Baale Makes A Case For Building World-class Nigerian Corporate Culture
Prof. Lere Baale, CEO, Business School Netherlands International has made a case for Nigerian organisations to intentionally build cultures around five pillars of responsiveness, respect, reliability, responsibility and relationships if they really want to compete globally.
A distinguished global pracademic, scholar-practitioner and transformational leader with over 40 years of cross-sector experience spanning healthcare, telecommunications, education, corporate strategy and public policy, Prof. Baale in his presentation as a Guest Speaker at the WorldStage Business Forum Q2 2026 and Public Presentation of the WorldStage Nigeria Economic Report Q1 2026 on June 30, 2026, said leading organisations in Europe, North America, Asia, or emerging economies have been consistently investing in culture, a pattern that Nigeria cannot ignore.
Dissecting the theme of the talk, “Nigeria’s Corporate Culture and Global Standard”, Prof Laabe addressed the topic from four parts – Corporate Culture and Why it matters; Customer Experience Is the New Competitive Advantage & The Human Side of Business; Building a World-Class Nigerian Corporate Culture & The Nigerian Opportunity ; and A New Corporate Social Contract.
His invitation by WorldStage to deliver the business lecture specifically asked him to address what could be regarded as “Corporate Terrorism” where big corporate organisations now disregard the least reasonable courtesy at relating to the public and small businesses, regarding things like responding to correspondences- physically or electronically, returning phone calls, non-granting of interviews by MDs except to foreign media among others.
Commending WorldStage for consistently providing a platform for meaningful national conversations on business, governance, leadership, and economic development, Prof Laabe said, “While the phrase “Corporate Terrorism” may be provocative, the concern is real.”
He explained that many people had experienced situations where emails to these big ornisations remain unanswered for months, telephone calls are ignored, customer complaints disappear into a black hole, business proposals receive no acknowledgement, media inquiries are treated with disdain, senior executives become inaccessible, meetings are postponed indefinitely, stakeholders are treated as inconveniences rather than partners.
“The irony is that many of these organisations were once small businesses themselves,” he pondered
He therefore offered to approach the theme that indicted Nigeria’s culture as an honest conversation, not merely about profits, not merely about growth, not merely about economic indicators, but about something that ultimately determines whether organisations survive, thrive, or decline.
According to him, “culture is what people experience when they interact with an organisation; Culture is how decisions are made; Culture is how customers are treated; Culture is how employees are valued. Culture is how leaders behave when nobody is watching; Culture is the invisible force that ultimately becomes visible in performance.”
He went ahead to point out the danger of bad culture common to many Nigeria’s big organisations, saying, the truth is simple, as an organisation can only fake a strategy for a while, but it can never fake culture for long.
He argued that we live in a world where reputation travels faster than products, where a single customer experience can reach millions of people within minutes.
For instance he said, a delayed response, an ignored email, an unanswered complaint, a disrespectful interaction, a broken promise among others have the power to influence public perception instantly.
“The era when organisations could hide behind size, market dominance, bureaucracy, or regulatory protection is over,” he said.
“We are now operating in an age of transparency, accountability, and stakeholder scrutiny. The organisations that will win in the future are not necessarily the biggest. They are the most trusted.”
On the emerging challenge of corporate arrogance, he pointed out that many organisations that exhibit pride had benefited from relationships, responsiveness and trust before success arrived.
“And somewhere along the journey, humility departed. The greatest danger of corporate success is not failure. It is arrogance,” he said.
He agreed that there are global standards to corporate culture, but many organisations tend to misunderstand them.
According to him, global standards are not expensive buildings, they are not imported furniture, they are not sophisticated websites, they are not foreign accents, they are not international awards, but they “are fundamentally about behaviour.”
“Global standards begin with professional discipline.
“Global standards are not about geography.
“They are about mindset.”
He listed certain characteristics that the world’s most respected organisations shared to include, they respond, they communicate, they respect people, they keep promises, they listen, they are accountable, they are transparent, they solve problems, they create value.
He therefore asked, “If a multinational organisation can acknowledge an email within hours, why should a local organisation take months? If world-class institutions can respond professionally to inquiries, why should Nigerian organisations consider responsiveness optional?”
Talking about trust deficit in Corporate Nigeria, he observed that one of the greatest challenges facing many organisations today is declining trust.
Regarding trust as the currency of sustainable business, he said without trust customers would leave, employees would disengage, investors would hesitate, partners could withdraw while reputations will suffer.
“Trust is earned through consistency. It is built through integrity. It is strengthened through transparency. And it is maintained through responsiveness,” he said.
“Every ignored stakeholder interaction is a withdrawal from the trust account.Every fulfilled commitment is a deposit.
“The future belongs to organisations that understand that trust is not a public relations exercise. It is a leadership responsibility.”
For the big organisations that care to re-examine themselves, Prof Baale said customer experience is the new competitive advantage rather than corporate arrogance.
Whereas there was a time when organisations competed primarily on products, on price and on quality, he said, “today, they increasingly compete on experience.”
While customers remember how they were treated, he said, suppliers remember how they were respected, employees remember how they were valued, communities remember how they were engaged.
“The most successful organisations understand a simple principle that people may forget what you said, they may forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel,” he said.
“Customer experience is no longer a department, it is a culture.”
Looking at the leadership dimension of corporate culture, he argued that corporate culture does not emerge accidentally, but it is created intentionally as culture flows from leadership.
He said, “Employees rarely behave differently from what leaders tolerate. If leaders ignore stakeholders, employees will ignore stakeholders. If leaders are inaccessible, employees will become inaccessible. If leaders demonstrate humility, professionalism, and responsiveness, employees are likely to do the same.
