Egypt and Others--A New World Order: A World without Borders

 

New World Order: A World without Borders

The real problem is our lack of understanding of the concept of what is going on globally. The younger generation is no longer embracing the customs of the past. What are the customs of the past? For one thing, embracing the customs of the past.

 

One thing that is very important to understand if we are to get along with the rest of the world. Many cultures have 3,000; 4,000…6,000 years of history, custom, and culture to look back on. We have a bit over 200. This creates a major difference between Americans and, for example, the Egyptians, The Chinese, The Japanese, and so on.

On the other hand, the aforementioned youth culture is very similar to American culture in that both they and we are “forward looking.” As we cannot look to a long past, we long for a future that will.

As this pertains to Egypt, we are in a unique position to understand the Egyptian people. (Did someone say, 1776?)

Both America and the Middle East were part of a Colonial Empire. But wait! There’s more!

In what is known in some parts of the world as the Colonial Rebellion of 1776, we had aid from France and, that by extension, the French people. We did not look upon France as the enemy because they supplied us with weapons. We looked upon France as a nation that aided us in battle. Much the same way America has aided the Egyptian people in their government’s efforts to protect the Egyptian people from enemy soldiers.

Thus, as evidenced by the protests around America, the American people have a shared perspective with the Egyptian people. (This does cause me to wonder why Americans in Egypt would be afraid. I want to believe that the Egyptian people see the American people as people who share in a belief.)

Hence:

The blogosphere is a world without borders; Facebook is a world without borders; Twitter is a world without borders. Linkedin is a world without borders; SlideShare is a world without borders, and, the new generation is a generation of a nation without borders.

We now have a world where emerging nations are no longer define the way I defined them on my ppt. presentation only three months ago. Global Management: A shift in the paradigm of corporate America at http://slideshare.net/

I touched on some aspects of the new way of doing business from a global perspective but failed to see the absence of the borders in the new world. The technosphere. The following links are to very short monographs related to the above topic.

The Next Generation: Better Than Brand New

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2010/12/next-generation-better-than-brand-new.html

Managing Projects in the New Millennium

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2010/09/managing-projects-in-new-millennium.html

The New Age Biz Wiz

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2010/04/new-age-biz-wiz.html

Project Management of the –Oops! Gotta Run

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/01/project-management-of-oops-gotta-run.html

The new, the young, the future, is a world where communication is instantaneously global. Questions asked an answered in moments.

Enough said? No. Enough said!

Regards,

Slim

eMail: mailto:slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2011 Slim Fairview

Thoughts on the Marketing of India (From a Linked in Discussion)

The Marketing of India

Find a need and fill it.

Who has a need for what you can produce?
Partner with that (nation's) companies.
In addition to the profits, offer a minority interest in the company. (This will give investors an incentive to succeed.) Offer a profit share to the suppliers. (This will give the farmers(?) an incentive to join in the venture.

In addition to money, offer other incentives. [Prestige]. For example: Build schools in the areas where the people are most enthusiastic.

If one or two small companies cannot find the funding (through govt. funding--a bad idea) go to the marketplace. Economies to scale.

Create a marketing group for the several smaller companies, so they can pool their resources.

In Vermont there is a joke:

Q: "Do you think the rain will hurt the rhubarb?"
A: "Not if they're in cans."

If produce spoils before it hits the market, set up a joint effort to can the produce at the source.

Roads are a government responsibility.

Just a few ideas. (Call me old-fashioned)

Anyone care to amplify, amend, or correct?

Sincerest regards,

Slim

PS. Read The Caste Busters article in the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/magazine/02Striver-t.html

Mail slimfairvew@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

The Business of Wisdom in Global Affairs -- A Fable

The Business of Wisdom in Global Affairs—A Fable

About 50 years ago, my father told me a fable. I don’t know its origin. I believe it may have originated in Turkey or in the Middle East.

No doubt, he’d heard it from someone much older than he was when he heard it. And older and wiser when he shared it with me. Thank you, Dad.


A long time ago, there lived a powerful king. He ruled vast lands with firmness and fairness. However, the many city-states and principalities were ruled by selfish and greedy men. They were constantly fighting wars over petty grievances to disguise their true motive—greed. Therefore, the king issued an edict banning such unjust wars. If they defied the edict, he would send his troops in to vanquish the offender and seize his lands.

In one of the small countries, the young people had gathered to come up with a plan to better the lives of the people. They concluded that the old people were a burden and that they should all be put to death.

One young man, unable to allow his father to be killed, led him from the city in the dead of night and hid him in a cave on the outskirts of the city.

The word spread to a neighboring land where a greedy prince called his advisors together to discuss a plot to wage a war against the other land to grab their wealth. They wrote the following letter:

Five generations ago, our people lent to your people 25 units of rope woven from sand which you promised to return. Yet with each passing generation, your promise has gone unfulfilled. Therefore, we must demand return of this rope or we will be forced to send our armies to your land to retrieve it along with just restitution.

When the leaders of the council received and read this letter, they panicked. None had ever heard of the rope woven from sand nor knew anything about it.

The man who’d hid his father in the cave outside of town asked for the letter and said he would return with a solution to the problem. He went to see his father.

His father said, “Write back. Say to them, we have many coils of rope. Some are woven from sand but each is different. Send us a sample of your rope so we may match it up with the rope that is yours and do justice by returning your rope.”

The young man returned to the council and they sent just such a letter.

When the evil prince received the reply, he turned to his advisers and said, “There is still one old man left in their land. We will wait until he dies and try again.”

Regards,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Chinese Wisdom and Privacy

Chinese Wisdom:

"In the West, when you want privacy, you go into a closed room. In the East, when we want privacy, we go into an open field."


Regards,

Slim

Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

A WHITE HORSE IS NOT A HORSE

A WHITE HORSE IS NOT A HORSE

That is what is known as “an old Chinese saying.” I learned it from my finance professor. I was too embarrassed to ask him to explain what it meant. Soon, I would figure it out for myself.

A few years later, my wife and I moved out West. What happened? Something that almost never does. I got a craving. A food craving. A food craving for for something I never crave. A salami sandwich on rye and a bottle of beer.

We drove to the supermarket. Beer, no problem. Salami, no problem. Then, we went to buy the rye bread.

I found, pumpernickel rye; marble rye, low-sodium rye; diet rye; California rye; I found every kind of rye bread except rye bread. Then I understood. A white horse is not a horse.

Solution. I had a baloney sandwich on white bread and a glass of chocolate milk.

How many white horses do you have in your stable?

Regards,

Slim

Mail Slim tilden9@yahoo.com

Copyright, © 2011 Slim Fairview

CIVICS

CIVICS:

Then: “Remember, class, you may not agree with what they have to say, but they have the right to say it.”

Now: “Don’t let them forget, class. They may not agree with what you have to say, but you have the right to say it.”

Then: The right to accommodation.

Now: The right of infliction.

Regards,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com

From The Quotations of Slim Fairview

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

Internet Disconnect? NO!

Internet Disconnect? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Among my "skills set" in addition to starting out life as an English major, and transferring schools to major in Finance, I also left the corporate world to write an unpublished (able) novel. I took unique jobs. Steel Fabricator. 10 hours a day on a brake-press, a spot welder, etc.

Plan B. 8 - 10 hours a day at a keyboard.

