Yesterday in Managua

I spent yesterday in Managua, visiting Harvest, Rancho Santana’s little gourmet bistro, which I’d never seen before, and also an exhibition of Nicaraguan contemporary art sponsored by The French Cultural Center and Ford Fine Art. The exhibition was a success. Johann Bonilla, our director, did a great job of putting it together. We had planned it a year ago, but considering the state of the Nicaraguan economy after COVID and Hurricane Iota, I assumed it would be postponed. Postpone, however, is not a word THAT Johann understands very well. Despite a university education in the social sciences and a degree in law, he’s a natural intrapreneur. He made the exposition happen without even thinking it couldn’t. Along with the exhibition, we had a competition with 3 cash prizes. This prompted dozens of entries – and that’s where yours truly came in. As a judge, along with SS, my partner; RH, an art critic friend; JJ, who runs our art biz in Central America; and several others, the task was to narrow the selection to 10, then to 6, and then finally to the winning 3. It was not easy. So many of the pieces were really good. I’ve long been aware of the high caliber of Central American art. (You may remember the beautiful, illustrated book – Central American Modernism – that Suzanne Snider and I produced recently.) But I was actually shocked by the quality of these entries. They were miles above the sort of derivative and commercial shlock you see in the art shows we have in South Florida. The pieces were so good, in fact, that I’m buying at least half of them for my collection. They will compete favorably with the modern masters that will hang in the museum I’m planning to open. It’s interesting to think that here in one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere, blighted by political turmoil, the COVID shutdown, and Hurricane Iota, there is this rich source of creative and sophisticated modern art. Speaking of Johann’s intrapreneurial instincts, today’s essay is about an aspect of that. It’s about moving a growing business from Stage One to Stage Two by creating a culture of speed – one of the most important lessons I ever learned about business.