Top 10 Experiences in Kenya

I’ve spent the last three months as a fellow at Energy Access Ventures (a Nairobi-based Venture Capital fund). This was my first experience living on the African continent, and I must say that my time in Nairobi tops my list as one of the most fun places to be! I will forever cherish the many amazing memories and friends that were made in Kenya – I already miss you all!

Below, I share my top 10 experiences living in Nairobi. Enjoy!

#10: My morning commute (Nairobi traffic is not to be missed – or escaped)!

Nairobi Morning Commute

#9: My morning (6am) Muay Thai training sessions!

Nairobi Kickboxing with Eddie

#8: Experiencing the beautiful wilderness and wildlife! I loved it as much as the animals did!

#7: Friday nights at The Alchemist, by far my favourite nightlife destination in the city!

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#6: Saturday morning brunch at River Cafe in Karura Forest – after a long run.

Brunch at Karura Forest

#5: Visiting (and jumping off) Victoria Falls (OK, this one is from Zimbabwe – but still makes it on this list!)

#4: Working with an absolutely fantastic group of people  who are hard-working and motivated to improve the lives of millions of Africans!

EAV Fellows

#3: Having INSEAD friends over to visit (just as I was about to suffer from INSEAD withdrawal…)

#2: One of the most magical nights! An incredible dinner at Ali Barbour’s Restaurant to celebrate Fatim’s birthday in Diani Beach, followed by dancing on a beach until the early hours of the morning.

#1: Getting called up on stage and dancing with the lead singers of Nairobi’s own Sauti Sol – one of Africa’s most beloved bands!

 

The INSEAD MBA Experience Arrives in Abu Dhabi!

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INSEAD MBA students listen to a presentation by Mr. Mazen Hayek, Official Spokesman for the Middle East Broadcasting Corporation, about how the network became the largest pan-Arab media company in the Middle East and North Africa.

After 10 days of travelling through the relative wilderness of East Africa, my Etihad flight made a smooth landing at Abu Dhabi’s International Airport. My journey to a brand new continent had just ended, but another, entirely different adventure was about to begin. Aside from the sprawling lights from buildings and cars, I was greeted by a vast number of tower cranes erecting the new terminal expansion of the Abu Dhabi Airport – probably three times the number used to construct the new Vikings stadium in Minneapolis. When travelling through Abu Dhabi and Dubai, it is truly astonishing to see how fast the cities have developed. After all, this was a land of desert, bedouins, and simple fishermen just 50 years ago.

After stepping into the Grand Millennium Al Wahda hotel, I began meeting my fellow INSEAD classmates, some of whom I came to know on the Fontainebleau campus in France, and others from Singapore, who I met for the first time. Out of a group of just 44 students forming the pioneering class of INSEAD’s first 2-month residential MBA exchange in Abu Dhabi, a total of 30 nationalities are represented. Students arrived from all corners of the earth following a month-long recess for Christmas holidays, eager to begin their studies in an entirely different context and environment than before.

At first glance, Abu Dhabi is a city of simple architecture and urban design compared to neighbouring Dubai. The entire island of Abu Dhabi is arranged into neat blocks with large avenues that accommodate roughly 12 lanes of traffic. The buildings are all quite similar, and with few exceptions do not exceed 20 stories. INSEAD’s home for the past 10 years has been a modest office building around the corner from the Al Wahda mall. While rather simple from the outside, the interior has been transformed into a state-of-the art facility that caters mostly to executive education. There’s a small library, a restaurant, an open floor for seminars, three lecture halls, multiple break-out rooms, and offices for the school’s faculty and staff.

This period, our classes include “Doing Business in the Middle East” (DBiME), “Live Action Learning Project (LLP)”, “Negotiations”, “International Political Analysis (IPA)”, and “Macroeconomics”. DBiME is lead by INSEAD Professor Neil Jones, who has arranged for us to visit a variety of businesses across the region and attending various seminars and panels. To date, we have visited Mubadala, Masdar, Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC), Bain,Unilever, and look forward to more visits in the future. We will also prepare research posters on prevalent business themes in the region, which will be presented at INSEAD’s Middle East Talent Networking Forum on February 28 in Dubai. LLP has students working in teams of five on a variety of consulting engagements with local companies including Google, The Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi, Arthur D. Little, E&Y, and Deloitte. Our Negotiations course is INSEAD’s most sought after elective and will be taught by Professor Horacio Falcao, one of INSEAD’s most famous professors and author of the book Value Negotiation: How to Finally Get the Win-Win Right. IPA and Macroeconomics are the last of our core courses, taught by visiting professors from NYU Abu Dhabi: ProfessorJeffrey Timmons and Professor Jean Imbs, respectively.

