Insights into My First 3 Months at E³ Consulting – Oti Oseji

In November 2025, I completed a micro-internship with E³ Consulting through the University of Plymouth's micro-internship scheme, led and facilitated by Lois Dyer, Employer Engagement Officer, which promotes work opportunities for current students to develop their transferable skills and apply knowledge in the workplace.  Following a rigorous application process, I successfully returned to E³ in July 2026 for a fixed-term internship as an AI, Data and Property Analyst.

My first three months have been one of the most impactful experiences of my professional life so far.  The volume and depth of information I have taken in has genuinely surprised me, and I find myself consistently processing new perspectives and learning points long after the working day and week ends.  Through out this article, I would like to share my top three learning points.

Returning to E³ Consulting has widened my perspective on the work that is carried out here.  From working as a micro-intern to supporting other micro-interns on their various projects, I now understand just how much time and effort goes into making a short placement genuinely worthwhile.  Each intern required around 20 hours of my time, dedicated mentoring, regular check-ins, constructive feedback, and targeted discussions on topics like LinkedIn use and AI terminologies.  Part of supporting them well also meant modelling the communication practices I had learned during my micro-internship, including maintaining a clear and consistent communication loop: setting clear expectations at the start, checking in regularly throughout, and closing the loop at the end of each task with constructive feedback.

Being on the other side of the table was eye-opening and surprising.  Until I was actively supporting them, I hadn't fully appreciated the intensity of focus and planning required to effectively integrate someone into the business and be set up properly on a project brief.  I was taken aback by how much thought and energy goes into making a micro-intern feel welcome and supported - it is not something you fully appreciate when you are on the receiving end of it.  This experience fundamentally changed how I think about being a buddy, mentorship, learning, development and investment, both monetarily and in terms of time.  It reinforced to me the value of time, the importance of commercial thinking, and the significance of proactive communication, which has proved invaluable to me in my first three months as an intern.

I have always understood that time is valuable, but working at E³ has demonstrated to me that managing time warrants the same approach as managing money.  Working in an environment where time is tracked, recorded and converted into monetary terms, focused my attention to adjust my thinking quickly.  I won't pretend that this wasn't a challenge at first.  I came in fairly confident with my ability to manage my workload, but I quickly realised that confidence and actual time discipline, are two very different things. Proofing articles and documents for other colleagues against a deadline showed me that every hour carries weight.  I have begun to appreciate better not only my time, but also the time of my colleagues’ a lot more, understanding the real opportunity cost, cost of inefficiency and distraction and what good and clear communication looks like.

Reading "Eat That Frog" by Brian Tracy reiterated the idea that time is a finite resource and should be treated with severe caution. I have learnt to maintain a running list of priorities in my notebook which prevents me from wasting time on less important tasks along with clarification from the team. This practice has evolved into a more structured approach: I use a whiteboard to plan my day, visually organising my priorities, and breaking down larger tasks into actionable steps as opposed to putting everything in my notebook alone. A practice that has complemented this is the Daily Task Email, something I will expand on later, which involves sending a structured email each day outlining the tasks completed, the tasks planned, time allocated to each and any points of learning. It keeps thinking organised and planning deliberate. This simple tool has been transformative as I no longer rely on my memory to stay organised.

A key part of understanding the value of time has been working with Nicky Oliver, E^3’s Client, Marketing & Operations Director and Co-founder, to vary my work between technology, HR, and research projects. By rotating across different types of tasks - rather than grinding through one project all week - I have discovered that I maintain better focus, avoid mental fatigue, and get more done with a higher quality outcome. For example, one week I was researching and comparing a suite of productivity and collaboration tools against what the business currently uses, and the next I was analysing and providing structured feedback on several internal policies. That variety has kept me engaged and minimised the kind of fatigue that comes from staying in one mode for too long.

This understanding has extended far beyond my internship. As Chair of the University of Plymouth Computer Society and Salem Campus Fellowship (a Christian society at the University of Plymouth), I manage competing priorities and multiple teams simultaneously. The whiteboard system and time discipline I have further developed at E³ have been invaluable to balancing all my responsibilities effectively. I've been able to plan society events, coordinate with team members, and maintain my academic commitments without sacrificing quality or burning out.

"The most critical resource of the business is neither the capital nor the technology - it is time.  Time, unlike capital, cannot be accumulated.  If it is not used, it is lost." - Peter Drucker, a renowned American economist and author

Understanding the true value of time has not just improved my productivity.  It has crystallised my thinking around opportunity cost – every hour spent on low value activities is an hour not spent on something that can potentially move the business productively forward.  This has made me more intentional about how and what I spend my time doing.  I waste less time switching between different tasks.  I am more mindful, deliberate and direct in my communication, and I have become quicker sometimes at realising when a task is reaching it’s diminishing returns.

Respecting time more has become a form of respecting people equally.  I'm more clear about my priorities and what deserves my complete attention, quicker to recognise diminishing returns, and more proactive and direct in how I communicate.  At E³, this understanding has helped me to write a Time Investment guide to support my colleagues weigh up the time a task takes against the value it delivers personally, for the team and for the business.  This shift in perspective sharpened everything: to what I say yes to, what I say no to, how I show up, and where my energy and concentration is focused day-to-day.

