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Food for Living: Exceed Expectations
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By Henry Ukazu
The first step in exceeding your customer’s expectations is to know those expectations – Roy H. Williams
Greetings Friends,
In today’s world, everybody wants to succeed. Nobody wants to fail. Hence, the saying, success has many fathers while failure is an orphan. The desire of every progressive and rational mind is to be successful. No company, organization, entrepreneur or even association wants to fail. No student wants to fail. This is the more reason every parent trains his/her child not only to be morally sound in character but also academically empowered. The same goes for every cooperate organization which provides training opportunities for their employees in order for them to be properly equipped to do the job.
Entrepreneurs on the other hand never give up in their struggle to succeed, especially when they look back to see how far they have come. They put in so much work by researching, learning, and unlearning in order to be relevant in our contemporary society. Service providers are not left out, they go all out to exceed their customers’ expectations by giving them the best of services.
During the course of this article, we shall be discussing in a holistic and detailed manner dynamic ways on how we can exceed expectations. But the bigger picture will be on how you can exceed your expectations, the expectations of your clients, and the expectations of naysayers who didn’t believe in you nor saw the big picture. You may have had dreams of becoming a distinguished Captain of an industry, you may even have a desire of going higher in cooperate ladder, but your supervisor or director tends to limit your opportunities due to roadblocks which has programmed to make you fail on arrival. You may have never had the desire of going over and beyond due to the limiting factors like your environment, financial circumstances, physical disability or even health condition which might have limited your capability. All these are the strange voice which might tend to limit your dreams or chances of succeeding in life.
To exceed is to go over and beyond expectations. It can even be an inspiration to someone. It takes a lot of courage to exceed expectations just like it takes a lot to succeed in life and business. In order to truly exceed expectation, you must create something of value which must be appreciated. When you create value or become a person of substance who addresses problems, the world will celebrate you. Value is the hallmark of exceeding expectations. A typical example of someone who exceeded expectation is Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba. Billionaire Alibaba founder Jack Ma was rejected from every job he applied to after college, even KFC. After college, Ma applied for 30 jobs in his home city of Hangzhou, China. He was rejected from every one. At KFC, 24 people applied for the job, and while 23 were hired — he wasn’t one of them. The same thing happened when he tried to be a cop. This time four of five applicants were hired, all except Ma. According to Jack Ma “My cousin and I waited for two hours in a long queue to be the waiter for the four-star hotel in my city, on a very hot day,”. “My cousin’s score was much lower than mine, but he was accepted and I was rejected!” Ma was even turned down by Harvard 10 times. Ma says the continued rejection was painful. But it prepared him for his entrepreneurial future. Ma believed in himself. His fortitude came in handy when he founded Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba in 1999. In the beginning, Ma heard “no” a lot, but never doubted his capacity to exceed expectations. According to Ma “When you share a lot of failure stories, you learn.”
Jack Ma turns 55 on Sept. 10, 2019, and is currently worth $38.2 billion. Yet Ma once made $12 dollar per month as an English teacher. His achievements are practically unbelievable considering his meager, humble beginnings. Along the way, he failed more times (and more spectacularly) than most of us could stomach in a lifetime.
Exceeding your expectations are not limited to only to you, but it also transcends to other people who have never believed you in you. We all have experienced one form of a disservice in one or way or the other. This can be either from an employee, an elderly person who never saw anything good in you, a friend, colleague or even a sibling or parent who had a form of doubt about your ability to succeed in life. In order for you to cast out their fears and doubts, the onus is on you to exceed their expectations by humbling them with your success. According to Roy H. Williams, “The first step in exceeding your customer’s expectations is to know those expectations.”
