A thought on how stories shape reality and lessons entrepreneurs can adopt for business success

We all agree that reality improves perception, but the reverse is just as true.

No one will argue that a product or person being good makes it easier to tell a compelling story about them. But if any of the world’s greatest things — including America as “the world’s greatest country” — serve as a valid reference, then we have seen, time and time again, that perception also improves reality.

While America factually boasts of the world’s largest military and leads on many other fronts, it is no coincidence that it is also the biggest storytelling machine, powered by Hollywood and some of the most influential media houses. The world doesn’t just witness America’s strength; it experiences it through movies, news, and cultural exports that reinforce its dominance.

Top Gun wasn’t just entertainment — it’s also an amplification of the legend of American military superiority. The Social Network isn’t just about Mark Zuckerberg — it fuels the perception of the U.S. as the place to be for any innovator watching from anywhere. The American Dream is a branding masterpiece, consistently attracting millions who believe in the idea that success is possible if they just make it to America.

While the examples reference recent history, this didn’t start in recent times. Long before America became a thing, let alone the leading superpower it is now, it was stories that first stoked the imagination of investors, inspiring them to commit resources to explorers ready to make the stories real. Marco Polo’s accounts of the East stirred European curiosity, and by the 15th century, myths of vast uncharted lands drove Christopher Columbus to set sail in 1492, backed by Spain’s Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. These weren’t just stories about lands that already existed — they were narratives that created belief, mobilized resources, and ultimately brought entire new realities into existence.

Now, imagine if those stories had been completely made up with the sole intent of deceiving investors — only for the explorations to reveal the lie. The sailors would lose all credibility, causing more harm than good. So, for those who argue that doing the actual work should be the sole focus, they are almost correct — it remains critical. But consider the reverse: what if there was real potential ahead, yet no stories to inspire action? In most cases, the people we are trying to reach may never get the chance to experience our reality firsthand, making an objective judgment nearly impossible. We must be able to guide them to an assumption that something great lies ahead. And because we are committed to delivering on that promise, we can sustain and reinforce this perception over time.

Beyond validation, these stories also enhance the experience itself. A well-framed narrative sets expectations high, triggering a positive bias that makes people more receptive and more forgiving. They already expect greatness — so all that’s left is for confirmation bias to take over. Now, imagine telling great stories, and meeting it up with great work. Just imagine!

In the timeline of almost any great outcome, imagination comes first, then gives birth to real, tangible results, which are further refined and elevated through more storytelling. In other cases, it begins with action, as critics of ‘branding’ would prefer, but then gets fueled by stories and imagination which continue to combine with action to birth actual socio-economic greatness. A country, a company, or even a movement doesn’t just grow by working hard — it grows by crafting a compelling perception that inspires people to engage with it, demand more from it, and ultimately push it toward even greater heights.

Take NASA’s Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 as another example. President Kennedy’s 1962 speech, “We choose to go to the moon,” was more than a promise; it was an act of perception-building that rallied a nation and set expectations so high that reality had no choice but to catch up. The same principle applies to another defining moment in American history, just a year after — Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. At a time when racial inequality was deeply entrenched, King painted a picture of a future of justice and equality. His powerfully crafted words, substantiated with ‘real substance’ — from bus boycotts to marches, community mobilization and policy advocacy — shaped a perception so strong that it moved people to action, forcing institutions and society at large to shift toward making that vision real. Both moments prove the power of storytelling — not just to reflect reality, but to shape it.

The trend runs through every facet of American life, including the tech startup ecosystem, with Steve Jobs’ Apple and Phil Knight’s Nike being references of the power of storytelling we are all familiar with, among several others. These visionaries made strong examples of hardcore excellence and obsession, but also carefully crafted presentations of their products that aimed intently at influencing perception.

Strategically selected and crafted stories that highlight the best parts and potential futures of any reality often go on to inspire more of the same. Perhaps a city is only partly clean, but it chooses to portray itself as a clean city while also doing the work. It consistently shares images of a clean city, tells the story of it’s committed cleaners and highlights the behaviors of everyday people it desires to see more of. Then, anyone traveling in prepares to be clean, and people living in the dirtier parts start to think there is something they are doing wrongly. “This is not who we are”, the stories make them feel. And what is real begins to bend towards what is portrayed, one properly disposed can of Pepsi per time.

