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WHEN YOUR BUSINESS DEPENDS TOO MUCH ON ONE PERSON, YOU ARE ALREADY IN TROUBLE

In 2025, I became close friends with a guy I met at the tennis court called Tosin. Because of our friendship, I spent a lot of time around his office while he sent several print and publishing jobs to us at Jewel Publishers. The relationship felt rewarding. Infact, when some of my colleagues complained about my constant absence during important strategic discussions, I simply asked them, “Are those meetings more important than the targets we are meeting?” Slowly, I became too comfortable. I even started changing some of my beliefs and accepted the popular idea that “ who you know matters more than what you know.” One day, after a disagreement with his colleagues, Tosin asked for my honest opinion. I gave it. Unfortunately, I didn’t support his position. From that moment, the jobs started reducing. Whenever I asked, there was always one explanation or another. I kept managing the little that came while trying not to make it obvious that I noticed the change. Then one day, on...

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥, 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗜𝗧 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘

When there was a need to engage graphic designers in the media department, Kevin hired Chuka and Stanley , both with clear job descriptions outlining their deliverables and KPIs. Over time, Kevin began assigning more tasks to Chuka, not out of favouritism, but because Chuka consistently delivered without reminders and often completed his tasks before the deadline. His reliability made him the natural choice whenever urgent or additional work came up. Stanley noticed this pattern and tried to persuade Chuka to slow down. He warned him that taking on too much work would only encourage their boss to keep increasing his workload without proper reward. Chuka, however, saw things differently. He laughed it off and explained that he did not mind the extra tasks because each one helped him improve his skills, sharpen his efficiency, and grow professionally. To him, the work was not just about the present; it was an investment in his future. At the end of the six-month evaluation period, Kevin...

Why Learning Without Action Is Killing Your Business Growth

I have always heard that we are plagued by information overload. Today, if there is anything you want to learn, just type it into Google and you will be amazed at the amount of information available on that subject. When digital platforms began to dominate business, I struggled to find my place. I knew the opportunities that existed online, so I made a decision to acquire the necessary skills. I paid for several trainings. But with each one I took, it always felt like there was something better out there, so I kept going. A few days ago, after completing the Marketing and Structure training by Nelly , I decided to carry out a simple cost-benefit analysis . Not just financially, but also in terms of time because April, the fourth month of the year, is already wrapping up. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: The results I was getting were not commensurate with the amount of training and resources I had consumed. And the reason was even simpler. I was learning, but not impleme...

Posterity Will Judge You

A few days ago, Yunga and I were discussing how to deal with the sound challenges in our parish. Catholic Church sound issues… hmmm. At some point, I got tired of the conversation and said we should just leave the matter. After all, we are not the ones leading the church. If the priests are comfortable with the sound the way it is, no wahala. We will keep managing it until we can no longer cope, and then perhaps move on to places with better sound systems. I honestly expected him to agree with me. Instead, he said something that stopped me. “𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐮𝐬.” He went on to explain that we had not implemented all the strategies we had in mind. We had not even shared all our ideas with the priests before deciding to give up. According to him, if we did nothing, a day would come when people would walk into that church and wonder what kind of people once worshipped there. They would say, “Chuka, Yunga, Hilary and others were here… and this was the r...

Bruised But Wiser: Lessons from Mistakes and Bad Decisions

I read the story about a hunter who once caught a bird in a trap, but released it on the condition that the bird would give him three wise suggestions. The bird assured him that although it looked worthless, it had something valuable to offer. After gaining its freedom, the bird kept its promise. It said, 𝟏. 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞. 𝟐. 𝐃𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝟑. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. On hearing this, the hunter scoffed and said, “I practise these things all the time. I knew you had nothing meaningful to offer.” The bird then flew to a higher branch and replied, “If you truly understood what I said, you would not have released me. There is a precious ruby in my heart. You could have made a fortune.” Immediately, the hunter was filled with regret . He tried to climb the tree to catch the bird, but fell and injured him...

𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝟐 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒... 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄

When I was in boarding school, I had a friend whose provisions were just garri , sugar and kuli kuli . For me, I had no garri at all. My parents believed it affected eyesight, so it never made it into my box. Yet, despite what we had or didn’t have, Kevin and I became very close. Same hostel, same class. We were almost inseparable in Federal Government College Kaduna . He was good at football, fast, and likeable, but there was a problem no one saw. Anytime Kevin asked for my provisions especially milk to soak his garri or cornflakes and I refused, he would stop speaking to me. Completely. No explanation. Just silence. And somehow, I always found myself begging him… with double of what he asked for. This went on for years. My provisions would finish quickly and when my mum asked, I couldn’t explain. They thought seniors were taking them. Even when I started keeping things with my guardian, it didn’t stop. Kevin would demand I bring more. When I couldn’t, the silence returned. At s...

Nobody is coming to save you. And that is your advantage.

Two years ago, when I took Naija Brand Chick DSI, one message from a facilitator stayed with me till today. She said, “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧.” That day, the ratio of women to men was almost 9.5 to 0.5. From their faces, you could tell they were hungry — not just for success, but for a way out. Many of them felt broken from their relationships. And for them, financial success was not just about money — it was about freedom. I attended because I wanted to grow our business. At the time, we were not where I wanted us to be. And truth be told, when I applied the lessons from that course, things changed. We made real progress. But like many people, we didn’t sustain the habits. --- Now in 2026, with everything happening in Nigeria, I began to feel that same urgency again. I wanted to go back. But DSI was no longer running. Thankfully, the course was structured in a way that I could still access the materials. So I went back to...

𝑮𝒆𝒕 𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅. 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅.

This reflection continues my recent thoughts on why, in a world that constantly tells us to move on, wisdom sometimes asks us to 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. In my discourse yesterday 👉🏾 https://www.askchuka.com/2026/03/blog-post_9.html I explained why ignoring the past can lead us to repeat the same mistakes. There is a popular saying that if we fail to keep the records of history, we will inevitably repeat its errors. Many times, when we rush forward without looking back, we run into avoidable mistakes we may regret for the rest of our lives. Let me tell a short story. My sons have always been drawn to sports. At some point they told me they wanted to become professional sportsmen. In Nigeria, that kind of aspiration is not very common. Most children grow up talking about careers in medicine, law, engineering and other traditional professions. But I believe that people can become what they truly aspire to be. So I supported them. We enrolled them in football and tennis programmes so th...

𝑾𝒉𝒚 “𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌” 𝑺𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔

In my discourse yesterday 👉🏾 https://www.askchuka.com/2026/03/blog-post.html I reflected on why the growing idea of “𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬” can be problematic. I also promised to explain why, especially in a world that constantly tells us to 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗡, while wisdom quietly reminds us to 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞. Let me tell you a short story. One day, my son began bleeding profusely from his nose, and we rushed him to a hospital in Abuja (𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡’𝙨 𝙈𝘿). In the past, I had some minor concerns about a few of their diagnoses, although my wife preferred the hospital, perhaps because of the environment. So this time, I armed myself with a medical application on my phone to validate some of the diagnoses the doctors might give. Unfortunately, my concerns proved valid. A young doctor suggested that the bleeding might be related to a Vitamin K deficiency and propos...