Corporate Strategy 101

Everyone knows that impressions are important. Everyone knows that expensive-looking leather chairs impress people. Everyone knows one should also have a certain funki-ness about your office.

So, I upgraded the furniture in my office with two new leather chairs and a very very stylish coffee table. I mean, I'm talking about class. I'm talking about my office looking classy. Corporate. Yes, sir. I guess any one visiting my office will be so bowled over, so amazed at my leather chairs, they'll just give me business.

Leather Chairs = More Business

I also recently received a shipment of goods for my wireless WAN project. It also had some stuff for my office including some funky signs which I specially got made in the US. Check it out!

Funky Signs = Funky Cool Business

When visitors come to visit

And yes, gives us a chance to dress up.

Eclectic office with intimidating mask in the corner

Cluttered but charming desk

My eclectic office

More clean table tops

Yes, the office looks a bit empty but that's because everyone was on site.

Clean table tops!

We get so excited when clients come to visit us. Gives us a chance to tidy up the office and dress up.

Staff Development

Joy! The PABX's dear little green light is on!

This is when the light was RED. And the mood was BAD.

Three heads are better than one.

When the light was finally green! And the mood was crazy happy.

I had been thinking all along that configuring and testing the Meraki Access Point would be the trickiest part of the WAN project. But nope, the guys configured it and we got a signal all the way to New Port Street! They still have not tested those friggin' flat panel antennae yet but I am thinking they've got this.

So which piece of %$^@$&@$%TY@$%T hardware gives us a hard time? The FREAKING PABX. Because guess what? Our US supplier sends it to us unlocked. What? Yes. U-N-L-O-C-K-E-D! The Panasonic guy had asked our man whether he wants the damn thing opened and our man thought he meant the packing. Besides that the entire system didn't come with the basic serial cables either. Neither with the software. Even though we asked for it. We would have paid for it, too. Anyway, my supplier here in Liberia took the rap for it and got it unlocked. After spending an entire day and god knows how much in phone calls.

You know people say, take it easy, take it easy. NOTHING gets done if you take it easy. You have to raise a hue and cry and/or do it yourself.

So you have to make the sacrifice of having a fire-breathing-monster reputation even though it's not your fault. It's the fault of all the incompetent morons of this world that you became so grumpy in the first place!!

But the main thing to remember here is we got it done! I'll give the credit to my US and Liberia suppliers for fixing the problem they created. They were on the phone all day. Apparently, my US supplier had to cancel his dentist appointment to make sure this gets sorted out.

What a joy it was to see that green light on!

They were all working until 1030 PM on a Friday night.

What a good feeling to know it's sorted out and I can move on to the next phase of the project. We are a few days behind but oh well, at least the problem has been resolved and I can move to site and install and fine tune it.

The best part of this is that we now know the ins and outs of buying and configuring a PABX. I still have to go and install it on site but I'm sure it'll be a piece of cake.

Some more important Tech News from NLTC

The weirdest little quirk: I can't seem to access my Gmail account on my laptop. It's just no good. However, I can get and send e-mails from my iPhone.

In fact, I have done all my business on my iPhone today. My fingers are tired.

Technology makes no sense at all.

And I make my bread and butter with it. No, not literally.

PS. As you can see, I do business with a very serious expression on my face.

'African Signs' are messing with my business plans

So we do not deal with Israeli products. And we try not to get irritated with clients' IT officers who can't tell the difference between a computer mouse and real one because we are afraid of 'African signs.'

Whaaat?

Let me tell you the story.

We have built a network for one of my important clients. We also built them a server and firewall. All Linux-based, all open source. Virus free. License free. And, we provide fine tuning and training for a period after the project has been handed over. Naturally. But you would think that the fine tuning and training would have a cut off period. My guys are there all the time.

Every friggin' time I ask where Linga is, I get the answer, he's at the site. I telephone him sometimes when he's gone to client sites and why is he taking so long to get back to the office and guess what, yes, he is at this particular client site.

During a staff meeting I ask my staff, so how come we spend every waking moment of our friggin' lives at this site? Did you guys build a lousy network? What is it? Why are you guys always there and why does it look like what we built does not work?

So it turns out the IT officer cannot manage anything. My staff confirm this. So I ask them, can we just own up to this to our client? We do not want anyone to lose their job or create problems. Blah blah. But still, I am tired of us looking bad.

