Obituary: 'Kunle Olaifa 1980-2014

Until his passing one week ago in a car accident, Mr. 'Kunle Olaifa was the Head of Human Resources, West Africa, for a large multinational company.

A dedicated HR professional, Kunle built many careers.  He of course built a stellar career for himself, with stints at Adecco HR Consulting, GE Energy, and Triangle Nigeria, as well as Career Solutions Africa and Samsung.

He was an alumnus of the University of Ilorin and Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Abeokuta.  He was also an AIESECer, an associate fellow of NLI - the Nigeria Leadership Initiative, and a thought-leader and frequent speaker on human resources at various fora including the Leadership Academies at DayStar Christian Center. 

But we remember him most for being a pillar of several communities, a leader, one who was very intelligent, visionary, concerned, engaged, funny, and kind.  In plain language, he was a good friend, inspiring mentor, and a father figure to many.  He was married with children.

I will post below a few of the writings of Kunle that I can find on the internet, and hope you join his family, friends, and associates, as we all pay our respects to a fellow who lived an exemplary life.  

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The Unforgettable Boss

Unforgettable bosses possess qualities that may not show up on paper but always show up where it matters most -- in the minds and even hearts of the people they lead.

NOTE: THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM A JEFF HADEN PIECE FOR LINKEDIN.ORG , also here on Inc.com

Here are some of the qualities of truly unforgettable bosses:

1. They believe the unbelievable.

2. They see opportunity in instability and uncertainty.

3. They wear their emotions on their sleeves.

Memorable bosses are highly professional and yet also openly human.
Professionalism is admirable. Professionalism -- with a healthy blend of humanity -- is inspiring.

4. They protect others from the bus.
Terrible bosses throw their employees under the bus.
Good bosses never throw their employees under the bus.
Memorable bosses see the bus coming and pull their employees out of the way often without the employee knowing until much, much later... if ever, because memorable bosses never try to take credit.
And if they can't, they take the hit. (And later speak privately to the employee in question.)

5. They’ve been there, done that... and still do that.

6. They lead by permission, not authority.

7. They embrace a larger purpose.

8. They take real, not fake risks.

In short, memorable bosses inspire others to achieve their dreams: by words, by actions, and most importantly, by example.

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By 2015, a global partnership for development

The Millenium Development Goals are: 

 

To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 

To achieve universal primary education 

To promote gender equality and empower women 

To reduce child mortality 

To improve maternal health 

To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases 

To ensure environmental sustainability 

To develop a global partnership for development

Comment?

On being overpaid (or underpaid) for work

The work of a management consultant is no more complex than that of a bank teller, a journalist, a musician, or a chef.  Yet management consulting is one of the high-paying fields in the developed world.  It's not for demand-and-supply factors either: there are millions of people who can do the work required - a little math, a little pressure, teamwork, powerpoint, and politics.  Why then does the difference in pay persist? 

Does excess pay create real problems in society?  Robert Reich argues that the work of highly-paid financiers, corporate lawyers, lobbyists, and management consultants ... zero-sum games ... amount to a mammoth waste of societal resources. 

As you know, he's a former US Secretary of Labour, who has a lot of thoughts on Work and Worth - an interesting topic that overlaps with politics.