The Food Crisis in India: The Price is the Crisis

Food: The Price is the Crisis

At the risk of sounding trite, the law of supply and demand still functions. To solve the price crisis in India, supply must be increased. This is a matter of "time place utility"; "form utility"; "economies to scale"; and direct foreign investment. I mention the last consideration because the advice to some can also be considered advice to another. In short, if you know where and how people are being advised to invest, you can position yourself to be the where and the how.

I've included "Having Problems with Foreign Direct Investment?" to give insight into what investors can look for. This can also give insight into those who want to benefit from the investors. I've included The Marketing of India. I've included a metaphor: Starving Nations and Food Equations: A metaphor. This is not to be interpreted as reference to people actually dying. It is to discuss the economics of agriculture.


Having Problems with Foreign Direct Investment?


What are some of the barriers?

Leverage.

ROI.


It is easy to see that start up costs in some countries are much lower than start up costs in another. If the other country does not have the physical plant for example, it will be cheaper to build that plant in the other country.

Currency considerations are another factor

Incentives from a country with little industry are greater than they are from a country where you will compete with the locals.

Market penetration. Would people in countries in the region be more inclined to buy from countries in the region or from western nations.

Partnering. It is easier to partner with business in some countries where western technology is not readily available by making that technology available.

Just a few thoughts.

Regards,

Slim

mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview



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

Starving Nations and Food Equations: A Metaphor

[This metaphor does not refer to people actually dying. This refers to the discordance in the economy of agriculture specifically and in the economy as a whole.]

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

Plus ca change, plus ca change!

 

Plus ca change, plus ca change!

Today: "How do you over come the fear of change?" Tomorrow: How do you overcome the change of fear?"

"It's too late to act as if it were today. We must act as if it is tomorrow"

“On To Netopia: New world order--a world without borders. Passwords, not passports.”

Regards,

Slim

Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

From the Quotations of Slim Fairview © 2010-2011-Slim Fairview

Oppressed People Can't Revolt

"Oppressed people can't revolt: They are oppressed. Only freed people can revolt. That freedom came with the Internet: Facebook, Twitter, et. al" Slim Fairview


Regards,

Slim

Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com



Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

Monographs: Understanding the Future of the Middle East

To Cover the Subject of The Middle East

For a better understanding of what is going on in the Middle East, ask the question: "Will the Facebook Revolution Spread to China? Probably Not."
http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/02/will-facebook-revolution-spread-to.html

However, there is more to understanding the shift in the paradigm of Global Affairs with respect to the Middle East.

Transnational Business: From Distopistan to Netopistan.
http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/02/tansnational-business-from-distopistan.html

What is to Come in The Middle East
http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-is-to-come-in-middle-east.html

Egypt and the Failure of Global Diplomacy
http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/02/egypt-and-failure-of-global-diplomacy.html

The Business of Egypt is Business
http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/02/business-of-egypt-is-business.html

Regards,

Slim

Mail Slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) Slim Fairview 2011

Will the Facebook Revolution Spread to China? Probably Not

Will the Facebook revolution spread to China? My guess, probably not.

1. What you are seeing in the Middle East is a reaction not a response, to a reaction. Kings were overthrown by military dictators and the people suffered not just a civil rights oppression but also an economic oppression.

2. In China, there was a technology revolution fueled by the Chinese government to move China into the 21st century with a great leap.

3. In the Middle East, there was an equality of suffering with the exception of a few "friends of the dictators".

4. In China, the old axiom (New by Chinese standards) "When the tide comes in, all the ships in the harbour rise,” is being played out in large numbers. Yes, there may be pockets of poverty. However, they are in a manner of speaking diffuse. Also, not "connected".

5. This brings us to: There is a techno-class. In the same way the intelligentsia was self-removed from the class-contretemps of Europe's social revolution over a century ago, the tech people are focused too fiercely on technology. "If then: go to."

6. There appear to be "tribal or religious" disconnects among the different tribal and religious segments of Middle Eastern society. In China, the Chinese people are Chinese. Full Stop.

7. There is a great deal of anti-American and anti-western sentiments in the Middle East. While there may be Chinese people who like and Chinese people who may not like some or many westerners, there is not a history of exploitation. In addition, China has the means, the methods, and the will to compete on the global stage, in the global arena, playing the same game everyone else plays. For the lack of a better term, I shall call it, Economics.

The West has a rather remarkable view of the Middle East. We preach democracy, we promote democracy, we aid and abet democracy, and we work well with those countries that are and have been democracies. In the Middle East, democracy seems to be a new thing. They will have democracy. They will vote. They will elect representatives and leaders. Then what? That is the conundrum for the US.

What happens when they vote not to establish alliances with the west? They are free to choose. With that freedom comes the freedom to choose not to be our friends. That is a possibility we are not prepared to accept.

