Hello to all,

This is just a quick post to say that I am sure you have heard that Annie and I are putting on our BIG GIRL panties and taking the brave step to start something of our own, down here in Cape Town.

Being a new mom, I have come to realise that I really need to be in a position where I can work much more flexibly, with fewer hours at the grindstone. I am also hitting 40 soon, so if I don’t find the courage to do this now, I am not sure I ever will. We are starting a small training design consultancy called The T-Room, with a few corporate clients, but are also looking to stretch into the NGO space.

As I move towards this new vision… there are things I feel compelled to say about Avocado Vision!

I have had the most extraordinary 5 years with the Avo family. When I joined, I had no idea I was about to:

• Be exposed to some of the most exciting opportunities
• Learn some of the most valuable career lessons
• Stretch into some of the most challenging spaces
• Grow as a person through the insightful work that we do
• Work with some of the most talented people I have ever met…. And…
• Make some of my dearest dearest friends.

For those of you that I have worked closely with, each one of you has enriched me. I really mean that! Jules has an extraordinary way of gathering extraordinary people and I honestly feel very very privileged to have worked with you over the years. Thank you to each one of you. You have supported me so solidly and I am so grateful for your energy.

For those of you that I have not yet met, (and there a re quite a few of you), I think you have found a wonderful place to work. Avo has an energy that is hard to describe, and very hard to find anywhere else. Enjoy building the company… and enjoy what it builds in you.

I have NO DOUBT that Annie and I will continue to work with Avo in new ways. We have been chatting with Jules and Steve over the last few weeks, and our intention is to stay very connected and involved where it makes sense. So this is definitely NOT goodbye… it is more …. See you, when we see you! And thank you… to this beautiful (not so little) company for supporting me along my journey over the last 5 years.

Here’s to Avo! Ching Ching!

Today was a really funny day. The Avo’s were pumping!

We had a major pitch to prepare for which we really wanted to win, so the sales team were hard at it! We are launching a massive country wide training roll out on Monday which requires an enormous amount of preparation, so our support team were doing cartwheels round the office. And… 6 of our trainers were attending a train the trainer on “how to use a blackberry”, so the conference room was buzzing with Vodacom people, client people and training people. It was all happening at Avocado Vision.

And then….. juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup… the lights went out! Everything came to a slow halt… except for the fact that we still had deadlines. What to do? What are the options? No generator yet… ok… let’s get innovative.

Where is the power? Next grid up… South Kensington. Vanessa lives there. She has a house. It has power. Let’s go! So within 5 minutes, everyone had packed their goodies, piled into their cars and made a bee-line for my house. Each team found a corner of the house to occupy, and within minutes, the show was back on the road.

The sales team nestled between the toaster and the microwave and finished off their pitch, adding the last touches to their sales presentation. The pressure was on. An hour to go before we were up.

The trainers (8 of them) crowded into the lounge, organised the sofa’s, took the pictures off the wall and fired up the data projector. Blackberry training was once again in progress. In amongst the learner group were a collection of loosely scattered cushions as well as a pair of uber-attentive dogs! Never has a slide presentation looked so dodgy as we beamed our images onto the deep mustard walls. Nonetheless, the session was in full swing.

As the sales team hastily made the final touches to their work and began to spruce themselves before heading off to the big event, a cell phone rang. It was the client. They apologised sincerely for having to postpone the presentation… they were out of power!

What an awesome day! We had power… we lost power… we found power! Yeehah… Avo power!

Helllloooooo!!!! It’s me…. no really, it is! Introducing Vanessa Louise Thomas! Finally!

Many of you out there have asked the obvious question: “Why have you not yet made it onto the Avo blog site? What’s up with that? How have you managed to get away with it?”

A fair question I think, since avoiding the wrath of our blog-monster Jules, for 193 days, is quite a feat… and is surely a record! Let me tell you, it takes talent and skill to hold onto your job at Avo, without having blogged your arrival! So thank you Avos, for your patient prodding and your gentle nudging… I fear I am nearing my limit.

The upside is that I have experienced almost 6 months of life at Avo, and I can now comment on my experience with a great deal more wisdom. I can honestly say, that finding Avo, has been like finding an old over-coat in an unexpected place. When you put it on, it feels as if it were made for you… it makes you feel good, it goes with everything you have, and you start to imagine all the places you can wear it.

When I think about working at Avo…

I do not:

Wake up and wish it was the weekend

Wish away the hours of my working day

Wonder if there is anything better out there for me

Work because I have to

Fantasize about colleagues that are different from the ones that I have

Imagine all the things that would make my work life better
I do:

Wake up and look forward to the unpredictable nature of my next day at Avo

Wish that I could find a way of putting into words, the magic that I have found on this little hill in Kensington

Wonder about our projects and how best we can deliver the magic that Avo is famous for

Work in the knowledge that I have some of South Africas best people as colleagues (and friends)

Fantasize about the future of Avo and how I can meaningfully contribute to it

Imagine how life might have been had I not found my way to this extraordinary organisation, Avocado Vision

So ja, I am one of those lucky people that wake up in the morning… and really think… “hey-ho, hey-ho, it’s off to work I go…” and I literally whistle my way (all of 7km’s) to my very energising workplace.

I love being the Training Manager, I love leading my team, and I love what they teach me. I am hugely excited about the things we can do together… and I’m saying “bring it on South Africa, we are ready and waiting!”