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Rasmus - The "OK" man

Rasmus Vido was a controversial character. For anyone who didn’t know him he appeared as the most silent person in the group. But anyone who really knew him knew also that he’s an absolute party animal and the soul of Rome.

He wasn’t exactly a party starter, but he did have an fascinating way of life: he was the “ok” man. Whatever you’d suggest to him, he would do it. Even if he was still working in the evening and you asked him for a beer he would be there in less than ten minutes. That led to interesting situations where Rasmus was hanging, climbing, crossing, and whatevering the most imaginable places. He would climb a pole and drop himself in the middle of a party. He would climb a tuk-tuk roof. He would do the craziest things, while exceeding expectations at work and taking care of his physical, mental and spiritual shape.

I used to do so much with him. He kept me active. We’d go and play football. We’d go and meditate with middle aged Sri Lankan women. We’d chase cars and tuk-tuks that wouldn’t take a hitch hiker early in the morning.

Rasmus left Sri Lanka in December and all of us climbed the roof of Rome just to commemorate all the good things he brought to us. Now he’s a consultant in Danish Post and taking steps to become a real adult. Rasmus, never lose your inner child! Hosch!

posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Tuesday, July 24, 2007 5 comments

365

This is the 365^th day of my internship in Sri Lanka (and #100 posting). It doesn’t differ much from the other days on the outset but it bears symbolical meaning for me. In the beginning I was trying to survive day by day, getting used to the new environment. I was counting days, weeks and months that I had done. I remember how insurmountable the time ahead felt when I had completed one month. 17/18 to go I thought.

Now I’m no longer afraid of the time ahead of my stay; I’m more ahead of the time ahead after the internship. Or not maybe afraid, but I wonder if I’m ever going to see the world as it was, if I’m at all able to adjust to the hasty European life-style, even if I have anymore what it takes to survive a Finnish winter. Not to mention the challenges ahead in the professional life. At the same time I feel a bit sad. This is my home now and after the last 1/3 I have to leave home behind. But I know I will come back sooner than later.

I was thinking how I could best amplify the importance of this posting; whether I should be talking about the 10 things I hate/love about Sri Lanka or something else that would sum up the experience so far. But it all feels so shallow. Because in the end it’s not the country as such that makes your experience complete. It’s the people around you. I realized I haven’t given enough emphasis on the people who have been there for me every day; my fellow interns, the citizens of Rome.


I start the series of introductions with Jaroslav Pekachek, or Jara, who was working at the same office with me in the beginning. He was the one who showed me around and made it so much easier to face all the peculiarities of the new culture. He was the one who offered to be my roommate when I learned to hate my lonely heat-hell (the first room assigned to me).

I admired, and still do, his adventurous approach on life. Apart from his extreme hobbies like climbing, snowboarding and mountain biking he genuinely lives for adventure. He has managed to combine his love of adventure with his tendency to help others in the project in India that I’ve already mentioned a couple of times.

But more important is what he is, not what he does. I never saw him angry, hardly ever even a least bit anxious. He always carried a smile on his face and made himself easy to cope with. His laid-back attitude was contagious. In his company you could just relax and enjoy. When offered a drink he wouldn’t spit in the bottle; he lived every day as it came by. If he felt like partying to 4 AM and climbing roofs he did it with genuine commitment whilst holding himself accountable to wake up at six in the morning for work.

So that this wouldn’t sound like obituary I must thank him once more for his hospitality in his home country Czech Republic. We had such a nice time together on my visit there. And yes, he’s still alive – more than ever! Thank you Jara for being such a great friend!

posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Thursday, July 19, 2007 0 comments

#99 - The end of chapter three

This is my 99th blog posting. After being three months in Sri Lanka I wrote a posting "End of chapter two". Now it's a good point to reflect back on how life has been during the past nine months and close the third chapter (that turned out to be a bit longer than the previous ones)

Finns. As I found the other Finns in Colombo my life changed a bit. I saw how they are living in much more luxurious way, though not that far away from my semi-jungle dwelling. I saw how they are sticking to their own language while I'm spicing up my English with normal Sinhalese expressions. I realized they can afford AC while I'm quick-fixing my fan. I envied a bit their living conditions while I had to put up with the smell in my room where I still felt like home. I heard them planning their summer vacation in Finland whilst I thought I'm stuck here for the whole 18 months.
That triggered a change in my thinking. I realized I can also go back home for a while; and I did. I realized I can also lead a posh life every now and then; and I did. But most importantly, I realized I'm just fine with a simple life; I don't need all that glitter and comfort. All I need is people who I care about around me.

