…the bicyclist passing me said as I walked home from the neaby mini-mart.  Startled, I stammered out “fine” to this stranger’s receding back.  “Obroni” is the Twi word for “white man” or “foreigner.”  It’s not really about color though.  Many of the folks returning home from a life in America are obroni – at least for a while.  Sometimes it’s part of a greeting – not like “étranger” in France or “gaijin” in Japan.  Needless to say, I stand out here just as I did in Japan.  In France it was only slightly less obvious, but as soon as I’d open my mouth, the game was up.

Friendliness is rampant in Accra. Walking to lunch or home from work, strangers often greet each other in passing.  I like this.  I’m still working on “hello” in the local language.  My Twi consists of about 5 expressions, and folks patiently teach me new ones.  I always try to learn how to say “thank you” in the local language when traveling.  It helps break down barriers, often because it is unexpected. The “howdy thing,” my kids call it, cringing.  I’m still mastering “Thank y’all” from the American Deep South.

There is a clever thing folks do when shaking hands.  As your hands slide away after the shake, you catch the tips of each others’ middle fingers and do a finger snap against your thumbs.  The description sounds complex, but it’s really straightforward and sounds cool when it works.  It does take a bit of practice, however.  My hit rate is only about 50%.  We were informed that when someone slides their hand away slowly, they aren’t being weird.  They’re just trying to see about doing the “snap!”  Yet another one of those nice, laid back Ghanaian things.

We come into this world as we leave it:  alone.  Along the way we make friends, we love, we give, and we get. Over here, with so many people, I can’t say I’m alone.  I’ve made new friends, I’m trying to give, and I’ve been welcomed like never before.

But the other half of my heart, the part I can’t live without, is 7000 miles away. She’s patiently waiting for my return, taking on all the handyman stuff I did and more.  She supported me in starting this crazy adventure.  Now she lifts me up from afar when I need it.  She is my heroine.

We’ve never been apart this long.  Even with all my HP globetrotting,  since I met Linda at the start of my junior year in college, the longest we’ve been apart in 36 years, 5 months:  2 weeks.

I love you my darling.  Happy Valentine’s Day.

…goes flowing like a river

…is money

…passes

…’s a’wastin’

One thing is sure:  it means something different to each of us. Most cultures have their own ways of using it, valuing it, or respecting it.  In America, we’re punctual but often “stylishly late.”   And the waiter better be there with our glass of water before our butts hit the chair.  In Japan, I’d arrive 5 minutes early and apologize for being late.  Mexicans have manaña.  For Ghanaians, it flows.  Tomorrow will come.

I’m sitting in a café a little ways from the SEED center.  My colleague and I thought we’d get some take out for lunch.  Something different from the expat-favored Deli France – which is a great place to get some good, familiar fare, but the only thing local is the staff.  I’ve long since sent her back to the center where she had to catch a one o’clock meeting, promising I’d bring back the take out.  When we ordered, I knew it was futile to explain that we really needed the food quickly because we had meetings.  But I had to try.  45 minutes later, it looks like something might be happening…

Many Ghanaians get frustrated by this too.  The man across the restaurant has long since finished his grilled fish (he came in well after me, but okay) and is now on his cell phone arguing with a business associate about how unacceptable it is that he’s late for the meeting.  I’ve overheard quite a few boss/employee or client/supplier conversations that were similarly heated.  So it varies, but the needle is more towards the “it’ll happen when it happens” end.

I related this aspect to a very close relative of mine – how we’d been trained that it’s not uncommon for your contact to be over an hour late.  That you’d call to check and they’d say they were almost there and traffic was bad – but they hadn’t yet left the house.  She informed me very matter-of-factly that I should get them to change because it was an impediment to business.  Maybe so, but that’s a tall order for just me.

