Lolu Mogaji

Is your organization an Employment Station or an Employment Destination?

Lolu Mogaji — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:15:11 +0000

I am sure someone would be thinking right about now, that this topic appears unusual, but in the true sense of things, it really isn’t. Please don’t stop reading now, as you are about to understand the reason why this question is being put to you.

Going by the literal definitions of the two key word in the title, i.e. “Station” and “Destination”, a station in this context does not necessarily mean a bus, train station, as its literal interpretation might imply, it simply connotes a place where people make a stop over when in transition to a desired destination. Therefore, if your organization is considered to be a station, it means that it your employees are just using your organization as a crutch, a temporary support,… imagine a situation where an employee says about his employer “Half a loaf is better than non” or in an extreme situation “This is where I have found myself for now, and there is very little I can do about if for now, however, I am on the lookout for that opportunity of a life time”. An employment station is an organization where people just hang around while waiting for the next ride out in the direction of their desired employment destination. When an organization positions itself as an employment station, it denies itself of the opportunity to be categorized as a Destination. In other words, the facilities are not such that make people want to stay and relax, rather they just endure for a while and then jump at the next available opportunity to escape the place that denies them of the opportunity to willingly and joyfully release there creativity. An employment station is comfortable enough for waiting, but not comfortable enough for staying.

A destination in tourism parlance could mean a desirable location where people go to relax or have fun, a place where known to accommodate people for business and pleasure purposes as the case maybe. Therefore if we look at this definition in the light of the topic,

When you ask someone what their destination is, it is expected that they should know. Right? And when a person knows his destination, it is implied that such an individual has focus, and purposeful. Therefore when an organization is an Employment destination, it means that it is a choice and highly desirable place of employment for a select class of individuals called “Talents”, these people have specific skills that are in high demand, and they are willing to deploy such skills for specific organization(s) that posses specific characteristics in return for certain expectations to be met. Or simply put, your organization is the organization that everybody dreams of, or wants to work for at some point in their lives or in the process of building a career. It must be noted that this is not just because of monetary reasons alone, but for several other reasons that far outweighs financial remunerations. Any organization that has developed the ability to attract, retain and engage talents is indeed an employment destination.

Now with all the above descriptions, there are some interesting questions I thing you should ask yourself if you are an employee:

Am I a Talent?
Am I waiting or Staying?

And if you are an employer:

How strong is my employer brand?
Are my employees waiting or staying?

MAXIMIZE THE MOMENT!

Lolu Mogaji — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:49:24 +0000

Beyond the way you dress, a critical success factor in the workplace or anywhere two or more people converge to achieve a purpose, better still anywhere there is human interaction is; the way you address people.

I have said it several times, and I will say it again, “Image is everything.” In the community you belong to, how do the people you interface with frequently percieve you? One of the several ways to get answers is to stop and ponder on how you address people. Many have fallen for the notion that Image is all about dressing, I wonder where they got that from? As important as dressing is in determining a individual’s Image quotient, it cannot on its own deliver the final package of a strong and positive image without the introduction of other important ingredients one of which is the focus of my discuss today.

Every time you relate with people, you unconsciously leave them with an experience, and these experiences ultimately forms the basis of the image they form of you, unfortunately, the experience might not be a true representation of who you truly are, as it might just be circumstantial, e.g. you might just be having a bad day. But someone might have gone away with a wrong impression of you based on what they experienced of you in that particular moment. In as much as it could be practically impossible to have perfects moment with everybody you meet in life. I believe it is possible to gradually minimize the negative impressions that could be formed of you by simply minding your moments. Allow me share a personal experiences with you:

