I was approaching the Achimota overpass when I noticed the clouds have come down. Midway through my destination, I contemplated for few minutes if I should return or proceed with my trip. I was meeting a prospective member of our board for a meeting which had been rescheduled for the umpteenth time.
The undulating roads quickly had their oxbow tendencies exposed as the torrential downpour precipitated its way on the asphalted roads.
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I kept my hands fixated on the wheels observing and appreciating the relevance of the wiper blades. Thankfully they moved at top speed, I wondered if the gentleman by the road who asked me to buy his pair had assessed it well. They have an interesting way of letting you know your windscreen wiper needs to be replaced. I would have been gnashing if the recent evaluation by the vendor at Dzorwulu junction was on point as I approached the traffic. My only concern was the heat I enjoyed in the cold, as I rolled up the glasses. No AC; ‘heat nkooa’. I would make a mental note to fix the gas leakage- I thought.
I had gracefully maneuvered through the meandering of road and the newly created ‘river’ by the downpour. It was a drive-through experience! The note I gave to the gentlemen who were directing vehicles through the ‘river’ at Ogbojo was the closest cedi note I could pick. They couldn’t have been grateful than I was. If you ignored their direction, you better be ready to swim; you couldn’t tell where your car would have landed.
Not long after, I reached my destination. The gentleman at the security post wouldn’t appreciate that I had been on an adventure and each time I lowered the glasses to explain the purpose of my visit, the rains kept entering the vehicle. He maintained that I call my host for him to speak with him. I did.
After the session, I quickly drove off. The rains were intermittent this time. Few minutes through I heard some sound on one of the tyres. I stopped. Onlookers could tell I was dazed. A driver’s mate reached me and explained that it was a fault from my hand brake connected to the back tire. He asked that I release the brake, I did, but the car wouldn’t move as expected.
I thanked him as he advised me to find a mechanic around. He loaded his bus and sped off. I saw a passer-by who directed me to a mechanic. In the Bible days, this gentleman would have been referenced as a Samaritan; he stopped to show me the way to the ‘inn’. I explained the situation from the ‘mates’ perspective to the mechanic so he could pick the needed tools. All this time the rains were gracing the earth.
I could not complain much as my neatly ironed jeans got muddied with splashes by drivers who will not pay attention to know that there was a packed vehicle with two persons fixing it.
I took leadership and business lessons from the scenarios. Let’s see how many we can discuss in this conversation.
- Diagnosis: The mate was my mentor — If I am right, I have by far written on mentoring than any other subject. Although I do not have a book that fully discusses it yet, I have quite a number of publications online on the subject and made a few contributions as a chapter in a book like ‘Career Advantage’, which I co-authored.
Among the many definitions, you could find on mentoring, is that a mentor is an adviser or a person who provides direction or guidance. Although I maintain that the functions of a mentor go beyond these, the core of what a mentor does is seen in providing clarity of purpose or ideas. Mentors identify arrowheads and provide counsel to launch them into their careers.
‘It’s always good to have a helping hand at the start. I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere in the airline industry without the mentorship of Sir Freddie Laker.’ Famous for the Virgin brand, Sir Richard Branson is recorded to have appreciated the role of his mentor Sir Freddie Laker, especially during a time Virgin airlines was having challenges. For me, it was my car. ‘Levels dey inside’.
The driver’s mate also called a conductor was my Sir Freddie Laker. He identified the problem and showed me what or who could have the solution. Some people do not have the ultimate solution for you, but they are essential in accessing what your problem is and pointing you to who or where to get results from.
Are there not times that you visit a doctor in the out-patients-department, the doctor diagnosis your problem and refers you to a specialist, another doctor, or facility? That is the essence of diagnosis. That doctor did not have the immediate results for your recovery but was critical in determining what your problem is and tells you what to do next. The mate diagnosed what the problem was with my car; he checked the hand brake, asked me to lift it up and down. Asked me to move the car. He observed the tyre and concluded I needed a mechanic.
- Connectors: The passerby was a Good Samaritan: The Bible says the Good Samaritan took the wounded man to the inn. In the parable, a man was wounded, having been attacked by armed men. Different people passed by, but none went to the rescue of this lonely traveler.
The Good Samaritan in this scenario was a connector. He took the man to the inn. He served as a bridge between the wounded man and the hospital. In the classic we observe that he was equipped; he paid for the services rendered to the man.
This passerby was my Good Samaritan. He was my connector. He served as the link between my stationery vehicle and its solution. He pointed and walked me to the mechanic’s shop. Well, he did not pay for the services for me if that is what you are thinking.
Connectors in business are critical. An introduction from a senior colleague may be all you need to launch your business into autopilot.
After being recognized as ‘artiste of the year’ by the VGMA, multiple award-winning gospel act Joe Mettle took to stage to launch his ‘God of Miracles’ album. The rendition observed the celebrated musician introduce to the audience a rather unknown singer. ‘Help me welcome to the stage, Luigi Maclean’, he announced. Today Luigi is known for his touching vocal delivery and his praise renditions are widespread.
- Investors: The mechanic fixed the car. The mechanic owned the final solution to what I was looking for. Getting to the mechanic required two important personalities whom I have already discussed; the mentor who diagnosed the problem and the connector who linked me to the mechanic.
The mentor as it were could not fix the car for me. He helped put the challenge I had in good perspective. Sometimes you have an idea; you share it with someone and they help to plot your idea on a business model canvas.
You test the viability of the idea or concept through various approaches. The mentor or coach here critiques your value proposition and questions the market size of who may be prospects for your business. You make important considerations including cost structure and revenue stream and very importantly, you agree that you need an investor especially if your business is a huge one.
An investor here may quickly refer to a person who provides money for the business. For the purpose of this discussion, I will like you to consider the role of the investor to not be limited to money only, although I cannot over-emphasize its role.
Various stages of every business require a certain degree of investment. As a start-up entrepreneur, I relate to the challenges we face and the need for sustained investment for our business ideas to take off.
Among many reasons, one of the important things to attract or receive financial support has been to refine the original concept of our business. A compelling pitch to the right investor does a good trick. More importantly, we should be able to project the potential for growth of our start-up to prospective investors.
Some of my ideas have received financial sponsorships. However, it is important that we keep learning and shaping what we do to benefit from grants, angel investors, crowdfunding, and venture capitalists.
Each of these investment opportunities for businesses has specific requirements which you may have to fine-tune your project, idea, or business to be able to attract. I recommend further study on these.
Crucially, we need to be our own investors. How much have you committed to your own idea? A lot of investors will often assess how much risk you have taken yourself to merit their investment.
