’s desired audience, using WordPress can dramatically boost one’s visibility online in multiple ways e.g. via search engines, as well as on Social Media platforms.

Now, I had already experienced the benefits of writing useful content even with the manual HTML approach I was using (on my 9 year old former primary domain: spontaneousdevelopment.com)

I had also used article marketing via www.ezinearticles.com to boost the promotional reach of my writing.

Over the years, I’d seen my write ups get widely republished by other website publishers who picked it up via Ezinearticles.com. And the results had come in form of pre-qualified traffic to my website – some of which resulted in sales of my products.

Apart from the growing website traffic, I’d also over the years seen my books get purchased from my online store. Sales reports popping into my email in box, each week.

Then there were the websites that published reports, term papers and other resources, in which they quoted me on topics like Emotional Intelligence, based on articles I’d written.

In addition, I had the publisher of a university journal, in India, write me for permission to include my article titled “Are Your Employees Happy & Satisfied With Their Jobs? (A Ten Item Quiz That Can Help You Find Out). That journal has since been published and put on sale – my article was included, with my permission.

In essence I’m saying that I had seen how my relentless commitment to writing useful content enabled me build name recognition, credibility and authority status.

It therefore occurred to me that using blogging the way Patrick Meninga recommended it be done, would simply enable me take the results I was getting to a MUCH higher level.

Like I said at the start of this piece, as an expert in your chosen field, you are a potential thought leader.

But note the word I used there: POTENTIAL.

As long as you are competent and qualified, it means you have, in you the capacity, and capability, to become a thought leader in your field.

However, you must MANIFEST that potential. That is, you must put it to work for you.

The most effective way to do that will be to share your ideas, experiences, insights etc.

Now, a variety of ways exist to share what you know, in order to get accepted as an authority.

Speaking is a very obvious one of them…

However, you first have to get people to think highly enough of you to invite you to speak!

You have to SHOW them you know enough of something they desire to learn about.

To do that, you need to offer them “samples” of your knowledge and insights. And you have to do this on a regular basis, without relenting. That way, they will believe you have MORE to offer.

What’s more, if you do this right, they will actually assume you will be a better knowledge provider to connect with, compared to any competitors or rivals they are aware you have.

My experiences and observations convince me that offering such “samples” to your target audience is best done by writing creatively.

By CREATIVELY, I mean not just writing randomly, but doing it in a way that is deliberate and constantly evolving

This belief was what I based my entry into blogging upon, back in June 2012 (and today, I’m reaping massive multi-dimensional rewards, even more than I’d imagined possible) .

I knew I needed to do as Patrick had said – share passionately, what I knew. And I was already used to doing that from the article writing I’d been doing for years.

But I was excited to see the organized structure that a blog would help me achieve. For instance, the archives facilitated review of what I’d written, and exploring book ideas from them.

In fact, my new book titled “Kukuru Danger™: Adventures (& Misadventures!) of a School Age Child Trying to Make Sense of the World and his purpose in it!” which I will publish in my online store this week, was partly written using 2 articles I wrote on this blog last year.

And I’m already compiling material to publish a book on public speaking using a collection of my most read blog posts on the subject in a few weeks. [ See what I mean? And this is apart from the many successes (paid speaking/product sales wise) I’ve shared about in past articles.]

Those were the additional benefits of blogging that I foresaw. And they are what people who fit your target audience profile WILL SEE, when they check you out!

The writing you churn out via your blog (if useful) will gradually win them over, making them consider you ahead of your peers.

By the time decision makers contact you, and you “converse”with them in a manner that shows you’re as good as your written content suggests you are, chances are good they’ll choose to hire you over others.

It’s simple common sense. No meeting planner wants to hire a speaker who will under perform or disappoint.

So they always want to assure themselves you have the depth, and delivery, that is required to impress their members.

Your blog, with updated, and useful content gives them a good avenue to establish that, to a great extent.

I like to think of it as proactive/futuristic marketing, in which you’re writing now, to meet the needs and interests of potential clients, who are yet to “find you”.

By the time they do, you’ll have built a critical mass of useful content that will entice them to contact you!

But get this: If you do your blogging, as part of a Web Marketing System, such that videos, audios, and other “content” are accessible through it/via social media, you’ll achieve multiple benefits.

Final Words: Blogging – done on a consistent basis, to share useful content – boosts an expert’s credibility, and earns him/her authority status.

When that happens, s/he will naturally become an “attractive” option for meeting planners looking to hire an expert-who-speaks.

Note that apart from boosting your chances of getting hired to speak, “visibility” conferred by blogging can also attract new/repeat sales leads to you, for products and services you offer!

And that’s why many leading experts-who-speak, and even renowned mentors of highly paid speakers (like this one), use blogging for self-promotion.

So, why not get started with blogging today? Don’t know how? Or need help? Click here to contact me!

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Have a great week :-))

Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring
for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Sole Agent For Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Service In Africa

Mobile: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic)

http://www.tayosolagbade.com

Tayo K. Solagbade is a Location Independent Performance Improvement Specialist and Multipreneur (i.e. a highly versatile/multi-skilled entrepreneur), with a bias for delivering Best Practice solutions to

Farm Businesses and others.

Since 2002, he has earned multiple streams of income providing individuals and organisations with personal development training and coaching, custom MS Excel-VB solutions, web marketing systems/web hosting,

freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners).

Tayo is the author of the Self-Development (SD) Bible™ and the popular Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook. He is also the developer of its accompanying Excel-VB driven Ration Formulator™ and the Poultry Farm Manager™ software.

He has delivered talks/papers to audiences in various groups and organisations, including the Centre for Management Development, University of Lagos, Christ Baptist Church, Volunteer Corps, Tantalisers Fast Foods

and others.

In May 2012 he was the Guest Speaker at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.

On 1st April 2013, Tayo (who reads, write and speaks the French language) relocated to Cotonou, Benin Republic to begin slowly traveling across the West African region.

His key purpose is to deliver talks, seminars

and workshops on his key areas of focus and interest to interested audiences (Email tayo at tksola dot com for details).

In a previous life, before leaving to become self-employed, Tayo served for seven years as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer, to Training & Technical Development Manager, and then later acted in senior management roles as Production Manager and Technical Manager.

He is an Associate Member of the UK Institute & Guild of Brewing, a 1997 National Finalist of the Nigerian Institute of Management’s(NIM) Young Managers’ competition, a Certified Psychometric Test Administrator for Psytech UK, innovator of Spontaneous Coaching for Self-Development™ (SCfS-D™), and Founder of the Self-Development Academy Limited.

When he’s not amazing clients with his superhuman skills (wink), Tayo works as the creative force behind his Daily Self-Development Nuggets blog – on which he also publishes his Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS

newsletter(which he uses to promote Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring service to experts working across the African continent).

You can connect with him on Twitter @tksola.com and Facebook.

Visit Tayo Solagbade Dot Com, to download over over 10 performance improvement resources to boost your personal and work related productivity.

====
[IMPORTANT NOTE:====

On 4th May 2014, Tayo’s 9 year old domain (Spontaneousdevelopment dot com), which hosted his website, was taken over by Aplus.net.

Within a few days however, Tayo used his advanced self-taught web development skills to build a SUPERIOR “reincarnation” of it the website http://www.tayosolagbade.com.

But updates are still ongoing to URLs bearing the old domain name in most of the over 1,000 web pages, and blog posts

he’s published.

If you experience any difficulties finding a page or document, email Tayo at tksola dot com.

