Jakarta Tales Vol 5: It's getting rocky in here...

Hello there!

Please welcome back the unannounced return of Jakarta Tales and give up a huge round of applause for Vol 5! Actually, I never announced any hibernation so the "unannounced" bit might sound strange.

As you know and have felt it, the sabbatical this time, has been longer. And I know you've missed me (alright, don't squirm, blame it on my bloated ego - the one that I don't reveal too often). And since my absence from your inboxes is directly proportional to the length of my emails and blogs, prepare yourself for a nice, long ride once again.

At times, I do feel it might be unfair for you to read so much at one go, but the brighter side is that I don't write so often. So instead of reading many not-so-long mails at frequent intervals, you get to read an epic once in a blue moon, except that this moon is not so blue and does show up once in a month or two.

ROCKING OR ON THE ROCKS?!?

Anyways, let's get on with it. The past two months have been very interesting and challenging. Rocky and rocking is how I would really want to put it. In other words, I went from "wow" to "what the bloody hell" in a matter of days.

Let's start with work, for a change. I hope you remember that we were facing financial issues at Exigo. Although we did manage to get one client to survive July, we didn't get another. In fact, one of our apparently most-likely-to-stick clients decided to part ways with us in mid-July. And believe me, it wasn't a pretty day that it happened.

There was something unusual about that morning. I woke up late - even though I knew we had an early morning meeting, skipped breakfast, had a fight with a bajaj driver, another one with a tarif lama (old tariff) cab driver who refused to start the meter (the first one like this I've met in Jakarta), then took the right cab but the wrong road so ended up in a traffic jam, was upset with myself so missed the client's office building (even though it's a towering 30-storeyed skyscraper), I ended up paying 60% more than I should have, didn't have change so had to broker the money for smaller notes, was in a massive hurry so took the wrong lift that led me right up to the top floor when I needed to go to the 10th, came back to the ground floor, took the right lift, got out on the right floor, walked in to the meeting 45 minutes late and the client said, "Welcome Yousuf, I was just telling Dacil that unfortunately, we won't be able to continue working together." I almost ended up saying, "Perfect! Thanks Mr Irawan, that's exactly what I needed to make my day better."

Honestly, had never felt so disappointed during my entire stay here. I felt it was my fault that we lost the client. My responsibility at Exigo is to consolidate the existing base of brands/clients and acquire new business and strengthen that base too. But one of our most trusting clients (although they didn't pay so much) had chosen to say goodbye. Why? Was it me? Was it Exigo? I was furious with my team when we got back to office. My boss calmed me down saying there's a lot more that went in (client team politics, lack of our resources, etc) behind that decision. He said he knew that and, in fact, he was happy they left us because he was really frustrated with the way they used to operate on shoestring marketing budgets and conservative thinking.

From that perspective, he was right. We realised it gave us more opportunities to explore better and bigger brands in the real estate sector. The market was booming but because we were stuck with this client, we could never approach any other. This is changing. Now, after a month of trying we have almost been assigned to launch one of Jakarta's most premium residential apartment projects.

Moreover, I was determined to get the old client back, even if on a project basis. So, two weeks ago, we decided to proactively provide them with a concept, design and implementation plan for an event that's coming up. And believe me, the client loved it! They weren't so thrilled with the budget, as usual, but we don't mind giving up on some of the bucks if they decide to do this project. Will be moral victory for us and more importantly, the idea really is special. So, will get the market bees buzzing about which agency did it.

There's lots more action that's been happening at work. We decided to invite some investments from some interested family members of my boss and our financial boat is sailing again. Not for long, though. We need to keep acquiring new business every month to generate hefty returns for our new investors lest they decide to withdraw thinking its a failed enterprise.

For that, I've put myself into "bullfighting" mode. Wherever I see opportunity, I charge! In fact, we all do. My teammate, my boss and myself have got hold of a usually elusive business directory. Everyday, we look up a company listed in it, do some basic research on it and call or email their chief marketing personnel to try and fix up an appointment to introduce ourselves and make a credentials presentation. We've had mixed results so far.

We did manage to meet Adidas Indonesia (the brand manager we met had such a cuuuuuuuute smile, I almost ended up falling in love with her during the meeting and I was foolish I decided to concentrate on the meeting and not her... haha), La Salle College International and a medium-sized tobacco manufacturer/seller in Surabaya (East Java) but we've faced closed doors with all others. The good news is that La Salle was pretty impressed, invited us for a pitch last week, we slogged our asses off for it and they said we really went beyond the brief and did much more than expected. So there's a darn good chance of us getting it!! And this one is big!!

The workstation Mahabharata doesn't end here. In fact, it gets better and more interesting now. No, there's no Shakuni Mama or vastra haran scene of Draupadi, but a fascinating tale nevertheless. Personally speaking, I finally faced what I had expected would happen some day or the other: lack of team bonding due to communication and cultural differences.

For a few weeks, I could sense a vibe that some of my colleagues did not associate with me even one bit. And I was right. Misunderstandings began to take place, tempers began to fly and work and productivity began getting hampered. We started talking lesser and that too, only about work-related stuff. Before this phenomenon could take mammoth proportions, we all decided to kill it. A small late night introspection session and everyone came out with everything.

