The Pineapple

🍍 Pineapple 14: Confidence, Chaos & Chocolate Desserts

Written by Brida Scribe

Dear Pineapples,

This week Brida danced between Brazilian politics, Austrian schnitzels, and traffic jams rebranded as sales fairs. Fruitloop battled the flu, the Mayor missed his starch, and Bruce made his grand debut.

So pour something warm, and let’s dish the details.

🌎 Atlantic Corridor: Frank & Ismar on Confidence

Confidence. We imagine it with shiny shoes and quick answers. But when Frank and Ismar sat down (Campo Grande ☕ Cleebourg), they found something braver: the power of saying “I don’t know.”

👔 Ismar’s Story:
Once a city council candidate in Brazil, he saw how politics rewards ego and punishes humility. Admitting uncertainty was a gamble—yet it made him approachable, human, and real.

💬 The Tension:
Society craves leaders who never falter. But real trust grows when leaders do. Together, they swapped stories of Lula, Bolsonaro, and the pitfalls of rigid ideologies. The conclusion? Collaboration beats chest-thumping.

đŸ€– The Wild Question:
What if AI ran governments—rational, ego-free, unshakeable? Would that be progress
 or would we lose the messy humanity that makes us care in the first place?

✹ The Pineapple Twist:
Sometimes the boldest move isn’t to know it all, but to ask, “teach me.”

👉 When was the last time you admitted “I don’t know” and found it opened more doors than it closed? Tell us in the Brida Haven.

đŸ„Ș Lunch with Janita & Frank (and a Cast of Chaos)

Thursday’s table looked like a sitcom script:
🚗 Rosii dialled in while driving through São Paulo traffic (don’t do this).
đŸŽ¶ Monica skipped lunch for a concert (fair call).
🇬🇧 Bruce phoned in from London.
🌍 Nathalie and ClĂ©a were still busy turning Edinburgh into their playground.

What began as chaos became a reflection on mindset. Gratitude lists, liminal spaces, whispered affirmations—each story different, yet all circling one truth: mindset isn’t about staying positive, it’s about finding your way back when negatives knock.

👉 Your chair is waiting next week. Will it be empty? Reserve here


đŸ„” Peeling Potatoes: The Harsh Blueprint of Silence

One word: Harrowing.

Monica peeled back silence itself, telling the story of her German immigrant father, a tradesman in 1950s Australia who built houses but walled in his feelings. Post-war stigma, long hours, “toughen up” culture—sound familiar?

Fast forward, and today’s tradespeople still stand on shaky scaffolds: anxiety, substance abuse, unsafe conditions. Monica’s voice was sunlight on scaffolding: resilience isn’t toughness, it’s conversation.

🎧 Don’t miss this blueprint for change: Listen here

🏱 Brida Offices: Levent’s Leadership Story

Brida is often the land of BBQ gossip and missing cutlery—but sometimes the curtain lifts, and we see another face of our Town: the professional one.

Levent, a regional sales manager in Turkey, shared how leadership means bending with culture, soil, and people. From Arabic-speaking farmers on the Syrian border to European distributors, he adapts his tone, timing, and tactics.

His secret? Not commanding, but connecting. Clear goals, open doors, and trust built through listening. Even under pressure, he reminds his team that collaboration beats competition, and innovation is a seed planted with patience.

After hours of preparation with the Mayor and Fruitloop, Levent’s journey was captured in an executive summary:

Executive Summary: Levent’s Profile

Strengths:
✔ Deep agronomic knowledge; farmer credibility.
✔ Proven record of turning around underperforming regions.
✔ Cultural fluency (Turkish + Arabic) — valuable locally and regionally.
✔ Strong on-the-ground execution and relationship-building.

Final Decision:
☑ Recommend (with conditions/support).

✹ In Brida terms? Leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about listening, adapting, and showing up prepared.

🧳 Alex the Dealmaker in Austria

Our travelling salesman swapped autobahns for Alpine views last week:

  • Monday: DIY-chain HQ in Wels. Meeting—successful. Hotel—industrial, overpriced butter chicken.
  • Tuesday: Vienna distributor meet & greet, then surprise drop-ins with customers.
  • Evening: North to GmĂŒnd. Hotel—tiny rooms, uncomfortable. Dinner—rescued by cosy Austrian inn (schnitzel, dumplings, beer).
  • Wednesday: Distributor training. First ever. Nerves turned to confidence. Positive feedback flowed faster than the sauerkraut steam. Dessert—brownie with ice cream.
  • Thursday: Five-hour drive home, head full of business leads and Bavarian calories.

Business done. Waistline tested. Austria—mixed reviews.

