How A Nigerian Exec Quit Corporate America To Build A Travel Giant Back Home ft. Bayo "Lion" Adedeji

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Welcome back to the Zero Generation Podcast.
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I'm so excited to be here and for who I'm gonna be talking to today.
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But before we get to that, this is the podcast for the dreamers who left home and are making a new home abroad.
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And that's a really broad umbrella because all of us left home at some point.
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Hopefully, if you're an adult, you've left home.
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The home where you were born, and you're making a new home yourself and making your way in the world.
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I am focusing this season on people who are driving culture innovation across different industries: travel, tech, writing, creatives.
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It's um it's packed full, and I'm just excited to be back.
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This episode I am going to be talking to Bayo Adidigi.
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He's known as Bio Lion.
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And for a good reason, um Bayo and I go way, way, way back.
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Um to first of all, I think I I first of all knew Bayo he was um doing mega shoe sale.
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Um, and this was when I first came out of college, so years ago now.
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But then I met Bayo in person um when he started working at company that I was working at um when I joined corporate And Bayo made such an impression on me.
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I'm gonna be talking to him about certain things that he did and certain choices that he's made in his career and how he's pivot, he pivoted when it seemed like he was on the fast track in the US in corporate America, pivoted and went back home.
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Um, I want to get into his head, and talking with Bayo is exciting.
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He always comes with insights, a lot of energy, and so excited to be talking to him today.
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Check out my interview.
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Welcome, Bayo, welcome Baya Lion, um, as you're popularly Um so just a little bit about you, and I would love to hear you in your own words.
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But Baya is the group CEO of Waka now.
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Um, and personally for me, he's someone that embodies boldness, joy, reinvention, um, and doing the impossible.
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You know, I um I met you long, long, long, long time ago, but then I re-met you um a little bit of a while ago um while were working in corporate America.
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And I was lucky to be there the day you had a pivotal that, you know, marked yeah, that marked your your journey.
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So I want to talk a little bit about that because for me, someone who I saw taking up space while you were here in the US.
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And you're you know, in Nigeria, and you're still, you know, in fact, you're you're now taking up much more space.
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But, you know, like how we say no be today, like you don't te.
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So I would love to kind of talk first about your corporate right?
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So a lot of people who listen to this podcast are like me, us, you know, they've moved, they've relocated, they're their way in their careers abroad, and they're trying to make a mark.
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And for me, I remember that when you know I first joined you were one of probably only two Nigerian senior managers um in the entire company, which was huge.
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Um, but beyond that, you were very intentional about you know, those of us who you saw around the company.
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Um, what was your frame of mind um as you climbed the corporate ladder in America, not just you know, in Amazon?
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Girl, you just asked me a million questions in your mind.
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I know, I know.
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Okay, let's let's reverse.
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Let's reverse, let's reverse it.
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Okay, okay, okay.
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Okay.
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I'm excited to be here with you, Dami.
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This is you've asked me to do this quite a bit, and I am glad that finally I get to do it.
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Um, corporate America for me was about exceptionality, it was um, you know, I I don't know if I ever told you this story I'm sure I have in one of our long chats.
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Um, my first job in corporate America, I was almost fired.
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Um, I was almost fired, not because I couldn't do the job, but I had a communication problem.
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Um, I was afraid that people didn't understand my accent, so I less.
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Um, I'll just I'll go my go do it.
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You know, I'll just go do it.
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Uh, you know, even when I don't kind of agree um around things people did, I I was I was too caught up in the emotion that because every time I spoke, and and again, I'm a little bit right?
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So I my my first job in America was probably 2008.
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Um, so in 2008, people just always say, uh, say that again.
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Uh say that again.
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And it gave me a little bit of an inferior complex that at the time I did not realize that that was what was going on.
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Um, yeah, and they put me on beep, they wanted to fire me.
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Um my goodness.
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Yeah, I was about to be fired.
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And uh the guy that hired me into um um Texas Instrument at the um took me to lunch and then told me the the what I what I what I call another pivotal moment.
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He told me that I am the smartest, dumbest person he has ever
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That I am smart to use those words, yes, the exact words.
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And he talked, it told me that after I ate my steak, almost um I was almost done with my stake.
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Um, so the steak could not go in the heart after that.
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And he said to me that I am getting the way because I'm afraid people seeing the true me.
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Wow.
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Um, and you know, I went to work, I got out of peep seven days that.
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Um, because I just spoke up.
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I just spoke my mind.
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I don't care whether you understand me or not, I would speak I would send it to you by email, I would make sure that you but I will communicate.
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And me, you know, after going through that, I left that, I went to Walmart, I went to PetsMat, I came to Amazon.
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When I got to Amazon, I saw a lot of Nigerians like me, I saw a of Africans like me that were struggling the things I struggled uh maybe 10 years ago, right?
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And it was I resonated with it because it wasn't about the smarts, it wasn't about the job, it was about your ability to convince guy next door that you know what you're talking about, and that can, you know, that you can write the right doc, you can speak right lingo, you can use the right pronouns, you can use the the right adjectives to describe stuff, the right verbs.
