Taking on 2019 with lessons from 2018
My 2018 Year in Review
Assume you’re reading this in January…lol
I got notifications from the article I released last week and I got to my drafts only to find this article as one of the articles I never got to release. I started the article while in Onitsha, Anambra State, for Golibe Festival 2018. Apparently, I never published it, so here’s an article that was written for January 2019:
You can’t connect the dots looking forward you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path. — Steve Jobs
2018 and the reason I am the energy god
Here’s a sequel to this story; I graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from Obafemi Awolowo University in 2017 and decided I was going to start working professionally early 2018…Hollup! This is 2019, no time for those stories; you can read about this in my 2017 review titled; 2017 and the reason I am awesome.
2018 was a great year for me. I consider it the year for building capacity and this was because I handled a lot of different things, some poorly and some very well. I had a few failures and a number of wins. I met a lot of awesome people and got the opportunity to work in a lot of different teams. It was also a very confusing year for me because I could not get a grasp of what I really wanted to do. I was in and about the whole place laying my hands on a lot of different things. Sidenote; “If you are in this state too, relax, you’ll find yourself, it is a journey and you’re still on it”.
Although very exciting, 2018 was a bit challenging but ultimately, I had so much fun, learnt a lot and gained momentum for my journey.
Here are the top highlights from 2018
CAREER & WORK: Top 3
I got the opportunity to work with various teams and in various capacities, as a Business Developer, Community Builder, Operations Manager and so many more. The top 3 places I worked were Hostcabal, Ingressive and TechQuest (I’m still here). For a lot of different reasons, I switched workplaces as I had no predefined path to follow. There was only one thing that was super clear to me from the beginning; I was super excited about the future I could help create and I could do this by building the capacity of as many people as I can. This is the reason I started Consonance in the first place and the same reason I went with Ingressive and later with TechQuest.
Up until 2018, I have mostly been involved in what I started; my gadget and accessories business I started in my 100 level, GoldenMuv Ventures, Cloudshot Technology Limited (where we built VoissApp, CVbuild and Ivasity) and in 2017, Consonance. In 2018, I started working with other organizations starting with Hostcabal and the journey became a whole lot exciting. I believe that sometimes it is necessary to get out of your comfort zone and see what’s beyond the horizon. I was opportune to do this and I can’t trade the experience for anything else.
NOTEWORTHY MILESTONES: Top 5
- Raised my first million for an event
- Had my first engagements with big brands like Google & Facebook
- Finally started my National Youth Service (NYSC)
- Travelled by air for the first time and completed 10 air trips in the year
- Broke grounds with TechQuest (Impacted 5000 in 7 states in Nigeria)
TRAVEL & COMMUNITY: Top 10
I have always been involved in a lot of community activities, right from the university. I was involved in a whole lot of community engagements in 2018 and this is where all my energy comes from (Yes, no mistake there, it is the producer and not the consumer).
- forLoop Hackoka: This was a hackathon sponsored by Africa’s Talking Ltd and Whogohost. I worked with Chuloo on this hackathon for Unilag; read about it here.
- Codepen.io Meetup: This was the first ever Codepen meetup in Africa and I co-organized the event with Goodness Kayode, you can ready about the event here.
- Codefest Hackathon: This was a hackathon I volunteered to help organize, it held in Unilag. I brought in Consonance, Hostcabal, Devcenter and Ingressive to make this work (I heard there were some issues with the organizers not delivering on their end and we are looking to resolve this).
- SIC Southwest: I was in Abuja throughout March working with an awesome team at Civic Innovation Lab to design the Student Innovation Challenge program. We delivered the SIC Southwest in Unilag with the Vice President in attendance.
- JAN Hackathon: This was my second engagement with TechQuest (the first was as a volunteer in 2017 for a summer camp), as a consultant to design and deliver a hackathon in 4 states (Uyo, Enugu, Osun, Kaduna) for Junior Achievement Nigeria and Google.
- Devfest Lagos: One of the biggest event I have helped organized, funny thing is that I couldn’t attend the event because I was in NYSC camp. I worked with Aniedi Udo-Obong, Moyinoluwa Adeyemi, Femi TAIWO, Chizoba Ogbonna, Oyetola Taiwo and Ada Nduka Oyom.
- Ngnog conference: This is the Nigerian Network Operators Group event which I supported Oo Nwoye in organizing. I couldn’t attend this conference also because of NYSC camp.
- Oyamakewegroove: This is one event the tech ecosystem looks forward to every year. It is like the end of the year tech party. I worked closely with Oo Nwoye in organizing this event and it was a huge success. See photos from the event here.
- Consonance: This is the tech community for devs and designers in Nigeria. We hosted a few chats through the year and continued supporting the student developer communities. Devs and designers looking for opportunities can still fill this form.
- TeachAKid2Code: Upon completion of TechQuest Summer camp held in 3 locations in Lagos, we embarked on a new mission to impact 5000 kids across 7 states (Lagos, Osun, Abuja, Plateau, Anambra, Enugu, and Oyo) sponsored by Google and AfricaCodeWeek. Read about it here.
SKILLS & TOOLS: Top 5
- Project Management (Budgeting, Operations, Execution) and tools (Asana, Spreadsheet, Trello)
- Communication (Speaking, Writing, Negotiation) and tools (Word processors, Presentation, Spreadsheet)
- Community Building & Management (Networking, Leadership, Coordination) and tools (Community playbooks, Workplace)
- Content Development (Documentation, guides, curriculum and proposals)
- Strategic Planning & Execution
LESSONS FROM 2018: Top 3
- Build More: You can take as many courses as you want or read as many books as you want but the most important thing is that you are able to put the lessons into use. It is best to try as much as possible to learn by building and also try to take courses or read books on things you are currently doing. PS: You can start with volunteering, that's how I started.
