Showing signs of a Tiger Mom...

Today, I came to the stark realization that I probably won’t be able to stay in Africa and work on a long-term basis because it's too stressful.  I care too much to not let it be personal.  And while sometimes I long for a nice, easy lifestyle, I will never let myself live the type of luxurious lifestyle one would observe from many UN/foreign service officers. I am inherently too much against inequity and entitlement that I will never be able to feel comfortable earning the type of salary by basically sustaining a bureaucracy without accomplishing much impact.

Why the sudden realization? I realized today that I’ve been letting my inner Tiger Mom creep out…I didn’t even know it’s there! I’ve been very critical of our business partner and basically have shown my dissatisfaction with their sub-optimal standard almost daily as I strive to make them better. Despite of my best intention, my effort is being met with mixed results. On one hand, I feel that increasing the pressure and basically begin “demanding” certain things to happen in a prescriptive way is working. At least at a mechanical level, I get the information I need on time, and we get to start at a level that’s closer to the standard I need it to be vs. negotiating from a ridiculously low level and feeling like there’s no point. Conclusion here…they ARE capable of delivering, as long as you lay out Step 1, 2, 3 and be very clear with the consequence if they do not follow your instruction specifically.  Sometimes, even when you lay out the path in front of them, they still need a little push to move forward, then a little more push to move forward more.  While tiring, at least there's some sort of solution.  So that’s the good news…

The not-so-good news is that I’m realizing that I’m always criticizing and always pointing out problems. In business, I’ve always made decision based on what’s “right” vs. what’s “popular”. However, I can understand, even when someone agrees with you that you’re right, it can be frustrating and de-motivating when you’re always proven “wrong”… I get super excited when I see progress from people and do praise excessively to let them know that they’re doing a good job and they should keep it up; however, when there are always more problems than successes, it’s hard to find something to celebrate without being disingenuous.

This is when I have this mental image of me being the Tiger Mom and the kids are revolting, basically screaming “I don’t care if I’m wrong, it’s not fair that you always yell at me, I can never be good enough for you!”. I suppose the reason for the criticisms is that we have hope that they can do better. If we don’t, we would have just walked away. However, if you’re in the situation and are on the receiving end of the criticism, then it may not feel so positive.

I’m feeling like my patience is running out. My fuse gets shorter and shorter on a daily basis, and I sometimes cannot have a nice response when it feels like a kid asking you for the 100th time if he can eat candy before dinner, despite of you telling them NO 100 times and explaining the rationale. Saying that no for the 101st time, just seem like an useless effort.

Perhaps I just need to recharge somewhere...work with competent people and get things done, then come back to deal with the more challenging ones...

Market creating is damn hard...on all fronts!

Last year, Seth Godin did a talk at Acumen Fund's Investor Gathering event on why market creation is hard. He tried to explain the frustration that many of us in social enterprise (and our investors) have on why people are not flocking to purchase these great products/services that we've developed that can transform their lives? 

He cited an interesting fact that 1/3 of the population in the world has never bought something new!  People at the bottom of the pyramid are conservative and risk-averse. They make choices that are "obvious" and "safe". In another word, they buy what their parents have bought, and they don't wake up everyday thinking, "what am I going to do/buy differently today".  For the large part, people do the same thing over and over everyday the same way they knew before, and as social entrepreneurs, it is very difficult to (1) create the awareness that "there is a better way", (2) generate interest to learn more about this "better way", (3) turn that interest into desire to actually give the better way a try, and lastly (4) incite action to do thing the better way.  

A grassroots approach, while slow and costly, seems to be the only way to overcome these hurdles.  Truly. think back on the time we adopted internet or Facebook...we didn't opt into those new things because we were actively seeking out a better way to access information or to develop our "social network" (most of us probably didn't even know what "social networking sites" are until Facebook caught on).   In fact, the majority of us probably joined Facebook because our friends have used it, and talked about how much they enjoyed doing it.  We didn't even know we need it until we start using it, and after we've used it, now we cannot imagine living in a world without it!  Facebook did not start out using mass TV advertising campaign telling people how their lives could be transformed with this new website.  In fact, you probably can't really explain the concept of it in a 30 second ad back when it was first developed!

