The Bowling Experience: Getting it right in 2017

The bowling idea


Okay so my boss had his birthday and we decided to go bowling. I have been bowling right from when I was a little girl, oh yes, a guru at that, only on phones of course, I was excited and I knew it was totally going to be different from the phone experience. Anyway, I was so excited, excited at the thought that I might lose because they (my other colleagues) had been there before so they probably understood the tactics more than I did, but none of that bothered me all I wanted to do was BOWL.


Every now and then, we have ideas that comes to our mind. IT ALL STARTS WITH AN IDEA and the thought of failure may seem to scare us. As hard as failure might be, without it, every experience will be boring. Whenever anyone misses their throw, the uproar was more than if you hit some of the pins, but of course the uproar is louder when there is a strike because it doesn’t happen every time. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf quotes “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” “The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them’’ and I like to say ‘it is very risky not to even take risks’.

Getting Kitted

Something seemed weird to me, no matter what clothes you had on, everyone had to wear the recommended shoes. This was in preparation towards the game experience, you just need to have the right footwear to stay balanced throughout the game. The shoes were free and came with takeaway socks. I liked the socks idea, as I have been trying to get one but not had chance to get to the store. Well the game was paid for so the socks isn’t entirely free.

It is not enough for you to have ideas, you need to plan towards achieving that goal. You need to be rightly kitted. Your kitting starts from your very first action which might be to start writing down your business proposal, putting down every thoughts that comes to mind, reading about people that have gone ahead, speaking to mentors (if you have any). Getting kitted is actually all that you need to do before the game starts.


Time to bowl


There are different sizes and weight to different bowling balls, so you decide which one you want to use to make a win. I noticed the more I played, I was able to identify which bowling balls made me win and that’s what I would use in the next round.

  * Hold the ball correctly - First, pick up your ball and head to the right spot in front of the bowling lane.
  * Approach the line
  * Work on aiming the ball
  * Release the ball
   * Wipe your hands after your turn is over
   * Keep score throughout the game

You have 10 rounds for every game, so it’s all about making the most out of the opportunities


One key technique I noticed was the aiming part. You can’t just afford to throw your bowling ball without aiming, you will be headed for the side gutter. That means, every throw is/should be a deliberate action.


You just have to be deliberate in 2017. Someone recently said ‘do not follow life, lead life’ and in leading life, you have to be deliberate. You can’t afford to do the same things and expect the same result, this I heard is not just insanity, but the peak of insanity. You need a promotion? Career Change? Business actualization? Whatever it is, you just need to be deliberate and be ready to pay the price.


Keeping the score throughout the game means you should not get discouraged even when you get a miss. As long as the game is not over, you still have chances to win.

Enjoy the game


It may not always be fun, but enjoy the process. When you look back from where you started, it will be worth the while. I was not the 1st in the game, in fact my boss was, but I was not the last (thankfully), and most importantly I enjoyed every bit of failure and success I had and my highest point was when I had a strike.

 Continue to be a learning organization, that’s how you can make a head way.

Headed for failure


So there was a colleague who of course was the last. He was so bent on his thoughts and did not even want to take advice from friends. Whenever it was his turn, he would hurriedly and forcefully throw the ball and the result is predictable. Listen for good advice As long as I took advice from the pros and cheering from those I held dear, I made a head way with my tactics. Trust me, it will not be successful all the time but not listening at all is a sure way to failure.


In life, you need to be teachable and learn. Continue to be a learning organization, that’s how you can make a head way. Read books, go for productive trainings, have a qualitative network, be deliberate about the people you hold dear to you as regards personal development and trust me it is going to be worth it.


Have a wonderful year becoming who you have always dreamed of.


*Excerpts from google
*Image credit: Google search and Opeyemi Ogundana

Opeyemi Ogundana is a passionate and not-your-usual HR professional working towards being a global influence. My focus is to be an OD consultant helping organizations and businesses achieve optimum results.

Feel free to follow her on LinkedIn

SALARY EXPECTATION: THE NEXT INTERVIEW PERFORMANCE INDICATOR

‘So tell me your salary expectations’

‘Eeeeerrrrmmmm, I believe this organization has a salary structure, so whatever is allocated to this role is fine’

WHAT!!! You mean you came all the way to tell me this. I know you may think its modesty, three-quarter of the time, it is not.

   When you don’t give a proper answer, you say one million unspoken words 

   1)      You are not real

Real people have needs and expectations, they have wants, they desire something, and so if you do not give a proper answer to a simple question like this, I just assume that you don’t have needs and therefore aren’t real. And if you cannot be real enough to tell me how much you would love to earn, it just tells me the kind of results you will be generating at work. 

