Gareth Wong's blog, on convergence of Finance, Media, Entertainment, Tech and Gaming

very interesting indeed! Infographic: Apple’s cash explained

2012-01-30T14:20:00.000-08:00

Very interesting... but hows that related to % of people that 'transact' online??? World Map of Social Networks | Vincos Blog

2012-01-28T08:59:00.000-08:00

World Map of Social Networks | Vincos Blog:

Very interesting... but hows that related to % of people that 'transact' online???

Lord Wolfson at Conservative China group breakfast meeting. brilliant insights shared, honest & direct, how it should be!

2012-01-26T00:00:00.001-08:00

Lord Wolfson at Conservative China group breakfast meeting. IMG_4492, a photo by garethwong on Flickr.

Many thanks for Jeremy, the conservative China group & Huawei's sponsoring..

Lord Wolfson's shared some best insights & no hold bar directness really won me over, he might be my most favourite Lord yet (one of the youngest I met for sure!)

I particularly love his sentiments toward how Hong Kong Chinese should have been welcomed.. but then unlike him, I maybe biased!

I trust it was chatham house, so I won't repeat anything, but his sound bite & 'poem' recited on the fly was brilliant, it summarised China very well indeed:

" It's easier to make profit by buying from China,
easier to sell to China than to invest in China,
easier to invest in China then to make money out of China..."

Succinct & brilliant!

@GarethWong

Adrian Leppard, City of London Police Commissioner, at the next Q1 E/MBA club, 2012, location TBC for those qualified to join us, 2Feb 2012

2012-01-20T00:10:00.001-08:00

Adrian Leppard, City of London Police Commissioner, IMG_1446, a photo by garethwong on Flickr.

WE are all looking forward to the next super exclusive E/MBA club..

"The growing threat of Fraud and Cyber crime; what the Police and Government are doing about it and how business can help themselves"

Narrative:- The explosive use of the internet as a social communication and business environment, coupled with the simplicity of operating systems has offered an area for criminality.

Fraud and identity crime is now affecting most communities with the young internet savvy "tweeter" and the older less "street wise" users being equally affected.

Nearly 30% of all Organised Crime Gangs are now turning to fraud as an area of easy criminal income and the worldwide nature of the internet means that offenders can target us from overseas.

The Police and Government are responding vigorously with new money, new skills and new relationships to counter this threat. Businesses are also very aware. The challenge lies in how we bring this together in a united attack on a rapidly expanding problem.

Key lesson to be learnt: rules of 'forgiveness', "never forgive those who are not repentant" , talhotblond - Channel 4

2012-01-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

talhotblond - Channel 4:

shocking.. !!!

Life is stranger than fiction!

Key lesson to be learnt: rules of 'forgiveness', "never forgive those who are not repentant"

pictures of White Rainbows (meteorological phenomenon also known as the fog bow or faux moonbow)

2012-01-15T02:31:00.001-08:00

White Rainbows, a gallery by U.S. Yahoo! Editorial on Flickr.

Good Childhood Report 2012 | well-being | children's happiness | The Children's Society

2012-01-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

Good Childhood Report 2012 | well-being | children's happiness | The Children's Society:

must read.. ;-)

"Six priorities for a happy childhood

The charity argues that there are six priorities needed for a happy childhood. A supplementary report, Promoting Positive Well-Being for Children, also published today, sets out how they should be adopted by government and others as priorities when devising new policies that impact on children’s lives. These are:

The right conditions to learn and develop
A positive view of themselves and a respect for their identity
Enough of the items and experiences that matter to them
Positive relationships with their family and friends
A safe and suitable home environment and local area
The opportunities to take part in positive activities that help them thrive
"

'via Blog this'

Blog: A 300BC challenge for world & business leaders from MengZi (孟子/Mencius) to devise the best strategy

2012-01-12T05:19:00.000-08:00

Sovereign challenges are very much in the news in the pas years...

