What are you thankful for in 2011?

Just a year ago, I learned about this guy who invites people over for Thanksgiving dinner, and keeps a running record of what people gave thanks for during these dinners...he's collected this over many years so has an impressive list of beautiful things people are grateful for...I thought this was a great idea, so thought may start doing this virtually (since there's no Thanksgiving in Kenya, and it's just another Thursday here)

I guess I'll start off by listing a few things I'm thankful for in 2011, which has been a particularly eventful year for me.  These are not in any particular order:
1. A new perspective and renewed faith in "family"
2. Finding the courage to validate my passion, and having the stars aligned enough to get an opportunity to do so
3. Staying safe and healthy (despite of visiting/living in crazy places)
4. Meeting and adopting a new set of "sisters" that will forever be part of my life
5. New and old friends who continue to give me unbelievable support, advice, and that smack in the head when I needed it
6. The Internet, without which I will not be able to stay in touch with people
7. Free library Kindle books...which kept me entertained at no cost while sitting in traffic
8. Smiling, happy people on the streets of Kenya, who reminds me how beautiful life is despite of its difficulties
9. A good smile on my face...which has gotten me good deals negotiated and favors done...


What are YOU thankful for this year?
Please comment :)

Kenya Nzuri: Lake Naivasha - Work or Vacation?

d.light Africa team had our first team retreat to Naivasha on Nov 24-25.  It is meant to be an opportunity for team building and also our HR manager from China flew here to discuss our climate survey result. (it's actually kind of impressive that we actually have a climate survey given the size of our company).  I'm really glad that they are doing this not only for selfish reasons of taking a trip to Naivasha, but also a lot of the organizational discussion was very important to have given that we're growing exponentially, the topic of culture, values, and processes must be raised so everyone is on the same page.

The level of openness everyone has was amazing, and there was a pretty intense discussion around what being a social enterprise means, why are we for-profit, and how would we balance the double bottom line of profit and social impact?  The point of confusion really is that our product inherently has social impact, but it's not so different from the multinationals here such as Unilever who makes dettol and launches handwashing campaigns, which one could argue also creates positive social changes.  So, what make us different?  Everyone seems to have similar values of we're for profit for good, but have very different views on this particular question and how we would go about our everyday business differently based on these values.  It was interesting to have these intellectual debates so we can reach one consistent sets of value, culture for the company, to create more cohesion between the founding teams and the newcomers.

It's also quite interesting how relevant the experience I had at General Mills on culture and organization management has come in handy in these discussions.  I feel that professionally I've gotten to a point that my focus has shifted from doing the tasks to managing people.  Even though I've always said that I prefer getting things done vs. dealing with people, it is quite satisfying to truly feel what leadership means (vs. talking about it), and trying to be better at it to make a bigger impact.

View of the Rift Valley on the way to Naivasha

safari salama!  d.light boat ride

Tons of beautiful birds

Walking safari, there is no predator in Naivasha, so the animals are not scared of people, Africa is probably one of a few places that people are allowed to just walk out in the open alongside various wildebeest, waterbuck...etc. without signing a safety waiver first, haha!

We stayed at this super nice lodge called Enashipai, it means "happiness" in Maasai.  The rooms are beautifully decorated with Maasai chic, the bed was super comfortable, and I loved their open air shower.  They also have traditional Swahili style houses for rent, if I live here, I think I will be very enashipai too! :)

I love the fact that living in Kenya allows one to so easily access wilderness...just 2-3 hours drive away, you get this amazing nature where you are woken up by different birds singing, can hear the hippos in the lakes, and gaze at the shining stars at night.  I really hope that as the continent develop at this rapid pace, all of these can be preserved!

Balancing getting it done NOW and sustaining LATER...

If you know me, you'll know that patience is definitely not one of my virtues...I have a strong bias for action, and definitely find a strange satisfaction in "checking boxes" on my to-do list.  I am happy to share what I know with others, but usually after explaining something about 3 times, my patience would have run out...

