Writing from Shandong Province. It is the home of Taoism. Destined by govenment design to become the new "cultural center" of China.
Yesterday was a long day. Quick overnight in Shanghai and then trip to airport. One and one half hour flight to Jinan and then four hour drive to our location. Once arriving we went to work.
Found something amusing in the China Daily. For those of you who may not be aware it is a nicely packaged paper for foreigners complements of the Xinhau News Service. While certainly slanted to give the official position on most everything it is revealing to see the ever increasing openess even they are allowing.
A front page article was titled "Govt may have lost $80b in equities." To summarize "It appears the government agency wanted to diversify into equities early in 2007 and, rather than being deterred by the subprime crisis, it continued to buy."
The report comes after Premier Wen Jiabao said last week he was a "little bit worried." The government has lost over $80 billion on holding of about $160 billion in overseas equities.
Now for the humorous part. The investments were made by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange or-----SAFE.
Just goes to show us. In this world there is nothing SAFE. Think they might need to change those initials to NSSAFE or "Not so safe"
So for all of you who have looked at your portfolios recently and seen a drop don't feel too badly. Even the most brilliant minds at home and overseas may not have done any better.
Interesting times in this glocal world. Why are the Chinese so interested in home prices in Southern California? They owned your mortgage!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
700 Wins
Just returned home from a banquet honring the coaching achievements of long time friend Mike LeDuc. He passed the 700 win mark this year for varsity High School basketball. I estimate around 400 people gathered for the 4.5 hour dinner and roast.
He graciously invited me to share a couple brief words and offer the Invocation.
You can quickly do the math. If you win 30 basketball games per year how many years does it take. He began in 1980. Before we sat down I offered my personal congratulations. He quipped "have to be pretty old to get that many wins and they should be remembering all my losses." Mike's self-deprecating attitude is one of his trademarks. One I enjoy as do many others.
I like basketball. I have some Clipper tickets. Shows how sick I am. I am even more enthralled however with excellence in leadership. Coach Mike is a far above average leader. I watched it as my son played for him during the late 1990s.
A few of his leadership traits were extolled throughout the evening. I extracted what seemed most important to me. The word choices are my own.
1) Passion and persistence
2) Know how to motivate players. Coaches do not score points.
3) Have a plan. Work your plan.
4) Develop the ability to get good people to work alongside of you
5) Don't take yourself too seriously. Take what you do seriously
6) Life is about people not things or wins
7) When you find something which works keep doing it. Do it long enough and the exponential curve works in your favor. Note: How do you win 700 basketball games? One game at a time.
Suspect all seven of these leadership principles for success are glocal.
He graciously invited me to share a couple brief words and offer the Invocation.
You can quickly do the math. If you win 30 basketball games per year how many years does it take. He began in 1980. Before we sat down I offered my personal congratulations. He quipped "have to be pretty old to get that many wins and they should be remembering all my losses." Mike's self-deprecating attitude is one of his trademarks. One I enjoy as do many others.
I like basketball. I have some Clipper tickets. Shows how sick I am. I am even more enthralled however with excellence in leadership. Coach Mike is a far above average leader. I watched it as my son played for him during the late 1990s.
A few of his leadership traits were extolled throughout the evening. I extracted what seemed most important to me. The word choices are my own.
1) Passion and persistence
2) Know how to motivate players. Coaches do not score points.
3) Have a plan. Work your plan.
4) Develop the ability to get good people to work alongside of you
5) Don't take yourself too seriously. Take what you do seriously
6) Life is about people not things or wins
7) When you find something which works keep doing it. Do it long enough and the exponential curve works in your favor. Note: How do you win 700 basketball games? One game at a time.
Suspect all seven of these leadership principles for success are glocal.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
International Partnerships
When people think of glocal, they most readily grasp that it is a manufactured word based upon a combination of global and local. That's the easy part. The glocal advocates acknowledge the shrinking of our world, and the opportunity and inevitability of working with people from around the world on a daily basis.
Glocalists accept our shrinking world and embrace -- not shy away from -all that it means.
The number one dynamic which made this happen in the past 7 years is the common usage of the internet and related technology. It is not enough for it to exist. It must be widely used to become relevant.
Today we communicate routinely with those on the opposite side of our spinning mass the same as we do with those across the hall way in our office. Data, personal words, and video images come to our hand held communications devices as we sit, walk, drive, and fly.
Today, I just want to comment on a personal observation. The unity of technology is far ahead of cultural oneness. While we can communicate readily with one another in words and pictures we still face a giant chasm of cultural assumptions and systems of thought. Philosophy and training in realm of mores, priorities, values and social custom still stand in the way of smooth and successful partnerships.
When only governments and large corporations interacted globally, they sent the experts to do intercultural work. Today, at the glocal level with everyone communicating cross culturally, it is easy to find ourselves embroiled in agreements which both sides express themselves ready to move forward but neither side has fully comprehended what the other is actually thinking.
