I just ordered for this lovely book by Charles Handy "The Age of The Unreason" from konga.com. I heard about this book some years back from one of my mentors Mr. Dapo Adelegan the C.E.O of the Celtron Group and an integrated communications and public relations expert as well as the initiator of the first ever Lekki Sun Splash. That was about seven years ago while I was studying for my post graduate degree in Educational Policy and Planning at The University of Ibadan, Nigeria. I asked my elder brother who currently lives in America to avail me of a copy then but couldn't remember what actually happened. I eventually didn't get a copy. Immediately I got an ATM card to one of my accounts, I went online to make a purchase on some of the numerous sites but got my order declined because the card was issued in Nigeria. Let's say that most sites didn't want to ship to Nigeria, so I dropped the idea. The best I could do was to read excerpts and comments of those who had read the book.I would be receiving my order in 5 days from now and you know what? I would be paying upon delivery and at a discount! What could be better than this?The interesting thing about this whole thing was that I read the book before I actually read the book...of course from the lessons and experiences of Mr. Dapo Adelegan shared in the seminar and also from further discussions we had as a result of our mentor-mentee relationship.

This speech continues to inspire me and I would love to share some of my experiences with you too.Please follow me. Charles Handy is a Harvard Professor of Economics. he stated that amongst other things that life in the 21st century belongs to the unreasonable people, "people who can re-invent the wheel". People who can go against the norm to the realm of self awareness and actualization and you will agree with me mostly in the areas of technological innovation and commerce.My main focus is in the relation of my topic to the realities of today's businesses.It is not enough to have a job. It is not enough to have a product. It is equally not enough to set up an enterprise and fold your arms.A business without patronage will surely die naturally.The first time I attempted to purchase on the internet in 2007, I couldn't do so because almost every site on the internet rejected a Nigerian card or were practically unwilling to ship to Nigeria. Today konga.com has given us the option of payment upon delivery. Nowadays my wife orders from jumia.com even little things like blender and kiddies shoes.I can now imagine how much businesses and deals that would have been consummated by these internet stores because of their rigid business policies. Of course on the downside Nigerians are known for internet fraud but are also not the only country known with that vice. if you doubt me you can Google it up. It took 6 years to achieve this feat by konga.com. Now konga.com is playing on the same field with Amazon.com. Its customers and not jobs that matters.Let me share some points with you:

1.No matter how great your business or ideas sound,if you don't have customers asking for orders you might just be selling to yourself alone.The question you need to ask is this." Am I satisfying my needs or the needs of my customers?. For some of us,we get so passionate about our businesses that the only person that can understand our businesses is us.Clarity matters. KNOW WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT AND GIVE IT TO THEM.

2.While you are working for yourself or somebody else know that your customers is your gateway to success. Customers are the heart of every business.You will definitely needs skills learnt in your career,parents and personal experiences to achieve this. Why? Because customers will buy from the emotional,financial and psychological points of need.Identifying and sustaining your changing customers' needs will most likely keep you in business.

3.You will work more,spend less on yourself but spend more on things and people.Most rich people in the Nigerian term i.e.people working in oil firms banks,telecommunications,serial entrepreneurs,government contractors work long hours everyday. They acquire choice cars,wonderful mansions,private jets but spend less time enjoying them. Their hangers-on enjoy these things more than the providers because they have so much time on their hands as they cater for these rich people. I pay N5,000.00 a month for my satellite TV subscription by DSTV but I spend less than 2 hours in front of the television daily.I need to go out to make money so that I can afford to subscribe for the service next month. Guess who enjoys the rest hours? Not my wife of course. She works too as hard as I do. In fact we pay so much for nannies for our two little children than we pay for feeding them. This takes me to my next point.

4.Your skills and the ability to use them will keep you employed.Look at the case of working couples who have children.There are so many day care centers,dry cleaning outfits today in Nigeria than there were 10 years ago. The rise in the working population and couples have given birth to the growth and expansion of these services.The dynamics of our population is an indication that there will be emerging business opportunities for the unreasonable people.

5.Your skills will find you out.There so many skilled and enterprising graduates in Nigeria roaming about and waiting for the opportunity to be a part of the shrinking workforce in Nigeria.This is a recipe for disaster.Today you hear that about 10,000 people applying for 50 job slots in an establishment.Because of this employers have come up with ridiculous screening processes and job requirements.Employers have also used this opportunity to underpay and over work staff and this is not only a Nigerian phenomenon.Employees work around the clock and there is little or no time for recreation. In some cases,employees are ready to monetize their recreation for additional pay just to be able to absorb the ever expanding bills.Since the crash of the stock market and glut in the real estate,investments in these two areas have significantly reduced.Banks have not been spared too as they are constantly shrinking in size and workforce these days.

However following the principle of the S curve as explained by Charles Handy, it is only logical to conclude that a lot of employees would definitely have to change jobs throughout their work lives. This means that constantly updating your skills and using them to solve other peoples needs will most likely guarantee you a paycheck at the end of the month.This is the time to look deep and discover what you are passionate about,learn more about them and use them to empower others. This is what we do at Rosewindow Consulting.(www.rosewindowconsulting.com). According to Napoleon Hill, you can get almost all you want if you can help others get theirs.
Finally,this is a wake up call for us in the 21st century. I have not met Charles Handy personally and he has not given me the brief to help advertise his book, I believe "Take Charge of Your Time, Take Charge of Your Time" my eBook was drawn from the inspiration of my encounter with Mr. Dapo Adelegan and his short story and life lessons drawn from the book.These books however can help change your perspectives in the 21st century.It is not enough to wait for pension or gratuity.It is not enough to slave for overtime allowances.It is not enough to wait for pay rise but to take charge of your situation by constantly building yourself. I once read that the only antidote to staying employed or employable is the ability to be productive. Think about this. I see you on top of your riches.

Kolawole Kehinde is the Principal Consultant at Rosewindow Consulting and currently lives in Abuja. He can be reached on kola@rosewindowconsulting.com for speaking events and seminars on personal development, time management and marketing business services in the 21st century.You can read some of his articles on www.rosewindowconsulting.com