I, in particular, faced a lot of criticism for pushing everyone too much to work faster when that's really rude according to Indonesian culture (I think Indonesians are very very slow), being too high-handed and inaccessible that made my team members hesitant to talk to me and share their professional/personal problems with me (now this was really surprising because in my past experiences at AIESEC and Bates, I've been told by people that they can really trust me and pour their hearts out. Not to boast but I have received great compliments on my leadership style) and that I was too work-focused and serious, never chilled out with my colleagues or made an effort to hang out and be part of team Exigo.

Of course, I had my side of the story too. I am new, I would take time to dapt to the culture, the surroundings and the city. And I also don't wanna spend 23 out of 24 hours everyday with my colleagues. That's not what I came to Jakarta for. I want to meet new people, make new friends, learn about other countries and cultures and that can only happen if I hang out with other people, obviously not my colleagues. And what about the quality of people I have been given to work with in my team? They can't understand what I want to say, how will they work and have fun with me? How am i supposed to give my teammates freedom to do whatever they want when they don't even understand "brands"? What about the number of people? How am I supposed to chill out with my colleagues when they are never ready to travel or go out (except the first few weeks when everyone was really excited)?

Anyways, the conversation ended on a positive note with all of us accepting that we all had made mistakes somewhere down the line. We promised to make more efforts to understand one another and in fact, for the past month have been chilling out a lot more (playing pool, going clubbing, shopping, coffee sessions, etc).

What is intriguing about this experience is what it has taught me. What works in one country may not in another. Well, everyone knows that... so what's the big deal, you might ask? The difference is what you do about it. More often than not, I was trying to steer everyone's thinking to what I thought was right. And on most occasions, it was influenced by past experiences in India. THAT IS WRONG! The best way to deal with such kind of situations is to let people work the way they do and try and mould not their thinking or actions, but their results in a manner such that it is mutually beneficial for you and for them. How? Just be around, identify what you don't know and don't interfere. When you know what you didn't, verify your initial suggestion with the current reality and then suggest or implement. Sounds like rocket science? It isn't. You'll get to know this like the back of your hand if you're studying or working abroad. Ahemm... I take cheques so please send me your fees for this free lesson in "managing cultural diversity" to my bank account in India... hehe :)

Honestly, team management in a foreign country and culture is tough, bloody tough! I thought I was a good team leader and manager. Maybe I am. But in an alien environment where I needed to adapt myself to the surroundings, adjust to the people and then build a team according to the local culture, I think it took a lot more doing. If you still ain't convinced, try it. Cultural diversity/sensitivity is the worst fucking bug that ever hit management sciences. And I rarely see B-school text books or any management guru doing something about it. Maybe I should. What do you people suggest?

And yes, there is a lack of resources at Exigo and I'm also getting drained out with the late nights every week, but it's challenging and fun in its own way. I wasn't expecting this back in India and I'm not really enjoying it all the time but it's enriching my understanding of how small units can be started and more importantly, be managed on a profitable basis.

The last most interesting thing about work right now is the future of Exigo. It seems it couldn't be brighter. A friend of my boss quit TBWA Indonesia a few weeks ago because he was getting bored with the kind of work he was doing: clients always complaining about hefty agency budgets with little returns and compromising on the quality of advertising. He wanted to do something pathbreaking and put Indonesia on the global marketing map.

So, he came along with this idea of merging Exigo with an international agency. Why? Are international agencies scared of us? Certainly not. It was to set up Jakarta and Indonesia's first digital marketing agency as the international technology and new media arm of any reputed international agency. The digital agency's core work would be to use technology to improvise conventional advertising media, utilize new mediums (mobile phones, Internet) of communication for marketing and also develop newer mediums. My boss was excited. This would be a giant leap... IF we took it. He discussed the entire proposal with us. We did take it! (PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NAME OF THE INTERNATIONAL AGENCY HAS BEEN EXCLUDED FROM THIS BLOG BECAUSE OF PRIVACY CONCERNS. THAT'S THE SHITTIEST AND MOST COWARDLY THING I'VE HEARD IN AGES NOW AND THE INTERNATIONAL AGENCY AT WHOSE BEHEST I'M DOING THIS, I THINK, IS STILL LIVING IN THE STONE AGE! I MEAN CMON, THIS IS BLOGGING! IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE MY SPACE, I CAN WRITE ANYTHING! WHERE ARE IPR IN THIS COUNTRY! AND IPR WATCHDOGS ALL OVER THE WORLD, PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THIS!

Investment talks are now in progress, strenuous day-long business plan meetings are on and I'm certainly going to be proud of my CV next year when it reads: Founding Member of "XX INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY" Jakarta. But I'll hold on to my horses just yet and so should you. Hopefully, the merger will be finalized by November 2006. And when it is, I'll certainly let you'll know.

Phew! Work is exhausting, ain't it. Even when one writes or reads about it :)


Disappointed with "this international agency"
Yousuf