💌 Dear Abby: Stuck in Traffic (But Selling Anyway)

This week’s letter came from a CRC salesperson who spends more time in German traffic jams than in actual meetings. Seven years of tunnel construction. Bridges, older than his jokes. Ferry queues longer than Netflix seasons.

Abby’s advice? Turn the jam into your showroom.

  • Pop-up booth in the car.
  • Ferry-queue trade fair (with sausage kits).
  • Car-to-car cold calls.
  • Even CRC billboards perched on bridges.

👉 Got your own sales-in-traffic hack? Drop it in the Dear Abby.

🎓 A Warm Welcome to Bruce

This week, Brida gained a professor. Not just any professor—Bruce.

With a background in chemical engineering, economics, and over 200 published articles, Bruce has spent decades weaving together leadership, wisdom, and strategy. Now, he brings his sharp mind (and sharper pen) to Brida.

Bruce dropped a gem into the Brida treasure chest—a video that feels like finding a Jane Austen novel in your grandmother’s attic, only this one plays itself. It’s elegant, a touch mischievous, and exactly the sort of thing you didn’t know you needed until now. Think candlelight, whispered wit, and maybe even a sideways glance that says more than a three-page letter. That’s the mood Bruce bottled for us.

But here’s the twist: the video doesn’t just let us bask in Austen’s glow, it asks—why does something written 250 years ago still tug at our sleeves today? And then it turns, slyly, toward us: will this Pineapple, with its spoons, roosters, BBQs, and whispered haikus, still be relevant in 2275?

It’s a cheeky question, but also a grounding one. Relevance isn’t just about age, it’s about heartbeat. Austen’s words lived because they spoke to human folly and hope. Could Brida’s tales do the same?

Curious? Go on, press play. And tell us—will Nuggets still be crowing in 250 years, or will the Spoon finally retire?


His First Column: Sometimes the Luddites Are Right

Bruce revisited Arnold Brown’s essay from 2001, showing how the Luddites weren’t against machines but against exploitation.

Brown’s warning still rings true: it’s not the tech itself, but the system behind it.

  • Gig workers today resist unfair apps, not smartphones.
  • Warehouse staff fight surveillance, not scanners.
  • Farmers push back against monopolies, not tractors.

Brida, by contrast, is a counter-model:

  • Agency, not alienation. Residents aren’t trapped in algorithms.
  • Community, not commodification. Value comes from conversation, not extraction.
  • Shared benefit, not concentration. Tutors, companies, and individuals all gain.
  • Human facilitation, not algorithmic management. The Mayor and Fruitloop guide, not dictate.

👉 Expect Bruce’s voice weekly in Brida. AI, wisdom, strategy—always with a human heartbeat.

đŸ“± Mayor & Fruitloop

Lots of messages. None of them for public consumption. Especially when Fruitloop is battling the flu. (Let’s just say: one keeps the spreadsheets updated, the other sends WhatsApps full of coughing emojis.)

Behind the sparkle, they’re still the invisible glue keeping Brida stitched together.


đŸ„” The Spud Meeting (Or Not)

This week’s Spud Meeting? Cancelled. Fruitloop was down with the flu, and without her spark, the Mayor was left wandering around the Town Hall, starch-free and without his marching orders.

Running a virtual town may be complex, but running it flu-stricken is impossible. Expect double starch at the next one.


📣 Upcoming Brida Events

🌿 Atlantic Corridor – Sept 15, 3pm CEST
“Mistakes That Mattered” — Turn regrets into silver linings.
👉 Join here

🍼 CrĂšme BrĂ»lĂ©e – Sept 17, 8pm CEST
“Growth & Small Failures” — Define success on your own terms.
✹ Miss this, and you’ll only hear about the breakthroughs later.

đŸ„— Lunch with Janita & Frank – Sept 18, 11.30am CEST
Same theme, same magic—different chaos.
👉 Reserve your chair

☕ Coffeehouse Chronicles – Sept 20, 07.30am CEST
“Still Reaching, Still Becoming” — Because a well-lived life isn’t about ticking every box. It’s about still having something that makes you lean forward.
🚀 Sign up here

🎹 Bonus Bits & Gossip

  • Bruce’s profile now live on Brida—watch out for wisdom bombs.
  • Alex’s Austrian trip: great schnitzel, terrible hotels.
  • Levent’s interview prep: light at the end of the tunnel.

📣 Your Turn

💬 Got a question for Dear Abby? Ask here
🎁 Curious about Mystery Boxes? Explore them
🎹 Feeling arty? Haiku & Art Therapy await: Click here

Until next week—when another twist will no doubt spill into your inbox.

Yours most deliciously,
The Brida Scribe

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