I’m not sure there is a “best” way.  I’m learning more about this way every day.  The idea of flow is very compelling to me.  We wrote down our personal and professional objectives during one of our training sessions.  The top of my list was “learn patience.”  It’ll be a stretch. My Ghanaian friends laugh and tell me I’ve come to the right place.  Linda, you’ve never made me late once in 36 years, yet you put up with my pacing around before an outing.  Maybe I’ll fret a bit less.  And kids, you can stop smirking right now.

I sure am hungry.

We had a fun-filled, action-packed time last week.  The cohort of companies from the first round of SEED descended upon the center for an immersion session.  This is about 5 days of non-stop education by visiting Stanford professors.  It was a great opportunity for me to meet the folks we’ll be coaching for the next few months.  Most encouraging was discovering that, for the most part, I still got my chops.  A year and a half out to pasture didn’t rust them beyond recognition.  I’m back – or well on the way there.

Coaches, staff, and the entire SEED cohort in front of the Stanford SEED Center

We held several breakout sessions that were facilitated by the coaches.  These involved taking the topics presented and applying them in the real world situations that these CEOs face.  For example, after parts of the marketing presentation given by Sidhar Narayanan, we worked through the 4 P’s and came up with statements for each and an overall marketing strategy for a particular company.  It gave these leaders an opportunity to spend some time away from the office to focus on these absolutely critical items, which are never urgent enough to usurp the crisis of the day.  I benefited by getting some refreshers and practice.

I rediscovered the joy of leading a productive group session.  Bringing total strangers together and working a big problem to a sound solution is very energizing.  I’m still learning to bridge the cultural gap, but once we got the group rolling, it was less like pulling teeth and more like coaxing a river to flow around or over the big rocks.

A perk I didn’t anticipate:  as a SEED coach, I get intensive sessions with these great Stanford GSB professors without having to pay tuition!  And they are gifted.  Both Sidhar and Jesper Sørensen were excellent.  Jesper taught strategy and organizational design in a very engaging interactive set of sessions.  During my stay, I’ll get the benefit of 3 more intensive sessions spaced out every 2 months.

Professor Jesper Sorensen and the SEED cohort working through Strategy and Organizational Design

Professor Sidhar Narayanan lecturing to the SEED cohort on Marketing strategy

Then … PARTY!  As this was the last of the set of 4 sessions for the first cohort, Stanford put on a Commencement celebration:  red carpet, photographers, press event, music, dinner, the whole shebang.  They really did it well – a great way to end a week of hard work.  Then I got my first weekend off in 3 weeks.  It’s all been an exciting, enjoyable blur, but the down time was needed for recharging.  We’ll decide our company matchups this week.  Then the fun really begins.

Tralance Addy, Emmanuel Kitcher, Housessories CEO Nwamaka Okoye and CMO Nkemjika Nwobi presentation of plaque

My dinner companions: Graco Engineering CEO Nii-Oblitey Commey, his wife and father

My first African shirt, in the SEED pattern. The color? Why Cardinal of course!

In Boise, it’s around 30 degrees F, relative humidity averaging between 40 and 60 percent (when it’s not snowing).  In Accra, it’s 90 degrees F, RH between 50 and 80 percent.  My body got acclimated to the Boise cold, and now here I am.  Personal moisture is my constant companion.  The good news is that this isn’t the hot season.  That really hits in March.

As part of this journey, I’m trying to be a little better to my body.  So every morning (almost.  Let’s not get carried away) I douse myself in DEET and head to the little gym on the roof.  Twenty minutes of good treadmill aerobics  then on to the universal machine.  The DEET’s pretty much washed away halfway through.  Fortunately, by that time I’m so gross that the mosquitos won’t come near me.  While the jury is still out on cardio and physique benefits, I can proudly say that I start to sweat quicker and much, much more.

My mornings on the roof are really nice, though.  Just me and the crows and the construction workers on the high rise going in next door.  Here’s a little video tour around my parapet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGy9CYq6_Bc

Sorry about all the misfires on this.  I’m trying to find a way for you to watch the video and be able to use the full screen button.  YouTube to the rescue!