Some might argue that World leaders have sadly now mostly lost their ways, due to the the complexity of running a country and 'trying' to do their best = which usually means 'to stay in power', rather than doing what is really been 'asked' of them, which is to effectively run a country or even the world (effectively, like WTO/IMF/WorldBank) etc.. ... or just 'keep it afloat' (300 years old firms) or 'make it better' for the foreseeable future, or god forbid but "make it a success now and in the future" !!!

Below is what MengZi (孟子/Mencius, Chinese philosopher 372 – 289 BCE) who advised one of the King to devise the best government

居者有其屋_百度百科: This phrase ( Those who lives have Homes) is now in the everyday Chinese language that describe social housing.

His sage advice was:

"“居者有其屋！病者有其医！勤者有其业！劳者有其得！少者有其学！童年有其乐！读者有其校！弱者有其助！老者有其养！车者有其位！工者有其薪！农者有其地！商者有其利！优者有其荣！能者得其用！阅者有其悟！学者有其为”"

Based on Translate.google.com (& mostly changed by me, it does not translate well with poems, not that I am a poet!):

"Those who lives have Homes! Patients have their remedy/health! Those who work hard have their businesses! Workers get what they deserve! Youngsters have their schools! Children have their fun! Intellectuals have their Colleges! Weak have their help! Elderly have their support ! cars who have their parking place! Workers who work have their salary! Farmers can have their land! Businessmen have their profits! Those who excels deserves their fame! The able can be used! Those who read can understand! Those who studies have their use! "

Sadly, what happens with the present business and even government leaders is that they mostly create "businesses for sale" (i.e. short term, and don't care what happen to the companies after sale) and "government for survival" ( do what minimum what various stake holders /owed favours tell them to do.. without being toppled politically)... thus we have likes of government off balance sheet investing etc. look at the PPP investments (built public services using private money who wants profit, but its ok as they can pass the law whilst in power, see the BBC piece here. and watch it on BBC iPlayer)

various industry regulators are the same, but it merits another dedicated blog post which I will probably never write..

Without elaborating the obvious... surely, we should turn it around, as set them the MenZi challenge above, and if they can solve it, let them run the business, or government.. BUT if anything goes wrong, the director, or the Prime minister WILL take personal responsibilities... just like the Major/Colonel of the army, take the soldiers into battle and if they take personal consequences if they make the wrong decisions....

Common Sense!?? Surely...

@GarethWong

Brilliant campaign & simple creative..#hardandfast British Heart Foundation - Hands-only CPR

2012-01-08T04:55:00.000-08:00

British Heart Foundation - Hands-only CPR:

Brilliant campaign & simple creative..

well done!

Interesting indeed. Self Publishing - POD Book Publishing - A Study on the Numbers

2012-01-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

Self Publishing - POD Book Publishing - A Study on the Numbers:

Happy new year of 2012 to you all, is it worthwhile to learn from "Chinese work ethics"?? Why All the Hard Work? -- Beijing Review

2012-01-01T05:01:00.000-08:00

Why All the Hard Work? -- Beijing Review:

The above is indeed a pretty good article on the possible explanation to the 'hard work' Chinese psyche..

Sincerely hope that We the Chinese worldwide can do better and adhere to and propagate that work ethics, despite the invasion of the 'western' thinking, 'western' food, 'western' expectation of work 8hrs a day, five day weeks..

My observation is that, not only the capital market worldwide, but most western world (with a semi-decent benefit system) is totally against and remove the need for 'hard work' (moral hazards)...

For the old generation of Chinese or those that hold the old beliefs (like me) would prefer to work hard, and not to get any benefits even in time of needs.. sadly this is not going to be 'stick' with the new generations where they might prefer "lets re-mortgage" the house and 'live for today', rather than work hard & invest and live a little (vs a lot) but build for the future.. (Think reason why Chinese in China saves like no tomorrow!? as they have a lot of unexpected outgoings, including cost of surgery in some cases!)

Eitherway, guess key is to be happy. Whatever take your fancy...

as I am trying to teach my next generation, the harder you work, the sweeter your success (they are seeing some fruits of success now which is good, but took 8-10years of hard work, hope not too many westerners would learn to do the same so we keep the competitive edge!?? ) No doubt this already might not be the case for the new generation of 'little emperors' in China though!?

