By Joseph Chibueze
When Mr. Tunji Olugbodi left Prima Garnet in March 2007 to set up his own company, Verdant Zeal, many saw it as a right move that was wrongly timed. But the question is ‘what is the right time to move?’ It is this fear of the unknown and waiting for the ‘right time’ that has kept many who would have been successful entrepreneurs locked up in what could be described as a fool’s paradise called the comfort zone even when they are no more comfortable.
It was an election year with all its uncertainties, businesses were not willing to make new commitments and investors were holding back to know the direction the country would go after the elections. It all looked gloomy, even more so as he took off from ground zero, with no clients and just a few hands to work with.
But he was not deterred because for him, it is not about how much you have in your pocket or how fair the weather is, but the values you are bringing to the table.
Just under eight years, Verdant Zeal has become a multinational marketing communication group comprising various corollary businesses. F2M (First to Market), the experiential marketing arm of the group, Gr8 Measures Media (Media Independent), Brainbox I Media (New Media), Red Gecko (Pr & Content development) and Neo Mantra (an intellectual property company with interest in brand and events management).
The company is also now the only Nigerian marketing communication company that has full fledged offices across the West Coast- Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Background
Born in Lagos on March 26, 1964, to the family of Pa Joshua Oyedele Olugbodi, from Ara town in Osun State; his father retired from the Central Bank of Nigeria while his mother, Mrs. Grace Olabisi Olugbodi, a trader, hails from Abeokuta, Ogun State. Tunji attended Salvation Army Primary School, Iyun Road, behind the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos between 1969 and 1974, but had to move to Ejigbo, Osun State for his secondary education, where he attended Baptist High School between 1974 and 1979. “I really couldn’t explain why my parents just decided I should go to Osun State for my secondary school education,” he says. “But my parents knew why they took that decision and I have come to realize that they meant well for me. Today, I don’t have any regrets because part of my experience in my formative years was informed by my experience in Ejigbo. My stay in that rural environment allowed me to appreciate people from different backgrounds. There is something original in that rustic environment. I was lucky to have schooled in a society where people value lives. The spirit of being one’s brother’s keeper is still in me up till now.
Background
Born in Lagos on March 26, 1964, to the family of Pa Joshua Oyedele Olugbodi, from Ara town in Osun State; his father retired from the Central Bank of Nigeria while his mother, Mrs. Grace Olabisi Olugbodi, a trader, hails from Abeokuta, Ogun State. Tunji attended Salvation Army Primary School, Iyun Road, behind the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos between 1969 and 1974, but had to move to Ejigbo, Osun State for his secondary education, where he attended Baptist High School between 1974 and 1979. “I really couldn’t explain why my parents just decided I should go to Osun State for my secondary school education,” he says. “But my parents knew why they took that decision and I have come to realize that they meant well for me. Today, I don’t have any regrets because part of my experience in my formative years was informed by my experience in Ejigbo. My stay in that rural environment allowed me to appreciate people from different backgrounds. There is something original in that rustic environment. I was lucky to have schooled in a society where people value lives. The spirit of being one’s brother’s keeper is still in me up till now.
“I attended what could be termed ‘regular’ public schools, but I must say these compared well with some of the best private schools we have today. There was professionalism and dedication by the crop of teachers, who took great pride in the development of their pupils.”
For his university education, Olugbodi attended the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, between 1983 and 1987 and read English Language. His father actually wanted him to study law ostensibly so he could accomplish what he himself could not accomplish having dropped out of law faculty of the then University of Ife because he had no one to fund the programme for him. “My father saw my admission as an opportunity for him to realise his dream. I didn’t want anybody to dictate my course of study to me and I decided not to pursue the admission.”
Career
Olugbodi started his career first as a journalist with The Guardian as a judicial reporter and sub editor. After about five years he became a bit restless and wanted to explore new horizons. He then moved to a medium sized agency, called SAAL as a copywriter and just after three months moved on to Promoserve where he had the first real taste of professional marketing communication as a client service and business development. “Promoserve was one of the biggest and most active agencies then, with several blue chip accounts. I had the privilege of working with some of the best brains in the industry then and it was quite enlightening; a great eye opener,” he recalls.
