One of the many benefits of our ex-pat days in China was the
fact that there was an abundance of helpers – a full time assistant who spent
her days looking for new ways to help me (and my family) and never felt any
request was too much, an “aiyi” (auntie) in the office who made sure I always
had oolong tea (even though I liked the Japanese brand), and the often mentioned
driver Philip to make sure I always got where I needed to be and never had to
worry about where to park. We also had an ayi at home, a lawn guy, the garbage
got picked up five days a week – you get the picture. I was never able to play
golf in China without a caddie – it was just part of the deal in a land with an
abundance of low cost labor. The Chinese caddies had a tendency to give you the
benefit of the doubt in keeping your score. One day my caddie handed me the scorecard
she had kept and asked me to sign it before she turned it in for handicap
calculation. After looking at the total, I wasn’t sure if she was trying to
become a fiction writer or thought it was my birthday. My card said 87. The
caddie’s card said 79.
Caddies in China - always ready to help
In my eleven years overseas, I signed a lot of papers – all sorts
of contracts, government required forms that I couldn’t read (thank the Lord
for my previously mentioned assistant – Sabrina), expense reports, employment
offers, etc. I just never had to fill out any forms I signed. When I traveled out
of the country even the entry documents were filled in for me. Ok, I am not
going to get any sympathy for having gotten spoiled while I was out of the
country. The point I am about to make is - my life changed dramatically when I
got back to the US.
While I was living overseas the company I worked for, like
many, cut back support staff in the US - time and time again. In many cases, marginally
usable technology replaced humans. The results weren’t pretty. Booking travel
on-line was easy if you were flying to Chicago but was unspeakably bad if you needed
to go to Singapore through Tokyo and Hong Kong. One time the Orbitz website
suggested a 46 hour “layover” in Istanbul (yes, the one in Turkey) to save $400
when I was flying from Tokyo to Charlotte. Unbelievable but true.
Far too often, the people left in support functions spent
more time explaining why they couldn’t help you than getting things done. Still,
I was lucky. The admin I shared with a group, that seemed to include more
members than AAA, was very dedicated - an exception to the rule in our company. She had worked with me before I moved to
Asia, was loyal and helped as much as she could. I didn’t realize it but having to do more
administrative work myself was good training for what was to come.
When I left the company almost four months ago, I didn’t
look back. I never fully adjusted to being back in the US organization. Besides getting spoiled
overseas, I developed skills that were not valued on this side of the Pacific. Despite
getting calls from headhunters, I decided to forgo getting another “corporate job”
and to work independently in the industry I know best as an advisor to former
customers and new lithium producers. The fact the global market for lithium is
in a boom period (perhaps a poor choice of words given the current battery woes
that have grounded Boeing’s new Dreamliner) was very helpful in creating demand
for my niche expertise. Much to my
surprise, several companies expressed interest in retaining my services.
Working on my own seemed to be the best course of action for me but also
provided a further shock to my formerly spoiled “by an abundance helper’s” self.
As my fledgling enterprise got off the ground there were a
lot of basic things to do. Form an LLC, set up accounting, design and
order business cards, negotiate contracts, etc. Once I was actually working
there was more to do: issuing invoices and making sure I got paid being among
the most important. I am my own secretary, IT person and travel agent. I am
President of the new company. I am also the janitor.
Earlier this week, I was asked to visit a client in China
next month. I checked my visa for China and found it expires a week before I
leave. I have been getting visas for China for 13 years. Every time I did it
the same way – I handed my passport to my administrative assistant and said; “please
get me a new visa”. A week later, a Fed-X envelope appeared on my desk with my
passport with a new visa.
In the brave new world of being a “one man band”; I need to
handle all the travel details - booking the ticket (and confirming the
upgrades) which wasn’t too much of an effort but still takes time. I am embarrassed
to say it took a large part of a day to go on-line find a service company to
expedite my urgent visa request, fill out the service and visa applications and
write a letter from my employer (me) to the Chinese consulate general,
guaranteeing that I would not be a financial burden to the people of the People’s
Republic of China. The letter was required to be on “company letterhead” which
I had to create on the fly.
In the middle of printing the forms, my printer ran out of
ink so I asked the IT guy (me) to go to Office Depot and get an ink cartridge.
When I returned, I tried to enlist the help of our faithful dog Yuki to review the
checklist of required documents as I stuffed them into the
Fed – X envelope but she just sighed and left my office. Turns out I needed a passport size photo – guess who I asked to help with that? Me. It was a stressful day doing simple tasks. I felt a bout of multiple personality disorder coming on as I juggled my various roles.
Fed – X envelope but she just sighed and left my office. Turns out I needed a passport size photo – guess who I asked to help with that? Me. It was a stressful day doing simple tasks. I felt a bout of multiple personality disorder coming on as I juggled my various roles.
Today, I reflected on all the time I spent on mindless tasks
to get ready for a trip to China. For a minute I longed for the corporate infrastructure
that, for most of my business life, took care of details for me but then I remembered
how miserable I was when I returned from Asia to HQ and spent more than half my
time in mind numbing meetings with no agenda or spending hours trying to “manage
the quarterly numbers” for my corporate masters. The next time I need a visa, it will take
a fraction of the time it took yesterday. I am fortunate to have found clients
that will enable me to stay active in a business I know and enjoy while
continuing to travel the world.