A. Hot, dirty, heavy, low pay, long hours.....
B. Keyboard, share ideas, connect with people globally!

Type a novel, enter an email, click attach and away we go. See an article -> twitter. Share it with thousands. (Okay, only seven.) Copy paste, high-light, add a link, add a mail to. Or, copy paste a photo, a graph, a chart, or a dozen links to same. Sit down to dinner with a friend across town, across the country, on the other side of the world. Free. (Did I hear someone say skype?)

I heard a rumour you can even run for President using the Internet.

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/

Regards,

Slim

Frank Investment Strategies

 

Investing?

Here's the metaphor.

Two friends stop off at a hot dog stand. Ahead of them, they see a man order a hot dog. One says to the other, “I bet he has mustard.” His friend says, “Ketchup.” The man puts mustard on his hot dog. The first friend wins.

They follow him down the street to a pretzel stand. The first man bets that he buys a pretzel with no salt. The second says with salt. The man buys it with salt. The second man wins.

Down the street, the man stops for ice cream. The first man says, “Chocolate”. The second man says, “Vanilla”. The first man wins when the guy in front of them buys a chocolate ice cream cone.

You know all this because you are following the two men and listening in as they make their wagers.

The next thing you know, you are calling your friend on the phone and inviting him to meet you for lunch at the hot dog stand.

When you get there, you see the same two men you saw the day before. They make the same wager. You turn to your friend and say, “I bet the man on the left wins the bet.” Your friend says, “You’re on.”

You bet that the man on the left will win the wager each time.

You win two out of three bets. You come out ahead.

Do you now have some idea of how our investment industry is changing?

Regards,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com 

Copyright © 2011 Slim Fairview

Slimviews is an non-profit, unfunded, unsupported, and, alas, unprofitable web log by Slim Fairview

http://slimviews.blogspot.com

Commentary on Global Political and Economic Events by Slim Fairview. Read my blog today or hear it from experts in a month or two. Slim

Starving Nations and Food Equations

A Metaphor:

If one person in the group does not have enough food to eat, he may die.

For a while, that means more food for the rest of the group. However, that also means one less person to work the farm. That means less food to eat. Less food to eat means someone will die.

For a while, that means more food for the rest of the group. However, that also means one less person to work the farm. That means less food to eat. Less food to eat means someone will die.

Soon, there won't be enough people to work the farm. That means there won't be enough food to eat.

Get the idea?


Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com


Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

Would More Education Reduce Unemployment and Income Inequality? - The Atlantic

Would More Education Reduce Unemployment and Income Inequality? - The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/01/you-can-have-my-double-space-when-you-pry-it-from-my-cold-dead-hands/69592/

http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/01/you-can-have-my-double-space-when-you-pry-it-from-my-cold-dead-hands/69592/

The Stages of Ages

The stone age, the iron age, the dark ages, the renaissance, the age of discovery, the age of enlightenment, the age of reason; what will those in the future call this the age of?

Regards,

Slim

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

MicroManagement?

Unforeseen management involvement:

When the supervisor can't do the job and the OM or the VP must step in to make an adjustment to the supervision.

Micromanagement:

a. When the manager doesn't really know what he is doing and imputes his deficiencies to his subordinates.

b. When a manager has foist upon him by his boss a process that he knows won't work and tries to cover himself by micromanaging the person he will blame for the failures of the process which is considered viable by his boss.

Slim

tilden9@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

The CSO: Chief Strategic Officer

We all know the C-Level jobs. Which one is in charge of strategy? And don't say all of them.

A company has to have a metaphorical motion detector that detects changes. That motion detector is the Chief Strategic Officer.

Part One

Is the turn around time getting shorter or longer?
Is the ROI going up or down?
Are sales rising? Are they rising at a slower rate or a faster rate?
Have competitors entered the market?
Are clients/customers starting to ask questions about innovations, discounts, delivery dates?

As these matters come up, they are indicators that the strategy and the process need to be reviewed and refreshed.

Part Two

To remain competitive, the CSO has to look to opportunities to make changes to stay ahead of the competitors, the market demands, and the changes in the financials.

This is not something to be done occasionally. This is an ongoing process.

Any thoughts on the matter?

Regards,

Slim

Mail: tilden9@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

Project Management of the--oops! Gotta run!

Project Management of the future is the ability to embrace change quickly. People who will be a part of the team will access information faster from better-informed sources than can be imagined.

It doesn't matter whether you are in IT or construction or in portfolio management.

Whatever the task, whatever the goal, the team will be able to leverage technology at a very rapid rate.

While one company is looking to complete a project, it will be obsolete before it is launched because another company launched the product yesterday.

Some companies will shoot themselves in the foot by launching a product too quickly with limitations while another company will release a product that not only can perform the function but also has additional bells and whistles besides.

There must be a massive shift in the paradigm. You can't hit the ground running. You can't hit the ground at all.

In IT, it is all about tech-talk. The team will know the language, will be clutching to their p-pads, twittering their thumbs, and coming up with answers before the manager finishes asking the question. And those answers will make the next question unnecessary.

People will know what needs to be done before they get their assignments.

Meanwhile, upstairs, the boss is waiting to get a one page summary while the company across town will have his updates tweeted to him. One page, 140 characters. Your choice. Let's move on to the next item on the agenda.

Sincerely,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

Contact

Contact Information:

For Global Interests: tilden9@yahoo.com

For Domestic Interests: slimfairview@yahoo.com


Thank you.

Sincerest regards,

Slim

Distortions of Graphic Proportions

View the graph to the left. Do you see how slowly the spending is rising?

View the graph below it. Do you see how quickly the spending is rising?

Actually, in each instance, spending is rising by 100,000 dollars per year.

However, the percentage changes. It increases by 100% then by 50% then by 33.34%.

With each subsequent year, the percentage decreases.


When we watch television, regardless of which network or cable station we watch, those on either side of the issue use the same tools to distort the picture.

If spending decreases from $100,000,000 to $80,000,000 the cut is 20%. However, if the spending increases, from $80,000,000 to $100,000,000 the increase is 25%. Either way, we are talking about $20,000,000.

When Joe six-pack opens a bottle of Blue Ribbon beer and begins reading the Post, he sees that spending is rising modestly as evidenced by the bright red graph.

Across town, Bill six-pack opens up a bottle of Blue Ribbon beertm and begins reading the News. He sees that spending is sky-rocketing as evidenced by the bright red graph.

When they watch television, each watches a different cable station. However, each host has invited someone from the left and someone from the right. Each hears half the truth from one guest and half the truth from the other guest.

A message to the illustrious members of our most august fourth estate:

It behooves you to print both charts, with numbers, with percentages,
to show that both graphs show the same information.

Further, it is important to demonstrate that a 20% cut of $100,000,000 and an increase of 25% of $80,000,000 both involve $20,000,000.

As long as spin doctors engage in linguistic legerdemain, mathematical manipulations, and distortions of graphic proportions, the country will not only remain but become increasingly polarized.

Regards,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

* "Blue Ribbon Beer" is a registered trademark. No solicitation was made and no compensation was received for this reference.

Welcome

Just a note to thank those from around the world who have visited my Blog.

From the Stats we have, The United Arab Emirates, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, The Czech Republic, Turkey, United Kingdom, and The United States arranged in alphabetical order. There have been varying numbers of visits from one per day to 28 in one day.

