In 2009, I wrote down a simple goal and it reads;
By the end of the year 2014, I’ll be one of the most respected technology personalities in Nigeria and my starting point will be blogging.”
That sounds like a simple goal right? Well, if you consider the fact that I had no prior IT training or qualification, attended no technology event, was not in the tech zone and had no techy friends as such. I was just a guy who was able to see into the future and BELIEVE!
I was broke back then in 2009. Damned broke. I had just lost my business and also a couple of millions in the process. I wrote this goal shortly after I started my personal blog –www.cfagbata.com. It’s been a remarkable, but trying experience so far.
Have I achieved the goal? I don’t think so, but I believe I have been able to do considerable well and it’s all thanks to the grace of.
Mark Zuckerberg’s visit has, however, again exposed the fact that I need to do more? I probably need to extend the goal beyond Africa because, after I took an assessment back in 2014, I decided to extend it to the whole of Africa, but in 2016, I think it should be extended to the entire world.
My good friend and coach, Tunde Makun and I had a brief conversation a day or two after Mark’s visit;
Tunde: CFA, I see you and Mark Zuckerberg are rolling
CFA: Yes o coachie, but it could have been better if I sat down with him for a one on one chat. That would have been a career boost because of how media operates.
Tunde: So, why didn’t that happen?
CFA: Well, I failed coach.
Tunde: Hmmmnnnnnn
CFA: Yes I believe I did. The fact is that Facebook got across to some people and institutions and secretly informed them about his visit. Why was I not part of the people informed?
Tunde: Wow!
CFA: Yes Coach. It simply tells me that beyond the glitz and glamour, I need to up my game such that when it comes to technology media stuff, anyone coming to Nigeria should be excited to speak to me, otherwise, what is the use hosting a TV show in Nigeria’s most respected TV station or writing a column in Nigeria’s most widely read newspaper or having a nationally syndicated radio show or having a blog, manned by a 5-man team? Yes, what exactly is the use?
Long and short coach, is that I failed in this situation. Yes, I may have had a few words with him and got away with a selfie, but the most impactful would have been a minimum of 5 million viewers watching Mark and I have a chat around a number of issues. As far as I am concerned, I failed to achieve exclusivity, which is the core of media strategy.
Tunde: CFA, I am totally impressed. This is a good way to give constant feedback to yourself and put your supposed success under scrutiny.
Yes, Mark’s visit excited me because it is ultimately good for the ecosystem, but it also exposed a weakness that I have to work hard to patch. Well, I have since gone back to the drawing board, armed with a few questions:
- what can I learn the most from this experience?
- should I bring in new team members? No. The economy does not support this option.
- what must I do to increase and improve my personal influence?
- what should I introduce or yank off right away?
One thing you can be sure of, is that I am not going to try being someone else or do silly things just to be popular. No, never. It is just going to be doing simple basic things consistently.
Long and short is that I am working on finding the missing link, but I’d like to share a new goal with you.
By the 24th of September, 2018, the CFA brand will be a much more respected voice, not just in Africa, but across the world, such that Presidents and influential folks will always happily seek for his consent and it’s all thanks to Mark Zuckerberg’s Visit to Lagos, Nigeria in August, 2016.
I totally agree with the experts who say that its best to write down a goal, which was what I did back in 2009 and I have now done again. Now, you know why I send out daily inspirational quotes – I am big on Personal Development and also a certified coach.
Thank you Mark as your visit has helped me fail forward (thanks to John. C Maxwell for that awesome book!)
“Little progress is better than no progress at all. Success comes in taking many small steps. If you stumble in a small step, it rarely matters. Don’t gift wrap the garbage. Let little failures go.” ? John C. Maxwell, Failing Forward: How to Make the Most of Your Mistakes