With China, we do business. China does business with us. We've never done business with the people of the Middle East. We've done business to the people of the Middle East.

Let's move quickly to mend some fences.

Regards,

Slim

Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2011 Slim Fairview

Having Problems with Foreign Direct Investment?

Having Problems with Foreign Direct Investment?


What are some of the barriers?

Leverage. ROI.

It is easy to see that start up costs in some countries are much lower than start up costs in another.

If the other country does not have the physical plant for example, it will be cheaper to build that plant in the other country.

Currency considerations are another factor

Incentives from a country with little industry are greater than they are from a country where you will compete with the locals.

Market penetration. Would people in countries in the region be more inclined to buy from countries in the region or from western nations.

Partnering. It is easier to partner with business in some countries where western technology is not readily available by making that technology available.

Just a few thoughts.

Regards,

Slim

mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

Virtually a Real Person

"I have a Twitter account, a Facebook account, a Linkedin account and a Blog. At last. Finally I feel like a virtual person. For a while, I didn't think I was going to make it." -- Slim Fairview


Mail: slimfairview@yahoo.com

Strategic Thinking

"Why are supermarket executives men, when supermarket shoppers are women? I'll bet a man came up with that idea." -- Slim Fairview

Transnational Business: From Distopistan to Netopistan

To: Fellow Linkedin member:

Perhaps Mr. _________ is seeking the collective input to help him to address the changes he will have to make in his strategy as a consultant in Egypt. He can, if he chooses, find opportunities here for Business leaders who did not read my ppt. presentation Global Management, a shift in the paradigm of corporate America.

More to the point, We will create a metaphor.

Hey, Mr. Big American Company Guy, you can no longer rely on the Big Company Guys of Distopistan who are protected by the Distopistanian Army because the King of Distopistan makes big bucks (through private transactions) via The Big Company of Distopistan.

Distopistan is in the midst of change. Tomorrow, the King of Distopistan will be gone. Tomorrow the country will be Netopistan. The Netopian Nation is now an ally. To do business in Netopistan (Formerly Distopistan) you will have to connect with the Netopian people.

"How do we do that?" asks the Big American Company Guy.

Answer:

Meet with _________ _________. He will teach you how to do business in the New World Order. A world without borders. (unabashedly lifted from and alluding to my blog which coincidentally goes by the url http://slimviews.blogspot.com

Regards,

Slim
Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

P.S. Mr. ________. Carpe Punctum. And good luck.

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

The Shared Vision: A process all right.

.............................THE PLAYER [A One Act Play]...........................


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


"Anon."*

The Player [speaking to self.] "I have no clue what's going on. I know what I can do. I will get on a team. I will embrace the concept of horizontal management. I will say how much we need a committee. I will get on that committee."

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


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

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

Team 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!"

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

Team Leader: "Would anyone else like to comment or share viewpoints? [As long as we are all sitting around wasting the company's time and money.]

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

The Player: "You know, after listening to the other members of the team, I believe that the world really is round like this orange. This team approach to problem solving really works."

Team Leader: "Good for you! You see! The team method really works. We now have a shared vision.! Each of us "owns" the project. We have a shared goal. I will now go upstairs to tell Mr. Big, how well the members of the team worked together. [And how well his idea worked.]

Everyone: [privately to himself or to herself] "At first we thought he was a real jerk. But we can now see he that he is a team player. We can see that he is open to accepting the ideas of the other members of the group. That he is not too bright, thus not much of a threat. That we won't be challenged to come up with anything substantive.]

Team Leader [to The Big 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 to see the other members' points of view."

The Big Boss: "Great! I always knew I was a great Executive with great Leadership Skills! I am not only pleased with myself, I am please with you for implementing my vision and viewpoint."

The End


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



Sincerely,

Slim

Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

What is to Come in the Middle East

What is to come in the Middle East.

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Santayana

Those who never learned history are doomed—period. Slim Fairview

What is going on?

We’ve watched history unfold by way of anamnesis.

Most of us can remember, “The Sun never sets on the British Empire”. It collapsed for various reasons, but collapsed non-the-less. India, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, National Public Television, Scotland….

We watched what Ronald Reagan once referred to as the Evil Empire collapse. Actually, one-by-one, two-by-two, Eastern block satellite-nations fell from orbit.

At first, the British expanded their empire. Then, those who lived under the British Raj, along with others living in nations of the empire, evolved to a metaphorical awareness analogous to the awareness made available by the internet today. They freed themselves from foreign rule.

After World War II, the Soviet Union expanded into Eastern Europe. Soon: five-hundred million people ground beneath the boot-heel of communist military occupation. It wasn’t long before the people of Eastern Europe liberated themselves—the result of watching the Soviet influence wither. Today, even Russia is no longer occupied by the communists’ forces.

