Seeing that One-Legged Stool

I know I’m behind on my blogging, and this is the start of my effort to catch up! Week 1 was relatively insane, busy, exciting, difficult, and challenging. The biggest question in my mind is always “how can we provide the maximum amount of value to our client, and the startup ecosystem, in Budapest?” There are so many opportunities… how do we identify the ones that our client in uniquely suited to successfully tackle? Some background: BEA, our client, is a government (city) agency that focuses on supporting startups with 1) relevant programming, 2) connections, and 3) small loans, e.g. micro finance. On #3, we know that this is important but likely not going to solve many of the “big problems” because the scale of these loans is relatively limited (I will spare you the statistical explanation). #s 1 and 2 are where the real opportunity lies. During our first week we had many meetings with our client and conducted eight individual client team member interviews. ...

Our deployment starts in just 2 days! Despite some travel issues (hello, Philly, for an extra 24 hours), I am shortly en route from PHL to BUD. We received our clients and   SOWs about a month ago, at which point we dove into true research and project preparation. My team also had a virtual kickoff 2 weeks ago with our client, where we presented some initial content we developed to refine the overall objectives and scope of the project. I am a little apprehensive about the current scope (we have 3 FT resources for 4 weeks) but during the first week we have the opportunity to further refine the SOW, which I think will be necessary.   Here are some fast facts: Client: Budapest Enterprise Agency (BEA) Client Mission : “… to contribute to the development and expansion of viable, new and existing entrepreneurs based on the market needs, thus contributing to the creation and preservation of workplaces in Budapest and to the facilitation of the economic growth of th...

Though I know there are more visually appealing blog platforms out there, I've decided to resurrect this blog to capture my upcoming experience deploying with IBM's Corporate Service Corps (CSC) in October. What is CSC, you ask?  "IBM’s Corporate Service Corps sends top-ranked rising leaders to work pro bono with NGOs, entrepreneurs, and government agencies in strategic emerging markets. "  ... is the official one-liner.  To me, CSC is the opportunity to finally work on something that feels purely altruistic. We are not trying to increase margin, cut operating costs, make a process more efficient, or "win follow on work." My team, who I've been going through an intensive 3 month preparation with, comes from a diverse set of backgrounds and places. I know each person will bring a unique skill set and perspective to this team and, frankly, I'm ready to get started! (The work officially starts on Sept 28th so... I'm a bit early on this one...

The third leg of the vacation was to Coltura (and other places) to spend time with my nonno's family. Coltura is in the Trentino region and very different, with the Dolomites rising up around you. I love this place! Here are the pics...    

This is the second post for Lazise, with pictures and explanations. During this part of the trip we saw Lazise, Bardolino, Sirmione, and Verona. Belissima!  I mean, how cute are these two? Ada on the left, Rosetta in the center. Love them both! This was after our first meal in Lazise, lunch at Rosetta's house.  Mom brought a bunch of old photos Gma had and got Rosetta to identify a lot of the people. While this was happening Sarah and I cleaned up dinner, and very fast, because the Italians never let us clean! In Bardolino. It was really hard to get Rosetta to stand still and smile at the same time... this is one of the very few where she's doing both! It was a beatiful day and this is one of my favorite pictures. We had dinner all together at Christina's hotel. Christina made a bunch of different pizzas and we had German beer. Mom and Sarah in front of the arena in Verona. It's like the colusseum in Roma, but on a smaller scale and better preser...