June 2, 2021 – Osasu Oviawe

Today, I got a call from my brother out of the blue. I was giving a lecture, so I set the phone aside with a note to call him back immediately after. Then he called a second time. He never calls twice, unless it is urgent and important. I had to excuse myself to take the call.

Before calling back, in my usual fashion when I assume there is an emergency, I checked my phone for unread messages that might give me a hint. He had sent me a succinct message – “Osarenmwinda has passed.”

I dropped my phone and took some deep breaths. I needed to make sure I was composed before I started connecting with other family members.

Osaremwinda is a cousin that I grew up with. She had a strong presence. She was the kind of person you would celebrate having by your side, and rue having against you. She was family, and I loved her.

I take solace in the fact that in our last face-to-face engagement on February 13th, which happened to be the burial of a dear Aunt, we had a deep conversation about life, and she offered her take on some of the crosses I carry.

I am thankful that her reflections on life, which she shared with me on the same day, were filled with gratitude. She was proud of her husband, her children, her extended family, her work and her network of friends.

Death is ever-present wherever there is life, yet it still shows up as a surprise.

I will miss you Osaremwinda. Thank you for asking questions and being a listening ear, when many others preferred judgment.

I will grieve for you today, but I will celebrate you every day after.

Meetings increase your breadth of knowledge.

Breadth without depth leads to imbalance and collapse.

If all the information you have are from meetings, you are a dangerously imbalanced person. Dangerous because what you know are facts without the depth of context.

Treat information in meetings like headlines. Factually correct, but sensational to get your attention. To gain understanding, you must go deep on the actual content, and most times you find that the headline is misleading.

Observe, explore, test, study, and notice things for yourself. Go deep on what triggers your curiosity from all the facts that get thrown at you.

The good thing is that if you go deep on one thing, at least four other things can be anchored on it.

One of the dangers as you grow up a hierarchy is that you are drawn into more meetings than actual work. This increases your breadth of knowledge, without a corresponding deepening of depth. This is why the Peter principle applies.

Meetings have value, but they cannot be the predominant function of your day.

– Osasu Oviawe

Day: June 2, 2021

Reflections

Meetings