I am reporting to you from St. Pierre des Corps, France. France is my favorite travel destination, and I am here mixing business and pleasure. I would like to share with you the most delicious dandelion salad I ate yesterday and tell you all about the family with whom I shared it, but my subject here is business, and that is what I will write about today.
COLIBRI on the Go
That said, mixing business with pleasure is part of the COLIBRI philosophy. As I said on the About page of this site, colibri (hummingbird) business is to get the nectar out of life. They do it for survival. I think that is a very good reason to work. In fact, there may not be a better reason!
On the other hand, work itself must be a pleasure. (Colibris, of course, seem to enjoy their work.) Above all, it is important to prioritize relationships at work. Relationships are what sustain us, both literally from a survival point of view as well as from an emotional or spiritual point of view. For that reason, if for none other, our relationships should be a source of pleasure or at least positive enough to help us accomplish our goals, meet our needs and slake our desires.
Of course, work requires solitary concentration and the ability to “get it done.” One way or another, the point of our work is our relationships. These relationships range from what many of us have with a higher power, which could be conceptualized as a “work ethic,” to our desire to feel productive or worthwhile. This reflects our relationship with ourselves, our need to sustain ourselves, and our families, which speaks to our relationships with those who depend on us, too. Finally, and most important for the work itself, our relationships with clients.
A client is a human being with needs, and we offer products and services to help meet these needs. Meeting needs effectively requires understanding, and that is built through relationships.
Business
This week’s challenge is to develop my relationship with ANIS étoilé further and get to know their current project. From there, I will build a website that meets a need to communicate the process and results of a study exploring how to (re)develop local agriculture in certain areas of France.
This project speaks to me because of my own passion for sustainable food. And also because of my love and respect for French food and culture (which brings me full circle to that wonderful dandelion salad). As I meet with ANIS étoilé’s board and we flesh out the project, I will have to listen and speak very carefully because I will be working in French–my second language.
Wish me luck as I embark on this exciting new business venture. I will, of course, let you know how things develop.
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