So why do we expect people at the bottom of the pyramid to behave any differently than us?  After all, we are all human beings, and we behave more or less the same way!  Despite of the challenges we have in the marketplace, I found the biggest point of frustration I have is the unrealistic expectations from some of our donors, investors, and distributors that our lights would become an overnight sensation.  Just because they believe in the business, and are early adapters, doesn't mean that everyone else in the world will behave the same way.  And just because it takes other people more time, doesn't mean the product is going to fail!  

But before we can even focus on tackling this "market creation" problem with the consumers, I found that there is an even bigger challenges in coordinating the distribution network to be able to drive the consumer education model that we strongly believe would work.  I came on to this fellowship thinking that I would be spending the majority of my time tackling the consumer communication piece; to my surprise, I spend most of my time trying to elevate their business standards (on all fronts) and to sort out various issues with our distribution network, organizing their structure so they can properly plan, implement, and monitor what they are supposed to do in order to deliver results. 

After 6 months, I have come to believe that the key to success and competitive advantage one can have in developing market is not a out-of-this-world brilliant strategy, but the ability to obtain "good management" and to set up "structures" to implement a fairly solid strategy.  The developing market really isn't rocket science compare to developed markets so most of the marketing and business principles can apply.  The challenge is how to make sense and create structure out of an extremely unstructured world so that it can be actively "managed" and "shaped" based on our vision.  We don't need to be doing many many things; instead, we can make a huge amount of impact as long as we focus on the most important items and get 1 or 2 things right.  

So why has it been so hard for people to crack the nuts?  Management, it can't be that difficult, can't it?  Well, it is EXTREMELY difficult in this part of the world.  Why?  In my opinion, there are a few factors:

1) Competency: this is expected to be low given the average level of education and sophistication in developing countries.  However, I think the biggest hindrance is not the lack of knowledge and experience (because those can be taught), but the lack of critical thinking and planning ability.  I believe that a lot of this is driven by the history and some by the culture.  Africa, for example, has such fertile lands and even season, it really doesn't require much planning for someone to survive. Typically, rain falls on specific dates and sunshine all year round.  If you plant something, it will surely grow and one will never be hungry.  Why plan?  Then the colonists came, people became servants whereby all rights are taken away...they are told what they should do, why would they think critically about anything?  Life has been pretty straightforward, if you do X, you will surely get result Y.  There is not a lot of variance, therefore there is not a whole lot of needs (or practice) to plan for the unexpected, or think hard about how to do something differently and better.  This doesn't really work though, in an increasingly "western" and "capitalist" society where survival of the fittest trumps everything else.  It will certainly take time for that to takeover as the mainstream way of thought whereby you "have to" be able to think critically and plan in order to survive.  Right now, those skills are "nice to have" but are not quite "must have" in most people's minds.

2) Mindset: focusing on "delivering result" vs. "working hard".  Most Africans I know are actually quite hardworking.  (well, by hardworking, I mean they work hard to earn their keep, and would put in the hours if need to; however, compare to many workaholics in Asia or in the US, who finds meaning and purpose in their job, the African certainly work much less and don't take work nearly as seriously).  Despite of their hardwork, I found many are not working smart and focus on delivering results.  In a way, working hard justifies their existence even though their hardwork generates no incremental value.  There is very rarely a sense of "ownership" or "accountability" or "commitment" to their work.   If you ask them to do X, Y, Z in order to achieve ABC...they will do X, Y, Z...but they follow the process rather than making sure that they actually achieve ABC.  So when they face an obstacle along the way, so for example, after they finish doing X and Y, something along the way prevents them from doing Z, thus they cannot achieve ABC, they will simply stop...then after awhile, you ask, what's going on, have you done XYZ that I've asked?  They will then tell you, this and that happened, so I couldn't do Z.  First, they wouldn't alarm you what had happened so you know you can't expect the result you were expecting.  Second, when you do find out, there's very little care that they won't achieve the results.  Because, it seems as though in their mind, as long as they've tried to do X,Y that you've asked, and explained to you why they couldn't do Z, their part is done.  The fact that ABC won't happen, even though it was the whole point of doing X,Y,Z to begin with, really doesn't bother them at all!  If there is a focus on delivering results, then likely someone will propose a new way to achieve ABC.  And if there's a stronger sense of accountability, then the person would have more motivation to raise the red flag early on, and actively look for alternative solutions.  How do you bring about a result-driven mentality when the person doesn't have it in him?  This has to be something that is taught from an early stage in life!