And welcome to new visitors: China! Lebanon! Malaysia! Moldova!

I am happy to have visitors from around the world.

Sincerely,

Slim
Mail: tilden9@yahoo.com

More to View

Slim Fairview's PowerPoint Presentations on SlideShare.

Global Management: A Shift in the Paradigm of Corporate America.

The Future of the G-20 in Good Times and Bad

Preview: Fairviews: The Quotations of Slim Fairview

The Multiplier Effect: Illustrated

Regards,

Slim Fairview

Also available on LinkedIn.

Mail: tilden9@yahoo.com

copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

ECONOMICS ILLUSTRATED: A Primer in Economics, by Metaphor

Primer in Economics by Metaphor:

This is how economics evolved. This is a metaphor.

Bill is a cave dweller back in primitive days. He lives in a cave. He lives in a community among other cave dwellers. Some hunt, some gather, some cook, but not Bill. Bill crawls in the dirt, using his hands to make holes in the dirt. He drops seeds into the holes. When he is finished planting, he goes out to gather. He is not good at hunting so he only gathers. The seeds grow. Bill and his friends share. All, barely, subsist.

However, Bill has a neighbour, Tom. Tom is a hunter. He works hard. Hunting is dangerous. Some of his friends have been killed hunting. Still, he does it.

Now, Bill and Tom have a neighbour Jack. Jack thinks. He thinks what Tom does is dangerous and only marginally profitable. He thinks what Bill does is not the most effective way of doing what he does. Jack comes up with an idea.

Jack takes a stick; he walks across the field poking holes in the ground. Then using a hollow reed, he drops a seed through the reed into the hole. He plants many seeds.

When Jack is through, he gathers. Because he has more time to gather than Bill does, Jack gathers more food than Bill does. Jack has more food to share, so he trades food with Tom who hunts. This causes Bill a problem. He does not have enough food to buy meat from Tom, so he eats less.

Jack’s farm prospers. He not only gathers and trades he now reaps and trades. He trades food with Bill for labour. Bill now works on Jack’s farm in exchange for food.

Jack now has twice as much food so he stops gathering. He cultivates more land. He grows more food. Now he can trade more food for more labour. The gatherers find Jack’s steady supply of food to be a better alternative to gathering.

Tom, seeing how the investment system works, and with meat scarce and vegetables in plentiful supply, he charges Jack more for the meat. Jack pays happily. In addition, with the lessons he’s learned, Tom teaches others how to hunt, where to hunt, and supplies them with the tools to hunt. They pay for their lessons with some of their meat. He pays them for hunting with some of the vegetables.

Tom’s hunters increase the quantity of meat. Jack’s farmers increase the quantity of vegetables.

However, there is another problem. It takes time to make tools to farm the land, weapons to hunt for meat, and it takes time to make clothes from the skins.

Enter, James. James also thinks. He sees an opportunity. He agrees to supply the hunters and the farmers with tools and weapons and clothes.

He gets together with some of the less successful hunters and gatherers and promises to pay them in meat and vegetables in exchange for their labours making tools and weapons and clothes. They don’t have to hunt. They don’t have to gather, and they can eat. That works for them.

James begins his business. Soon, more people are making tools, weapons, and clothes. More people are farming. More people are hunting. However, things are a bit dull despite the prosperity. Enter the arts. (It will be centuries until things become dull because of the prosperity.)

Tom, Jack, and James can afford to take time to pursue the arts. However, they are not very good at it. Enter, Dave.

Dave tells stories. He is paid with food.

Susan can paint. Susan is paid with food.

Peter, Paul, and Mary can sing. They are paid with food.

Mark and Lorraine get an idea. They seek out people who can tell stories. They arrange for storytelling. They charge people to come to listen to the stories and pay the storytellers with a part of the profits.

Susan, who can paint, teaches promising students to paint and helps them sell their paintings taking a commission on the sales.

Things are moving along reasonably well with the exception of dragging around sacks full of food and dead carcases. Moreover, there is quibbling. They agree to seek a solution from the elders. There, they listen to the elders suggest the formation of a council.

With time on their hands, and the evidence of intelligence, Jack, Tom, and Dave become leaders appointed by the elders. For whom everyone has respect.

Together they create a medium of exchange. Then, they issue an RFP and subsequently someone creates a food storage system. The people start schools where the experienced hunters and farmers can teach hunting and farming. Singing, storytelling and painting are also taught. However, there will always be troublemakers. At first, they are handled by a few of the leaders. Then the leaders appoint a shire reeve who calls a posse comitatus to handle problems when they arise.

Some people are smarter than others are. However, they are not creative; but they are inventive. They invent ways to make tools using metals. Some invent more expansive tools and machinery. They learn to grind wheat and make bread. Others figure out how to harness the water to turn gristmills. Others are natural born salesmen. They go out to sell the products of the industrious people of the community.

The community grows. Soon, other communities follow suit. People take what they have learned, their stock-in-trade, to other communities to help them plan their communities.

Some communities with more of something to sell sell it to those communities with more of something else to sell in exchange. Foreign trade is born. Treaties are signed. Thus, civilisation arises from the very dirt that Bill used to crawl in digging holes with his hands to plant seeds.

This is the entry to understanding economics.


Regards,


Slim Fairview

 

PS.  I am not Paul Harvey.  Still, I am open to becoming a paid blogger, columnist, or commentator.

In the meantime, if anyone finds the monographs on my blog to be especially helpful, please do not hesitate to send me on of those tricked out laptops and few dollars tucked into the envelope with the thank you note.

Sincerely  

Slim

Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

Small and Medium Enterprises | Human Capital Institute

Small and Medium Enterprises | Human Capital Institute

Driving Global Team Performance | Human Capital Institute

Driving Global Team Performance | Human Capital Institute

More on Global Management

Global Planning, eh? Did anyone tell the other guy?

Okay, now you are getting ready to plan globally. You are going to discuss:

Strategic Planning
Innovation
Team Building
Market Penetration
The Visioning Process
Consensus Building
Project Management
and so on.

You will also consider financing, information technology, cloud computing, virtual servers, capital investment. You will achieve consensus the way others achieve nirvana. You will plan your work and work your plan.

You will fail.

Why?

You forgot to tell the other guy.

Read on.

Too many of our efforts are designed to fail. We make great plans, however we fail to understand that what we want to do and the way we want to do it is not the way things are done globally. Also, the global landscape is changing faster than we are.

The best analogy I can come up with in such short time is this:

"If you are going hunting, you get up, get dressed, get your gear, and go out into the field. If you are being hunted, you move more quickly." Slim Fairview

Others are on the move. China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, and so on.

Some have not been emerging nations in many years. Then there are the emerging nations. Who will be doing business with whom?

In too many nations, horizontal management does not exist. And there is a reason for this. If you want to debate the causes, effects and remedies, you will be spinning your wheels. Other people don't want to talk about it.

In this country, we are charmed by the promises of horizontal management. In addition, we are always delighted to talk about it. You don't believe me?

Consult. Syn. Confer with, confer, confabulate, confab, and chew the fat.*

*http://www.synonyms.net/synonym/consult
We are hunting for business globally. What about people in other nations? Well, what about people in other nations?

