Rock-tober 21, 2018

I know a guy who's a brilliant administrator, and he's risen high in the echelons of the World Bank with his superlative skill sets. He once told a group of us about a time early in his career when he was posted in East Africa. Among other responsibilities, my friend was caretaker of a small tract of land. He felt it important to make the plot productive and set an example as an industrious steward. Gathering farm implements, he went out to the field and tried to work the soil, but it was backbreaking work. During the dry season, the incessant sun baked the soil into a brick like consistency, and working with hand tools was arduous.

The entire time, he noticed the local population sitting in front of their homes just watching him. At this point, he told us, "I won't lie to you. I was getting a little bit judgemental. Why am I the only one in this village attempting to make this land fruitful?" Day after day this continued, him working the field with little progress to show and the locals sitting in the shade just watching.

One day, the first rains of the season came. The effect on the locals was dramatic as every able bodied villager swarmed to the fields. The rains soaked into the ground, softening the soil enough to be worked, and all arable land was now being industriously farmed.

In the Navy there's an unspoken rule when you start a watch on the bridge: Unless the ship is in imminent danger, make no change to course or speed for the first hour. The premise behind this is situational awareness. You have to know where you are before you can determine where you're going. Andrea and I compared notes and we have similar rules in our respective organizations. If you're new on the scene, spend the first few weeks if not months getting to know the environment before implementing change.

For my friend at the World Bank, it was a humbling and informative lesson. It's imperative to spend time getting to know and understand local ways and customs. He's gone on to be a great advocate of western aid organizations working within the framework of native cultures rather than trying to overlay western ideas and methodologies onto every situation.

Part of the legendary roster of Woodstock, CCR released "Who'll Stop the Rain?" in January 1970, just four months after the celebrated music festival. John Fogerty said the inspiration behind the song was the Woodstock crowd itself. During one of CCR's sets, it started to rain. Fogerty noted that rather than scattering and seeking shelter, the throngs of people in the audience danced in the rain. They welcomed rather than bemoaned its arrival. I imagine my friend was witness to a similar celebratory mood during his first East African rainy season.