Academik

Thursday morning came quickly as we struggled to finalize the
Scorecard and final presentation. While we had a lot of ideas on
strategies for what needed to be done we had a dirth of action items
and KPIs to measure whether or not we would be effective.

I worked through our last 4 P’s - Place, Planning, Positioning, and
Presence to fill in the gaps. As I struggled to find unique action
items and KPIs for strategies that overlapped I realized how much we
need struggle for growth. When I first arrived in San Francisco I
went to see an exhibit at the Moma for Matthew Barney including the
8th (I think) edition of a series of films about growth and
restraint. He uses a ellipse with a bar across it to express the idea
that energy without restraint and focus is wasted, and that growth can
only occur when our energies are forced against a restraint. The
easiest example of this is weightlifting, where the restraint of the
weights and the subsequent struggle to lift them produces muscle
growth. Our mind and spirits work in much the same way.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post, but the idea of
struggle in faith was very apparent during the trip - faith that God
would work through us and provide us the answers to questions we
certainly didn’t have the answers before. At some points exasperated
with our discussions and not really making any progress, I had to turn
to God to lead me. It was up to me to turn the struggle over to
God… to use my breakdown as an opportunity for Him to break through.

A leader told the story of another consultant who breezed through the
Scorecard with her client because they had made it very pretty, they
had filled in all the blanks with what they thought were the pieces of
the puzzle, but subsequently denied God the opportunity to participate
in the process. When confronted with this revelation, the client tore
up the Scorecard with only a few days to go and started from scratch.

I felt we had let God work through us, and it was becoming more clear
that the real work of the venture was meant to change Kiki’s heart,
and to proliferate the ideas of Rep throughout the company. I passed
the scorecard on to Kiki and Martin around 1pm and then went for lunch.

I worked on supplemental documents throughout the afternoon and
finally met up with Kiki and Martin in the evening around 5 so that we
could go over any questions they had. Kiki was working through
assigning the Scorecard action items to specific people and
establishing deadlines while Martin prepared the final presentation.

I left for a final team meeting in apt 9b and for the first time felt
the end in sight for the venture. We sang at the top of our lungs
during worship that night, laughing and dancing in the cramped
apartment space. Giman, one of the local consultants, was singing
above everyone else - giving us inspiration! We then went back to our
favorite local restaurant for some more cuisine served up in wood,
metal, and seashells… We laughed and enjoyed our dwindling time
together.