Time is flying by!

We're almost in the middle of the 3rd week here in Brazil - time flies when you're having fun :o)

Really been enjoying the whole experience here in BH, both professionally and personally. The CSC program really is one of the best organized and executed programs I've been involved in, and the fact that its purpose is to serve organizations that need assistance is the really cool part for me. The amount I've learnt and the people I've met along the way have been some of the best parts - and the amount I'll take away from it is huge!

Last week finished up pretty good on the work front, a decent few things achieved within the week all in all. The most productive parts of the week for me were probably the two workshops which we set up with our client team. Its been a while since I've been involved in such a format but we said we might as well try the approach out and see how it goes - nothing ventured, nothing gained !

We did one on web design best practices and one on mapping the end to end development cycle - and they both went really well I think. Lots of discussion, debate and sticking stuff on our giant notice board ! Importantly a lot on consensus reached was between the participants on what was the right / ideal approach.

I'm constantly impressed by the capabilities of the organization we've been working with, and the fact of the matter is these guys have the knowledge and skill to do great things, all we're doing is helping out in forging all the ideas into a framework that hopefully will assist them in following through on them.

Like any NGO, resources are over burdened and trying their best, so somebody coming in for a short period to essentially lend an extra pair of hands can help push small but important things forward a little faster than would happen otherwise - I'm hoping that's what we are doing anyway !!

This week is all about completing our deliverables and making sure that what we produce is truly of use to the client. Assumptions are always dangerous, and coming to this assignment out of my regular job, which I know inside out, I constantly have to check myself and ask - are we going the right direction for the client ? The proof will be whether what we've produced and recommended sticks when we walk away in approx 10 day's time!!

Aside from work we'd a trip to some waterfalls at Serra de Cipo on the weekend and tonight we did a class in Capoeira - that was incredibly good fun! Here's a few pics from both for you to take a look at.

Take er handy, Paddy

#ibmcsc Brazil

 

Forming, Storming, Storming, Storming ... Norming, Performing!

Seems that blogging after I go for a morning run is a good strategy ... as my fingers and brain are about the only parts of my body that aren't exhausted !!

This week so far has been a case of ups and downs and ups. We started the week trying to map out our schedule for the remaining 3 weeks of the assignment so we'd have something to march to. It was a good exercise even tough it took a lot of time, discussion and debate, but we got there in the end and nobody fell out with each other :o)

One of the main things we noticed was that we had to build in a lot of buffer! The Brazilian pace of doing things is far more relaxed so things like meetings sliding a day or so is very common, it will be tough to try and stick to the plan, but as the saying goes - fail to plan, plan to fail!

Tuesday began with a television interview with the Redes Minas station. They wanted to show us working in our client location and to find out our impressions of Brazil and working with our client. It was a bit of fun as we had to luck all animated, so I said I'd borrow some habits of our good Italian colleague Andrea :o) It was shown the following day, and if we can get a clip I'll throw it up in my next post.

Overall though Tuesday was a tough day for everyone I think, we had to really get into the meat of what were our concrete deliverables that we needed to produce in the time available. We basically had a day of debating which was so tiring and mentally draining. To be honest it felt like we were never going to get out of the 'storming' phase of team development.

As luck would have it Bruno, our IBM CSC focal point was with us for some of the day and he helped us get to the conclusion that in fact despite all our different approaches, phrases and definitions of things we were largely talking about doing the same things! We weren't so sure, but we called it a day all hoping that we'd have a hallelujah moment the following day :o)

Wednesday arrived and funnily enough, after a nights sleep and some reflection we all agreed that we should sit down with a few of the local team members are just chat about some of their processes. As we walked through things we all gradually came to the same conclusion of what we really needed to do and produce. It was a really positive group moment, one we needed to be honest.

So now we're all rowing in the same direction and have a much better idea of how we all think and articulate our thoughts and opinions. Even though we hit some rough patches along the way we learned a lot from it and are the better for it. Looking forward to a productive remainder of the week !


Last weekend we did two day trips, one to Ouro Preto - a really cool town, and one to Jardim Canada to the home of Joanne, the head of Casa de Jardim, which is one of the other team's client. Both were really good days, so here's a few pictures.

Later, Paddy
#ibmcsc Brazil

1 Week In Already

Its hard to believe but we're already a week into the assignment! I almost can't believe it, and there's been so much packed into the past 7 days its been tough to even get time to blog about it all.

So anyway the early part of our week was a real voyage of discovery on the work front. We have gotten to meet so many really great people who work in the client organisation and their passion for what they do to support the local artisans is clear to see.

We're starting to better understand how the organisation is structured and also how we can play a role in helping them in some areas which is certainly helping me feel reassured that we can deliver something of value within the time we have available - time that seems to be flying by way too fast!

Wednesday turned out to be a state holiday and one of the client team members - Lucas - very kindly offered to take us to the central market and show us around. It was yet another example of the welcoming nature of the Brazilians and we really appreciated him giving up his day off to spend with us. Also two of his good friends came along too which was great. We got see lots of examples of artisan products that would be typical of the region and of our clients associates, some really interesting and creative work.

