The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka” (I found it!) but “That’s funny.” (Asimov)
I was down to 5 blueberry plants. I had more in the past. I love blueberries. Because of the varieties I have, I get to pick them for 2 months each year.
I decided to plant. I didn’t have the $200 in my budget for the plants I wanted. So I looked up how to grow my own blueberry plants. The instructions included mist boxes, planting medium, hormones, infections, mold and other horrible things. I wasn’t about to grow them that way.
Guerilla gardening was the only real possibility. I spent a couple of months thinking about the problem. I looked up some things about houseplants and roses. That spring I gave some fresh ideas a try.
I cut 22 budding branches from blueberry plants of 6 different varieties. I dug holes in the deep leaf compost of the blueberry garden and planted them. Then I covered the cuttings with jars. The jars keep the moisture level high around the cutting. It gives the twig a chance to develop roots.
I took off the bottles a month after planting the twigs. 18 of the 22 blueberry cuttings looked like they would survive. Alas, they didn’t. I took the jars off too early. But guess what? I’m going to try again. This time I will leave the jars on another month or two.
Guerilla gardening triumphs again. Not only will we save $200, the new plants will grow just as well as mail order plants. Mine won’t be yanked out of the ground and sent by mail to us. They will just keep on growing where they are.
Can’t get a reply on your resume? Why not come up with a guerilla campaign – a series of things you can do to get a job. Do something more than just sending a resume. Pick a company or 3 that you really want to get into. Now figure out how to get to know the people who would be your coworkers and hiring managers. Emails, phone calls, mailing them a bag of M&M’s or inviting them to lunch can all be a part of the campaign.
Unable to get the resources you need at work? It could be an opportunity to shine. Think of ways to get the job done at low cost. What resources can be diverted for your project? Study alternate ways of getting the job done. In Spanish “guerilla” means little war. Figure out how to win each project as a little war of its own.
If your project succeeds, tell your boss in your weekly report. If it fails, tell him all the alternate approaches you considered. Let him know you are trying to get essential tasks done with less resources. He will appreciate it.
If you are job hunting, the guerilla projects that succeed go on your resume. The companies you apply to will want to know how you can make projects succeed without a budget. They are eye catching advertisements for your intiative.
Something To Do Today
Take a project you want to do, but don’t have resources for. List 10 possible ways to make it a guerilla project. Do some research and list 5 more ways. Is the result worth the effort if it works? Then make the effort. Succeed or fail, you will learn something.