Working in Africa has been great in the sense that because the markets are so under-developed, if you just get a few things right, you could make a huge impact.  Contrary to the ultra-developed markets in the West, where lots and lots of effort is required to move the dial just a little bit.  Everyday, I am excited by the large number of opportunities I see here, but at the same time, I struggle  to accept the slow pace at which we're taking to capture those opportunities.

One of my quandaries is the fact that it's not possible (or sustainable) for me to be doing everything since there is limited amount of hours I can work yet there are so many things I can see myself just go and do!  Because the capacity of the human capital here is quite a bit lower than what I'm used to in the US, I spend a good portion of my day training and explaining to people what they are supposed to do and how they are supposed to do them.  Consequently, I found myself frequently in a frustrating situation where I am spending hours and hours repeatedly explaining to the same person something I could easily complete in 30 minutes  and STILL am not sure if the message has gotten through.  At that point, the temptation to just do it myself becomes quite difficult to resist.   (sometimes, I wonder if this is what parenting difficult children feels like...)

this is what I felt like after explaining how to do
management accounting to my accountant for the 10th time

With the disclaimer that this is a broad generalization, what I found is that African are very entrepreneurial, creative, and flexible, but they lack planning skills, detail orientation, and strategic focus in general.  This is almost the exact opposite of my background in Corporate America where excessive planning nearly stifles creativity.

What I am facing in Africa probably isn't too different from what one may find in a start up; however, unlike a start up where you can hire someone with a more "CEO-like" skill once the organization grow large enough so he can help institute better process to fuel further growth, Africa as a continent have to gain such skill set over time on its own since it cannot just "import" a CEO to run the country...that was called colonialism, and we all know how that turned out...

I had a long discussion with my manager on the difference between competency and skills...he argues that competency cannot be trained while skill can, and in his mind, planning and detail orientation is a competency, not a skill...in his word, "there is no point trying to train a porcupine into a lamb"...this is a bit discouraging to me as I really believe that planning and strategic focus are such important skills to leverage limited resources for maximum growth, and I am a little bit more optimistic in the sense that people can stretch their competencies over time.

To me, doing capacity building type work is quite rewarding.  I feel as though I'm stretching the value of my expensive education by extending the beneficiary beyond just myself to everyone I have worked with along the way.   I just need to constantly remind myself to treat my work as capacity building, so that if the deadline is not met or the end result is sub-optimal, I could accept that is just part of the learning process and is a necessary evil and that in the long run, it will pay off because I would have more appropriately transferred the knowledge vs. just doing everything by myself, to perfection and on time, but no one will be here to replicate the work when I am gone...

Kenya Nzuri: Trekking Ngong Hill & getting out of the expat bubble

Last weekend was probably one of my favorite in Nairobi...it's nice to have a chance to get out of the expat bubble called "Westland" and hang out with few folks going about life like real Kenyans do!

It started with a nice hike on Ngong Hill...even though it rained a bit, it was actually quite beautiful with the fogs hoovering the field of greens.

Then hitch-hiked on a pick up truck to Kiserian, then another crazy matatu ride to Langata, followed by a delicious quiche + coconut milkshake.

Then went to my friend's place, learned to cook a kick-butt Chapati, and had dinner while watching the local favorite TV show - Cheater (yes, the one from the US)

Do certain cultures preventing economic progress?

If there was one thing I took away from business school, is that incentive matters, a lot.  You cannot be rewarding behavior A while hoping for behavior B to happen.  As such, I have observed a potential flaw in the African culture that could potentially prevent one from doing hardwork and making economic progress on the micro-level.

One key cultural theme I kept coming across is this bittersweet burden of success for Africans.  I've met a few successful Africans now who have,  in one way or another, pull themselves out of the poor villages they came from.  Quite a few was even able to get scholarships and study abroad.  Now, they've completed a good education, and got a good job...but the quandary is, the more successful they become, the more responsibility they begin to have, and the more people they need to carry on their shoulder and take care of!  When you were just a student, maybe you just need to care for your immediate family, but the minute you've "made it" in the world, more people come knocking at your door, wanting assistance, and it's expected that you take them in.  Saying no seems to not be an option.