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And and it was that combination that made me started together and Africans together.
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That look, whichever way I can help you, you know, you have a with your manager, come talk to me.
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Let me see how I can help you.
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And for me, um, you know, I am a light that is set on top of a hill that cannot be idiot.
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You certainly are, you cannot be hidden.
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I cannot be idiot.
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And I believe that everybody is also a light.
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And I just came into my own light, and I just make sure that puts me under the table, period.
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And even if you put me under the table, that's where I start I'll try to bond down the table so that I can come to life Yeah, and that's who I am.
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I have it, that's amazing.
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I mean, and you you got deep right away.
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I love it.
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I have I had a question for further in the conversation, but you know, for people who find themselves in a tough situation like yours where they're on a pip, um, and they sense that because of a way that they present themselves.
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Um, and you know, you are very lucky to have someone who you and told you the truth, and you know, you were then to course correct.
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Like, what is your advice for someone who might be in a moment where they're going through something, they may not even to put their finger on it?
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Like, how do they how do they make sure that they don't get under in that situation?
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So, so I have some bad news.
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Um, I was never able to shake off the reputation of a slacker till I left Texas Instrument.
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I remember one time they wanted to promote me to finance and the VP of the organization opposed it that he's a slacker.
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My manager loved me.
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I had come out of a paper chain manager.
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I was, but he remembered that my name came up in maybe some review, and he called me a slacker.
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And in his mind, and my manager was fighting hard for me, that this is the best guy on my team.
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He would not believe it.
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I could not shake off that reputation.
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I had been able to get my job back, I was not going to be fired, my job was secured, but I could not shake off that reputation.
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I had to find a new kingdom to go take over.
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And one of the reasons why I left TI was because of that, right?
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Because you know, every time somebody remembers that two years I was a slacker, right?
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And I just couldn't shake it off.
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I I did everything, I stood on top of the hill, I spoke at I spoke and made it.
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But people still remember the bad because sometimes people just that.
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So what I did was number one, I changed companies, literally.
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Okay, yeah, some of you might be able to shake it off within your own organization.
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You might be able to get it get it over there and get and get it fixed.
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When I changed components, my new manager there identified the problem I had at CI that I thought I had shaken off.
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And it sent me to go take a class.
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It sent me to go take a class called How to Win Friends and People by Dell Carnegie.
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That class changed my life.
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Literally.
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Like I still I still encourage all my leaders to go listen to the book.
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We get the ebook.
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I think I have it somewhere.
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You know, I we get the um I listened, I listened to I didn't the book, I listened to the audio, the audio version, but it was amazing.
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I took the class, it was a I had to go to the class every Monday for I think like 10 weeks.
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Um, and the class actually just taught me how to be an leader with communication.
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So for anybody going through PIP, for anybody going through this, I can tell you sometimes you need to go pitch your tent but you need to take the time to introspect.
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You see, oftentimes people blame the manager.
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They say, My manager doesn't like me, they are being raised me, blah blah blah blah.
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I am not saying that some of those things do not exist, they do but you two are not exceptional.
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Trust me, once you get to that exceptionality, they will respect you, even though they ate you.
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And that is where you need to get to yeah, they will respect you, they will respect the fact of what you bring to the table, they respect the fact that you can outwork everyone and that you can and you have results to prove it.
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And yeah, once you get to that place of respect, I don't know what else you want to the workplace.
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I didn't go there to look for love, I went there to look for work, right?
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So, and in work, all I ask for is to respect me, is that when I I speak, you listen at least before you disagree with me, and you present a counter-argument.
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And those are the things now.
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It's okay not to promote me, it's okay.
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I've I've gotten over that, right?
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But you respect my work and know that I am exceptional.
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So again, if you're going through Pete, I say to you that you to introspect.
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I don't look outward, I look inward, and I say that what could I have done better, what could I have done differently?
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What didn't I do well, right?
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And as I go back and fix those things, I become a better version of myself.
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Even if I don't become successful in that place, I then go place where I can find success.
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Yeah, I feel so that I mean that's so profound.
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I feel validated, and also, you know, when I think about career journey, I I burnt out, quote unquote, and I took a a bit of a sabbatical.
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But what I did during that sabbatical was introspect to say, you know, what led, what was the original scene, so to speak.
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And it traced back to a similar experience where I was on a team, and they're like, you know, you you're on a plan, ETC, ETC.
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And I did switch kingdoms, you know, just instinctively.
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Once I once I made it past that paper, I said, I can't stay in this.
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And I moved, but you know, a couple of years in, I still had that on my back.
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I still had that in, you know, on yeah, it was still ringing in my head, you know, that you're not enough, you're not you're not enough.
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And so I burnt out.
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But it was only after I took time and quieted everything I and I introspected, like you said, that I was like, oh, this was the original sin.
