To climb up the corporate ladder faster, solve organisational problems

I recently launched my YouTube Series, Make or Mar Moments with Monehin and my first guest was the authentic and amiable Chairman of Julius Berger PLC, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu OON. He also chairs/sits on a few organisations’ boards, including San Leon Energy (UK) PLC, WAPIC Insurance Company, Imperial Homes Mortgage Ltd, Petralon Energy Ltd, The Nigeria Stock Exchange, Greenbay Energy Ltd, UNILEVER Nigeria PLC, Air Peace Ltd, and a few others. He mentioned to me, “I have come to realise that steering organisations from the board is my second career”. He mentioned “second career” as he was the Managing Director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (2008–2015) and later the Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria (2010–2015).

I have nine (9) top takeaways from the conversation and I will attempt to write on each of them.

He told me that he was “discovered” when he supervised telephone operators and improved callers’ experience. He was himself surprised as that is considered mundane, compared to other technical deliverables however that was an organisational pain point at that time, and resolving that immediately shot him to…