The idea is that actual work has always worked hand in hand with depiction (perhaps a simpler term for branding?) — which may not always tell the full, real picture of today, but often inspires the reality to catch up by tomorrow. This is where many African founders and business leaders fall short — by focusing entirely on the core work and looking down on the craft of shaping perception as a dispensable tertiary effort. Or something worth doing on a second thought, but not with that much intentionality and investment. One may also argue that this has limited our excellence even on the substantial part. No grand stories, no extra motivation? Perhaps.

When African businesses invest more in depiction and perception, we can set something for everyone to look up to — both internally, to inspire teams to push for better, and externally, to shape customer expectations thereby driving demand, improving experience and retaining loyalty.

In conclusion, the businesses that win are not just obsessed with the core work and the problem they are trying to solve but also with how they present their mission to the world.

America has mastered the art of not only doing the work but also shaping perception in a way that fuels its continued reality. It’s time for African business leaders and startup founders who clearly put in the work (not sure I can say the same for our political leaders) to borrow from this playbook.

Following a recent poll that we conducted on Twitter for Fullgap, for every 1 person who gets a project via popular marketplaces such as Upwork and Fiverr, there are 4 others who get projects outside them — from everyday encounters (physical and digital), and referrals.

Then there is you, wondering where to begin from, to attract clients and to work on your own terms, preferably without having to hustle for gigs on the marketplaces.

This article provides you with a few tips that you may find helpful.

1. Create evidence of good work (or effort)

Whatever your service is, having a portfolio of evidence to display your abilities is crucial. If you lack concrete examples of previous work done, consider creating fictitious or pro bono projects to demonstrate your potential. It all comes down to helping your potential clients reduce their risk, and increase their confidence.

Evidence of good work can be demonstrated in various forms. For designers, traditional PDF portfolios are popular. For freelancers of all types, this can come in the form of articles, blogs, and case studies to explain their work and bring their thought processes to the surface. You can get creative with how you show your evidence.

There is no particular way it has to be, as long as you achieve the goal. A writer can create a small ebook that is a collection of some of their best writings. A budding developer can collaborate with another budding designer to create a mobile app that showcases what they can both do. You can go and on, but whatever you do , we need evidence, either of your already great skill, or of the best of what you can already do, per time.

2. Make it easy to see the evidence

Ensure your evidence is easily accessible to potential clients. Curate your best works and host them on digital platforms like Medium and Behance, and with a tool like Mainstack, you can aggregate all these links in one place, as well as PDF uploads for portfolios and notes in that format.

Also, your expertise should be evident in your daily interactions — with articles, case studies, and regular tweets reflecting your capabilities. Your evidence is not limited to finished work. Tweets and screenshots of work-in-progress go a long way and can be the first pull, before people then discover your more detailed portfolio.

3. Optimize your digital profile

Take a moment to reflect on your digital profiles across various platforms this week.

• Start with your LinkedIn profile: Is it professionally convincing?
• Consider your photo and bio: Do they represent the image you want to portray?
• Is your profile suggesting that you are someone people would like to work with?

Optimize your profiles to present yourself in the best light. Imagine you are the client looking to hire someone for a project — would you hire yourself?

If needed, update your photo and rethink any aspects that might not align with your professional goals. Remember, your online presence is like a label that displays who you are professionally. Make sure it reflects the best version of yourself.

4. Own a label that displays your value proposition

Adding a descriptive label to your name can make you stand out and elevate your professional identity. Think of it as a personalized tattoo defining your niche and passion.

Popular examples include @sojii_oy’s “The Brand Father” on Twitter, and on IG we have @melindalivsey’s “Uncertified Brand Strategist”, @dotlung’s “Mother of Social Dragons” (she is a social Media consultant) and more.

These simple titles can help to create a distinctive presence and instantly showcase your expertise every time someone views your profile. You don’t have to do this to build a winning brand as an individual but it can go a long way.

5. Be visible and attractive with consistent storytelling

In creating an unforgettable presence, sharing and narrating your story consistently can elevate you to the forefront of everyone’s thoughts, and attract interest. You don’t have to only share finished work and case studies. You should also share your work-in-progress, alongside observations from your journey. And also there are your personal interests and everyday life. It all comes together nicely, helping to create a likable personality that complements your skills and increases engagement with potential collaborators.

Avoid sticking to rigid posts that sound robotic or lack personality. Be more relatable, Embrace your true self, with all the highs and lows, work and play, and everything in between. Share your story as the authentic human you are.