I see this happening everywhere...For example, someone just come up to you asking for money, I will have no problem turning them away, but there's a good chance my African friend will give something (20 kenyan schilling, a candy pop...etc.)...A group of friends going out, the one with a part-time job will end up paying for the one without a job (while I would normally argue that the jobless person has no business out partying to begin with)...this no questions asked form of "help" really intrigues me.

Sure, for those much is given, much is expected; I mean, this is not such a novel concept, Muslims would take more wives if they were more financially able thus can take care of more people. However, to me, there could potentially be a serious free rider problem.  Why does the fact that I have money justify your taking a piece of it?  I worked my butt off to earn the money, what have YOU done to take it from me besides the mere fact that we are somehow related or acquainted?  This seems tremendously unfair and demotivating for someone who's worked so hard to achieve success!  Is it so "selfish" to want to enjoy the fruit of one's hard work?  I'm not sure where I would draw the fine line between "being selfless" and "being taken advantage of".  

Do you  give because you are given more talent to earn more thus have the obligation to support others?  Or do you keep what you have because it’s your hard earned money and those who just sit around should get off their butt and work for it themselves rather than expecting a hand out?

I have tremendous admiration for the strong sense of community in Africa, but sometimes I wonder, if this culture is prohibitive of economic growth because it is, in a way, a system that punishes hard work and success.  Imagine, if you've made it abroad, what is it that will encourage you to go back to your home country when you will be first and foremost greeted by a bunch of empty hands, requesting support in one shape or another.  and if you've made it within the country, what's going to keep you going when every phone call you get is about a problem you'll need to solve?

Maybe I'm not selfless enough to think this way, and maybe this is why I get offended when people expect me to pay for things because I'm a mzungu and supposedly more wealthy...

A history of the world in 100 objects, featuring d.light!

d.light was featured in the British Museum as the "100th object" in the history of the world! Now there's a book out: A History of the World in 100 Objects

• Here's the link to all 100 of them
• PBS Newshour Coverage: http://video.pbs.org/video/2165382793
• Watch the multi-episode BBC program talking about the 100 objects

So proud :)

"Proper" address...

Went to Nyayo house in Nairobi to take care of my multiple business visa...this is our 5th or 6th visit...every time they tell us we need a new back up document even though they were not specified on the requirement before...so finally this time, I show my face, the lady look at my application probably for the 5th time...and she said, everything is OK, but your residential address (which I put down my California address, with the street number, name, state, and postal code, typical) is a problem...for example, if I want to get to your address, how do I get there?

In order to understand where this question even came from, one must understand, there's not a postal service that delivers mail in Kenya...everyone rents a PO box, and pick up their mail from the post office...so when you need to get to a physical address, usually it's provided by a series of unclear directions...like 500m pass Tusky's supermarket on X road OR on the 5th black gate on Y road pass Z shop directly across from ABC billboard...etc.

While I understand why she may be confused with my "physical address", I was annoyed by the fact that this is the first time after she's reviewed my application 5 times that she is bringing this up.  Also, the immigration officer at the Nairobi International Airport was fine with it, why is she picking bone with the address...Lastly, will she EVER need to visit my home in California?  Do I really need to write down, first, take flight from NBO to LAX, then take 101 highway to 91 highway, exit X road, then drive x miles...etc.?  Really?

Donation update: potential projects

So I've been searching for some good option for the money many of you donated over my 30th birthday!

Here are some options, please let me know what you think!  

Option 1: Building a computer center for one of the communities in Kibera: 

Many Kenyans lack the most basic computer skills, and having simple word processing training and getting a computer certificate could potentially give them job opportunities not previously available.  My friend in the slum has already identified people who are willing to donate computer and someone who is willing to provide computer training on a voluntary basis, but they do not have a location to host the computers and provide training.  The money we have now will be enough to purchase 3 rooms, and we need to source building materials to put the rooms together.  Thinking is that people can come and use the computers for a small fee (like a cyber cafe, which is not that prevalent in Kibera), and we will also provide training to help people access jobs.

