Preliminary considerations for your organization establishing a greater presence on Kava

Decisions in Paradise: How To Be, or Not To Be

Introduction:

My name is Nik. I spell my name a little differently. But, with so many
folks named Nicholas, Nicolette, Nicole, Nikoleta, Nikola, and more, I
figure I’d let people guess.

Like everyone else, I periodically imagine what paradise on Earth would
be for me. In my imagination, my trip to paradise includes having a
wonderful, loving relationship, finishing my college degree, getting a
meaningful job, seeing some of the rest of the world, and getting my
dog, Leonard, housebroken.

Although I’d been working on all this stuff for what seems a lifetime,
I couldn’t believe that they all came together for me within a three
week period; although, I’m still working on Leonard.

Within two weeks of finishing my degree, I landed a job with great
potential in a solid organization. All the investment of time, energy,
and money in school finally paid off, not to mention I learned a lot
more than I thought I would. The next week I reconnected with a former
“friend”, that could prove to be the love of my life. Did I point
out I’m still working with Leonard?

Adding to paradise found, my first assignment with my new company
required me to travel to another part of the world—an island country
of Kava, in the South Pacific to be exact. Now who thinks of the South
Pacific and doesn’t image a physical paradise – white beach, gentle
surf, swaying palm trees, tropical breeze – I sure did, and so did
the prospective love of my life. We agreed the first trip would be
strictly business. So, I would be traveling alone. Poor Leonard. If this
assignment and our relationship worked out well, however, we could spend
other occasions together in paradise.

My first week of work was entirely engulfed in a brief introduction to
the company, HR procedures, organizational processes, overview of Kava,
and flight arrangements. Although I received a great deal of help in
putting together the trip to Kava, no one knew exactly what I would be
doing there.

“You’ll be working with Alex, our director of strategic planning,”
was the short, quick, and consistent response I got. “Very
experienced, very demanding, very influential executive. What an
opportunity for you!”

So, the following week I was off to Kava, to meet with Alex, my
supervisor and mentor, for my assignment in paradise.

I hope the love of my life gets Leonard housebroken while I am gone.

The setting:

My first reminder that life’s events are not as we perceive them to be
is when I landed in Kava. What I found was that this part of paradise
was a mess, at least where I landed. It was a mess all the way to our
company’s office. It was a mess around the office.

I opened the door of the trailer, our make-shift office. The office was
a mess, too!

Before I could focus myself to say anything, even to greet the
receptionist sitting behind the desk, the hectic yet very welcoming
voice rang out, “Greetings, I’m Alex.”

I was a bit surprised. Correction: I was very surprised. People never
look like you picture them—nothing is like your mind ever pictures
it—but I was way off with Alex. I should have known better, but I
still answered, “Really? You’re not the receptionist? You’re not
at all how I pictured you.”

“Really?” Alex responded, “How did you picture me……..”
gesturing me to introduce myself.

“I’m sorry. I’m Nik,” I responded.

“You are Nik?” was Alex’s retort. “Wow! You’re not even close
to how I pictured you, either.”

“So much for perception is reality,” we said in unison.

“Well, that was a wave of commonality in this sea of diverse thought,
eh?” Alex quipped.

I quickly learned Alex loved metaphors.

“Yeah, let’s see if we can have many more of these we experience,”
I answered, hoping my first impression was not my last.

Again with a hectic this time reassuring voice Alex said, “Oh we will.


“So, you’re one of the rookies they sent me from training camp. Get
ready for some fun games. By the way, I am also the receptionist.”

“Let me tell you a little about Kava,” Alex continued, and with a
note of humor and threat added, “And, make sure you keep your eye on
the ball this time.”

Alex debriefs Nik about Kava.

Facts about Kava:

The location:

A significant island country in the South Pacific.

The people:

Over 50% under 15 years of age

Ethnic mix of indigenous South Pacific tribes, oriental (Chinese
primarily), African, French, Spanish, and since World War II, a sizeable
number of Americans.

Religions – Indigenous 50%, remainder closely divided between
Christian, Buddhist, and Islamic.

Languages – Numerous indigenous, as well as English, Spanish, and
French.

The economy:

Petroleum, coffee, cocoa, spices, bananas, sugar, tourism, fishing, and
natural gas, as well as inexpensive, quality labor.

Disasters threats:

Tidal waves/tsunami

Typhoons/Hurricanes

Tornadoes

Floods

Fires

Volcanic eruptions

Earthquakes

HIV/AIDS

Petroleum spill

High risk for avian flu

Terrorism, from within and outside the country

Helping organizations:

Governmental service – local, state, and national levels—including
the military

Community based organizations

Faith-based groups

Businesses

The situation:

After Alex’s introduction to Kava, reviewing the potential risk
associated with our location, and thinking I’m showing Alex my great
observation skills, I declare, “That’s why the mess all around here.
Some disaster hit this place. Right?”

Alex’s eyes spoke, “No kidding, slugger.” But kinder and more
informative words came from Alex’s mouth that said, “No, not some
disaster. It was some disasters—fastballs being thrown from all sides,
so to speak.”

I asked my first stupid question, “What kind of disasters have they
had here?”

With some chiding, but great patience, Alex replied, “Don’t they
teach about things that happen in the rest of the world at your college,
or did you get hit by a pitch?”

“They do,” I answered, “but like everybody else, I guess, it if
doesn’t affect me directly, I don’t pay much attention.”

“Every day, in many ways, you’re affected directly by things that
happen in many parts of the rest of the world,” Alex responded, this
time with less patience. “I bet what happens in Kava impacts your life
at least three times a day, every day. You may not get all the fly
balls, but you’re still in every part of the game”

“What happened here was…..

“How did the folks deal with all that?” I interrupted with
amazement.

“Too much, too many, and over too short a period,” Alex answered
with sigh. “Add to that the diverse composition, beliefs, attitudes,
and ideologies, and you’ve got a melting pot boiling over.”

“Or, everybody thinks they can pitch, eh?” as I took a swing at
metaphoric statements.

“Good one,” Alex stated. “Yep. Now, let’s get to work on our
game plan.”

The task:

Alex began to define our mission and my assignment:

“Our company is considering establishing a greater presence here in
Kava,” Alex started. “That greater presence could take various
forms, based on what’s good for our company and what’s good for the
people of Kava. You and I get the chance to analyze, synthesize, and
prescribe regarding that decision.”

“Because so many disasters happen here?” I questioned. “I think I
can write up this recommendation in two words, ‘Forget It’”.

Again with great patience, Alex explained, slowly and deliberately, “I
guess you can just take your ball and go home. But our organization
chose to play in this game and you chose to join our organization. If
you really want to play, you will have to take your turn at bat. There
are no designated hitters in this game.”