INSPIRATION
SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY SUNDAY 26 NOV. 2017
St. Matthew 13:1-58
NLT: Later that same day, Jesus left the house and went down to the shore,
KJV: The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
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NLT: where an immense crowd soon gathered. He got into a boat, where he sat and taught as the people listened on the shore.
KJV: And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
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NLT: He told many stories such as this one: ” A farmer went out to plant some seed.
KJV: And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
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NLT: As he scattered it across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.
KJV: And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
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NLT: Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plants sprang up quickly,
KJV: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
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NLT: but they soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil.
KJV: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
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NLT: Other seeds fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades.
KJV: And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
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NLT: But some seeds fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted.
KJV: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
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NLT: Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!”
KJV: Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
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NLT: His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you always tell stories when you talk to the people?”
KJV: And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
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NLT: Then he explained to them, ” You have been permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others have not.
KJV: He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
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NLT: To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But to those who are not listening, even what they have will be taken away from them.
KJV: For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
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NLT: That is why I tell these stories, because people see what I do, but they don’t really see. They hear what I say, but they don’t really hear, and they don’t understand.
KJV: Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
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NLT: This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: ‘You will hear my words, but you will not understand; you will see what I do, but you will not perceive its meaning.
KJV: And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
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NLT: For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’
KJV: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
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NLT: “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
KJV: But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
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NLT: I assure you, many prophets and godly people have longed to see and hear what you have seen and heard, but they could not.
KJV: For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
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NLT: “Now here is the explanation of the story I told about the farmer sowing grain:
KJV: Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
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NLT: The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the Good News about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the seed away from their hearts.
KJV: When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
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NLT: The rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy.
KJV: But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
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NLT: But like young plants in such soil, their roots don’t go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted because they believe the word.
KJV: Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
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NLT: The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced.
KJV: He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
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NLT: The good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God’s message and produce a huge harvest—thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.”
KJV: But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
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NLT: Here is another story Jesus told: ” The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.
KJV: Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
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NLT: But that night as everyone slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat.
KJV: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
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NLT: When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
KJV: But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
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NLT: The farmer’s servants came and told him, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds!’
KJV: So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
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NLT: ” ‘An enemy has done it!’ the farmer exclaimed. ” ‘Shall we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
KJV: He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
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NLT: “He replied, ‘No, you’ll hurt the wheat if you do.
KJV: But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
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NLT: Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds and burn them and to put the wheat in the barn.’ ”
KJV: Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
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NLT: Here is another illustration Jesus used: ” The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.
KJV: Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
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NLT: It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter in its branches.”
KJV: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
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NLT: Jesus also used this illustration: ” The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast used by a woman making bread. Even though she used a large amount of flour, the yeast permeated every part of the dough.”
KJV: Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
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NLT: Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables.
KJV: All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
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NLT: This fulfilled the prophecy that said, “I will speak to you in parables. I will explain mysteries hidden since the creation of the world.”
KJV: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
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NLT: Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain the story of the weeds in the field.”
KJV: Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
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NLT: ” All right, ” he said. ” I, the Son of Man, am the farmer who plants the good seed.
KJV: He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
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NLT: The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.
KJV: The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
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NLT: The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.
KJV: The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
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NLT: “Just as the weeds are separated out and burned, so it will be at the end of the world.
KJV: As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
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NLT: I, the Son of Man, will send my angels, and they will remove from my Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil,
KJV: The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
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NLT: and they will throw them into the furnace and burn them. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
KJV: And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
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NLT: Then the godly will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!
KJV: Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
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NLT: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field—and to get the treasure, too!
KJV: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
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NLT: “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.
KJV: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
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NLT: When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
KJV: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
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NLT: “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that is thrown into the water and gathers fish of every kind.
KJV: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
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NLT: When the net is full, they drag it up onto the shore, sit down, sort the good fish into crates, and throw the bad ones away.
KJV: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
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NLT: That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the godly,
KJV: So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
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NLT: throwing the wicked into the fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
KJV: And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
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NLT: Do you understand? ” “Yes,” they said, “we do.”
KJV: Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
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NLT: Then he added, ” Every teacher of religious law who has become a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a person who brings out of the storehouse the new teachings as well as the old. ”
KJV: Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
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NLT: When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he left that part of the country.