Just one example... Are leaders in countries formally labeled as "third world" adjusted to the concept of entering into relationships as full partners? Are they ready to accept the responsibilities of daily accountability? Or is the assumption still one of "we take", "you give" and everyone "understands why that is necessary."
I am slowly learning. Slow in part because I don't want to accept it. Paternalism is still alive and well. Perhaps it is fed by USA's thinking and vocabulary. But it is equally the refusal of glocal partners to accept full accountability to perform whatever is agreed upon.
This may be greed. In some cases, yes. But I believe it goes deeper. It may be years of learned thinking. Cultural attitudes.
No solutions here today. Just sharing the glocal musings.
Glocalists accept our shrinking world and embrace -- not shy away from -all that it means.
The number one dynamic which made this happen in the past 7 years is the common usage of the internet and related technology. It is not enough for it to exist. It must be widely used to become relevant.
Today we communicate routinely with those on the opposite side of our spinning mass the same as we do with those across the hall way in our office. Data, personal words, and video images come to our hand held communications devices as we sit, walk, drive, and fly.
Today, I just want to comment on a personal observation. The unity of technology is far ahead of cultural oneness. While we can communicate readily with one another in words and pictures we still face a giant chasm of cultural assumptions and systems of thought. Philosophy and training in realm of mores, priorities, values and social custom still stand in the way of smooth and successful partnerships.
When only governments and large corporations interacted globally, they sent the experts to do intercultural work. Today, at the glocal level with everyone communicating cross culturally, it is easy to find ourselves embroiled in agreements which both sides express themselves ready to move forward but neither side has fully comprehended what the other is actually thinking.
Just one example... Are leaders in countries formally labeled as "third world" adjusted to the concept of entering into relationships as full partners? Are they ready to accept the responsibilities of daily accountability? Or is the assumption still one of "we take", "you give" and everyone "understands why that is necessary."
I am slowly learning. Slow in part because I don't want to accept it. Paternalism is still alive and well. Perhaps it is fed by USA's thinking and vocabulary. But it is equally the refusal of glocal partners to accept full accountability to perform whatever is agreed upon.
This may be greed. In some cases, yes. But I believe it goes deeper. It may be years of learned thinking. Cultural attitudes.
No solutions here today. Just sharing the glocal musings.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Building Teams
Spent a great 24 hours up in the mountains with some of our full-time colleagues this past week. Was great. We tossed the frisbe-Zack is the champion. We sat by the fire place and wondered why wet and green wood does not burn easily. We eventually succeeded at our task and had the smoked saturated clothing to prove it when we came home.We had a tremendous meal on the way up at A & W Rootbeer. No wonder that franchise has thrived over the decades. Where are the girls on roller skates?
We dreamed a bit, chipped golf balls onto roofs of cabins in the distance down the hill, threw snow balls, ate, sat, talked and relaxed.
We did come up with some pretty creative ideas. Proving once again, 11 heads are better than any 1.
Good to work together and have some time to relax as well.
Wednesday, I went with a buddy to see the Clippers play some basketball. Not the best brand of basketball but I appreciate the Clippers. They make NBA affordable. Hey! Maybe the Clippers need to get away to a mountain retreat.
All for now.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Have we Helped?
Several events and conversations have converged the past couple days which are making me rethink some activities.
In no particular order they include:
1) Visit from the new director of Hope Again in Hollywood. This group does a tremendous job of reaching out to druggies, abused, alcoholics and others who end up homeless in the Hollywood area. They deal with psychological, physical, educational and spiritual issues. Goal is always to put them back out in society as a productive and fully functioning participant of the human race.
2) Knock on my office door after hours from an obviously inebriated man who insisted we come and give him food, for his two small children (who were no where present). When I told him he would need to return during office hours, he ended up wandering through an open door and began exploring a kitchen in our E building.
3) A 2 minute video clip from Mindanao sent by Stan, who is there looking over some of our micro-financing projects. We saw pigs. Lots of pigs. Big pigs. From a meager start, farmers now are about to harvest the first batch. Unbelievable how fast one male pig and five females can produce bacon. This is all part of helping people have a livelihood instead of giving them a handout.
Hmmm.... Why is it that overseas we have concluded giving handouts is really not helping anyone yet we keep doing it here at home? I don't know how many tons of food we send out our doors each year. I do know there is a steady stream of people. Surely feels good to know that hungry people are getting food to eat.
But in Hollywood, Hope Again, insists the deeper issues of unemployment and sobriety be dealt with. They don't just give handouts. In Mindanao we have concluded handouts from the USA is no long term solution. Meanwhile here in Glendora,we just keep giving out food with no long term additional support.
Just some glocal thoughts. Hmmmm
In no particular order they include:
1) Visit from the new director of Hope Again in Hollywood. This group does a tremendous job of reaching out to druggies, abused, alcoholics and others who end up homeless in the Hollywood area. They deal with psychological, physical, educational and spiritual issues. Goal is always to put them back out in society as a productive and fully functioning participant of the human race.