I was invited to be a guest on a T.V talk-show, and on getting there, these are the things that happened; the other guests and I had to wait for almost an hour after the scheduled time just to be called on set. Also, we were not properly briefed on how the show would run, the host just came on set and asked for our names and just started the show without even saying “Hello” to any one of us. We have questions thrown as us and I must say we did a good job at tackling the questions. Recording lasted for almost two hours, and then the host gave final thought on the issues we had discussed, signed off and just walked away. We were left sitting there on set in a state of shock, and of course trying not to let it show, and then in came a lady who handed us a Nylon carrier bag each containing Take-away fried rice and Chicken, a medium sized pack of fruit juice and a bottle of water which made the whole experience feel like a big insult… The host did not even deem it fit to say hello, or at least apologize for keeping us waiting for over an hour before bringing us on set, then you have you way with us during the recording and afterwards, you just walk away without saying thank you for making out time to be on your show which we never asked to be on in the first place, and finally treating us as thought the agreement was that we would at least be given some food after the whole encounter. I complained about the way and manner we were treatment, and till date no apology has been issued by the host of that show. Oh! Here is the joke; I was called about a week later by one of the people working for the host, asking me for sponsorship support. Can you beat that? You don’t need to be a Rocket Scientist to know my answer.

Lessons: Despite the celebrity image the TV show host possessed, and the ratings he or she had in my mind before the encounter, the image vanished and ratings crashed, simply because the moment was not properly managed. If I, who was possibly the least prominent of all the guests invited on that show that day feel this way, imagine what the others felt, and what impression the Host would have made on them, based the manner with which we were treated, or addressed. Long story cut short, we all left that studio feeling violated, and that feeling cannot be easily shaken off. MIND HOW YOU ADDRESS PEOPLE!

Here are a few points that might be helpful to bear in mind as we together work towards creating positive impressions by going the extra mile to watch how we address people.

1. Have a balanced and healthy opinion of yourself: An over-estimation or under-estimation of self would reflect on how you address other people, and strongly inform the kind of impression they form of you. Balance is the keyword here.

2. Place value on people: If you place value on people, it would show in the way you relate to them, most importantly, you would be addressing them based on the value you see and not any other measurement.

3. Never be in a hurry to judge any one (BOD: Benefit of doubt)

4. There is a reason for every action or reaction. Take a closer look. Probe deeper! : For instance, my experience shared above could have happened because of a series of events I may never know about until I probe deeper. But the question is this; how many people have the time to probe deeper? Not many. Therefore for your sake and the sake of your Image, do your best possible not to leave things to chance. Do your best to be at your best!

5. Consider these Rules: Treat people the way they want to be treated. Treat people the way you want to be treated.

NAME OR FACE? (Part 1)

Lolu Mogaji — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:44:50 +0000

A few days ago, I asked this question on Facebook, and within one hour, opinions poured in from all over the world. Along with the opinions came several questions and requests that I should shed more light on the topic, therefore I decided to express some of my views on the matter from an image and branding perspective. Please feel free to comment on this post after you finish reading it, I am persuaded that your contributions would further shed more light on the topic. Enjoy!
Lets cut through the protocol and make the point, I presume we all know what a face is and what a name is, that is literally speaking. However, for the purpose of this post, I would like us to consider some other meanings these two words might have.
It is interesting to know that the two can be linked to the identity of a thing, place, or a person, so lets take it deeper.
What is a face? Beyond just being a medium of identity, a face in the context of this article could termed as popularity, visibility, however, when it comes to building a brand
Some people may chose a face, I dare say that it does not take much to have a face, for example, creating some hype about yourself through the instrumentality of the media, grant interviews on radio, write articles or have them written for you, show up in the news , be controversial, ride on sensationalism, etc. What this does is to draw public attention to you, and once that is done, its consequents most times is that people expect more from you, their expectations of you becomes very high, and God help you! If you are all about the hype and you are not worth your onions in terms of meeting such expectations. This is the side effect, particularly when all you are after is to be famous. I know of people who used to be the rave of the moment”, and that was simply what they were, now that the moment has gone, they are nowhere to be found in the scheme of things when it comes to the profession, vocation, industry they belong to. When you are just a known face, take it from me, you are you are performing below capacity, because there is a huge vacuum. A face is not enough to complete the cycle.
What is a Name? Simply put a name is a “Reputation”, by way of definition; a reputation is the opinion that people have about what somebody or something is like based on what has happened in the past. Building a name is not as easy as having a face, it take careful planning, consistency at doing something well overtime. A Good name is like wine, if gets better with time, if the bearer obeys the law of consistency.