3) Discipline: discipline is also very hard to come by in Africa.  This manifest itself in various forms.  Time management being probably the best example.  When you tell someone a meeting starts at 8a, it's probably best that you plan to begin at 10a.  The truth is, some people will show up at 8a, but most probably begin coming in between 9-10am.  You have to constantly set a fire underneath someone to make them do what they know they should be doing.  Some might say this is because Africans are "lazy", but I beg to differ.  I think some are indeed lazy, but you find bums in some old lady's basement in the US as well!  I think really, it's partially driven by a culture where work is not the focus.  There's much emphasis on enjoying life and each other's company, work is only there as a mean to survive, and when you live in an environment that is so abundant historically, who needs discipline and be so type A about things?  Adding on to the general shortsightedness and hopeless optimism, there's pretty much only "hoping for the best" and no "planning for the worst" around here.

In a way, a lot of the challenges on the management side share many similarity with the consumer market creation challenge.  People are used to doing things a certain way, until they could see and have the desire to do things the better way, the inertia is always difficult to fight.  

Doing this work is extremely frustrating.  Sometimes I feel like I've taken a couple step forward after much effort, then the next day I realize that we've taken a step back.  I'm so used to seeing immediate results of my work and under this environment, I'm noticing myself losing steam a bit; however, I have not lost hope, and I hope that God (or whatever higher Being there is) will give me the strengths to never lose hope and faith of the progress I can help make.

6 months down, 4 more to go

I've officially reached my 6 months mark in Africa.  They said 6 months was supposed to be a major milestone for an expat here, that it is when someone can make a reasonable assessment on whether she should consider staying in Africa or not.

I've heard stories of people getting really home sick or really stressed out living in Africa before, but thankfully none of those things have happened to me (knock on wood).  Settling into Africa was a relatively easy task compared to my previous move to Japan or to Paris.  I can't quite put my finger on why this is the case, perhaps it is a sign that I should consider staying or continue to do work on this continent?  Maybe, maybe not...

Living and working in Africa are two different things to me.  On one hand, if I can, I would love to continue living in Kenya.  The weather is gorgeous 365 days a year, people are friendly, labor is cheap, and one can get a very high quality of life here with a middle class income in the US.  As much as the pace is slow here, I've learned to work around things and just allow for the right amount of time for people to take their time.  To me, what's more exciting about living here in Kenya is that you see "life" everywhere, and I am inspired every day by the people around me.  Sure, most people are struggling and surviving, but there's something very uplifting in that act of striving for better life, and I'm so energized by it that I'm not sure how I would feel when I return back to the US where many people seem to be lost in their daily routines and distracted by news like who Kim Kardashian is dating...

Working in Africa, on the other hand, is a whole other matter.  It's frustrating.  It's rewarding.  It's exciting. It's draining.  There is so much contradiction in this work that it's hard for me to take a stance quite yet on whether I would sign up for doing this for the rest of my life or not...but for sure, I can say I have at least another 1 to 2 years in me to keep going at trying to make a difference here.

It's really quite amazing to think that a simple, middle-class girl like me, born and raised in Asia, would end up schooling in the US, which opens up a whole world of possibility, and actually end up in Africa!  Who could have predicted this turn of event!  Life is really quite amazing.  I'm blessed!

Kenya Nzuri: Mount Suswa

Completely off the beaten path and unimpressive from the outside, Mount Suswa is comprised of a massive double crater system and possibly one of the best hidden gems near Nairobi.  Suswa is the least known of the three famous Great Rift Valley volcanoes (the other 2 being the nearby Longonot and Menengai in Nakuru).  The summit is 2,356m (7,730ft) and affords a breath-taking view of pure beautiful nature.  

View from the turn off the tarmac towards Mt. Suswa, simply stunning!

