Nigeria-born author and cybersecurity leader Ismail Sogbade has decried the challenges facing young people in building careers, overcoming business bottlenecks, and navigating workplace issues. He made the remarks during the launch of his book titled “The Set-Piece Strategy,” which aims to address career uncertainty, business growth challenges, and workplace problems confronting young professionals and entrepreneurs across Nigeria and Africa.
Challenges Facing Young Graduates and Entrepreneurs
Sogbade lamented that many graduates and aspiring entrepreneurs enter the market yearly without clear direction. They often move between industries, jobs, and business ideas without a defined strategy that aligns their skills with market opportunities. Drawing inspiration from football tactics, he argues that success in career and business is rarely accidental. Preparation, positioning, and timing are critical to achieving long-term results.
Practical Framework for Career Development
The book offers a practical framework for navigating career development, entrepreneurship, and personal growth amid rising unemployment, workplace toxicity, and widening skill gaps in the labor market. According to the author, the publication was inspired by growing concerns over the confusion many young people face while trying to build meaningful careers and sustainable businesses in a rapidly changing economy.
Key Issues Highlighted in the Book
- Unemployment and Underemployment: Despite increasing levels of education and qualifications, many young people struggle to find suitable jobs.
- Workplace Toxicity: A growing concern that forces talented individuals out of organizations and industries, limiting long-term career growth and productivity.
- Skill Gaps: The widening gap between employer expectations and the skills possessed by job seekers and startup founders leaves positions unfilled while businesses struggle to deliver value.
- Entrepreneurial Difficulties: Many entrepreneurs face challenges moving from ideas to sustainable enterprises capable of attracting customers, retaining talent, and scaling operations.
Actionable Steps for Success
“The Set-Piece Strategy” provides readers with actionable steps for career development, strategic networking, cold pitching, and building businesses that create lasting value. Speaking on the motivation behind the book, Sogbade said: “For too long I have watched brilliant young people in Nigeria and across Africa get stuck between confusion and missed chances. The problem is not always talent. It is preparation. I wrote The Set-Piece Strategy because I wanted to give people a clear way to prepare before the opportunity comes, whether they are applying for a job or building a business from scratch. When you prepare well, a single moment can change the entire direction of your life and work.”
Combining Lessons from Experience
The book combines lessons from career coaching, human resource practice, business development, and real-life case studies to help readers identify transferable skills, validate business ideas, and position themselves for opportunities aligned with market demand. Sogbade, who has over a decade of experience in technology, business management, and coaching entry-level professionals and startup founders, said the goal of the book is to equip a generation with tools to create opportunities and build careers and businesses intentionally.
The book is currently available on Amazon.