My guys say, no, we can't. I say, no, I am fed up of doing Call Outs for which we are not getting paid. There is legitimate money to be made here.

The guys are seemingly reluctant to push this further. Besides the whole we-can't-go-around-getting-people-fired. They say, he can harm us. I say, what? How the heck can he harm us? He is not our enemy. They say, he can harm us. I said, what? Get us in trouble? Get us fired? What? After prodding them, they say, 'African signs.'

What?

Black magic. Voodoo. Abracadabra. Witchcraft.

I could not believe it. I was like, what? You guys are kidding, right? But no it turns out all my staff believe in this. They told me weird stories. They even told me about the naked soldier myths that went around in the war here - bullets ricocheting off them. You know, General Butt Naked. Stories of how a body decomposed in one minute.

I was flabbergasted. I asked them, so you guys can do wonders with technology. You guys can go and provide flawless IT solutions to world-class companies. You guys can make computers talk to each other. You can build a network. You can build servers. You know what a server actually is. You know it, man, you know it!

Yet you believe in some hocus pocus. Not any ordinary pull-a-bunny-out-of-a-hat type. Like make someone die hocus pocus.

I shall have to impress upon my people that this is pure nonsense. If this were the case, George W. Bush would have died 100 times.

Meantime, yes, my business plans on taking over the world are being sidelined because of fears of 'African signs.'

Tech news from NLTC

For Ethical Reasons We Avoid Use of Israeli Products in Our IT Solutions

I have officially commenced my biggest project to date - building a wireless Wide Area Network (WAN) across a camp site. If we pull this off, this will put NLTC in the next level.

This project has been in the pipe works since about May. That is when I carried out a site survey to be able to come up with a proposal. We offered a combination of a cabled LAN as well as a wireless WAN across a bigger area. There is also a voice component to the project which will serve as an intercom for the time being and can later be converted to a full-fledged PABX and VOIP too.

My chief techie Linga was sure of the Access Point he wanted to use way in the beginning. He had done the research on the Internet. Moreover, we found out that this particular brand is being sold here in the market giving us more confidence in its ability to function in Liberia's climate as we would need to mount this outdoors. A client in the same industry has also used the same Access Point.

I also need antennas to work in conjunction with these babies. I was told I needed omni directional antennas well as third party high gain ones. I am pretty sure I got the hang of it. Thank God for the Internet, Wikipedia and Google.

Below is a good explanation for the average laywoman like me:

"The single most important thing you can do to extend the range of your 802.11 system is to install an external antenna with some good gain and directional or omni-directional qualities. WiFi is simply a radio, which is used for computer. You can think of your antenna as the “speaker system” of your WiFi card. Get a bigger antenna; your WiFi will go a lot further."

(http://www.radiolabs.com/Articles/wifi-antenna.html)

The Access Point is a radio and the antenna is needed to amplify the signal. Big. Learning. Curve.

I consulted the sales rep of this company several times in order to finalise my proposal. I went through the plan with my staff. I got them to draw diagrams so I could visualise the whole thing. I worked on the pricing, the quantities. I figured out my sequencing, my duration. I had to come up with a labour fee.

I did not send out the proposal until I was actually in Pakistan. Sent it to the client and got it approved from Islamabad. What a good feeling it was. But honestly until I get the whole thing, I'll be much more relaxed about it.

NLTC was paid in advance for the project making it even sweeter.

When I started to do the purchasing of the stuff - we are ordering most of it directly from the US - I realised the antennas recommended by the company are manufactured by an Israeli company. In fact they even supply the Israeli Army. They have an entire section of their website for military orders.

I started looking for other antennas with the same specs. Man, did I create additional work for myself. I went back to the same company to ask them to recommend another product. The fellow just seemed to lose interest in me as a customer after that. He says, that is the only product he can definitely recommend. I went 'hunting' on the Internet for 5 GHZ high gain antennas and found a few options. So each time I go back to the company, he does not give me definite answers.

A sales rep for some other antennas was quite helpful in helping me to make my decision, offering me technical details and seemingly-good advice.

So after having gone back and forth, forth and back, to and fro, I have finally made up my mind and figured out which antenna I am going to use.