In new year of 2012, might be worthwhile to take stock & decide which side you would like to be on!? good luck!

Must read... piece, click through above to read what Valerie Sartor wrote for Beijing review.

"Carl Crow, an American newspaper man and businessman who opened up the first Western advertising agency in Shanghai in the 1940s, said in his book The Chinese Are Like That: "If it is true that the devil can only find work for idle hands, then China must be a place of very limited satanic activities."

Chinese literature and folklore have many moral tales about industrious farmers and peasants. The willingness to work hard and make maximum use of time has been highly valued in China since ancient times. Stories abound about farmers who go to their fields even during holidays, or of peasants who think not only of themselves and their families, but also of their community and future descendants."

my short comment/blog re Another View: MF Global's Corporate Governance Lesson - NYTimes.com

2011-12-18T06:22:00.000-08:00

Another View: MF Global's Corporate Governance Lesson - NYTimes.com:

Must read article.. below are my thoughts:

Surely, a well nurtured and fed \"compliance officer\" who has not got a board seat nor power could no do much, except raising alarm bells.. given the culture of even most CTO and senior most HR officers do not have board roles, means that this will not change anytime soon.
What is worst is that the capital market is veered towards tactical maneuvers to produce short term results, especially for main market listed major corporations..
It is no wonder that all we hear about is mis-use of funds, write-downs etc. after over expansions and bad acquisitions...
Surely what market needed is senior executives take on 'personal' liabilities to their decisions, in this case, like a Mr. Corzine LLP fund... then if his personal net-worth is in fact at risks.. by the decision he makes (& of course awards also), he would definitively be actively seeking AND taking heed of the feedback from the Chief Risk/compliance officer..
Reward must comes with equal amount of risks.. Sadly the present capital market is such that there is not that linkage anymore and every entity is aiming for the short term gains...
Sadly, all these better monitoring and ratios are still after the fact and trying to 'predict what has happened'.. what the whole capital market world desperately need is a 'predictive' eco-system, which sadly most 'power that be' are preferring the status quo.. can we blame them??
Unlike most of the top guys, these common sense approach can arguable be reach by only joe-blog like me who is not pondering from Monaco nor the Hamptons..
In short, we need a fundamental shift to the mindset and indeed the value chain before anything can be done, the well nurtured and fed compliance officers will then play a major role then, but sadly not before, as they are at present more to do what is asked & to keep the regulators happy.
Warmest seasons greetings to all.
Best regards
@GarethWong
Founder of GamBond®
(starting a new 'industry default risk'category)
http://gw.cxovip.org

"Ultimately, this is not about what really happened at MF Global between Mr. Corzine and the firm’s former chief risk officer. We will leave that to Congress, the regulators and, probably in the end, to the judicial process. Not every corporation loses track of $1 billion of customer funds; but just about every corporation has a compliance or risk officer function. So, the practical lesson from this mess is the risk associated with mishandling the compliance officer relationship. Or, more directly, the need for corporate leadership to be sensitive to the “care and feeding” of the compliance officer. For, as the news reports make so very clear, the cost of failing to do so is very high."

typical, divergence of short & long term view in China “淘宝大学”今天的创业将成为以后长期的失业 -四川在线-天府评论 & “淘宝大学” 一场短视教育的赌博

2011-12-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

“淘宝大学”今天的创业将成为以后长期的失业 -四川在线-天府评论:

This story relates to the YiWu college (http://www.ywu.cn/) who has nickname of being TaoBao University (equivalent of ebay university), it is not training for people to work for TaoBao, but using the TaoBao system to run business.. typically buy low sell high type of trading.

the above story described how short-term the view is, if students are only trained to use the present platforms to do lifestyle business (mostly using manpower vs systems) rather than building for the future/big business, it argued that they will become unemployed/unemployable in the future.

another similar story: “淘宝大学”, 一场短视教育的赌博 where it is even saying it is in fact a 'gamble' to study there..

