WordPress tells me, that the first 3 words, and the last 3 word, are the only ones that readers see, and those are the ones that attract a reader’s attention.

It is sardonic that “My problem is, is not mine” would be the impression my headline leaves.

I will get back to the definition of sardonic. For now, permit me to vent.

It was a tough week. I had been asking for COVID financial assistance since March from the power that be. It is now December. I had been given several promises and options, and while not ideal, we are not in a situation to be picky about what help we will take.

Before I ruffle some feathers, let me thank the shareholder for approving the solutions they did approve.

But there is a long and laborious road from promises, to execution. What is said, is done. Right? Wrong. What is said, must still be done. So here is what I explored this week. There is an African saying: “It is easier to slide down a pole, than to climb up it”. That is true. But what is also true, is that the top of the pole is not the part that executes the mundane tasks of paperwork to support a transaction. For that, you need to connect with the executor. (Not the executioner – that is a whole different moral debate).

Holding people accountable for what they promised, is all good and well. But when you ask for help, you must be prepared to work for that help. Even if someone said they will assist, and even if they have the best intention to assist. But the minute you walk out of that office, that person must attend to their own problems, which you probably know nothing about.

I trusted that the counterparty would eventually deliver, but my patience was wearing thin. I have a fair inkling I believe of the problems of the counter party to this transaction, but I had been patiently understanding for too long, and my problem was now becoming a crisis.

First, it took monthly visits to convince my audience of the problem, and to understand the weather on their side of the pond. Getting to balance accountability and responsibility, of both parties. Then it took weekly visits to ask how the paperwork was progressing, which would see a respite from the pressure of my problem. Then it took daily, literally every day, visits to get someone, anyone, to press the button to conclude the transaction.

Perhaps, part of the frustration is that I am a goal orientated person, and I do not particularly care how we get there. You can ask an ex-colleague, Trevor. We had many “healthy debates” about meeting deadlines, vs quality of work. It is a chicken or egg debate, for which there is no one always correct answer. That end goal attitude is what gives me my “gift of perseverance”, but it is also frustrating when I cannot find the next person in the chain of command that is required to execute the transaction.

I am also an eternal optimist , so getting stuck in the lift in one of those trips did not deter me. Even if some people inferred it was because I was becoming too troublesome in the office I was visiting……. I rather saw that incident as a gem in the story of how I finally got to the solution.

So, knowing that the counter party have their own problems, I changed tack. I do not know why I would use a sailing term, as I only ever tried windsurfing as a teenager. I guess because the term denotes a particular strategy of changing one’s approach depending on the prevailing conditions.

(Another one of those benefits of being goal orientated rather than process/route orientated).

I nicely explained, that if they could simply place that signature here, and then press that button there, for a transaction that was already approved several weeks ago, they could make me go away. i.e., I would represent one less problem for them to resolve.

It worked. I am not saying you must become someone else’s problem in order to resolve your own problem. I am saying that everyone is busy, and you cannot assume that others understand, or will prioritise your problem over their own. So, keep at it. It is only if you keep at it, that your problem will “Do like a Disprin – Dissolve”.

Thank you for listening. As I re-read and do a quality check on this post, I can see how my frustration dissipated. Now, how long do you think I should wait until I pester the powers that be for the paperwork required for solution number 2?

PS – Sardonic : Mocking, scornful, ironic, sarcastic. You get the nuance?

PPS – I found this cute “12 [easy] steps to define a problem” on wiki-how.

https://www.wikihow.com/Define-a-Problem