To New York. 6 October 2023
Jimm Meloy is welcoming, avuncular and full of useful #advice. Before meeting him, he has handy tips about moving around #New York; which station would be better (perhaps leave your wheelies at my apartment, he suggests, but my packing makes it impossible), how to get to #Long Island (where I will be staying with Prof Lois Moylan and Tommy, her husband), and what restaurants in #Manhattan we should go to (I settle for #Greek but in the end we don't go because I had sprained my left ankle).
In person he is tall with a friendly smile. He loves New York (you can bump into anyone from the CEO of IBM to a cleaner at the local university, all useful connections in their different ways, at any one of the 23 650 eateries in the city...where else in the world can that happen, he asks. By this he means that New York is an almost classless community where people mix pretty much everywhere. In other cities, the rich may drive, in New York public #transportation is just that much simpler to use...convenient, cheaper and time saving).
So, we meet at Grand Hyatt lobby just outside Grand Central Station. My niece Vongai Shava is with me, educating me on the #actors and #writers #strike (did you know that most actors and writers make very little while the #studio execs vacation in #obnoxious yachts in the #Med?) Once it's just the two of us, Jimm tells me about being an early materials #engineer, studying at University of Strathclyde in the 1970's and then leaving in his early 20's to see the world; working in the Middle East, up and down various states until settling in New York. His time at Autodesk held many lessons. He detests the word '#training' (Something he shares with my host, Prof Lois Moylan, who informed that #training is not used in academic circles in the US...it's "#educating" or ''#teaching" as they imply transfer of both theory, practice and professional attributes rather than rote pedestrian #vocational stuff. I like the word though). In Jimm's case, his experience in #corporate taught that #managers think that training is a #waste of #money, and #employees think it's a waste of #time; so, promoting learning for #personal/professional #development and the firm's improved #performance is the way to go. I show him my Niselo Nutritica pitch to the #mines and he tweaks it to emphasize improved #worker performance and mine #output (It makes new sense). He talked about using #process thinking (not so much #design thinking) and #reverse or backward planning (I was too embarrassed to take my trusted jotter for notes). He tells me about the early years of #pioneering e-learning and tricks of pitching to #management to gain approval for spinning off his unit to move from #chaos to #nirvana (that was sadly upended by the downturn of 2008).
Today Jimm #mentors start-ups from across the world. I was privileged to sit at his feet for 2 hours and #imbibe from the #calabash of his experiences, #passion and wisdom.
I told him the story of #Niselo and possible opportunities in the #US, about use of #cannabis in #symptomatic relief of #cancer and #arthritis and the #trials we are planning. We talked about #SouthVation and using the A, B and C planning model. Start with the B's, he said. And David Moinina Sengeh is an A! Then he put me on the train to #Connecticut (pronounced ConNETIcut, Lois kept telling me which I only manage to do if I don't spell it in my head!). To Bob Creighton MBE who has been a steadying influence from afar. We will finalize meet and break bread.