This is very typical the challenge in China, where, the power that be might not be in the position of power long, hence they are most likely to be making 'non controversial' decisions.. to re-position the college to teach 'entrepreneurial' activities would have been a big 'leap of faith' already (I don't know the history) but in order to pass that, and get the trustees/owners to say ok, no doubt they position and customise the course in such a way that it is understood.. i.e. doing businesses on TaoBao.. it would seem that (I did see a Phoenix TV program on this topic) this was really the case, where a small proportion of students (better performing) are selected to join the more exclusive entrepreneurial course, where literally, students are encouraged AND expected to maintain their online store, source, distribute and send off orders during and after lectures.. some successful students would hire others to assist them.. more successful they are, more work they have, more things to manage, and less time to sleep NOR study... NOR relax..

for some in europe, this would be a dream course .. but not sure if they would have the dedication to make that happen...

the better way, some might argue (like the two articles above) would be to educate and train a 'well rounded' entrepreneur and get them ready for the wider world and able to create another TaoBao rather than 'using' TaoBao..

However, this does not address the key issue, i.e. what are the students capability/potential, what they could do, and what market may need (like a proper MBA)... but all these discussion might be meaningless, as those small percentage of successful entrepreneurs (apparently 7 out of 95) were and still probably are very happy and they might already are hiring most of the co-horts...

therefore, if this was the case, it might be a brilliant course for others to adopt not only in China/Asia but also rest of Europe and indeed UK... as it solves a big problem: Job creation!

big challenge in the western world is that the work force has been 'numbed and disincentivised to work by the benefit culture (vs workfare of US). as a result, people just are NOT driven to work.. see my previous blog based on a Sunday-times article by broadcaster John Humphries.

in short, it is a good 'problem' to have for Yiwu students, gamble or not gamble!

Solution to social cohesiveness/breakdown... "workfare"..!? Shameless Britain | The Sunday Times

2011-12-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

Shameless Britain | The Sunday Times:

Make sense.. but sadly no politician brave enough to do anything about it!

must read.

"So we’re back to perverse incentives. When Beveridge wrote his report in the 1940s he saw a nation in which there were vast numbers of people who were desperate to work if only they could get a job. Now there are many who have no incentive to get one because they are better off on benefits. The Centre for Social Justice, which was set up by Iain Duncan Smith, the welfare secretary, calculates that the number of households in which no one works has doubled over the past 15 years."

"What happens in a rich country when the government decides the benefits system is too generous? When Bill Clinton was president of the United States he said what no British politician would dare to say: America would “end welfare as we know it”. He declared a revolution. Instead of welfare, Americans would have “workfare”. Instead of the state paying its citizens to be idle, the citizen would have to find work. If not, the state would find something for them to do. And if they didn’t like what was on offer — sweeping up leaves, perhaps — then that’s just too bad. No work, no welfare."

True, we should not loose hope, us 'oldies'... The case for old entrepreneurs - The Washington Post

2011-12-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

The case for old entrepreneurs - The Washington Post:

Must read.. great article.

"Jones found that the average age at which Nobel laureates performed their prize-winning work, and the average age at which inventors had their great achievement, were both 39. The largest mass of great innovations in knowledge came in an inventor’s 30s (42%), but a substantial amount also came during their 40s (30%), and some (14%) came beyond the age of 50. Curiously, Jones found that the average age of innovators is rising. Over the last century, the average age of greatest achievement for both Nobel Prize winners and great tech inventors rose by about six years. Since 1985, it was 45. In fact, in both physics and chemistry during the past two to three decades, very little Nobel Prize–winning research has been done before age 40."

"Do people stop being creative as they reach middle age? Ben Franklin certainly didn’t. He invented the lightning rod when he was 44. He discovered electricity at 46. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence at 70, and he invented bifocals after that. Henry Ford introduced the Model T when he was 45. Sam Walton built Walmart in his mid-40s. Ray Kroc built McDonald’s in his early 50s. Some of the most creative people of the century were also not young. Ray Kurzweil published The Singularity Is Near in his 50s; Alfred Hitchcock directed Vertigo when he was 59; Frank Lloyd Wright built his architectural masterpiece, Fallingwater, when he was 68. And let’s not forget the greatest innovator of recent times: Steve Jobs. His most significant innovations—iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and iPad—came after he was 45."

nine-seat van, whose seats had all been removed, was crammed with 62 children (teacher & 15other ppl died), Getting to School Safely -- Beijing Review

2011-12-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

Getting to School Safely -- Beijing Review:

ACCIDENT SCENE: Rescuers work at the site of the traffic accident in Qingyang, Gansu Province, on November 16 that killed 19 preschool children and two adults (XINHUA)

Very sad!!

