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1) Pack Light- washing is easy to do in most places, and if you’re in a country that doesn’t have laundry service where you are staying, it’s probably the kind of place where they don’t care if you wear the same thing twice. But remember flip-flops. If there is a monsoon or an earthquake you’ll want to be able to get moving quickly (or there just might be something nasty in the shower).

2) Bring A Refillable Water Bottle: But don’t have any liquid in it until you get through check-in. For long international trips it’s easier to fill up and keep with you, and it reduces the amount of trash you will produce while on the road.

3) All-In-One Adapters: Buy at least two; they solves the ‘Oh, I didn’t plan to get diverted to Erbil International and my BB is dead’ problem.

4) Electronic Overload: It’s 2010. Unless you’re shooting for National Geography- your phone can probably serve as your GPS, computer, sound system and camera. Half the knots in my back could be attributed to carrying ½ the mac store and canon’s latest and greatest in my carry on- they make multifunctional gadgets so you don’t actually need to bring it all.

5) Back It Up: Before you hit the road, make sure you sync your computer and your phone to a device you leave at home. Traveling with your portable hard drive in the same bag as your laptop just means, when it’s stolen, the thief now has two copies of your entire life. Also- Bring a thumb drive. As shocking as it may seem, wifi does not actually form a universal umbrella and when you can’t transfer files via e-mail- thumb drive it.

6) Multi-Functional Clothing: I always travel with a good-sized wrap/scarf. This serves as a blanket on cheap airlines and makes a good pillow when you need to nap on not-so-clean surfaces. Also, a good wrap will solve many culturally divergent fashion needs- my favorite has been worn as a beach sarong and as a hijab. Dudes- I recommend taking a light sweater and a collared shirt with you – some countries you need a collar to prove you’re a man. True fact.

7) Only Pack One Book: They are heavy and if you really fly through that page turner you haven’t picked up in two years- you can buy or trade for a new one on the road. You plan on catching up on your entire summer reading list on the 32-hour flight from here to there- but you won’t. You’ll more likely end up a) working b) getting stuck next to a talker c) sleeping/pretending to sleep or d) watch trash movies and enjoy every minute of it.

8) Long Flights: If you’re going to be on a plane for more then 24 hours- I suggest having the following in your carry on: ear plugs, eye mask, chapstick, NyQuil, lotion (a mini one), gum, and if you’ve got bad circulation- good socks.

9) Be Organized: If you can’t open your bag and remove whatever TSA wants from you in under a minute- you have too much stuff in your bag – in the same vein- don’t be one of those people who slows down the security check through. Think of it as a form of martial arts- and get good at it- it shouldn’t be hard to remove your laptop, a zippy bag and your shoes.

10) Breath: They say it’s about the journey- so enjoy it!

The primary audience of LEMON Leadership are business professionals seeking to better understand leadership styles and their implication on the operations and management of a company.  I too use this model to determine how various supervisors, colleagues and staff understand information and how they see themselves.

Recently I had a conversation with a professional acquaintance who was explaining a potential opportunity to me.  This person used the word “we” a lot when detailing the situation.  After asking a few questions, I realized that the speaker was a N: Networker. For N’s all situations are view by who makes up the “we”  (even if none of these people actually have a formal established relationship with the project).   It was important for me to understand that, as far as this person saw things, the details would work themselves out if the right people were around the table.  I am not an N- so I don’t think people solve problems (although I really need N’s in my life).

This can apply to your romantic relationships, too. (Watch for LEMON for Lovers, coming soon).  What someone values and protects is usually how they want others to perceive their value.  Similar to The 5 Love Languages, knowing how your partner ticks will help you communicate more effectively.  I am relatively high on the L scale – which means I value ideas and feel loved when someone recognizes them and expresses appreciation for how I think.  I have family members who are great at the ‘When/What’ of situations- on a bad day, if you don’t complement them on what a great job they did pulling off the logistics of an event or travel plans – they can feel unappreciated.  My father says in one of the chapters, that if he had become a student of my mother much sooner, he would have understood how to love her much more effectively based on the questions she asks and what she values.

What Question Do You Ask?

L  = Why? E = What & When? M = How? O= When & What? N= Who?

Check out the video below to see my awesome father, Brett Johnson, speak about Radically Fresh Leadership at Google Headquarters.

I prefer to write in my books, but if you’re in to Kindle & ebooks, you can buy LEMON here.

1. You just had a pre-meeting to discuss your strategy planning session for the new initiative to reduce poverty by increasing access to safe water/credit/food/health care through fair and equitable distribution to those with the right to said goods or service through engagement with duty bearers in the government and other stakeholders and civil society organizations.

