[dropcap]Maiden[/dropcap] Alex Ibru, wife of renowned owner of the Guardian, Late Mr. Alex Ibru has highlighted four basic rules: planning, execution, monitoring and control as ideal guides to aid the youth who are embarking on businesses.
She made this known on the second day if the Akwaaba Travel Market advising on how workers can ensure great relationships with clients without damaging the company’s reputation.
While speaking, Mrs. Ibru acknowledged that the youth belong to a different generation and that things have changed from what was.
She encouraged them to focus on businesses and not carry more than their weight before they have grown enough to do so.
She said, “There are four rules that actually guide you in any business you want to embark on. The first thing is the planning stage: what do you want to do. The second stage is execute the plan and the other two key things are monitoring and control.
“Try your workers well, don’t use abusive words. If you don’t treat those people well, they really can do a lot of havoc. Treat everybody with dignity and if anybody offends you or they do something wrong, accept their apologizes and don’t go back to that matter again.”
On youth and business, she said,”When I was growing up certain things that are happening now did not happen then, we are in a new generation now. You must learn to focus on what you are interested in. For example, do not juggle two different businesses, it is not worth it, it is better you start on something and perfect it.
“There is nothing wrong if you want to be in partnership but ideally, do not partner with a friend because that friendship may go sour because you trust yourself you cannot say 100% you trust your friend so, it is very possible that you make some sense of your life.”
Convener of the event, Mr. Ikechi Uko, dwelled on youth mentorship stating that the lack of capacity being experienced is not a challenge of the youth but an issue of mentorship.
“I ask them, if the young ones are not good enough, ‘how many did you mentor?’ Can you tell me one person that you mentored and tell me someone you have groomed that can take over? If those of us who pioneered this in Africa, if we walk away, who takes over?
“The problem is not the problem of the youths, it is the problem of those of us who had gone through those doors, yea, we paid the price but how many people are we leading to walk into the place in the future.
“Who takes over from us, that is the problem. The next generation of Africa problem is real
For those of you who have been chosen, won the awards, you are the lucky ones, a lot of your peers nobody was willing to nominate them or endorse them.”
