WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY?
David Adeoye, CFA
David is the Team Lead, Transaction Advisory Services, MBC Capital Limited
“If you ask young men what they want to accomplish by the time they are 40, the answers you get fall into two distinct categories. There are those- the great majority – who will respond in terms of what they want to HAVE…There are some men, however, who will answer in terms of the kind of men they hope to be. There are the only ones who have a clear idea of where they are going”
– Seymour Tilles, How to Evaluate Corporate Strategy, Harvard Business Review (July-August, 1963).
In virtually all my career-related discussions with graduate students and other job seekers, I advise that three inter-related decisions of role, employer and geography be taken in the right order. First, decide what you want to do. Second, select who you would like to work for. Third, you choose within the context of the outcome from the first two decisions where you should, or would like to live.
Many people make the decisions in reverse order. They decide where to live, then try to get a job with an employer there, and finally, start looking for where they can fit in.
The first thing I look out for on a CV, is career objective. Most people simply copy some statement that has been used about a thousand or more times but which does not communicate any real meaning to a prospective employer. I see something like this: “to work in a challenging environment where I can make maximum contribution to enhance organizational goals”. When you ask what such a person wants to do, the answers can be a vague as the statements on the CVs.
About 12 years ago, I had the following objective on my CV: “to become a proficient, value-driven, hands-on analyst of business strategy and finance”. This provided a clear focus for my job considerations and choices.
Sometime around June/July, 2005, I was interviewed by the Lagos office of Accenture and my interviewer asked if I would like to do HR (Human Resources) consulting. Without having to think about it I said no. The chat ended there. Though I was looking to make a move at the time (with roughly 2 years experience), changing my career course was not on the table. By November of the same year, the same company called me for another interview and after some rounds of interviews, I was recruited into a strategy-type role.
It’s more important to develop valuable competences in 2 or 3 clearly identifiable areas than to simply be on an employer’s payroll. Provided you’re getting paid, simply having a job does meet today’s needs and may create some provisions for the near future. However it’s never, in itself, a sustainable strategy for your continued relevance or success. What then should you do? I recommend that you aim to work and earn your livelihood from a job or venture where you can simultaneously build a solid foundation for future endeavors.
Now your first question should be this: “Given my interest, aptitude, training, education, and potential, what can I contribute? And where is such contribution valued?” Every commercial engagement eventually comes down to contribution or value creation. Decide where you can, or would like, to contribute. Then train and develop yourself for it.
Secondly, given your intended contribution, ask yourself, where can I start? Who are the players in this trade, where are they located? What do they look out for? How do they recruit? How can I contact them? If you want to practice law, which law firms should you consider? If it’s investments, which stockbroking or issuing houses or investment management firms should you approach? Ask both the simple and the hard questions. How prepared am I? What can I do to boost my chances? How can I demonstrate my interest or showcase my abilities, even if they are limited?
Now. You don’t have to start with the biggest firm. One of my closest friends, an accounting graduate started out with a small audit practice and for about 8 years (2005-2013) went through the difficulties that come with being a young, practicing auditor. About four years into the job, he passed his final exams as a chartered accountant and today, he is CFO (chief financial officer) of a successful oil marketing company.
I have no doubt it pays to work with the best and the brightest. Yet the decision of which firm or business to join should follow from your choice of what you want to do. You may some day decide to change course but a good foundation is always essential. You can aim to be a versatile specialist rather than a wandering generalist.
Thirdly, location does matter in many fields of human endeavor. For certain sectors, experience in a developed markets of North America and Western Europe comes with lots of exposure and may confer some vital advantage. Yet finding yourself in a developed country without a clear idea of your contribution area can produce results that are at best sub-optimal and in some cases, frustrating.
In summary decide what you are going to do, prepare yourself for it and make concrete moves to secure a starting shirt in the right team. Then you can work your way up- over the years and one step at a time.
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Nice article…thanks a bunch