Project management skills are of great value to business owners – OnyecheTifase

With more Nigerians embracing the entrepreneurial culture  – most with adequate knowledge and strategy, others with a pocket full of hope – some experts say perhaps businesses should be ran like long term projects with adequate planning to stem the malaise of failing businesses.

“Failing fast and cheap is not a strategy,” reads an article on Forbes “but a result of lazy thinking. There is nothing noble about failure and no reason we need to embrace it.” So why venture into business with just a pocket of hope when skills that could guarantee business success can be acquired?

According to the first female MD/CEO of Siemens Nigeria Ltd, OnyecheTifase, since businesses share the same characteristics with projects, ramping up project management skills could be of great value to business owners in the longer term.

Explaining the nexus between project management and business recently on the Mara Mentor Talk Show, MrsTifase said: “businesses could be classified as projects, thus by acquiring requisite skills and planning with industry-specific knowledge, entrepreneurs can overcome the challenges of building sustainable businesses in Nigeria.”

She also commented on leadership in business with focus on young entrepreneurs. Admonishing young Nigerian entrepreneurs, MrsTifase who is also a mentor on Africa’s largest entrepreneurship community, Mara Mentor, said “entrepreneurs should always seek to add value to customers and employees.”

“Leadership style is what differentiates between a business thriving, sinking, or soaring,” she added, highlighting various leadership styles and the implication of effective implementation on profit, work culture, organisational and individual goals.

The newly appointed MD/CEO of Siemens Nigeria also encouraged young entrepreneurs to be meticulous in assessing market trends and competitors, identifying a unique value proposition with direct focus on customer education and communication of brand values, even before starting out.