In the end, I am glad I could make this decision. We have felt helpless watching the state of Israel go around acting without any restraint, any sense of good will, any fair play for as long we can remember. So when this project comes along and I realise that I could be buying and using an Israeli product, I went and found a substitute. Of course, the company that I am buying the Access Points has - obviously - a partnership with this Israeli company because the freaking sales rep is recommending it officially. Maybe there's networking stuff I use right NOW is Israeli that I don't know about. Maybe some nut or bolt or wall box or router or cable. Who knows. I need to start investigating and learn more about the industry that I am now part of.

For the time being, it feels good!! Like a "nice pile drive to the face" in the words of Nacho Libre.

Now I just hope my network works!!

Interesting facts to make my day:

Wireless Wide Area Networks are wireless networks that typically cover large outdoor areas.

"An effective antenna solution increases the range and corresponding coverage of a wireless LAN, which decreases costs because of fewer access points."

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/1144391/Antennas-The-Key-to-Maximizing-RF-Coverage.htm

Back to Liberia - that little bizarre and weird country in West Africa

So I made it back to Liberia safe and sound. My staff was so happy to have me back they decorated the whole place with balloons and welcome signs. My most senior staff member ran down the stairs to give me a hug. My secretary was carrying my bags upstairs. How sweet!

Since I am my own boss I gave myself another day of rest and recuperation from all that flying I did from Asia to Africa. I took it easy for the next couple of days.

Sadly, the sense of holiday and relaxation does not last very long in Liberia. It wears off after a few days because small things around here do not work and that can really raise one's stress levels.

But let me not dwell on the negative. Guess what? Since I have been back, LEC has been on all the friggin' time! I mean, the whole friggin' time. I am IMPRESSED. It's even better than Pakistan. All the times I used to curse them and their seven generations back and forth are gone. I have power all the time. I don't need to go and transfer NLTC at Mama Susu's restaurant. S-W-E-E-T!

I just hope this doesn't jinx my electricity tomorrow!

Are things as bad as they seem?

Things are never as bad as they seem. The reason I say it was that even I was a little swayed by the news of regular bomb blasts and suicide attacks in Pakistan - from the northwest to Lahore, from Karachi to Islamabad. I started to wonder whether it was all blood and mayhem. I wondered whether I should have just stayed put.

Unfortunately all that BBC or CNN ever blast about Pakistan is the blasts. They never run any other story. As if all that is going on in the country is people blowing themselves up. This is the 6th most populous country in the world. Surely there is something to talk about. But nooooo. We have an agenda. We are fighting the War on Terror. And Pakistan is not cooperating. All terrorists are coming out of Pakistan. Lookit, lookit.

Luckily, things did not seem so bad as they really are. Suicide bombers were not running amok in Islamabad neither in Karachi. Things were as they have been.

What was a little different was the scheduled power cuts even in the commercial areas. So, I would be there shopping and suddenly the persistent and annoying humming of the generators would start, plunging my senses back into the familiar chaotic noise of downtown Monrovia. Pretty much every restaurant and shop has a generator as a back up. Every house also has a generator or a UPS. Life goes on and people work their ways around obstacles.

Apparently, the state owes $ 2 bn in unpaid electricity bills! I guess that explains a lot.

Unbelievable as it may seem to the Western media opinion-makers, there is a lot going on in the Land of the Pure.

Now that I have blasted enough at the Western media opinion-makers, I was rather unimpressed with the quality of the Pakistani television media. The news channels were taking the same page out of CNN or BBC. It was all mayhem and blood and gore. It was all corrupt politicians. It was all shouting experts shouting at each other on those expert panels dishing out their wisdom on what's exactly going on.

There was this one panel hosted by this buxom lady who talked more than her guests. At the particular time I was watching the programme - trying hard to figure out what was going on - there were 3 other women guest panelists who between them and this lady hostess were just going on and on. The 4th panelist was a shy man who got so fed up said, 'why did you invite me to this panel if you don't even let me talk?' That was funny.

For sure, no one can really say what's going on in the Land of the Pure. Anyone's guess or analysis is as good as yours or mine. But geez, that does not mean objective and a stab-at-intelligent analysis should go out the window. All it seemed to be was highly sensationalised reporting. Like how that CNN does it.

What I was pleased about was that the comedy was as good as ever. And I mean satirical political and social analysis. I watched a bit of that "Four Man Show" and "Hum Sab Umeed Sey Hain." It was hilarious and biting as ever.

