May 2021

Jim Ovia Biography

May 8, 2021 In Bios 4 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Jim James Ovia (born November 4, 1951) is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, a native of Agbor in Delta State. He founded Zenith Bank in June 1990 and was its pioneer Managing Director/Chief Executive for 20 years, until he retired in July 2010. Under Jim’s leadership, what started with $4 million in shareholders’ funds, grew into one of Africa’s largest banks, an internationally recognized institution with more than $16 billion in assets. Zenith Bank ranks Nigeria’s Number One Bank on 2020 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking.

Jim Ovia is the founder of Visafone Communications Limited and the chairman of both the Nigerian Software Development Initiative (NSDI) and the National Information Technology Advisory Council (NITAC).

Jim Ovia is the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, one of Africa’s largest banks with over $17.6 billion in assets as of 31 December 2019. As the Chairman of Prudential Zenith Life Assurance Limited, he oversaw the landmark partnership of Prudential Plc – one of the world’s largest life assurance companies and Zenith Life – Nigeria’s fastest-growing life assurance company. He is currently the Chairman and majority shareholder of Zenith General Insurance Limited; Nigeria’s most profitable general insurance company. He is also the chairman of Quantum Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused on investing in or acquiring privately-owned companies in the fields of Financial Services, Technology, Real Estate, Philanthropy, and Other Sectors, with significant business presence or operations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School (OPM), University of Louisiana (MBA), and Southern University, Louisiana, (B.Sc. Business Administration).

The Listener by James C. Christensen.

May 8, 2021 In Insight 1 Min Read By Lanre Dahunsi

“There are two types of people—those who wait to talk and those who listen.” –Anonymous

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In the Dolby® surround sound of our daily lives, we all have to find our own mute button. “Since a painting has no soundtrack, the title character at the center of ‘The Listener’ has found the best way to shut off all the noise in the visual cacophony around him by closing his eyes,” Christensen says. “Listening to his still, small, inner voice, he remains centered without being overcome. We can all find peace in this busy world, but sometimes need to be reminded that we are in charge of our destiny and each of us has the ability to focus without being pushed and pulled as victims.

The characters found in the colorful ‘noise’ around the listener in this painting take many forms including politicians, mothers-in-law, musicians, and famous artists . . . can you find Picasso? Through it all, our listener ignores the noise in favor of his own personal tranquility.”

All the Best in your quest to get Better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell.

May 7, 2021 In Book Summaries 7 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

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In How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, American artist Jenny Odell writes about the commercialization of our attention and the need to reclaim our time. In a world where addictive technology is designed to buy and sell our attention and our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity, it can seem impossible to escape. Odell shares strategies for winning back our attention through solitude, redirecting our priorities, and becoming more self-aware.

Daily Stoic’s Momento Mori Coin.

May 7, 2021 In Favourite 4 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.” – Marcus Aurelius

I recently ordered the Daily Stoic’s Momento Mori Medallion as a way to remind me of my mortality. We hear of people’s death daily on social media, in the news, within our family, we lose friends, colleagues and we know deep down that it is an inevitable thing that would happen to us all. Death is a debt we all have to pay, and it is a subject our society encourages us to avoid. We act awkward around people that just lost a loved one; some people even avoid reaching out to their family and friends because they do not know what to say. The sad reality is that when you DIE, the world would move on, you and I are not that special.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. – Steve Jobs

The Enemy called FEAR.

May 6, 2021 In Life 11 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

FEAR is a powerful human emotion usually induced by perceived danger or threat. It leads to physiological, behavioral, and biochemical changes such as fight or flight response to a threat. Fear is a warning signal; it alerts us to the presence of danger, it could also lead to a certain stimulus in the present moment or anticipation of a perceived threat in the future. Fear is a natural human behavior (rational), and it can also be irrational (phobia) based. Fear shows you are human, and we can witness it in different form as anxiety, worry, anger, envy, unhappiness, etc. We can either use fear to push us into greatness or destructiveness.

FEAR can be an illusion as American Author, and Speaker Zig Ziglar noted, “F-E-A-R: has two meanings: Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. The choice is yours.” We have the choice to either make fear cripple us or motivate us into action. Fear can be used as a tool for good or a tool for evil. Fear can be commercialized, politicized, spiritualized, used as a weapon of emotional blackmail, or used as a tool to effect positive change. Former American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt implored Americans to face their greatest fear during the great depression. At the same time, Führer and Chancellor of the German Reich, Adolf Hitler, stocked the flame of fear against the jews and orchestrated the Holocaust – the genocide of about 6 million Jews and millions of others.

Solitude and leadership by William Deresiewicz.

May 6, 2021 In Insight 8 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

American essayist and critic William Deresiewicz whose book Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life, is based in part on his essays “The Disadvantages of an Elite Education” and “Solitude and Leadership.”. Deresiewicz delivered the speech to the plebe class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in October 2009. In the speech, he noted that solitude is the very essence of leadership. He shared some great insights on bureaucracy, Leadership, multitasking, focus, concentration, social media, and solitude,

True leadership means being able to think for yourself and act on your convictions.

Joseph Brodsky’s University of Michigan 1988 Commencement Speech.

