Rita's Road (Episode 6)

In an ideal world, thought Rita, my best friend would not be such a thorn in my side, as she stared at her phone. It had been three hours, and not so much as a flash from Bibi. After their last phone call, Rita had strolled back to her room, made herself lunch, and had even fallen asleep. Still no Bibi.

"How long does it take to get to town and back?" she muttered. *Beep Beep* She picked up her phone to read the text message.

I forgot to give you your copy of the assignment. I'm downstairs. Could you come get it? Collins.

She groaned. I have a stupid assignment to work on. Then with a hiss, got off her bed, and headed out the room. She saw him first. He appeared to be deep in thought. What is he thinking about? She wondered, as she walked right up to him, and then snapped her fingers in his face. "Hey!"He frowned, then hissed. "Rude girl. How far?"

"You have something for me".

"Yes. Here it is", and he handed her a sheet of paper.

"Hmm, I didn't even look at this thing properly before. Plastic factory?"

"Yup. He's given all the variables so it shouldn't be too hard".

"I don't think it's hard. I think it's easy, actually. Why make this a group assignment?" Collins shrugged and shook his head, "I don't know, maybe he wants us to learn how to work together. Make our education more rounded".

"How is that important?"

"How is what important?"

"Learning to work together" she replied, making a face, "People only slow you down". Collins frowned, as he folded his arms to stare at her. "What? it's true.

Rita asked, “Are you telling me that you can't finish this assignment yourself today?"

"I probably could", he said.

"I most likely would"

He laughed, and said, "I get it, Rita. You're a genius who doesn't need anybody, but remember that organisations are made up of people. If you want to run one, how do you intend to avoid the people who work for you?"

"Two words - Human Resources".

He blinked, and then burst out laughing hard. Rita smiled at his amusement, but continued, "I'm serious. I'm not a people person. I just...ugh, I am just not a people person and-

"Human Resources" Collins said, still laughing, "Oh Rita, e go hard you o!" She hissed, "Abeg leave me jor".

"I'm going, my ignorant little genius. I have to be somewhere right now anyway" he said, then pointed to the sheet and added, "read through, and get ready for our date tomorrow". She made another face, and said, "I'll be sure to get prettied up for you".

"Oh good, that's always nice. I look forward to it", and with a smirk, a wink and a wave was off.

She hissed, and smiling to herself, started heading back upstairs. Just then the near quietness characteristic of evenings in the hostels was obliterated by the screeching of a car. Rita stopped walking, and prayed simultaneously, please don't let that be Bibi, please let that be Bibi.

*Dah Dah Dah* She looked at her phone. *Dah Dah* Incoming call. Bibi. She sighed, and thought, I'm really beginning to hate this phone, and turned to go outside to the sound of blaring music in the car park. Bibi who was sitting in the front seat of a now parked navy blue Peugeot 407, saw her coming out of the hostel, and screamed, "Rita baby!"

"Hey Bibi", Rita replied with a smile, and a wave, "you're looking good". "I am, aren't I?" she said, then clippety clopped in her neon pink Lady Gaga-like shoes and pulled her into a bear hug. "Girl, you don't look so great", she pulled her out of the hug and said, "you've lost weight".

"Campus living" Rita replied, making a face. "Hey Bibi, are you good?" yelled the driver of the car, "I'm heading back to town". "One minute", she said to Rita, and went to the driver, said a few words to him, and then with a wave, headed back to Rita. "Now" Bibi said, as the car behind her started its engine, "take me to your room".

Rita shook her head, and thought, ever the drama queen.

 

...to be continued

Have you been following the story of Rita? Tell us what you think by posting your comments below.

To read more of Rita's story kindly look out for Young Executive Diary every Tuesday in  your copy of BusinessDay Newspaper    

#YourSpecialInvitation

@Poise_gfs: A True Young Executive does not wait for a special invitation to deliver excellence on a particular day or task. Make your name a stamp of quality #DoThingsRight the first time, everytime.


Have you ever found it irritating the way people qualify instructions? For example, “Type out this letter for me. Type it properly oh! No grammatical errors please.” “Fold this wrapper. – Fold it straight oh, not anyhow.” The qualifiers are the special invitations that people have to extend to us to ensure we take something serious, do it right this time, meet the deadline o!, put in our best, I don’t want you to come back to me with excuses o!, make sure you follow due process on this e.t.c
“Type out this letter for me (instruction). Type it properly oh! (Invitation) No grammatical errors please.” (Invitation).
When I was younger my mum would ask us this question which I am about to ask my dear readers today. She would ask us this question whenever we failed to do something right just because we were not told to. Her version would go like this: “Do you need a special invitation to wake up early?” or “Do you need a special invitation to wash your plate after you eat?” and so on. Here is my version.  “Dear Aspiring Young Executive, do you need a special invitation to do things right the first time?” Imagine a world where everyone’s default setting is EXCELLENCE. Imagine a work place where everyone puts in their best at the first attempt, all customer service officers give their best response to every client and where everyone asked to put together an outline for a presentation gives it their best without being given an invitation.
I know that every once in a while we all need special invitations so, Ta Da! Here we go! I have taken the liberty of extending this invitation to all my wonderful readers (including myself). This is your special invitation.