Click “Tayo, What Happened to SpontaneousDevelopmentDotCom ?” to read a detailed narrative about how the above event occurred :-))

Here’s an article Tayo wrote, to inspire others to defy adversity, and bounce back to even greater reckoning at what they do EVERY time:

Succeed by Emerging from Adversity Like a Phoenix (TayoSolagbade.com launches extra Hosting plan with FREE Web Marketing!)

And he wrote the one below, to explain why losing a domain name, no matter how old NO LONGER determines your online success or otherwise:

A Proven Strategy to Find Profitable Buyers Regardless of Your Domain Name

==================

Useful Resources for Speakers

Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters. Click here to visit his website NOW and submit a contact form message telling him what challenges you’re facing, and how you’d like him to help you. Tell him I sent you, and you’ll get a pleasant surprise offer from him.

Burt Dubin’s monthly Speaking Biz Strategies Letter [Signup & get a 7-Part Email Course on “How To Succeed And Get Paid As A Professional Speaker“]

Get Burt’s mentoring at any of the 3 levels below:

1. Top Shelf [Click here]

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Burt Dubin’s latest book: “On Being a Master”

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more information

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Discover how you can produce a precious memento of you and your program. Capture over 44 model pages you can easily adapt for your use. Engage proven principles that add value to the experience of sitting at your feet and learning from you.

This is a reprise of the historic presentation that launched the Speaking Success System.

No copy of this 2 CD program and 50 page Learning Guide has ever been returned.

more information

Download above PDF

Download above PDF

—

NEW: Your Practical Feed Formulation (& Compounding) Home Study Video Series Is Now Available

Click here to learn more

FREE TALK: How a Best Operating Process Management Sysem (BOPMS)™Will Earn Your Farm MORE Profits!

Download above PDF

FREE TALK: 3 Zero Cost Strategies to Attract Profitable Buyers for Your Farm Products!

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NEW: Coaching Program for Farm Products Marketing Success

THEY WROTE…

“(Tayo Solagbade) is amazing and I think he is going to produce some impressive results online…” – click here to read full comment by Patrick Meninga (US based 6 figure income blogger who gained fame for building a $2,000 per month adsense website and selling it for $200,000).

—————————–

“Tayo, I honestly believe you are one of those who will succeed at anything he does. Your commitment and effort has been outstanding….Thanks for all your hard work since I’ve been here – you will be sorely missed. I don’t need to wish you good luck, you have the ability to make your own luck. – Andy”(R. Jones)*

*Operations Manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc Benin Brewery, December 2001 (Handwritten comments in farewell/xmas cards sent to Tayo Solagbade following his resignation to start his own business).

———————–

Click here to contact Tayo…




SD Nuggets Blog™	New posts from last week that may interest you! *
Public Speaking[Monday]:	No. 151: 3 Reasons Farm CEOs Will Succeed as Paid Speakers
Entrepreneurship[Tuesday]:	To Achieve AUTHENTIC Success, Make Adversity Your Teacher and Friend
Self-Development [Wednesday]:	Readers Become Leaders ONLY If They Do The Right Kind of Reading!
Entrepreneurship[Thursday]:	People Who Take Without Giving Ultimately Hurt Themselves (Be It In Paid Employment or Business)
General [Friday]:	Achieve Parenting Success By Telling True Stories (Hint: About Your Childhood Failures & Successes)
Writing/Blogging/Entrepreneurship [Saturday]:	To Succeed Despite Misconceptions and Stereotypes, Let Your Work Speak For You (2 True Stories)
Want me to write for you? Click here to send me a message

Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring

for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

To Succeed Despite Misconceptions and Stereotypes, Let Your Work Speak For You (2 True Stories)

July 26, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Yesterday I had a Skype chat session with a Pakistan based Poultry Farm CEO, about my Excel-VB Poultry Farm Manager. At a point, he wrote: “it is good to see that kind of work from Africa”(screenshot below).

I knew he meant it was rare to find an African based in Africa, selling functional, and customizable Excel-Visual Basic software to a global audience.

Incidentally, he was not the first to do say that to me. Others have expressed similar sentiments in the past.

For instance, I’ve been friends with a “Singaporean” professional Excel-VB developer for about 5 years now…for the same reason…

He’d found my Excel Heaven website, and after watching my video demos, sent me a web form message to express how impressed he was.

Below: This video demonstration of a Financial Reporting App I built for a large Lagos based hospital in 2007, was one of those that got his attention:

He also pointed out that I could make a few additions to some of my demos, for better effect.

In that regard, he was referring specifically to an enhanced version of an MS Excel workbook for engineers, that I’d downloaded from www.structural-engineering.fsnet.co.uk – which (I think) is now also accessible via www.structural-engineering.co.uk.

See screenshot below.

I replied saying I really did not have much interest in doing more than I had already done, as I doubted that potential buyers in my target market (Africa), would be interested in that kind of solution.

My only reason for going as far as I had, was to “test” the idea that came to me after I’d browsed through the workbook. When I saw how the query interfaced I’d added really boosted the speed and reliability of data retrieval from the different spreadsheets, I decided to put it online.

I still recall sending a copy of the enhanced menu driven version of the workbook to the author of the original workbook (at www.structural-engineering.fsnet.co.uk), just to let him know what I’d done.

[NB: Back then, my spontaneousdevelopment.com domain was still active. So I’d sent it via tayo at spontaneousdevelopment dot com. As I’ve since explained on this blog, that 9 year old domain got taken over by Aplus.net, on 4th may 2014. Click here to learn why/how that happened.]

My Singapore based enquirer pressed further, saying that if I made the modifications he proposed, it would be MORE useful to others from developed societies.

I then told him I’d created that improved version and offered it for FREE download, only to give interested persons from any part of the world password free access to study what I’d done, and improve on it if they so wished.

At a point in our email exchanges, he expressed surprise that I claimed to be based in Nigeria (this was late 2007).

[NB: I’ve since relocated from Nigeria, and have been based here in Cotonou since 1st April 2013. ]

As he put it, he did not imagine anyone from that part of the world, could produce Excel-VB driven apps of the quality that he’d seen on my site.

I replied that I was indeed a Nigerian based in Nigeria.

He countered that he’d checked the headers in my emails and found they were coming from servers in the US.

I explained that I used a US based web host (Aplus.net at the time), and that that was why the headers showed GMT data suggesting my mails originated from that end.

To convince him, I offered to call him on the mobile phone number he’d supplied when he first submitted the web form message on my website.

This was so as to prove to him that I was indeed physically in Nigeria.

He agreed.

So, I dialed his number and on the first ring he picked up, and we spoke for about 20 seconds. I asked if he now believed me, and he said he did.

We then ended the call and returned to exchanging emails.

It was an interesting experience. Two developers from opposite ends of the world, more or less, establishing what would go on to crystallize into a long standing friendship.

Today, “KC” (his initials from his real name) is connected with me on one of the popular social media platforms.

And over the years we have shared all sorts of project ideas.

I recall one time I had a request from a large hotel in Allen Avenue area of Ikeja, in Lagos, Nigeria.

They wanted me to make my Excel-VB driven Hotel Records Management Software automatically tap into the electronic door key cards software database.

And they wanted it to link each guest’s name with my software’s modules for accommodation, restaurant, laundry etc. That way, each guest’s bill would be generated by my app without need for manual addition of corresponding records from the electronic door key cards software.

I tried to meet with the MD of the electronic door vendor company. He was initially reluctant to give me access to the disk for the software, so I could determine how best to connect to the database from my Excel app.

That is, until the Manager of the hotel told him they would NOT purchase the key card software, unless it was established that it would work with my app.