2. You just slammed your head into your keyboard after spending the last 20 minutes trying to get your Skype conference call between Port au Prince, West Bank/Gaza, Delhi, Nairobi and New York to work, only to fail miserably.

3. You realize that you can no longer squeeze into your cubicle past that cool hand-woven cloth from Mali, the wooden mask from Congo, the elephant figurine from Thailand and the rug from Afghanistan

4. You just completed an annual report to your donor explaining that you’re very sorry that you only managed to accomplish 2 of your 14 objectives due to sudden onset of war, drought or an invasion of futuristic nano-robots.

5. You just finished explaining to the donor that you are likely to need a two-year extension and an extra $200,000 to hire an independent consulting company to come up with a plan to fight off the nano-robots, carry out said plan, and then finish up the original activities.

6. You realize that you just used cheers, karibu, Insh’Allah or namaste in casual conversation despite the fact that you are neither English, Kenyan, Arab or Indian.

7. You realize that your favorite and most frequented cafe is located in Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

8. You just finished depressing a volunteer caller from the Red Cross for the 12th time this year who reluctantly agreed that you are not eligible to donate blood because you just got back from (insert malaria-riddled region) .

9. You’re pumped with antibiotics more frequently than a cow in a concentrated feeding operation.

10. You tell yourself it’s not failure if you turn it into a “lessons-learned document”.

At some point during the year, I had a conversation with a close and long-time family friend.  I was sharing how I was growing weary and bewildered by what seems to be a constant friction- so many opportunities and efforts that failed to come to fruition.  She gave me a word that has helped me place this past years experiences in a forward-looking perspective- Roots.

We scatter many seeds on the soil of our life – some may bring beautiful flowers that seem to grow overnight and provide joy for a moment before they fade; others are washed away, and some stick, but the largest things to grow in our lives do not grow quickly, nor is the process easy.  The things that stay, put down roots.

Pushing down roots is an uneasy process- It’s finding a way through the hard ground, navigating past rocks too large to break and seeking nutrients, essential for life, in a seemingly barren landscape.  As the roots grow and expand they become stronger and more entwined in the earth they inhabit but remain predominantly invisible to the external world.

Much of this past year was about navigating unmarked pathways within my soul and about discovering and pressing in to new avenues.  I have run into many walls, came to many dead-ends, but I have also found new spaces where growth seemed possible. The process has not been linear or contiguous in nature.  Like roots hidden underground, the year was marked by a type of isolation and darkness, but it was within this unknown space that I was forced to negotiate and create new paths.

I often stop and marvel at trees. I find them exceedingly beautiful, but as I stand under their giant arms with my eyes turned to the sky, I seldom think about the labyrinth of spider web like veins running beneath my feet.  It is these roots that give life and anchor the towering beauty in storms and droughts alike.

2009 was about putting down roots in my life.  There isn’t really any visible evidence of this effort yet, but believe me, they are there. Now when I see a massive old tree I get excited about what could possibly sprout from this new foundation in the years to come.

The hope of what will come from the struggle kept me going through many dark days.  I know from experience that hope isn’t always enough when you cannot see any light in front of you, but I trust that you too will soon see what has taken root in the soils of yesterday.

Here’s to 2010- the process, and seasons of growth!

So, I booked a ticket.

Among other things, I spent 2009 looking for full-time employment, a task that is as draining on ones emotions, as it is on ones bank balance.  I was in need of a break.  Over the fourteen months of job searching I had questioned most, if not all, my dreams, life goals, passions and aptitudes.  It was a fruitful process, but it increased my desire to find and hold onto the core aspects of my identity and heritage.

I was born in Cape Town to parents who had grown up in the same beach-side community.  Since I was a child, I have always felt South African.  However the longer I have been in DC the less I have felt connected to this heritage.  This may be because I no longer have daily contact with my South African family and friends, but whatever the reason, feeling less connected to this part of my identity is worrying.  I needed to go home and spend time with my family and see my childhood home again.

It had been approximately fifteen years since I spent the holidays with my family in the Western Cape.  I remember fondly that Christmas on the farm.  My cousins and I swam and played on the foofy slide until we were covered in dirt and grass stains. We painted go-carts and wore matching lime-green Snoopy outfits my grandmother had sewn for us to wear in our race against the cousins living next door.  I remember the creaky iron gate and the long dirt road that lead up to the property.

This year, I returned to George, but not to the farm.  It was sold after my aunt and uncle got a divorce over ten years ago.  There were no go-cart races and no matching outfits. There wasn’t hours of careless play in the yard.  All but two of the cousins have grown up and moved out of their parents homes and are living in different parts of the country.

