The New Managers and the legacy of the Old-A Managerial Conflict in Nigeria

I am not going to use the liberty that my blog provides me to claim that I am a top notch professional in business dynamics neither am I going to pretend that I have perfect understanding of the way business works from a 360 degree approach.  However, I know something for sure, time has changed, just like weather, an era has gone.

Having established that I am not a CEO, just yet I must add, I have understood that the landscapes have changed. No longer will I tilt towards the thought that ‘Innovation is over, adaptation is all that is needed’.

Contrarily to that school of thought, Adaptation is over; Innovation is all that is needed. This I strongly support.

 I changed.

Several books have thought these two diverse views, in my opinion, several authors have created best sellers from existing modules that either obey the Principle of competitive adaptation of existing ideologies or compilations that preach the Creation of non-existing opportunities.

Before I take you on this journey with words, I want you to keep in mind that a dollar exchanges at a minimum 0f 155naira(s). News from Europe, America all clearly establish the death of an era, no longer are these places ‘Lands of immense promise’  that they used to be.

Now the philosophy is: THE TALENTED SURVIVE. Talent in this case is deep rooted understanding.

If you agree that the saying above is indeed true, then, existing modules now fail, not because they lacked sound financial logic nor were they backward in execution excellence, but TOPE’s law of Opportunities has to be satisfied: For one opportunity, 2 existing routes close, For several, multiples will get erased, but in the new, the wise finds the existence of multiples of what was closed.

As true as that is, in my view, MANY are blind.

Staying true to the topic, when legislative rights 'unfavoured' importation, industries sprung up, CEOs, trained by founding fathers of Business Dynamics emerged, and monies were made, Stars created, Super Stars celebrated.

The field was new, opportunities abound, the landscape was green, and the climate reading just began. Predictions were limited, facts were established and for business, competition was little.

The pie was big enough.

As prosperity showed its face on balance sheets, School of thoughts were formed. Business successes were attributed to wits, boardrooms were filled with claps, few thought of the day: that day the pie will shrink and some other bakers will offer variants, palates are always curious senses.

The damage was not in the modules that almost became biblical guidelines in companies, politics was groomed, and corruption in the nation supported the malignant growth.

Progression became a factor of replacing me with me, CEOs unfortunately followed same patterns, made same mistakes, achieved same results and boom, 2012 came. The pie was gone, a new flavour was offered, but access code has been changed. Just like the new weather, climate readings didn’t count anymore, a new compilation is about to start.

However, just like a typical household, the father overseas the dealing, elders speak first, the old hands or those who were schooled by the first set or perhaps the second generation of 'successfuls' found it hard to embrace change.

To them, the modules of old, created the pie; they were there when the boardroom echoed with claps. They received bonuses, schooled their kids(from the lot the New Managers are evolving) with dividends and returns from outside investments, investments made possible by the money made from an age-long trusted module.

But the pie was never created by them, it existed, they fed from it and never thought of baking.

Now the challenge is business sustainability, my thinking is the old hands are wanted, but the new hands are needed. The balance has to be perfect.

The problem, that conflict I refer to, exist in the process of bonding. It’s most times a stormy reaction, why take this risk? Why expose us this much?  the old hands say. Why not? the new ones reply.

My candid opinion, both are wrong. The blend is what is too much and what is little and slow? That perfect blend is What will do us good!

As long as the a dollar exchanges for over 150naira(s), ideas should have a propellant factor of at least half that figure, the old don’t have it because they practised successfully when it was far less. The new think they understand better because they saw the tilted growth.

Believe me, most New Generation managers want to make fortune for business at a 155Naira/Dollar rate but a few of us, will recognise that what we ideally need  is to grow a fortune at 155Naira/75Dollars ratio. The difference is clear!

In our aspiration, we need the Old hands just as the fortune of post 2013 business needs us, the CONFLICT exists.

Not more than ever, today, we need middle men who understand both hands but there are a FEW GOOD MEN!