KC had offered some experience based suggestions…he’d been in the “business” much longer and had massive experience from developing custom high performing apps for use by clients in various industries – including oil and gas.

But by the time I was able to examine the software on the hotel PC, and the files on the installation disk, I discovered it was a normal MS Access database that the key card software used!

That made the task much easier than I’d thought it would be.

And I soon setup the needed code to dynamically connect my app to the database.

The point I’m making however is that if I’d needed support to do something much more advanced (which KC had thought would be the case), I already had a competent online colleague/friend I could reach out to.

And that happened courtesy of my decision to put my work online, from my small corner of the world right here in Africa.

As for my Pakistani Farm CEO prospect, his web form enquiry to me had indicated he half-doubted I actually had the competence my video suggested. See his exact words below…

My Youtube video for the Poultry Farm Manager had led him to me (See below)

But when I read what he wrote in the comments field, I knew again that the stereotype about people from my part of the world was causing some “noise” in my marketing message, for him.

So, when we finally had our chat session on Skype, I was not surprised when – after I’d supplied detailed responses to his queries – he wrote:

“it is good to see that kind of work from Africa”.

Non-Africans, from Asia, Europe and America especially, are so used to meeting people from our part of the world, who lack skills like those I display online.

Even what I do using my own brand of Web Marketing, to generate search engine based leads for myself, and my clients, is something I’ve had people from developed societies express surprise at.

I periodically encounter this (often involuntary) stereotyping online, and also offline when I meet non-Africans face to face – even here in Cotonou.

Over the years I’ve tried to interest fellow Africans I meet (especially colleagues and younger persons) in doing what I do, the way I do it, using PC and Internet technology…

But very few have been interested. Not even those who studied IT or some related subject. And those who showed interest never had enough passion to develop the needed proficiency to excel at it.

For some reason our people always want to take the “easy” route. Especially something that does not require much mental exertion.

Ironically, PC and Internet technology if well used, offer Africa – and Africans – the most cost-effective avenue to create jobs/employment and also generate income – as individuals, groups, and even as nations.

I am hopeful that the work being done by a few of us will over time inspire more of our people to wake up and take their destiny into their own hands, like we have done!

General, My DN Travel News, Parenting, Writing/Blogging

Achieve Parenting Success By Telling True Stories (Hint: About Your Childhood Failures & Successes)

July 25, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

I wrote my new book titled KUKURU DANGER™ for my kids. It’s a collection of 4 TRUE stories about my trouble filled years between the ages of 10 and 16. In this article, I explain why I decided to offer it to other children and their parents.

The book is subtitled “Adventures (& Misadventures!) of a School Age Child Trying to Make Sense of the World and his purpose in it!”

And I end each story in it with tips and insights based on my experiences, and achievements during that time, and since.

Stories have a powerful influence on people – regardless of age. Especially true ones…

I have been educated and empowered by stories of other people. Important lessons about how to win in life come from studying the mistakes as well as successes of others.

This knowledge drove me to invest many long hours (waking up at 3/4 a.m. sometimes, to do my recordings) into finishing the writing of this new book and creating the accompanying resources (the audio narrations).

You see, since I began spending more time away from my kids (after relocating to Cotonou, from Lagos 15 months ago), I’ve wondered how to continue the real world relevant coaching/preparation I’ve been giving them.

And so, the above desire was another source of inspiration I tapped into, to finish this new book.

It occurred to me that apart from entrepreneurship projects I periodically engage them in (e.g. making pineapple peel drinks and cakes which they now sell), I could also create learning resources for them to use via self-study.

That (i.e. self-tutoring) happens to be one of the many useful skills I’ve been coaching them to develop.

So I began to spend my quiet time, when free from client projects, recalling major episodes of trouble I got into back in my formative years.

Then I would sit down and record 30 to 45 minute audio clips narrating what transpired in elaborate detail. All the naughty things I did, along with school mates and peers. I left nothing out.

The ultimate purpose is to give my kids a feel of what my childhood was like, and why/how my inspiration to live a purpose fill life like I do today, comes from there.

I’m using an app I found online to create promotional cartoon short story clips based on the book’s contents, which will be available for download from my website.

The photo below is a cartoon version of the original which was taken when I was about 8 years. I’ll be using this cartoon version on the book’s cover.

This is a cartoon version of an original photo of me, taken when I was about 8 years. I'll be using this cartoon version on the book's cover. — This is a cartoon version of an original photo of me, taken when I was about 8 years old. I’ll be using this cartoon version on the book’s cover.

The audio narrations are also ready. Every buyer of the book gets the audio version on an auto run DVD FREE (or via download as MP3).

Below: Another photo of me…this time more than 3 decades older than I was in the 1st photo above. This 2nd photo was taken this morning (25th July 2014) in Cotonou, Benin Republic at 8.30 a.m.

I’d just had a quick meal of spaghetti at my favorite spot on the way to one of the cafes I use.

And I have 6 of my own kids now. 3 of them between 11 and 15.

So, my decision to write my book came mainly from thinking of how to share my experiences when I was that age, with them.

I felt – from watching their reactions when I told them some of the stories – that we would connect better that way.

Experience has also taught me that doing this makes it easier to help people. They get to reflect on what they “learn” at their own pace.

Each of my kids owns an MP3 player with a memory card, that I bought a while back…

They listen to music most times on the devices, despite my warnings

But I have also discovered that they do play the MP3 recordings I did of myself saying words in French and translating to English.

That’s actually one of the main reasons I bought those things – as part of their preparation to break the into learning the French language, towards joining me here in Cotonou.

When I meet them on my next visit, the MP3 versions of the stories from this new book, will be copied on to each child’s memory card, so s/he can listen and play back at will.

And each one will also get a copy of the complete book.

Final Words: I have big plans for my kids – And I feel every parent should have the same for their kids too!

I want my kids to make a better success of life than I did at their age. This will better equip them to be more competent in adulthood than they would be without such guidance.

It is my firm belief that parents need to play such roles in the lives of their kids, especially in today’s increasingly wayward world.

That’s why I urge you not to stop at just making sure they get “formal education”.

You need to give them a part of yourself, that will help them find meaning and direction in life.

It is to help other parents who may wish to do the above, that I decided NOT to limit my book and its audios to my kids.

Instead, I’ve chosen to publish it for purchase as a physical/print book that can be shipped to buyers anywhere in the world. Those who want a digital version in any of the popular formats will also be able to buy it from the same location – my online store i.e So, on Monday 28th July 2014,, I should be announcing the “release” (LOL!) of my “book of 4 true and educative childhood stories”: Kukuru Danger.

If you wonder what “Kukuru Danger” means, don’t worry, the promotional cartoon clips will soon make it known!

In the meantime, have a great weekend everyone. I know I will!

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Self-Development

People Who Take Without Giving Ultimately Hurt Themselves (Be It In Paid Employment or Business)

July 24, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

“After listening to each of my subordinates give me a self-appraisal of their performance, I have come to the conclusion that I have only three types of people working for me – Stars, All Stars and Superstars!” – Gunther Brink

Do you justify the pay you get for each day you show up at work?

In one of his books, Robert Kiyosaki noted that many people in paid employment today continue to demand to be paid more for doing less work!

Think about it. Some people go through a whole week (or year) without doing anything more than their jobs’ basically demand (sometimes they don’t even do up to that!), secure in the knowledge that come rain or sun, their salaries would be paid.

And this is true.

In many companies, for as long as you remain on the payroll, you will be paid – even if you perform poorly or averagely (especially with the labour union there to “fight for workers”).

That’s why Robert says that salary earners do not “earn” money – instead they actually receive “handouts”.