However, on Christmas day, the cars rolled up and the laughter began.  MJ and his girlfriend Kerry-Lee brought cases of champagne and began managing the last details of the kitchen.  The cousins who we used to race on the farm joined us for drinks on the veranda and the youngest cousins played with their new toys. Guy and his new wife Lollie pitched up just in time for Guy to carve the lamb and all twenty-two of us sat down for a meal…

My time in South Africa was not flashy or full of tourist destinations, but it was just what I needed.  Most of my family members have faced their own challenges this past year.  From divorce to cancer and everything in-between, the hard realities of life were as evident as the strength that has always manifested itself in the women of our family.  I was exhorted and encourage by the honesty and tenacity displayed over cups of tea and glasses of cheap wine.

Family is never perfect, but it is the space where we learn about ourselves and, on a good day, are given the grace we need to get through tomorrow.

It can be confusing – most of your parents want you to do well, to be successful… They want you to love, and be loved, and find peace, and laugh and find meaningful work.  But they also – some of them, a few of them (not yours –– yours are fine) – they also want you to chase the bunny for a while.  To get ahead, sock some money away, and then to find a balance between the bunny chase and savoring your life.

But you don’t know whether you’re going to live long enough to slow down, relax and have fun, and discover the truth of your spiritual identity.  You may not be destined to live a long life; you may not have sixty more years to discover and claim your own deepest truth….

It might be helpful if I go ahead and tell you what I think is the truth of your spiritual identity… Actually, I don’t have a clue.

I do know you are not what you look like, or how much you weigh, or how you did in school or whether you start a job on Monday or not.  Spirit isn’t what you do, it’s….well, I don’t know.

I know that you feel it best when you’re not doing much –– when you’re in nature, when you’re very quiet or, paradoxically, listening to music.

…You can close your eyes and feel the divine spark concentrating in your, like a little Dr. Seuss firefly.  It flickers with life and relief, … It’s magic to see Spirit, largely because it’s so rare.

…But you are not your bank account, or your ambition. You’re not the cold lump of clay you leave behind when you die.  You’re not your collection of walking personality disorders.
…You are Spirit, you are love, and even when though it’s hard to believe sometimes, you are free. You are here to love, and be loved, freely.  If you find out next week that you are terminally ill – and we’re all terminally ill on this bus – what will matter are memories of beauty, that people loved you, and that you loved them.

So how do we feed and nourish our spirit, and the spirit of others?  First find a path, and a little light to see by.  Then push up your sleeves and start helping. Every single spiritual tradition says that you must take care of the poor, or you are so doomed that not even Jesus or Buddha can help you.

You don’t have to go overseas.  There are people in this country who are poor in spirit, worried, depressed, dancing as fast as they can; their kids are sick or their retirement savings are gone.  There is great loneliness among us, life-threatening loneliness.  People have given up on peace and equality.  I would recommend that you take a long deep breath, and stop; Just be where your butts are and breathe.   Take some time…

Refuse to cooperate with anyone who is trying to shame you into hopping right back up on to the rat exercise wheel.  Rest, but pay attention.  Refuse to cooperate with anyone who is stealing your freedom, your personal and civil liberties, and then smirk about it.”

-    Anne LaMott, Plan B

I know quoting someone else isn’t considered writing, but there is so much in this speech, by Anne LaMott to a graduating class, that resonates with me.

I am about to board a plane to South Africa to visit my family.  I have ‘a little light to see by’ and I am going to push up my sleeves and hopefully do a little helping.

But more then caring for the poor, this trip is about refusing to chase the bunny, about being with people that I love, and breathing because no one lives forever.
It’s about the things that you cannot buy, you cannot rent, and you cannot apply for.
It’s about exercising the freedom that we have, that sometime fades into the status quo.
It’s about loving the people in our lives with more than birthday cards and the occasional phone call.
It’s about sharing a cup of tea, rather than a facebook message, because no emoticon can teach me the expression of laughter on my grandmother’s face.
It’s about jumping, because I know that my wings are strong.
It’s about going home to walk the blurred streets of childhood dreams and about making peace with the unforeseen road ahead.
It’s about acting out of who I know I am, instead of waiting for someone to give me permission.

