It's over. Team 5 Morocco bittersweetly disbands after 4 weeks together.
Here's the top 10 things, in no particular order, I learned from this experience.
1) Moroccans are a very kind and generous people. They should be role model's for the global service industry; they smile, look you in the eye and so many people went the extra mile in our requests. They didn't have to but they did.
2) IBM'ers can do anything. I was so impressed how all 4 teams came together and seamlessly used our different skills to produce excellent recommendations to our clients.
3) All the IBM teams found a lack of documentation with our clients. In our final meeting we were told (and I'm paraphrasing a bit) "Moroccans like to talk and discuss so it doesn't leave much time for documenting". That is a universal truth in Morocco.
4) Moroccans are about relationships and as we nurtured them over the last 4 weeks we now have friends for life. Our client's closing remarks were not just about our deliverables but he spent just as much time talking about being ambassadors for Morocco (not kidding) and that we now all had new life long friends to look forward to.
5) Moroccan food is awesome. From the ubiquitous mint tea and couscous, tajines, kebobs, salads with little to know lettuce (that was for you Brittany) we all put on a few pounds.
6) The 15 IBMers selected to come to Morocco were all great IBM ambassadors. We impressed our clients with our dedication and smarts and as we traveled the country our interactions with Moroccans were thoughtful and respectful.
7) The 15 IBMers who made up Team 5 Morocco completely took advantage of Morocco. Each long client day was followed by late dinners all over Casablanca (see trip advisor) as we made sure to experience as many different spots as possible. From hammams, to daily jogs for some, treking across the country on the weekends, eating with clients at lunch, we all embraced being in Morocco and soaked up as much as we could.
8) In preparation for our trip we spent time on how to work with Moroccans based on their culture. We learned just as much or more working with the other IBMers from all over the world and how their culture informs their approach and working style. I learned "big time" that my approach to time is very tight compared to the loose approach in Morocco.
9) Just as we developed new friendships with our clients we developed strong relationships amongst the IBMers and boom, just like that, we each have 15 new life long friends that were not there a month ago.
10) As I think about how this experience will inform me working back home right now what resonates is
THANKS.
Thank you IBM for this opportunity.
Thank you to my fellow IBMers for making this a balanced experience although I think the scales tip in favour of fun vs work,
Thank you to the country of Morocco for being so kind and generous.
Thank you to Misha, Nabil, and Imane for facilitating this engagement.
And thank you to our families and co-workers back home who had to take on more in our absence.
I'm forever grateful.
PS - I spoke more French this month than I have in the previous 20 years combined. It was a great reminder of how much I love this language and will prevent me from losing it completely.
Here's the top 10 things, in no particular order, I learned from this experience.
1) Moroccans are a very kind and generous people. They should be role model's for the global service industry; they smile, look you in the eye and so many people went the extra mile in our requests. They didn't have to but they did.
2) IBM'ers can do anything. I was so impressed how all 4 teams came together and seamlessly used our different skills to produce excellent recommendations to our clients.
3) All the IBM teams found a lack of documentation with our clients. In our final meeting we were told (and I'm paraphrasing a bit) "Moroccans like to talk and discuss so it doesn't leave much time for documenting". That is a universal truth in Morocco.
4) Moroccans are about relationships and as we nurtured them over the last 4 weeks we now have friends for life. Our client's closing remarks were not just about our deliverables but he spent just as much time talking about being ambassadors for Morocco (not kidding) and that we now all had new life long friends to look forward to.
5) Moroccan food is awesome. From the ubiquitous mint tea and couscous, tajines, kebobs, salads with little to know lettuce (that was for you Brittany) we all put on a few pounds.
6) The 15 IBMers selected to come to Morocco were all great IBM ambassadors. We impressed our clients with our dedication and smarts and as we traveled the country our interactions with Moroccans were thoughtful and respectful.
7) The 15 IBMers who made up Team 5 Morocco completely took advantage of Morocco. Each long client day was followed by late dinners all over Casablanca (see trip advisor) as we made sure to experience as many different spots as possible. From hammams, to daily jogs for some, treking across the country on the weekends, eating with clients at lunch, we all embraced being in Morocco and soaked up as much as we could.
8) In preparation for our trip we spent time on how to work with Moroccans based on their culture. We learned just as much or more working with the other IBMers from all over the world and how their culture informs their approach and working style. I learned "big time" that my approach to time is very tight compared to the loose approach in Morocco.
9) Just as we developed new friendships with our clients we developed strong relationships amongst the IBMers and boom, just like that, we each have 15 new life long friends that were not there a month ago.
10) As I think about how this experience will inform me working back home right now what resonates is
THANKS.
Thank you IBM for this opportunity.
Thank you to my fellow IBMers for making this a balanced experience although I think the scales tip in favour of fun vs work,
Thank you to the country of Morocco for being so kind and generous.
Thank you to Misha, Nabil, and Imane for facilitating this engagement.
And thank you to our families and co-workers back home who had to take on more in our absence.
I'm forever grateful.
PS - I spoke more French this month than I have in the previous 20 years combined. It was a great reminder of how much I love this language and will prevent me from losing it completely.
Moroccan kingdom a very great and we hope that their children receive a good learning and good configuration in all fields and industries and knowledge, cultures and sciences
ReplyDeleteWe thank you for Almcharmh and I hope frequent visits to institutes and associations and the laborers as well as learning institutions that qualify for the job opportunity and configuration
From Morocco: Med Makhlouki
Email: makhlouki.87.med@hotmail.fr
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