Pin it up on your wall, place it on your desk or in your journal as a reminder to make excellence your default setting, and you will be on the sure path to the top and to success in life and career. Please send me an email to yed@poisenigeria.org and I will be happy to send you the printable version for your use. I have mine as my screen saver too .
In this edition so many interesting things are happening, have you been following Rita and Eric’s stories? If not you are missing a lot. In this edition, Bibi has a surprise for Rita and Eric finally confides in someone. I hope you have a wonderful time and as usual all I really want you to do with this edition is…
Enjoy!
@UkiDare

Degree Dressed In Ignorance

What Else Did You Do In School? 

There was a very cautious man
Who never laughed or played
He never risked, he never tried
He never sang or prayed
And one day he passed away
His insurance was denied
For since he never really lived
They claimed he never died 

Have you heard of the popular saying of someone passing through the university and the university not passing through him?  Well this is the case of many young people on our campuses today.  I have sat at numerous recruitment panels and marveled at the complete lack of exposure exhibited by most graduates.   Education is not just learning to read and write, but majorly to acquire exposure that would expand thinking and life perspectives.  Alvin Tofler, a prolific writer says, “The illiterate of the twenty first century is not the person who cannot read or write but the person who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”  Education opens your mind to a variety of social and leadership skills that transform you from ‘Bush’ to ‘Savvy’. 

Robust education can also help you get a job faster than others because you would easily fill the requirements organizations are looking for.  Many times, the descriptions you find in the papers explain exactly what to prepare for to get your dream job, such as: "We need people who can set  goals and surpass them; people who have flexibility, imagination and resilience…” “Someone who wants to take responsibility and likes to use their initiative; Somebody who has the confidence and the credibility to challenge and come up with new ways of working…” “we require someone with an enquiring mind and the ability to understand and solve complex challenges…” “We are looking for fresh, innovative minds and creative spirits ...” “We’re after ambitious graduates who can respond with pace and energy to every issue they face…”

These quotes are all taken from job adverts in newspapers and they are all asking for more or less the same things:  The ability to use your own initiative, to think for yourself, to be creative and pro-active.  The ability to resolve problems, to think logically and/or laterally, to use ingenuity to overcome difficulties and to research and implement solutions.  The qualities required here are not found in books; they are learned from activities you become involved in.

Although you cannot learn these skills from books, you can get them from interactions at different fora as you journey through life.  In the university for instance, there are all sorts of groups that can help you build up these skills, such as Student Union Government, Faculty/Departmental associations like , National Association of Computer Science Students, Law Students Association etc. Social clubs such as The Rotaract Club, AIESEC, JCI, JAYCEE Drama groups, Students In Free Enterprise, Literary clubs and a host of others. And when you join, don't just be a member, strive to get into leadership positions where you can develop and hone your skills.

 

It is not a good choice therefore not to participate in any extracurricular activities in school or to be buried in the crowd as an ‘also ran’.  The popular excuses I hear often are, ‘I focussed on my studies and came out with a first class’, or 'I was too busy working on things that mattered, see, I have an award to show for it!’ or 'I did not want any distractions while I was in school'. But think for a moment; in which organization will you be asked to define chemistry or to write an essay on transportation?  Rather, what they would be interested in will be what leadership skills you have, whether you can work under pressure, if you are creative, are a goal getter and whether you know how to use your initiative? They would want to know if you give up easily, if you are able to influence people and manage them to achieve set goals, if you are proactive and have business acumen?  Do you know how to mix and mingle, initiate conversation and lead a discussion? Can you hold your own in public speaking and presentations, are you persuasive and effervescent in mien?  Do you have a network that you can nurture for life and draw on for business?  In other words, are you socially and emotionally intelligent?  Only when you are involved in social activities would you avail yourself of the education that would deliver your dreams.

So now you know.  My advise is this - If you are still an undergraduate, find time to participate in extracurricular activities.  They are a part of education and a very vital part indeed.  Enough of displaying ignorance with pride by brandishing a degree that cannot be supported by relevant knowledge in today's competitive work environment.  A friend of mine described it as 'demonstration of ignorance with pride'.    Show that you went to SCHOOL.   Be a part of the positive activities, be known and recognised on campus for growth and development.  Don't just pass through the university like a ship in the night.  Choose exposure over myopia.