Scrappy Kimberly says: Maybe it sounds a bit “last century,” but I’m not one to make friends with people I’ve never met in person. Eldette is a rare exception. She’s a project manager from Africa, a mysterious continent that has always intrigued me. We first connected through my Scrappy Project Management book and our commiseration over the thanklessness of the project management profession. (I’m truly hoping that she’s a real person, and not an ebony-colored Labrador retriever posing as a human.) Every time I receive an email from Eldette I feel her scrappiness leaping from the screen. Her matter-of-fact approach to overcoming one insurmountable obstacle after another, like some tireless runner leaping giant logs across her path, make her an inspiration to me, and thoroughly qualified for the Scrappy Businesswoman’s Hall of Fame. (That, and the fact that she’s petted a lion.)
Author – Eldette Davie, Ms. “You say I can’t do what?”
After graduating with a diploma in marketing, I joined a computer company and found what I liked doing most—being around computers. My sins include time in blue chip companies, “big 5 consulting houses,” and work in presales and business consulting in Europe and Africa.
I thrive on learning new things, and I’m intrigued by metaphysics and the concept of world connectedness. I am passionate about all things outdoorsy—photography, sport (the more extreme the better), my family (especially my four-footed children) and music you can listen to without going deaf. I dislike more than words could express injustice, dishonesty, thoughtlessness, and prejudice.
At the moment I’m a program manager for the largest technology-only consulting house in South Africa, working on a project that is making me go grey. (As a result, I dye my hair!) I can’t tell you how valuable scrappiness has been in my life, never more than in my current challenges.
“Regrets are a waste of time. They’re the past crippling you in the present.” – Federico Fellini, from the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun”
Read a sample of Eldette’s chapter from the Scrappy Women in Business book here.
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