   2)      You don’t need the job

Reasons why people look for jobs mainly is because you want to earn money and be responsible to the people you cater for. Yes, I know you may want to tell me that it’s because of passion and you want to be fulfilled but trust me, when finances frustrate you, the test of your true passion will be shown. And if you show to me that you don’t need the job, there is no need selecting you because there will be nothing that will drive you towards performance on the job.

Put value on you

   3)      You have no self-worth

One thing many people do not know or understand is how to put value on themselves. How can you not know the stuff you are made of or your self-awareness…….No self-evaluation? How then do you know your potential or the talent you carry on your inside? This reminds of the talent story in the Bible. Let’s take a cue from the guy that was given one talent, the major reason why he messed up the job that was given to him was because he was not aware of the potential he had inside, because if he had, he would have doubled the talent no matter how little till the time his master arrived. All you will do when I give you the job is bury it.

So you see the picture you paint to me when you do not tell me what your salary expectation is

A simple money question can change the mind of the interviewer about you. 

   4)      You are not ready to get to work (Knuckle down)

You don’t want to have invested your time and energy in waste. I do not want to believe that you came all the way and having slayed the interview questions, a simple money question can change the mind of the interviewer about you.

Here is the thing, there are a couple of other qualified candidates and it is just a tiny little bit of luck or I’ll say of opportunity that you need to have to stand out. So make the best out of this opportunity, because it only comes but once in a scenario.

You may want to ask, ‘How well then do I answer such simple question.

Two things are key in knowing how to answer such question.

      1)      Research – It is important to do your research about the organization. What sector, what industry, what are they into, what are their values. All these are important in giving you a good perception of the organization. Then try to find out what the salary scale of that position is, not necessarily from the organization but from other companies in same industry. This should give you a balanced idea of what their pay range would be. This way, you will not aim too high or too low.

 Think!!! Don’t be too quick to give numbers

2)      Negotiation – Your research posits you for a good negotiation with your soon-to-be employer. After being asked the question, first thing is say ‘thank you’ before you start negotiating. Think. Don’t be too quick to give numbers, it is always advisable to give a range and then give reasons why you think that is due for the role.

Remember, you are selling yourself, your brand and your talent as to what you will bring on board. 

Your response changes everything. So be wise my Friend.


*Image credit: Annalora von Pentz.... (Other image: google)

Opeyemi Ogundana is a passionate and not-your-usual HR professional working towards being a global influence. My focus is to be an OD consultant helping organizations and businesses achieve optimum results.

Feel free to follow her on LinkedIn

Appraisal Bonus: Your Aim

Hello Talents

We are in a world where performance management is seen as very important in the Talent management process and is gaining a lot of responses especially with regards to performance bonus or as most organization call it, Appraisal bonus.

There is a tendency to say an employee is disloyal or money-driven when he or she gets excited about appraisal bonus, like there is a shift of what is important. The reality is that excitement should be a natural reaction. I would be suspicious if an employee isn’t excited, maybe he is scared of a not too good appraisal from his line manager?

One thing some employees do not know is that appraisal is actually their right. 

You deserve to work and ask for feedbacks from your managers. I know some managers are so busy that they have no time for constructive appraisals with their subordinates (to be addressed another time), but you should demand this process from your managers. 

How often? You may ask, least frequently, I will say on a quarterly basis. But as often as you can, do ask your manager. Go as far as fixing the meeting period and let he or she know. When they see the result of these activities, they are encouraged to go the extra mile, and even though they do not notice, keep at it.

So back to getting excited about appraisal bonus; You get this because you have worked for 12months and you deserve to be rewarded, so you are not out of place and you should not feel bad to even talk about it around a HR Professional.

‘Why should I aim at the bonus?’, you may ask - 

Appraisal period is not the time to be concerned about your performance as you have developed the habit of doing both a self-appraisal and vertical appraisal i.e. from your boss, during the course of the year.

If you tell me at the nick of time of performance management process that you aren’t concerned about the bonus or that you are fidgety about it, it’s either you are not sincere about earning some extra cool cash or you are just not a serious employee. Like what have you been doing the whole year?!!!

Whoop… Go earn yourself some money

Opeyemi Ogundana is a passionate and not-your-usual HR professional working towards being a global influence. My focus is to be an OD consultant helping organizations and businesses achieve optimum results.

Feel free to follow her on LinkedIn