There will always continue to be the argument on whether college or university prepares the average individual for success in the real world.

Of course college has its uses. There is abundant theoritical knowledge on almost any discipline you can think of. Still I hardly know of any successful fellow who made success based only on what he/she learnt at the university. There are many things college doesn’t prepare you for;


1. Networking: Funny how our universities do not deem it fit to develop a very practical curriculum on interpersonal relationships and networking. The benefits for the average graduate will be enormous. Many leave college still shy and unable to connect effectively with people that will link them faster to their ambitions. If you’ve been to a typical Nigerian higher institution you will have enough academic workload on your hands that you may really not have time to learn the skills that matter later in life (networking included).

Joining clubs with focus and involving in students unionism all helped me learn how to relate and meet up with people but it wasn’t easy. You did all that at your own peril or risk. So what it means is that to learn people skills you have to mix and interact, rack up meaningful relationships especially with people higher up the ladder than yourself. If the colleges would teach that most of our young people will have a tool that will serve them well in business and career.

2. Selling: Have you noticed how many graduates have the phobia for selling anything even themselves. In the past two years I had interviewed quite a lot of graduates for positions within my new company and found one alarming thing; All of them didn’t want to be put where they’ll have to sell anything to anyone or convince anyone to buy anything.

How the hell are you expecting to be paid if you don’t want to sell. All companies make money by selling something and those who are willing and prove to the company that they can sell and pull in the profits have an edge over any others any time any day. I watched appalled as all of the job seekers I interviewed dodged from any marketing or sales related job. Everybody wanted to be in the office pushing papers and generally doing nothing. We had enough office staff but very little marketing guys who could help double or triple revenue. It was not acceptable.

How do our universities not teach students how to sell. Selling is vastly important.

– When seeking a contract you sell yourself and your company to the client
– You sell yourself to the Interviewer, trying to convince him to hire you
– You sell yourself to investors asking them to invest in your startup or idea
– You sell yourself to that pretty girl you met in the banking hall because you want to date her
– You sell yourself to your boss at that’s why you always want to impress and get that raise or promotion you need so badly.

All we do everyday is sell, sell and sell some more.

How better we will be if our colleges and universities can teach us how to do that.

3. Fundraising: Getting funded is one of the biggest challenges to small and medium scale businesses and tech startups in Nigeria. The funds sit in bank vaults but are extremely difficult to get hold of. I wish I had a course (something like Funding 312) when I was in college probably taught by an established businessman who had to raise his own funds and not by a white haired, stooping professor of Business Administration whose only experience in running a business was at age 9 when he helped his mum sell groceries.

If experienced business gurus and CEOs were to hold fundraising and capital sourcing classes at least one semester for each student many graduates would have had it easier going into business for themselves and giving birth to the ideas that run riot in their minds.

more: http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/eight-things-they-dont-teach-you-in-college-about-business-and-the-labour-market/

Confuse people with confuse mindset selling confusion.

It is more practical to use street knwledge in doing business and formal knowledge to sustain it.

waiting for complete list

Very very. To think that many lecturers who teach business courses in school don't even know what it takes to run a coffee shop