I hope that wherever you find yourself this holiday season that you will reflect on the fact that what you are looking for is already inside of you- and if you stop long enough, you may just find that it is magical…

As I sat with her at a local coffee shop, she read me e-mails from friends and strangers.  People sent flowers and Thai food.  Friends of friends sent her stories about their battles with cancer, their struggles through dark places in their lives and how their faith and their families carried them through.  We talked about how lucky we are to be alive.  How lucky she was to get sick enough to go into the hospital, or the tumor could have gone unnoticed.  We talked about Jesus.  She reflected on how blessed she was and how so many people suffer.  We browsed random websites, and read a blog about a couple who had quadruplets – Anything to keep her mind off her cell phone.

By Tuesday night the doctor had called.  The tumor was benign.  Later that week some friends met for dinner to celebrate the news.  We listening to her talk about how much she loves Jesus and how grateful she was for this miracle that so many others have not been granted.  Over dinner six women reflected on the gift of health and of the days ahead.  We recounted stories of loved ones who had battled cancer- some who had won and others who had left this world for a better one. Although all of us are under thirty, good health is not a given.  Nothing in life is a given.  We do not know what tomorrow will bring.

You must know that this friend already lives life with a vibrant enthusiasm.  She travels around the world to tell the stories of children who face poverty, abuse, hunger, slavery, homelessness and war.  She makes the world a better place whether she is in the Congo or sitting with me at Tryst.  I guess the question posed to all of us by this experience is, are we living life to the full? Are we the kind of people who go to bed each night content with how we spent our time- what we learned, how we treated others, who we invested in.  If all we had were these 26 years, would they have been all we wanted them to be?  I am not sure.

I am lucky to have good health, a caring family and a community that encourages me to stay centered while still looking to the stars.  I have a roof over my head and resources to pursue an education.  I am very blessed, yet how content am I?

I believe that life should be more than monetary success, the pursuit of academic accolades or even being a supportive and loving family member.  So, I am going to spend some time processing (and maybe writing) about what it means to me to live life to the full.

I want to be more than grateful for the things in my life.  I want to move beyond my blessings to live a life that is truly transformational – A life where I am confident that I am living each year given to me to the fullest.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

I moved to Washington DC in 2005 after completing my bachelors degree in International Development, with the hopes of learning the political side of the international response (or lack there of) to the situation in Darfur.  While living in Los Angeles some friends and I had started organizing events to increase public awareness about what had been described as genocide.  A few events turned into a divestment movement and a larger public outcry against the situation.  What started as four friends in a living room soon grew into what one professor called the largest student movement since the anti-apartheid campaigns in the 80’s.  But it still wasn’t enough.

It’s About Policy Change

In Washington I had the opportunity to work for a leading human rights group and for the U.S. Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, a subset of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives.  The committee staff would meet with numerous groups each week– all presenting urgent matters that required immediate legislative or political response.  After leaving the Subcommittee, I worked as a policy advisor for a leading relief and development organization– now in turn taking my urgent messages to members of the Administration and Congress.  Sometimes our message was heard, other times it fell on deaf ears or the lack of political will allowed it to fall by the wayside.

As I considered graduate school, I looked into all the best programs for international relations, public policy and development policy- Harvard, Columbia, Tufts, the London School of Economics, Princeton, Johns Hopkins and a few others.  These are the institutions that teach leaders how to address the complex issues of our time with fresh thinking and brilliant policy and programming solutions.

However working as a policy advisor for humanitarian response, I have seen firsthand how policy without effective messaging is useless.

Changing the Status Quo: Creating Movements

Seeking to support effective policies and increase public awareness of social justice issues, I have a growing interest in the link between communications and the creation of social movements and behavior change.  For this reason, I decided to pursue a less traditional route and study the best practices of communications, marketing and global campaigning in order to be better equipped to promote the causes and policies that are important to me.

It is not about writing a great elevator pitch, although that can be part of sharing your message with a target audience– it’s about changing behaviors, perceptions, beliefs and ultimately changing the status quo of a given situation to move a person or a group of people towards practices that are better for them and for their community as a whole.

If you think about major watershed moments in modern history, most of them were carried out by a large civil participation campaign – the abolition of slavery, the women’s suffrage movement, the anti-apartheid campaign, Indian independence from Britain, and the civil rights movements in the United States.  I believe that in order to see major shifts in our society towards healthier living, more sustainable communities, a global perspective in education and financial choices that reflect the real cost of consumerism, we will need a new wave of civil participation that begins with individuals changing their beliefs and behaviors.  I want to participate in making the environment possible for people to make and sustain the necessary changes to see a better world.

It’s about Doing Good, Well – International Development

If you go to any bookstore in Washington DC, you will see several bestsellers proclaiming the failures of international aid or the need for further investment in developing economies.  The stories of former child soldiers and women who are changing their communities inspire us.  The questions about the effectiveness of our foreign assistance in places life Africa, gives reason for pause.   Having studied international development and followed the aid debate for years, I believe we must continue in our work, but do it better and with more creative strategies.  We have much to learn from the efficiency of the private sector and much more to learn from the communities that we aim to assist.