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INSEAD MBA students enjoying a hike in the beautiful Hajar Mountains near Ras Al-Khaimah.

Aside from a busy schedule of classes and company visits, we have had many opportunities to explore the region. Some of the more memorable experiences include a hearty meal of fresh seafood at the Abu Dhabi fish market, ripping across sand dunes in a Landcruiser and trying sand boarding for the first time, a day of relaxation on the beaches of Abu Dhabi’s Lulu Island, sipping Moroccan tea and conversing late into the night in Dubai’s old city on the banks of the Dubai creek, waking up at 5 :30am to ascend the Burj Khalifa and watch the sun rise, and a day-long hike in the Hajar Mountains near Ras Al-Khaimah.

In just 5 short months, I have completed 14 courses, met hundreds of fellow classmates, visited dozens of companies, startups, and alumni, and travelled to 12 different countries spanning 4 continents. I am truly grateful for the opportunities I have been provided thus far to grow as a future business leader and look forward to my remaining time at INSEAD and the many journeys and adventures that will surely unfold.

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MBA students in Abu Dhabi celebrate INSEAD’s ascent to the top spot of the 2016 Financial Times’ Global MBA Ranking.

You may follow the journey of INSEAD MBA students in Abu Dhabi on social media by following #P3inAD!

INSEAD MBA Class of July 2016 – Demographics

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My first official day of studies at INSEAD began today. It has been a long journey for everyone to reach this point, and each student faced their own challenges and obstacles to arrive in their seat. All students have an interesting story to tell and hail from a variety of different professional backgrounds and nationalities! With 298 fellow students starting on the Fontainebleau campus (and another 192 starting in Singapore), I am constantly meeting new people and already building my network.

In order to protray the incredible diversity of my class, I have prepared the following infographic displaying the (unofficial) demographics of INSEAD’s MBA class of July 2016:

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My #GoPro Adventures

I’ve embarked on a great many adventures over the years, and shared many of them with an incredible host of friends. From Alaskan glaciers to the lush mountains in southern China, here’s a recap of my best adventures on film from 2012-2014:

Locations filmed (in order of first appearance):
Juneau, Alaska, USA
Golden, British Columbia, Canada
Miercurea-Cuic, Romania
Tumber Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
Yangshuo, Guangxi, China
Gustavus, Alaska, USA
Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
Valmeinier, France
Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada
Los Picos de Europa, Cantabria, Spain
Wasa, British Columbia, Canada

One of my favourite places…

I find myself once again apologizing for the lack of updated content on RaphSammut.ca. Well, the one thing I can assure you is that I will never post something on my blog if it doesn’t deserve to be shared.

As the summer is winding down.. at least for us Canadians, here’s a video I put together for a trip that never happened. (Wow, this sentence came out far more melancholic than I anticipated)

In any case, I will share it here in the hopes that it may inspire some of you who watch it to visit one of my favourite places on earth…

Questions? Planning a trip? Ask away.. my advice is free (for now)!

Spring Cleaning

It’s been an unusually long winter, but spring has finally arrived (I think), so I took the opportunity to clean up this blog! A lot of videos had lost their way and some photos are still missing in cyberspace, but we’re in much better shape now.

After blowing the dust off some archives, I found a couple interesting gems. Check out this long-lost video I found of my second year engineering design project:

Life in a Small Town

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A panoramic view of downtown Tumbler Ridge.

I know, I’ve been negligent in updating this blog! I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post, and frankly, I’m a little embarrassed… But, let me try to explain.

For the past 9 months, I’ve resided in the small “frontier” town of Tumbler Ridge. Nestled in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies in the Murray River valley, Tumbler Ridge is like many small towns in Canada. It is quiet and peaceful, surrounded by mostly untouched wilderness (if you discount the coal mines, the occasional cleared area, and natural gas pipelines). Settled in 1981, Tumbler Ridge was a town built by coal companies to house a thousand (mostly single male) workers in a man camp, which eventually attracted a curious number of female hairdressers. Tumbler Ridge has since grown to become a respectable town complete with a quaint town hall, a golf course, and its own music festival. Every morning, workers donned in high-visibility clothing and carrying their lunch boxes gather at street intersections as they await the white bus that will take them to work in the coal mines. The town’s one and only tavern is also fondly named “The Coal Bin” and is located around the backside of the Tumbler Ridge Inn. Instead of a historical figure mounted on his trusted steed, you will find a large bucket from a coal excavator taking centre stage in the park across from the Town Hall.

