Bulls n Bears Entrepreneurship Zone :: The journey so far: Chude Jideonwo, CEO, Joy, Inc

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Chude Jideonwo is the founder and the CEO of Joy, Inc., a US- and
Nigeria-based benefit corporation which teaches young Africans happiness and
resilience skills. The company aims to transform culture and build a new
generation focused on the greatest happiness for the largest number of
people. All of Joy, Inc.’s profits are invested in charities.


1. Tell us about one of the toughest situations you’ve found yourself in as
a business owner.


A few years ago, my business had its first financial crisis. It was a
cashflow crisis and, for the first time in over five years of running the
business as a business, our expenses had massively outcropped income and we
had to dip into our savings. It threw me into a major depressive episode
because I just couldn’t handle it. We were financially prepared for it, but
I was not emotionally prepared.

However, this dark, dank depression became the turning point for my life. I
overcame it by burrowing deeper into myself, confronting my fears and
weaknesses, and understanding my deepest values and motivations. That entire
process literally changed my life.

Ultimately, our company had its best financial year by the time the year
ended, but rumbling with depression and self-doubt, and coming out of that
terrible experience changed the structure of the business and my role in it.
It led me to set up a new mission that seeks to help people overcome the
same challenges of being and resilience that I had suddenly battled with.


2. Which business achievement are you most proud of?


In 2017, I ended the year with a 100% staff retention rate – 100%. This is
from a company that had terrible attrition rates barely five years before.

A deliberate implementation of a people-centred, bottom-up talent
development and engagement agenda – driven by our values and by listening to
the team – changed our culture, people and outcomes. It is my proudest
moment because it was a strategy effectively executed.


3. Describe your greatest weakness as an entrepreneur.


Anger. I continue to struggle with anger.

Previously, I would raise my voice endlessly. But three years of consistent
staff feedback on how this affected their work made me take steps through
reading, reflection and coaching to change this. That is a problem I have
largely conquered.

Yet, anger remains. The way I have managed it effectively – so that it
doesn’t impact the company negatively – is to be completely honest and
vulnerable with my team about the fact that this is a weakness. That creates
a virtuous loop that makes the team feel safe while creating the conditions
that helped me overcome raising my voice and managing myself better.


4. Which popular entrepreneurial advice do you disagree with?


“All you need to do is hire the best people and give them the freedom to do
what they need to do.”

It’s so simplistic, it’s almost malpractice.

Yes, human beings need autonomy and capacity, but leading a company or a
team is a more complex venture than pithy statements. It requires treating
human beings as human beings, finding out what makes them, creating the
conditions and incentives for that, and reaching out for opportunities as
they present themselves – and facing adversity when it comes.


5. Is there anything you wish you knew about entrepreneurship before you
got started?


That I could choose to do things my way and succeed. That I could ignore
what I didn’t like, reject things that didn’t make sense, find my own, and
build my own vision on the top of reality as it was apparent to me. It’s
amazing how powerful this really is for those who discover its truth.—
Howwemadeitinafrica 



Chude Jideonwo

 

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