What’s up, Hackers! How’s it going?
Nyak here, sharing another one of my experiences working within Casa Hacker as a project manager.
As I write this text, I’m in that same old multitasking mode: I just finished submitting the data to open a new service request, this time for the transportation we’ll need at the next PerifaImpacto gathering. This is a recurring task in the project’s routine. Every month we hold gatherings that connect Campinas and São Paulo, with two groups of 10 people, one in each city, alternating venues between these two territories.
We always use public and community spaces, located within the territories of the participating leaders. This is intentional. We want the gathering to happen where real life is already happening, strengthening the ground these leaders already walk every day.
I think it’s important to give a bit more context about these gatherings, because perhaps it will spark in you the desire to design some agile practices for your next learning outing or activity with the territory.
Planning and strategy
It’s already been 10 months of PerifaImpacto. Time goes by so fast that, before I know it, I’m already opening another service request, reviewing another script, aligning another logistics plan. Over this time, I’ve fully organized at least eight gatherings, supporting the pedagogical team and the program’s beneficiaries. It wasn’t simple. Each gathering was unique, challenging, and full of details. But they were all possible thanks to a combination that I now consider essential in the third sector: planning and strategy.
When I talk about planning, I’m not just talking about a nice agenda on paper. I’m talking about building a macro schedule, visualizing each stage, and understanding how the macro and micro actions connect all the way to the final goal.
With the gatherings, for example, we need from the very start to identify in the project schedule when they will take place, define how many hours of fellowship and training we’ll have each day, understand the central proposal of each gathering and who needs to be present, map out location, logistics, travel, and accessibility, anticipate how many people will participate, what infrastructure is needed, and which pedagogical materials will be used, in addition to considering food, dietary restrictions, and all those technical details that make the experience work well.
All of this involves prioritizing welcoming, accessible spaces with the structure to host training activities, with multipurpose rooms, chairs, tables, a projector, and space for breakfast, lunch, and that afternoon coffee that keeps everyone’s energy up. At many gatherings, we also have audiovisual coverage, recording everything in high quality to share on social media and show partners the real impact of what is happening there.
How data and qualified partners ensure real impact at PerifaImpacto
After collecting all the necessary information, there comes a stage that sometimes no one sees, but that sustains everything: making sure every need is met within the criteria and policies of all parties. We follow internal protocols, the organization’s policies, and the terms agreed with partners, sponsors, and suppliers.
Our partners and suppliers are people and companies qualified in their markets, formally registered, with business activity codes specific to their field, a relevant portfolio, and consistent results. This doesn’t happen by chance. To make the search easier and strengthen the relationship with the network, I created a database of professionals in the areas we need most frequently.
In this database I organize restaurants and food suppliers, audiovisual professionals such as photo, video, and editing, transportation services such as vans, minibuses, and buses, as well as event and activity spaces, such as private coworking spaces, public spaces, and community spaces, always also recording the address, available structure, and what each place offers.
Each record includes the baseline price of the service, company registration number, main business activity code, contacts, and notes on previous deliveries, notes such as deadlines. With this, I can hire and rehire services with more security, keeping the history and systematizing the process. Today, when we need a van, for example, I send out the proposal by email or WhatsApp already with all the pickup points, times, number of people, and required conditions to a network of suppliers I’ve mapped. Then I receive the quotes, compare them, choose the most aligned supplier, and open the service request with all the requirements to move forward for approval of the service.
Methodologies that organize the hustle, from data collection to decision-making
Beyond these optimizations, there are several others in the routine: standardized forms, data collection processes, recording of a bank of training hours, and tracking of the leaders’ journey. All of this is built with agile methodologies that help to organize, optimize, and avoid rework.
The use of Bússola is one example of this. All training records, receipts, terms, declarations, and important documents are attached and organized on a single platform. Bússola greatly optimizes the management of training and the tracking of beneficiaries, allowing the team to visualize the journey and make decisions based on data, and not just on memory or improvisation.
Another important part of this process is matrix-based analysis. We don’t hire based only on the lowest price: we compare service, price, delivery, previous experience, and alignment with the principles of Casa Hacker and PerifaImpacto. This helps build long-term partnerships. Our suppliers already know how the process works, they understand that everything is organized, documented, and transparent, and this creates an environment of professional trust.
At the end of the day, my mission is to bring my management and systematization skills to the place where I work, without losing humanity and active listening. Within the team, this translates into creating ways to organize announcements, tasks, service requests, documents, and records that make everyone’s work easier. And here I’ll keep it real: I don’t know everything. It’s so good to be able to consult our system with the policies, protocols, and little rules of each area, as well as to count on the support of teams as hacker as I am, who work with great competence on their fronts.
This combination of processes, technology, and care for the beneficiary experience is what ensures that, at the next gathering, everything is in order with our van, with the food, with the venue, and with the methodology applied in the room. And that the leaders can arrive, take part with peace of mind, and leave there strengthened, with the feeling that their time was well cared for and that the logistics were not one more burden in the daily hustle.
Now, let me go, because I need to send the passenger list as requested by the supplier. We follow every rule to the letter, because agile management that prioritizes the beneficiary experience is also made of these details.
So, if you’re not yet familiar with Casa Hacker’s areas of work, I invite you to follow our work on social media and on the website, with incredible stories written by this network.
Until next time!
#tamojunto