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And I have to work on whatever was true about that and what wasn't true about it, yeah.
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And then come back and I'm back, my and I'm doing amazing.
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I'm I'm so happy.
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And Dami, you said one thing that I don't think we say enough.
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And as African Americans or as Nigerian Americans or Africans, um we don't introspect enough and say that was I 10 over 10.
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Yeah, right?
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You see, and for those of us that work in Corporate America, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
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It's that one element that you miss that gets held around your Now don't miss it.
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Now be 10 over 10.
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Now the exception will be 10 over 10.
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Let them write down your boxes and you say, I checked it all.
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I did it all, and I have proof about it.
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And your ability to also keep proof, right?
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I meet with my manager, we talk verbally, I send a recap that you for thank you for telling me I'm doing a good job.
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Thank you for telling me that I did an amazing work on this Thank you for this.
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I really appreciate the compliments.
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The compliment speaks about your leadership and your ability to your staff.
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I send it to her by email.
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Help them help you so that's on the record.
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When she now comes back and says that by all your performance is soper, I would say, guy.
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And Nigerians and Africans don't do that because America they talk, talk, talk, talk, talk.
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You know, I say talk and leave a lot of chance and just like hope, hope that you know you kind of get recognized and that the person on the other side of the conversation is
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One thing they don't go get a life outside of work.
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Listen, listen.
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So your everything, everything, your whole self-esteem.
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All your whole work, yeah.
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You know me now.
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Yeah, you know that four o'clock.
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Yes.
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I'm in HQ1 when I was at Amazon.
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Yeah, remember that place?
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Yeah, local, that bar that I like to go to.
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Yes, local, yes, yes, yes.
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Everybody knew that on Fridays at four o'clock, yeah, buyer is be at this chair chilling and having four.
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People will come and gather around.
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And you know that on Saturdays I'm gonna throw something on the and I'm gonna have life because again, the embodiment of is not just work.
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And sometimes you might not try that work, but you can try it in life.
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Because again, there's more to life than just work.
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Before we pivot to your Nigeria, I there's one more thing I to touch on.
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One of those pivotal things that I experienced when I that I always say the only person that successfully referred into the organization was hired by you.
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And I watched how intentional, you know, once you the that successfully uh referred into the organization was hire.
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Really?
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Was someone that you hired.
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Yes.
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Who was that?
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I don't want to say the name, but it was someone on your When you talked to her, yes, she was on your team.
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You talked to her, you were like, This this person is yes, this person is smart, like this person is brilliant.
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And I saw you, once you were convinced, like you went very to ensure that she got a seat that she deserved at the table.
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And for me, I was like, Oh, this is the level of that is required.
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And the person is Nigerian to close the deal.
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Yes, the person is Nigerian.
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Yes, what?
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Yes, I will hire Nigerian and my team in America.
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Yeah.
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With no remorse or most Nigerians don't do that.
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They will say, Oh my goodness, let's no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
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And no, no.
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And I you remember that we always talk about it because other let's not call anybody out, right?
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You make those races in manager, you turn back and come back years' time, the entire team is that race.
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The entire team, the entire team, the entire team.
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Why can't I do that for my people too?
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Why can't I get?
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I'm not saying I will shut the door on other people that have the qualification and have the skills to do the job.
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But if somebody from my race, I will not discount them because we look alike, we talk alike, but from the same place, they will get the opportunity.
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And by the way, I would also provide them support because they my flesh and blood.
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That is it.
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And for me, I am very pro-African.
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I I am, I am, you I'm sure you know that.
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Um, you know, I know some people had issues with their I actually went and spoke to the manager.
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Like I went and had a meeting with the manager because it was a manager, too.
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I sat down across the table from him.
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I said, Guy, what can I do to help this person?
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Can I mentor them?
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Can we get them off of peep?
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Blah blah blah.
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Because that's the power that I have to help my brothers and my And if it's giving them a job and giving them an opportunity, why not?
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Why not do it?
00:17:48.078 --> 00:17:58.720
Why not do we and until we become we become intentional to ourselves with people that can protect us, but truly not leaders.
00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:00.160
We're truly not leaders.
00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:00.880
I agree.
00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:04.880
And I think, you know, I've been I absolutely agree.
00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:09.440
Like now I've been in this journey for several years, and now I'm in that position.
00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:10.960
And so this is a reminder.
00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:12.960
I remember something that you said about protection.
00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:21.038
There was a time I was, you know, there was someone, a that I was interviewing, and we got to the um, I forget, the loop, the loop discussion.
00:18:21.038 --> 00:18:27.680
And this person didn't really do well, but the hiring said, no, I've worked with him before, and they were from the same country.
00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:29.358
You know, I've worked with him before.
00:18:29.358 --> 00:18:34.318
He'll do, I will personally put my um you know, my him.
00:18:34.318 --> 00:18:34.640
Yes.
00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:43.519
That's and and we're all like, all right, cool, then hired, know, and then this person came and shot up, was promoted, you know, at the a very fast rate.
