Wednesday, July 30, 2008

PS: Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who emailed me process improvement docs and other tips! Your help really made the difference between some sleep and no sleep and really added to my audience's enjoyment of the material.

Remind me to tell you about how Lean is just like "Clean Sweep" and Six Sigma is TLC's "What Not to Wear!" And most of the audience laughed at the Bob Marley rule, except for the one Jamaican in the group.

A week of firsts

Wow, it has been a good week, full of many new things. First, the First Baghdad Management Retreat went very smoothly. There was great conversation about our strategic goals and mission statement, excellent engagement in the idea of being revolutionary, in a good way, in the way we do business, and laughter and learning had by all. I was disappointed that one of my bosses had to miss the big day because of other pressing concerns, but she was even more disappointed, so I know that if things could have happened any other way, she would have been there. My other boss did a great job of leading the way for both of them.

Last night I got to drive in the International Zone for the first time. So what if it was only for 3 blocks...so what if the top speed (because of speed bumps) was 15 mph. I was driving.

First trip to the liquor store...the military lives under General Order #1 here- no booze while in country. The State Department is not that strict with us. I have heard a lot about the little liquor store, and finally made my first journey there to buy $20 bottles of $3 wine. My wallet is lighter, but it is great to be able to end a long day with a glass of wine.

First middle of the night "duck and cover" alarm since I arrived. Though we are in the apartments, which are hard cover and designed to withstand incoming mortar rounds, the compound has an alarm system which gives us advance warning of incoming objects so that we can get cover. We are advised to move from our bedrooms into the central area when the alarm goes off, and this is advice I am going to heed, even in the middle of the night. It was tough to get back to sleep after the alarm though.

Friday, July 25, 2008

A busy week, full of pride

The past week has been uber-busy.

I am planning a retreat for the management section here. I wish we were going someplace fun and motivational, but alas, we are limited to "retreating" to one of the new embassy compound conference rooms. The topics of the retreat are right up my alley- strategic planning and process improvement methodology- but I have been frustrated by the fact that all of the electronic and hard copy records from my days in this field are not available to me. That is right, they are all in storage. Having only limited space for bringing things here- a weight limit of 250 pounds of air freight and a limit of 120 GB of hard drive on my laptop- made me make some choices. This choice was not even a tough one at the time. After all, what were the chances I would ever need to do a presentation about process improvement or strategic planning in a war zone? The gods are laughing at me :) Thus I have resorted to setting my pride aside and begging- sending consulting friends begging emails to ask if they can help me. So far I have received no help from those requests, and the retreat is this week Wednesday. Thankfully, my wonderful roommate has some powerpoint presentations that have been useful. And there is always the great resource the internet. But alas, all of that requires redoing work I have already done, and will mean a number of late nights this week if I am going to facilitate the quality of retreat I want to achieve.

This week I also made my first visit outside the International Zone. I traveled with our Social Worker to visit Camp Taji, just northwest of Baghdad. We flew there by helicopter and the flight was uneventful, but did give me a chance to see the countryside as we flew quickly by. I tried to take photos of the countryside, but have not yet taken the time to see if they turned out. Some of the images that remain in my mind...dust covered buildings and dust covered rubble, swimming pools choked with dirty water and old lounge chairs, laundry hanging to dry on the tops of buildings, cars stopped at check points, tall factories spewing flames into the sky, people in markets, crazy tall palm trees providing shade for fields of green, a florescent aquarmarine river winding across the landscape, the crossed swords monument and elevated freeways criss crossing over the tops of other roads and buildings.

Camp Taji is geographically huge, but like stepping back in time. A series of dusty brown and gray buildings house people, feed people and employ people. Part of the compound is Iraqi run and occupied and part is US run and occupied. The team I was visiting is living and working at the camp, but is working with local Iraqi officials in another section of Baghdad. The team has made great progress and has some fabulous team members. One team member has made and distributed, out of his own pocket and initiative, a bumper sticker that says "Proud to be an Iraqi." He hands this out to kids that he meets as he does his work. He told us that in Arabic it is tough to translate the word "proud" so when he is explaining it to kids he translates it as "happy." His work, and the work of others on the team, is helping the kids and their families and the local government officials find the meaning of the word "proud" in themselves and in all that they are working towards in their nation. These teams, made up of military and civilian volunteers, are the great heros of our day to day effort to win the hearts and minds of people here. I am so proud to support them and the great work they are doing.

