Even hit and run accidents happen at 5km/hour

Driving in the interminable traffic last night, was hit at slow speed by the neighboring car.  We ground to a halt with our cars locked to each other.

He backed up, disengaged and then ran away!  A lead had suddenly opened up in the traffic and he managed to take off at about 15km/hour - just too fast for us to catch him!  We had undone our seatbelts and were ready to get out and have a civilized conversation about how it's all his fault.

I saved his license number in my phone but now it seems like I've somehow deleted it.

The good thing - when I got home and checked the car, it's just another small dent.  We've had the office car 6 months and this is the 7th dent.  All slow speed accidents with no injuries, and no coming to blows.  But this is the first hit and jog.

7am is the new 9am

When did that happen?  Last week I had three breakfast meetings, involving dozens of people from the private sector and even more surprisingly, the public sector as well.  All were (roughly) on time.

Is it the traffic or the inevitable progression to a 24/7 economy?  As it is I'm in the office until after 7 to deal with our American clients, colleagues and prospective clients.

I'm almost pining for the days when you'd visit a civil servant's office only to find he'd left his jacket on the chair and fled to his real job.

Only one 7am meeting this week...

Too nice to fire?

I have a junior office manager who I'll call "Richard".  Richard is a super nice guy. He's very friendly and always willing to do any assignment with a smile.  He's very trustworthy and runs personal errands for me involving money.

However, Richard is the laziest person God has so far seen fit to create.  If Richard can go a whole day without doing a single thing, I'm sure he goes home happy.  He never accomplishes any task until at least the 3rd request, and anything that is left to his sole responsibility does not get done.

He's responsible for our "employee of the month" program and we had to skip over July because he never quite got around to it.

He's on a final warning.

But he's such a nice guy...

The Indian delegation thinks Kenya is a great place to do business

I went to a meeting today with a delegation of 20 Indian companies who have come here under the umbrella of NASSCOM, under invitation from our ICT Board.

It's really interesting to hear them talk about Kenya.  One CEO on his first visit says he's heard Kenya is a great place to do business - he's heard that people are very honest in their business dealings.

Who's going to fleece whom?  I'm not sure.

We go backwards as much as forward

Spent yesterday at gKenya, the google event.  It was quite amazing to learn that there's more mobile browsing (in terms of page views) in Africa than in Western Europe.  We're at the forefront of a revolution (as the whole MPESA experience has already shown.

During the presentation, I got a text about the fire at Sinai slums with over 100 dead.  People were scooping the spilled petrol and haven't seemed to learn (despite numerous deadly examples) that petrol vapor is explosive. 

It makes no sense that the same part of the world that is so far ahead in some ways is still so far behind in others.  I studied economics but it's still puzzling why we can't seem to address the most basic issues of poverty and ignorance even as we forge ahead on so many other fronts.

More on professional or personal

I sat down with Mick and told him that his relationship is not my business, although it makes me sad to be put in the middle of it.  He should make sure that his personal problems don't start to interfere with his performance.



But meanwhile Susan is calling me...she's my friend and normally I would spend hours consoling her, talking about what a jerk her husband is etc.  But I'm ducking her calls, so it's having a bad effect on our friendship. Which does make me sad.  I can only hope one of your solutions will come into play.

Friendship or professional relationship?

I got a call at 6 in the morning from my friend "Susan".  She was very upset: her husband has left her.

Susan is an old friend and I'm sympathetic.  They've been married nearly a decade and have a young son.

But Susan's husband "Mick" is also one of my direct reports.  I hired him on Susan's recommendation and he's a really solid worker.  He does a good job, is well liked in the office, and I've come to depend heavily on him.

I'm distressed.  I can't fire Mick because he's broken up with my friend.  At the same time, it will be hard for Susan to remain my friend if I keep Mick as my employee and indeed professional confidante.

What should I do, personally or professionally?

I told you we should have a fire drill

Last week, the transformer in our building blew up. It blew up the generator and the fire alarm as well.  We only knew about the fires because passers-by were honking and waving to us.  We ran down the stairs and piled into the street as the sound of explosions followed us from the basement.

When we moved in to our building in April, we were supposed to get a fire inspection certificate.  The guy from the city came over and told us to buy some fire extinguishers from - conveniently - his store which was just around the corner.  We bought them from somewhere else.

He hasn't been back but even without the inspection, I have asked our office manager why the fire doors are locked.  "So that the people downstairs can't come in" he says.  Just the week before I had reminded him (again) that people died at Nakumatt because of locked fire doors.  I had reminded him (again) that we need a fire drill.

Well we got our fire drill!  Luckily we all got out safely but I ask you - are the fire doors unlocked?  NO.  Did we learn a lesson?