Leaving and cleaving principle 1

To start with, I took some hours out to study how a renowned company in the United States of America became successful. I needed to dig out the principles behind their success, because of a sea of faces of companies I do consult for—both within and beyond the shores of the beautiful nation of Nigeria. You know principles are no respecter of anyone and any country. If they are working in the US, they shall work in Nigeria. If companies in Nigeria can do what they are doing, they shall get the same result they are getting. This is what they do in that company: They hire for attitude and train for skills.

They want people who like people—people who believe in their company and those who enjoy serving customers. They are not hiring for certificate. Most companies are failing in Nigeria today, because they only hire for certificate, devoid of attitude. They hire for certificate and train for skills, and they are back struggling in the critical area of attitude. Their employees are skillful and do have a lot of certificates in their possession, but most of them are bankrupt in the spot of attitude.

Let us move to what I have got to share with you today. A few months ago, I was invited by an organization in Lagos to speak to about two hundred people on how they could end up leading the pack in the days to come. In the course of my session with them that lasted for about four hours, I spoke to them on a number of leadership principles that leaders who know their onions do not take lightly, but today, I have chosen to single out one of them: ‘Leaving and cleaving principle.’ I am so sure that this principle is going to open your eyes and your life shall experience a complete turnaround. Here we go!

To either become a leader in the days to come or to effectively lead right now, you’d need to understand this timeless principle of leaving and leaving. One of the reasons people are not making giant progress in life is because they do not understand this unavoidable principle. There is no one who is successful in his or her field of business, who does not understand what I am passing on to you today.

A few blocks of years ago, I needed to leave some folks, who were not adding value to me, but constantly taking from me, and did cleave to some folks who are relevant to my purpose on earth. This singular difficult decision has changed my life forever! You too may need to evaluate those who you surround yourself with. Are they adding any value to your life or they are constantly taking value from you without adding any value to you? This is the major reason why a lot of people are not moving forward today. Are there people you’d need to leave today? And are there people you’d need to cleave to today? If you can be sincere with yourself, this principle will change your life forever.

There are people you are hanging-out with that are bringing storm into your life and business. Prayers and fasting cannot calm this kind of storm. The only panacea to it is for you to severe yourself from them. There are people that bring crisis to one’s life and there are people that bring solution to crisis. Buddy, it is just one person you shall cleave to and your life, business and leadership shall change forever!

Furthermore, one of the core evidences that will show that you have found your purpose is when you leave all you were doing before finding it and cleave to it as a man would cleave to his newly wedded wife. I found my own purpose when I was a teenager and I did cleave to it. I left all I was doing and did cleave to it. And till today, I am still cleaving to it. And when you cleave to your purpose, you shall become so passionate about it. You cannot be connected to your purpose and not become passionate about it. When you cleave to it, nothing comes between you and your purpose.

As this year is running to an end and 2017 is beckoning, you shall need to evaluate those you are moving with. You will need to leave some people and cleave to some people. This is one of the tough decisions you will need to make in order to live a different life in 2017. One of the major reasons why your 2016 is not different from 2015 is because you have surrounded yourself with folks who are not relevant to where you are going in life.

Also, in the midst of failure, you’d need to learn how to cleave to success, even before success becomes a reality. If you don’t, the weight of failure will cause you to give up. Those who cleave to success before it becomes a reality do not give up when tough times come calling.

Those who have cleaved to success usually are not afraid of making difficult choices. As 2017 beckons, get ready to make difficult decisions in order to stay successful, relevant and useful. Remember, your character is shaped most in the moments when you are called to make difficult choices. Do not forget that it is easier to become a leader than to remain a leader. To remain a leader in your field of business, you will need to be making difficult choices from time to time.

About a decade ago, I came across a striking story of when someone poisoned several boxes of Tylenol of Johnson & Johnson in the 1970s. When the company got wind of what transpired, they pulled Tylenol off the shelves of every store in America. The company ran TV commercials, urging people to stop taking its own product. This ethical action cost Johnson & Johnson million of dollars, but it kept the trust of its customers strong…continued.