The scariest part of being at the camp was the sign on the ladies room door. A huge snake, coiled into a dusty corner of a building just like the one I was staying in, was pictured there, along with a standard operating procedure for how to respond in a "snake encounter." The notice explained that several types of venomous snakes exist in the area, tending to sleep the day away coiled in areas where they might find some respite from the sun- like garbage piles, areas of rubble, etc. It also helpfully explained that the same snakes tended to come out in the evening. This sign was about 20 feet from my overnight accommodations. Snakes are one of my biggest fears. I did not sleep well, and luckily did not have to use the SOP I had read about on the door. But I am proud to have faced my fear without too much looking under my bed.

Last night I attended a farewell party for one of the social workers who is departing here after more than 2.5 years of saving the community here from going crazy. Though I have only known him for a month, I am really going to miss him. He gave a great farewell speech, in which he explained there are two kinds of people in Baghdad. There are people who will push others out of the way on their way to the duck and cover bunker, and there are people who will help others into the duck and cover bunker. He reminded us to always be in the letter group. I think his words are meaningful not only in Baghdad, but also in the way we all treat each other in every situation. His words brought tears to our eyes, and he talked more about remembering in all we do to bring hope and support to each other. What a remarkable speech from a remarkable man. He will be missed. I am proud to have served with him.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Answering your questions...

Hey there,

I have been getting some great questions, so I thought I would share answers with a wider audience...

Q1- What kind of TV do you get?
A1: The TV shows are sort of spotty. We have a cable system and most of the TV seems to come out of Dubai...there are some US programs, but they seem to be about 1-2 seasons behind the US. As I am getting ready in the mornings, I have a choice of Dukes of Hazzard (welcome back 70s and 80s!) and CNN/BBC. In the evenings it varies...Grey's Anatomy, Oprah, Medium, some of the various CSI's and Cold Case type shows. But I have not figured out yet if there is a regular schedule. We were told we are going to get a wider range of channels soon, after they do some upgrade. There are a lot of Arabic channels, and one show called Noor that seems to be on constantly which sems like a TV novella. I really wish I could understand enough Arabic to understand that show and others.

Q2: How much does the protective equipment weigh? Do you wear it all the time?
A2: It weighs about 35 pounds. Currently we do not have to wear it all the time, only when we are traveling or when the security situation calls for it.

One month down...

I have been a slacker on updating for the past few weeks. It is really easy here to get into a rhythm of get up, work out, go to work, work 10-12-14 hours- come home- go to bed. That routine is easy to fall into, but not at all conducive to keeping in contact, especially when there is no intenet in my apartment. I have heard that maybe we will have internet by August...I am not going to hold my breath.

Lots has been going on in the past few weeks. I don't know how much of it is interesting to others though...

Work: One of my colleagues went on R&R, and am his backup for some of his work. I back him up on the contractor entry-exit portfolio. The USG and GOI (Gov't of Iraq) have a special agreement that the USG contractors who are working with the reconstruction of Iraq do not need to apply in advance for visas. However, they can't enter Iraq without permission either. So they must submit entry request forms to my office for each of their employees, including details about what projects they are working on and how long they will be in Iraq. My office processes them by creating a type of diplomatic request note and sending this request to the Iraqi equivalent of the Department of Homeland Security. That Ministry processes the request and sends us back an official letter giving them permission to enter and exit Iraq. Though it is a bit tedious processing these notes, it is a critical component to the reconstruction of Iraq and a big time and effort saver for both the USG, our contractors and the GOI.

I can't remember if I wrote about my portfolio change earlier...I think I did. My regional management officer prtfolio has been shifted to consisting of only Baghdad PRT and ePRTs. The PRTs are Provincial Reconstruction Teams and they are located in a specific provincial capital city, working with the local government officials as advisors in the normalization of government and daily life at the local level. The ePRTs are the same, but they are embedded with a specific military brigade in support of the military's relationship with the local government. There are 10 groups I support all together. I support them in their mangement needs- making sure they get the resources they need to support their work, and trying to connect them with the embassy and DC offices that can assist in getting the work done most effectively. I have really enjoyed interacting with these teams so far.

The other part of my portfolio is doing special projects for the Management Counselor and Deputy Management Counselor. They really keep me running. In our first meeting I received a list of important projects a whole page long. Each day, I may get one or two crossed off the list, but another 3-4 get added. All of the projects are quite interesting though, and the work is teaching me a lot about running an Embassy and building processes for an embassy from the ground up. There are a lot of processes that are going to need to change as we move our Embassy offices into the New Embassy Compound later this year. "Traditinalize" is the theme of the year, or so it seems.