Now, before you challenge this point, I refer you to Zig Ziglar’s observation about people going to work each day without doing anything differently from the day before.

It is indeed – as he put it – A FACT.

The irony is that many find it easy to close their eyes to the FACT that they are asking to be paid more – or promoted – despite not adding any extra VALUE to their jobs!

The only time they change their reasoning in this regard, is when they start their own businesses and their own employees make similar demands of them!

Only THEN does it dawn on them that such employees’ requests are unrealistic!!

In the real world you WON’T get paid for work you do not do!

The obvious exception to this rule are crooked persons who acquire unearned income e.g by taking bribes, stealing, cheating etc

The real world demands that you prove yourself worthy of every reward you get.

You must sow before you reap. You have to give in order to receive.

Only in paid employment do we find this law of nature almost totally disregarded.

And that’s why when many people retire from well paying jobs, they are unable to adjust to surviving in the real world.

This is because they discover that (contrary to what obtains in paid employment), just putting in minimal effort does not result in multiple fold income returns.

For those who are NOT in paid employment, the need to “live in the real world” as described above is equally relevant.

Just being out there does not prove that you are “there”. What do you do with each day you spend there?

I refer here to fellow entrepreneurs, some of who choose to take the easy way out by failing to deliver promised value for payment they receive.

How well do the products and services you provide to paying clients, fulfil the promise made to buyers?

One Example: I’ve had nasty experiences with certain Internet Service Providers (True Story)

This has happened to me several times. Just before you pay they are all polite and friendly. They assure you their connectivity has not match in the area.

When you start using the service, it often works as good as they promised.

Then at some point everything goes crazy…I’ve had many instances in which just getting my mail box open took over 30 minutes. And uploading a 5KB file kept timing out in Filezilla!!!!

So you pick up the phone and call them. It takes maybe 10 attempts before you get someone who picks up. And s/he basically tells you “Well, from our end here, everything is working perfectly.”

To add insult to the injury, s/he may even go further to say “In fact, you’re the only one who’s calling to complain. All our other users are getting along just fine. Maybe you need to check your computer, and see if there’s a fault at your end.”

Saying this usually makes many people feel uncomfortable, as they are made to look like trouble makers. So, even when the problem is unresolved, they don’t call for support again.

The ISP support staff use this tactic knowing (or thinking) you won’t be able to tell if they are lying or not.

Unfortunately for them, they did not know someone like me would show up…!

Experience had taught me to hook up with at least one other person who used the same platform.

So, I’d always call him up. 99% of the time he often had the same problem.

Once I confirmed I was not alone, I would call support and ask them what the problem was.

If the agent tried to bamboozle me with the usual crap, I’d then tell him/her what I’ve already confirmed through my friend who lived in a totally different area.

Most times when I did this, s/he’d ask me to hold on. And then s/he would miraculously return saying they’d been informed that a fault was being rectified by “our engineers” in some zones!

In truth these people often already KNOW a problem exists even BEFORE selling to you!

But if you ask them if all’s well, they’ll often say everything’s OK.

Why?

It’s simply because they cannot bear to pass up sales by telling buyers that kind of truth.

Now, I understand their need to sell. But I disagree with their negative philosophy.

In my opinion, if you do not want to lose sales, then WORK HARD (proactively too!), to eliminate problems that can give clients bad experiences.

That way, you will have no need to lie and deceive people who want to sign up with you!

But people with this kind of mentality, rarely want to do such hard and honest work.

They prefer fleecing their buyers…giving as little as possible to get as much as possible.

Final Words: People who take more, while giving less, ultimately hurt themselves!

James R. Cook once wrote that “there are hidden penalties working against those who seek to get something for nothing.”

Those who act in the manner described above, be it in paid employment or elsewhere, VERY rarely endear themselves to others who work honestly.

What’s more, employers/clients who get cheated by them often find ways to break up with them.

As a location independent multipreneur, I have a unique opportunity to serve individual and organisational clients – in different societies (e.g Nigeria and Benin Republic). And I see people who display the negative habits described in this piece.

With very few exceptions, they rarely achieve long term authentic success.

If you do not wish to end up like them, I recommend you seek to add equal or greater value to everyone you meet – especially those who pay you to serve them at work or elsewhere!

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, General, My DN Travel News, Parenting, Public Speaking, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

Readers Become Leaders ONLY If They Do The Right Kind of Reading!

July 23, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Michael Angier once wrote that:

“Reading can be a powerful catalyst for thinking; it has the potential for stimulating wisdom.”.

I agree…but I would add that the “kind” of reading you do, will often be more important than the frequency at which you do it!

For instance, in talking about “reading”, I’m not referring here to gossip/entertainment magazines or even religious books!

Those can form part of one’s diet, but they should NEVER be the main course. Otherwise, one is likely to end up with a version of the “rickets of the mind” that Jim Rohn once wrote about.

In truth, if everybody spent their quality time only reading jokes, or books on religion, sports, comedy and entertainment in general, this planet would die a rapid death.

To get more leaders we need people to read MORE non-fiction texts. Indeed, even those who write fiction have benefitted from doing this!

It’s important to remember that many resources (e.g innovations) that make the world progress, were developed by people who spent (and spend!) their quality time THINKING up new and better ways of doing things.

And they do not do that by sitting in front of the TV, or going to comedy shows, or reading religious books round the clock.

Instead, they spend (and spend!) considerable time in research stations or other work spaces, to create, innovate and invent for mankind to take MORE quantum leaps forward.

That’s however not to say those who create and innovate, are only those who stay indoors to work…!

I’m just saying those who “lead” us in that manner often focus on thinking about how to make improvements happen, in their respective fields.

And very often, if asked, they will tell you they do lots of reading to help that process!

Interestingly, even the sportsmen and entertainers who excel at the highest levels in their fields, have reported that READING and THINKING played a great part in their phenomenal evolution.

Click here to read examples about the testimonials by legendary achievers from all walks of life, about the impact that reading Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich had on their personal and work related performances.

On the above page, celebrity boxers, basketball stars, music stars and even pastors(!), were quoted as saying great benefits accrued to them from reading “Think & Grow Rich”.

And yet that book is NOT about sports, or music, and certainly NOT religion!

However, we must give them credit for doing it right.

When they read that book, they did not stop there. Instead, they did what the author said, and went out to apply what they learnt from it. And that was what led them to success.

“Reading without thinking gives a disorderly mind, and thinking without reading makes one unbalanced” – Confucius.

I have also read “Think & Grow Rich”.

And in many of my past write ups, dating as far back as 2002, I have attested to the amazing insights it provides about achieving personal success – in ANY field.

The road map, and guidelines are clearly given.

You simply follow them, with unrelenting persistence and faith, to get the promised results.

Sadly, our educational system as it currently is does not really teach us to enjoy reading and thinking.

We all know that in many schools and institutions of higher learning today, the student only has to memorise notes given by the teacher, and do a “verbatim return to sender” to get full marks in class!

Whether the student can explain what he has written down, apply it in real life for a productive end is never an issue as far as the teacher is concerned!

Sometime in the past, I watched an inter-schools debate competition aired on a local TV station in Nigeria.

I was amazed by the ability of the students to make their arguments by reeling off one point after another, employing sophisticated vocabulary (that even university undergraduates would struggle with!) in the process.

The manner in which they delivered their speeches, however strongly suggested they were simply reciting what they memorized!

Typically, the teacher would write on paper for the student to “upload” to “memory”, for later “download” during his/her presentation.

As a result, the kids rarely made effort to understand what they read.

