Too many people start careers without setting goals or developing a realistic plan to achieve those goals. Well-defined goals condition people’s behavior and drive their decisions. For example, someone might want to work for a multinational company and that is good, but there needs to be a purposeful pursuit of the requirements to achieve it because pursuit is proof of desire. A valid motive that sustains the pursuit of the goal through good and bad times must also be identified. Seek out people who have achieved a similar goal within the timeline you crave and submit to mentoring.
These are some of the takeaways from Dr. Fene Osakwe’s new book – Climbing the Corporate Ladder with Speed. Dr. Osakwe is a multiple award-winning tech professional, startup investor, career mentor, international conference speaker, and Forbes-published author.
He has spoken at conferences and led teams in 24 countries across five continents. He has the unique experience of starting his career as a fresh university graduate and navigated his way across 3-multibillion-dollar companies to the Director level in 9 years. He also mentors several young people to achieve the same, some in a shorter time. He was recognized as the Youth Mentor of the year in the UAE in 2022.
In June 2022, Fene Osakwe joined the prestigious Forbes Technology Council. Making him one of the few to achieve this in their thirties. He is a recognized thought leader in cyber security, IT governance, and IT strategy. He was awarded a cybersecurity excellence award in Dubai in 2022 and recognized by Hoiser Magazine in June 2022 as Africa’s most sought-after Cybersecurity Advisor.
Dr. Osakwe also has a heart for the less privileged. In December 2022, Dr. Osakwe’s Foundation provided financial aid to career professionals who had lost their jobs and had children to feed. This initiative was tagged “Christmas with a smile” where the public nominated several families in Nigeria, and Dr. Osakwe’s Foundation sent financial aid to hundreds of such families.
An important point made throughout this book is to not rely on hyped media stories about people’s success in “certain fields”. According to him, “These stories are exceptions to the rule many times, hence the hype. Think about your values, financial goals, high-demand skills, supply and demand in fields of interest, and not just media hype. You must do what it takes to succeed and not limit yourself by thinking you only need to give your best effort because your best may not be good enough to achieve that goal. It should be a purposeful effort and that includes assessing career possibilities rather than choosing a career based on a personal passion.”
In this book, Dr. Osakwe discusses principles with practical application and proven results. Readers will learn how to set career goals and what to do to accelerate their careers. How and when to change career path, and how to deal with bad interviews or job loss. He also talked about steps to take to become an industry leader in a field and how to start planning for retirement.
The e-copy of Dr. Fene Osakwe’s book is available on his website https://www.feneosakwe.com/product/book-order-climbing-the-corporate-ladder/?v=ea8a1a99f6c9 in Nigeria and on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Corporate-Ladder-Speed-Accelerate-ebook/dp/B0BPJPPC9Q/
Congratulations De Fene