This morning I had one of the most interesting experiences here to date. I was asked to accompany my boss into the vault where we have stored many of the items that were originally found in Saddam's Palace when we moved in. The goal of our trip was to confirm the inventory list that was made in the past. I looked through the list...pages and pages of jewelry, weapons, knick knacks...as we waited for the heavy vault door to swing open. I really did not know what to expect...the images in my mind were of pirate treasure. The reality was not as glamorous, but interesting historically. The room was large, and sort of dimly lit because some of the light bulbs had burned out. There were cardboard boxes, footlockers, and a safe. It really looked a lot like someone's basement. The inventory work went pretty quickly. Someone in the past had done a really great job of cataloguing everything...the pieces of jewelry were each in a plastic ziplock style bag with an inventory number. The lighting made it difficult to appreciate the pieces of jewelry and watches, but some of them were quite beautiful. We did not have time to look at many pieces in detail, but there was one locket that had a photo of Saddam in one half and a photo of his wife in the other half. The footlockers had old medals, some of them with business cards from the people the item was presented by- the Minister of Defence of Bulgaria, the President of Armenia. There was a soccer ball signed by lots of people in Arabic. There were many walking sticks standing together in a cardboard box, made of various materials and decorated in many ways. There was a box of swords, and several boxes of guns. The military man with us commented on the variety of them. As we looked through and accounted for all of these things, I could not shake the feeling that I was just nosing around in someone else's basement. I wonder what the GOI will choose to do with these things when they take possession of them again.

Play: There is an employee association here that runs a small bar a few nights each week. I was initially on the board as the rep from the management section, but the more I have gotten into things, the more I think I will be involved. To celebrate July 4th we had a BBQ, and a few days later we grilled again to use up the leftover grilling things. The second night I got to be one of the cooks. And then last weekend I volunteered to work as a bartender. It really is a very good way to meet people, and I had fun doing it. However, like everywhere, there are many people who want to have the benefits of the activities of the employee association without actually volunteering to put nay work into the association. A number of key people are leaving in the next few months, and I wonder if other people will step up to the plate to assist ithe group and the community.

I have finished another novel by Marian Keyes. She is a great Irish author who writes about sad things in a funny way. I strongly recommend all of her books. The newest one I read is called "Anybody out there?" I have also started going to a weekly knitting/crocheting group. Last week I tried to teach a couple of people to crochet. It is sort of like the blind leading the blind for me to teach others, but it was fun.

That is about it for now...note that the work section is much longer than the play section.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Week 2 done...and in the bidding process

Tour tracker stats: 4% complete, 96% to go in Iraq

Career tracker: 4 years done, 20% complete if I choose to stay with State the minimum of 20 years required to get a full pension...

It is odd to see that number and realize that I have lived in three new countries in 4 years. Using normal tour lengths of 2-3 years, I will probably have the chance to live in only about 8 more countries during the rest of my career, excluding the US.

I am currently having to do the whole bidding process. We usually start bididng about one year before we transfer, and with this being a one year tour, the bidding thoughts had to start almost as soon as I got to Iraq. I had considered extending in my current job here, but our managers announced that they would not be allowing any of us to extend. That is an interesting choice for them to make, no other Embassy Section has made this same policy. It is not necessarily the cost-effective choice...getting someone moved into a new job and someone else moved out to another new job is an expensive proposition. Some have commented that it is s sign they intend to work us to death over the course of the next one year and do not expect there to be anything of value left after we finish this year. I, for one, am hoping this is not the case. So anyway, they made the policy and there seems to be no recourse for appealing it, so I have had to dive into bidding.

I have had some very attractive offers. A good friend in Geneva asked me to come there and work for her. Switzerland sounds like it would be a good place to work, but I really have my heart set on doing either a Financial Management Officer job or a Human Resources Officer job. She does not have either of these open in Geneva at this time. I also received an email from out of the blue from Rome, offering me an A/GSO job there. But once again, I am really hoping for a job that will expand my skill set. Only part of the bid list is out now...the part that covers Iraq and Afghanistan, and I have bid on the positions that interest me. So far, have received no handshake offers on any of those positions, so I may just have to wait until the full list is published later this month.

The act of assigning people to jobs is really an arcane process, or so I think after my limited visibility to it. It really comes down to who you know and who is around the table when the decisions are made than seemingly any tangible knowledge of the bidders and their demonstrated skills. There is some hope...some positions and bureaus are starting to use a 360 degree feedback process for certain key positions. But ultimately I think it will need some high level engagement and involvement in improving the overall annual Employee Evaluation and assignments process before State is actually placing the right people in the right places to get the right things done. There are times when I think State would benefit from a more "military" approach to assignments, especially if it meant sending people to the places where they are most needed and doing more to encourage non-performers into leaving.

Thursday, July 03, 2008

My birthday and new portfolio

My birthday was just another work day here in Baghdad. It was also the day that my office got restructured- Happy Birthday!