Daniel, our Maasai guide...he gives guide to tourists, and even has his own blog

We spent a night camping at the rim of the outer crater.  The Maasai killed a goat and prepared some nyama choma (roasted meat) for us all from scratch...I never realize how much meat is on a tiny little goat until that night; it was a yummy, rustic feast!   

our little outdoor kitchen :)

our outdoor nyama choma...the meat glistened next to the fire, it's probably the most beautiful piece of meat I've ever eaten

The next morning we followed our guide, Daniel, up the mountain...The view from the hike was simply breath-taking, as far as being close to nature goes, this probably can't be beat!

beautiful view of the Great Rift Valley from the top

Spend our time wisely

Read this on an online Chinese magazine today...

花時間思考，這是智慧的根源。
Spending time to think is the root of wisdom

花時間工作，這是成功的代價。
Spending time to work is the prize of success

花時間助人，這是快樂的泉源。
Spending time to help others is the source of happiness

花時間閱讀，這是知識的基礎。
Spending time to read is the foundation of knowledge

花時間去笑，這是去除煩惱的妙藥。
Spending time to laugh is the remedy for depression

花時間健身，這是財富與生命的保障。
Spending time to exercise is the insurance of life and wealth

花時間沉思，這是淨化身心靈合一的捷徑。
Spending time to meditate is the short cut to purify your body

花時間娛樂，這是享受人生永保青春的秘方。
Spending time for fun is the secret to enjoying life and preserving youth

花時間愛人，這是生命最動人的樂章。
Spending time to love is the most touching movement of life

花時間計畫，這是如何有時間做前九件事的要訣。
Spending time to plan is the key to finding time to do the previously mentioned 9 things!

Kenya Nzuri: Kakamega: the mystic forest

Kakamega forest is the only remnant in Kenya of the once great tropical rainforest that stretched across Central Africa, also known as the Guineo-Congolian forest. About 10,000 years ago when the climate became drier the area of the rainforest shrank to what it was about 250 years ago. With time, much of the indigenous forest has been cut down as people needed the land for farming and Kakamega forest has become an exotic isolated relic of this vast African equatorial jungle, making it a unique habitat in Kenya. To the local Luhya people, Kakamega forest has not only been a generous supplier of firewood and building materials for centuries, medicinal plants are being used to heal all kinds of illnesses. Due to commercial exploitation and increased population in the area the future of the forest was uncertain untill two nature reserves (Yala and Isecheno) in 1967 were being created and in 1985 two more reserves in the northern part of the forest (Buyangu and Kisere) were being created, somehow reducing the pressure on the forests natural resources. [excerpt on Kakamega from Africa-expert]

I've been wanting to visit Kakamega for a loong time, and finally, we made a trip there to visit the mystical forest.  Kakamega is famous for its biodiversity and butterflies.  We arrived during dry season, so there isn't much butterflies; however, there are still plenty of monkeys, birds, bats...etc.  

We stayed at the beautiful and serene Rhondo Retreat...a bit of a splurge vs. my normal backpacking accommodation, but it's well worth the $50/night, which includes breakfast, afternoon tea, lunch, and dinner.  The place felt very colonial (like many other cottages in Kenya), but that didn't really bother me.  This may be a bit premature to think about considering I'm only in my 30's, but places like the Rhondo Retreat feels like the perfect retirement spot!  Labor is cheap (hence you can hire ppl to take care of the place), the weather is perfect, the food is fresh, air is crisp...imagine owning a place like this, rent it out to tourist to generate some income, and save a room or two for yourself.  There's nothing more serene and relaxing than waking up to the birds chirping, breathing in fresh air while listening to the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves, and occasionally spotting monkeys moving from tree to tree....Life can be nothing but beautiful in places like this :-)

chilling at the porch...spotting Columbus monkeys

Photos courtesy of Neeta Bhandari and Mark Rolland

Celebrating small victories in life #1

Moses, the sandwich man, brings fruits and various lunch boxes to our office daily, and he has been the guy responsible for my stomach's well-being for the last few months.  His price is reasonable, 180ksh (~$2) per item, and what I have become absolutely addicted to is his fruit salads...for a very reasonable price, I can get all my vitamins with very little hassle.

Today, I got more change than I had expected, and it's when I realized that I have been overcharged for the last few months, even when I thought he began to give me discounts...He looked like such a honest, down-to-earth, simply guy, yet, I've been deceived for 4 months!!!  Now I'm finally paying local Kenyan price, I think I shall mark today as the day I officially become a "local", yay!