In other nations, those being hunted by poverty, disease, unrest, and a fierce competition for food, have found that things move along more quickly with a vertical management style.

People with very limited resources do share with those among them who have equally limited resources. They are not about to share with you.

MicroFinance $10.00 to the road to prosperity

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2010/11/microfinance-1000-to-road-to-prosperity.html

Then there are those in the global community who are coming into their own in a big way. Imagine Russia becoming a capitalist country; China, dominating global manufacturing, sales, finance, currency; India a powerhouse of technology. Just don't sit around letting your imagination run amok.

Our business culture has been transmogrified. The change is the difference between the ideologue and the technocrat. (Do not confuse the technocrat with the techno-pimple. He is more focuses on pedantry.)

Transmogrified: Altered, transformed, or mutated into a form that is grotesque or amusing
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/transmogrified
The solution, however, is the problem. That is, as we look to solutions we find that the advise we get is descriptive (see above) and not prescriptive. The articles for we are told to read tell us what the problem is. Some go a step further. Some tell us:

This is what you did wrong.
This is what you should have done.
This is what you should do next time.

The tone:

Client: "But I'm in a jam now!"

Consultant: "What do you want me to do? Solve your problems for you?

The aforementioned bulleted list

Strategic Planning
Innovation
Team Building
Market Penetration
The Visioning Process
Consensus Building
Project Management

has to be handled from a different viewpoint--many different viewpoints. It is necessary to engage many people in the discussions--in the many different discussion.

The expression "The Friendly Way" has been too often interpreted as promoting collusion. People who want to do business with you don't want to compete with you. They want to cooperate with you. (Hint: it takes at least two to cooperate.)

Team building may mean bringing people to agreement. It may also mean bringing agreeable people together. The friendly way would suggest that agreeable people means people who know what they are doing. There won't be consensus building because the goal has been spelled out and each person knows what he or she is responsible for doing.

The visioning process. There is no nice way to say "baloney" unless the word sandwich is attached.

Too often, the visioning process is used to bring different ideas to the fore. The ideas can be discussed. People can agree. Everyone can take his or her share of ownership in the project. This builds commitment to the project and to achieving the goal. (I not only heard this stuff before people started saying it, I heard this stuff before the people who are saying it ever heard it in the first place.)

There is a temptation to believe that people in other nations are naive. However, you are not going to convince them that they were the ones who thought up your idea and therefore should want to work to make it happen.

In this country, when other people listen, we tend to think that they like what we are saying. In other countries, when people listen, it is possible that they are merely being polite. I know this because my parents taught me to be polite.

Instead of the visioning process and shared goals, think in terms of finding out what other people want, the steps necessary to achieve this outcome, and how to make it mutually beneficial.

I am not now purporting to know all the answers. I am merely setting an agenda for action (as opposed to an agenda for discussion) so corporate executives can assign people to the tasks necessary to do business globally.

Sincerely,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com

http://slimviews.blogspot.com
Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Leadership and/or Management

Leadership is innate. Project management can be perfected, perhaps through practise; however, we all know those who have done things badly for most of their lives and careers.

Perfecting project management skills is a job. You have to work at it. However, those with innate leadership abilities, (...the dunces shall rise up in a confederacy...) will improve their project management skills over time by their viewpoint.

I tend to work best when working alone. I have been looked to, to solve a problem or two, which I did. So much of it is common sense. The rest is in a book. (You can download 300 free project management templates) You can fill in the blanks.

However, the real problem with any project is that it involves dealing with many people each with his or her agenda. Too often, that agenda only includes achieving the goal rather than being focused on achieving the goal.

Consultants and committees seem to be the way to go. To the former, I reference Bob Dylan: "You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns who did tricks for you." The latter I refute with one word. Congress.

Regards,

Slim


Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

GE still talking up idea of bringing home manufacturing. I hope it works.

GE still talking up idea of bringing home manufacturing. I hope it works.

Did the CEO give you a consumer breakdown, or marketing numbers? (I assume we are going beyond washers and dryers, however...for the purposes of discussion...)

How many buyers want innovation?
How many buyers want product differentiation?
What is the cost?
(What about price?)
How long will it take to begin to make a profit?

Any thoughts on market penetration with the new, innovative, and differentiated products?

Brand loyalty?
Competition?

Having broken even, they are now where they were 10 years ago. Do they have the money to invest?

What innovations have taken place over the past ten years?
Does the public want these innovations or did they buy the item based on price, brand loyalty, pre-approved credit, or other considerations?

Whose idea was it to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.?

Now we delve into the empirical method of analysis:

Did that person do the study and arrive at the conclusion that this will have a positive effect. (More Jobs...as opposed to running the company down and causing more people to lose their jobs?)

Did that person come up with an idea, is now trying to sell the idea, and is out seeking the metaphorical "yes men" to supply the company with the numbers they want to see?

(Did they hire a consultant? :-p) lol

Sincerely,

Slim Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com

ps. just for fun: GE wants to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2010/12/ge-wants-to-bring-manufacturing-back-to.html


Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Innovation! Again?

.
All I've read recently about innovation discusses a myriad of subtopics and views. With one exception: Adaptation.

Innovation can be changing a product to improve it. It can be changing the way we do things. It can involve where we do things.

Topics like these are sometimes linked to basic principles in economics: Time/place utility, form utility, and so on.

However, in every article I've read about innovation, competitiveness, even in my own writings, what has been omitted seems not to be conspicuous by its absence.

A new boss once said, in his hello speech, "The ability to adapt is a sign of intelligence." What he really meant is that we would have to recognise the fact that he is the boss now, not the other guy, and that we would have to do things his way. Fair enough.

However, the first thought that came to my mind was this: Intelligent people have the ability to change their environment.

Humanity did not survive based on the ability to grow fur to adapt to the cold. We either migrated or learned to build shelters with a heat source in order to survive the cold. However, I said nothing. I did not want to be pedantic and I did not want to be fired.

As nations go global to do business with others, the question of adapting arises.

First, and foremost, we want to adapt to the environment: Business, Financial, Economic, Social, Cultural, Legal, and so on. However, if there is no adapting by others, this will create a lopsided form of change. True, we can use the term evolve. We can suggest that others will evolve. However, that is condescending, patronising, and rude. The method, subject to much spirited debate, is that others must be aware of the fact that they too must adapt.

Change, for the sake of change, may not satisfy the demands of a new market, culture, customer needs. If we use the word innovate as interchangeable with change we are missing the point. In addition, how much change can we expect will be accepted by a broad range of markets, cultures, and customer needs?

Henceforce, let's relegate the word "innovation" to the same scrap heap of linguistic legerdemain as the term, "strategic planning". Let's use the word adapt. Let's be clear about what the adaptation involves. Then, we can move forward from a different perspective with a different view, and better results.

Regards,

Slim

Copyright (c) Slim Fairview

The Fall and Rise of Empires

Empires rise and fall. The Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and before The Soviet Union was called the Evil empire, Russia had an empire extending down into what is now Poland.

Correct my history if necessary. Russia was beaten back by the emergence of the Polish empire, which extended toward Western Europe. They were driven back by the rise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed with WW I.

However, in each case, the empire, as it grew to include vast and divergent territories, became not merely too large to manage, but too fractious. What played well in Italy, closest to Rome, did not play well in France. Less so in Egypt and England.

