The Colonial Entrepreneur Has No Interfaces - Just Poker Face

On the evening of my latest speech I was asked why I have chosen to model my modern business on the Papua New Guinea colonial entrepreneurialism of my family?s past.

Often we look towards concepts that mirror our existence and we adjust from there, we look to our peers and mentors as guidance when we start new ventures. I felt, that to start a whole new way of doing business, I had to look beyond what was ?like me? and into a world and time that didn?t feel like my skin. Like deconstructing to reconstruct.

My family?s heritage in PNG as colonialists were a good choice as something close enough to dive into (aka I could just call my parents and ask a lot of questions) yet abstract enough from the high tech corporate strategy world I lived in. Close enough, far enough away. Same same, but different.
Colonial State of Mind

My family (parents/grandparents), because of their entrepreneur in colonial-state life, have a very distinct state of mind. Apart from my father dressing up in villager grass skirts and chasing me around the house when I was a kid, I only noticed how pronounced and different this life-approach is, was when I started working in corporates.

+ decision making - speed, style, substance

When I first moved to Frankfurt, I learnt German ?on the job?. The first Deutsch in my vocab was ?schnitstelle? and ?freigabe?- meaning ?interface? and ?approval? respectively. This well sums up the attitude and orientation of decision making in (not only german) giant corporations. Hierarchy rules over logic and span of control punctuates holes in speedy and relevant decision making, perforating it from timely action.

The colonial decision making process is quick, clear and responsible. Decisions are made on the spot, in the middle of the proverbial **** with definitive next steps taken from the first breath including accepting responsibility for both the situation that is at hand, and the potential fall-out (or recovery) of the pending action . My mother?s fashion parade export to Japan had the designer walk out on the deal the week before the event, just as the tallest pretty girls in Tokyo were turning up for a new ?style of fashion? from the south pacific. My mother sat behind a sewing machine, took a deep breath and took up hems, for 87 hours straight. The parade would go on, anything required would be done, and she would do it all and it would all be done. Punkt.

In the colonial entrepreneurial attitude, there are no interfaces, just poker face. There is no ?freigabe?, approval comes only from the market in style of either profit or loss.

+ attitude to risk - enduring, deep and penetrating

It comes across kinky when I explain that colonial way of mind is enduring, deep and penetrating. It?s because this mind-set can pervertedly endure hours, weeks and years of high risk situations from business to it?s pending impact on family-life. Living in the PNG jungle on Ilolo Estate, my parents had a AAA rating on personal danger, schizophrenic weather and unreliable political situations. Such risk is the substance of most people?s nightmares, however for the colonial entrepreneur, is peppered with opportunity.

As a kid, I became allergic to the words ?one day?.� Hearing my father say ?just you wait, one day .... XYZ? every day for my entire life was frustrating -- until I heard the opposite in the corporate world.

The sensitive white rubber glove attitude towards risk in corporations was porcelain-like in it?s fragility. Constant abdication of responsibility in approaching and dealing with risk with a distinct hands-off strategy was the strongest contrast to my dinner table conversations at home. I realised, I liked my risk penetrating and deep.

Risk, straight up on the rocks. The colonial-entrepreneur attitude was certainly more my drink than the alternative.�

These, along with the ones you see in my speech, are some of the lessons learnt and guiding lights from my time in colonial PNG.

Source: http://www.thenextwomen.com/2011/06/08/colonial-entrepreneur-has-no-interfaces-just-poker-face

Veronica Kay Megan Fox Chelsea Handler Natalie Zea Kate Beckinsale