Incredible!!!

"At 9:15 a.m. on November 16, a van collided head-on with a heavy truck in Yulinzi Town, Zhengning County in Qingyang City. The van was shuttling children, accompanied by a teacher, to a private local kindergarten, and was driving on the wrong side of the road.

The saddest part of this accident is that the nine-seat van, whose seats had all been removed, was crammed with 62 children. The bus driver and four children were found dead on the scene, while the teacher and 15 other children died after being sent to hospital.

"

'via Blog this'

24th E/MBA club event with Paul Wong, MD UK Bosch security systems

2011-12-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

by Paul Israel November 2011

Thanks for Paul Wong EMBA01 support!

I thought I knew Bosch, I was wrong…

Bosch is everywhere... 60% of Bosch may be in automobile components, but this is just a bit of the story.

My new-founded respect for my extra-ordinary Bosch hedge-trimmer reflects a lot of what Paul Wong (EMBA 2001) told us on the 18th October in the EMBA club.

In a lively, highly inter-active presentation, with a fair dose of humour, Paul described the M & A process that Bosch security division went through in acquiring the UK/ Canadian company Extreme CCTV.

It was a surprise to us all, that Bosch was the fourth largest R and D spender globally and second in Europe through its 320 companies, and 281,000 employees, just under half of whom are in Germany, and 4,920 are presently based in the UK, including Paul's division - Bosch Security. Perhaps most surprisingly, like the giant Swiss Wilmsdorf Foundation (Rolex and Swatch), Bosch is 92% owned by a charitable foundation, really allowing it to think long term in its approach, though clearly it thinks and acts as a profitable organisation.

Bosch aims for 8% annual growth, of which 3% is to be by acquisition and 5% organic growth, which Paul says since the 2nd world war it has consistently achieved.

Paul was happy to report his appropriate use of CASS acquired skills (IRR/ NPV etc) on the valuation process in the Extreme CCTV acquisition, and the way Bosch grows by acquiring various young companies where through its in-built resources; it can offer scalability, economies of scale and global reach. Bosch also needs no external advisors as it has a very sophisticated in-house M and A division.

Extreme had a very interesting range of CCTV products, and Paul described how Bosch can "age' products in their lab to test for durability, they rebuilt the product so it could offer better scalability. Paul was frank in the aftermath of the recession in 2008 much of the supply chain for Extreme CCTV's units was in chaos and this was one element of due-diligence that could have been better.

We were handed around two very heavy products to see, ranging from £2k upto £25k these are the cameras to "watch over us" predominantly by the police and councils.

Paul also showed many of the new products coming soon, devices in your Mercedes that tells the car what the speed limit it, if it is slipping lane and helping night vision that seemed extra-ordinary and additionally security devices that covered fences and alas no stop parking spaces that will automatically hit you with a ticket! Perhaps most remarkable was the technology for the police that could quickly scan footage for say a red car, saving countless hours of work, and potentially lives in searching for terrorist suspects.

Paul concluded by saying in the fourth year, after re-designing the core extreme products it was now hitting positive cash-flow and delivering the full value it promised.

Cass resident M &A guru, Scott Moeller - of course - led on the entertaining questions.

Next time I am in the garden easily addressing any weed problems through my Bosch mini- hedge trimmer, I can be safe in the knowledge that the product testing and development can only have been second to none...