KJV: And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
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NLT: He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was astonished and said, “Where does he get his wisdom and his miracles?
KJV: And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
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NLT: He’s just a carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.
KJV: Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
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NLT: All his sisters live right here among us. What makes him so great?”
KJV: And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
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NLT: And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, ” A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family. ”
KJV: And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
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NLT: And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.
KJV: And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Stay blessed and I wish you a happy new week. Amen.
Business
Managing, Leading, Building Institutions And Sustainability
The two primary tasks of a top-level leader are to exploit and explore the organisation with people for now and in the future.
By Babs Olugbemi
One of my concerns for leaders is their capacity to be ambidextrous. Regardless of years of experience, knowledge, and leadership capacity, the lack of a clear distinction between managing and leading on the one hand, leading and building institutions on the second layer, and ultimately focussing on sustainability is a significant threat to successful leadership change.
I have followed events and people at C-suites, coached some, and developed frameworks for leadership development. Based on the personalities and styles of the new leaders, I have confirmed my fears about leadership sustainability in most African organisations.
“Successful leaders can aptly differentiate themselves and their roles without necessarily seeing activities as performance, focussing on what is required of them with appropriate tenacity and influence.”
The challenge for leaders is how to lead for the present and future without losing sight of the stakeholders’ immediate performance expectations. Successful leaders can aptly differentiate themselves and their roles without necessarily seeing activities as performance, focussing on what is required of them with appropriate tenacity and influence.
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In my walk as a leadership coach, I have keenly observed leaders who are managing rather than leading. Managing involves ensuring that processes achieve their intended outcomes. Leaders are above managing and should focus on creating an enabling environment for innovation, inventions, and team collaboration. The primary role in leading is not to monitor process outcomes, though critical to the company’s overall objectives, but to align corporate values with the people’s aspirations to create an engaged and ownership-thinking mindset ready to take on challenges and explore opportunities. An alignment of corporate and personal goals will not only deliver the present performance expectations. Still, it will also incubate innovations to adapt to future market demands and the sustainability of the business.
Unfortunately, the capacity for ambidexterity is rare and often marked by leaders’ exposure, approach and styles, perception, and perspective of their roles in the organisation. A leader with a wrong foundation in these areas is set for failure and awaits unfavourable decisions from the board of directors. A top-level leader might manage their teams instead of leading them. Not all leaders can combine leading for the present with building institutions. However, anyone able to submit themselves to an institution-building mechanism can champion sustainability. Aside from being a leadership coach, I help leaders achieve sustainability.
Mathematically, creating an ambidextrous organisation is beyond leading. It is to lead and build an institution that focuses on sustainability in all aspects of the organisation—employee fulfilment, customer retention, strategy effectiveness, performance evaluation, stakeholder management, process improvement, and goal congruence.
In a nutshell, the role of successful leaders in ambidextrous organisations is striking a balance between exploiting current assets and capabilities to ensure short-term success and allocating enough energy and resources to exploration to ensure future viability. The two primary tasks of a top-level leader are to exploit and explore the organisation with people for now and in the future. The two seemingly contradictory aspects—exploitation and exploration—encompass different strategies and processes and have different targets and outcomes (March 1991; O’Reilly & Tushman, 2004; O’Reilly & Tushman, 2013).
O’Reilly and Tushman described the two concepts as follows:
- Exploiting: Exploiting involves building on an organisation’s achievements and maximising returns on previous investments. It focuses on responding to current business demands to remain efficient and competitive within an established market niche, as well as on maintaining an existing customer base and stakeholder relationships. Examples of exploiting are activities focused on continuous improvement, benchmarking, and redesigning business processes.
- Exploring: Exploring focuses on expanding an organisation’s knowledge and capabilities, pioneering new products and services, and discovering and venturing into untapped markets.
The common area of practical bottlenecks in exploiting and exploring in organisations is a need for foundational trust and cohesion among the resources, especially the human capital, which are often treated as costs rather than assets to the organisations. Among all the factors of production, only humans can be ambidextrous with the capacity to think about changes in economic parameters and adjust their behaviours to match the time, content, and contextual requirements.