There is also a need to show evidence for other traits like teamwork, leadership, and learning. We all already claim these things in our cover letters, but you can go ahead with short articles or Twitter threads that tell specific stories that add credence to some of these claims. More context gives credibility to our words. We need to show it. You can watch this YouTube video for some more explanation on this.

6. Interact with other people

Interacting with others is a powerful way to attract clients. Do not only use social media to speak, use it to listen, appreciate and interact with other people. Ask questions, add comments, and participate in discussions. Join spaces and Live chats. Building genuine connections and showing interest in others’ work can lead to potential clients or referrals to them.

At conferences or events, focus on building relationships with peers. Engaging with others creates meaningful connections, eventually leading to referrals and opportunities. Whether virtual or in-person, prioritize meaningful interactions over self-promotion.

This will help you win the hearts of people, from those who will introduce you to your next clients, to your next clients themselves. You can’t do all of this well without truly developing a genuine interest in other people.

7. Be professional, and inspire confidence

From your first responses to the questions you ask at the beginning, and how you go ahead to execute the deals you eventually seal, you are slowly creating a profile in the minds of people. And this will reflect on the opportunities they will send your way.

Fullgap can be a powerful tool for inspiring confidence throughout the project lifecycle. Its simple dashboard streamlines invoicing, agreement management, and task organization, helping you build an excellent reputation with clients and fostering future referrals. Success stems not only from the quality of your work but also from your overall approach and comportment.

8. Ask for testimonials and referrals

When seeking testimonies and referrals, consider reaching out to those you’ve collaborated with or worked alongside in the past. Whether it’s a project or any other work that showcases your abilities, gather feedback that speaks to your strengths. You can request recommendations directly or ask for LinkedIn recommendations. Where they send you emails or WhatsApp messages sharing their thoughts from working with you, ensure to document these. When you combine them in articles or someone in your portfolio, they become valuable evidence.

And this is not just limited to clients. Acquaintances, friends, mentors, and contacts should also be aware of your work. Don’t hesitate to ask for referrals and spread the word about what you do. Share your expertise and showcase your abilities, whether through emails, direct messages, or other channels. Engage with potential clients and show them the evidence of your capabilities.

9. Propose solutions to potential clients

Yes, many people will try to exploit you by offering your ‘exposure’ in exchange for free work from you and you should indeed be wary of such people. However, there is a place for free work and indeed, many people have built their careers by doing some strategic free work at the beginning.

The best way to go is to ensure that you are the one who spots the opportunity and that it’s not the client that’s asking. Sometimes, it will lead to a paid opportunity. Some other times it simply becomes an additional project in your portfolio. Whichever the case, it adds to your continuous practice and skill development, as well as your pool of stories to tell.

Ready to attract clients?

While there is never a one-size-fits-all approach, thinking through these ideas and implementing as many as you can gets you closer to the opportunities you desire in your freelance work regardless of the services you offer — as a graphic designer, writer, software developer, product designer or any other type of work you do. You should also consider signing up on www.fullgap.co to access exclusive resources that dig deeper into some of these insights.

You should also consider signing up on www.fullgap.co to access exclusive resources that dig deeper on some of these insights.

Also published on Fullgap’s Medium.

A few days ago, I tweeted @victorfatanmi: “Brand strategy should provide clarity and inspiration, but also an advantage.” Yes, it sounds great but what exactly does that mean?

Today, when you think about brand strategy or read through some examples, it is always about ‘deep’ mission statements, core values, and memorable taglines. And by this description, I mean the good ones.

And yes indeed, this inspiring stuff — which has to be built off sessions, interviews, and research towards clarity and extraction of embedded truths and aspirations — is an important part of what the brand strategy document should do or include, but not the full picture.

What then, is missing?

A focus on the definition of the word ‘strategy’ — “a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim.” But wait a minute, don’t mix it up. A brand strategy is not a business plan. You have to combine the ‘strategy’, which is originally a war term with the ‘brand’ adjective. When you do that, you arrive at a plan of action to achieve the “perception you want your target audience to hold of you” which in turn helps you to achieve the goal of business success.

We are talking about long-term perception here, and that’s why brand strategy rightly focuses on the values that will influence behavior — which comes to life in action and communication — and less on what we will do this week and the next. It’s also why it is usually extended into communication and marketing strategies that can then be more granular. While it is not supposed to compete with those, the brand strategy document must be created with a conscious effort to gain a competitive advantage with the brand that helps the business win in the long term.

What can we do better, specifically?

Two things.