I believe that was why some of the students got totally confused, when they missed a line during their “recitation”!

That happened on more than one occasion during the debate event I watched that day.

My question is “what responsible school teacher or school owner would allow such damage to be done to students’ thinking abilities in order to win a competition?”.

In Robert Kiyosaki’s book “If You Want To Be Rich and Happy, Don’t Go To School?”, he wrote about how the traditional educational system was teaching American children to be “mindless parrots”.

He also quoted R. Buckminster Fuller on how each of us, and our children, can protect our minds from being “numbed” by such experiences.

Fuller stated that despite the fact that he was bothered by – and therefore questioned – many of the things he learnt in school, he found it necessary to give his teachers “their” answers in order to ensure he went through school successfully.

He however made sure he never stopped thinking along the lines of those things he felt to be true.

By so doing, Fuller was able to protect his own genius from the damaging impact of the traditional educational system. The rest of us can learn from this approach, and teach our kids to use it as well.

There is a frustrating dearth of real thinkers in Nigeria…and I dare say Africa in general

One great thinker we had who – unfortunately – has now passed on, was Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary Afro Beat Musician.

Even today, the lyrics of his songs show us how far ahead he had thought about (and “seen” into) the future of this country – and continent.

He had reflected deeply over the problems of the black race in Africa, and tried to open our eyes to the folly of the ways we chose (or were advised to follow).

A few of us listened, but the majority have missed it.

Why? Because those who missed it found it difficult to reflect on what he was saying and understand his concerns.

They simply stopped at enjoying his good music!

“The mind must be exercised if it is to grow and strengthen. The more you use your mind, the more it will improve your ability to think” – Jay Anderson

This inability (or unwillingness?) to think is not unusual. Long ago, Henry Ford said:

“Thinking is the most exacting job there is, which is why so few people engage in it”.

That’s why we need to discourage ROTE Learning (i.e. cramming) in schools.

It is important for people to “understand” what they “learn” because we learn new things in order to apply them to productive purposes later.

For instance, you learn “how to drive” so that you can eventually drive your car around unaided.

As Robert Kiyosaki explained in one of his books, if we employed the “traditional” school approach, you would learn all the theory of driving by memorizing the steps involved.

But, you would actually spend little (if any) time practicing how to drive the car using your new knowledge!

When that happens, you end up unable to drive a car even though you’ve been to driving school! Thankfully that is hardly ever the case, because it is easy to assess the value of the training given you in a driving school.

When you complete your driving lessons (and IF you have been a diligent student), you should be able to drive a car by the time you are leaving.

If you can’t, then you would have a right to challenge your driving “teacher”.

Final Words

“A chapter a day, keeps failure at bay” – Anon.

I have personally met many graduates of computer science from Nigerian universities, who after graduation go on to enrol for courses in private computer schools to gain basic computer appreciation skills!!

This is often because they discover that in the real world, the things they’ve been taught are outdated, and irrelevant to current developments in the industry.

If the problem is from their “teachers” and the students are unable to (or unsuccessful in) getting them to change their methods, such learners MUST invest personal time and effort to LEARN using the proper methods.

And that would be by reading to understand, and then THINKING based on what they have read and understood.

Those who do so are the ones who succeed in today’s world. That’s because they emerge as independent learners i.e. person’s capable of learning and apply what they learn to productive ends in the real world.

In the 21st century and beyond, the world will be depending more on such people, for it’s evolution to new levels.

The above is why a visionary genius like Alvin Toffler once wrote as follows:

“The illiterate of the 21st century, will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn” – Alvin Toffler

Entrepreneurship, My DN Travel News, Self-Development

To Achieve AUTHENTIC Success, Make Adversity Your Teacher and Friend

July 22, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Some people (wrongly) believe delays, setbacks and disappointments should only persist for “wrong doers”. If such happens once too often for them to rationalize, they get paranoid.

Then the “Devil” (poor guy) gets accused of trying to make them fail!

In about 750 words, I explain why you’re better off embracing YOUR adversity!

“I often tell people who readily accuse the “devil” at every opportunity, that the chap has so much on his plate – from God – to deal with daily, he rarely even notices most people who claim he’s after them!” – Tayo K. Solagbade

If it’s not the devil, people “finger” someone in the “village” for “using remote control” to make their fortunes go sour. Even worse, sometimes friends/relatives tell the affected person that it’s his/her mother, house help, or neighbour, who is a witch, keeping him/her from succeeding!

In extreme cases, the person may be told s/he is possessed, and needs deliverance from “failure”.

I exaggerate NOT. That last one was actually proposed to ME!!!

…AND of course I PROMPTLY threw it out the window!

What I have highlighted above is quite common – especially in my part of the world.

Too many here wrongly believe difficulty should never take long to be overcome, in one’s life.

If it persists, as far as they are concerned, sinister forces must be at work!

Yet the evidence all around us, even historically, clearly indicates those who pass through difficulty successfully, end up achieving often superior levels of successes.

James Cook in his New York Times best selling book (The Start-up Entrepreneur) said years of studying the lives of many successful entrepreneurs, revealed a distinct trend to him.

He noticed those entrepreneurs who had adopted “modest objectives” went through “modest stress and adversity”.

On the other hand, those courageous enough to settle upon “larger ambitions”, before finding success, had to “endure painful struggles and overcome long, bitter periods of intense anxiety”.

From the evidence he amassed, Cook rightly concluded, that the “greater the suffering” an entrepreneur passed through, the greater the rewards s/he inevitably reaped”.

Indeed, in sharing his own story, Cook later on referred to the “frequent bad experiences” as “shrewd instructors”, that help entrepreneurs build character needed to achieve lasting success.

I drew understanding and deep inspiration from reading Mr. Cook’s analysis in that book, to boldly confront my demons as an entrepreneur, in my early start-up years.

It was a time when inexplicable bad experiences frequently came my way!

I honestly believe that if I had not read that book (and Napoleon Hill’s Think & Grow Rich), the seemingly pointless hardships of those years, from 2002, would have made me quit long ago.

Incidentally, I was also able to draw useful inspiration from recalling a saying common amongst my people, here in Nigeria – the Yoruba.

Long ago, while a student in the university, a colleague of mine had first used it. He said:

“Eni ti o ba fe se nkan ti eni kan o se ri, O ma fi oju ri nkan ti eni kan o ri ri”

Contextual translation: He that wishes to do what has never been done before, will have to confront obstacles/challenges never before seen!

Since I had big ambitions of achieving name recognition and credibility on an international level, this Yoruba saying made me feel my “prolonged suffering” signified that I was on the right path.

What I started out doing back then, is basically what I still do today – as a provider of Self-Development/Performance Improvement Information & Education (talks, articles, books, reports etc), Farm Business Best Practice Solutions, and Low Cost Excel-VB solutions

The information shared by James Cook, in his book helped strengthen my resolve.

And all of that made it easier for me to stay committed to my cause…

Even when others indirectly questioned my sanity…or the sense in what I was doing.

Today, with the growing success I now enjoy, which is consistent with what I envisioned over 10 years ago, no one can argue that I was wrong to have followed the path I did!

Final Words: If you embrace YOUR adversity, you WILL ultimately succeed as well!

In conclusion, I strongly advise ANY entrepreneur (start-up or not) to develop a sound understanding of the “purpose of adversity”, and keep it at the back of his/her mind.

Use the information shared above, and also explore the 2 books I mentioned (by Cook and Hill respectively).

They offer invaluable guidance on how to reap powerful benefits from adversity.

If you do it right, you will paying your dues, with regard to adversity, and ultimately “earn” your right to the enviable heights of success you aim for.