Social Marketing is defined by Alan Andreasen, a leading expert on the topic, as “the application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behaviors of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society”.  The word marketing brings up negative emotions in many of us, because we associate it with being manipulated by large corporations to engage in or purchase products that benefit the corporation, rather than the consumer.  Social Marketing is built on the premise that effective change starts with understanding the needs, wants and perceptions of consumers– and applies these ideas to large social issues such as drug consumption, pollution, unsafe sex, domestic violence or overpopulation.

Social Marketing is not solely applicable in a developed society like the United States (although there are plenty of behavior modifications needed in the west).  The ‘consumer’ in a health program in Ghana could be the mother who is weighing the cost and benefit of walking several hours to a clinic to vaccinate her child.  The behavior change goal may be to get a community to start storing hay for the dry season, or burning animal carcasses rather then burying them.  The ultimate objective could be local or could be aimed at an entire society, for example changing the general perception of women and addressing domestic violence.

Social Marketing is just one of the tools that I believe should be brought to bare on our current and future development initiatives, as it borrows from the private sector and starts with the needs and context of the communities we endeavor to serve.  It is my hope to add the skill set of social marketing to international development programs, in order to enhance the effectiveness of these initiatives and change the shape of development for the next generation.

I just watched this video of Dan Pink discussing what motivates people within their work environment. Having grown up on the west coast, only minutes from Google’s amazing campus and from Apple’s headquarters- the idea of innovation, collaboration and flat internal structures has always seemed like the most logical way to engage and keep qualified staff.  For example, every single person I know who works for Google, loves it, and who wouldn’t with organic vegetables grown outside that you can pick for lunch, bicycles that can be ridden from one end of the campus to another and flexible work hours.  Google combines all three of the motivators that Dan Pink mentions- Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose.  What I understand about the company (from storing up facts about cool California companies to lord over friends when we begin complain about the east coast work style) they allow their staff to work on projects they are excited about, reward new ideas (regardless of of position or title), and allow people to work on more flexible schedules.  They also create an environment where conquering a skill set is possible, and everyone is working towards the goal of making the world a better place.

What motivates us:

1. Autonomy
2. Mastery
3. Purpose

Beyond the world of technology, where the autonomy of a computer programmer might seem logical, how does an organization apply these three concepts in a way that allows for enough structure to keep the ball rolling?  None of the above motivators are about making a lot of money, or being rewarded with a perk.  The non-profit and public sector plays off the ‘purpose motivator’ to entice extremely qualified individuals to work for salaries far below their market value.  Many of my friends and I have made career decisions forgoing prestigious jobs in order to pursue opportunities focused on issues we care about.  I do not regret the decisions I have made, and I doubt my peers are wishing they had headed to Wallstreet.

This being said, the first two motivators highlighted by Pink are often overlooked by the public and non-profit sectors.  Over the past twelve years, I have worked for small non-profits, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) with multi-million dollar annual budgets, and for the U.S. government.  I have provided consulting for small start-ups and run my own business.  Although I do not have 30+ years of management experience, I have seen firsthand the ill effects of a defeated spirit in the workplace.  Surprisingly, a lot of people can put up with ill tempered management, but few people will remain in a job if they 1) don’t feel like they have the freedom to accomplish the tasks they have been assigned (autonomy) and 2) don’t feel they have room to grow and learn new things (master a skill).

Another great example of how the public and non-profit sector stifals progress and efficiency is the unspoken rule about “paying dues”, a frequent phenomanon here in Washington, DC.  I met several Harvard law school graduates answering phones for no pay while I worked for the U.S. Congress- a clear example of an under utilization of skills.  The issue is not the lack of pay , because I know many people with Harvard Graduate degrees who would be delighted to work for free, but instead the requirement to do tasks far below ones capability for extended periods of time.  If the U.S. Congress, for example, had a bottom line then when a very well educated individual walked in the door, Congress would determine their most lucrative skills and set them to work using them.  Instead, often due to structures that prohibit autonomy and skills mastery (who, at 23 or 30 needs to master making coffee???), the talent available is not utilized or retained.

I am excited about what Dan Pink had to say about carrots and sticks- I think too often we are rewarded in the wrong way, or ill placed incentives limit our ability to think of out of the box solutions to problems.  As the non-profit and public sectors continue to increase their collaboration with the private sector, I hope they will be able to learn how to combine autonomy and mastery to their current motivation of purpose.