“Culture is not what is written on office walls. Culture is what leaders repeatedly model.
“The strongest organisations build cultures where respect is normal, professionalism is expected, learning is encouraged, innovation is rewarded, accountability is embraced, and excellence becomes habitual.”
On the human side of business, he warned that one of the dangers of modern corporate life is the tendency to forget that businesses exist to serve people, saying, “Global standards require us to combine efficiency with empathy.”
He said, “Behind every email is a human being, behind every complaint is a human being, behind every application is a human being, behind every supplier is a family depending on that business relationship, behind every stakeholder interaction is a relationship that deserves dignity.”
For corporate organsations not to lose humanity to technology, he said, technology should improve responsiveness, it should not eliminate humanity; automation should improve efficiency, it should not replace courtesy.
He shared story of a Level One Manager at Pfizer where he earlier worked, who became so terribly sick, requiring dialysis to live.
He said the company responded by sending him abroad for dialysis. He was there for about six years.
At a time when he was missing his family and home, he said the family was flown abroad to stay with him on the account of the company.
At a point when he needed to come back home, he said two dialysis machines were bought for him by the company to continue treatment in Nigeria. He was not allowed to share the machines with anyone to avoid been infected with HIV as it was rampant then.
For intensive care, the company employed personal home maids to care for him.
Baale said that experience at Pfizer made him to change his plan from working for the company for only five years to 25 years.
He argued that a good corporate culture will have a positive impact on the employees and this will also rub off on every stakeholder and the prosperity of the organisation.
On steps to build a World-Class Nigerian Corporate Culture, he said organisations must intentionally build cultures around five pillars of responsiveness, respect, reliability, responsibility, and relationships.
“ Every stakeholder deserves acknowledgement, not every request requires approval, but every request deserves a response,” he said.
“People should never have to fight for basic courtesy, respect must become non-negotiable.
“Promises made must become promises kept, execution remains the ultimate test of professionalism.
“Leaders must own outcomes, excuses do not build trust, accountability does.
“Sustainable success is built on relationships, not transactions. The strongest brands are those that consistently nurture stakeholder trust.”
Sharing lessons from Global Best Practices, he said whether it was a case of examining leading organisations in Europe, North America, Asia, or emerging economies, the patterns that consistently emerge include, they invest in culture, they train their people, they measure customer satisfaction, they encourage feedback, they embrace transparency, they continuously improve, most importantly, they understand that every stakeholder interaction contributes to organisational reputation.
“The future belongs to organisations that learn faster, adapt faster, and serve better,” he said.
Despite our challenges he highlighted, he still expressed his optimism about Nigeria, saying, “I have worked across multiple sectors, industries, and countries, I have seen extraordinary Nigerian talent, I have witnessed remarkable entrepreneurial resilience, I have encountered exceptional leaders, I have observed organisations that are already operating at world-class levels. The issue is not capability. The issue is consistency. The issue is scale. The issue is culture.”
He said Nigeria possesses all the ingredients required to build globally competitive organisations and what is needed is a collective commitment to excellence.
A new corporate social contract he envisaged for Nigeria is a commitment that customers will be respected, employees will be valued, suppliers will be treated fairly, communities will be engaged responsibly, media professionals will be treated as partners, stakeholders will not be ignored, trust will be protected, and professionalism will be elevated.
“This is not merely good ethics. It is good business,” he said.
On the way forward, he said, “as we look towards the future, we must remember that greatness is not measured by market share alone. It is measured by impact. It is measured by trust. It is measured by reputation.
It is measured by the quality of relationships an organisation builds and sustains.
“The organisations that will define the future of Nigeria will not simply be those with the largest balance sheets. They will be those with the strongest cultures. They will be organisations that understand that responsiveness is respect. That professionalism is power. That trust is capital. That culture is strategy. And that global standards begin with everyday behaviour.
“Let us therefore commit ourselves to building organisations that are not only profitable but respected. Not only successful but trusted. Not only large but admired. Not only Nigerian in origin but global in standard. Because when Nigerian organisations embrace world-class corporate culture, they will not merely compete globally. They will lead globally.”
Mr Segun Adeleye, President/CEO, World Stage Limited in his opening remark at the Business Forum said the Guest Speaker, Prof Baale and the panelists should be able to do justice to the theme Nigeria’s Corporate Culture and Global Standard.
He said Nigerians would like to know whether there is anything like global standard in the corporate world or it’s a jungle for the survival of the fittest.
“Maybe if we discuss this, some of the big organisations that are guilty may have a rethink,” he said.
“We all operate in a corporate culture that translates to the economy we have today. Most parts of this culture, either good or bad are inherited and have been modified over the years. But one would expect that there will be a minimum standard of how businesses should relate with each other.
He made refrence to the Vice President, Kashim Shettima who few days earlier said at a public function that the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) account for 90% of businesses, 60 million jobs in Nigeria.
“But if we take a critical look, we will find out that these small businesses are at the receiving end of oppressive corporate culture. The big businesses of today hardly remember that they once started small,” he said.
“What we have now can be regarded as “Corporate Terrorism” or “Corporate Oppression” where big corporate organisations disregard the least reasonable courtesy at relating to the public and small businesses, as regards things like responding to correspondences- physically or electronically, returning phone calls. In the media space, you can hardly see chief executives of blue chip companies granting interviews, except to foreign media.”
The business forum attracted top corporate officials and media executives including the Chief Emeka Obegolu, President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI); Hon. Mosopefoluwa George, Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget who was represented by Mr Olufemi Orojimi, Director Budget.
