Iniekiowei,
If I were to be a singer, I would
have been able to prove my dexterity with all the languages that I have used in
greeting you; today I am fraternizing with my Ijaw friends from the Niger-Delta
region
by calling you, ‘my friend’.
There is a certain organization that
discovered huge revenue leakages and all the loopholes needed to be blocked
immediately. The organization ‘ran’ to a renowned consultancy firm to request
for their professional services. When the consultancy firm wanted to start
working; they requested for all the documents from staff within the
organization and at the end of the agreed timeframe, they submitted a report.
There are professionals within this organization that can provide the same
result but it was not entrusted to them. This correlates with the scriptures, ‘a prophet is not without honour, but in his
own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.’
External Advisory is usually a ‘third-eye’
which has the ability to perceive situations without bias and in a holistic
way. External Advisory could be in the family settings in form of a maid; in
organizations in form of consultants; in the country in form of international
aids and support. External Advisory is usually on fact-finding mission; however,
it is on a short-term assignment.
In-house Advisory is a member of
the team that has a particular situation to handle. The in-house person can
describe exactly how the problem came into being and can advise on the best way
of resolving it. The in-house advisory team needs to the ‘DO-IT-YOURSELF’ mantra
despite the presence of the external advisory team. The in-house advisory team
knows where the shoe pinches. The in-house advisory team is also cheaper to
maintain as they need not be paid for consultancy.
There are certain tasks that have
to be completed by the in-house advisory team even if the external advisory
team is there. As described earlier, if the
members of an in-house team refuse to provide sufficient information to the
external advisory team, the possibility is high that the result would be
inaccurate.
The crux of today’s discussion is
this; consult your in-house team must more; build a formidable team. The
solution you are searching for is resident in-house. The most important thing
to do is to take good care of your staff; train them well; encourage them;
allow them to be a part of the decision-making process; possibly make them
intrapreneurs and you reap the benefits.
External advisory should mainly
exist for areas where you lack the expertise. External advisors should not do
what an in-house person should do because it would amount to repetition. Finally, Nigerians should develop
world class skills & networks that will earn them status of external
consultancy to other countries within Africa and beyond. We have all it
takes; let’s go for GOLD!
Have a nice month in few hours.
Cheers!
Olutayo
NOTE: Mark 6:4