They say one should enjoy the little things in life. Savoring breakfast for me is one of those joys. It is one that of late I rarely get to do.
The nature of my locked-in life with projects covering many time zones and continents is that my meals tend to be hurried affairs during the workweek. To talk to Ghana, I often am in discussions from 5 to 7 am which is 11 to 1 PM in Ghana and then I need to be ready for my normal workday here. Then I bring in the wonderful volunteer effort of #3 in Amsterdam and that covers the lunch hours 12 to 2 (8 to 10 PM in Amsterdam).
Last Saturday while I had work to do, there was nothing pressing. Wife was sleeping late. So I decided I was going to indulge myself with a SLOW breakfast.
Now there is nothing special about the food I prepared. It is one of my regular breakfasts - fruit, cheese, smoked salmon, olives, bread, butter, coffee. But I made each mouthful linger, savoring the flavor. Slowly I make the rounds through the components, enjoying the quiet of our eating room with its wide sliding doors open so I can take in the smells of our garden.
It takes me an entire hour to eat breakfast...the same plate that I sometimes eat in 15 minutes during my normal workweek. It is total bliss.
Monday, June 29, 2020
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Growing Like Weeds
The last 30 days have been a rather fantastic time for my small cadre of apprentices, the women of the Theodora Ghana project. As I think I mentioned that the economic circumstances imposed by the pandemic caused us to fast track our Theodora Ghana ladies into initial test clients much faster than we would have preferred.
This was mostly a great leap of faith. I have never done anything like this. The women certainly haven't. And in reality, most of the clients we've started test working with haven't either. Add three components with that much inexperience together and you would suspect a recipe for disaster. Instead what has happened is this incredible incubator for growth.
One of our significant concerns starting Theodora was whether women who were used to the rough and tumble world of sex trade where all parties are totally on their guard to not be taken advantage of could adjust to a standard work environment. And not just any work environment but one that was dictated by the culture they were selling into, the United States whose work culture is very different from Ghana's.
Well, it turns out we need not have worried. The women are lapping up this opportunity with thirst and enthusiasm that is mind-boggling. I won't go into each and every test I am throwing at them, but the rate of personal growth is impressive. Not just their understanding of the specific tasks I am teaching them but their understanding of broader business concepts.
I am putting teeth into our promise that this will become their business one day by bringing them into some of the most fundamental decisions we need to make to get ourselves started up. Just the last two days, we were forced to let go of one of our original six due to a lack of performance. Watching the others go through the analysis, come to the same conclusion, yet want to work out a plan for their cohort to have a second chance was impressive. Especially when you consider I told them they would have to do the work to support her comeback.
It has only been three months since we started. I can only imagine where they are going to be after a year.
This was mostly a great leap of faith. I have never done anything like this. The women certainly haven't. And in reality, most of the clients we've started test working with haven't either. Add three components with that much inexperience together and you would suspect a recipe for disaster. Instead what has happened is this incredible incubator for growth.
One of our significant concerns starting Theodora was whether women who were used to the rough and tumble world of sex trade where all parties are totally on their guard to not be taken advantage of could adjust to a standard work environment. And not just any work environment but one that was dictated by the culture they were selling into, the United States whose work culture is very different from Ghana's.
Well, it turns out we need not have worried. The women are lapping up this opportunity with thirst and enthusiasm that is mind-boggling. I won't go into each and every test I am throwing at them, but the rate of personal growth is impressive. Not just their understanding of the specific tasks I am teaching them but their understanding of broader business concepts.
I am putting teeth into our promise that this will become their business one day by bringing them into some of the most fundamental decisions we need to make to get ourselves started up. Just the last two days, we were forced to let go of one of our original six due to a lack of performance. Watching the others go through the analysis, come to the same conclusion, yet want to work out a plan for their cohort to have a second chance was impressive. Especially when you consider I told them they would have to do the work to support her comeback.
It has only been three months since we started. I can only imagine where they are going to be after a year.
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Melancholy
One odd blessing that blew in as a result of the pandemic was the arrival of daughter #2 and her family.
