May/June 2010

IBM Corporate Service Corps

Our daughter Vicki has worked for IBM for twelve years.  For the last six years she has been with IBM Human Resources Center for Learning and Development.  Late last year she applied to participate in the IBM Corporate Service Corps and was selected!  IBM's answer to developing leaders who have the skills needed for a globally integrated, smarter planet is the Corporate Service Corps (CSC) where high performance IBM employees are exposed to the 21st century context for doing business--emerging markets, global teaming, diverse cultures, working outside the traditional office, and increased societal expectations for more responsible and sustainable business practices.  CSC participants perform community-driven economic development projects in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, working at the intersection of business, technology and society.

The CSC initiative gathers teams of IBM volunteer leaders, drawn from different countries and business units and places them in priority emerging markets to tackle important social and economic issues in collaboration with national and local partners around the world.  IBM leaders are able to tap into their "global citizen" side having the opportunity to understand the social dynamics and business conduct of a foreign country.

Vicki's assignment includes a month in Gasiantep, Turkey, with a team of IBMers from across the globe.  We are excited for her and look forward to hearing all about her adventures.  Click here to go to Vicki's Blog.  Be sure to bookmark it!

She has been posting a bunch of photos on her Facebook page, so we have included a number here for those who do not have access to Facebook.  As you can see, the food is incredible - they are definitely not roughing it.  We have been Skyping with her (isn't technology wonderful!!).  She is making the most of her time there.   "Being on this CSC assignment is a really rich learning experience.  I am learning about Turkish culture and how it impacts the way things are done, which is one of the key take-aways I was hoping for."  Vicki has been a runner since her cross-country days in high school, but she does not see much running going on there.  So she has been taking the stairway up and down to her room on the TENTH floor of the hotel.  Bless her heart!!  Last weekend the team went to Kapadokya and