Like the Day after Christmas....CSCSlovenia2

So, it's been a little over a week since I returned from the opportunity of my career as part of IBM's Corporate Service Corp in Slovenia.  Like with Christmas, there is a tremendous amount of build-up, activities and then suddenly, it's OVER.  Like with Christmas, I don't want it to be over, I want the feeling, the friendships, the giving, the cooperation to continue.   I want to keep THIS--------->

A few of us at the IBM Slovenia office ready for our final presentation

First group out of Slovenia.

However, I did miss my family..........and it made my return all the more worth while.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

My return hasn't been without some difficulty.  It's back to the "day job" and the sights and sounds I'm all too familiar with.  I'm not trying to paint a grim picture here, I have a project and a client & team I enjoy working with.  It's just that during my 30-days away life and work continued without me and those who were ready to step in did just that.  Everyone was great and to boot, I've grown and learned from my experience away.  It's now time to fold ourselves back into a high-performing machine and see where else we can go and how much more VALUE we can deliver. It's time to bring the CSC attitude to my program and industry.

To my fellow CSCers; our mission must be expanded to include what we've learned and the attitudes that we've developed for giving even MORE as IBMers to our co-workers and clients.  It would be an injustice to who we now are if we didn't show off what we've learned to our current clients back in our "normal" job wherever we are in the world.  Our network has grown, our experience has grown, our knowledge has grown and I know our willingness to help wherever & whenever has grown.  WE are BETTER IBMers for this experience.  Let's prove it.

CEED-Slovenia I look forward to the great things you're gonna do

IBM CSC CEED Team..it's not goodbye, it's until next time.

CSCSlovenia2 in front of IBM-Slovenia

For my friend Angela.....1- GO!!!!!!
1- 1 week since CSC Slovenia
GO- Time to GO use what we learned.

{Yes, I feel better now.}

*Poof* It's week 4!!!

What hit us??  How is it Week 4?  Tell me it's not over soon, we have so much we want to do for our NGO! So much more we want to see of this city and country!

Week 4 started on our final Saturday tour in Slovenia (Karst country):  Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves.

On the agenda was:

Lipica – both a natural and cultural monument - a stud farm with more than 400 Lipizzaner horses. We had a local guide to go around the property, then we watched a very interesting training session.

One end of the horse to the other.  😄😄

Born dark in color they grow into beautiful white horses.

All 4 up!

She'll be ready for the shows soon.

Štanjel – A beautiful fortified medieval village with castle and walls made entirely of stone and renowned garden with exceptional views. As a history buff I'm continually amazed by these old towns & fortresses.  To top of this portion of the tour, we had a wonderful lunch and can't beat having it with my #CSCSlovenia2 family.

This will be missed.

I will miss food like this

Rahul, Angela & I

Shebin & I (SELFIES)

I'll miss the castles and countryside.

You will never find this....Stone house....yes, those are stone gutters

 Finally we wrapped up Saturday with a visit to "another" cave, but SOO different than any I've ever seen or will see again.  Škocjan caves – A UNESCO listed natural site and the largest known underground canyon in the world. It is beautiful and breath taking. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside the cave, but to imagine a DEEP canyon inside a cave and being able to see some leftover structures from when the cave was first explored.  If you can't imagine it, I HIGHLY suggest visiting for yourself.  Slovenia is a hidden gem from sites to the people.  

The exit from the cave which is actually where the explorers discovered the cave.

Camera doesn't capture what the eye can see.

To help with the imagination.

 
Sunday our hosts made plans to take us for a Slovenian Lunch and boat ride down the Ljubljana river.  Our need CEED friends made us feel welcomed and again showed us a fantastic time, good food and the beauty of the city from a different perspective.  Fortunately, I used this experience to block out Sunday evening experience..... my fellow CEED CSC Team Member Angela and I hosted an American Football Watch Party in the work room.  She's from Chicago and I from Tampa, our teams happened to play each other on Sunday.  UNFORTUNATELY, the Buccanneers failed to show up at the game, but watching and explaining the game to our CSC Family was a highlight.

Beautiful handmade boat.  Andrej's son joined us as well.

A beautiful city from any perspective.

As in America, on Monday it was back to work and time to deliver on our SOW.  We buckled down and finalized our deliverables with ease since we maintained a regular review schedule over the 4 weeks.  Wednesday we had our final presentation with our client and they were THRILLED with the work we provided.  During our presentation we had the opportunity to reflect on how we got here and how it started 16 weeks ago with training, getting to know our fellow IBMers and the initial meetings with our client.  Personally it was an emotional & satisfying meeting to have accomplished so much in such a short period of time and the appreciation our CEED client expressed was overwhelming. 

A great TEAM!

The smile says it all.

Hard work in a Box (aka. CEED in a Box)

As we wrapped up our presentation we learned that they intend on using the CEED in a Box package we delivered as part of their upcoming Global Conference (October 18-19).  The satisfaction of knowing they would immediately use what we've delivered caused us all to swell with pride.

Finally, upon arrival 4-weeks ago, I discovered that the CEED Executive Director's husband is the President of the PMI-Slovenia Chapter.  After a brief conversation I was asked to be a speaker at their upcoming PM for Real meeting on October 3rd(yesterday) .  It became a combined CEED/PMI-Slovenia event as it was held in the CEED location and some of their members attended.  With the support of my CEED Sub-team (Lucy, Angela & Adriano) I was able to discuss with a group of 40 Project Managers, Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders for 2 hours about my experiences in Project Management, establishing a PMO, how to effectively run Projects, PM Methodologies and managing remote teams.  I'm so happy & humbled that the opportunity presented itself as I'm very passionate about Project Management and the conversations were really insightful and thought provoking. 

PM for Real

The meeting posting..translated by GOOGLE.

It's been a "Week" already and there's 2 more days to go, ONLY 2 more days.    I will miss this city, country, CEED and my CSCSlovenia2 family more than they'll ever know.  It's been the best adventure of my career and I've seen and done a lot of cool things in my time.  I will never forget it.

See you soon America, but I'll be back Slovenia.

~Chris