Daily Branding

Lolu Mogaji — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:46:26 +0000

How much are you doing on a daily basis to reinforce your personal brand in the minds of your target audience? Building a personal brand in this time can prove to be an onerous task that requires specific and consistent activities. These activities must be worked into the daily life-styles of the bearers of the personal brands. In this blog post, I will highlight 5 points that I believe would help anyone who’s desires to build a personal brand, but does not know where and how to start. It is said that the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. The personal brand journey also starts with daily consistent steps in the right direction. Here are some steps to consider. Enjoy!
• Be purposeful about every day and live life deliberately: An effective personal brand is a product of carefully planned messages and activities, communicated and executed consistently on a daily basis. Therefore, it becomes imperative for the builder/bearer of a personal brand to draw up a daily map of what I call DPBGs (Daily Personal Branding Goals). These DPBGs can be broken down into activities called PBDs (Personal Brand Deliverables), these are little goals that must be achieved on a daily basis.
Example: If you are out to build your personal brand online, and you have a blog that you use as a platform to communicate and promote you personal brand, then a DPBG might be to gather relevant materials daily for the articles you would be posting on your blog, or that you would be posting something on your blog on a daily basis. Another example could be that you would engage in a particular activity or a set of activities daily. These activities are as varied as there are personal brands, so it is left to you to map out your own strategy and follow it through.
• Make your DPBGs top priority, and be faithful in ensuring that you attend to them daily. In the world of branding generally, the keyword is consistency, once it is taken out, then branding process is as good as truncated. Therefore inn order to secure the branding process, the bearer of the personal brand must ensure that his or her DPBGs are at the top of the priority list and must remain there. To put it differently, if you are truly serious about building a strong brand, then some of your DPBGs should form your personal culture. Let them always be on your “To do list”.
• Listen for comments, feedback: There’s a lot you can learn from your target audience, particularly on how your personal brand comes across to them, it’s only from them you can really know if your brand is doing well or not. The only way you can know how your brand is being perceived is if you listen to the audience you have decided to communicate it to. According to Richie Dayo Johnson, “feedback is the breakfast of champions”. If you don’t form a habit of soliciting for feedback, you may be operating in the realm of self deception, this is because you personal brand will stand a strong chance of survival if you have access to honest and objective feedback, particularly from target audience. Questions like: what are the changes you have noticed about me, my services, my style, etc? Would definitely draw out some quality feedback from your audience, this would give you an understanding of the health of your personal brand, and also some insight into areas that require attention.
• Review and analyze findings: Critically look at your findings, carefully pick things that need attention, and get back to the drawing board, because personal branding is a daily thing and tomorrow is another day.

YOUR PERSONAL BRAND POWER SOURCE.

