Surf trip – Costa Rica

I realigned both Attic Independent Production GmbH and Attic Solutions between until the end of 2016.

After an intensive learning phase in the field of digitalization and web development, I embarked on a 2-month trip to Costa Rica in January 2017. It was time to get some distance and adapt the environment for a new focus.

I experimented with running the office from anywhere and implementing projects remotely.

I made intensive use of the online services AirBNB and Uber during the trip, although the availability of a reasonably fast internet connection was still a killer criterion. This was very close to the limit for productive work in many of the AirBNB hostals in Costa Rica. Nevertheless, I was online almost constantly and carried out various freelance tasks for my clients in Switzerland, especially at the beginning of the trip.

The conclusion is mixed

On the one hand, it was possible for me to do relevant work in Costa Rica using only my laptop, but on the other hand, the fluctuations in internet speed were a bit annoying for a spoiled digitalized Swiss like me.

In addition to freelance work for Swiss clients, I produced two low budget video clips for a local musician duo and coached them both in the possibilities of Facebook promotions after updating their computer systems, Facebook fan pages etc.

For one boutique, I analyzed the production and delivery of the goods in detail with the owner and showed her new production possibilities.

There would have been a lot of potential for a digital expert with my knowledge to offer services on site. However, the second part of my trip focused on the waves.

Surfing – Extreme Bootcamp

I traveled to Costa Rica in 2004 and 2009 to learn and practice surfing as a landlocked country. From my previous travels, I knew that the greatest effort in surfing lies in building up strength.
The wave moves towards the shore at a certain speed. To surf it, you need to be in the right place and paddle yourself to build up the speed of the wave.
PADDLE and PADDLE again.

I was only ever interested in extreme sports such as snowboarding, climbing and surfing. Surfing is the only sport I know of that forces me to get my body in top shape before I can do the actual sport. Added to this is the mercilessness of the sun in Central America, where tanning the skin also becomes part of the rebuilding process.

After the fight through the surf to the lineup, the positioning starts. The waves approach the shore in sets of about 3 big waves each. Between the sets there is the silence and the rocking of the ocean, which offers welcome relaxation. Nevertheless, constant vigilance is required to see how the swell develops. When the waves get big, you need to react quickly to avoid being swept away by them.

Parallels to personal orientation and the orientation of companies

The waves that roll towards us economically have a lot in common with the waves in the sea.

The big waves that are currently rolling towards us are digitalization, globalization, climate change, pollution and social inequality. Those who paddle out early, i.e. familiarize themselves with the subject matter early on, will hopefully not be caught by the crashing wave and, in the best case, can even surf it, i.e. benefit from it and enjoy its beauty.

The wave is rolling in! Paddle out with me and I’ll put you in the ideal position!