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Adebayo Ajayi

Project Deployment Manager, West and Central Africa Area @ British American Tobacco

Date

May 15th to May 25th

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About Adebayo Ajayi

Graduating with a distinction (MSc) in Oil and Gas engineering from the prestigious Robert Gordon University Scotland UK after bagging a 1st class degree in Chemical Engineering from Covenant University while he was the best graduating student in the department. He has a certificate of Fundamentals of Management from Lagos Business School. Adebayo is your go to person for sustainable learning. He has spoken on various platforms and he has also co-authored four books (God’s word for your academics, Success Handbook, Renaissance Man and Learning Boost) and authored a book called Mental Illumination. As a Social Entrepreneur, he is the Team lead of Success Within International, an organization with the mandate to raise people of outstanding success for global relevance. He is a Certified Project Manager and an analytical supply chain professional, handling all aspects of process and production functions. Commercially astute and business-focused, with strong knowledge of organization management, Business Analytics, Lean and Six Sigma and project management. He currently works as a Project deployment manager for West and Central Africa area in a multinational organization where he is responsible for the new products introduction in 16 countries. He is one of the pioneer Nigerian members of Nova Talent. Nova talent a global by-invitation-only-top-talent network, that connects high potential individuals amongst themselves and with the best progressional opportunities. “Nothing short of excellence” is his mantra and that's what you encounter when you come in contact with him.

INTERVIEW

QUESTIONS

These interview questions were brought to you by TwoCents and Cyrus Majebi

In your opinion, what 3 skills are most important in order to remain relevant in the future of work?

Adebayo Ajayi

The top 3 Skills for work include;

1. Leadership

2. Emotional intelligence

3. Problem Solving skills

TwoCents

Looking back on your journey from Covenant University to where you are today, what are 2 things that an education from Covenant University gave you that you didn't really appreciate back when you were a student.

Adebayo Ajayi

Studying at Covenant University gave me Leadership prowess and a high level of tenacity for consistency.

I have occupied various leadership position since I graduated from Covenant University and all I can say is that I have been prepared for this a long time ago.

All thanks to God and Covenant University

TwoCents

How useful is an MBA when applying for a role at British American Tobacco - what's the balance of experience versus certifications/degrees you'd advice candidates to have when applying?

Adebayo Ajayi

Having an MBA is not a pre-requisite for getting a job in British American Tobacco, however the learnings would definitely be an added advantage in executing your role.

For graduate & management trainee roles, work experience might not be required for securing a job. However as you proceed in your career, you will discover that your experience is equally as important as your degree.

TwoCents

In your opinion, how well does an MBA from a top Nigerian University perform/rank when compared to an MBA from a UK or US school (as an example) - would you say that employers put more weight on the certificate (and where it was obtained) than any other factor (years of experience as an example) when hiring?

Adebayo Ajayi

This is very tricky.

I will start by saying that in the MBA ranking of schools, UK and US schools come higher when compared to Nigeria Universities, this means that graduates of the former schools will be rated better than the latter.

For experience roles, years of experience is really critical here and also, the school you finished from is also important.

TwoCents

Talk us through a summary of how you perform market analysis to determine whether an about-to-be-introduced product will perform well in its target market. Has there ever been a time when there turned out to be a huge disparity between what your feasibility studies predicted and what eventually happened in the market?

Adebayo Ajayi

In analysing the metrics for measuring brand assets, there are various analytical methods that can be used. I will explain briefly some of these methods.

1. Optimization- This answers the question "What's the best that can happen in the market?"

2. Predictive modelling- This answers the question "What will happen next in the market?"

3. Randomized Testing-This answers the question "What will be the next big thing in the market, if we try this"?

4. Statistical Analysis-This answers the question "What happened last in the market?"

The response to the questions above will give an accurate picture of the timing and type of product to launch in the market.

And finally, yes its possible for there to be variance in the actual and forecasted figures in the market. However, the variance should be as low as possible

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What's the best "thing" that attending Lagos Business School equipped you with? Would you say attending LBS was value for money?

Adebayo Ajayi

I obtained certificate of Fundamentals of Management from Lagos Business School.

During my short course, I was equipped with all the ingredients that make up an outstanding manager.

Some of my learnings include developing employability skills, problem solving techniques, effective planning and decision making analysis, managing organizational and Interpersonal communication and lot more.

The quest for money was far from my list of expectation while taking the course.

TwoCents

Share with us a number of specific, high-demand skillsets that you believe are in short supply in the market.

Adebayo Ajayi

Some of the high-demand skillsets that are short supply in the market are;

1. Cloud computing

2. Artificial Intelligence

3. Sales leadership

4. UX design

5. Blockchain

6. Digital journalism

7. Data Analysis

8. People management

TwoCents

Given the emergence of Gen Z into the workforce, How do you strike a balance between the "experienced" talent and the new generation?