In addition, we all remember, The Sun never set on the British Empire. I always wondered how that Sceptred isle set in a silver sea managed to dominate the world. India, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada...It may well have been the delegation of authority.

The Evil Empire collapsed because Eastern Europeans grew weary of a system that destroyed what they had spent centuries to build. The U.S. however, never really had an empire. Too often, we've been isolationist. We have not been networking.

Wouldn't it be lovely if nations had Linkedin accts and Facebook pages? Germany could ask Portugal to join its network on Linkedin. China could friend Brazil on Facebook. Japan could friend India. Pakistan could friend Canada.

Our problem lies not in the empire we don't have. Our problem is conspicuous: our problem is our lack of allies. Our lack of metaphorical Facebook friends. We still have an isolationist mentality.

The delegation of authority? We can't even accept the concept of the 10th Amendment in The Bill of Rights, the concept of States Rights.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

With apologies to Charles de Gaulle:

It's a good thing we have only three political parties. We have only three kinds of cheese.*

Sincerely,

Slim

* [American, Cheddar, and Cream]


Coipyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Monograph on the Population Shift to Cities in Emerging Nations

GLOBALLY, the population is moving to urban areas. Food and Jobs are two topics that arise for discussion. This suggests that by talking about it we will solve the problem. Which problem? The problems suffered by the people who move from rural areas to urban areas. Abolishing farm subsidies in Western countries is not the solution.

Farming is a job. In addition, it is hard work. Moreover, it doesn't pay well even under the best of circumstances. Then, when the population increases, it gets harder because plots get smaller. What helped the decline of Russia was the absence of primogeniture.

Cities had to start somewhere. England and France were emerging nations at one time in history.

The rural populations is moving to cities rather than building cities.

The affluent leave the cities and move to rural areas because they can afford to escape the cities.

Cities are indeed vibrant areas of creativity. This even in emerging nations. (We don't need a new world big city to have creativity. The WSJ published an article:
Why Some Islanders Build Better Crab Traps (about the creativity in commerce of emerging communities. It is well worth reading.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704523604575512071789091444.html?mod=wsj_share_twitter



There is a very unpleasant step between reduced subsidies making cheap food available in emerging nations, and farmers in emerging nations becoming 1. Self-sufficient and 2. Being able to produce a sufficient amount of food to feed the large numbers of people.

That unpleasant step is where abolishing subsidies comes up against phasing out subsidies.

(The banning of DDT was a positive environmental move that created the unpleasant step of increased deaths due to the spread of malaria.)

One trendy catch phrase used by the media vis-à-vis our current governmental conundrums is "unintended consequences." That phrase has the moral equivalent of a little boy outside church on a Sunday morning tossing a hand-full of change into the air and saying what God wants he'll take and the rest belongs to me.

There really are no unintended consequences.

True, globally, people are moving en-mass into urban areas. There is no work in rural areas and there are no jobs in cities. Migrations to European countries confound the migrants. "How come in such a wealthy nation the government cannot provide 300,000 jobs?"

However, abolishing subsidies will have consequences. If our leaders stop referring to unpleasant consequences as unintended consequences, they may start to focus on solving the problem--micro finance was one of the solutions propounded by an economist in an emerging nation. That earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.

Regards,

Slim

Mail: tilden9@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

The Next Generation: Better Than Brand New!

When I was at University, I was having an informal discussion with a dorm mate about the "youth movement" du jour. I said, it wasn't going to change anything. I went on to say, "they will graduate, get jobs, get married, have children--and everything will go on as it has."

The Resident Assistant ( A law student) argued with me. "No, no, no. This is a new generation, we have new ideas, we're going to change everything...and so on."

That was 37 years ago.

Jerry Rubin, the Yippie, became a stock-broker; Sonny Bono, and Tom Hayden ran for Congress, and Jane Fonda ("H*ll no, we won't go.") became a fitness guru and changed her mantra: "One, two, three, four, make another million more....two, three, four, make another million more."

More to the point, even those who are anti-establishment are part of the establishment.

The Hippies became Yuppies, the Yuppies, became the Me Generation, the Me Generation became Gen X and so on.

Plus ca change, plus la meme chose.

Regards,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com


Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

GE Wants to Bring Manufacturing Back to the US

GE HAS ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WANT TO BRING MANUFACTURING BACK TO AMERICA. GOOD LUCK.

We are very susceptible to gimmicks. I just adopted a free-range cat. When he first started hanging around, he would eat whatever was put out for him. After I brought him inside, he remained consistent. Then, he became choosy.

If he left what had been put down, I would simply pick it up, stir it a bit with a fork and put it back down. Then he would eat it. I don't expect that to last too long. He still remembers being skin and bones, as it were. He will forget.

We watched Bill Clinton's Presidential campaign. When he appeared on MTV his hair was brown. When he addressed the AARP his hair was grey. This was noted in the press. It didn't matter. People saw what they wanted to see.

"If people like you, they will overlook your faults. If people don't like you, they will overlook your virtues." -- Slim Fairview

We used to teach reading with phonics. Children learned to read. Now, with apologies to Meredith Willson who wrote, The Music Man....

"You've got trouble here, right here in River City, with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for phonics. Yes, my friends, you've got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, vowels in the alphabet. With 21 consonants that give you 9 billion, 63 million, aught '9 COMBINATIONS. No wonder Billy can't read trying to remember all that.

"You don't need to know phonics to speak do you? You just think of a word and say it. That is the whole language approach to reading is the think-method to speaking."

We've fallen for every gimmick imaginable in educating our youngsters. (The character of Harold Hill, in the Music Man is what is known in Americana as the lovable rogue. We know he's a crook, but we love him anyway.)

And it is not simply a question of older employees. Having served on committees in organisations whose functions included the "new hire" problem, consensus is that young people lack basic skills. They cannot add, subtract, multiply, divide, or use simple tools: micrometers, calipers, or even rulers.


In addition, at the initial stages of education, the fundamentals are necessary--crucial.

I am good at math because I memorised the times tables. I didn't want to, it took me longer than my classmates because I didn't want to, but I did it (because I had to).

That, coupled with one small tool in math, 3(a+b) = 3a + 3b, means that I can instantly determine the cost of several cans of green beans in a supermarket and do a cost analysis of 3 small cans v. two large cans. Not important? No, the VP Finance is not buying green beans to bring a covered dish to the next board meeting. However, as he, or she learned this (probably in the 5th grade) the concept was learned along with it.

When it comes to teaching youngsters how to think, not what to think, there is a point in time where analysis will come into play.

GE will need young people who can do what I can do. If they haven't memorised the times tables, they won't be able to do much analysis.

While there may be more than a few youngsters coming out of school who are fluent in technology, that won't meet the demand. Hence, the influx of people from countries who value education highly and apply themselves as a means to financial success and social elevation.

No doubt, the technologically literate will run things in this country through a combination of immigrants and outsourcing, and the rest of the students will be taking jobs that pay just enough to hang out at clubs and party.




BTW: The equation above: The distributive property of multiplication (over addition). I actually had to Google the term to be sure I remembered what it was called accurately. That information I can Google. The ability to use that skill cannot be Googled.


We have become victims of our own success. Good luck to GE if they are using the old business model.

If they want to build it here with workers there. It isn't going to work.