Oh and lastly, how can I forget? BB was plastered everywhere. Propaganda clips were on the TV all the friggin' time. Her face was plastered along with Jinnah and Zardari and what's-his-name Prime Minister everywhere. It was ridiculous. She has been made into a cult figure. They EVEN changed the name of Islamabad Airport. That annoyed the hell out of me.

Conclusion: Things aren't bad as they seem. Actually, they are. But please put a better spin on it? The real truth is that things are bad as they seem for the poor and the wretched. They always suffer the most when things get bad. It's true in any part of the world.

Note: The pics up there are of the famous Najam Sethi being hilariously parodied on The Four Man Show.

Fly me to Karachi Let me sing among those Lights

Besides spending time with Aboo, I also spent about a week in Karachi with my khala's and littttle cousins there. Karachi is the antithesis of Islamabad. Karachi is alive. Islamabadis seem to be in a perpetual elitist bureaucratic polite slumber. Karachi has a vibe. Islamabad doesn't even have a pulse. Karachi is easygoing and relaxed. Islamabad is stiff and stuck up.

I'm only gushing because I had such a good time.

And honestly, I could have had a lousy time in Karachi if it weren't for my family. They just made sure I had an awesome time.

I haven't seen them for a long time so it was great to catch up with them and get to know them face to face (besides what I know from Facebook).

I was at first confused because they were all quiet. I wondered whether their invitations were just fake ones and they didn't really want me there. But it turned out they were a little bit shy. Thankfully, the shyness fell away to some great times. We watched movies, played cards, goofed off, talked and talked, went shopping, went driving, made plans and on and on.

On the eating, I A-T-E. My stomach fully remembered that Karachi was the city where one would end up eating three lunches. The reason I say this is that the last time I went to Karachi was from Islamabad when I used to work as UN national staff. I had told both my khala's about the time I was coming there. I got mixed up about which house I was supposed to go first to. Moreover, my boss was with me was hungry and I had to accompany him for lunch. After I deposited him at his hotel, I headed off to my first khala and I ate a very delicious lunch with biryani. After that, I went to see my other khala who was upset I was late and the lunch was already cold. I tried to squirm out of it but whoops, that would have been the height of rudeness. I ended up eating that lunch too. I had three lunches that day.

On this trip too I ate like crazy. Don't get me wrong. It was great fun. I had biryanis, the most awesome kebabs, karahis, more biryanis, parathas, ice-cream, gol gappas, pani puris, kulfi, you name it. But my stomach did feel like it was having a hangover in the end. I just lay down the first day I got back to Islamabad.

I also shopped like crazy. Karachi had some great malls so it was fun to shop there. I got some beautiful kurtas, chappals and bags.

I met my cousin's little kid for the first time. He's so friggin cute. Played a lot of hide and seek with him. We took about 200 goofy photos with him on my Photo Booth on my Mac. We watched loads of movies. Slept late, woke up late.

The most amusing thing to watch was how much planning went into it. My cousins were figuring out places to go to so I could max out on all the fun I could possibly have. It was very sweet.

Apparently there's one cousin who no one hardly sees. I was told that I should be honoured he was giving me so much time because 'bees saalon ke baad us se miltay hain.'

Hey I was told I was so politically correct I used to correct them way back when I was 15 or 16. I used to snap at them. Ha, that was funny when I heard that. Man, we all become our own miniature personalities right when we're young, eh?

We also saw old parts of Karachi. It reminded me of Cowasjee's passionate columns about preserving Karachi's heritage and landmarks.

I had my heart full when I left Karachi. I am really grateful to my cousins and khala's and uncles for their hospitality. I probably can't express in words how much the Karachi trip means to me.

Islamabad!

I remember the first time I came back to Islamabad from my first trip to Afghanistan. Pakistan seemed like such a developed country. The roads were smooth, paved and straight. The hills were green and everything seemed to be in order.

I used to get the same thrill landing in Islamabad each time I came back from Liberia, a place I call the Afghanistan of West Africa, to provide context to those who don't know what Liberia is. Afghanistan freaking de-stabilised the entire region. And little storm-in-a-tea-cup Liberia proved to be no less of a catastrophe for it's neighbours.

So it has been a thrill to be back after two years. There is a sense of home, belonging and familiarity.

I was nervous about seeing my old man after a period of two years. He seemed older and so much more vulnerable at the airport and it made me realise what a long time two years is.