1. As we determine the inspiring and memorable proses, we must obsess, in every section, with the question: “Does this give us an advantage over our competitors?” We must combine this with the first question we already ask: “Is this true or potentially true for the brand?” To achieve this, research is inevitable. We would need to understand our target audience, our market, and our competitors well to be able to ‘tell’ what is an advantage and what is not. This also makes a case for why the brand strategy doc is better as a living, evolving document because things will change and understanding will deepen over time.

2. We must think about the new employee or third-party service provider reading through. “Can this easily guide them to act like us so that we are always on-brand to gain the advantage in 1 above?” This influences how we break the language down and how we use examples to bring the ideas to ‘reality’.

I want to assume that point 2 was clear enough since I gave an example of how to give an example, but let’s drill into point 1 a little further. Where and how can you use brand strategy to gain a competitive advantage? I will lay down some of the possible components of brand strategy and the corresponding advantage points.

Brand core (Purpose, beliefs, story, vision & mission)

If it’s true and communicated in a way that everyone realizes: “Wow, there is a need for this company to exist, this is not random”, it will inspire higher dedication internally and brand loyalty externally, especially where it is true and backed by actions. The effort here is to ensure it doesn’t sound like anybody else because why then should you exist?

*The Big Idea / Brand Voice

If it latches onto an insight that no other competitor has owned, or owned in that particular way, it will take a solid, rooted place in the minds of people, more than other brands.

Core values

If it is inspiring and not cliche, and clear to see that the organization leaders care indeed about every single word, it helps to create a culture of trust and consistency that your competitors probably aren’t able to inspire. And this will lead to higher productivity and better results from employees.

Brand positioning

If it puts forward an inherent area of strength (that your competitors can boast of as much as you) and that is translated to the customer as a point of benefit to them, then they have a reason to justify staying with you, and not them.

Target audience

If you take a more thorough effort at defining your own audience, identifying the most important sub-sections of your larger audience, and defining who influences them, whose opinions they care about, who they ‘buy’ you for, etc, you can outstrategize your competitors, especially when you all look at the same audience but you see a different pattern.

Value proposition & promise

If you are able to communicate your value proposition in a way that understands your audience’s pain point better than your competitors or realizes a side to their pain that others didn’t even see, or an ambition/desire that neither your competitors nor your audience are even conscious they bear, you earn a huge advantage.

Brand Personality, Communication style & tone of voice

Your competitors are probably shy or afraid. If you are ready to be true to your personality as a team, or a component of it that does not hurt your business, and can define it well enough in a way that anyone can grab and bring to life in your communications (and actions), you can earn more love and fans as a brand.

Brand experience

If you thoroughly analyze the entire journey of people with your brand, internally and externally, and can map out what to do better and stop doing across different components of your business, in fulfillment of what you have defined the brand’s blueprint as (all the above), you can create an actionable plan where everyone in your team is able to act on the brand while your competitors’ team probably only have a doc that even if is inspiring, may not lead to any action, let alone results.

*an example is “power to the creative ones” and how with it, we owned this insight that none of our direct or indirect competitors had held on to — that many people have the talent but lack (and need) the structure, and they know it, and they want to feel like they can excel without limits too, this connecting with our own truth that we are ready and able to help them be that. It was stronger because no one else was currently saying it, surely not in that ‘revolutionary’ tone. That’s a positional advantage for Fullgap.

In conclusion, while we must keep the inspiring soul of brand strategy and ensure it leaves a strong effect on people whenever its read, we must ensure that it does not only move them to action but it guides them to action, and when they act, they increase our likelihood of winning as a business.

I grew up in a tiny village set upon a hill in South-Western Nigeria, and while we also soaked bags of ‘Lipton Tea’ from time to time, the biggest determining factor of “tea” was the presence of milk. And my favourite type of ‘tea’ was when you mixed it with chocolate, specifically branded any of ‘Milo’, ‘Bournvita’, or the one I sneaked in to take excesses of as a child, ‘Ovaltine’.

My dad taught me to put the powdered chocolate substance as the first thing that goes into the huge mug cup, followed by water (it was mostly hot), and lastly, the most important element — milkkkk.

Today, I mostly make my ‘tea’ with cold water, and sorry Dad but I start with milk in the cup, a lot of it (around 4 huge spoons). That’s a disturbingly huge quantity in my mum’s books. This is followed by the chocolate at about half the quantity of the milk. Then I add cold water, starting with a small quantity to get in some stir. But then I intentionally do it inefficiently. My goal is always to have some lumps of milk remain unstirred or thick at the base of my ‘tea’. I have been warned that milk is not good for the reproductive ability of a man, but I believe one white substance can only serve the good of the other.

