Mrs Mavi Isibor is the Chief Excecutive Officer/Programme Director of Poise Nigeria Limited, the premier personality and image consultancy in Nigeria. In this interview, Modupe George, she speaks on the need for total personality development and refinement in corporate organisations,  how she came about teaching people etiquette and why every woman needs to work. Excerpts:

WHAT is Poise Graduate Finishing School all about?
At Poise Nigeria Limited, we are into personality development and we create class and brand people.  We work on impression management of people and on refinement of individual, especially corporate Nigerians. We hope that someday, we will be able to impart in so many Nigerians,  so that they can start to change the general culture or behaviour in Nigeria; especially, the culture of being harsh and aggressive.   We want to bring a modicum of refinement and decorum back into the society and we think that we could start  with corporate Nigerians. Once we are able to reach corporate Nigerians we hope this will trickle down.

What brought about the idea?
What led to this was that  I wasn’t always happy  with the way Nigerians behave generally. I used to work in a university , and  I later moved to the banking industry, but the story is the same when it comes to people’s bahaviour. It does not matter whether they were university undergraduates or corporate individuals.  They all behaved the same way;  in a very loud, uncouth and untoward manner. It became worrisome to me and I thought I should  be able to do something about this. I began to wonder why is it that the average expatriate or white man anywhere, even if not schooled, or  exposed, still behaves in a refined manner. He is able to interface and interact with people. Even when he doesn’t like something, he doesn’t show it in such a brash manner to make you feel as if you are still somewhere in the dark  age. I think there is a way  we can manage our behaviour. It is obvious that we cannot continue to do things the way we used to anymore, because the world is shrinking and people are flowing into other people’s domain. We cannot afford to say nobody will see this, nobody will hear that, it is all over and that is the reason why the former Minister of Information, Professor Dora Akunyili had to canvass for the  rebranding of Nigeria.  But I think that rebranding needs to start with rebranding the individual first.  If you can rebrand Nigerians then you can rebrand Nigeria.

How did you turn this idea into business?
Initially, I did a lot of work with the staffers of the bank through the training school, but then there are people that I will call ”Vision drivers”, and they are around you. Particularly, two of them, at two separate times approached me and asked me what I was still doing in the banking industry?  They said, “why don’t you go and do something with the idea that you have?”.  It took me a lot of time and calculations on  how I was going to manage the school fees among other  issues, but at the end of the day, it is something that I derive a lot of satisfaction and pleasure from. I  thank God for the support of my husband.

Why did you totally opt for a private business only when you had the chance of earning fat salary in the bank?
I must let you know that the sacrifice is actually worth it . The truth is,  anything you put your mind to do and  want to do well and excel in it , you cannot afford to do other things alongside. You must focus on what you want to do. Moreso, I did not see myself managing a bank job and a business. The business will never have gotten off  the ground. Even if it did,  a lot of things  would have gone wrong that could have affected the reputation or the purpose of the business.  I saw myself doing the work as having a calling and I need to answer it fully and not partially.

Does your background have anything to do with what you are doing now?
Very well. I had a mother who was very fussy and particular about the way you comport yourself. You hear her say things like “sit up straight, don’t slouch, hold your back up, don’t cave-in, don’t leave your tummy hanging out, hold-in your tummy,  sit like a lady, close your laps, laugh like a lady, don’t laugh like a prostitute” and all sorts. She was that particular. I also had a dad who believed in speaking very good English. He used to say that, if you have to speak English at all, you must speak the Queen’s English, if not, continue speaking vernacular. He insisted on us speaking very good English. Instead of saying;  “Can I follow you?”he taught us to say, “Can I go with you? “ I had all of that in the making, and then, I went to a secondary school, where the principal was a lady and she insisted on all the girls being their best. That also was like setting a path for me to follow . After 21 years of working, it became obvious that this is where I’m going to end up. I later went to the Protocol School of Washington to garner more knowledge.

