The sauna is almost up to temperature; I prefer to set it at around 85 degrees. I recently acquired a small home-made sauna. It is wood fired, which is fortunately still permitted in Kenya, and resembles an oversized wine barrel lying on its side. An ideal way to cool down after an intensive day at the nursery. No phone calls or distractions, just me and the elements: sauna + ice bath. It's a great moment to reflect, so I've renamed this round thing the ‘think tank’.
These days, my reflections often turn to human resources, an underexposed topic in this trade journal. That is probably because every person and every situation is unique, which makes writing about technical subjects the easier choice. Also, the scale of companies in Kenya introduces very different dynamics: here, nurseries easily cover 20 hectares and 400 employees.
We are no slouches ourselves, with 2,400 unique individuals in permanent employment. Over the past few years, I have encountered all sorts of issues: tribalism, internal relationships, corruption, nepotism, power abuse and theft. These are hardly pleasant matters, but it is vital to remove the bad apples to keep the other ones healthy. It is about being transparent, listening carefully, making fair decisions and moving on. Fortunately, this is only a small part of human resources, and most of it is overwhelmingly positive.