++++

Fellow City/Cass MBA who fancies joining future E/MBA club: http://CassAlumni.org

more pictures: http://cassalumni.net/Bosch/

Teenagers & kids should watch this, hope you can listen to the last comments.. Hard Times Generation: Families living in cars - 60 Minutes - CBS News

2011-12-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

Hard Times Generation: Families living in cars - 60 Minutes - CBS News:

Teenagers & kids should watch this, hope you can listen to the last comments by Aerielle... be grateful & thankful with what you have, as it might be last time you have that.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7389750n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox

very thought provoking,more ugly=better leaders!? lets all check ourself & others!?? "How Earlobes Can Signify Leadership Potential -HBR"

2011-11-30T04:09:00.000-08:00

How Earlobes Can Signify Leadership Potential - Harvard Business Review:

hhmm.. this is very thought provoking indeed.

do you have your own head shot?? check it out on: www.Anaface.com what are your score!??

"Subtle asymmetries aside, most research shows that facial symmetry conveys beauty and can help boost careers. How symmetrical is your face? To find out, upload a headshot toanaface.com. Here are three CEOs’ results (a perfect score is 10):

Charles Schwab, Charles Schwab: 8.43

Margaret C. Whitman, Hewlett-Packard: 8.25

Jeff Bezos, Amazon: 6.93"

"But our research shows that people with subtle asymmetries—for example, imbalances in ear or finger length—are often better “transformational” leaders, able to inspire followers to put self-interest aside for the good of the group. Furthermore, teams they lead outperform teams whose leaders have more-symmetrical bodies.

These findings add a new twist to the debate about whether effective leaders are born or made. We believe it’s not asymmetry per se that positions people to be good transformational leaders. Instead, we argue, these individuals’ childhood responses to others’ perceptions shape them for success.

"

'via Blog this'

why I still trust & support & keep on using @BlackBerry/RIM (Just! but what might tip me to search for alternative) with pictures..

2011-11-24T02:10:00.000-08:00

I have been a crackberry user since RIM/BlackBerry started to move from pager into mobile.. some pictures of our his & her phones below (yes I convinced my other half to use it also due to constant travel, time zones management etc.) below are some thoughts of why I am still supportive of BlackBerry so far but some warnings/concerns for what might tip me/us over.

Why I still like/trust BlackBerry and still aim/want to use it until I have no choice:

1.) Security, the multiple layers of securities, 2much to name, but for those that don't know, if anyone try my pin too many times, and got it wrong, my trusted BlackBerry will erase itself (does not erase the media card though, you thief can still get my hands on my 32GIG of music!)

2.) timezone management, it is a breeze, especially for those weekly (not as much now) in 2/3 timezones, it is a godsend, when we can schedule/check/compare/accept/reject what is demand of us.

3.) totally secure BBM, device & device communication via PIN, despite having 2 technical degree, but without disclosing the standards (perceived weakness now on part of RIM), idea is that our BBM messages is totally secure (despite it is sometimes used to organise family schedules...)

4.) pretty high capacity contact database (mine is now running locally on the RIM at 22,700+ contacts/14meg of data [yes a good proportion of top guys/CXOs, but a lot of not so important like myself]

5.) Precise device, i have not seen any other device that has all the keyboard shortcut AND "autotext" feature that I can use to reply and essentially type paragraphs without really typing it, brilliant!

there is one more but I am not listing ..

when it works, the blackberry rarely crash, i have to admit it is doing more these days but it is with combination of other reasons highlighted below, namely bab 'device memory management' and of course before the almost 1 working week failure, the BlackBerry network rarely crashed!

All-in-all, now that the system is working again, unless something tip it over, I am happy to keep on using blackberry and happy to still recommend them.. with caveat that redundancy is addressed. (but of course the system wide failure could have been a DDOS attack by group/faction/government but RIM cannot publicly admit to the vulnerability, and if so, my sympathy is with them, we have seen that in the gaming technology forum, and they should get in touch with me and maybe share some best practice with RIM).

In order to break the inerstia and for me to ditch oure his & hers:

1.) still bad memory /device management: I personally think RIM has been trying to please & be everything to everyone... despite keep on increasing gigabytes to device and SD card memory, I think the management is still rubbish, and hence we have to pay/buy indpendent application to 'manage' the memory.. now to do it pre-emptive, I also have to daily use these applications, why oh why I have to pay for them and update is beyond me, RIM just buy these companies will you!? : * memory booaster * Battery Saver * Back light * Quick Pull *

2.) blackberry applications, both RIM's own and 3rd party via the app world, sadly there is NO control of the quality but most importantly the size and efficiency of the applications what so ever!!! all typically will double in size everytime the software needs upgrading (2meg to 4meg). it has become ridiculous, so I do not update them, you knew that we will not have space for your free apps, right?