We shall be discussing how to exceed expectations. The first step and requirement of exceeding expectation are believing in yourself. You just have to think positive regardless of the opinion people have around. Yes, sometimes it can be challenging when the odds are against you, for instance, you may have great ideas, but lack resources to execute it. Let me share a personal experience with you during my formative years in the USA, I had terrible writing skills. My writing skills were horrible, to say the least. I had “supposed mentors” who were meant to assist me in honing my writing skills, but the experience wasn’t rosy as expected. I was technically helpless, but fortunately, my networking and personal relationship skills connected me to resourceful mentors who look beyond my horrible writing skills to horn my writing skills. They were kind enough to edit my works at regular intervals. This process enabled me to learn and in turn improved my writing skills. The teachings and mistakes I made enabled me to write my first book. Mere looking back I can say, my supposed mentors wouldn’t believe I will come this far. I exceeded their expectations.
Let me share valuable tip on how to exceed expectations for business-minded people. You can exceed expectations by providing quality service to your customers. Nobody likes shady work. You can also exceed expectations with speed and accuracy. When you deliver great service to your clients, you gain not only their confidence but also their loyalty. Another way of succeeding is by connecting with your customers by applying the three communication rule: 1. Golden Rule: Treat people the way you want them to treat you; 2. Platinum Rule: Treat people the way they wish to be treated and, and 3. The double-platinum rule which literary means give people more than they deserve. Your customers can literally be loyal if you connect with them. Don’t be interested only in their money, but also let them know they are appreciated. Moral: Try to think of something memorable you can do for every customer. Also if you ever get an opportunity to do more, then do it.
Further more, you can give value by doing more than is expected or required from you. Do more than expected. You can exceed expectations in quality or service. A great customer service leaves a lasting memory. The expectations you exceed today become the seed for new opportunities in the future. This may seem to be an obvious fact, but many people fail to connect today’s actions with future opportunities.
1. Manage Expectations:
Depending on where you work, you can exceed expectations by managing your boss expectations. You must make time to understand what your boss expects when it comes to project deadlines and deliverables.
2. Keep your skills up-to-date
As technology evolves, so must professionals. Whether it is the latest version of the software or regulatory changes, “Staying abreast of the latest developments in your industry can show continuous improvement and help you become a more efficient and effective employee.”
3. Differentiate yourself
Last but not least, identify what differentiates you professionally from the rest and make it a characteristic that your boss can depend on. Making small efforts such as routinely showing up to work early each day or consistently finding new, more efficient ways to accomplish everyday tasks can help you position yourself as a valuable resource to your boss and team. While many professionals may have the qualifications to do the job, differentiating yourself and what unique elements you can bring to the table will set you apart. You want to demonstrate to your boss that you can continue to add value to the team and its goals. Ask yourself each day ‘how can I make my boss’s job easier?’ and you can begin to meet and exceed their expectations.”
I’ll end this article by sharing some inspiring secrets about Jack Ma on his entrepreneurial journey to inspire you.
1. Didn’t give up after failing many exams at school; Surprisingly, Ma’s not alone. There’s a tradition of other great minds, including Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, and Abraham Lincoln.
2. He scored 1 out of 120 points on the math portion of his college entrance exam.
3. He wasn’t deterred after being rejected from Harvard 10 times.
4. He stayed optimistic after being turned down for 30 jobs. After graduating from college, he applied to 30 different jobs and was subsequently rejected by all of them. He even applied to be a police officer, but he was rejected with three simple words: “You’re no good.”
5. He was the only interviewee (out of 24) rejected by KFC.
6. He couldn’t convince Silicon Valley to fund Alibaba: Even after he started Alibaba, he suffered multiple failures. It wasn’t profitable the first three years.
In summary, if Jack Ma can exceed expectations, you too can do succeed regardless of your setbacks. Jack Ma is a classic rags-to-riches, but even more impressive than his fabulous wealth is his uncanny level of persistence. He is proof that no series of failures despite how depressing can keep someone from achieving their dreams. What this shows us is that Ma is the paradigm of persistence. As Ma says: “If you don’t give up, you still have a chance. Giving up is the greatest failure.”
I will like to end by asking a question; what expectations would you like to exceed?
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success.
An Abuja High Court has remanded Adimike Odirachukwu Anthony, Adimike Chinyere Stephany and Comfort Ajibade in correctional custody for the killing of Adimike Godwin, who is the father of the first two suspects.
According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, FCT Command, SP Josephine Adeh, the case will come up again on September 30, 2026.