2) Knock on my office door after hours from an obviously inebriated man who insisted we come and give him food, for his two small children (who were no where present). When I told him he would need to return during office hours, he ended up wandering through an open door and began exploring a kitchen in our E building.
Hmmm.... Why is it that overseas we have concluded giving handouts is really not helping anyone yet we keep doing it here at home? I don't know how many tons of food we send out our doors each year. I do know there is a steady stream of people. Surely feels good to know that hungry people are getting food to eat.But in Hollywood, Hope Again, insists the deeper issues of unemployment and sobriety be dealt with. They don't just give handouts. In Mindanao we have concluded handouts from the USA is no long term solution. Meanwhile here in Glendora,we just keep giving out food with no long term additional support.
Just some glocal thoughts. Hmmmm
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sea to Shining Sea
Traveled today from the Pacific to the Atlantic. But did not actually see the "shining sea" on either. It was pouring rain when I drove towards the Pacific at 5:30. it was pitch black when pulling into the Oak Island, North Carolina conference center here on the Atlantic.
13 hour travel day. Tend to grumble about security. Grumble about crowds. Grumble about the food. But pretty great time to be alive when you can travel coast to coast in a day and keep conversations going almost perpetually with friends, colleagues and team members almost the entire time you are en route. Our worlds are so connected.
13 hour travel day. Tend to grumble about security. Grumble about crowds. Grumble about the food. But pretty great time to be alive when you can travel coast to coast in a day and keep conversations going almost perpetually with friends, colleagues and team members almost the entire time you are en route. Our worlds are so connected.
We all know the changes brought about by technology. But when we experience illustrations of it in the course of a work day it paints the glocal reality.
Our generation has an unprecedented opportunity to serve a wider community than any previous. While the 10 hours of training and lecture I'll be doing over the next two days is not generally considered relaxing, it is rewarding.
The conference center, with no phone and no television in the rooms, with vistas overlooking the rugged Atlantic, promises to be a therapeutic change of pace. It would be almost monastic, except they provide wireless access for the laptop and of course our phones follow us everywhere. Suppose I could go on the blackberry tonight and watch the Late Show. But that would be cheating wouldn't it.
Ah the positives and negatives of our times. If you like running at hyper-speed this is a great time to be alive.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Religious People as Minorities
Had a wonderful time with the officials of SARA yesterday. They were warm, fun, wise, and quite hospitable. They do their job with excellence. I am grateful for their welcome and counsel they provided regarding working relationships in mainland China.
I received a copy of the Olympic Bible from Director Ye. Ms.Guo Wei, who was a warm hostess for our time. Their building is a memorable historic site. It was the birthplace of the Last Emperor. Situated on a lakeside and marvelously rennovated. A wonderful site to receive guests.
One fascinating observation are the words at the entrance. My interpreter pointed out that it says, "religious and minority affairs."
This reminds me of what I was told 10 years ago by SARA officials, "Religionists are a minority in China." Therefore, they require some attention by the government in order to assure their rights are protected.
This was a new concept for someone from the USA where religion is normal. Most everyone I know in the USA is religious. We are the majority.
I suspect each of you reading this has an opinion of your own as to the implications of this observation and I will leave that to you to sort out. But it is interesting.
Years ago most people in Europe were religious. Not so today. Will this happen in the USA? Will those who believe in God become a minority? Hmmmm....
One encouraging word from our visit. A ranking official mentioned that when she begain with SARA most people viewed people who were religious as somewhat strange. Today, she said, not so much. People in China who worship God are not thought to peculiar. They are respected as being academic and intelligent. Progress I think.
See you back home.
I received a copy of the Olympic Bible from Director Ye. Ms.Guo Wei, who was a warm hostess for our time. Their building is a memorable historic site. It was the birthplace of the Last Emperor. Situated on a lakeside and marvelously rennovated. A wonderful site to receive guests.
One fascinating observation are the words at the entrance. My interpreter pointed out that it says, "religious and minority affairs."
This reminds me of what I was told 10 years ago by SARA officials, "Religionists are a minority in China." Therefore, they require some attention by the government in order to assure their rights are protected.
This was a new concept for someone from the USA where religion is normal. Most everyone I know in the USA is religious. We are the majority.
I suspect each of you reading this has an opinion of your own as to the implications of this observation and I will leave that to you to sort out. But it is interesting.
Years ago most people in Europe were religious. Not so today. Will this happen in the USA? Will those who believe in God become a minority? Hmmmm....
One encouraging word from our visit. A ranking official mentioned that when she begain with SARA most people viewed people who were religious as somewhat strange. Today, she said, not so much. People in China who worship God are not thought to peculiar. They are respected as being academic and intelligent. Progress I think.
See you back home.
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