I start to drink slowly, usually to the pages of a book, enjoying this sweet invention of pleasure, while waiting patiently for the best part — the end, which comes with a self-indulging depth of ‘hmmm’.

My friend, Daniel, is visiting from the US and when I asked if he wanted a cold cup of tea, he knew what I meant and ensured to mock my use of the word, saying he wanted what I was apparently about to make, but not tea. I told him this is also tea, according to Nigerian English. In fact, what he calls tea, I insisted, was the English Tea.

But one thing we both agree on every time we share a moment of cold actual tea (as I would now in fact choose to put it) is that there is nothing sweeter than the lump of thick milk found at the base of the cup. It cures headache like it did for me this morning, and if the scientists would listen to us well enough, might be helpful against hypertension, heart disease, and a few other serious illnesses.

Just like the many startups Ayo had tried to build in the past, I had been in the know from the earlier days of Mainstack to some extent and provided some advisory here and there, but it never crossed my mind to come on board. That was not a thought I had considered for any organization as I had focused solely on consulting for startups from the perspective of our agency (FourthCanvas) since 2015. But then, apart from how sold I was on Ayo’s incredible effort to sell the mission, I also considered the upside of getting an unprecedented opportunity to help build a brand from within. Like I said in my announcement video, it’s been beautiful combining those hats since June. That makes my second reason.

Lastly, but surely not the least important, was the alignment with my personal purpose — “to live out my voice while helping others find and live out theirs”. Listening to the CEO and other team members, the no-code webpage tool to sell yourself and connect all your footprints on the internet was more than just another cool tool. It was borne out of the desire to help everyone find expression and get the opportunity to fulfill their dreams while simply creating. How more aligned could this be for me?

Getting on board, I met, at a closer proximity, the quality, and passion that had made it possible to build the MVP product in 6 weeks at the very beginning. I met a group of young, agile people who gave their all and believed so much in the capacities (sometimes too much re: timelines). On the operations team which I converted to ‘Marketing’, two amazing ladies (Olaide Oyerinde and Bukola Oyelade) would help me settle down so well, while staying open to new things that I thought had to change while strengthening the evolution with quality ideas and insights from the work they had done up until that point. I met a Design team who consistently worked hard to improve the small details and an Engineering team that worked endlessly to implement the upgrades. Overall, this was a small team giving their best as inspired and led by the vision of an ambitious CEO who repeatedly emphasized the vision of a bigger global economy powered by creators.

I spent the first few weeks interviewing team members to gain deeper insights into their experiences and perspectives. It was beautiful to hear the many stories, and learn what it meant for everyone to work here. These inspired us to codify a brand strategy that would continue to guide and ensure that our actions and communications consistently express the things that mattered the most to the brand. That process of discovery would confirm for me that I was indeed right to be impressed as I was from afar.

With clear communication and creative copywriting, we began to rally around an organizational purpose “to make it easy for creators and builders to make it big”. I didn’t have those exact words at the beginning but I could feel it every time Ayo and I spoke prior to joining. Getting on board, I have continued to see this unfold in so many ways, and it is mind-blowing to imagine what this team could accomplish over the next year. That superstar team continues to grow. I brought Dunsin Ayodele on board (from FourthCanvas) to help us express the brand identity in still and motion visuals; we have expanded our engineering team; will be onboarding new people in product manager and HR while also currently looking out for a potential super-mainstar as Community Manager.

Last Saturday, we moved from our refreshing team retreat at Tarkway Bay to the HACKFEST Conference which we partnered with Ingressive4Good to make happen. I was on stage to share the Mainstack story. It was a beautiful moment to restate the things we care about — creators showing off their badasses, getting wealthier, and going global. Our booth was such a highlight for all attendees. We had a light setup for people to record themselves and put their voices out there with confidence. We also shared beautiful souvenirs too. One major highlight for me was watching two of our engineers who were present (Micah Gidado and Mojeed Adio) and two of our Product Designers (Israel Adegbulugbe and David Ayowole) sell the product like Marketing was their ‘9–5’. That’s the effect we are trying to create within and without, and I am excited to see it come to life. We made a cool video on Instagram that showed some of the highlights.