I initially planned to go to the office only or the morning when I had meetings scheduled,and then take the afternoon off to enjoy some relaxation and sleep in an effort to get rid of the sore throat that has plagued me since I got to the desert. Unfortunately, my bosses had other plans.

My colleagues and I were called together to let us know that our portfolios were being restructured. Until this point, the Regional Management Office had split the country into thirds- North, Central and South. I was responsible for the Central section, which included REO Hillah, all of Baghdad and PRTs (Provincial Reconstruction Teams) and ePRTs (embedded Provincial Reconstruction Teams) in Anbar, Diwaniyah, Karbala and Najaf. However, our bosses had other plans and other portfolios that now needed to be covered. And they had chosen me.

We learned that I would retain Baghdad in my regional management portfolio, but that the rest of my duties would be special projects, many of which will be focused on process improvement and traditionalization of the Embassy. The new portfolio appeals to me, and promises to give me a chance to work with many different sections in a way that I would not have had with only my Regional Management duties. But there is so much to be done. The hours are going to be long, but potentially rewarding and interesting.

Of course, the first new special project I was handed had a meeting that very afternoon. The plan of taking the afternoon off went away, and the new project began. I can't really talk about the new project yet, but after only one meeting I know I will be able to use every bit of State Department expertise I have on this one. And as soon as I can share details with everyone, I will.

I came back from the meeting, excited to be starting something new, only to find our email systems on the fritz. I took this as a karmic sign and went home to bed. My birthday gift to myself was the freedom to crawl into bed at 6.30 pm without guilt, and sleep the night away. Maybe that proves I am old...but I prefer to refer to myself as spoiled and pampered :)

On the evening of July 4th, I hosted a birthday evening for myself and my new colleagues at the employee association bar. The turnout of management colleagues was slim (but appreciated). However, the constant turnover of the people here means that everyone becomes friends quickly. We had a great time meeting and mingling with friends, old and new. It was not a late night, but a quality one.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

July 4th celebrations- 2008

The Community Liaison Office did a wonderful job of bringing July 4th celebrations into the palace for us this year. The mission was given a day off to celebrate Independence Day, and not on the actual day because it landed on a weekend day for us here in Baghdad. I volunteered to assist with escorting the vendors who were coming in for the Bazaar. I admit to having a dual motive, partly to give back to the community and partly to get an advance look at the items they were bringing in for sale.

The goods filled a full store room from top to bottom, and my job was to stand guard and make sure that the vendors only moved their goods from the storage room to the Bazaar space along the designated corridor. The vendors numbered about 15 Iraqis, and one could tell they were excited to get their goods out and into the cash carrying hands of everyone in the palace. Trolley after trolley of rugs, silver goods, pashminas and paintings trundled along the corridor to be setup and admired. The vendors laughed while they worked, even though it was sweat inducing heavy work.

There was a ceremony and various people made speeches. And then the doors to the bazaar and game section were thrown open. The military MWR (morale, welfare and recreation) group had lots of games set up, and the prizes were fun Embassy Baghdad gifty items. But most people spent the majority of their time bargaining and shopping. My roommate and I were immediately lured into one of the rug vendor areas. The vendor had a fabulous silk-wool rug hanging in the back of his space, and it was trully one of the most beautiful rugs I have seen in a long time. The pattern has a name, but I don't remember it now. I do, however, remember the price...it could be mine for only $2800. YIKES! As my differential and danger payments have ot actually hit my bank account yet, and I am still paying back my pay advance, I am thankfully not feeling flush enough with cash that I could be talked into that price, no matter how deeply I had fallen in love with it. So instead of that masterpiece, we continued to dig through the piles of carpets of varying colors and quality levels and finally located the best deals of the day. The vendor was quick to point out that despite the fact we had chosen synthetic silk, machine made options, they were good quality ones from Iran. And the prices made us happy. My roommate bought a matching runner and 6 by 9 rug in lovely golden shades. I bought a runner in shades of red and a 5 by 7 rug in shades of blue. Mine are both now on the floor in our common area of our apartment, and our feet sing each time we walk along the silky softness of them. And I have the business card of the vendor, should I ever decide I cannot live without the masterpiece rug.

We ended the day by volunteering again, initially to help in the check out process for the military Eagle Cash, and then later to once again watch the takedown process. The vendors had had a long and successful day, but still had a mountain of goods to store again until they could come the next day and take them away back to their shops. It is tough to speculate how much the vendors earned in that one day Bazaar. One MWR staffer commented that at a previous bazaar one vendor had told him he had made almost $150,000 in the one day of sales. I don't know if any of them reached that same level in this bazaar, but based on the number of people who left the bazaar with bags full of pashminas and arms loaded with rugs, it is conceivable. Just another Economic Development project sponsored by the USG...and one that really added to my morale.