While organisations might have the resources to deploy in fighting competition, technology to obtain first-mover advantages, and production capacity to maximise output from input, none is compared with the potential of an engaged workforce.
Therefore, for leaders to be successful, they must refrain from operating in the realm of managing. They should operate in the capacity of institution builders, with the mindset of creating sustainable leadership and growth with people first and other factors of production second.
Consequently, only the leaders who prioritise their people over profits, pride, and organisational arrogance will be successful in the long term.
Business
BUSINESS: 3 Non-Financial Factors That Could Impact Your Business’ Value-JESSICA FIALKOVICH
we also look at factors like the level of owner involvement, company goals and growth opportunities.
Jessica Fialkovich, an entrepreneur leadership network contributor, has listed three important non-financial factors that could impact business value.
In a business publication on Entrepreneur, Fialkovich revealed that, to come up with the true value of a company or business, “we also look at factors like the level of owner involvement, company goals and growth opportunities.”
She explained that, “Determining a business’ value is not all about adding up revenue and subtracting expenses. While an important piece, these hard numbers are only half the equation for computing what a company is worth. To come up with the true value, we also look at factors like the level of owner involvement, company goals and growth opportunities. When we use the complete equation, we get a comprehensive picture of a business and can better understand the story of its past, present and future.”
“Calculations may vary depending on the company, but in a healthy one, there is about a 50/50 split between the quantitative (financial) and qualitative (non-financial) sides of performance. If the business isn’t profitable, it’s more important to focus on the quantitative side and fix the numbers first. Many owners don’t want to hear that, but if they’re not hitting their numbers, it may mean the business is not working. They must fix the quantitative issues before moving to the qualitative side” she added.
The first factor is what is called:
The owner’s Goal
We’ve found significant research showing that if an owner has defined goals and plans for the future that are in line with market expectations for their company’s value, they’re going to have a much stronger exit. What is the owner’s defined goal for exiting the business — to get the most money, to take care of their employees and to ensure a legacy? You must then get to the “why” behind the goals and devise a plan of action. It almost doesn’t matter what the answers to the questions are; having achievable goals and a strategy for reaching them can increase the company’s value because it keeps the owner focused on improving the other areas of the business.
The second factor is called:
The owner’s role
The extent of the owner’s involvement is a critical indicator, but perhaps not for the reason you think. The more involved the owner is in day-to-day operations, the more central they are to the business, the less the business will be worth down the road. If the owner is the linchpin that holds everything together, what will happen to the company when they leave? Evaluating operations is more about the system and the structure of the team. Look at the organizational chart and who’s on it – are they good employees or bad employees? Examine the company’s processes and procedures and how new team members are trained and onboarded. The owner sets the vision, but it’s the team that increases company value by carrying out the vision.
The third factor is called:
Growth opportunities
Nobody wants to buy a business and keep it exactly as it is. They want to see potential for growth in the future, especially the potential for return on their investment as a buyer. Whether it’s a simple price increase or new locations, whoever buys the business is going to ask about growth opportunities. Indicators like product or service diversification in both the company and the industry it’s in give a good sense of whether the company is moving forward or standing still (and at risk of going backward). The more potential you can show, the more upside there will be for the next owner — adding up to greater value.
Popular Nigerian columnist, philanthropist, writer, publisher and founder of Genevieve magazine, Betty Irabor has taken to social media to speak on the increasing rate of suicide in Nigeria.
Irabor who is a former columnist with Black & Beauty magazine UK in her post disclosed that she has attempted suicide in the past while also revealing that no one should be judged for taking such actions.
According to her, no one understands what the victims had been passing through, then they shouldn’t make assumptions on how they should have acted.
She wrote,
“suicide!!! don’t label or judge what you do not understand. if you haven’t walked in a man’s or woman’s shoes you cannot make assumptions about what they do or why they do it.
at the time i attempted suicide, i was sick and in pain. there was a volcano somewhere inside of me that needed to erupt and suicide seemed like an option to avoid the eruption. don’t trivialize anyone’s pain just because it’s not physical and you cannot see it.”
Irabor is also the founder of a foundation that promotes breast cancer awareness, early detection and treatment.
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