Like many small frontier towns, Tumbler Ridge rides with the ever-fluctuating prices of natural resources. In late 2008, when over-inflated coal prices plummeted, mines closed down, workers were laid off, and the town stood nearly abandoned. In 2010, when coal prices recovered, mines re-opened and new mines were founded. It was also at this time that the Quality Wind Project commenced, bringing a diverse mix of workers from all over North America to a town that was suddenly struggling with lodging. In just a few short months, the town’s population doubled and every hotel was at maximum capacity. Houses, which previously sold for under $20,000 a few months earlier, were suddenly valued at over $300,000 as coal companies fought to find rooms for their employees.

While the town is endowed with the basic amenities one needs to survive, prices are inflated almost everywhere. The nearest town with a No Frills, Walmart, and Tim Hortons is Dawson Creek (approximately 140km away), famous for it’s “Mile Zero” monument for the Alaska Highway, where thousands of prospectors once passed through on their journey to their great gold-mining Meccas of Alaska and the Yukon. Grande Prairie, a booming town of 50,000 is located just across the BC/Alberta border directly east of Tumbler Ridge and is about a two-hour drive away (that is, if you are adventurous enough to navigate Northern BC’s network of unpaved resource roads). Located at the Western reach of the Oil Sands, it is truly the place to stock up on supplies and enjoy the finer comforts of modern society. At some of Grande Prairie’s many fine establishments, such as Starbucks, Costco and The Keg, the parking lots are packed with more Dodge Rams and Ford F150s than you will find at your neighbourhood dealer.

So what did I learn from my experience in Tumbler Ridge? First off, living in a small town constitutes that you plan ahead. When I flew into Grande Prairie after some days off work, I would immediately head to Costco where I would stock up on all the supplies I needed for the next month. When work is crazy, there is simply no time to afford a four-hour drive to pick up supplies. And if I do have a day off, the least thing I want to do is spend half my day driving just to buy groceries. While the majority of my time spent in Tumbler Ridge was during the spring, summer, and fall seasons, there were enough freak snowstorms to teach me that you can never take the weather for granted. A sudden squall can immobilize you in Tumbler Ridge for a day or more, as the only two paved roads out of town can take as many as 2 or 3 days to be fully ploughed. And if you do manage to slide and skid your way into Grande Prairie, you might just find that your flight home was cancelled. Already this fall, we have had two significant snowfalls and it’s only mid-October.

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A well-deserved view after climbing to the top of the Bergeron Cliffs.

It took me some time to get over the fact that I’ve been spoiled by a modern society for nearly my entire life, but once I accepted my fate, something curious happened. I suddenly enjoyed my 20-minute drive to work every morning in my Dodge Power Wagon as I beheld the views of mountains and wildlife in the early morning light. I embraced the proximity to nature and spent my free time bushwacking (exploring new roads and happening on unexpected surprises like a mother doe teaching her newborns to walk, or finding a spectacular vista). There are also a plethora of waterfalls to discover and riverbanks to wander. The local golf course, just a 2-minute drive from my house offers a bucket of balls at the driving range for $4, and an impressive community centre offers everything from an arena to an aquatics centre. I also capitalized on living in British Columbia by exploring Southern Alaska and the Canadian Rockies on two separate occasions. Skiing at Powder King, BC’s best kept secret, was truly a treat as you are guaranteed to find fresh powder there from early November until late April. With just four hours of darkness in the summer, many nights were spent around a campfire enjoying some cool brews, and the summer highlight was a terrific day spent heli-fishing at an otherwise inaccessible lake in the mountains.

My catch at Hook Lake
A fresh catch of Bull Trout at Hook Lake in Northern British Columbia! (Photo credit: Antonio Baldovino)

The most gratifying moments of my whole stay in Tumbler Ridge, however, were spent with the people of Tumbler Ridge, who were both welcoming and accepting. I’ll never forget my first weekend in Tumbler Ridge, which happened to be Easter. While most everyone from work managed to fly home to be with their families, I stayed, having just arrived in town. What I thought would be a morose and lonely weekend, became one that I now cherish the most. Ray and Josh, an amazing couple that truly embraced living in Tumbler Ridge, hooked me up with some avid powder seekers who were going skiing the following day. So, not knowing anyone in town, I immediately befriended Mark and James, two Brits who found a new home in the mountains of BC, and we were off to Powder King. On Sunday, Ray and Josh invited me to Easter dinner with their family, and I was simply blown away by their kindness after just meeting me a week prior. This good nature is shared by others in town as well! In fact, it was just last weekend that another family, whom I’d met at church, invited me to their Thanksgiving family dinner.