Option 2: Providing working capital for Africa Institute for Health and Development's Trash2Treasure Program.
This is consortium of community-based self-help woman's groups in the Dandora slum (where all the trash goes to) who have partnered to clean the environment and turn reused trash in the form of plastic bags, newspapers and magazines into creative sell-able products. AIHD train low-income and hard-working individuals on skills that turn trash into usable goods including: plastic bags crocheted into waste baskets, school pencil pouches, clutch bags, floor mats, shopping bags and table top baskets and laundry bags. Magazines used for making beads as jewelry and for decorating the plastic products. Newspapers: used to make pencils..etc. They currently do not have any retail outlet or do any sort of marketing, so helping them find a sustainable route-to-market will be important to continue generating income for these women

Dandora Dumpsite

crocheted bags from recycled plastic bags

Option 3: Donating d.light Solar Lights and school supplies to Ex-Street Children in Eldoret.

Many of you probably read my post about the glue-kids in Eldoret.  A portion of your donation has already been donated to them.  This would be the easiest/fastest option, and would make a big impact.

d.light-ing Schools in Kano

latest - d.light S1

Late October, I had a chance to observe a series of activation events d.light was doing in Kano  in Northern part of Nigeria.  We were focusing a lot on consumer engagement because affordable solar lantern is such a foreign concept, most people either don't know about it or are skeptical.  In Nigeria, especially, there are so many cheap, crappy Chinese LED lights in the market, people are just very wary of another product promising to be the best thing since the sliced bread!  Our latest launch is an ultra-affordable light, it is created to make solar light even more affordable for people at the bottom of the pyramid, and we're focusing on getting these lights to schools so kids can use them to study.  Currently children either don't get a chance to study at night because their ration of kerosene is reserved for "income-producing" tasks OR they study under the dim light of kerosene lantern, which is dangerous, bad for their health (with the fume), and screws up their eyes.  Imagine going through schools only to ruin your eyes and unable to afford a pair of glasses!

d.light much brighter than kerosene lantern

There are also studies that showed introducing solar lanterns increase study time and improves exam passing rates, so we want to focus on reaching students at the critical annual exam time when they need to study the most in order to get to secondary schools and universities, and help them at that tipping point in life.

Kano is an interesting town...also densely populated and lots of trucks are passing by shipping products for exports.  It's one of the cities in Nigeria with the least electrification, and is also one of the poorest place.  When the night falls, everything really stops.  The only one left are the police on their street by the roadblocks (given recent terrorist bombings), and a little bit of street vendors.


I visited 4 schools all together, as expected, the drive there was crazy, but a piece of cake compare to Lagos.

The minute I arrive at the school, I stick out like a sore thumb! All the kids went crazy and were trying to get my attention.  It's funny to see the kids' curiosity, and given the huge distraction I've brought into the classroom, I have to say our marketing team did a pretty good job engaging them and teaching them about solar lanterns.  In Africa, marketing to kids doesn't seem as taboo as it is in the US.  Companies like Unilever does it all the time for various products.  For example, dettol (anti-bacterial soap) and UNICEF has a hand-washing campaign in schools, and Kiwi show shine has a schools program teaching kids about grooming so they could "shine" (like their shoes after polishing with Kiwi products, a bit of a stretch, I know, but it's been successful).  I am just amazed by the simplicity of people here and how easily marketing messages get through to people. In general, people believe what they hear on TV or on the radio!  Compare to the cynicism in the US that I had to deal with as a marketer in the last few years, I just couldn't believe how easy it is! (ok, now I sounds like an evil marketer, but at least I have a good and truthful message to spread)

Here are some photos from the activation, I just adore the kids:

Happy JS3 (~9th grade) kid who just won a free d.light

A glimpse into the teacher's lounge... male and female teachers stay in separate rooms..and the male teachers slacks off definitely much more than the female ones

 

Girl school, these girls are so fun and beautiful!  but definitely overcrowded, each class had over 50 students and many were just sitting on the floor.  Since Kano is in Hausa-land and primarily Muslim, quite a few of these girls are actually already engaged or married by age 13-14