Adebayo Ajayi

The emergence of Gen Z into the workforce is a generational occurrence which no one can control. Young employees of the new generation are always important to recruit in any organisation, as they offer a fresh perspective and insight, as well as valuable skills.

Success in business is all about being able to adapt and adjust effectively to challenges and changes, and companies with a culture led by those grounded in a firm foundation in business will be necessary to deal with this generational challenge.

It is very important for business leaders to be prepared to work with multiple generations in one work place. Problem-solving, tech-savvy leaders will be crucial in blending the many generations into a cohesive workforce. Getting a proper education in the specific technology and management strategies of a good business leader will be the best road to success.

Most Generation Z employees are not after work-life balance so much as they want to establish work-life blend. They simply want to enjoy what they do.

TwoCents

Tell us the top 3 non-technical positions that you hire for at British American Tobacco - what skillsets do you look for when hiring for said positions?

Adebayo Ajayi

The top 3 Skills I always look out for are;

1. Leadership

2. Emotional intelligence

3. Problem Solving skills

TwoCents

Tell us what drove you to start Success Within International.

Adebayo Ajayi

SWI's vision was delivered July 25th 2012, it's an organisation set up to teach people that God has wired everyone for a life of success but you need to see the picture the way He sees you.

It's an organisation which is set out to teach people God's way of success. ( To show that Christians are created for greater works).

It's an organization set out to help those who have not identify their purpose to identify it and to help you discover your talents. It's an organisation set out to raise the end time army.

The name Success Within came as a result of what the Holy Spirit told me "He said everything anyone need to succeed is in them, but they need the HolySpirit to stir it up".

That's why the Vision is Raising people of outstanding success for global relevance.

Tobi Igbinedion

Co-founder @ TwoCents

Lagos, Nigeria • May 15, 2021, 11:02 p.m.

Hey Bayo,

So particularly in Nigeria, right now, it's appearing to more and more people that having a definite career trajectory that ends up becoming a successful and fulfilling one happens to perhaps 1 in 500 people.

For many, the reality is getting whatever job, wherever that just pays the bills - considering how difficult it is even getting any 'decent' job, as a graduate.

Some even try to enforce living their dreams by going into entrepreneurship only to find out its hard.

How best could one put their life together to ensure they fulfil their dreams with respect to their career?

1 Answer request

Adebayo Ajayi

Project Deployment Mana... @ British American ...

Lagos • May 25, 2021, 12:51 p.m.

Hi Tobi,

Unfortunately, your question is the valid reality of most Nigeria graduates today.

Once there is no enabling environment, you will always expect a diffuse state of survival.

If you choose to stay in Nigeria, you must be ready to thrive within the competition and circle of scarcity.

So I will leave you to answer the individual question of how you can be outstanding in an environment that is not enabling.

Morounfoluwa John

Lagos, Nigeria • May 21, 2021, 9:05 p.m.

Hey Bayo, engaging conversation, correct me if I am wrong, I assume management principles take care of the known-knows (K-K) and known unknowns (K-U) but performance against U-U aren't as good. How do you take care of the unknown-unknowns (U-U) type problem you might encounter, generally speaking?

1 Answer request

Adebayo Ajayi

Project Deployment Mana... @ British American ...

Lagos • May 25, 2021, 12:08 p.m.

Excellent question John.

In project management, there is something called management reserves, this is used to handle unknown risks. Management principles will always imbibe management reserves in solving unknown risk.

The use of analogous estimating, which is historical knowledge is also another way of solving unknown problems.

Oyetunji Oyeleke

May 24, 2021, 5:21 p.m.

In your opinion, what are the possible challenges to new entrants to the industrial work place based on your experiences and encounters and what advice can you offer in countering these challenges, in getting the best out of oneself

0 Answer requests

Adebayo Ajayi

Project Deployment Mana... @ British American ...

Lagos • May 25, 2021, 12:12 p.m.

There are several challenges that a new entrant can face in the work place. But I will like to mention the top two.

1. Adopting the work culture: Work place is so different from school, you will need to unlearn, re-learn and learn the procedures, policies and process assets required to function effectively in your specific organisation.

2. Going the extra mile: In the workplace, there is actually nothing like, "my best is enough". You will need to always continuously improve in order to stay relevant and stay winning.

Nwosu Joy

May 25, 2021, 5:26 p.m.

Hello Bayo, What is the best way to answer a question on your weakness in an interview?

0 Answer requests

Adebayo Ajayi

Project Deployment Mana... @ British American ...

Lagos • May 25, 2021, 9:14 p.m.

Hi Joy,

The best way to answer this type of question is to say something that would not impact the organization’s effectiveness in any way.

Also after stating your weakness, talk about what you are already doing to translating this weakness to strength.

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