In a small town, everyone plays an especially important role in the continued success of the community. From the diligent workers at the post office that receive truckloads of mail-order goods every day to the local newspaper editor who patiently listens to each excited resident that rushes into his office and divulges the latest breaking news story. No matter someone’s place in society, they are happy with who they are and where they live because it takes someone with a deep love of their surroundings to weather blizzards, extreme cold, and long drives into town.

Certainly, the most important lesson from Tumbler Ridge is that small gestures make all the difference, because when you’re in a remote town, nothing is ever taken for granted. The community spirit in Tumbler Ridge was often surprising and refreshing. I saw people rush to help in the aftermath of a potentially fatal car accident. I saw strangers help a struggling old man lift his new mattress from the Sears Catalogue Order Store onto his car and tie it down. More so than simply good spirit and kindness, residents of Tumbler Ridge realize that if something serious were to happen, they must help themselves. When a heli-logging chopper had engine trouble and started a wildfire in a field, it took the local fire department over half an hour to respond with nought but a pickup truck. It was a water truck from our construction site that extinguished the blaze. This is in no way a poor reflection on public authorities, it is simply a fact that small towns have limited resources and they do the best they can with what they can afford. As a team at the Quality Wind Project, many individuals brought forth initiatives to help the local community, and the response was always immediate and overwhelming. We raised money to replace the gymnasium floor of the local high school, we raised over $10,000 to help a family who’s son is diagnosed with terminal cancer, we collected enough food for the local food bank to fill an enclosed trailer, and we helped a local church repair an overhead door that was left broken and unused for over 3 years.

Leaving Tumbler Ridge is a little bittersweet for me. While I am excited to move on to my next project and spend time at home with my family, I had just started to feel like a member of the Tumbler Ridge community. I will always remember those who welcomed me in this town, and surely hope to visit again in the future!

Are you from a small town? What’s your story? Feel free to comment below and share your thoughts (p.s. you can now login using Facebook!).

A Proper Visit to London

Exploring the lanes in Brighton upon my arrival in the UK.

It’s amazing that the entire year I spent in Spain, I only travelled to London once, and it was just a quick weekend visit of 24 hours. When I left Spain, I vowed to return to London and truly enjoy all the city has to offer. Last week, the opportunity presented itself: I had some time off from work and found a flight with Air Transat for just $620. Three days later I was boarding a plane to the Royal City.

My friend Alan, who is currently studying Pharmacy at the University of Brighton graciously offered me a place to stay, and so it was Brighton, on the southern coast of England, that was my first stop. I quickly discovered how easy to use and efficient the rail service in the UK is. Gatwick Airport is very well-connected to the rest of the country with frequent train service to both London and Brighton.

Travel Tips: I would highly recommend taking the train over other modes of transport because of its reliability, frequency, and price. In fact, if you plan your trips in advance and book online, you can benefit from incredible discounted fares. I traveled twice on the London-Brighton route for just £5 ($8) each way by booking just a few days in advance, whereas a regular ticket can cost as much as £20 ($32) each way. Discounted travel passes for local bus services at the origin and destination cities can also be added to your train ticket, and http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk offers 2-for-1 specials to practically every London attraction if you travel by train.Visit nationalrail.co.uk for online bookings!
Enjoying the beaches of Brighton!

I spent the better part of my first day exploring The City of  Brighton. Overall, it really exceeded my expectations, and was glad I visited. Brighton is a coastal town, and has a long pebble beach spanning the city shore. One of the main attractions is the Brighton Pier: a classic amusement park built on a giant platform over the sea. Another oddity is the Royal Pavilion, due to its unusual architecture, which to me, resembles a futuristic lunar base conceived at some point in the 1950s.

Brighton is also well-known for its seafood, which is great if you’re craving a good fish & chips. The more you travel, the more you will develop a sixth sense, which enables you to recognize good, local restaurants and bars and avoid pricey and inferior tourist traps. It also never hurts to ask a local for a recommendation, and they’re usually more than happy to offer a suggestion. When asking for a good seafood restaurant a number of people suggested one called “The Regency”, which is located on the seafront road about where the ruins of the old Brighton Pier stand. We ordered Fish & Chips and were extremely satisfied. The restaurant also offers a great variety of seafood options including swordfish and shellfish.