Good luck.

PS: Read my article (written in 2006) titled “Practical Guiding Philosophies For Entrepreneurial Success“.

It offers additional useful insights. (Note that the byline at the bottom of that article still links to my former 9 year old domain; spontaneousdevelopment.com – which will NOT work when clicked. Find out why HERE(CLICK). I continue working to update all links on my site and elsewhere.)

Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, My DN Travel News, Public Speaking

No. 151: 3 Reasons Farm CEOs Will Succeed as Paid Speakers

July 21, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

The world needs Farm CEOs (who do what I describe in this article) to become public speakers and inspire it! If you could see what I envision, you would believe me instantly. But I know that’s hard for most people (especially farm business owners!).

So, I’m committed to presenting and representing this idea in as many forms as possible. [Here’s a recent article I on the same theme].

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

Publication: Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 21st July 2014

No:151

Title: 3 Reasons Farm CEOs Will Succeed as Paid Speakers

Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [Tel: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic) ]

Blog URL: http://www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets

Archive (E-mail version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view

Archive (Blog version started 24th September 2011): Click here

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IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS newsletter is published online on the “reincarnated” version of my Self-Development (SD) Nuggets blog. I continue to put finishing touches to the content. If you encounter ANY bad/dead links, and you can spare the time, email it to me via tayo at tksola dot com. Thanks in advance

No. 151: 3 Reasons Farm CEOs Will Succeed as Paid Speakers

The world needs Farm CEOs (who do what I describe in this article) to become public speakers and inspire it! If you could see what I envision, you would believe me instantly. But I know that’s hard for most people (especially farm business owners!).

So, I’m committed to presenting and representing this idea in as many forms as possible. [Here’s a recent article I on the same theme].

This time around I’m discussing three (3) reasons why a Farm CEO (who does what I describe below) WILL succeed as a paid speaker.

Reason No. 1: They Will Bring More Authentic Information to Audiences

Prof. Mrs. Janice Olawoye, when lecturing us back in the department on Agricultural Extension Services, introduced the term “Indigenous Knowledge Systems”(IKS) to us.

It referred to unique methods independently developed by farmers, to successfully solve problems they faced.

Ideally, for farmers to get improved performances, IKS’ from different farms should be carefully documented and shared to places where they are not known.

I have seen farmers exchange ideas for dealing with health and feeding concerns of their birds. Sometimes the person who benefits may end up avoiding major expense this way.

And that happens just by TALKING to another farmer.(It happens in daily life too. For instance, nursing mothers give valuable money saving tips to one another, about caring for their babies.)

Now, imagine if EACH farmer forms the habit of THINKING up new and actively implements such ideas, on a pilot scale, tweaking them, until improved farm results are achieved.

Then just imagine s/he, is able to verify (e.g. in the case of a new ration formula, or a cheaper alternative feed ingredient) that no harmful side effects occur from using this new approach.

Maybe s/he sends feed samples at different phases of implementation, and also has the Vet examine the animals etc.

Would that not have been a successful on-farm performance improvement trial?

And would it not be easy for him/her to scale up and implement it on the larger farm?

The answer to both questions is YES.

And what I have just described is what a Catfish Farm CEO in Nigeria has repeatedly told me he’s doing, with great results to show for it.

I have previously written about him. He is based in Ibadan, in Nigeria’s Oyo State.

So, he’s NOT waiting for the next farm research finding or idea to come from the lab coated experts in the agro-research labs, or their lecturer colleagues in the academia.

Now, please don’t get me wrong here…

I do NOT mean farmers should stop listening to (“talks” by) farm support experts who offer research based solutions for farmers to adopt.

That is the extension model that has after all been taught – and used – for years. As a graduate of Agricultural Extension Services, and an extension professional, I know this.

However, it is my considered opinion, that too many agro based learning events (seminars, workshops, conferences) are taking place within many countries, without farm business owners being attendees, talk less of being active partakers.

Yet, some of those absent farmers may have powerful, and viable ideas or solutions that can add value to those same events!

Reason No. 2: They Will Inspire Younger People to Venture Into Farm Business

Let’s get something straight about the kinds of farm owners I refer to in this piece.

They are those who operate at a commercial level via intensive farming methods. This is the smarter model that’s needed to take farming to the next level – not the peasant system.

Now, the farmer clients I have, for instance, often own devices and resources that enable them make use of PC and Internet technology to boost their productivity.

If shown how, they can do much more with those tools.

And that’s where I come in.

It is also why they come to me asking about my Excel-VB driven Ration Formulator, Feed Formulation Handbook and Poultry Farm Manager.

Some enquire about the Best Operating Process Management System (BOPMS) ™ I offer to develop to help farms run more productively.

And more recently, I’m getting enquiries about the Sales & Marketing Coaching Program I offer Farm CEOs. For instance, about a month ago, I was invitied (by the CEO of an NGO planning to start a farm) to deliver a paid talk in Ogun state, Nigeria.

These CEOs, being the smart thinkers they are, contact me, because they want to expend less effort, time and money, to boost output.

And they know it can be facilitated by using technology and by adopting best practices.

Their success in doing the above, will – over time – erode the stereotype about farming being unfashionable, risky, or unprofitable.

Young people who see this will therefore be more likely to consider farm business worthwhile.

Reason No. 3: They Will Attract More High Profile Investors into Farm Business/Agriculture

As a Performance Improvement Specialist, I believe Farm business owners will thrive better if they SHARE their discoveries, without necessarily giving away secrets that make them competitive.

This happens in the IT industry where players “cooperate” even though they are competitors.

“Coopetition” is what it’s called. (Google it for more…)

It’s why one software application will offer features to make it work with a competitor’s product. It’s also why both companies can team up to take the industry to the next level, and offer buyers more options.

Smart businesses don’t’ forces customers to buy ALL they need from them only, by refusing to offer cross compatibility. They know that apart from stifling progress, it eventually back fires!

Smart Farm CEOs can help themselves, and others by offering PAID speaking services.

I’m emphatic about “getting paid” because it’s crucial to getting yourself taken seriously at this level. You may of course have to start by speaking for FREE, to get some experience under your belt. But aim to get paid eventually.

Yes. I mean YOU, as a Farm CEO, can deliberately, prepare, package, promote and present (hat tip to Burt Dubin for those 4 Ps), what you know, or do, and get paid for doing so.

That implies you must be sure it works, and is beneficial enough, before you offer it.

I believe the Farm CEO in Ibadan, is ripe for this. Twice now, when a client of mine asked me for ideas about cheaper alternative ingredients, I’ve readily referred to him. That shows how sharing what you know can influence others to see you as credible!

Today, more investors are seeing traditional channels offering less promising returns.

So they are increasingly looking for more viable opportunities.

Of course they hear lots of talk about agriculture being a money spinner. But we all know it’s not a straight line to success. There are real risks involved in many farm related ventures. And it often takes major expertise, and time, to reap the returns, substantial though they can be.

This is why Farm CEOs who function as experts-who-speak are VERY likely to help boost investor’s confidence, when they share their discoveries and recorded progress.

And since they would be offering verifiable evidence based on what their farms produce, prospective investors may consider them useful guides on where to invest their funds.

If you choose to adopt this don’t be surprised if some investor walks up to you, after your talk, and offers to put money down for you to take what you described to the next level etc!

Question: How many times have you seen a keynote by the CEO of XYZ farms at a high profile event?

It happens – but by exception most times.

Quite often, CEOs of businesses in more “familiar” industries like entertainment, consulting and manufacturing get chased after to speak at all sorts of events.

