Can You Bet on You?

Every now and then a marketer pops in my inbox to make an offer. They want to help me sell something for a fee. My Udemy course, my 亚马逊 books, my Mighty Networks memberships and so forth. I typically respond with an offer to sell course for me at 50% commission. The answer is more often than not, a "NO". You see, commissions are not guaranteed if sales are not. I come out of such conversations with the notion that such a marketer is uncertain that they can sell. They'd rather be sure of a fixed pay based on efforts rather than outcomes. They can market - post a few things here and there. But they can't sell.

A marketer who refuses 50% commission is likely uncertain of their selling skills. But who can blame them? After all, you are not responsible how the market responds, at best you can position yourself for the best possible advantage like we say in strategy. In summary, I am not looking for people who can market, I am looking for people who can sell. But that is not exactly what this article is about.

Taking a Switch Risk

Techies often find a safe space in an organization where they have made a name for themselves or in the focus area where they are most confident. As an example, I used to be a DBA. No, not a Doctor of Business Administration, a Database Administrator. After I transitioned to Enterprise Architecture I still used to show up in support situations when when needed.

On one of such occasions I was going on and on with some short SQL code on a 微软 SQL Server instance. I was sitting next to Jacob Segun ISIJOLA back in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated . After watching for a while, he asked me, "So you are going to leave all this?" Without thinking too hard, I said "Yes". You see, long before then, I had made a bet that somehow I could succeed at something I was new at after about seven years of doing databases. I had made previous bets in the past leaving one organization for another or one role for another.

Switch to Applications

I made a bet when I left IT Service Management to Application Support. A senior colleague in International Turnkey Systems - ITS had asked me with an Arabic accent, "Kenneth, I thought you had experience in Service Desk. I didn't know you had experience in Application Support" Yes, experience, that "substance" you accumulate after working for a while in a role. And for which you needed to get the role to accumulate. I didn't answer the question, I just went on to the new role.

Switch to Databases

I did a switch to databases when I moved from Lagos to Accra. It was a grand switch - changed jobs, roles, companies and locations. If I had failed at databases, it would have been a collossal failure. I left Ecobank Transnational Incorporated much more respected at the end of eleven years than I had arrived. Learning is a choice and we must all embrace it however hard it is.

Switch to Enterprise Architecture

Under very interesting circumstances and during a period of incredible alignment of events, I switched to Enterprise Architecture. I remember that staircase conversation with Francois Dapelgo when he asked me, "...You want to go somewhere else and continue being a DBA?" I had been contemplating a role in Fidelity Bank Ghana where BABATUNDE AKINODE was doing great work. There is obviously nothing wrong with being a DBA but Francois Dapelgo was pushing me to consider alternatives.

An interesting memory just prior to my move to EA was when I had to explain to the likes of Daniel Eneh. MCSE,OCP,CISA,ITIL,CBCP,Six Sigma YellowBelt over the phone what exactly happened to the tables in Nigeria's Flexcube database. I will leave that to your imagination for now but I dare say you can leverage unpleasant situations for your own good. It is a faith thing. It is an attitude thing. Then came the interview where I responded to questions from Ademola Odumosu-Jones and Francois Dapelgo . I heard their questions in my ears but also saw a poignant question in their eyes - "Can this guy really do this?" Even Ademola Odumosu-Jones will not believe today how much a avoided him in trepidation before I got to work with him. I took a bet on me with that move.

A Great Local Champion

Most of the seniors colleagues I have mentioned in the last paragraph knew me personally. I had a history with them. I had leverage with them. I had accumulated social capital but it did not stop me from leaving the bank for a new environment where I had to prove myself again. Leaving where one is well known to some other place where you have to prove yourself is a tall order. However, the risk may be well worth taking. The experience is not guarateed to be smooth but can you make a bet on you?

Equipped to do the Gamble

There is no guarantee that you will be accepted in the next job or organization. You have to prove yourself. And if history is anything to go by, you are often not going with just your hard skills. The things that will help you create new influence is not always the pure hard skills. Many times it's more about attitude, resilience, collaboration and more.

The interesting thing about hard skills is that knowledge is ubiquitous in its availability in our day and age. The 10,000 hours refered to in Malcolm Gladwell 's Outliers and other sources can be achieved in 15 years or 3 years. Even at that, there are outliers. We must all give ourselves a chance at mastery. The knowledge is available, the opportunities may be available, the future is calling.

Leaving the Comfort Zone

Many of us would rather remain in our comfort zone. A job we have built experience in for years. An organization where we are recognized as the champion - the local champion. A career path that is guaranteed to keep paying. We have to feed a family after all.

But like I posit in Career Growth Strategies in Information Technology, sometimes the fastest way to rise in your career is to make a move. Leaning on promotions purely based on longevity is hardly a good bet these days. Leaving our comfort zones is like placing a bet on ourselves, our instrinsic capacity. It will demand growing new brain cells, taking insults for some time and adapting to new scenarios. Think about a baby learning to walk. A lot of laughter will go over his head before he finally becomes a "respected walker". Learning is humbling, sometimes humiliating but you do have to stoop to conquer.

What If You Fail?

In 2016 I got more interested in business against strong advice. In 2019, I took a gamble that my experience in industry had to be worth more than just getting the next job. We have morphed from Startup5 (Twenty Towers) to Kabila, the Strategy Community (Kenneth Igiri LLC) and gone through a series of unsuccessful appropaches. But we are still here.

I will not be the first to tell you that failure is a learning opportunity and fear of failure should never deter you from pursuing what is clearly written in your heart. Maybe there is a bit more learning to do. Maybe there are a few more relationships to form. Maybe you even need a community like that on tscafrica.com. Whatever the case is, whichever way you look at it, history tells us that active people do not go unnoticed.

I hear you say, "a rolling stone gathers no moss". I dare say it depends on what moss you are gathering. You may be gathering a monthly salary over thirty years of active work life or you may be gathering rich experiences across traditional boundaries. Even when you are rolling, you can gather from different spots where the ground is wetter.

Vital Disclaimer

Recall that dog who listened to a motivational speaker and went to fight a tiger. We are yet to know the outcomes of that venture officially. This article might sound very motivational and we may have gotten you ready to roll. But please hold your horses. There are many components of the journey that cannot be expressed in a short LinkedIn article. There is the balance between motivation and meditation - thinking deeply about that next move.

Just yesterday at the INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGY , we were discussing the rise of a generation of young people who are too ambitious, craving for a fast rise in careers and willing to cut corners. Smart enough to generate bank accounts in a banking system without realizing the point of the KPI that says, "more account numbers" is not the account numbers in themselves. They want the cake without the heat of the oven. Recall Efforts, Outputs, Outcomes.

A journey to your intended destination is indeed a journey. Do not go with motivation alone. Go with a strategy, a plan and a whole lot of patience. We can help you at Kabila, the Strategy Community . When we morphed to tscafrica.com as a way to scale operations, we included #WorkThoughts, a space dedicated to career growth. Make that space yours in 2025. Take the journey.

What Next

Do you feel too old to move. To well-known to resign. Have you given up on learning new things? Is the challenge of that new opportunity daunting? No one ever died of trying. Don't underestimate yourself. You can bet on you.

Examine your current position and ask, "Where next from here?". It is perfectly OK if your next stop is retirement. There could be another next after sixty - Consulting? Writing? Speaking? Retirement as the next next is fine but please own it. Take up a position (strategy) and craft a plan.

If you lead a team of young people in your organization who are ambitious and just need some guidance, lead them to tscafrica.com. You could be helping shape the next generation of emerging entrepreneurs - enterpreneurs and intrapreneurs alike.

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