The next day, we headed off to London, which still today remains the culturally rich and industrially advanced city it has always been. On our first day, we saw the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, and explored the districts of Westminster, Soho, and Covent Garden. While rather touristic, Soho and Covent Garden remain a great place to eat and drink if you’re in central London. Whether you fancy pub grub, Indian, Chinese, Italian, or British cuisine, you’ll find it here. The main reason this area is so popular for dining and drinking can be attributed to the vast number of theaters in these regions. One disappointment is that many London pubs are now being bought and managed by a number of chains. While each pub retains its character, the menus are the same at almost every pub! Despite this change, however, the quality of pub food has certainly not diminished, and is far superior than any pub you will encounter in North America.

The parliament buildings at Westminster.

We capped the night off with a ride on the London Eye, which is rather pricey (£18.60 per person, although we used a 2-for-1 coupon along with our rail ticket). In general, most London attractions are quite expensive, and the London Eye is no exception. Is it worth it? Well, if you have to do it once, the Eye will give you a stellar view of London which can only be matched by mounting St. Paul’s dome. The Eye, however, does offer you the best view of Westminster, which is equally stunning during the day as it is at night. If you can time your visit to coincide with sunset, you’ll be able to see a remarkable transformation as the city lights up; it is also the most romantic time to take a ride, if you don’t mind the other 20 people who you’re sharing a “pod” with.

The next day, we had a great breakfast at “Flat White”, a cozy little café in Soho on Berwick St. They serve a good cup of coffee and pastries as well as poached eggs. We then took a Thames river cruise from Westminster all the way to Greenwich. It was a worthwhile experience, and the tour guide pointed out many points of interest that I would certainly not have picked up on by myself. The river cruise also offers you a chance to see the transformation of London’s docklands from one of the worlds largest industrial hubs to a chique residential area. Many of the river-front accommodations now sell for millions of pounds. You’ll also get to see Canary Wharf, which is to London as “La Defense” is to Paris or “Pudong” is to Shanghai: essentially a newer second downtown area with many high-rise buildings inhabited by the world’s largest international corporations. Once you arrive in Greenwich, you can visit the Royal Naval Museum and the Royal Observatory. I didn’t actually venture into either of these attractions, but instead visited the Prime Meridian, which is marked just outside the observatory.

Rushing to catch a train to Hogwarts at Kings Cross Station.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the Tower of London, which is full of history and intrigue. Serving as the royal monarchy’s stronghold and refuge time and time again, it is practically a walled city with a number of towers where a great number of traitors lost their heads, heirs to the throne mysteriously disappeared, and the Queen keeps a nice collection of jewels and crowns. For dinner, we headed to Finsbury Park to meet up with my cousin Robert. On the way, we stopped at King’s Cross Station to try to find Platform 9 and 3/4. After a bit of searching, I managed to find it, and even tried my luck at taking a sprint towards the wall whilst pushing a trolley!Just outside of central London, Finsbury Park is a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the city. There are a number of good restaurants in this area, most notably a Turkish restaurant called Gokyuzu, which is where we dined, and where I can say I had the best Turkish food of my life. I was also told by my cousin that this restaurant is on par with the best restaurants in Istanbul (as he has been there and can attest to this).

To start off the next day on a good note, I headed to the Nespresso Boutique in Knightsbridge for my customary purchase of coffee (which is roughly half the price in Europe than it is in Canada) and to enjoy a complimentary espresso. I then went for breakfast in Convent Garden at Monmouth Coffee, now my favourite café in London! The coffee is amazing, and there are bowls of ground cane sugar on each table which give it a rich nutty flavour that is not as sweet as traditional white sugar. After visiting the incredibly large flagship Apple Store in Convent Garden I took a stroll through Hyde Park and visited the Princess Diana memorial fountain. I continued on to Paddington Station where I boarded a train bound for Windsor Castle. I’ve visited a few castles in Europe, and Windsor was quite impressive! On a good day, you can tour both St. George’s Chapel, where you can see the banners of the Garter Knights (a tradition dating back to Sir Arthur and the knights of the round table), as well as the State Rooms, where your jaw will drop a little further with each successive room that you visit. What makes the castle all the more interesting is the fact that it is still in active use by the royal family, and houses approximately 150 staff in service to the Queen.

A view of the Occupy London protests, like many of its kind all around the world.

