Shout out to My Scrapbooking Sister

"Shout out" -- that's what they say these days, right? -- to Kelly.

She's a scrapbooker.

She does other stuff, too, but let's focus on the scrapbooking for a moment.

It seems she was just chosen to supply the Fall cover of Canadian Scrapbooker magazine.

Supposedly this is a prestigious publication in Scrapbooking circles.

¡Que bueno, Kelly! 
  
Did you know?: Incredibly, Wikipedia says that "over 4 million women in the United States alone consider themselves to be scrapbookers."

What they fail to mention out is that 7 men are also involved in the activity. Kelly swears one of them is in Edmonton. I have yet to see evidence of this, but I will take her word for it.

Two Things BECA Can Learn from Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs packed it in last Wednesday and the accolades in the print media -- sorry, me no watch TV -- keep pouring in. The New York Times, my primary source of Western news, has been particularly effusive.

And the guy is still alive. And still working at Apple in a leadership role. Pretty impressive stuff.

It got me thinking. What can BECA learn from this guy?

Two things jump out.

1) Perseverance. Jobs was unceremoniously forced out of Apple, the company he personally founded, 25 years ago. Ouch.

But he never, ever gave up.

In a 2005 Stanford commencement speech he noted, "Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith."

That brick showed up on BECA's doorstep in August. In a month in which both Coordinators BECA hired for the cities of Matagalpa and Estelí quit, it crossed my mind to pull the plug in those places and retreat to the friendly confines of Masaya, where we have enjoyed a wee bit of success.

But my main man here, Antonio Rodriguez, and I believe in what BECA is trying to do. So, Steve, we're going to stubbornly keep wombling along.

2) Systematic Innovation. I'm not exactly sure how he did it. Was it by surrounding himself with creative people? Or implementing facilitative work processes? Or something else? But he turned Apple into an innovation machine.

I believe that BECA can learn from this and try to adopt a mindset of permanent innovativeness. You know, constantly plumb our students for new ideas. Motivate our team to regularly give suggestions. Survey all of our stakeholders at every opportunity for feedback.

We're coming along.

I can tell you this with some confidence because we've had a lot of bombs.

Individual social projects.
Remedial Spanish classes.
Remedial math classes.
Weekend "Course One" screening classes.
Hiring our own teachers.

And now I can add another experiment-gone-bad to this list . . . young, professional university-educated employees.

(In all fairness, Jobs had his share of bombs too.)

However, it can only be through this succession of failures that we stumble upon the things that seem to click.

Thanks for paying attention and understanding that we aren't completely sitting still here in Nicaragua.

Meet Mr. Hard-ass

One of the BECA Coordinators quit this week.The "official" reason submitted was that she found a better job. The "unofficial" reason: Walter is too difficult to work for. He's a hard-ass.

It's grapevine stuff, but I really can't deny it. The now ex-Coordinator is right. I am very demanding.

Here's the thing.

I make NO apologies for it.

BECA isn't about creating another ordinary middling do-gooder organization. I assure you that there are plenty of those to go around here in Nicaragua. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. To each their own.)

But I won't stand for it. Not for BECA.

Here's why.

1. I feel strongly that to achieve sustainability -- so BECA will keep going when I'm out of the picture -- we have to deliver good value to all of our "stakeholders" out there. We want you to keep supporting us. Fancy marketing doesn't provide that. Hollow promises doesn't provide that. Mediocre performance definitely doesn't. Only excellent results will make it happen.
2. We call our students "clients." And it's for good reason. BECA only exists to serve them. Many, many, many -- did I say many? -- have been dealt a crappy hand in life. They really deserve a break. Geez, I figure it's the least we can do. And over my dead body are they going to be served poorly. They've been there, done that.
3. I am a perfectionist. It just isn't in my DNA to do something halfway. It isn't going to happen, no matter how hard I try to adjust. 

In the end, people who come to work at BECA have to know that we won't accept half-ass contributions. Only dedicated people need apply. People willing to do their very best. At all times.

Our first Nicaraguan hire is one. So I know they exist.

And I'll keep going until I find more.

Spoken like a bonafide hard-ass, huh? :)

The Luckiest Man in the World (Part 2)

A dear friend of mine goes goofy on me when I attribute something in life to "luck."

"Luck is not in my vocabulary," he beams proudly.

Then go ahead and explain this one, bud. :)

Having a good father.

Walter Hunchak (ca. 2008)

I can't explain my good fortune any other way.

I didn't pick him. He was just there.

And was* he ever there. A decent, soft-spoken fellow. Always quietly supportive of me through all my trials and tribulations. (And there have been a few.) Never, ever judgmental.

What did I do to deserve him? Beats me.

This simple fact resonates loudly for me here in Nicaragua.

Why?

It is astounding how many of the students in BECA don't have a father.

Or a good father.

I have a father. And he's a great one.

That would be lucky squared, no? 

*If you are wondering, Dad isn't doing so good these days. He is struggling with advanced dementia. Happily, he remains an active participant in my life by his wonderful examples I feebly attempt to live up to on a daily basis.

The Luckiest Man in the World

Who's that? That would be me. Here are 30,000 words in support of my thesis.

"The Nanny Diaries" and IFOBTAO

Actually the book was "You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again:The True Adventures of a Hollywood Nanny." Yeah, I read this kind of stuff once in a while.

As the title suggests, the book documents the adventures and ongoing thoughts of Suzy, a young, wide-eyed young woman who ventures off to Los Angeles and secures a job as a nanny for a super-uber-wealthy couple.

What could I have possibly gleaned from this journalistic gem?

Bear with me on this one. You see a good part of the book chronicles Suzy's complaints about how incredibly cheap the power couple are, despite their billionaire status. Stingy. Close-fisted. Penny-pinching. You'll find all of the above in Suzy's rants about her former employers.

Ultimately, I came to the following realization. I could relate.

But NOT to Suzy.

To the power couple!

Now, this couple very well might be super-uber-stingy, but there is an alternative explanation for their miserly behaviour. They could, like me, suffer from IFOBTAO [ahy-fohb-tou].

Huh? IFOBTAO.

Yep. Irrational Fear Of Being Taken Advantage Of.

In Nicaragua, it is always in the back of my mind.

When I'm negotiating a contract.
When I'm buying a coffee.
When I'm hailing a cab.

All the time.

I acknowledge that I have more resources than the typical Nicaraguan. Mucho more.

But people who deal with me in Nicaragua here think I'm a super-uber-cheapskate.

Listen up, all my Nica friends and associates, I'm not that cheap.

But I do suffer from IFOBTAO.

And I'm really not sure if there is a cure.