00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:47.038
So that's what, you know, that's the level of intentionality that you're talking about.
00:18:47.038 --> 00:18:58.240
And support, you know, I think that's another one that I'm away from this conversation is providing support so can grow in their careers and they don't just feel like I'm on my own, I'm one of the people.
00:18:58.640 --> 00:19:00.160
You know my team, my team at Amazon.
00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:02.160
Let me remember the races.
00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:11.118
I had uh one Nigerian, one African-American, I had I had one white, um, one white, I had one Asian.
00:19:11.118 --> 00:19:17.519
Again, it wasn't about I had I had a couple more, but I know that some American had some, you know.
00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:23.598
But but again, the my team was so diverse that it wasn't about you're from.
00:19:23.598 --> 00:19:36.480
But again, yeah, when when my Nigerian sister on the team does bad or something I need to scold, of course I'll scold her, but then bring her back and say, sit down, let me show how to get it done.
00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:39.519
Yeah, yeah, let me show you how to do it right.
00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:46.558
I remember that the person you're talking about will come to my on Saturdays, I'll come to my house on Sunday, and we will provide support.
00:19:46.558 --> 00:19:53.200
And even yeah, I remember that my entire team, you know, they were so pissed when I left.
00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:59.038
Because again, I was not just a manager, I was also providing to everybody on the world.
00:19:59.038 --> 00:19:59.519
You're a coach.
00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:05.440
And and it was more about building a team, you know, I call it band of misfits, right?
00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:22.400
Where all of us together now make a cohesive team that becomes And and for every single Nigerian or African or minority that me on this, you know, I live in Nigeria now, so I can talk about this thing.
00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:28.400
Um, if you cannot hire your own, you're doing this thing wrong.
00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:30.078
You're doing all this thing wrong.
00:20:30.078 --> 00:20:34.400
You will be so lonely, you'll get into that boardroom and you'll be the only one there.
00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:44.160
And I'm telling you, you you they'll be talking about steaks and talking about lamp chops, and you are thinking about something you know, and you know what I'm saying?
00:20:44.160 --> 00:21:00.160
And you're like, I wanna have at least one brother in the room we can say, man, we need like again, you'll be talking about golf when you're thinking about premiership, you'll be talking about this, when you're thinking about that, and then you now have to fake play golf that you don't like, you know.
00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:03.118
Because again, you didn't go into the room with people.
00:21:03.118 --> 00:21:13.200
Um, I say to I say to everyone that cares to listen that if you want to be a string, a very strong leader, pull somebody along the journey with you, pull somebody along, pull them along.
00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:14.558
You know what they will remember it.
00:21:14.558 --> 00:21:17.278
I can't even remember the person that got hired by me.
00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:19.920
Yeah, it's been so long, but no, it stuck with me.
00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:20.640
It really stuck with me.
00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:23.759
People remember those actions, and I think that's what it's
00:21:24.318 --> 00:21:25.278
Okay, yeah, yeah.
00:21:25.278 --> 00:21:26.720
Awesome, awesome.
00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:28.160
So let's pivot now.
00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:31.440
So you were clearly on the fast track, you had figured it out.
00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:35.838
You know, this was the time for you to you know keep you moving up the corporate ladder.
00:21:35.838 --> 00:21:42.400
Can you share the moment when the light bulb went off and you decided I'm gonna move back?
00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:43.038
I was there.
00:21:44.078 --> 00:21:49.358
One guy said to me, Bayo, I know your story, I know your I know everything about you.
00:21:49.358 --> 00:21:51.680
My guys Bancoli was there too, right?
00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:52.078
Yes.
00:21:52.078 --> 00:21:53.680
Um, it was my birthday weekend.
00:21:53.680 --> 00:22:07.838
And that you know, that um people talk about you, I've heard about you, about what you're doing on Amazon, but I asked him to say to you, and he said to me, Bayo, you have a higher propensity to be successful in Nigeria than in America.
00:22:07.838 --> 00:22:09.598
Oh my goodness.
00:22:09.598 --> 00:22:16.240
And I remember going home weeks and months after that, like I not shake it off.
00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:20.720
I looked back and I said, I can't even remember who he was.
00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:25.440
I remember he's a consultant, I remember he lives in Philly at the time, but I but that's all I remember.
00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:27.358
I don't remember who the guy was.
00:22:27.358 --> 00:22:29.759
And I look back and he was right.
00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:37.598
Um America felt strange to me every single day that I spent there.
00:22:37.598 --> 00:22:40.078
Don't get what does strange mean?
00:22:40.078 --> 00:22:48.000
I just look successful in America making six figures.
00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:50.558
You know, you can buy a house.
00:22:50.558 --> 00:22:55.838
I remember I go to the club and I'm I'm thinking to myself that somebody wants to go against me.
00:22:55.838 --> 00:22:57.278
Let's go, you know what I'm saying?
00:22:57.278 --> 00:22:58.640
You know what I'm talking about, right?
