Heirs Place, My Place

Dressed in a black suit and, oddly, a black tie, I cannot process my feelings: nervous and yet astonished. Meeting someone for the first time and leaving a great impression is not one of my strengths. What unsettles me is the fact that these are no regular folks. I am meeting the group heads and top executives of something-something, and I am expected to be nimble-witted and show that I am worth my onions. If only Wahab could read my mind, this “introduction session” would have reached an abrupt end right before it started.

I am wrapping up my first month as a part of the HH family and reflecting on my experience thus far, I can only be grateful. There is something calming about the Heirs Place. It must be the work culture. I had a bite of this work culture even before I stepped into the office for the first time. I was held up in Lagos traffic with a sea of people all around: thugs marking vehicles, drivers having shouting matches and young boys trying to sell you plantain chips because they knew you could not have breakfast. Amidst this barrage of juicy scenes, reigns supreme a foul smell emanating from clogged water channels. Nothing could have prepared this shy and reserved Yola kid for the streets of Lagos. I was long behind resumption time and was nowhere near Ikoyi. An hour later, I dropped at “Falomo under-bridge”. You do not want to ask the wrong guy for directions in Lagos, I was told. To be safe, I called Chibuzor, the HR super lady, and minutes later, Segun, the group CTO, and Wahab were there to pick me up. The Group CTO, for the life of me! Who does that! That kind gesture was a sneak peek of what awaits me in the office. For some reason, I can tell genuine care and interest, and it was all in full display everywhere I turned. “This is the place to be”, I quietly whispered to myself.

Nothing inspires me more than seeing young people crushing it. I have not met anybody that I could not learn something from, so far. HH is truly a top talent powerhouse. This brilliance is especially exemplified in my department, IT. You should hear Destiny, Wahab and the boss discussing ideas and projects. You would think everyone is reading a rehearsed speech. This is quite interesting and intimidating all at once. Intimidating because I am always reminded of where I fall short. But on the flip side, I am a lifelong learner, and this means that every time I am at work, I am learning something new.

And with learning comes growth. Call me boring but binge-watching Tedx Talks tops my priority list. One finds great inspiration there. The visit of the EU ambassador to the office and the series of speaking sessions that followed proved that I can experience TedTalk grade speaking events in real-time. What more can I ask for!

It has been a beautiful ride, and something tells me I have not seen the end of it.