Have you ever seen the program called, “Undercover Boss?”. I have and I can tell you that it’s not my boss. You see, each episode features a high-ranking executive or the owner of a corporation going undercover as an entry-level employee in their own company. The executives alter their appearance, assume an alias and fictional back-story, and then spends approximately one week undercover, working in various areas of their company operations with a different job (and in most cases a different location each day). They are exposed to a series of predicaments with amusing results, and invariably spend time getting to know the people who work in the company, learning about their professional and personal challenges.

At the end of their week spent undercover, the executives return to their true identity and request the employees they worked with individually to corporate headquarters. The bosses reveal their identity, and reward hard-working employees through campaign, promotion, or financial rewards, while other employees are given training or better working conditions.

My bosses, David Reeves and Bruce Smith, frequently gets their hands and feet dirty by going into the remote regions and fields of the world to perform service just like the rest of us. It’s not the exception, but the rule. These men are great writers, articulating their experiences so clearly.

May I encourage you to take a moment and read Bruce’s most recent trip to Cameroon (starting with Bruce’s January 30th Younde to Belel post). He is a part of a Wycliffe Associates Tech Advance wrapping up a deployment project that was started back in November when the first team deployed 9 TAKs (Translation Acceleration Kit). These kits contain a BGAN satellite terminal, a solar panel, large batteries, a charge controller, and a netbook computer with an external USB powered monitor. This second team will finish the remaining 3 TAKs installations in northern Cameroon.

Take five minutes to read it. I dare you. I think you’ll gain a much deeper perspective and appreciation of the travel, BGAN satellite terminals deployment, and training challenges we typically face.You’ll be glad you did. Serving in the field is my bosses norm.  I don’t think that Bruce and David will be invited to the Undercover Boss series anytime soon.