Every day we refresh to see new people visiting www.mainstack.co, setting up and starting their new journeys of setting themselves up for better presentations of themselves and the thing they create, and I am proud to be here, for now, to help strengthen the core values that keep us right on top of powering that. Here’s a link to my own mainstack if you want to have an idea of what yours could look like.

PS. You could check out #MyMainstackChallenge, and take this chance to show off your badass skill set.

We often hear respected CEOs and leadership coaches emphasize how we treat people (very important); how much we invest in their development (super important); and how much of a voice they have in the workplace (spot-on); but there is one factor we probably do not talk about enough. It is one thing I have been a student of since I read the late Stephen Covey rank it as the most important dimension is his book, The 8th Habit which I read in the earlier days of co-founding FourthCanvas. It is said to be the deepest of human desires — the desire to be a part of something bigger than one’s self.

(We humans created, defined, and guard religions, for example, with our lives just to be a part of something bigger, you know.)

We may often look around and find many people who appear perpetually selfish and idle, and it is hard to imagine that even those people desire to be a part of something bigger. But yes they probably do. They may either not have scratched the layers of their needs to arrive at their deepest layers or they may have ignored them after bouts of disappointments, but at the core of it, we all want to have a sense of duty to some bigger purpose.

Maybe you want to reflect on that for a moment, with yourself as an example? What has driven your decisions the most? What places did you stay at for so long, where did you do your best work, and why? Maybe it was the values the bosses represented? Or what the company communicated and lived by?

While writing this, I reached out to exchange ideas with someone I deeply respect who I had met at a media agency many years ago. She now works at one of the biggest tech companies in the world. She was always one super-committed team lead whose work ethic and personality really inspired me back then, as well as everyone around her. “This thing you are talking about is what made me stay for almost 7 years, it was clearly not money”. The agency was not one of the higher-paying teams in those years but she was one who clearly got and keyed into the bigger mission the leaders consistently made it all about.

At a time of increasing social injustice, inequality, and civil unrest, (or say, a time of more access to updates on how worse things get every day), it is understandable that people are experiencing higher feelings of insecurity, stress, and depression. And it makes sense to imagine that this increases that desire to find fulfillment and joy in something true and meaningful.

If we (business leaders) will look beyond the transactional dimension we are wired to play in, there is an opportunity to create great businesses (read: brands) that give people this sense of belonging to something that matters in the grand scheme of things, no matter how little. And it pays off, in increased performance and productivity, because deeply happy people (beyond team-bonding fun) do meaningful, committed work.

In the earlier days of FourthCanvas, our people worked hard and took initiative so much that we promoted 5 of our employees to become partners with us in the ownership of the business, which is more of a mission, an audacious attempt at something possible but not always apparently realistic. To date, our biggest initiatives—from the Africa Challenger Brands report, the 4C Share sessions during the lockdown, our most strategic sales moves and service developments—have come from our team members, and not from us the two co-founders.

One major motivation they point at when they share is how clear it was in the air that we were onto something. They were taking fuel from a mission they helped to define, which was about building a global agency renowned for partnering with good businesses to build great brands, one that we all championed and acted by. Our immediate reality was far from that vision but our everyday actions and words spoke to it.

When one of them who started as an intern was offered a full-time role, he said in an internal interview which remains one of the biggest quotes in our history: “I knew FourthCanvas was a global design agency and I knew that even if I was the least on the team, it would mean that I was a world-class designer”. We didn’t look anything like a global agency but his statement reflected something we repeatedly longed for, spoke about, and acted in alignment with. A combination of that larger-than-life missionary atmosphere, with actions that align, as well as an open, friendly atmosphere where everyone had a voice to contribute to that big mission was a critical factor for how we have inspired the levels of commitment that we have seen.

To be honest, in recent years, I have had reflections on my personal inadequacies in modeling commitment to this mission, and it has spurred me to continuously find opportunities to do even better, even though they would say we have done well. The more my everyday actions embody our grand purpose, the higher the levels of fulfillment, commitment, and retention that we will see.

When Steve Jobs spoke about thinking different and making a dent in the universe, he was embodying and communicating this. And he ensured that every single day, he made it a clear point and showed the door to anyone who didn’t align with that big picture. In fact, he did it to the extreme in a way that affected the other component of being kind and friendly, which is also important. But I guess the immediate and lasting success of the company proves how much this factor trumps the other important factors. We don’t have to sacrifice one for the other but whatever we do, the longing to belong to something bigger than ourselves remains the most important we want to live out and feed into.