Lolu Mogaji — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:32:32 +0000

As it has been found to be true that every force has a source where it generates its power from, so also a personal brand. In this post, I will be drawing your attention to the 3 main sources of that give a personal brand its power.
THE POWER OF EMOTIONAL IMPACT:
It is often said that; “people will first buy into you before they buy from you.” Meaning before a decision to buy a product, employ someone, patronize a business, is taken, usually an emotional connection/ reaction precedes it, and with the right measure of rational thinking mixed with it, the decision is taken. Specifically, when it comes to taking a decision about a person, it is often about emotions first. Most times, we like to think the decisions we make on buying something is completely based on logic, however in the real sense of it, such a notion is far from the truth in many circumstances. Imagine if an entrepreneur who is ready to take his /her business to the next level, steps out to hire a public relations expert to handle some publicity activities, despite the fact that such a decision would be taken based on some measurable factors, but in most cases the decision to grant the so called expert an opportunity in the first place will be based on how the entrepreneur feels about the expert and his/her strategy. Therefore, for a personal brand to be effective and powerful, it must be able to evoke strong emotions in the minds of its target market. Such emotions may include; confidence, trust, warmth, admiration, respect, friendship, etc.
THE POWER OF CONSISTENCY:
For a personal brand to resound so strongly with its target audience to the extent where positive actions are taken in favor of the brand immediately is a rare occurrence, it hardly ever happens. This is because a process has to be followed, i.e., to notice, gradually begin to appreciate and then eventually take the brand seriously, and this process has to be subjected to time and multiple exposures. What this means in a nutshell is that you need to keep your core brand message consistent and fresh from month to month, and year to year, before you can be taken seriously.
Who you are, what you do, and how you provide value for your target market must of a necessity remain the same over time so that your prospects can become familiar with you. Its too crowded out there, there are many people making noise and claiming to be the real-deal. For you to stand –out and rise above the noise, you must be able to patiently and consistently communicate your personal brand to your market by way of multiple exposures.
“Building a strong personal brand is never an overnight occurrence, but an ‘over time’ occurrence that is subjected to consistence.”
THE POWER OF TIME:
Repetition leads to retention! Personal branding is about repetition. Most times, when studying or in class, in order to retain what is being read or taught, it is imperative to obey the law of repetition, this might be done through the introduction of several examples, or through revision.
Lets quickly play around with the word “Revision” by breaking it in two; ‘RE’ and ‘VISION’.
For the purpose of this illustration, ‘RE’ means ‘AGAIN’ or to ‘come back to’ while ‘VISION’ means to ‘see/ sight’, when the two are brought together, it is safe to say that a possible interpretation would be “To see something again”, or better still “To experience something all over again”. Looking closely at this illustration, there is a suggestion of ‘passage of time’ before the revision. Therefore if someone gets the opportunity to see, or experience your brand again and again “over a period of time”, the likelihood or chance of retention is high, because the exposure to your brand is not a one-off thing. I dare say at this junction that this is simply how brands get built, through multiple exposures to your personal brand on various platforms, not just one.
Doing one thing consistently over time leads to perfection and visibility. Check to see if you are paying quality attention to these three points. If the answer is yes! Then, congratulations. If No! At least, now you know what to do to if you want to tap into the power of your Personal brand.

UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS CASUAL.

Lolu Mogaji — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:56:46 +0000

It all started in the early 90s, when the world as it then was woke up to the importance of image to individuals as well as Organizations, it was then that more flexibility and a display of personal style found its way into dressing in the business world. Before then, everything was pretty much restricted to the strait-jacketed formal look. The business casual look held sway in the business world all through the 90s into the new millennium. For many years and even up till date there still is a silent and unclear issue as to how casual business casual look should be.
Like the saying goes, “when the purpose of a thing is not known, then abuse is inevitable.” What was introduced to create a more relaxed environment has become so relaxed that at times you one is not sure whether they are in a shopping mall or a corporate office. What began as “casual Friday” in some places have become “Casual Monday to Friday”, and in environments where a strict dress code is implemented, e.g. Banks, “Dress-down Friday” has been turned into a serious show of ignorance, since no one has taken the bold step to address this ‘grey’ issue. Most times, I ask myself if management even know where to draw the line?
According to a survey conducted in the United States of America, 90% of the participants claimed that they do not know the difference between Business attire, Business casuals, and Casuals. However, in looking at this closely, the workplace dress code that causes the most confusion is “BUSINESS CASUAL”. At this juncture, the big question should be; what is the way forward? The way forward is to begin to look the part and be determined to command the attention you deserve by making an effort to look professional, irrespective of the dress code. In order to facilitate this, here is a simple guide to how to stepping out in business casual while maintaining class and professionalism in your appearance. Please keep in mind that since I don’t know the dress code guidelines in your office, the following suggestions are largely accepted in most places of work, therefore, it’s your duty to adjust accordingly.
OPTION 1. SUIT AND SHIRT: The easiest way to achieve a business casual look is to wear your complete suit with a Shirt and loose the neck-tie, the shirt could have a regular collar, but I would advice the more trendy shirts with the high rise collars.

OPTION2. SPORTS JACKET/BLAZER AND PANTS:
If you have a sports jacket/ Blazer in earthy tones like brown or khaki, or neutral colors like black or gray, you should be able to match it with a variety of shirts and pants. You can either go more conservative with a plain jacket, or a bit more stylish with tweed or an equally textured fabric.