You may remember that she has been working in the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine. As the pandemic worsened, the State Department advised employees with families to return to the States and began chartering flights to bring them back. This was terribly unsettling for the families having to leave as they were leaving all their belongings behind with no idea of when they were to return. Then you had to figure out where in the U.S. you were going to go. #2 & 2B because of various factors had decided to stay in Ukraine despite the risk...until suddenly they changed their mind and caught one of the last flights out. And they decided to come to Albuquerque where at least there was some support from Wife and me.
So we have had a lovely three-month period with one of our daughters and family right here. Knowing this would only be a short interlude, we got together on weekends, we initiated regular weekly dinners with the four adults. We had alone time with the various grandchildren. 2B (who enjoys and appreciates good wine) and I shared many a good bottle from my inventory. We did lots of cooking. Wife was reading to 2.4 who is 5-years old over Zoom daily. We did the weekend intervention trip to Durango.
But it is coming to an end. They leave early tomorrow morning for Washington, D.C. #2 has to ship out to her next post in Erbil, Iraq at the end of July. The rest of the family hopes to get back to the Ukraine. We got together every day this week to take full advantage of this last week.
We love that our children are so strong and have taken themselves to where they feel their career and heart belong even if that is far from us. But when one of these very infrequent interludes come up where we have a child and family in a situation where we are like we are living in the same area, we recognize what is missed having your family far away.
You may remember that she has been working in the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine. As the pandemic worsened, the State Department advised employees with families to return to the States and began chartering flights to bring them back. This was terribly unsettling for the families having to leave as they were leaving all their belongings behind with no idea of when they were to return. Then you had to figure out where in the U.S. you were going to go. #2 & 2B because of various factors had decided to stay in Ukraine despite the risk...until suddenly they changed their mind and caught one of the last flights out. And they decided to come to Albuquerque where at least there was some support from Wife and me.
So we have had a lovely three-month period with one of our daughters and family right here. Knowing this would only be a short interlude, we got together on weekends, we initiated regular weekly dinners with the four adults. We had alone time with the various grandchildren. 2B (who enjoys and appreciates good wine) and I shared many a good bottle from my inventory. We did lots of cooking. Wife was reading to 2.4 who is 5-years old over Zoom daily. We did the weekend intervention trip to Durango.
But it is coming to an end. They leave early tomorrow morning for Washington, D.C. #2 has to ship out to her next post in Erbil, Iraq at the end of July. The rest of the family hopes to get back to the Ukraine. We got together every day this week to take full advantage of this last week.
We love that our children are so strong and have taken themselves to where they feel their career and heart belong even if that is far from us. But when one of these very infrequent interludes come up where we have a child and family in a situation where we are like we are living in the same area, we recognize what is missed having your family far away.
Sunday, June 14, 2020
My Transitioned Life - Another COVID-19 Casualty
Despite the fact that things have opened up a bit here in Albuquerque, no one in my circle of business contacts seems particularly in any hurry to actually meet. And with the states around us having opened up faster and now seeing fast rises in cases, the overall feeling is not positive.
But mostly for me, I have been down because I am realizing that travel just isn't going to happen again anytime soon. There are countries that have opened up. But Wife's passport is lost. We think it is in the Ghanaian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Has been since the closures started in March. We haven't been able to reach anyone and get any kind of confirmation.
The combination of no getting out for business and no travel for either business or pleasure has taken away the primary focus of my post-fulltime work life. So I have thrown myself into work projects like JumpStart and Theodora with a result that I'm pretty much working fulltime again.
I know it was my choice to do those projects so please don't lecture me about that. Both are things that are doing a lot of good. But if I was traveling, I would be balancing them even if I was doing the work.
But mostly for me, I have been down because I am realizing that travel just isn't going to happen again anytime soon. There are countries that have opened up. But Wife's passport is lost. We think it is in the Ghanaian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Has been since the closures started in March. We haven't been able to reach anyone and get any kind of confirmation.
The combination of no getting out for business and no travel for either business or pleasure has taken away the primary focus of my post-fulltime work life. So I have thrown myself into work projects like JumpStart and Theodora with a result that I'm pretty much working fulltime again.