Let’s take a look at some inspiring statements from a few brands we have consulted for in the tech ecosystem.

• Okra.ng — “pioneering the future of Open Finance in Africa”
• Piggyvest — “committed to giving everyone the power to better manage & grow their finances”.
• Pennee —“small businesses deserve a chance and we commit to doing everything we can to be there for them, every step of the way.”

Every time the leaders of these businesses reaffirm with their actions that they mean every single word in those mission statements, they are on track in this dimension. The statements alone are empty, but acting in alignment deepens fulfillment (and hence commitment) for their employees. And every time they act in the opposite direction, if they ever do, they leave an emptiness in the bellies of their people.

What does this mean, in simple terms, for us as business leaders? A few tips that come to mind;

1. Set a big vision and purpose that is not limited to your company’s success but also your impact on the world or your entire industry.
2. Have a clearly defined set of values and beliefs for your organization.
3. Build a strong sense of brand identity that is deeply rooted in the organizational purpose and core beliefs. Craft these to be memorable, inspiring, and believable.
4. Live by it, and hold everyone up against it every single time.
5. Do not lie to outsiders while joking about a matter internally. Do not lie, but if you ever have to communicate something differently, provide context internally about why.
6. Criticize yourself openly (in-house) when you come short of any value, apologize and commit to doing better.
7. Stay true to your word.

Summarily, the idea is to go beyond business school basics and make our organization charged up by the longing of a bigger mission that is in alignment with the greater good and in the best interest of humanity; and to stay true to this as a model for our employees. Nothing deeply inspires any of us more than a leadership we can trust to champion the path of a true, sincere mission.

When we get this right, people want to stay with us. And when they must leave, they remain evangelists and ambassadors of the brand. This brings me to the concluding point. We need to see retention as beyond people remaining on our payroll. Retention is first, of the heart. How much do they continue to fondly remember their time with us, and look out for opportunities to speak well about us?

I thought to create a slot in my calendar if you are looking to chat further on this. I would love to share and also learn from you. Book a time here. Let’s advance the cause of purposeful leadership and brands.

Now guess how many books I finished by the following month? Zero.

With the new year high gone, and work back in full mode, it just seemed like things had completely changed. I took it in good faith. I forgave myself and explained it as a matter of seasons. Surely what I had read in January should make up for my little or no reading in February, right? But March had to be different.

From March, I began to retrace to the most important thing — small, consistent steps. I was no longer trying to set or break a record. I just wanted to read consistently, no matter how small. I shifted the focus from how much of an incredible feat I could do at once to establishing a pattern of consistent efforts.

I don’t have any handy stats right now of how much I have read ever since but I try to read daily. And I mostly achieve that. I am working it into my habits and trying to find structures that make it work. Recently, I added it to my gym time. I extended my midday gym time to 2 hours, with the second hour devoted to reading in the yoga room. It’s something I now look forward to. And it works for every day that I make it to the gym. Now, I have only been making around 3 days a week (on average) but those have been some consistent days of reading.

The latest idea I am trying to explore is to break up my consecutive flow of meetings and task blocks on my calendar with short reading breaks. When I read, I get into a mode of intellectual stimulation. I get more creative and productive. It doesn’t have to have anything to do with the subject of the book but ideas come to me as I read and whatever I do next just flows better in all ways. And there is the part of rest. The reading breaks give me this sense of rest through gentle input while breaking the chain of work outputs.

Why should anyone be trying to read more books by the way? Well, there are so many amazing books out there, so much beautiful new information and insights, and my entire lifetime would not be enough to read them all. So I am trying to see how much I can get to read, and what that can mean for my living, leading, and contributing to society.

In a recent reply to my tweet about starting a new book, a follower on Twitter asked me a few questions. After some thought to his questions, I came up with these responses (and I thought to share them here).

Màje Kódú Nmì on Twitter: "I have a question Victor1. How long does it take you to read a book 2. How long does it take you to fully understand the book you read3. How long does it take you to implement what you read in your career path or Life. / Twitter"

I have a question Victor1. How long does it take you to read a book 2. How long does it take you to fully understand the book you read3. How long does it take you to implement what you read in your career path or Life.

1. How long does it take me to read a book?

On average, less than one week, for a book I am focused on. And I have books I have been reading for months that I go back to based on the mood per time.