Christian school girls and boys were much less disciplined than the Muslim kids...they were poking me, taking to me, vs. the other schools, they just stare and smile and maybe gesturing to me that they want to get a "snap" (photo)

Other random things from Kano:

Gold market...stall to the right are all real golds...there's a "private" security system in place apparently

God is #1 priority in Hausa-land, and then it's survival, so  sending kids to school aren't people's priority up Northern Nigeria, many of these kids are in markets, on highways, selling water and other things

 

Emir of Kano...he has 40 wives I heard, and when I arrived Kano, our activation team there immediately began plotting to make me his next wife... I wonder how many d.light solar lantern he'll buy in exchange for wedding me...

Defining "Success"

Steve Jobs passed away at age 56 on Oct 5th, 2011.  I heard the news first from my driver Carlos when he picked me up, then for the whole day, that's the only thing people talked about on Facebook and the news.  Based on the amount of Facebook posts and video tribunes made on the same day, Steve Job's death felt like it triggered a magnitude of aftershock and media coverage that rivals 9-11 attack...dwarfing mentions of Osama bin Laden's death several months ago, as well as Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai's passing, which was just a weekly earlier.  Osama bin Laden, Wangari Maathai, and Steve Jobs are all influential people, but the contrast on how the world reacted to their deaths made me wonder: what made Steve Jobs more endearing/successful than the others to people?  Do we marvel at geniuses more than philanthropists?  Geniuses often make impacts that are more tangible (i.e. an iPhone, an airplane, E=MC^2), they also do so in a way that's got a big reveal, a WOW element to it so it's highly memorable for the audience.  A revolutionary product is memorable, has a specific time/date associated with its debut that can be talked about as a historical moment, but a successful movement is only more successful when it just become part of people's life and that people stop talking about it (except from history books).  Its impact (such as civil right) is far broader than an iPad per se, but somehow, iPad is more top of mind for people.  Philanthropists or activists' work are more steady and out of the spotlight most of the time, and even when they do appear in the spotlight, their work is talked about in a way that's more about their ability to mobilize and tap into the collective powers of the masses rather than about their individual contribution.  The other thing with Steve Jobs is that his work touches people on a daily basis in a top of mind sort of way.  Apple's footprint is everywhere, and because those products are so synonymous with him, how can one not be reminded of him and feel connected to him every time he uses his iPhone or Mac?

Going back to the question of how would one define "success", I suppose there's a few different dimension to consider...
1) Do you want to be known more for your work/intellect or your character?
2) Would you rather have a broad but shallow impact? or a narrow but deep impact?
3) Is having the spotlight on you as an individual important? or would you be happy being behind the scene orchestrating positive change?

A couple days after Jobs' death, I learned of the passing of a good friend, Hector.  I met Hector while studying abroad in Tokyo. He was a smart, soft-spoken, and kind person.  He has been living with cancer for awhile but finally lost the battle on Oct 7th, 2011.  Most of the news I get from friends these days are mostly happy ones like engagements, wedding, and babies.  While I know death is always a possibility, sad news like that have been limited to people's parents, grandparents, or co-workers.  Never had I expect an age-mate I know personally would be passing on.  It is a sobering knock back into reality, and my false sense of invincibility definitely got shaken a bit.  This may be a bid morbid, but if you only have the next 10, 20 years to live, what would you be doing with your life?  How would you want people to remember you?  How would you define a "successful life", a life well lived, at the last moment on your deathbed? What would you need to do or start doing now in order to be able to feel content and at peace when you swallow your last breath?

I suppose, for me, I would consider a life well lived if:

• I have spent as many moment of my life as possible to learn about different people, different schools of thoughts, to understand myself, and to build my capacity for empathy and compassion...and more importantly, use those wisdom to do something good
• Made a positive difference in at least 5 people's lives (narrow but deep) 
• I stay true to my values so friends and families will remember me for my heart and character 
• Always pour my heart into everything I do 
• Be able to be truly happy for things that I'm blessed with in my life and accept things that I just won't have in my life despite my efforts

Relevant Reads:

• Steve Job's 12 Rules of Success

This wild ride called "Lagos"

As weird as this sound, sitting in traffic in Lagos has become one of my favorite things to do now.