00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:00.318
Like bottle, bottle for bottle.
00:23:00.318 --> 00:23:06.960
But like let's I I remember that we I remember my wife who go to a Gucci store, we buy anything we wanted, like we have the money.
00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:09.838
We we buy things we wanted, we drove the cars that we wanted.
00:23:09.838 --> 00:23:20.640
We we we we're fine, we're comfortable, we're going, we're stuff, and and and you know, I remember I wanted to open a We had this thing that we used to do, yeah, and stuff, and we're fine.
00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:22.160
We go to Canada every other weekend.
00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:23.118
Life was good.
00:23:23.118 --> 00:23:27.598
My kids were going to good school, Seattle was great, it was much, but that's it.
00:23:27.598 --> 00:23:31.759
Um, but I wanted more out of life.
00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:35.038
I wanted more, I wanted a lot more.
00:23:35.038 --> 00:23:37.278
I wanted a lot, a lot, a lot more.
00:23:37.278 --> 00:24:12.160
I felt like I was successful, my success was architectured and was cut, that I had to wait to be under somebody's mercy to get Not because I was not a good performer or a great performer, they would always find something that somebody said to me once that voice was too abrasive, and that the abrasiveness of my voice limit me from becoming a VP.
00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:42.160
That he knows that I'm gonna get to a director for sure, because he can see my doc was already written to be a director, but that he he doubts if I could ever get to VP, that a good voice comes executive presence, you know, and it sounds so right, but it's so yeah, but but I'm sorry, but so wrong, but but but it sounds so like it sounds so right, it it's it makes sense.
00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:52.798
Then what most people do is they start to condition themselves that image as somebody else as wants you to look like, and I'm that's not me.
00:24:52.798 --> 00:24:57.920
I can't be that, I can't live like that, I cannot live like that.
00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:11.358
And I made that call, and I said to myself, man, and that guy that thing to me, you know, and I got a call that it was a that was struggling, you know, that I suddenly take it over and I was like, you know what, eff it, let's go.
00:25:11.358 --> 00:25:16.558
Let's go, let's go, and I said to myself, that was the worst that can happen.
00:25:16.558 --> 00:25:20.558
Let's say I fail, I'll take a job back in America.
00:25:20.558 --> 00:25:24.240
And then I came to Nigeria, right?
00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:29.440
And then somebody told me one day, right, in passing, he said it's in passing.
00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:35.680
He said, Bio, if you don't burn the house down, you always that you have a house to go back to.
00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:39.200
Now it is gonna be or go bigger.
00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:46.318
And I was like, and that was the day that I'm uh my sabbatical at Amazon.
00:25:46.318 --> 00:25:51.200
Yeah, because because because I always had that outlet, right?
00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:53.680
I never fully committed here, right?
00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:57.519
I never I was like, man, if you guys frustrate me, I'll just go to America.
00:25:57.519 --> 00:25:59.838
If you guys frustrate me, I'll just go back to America.
00:25:59.838 --> 00:26:01.920
I even had that job back.
00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:17.598
I took a job back at Amazon, yeah, I came back to Amazon music a little bit, and then one day I said, No, you have to burn this bridge, literally, not my passport, but yeah, you know, at yeah, not the blue passport.
00:26:17.598 --> 00:26:26.078
And and once I did that, I was fully committed that we go big or we go bigger.
00:26:26.078 --> 00:26:27.759
There is no home to go back to.
00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:31.519
We burned the house down when we left, and and that just changed my life.
00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:37.838
And you know, my ability to take this company, wakanao.com, plug, plug, plug, plug, and turn it around.
00:26:37.838 --> 00:26:40.240
Absolutely was was amazing.
00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:53.680
Was the ability to come in here, take all my Amazon experience, retail experience, yeah, buckle it down, get people the right to help me to build them up, you know, and and and and do those and turn this company around was amazing.
00:26:53.680 --> 00:27:00.640
I'm sitting in tiny today, right now, like I actually came to from the beach, and and and yeah, and and it's amazing.
00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:03.598
And and it started to just open new doors, right?
00:27:03.598 --> 00:27:06.160
Um, people just call me like this week.
00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:10.078
I have been called like 20 times bio, are you interested in Are you interested in that?
00:27:10.078 --> 00:27:10.880
Are you interested in this?
00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:11.920
And I never say no.
00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:12.160
Wow.
00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:13.200
I say yes to everything.
00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:14.400
Yeah, I say yes.
00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:15.118
I know this.
00:27:15.118 --> 00:27:16.160
I know this.
00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:18.720
You say to every you say yes to everything, every single
00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:19.278
But I see.
00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:20.880
And you figure out how to make it work.
00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:23.118
Yes, yes, yeah, yes.
00:27:23.118 --> 00:27:38.000
I it's you know, so what how what would you say like you from your time in America that kind of turbocharged your your Nigerian experience post, you know, your wakana plug, plug, experience?