I also learned that in Brazil they do not call Brazil Nuts, Brazil Nuts ! the translation of the name means nuts from the region of Para, which is in the north of the country. A nice bit of trivia I thought :o)

We also got to attend a community street party and sampled the local sense of community and togetherness - the main purpose seemed to really be to unite the neighbourhood and create an excuse to get everyone in one place to meet and socialise, it was a really fun idea and I personally thought it was such a great way to get to know who lives around you - something I'd love to see happen more in Ireland.

I also heard a new Brazilian saying which is 'you never make friends drinking milk', which basically means that you really get to know someone and become their friend over an alcoholic drink - obviously as an Irishman I'm really struggling to grasp this concept .... lol

Thursday was very much a back to business day, which unfortunately started late due to our lift breaking down! but it was no major drama. We had a really good day as a team working through all our thoughts, ideas and approaches. We seem to be getting places and want to get to refining our scope of work by end of day today, so its our first major deadline that we'd like to meet. I'm really enjoying the process and experience I'm gaining from the whole thing and what I'm learning from the other team members.

And now today is Friday and I'm running late so I better go !!

Paddy

#ibmcsc Brazil

All Settled In (Day 3 in BH)

So finally after all the months of preparations I'm in Belo Horizonte!

Thankfully the trip here was uneventful, with the only exception being me realizing my bags were ridiculously over weight just a few hrs before I went to the airport, but anywho the crisis was resolved and off I went on my merry way with the usual inquisition from the taxi driver about where I was off to etc etc :o)

I flew Dublin - London - Sao Paulo - BH, a trip that took about 20 hrs door to door, and a trip that was way shorter than some of my other team members had to endure! Met a really nice guy from Sao Paulo on the plane and he was full of advice and suggestions on things to do and things to eat ! It really affirmed my assumptions of what Brazilians were like and made me even keener to get here and start experiencing the culture first hand.

Myself, Eniko and Jared all landed in BH roughly around the same time and we all traveled to the hotel toegther. It was pretty cool just taking in the city views from the taxi and letting the fact set in that this was going to be our home for the next month! Traffic was crazy busy and there are hills everywhere!

After we got settled in the hotel and grabbed a quick bite to eat (with great difficulty with the language barrier!) we got to meet up with more of the team and got a brief orientation around the neighborhood.

Later that evening we all went out to dinner in a traditional restaurant which was fun. We also got introduced to 'caipiranhas' which are kind of like mojitos, but kind of not! Anyway, time will tell if they are my friend or my enemy :o)

Sunday was a really interesting day overall. A lot of ice breaker and team building activities with the entire team, and I think all learned a tonne about all our backgrounds, interests, etc. It was also a lot of fun with plenty of laughs! The CDS team who facilitate the CSC program along with the local IBM team members are just great folks, and they really helped us gel as a group and get comfortable in our new surroundings.

Monday (today) was our first formal day of work and it began with a big meeting of all the teams and clients in one location. The clients all explained a little bit about their organizations and work, and overall it was fascinating! Such great work being done by all, often with limited/no resources, and the general feeling I took away from it was the level of passion and commitment they all had to their work and the people and communities they serve. Also what I found so interesting was the amount of similarities between issues experienced in Brazil and those we experience in Europe.

The remainder of our day was spent with my IBM team (Carolyn, Karin and Kim) and our client - Maos de Minas - in their office location. We met so many friendly and helpful people who explained to us how the organization worked and what services they provide. To be honest it was almost a case of information overload ! but anyway its just day 1 of many so there's plenty of time for it to sink in and then be used!

Anyway in summary, so far so good :o)

Later, Paddy

P.s. Do not buy 5 Euro irons from Argos, they are a complete waste of money !! :P

#ibmcsc Brazil

Time to hit the road!

So the day of departure has finally arrived - its scary how quickly time flies by!

The 'out of office' is set, the bag is packed and all the loose ends have been tied up .... I hope :o)

I'll be spending the next month living and working in Belo Horizonte, Brazil as part of the IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC) programme.

http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/corporateservicecorps/  
 




I'll be working in a team with 14 other IBMers from all over the world (from 12 different countries) during that time and with a really great sounding organisation called Mãos de Minas, who help local artisans get their products to market, both nationally and internationally.

http://www.maosdeminas.org.br/index.html 


Its hard to get my head around it all, but the reality of it has been gradually sinking in over the past few weeks as we approached the travel date ... and now its here!

I'm really looking forward to meeting my teammates tomorrow who I've gotten to know during the course of our preparation work over the past 3 months. Everyone brings a different skill set and background to the table so its going to be fantastic to be working with such a great bunch of professionals. I also can't wait to meet our Clients in Mãos de Minas, experiencing Brazilian culture, tasting the food, catching the sights ... there's not much I'm not looking forward to!

Overall I feel incredibly privileged to have this opportunity and I plan to make the absolute most of it!

My next blog post will be from Brazil, so until then thanks for reading and take care :o) 

Paddy

#ibmcsc Brazil