Today, we have the internet. First, the Tunisian people rose up. Then, the Egyptian people rose up. All throughout the Middle East, we can see the events of change unfolding before our eyes. Still, we discuss the events rather than acknowledge them. Just as Iran extolled the actions of the people of Egypt, is it impossible that people in Arab nations saw large tea party demonstrations? Is it impossible that people in Arab nations were aware of the change in our House of Representatives? A change heralded as the largest shift in power in 39 years.

To understand what other people understand, it is necessary to understand propaganda. Do you remember Antigone, heralded, perhaps, by Sophocles? She was put to death for burying her brother in defiance of the law. However, do you remember Antigone, heralded by Anouilh? She was the spirit of the French resistance when France was occupied by the Nazis. During occupation, books had to be approved by the Nazi censors before they could be published. Why did the Nazi censors approve the publishing of Antigone? To show the people what happens to those who defy authority. What was the result? There are no unintended consequences. Only unwanted consequences.

World leaders, who may have extolled the Tea-Party movement as an example of unrest in America prompted by the peoples’ dissatisfaction with America’s government, with the American way of living, could not have predicted what would come. People who’ve extolled the Egyptian people for their rising up against their government, an ally of the United States, probably did not predict that their own people would say, “Hey, I’ve got an idea.”

Then, there is the internet. The Blogosphere. Netopia. Not Laptopistan as is was referred to in the New York Times. Laptopistan refers to the people with their laptops. Netopia refers to a virtual land that really does exist. Like the wind, you cannot see it. You can only see and feel its effects.

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/01/egypt-and-others-new-world-order-world.html

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/01/internet-disconnect-no.html

Regards,

Slim

Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2011 Slim Fairview

How to Motivate an Underperforming Team

The capable team is under-performing. What do you do?

Capable on what basis?

If the team is under-performing than the team is not capable. Perhaps the individuals are capable.

Review the goals, yourself. Alone. Establish what has been accomplished, the timetable, the deliverables as some call them, then interview each member of the team for a programme review update. Perhaps to "help you prepare your report".

This should help you uncover which individuals are under-performing.

Here are some hints:

The self-appointed leader. He decides that he can help other people do their jobs better and keeps "taking charge of the situation".

The expert. He confuses being belligerent, argumentative, and rude with constructive dialogue (or spirited debate.)

The theorist. Enabler, Empowerment and dignity person. This individual will sidetrack the individual or the group by shifting emphasis to team members feeling good about themselves. (This done to compensate for the lack of self-esteem.) By focusing on how individuals feel is supposed to make them better team members. It also shifts emphasis from the goal to the individual.

The fact checker. This individual will impede the group's performance with constant attention to detail and review. (Important? To an extent. Not to the extent that nothing gets accomplished.)

The "discusser". This individual feels that anything and everything that comes up should be thoroughly discussed.

The Boss who doesn't want to remove people from the group because he

a. doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings;

b. doesn't want other members of the group to feel insecure about their position;

c. doesn't want to appear harsh; but mostly

d. is afraid his boss will wonder about his competence if he had to remove someone he chose to be a member of the team.

Good luck.

Slim

Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2011 Slim Fairview

The Business of Egypt is Business

Yesterday, the business of Egypt was Egypt. Today, the business of Egypt is business.

For the revolution to be a lasting success, the Egyptian people have to focus on the economy, on jobs, on education, and on the infrastructure: Electricity, roads, trains, broadcasting, and a stable government.

This is not accomplished by embracing ideology.

For a start: "Free Enterprise. It works when you do."

Egypt: Now looking for global management specialists, business development specialists, new market developers, (dare I say it) Human Resources Managers, R&D Specialist, IT managers.

The Egyptian people need jobs!

Let's hope The Egyptians promotes from within before they are exploited by carpetbaggers. 'You gotta know the territory...’

Did anyone say, Professor Harold Hill?

Bon chance,

Slim

Mail: mailto:Slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2011 Slim Fairview

Change in the Company? Change in the Company!

Change in the Company? Change in the Company!
Change seems a bit bold. Think transformation.

As new people come on board, they will influence the company. Change or transformation will occur.

As new clients come on board, the company will have to adjust. When you start selling to Bluetopia, you will begin selling blue widgets. If no one knows how to mix up a batch of blue stuff, the company will have to hire people who can mix up batches of blue stuff.

All of this happens without a committee being assigned to study change, transformation, strategic planning, or even have to miss a three-martini lunch.

Regards,

Slim

Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

copyright (c) 2010 Slim Fairview

Learning, or not.

ENOUGH SAID?

Egypt and the Failure of Global Diplomacy

Egypt and the Failure of Global Diplomacy

It is simplistic to say that the situation in Egypt is for the Egyptians to resolve. This, because we are global community. To complicate matters, different countries have different cultural norms. To complicate matters further, efforts to understand the cultural norms of other countries routinely involve explaining “our” culture to others rather than asking others to offer us insight into their cultures.

