Gustible - under the rubric of [$_SELF]

I have had a very busy two months – traveling, learning, and dealing with new responsibilities.

My travels have taken me to Cape Town, Hong Kong, Warsaw, Port Elizabeth and twice to Poznan twice since the beginning of April. Here are a few glimpses:

In the pictures, from top left, clockwise:

• Lion’s head casting a long shadow over the city at sunset
• Manila from some hotel room
• My brother holding my nephew – a most excellent young man! And the best nephew one could EVER hope for
• Monroe – aged, on a socialist era building in Poznan
• Poznan town square
• Poznan’s headbutting goats

Of course – all the travel was work-related. I was in Manila for such a brief period of time, that I did not have any opportunity to play tourist – two night’s stay, and gone again. But I did meet interesting people – and got a glimpse of what “hard-core gamer” really means. Unfortunately I will have to refrain from discussing the trip – confidential and all.

So – Poznan. Well – that was the “life-changing” one. Not so much the visit, but the events around it. I had gone to Poznan to do a presentation at a conference. I had barely arrived, before I got a call to return to South-Africa as soon as possible. The reason ? My boss had just been offered a different position in the group, and I was to take over his position, as CEO of SWAT.

Life-changing indeed – on many levels. One does not realise how much of a difference it makes to assume ultimate responsibility for one’s decisions. In the past it was easier, in many ways, to make a decision – although never done frivolously, and never without aforethought. But suddenly the consequences of a wrong decision becomes more immediate. And the strategic positioning of where I take my team becomes the paramount consideration.

I am very fortunate to have been given such an opportunity – the challenges are stimulating. Although I work for a corporate, and a very large one at that, I work in an environment where merit and skills is mostly what counts – my team is great, work is great. It is hardly possible to be in a better position professionally.

So – life is busy, but great. There is really only one travel tip for this post, but it is an important one:
Change is good, don’t ever be scared of it. Change brings movement. Fear brings stagnation.