On my final day in London, I had breakfast in Islington, a rather nice area of the city that is a little off the beaten-track. We found a cool place for breakfast called “The Breakfast Club”, which serves great coffee, a delicious “Full Monty” fry-up, and fresh orange juice by the pitcher. In this area, you can also explore London’s vast network of canals and locks which are great for a Sunday stroll. I then hopped on a double-decker bus, which took me to St. Paul’s Cathedral, where I was faced with a truly bizarre sight! Just like many other major cities in the world, there was a shanty town of tents and youth who are occupying spaces in downtown areas to peacefully protest Capitalism and to attempt to rebuild our society. To me, it just looks like an excuse to camp out and party rather than actually accomplish anything tangible. St. Paul’s Cathedral is quite impressive and is quite central to the Church of England. It’s dome is visible from almost anywhere in the city, and is in fact, Europe’s second-largest unsupported dome after St. Peter’s in the Vatican. In the crypt, you can find many tombs of famous Britons, including Admiral Lord Nelson, honored for his victory against the franco-spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. You can also climb up to the top of the dome, where you can get an awesome 360-degree view of London from a height of around 350 feet. After crossing the Thames on the infamous Millennium Bridge, I allowed myself to be baffled by the many oddities of Tate Gallery of Modern Art.

All-in-all, it was a very enjoyable visit, and I’m glad I had a few days to look around the city. It is such a rich city, that even a week would not be enough to truly enjoy all that London has to offer. Check out my full slide show below!

Is 99.9% good enough?

I’ve been working in the construction industry for a grand total of two weeks, and while this may not seem like much, it has already taught me a valuable lesson that can be applied to almost any situation: the concept of doing everything 100%.

As children growing up, we are bombarded with reminders to finish what we started and to see our chores all the way through before starting something else, and yet it is always so hard to finish things in their entirety! It seems to be so difficult to keep a room perfectly clean because there will always be a stray sock somewhere and so we conclude that having our room mostly clean, maybe even 99.9% clean, is the best we can humanly achieve because perfection is simply an unattainable goal.

In school, we strive for 100%, but are ecstatic with anything over 90% (in university, I was frequently ecstatic just to get a passing grade)! Besides, unless it’s math, marking is subjective and it is humanly impossible to achieve a 100% score! Even if it is math, it’s so easy to have a careless mistake somewhere in the midst of your calculations, that we are willing to settle for a 95%. We often joke about some students’ parents who, in response to their child receiving a 95% would demand to know why they couldn’t achieve 100%! And yet, despite the seeming impossibility of achieving 100%, is there something we’re missing and is it possible that anything less than 100% is simply not acceptable?

For many years in the construction industry, injuries and fatalities were considered an inevitable risk and therefore, such tragedies were most unfortunately accepted by society. While there are strict rules and regulations in place (enforced by organizations like OSHA in the United States and the WSIB in Canada), to hold a company accountable for injuries and deaths is accepted by law so long as they are compliant with all applicable rules. So, if a company has a 99.9% safety record, is it acceptable? While many would argue that 99.9% is extremely good, in my company of just over 2000 people, it would mean that at least 2 people would be killed or seriously injured every year. The same record applied to the automobile industry would imply that it would be acceptable if over 5,000 cars sold in the United States every year could have life-threatening problems. Applied to the aviation industry, it would imply that it would be acceptable if at least one plane crashed every day when landing or taking off at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. In medicine, it would mean that over 300 million prescriptions in the United States (roughly equal to the American population) would be incorrectly fulfilled every single year.

Clearly, in many different industries, 99.9%, no matter how impressive it is, is simply not good enough. So, as a field supervisor with Mortenson Construction, I take my responsibility to perform quality control and assurance very seriously. When I test to make sure that each and every one of the bolts holding a rotor in place is correctly tensioned, 100% is the only acceptable standard, and the same should apply to everything else that we do when the safety of other people is at stake. Furthermore, to ensure our 100% commitment to quality, most work is often checked and re-checked by at least two different people to ensure proper scrutiny.

Working in construction, for me, has caused a paradigm shift in my thinking, whereby I now stand by my commitment to do a good job because failure is simply not an option. If we can apply this same principle to everything we do in life, than we cannot fail. Every catastrophe can be avoided if we are diligent, if we take the time before we act to consider possible consequences of our actions, and if we take the proper steps to prevent it from occurring in the first place.

Here’s a great clip that really exemplifies what it means to be the best you can be and to give it your 100%: