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I'm not  too eager  to enter in this yes/no discussion further than I already have. Nor do I feel the urge to register. I saw your posting accidentally and couldn’t help myself.   You're right when you accuse me of generalizing. I did that on purpose, to make a point. Yes, I did address all those other Americans I crossed paths with during my travels, for 25 years.  Maybe I generalized too much in your case, if so I apologize. I’m not going to hit and run and I promise to read your next reply, but that’s where it ends for me. Frankly, I think it’s a waste of my time and I’m already sorry for engaging.

You feel attacked, I can understand that.  I’m sorry that you see it the way you do. Then again I didn’t expect anything else.  You’re feeling of superiority doesn’t drip from the screen, it splashes.  Being (financially) successful in a business doesn’t mean that  you’re a businessman btw.  But let’s not get into these details. They don’t really matter. I think, you very well know what I mend to say.  I’m not a Latino, so there’s no race to defend here. I’m white like you (I guess), just not from the US. I’m from Europe. English is not my native tongue, so if my grammar sucks it’s because of that. Again I apologize.

 Accusing me of lying is so cheap, I won’t even go into that. Reminds me a lot of your Presidential election show.

Quote:” Then you say, "You don't give him anything to change that perspective." Wrong.  I gave many Nicaraguans the opportunity to work with me.  I gave them the opportunity to share in goal-setting and to work towards promotion and management, if they wished.  Whenever kids or adults came to my farm, I worked alongside them, be it with machete, weeding, processing harvests.  I ate many of the same foods they ate, I lived in a house a lot like theirs.  I told them that if we did well, that we could have an international center for education, humanity, and ecology.”  Are you for real? How does giving somebody a job fit in this context? Approaching someone on his level is something completely different.  “We could have an international…..” How? You gave them shares? Your “we” in this case is not the same as theirs. At least not in their perception. Unlike us “westerners” a lot of the local people don’t have the urge to work because of the work. They work for the money period. Your dream is certainly not their dream. They need food and other basics. When the job is fun, ok that helps. At the end only the dollars count. Rather they would spend their time with their family and friends, a concept which we have sadly lost ages ago.

My workers never saw me actually do labor. I know their wives, sons and daughters, show up at their birthdays when I can. Listen to their problems and help if I can.  Sponsor their soccer team with T-shirts, drink a beer with them. Laugh at their jokes, tell my own and certainly kick their but on occasion. I’m part of their lives as they are part of mine. Not because it’s hip, but they’re my people. They feel that, I feel that. Not by race, or nationality even.  They’re my responsibility, when they work for me. I love that, it’s hard sometimes but worth every effort. I take care of them and they trust me and my skills to do that.  This responsibility ,they have given me. It can make breathing difficult sometimes, it can also take your breath away at times.

Last weekend, their soccer team lost. Sadly I could not attend the game this time, the last game of the season. When they told me on Monday, they presented me with a trophy, they bought! Not because they’re afraid of me, just because they didn’t want to disappoint me and show me their appreciation. I’m proud of that, absolutely. As I’m proud of these guys doing that. These guys earlier tried to pull the same stunts you described. Now they know, at least they think, I know before they do. They know I can be a difficult, even moody man. They also know I don’t play games with them, what you see is what you get.  For Latinos difficult sometimes, there used to beating around the bush. They accept it though and seem quite content with the situation. I feel respected. In fact, when I buy a new car THEY are happy and show off to others.

Basically a boss needs to be a boss. Strict, fair and smart. You should have known in advance that your assistant was going for a percentage, when you send him with the money. You could have called the shop before, or whatever.  If not, you make someone responsible and make it clear from the start. Any money lost is coming from his/their pocket(s). Same story with the paint. You lose, you pay. Don’t make them go alone. Lots of things you can do. Important is that they know you know. There are a lot of ways to show that you’re smart and can figure them out.
BTW, this is not the same as the doing business description I gave you earlier (you have, he needs), which was a dream in your opinion. This is for using with other(local) businessmen.  Maybe I was not clear. Colleagues require a different approach than employees. Anyway I seem to live my dream very well.

I’ve been ripped off or stolen from in Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, US, The  Netherlands,  Great Britain, Germany, Greece,  Portugal, South  Africa, Ghana. Most of these cases are (very) small time. The last time however, was in Panama. Actually today. I seem to have lost over 20.000 dollars to a US citizen. I have an account with Stanford Bank.  That however does not make me wine about Americans being crooks (they’re just loud and full of themselves).  When something doesn’t work, it is not always just somebody else’s fault. Your goal settings are not always the same or similar as the ones other people have. They might not even be attractive.