00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:59.759
Because you've really taken that organization from, you where it was struggling and kind of not really well known, of known, to like significant and like at the Um what did you bring, you know, um, that you maybe you didn't have before that corporate, or could your answer nothing.
00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:01.358
No, but I want to hear your perspective.
00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:03.278
Everyone, corporate structure.
00:28:03.278 --> 00:28:09.278
Your ability to understand what profit and cash means was was, know, I'm a finance guy, right?
00:28:09.278 --> 00:28:10.640
So I'm a finance guy by trade.
00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:12.400
So and I did a lot of finance.
00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:26.078
So again, be being able to understand what cash and profit, being able to tell some um not very smart people that uh because you see 500 million in your account does not mean that it's right?
00:28:26.078 --> 00:28:31.440
There is something called cost of goods sold, and we need to back out of that to be able to know what our profit is.
00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:32.640
That's one number two.
00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:41.278
My Amazon, my one-month experience gave me a principle Frugality means you don't spend money you don't have, right?
00:28:41.278 --> 00:28:47.358
Yeah, and you don't spend all the money that you currently have, and yeah, you have to save up for the raining day.
00:28:47.358 --> 00:28:57.440
And the frugality brought to me um the ability to do a lot more managing our costs and making sure that we can um achieve more.
00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:04.000
Amazon taught me customer focus, we call it customer our number one principle on Amazon, customer obsession.
00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:11.200
Um, I I wrote some principles here, I called it uh customer focus, so that I'm not copying Amazon one for one.
00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:17.838
Yeah, that means if the customer is the one paying my they are my boss.
00:29:17.838 --> 00:29:26.720
And if I understand that the people that manage my customer are people, my the staff that work here, then they become my customers.
00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:28.640
I gotta take care of them.
00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:33.440
Once I take care of them, they in turn take care of the customer and everybody wins, you know.
00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:38.160
Um, insist on the higher standard, you know, how to chase and do things with speed.
00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:40.880
Those were things that I got from from America.
00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:42.720
Right work ethic.
00:29:42.720 --> 00:30:05.838
The right work ethic to show up to work and do that, the ability not to be doing deals or top of deals to collect bribes on the and do that was the principles that we let at uh working in fortify with your company that structure that you had the had a high level of integrity to say, I'm not gonna be cutting a deal, that this vendor will be paying me this back end, and they will now do a shorty job, I will not be able to complain.
00:30:05.838 --> 00:30:24.960
Everybody knows that you know, if we come and approach you and say you want to pay me a bribe, I will you will not you will not get the job, you will not like you know, again, and it's just that we start to know with you that hey bio, uh, this is how it the camaraderie of of friendship and having a tight team people was all on us.
00:30:24.960 --> 00:30:32.480
And and again, America came with me, but then I had to punge on some American shit, right?
00:30:32.480 --> 00:30:36.318
Like what that's telling the truth.
00:30:36.318 --> 00:30:39.118
Okay, Americans are very trusting.
00:30:39.118 --> 00:30:40.318
We we trust everybody.
00:30:40.318 --> 00:30:42.160
Yes.
00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:45.838
I learned very quickly here that you trust but you verify.
00:30:45.838 --> 00:30:48.160
Yeah, just go verify.
00:30:48.160 --> 00:30:55.519
Um, America tells you that you know that there are certain um in the laws of demand and supply.
00:30:55.519 --> 00:31:08.640
America tells you that you need to kind of plan for the but that you need to understand your controllables and Um, Nigeria has taught me that everything is controllable.
00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:10.640
Really?
00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:12.960
I would have thought you said everything is uncontrollable.
00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:14.480
Everything is control.
00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:15.519
I said controllable.
00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:16.960
Wow.
00:31:16.960 --> 00:31:22.078
Some of it you have to let them get out of control so that you figure out how to control it.
00:31:22.078 --> 00:31:26.798
Aha, that's Nigeria, my Nigerian sense that is speaking.
00:31:26.798 --> 00:31:29.118
That's your Nigerian sense coming back.
00:31:29.118 --> 00:31:41.118
Nigerian sense that everything is controllable, everything is Sometimes you have to let things go out of control for you to back to understand even the situation.
00:31:41.118 --> 00:31:45.200
Crisis is a way of life here.
00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:51.278
It's not a it's not crisis, it's not a um, you know, it's not a event.
00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:57.200
It's not a special event, it's just a steady, it's a steady of crisis always unfolding in the background.
00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.759
Inside that crisis, that money is.
00:32:01.278 --> 00:32:04.240
You sound like my pastor right now, like my Nigerian pastor.
00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:06.480
Never let a crisis go to waste.
00:32:06.798 --> 00:32:09.519
Yeah, this is inside that crisis, that's where the money is.
00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:11.680
Again, and I have to purge myself of that.
00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:17.680
I have to purge myself, uh, you know, there's no work, um, we say work-life balance.
00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:19.759
There's just there's none of that, there's just life.
00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:25.278
And we do the work inside the life, and the life inside the walk, and everything just flows together.
