Business News

Monday, 24 April 2023 03:13

Successful business plans start with customers

In an environment of instability, distinguishing yourself from the competition can mean everything – first dibs on skilled workers, better access to attractive clients, and an upper hand on market changes. To do so, you'll need a plan that's better than their plan. The good news is, this is old news. Serious planning has been the key to winning since the beginning of time. But most companies don't take it seriously. In the 5th century BC, Sun Tzu's The Art of War offered a blueprint for strategic planning in an environment where the stakes were higher than economic instability. The…

Saturday, 22 April 2023 03:52

Onitsha Port concessioned, others to follow - FG

The federal government says it has successfully concessioned the Onitsha Port in Anambra State while discussions are ongoing for the concessioning of Baro and some other ports in the country. George Moghalu, managing director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), said this while he fielded questions from State House correspondents after a private meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said that such licensing would ease pressure on the government and attract revenue to it. “For Onitsha, we have successfully concessioned and handed over to Universal Elison, a company that is partnering with Port of…

Friday, 21 April 2023 03:03

Airbnb CEO says his $75 billion company was rejected by investors—until a $40 box of cereal turned things around

Some people secure startup investments with well-organized pitches and PowerPoints. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky and his two co-founders did it with $40 boxes of cereal. And it was almost by accident, Chesky said at a recent Stanford Graduate School of Business event. When Chesky and his two co-founders — Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk — launched the company in 2008, investors were skeptical of the idea that people would casually invite strangers into their homes for overnight stays. Rejected by the VC world, the trio turned to their own customers for fundraising dollars, Chesky said. Specifically, they sold self-designed cereal…

Thursday, 20 April 2023 03:57

High fertilizer prices threaten to further push up food prices - Report

There is outcry among farmers because of the high cost of fertiliser as the rainy season sets in, investigation shows. Both wet season and irrigation farmers heavily rely on fertiliser for high yield but many of them could no longer afford it. At the moment, the price of fertiliser is far beyond the reach of millions of Nigerian small-scale farmers, who need it to achieve the desired yields. In most places, the soil can no longer support the production of major grains without fertiliser, but access to the input is shrinking due to its high cost, resulting in declining productivity.…

Thursday, 20 April 2023 03:48

6 steps to get your team to agree to change

Gain consensus on why change is needed and adopt ideas from every team member To achieve success, business leaders need agreement from their executive team. For example, if you want your company to grow faster, you need a new business strategy and a team that is able to follow that strategy to achieve faster growth. To do that you must lead a process that invents a growth strategy, plans for implementation, and drives execution. You must overcome three big obstacles: Whomever you exclude from the team you assemble for this exercise could undermine the outcome. The team members you select…

Wednesday, 19 April 2023 03:11

4 signs you’re working with a toxic person—and what to do about it

It was easy to forget, while working from home for the past three years, that the office can be full of people looking out for only themselves. But as employers dial up the frequency of in-person working, it will be harder to ignore peers and bosses who make your life a living hell. Unable to shield your energy through a screen and work in your own happy bubble, identifying who is your ally and who is out to get you (or your job) will become an increasingly important skill to have up your sleeve as you navigate the new working…

Tuesday, 18 April 2023 03:33

Exxon declares force majeure on crude liftings in Nigeria due to workers strike

Exxon Mobil Corp. in Nigeria declared force majeure on oil liftings from different terminals in the country following industrial action by the company's in-house workers union, the company said on Monday in a statement. Nigeria is trying to lift production to 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), recovering its long time position as the largest African producer of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In the third quarter last year, production in Nigeria fell behind Angola to about 1 million bpd as companies like Shell PLC and TotalEnergies exited the country amid widespread corruption and security issues. Nigeria…

Tuesday, 18 April 2023 03:25

4 habits of leaders people actually want, and even yearn, to follow

Most leaders can afford to do more than the bare minimum. People often leave companies because of the failings of their bosses. As a result, many organizations are intentional about investing in leader development. That’s because more effective managers advance business results and can mitigate attrition of vital talent. But retaining high-performing employees doesn’t happen simply because their bosses went to a few training programs. Something much more ingrained in the leader creates the bond that makes employees not only want to stay but also eager to contribute under the stewardship of their boss. As an executive coach to leaders…

Monday, 17 April 2023 03:11

The 3 interview questions job candidates dread most and what they reveal

Nobody enjoys job interviews. For the job candidate, they're a time of high tension that can affect the rest of their lives. For the interviewer, the stakes are just as high. Make the wrong decision or miss an important piece of information and the results could be disaster. This is why smart interviewers ask open-ended and potentially revealing questions, and why smart job candidates often dread answering those same questions. To help alleviate some of that anxiety, Christopher Dwyer, a lecturer at the Technological University of the Shannon in Ireland, has assembled a list of five highly annoying questions that…

Friday, 14 April 2023 03:40

Can you succeed in your business and not be cutthroat?

When I was seven years old, I sucker-punched a bully. He wanted something I had and he demanded it from me. I said no. Then he did that thing where he puffed himself up and got in my face to intimidate me. I was looking at the ground the whole time, but then, without thinking, I reared back and hit him in the stomach as hard as I could. He went down like a bag of hammers. I had never done anything like that. And I felt absolutely great about it. I received the spoils of my victory. I got…

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Thursday, 13 April 2023 03:18

Naira appreciates at parallel market on low dollar demand

The naira, on Wednesday, appreciated to N737 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market, popularly called the black market. The figure indicates a N9 or 1.2 percent gain compared to the N746 it traded three weeks ago. The currency had maintained stability against the U.S dollar in the past couple of weeks at N745/$- N746/$ before its recent appreciation. Speaking to our correspondent in the Victoria Island area of Lagos, Bureaux De Change operators (BDCs) said they purchased the greenback at N730/$, made a gain of N7 and then sell at N737/$. The street traders…

Thursday, 13 April 2023 03:11

7 legitimate reasons why someone hasn't got back to you

Waiting for replies. Isn't it the worst? But people with very high emotional intelligence understand that when you find yourself waiting for a reply to a message you sent with high hopes, it's easy to let feelings and fears get the best of you. You asked about a business proposal you're excited about. Will it work out? You've followed up with a potential new hire. What will he or she say? Could it be a fit? You sent a follow-up to someone who asked you to contact them. Will this be the start of something great? But then, crickets. No…

Wednesday, 12 April 2023 03:26

How your company could resolve Karl Marx’s 4 forms of alienation

When we recently wrote about the need to refine capitalism, we got plenty of feedback. The conversation around capitalism has rightly grown to a roar. As we noted in the article, much of what's said about it exists as a foil to views of socialism. Communism, too, plays a role on the world economic stage. But Karl Marx was not an economist – he was a philosopher. And his philosophies might just help us understand some of the problems our workforce faces today. Marx developed his theory of alienation in Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 and The German Ideology.…

Tuesday, 11 April 2023 03:22

To sell an idea, focus on these 4 things

What do you really need to sell an idea? The conventional thinking is to pay for a patent and an expensive prototype, then shop your idea around to find out if anyone likes it. This strategy doesn't work well for an obvious reason: Most ideas fail because they aren't marketable. After you've spent your resources developing an idea, this is a brutal discovery. While patenting and prototyping are important, they are only a piece of the puzzle. Here's what inventors and startups really need to focus on to sell their idea. Testing for market demand Market demand takes away risk…

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