It 7:45 am in the morning. You are a Senior Contract Manager in one of the Fortune 500 companies.  You just arrived at the office and saw 154 unanswered emails, 37 of them are marked as very important. One is from the CFO, who demands to deliver him a piece of information on the RFP proposal ASAP. He had sent it at 2: 34 am in the morning. At the same time, the Head of Section from the Operations department […]

I was reading the book “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon, and I saw stages of the life of a project in the attached diagram. After following the dots on the curve, I could find the resemblance between the description given by the Author with my own experience. How many times spark of the brilliant (at least it seemed in that moment) idea N1, N2, or N3 was leading to the thought “Why, why have I started doing this? […]

I always thought three things would stay in my life forever, and I will never have enough of them  – reading books, eating chocolate, and traveling to new places. I have recently realized that one of those three, is ready to be dropped from the list. Unfortunately, it is neither chocolate nor the amount consumed. It is not the books, definitely,  I am talking about my passion for traveling. After my last trips in 2022 – to Dubai and Italy- […]

This week I met with a fabulous group of senior contract management people of #KPO. #Karachaganak Petroleum Operating Company is a large oil and liquified gas supplier.  Among shareholders of one of the major taxpayers to #Kazakhstan‘s budget are the companies as #ENI, #SHELL, #Chevron, and well, Lukoil. I have provided a training course dedicated to #strategic contract management to the mentioned audience. Within several days, we discussed a range of questions related to the professional discipline. How to ensure that contracts are delivered within the agreed time, scope, […]

I almost never ever talk about my Family Members. ❤️ Now it is a great chance – we just came back from our holidays in Dubai – me, my Mom and my Niece. It was one of the best holidays I have ever had –  relaxing, informative, full of love, care, and warmth. We have visited EXPO 2020. Despite all innovations, technology, and AI, I loved most and my niece agreed with me the showrooms of Mexico and Peru. They […]

Хрен редьки не слаще – такие мысли витали в голове, когда в связи с санкциями на этой неделе пришлось менять только что выбранный – в ноябре, счет компании из Сбербанка на Халык. Честно говоря, Сбер после работы с ING и  ABN AMRО в Нидерландах откровенно раздражал – несмотря на провозглашенную  диджитализацию, каждый выставленный счет клиентам приходилось подписывать,  ставить печать а уж  потом сканировать.  Как с том анекдоте  – ” Вы уж либо крестик  снимите, либо…” Голландским банкам  ничего не надо […]

People from Kazakhstan rarely show signs of vulnerability. Overall, others perceive us as full of dignity and self-respect people. These qualities take roots in ancient times in history and are conditioned by the climate: when you survive in the cold weather and have hostile tribes around, you cannot allow yourself to be weak and tell the whole world about problems. You need to be observant and unemotional and keep your cool without attracting the attention of others. For us Kazakhs, […]

Dear Friends, Steppe by Step offers you a chance for an unforgettable experience – spend a week in Kazakhstan, while there is still plenty of snow and crystal crisp fresh air. It is not going to be just an ordinary trip – we want to allow you to see the best of Kazakhstan – to see Bazar and everything that the capital could offer,  drink Kazakh tea in the yurt, enjoy a concert on ethnic instruments. You will stay in […]