 

Sure, if I'm on my way to a meeting, and am already 2 hours late, it could be stressful; however, everyone knows how bad the traffic could be, and people are generally pretty understanding if you're late (especially if you're a foreigner).  In fact, I don't recall ever having a meeting on-time in Nigeria. Sure it's extremely inefficient to sit in traffic for 4-6 hours of your life on a daily basis, but that is life in this part of the world.   The system is so broken in Nigeria that one can't even decide where to start fixing it, Lagos city was not planned, and people just flood into the metropolis, how do you get the people out so you can begin to build all the infrastructure? and even if you finish building it, there will just be more people that comes in and what you have just built will not be sufficient any more!  So people don't bother with hoping the system will be better and just put matters in their own hands.  Most nicer buildings have their own generators and water system, each one is self-sustaining, whether the government is there or not!  and I thought the US government is messed up!

It's 32C, hot, hazy, and sticky outside, and I am sitting in the back seat inside this "safe haven" called my taxi, having one of the most surreal experience ever.  Looking out from the car, LIFE is happening, raw, and lots of it, right in front of my eyes.  Drama, including what I have thought would only happen in movies are literally flashing in front you.  It feels a bit like I'm in an amusement park ride with the theme of an urban version of lord of the flies or time traveling back a few hundred years.

Driving (well, parking rather since you move at 0.5 km/hour) on the dusty road bumper to bumper, the constant hooting begin to blend into the background, providing the perfect theme music for what's happening outside...just to give a flavor of the type of things I've seen sitting in the car:

• Car on fire on the side of the road with petroleum tankers not far away stuck in traffic, I couldn't wait to get as far away from the spot as quickly as possible, but there were plenty of Nigerians standing just 1 meter away just get on with their business as usual, completely oblivious to the fact that the car can explode at any time
• People of all ages walking or crossing the highway...to paint a picture of what this looks like, imagine one of those doomsday Hollywood action movies where all the cars are trying to evacuate out of the city, but end up stuck/parked on the bridge; then, fill 50% of the remaining space on this bridge with images of people, walking in a state of panic to get out...THAT, is the kind of density we're talking about here, except, no aliens are invading, and this is every day life in Lagos.  Kids and mothers carrying babies on their back are jumping over the concrete barrier/divider in the middle to cross, that's just how they go to school, or to the markets!  Some determination to survive and do better, eh?!  
• Vendors packed on the side of the street with stalls lit by bursting open fire fueled by kerosene, which can easily be tumbled over and explode
• People waving their hands, yelling over various car accidents...this happens often since no one follows traffic rules, the guy on the outside land can decide to make a right, while you go straight, then bam!  It's understandable that people don't follow rules because the very few who does probably will never get to where they need to be with everyone else passing. These kind of argument can last hours, cars will just be parked at where the accident happens, regardless if it's in the middle of a junction blocking traffic from all side or not...It's usually settled by cash on the spot (otherwise you'll never find the chap again), and bystanders will join the argument to support either parties, in hope to get a cut out of the settlement money. Sometimes police are nearby to mediate, but the winner is usually the one with a deeper pocket.  Nigerian arguments are especially interesting to watch, they're very animated, and there's usually a lot of yelling and moving around and pointing involved
• Street hawkers selling everything from shoe shelves to snacks to puppies...these "waka waka (walkers)" also walk the highways, and can easily be squeezed in between large trucks, very dangerous...when the cars move, they run with the car to finish the transaction...i think sometimes people could easily just take the product and drive away

In short, there is never a dull moment, and this is how people survive, literally, it feels to me that people are not "living", rather, they are "surviving" one day to the next, and it never cease to amaze me how tenacious people can be, and how good life has been to me.

One of the parking guys, was very funny and wanted to pose for my camera, very nice guy, but the minute I finished with the photo, he return to being a very tough/mean parking guy, I guess that's what it takes in Lagos