The statement, which provided details of the alleged murder and the court process, reads:
The FCT Police Command has arraigned Adimike Odirachukwu Anthony, Adimike Chinyere Stephany and Comfort Ajibade before the FCT High Court 13, in connection with the murder of Adimike Godwin, the father of two of the suspects, in Guzape area of the FCT.
The tragic incident occurred on the 15th of May, 2026, when a distress call was received at the Guzape Divisional Headquarters from a relative of the deceased reporting that he was unresponsive to attempts to reach him. Police detectives promptly responded to the scene and found him lying unconscious in his room with multiple stab wounds. He was immediately rushed to Karu General Hospital, where he was confirmed dead by medical personnel on duty.
Following a discreet and comprehensive investigation ordered by the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, PhD., FCAI, five suspects were initially arrested in connection with the case, comprising Adimike Odirachukwu Anthony, Adimike Chinyere Stephany, Comfort Ajibade, the deceased’s driver and gateman. Upon the conclusion of investigations, Adimike Odirachukwu Anthony, Adimike Chinyere Stephany and Comfort Ajibade were charged to court.
The suspects were arraigned before the FCT High Court 13 on a four-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy to commit culpable homicide, culpable homicide, and offences under the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act. Specifically, all three defendants were jointly charged with conspiracy to commit culpable homicide and culpable homicide in relation to the death of Adimike Godwin. In addition, Adimike Odirachukwu Anthony was separately charged with entering into a same-sex civil union, while Adimike Chinyere Stephany and Comfort Ajibade were jointly charged with entering into a same-sex civil union, contrary to the provisions of the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act. The Court adjourned the matter to 30th September, 2026 for further proceedings and ordered that the three defendants be remanded at the Suleja Correctional Centre pending the hearing.
The FCT Police Command assures residents of the Federal Capital Territory that it will continue to pursue justice for victims of crime while respecting the constitutional rights of all persons throughout the judicial process.
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
Freedom is humanity’s greatest triumph. But every liberation comes with a hidden bill, and true leadership is defined by how we choose to pay it.
INTRODUCTION: THE UNSEEN PRICE OF OUR GREATEST VICTORY
Freedom is the anthem of our age. From the ballot box to the boardroom to the bedroom, we celebrate the expansion of choice and autonomy. We march for it, vote for it, and sacrifice for it. We have enshrined it in constitutions, encoded it in market regulations, and elevated it as the ultimate human aspiration. Yet, as we applaud each new victory of liberation, we have failed to open the liberty ledger—the silent accounting of what we owe in return. There is a debt we pay, not in currency, but in psychological exhaustion, corporate integrity, and national cohesion. And that debt is now coming due with alarming urgency.
This is not a call to abandon freedom. It is a call to mature beyond the adolescent fantasy that liberation is a one-time event. The truth, as history and contemporary experience demonstrate, is far more sobering. Freedom is not a finish line; it is a perpetual negotiation. Every act of emancipation—whether a nation throwing off colonial rule, a corporation breaking free from regulatory oversight, or an individual shedding the constraints of tradition—sets in motion a cascade of hidden liabilities. These liabilities, if left unacknowledged, metastasize into crises that undermine the very freedom they were meant to secure. True leadership, therefore, must be redefined. It is not measured by the freedom we acquire, but by the weight we bear to preserve it for those who follow.
PART I: THE PARADOX OF PERSONAL FREEDOM – LIBERATION WITHOUT ANCHORS
For the individual, never have we possessed more freedom. We can choose our careers, our relationships, our spiritual paths, and our identities with a latitude that would have been unimaginable to previous generations. Digital platforms connect us to global communities, and economic mobility offers opportunities once reserved for the privileged few. Yet, the data tells a profoundly unsettling story. The World Health Organization reports a 25% surge in anxiety and depressive disorders over the past decade, with young adults bearing the heaviest burden. Suicide rates have climbed in nearly every region of the developed world.
