Artist and author Fortune Ileleji has examined why talented individuals, promising organisations and relationships often fail despite having the ingredients for success in his new book, The Law of Cohesion.
The book explores how the relationships between different elements can determine whether they work together towards a common goal or undermine one another.
Drawing on observations from human relationships, business, creative pursuits and everyday life, Ileleji argues that having the right people, ideas or resources does not automatically guarantee success if the different parts fail to work in harmony.
His argument raises questions relevant to Nigeria and Africa, where individual talent, ambition and resources do not always translate into collective progress.
According to Ileleji, the idea behind the book emerged from questions about why talented people struggle to build successful organisations, why relationships between people who love one another become dysfunctional, and why intelligent, ambitious and hardworking individuals sometimes fail to achieve their goals.
These questions led him to examine the connections between different parts of a system and how their interactions shape the outcome.
‘I became interested in the relationships between the parts. We tend to examine things individually, but a good part does not automatically produce a good whole,’ he said.
In The Law of Cohesion, Ileleji explores what enables different elements to complement one another rather than work at cross-purposes, arguing that the strength of a whole depends not only on the quality of its individual components but also on how they relate to one another.
The book reflects his broader interest in making complex realities easier to understand by identifying connections that are not always immediately apparent.
Rather than examining individual elements in isolation, he focuses on how they interact, what they reinforce or contradict, and the wider consequences of those relationships.
He said the same approach informs his work across painting, writing and his observations of business and everyday situations.
‘Sometimes the problem is not hidden at all. Every piece of information is already there. What is missing is the relationship between the pieces. Once that relationship becomes visible, something that seemed complicated can suddenly become obvious,’ he said.
Beyond organisations and human relationships, Ileleji extends the idea of cohesion to personal decisions, ambitions and long-term goals.
He argues that people can make seemingly sensible choices in different areas of their lives without recognising that those decisions may collectively lead them in a direction they never intended.
‘You can make sensible decisions about your career, relationships, ambitions, money, health and time, yet discover that together they are constructing a life you never consciously chose,’ he said.
He hopes the book will encourage readers to examine whether their decisions, priorities and pursuits complement one another or pull them in conflicting directions.
‘The Law of Cohesion gives you a way to see those relationships and ask whether the different parts of your life are actually strengthening the whole,’ he added.
Ileleji’s interest in creative expression began in childhood, when he watched his father sketch with a pen. He recalls being fascinated by how an image could emerge from a blank surface, turning an idea into something tangible.
Although he does not consider the experience the sole explanation for his artistic development, he regards it as an early introduction to the possibility of giving physical form to something internal.
The Law of Cohesion is available worldwide in print and digital editions through major book retailers.