When in Newport. What a beautiful place!
Newport is the only North American Stopover at the 2018 Volvo Ocean Race. We started this race in October last year, and it has been a tremendous adventure for all of us. I can´t believe I have made it until today. We have crossed oceans, 5 continents and we are still on our way to Europe, the remaining one. Still, there are three more legs to go, but to arrive in Newport today, it has been as a gracious hope for my heart. I am racing the most difficult “regatta estratégica de mi vida”, it has been a long way to arrive here. Before joining the teams, I thought I am not sure I will be able to make it. But there was a little angel voice inside of me who was telling me, share what you know. “Share it, someone may need it, someone will use it, someone will be happy to read your posts… do it”.
As you may know, I was left without a job since April 2012. The World Bank did not renew my contract as Investments Advisor for International Finance Corporation El Salvador. And I spent several years sending CV´s and cover letters to find a job as a Managing Director (Merchant Banking) to all the banks, international cooperation agencies, multilateral development financing institutions, corporates, trying to find a job out of El Salvador. Nothing worked out. I spent days, months, years sending CVs and cover letters. As Witty has said it: Never say never – Never give up. I contacted all my university networks and professional contacts, one by one, looking for a job. And the silence was abysmal. By the end of the year 2016, when I started this company, I did not even have a computer. My old red HP Computer was broken. And I started to write from a petit tablet of 7 inches which is little than my hands. Nevertheless, I thought I have to do it. 
My business value proposition can´t be shared by applications, neither by email-lists, neither by cold-calls. Corporate Strategy is based on trust. Yes, as simple as that. Trust. To be a Corporate Strategic Advisor start-up is all about business owners trusting my brain. Even if I produce beautiful videos to share with you here, that doesn´t guarantee to build trust with potential clients either. People trust you because you have developed it over time. Trust is an essential foundation on which to build a professional relationship. In addition, believe me, when I say, I did not have the money to buy a video camera or new mobile to make my own videos (I still use my old Blackberry Curve 9320). But God answered my prayers, and a relative lent me a computer. Despite the financial and objective limitations (I also lost this computer, and another relative lent me the second one during Leg 7); I started to sail this race, writing and posting almost every day, competing against the time schedule, the winds, the ocean waves, and clouds. The rest of the teams were fighting against the oceans to arrive at safe ports, meanwhile, I was doing business research, reading a lot, preparing slides, updating information, finding books and papers, thinking and writing in a second language, not in Spanish (my mother tongue). All I have had in mind was: “Follow your heart intuition, Eleonora. Do it, write, write and write”. “I have to write what I know because it is important to do it. Only by writing what I believe I know, I will understand what needs to be known next. The only way I can find new opportunities is by giving”.
Some people told me: Why are you sharing your knowledge without asking for money in return? Why do you share so much if no one reads your posts? What will you get from it? Why are you losing your time? Why do you care when no one cares about you? Why do you care, Eleonora?… But I kept on going. I knew the Volvo Ocean Race is the longest and toughest professional sporting event in the world, as well as the sailing’s most difficult team challenge. And I had to do it on my own domain. Strategy. At this point, I just know I have to end this race in The Hague. It doesn´t matter what difficulties we will find next, we all have to finish this race.
About Leg 8: Congratulations to the red MAPFRE team for this first place from Itajaí to Newport; and to the Dutch team Brunel, and the American-danish Vestas 11th for the second and third place in the podium. To the rest of the fleet: TTOP, SHK-Scallywag, Dongfeng and Akzo Nobel, a strong and deserved recognition to be my companions on this journey. I still have to learn a lot about sailing. I hope you can continue teaching me.
Just to arrive in Newport, gives me hope. It gives us hope. I will leave you with a beautiful video about Newport, Rhode Island. This sojourn is the beginning of the best future themes of business strategy to share with you. Now I have my beau Alejandro Guillermo Lozano Artolachipi on board, I am not alone anymore.
Thank you.
Disclaimer: All the presentation slides shown on this blog are prepared by Eleonora Escalante MBA-MEng. Nevertheless, all the pictures or videos shown on this blog are not mine. I do not own any of the lovely photos or images posted unless otherwise stated.
Eleonora Escalante Strategy 