If the want to build it here with workers from there, that won't put the unemployed to work.

It will be interesting to see how Harold Hill explains GE's plan to the people of River City. OOPS, I mean to the shareholders and the stakeholders.

Regards,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Building Business Relationships a la Digital Media

Building Business Relationships a la Digital Media

Innovation and Crisis

In answer to the question about whether or not we innovate more during a crisis, I pose the following answer.

Yes. We do.

Assume for a moment that there is no crisis. Innovation requires a budget. There will be measurables to achieve. We really don't know what needs innovation without some form of market study. Our resources must be allocated in a manner that will be most cost effective. If we have additional funds, would those funds not be better spent on upgrades, marketing, sales, and so on.

If we have a crisis, we know exactly where to devote our precious funds. We know what we must focus on, and we have some indication of what we must achieve. In addition, the group knows we must achieve these goals to avoid becoming victims of the crisis.

Regards,

Slim


Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

City of Hope: A Children's Story:

I received the following email from a friend.

Subject: THIS IS THE SEASON OF GIVING, ISN'T IT?

On Capriole's site, caprioleproductions.org a Non-Profit production company, there is a Pay Pal link asking only for tax deductive donations from $1.00 to $ 10.00. or whatever moves people. (Click the "title link" to go to Capriole Productions)

With that stated: IQ2011 we will travel to BR to shoot a 30 minute short, updating the plight of the BR favela kids [street urchins] whose plight has escalated to 1) drug distribution, 2) sex enslaved kids from 6 to 12, 3) murder-for-hire and so forth. This IS A JUST CAUSE. Our footage from the nineties is tremendously outdated and the numbers of kids caught up in this mess has increased radically.

"City of Hope: A Children's Story" is one of good news. Not only is BR's democracy gaining on the drug lords, but faith-based organizations [NGOs] have increased exponentially as have community watch groups and private contributors.

Most remarkable is the Recovered children are now taking the GOOD NEWS back into their own favelas to open their own 'schools of recovery'.

Any amounts are welcome and all showings ,ticket sales, after expenses to locally use Brazilian film people, will be returned into the community.

Won't you help? Any help, either financial or your experienced advice is greatly appreciated.

Sincere thanks,

John

The Decline of Science As a Way to Make a Quick Buck

Where is Clyde Crashcup when we need him most?

The latest trend in education is to lament the lack of science performance. (Soon it will be declaimed that this is the result of not spending enough money.)

Science requires focus on a goal, attention over a long period of time, and does not offer instant gratification so much craved by young people. Science means enjoying the process.

We will not improve in science until we learn to delay gratification, focus on the problem we are trying to solve, and be able to offer our attention (span) over a long period of time.

Regards,

Slim

ps. Oh, yeah. Science is empirical as well as methodical--and precise.

e.g. In math, 10 x 10 = 100. 99 is not 99% correct. 99 is 100% wrong. Something some people can't seem to deal with. Desole :-(

Slim

Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

The Cut of His Jib

The Business Decision Making Curve:

In finance we studied the Sharp-Markowitz efficiency curve. The trade-off between risk and return. (Mayonnaise jar, no risk, no return. The fast horse, high risk, high return.)

There seems to be an unspoken curve in business. It is not only a cost curve.

Do we train the guy we've got, hoping he'll be a good manager, or do we hire a good manager who knows little about our operation?

Do we pay for safety upgrades on a hazzard with little potential for disaster, or do we take a chance and simply pay out on the accident?

Do we hire someone safe, with credentials and show little concern for his potential, or do we hire someone with a great potential (or track record) and assume the risks of hiring someone without the bursars stamp on his resume showing he paid his library fines?

The business trade-off seems to be falling on the side of safety the past 30 to 40 years.

When was the last time you ever heard anyone say, "I hired him because I like the cut of his jib?"


Slim


Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Slim Fairview's Powerpoint Presentations

The G20 in Good Times and Bad. (The Future of the G20)

Global Management: A Shift in the Paradigm of Corporate America

Fairviews: The Quotations of Slim Fairview.

Click the Title for a direct e-link.

or

copypaste:

http://www.slideshare.net/slimfairview

Sincerest regards,

Slim

Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A DECENT SORT TRYING TO HELP. TAKE A LOOK AT: City of Hope: A Children’s Story documents the stark life of Brazil’s favela (slums) children, and is a feature-length documentary capturing the lives of displaced children caught in a seemingly unending web of drugs, violence, prostitution, sexual slavery and deliberate acts to exterminate these unwanted children. In a country with an enlightened government, it is also a film of hope and salvation as both government and Brazil’s affluent private sector work to save these children.

Regards,

Slim

Having Problems With the Hiring Process? I Wonder Why?

FLASH!

A burst of inspiration. It was there right in front of me all the time, hiding in plain sight: "...the hiring PROCESS" op. cit. my remarks on committees and the paradox of management.

We are, and have been for a while, more focused on the process than on the results. Hiring has become a process. Therein lies the rub.

No doubt a consultant came in and convinced the Big Boss that he could solve the problems he didn't have until he had a solution for them (Remember Professor Harold Hill?) simply by engaging a consultant to help his employees understand The Process; The Shared Vision; Team Building; Consensus Building.

Those on the committee told the Consultant what he wanted to hear. The consultant reported to the Big Boss that he (The Big Boss) was indeed a visionary (Does that sound like "Ceo the Executive or The Executive's New Clothes"*?) The Big Boss, not unlike Moliere's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, "...is surprised and delighted to learn that he has been speaking "prose" all his life..."

Ah....plus ca change, plus la meme chose.

Regards,

Slim

* Ceo the Executive or The Executive's New Clothes located here on Slimviews.


Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

The Paradox v. The Paradigm: Decision Making

The Paradox v. The Paradigm


One good definition of paradox arises from the discussion about decision making. It is the paradox where people say or do what they think others want them to say or want them to do. Thus, everyone (the group) ends up saying what no one believes or doing what no one wants to do. This accurately describes how we've been making decisions in the U.S. lately.

The next step in the paradox comes when we try to solve that problem by continuing to do what caused the problem in the first place.

I read about a consultant teaching groups how to avoid group-think. (Advising them to think outside the box and so on.) In the explanation of how this person leads people to avoid group-think and to think outside the box, this person rewards people for coming up with (very) different ideas.

You don't have to be seven years old to know that if you want positive reinforcement (reward) you tell people what they want to hear.

Thus, the leader (a consultant?) succeeded in shifting the paradigm. (Group members giving looney answers instead of constructive ones. Looney defined as more "out there" than conventional. Some call it, "being creative".) Thus, the consultant tries to eliminate group-think by enforcing and reinforcing group-think. (The group catches on very quickly--all begin making abstruse suggestions. At least to the extent that they do not focus on the problem at hand.)

The result of all this is that the process becomes more important than the goal.

"We must change the process so we can achieve our goal," is the mantra. The result, we never achieve our goal. Why not? This brings us back to square one. Because everyone seeks rewards by saying what they think others want to hear. Except for me. But no one listens to me anyway.


Sincerest regards,

Slim

Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

EI v. IQ

Time was:

If you did well in school, you were "intelligent".

If you did well at sports, you were "athletic".

If you were good at painting, you were "artistic".

If you played the piano well, you were "talented".

Not anymore.

