NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY SERIES : THE SUPERPRENEURS : THE MASTER KEY TO DEVELOPMENT

by Dr Nicky Okoye

Dec 10, 2018

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In my MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE paper one, I outlined the concept of the SUPERPRENEUR. These are Super Entrepreneurs that live by a certain standard, get things done, build nations, change lives, create jobs and generally make things happen. I have looked at Nigeria’s business elite and I have come to the inescapable conclusion that we are missing a very fundamental element of Entrepreneurship, which is the men and women who pride themselves as Entrepreneurs in Nigeria we are missing the elements of development and the contributions to nation building which should come from Entrepreneurs because we are operating a rent seeking version of entrepreneurship in Nigeria, which does not develop Nations but in fact impairs the development of Nations. 

Why are we still lagging behind in spite of our status as an entrepreneurial Nation?

So what is missing in Nigeria? Why have we been so backward?  

Are we missing something?

Yes we are, we are missing a lot and I will explain. We have a lot, in fact millions of business people but we have very few SUPERPRENEURS. And the fact is that it is SUPERPRENEURS in my definition that builds Nations. I will define what I mean by SUPERPRENEURS in a moment but hear me out for a bit.

LOST OPPORTUNITIES

I have said it before and I will say it again the SUPERPRENEURS in Nigeria and Africa, are the Master Key to development. We need to create more of them. However we as leaders and officials and young people all need to understand what it takes to create a SUPERPRENEUR. It’s not about the money, although you do need money to get started and to thrive in business, it’s not about the education, and yes education is necessary but a University education is not absolutely necessary. It’s starts first with the MINDSET. If Nigeria or any of the States in Nigeria wishes to build an army of SUPERPRENEURS which is what we need, then we need to understand the process of how they are created and it all starts with the mind and the thinking process. We need to get our people to start believing in innovation, hard work and excellence again and this is where we must start. I have defined it here below for you in case you are reading this and you are a Leader, Governor, a Minister, a Local Government Chairman, Chief Executive of a Government Agency, a Senator or even Our President. And I call it………….

THE MAKING OF A SUPERPRENEUR

SUPERPRENEURS are Super Entrepreneurs, they are MASTERS OF THE Universe, and these are business people with a difference. If they were cars they would be a Lamborghini on steroids. If SUPERPRENEURS were planes they would be Lockheed SR-71 Blackbirds and then some. If you want to be a SUPERPRENEUR, if you want your State to develop, and we all want Nigeria to develop, then we need to read the following lines and the next few articles coming in the days and months ahead. It starts with mind-set, then the principles and then the opportunities and innovation. I will start with the mind-set which is guided by a set of rules I have developed over the years by reading, talking to winners and personal experience.

RULE ONE: Attitude and Initiative, all of you need it.

If you do not have the attitude for Leadership then you cannot be a SUPERPRENEUR. If you do not have initiative then you cannot be a SUPERPRENEUR. You have to have the killer instinct, the survival drive, the drive to please and satisfy and the imagination to bring it all together. The good news is that these skills can be taught. More on Rule one in further papers.

RULE TWO: Always do more than you are paid to do, whatever it takes.

If you do not have the mind to please and to please by going the extra mile for your clients and customers, then you should not be in business let alone consider becoming a SUPERPRENEUR. All Leaders in Business or whatever field you are in must operate by this simple rule. It will do wonders for you. And it will set you on a path to greatness the likes of which you may not have imagined. More on this rule in future write-ups.

RULE THREE: Master the art of Moving People (influencing people), it will take you to the heights of human achievement

The art of convincing anyone or a group of people to make a decision, make a purchase, sign off on a project, sell you a item, invest in your idea, marry you or recommend your services is known as MOVING PEOPLE. And if you can learn how to move people towards your ideas, your products, your services, your community, without irritating them, it is the most profitable art known to mankind.

RULE FOUR: in order to change your status, you must change your performance.

Most people would rather complain about their jobs or their status in life but they are never willing to do anything about it. They wine and cry that they are treated unfairly, they are marginalized, they are discriminated against but each time you check in on them nothing has changed, only the crying may have gotten much louder. SUPERPRENEURS see it differently they change their performance and their performance defines their status in business and in life.

RULE FIVE:  You must think accurately and always think with an open mind

Being at the top of your game is hard work, but the most important part of the work is in your hands. There are few things you can control in this life. You cannot control the weather, you cannot control the seasons and you cannot even control how other people will react to you or respond to your ideas. However one thing that is totally and absolutely in your 100% control is the way you think. If you think negatively you will most likely get negative results. If you think positively you are already on the path to greatness and success. However positive thinking must be blended with accurate thinking and open-mindedness if you want to get the results that are reserved for SUPERPRENEURS.

