Part of being a good entrepreneur is pre-empting what customers want and allowing your team to dare try new things and ways to impress the customer. Often as startups we are willing to try out new ways to engage the customer but larger organizations tend to become less flexible and stick to processes and procedures that are tested. Thenjoy of working for a startup for most staff is the personal relationships that are built. Staff, should feel free within their authority to come up with new ideas whether this will enhance work relationships and team work internally or impress customers. However sometimes such experiments can come at a cost – and this should be budgeted before ...
Olu, ‘Oooo!, what do I do now! I cannot get Junior either! Can’t get the lady’s number on my phone. Ohhhh this is trouble Oluwaseunbabaralaiyemi! why do you get involved in these things eeehe? Why? This desire to impress Madam always puts you in trouble!
Dela, ‘What is it Olu, what is bothering you?’ Olu is startled. She smiles nervously and starts explaining.
‘Aaahm you know while you were busy with Madam in hospital in the past days. A call came from her relatives-’
Dela, ‘The Hammads? I was with th -’
Olu, ‘No, from Kenya.’
Dela is so surprised, ‘What! they ... they have never called. Who called? What is their number?’
‘I do not have it, I mean I have the number of the guy in Kenya but I do not have the number of the lady here.’
‘Lady here? They are here?’
Olu, ‘Yes they just arrived.’
Dela, ‘Hmmm! Exactly what are you saying? You lost them?’
Olu goes ahead to explain the situation to her. They try to call the Kenyan number but realise it is the Elan office number in Kenya and since it is a public holiday no one is picking. Finally Dela decides they should go see if they can catch them at the airport.
Dela, ‘You should have told me what was happening. Anyway, let us go to the airport, we can make an announcement if they are still there we will find them. But how many are they, how many did you book for?’
Olu replies nervously, ‘Four’
‘wow, that’s a whole entourage!’
They head off to the airport. Dela can’t help but get excited at how happy Elan will be. It was a good thing they were here but losing them could put the good intentions in jeopardy. They get to the airport, make an announcement but no one comes up. The security however tell them that they saw them and that they were picked. They continue searching for them with the office driver now more nervous than before. With all the stories going round of foreigners being kidnapped when they get in the country they cannot imagine what that would do to madam. Who could have possibly picked them up? To the best of their knowledge they did not know anyone in Lagos.
SEE YOU TOMORROW