00:32:25.278 --> 00:32:30.078
Um, you need to learn that serious business is done in social yeah.
00:32:30.078 --> 00:32:40.240
Yeah, big business is done in social settings, and you have to that you don't have to get to the four walls of an office to do a deal.
00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:41.278
That's Nigeria.
00:32:41.278 --> 00:32:47.519
There's another one, the one that I love the most, and that is built on relationships.
00:32:47.519 --> 00:33:00.318
If you come here thinking that you're the smartest guy in the from your wood in Seattle or California or San Fran, and you the right relationships, you will suffer.
00:33:00.318 --> 00:33:04.078
You you you eventually do well, but you will suffer.
00:33:04.078 --> 00:33:10.160
Building relationships and keeping up with those relationships watering those gardens is important here.
00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:15.038
It is important in America, but you can get by by being isolated and doing that work from over.
00:33:15.038 --> 00:33:16.078
And just very smart.
00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:17.278
Yeah, yes, yeah.
00:33:17.598 --> 00:33:22.240
Um, this place, physical interaction is important, super, super important.
00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:32.400
You want to be successful, and there are people that are helpful, and and you know, and one more thing, and and this one is new, this one is a new lesson for me.
00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:38.798
Um, in America, we always have this attitude that we want to do ourselves, right?
00:33:38.798 --> 00:33:44.960
That you know, want to be individualistic, that's why we have thing, DIY, right?
00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:58.000
Um, Nigeria, um, one of the biggest lessons that I'm learned is see, if somebody has made the mistake before, or if somebody has done it and has been successful before, go and learn from Just go and learn, yeah.
00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:00.880
Just they will not tell you what you do.
00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:09.679
But take the time to go learn from other people's experiences so that you don't have to go through the same thing again.
00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:12.639
You know, I've seen it happen over and over again.
00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:17.119
For us at the companies that I run, I always say it's when we come up with a new idea.
00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:20.719
I say, let us go and research if somebody has done it or attempted it before.
00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:26.719
If they have done it attempted before, whether they were they or failed, let us go learn why.
00:34:26.719 --> 00:34:33.518
And before we go out and launch new stuff, we need to go out find out if somebody has done it before.
00:34:33.518 --> 00:34:42.719
I wanted to do a ride ailing business, a ride ailing business, uh like Ubar and Holds, but I wanted to move flies in like a black in London, right?
00:34:42.719 --> 00:34:43.518
Right.
00:34:43.518 --> 00:34:50.159
And I I found a guy that was trying to do the exact same thing.
00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:59.920
After having lunch with a guy, 30 minutes into the lunch, I know that if I don't want to burn my cash, I should just stay away.
00:34:59.920 --> 00:35:08.639
Now, I could have said, yes, I have a better idea, I have a smarter idea, but I listened to him intently and he told me exactly why failed.
00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:19.518
And I know that the reason why it failed is it's controllable, but I don't have the financial might to control that right now, so not worth doing.
00:35:19.518 --> 00:35:23.440
Again, talking to people, having relationships with people.
00:35:23.440 --> 00:35:27.760
Um, you know, um, like I ran away from the beach.
00:35:27.760 --> 00:35:31.599
I have like 30 friends at the beach that are just there.
00:35:31.599 --> 00:35:34.480
Uh a friend came in from Dubai, another one from London.
00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:39.119
When when our guys from Seattle come to Nigeria, they always see me.
00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:41.679
When you come to Lagos, you always come connect with me.
00:35:41.679 --> 00:35:42.960
Again, it's that relationship.
00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:47.119
So let's say you want to do something in Nigeria, or I want to something in America that you have.
00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:49.599
I didn't call you up and say, Damn me, man, I need XYZ.
00:35:49.599 --> 00:35:59.280
You are eager because it's not like we only talk when you need Yeah, our relationship has flourished beyond when you when we anything, right?
00:35:59.280 --> 00:36:03.280
And that's how Nigeria works, and that's how the whole of Africa works.
00:36:03.280 --> 00:36:04.239
It's based on relationships.
00:36:05.199 --> 00:36:19.039
One thing that keeps coming to my mind that I want to ask is, you know, at some point in your career, someone said, know, your one of your signatures, which is your powerful you know, is not executive enough for you know the long haul.
00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:21.119
How do you see yourself now?
00:36:21.119 --> 00:36:30.400
Like how you know, what would you describe as your now that you are leading from your own home base?
00:36:34.239 --> 00:36:36.719
It's hard for me to tell you what my superpower is.
00:36:36.719 --> 00:36:39.679
But I feel that I'm my superpower is being tenacious.
00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:43.119
Um, tenacity is actually my superpower.
00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:44.559
I'm like a dog with a board.
00:36:44.559 --> 00:36:53.119
Um, you know, my voice is still my voice.
00:36:53.119 --> 00:36:57.760
I hear my own voice differently than you hear it.
00:36:57.760 --> 00:36:59.679
I feel I sound great.