What is driving this contradiction? The answer lies in the erosion of external scaffolding. For millennia, human beings derived their sense of stability, identity, and purpose from traditional structures: family, faith, community, and inherited social roles. These structures provided pre-packaged life scripts. They answered fundamental questions—”Who am I?” “What is my purpose?” “Where do I belong?”—without requiring each individual to reinvent the wheel from scratch.
Liberation dismantled these scripts. In doing so, it granted unprecedented autonomy, but it also transferred the entire burden of existential meaning-making onto the individual. This is what existential philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Viktor Frankl called the “burden of choice.” When we are free to become anything, we are also forced to become something—and that act of creation is terrifying.
The result is decision fatigue, chronic anxiety, and a gnawing sense of inadequacy. Social media amplifies this crisis by presenting a relentless parade of curated perfection, encouraging perpetual comparison and self-doubt. Ironically, freedom from prejudice and tradition has birthed new forms of self-imposed tyranny: the pressure to be perfectly curated, professionally agile, and perpetually happy. We have produced a generation that is free from external chains but enslaved to internal dissonance. This is the hidden cost of personal liberation—and it is a crisis that demands a leadership response.
True leadership in the personal sphere begins with the recognition that autonomy without emotional intelligence is a ship without a rudder. We must institutionalize emotional literacy, teach decision-theory in schools, and destigmatize therapy as a routine practice of self-maintenance. We must also revive what sociologists call “third spaces”—public libraries, community gardens, intergenerational mentorship hubs, and cultural centers—that offer belonging without coercion. These spaces serve as psychological moorings, anchoring us against the storm of radical autonomy. Mental health first aid must become as routine as physical health screenings. This is not a soft indulgence; it is a strategic investment in human capital and social stability.
PART II: THE CORPORATE LEDGER – WHEN MARKET FREEDOM BECOMES MARKET LICENSE
For corporations, freedom has historically been synonymous with market liberalization, deregulation, and shareholder primacy. The victory of corporate liberation—from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 to the global proliferation of private equity—has catalyzed extraordinary innovation. We have witnessed technological revolutions, global supply chains, and wealth creation on an unprecedented scale. Yet, the hidden cost manifests as strategic myopia and systemic ethical erosion.
When oversight is removed, corporate entities frequently conflate freedom with license. The results are not abstract theoretical concerns; they are catastrophic realities. Consider the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, which was not merely an engineering failure but a failure of leadership culture—a culture that prioritized speed and cost-cutting over safety and environmental stewardship. Consider the gig-economy revolution, which has created remarkable flexibility but also a precarious underclass of workers without benefits, job security, or collective bargaining power. Consider the 2008 subprime crisis, which was not a natural disaster but a direct consequence of financial deregulation and the reckless pursuit of short-term profits.
Beyond these operational failures lies a deeper, more insidious cost: reputational fragility. A corporation freed from government anchors must now answer to a hyper-critical public, volatile social media campaigns, and activist shareholders—all within a relentless 24-hour news cycle. The very freedom to pivot strategies, downsize workforces, or relocate headquarters has cultivated a transactional culture devoid of loyalty. Short-term quarterly earnings systematically undermine long-term sustainable value. Leadership has become synonymous with quarterly performance, and stewardship has been replaced by speculative arbitrage.
The Edelman Trust Barometer consistently confirms this crisis. Over 60% of global citizens now distrust business leaders, viewing corporate freedom not as a gift but as a euphemism for unbridled greed. This erosion of trust is not a public relations problem; it is a leadership pathology. When trust collapses, everything collapses: employee engagement, consumer loyalty, investor confidence, and regulatory goodwill. The freedom to operate, it turns out, is contingent upon the social license to operate.
True leadership in the corporate sphere requires a fundamental shift from shareholder primacy to stakeholder stewardship. Corporations must legally restructure their charters to include explicit fiduciary duties not only to shareholders, but also to employees, communities, and the biosphere. This is not philanthropy; it is risk management. Companies that embed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics into executive compensation structures reduce long-term volatility and enhance brand resilience.