After that initial pang, things fell into a good routine and it was good to be at the house. My father enjoys pottering around, tending after the plants and garden. He's rummaging all the time. Or reading a book. Watching the news. Or making me a cup of tea!

He insisted on making me tea and stuffing me with food all the time. It felt like being a kid. I wake up late, drink tea, watch the sensational Pakistani news channels which have multiplied like mushrooms and just generally take it easy.

It's really nice to do nothing!

I didn't get to enjoy any smokes with the old man but we played a lot of chess and Scrabble. That was totally fun. Just like the old days.

I am not going to do this again - not come back to Pakistan after two years. That's way too long.

From Accra

So here I am in Accra waiting to get on the Emirates flight to Dubai and then onwards to Islamabad.

I paid a little extra to get into the business class lounge. I thought I'd re-live my UN days when I use to treat myself to business class flights whenever I went home and also, now that I am the CEO of an IT company I need to have a proper place to write e-mails and do my work. The lounge itself is pretty classy and I'm glad I did this to while away about 6 hours.

I'm really enjoying the fact I have to do actual work sitting at the airport, punching out proposals and following up with stuff back in Monrovia. The sweet feeling is really that I can do this from anywhere as long as I remotely manage and provide enough tools and resources for my staff to keep the thing going.

I just found out we got a project approved - so yay!! I feel like a very powerful CEO of a small IT company.

I had many powerful memories bubble up from before but hey, it's part of the game.

Off to Pakistan

I am finally able to leave for a short break to get out of Liberia. I am off to Pakistan, the homeland, for three weeks.

There's so much I need to do when I get there. My passport is going to expire soon and I also have hardly any space on the pages for additional stamps and visa. The immigration guys are going to give me a hard time at each airport.

I need to buy new clothes, get new contact lenses, maybe go to the doctor's, and so on. I'm going to hang out with my kiddie cousins in Karachi and hopefully, pick up some IT kit and contacts there!

But most importantly, I'm going to see my old man whom I have not seen in more than two years. Last year, while he was alone in Islamabad, he was attacked by 'rogues' as we call them in Liberia.

I'll be meeting family members the first time since Wesley's death so it'll be very emotional for me. I'll be in Pakistan and will probably remember many moments when I used to miss Wesley and think of him.

Things will be very different. At the same time, things are also strangely the same.

I will be along the same Accra - Dubai - Islamabad route bumming in each destination, spilling money, collecting moments, jotting down thoughts and having fun with myself.

I have the same jittery traveling blues, feeling anxious about a trip, feeling the need to put everything in order before I travel the night before.

I have a hand over note to do! Sort of like the one we had to do while working at UNDP but this time, it'll actually be implemented! I mean, it actually counts. I had a very funny inner moment thinking about doing hand over notes for my staff.

Yeah, we had a frantic couple of days at the office, going over all that needed to be done in my absence, having meetings with clients, planning upcoming projects, etc. My staff is psyched and are totally on top of all that is going on. We have work coming out of our ears and I'm SO SO SO excited. In fact, I can't wait to get back and get on with it.

What else is same? Ah, I have a man who is going to drop me to the airport, who is doing all my little running around things, whom I am already missing, and feel good about.

I still think about Wesley a lot. I have a picture of us right on my desk and it's framed in the coolest frame sent by my childhood friend Piilani to me recently.

I know Wesley's gone but I talk about him all the time and refer to him as if he's there. I miss him but I am so busy and so full of my ambition, desire for life and 'lust for knowing what should not be known,' that it's not so bad.

My dearest friend Rebecca came to say good bye to me and she feels I am different. I have also noticed other friends saying this. I am glad to hear this, to be honest. I have very deliberately - in an act of liberation - created a new life for myself. I don't want to have the old life. I want to look ahead and not back for even a moment. I have taken all that happened in a stride.

I am truly happy to have taken up the challenge of taking over Wesley's business and making it my own. I am so friggin glad to be out of the dysfunctional and bizarre world of development. I am so glad to be doing my own thing.

I am very content with myself and the decisions I have taken. I made sure Wesley's business didn't sink. We grew the business, got ourselves some very cool projects, made some excellent money, and now I can go to Pakistan for a break. I also moved into a new relationship and am very happy and content.

Ha, ha, I know I sound so mechanical and god-awful business-like but that's what it is.

I am excited about my trip and getting to spend time with the old man. I am planning to pick up a few Cuban cigars in Dubai and smoking them with Aboo. It should be fun.