Now, to diplomacy.

The Egyptian people have called for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. They have stated their resolve not to leave The Square until he resigns. They have issued a fait accompli.

President Mubarak has stated he will not resign as President. In effect, he has issued a fait accompli.

We have called for President Mubarak to step down. We did so publicly.

We can focus on the Egyptian Constitution and the constraints it places on all parties. We can also focus on the remarks by the pundits and analysts to the effect that our failure to support President Mubarak will cause other allies to be concerned about our fidelity. No one, however, has addressed the issue of “loss of face”.

For the Egyptian people to recant their demands, they will suffer what the world knows to be “loss of face”. For President Mubarak to capitulate to the demands of the protestors will result in his suffering “loss of face”. Then there is the American position—stated publicly.

We became Pontius Pilate the moment we entered the fracas.

If the Egyptian people do not prevail, there will be bitterness among the Egyptian people. By extension, if this is attributed to our support for President Mubarak, there will also be a bitterness shared by all who looked to us as a symbol of freedom.

However, if the Egyptian people do prevail, if President Mubarak does step down, it will do more that cause concern among our allies with respect to our willingness to support them. 1.3 billion Chinese people will see that we have caused President Mubarak to lose face. 1.3 billion Chinese will wonder when we will cause their leader to lose face. This question will be asked by people all around the world.

Rather than regard America as supporters of the Egyptian people, people around the world will see America as the betrayer of the Egyptian peoples’ leader. This, notwithstanding the call by the Egyptian people for President Mubarak to resign.

Lastly, if we recant our position, our global status and stature will suffer.

What to do?

The best possible way to resolve the problem is for the United States to defer to a neutral third party nation who will meet, PRIVATELY, with both the leaders of the Egyptian people and with the Egyptian leaders. Yes, there is a difference. This is not to suggest that the U.S. should not be present at the table. After all, Egypt and The United States are allies and have been for a long time. However, we should not head this delegation.

This neutral third party nation will be able to help both the Egyptian people and the Egyptian government under President Mubarak, to resolve the contretemps in a matter that will avoid humiliation and mitigate rather than propagate enmities.

Regards,

Slim

Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2011 Slim Fairview

Watching the Process

The Process

Management, Project Management, Process Management, each a process. Can you isolate the moment you realised that?

I was in the second grade. We were out in the playground for recess. We were playing kickball.

Recess was unstructured. There was no micromanagement of children then.

The two usual classmates were captains. This was SOP. Then, one day, one of the teams had a co-captain.

While some of the other boys in my class complained, “Why do they always get to be captains?” “They always pick their friends. That’s not fair,” I observed the process.

The captains were the natural leaders. This was because they were good at the game and good at picking players. (Athletes will routinely hang out with athletes. Question: Are they picking their friends, or good athletes, or both? Answer: both.)

We root for the underdogs; but we want to run with the winners. Good at sports or bad at sports, each of us wants to be on a winning team.

However, we now had co-captains. I was less concerned with why. I simply wanted to be on a winning team. That was over 50 years ago. I still remember the day. However, we never stop learning. It was only a few weeks ago when I thought about that day that I realised something.

If you are a good athlete, and I am a good athlete, and we have three powerful players in the class; Tom, Dick, and Harry, and we toss a coin for first pick, the following are the possible results:

You have three power players: I have two power players.

I have three power players: you have two power players.

It comes down to the toss of a coin.

Plan B. I have a co-captain. It doesn’t matter who wins the toss. Either way, I have three power players on my team and you have two on your team.

Now, that was not the end of the lesson. That was the beginning.

1. We learned not only about leadership, but also about followship.

2. We learned the art of negotiation and the result of having good leaders.

3. We also learned how to get along without being micromanaged by parents.

4. There was a lesson in conflict resolution and the value of cooperation.

It went on from there.

Some of my classmates complained. They, however, had no viable alternative. They also had no appreciation for the objective assessment of what was happening.

Some had inflated views of their own skills. (If he can do it, so can I.) Yet, none ever explained why others never gravitated to them as leaders.

There was more to be learned by watching the process.

1. How did some classmates interact with others?

2. How did some interact with the teacher?

3. How did the teacher interact with some students as opposed to others?

For the last one, I can offer some insight. If the objective is to encourage a student to participate, the teacher calls on the quiet one. If the objective is to teach the class how to solve a problem, the teacher calls on the student most likely to have the correct answer.

There is much to be said for participation. There is little to be said for sitting on the sidelines. However, as Yogi Berra once said, “You can see a lot by just watching.” To which I shall add, “You can hear a lot by just listening.”

What does this have to do with project management?

Perhaps you shouldn’t be managing projects.

Regards,

Slim

Mail slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2011 Slim Fairview

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