momentum

First day @ Standard Alliance Insurance

I had written out a workpath for the period I'll be at this job. So, when I arrived the Ajose Adeogun, V.I. head office of Standard Alliance Insurance Plc I was armed with a plan. Plus, no detour was going to sidetrack me since I had made provision for those other forces that assail every intention.

First thing, I was taken along to a weekly meeting that review and preview activities in the organisation. Being at that meeting was a major orientation as the basics of how the company carries on, key people and attitudes showed clearly. I felt being among forward-looking, positive people seeing the MD easily mix serious talk with good-natured humour amidst intelligent analysis of facts and figures.

Believe it or not, listening to the confidence and optimism of Bode Akinboye (that's MD) I was not only willing to work for (with?) him but also support the company in the on-going consolidation in the Nigerian insurance industry. Having had a trained ear for the stock market from my former employer, SBA Research, I scented a good deal from the insider information about the proposed share offer of Standard Alliance.

It came time for my introduction to the meeting as a new staff. The microphone was handed me to say a word. Maybe I stuttered but after my name I told them my picture is to allign the company's statistics unit with best practices for similar function anywhere. A young lady, Chioma, welcomed me on behalf of the company.

I had plenty papers signed with Human Capital before I had a desk assigned to me and got browsing right-away. Objective: What do great companies do with statistics, how do they go about obtaining and applying data for their benefit and profit. Had some food eaten up in my stomach doing that before my departmental head (Risk Management Group) came around to say it's good I look at some of the files that happen to be on the desk to help give some dea of the goings-on in the department.

Before long, lunch time came and went without incident in the company's canteen. Back at my desk and not exactly grasping the contents of the files dealing with insurance transaction I kept

posted by momentum @ 10:46 AM