Improvising when work gets in the way of a laptop breaking down

Aalto Design Factory, one Monday in January 2014

Just over a fortnight ago, I nudged my coffee cup over a corner of the full size design award winning keyboard embedded in my rather obsolete but much beloved Lenovo.

Today was a very important deadline that my team and I had to meet. And my work involved writing over 5000 original words in response to a wicked problem, one of those that would wring your heartstrings if you knew.

Simultaneously, I had an entire market entry strategy to complete and submit for a client project that had been ongoing since earlier in the spring. My intent had been to get that done and dusted before the 1st of June leaving me the balance of time available to focus on the complex analysis and synthesis of a narrative by today’s deadline.

A few drops of coffee was all it took to disrupt my intended plan of action.

I’m sharing this anecdote here, now, because I learnt something about myself that I’d not have noticed had this not happened.

Improvisation is the key to success in challenging situations where the infrastructure we take for granted, or the tools we come to rely on, refuse to perform the way we expect or they should.

Slow down during a crisis, and you will have that unique center of calm grounding you instead. It may seem counter-intuitive at first glance, but if you step back and consider the whole, this singular moment in time – infinity – can allow you an unprecedented opportunity to envision the whole, recognize the landmarks, and the obstacles, and then, plan your navigation all the way through to your goal. That is, instead of diving in deep into the urgency, take a step back off the edge of the cliff instead.

Then, and only then, when you have your roadmap in mind, take that critical first step forward to begin.

We submitted over 10 megabytes of materials last night, well in advance of our deadline. And, after a day or so of letting my poor old tired eyes rest from switching back and forth between two screens and flipping the trifocals on and off, I’ll sit back down to complete the interrupted strategy for my patiently waiting client.

New Delhi Notes 2015

I was in New Delhi for just over a week at the beginning of June, visiting after a period of 3 years, and so many things caught my attention that I thought I’d do a round up of my observations, just like I did 10 years ago.

Systems implemented and working. The impact may not be visible to a first time visitor or someone living through it. Immigration at the airport didn’t need me to fill in a disembarkation card anymore. As a citizen with a machine readable passport, I was ‘in the system’ already. The bank was virtually empty. I’d never seen it so desolate until I noticed this e-Lounge next door. My request for a debit card was handled instantly and the card handed over. Yes, I can use it for internet payments too. Ooh, I’m now part of the Great Indian E-commerce boom.

So, Sanjay tells me all about ‘those purchases you make and then they send it to your house and you can use Paytm’ – e-commerce, without ever once using the world Internet, e-commerce or speaking in English. His own commitments (the last baby turned out to be twin girls) keep him from splurging on a smartphone but he keeps a SIM with his Whatsapp and Facebook accounts to use on his friend’s phones. Sanjay is my go to “aam aadmi” or representative of the emerging Indian middle class, in the classical sense. He’s a blue collar worker in maintenance, with a motorcycle, consumer electronics and a daughter in private English medium schooling. He only has vocational training and high school equivalency certificates.

This startup received 9 million dollars in funding and splashed out with billboards in key neighbourhoods. Brother in law who’s head of McCann Erickson in India tells me its the classifieds they use. And yes, this ad shows one of the unique issues of going online in India.

Gentrification is everywhere. Even in the jhuggi-jhopdis. People’s clothes are brightly coloured and modern and cheap. I bought two excellent t-shirts for Rs 150 each ~ 2 euros and some odd cents, at least 40% cheaper than similar street vendor prices in ye olde shopping mecca of Singapore. I mean, branded coconut water kiosks, really?

The Metro is bringing mobility on a scale that’s changing the landscape of the city. Another 3 years and where will we be? What struck me was even with the worst heat wave in years, the power went off only once, that too for a couple of hours, something that had never happened before. Summer is always the time for load-shedding due to the higher consumption of air conditioning and other electricals.

And if you have money, its app-driven public transportation for you. Ola is what everyone talks about. Apps are becoming commonplace. 10 years ago, when I was first told to keep an eye on the mobile phone and way it would change things, in everyday life, was this the future we’d envisioned for ourselves?

But for all that technology and infrastructure and systems, cash is still king with many shopkeepers laughing off mention of mobile payments and gizmos to stick to what they know. Paper and coins.

The informal sector is still the provider of income and employment for the majority and the mindset of scarcity means the culture of repair, re-use, re-purpose and resell hasn’t gone anywhere. Even if its been glitzed up with spit and polish.

Its never going to be “normal” or “conventional” but its definitely signs of social and economic development. India has come of age.

Observations on emerging opportunities in upcountry Kenya

Louis Majanja is a photographer who maintains the wonderful ‘Daily Struggle‘ photoblog capturing life in and around Nairobi and Kenya and his latest post captured not only my imagination but also the changes he’s observed upcountry in his rural home region when he went back for the holidays. Here, I want to share that insight with you:

Photo Credit: "Daily Struggle" by Louis Majanja

He writes:

The signs on the premise speak of 3 different phenomenons that are reshaping rural life in Kenya – Cycle parts, Mobile repair, and New Kinyozi (barber shop) represent 3 businesses that would not have existed 10, even 5 years ago. The spread of inexpensive Chinese motorcycles, has improved rural mobility dramatically, cheaper cellphones have improved communication and rural electrification is is enabling new businesses and new businesses are growing around this new opportunities.