So what other things do you teach alongside etiquette?
Poise is all about grooming the total personality. That is why we have a programme called, “Total Personality Development”, which is the total finishing of the individual. We don’t look at the social, business, table, telephone and travel etiquette,  but also  dress sense and comportment. We do grammar, pronunciation and writing for a lot of people who have issues with them. Besides, we work with young graduates. We take them from schools that are of good standard, but lack employability and relationship skills. These are what they don’t teach them at the universities, but they are what employers are looking for. We take graduates with good degrees and we groom them for three months in everything; by equiping them with different skills such as team-spirit, relationship, initiatives, good judgement and interview skills. We have organisations who take them in very quickly and  employ them as full-time staff.

Who are actually your clients ?
Our clients are corporate organisations that want to improve on the quality of their staff. The truth of the matter is that the staffer of an organisation is a brand of that organisation. It is not the facade, imposing building or monument, technology nor the  interior decorations of the organisation. It is the people that brand an organisation. Now, organisations are beginning to realise that the reputatioin of their staff is tied to their profit , which is the bottomline. If you have a refined and well comported staff, he or she is not likely to be rude or neglect your customers.  He or she is not likely to reduce the quality of your organisation with his or her bad habits such as wearing things that are not corporate looking or that are down-grading. We have organisations that are supposed to send some of their staffs for cross-posting yet , the staff are not able to cope when they go for such cross-postings, they disgrace their organisations and the countries they represent. The world is becoming smaller; your business is becoming everybody’s business, and everybody’s business is your business.

What are the challenges  of refining people?
One major challenge that we used to face, which I think we’ve broken through was that some organisations did not understand the correlation between the bottomline, behaviour and etiquette of their staff. I used to wonder why such people did not see that this would affect the bottomline tremendously. Another challenge we used to have was about people saying;“ What you don’t know cannot kill you, after all, everybody  will know that I don’t know it.”  There are two types of classes, there is the first class and there is no class. There is no in-between. You don’t know what that “no class” that you are has  cost you, because you don’t even know that those opportunities existed in the first place and that you’ve been passed over. However, people who are first class and know that they are, are sought after. They don’t look for jobs, jobs look for them, because they have both quality and quantity. Another challenge we’ve had and we are still having is that the society as a whole in Nigeria does not support refined behaviour. Is it about driving on the street? Everybody is rushing and  struggling; nobody is giving room to anyone. There is no consideration for anyone else; it is I, me, and myself.

Is the programme meant for only adults? 
No. Once a year, we have a package that is called, “Teens Making A Difference” for teenagers and “Teen  Poise”.This year, we have ran it thrice during the summer holidays. We don’t stop at teens, we also have primary and secondary schools that invite us to talk to their teachers and students.

Can you introduce your husband?
I have the best husband in the world. He is very supportive; if he had not given me the encouragement and push, I wouldn’t have been where I am today. I would have still remained  with my HND, because I only had HND and he was the one who said; “go back to school, HND is nothing”. He encouraged me to go back to school and today I have an MBA, PGDM and other qualifications. That is why I’m always careful  to remember that I could not have done all of these without him.  What if he had not encouraged me and told me that  I could do it . If he had been the type of man who suppresses his wife, I don’t think I would have done what I’m doing today.

Your children also?
I have six children, and they are doing very well. I’m also a grandmother.

What is the secret of your good looks?
Well, a good home and good husband. I don’t want to sound like every other Nigerian, because every Nigerian will say it is God. But I will say if you have a good relationship with your God, you can put your head on the pillow and sleep well.

How do you relax?
I like watching television and I enjoy my own company. When I’m alone, I don’t feel like I’m missing out  in  anything. I love reading novels  and I do a lot of research. I also enjoy watching detective movies.

What is fashion to you?
To me, fashion is, whatever I wear must be fitting and appropriate. It must be smart and look good on me. I don’t know what is reigning and what is not.

A word for the womenfolk?
Every  woman must have something she is doing. You must have your own money ,even if it is N10,000 you are making every month, it is your own money. Having your own money will improve your self-esteem and give you  focus in life. You will have a purpose and what you are working towards. When you wake up in the morning there is a purpose to your day; this makes you feel more fulfilled as a woman. You are not thinking of irrelevant things or fighting every battle. You can afford to over look certain things and turn your back on them because you are too busy doing other things.