Thought Picnic: Indulge Incidence

Ingress into

All our focus is geared towards a three-hour conference call with our colleagues in South Africa tomorrow morning.

Much as we might have many questions to frame and scope what we have to do, my view is that we be more the listening party than the talking party.

In fact, even when we should seek clarification, it is somewhat important to allow with consideration and patience everything to be said whilst we take notes and contextualise issues.

Incubate indicate

The day started slowly as we reviewed the agenda over Starbucks lattes ensconced in high-backed privacy seats with cushions to either prop us up or give some support to our backs. Usually, these places are taken up that we sit around ready to pounce on a place that comes free.

We are in danger in getting bored as it is early days, I would say we savour the moment because when things start we might be squeezing 36-hour days into typically 8-hour working days offset by the two-hour time zone ahead where South Africa resides.

Our laptops arrived in the morning, all stops pulled and favours cashed in, ready for our mailboxes to be flooded with idea, indication, intention, invention and interjection as we respond with interest and inquiry hoping that our induction has adequately invested us with information.

Insight ingénue

This would probably all be down to introductions first and the much that would follow. The first design activity we embarked on was to craft our email signatures from the template provided by the boss, obviously with a personal touch.

Some observations mean that our minds would be active with suggestions to bring finesse to some wonderfully crafted solutions before I start squinting at logs to divine what has gone into the some products being tested at present.

Insipid ingestions

The apparently Chinese meal I had prepared at the restaurant was served in a dish best reserved for Italian pasta which meant using chopsticks was almost impossible, and after the rice was stirred into the black bean sauce, we were closer to risotto than oriental fare – this barely made a passing grade.

That is not to talk of the coleslaw yesterday which scored average for my colleague which in my view was almost too generous a compliment – you ask – how do you get coleslaw wrong? Apparently, you can, and to add insult to injury, we paid for it. That it did not presage a sick-bag moment must be credit to our incredibly robust constitution.

And so, tomorrow is another day with thanks.