Familiar challenges

Last week we had our #IBMCSC Kenya midterm review with the CEO and department heads of our client, the Women Enterprise Fund. The purpose was to review what we'd observed so far and make some initial recommendations. The feedback was positive but we have lots more work to do, even as we run down to our last few days.

What struck me was how familiar the challenges they face are. I've been on the other side of this situation - having someone or a group of people come in and look at your organization with fresh eyes.  It's humbling, and frustrating.  They point out things everyone knows are problems, but haven't been addressed because of deeper, structural issues.  It's so much harder to get things done and make change in any organization, than it is to simply have good ideas.  Balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders, adhering to ever more rules and regulations, balancing the need for creativity with the simultaneous need to be consistent with other activities going on around an organization, etc etc.  They've got to adhere to performance contracts, the mandates of their charter from the government, the direction of their board of directors, and still look for creative new ways to accomplish their mission.  No easy task. 

They say there's nothing new under the sun, right? The staff of WEF are bright people - so let's face it, it's unlikely we'll come in and in a few weeks uncover some brilliant game-changing idea that these bright people who are immersed day in and day out in their jobs will not have had already.  But sometimes the value you bring is an impartial viewpoint, and the ability to look across all the silos in the organization.  That I think we can do - and are doing - for WEF.  And you never know...some of the best discoveries are made by accident.  Maybe, just maybe, we'll come up with that stroke of genius that will help WEF change the world.