Up until 2005, I absolutely hated creating content. My business partner, Amie Devero, was forced to nag me for weeks to contribute a single paragraph to our company newsletter. It felt like pulling teeth. Writing was hard, I decided.
But then, I started packing a container for my final move home to Jamaica from Florida. And I began Googling for advice on how to handle the project effectively. I didn’t want to open the metal box to find everything broken.
First, I looked for others who had moved back to Jamaica and were using a container service. Nothing. Then I looked for anyone who had moved to the Caribbean. Nothing.
So, in frustration, I began writing about my experience. Here’s what it was like to pack one’s life into a 40-foot metal box, for the first time. Why did I take to the internet? I wanted to make it easy for the next Jamaican who was caught in my position.
But before the move was even complete, something shifted. I found that I couldn’t stop writing, maybe because I had a lot riding on this transition. To help keep my writing open to the public, I created “a blog“.
Eventually, I learned the ropes and after settling into a life in Kingston with my new wife, I kept writing. Over the first two years, I added posts on strategic planning and productivity until it became obvious that I had too many interests for a single website. And that’s why I created this site: Chronicles from a Caribbean Cubicle.
It eventually became the reason for having a bi-weekly Gleaner column in the business section.
Now, more than a decade later, I can see what drove me. I found a bigger “Why” – to help Caribbean people and companies make a meaningful contribution to our region. This mission has never left, evidenced by the stream of ideas and content I have produced since 2005. Some of it is listed on this site.
But it’s never felt like a chore. Gone is the experience of fighting with a single paragraph in a newsletter. Today, I pull from my consulting background, academic training, US experience, coaching conversation and more. Life has cast me in some interesting episodes, and the least I could do is package them into principles that benefit others.
Francis
P.S. If you’re looking for a short bio to copy and use:
Francis Wade is a management consultant and author of Perfect Time-Based Productivity. With BS and MEng degrees from Cornell University, he taught at the University of Phoenix at the MBA level for several years. Francis is a bi-weekly columnist for the Sunday Jamaica Gleaner’s Business Section and hosted the CaribHRForum Virtual Conference 2022 plus several other multi-day virtual events.