Today,

If you play the piano well, you have musical intelligence.

If you paint well, you have artistic intelligence.

If you are good at sports, you have athletic intelligence.

However, if you are good at school, well....you must have worked very hard.


Slim


copyright(c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Impediments to Executing Strategy

I. The first impediment to executing strategy will be others who do not share your vision.

a. Your vision competes with their vision.
b. Your vision contravenes their assumptions.

1. If their strategy is based on their vision, your vision will threaten their position.
2. If their assumptions are repudiated, their reputation will suffer.

II. There will be challenges to the data you use to substantiate your strategy.

a. If you use the methods they use, your results will challenge their competency
b. If you use different methods to arrive at your conclusions their methods will be challenged.
c. Either a. and or b. will diminish either their self image or their image within the company.

1. If you challenge their self-image they will become hostile.
2. If you threaten their image in the company, they will become devious.

All of the above assumes that the people you work with and work for like you.

If they do not, the job of executing your strategy will be even more difficult.


Regards,

Slim

If you find anything here to be helpful, please don't hesitate to send me a really
tricked out Macbook and to tuck a few dollars into the envelope along with
a thank you note.  Slim.

Robert Asken
Box 33
Pen Argyl, PA
18072

or

GoFundMe

Thank you.

Slim.

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com


Copyright © 2010 Robert Asken
All Rights Reserved.

STRATEGIC BREAKDOWNS (In Three Acts)

Introduction:

Nothing succeeds like success.

It is very encouraging to see people using both quantitative and a qualitative approaches to planning. (I find the word strategic to be a word not unlike words like shared vision, visioning process, avoiding group thing, consensus building and the lot. Each expression worthy in its own right--perhaps when first conceived, but not trite. Also, too often a crutch. "There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labour of thinking." Sir Joshua Reynolds. (A favourite of Thomas Edison.)

Speaking of which, Thomas Edison did not need a committee to invent the light bulb.

Then, too, he fell prey to faulty assumptions: AC v. DC. He was too close to his brain-child to see its flaws.

The greatest strategic risk most often overlooked by Executives is that the person in charge of putting someone in charge of managing a project simply is not qualified. That person then relies on more than assumptions. I dislike the word "toolbox" so I will use the word, template.

As Executives began to move to the shared vision, no I in team philosophy they failed to see inherent flaw. The greatest one: "The Player."

.............................THE PLAYER [In Three Acts]...........................


Here we not only read The Player's mind, we are also that fly on the wall.


"Anon."*

Player [speaking to self.] "I have no clue what's going on. I know, I will embrace the concept of horizontal management. We need a committee. I will get on that committee."

[Now, for those of you who are really "into" metaphors:]


Leader: "Okay, group, anyone have any ideas?" [Think outside the box; there are no stupid ideas, questions, etc. Only the stupidity of not saying anything; shared vision; no I in team.]

The Player: "Yes. The world is not round, like this orange. The world is round like this plate!"
[Stolen from a Smother's Brothers skit.]

Leader: "Really? I would like you to share your feelings on that Idea. I think we can all benefit from the discussion even if some on the committee respectfully disagree!"

Player: "I heard it on the Smothers Brothers show!"

Leader: "Anyone else like to comment or share viewpoints? [As long as we are all sitting around wasting time.]

Other Members: "Blah, blah, blah..."

The Player: "You know, after listening to other people, I believe you may be right. The world is round like this orange."

Leader: "Good for you! You see! This method works. We now have a shared vision.!!!! I will tell Mr. Big, upstairs how well we all worked.

Everyone: [privately] "At first we thought he was a real jerk. But we can see he is willing to embrace the ideas of others in the group. He is a team player.

Leader [to boss] "At first I thought he was a real jerk. However, you were right, Sir. This shared vision thing really works. He is a team player willing to embrace a shared vision and see the other members' points of view."

Big Executive: "Great! I always knew I was a great Executive with great Leadership Skills!!!"

End Act I


* Anon. A word often used in literary plays. [Ed. note: We don't want the audience to feel cheated.]



Sincerely,

Slim

copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

THINK INSIDE THE BOX

THINK INSIDE THE BOX! For consideration and debate


Cliches, Slogans, and Platitudes have infiltrated our culture to such an extent that we can no longer think straight; or we are not allowed to. It seems people our age are the only ones who still possess what is no longer legal to possess: Intelligence and the ability to think.


Please share what you've experienced on the subject.


The expression has evolved. Initially, it came across as a tactical manoeuvre which translates, "Surprise! Here I am, I invite myself to your house. What do you mean, you do the inviting when you entertain people in your home? You should think outside the box."

The box became a symbol of old-fashion, draconian, narrow minded, limiting, ad nauseum. Thinking outside the box became the new, hip, trendy, now, together, what's happening way of doing things. The new ways of doing things to meet the new challenges we will confront. Oh, boy!

However, as with many cliches, think outside the box is no longer actually heard anymore. It is like the part of the dialogue in a novel where we see, he said, she said. Those are fine markers for the reader, however, the reader is not actually cognisant of the he said, she said. Only what they represent.

Still, it is very interesting to hear different perspectives from different people.


Just something to consider.

Sincerely,

Slim

copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Business Gift Giving

Business Gift Giving. How about some general thoughts and a few caveats on the matter?


A few years ago, we'd adopted a free-range cat. (My fault, actually.) This cat was an ideal house guest. When she wanted to thank us, she'd meow outside the door to come back in. When I opened the door, I would find a dead mouse. This is a cat's way of saying, "Thank you".

The dead mouse was a lot nicer gift than some of the gifts I'd received.

First of all, it was sincere.

Second of all, the cat did not become insulted when I did not hang the dead mouse on the wall, nor display it on the coffee table.

Now, there are a few codicils and cavets to the arts and sciences of giving gifts in the business world.

In this country, it is innapropriate to give a gift that the recipient know is more expensive than the giver can afford.

I'd heard, many years ago, that when giving a gift in Japan (e.g. a pen and pencil set), it is more appropriate to give the set in silver than in gold as gold is seen to be ostentatious. ( I need verification on that matter. )

In some Asian countries, you never wrap a gift in white paper. That is the colour associated with funerals.

In some cultures, red is the proper wrapping-paper colour for festive gift-giving.

Perhaps we could open up a discussion to share advice on the matter of gift giving in the business world?

Sincerest regards,

Slim.

ps. If your cat ever gives you a dead mouse, be sure to make a positive fuss over it. If you can't see how pleased your cat will be, you should not share your accomodations with a cat.



copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Compare and Contrast

You can't compare Communist Bulgaria with free market France.

You can't compare Communist Hungary with free market Portugal.

However,

You can compare Communist East Germany with Free Market West Germany.

You can compare Communist East Berlin withe Free Market West Berlin.

Enought said?

Regards,

Slim


Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Experts???

.

Experts:

For every ten experts who say "Do this!", you have ten experts who say, "Do that!"

Then someone else will come up with ten experts who say, "Do something else."

Another ten experts will say, "They're all right".

Another who will say, "They're all wrong".

Then another who will ask, "Who's to say what's right or wrong?"

Then the facilitator of the group will say, " There's no "I" in team! :-) "

If you don't believe me, ask an expert!



Regards,

Slim

Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Developing Competitive Strategies

For Those In a Discussion Group

As an analogy,

I am new to a role. (Answering your question.)