OPTION3. DRESS SHIRT AND PANTS:
You can choose a simple oxford or dress shirt, or add a stylish touch with French cuffs or patterns like pinstripes or checkered stripes. In the case where your office dress code leans toward the conservative side, then you are free to use your discretion when choosing a patterned shirt; less can be more). As for pants, choose between dress pants, chinos, or Dockers.

OPTION4. TEES AND PANTS: Here, there are various types of T shirts, and they are usually identified with their collars, for instance, (turtle, mock, crew, V, or polo). You are free to choose which you prefer out of these, however, my personal favorite is the Polo neck T shirt. Just like option 3, your choice of pants could be either of these; dress pants, Chinos, or Dockers.

SHOES AND ACCESSORIES:
Oxford Loafers Cap toes Dress Boots
Monk strap
These shoes are appropriate for both Business attire and business casual, depending on how they are combined.

Impression Management: (A step deeper!)

Lolu Mogaji — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:10:38 +0000

In the Movie and music business, the general belief is that you are only as good as your last movie or Album. You know what/ the same applies when we are talking about Image Impression Management. In the Image business, it is said that you are either done or gone in 60 seconds. By implication, you can establish a positive first impression in 60 seconds. In the same vein, such a good impression can be destroyed within the same amount of time. Like I said in a previous post, that as important as creating a good first impression is, the process does not end there, actually it starts there. Managing subsequent impressions is where the bulk of the work lies. Your inability to keep up with what you started might put you in a bad light in the eye of your target, and that might just destroy the already established first impression. Let’s take a closer look at the art of impression management.
According to Ann Reinten, in her eBook (101 Image Essentials for Business professionals), where she said that the subliminal impression you make on others can actually be broken down into 4 basic components. It is important to note that as a result of this subliminal impressions, judgments and conclusions can be made about people, it such an unconscious act that most people would have done it without even thinking or knowing it has been done. The concept is so strong that an individual can judge whether another is reliable or not, and it doesn’t stop there, the extent of the person’s reliability can also be judged.
Here are the 4 basic components according to Ann;
• Your Credibility: This reflects the strength of a person’s integrity, moral standing and depth of sincerity. Furthermore, it touches on a person’s apparent qualifications and level of intelligence.
• Your Likability: How likeable; i.e. endearing, affable, how emotional expressive and how sociable you appear to be and how much similarities you share with them through your dress-sense, behavior, voice, age, sex, etc.
• Your personal attractiveness: This has nothing to do with whether you are handsome/beautiful, neither does it have anything to do with how fashionable you are nor how young you are, but the management and presentation of yourself as a person. The way a person packages and presents himself/herself in terms of comportment, dress-sense and grooming says a whole lot about the level of a person’s self esteem, self-respect and self image.
• Finally, your confidence. This reflects your apparent level of power, self assuredness and ability. It also can show the level to which a person is comfortable in there own skin; whether he or she is a secure or insecure person.
More to come on Impression management!