2. How long does it take me to fully understand a book I read?

A lifetime. The reading is primarily inputting. They make more sense over time and in different situations. I don’t try to understand them on the spot fully. I am constantly thinking about the key points, and I go back to my highlights and annotations.

3. How long does it take me to fully implement what I read?

Sometimes immediately but it will be hard to pinpoint when and how many other ways they come into play, as these things can be super-subtle. What I can confirm is the overall improvement in the quality of my thinking and an expansion of my mindset. Hence we are looking at a lifetime of implementation as well.

Hopefully, more and more of us can find our paths to growing our reading habits, and thereby learning, unlearning, relearning, and expanding our minds.

I would be happy to read your approach and tips in the comments.

Article based on my daily #PurposeFáctory newsletter. Click here to subscribe. *By daily, I really mean Mondays to Fridays.

Maybe you nodded in agreement, or maybe you also have someone you think of like that. There is one thing we all miss when we feel this way and one that we will understand as we begin to take our lives more seriously.

When we decide to get our lives together, and set ambitious goals with challenging routines and routes to achieve them, it typically involves a lot of cutting down so that we can find the time to do the deep work required. From that moment, we begin to say no to many things but nobody observes or gets angry with us yet, because we are not top-of-mind for them at the moment, which makes sense, as we are just one of many friends.

The moment the results arrive, however, we are top-of-mind for everyone, inevitably. And this is not something to be angry about. The person on stage, with the spotlight on them, gets everyone’s attention. It’s not a bad, wicked or selfish behaviour on their part. It’s just a normal explainable phenomenon. At that moment our day-1 homies realize ‘oh, this guy no longer has my time’. As you take your life seriously, that will be you too, soon, inevitably. IIWIS.

These days I am reflecting more, observing more, appreciating more, and reducing the noise, specifically digital noise. Technology is amazing for so many factors but its social connection component really gives us all way more than our minds and hearts were designed to carry. Across my social accounts, I am interacting with hundreds of people and many more hundreds of content pieces. It looks exciting but it robs me of a lot. These days I am realising this, spending less time on digital social, a little more on actual social, and most importantly the inner social, with the people that make up me, the people in me — my spirit, my soul, my mind, my conscience, my memory, my destiny, my body, my alter-ego, the supernatural still voice, and the other people within me that I am daily getting to meet.

Say hello to my new friends — the people in me. And by the way, the people in you sent you friend requests. Please remember to check.

Yesterday we had our weekly team stand-up. Well, not quite a “stand-up” as it usually takes at least 1 hr and is always a robust mix of reviewing ongoing projects as well as a whole lot of banter. We named it “family meeting” at some point and we probably have to return to that.

I saved my part for the last, with an ‘agenda’ to share progress on our revenue goal for the year, and very importantly, speak to our new team members about our vision for 2025, as well as our core values as an organization.

Since 2016, we had doubled our annual revenue every year since 2016, and we simply wanted to sustain that growth trend. When I shared that earlier in the year with someone who joined then as an intern, she asked why didn’t we target X3 this year since we had repeatedly done X2. I admired her courage and smiled. I knew that as a consultancy and not ‘product-based’, repeating X2 year on year was already a huge feat, but in the light of our goals for the next 3 years, we surely need to figure out XXX. And oh yes, we are almost at the X2 goal already for this year, and surpassed it if you add receivables.

Talking about the next 3 years, let me put this out there for the first time ever. FourthCanvas will be arguably/unarguably one of the Top 10 Brand Design agencies globally by 2025. We have very little time for such an incredibly ambitious goal but yes, we are not going the linear arithmetic progression route. Our radical innovation with talent development, content, storytelling, and strategic positioning will play major roles in this direction.

On sharing our core values, which was the main point of this story, I spoke through how we have come this far, from pre-2015 days, thanks to a set of ideologies, followed by the actual four words that capture it for us today—Openness, Empathy, Potential, and Purpose. I added context and examples to each point and believed I had done well to inspire our new people along these lines. Yes, I achieved that but the responses that followed showed that the impact of restating the values was even bigger on existing team members. I have always believed in restating/reemphasizing underlying statements like this with your team but I had apparently not been doing that enough, as everyone felt like “wow, thanks for sharing that again”.

I guess that’s something we can borrow from religious settings. The major verses are restated as often as possible, for continuous reminder and meditation. Doing such daily at a startup may start to bore people but key conversations around the vision/mission, why we are here, and core values should be repeated and restated often enough that everyone ponders upon them as often as possible.