I want to develop my knowledge in competitive strategy (competing with the others in the group to offer the best answer.)

To be as productive as possible as quickly as possible I would, as was suggested, do a quick industry analysis of my niche market. (Who is answering your question?)
Then, as was said, learn about the market. (Read up on what you do.)

You are in the [Business of].

What is a niche market in a [Your industry]?
A particular country, a particular industry, a particular service? These would be essentials to answering the question.

You can use the old stand-by SWOT test. (strengths weaknesses opportunities threats) but you should probably be more application specific.

Who are my customers?
What do they need?
Why are they buying from me?

Who are my competitors?
What do they supply?
Why are others buying from my competitors?

Who will be my customers?
What will they need?
Why should they buy from me?

What features do my customers need?
What features will my customers want?
Am I able to provide the product?

What are the prices?
What are my costs?

Time place utility. Can I get my product (or service) to where my customer needs it? Can I get my product (or service) to my customer when he wants it?

Form utility. Does my product meet the customers' needs or will it be necessary to modify my product or service.

Just to suggest a few.

Sincerely,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

MicroFinance: $10.00 To The Road To Prosperity

Years ago, in a newspaper article, was the story about a man living in a small village in Western Africa.



This man was a shoemaker.

He made sandals by hand.

Though he did the best he could,

He was barely able to make one or two pair a day.



They sold for a dollar.



If he had a sewing machine, he could make more than one or two pair a day.

But to pay for the machine was too much to pay.



This man could save the money for a machine. The price was 10 dollars.

Still, a princely sum for a man who made a dollar a day.



Since he could support his family on half his pay, in twenty days he could buy the machine.

You can figure out what that would mean.

Still, his village was small. His neighbors were poor. They had no food.



Since the man could not let his neighbours die, he helped support them with the

money he had left after supporting his family. Still, it could not have been

enough to help all the villagers. Some died.



All he neededd was ten dollars.



With ten dollars, he could buy the machine.

He could make two pair, or three pair, or four pair, or more.

He could pay a villager to sell his extra sandals.

Soon, he could afford to buy a second machine.



He could train an apprentice to run the machine.

You can figure out what that would mean.

Ten pair of sandals, possibly more.



Another machine, and a salesman or two.

Think about all that that man could do.

He could buy a donkey to be ridden to town,

And sell the sandals for what the market allowed.



Then the man could invest, in a neighbor or two.

And they could make money to do what they do.

Reeds for baskets and clay for pots,

And a cart for the donkey, to sell things by lots.



The village could prosper, money for food,

money for schools, and clothes, and tools.



Then the man awoke, to another hot day.

He worked on his sandals, to earn a day's pay.

With the money he made, he stayed barely alive.

And helped a few neighbors to barely survive.


The resources for SME's are a potent force. Or would be if they were available. Think of it as a leveraged investment. Sounds much better said that way, doesn't it?


Sincerest regards,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Leadership

Some people get paid for what they do.

Some people get paid for what they know.

Some people get paid for what they think.

Some people get paid for the way they think.


Slim Fairview


copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

The Future: What About the Path of the Trajectory?

As we plan into the future, are we considering the path of the trajectory?

Case in point. The pendulum swings both ways. The farther it swings one way, the farther it swings back.

Globalisation: Will the path of globalisation eventually lead to a path of isolationism.

Information: Will the information that we are relying upon so heavily, eventually become a curse that will lead people to retrench? An information overload can make the information virtually worthless if too much stuff cannot be accepted as reliable.

Technology: Will the technology that enhances our efforts become so "intrusive" that we are paralysed by its intrusiveness?

Politics: Will the politics of globalisation lead to "Superpower Centers" with a detente between ie: The Asian Center, The African Center, The Middle Eastern Center, The European Center, The Latin American Center, the North American Center?

Regards,

Slim

Mail: tilden9@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Mudpies and Martinis or The Global Hunger Problem

In some parts of the world, people eat dirt to survive. This may sound strange, but when you realize that by the time foreign aid trickles down to the poor and hungry, the only thing left to be had is cooking oil and salt. These, mixed with dirt and laid out to dry mean that people will live to suffer another day.

In this country, when we think of mud pies, we think of little girls' tea parties. But not to worry because mom has that new laundry detergent that makes her whites whiter and her brights brighter.

Not too long ago my wife and I came home from a day running errands. My wife said, "I'm starving." I replied "Me too." Of course, I solved my problem by adding a couple of extra olives to my martini. Now this may be a solution in Beverly Hills or Bloomfield Hills or Bedford Hills, but it does not play well in the South Bronx where a single working or perhaps welfare mother has three hungry children to feed.

Now I understand that in the Hamptons there are people who go without eating all summer. But that welfare mother won't solve her problem by asking her children, "Don't you want to look good in your swimsuits when we vacation in St. Bart's next month?"

Just a little something for you to think about.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Bon appetit!

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com


copyright 2010 Slim Fairview

The Future of the G20 in Good Times and Bad

The Future of the G20 in Good Times and Bad

[Available as a PowerPoint Presentation on SlideShare http://slideshare.net/slimfairview

1. Establish a Crisis Management team with an established MIS for a continuity of operations plan.

2. Determine potential threats from those outside the G20. Coordinate a defense plan among the G20 nations.

3. Quantify the needs of the people of each of the countries, the resources available from each of the G20 countries and establish a coordinated distribution system for the resources available.

4. Create a forecasting team to create a snapshot of the situation and to plan a recovery strategy.

5. Leave my phone number with the secretary.


Follow Up

A: What are the potential threats?

1. Military invasion
2. Population dislocation
3. Starvation, disease, violence
4. Political unrest
5. Propaganda

(3 and 4 are also internal threats.)


B: Can you please identify the source or sources of threat?

1. Hostile nations
2. Displaced persons
3. Agents provocateur
4. Propaganda

C: What will be your single point defense plan in addition to (3) and (4) which are precisely what the G20 needs to immediately do?

Disseminate information trusted to be authentic:

Disseminate information directly through all available media to the greatest number of people apprising them of the situation and reassuring them of official protection and support.

Disseminate information through pre-determined media to principals responsible for the mobilisation of forces to repulse external attack, and to internal organisations responsible for the protection of civilians.

However, in the event that all goes well:


I will now leave my comfort-zone of being analytical to being philosophical. The economists will know if there is any value in what I have to say on the G20 plan.

A. Link the currency exchange rate to the trade deficit/surplus numbers in a way that would balance out the trade and currency issues. My guess would be that this would:

1. Help to stabilise the playing field discouraging trade wars.

2. Encourage co-operation instead of competition among the nations while at the same time encouraging competition within industries to become more efficient thus cost-effective.

B. Encourage both shared biotechnology and the establishment of a food bank to stabilise the food supply, among the G20 and to stabilise emerging nations by being able to offset political and civil unrest arising from lack of food.

C. Provide for the co-operation among those in the pharmaceutical industry to develop what will be necessary to inveigh against existing and emerging diseases. (Op. cit. B)

D. Establish an intra-G20 agency to inventory energy resources, calculate energy needs, an forecast future energy needs among the G20 nations and among the non-G20 nations.

E. Please, forgive me for my little joke about my leaving my phone number with the secretary.

Warmest regards,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview