PETER Drucker was a leader in the management field. Some love him others don’t but all respect him. Mostly referred to as the father of management, he practised what he preach. From General Motors to General Electric to Intel he was instrumental to the growth of these companies and others in one way or the other. But despite all his push for excellence and good remuneration in the workplace he was appalled by the huge pay and bonuses that was going out to the executives. The bulwark of management thinking, for him, should be wrapped around decentralization and simplification; high regards for the workers and the fact that success once achieved should be use as a stepping stone.

THE Creation is defined in the Illustrated Oxford Dictionary as "the creating of the universe regarded as an act of God." The story of Creation is generally well known by children and adults all over the world regardless of backgrounds or beliefs. This is more so because of the never-ending debate of creation versus evolution as origins of life. Many of us, particularly of Judeo-Christian persuasion have either heard or read those words "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth".

HOW do you react when your career begins to nose-dive? Are you downcast when success begins to elude you?  There is nobody who is immune from problem; what makes the difference is the way the problem is handled. So, if you are weighed down when you begin to have difficulties in your career instead of finding solution to it, you may not recover.

THIS was the theme of this year’s annual lecture organised by Stanbic IBTC Plc, a member of the Standard Bank Group, in partnership with Hope Worldwide, a global non-governmental organisation. This joint effort is designed to advance a corporate social responsibility (CSR) platform that optimizes value for all stakeholders. This is expected to help pave the path to social change and economic development.

SURELY opportunity for survival is shrinking. Invariably the ability of organizations to succeed is now becoming less frequent but despite the crisis in the global economy, there are pockets of opportunities around the world but it is only the discerning and prepared mind that is ready to take risk that will be able to identify and seize opportunities as they come their way. Crisis always bring out the best in the prepared mind. But how do you stay focused and launch an enterprise or drive the established one towards generating more value in times like this? Where exactly will the opportunities come from, at what point during the crisis should an entrepreneur launch out to maximise on the opportunity that may come his way and how do one even recognize these opportunity when they arise.

A momentary digression, sir - Is the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) under your ministry? I suggest we rename the commission “Federal Road Carnage Commission” (FRCC) because it can’t be overseeing safety on our inherently unsafe roads. It is simply supervising carnage. As I write about diversions, I have to respectfully remember that there are no diversions when you’re flying abroad for inconsequential meetings paid for by taxpayers.

I hope you haven’t had cause to travel on any of Nigeria’s bad roads lately. Such experiences are the daily routines of millions of ordinary citizens like me. Please, pardon my addressing you as minister of roads. I have done this to reflect the focus and intensity of my letter.

THE ongoing crisis in the nation’s banking industry has been blamed on poor risk management practice. According to the present regime of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) , the mess is largely the out come of  complete disregard for risk management. For the banking sector to return to health, its operators must imbibe the culture of risk management . By risk management is  meant the identification, assessment, and prioritisation of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events.