Growth & doubt. Hearing the positive feedback from our clients and seeing how hard it is to find "someone like me" to work at Unleash Talent, I understood how much I've grown professionally. I now understand my value in what I do, in what I'm passionate about. In case someone would want to employ me, they would have to pay a lot... and I'd still refuse. Of course I could go and work for someone else and collect money to have more stable basis to start my own business, but why would I postpone? The decision to become an entrepreneur is now so clear. That is what I want to do, yes, but I've also realized it's something I'm capable of. We have an excellent product and I'm ready to take up the challenge. Still, I doubt at times but mainly because of some practicalities.

Cross-cultural management. However, everything has not been that easy. The hardest part so far has been getting things done through others in a culture where a promise don't mean a shit. I hate pushing people all the time and reminding them of what needs to be done. Back home if you promise to do something, you do it. Here, you can choose not to. I have been really poor in "managing the third parties" outside our company. It seems that I'm powerless. I feel weak. I don't know how to get them to deliver. So many times I've heard people saying "I'll do it tomorrow", knowing it means that it might not ever happen but still hoping that something happens. So many times I've felt relieved that someone has said "yes", though it just meant "maybe" or "definitely not" and the person didn't want to hurt my feelings by telling the truth. The skill of cross-cultural management is yet to be developed. Oh boy, it's so different than in the university case studies...

Love confusion. I have been confused if my relationship is going to hold. I have been wondering if it's really worth waiting a common life somewhere in the future that might not ever actualize. I have been mulling over this same thing so many times just to go back to the original reasoning: "In case our relationship lasts over this period of time, it lasts everything". That has helped me always. Lately I've come to realize how much I actually love my significant other, and how much she misses me. No matter how independent lives we lead we belong together. It might be possible that we get to be together sooner than expected...

Book. Though lately I've been lazy finalizing the book I've been writing, it still is one of the major achievements during my time here. Somehow it just came together: a page after page the story just appeared on the paper (or screen actually). Maybe one day someone wants to publish that and maybe someone gets inspired or gets something out of it. The key point, however, is that I have proven myself that I have the discipline and capacity to write a full novel and not just random scribblings here and there.

posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Friday, July 13, 2007 1 comments

How am I?

I don't honestly know how I am. I'm in a bit of stagnated stage, but I kind of like since it still happens in a different environment. I don't know why I feel so numb. Maybe it's the routine that has developed. Now if someone asks how is life I usually answer "same old, same old" because that's exactly how I feel. I need some new excitement. I tried to get that by applying to AIESEC International Congress 2007 Facilitators' Team, but I wasn't selected. So, no three-weeks-in-Istanbul for me. I'm not bored... I'm just lazy. Maybe I've unconsciously shuffled my values and prioritized "Enjoying the moment" value over "Making a difference" at least for a while.

Though there has not been any major changes in my personal life, some changes are happening now a bit in Rome (our house). Katty's departure two weeks ago left a big hole in my social (drinking) life and as my beloved roomie Shek left I felt completely alone for a while. But that while was about half an hour because I instantly got a new room mate, Niall from UK. On Monday another intern Gaya from the Netherlands arrived. They are both working in Life in Red HIV project though only for two and half months.

I realized I get energy of them; seeing their enthusiasm and teaching them all the tricks of how to go about in the Sri Lankan environment. They've already been scared to death by Cesar, been unable to plug in anything to the electricity socket because they didn't know the pen trick, and lots of other incidents. Thanks guys for filling my social void.

posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Thursday, July 05, 2007 3 comments

The Leadership Blog

Hola! We just started our company blog and it would be nice to get all people who are interested in leadership issues to check it out. Please comment on the blog or send your suggestions directly to me. The idea is that we post a new topic every Monday and then we'll have a conversation around it for one week (that calls for your contribution!). Anyways, just go to http://unleashtalent.blogspot.com/ and tell us what you think.

posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Thursday, July 05, 2007 10 comments