Furthermore, every major strategic decision—mergers, downsizing, new market expansions—must undergo a mandatory “hidden cost impact assessment” that quantifies psychological, social, and ecological externalities. This converts abstract moral costs into concrete, mitigable financial line items. Finally, corporations must co-create governance councils with civil society representatives and local government entities. By treating operational freedom as a perishable privilege that must be continuously earned, corporate leaders can transform hidden costs into competitive advantages, securing premium talent, investor confidence, and long-term market stability. This is the new fiduciary duty of modern leadership.
PART III: THE GEOPOLITICAL LEDGER – SOVEREIGNTY AS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
For sovereign states, the ultimate victory is complete sovereignty—the freedom to chart foreign policy, manage national resources, and enforce legal frameworks without external interference. The dissolution of empires, the collapse of communist blocs, and the democratization of authoritarian regimes represent some of the most profound achievements of modern history. Yet, this victory incurs a crushing hidden cost: the absolute and unilateral responsibility for national security, economic stability, and social cohesion.
Historical evidence is instructive and sobering. Post-colonial transitions across Africa and Asia frequently produced not prosperity but civil war, ethnic conflict, and economic disintegration. Post-communist transformations in Eastern Europe witnessed the dissolution of social safety nets, the rise of oligarchic capitalism, and a generation of disillusionment. Even mature democracies, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, have experienced the “weight of victory” in the form of polarized legislatures, deteriorating public infrastructure, and fiscal insolvency. When a nation is liberated from imperial or authoritarian control, it inherits a broken bureaucracy, a fragmented civil society, and a hollowed industrial base. The liberation may be political, but the reconstruction is existential.
The most profound cost is the maintenance of legitimacy. Unlike dictatorial regimes that rule by coercion, free nations must govern through consent—a process that is inherently messy, resource-intensive, and slow. Electoral processes, judicial appeals, public consultations, and independent media consume enormous fiscal and emotional capital. Furthermore, the freedom to select alliances, trade partners, and defense strategies creates perpetual geopolitical anxiety. The nation that was once a pawn is now a player—yet every strategic move carries the risk of diplomatic isolation, economic sanctions, or military confrontation.
The ultimate tragedy is the dissolution of collective purpose. Freedom from a common enemy often fractures national unity. The United States, following the Cold War, experienced a crisis of national purpose that persists to this day. The Soviet Union’s dissolution left many post-Soviet republics in economic chaos and identity vacuums. The Arab Spring, which was celebrated globally as a democratic awakening, descended into devastating civil wars in Libya, Syria, and Yemen. Freedom, without a unifying narrative, becomes a centrifugal force that tears nations apart. Leadership, in this context, must provide not only liberty but meaning.
True leadership in the national sphere requires strategic statecraft and adaptive governance. Nations must institutionalize four interconnected pillars. First, constitutional resilience mechanisms: constitutions should incorporate “circuit breakers” for political polarization—including mandatory national dialogues, citizen assemblies, and independent fiscal councils—that intervene during periods of acute crisis. Second, national unity covenants: rather than relying on external threats for consolidation, nations must forge cross-partisan “prosperity pacts” centered on measurable, bipartisan objectives such as energy independence, universal digital access, and healthcare equity. Third, regional integration with safeguards: the singular burden of sovereignty can be shared through supranational frameworks like the European Union, ASEAN, or the African Union, but integration must be predicated upon subsidiarity—ensuring that local identities and national legislative autonomy are preserved. Fourth, national resilience funds: every liberated nation should establish a sovereign wealth fund that sequesters a fixed percentage of resource revenues specifically for systemic shocks—pandemics, climate catastrophes, cyber-attacks, and demographic collapse. These pillars transform the weight of sovereignty from a crushing burden into a sustainable framework for enduring prosperity.
PART IV: ONE LEDGER, THREE COLUMNS – THE INTERCONNECTED CRISIS
It is critical to recognize that the hidden costs for peoples, corporates, and nations are not discrete or isolated. They are dynamically interlocking. When a corporation exploits its market freedom to maximize quarterly profits, it destabilizes national labor markets, exacerbates income inequality, and intensifies individual psychological distress. When a nation asserts its sovereignty through aggressive foreign policies, it disrupts global supply chains, destabilizes corporate logistics, and propagates civilian anxiety. Conversely, when an individual exercises freedom irresponsibly—through excessive consumption or financial imprudence—it fuels corporate extraction and depletes national fiscal reserves.