00:36:59.679 --> 00:37:06.400
When I look at my and and do when I listen to myself, sometimes I sound really, really husky.
00:37:06.400 --> 00:37:10.880
Especially when I've not slept well for a while, my voice comes out really, really husky.
00:37:10.880 --> 00:37:18.159
But I have now learned the power of speaking that you forget my and remember my words.
00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:23.440
I know places where I have to speak slowly.
00:37:23.440 --> 00:37:29.679
I am now aware that I know places where I have to speak less.
00:37:29.679 --> 00:37:59.039
I am aware of places that I have to send an email, and my of that awareness allows me to drive and not give anybody the or the room to use my voice as an excuse for not wanting to do a deal or not want to do business with me, or not wanting to I have also turned my voice to a weapon of fear.
00:37:59.039 --> 00:38:11.840
So for anybody else to compete against me in the local market, they just know that when I pick up that phone and you hear my voice, would hear it, and you know that brah, you know what I'm saying?
00:38:11.840 --> 00:38:15.679
Lion, lion is on you, so I use it as well.
00:38:15.679 --> 00:38:27.760
So again, I've turned it to an advantage because again, somebody called as a red for me, and I turned it to a yellow because you you just can't fix everything, you just you honestly just can't fix everything.
00:38:27.760 --> 00:38:30.880
Like somebody told me once that I'm too fat to be an exec.
00:38:30.880 --> 00:38:36.559
Oh my goodness, like people say all types of things that come the abundance of their hearts.
00:38:36.559 --> 00:38:42.960
It is now left to me to say, you know what, I'm gonna let my work speak for me before I show up.
00:38:42.960 --> 00:38:48.800
But when I show up, you already respect me that it does not what I wear, how I look, how I sound.
00:38:48.800 --> 00:38:52.079
You already know that this man can deliver value.
00:38:52.079 --> 00:38:57.119
And when people call me now and say, please come and join our they still call me with my bad voice.
00:38:57.119 --> 00:39:07.920
People, when people say, by your come and do this for me, I do I have more speaking engagement than I can physically Literally, I can't physically go to all the speaking engagements that I get.
00:39:07.920 --> 00:39:12.480
Like literally, nobody wants to fly to Turkey, wants to find me wants to do that.
00:39:12.480 --> 00:39:15.518
I do about a hundred speaking engagements a year.
00:39:15.518 --> 00:39:16.239
100.
00:39:16.239 --> 00:39:19.440
Again, I still have my terrible voice.
00:39:19.440 --> 00:39:25.760
I am group CEO of a multi-million dollar business about billion dollars, right?
00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:34.239
I am CEO, I am the owner, I'm the lead investor of another dollar business that thrives in Africa.
00:39:34.239 --> 00:39:36.960
But my voice is still my voice.
00:39:36.960 --> 00:39:42.880
So, for those of you that don't like me, for those of you that my voice and hear nonsense, I say, congrats.
00:39:42.880 --> 00:39:45.039
I can't change who I am.
00:39:45.039 --> 00:39:54.239
My name is Bio Lyon, and you either love me or hate me, but it not stop me from shining because I will shine irrespective of feelings about me.
00:39:54.239 --> 00:39:56.559
And that is something that I had to come out with.
00:39:56.559 --> 00:39:59.599
I had to come, I had to outgrow and not care about.
00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:02.960
Other people's opinions of me and say, I will do the right thing.
00:40:02.960 --> 00:40:04.320
I will get my job done.
00:40:04.320 --> 00:40:05.518
I will get my work done.
00:40:05.518 --> 00:40:06.639
I will deliver value.
00:40:06.639 --> 00:40:09.440
If you give me a pencil, I will turn it into a tree.
00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:11.679
You give me a tree, I'll turn it into a table.
00:40:11.679 --> 00:40:14.079
You give me a table, I'll turn it into food.
00:40:14.079 --> 00:40:29.039
Again, you know, and that whatever you give me, whatever you to give me, whatever life gives me, I'll make the best out of And if that is what you remember about me, you know, even if end your love, I would at least end your respect.
00:40:31.679 --> 00:40:41.280
On that fantastic, powerful note, I want to say thank much, Baya, for joining me on the Zero Generation podcast.
00:40:41.280 --> 00:40:42.559
And not just on the podcast.
00:40:42.559 --> 00:41:00.880
Thank you for ever since I met you being such a pillar of and um, you know, strength, and just someone that also know, your, you know, some of the things that you're investing in are, you know, beach clubs and the ability for people to and turn up.
00:41:00.880 --> 00:41:08.480
And everybody that knows Bayer knows that you have a good Whenever Bayer is around, you're gonna have a good time and gonna get taken care of.
00:41:08.480 --> 00:41:11.199
Thank you so much for joining.
00:41:11.199 --> 00:41:13.760
It was such a joy talking to you as always.
00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:15.199
Thank you so much.
00:41:15.518 --> 00:41:15.840
Thank you.