- Be Great at Something: You shouldn’t try to do everything that comes your way. I tried to do everything I could lay my hands on, and as much as it has advantages (increasing capacity), it also deprives you of the opportunity to be great/excellent at one thing. ‘Focus’ is very important in everything we do and it helps us to take notice of the little things.
- Volunteer More: It is more blessed to give and than to receive. Be available to support others in their endeavours, to help others grow and to teach the younger generation to become better than you. When you teach others, you understand better and become better.
PUSHERS & SUPPORTERS: Top 20
Bosses: Aniedi Udo-Obong, Oo Nwoye, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Maya Horgan Famodu, Sean Burrowes, Nadayar Enegesi, Charles Emembolu, Lanre Oyedotun, Prosper Otemuyiwa and Adeyemi Fowe.
Supporters: Shox Adomokai, Oyewale Ademola, Talabi Opemipo, Perfect Makanju, Odu Oluwafemi, Timilehin Ogunyemi, George Okereka, Adetunji 'TeeJay' Opayele, harny otuoniyo and Francis Sani.
This list is not exhaustive as there are a host of others from Consonance, my family, my friends (et homies, Cloudshot family, OAU/iLab fam) and the entire tech community that support what I do. Thank you so much!
DOWNTIME: Top 3
In our journey, there are always setbacks. We all have our ‘demons’, some are just a lot bigger than others. This is where some parts of my life affect some other parts of my life. Here are the top 3:
- My dad’s mental health breakdown: Since I was a kid, my dad’s health hasn’t been the best and it got worse in 2018. Sometimes when I hear the information, it breaks my heart but I have to be strong for my younger brothers, my mother and my family.
- Mistake on my degree: This got me unnecessarily pissed. I spent 5 years in the university, trying so hard to get a first class degree even with all the things I was running on campus. I ended up with a 4.37 (getting my first ‘E’ in a 3 Unit course in the final semester) only to see a second class lower in my final result (during graduation, the brochure for convocation and even sent to NYSC).
- Mobbed: I was stopped on the road by some guys as I was working towards my bus stop to get a bike to my house. I was threatened to be harmed and I had to part with my mobile phone and wallet. This was distressing and a little traumatizing especially every time I have to pass through that same road (Paranoia! lol).
I am sharing this here because I will like you to know that we all have our ‘demons’, our vulnerabilities, things that get to us, things that affect our lives, career and growth but they do not have to define our destination. As long as we pay attention to the people that love us and support us and as long as keep on progressing through our journey…we’ll be fine.
TAKING ON 2019:
Looking back now, it makes sense how the dots connect from back then in school, the teams formed, the overnights, the problems solved, the skills mastered and the challenges faced. It almost seems like all my experiences were perfectly planned to prepare me for today. This is what Steve Jobs tried to communicate in the quote at the top of this article page, you have to keep at what you do and trust that it will lead you to your destination. The truth is that there is no right or wrong path, there is just the path you choose to take and the one you didn’t, only the future can tell the difference.
This feels a bit weird writing about the plan for 2019 when we are already a quarter into the year. It means I have some ‘expo’ already from Q1 and I will share a bit here before sharing the plans for the entire year.
- Focus on One thing: Since the year started, I downplayed my role in most of the things I was working on to focus on TechQuest under the directive of Charles Emembolu. I am the Program Manager and Head of Business Development; managing the teams, designing the programs (projects) and seeking new businesses. It has been an exciting journey so far redefining our strategy and expanding to 9 states in Nigeria. We are a nonprofit on a mission to raise the #NextMillionBuilders and I have hope in the future of Africa because of the passion and zeal that can be seen in the various communities towards fulfilling our mission.
- Learning and Growth: When you focus on one thing, it becomes a lot easier to understand, map out and define your growth trajectory. I have chosen a path in Business Development and right now, I have started working with organization budget, fundraising, monitoring and evaluation, community building and growth and most especially, communications. There are loads of free resources to take advantage of, like Yali’s free courses (I got 5 certificates) and Datacamp (I have almost completed my second certificate course). I have also been learning a lot on the job especially from the bosses I mentioned above as my Pushers.
- Build for Sustainability: I might have led a lot of teams but I had never learnt the art of delegating or trusting others to deliver. This means that many of my past endeavours had always been hinged on me and my capacity. I am currently unlearning and relearning. Learning to trust my team to deliver on their end and helping them to trust their own teams to deliver on their end also. I never want the things I work on to crumble when I move on to other things, so I am trying to get this right, putting structure, systems and processes in place for growth.
OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS:
I am so looking forward to my first international air travel. I am not sure when this will be but I know it’s going to happen this year. I am also looking forward to raising my first $100,000 this year. I used to shy away from money conversations but have recently come to enjoy such conversations now. If there are two things that can make or mar an organization; they are the people and the funds available. The year started with a lot of learning and I will not slow down on this.
At the end of the year, I will share the things I will be learning through the year, the capacity built and the achievements, results and lessons learnt. I am excited about the future I am helping creating, you too can help create a better and desired future, our little quota matter. I am looking forward to sharing (both writing and speaking), learning and building more. So yeah, many times we may not be able to see the grand consequences of our actions at the time but we must not faint, we must rather trust in the process, the growth process, that the dots will somehow connect somewhere along the line in the near future. You will be great, you just have to keep at what you do.
Interested in knowing more about what we do at TechQuest? Visit www.tqstem.org or www.bit.ly/TQplaybook.
Thank you for reading. Have a great year ahead!
