Season's Greetings

Wishing you all the best the season has to offer!

Inertia of Habit

I came across an interesting reading last week which made reference to the “inertia of habit”. Upon brief reflection a few definitions of this concept came to light:

1. A spirit: A habit is not devoid of action. Hence, the inertia is not something that is readily observable – at least not in the short term.
2. A resistance: The more often a habit successfully resists change, the more likely inertia will set in. Failed change not only brings inertia but it also breeds cynicism.
3. An excuse: The more often a habit is used as a reason for not changing; the more difficult it is to engage in possibilities of change, producing blind spots of inertia
4. An institution: A well entrenched habit is one that is accommodating everything around it. To change it changes everything else. The inertia emerges from an inability to cope with too much uncertainty.
5. A value: Values and beliefs produce a lens through which the world is understood and through which habits are formed. To change a habit is oftentimes synonymous to changing a value – something that is oftentimes considered extremely difficult to change – causing inertia.

To summarize my thoughts: changing a habit – whether personal or corporate – is an opportunity to make a habit of changing – and thus eliminating inertia.

With Christmas around the corner it is important to remember those who have very little. If not in the habit of giving – here is an opportunity to change a habit AND a life. In Afghanistan an orphan is a child who has lost his/her father. The tradition of families caring for their family members is so strong here that adoption is virtually unheard of. Visit this website and help an orphan in Afghanistan fight the inertia of poverty: http://www.afghanistan-parsa.org/index.htm

All in a Day

So what is it like to be a consultant in Kabul working on civil service management reform? Quite frankly, it is a unique experience that is extremely difficult to share with anyone who has not visited the country. That is just the way it is. Regardless, I thought I would at least attempt to frame the experiences for you.

My day begins with a scan of security alerts sent by email or text messaging. If all is “normal” there is a quick exchange of agendas between colleagues and off we go across roundabouts, traffic jams and local crowds. What follows is always filled with surprises and the most fantastic situations. At the end of the day, you can always count on one thing: you will learn more from your experiences than your client will learn from you. That is just the way it is.

Here are two of my most recent lessons:

· Waiting to meet a senior executive, I was sitting in an office filled with large sofas. Lounging across from me was a local heavy set man looking at me curiously. He asked me in Dari if melon was fattening. With the help of a translator I explained that fruits were in fact a very healthy food and considered not to cause obesity. He then explained to me that if you ate a melon after a big meal the melon was surely fattening.
Lesson: The impact of a “last straw” can serve to explain many things.

· Yesterday for lunch I was served french fries in my soup and sliced bananas with my meatballs. I quickly released the fries from their misfortune with a spoon and partially submerged them on a flatbed of ketchup. The meatballs were then swiftly slalomed across a hilly terrain of bananas onto a microwavable dish.
Lesson: Finding your comfort level is sometimes a rescue mission.