I know it was my choice to do those projects so please don't lecture me about that. Both are things that are doing a lot of good. But if I was traveling, I would be balancing them even if I was doing the work.
Sunday, June 7, 2020
If You Don't Ask...
...You will never know. Or so goes the common saying in many different forms. "You miss all the shots you don't take," etc. We will come back to that.
It has been almost three months now since we went through our coronavirus crisis save of the Theodora Project. Over that time, we have gone from a chaotic week trying to get our virtual classes started to the trial by fire of the JumpStart work. Everything from transferring money to figuring out communications having to be discovered. Our ladies adjusting overnight to the demands of American values of being on time, handing in assignments when scheduled, responding to client requirements.
It has been remarkable to watch these young women, for whom fate had seemed to throw nothing but hardship and obstacles, grab this opportunity. We had worried whether they were going to be stuck in a lifestyle and behavior patterns that would undermine their ability to take advantage of this. That has proven to hardly be the case. In all my years of coaching and mentoring young people and adults, I have never worked with individuals who are so hungry to learn, so focused on being successful.
They work long hours. They ask lots of questions. They listen intently. They are not perfect. They have their bad days. They can get frustrated because there is so much new (especially dealing with American business life) to absorb. They will sometimes complain that their heads hurt trying to deal with it all. Or will be exhausted from the mental effort. But my word how inspiring and motivating it is to work with them.
Now I will get to what I started with. Out of our JumpStart experience, we've been able to start six small paying proof-of-concept clients. With each of these, there are business concepts that are fairly sophisticated. All along the way, including with the JumpStart project, I made a semi-conscious decision that I would not assume they did not know or could not understand a business concept. I always start by talking as if they would understand what I meant. Most of the time, they won't admit they don't know. But when their faces clearly show they don't, I ask them if they understand. Of course, it is admitted they don't. I then explain it. And work very hard to explain it in terms and with examples they can relate to.
To my surprise, they have shown they can grasp a lot of these principles. So we are aiming to do certain types of work that I would not have thought possible when we started. This is offset by other skills they are weak in, such as writing and the use of various standard business software applications.
But, if we can continue to get the funding we need, which buys us the time to train, I have no doubt that we are going to be successful with this project.
It has been almost three months now since we went through our coronavirus crisis save of the Theodora Project. Over that time, we have gone from a chaotic week trying to get our virtual classes started to the trial by fire of the JumpStart work. Everything from transferring money to figuring out communications having to be discovered. Our ladies adjusting overnight to the demands of American values of being on time, handing in assignments when scheduled, responding to client requirements.
It has been remarkable to watch these young women, for whom fate had seemed to throw nothing but hardship and obstacles, grab this opportunity. We had worried whether they were going to be stuck in a lifestyle and behavior patterns that would undermine their ability to take advantage of this. That has proven to hardly be the case. In all my years of coaching and mentoring young people and adults, I have never worked with individuals who are so hungry to learn, so focused on being successful.
They work long hours. They ask lots of questions. They listen intently. They are not perfect. They have their bad days. They can get frustrated because there is so much new (especially dealing with American business life) to absorb. They will sometimes complain that their heads hurt trying to deal with it all. Or will be exhausted from the mental effort. But my word how inspiring and motivating it is to work with them.
Now I will get to what I started with. Out of our JumpStart experience, we've been able to start six small paying proof-of-concept clients. With each of these, there are business concepts that are fairly sophisticated. All along the way, including with the JumpStart project, I made a semi-conscious decision that I would not assume they did not know or could not understand a business concept. I always start by talking as if they would understand what I meant. Most of the time, they won't admit they don't know. But when their faces clearly show they don't, I ask them if they understand. Of course, it is admitted they don't. I then explain it. And work very hard to explain it in terms and with examples they can relate to.
To my surprise, they have shown they can grasp a lot of these principles. So we are aiming to do certain types of work that I would not have thought possible when we started. This is offset by other skills they are weak in, such as writing and the use of various standard business software applications.
But, if we can continue to get the funding we need, which buys us the time to train, I have no doubt that we are going to be successful with this project.
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