RULE SIX: MASTER the Five real Selfies

There are five real selfies that matter in life. And I am not talking about the pictures in your camera. My five selfies are Self-reliance, Self-control, self-esteem, self-discipline and self-improvement are a must for all SUPERPRENEURS.

RULE SEVEN: MASTER the three Cs of Super Power

If SUPERPRENEURSHIP is the master key to national development, then the three Cs are the master key to SUPERPRENEURSHIP. You must master them because your success as a Leader, in business or in politics depends largely on these Cs. And they are Coordination, Collaboration and Communication. No leader can get anywhere of value without these three.

RULE EIGHT: Have a fanatical drive for future and constant achievement

The drive for future achievement keeps you on the edge, it ensures that you do not go obsolete or your product does not lose the interest of its customers. On a personal level the human body was not designed to retire, or to take it slow, the day you slowdown is the day you start to die. If you want to get to height of human achievement as all SUPERPRENEURS do then you will have to adopt the drive for future and constant achievement.

RULE NINE: embrace failure and Learn from it

Failure is an orphan as they say in Nigeria, but nothing can be further from the truth. FAILURE IS just another word for learning. And learning is just another word for growing. So if you want to grow then you have to be prepared for failure.  Fear is a great DE motivator and once we have failed our fears sets in. we must also conquer our fears if we are going to become S

RULE TEN: MASTER the ten strike principle

This principle is not known to many but it is a simple tried and tested strategy that works every time. If you take an axe to a large, mightily iroko tree and hit it just ten times every day. For one year, two years for as long as you have the strength and energy, guess what? That large heavy mighty iroko tree is eventually going to come down. And it would be you and your small axe chopping just ten strikes a day that brought it down. Your challenges and your problems and your goals atre like the iroko tree. And all you need to do is to get your axe and take ten strikes a day every day, eventually you are going to conquer that problem or achieve that goal.

RULE Eleven: aim for the Galaxies outside the universe not the sky or the stars

We often set our goals too low and when we achieve them we go to sleep nothing stops you from reaching the stars and the galaxies and then outside the universe. Aim high you just might reach it.

RULE Twelve : embrace Change and profit from it                                                                                                    

Nothing is more constant than change. In fact it is stability that is an illusion. Nothing in nature is stable everything is in a constant motion and state of change. Electrons are constantly speeding around the nucleus of an atom and the protons are constantly reacting to negative charges. In fact in life all improvement is a result of change.

RULE THIRTEEN Constant and never ending improvement, live by it 

There is nothing more unthinkable than getting to the top after a life time of effort and then losing your status after only a year or two and never being able to climb back up. This happens to people as it happens to companies and even Nations. Once upon a time the Great Britain was the undisputed leader of the World of business, economics, politics and trade. Even the United States, Canada, India, Hong Kong, Australia were all colonies of Great Britain. Fast forward and that era is gone, many of the countries that were colonies of Great Britain are far more superior to the Great Britain today, in certain area of everyday life. The Unites States is currently the leader of the World in trade, and politics, India has developed a strong technology base, Canada is doing well as one of the greatest suppliers to the United States and China is currently the greatest consumer product producing Nation in the World. The funny thing is that Japan that was devastated after the Second World War is now a World leader in electronics, automobile, ship building and robotics. And in fact it was Japan that made the drive for constant and never ending improvement popular. Constant improvement is made to every product every month and every quarter and every year. In that way you always end up with a world class product.

RULE FOURTEEN You must deliver yourself from FEAR.

One of the most compelling forces for negative action or for inaction is fear. And whether you like it or not one day you will experience deep fear regarding an issue or an event. You must however conquer your fears. If you cannot then you will never be a SUPERPRENEUR or a Master of the Universe. There are six basic fears that captivate Human beings and we will use these to support your drive to conquer them.

RULE FIFTEEN: Strive to develop personal and institutional Power 

Power is organized effort. So in order for you as an individual to develop power you must have help. If the truth be told it is those who have developed power that succeed in life, in politics and in business. Power is the ultimate goal in life. However many people think it is money, so they chase money but it never lasts. And even when you have been able to hold onto your money for just a few years, the men or women who have developed personal and institutional power will take it all away from you in a second. And you will not be able to do anything about it.