Young people who see this happen tend to get the impression that those fields are the best to venture into.

I cannot speak for other societies, but here in Africa, I feel Farm CEOs are too “quiet” for their own good, and for the good of the industry!

Many experiences Farm CEOs undergo, to make their ventures succeed, equip them to deliver keynote speeches on not just agriculture/farming, but also on entrepreneurship and business in general.

The problem is many successful farm business owners themselves do NOT even know this.

So, I’m telling every Farm CEO – including YOU! – reading this article right now, that it’s time to let the world know you can add more value to people, than just supplying farm products!

It’s time for you to stop having others deliver speeches to you, about what works – especially when it’s sometimes YOUR farm they get key information used to prepare their speech from!

Final Words: What You Can Do…

If you agree with the above, and wish to act on it, I’m pleased to tell you that learning to be an expert-who-gets-paid-to-speak, has been made much easier today

Burt Dubin, a renowned mentor of some of the world’s highest paid speakers, offers a unique range of home study speaker mentoring products, along with the option of his personal mentoring service, for experts who need it.

I see YOU getting invited to share your unique ideas, findings and discoveries at conferences locally, and even internationally.

Indeed, if you make smart use of the web, the latter (international speaking) may even happen before the former!

Why? Because people with new, and proven ideas to move the industry forward are in HIGH demand, and agriculture is regarded as key to long term economic prosperity of nations!

To get started learning how to “package” your knowledge, for use in speaking for a fee, I recommend you browse through Burt’s home study products.

Starting with the one described below…

This may turn out to be all you need, to open a new page of major income in your life!

PS: If you have questions, or need clarification, click here to contact me.

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SPECIAL PRODUCT FEATURE

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Plus, you learn a proven shortcut to top level speaking business success across corporate markets.

So, with diligent persistent application of what you learn you’ll start (as Burt says)…”bringing home high speaking fees”…whether you speak or not…in a matter of weeks….

Sooner than later you’ll find you’re ready to go for Burt’s mentoring at Diamond or higher Inner Circle membership level.

The best part is: every cent of your fee to purchase this product counts toward your membership in Burt’s Inner Circle.

In other words, you effectively get to eat your cake and still have it!

CLICK HERE to get full details of what it takes to make yourself a true speaking business champion in Burt’s Boot Camp V: Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets

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Have a great week :-))

Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring
for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Sole Agent For Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Service In Africa

Mobile: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic)

http://www.tayosolagbade.com

Farm Businesses and others.

freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners).

and others.

In May 2012 he was the Guest Speaker at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.

On 1st April 2013, Tayo (who reads, write and speaks the French language) relocated to Cotonou, Benin Republic to begin slowly traveling across the West African region.

His key purpose is to deliver talks, seminars

and workshops on his key areas of focus and interest to interested audiences (Email tayo at tksola dot com for details).

newsletter(which he uses to promote Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring service to experts working across the African continent).

You can connect with him on Twitter @tksola.com and Facebook.

Visit Tayo Solagbade Dot Com, to download over over 10 performance improvement resources to boost your personal and work related productivity.

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[IMPORTANT NOTE:====

On 4th May 2014, Tayo’s 9 year old domain (Spontaneousdevelopment dot com), which hosted his website, was taken over by Aplus.net.

Within a few days however, Tayo used his advanced self-taught web development skills to build a SUPERIOR “reincarnation” of it the website http://www.tayosolagbade.com.

But updates are still ongoing to URLs bearing the old domain name in most of the over 1,000 web pages, and blog posts

he’s published.

If you experience any difficulties finding a page or document, email Tayo at tksola dot com.

Click “Tayo, What Happened to SpontaneousDevelopmentDotCom ?” to read a detailed narrative about how the above event occurred :-))

Here’s an article Tayo wrote, to inspire others to defy adversity, and bounce back to even greater reckoning at what they do EVERY time:

Succeed by Emerging from Adversity Like a Phoenix (TayoSolagbade.com launches extra Hosting plan with FREE Web Marketing!)

And he wrote the one below, to explain why losing a domain name, no matter how old NO LONGER determines your online success or otherwise:

A Proven Strategy to Find Profitable Buyers Regardless of Your Domain Name

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Useful Resources for Speakers

Burt Dubin’s monthly Speaking Biz Strategies Letter [Signup & get a 7-Part Email Course on “How To Succeed And Get Paid As A Professional Speaker“]

Get Burt’s mentoring at any of the 3 levels below:

1. Top Shelf [Click here]

2. Mid Range [Click here]

3. Budget Delight [Click here]

Publications

Burt Dubin’s latest book: “On Being a Master”

Download Chapter 1 Preview as PDF

Visit the “On Being a Master” website

177 Wow! Wow!

Showmanship Stratagems

Discover these secrets of making your programs more interesting and valuable to your clients and audiences now.

more information

Burt’s Flagship Album

This is the product to own if you can own only one. Why? Because in it you discover principles of platform mastership available to you nowhere else at any price.

With its Money back if not delighted Guarantee hardly any are returned.

Find out why

Presentation Magic

Presentation Magic Manual with new pages added plus 3 audio CDs.

more information

How To Create a Great Program Manual

This is a reprise of the historic presentation that launched the Speaking Success System.

No copy of this 2 CD program and 50 page Learning Guide has ever been returned.

more information

Download above PDF

Download above PDF

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NEW: Your Practical Feed Formulation (& Compounding) Home Study Video Series Is Now Available

Click here to learn more

FREE TALK: How a Best Operating Process Management Sysem (BOPMS)™Will Earn Your Farm MORE Profits!

Download above PDF

FREE TALK: 3 Zero Cost Strategies to Attract Profitable Buyers for Your Farm Products!

Download above PDF

NEW: Coaching Program for Farm Products Marketing Success

THEY WROTE…

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*Operations Manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc Benin Brewery, December 2001 (Handwritten comments in farewell/xmas cards sent to Tayo Solagbade following his resignation to start his own business).

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Click here to contact Tayo…




SD Nuggets Blog™	New posts from last week that may interest you! *
Public Speaking[Monday]:	No. 150: 4 Tips on Successful Public Speaking…from Muhammad Ali!
Entrepreneurship[Tuesday]:	To Win Profitable Clients, You Must Know Their Hot Buttons (A True Story)
Self-Development [Wednesday]:	A Powerful Tool for Solving Your Website’s RSS Feed Problem (Based on a True Story)
Entrepreneurship[Thursday]:	I Flopped Badly At The National Finals! (A True Story About How NOT To Prepare For/Deliver An Important Presentation) – with Photos
General [Friday]:	What Do YOU Tell YOUR Child About Rampant Wrong Doing S/he Sees In Society?
Writing/Blogging/Entrepreneurship [Saturday]:	Back Good Quality Website Content With Delivery of Value Promised, to Achieve Web Marketing Success (Special Offer: Buy My Ration Formulator Software, and get my Poultry Farm Manager Software FREE)
Want me to write for you? Click here to send me a message

Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring

for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Who Is An “In-House Expert”? (My Definition )

Common examples include IT managers and their lieutenants.

Other types of in-house experts are the Project Managers, HR managers, PR managers, Marketing Managers, Business Development Managers, People /Organisational Development Managers, Engineering Managers etc.

The Problem: In-House Experts’ Can Sometimes Be Afflicted With “Experts’ Blindness”!

So, in my opinion, when someone functions as an “expert” to others around him/her, s/he becomes a little more prone to his/her human nature/weaknesses – making him/her more likely to make mistakes.

The implication of the above is that your plans based on the advice of that “expert” may end up failing!