BENEFITS OF A PERSONAL BRAND

Lolu Mogaji — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:22:48 +0000

Sometimes last week, I got an invitation to be one of the facilitators on the Samsung Real Dream Project handled by AGDC(After Graduate Development Centre) scheduled to hold later this month, I was asked to facilitate the session(s) on PERSONAL BRANDING. And of course I agreed to it. While asking a question I always ask myself every time I have to prepare for a training or presentation; From what angle should I approach this task? It became clear to me that it might not be a bad idea to mention some benefits that I have experienced in the ongoing process of building my personal brand. In this post, I will highlight some of those benefits for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
• INCREASE IN EARNIG POTENTIAL: In my experience with my personal brand, one undeniable benefit I have enjoyed is the way it positioned me as one of the leaders in my field of expertise. The natural consequence of this is that you as the source of the brand will be able to demand for a leader’s portion, i.e. a higher pay.
• ATTRACTS BENEFITIAL PEOPLE: A strong personal brand has the ability to draw the attention of people who can be of serious benefit to you in your personal, career, and business life. And the way it works most of the time is that when there is a need to be met in your area of expertise, your brand would have positioned you as one of the ‘‘Go to guys’’, to the extent that you might not even need to pursue some opportunities, your brand would simply attract the kind of people who have the power to give them to you.
• CONSISTENT FLOW OF BUSINESS: If you are well branded, you will seize from being anonymous in your chosen area of expertise. Your name will be known, your abilities will be known, as well as your Strengths. And once your ability to deliver is unquestionable, and you are consistently getting your personal brand message out and working hard to ensure that your audience gets it, then your clients will keep coming back, and they will also talk about you and encourage prospects to try you out. This will ensure that there is a consistent flow of business to you.
• INCREASE IN CREDIBILITY: You know, it funny how the market thinks, the general impression is that If someone is considered to be well known, then it must be because he or she is good at something. This market mentality will definitely work for you if you have a strong personal brand, because your brand will position you as being good at what you do, and as people experience the authenticity of your brand, your credibility increases. Any attempt to increase credibility without building a powerful personal brand might be tantamount to “sitting on a long thing” i.e. embarking on an unnecessarily long journey to a known destination.
• “TOP -OF- MIND” STATUS: Another key benefit of having a strong personal brand is the fact that the source enjoys “Top- of – mind” status; this implies that when an opportunity comes up, where you are one of the numerous candidates, your name is one of the first that readily comes to mind. It also means that you have become such a strong positive reference point in an area, such that your name will by default come up when a discussion in being held and that area of expertise is the topic.
• LEADERSHIP ROLES: When an individual has a strong personal brand, usually, people feel confident in putting the person in charge. A strong personal brand would inspire people to have confidence in you, and when people have confidence in you, they tend to feel comfortable in giving you leadership roles.

BENEFITS OF A PERSONAL BRAND

Lolu Mogaji — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:22:48 +0000

THE VITAL SIGNS OF A LAZY BRAND.

Lolu Mogaji — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:47:15 +0000

I was a guest on the Afternoon Drive show on Eko FM yesterday, and I started with a quote “If its lazy, the perception will be hazy” in breaking this down for the purpose of this post, it means ; if your brand is Lazy, the perception will be hazy.
When you are building a brand, whether (Personal or Corporate), its important to be vigilant and ensure you know the state of your brand constantly, this will help you discern when your brand is becoming lazy. Here are some signs that you need to watch-out for.
• LACK OF CLARITY AND FOCUS: This point among many others is a sign that one must watch out for . Lack of clarity of a essence of your brand is likely to happen on two levels; first, in the mind of the source of the brand, and then consequently in the mind of the target. For instance in the case of a personal Brand, if the source can no longer articulate what the brand stands for , or if what the brand stands for keeps changing every now and then. The implication of this is that your brand has become lazy, in the sense that it is not working hard enough to maintain a focus. It takes hard work to be focused.
• LACK OF CONSISTENCY: This is almost a natural consequence of the above point, and the unfortunate thing is that the source of the brand might not even notice early enough to make the necessary corrections; however, long before the source gets a wind of it, the target would have noticed and would have started forming impressions about the brand. Since there is an evident display of a lack of focus and clarity about the brand, the only consistency the brand will display will be in the fact that it is inconsistent in demonstrating clarity and focus. This kind of consistency is a negative and it further buttresses the fact that such a brand has become lazy. Such a sign, if not promptly and properly dealt with could even end up becoming a brand attribute, and if this happens, the brand progresses from being lazy to becoming sleepy, and might eventually lapse into a coma.
Consistency is a critical success factor, a necessary ingredient in branding, if it is not present in the mix, it is not branding.
• INABILITY TO ENGAGE AUDIENCE: If by way of feedback, it is discovered that your brand is no longer engaging the attention of its audience, at that point, you have an emergency on you hands; the implication is that your brand had at some point been lazy, then became sleepy, and is now comatose. This means that your brand has lost its brand equity, the position it held formally in the minds audience has been taken by another.
When a brand gets lazy, it loses the influence it used to have.
• LOSS OF ABILITY TO KEEP ITS PROMISE: According to Peter Montoya, “A brand is a promise”. What this implies is that a brand tells its prospects what they can expect when dealing with it. At the point where your brand is deemed as unable to meet the expectations it created in the minds of its audience, it has become a lazy brand.