Many years ago I played a minor role in Karen’s independent travel business, when we lived in Moscow during the summer of 1992.  My job was to orient guests and help them change money on the ‘private’ market. The role was not demanding. Many days I took time to read on a bench in the park adjacent to Red Square or play tennis on the clay courts at Sportivnaya.

Fast forward 30 years and Karen is my boss, again. I’d grown accustomed to self-management as a partner and executive at M+R, accountable to clients, of course, but otherwise on my own professionally.  

Karen is a very direct communicator and extremely well organized. It’s a challenge to keep up with her pace, precision and level of productivity. To be honest, I find her directive, task-orientedness irksome at times. I know she finds my chronic disorganization equally irksome. She once left me a note that read: “I respectfully request that you get your work shit more organized. Love, the management.” It came on a stack of unused file folders with a package of yellow sticky notes.

We have regularly scheduled meetings to talk through priorities. Our organizational tool is a shared google doc titled: VMS Key Tasks. It helps. Her disciplined approach to task management is not only directed at me.

Karen constantly reminds our construction and transport teams of their timelines, commitments and upcoming milestones to keep us on track for a soft launch at the end of September.

I always felt that we were at our best as parents. We easily gravitated to the roles and responsibilities we were most suited to handle, either by proximity or affinity. As an extravert, I was in charge of social planning and anything food-related.  Karen was the lead on academics, ensuring all homework was completed and up to high standards. I planned our vacations while Karen coached the boys’ soccer team.       

Recognizing who is good at what makes us excellent business partners. I manage accounts payable and taxes; Karen oversees the budget. I’m dealing with shipping, logistics and the Rwanda Food & Drug Authority; Karen leads on government relations. Both of us are engaged in planning and marketing.  

For years we led independent professional lives. It’s truly a joy at this stage in our careers to be aligned around a shared vision. Working from home during the pandemic was good practice for how to cohabitate and collaborate. On the personal side, Karen is my fitness coach, motivating me to join her for online core classes, power walks, etc.  My love language is food. I enjoy making excellent, healthy meals for both of us.

It’s crunch time now. Every day seems to offer a new challenge to solve: sourcing stainless steel piping for the equipment install; removing trees for the phase 3 power lines; clearing imported material and equipment; recruiting key staff. It would all be overwhelming without the support of local government, key agency leadership and a stellar mix of consultants who are helping us to execute this vision.

These are long, hard days, but when we go to the site and see our beautiful building nearing completion, when we feel the constant encouragement from Rwandese for our commitment to and investment in their country, it all feels more than worthwhile.

Check out the latest pics from the installation of equipment @VirungaMountainSpirits #VisitRwanda #SpiritofVirunga.

All the best,

Bill