Without staying alert to unexpected changes or new developments (some previously unknown to even the most experienced among us) that could occur, we stand little chance of achieving success with any degree of consistency.

Help Your In-House Experts Remember To Act In Line With The Organisation’s Best Interests

In some cases, that has led to the collapse of the organisation concerned. Or the loss of valuable market leadership to “underdog” competition.

The In-House Expert’s Ideal Role: To Add Tangible Value With His/Her Unique Expertise (True Story)

Following some discussions, it was agreed that an in-house solution be developed.

The application also automatically produced a one-page report that identified TEN(10) specific areas in which the company had OVER spent and UNDER spent respectively, on materials usage.

The In-House Expert’s Ideal Mental Attitude: Objective & Results-Focussed

Those senior technical managers – as well as the IT managers – functioned PROPERLY and successfully as the In-House Experts they were EXPECTED to be.

Instead, they wisely remained objective and open minded enough to see that the unique problem in the technical function required a unique solution.

Your Company Needs “Non-Partisan” In-House Experts

Can you imagine just how STUPID anyone who took the advice of the guys who wrote the above mentioned memo MUST have felt AFTER seeing demand for the telephone in business and society skyrocket?!

Summary – Set Up Systems To Help Your In-House Experts KEEP Doing Their Jobs Properly

The fact that your company is BIG does not mean a seemingly “small” person cannot have a BIG idea that can make your company bigger!

Your aim should be to thoroughly review every new ideas, for its potential uses and applications!

It was an ailment the child’s doctors believed could not be treated.

A Mother Who Knew How

The foregoing narrative illustrates how an individual, through self-help/belief, can achieve what – before then – would have been considered “impossible”.

An Employee Who Knew How

Many times after classes, he would insist on staying on with his Cameroonian teacher to practice speaking/writing fluent and grammatically correct French.

A Run Of Bad Luck?

Reaping The Rewards

For some strange reason, the MD singled him out and asked him “Tu parle Français?”(“Do you speak French?”).

While they were still at the bar, the MD called another Cameroonian, a senior manager, and said (pointing to the young Nigerian) “Il parle Français comme un Camerounais!”(He speaks French like a Cameroonian!).

Of course he got noticed for that many times afterwards, and made friends much more easily as a result.

Now, Let Me Ask You A Question

And by the way, that young man was this writer.

Were They Just Lucky?

This can be done first by reflecting on previous experiences – and current happenings – as well as carefully evaluating signs or signals of likely future occurrences.

People in different areas of human endeavor sometimes complain that they can’t succeed or achieve advancements in their personal/work lives.

FINAL WORDS : In saying the foregoing, I must emphasize that sometimes, one may have to (as Jim Rohn said) change the environment(s) in which one seeks to succeed.

Another example: If you’ve been following my work online for some time, you of course know that I earn income as a Location Independent Multipreneur, from providing a wide variety of products and services to clients in different industries.

One More Thing : This article was one of the very first articles I ever wrote as an entrepreneur.

Related Article(s):

First Screenshot Demonstration Video of the PFM – Posted on YouTube on 9th Nov. 2013 [Over 23k views]

That order, along with a Print On Demand book publishing project for one of my Cotonou clients, has kept me too busy to find time to put my new book titled “Kukuru Danger™ in my online store as I’d planned.

In the past, I have actually sent buyers my Excel-VB apps they ordered in zipped folder formats via email from my Blackberry smart phone.

So, I decided to create short video demonstrations for EACH of the interfaces in the app, then use Microsoft Movie Maker to convert them to high quality compressed video files for upload to my Youtube channel.

However, by 10.30p.m yesterday, I’d only succeeded in uploading 2. The others gave all sorts of errors. And by the time I played back even the 2 I uploaded, I discovered they were missing my VOICE narration!

It was while going through all this, that it occurred to me that I might as well share the videos on this blog, as well as on my Cost-Saving Farm Business Ideas website.

I believe that any serious minded, results focused Farm CEO wishing to evaluate this app, will find this collection of video demonstration a perfect means of achieving that end.

UPDATE (20th August 2020) | Video: Excel-VB Poultry Farm Manager [UPGRADE] – Auto Generate Payments to Suppliers In Imprest Cash Book [Click HERE to read true story about How an Ilorin based Farm CEO requested for this new feature to be incorporated into the app]

NEW VIDEO: Automated Layers Hen Day Percentage Charts & Broiler Reports Generation

Video 1: Loading & Logging Into The Poultry Farm Manager

Video 2: Updating The Settings Table – Part 1 of 2

Video 3: Updating The Settings Table – Part 2 of 2

Video 3a: Setting The Age of Entry of Each Group of Birds Into “Production” (to enable the app calculate “Age in Lay” etc)

Video 4: Setting Up The Reporting Year and Month Via The Main Navigation Menu

Video 5: Updating the Layers Farm Operations Data Entry Table

Video 6: Updating the Broilers Farm Operations Data Entry Table

Video 7: Updating the Layers, Broilers & Chicks Feeds Stock Movement Tables – Part 1 of 3

Video 8: Updating the Layers, Broilers & Chicks Feeds Stock Movement Tables – Part 2 of 3

Video 9: Updating the Layers, Broilers & Chicks Feeds Stock Movement Tables – Part 3 of 3

Video 10: Generating The Dynamic Farm Operations Reports & Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Charts for Layers and Broilers – Daily/Weekly/Monthly

Video 11: Updating the (Feed) Suppliers Schedule

Video 12: Updating the Sales Schedule

Video 13: Updating the Imprest Cash Book

Video 14: Generating the Dynamic Income & Expense Summary Report (Weekly & Monthly)

No. 152: Do You Need Blogging To Achieve More Speaking Success?

The results I’ve gotten in that relatively short period (like this recent one), prove that blogging, properly done, deliver significant, yet timeless self-promotion benefits!

Then in June 2012, I came across Patrick Meninga’s very educative 1 hour interview with Yaro Starak.

After listening to Patrick’s MP3 interview, I distilled useful lessons I learnt from it, into an article on my blog – for others to learn from.

Now, I had already experienced the benefits of writing useful content even with the manual HTML approach I was using (on my 9 year old former primary domain: spontaneousdevelopment.com)

Apart from the growing website traffic, I’d also over the years seen my books get purchased from my online store. Sales reports popping into my email in box, each week.

In essence I’m saying that I had seen how my relentless commitment to writing useful content enabled me build name recognition, credibility and authority status.

As long as you are competent and qualified, it means you have, in you the capacity, and capability, to become a thought leader in your field.

Now, a variety of ways exist to share what you know, in order to get accepted as an authority.

What’s more, if you do this right, they will actually assume you will be a better knowledge provider to connect with, compared to any competitors or rivals they are aware you have.

This belief was what I based my entry into blogging upon, back in June 2012 (and today, I’m reaping massive multi-dimensional rewards, even more than I’d imagined possible) .

In fact, my new book titled “Kukuru Danger™: Adventures (& Misadventures!) of a School Age Child Trying to Make Sense of the World and his purpose in it!” which I will publish in my online store this week, was partly written using 2 articles I wrote on this blog last year.

It’s simple common sense. No meeting planner wants to hire a speaker who will under perform or disappoint.

I like to think of it as proactive/futuristic marketing, in which you’re writing now, to meet the needs and interests of potential clients, who are yet to “find you”.

Final Words: Blogging – done on a consistent basis, to share useful content – boosts an expert’s credibility, and earns him/her authority status.

And that’s why many leading experts-who-speak, and even renowned mentors of highly paid speakers (like this one), use blogging for self-promotion.

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Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring
for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

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