In January 1992, he joined Prima Garnet where he spent 15 years and rose to the position of an executive director. He however quit Prima Garnet in March 2007 to start Verdant Zeal.
His person, his philosophy
Olugbodi who likes to describe himself as a clear minded, easy going person, also sees life as an opportunity God has given to man to be able to do something positive. He believes that whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. “And for you to think of getting something done means that you have the mindset of somebody who wants to venture, somebody who wants to step away from his comfort zone. For many years I was unable to do the things I needed to do because I was living in what I can call a fool’s paradise. I was in a comfort zone where I did not want to rock the boat and I wanted to maintain the status quo. It took time for me to realize that the only way you can make progress in life is by taking a risk, a calculated risk and every risk has its own reward.
Sometimes it may not be positive but even if it is not positive, it is usually a temporary set back because for every venture you step out to take, there is always something to learn, even if it is to learn how not to do certain things, so that next time you know how to avoid those pitfalls.”
Making a move
For Olugbodi, God has given to each person a fair amount of gifts and aptitudes to do certain things. The only problem according to him is that most people do not take time to search out and understand what these gifts are. In his words, “Because we have not understood what has been deposited inside of us to enable us succeed, sometimes we devalue ourselves which makes us sometimes to look down on ourselves or sometimes makes us lack the confidence to be able to move ahead. So for me if there is anything you want do, you have to make a move.
Making a move
For Olugbodi, God has given to each person a fair amount of gifts and aptitudes to do certain things. The only problem according to him is that most people do not take time to search out and understand what these gifts are. In his words, “Because we have not understood what has been deposited inside of us to enable us succeed, sometimes we devalue ourselves which makes us sometimes to look down on ourselves or sometimes makes us lack the confidence to be able to move ahead. So for me if there is anything you want do, you have to make a move.
“In making a move, you also have to know whom to trust, for me, I put my trust in God that if God is with me in anything it will not fail. Next to that is that you have to have faith in yourself. Because you are a reflection of God, if you don’t have faith in God, there is no way you are going to have faith in yourself. So the measure of the faith you have in yourself, is also the measure of the faith you have in God because really, every day living is a risk, every step you take is a risk but if you trust God, he will never leave you nor forsake you. You are not running on your own skills even if it appears so, but you are running God’s programme because he has given you brush so that you can make your own strokes. That is very comforting and reassuring.
“Tied to that is that there must always be a vision. I am driven more by what I see as greater vision of many things that I need to do rather than the small things. And that in itself helps a great deal because it gives the eye of the mind the ability to plot a trajectory, a sort of roadmap and I have discovered that in my own case every road map that I have given some thought to, prayed and meditated over, written down formerly, most often than not usually comes to pass almost the way I have written it down. So that is a big encouragement.”
Sustaining power
What is it that keeps him going even in the face of difficulties? He replies that there are no secrets. According to him, “Every victory and every defeat starts first of all from the mind, so the mindset is extremely important. I will give you an example, as we sit here, I do know there is going to be many challenges in 2015 and maybe beyond, it is obvious, the price of oil is going down, it is not likely to go up any soon and the reasons also are very obvious, politics in Nigeria come with its uncertainties, there is insecurity, so everything points out that the indices are heading south. But what I do know is that in spite of that, in fact most often than none, when there are problems or challenges is when there are opportunities. So in our mind, what we have done is to say we prepare for the worst and hope for the best. So you look at the worst case scenario and say this is the worst that can happen, how do you survive, how do you navigate? In doing that you are able to look at the opportunities that will come from the challenges that we have in the environment, in the economy. And in doing that, you say to yourself, I am going to survive by doing XYZ because I can envision what those challenges will be. So your mindset is extremely important. First and foremost is to accept the reality of challenges and not to live in denials.
“The second thing is, what are the concrete steps that you need to take to make things happen, what are the adjustments you need to make? So for me those are the indices where you have success or victory, it is really about micro managing the issues before they emerge and it is even better when you are able to anticipate what the issues will be and that helps you to take steps that will help you over come those challenges. So you have to think ahead.”
NUGGETS
-Have faith in God and yourself
-Whatever you have to do, do it well
-It is not about the dept of your pocket, it is about the values you bring
-Trust God
First Published in the CRS Watch International Magazine 2015