This systemic entanglement means that fragmented, sector-specific solutions are inherently insufficient. A holistic resolution requires a tripartite compact—a legally and ethically binding agreement among the state, the market, and the citizenry. This compact must enshrine the foundational principle that freedom is a form of stewardship, not a conditional entitlement. Leadership, at every level, must recognize that liberty is a trust—a trust that requires careful management, transparent accounting, and unwavering commitment to the common good.
PART V: THE LIBERTY LOAD INDEX – A GLOBAL MEASURE FOR LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABILITY
Imagine a global benchmark—a Liberty Load Index—that assesses how well a nation or corporation balances freedom with resilience. This index would measure three critical variables: psychological burden (mental health prevalence, suicide rates, and life satisfaction scores); corporate accountability (ESG compliance, ethical breach records, and workforce satisfaction); and national stability (fiscal health, political polarization, and infrastructure quality).
Nations and corporations that achieve a healthy “sweet spot”—where freedom is responsibly balanced with resilience—would receive preferential access to international development financing, improved sovereign credit ratings, and expedited trade agreements. Conversely, entities exhibiting “freedom fatigue”—high liberty indices but low resilience scores—would be mandated to participate in internationally supported stewardship reconstruction programs. This is not socialism; it is prudent global risk management. It is also the hallmark of mature leadership on the world stage.
CONCLUSION: THE VICTORY OF MATURITY
The hidden cost of freedom is, at its core, the price of collective maturity. Children demand liberty without understanding its consequences; adults accept it as a package deal with obligations. For centuries, humanity has fought to liberate itself from external tyrants, monopolies, and empires. Yet, the next frontier of struggle is not against external oppressors. It is against the internal atrophy, fragmentation, and fatigue that inevitably follow liberation.
By objectively recognizing, quantitatively measuring, and systematically addressing the psychological, strategic, and geopolitical weights that accompany victory, global leaders can transform these hidden costs from silent ravagers into visible architects of sustainable progress. The solution is not to abandon freedom—such a regression would be existential folly. The solution is to carry the weight with dignity and institutional intelligence, to construct systemic support structures that distribute the burden equitably, and to instill in every citizen, executive, and statesman a profound truth: that true leadership is not merely the right to choose—it is the wisdom to choose well, with foresight, responsibility, and collective solidarity.
In doing so, humanity converts a hidden cost into a hidden strength. We transform a heavy burden into a proud badge of enduring stewardship. And we ensure that the victory of delivering freedom to peoples, corporates, and nations is not a fleeting historical euphoria, but a permanent, prosperous, and peaceful inheritance for all generations yet to come.
Dr. Tolulope A. Adegoke, AMBP-UN is a globally recognized scholar-practitioner and thought leader at the nexus of security, governance, and strategic leadership. His mission is dedicated to advancing ethical governance, strategic human capital development, resilient nation building, and global peace. He can be reached via: tolulopeadegoke01@gmail.com, globalstageimpacts@gmail.com
The Police Command in Plateau State has warned its personnel against unlawfully demanding and searching citizens’ mobile phones.
The Commissioner of Police (CP) in the State, Bassey Ewah, issued the warning while addressing its personnel in Jos.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, Alfred Alabo, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
“No personnel of this command has the legal authority to search mobile phone of any citizen on the road without a court warrant,” Alabo quoted Ewah as saying.
The PPRO said that the commissioner, who reiterated the command’s commitment to professionalism, warned personnel against unprofessional conduct.
He added that the commissioner advised residents to politely decline any unlawful attempt by personnel to search their phones and report the incident to the nearest police station.
Alabo also advised residents of the State to report any incident of harassment through the following phone numbers: 08034448617, 08060545670, 08037681026, 09016146804, and 09051145757.
The PPRO further reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting the lives, property and rights of law abiding residents in line with global best practices.
NAN