May 5, 2021 In Speech 19 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

‘I wish you luck, because what lies ahead is no picnic for the prepared and the unprepared alike, and you’ll need luck’

Russian-American poet and essayist Joseph Brodsky delivered the 1988 winter commencement speech to the graduating students on December 18, 1988. Joseph Brodsky was a Soviet dissident and poet who won the Nobel Prize for literature the year before this speech. He was an American poet laureate in 1991. He died in 1996.

Joseph Brodsky’s University of Michigan 1988 Commencement Speech Transcript

Africa Rise And Shine: How a Nigerian Entrepreneur from Humble Beginnings Grew a Business to $16 Billion by Jim Ovia.

May 5, 2021 In Biographies 9 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Audiobook

Africa Rise And Shine is the story of how Jim Ovia built Zenith Bank from a nascent business with $4 million in shareholders’ funds to an internationally recognized brand and institution with more than $16 billion in assets despite a decaying infrastructure and periods of economic instability. Ovia wrote the book determined to redefine the gloom narrative about Africa and illustrate the real Africa behind the headlines. We are a some total of our lives experiences and it is always exciting to read, learn and discover what makes highly successful people like Jim Ovia thick. Success they say leaves clues and Jim Ovia’s story leaves lots of very relatable clues.

The Death Ground Strategy.

May 4, 2021 In Insight 9 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Death ground is a psychological phenomenon that goes well beyond the battlefield: it is any set of circumstances in which you feel enclosed and without options.

Many of us think we have all the time in the world, and we tell ourselves that Someday I’ll, we continuously settle for less than we can become. We go to jobs we hate, stay in toxic relationships, tolerate bad behavior from our family and friends, delay starting the business or taking the vacation, delay living, procrastinate, fail to follow our dreams, and always have a plan B. One of the challenges of having a plan B is that you are likely to go for it until you burn all the bridges; you would always want to go for the path of least resistance. One of the principles that could help with relentlessly executing your goals is the Death Ground Strategy. It involves having a sense of urgency like you are on the war front, and you need to be victorious, or you sink.

For example, in the movie 300, a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae within the Persian Wars. The first battle scene of the movie shows Leonidas, the king of Sparta, motivating his warriors to defend the “Hot Gates,” hence blocking the invading Persian forces of Xerxes into the narrow pass between the rocks and the sea. The Spartans still won the battle with 300 soldiers compared to the over 300,000 invading Persian forces.

Death is nothing, but to live defeated is to die every day. – NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

A Reason, A Season, or A Lifetime

May 4, 2021 In Poem 2 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.

They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support,

To aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are.

They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,

This person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.

Book Summary -Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day by Jay Shetty.

May 3, 2021 In Book Summaries 13 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

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In Think Like a Monk, former monk Jay Shetty writes about the timeless wisdom he learned as a monk into practical steps anyone can take every day to live a less anxious, more meaningful life. Shetty shares great insight and offers advice on reducing stress and improving focus in our very distracted and ever-busy world. The advice Shetty provided is based on his experiences at the Ashram Monastery. He practiced as a monk for three years, and he says that thinking like a monk is not about dressing like a monk but rewiring our habits and thought process.

“Our thoughts are like clouds passing by. The self, like the sun, is always there. We are not our minds.”

Top 30 Quotes on Intuition.

May 2, 2021 In Quotes 6 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Intuition is the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. Intuition is a feeling we all have, but we fail to listen to it most of the time. It is the power of knowing; even though you do not know how and why you know, you know it. You can call it a hunch, gut feeling, sixth sense, inner knowing; no matter what you call it, we can all learn to trust our intuition/gut by listening to it more often. It is that voice that knows the answer before you even ask the question; it is that inner wisdom that guides and leads you to the right path. Your intuition is usually more important than your intellect because it knows best.

The late CEO of Apple Steve Jobs quipped in his 2008 Stanford University Commencement speech:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Book Summary – Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.

May 1, 2021 In Biographies 12 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Kindle (eBook) | Hardcover

In Leaving the tarmac, Nigerian Entrepreneur and former group managing director of Access Bank Plc shares how he and Herbert Wigwe turned Access Bank, a crisis-prone Nigerian Bank they bought in 2002, into one of the most admired banks in Nigeria and Africa. Aigboje gives the readers a front-row seat to the challenges, setbacks, successes, and failures they had to deal with in the process of building a world-class financial institution in an environment like Nigeria.

The book provides insights, lessons learned, a history of Nigerian banking, banking regulation, and a blueprint for dealing with the government while running a thriving business in Nigeria. It is a story of grit, getting things done, building a great team, the power of timing, and striving for excellence.

Leaving the Tarmac Mentorship and Internship Programme

As part of the global launch of Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede is offering internships to five exceptional young Nigerians.

I was excited to read the book because most successful Nigerian business leaders/Entrepreneurs hardly share their success stories. It can be hard for aspiring Entrepreneurs to read their own version of their journey. Leaving the Tarmac is a relatable story about the ups and downs of running a business in Nigeria, continuous improvement, learning through best practices, and connecting the dots by seizing the opportunities around you.

Favourite Takeaways – Leaving the Tarmac