When I started Nicky said that “commerciality is about having a curious, pragmatic and searching attitude to all that you do, always seeking to understand people’s thoughts and opinions and that professional challenges include frequently asking lots of probing questions and developing insight and wider and deeper perspectives. Always looking at the facts, and making informed decisions, which are made with the best outcome in mind and ideally minimising and avoiding any negative unintended consequences. Commerciality is also about skilfully acquiring knowledge and learnings on the job by listening to those around you and also seeking out wise council by reaching out for coaching and mentoring support and actively seeking out constructive feedback.”

These words have resonated with me deeply, as previously I had only shallowly considered commerciality to be merely how a business makes money, but now I can see that it deals with every action you take, how you ask questions, how direct you are in your answers and with your material understanding. When Nicky first shared this with me, I was surprised by how broad and demanding that definition actually is. I had walked in thinking I had a reasonable grip on what it meant to think commercially. I clearly did not.

Developing a commercial antenna has also sharpened how I approach conversations and recommendations.  It has made me think more clearly and decisively about what is truly best for the business, as opposed to defaulting to diplomatic responses or trying to please everyone in the room.  When I'm asked for my perspective, I've learned to give a clear point of view backed by reasoning, rather than hedging with "it depends" or offering a middle-ground opinion that satisfies no one. This doesn't mean being blunt or insensitive; it means being honest about trade-offs, being confident in my recommendations and being able to explain why.

Commerciality means being honest about trade-offs and providing clear recommendations. For instance, when reviewing work feedback, I've learned to be direct about what's weak and strong rather than softening it with bland explanations. If someone hasn't answered the question asked or has veered off topic, I'll say so clearly instead of defending their response or finding reasons to justify it. It's not unkind - it's about clarity. And I've found that people respond far better to honest feedback and reasoned opinion than to diplomatic hedging (sitting on the fence).

Being more direct has sharpened my thinking considerably.  I know what I believe and why, which means my contributions have become more focused and useful. When I compared several LLM models on the quality of their policy feedback, the useful output was not a list of what each model did.  It was a clear view on which ones to trust for which task, and why.  Reaching that view helped me to test my own reasoning before sharing the outcome.  That discipline now carries me into meetings and written work. I spend less time covering every angle and more time on the point of focus that matters.

Proactive communication has become one of my biggest lessons I have taken from my time so far at E³ Consulting.  In the first few weeks, I realised that waiting to be asked or waiting for feedback was creating unnecessary delays and friction. That passive approach doesn't work in a commercially driven team. Staying ahead requires intentionality and regular check ins.  I now share work early rather than waiting for it to be perfect.  When I drafted the Time Investment Guidelines document, I shared the first version even though it wasn't polished, and I stuck with various updates so that everyone could see the documents progress, through to the best outcome.

These practices - checking in each morning to reconfirm priorities, calling midday with updates, sending a Daily Task Email - are built into E^3’s workflow. The Daily Task Email in particular has become something I value more than I expected. Each day, I send a structured email listing the tasks I had completed, the ones I planned to do next, my key learning points, the time I had allocated to each and an agenda update for meetings. It sounds simple, but it nurtured clarity of thought from the start, during and end of each day. It has also meant that anyone who needed to know what I was working on had that information at hand (without having to ask).

Prolific speaker and author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni said “communication is the most critical ingredient to a successful team”.  Any team willing to thrive must put communication at the centre of the work they do.  I have learnt that over-communicating is better than under communicating and where updates are shared before they're requested, less or more iterations may be needed to get a task completed to the required standard and manage my priorities within agreed deadlines.

What has struck me the most is the relationship between communication and trust. When you communicate early, clearly, and frequently, you give colleagues the information they require to carry out their tasks well and to support yourself equally effectively.  Sharing the Time Investment Guidelines early meant colleagues could shape them while changes were still easy to make.  Their feedback improved the guidelines far sooner than if I had waited to share a finished version.

Working through various articles and policies with E^3’s Data and Legal Research Analyst, Finlay Thompson-Lowe has shown me the real importance of how teamwork thrives through proactive and clear communication. Reaching out to him immediately with questions - rather than sitting with uncertainty - stopping unclear thinking before it takes root. It's a crucial practice, but it has changed everything about how I approach work and what I'm able to contribute. It has, however, taken time for me to fully adjust to being much more direct and on my front foot. That is a conscious choice I make daily, and it is not simple in practice; it is fundamentally profound.

What has struck me the most, looking back, is how much I didn't expect to learn. I came in with a degree of over-confidence and lack of preparation; however, the reality and extent of the experience I have gained has gone far beyond what I had originally anticipated. What has made it particularly rewarding is that, despite the structured manner with processes and frameworks that underpin the way E³ operates day to day, there is usually enough room to think independently, creatively, share ideas, and contribute my own perspective to the work. I believe this balance between structure and creative thinking is rare, and it has made my learning feel very meaningful and that my contribution is truly appreciated.

My first three months have taught me that development in a personal and professional environment comes from adopting a growth mindset that respects team member's time, thinking strategically about what matters, and building trust through honest and direct communication. These skills and tasks develop more once you get the fundamentals right. I'm grateful to Nicky, Alun and the wider E³ Team for showing me what this looks like in practice.

I can already feel the shift in myself: I'm making different decisions - saying no to things that don't matter, being more direct with my colleagues about what we're aiming to achieve, and checking in more consistently. In my academic work too, I'm asking more probing questions and being clearer about what I actually think rather than sitting on the fence which historically has been my natural tendency. These aren't just internship lessons anymore. They're how I'm showing up everywhere at all times.

Going forward, I am going to keep sharpening these imperative skills and help others understand them also.