3.) reliability, there has been half day or a day or so breakdown here or there throughout the last 10+years but the last 4days outage was not acceptable. even if blackberry/RIM is not disclosing the reasons, it should be putting all R&D and efforts into making sure that it will NEVER happen again, go and get help if you don't know how... get this sorted!!!

my suggestion is to get better marketing help and strategic positioning, you have great product and just need to improve more and I hope I will still be using you in the coming years..

honest feedback is difficult to hear/listen to, like harsh words from parents for their flesh & blood.. hope this is taken positively.

I really don't want to search ....

signing out
@GarethWong

Jackson Hole, Wyoming copied in China’s Wild West - By Megha Rajagopalan | Foreign Policy

2011-11-24T02:06:00.000-08:00

China’s Wild West - By Megha Rajagopalan | Foreign Policy:

Jackson Hole, Wyoming replica in China for the riches..

very interesting indeed.

suggest reading the article and also checkout the website:

http://www.yxmlj.com/ (it does look like spam but its short in chinese!)

Staring into the abyss | The Economist

2011-11-21T04:56:00.000-08:00

Staring into the abyss | The Economist:

The picture below says it all!

very tough one..

Understandable, my comments re Why Big Corporations Are Putting the Brakes on Social Media | Blog | Daily Dose | Entrepreneur.com

2011-11-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

Why Big Corporations Are Putting the Brakes on Social Media | Blog | Daily Dose | Entrepreneur.com:

there might be good reasons for this.

IMHO, social media engagement need to be top down, rather than bottom up.. especially for big corporations, as social media executives would need to be 'empowered' to engage, escalate, and hopefully resolve potential challenges.. (otherwise, it would just be lip service, which would be counter productive, and created many faux pas..)

but in big corporations, the leaders are generally not really that 'secure' (unless they founded the firm and/or have majority ownership, i.e. tenure not certain, but even so, maximum 3-6years) ... thus, opportunity cost dictates that they should put most energy into

1.) growing the company top & bottom line (esp. for listed firms)

2.) doing the internal & external politics

3.) looking at doing more M&A (either for real growth or to confuse market/shareholders)

than investing into social media..

and sadly, bigger the firm, the more 'old school' the leaders are.. some top guys I know now still don't do their own emails, but with their daily schedules managed down to 10/15minutes slots.. therefore, not likely they would be able to use let alone understand the need of social media...

At the end of the day though, surely this is great opportunities for the smaller/mid size firms as they can use social media to level the playing field.

in fact this is a great status quo, maybe not so for the sudden arrival of multitude of social media experts/gurus who are trying to sell their services.. ;-)

just a thought.

@GarethWong

@CXOEurope

New study on environmental impacts of MSC programme published , News — MSC

2011-11-06T04:19:00.000-08:00

News — MSC:

Of course, some might argue this might be biased (comes from news release of MSC..)

but IMHO, whatever can be done to help & make a sustainable ways of fishing would be very important!!!

"Fisheries engaged in the MSC certification programme show progressive improvement in environmental performance from pre-assessment through assessment, certification and post-certification, an independent analysis published today shows.

Fisheries showed both quantifiable environmental changes, such as improved stock status and reduced bycatch, as well as increases in knowledge and certainty about ecosystem impacts. This trajectory of improvement was documented through changes in key indicators of environmental performance starting at pre-assessment and continuing through and beyond certification.

"

'via Blog this'

Robert Hughes, Jr.: The Long-Term Effects Of Divorce On Young Adult's Intimate Relationships

2011-10-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

Robert Hughes, Jr.: The Long-Term Effects Of Divorce On Young Adult's Intimate Relationships:

very interesting indeed.

"This finding means that one of the key factors in fostering the long-term well-being of children of divorce is through strengthening positive parent-child relationships. For this study, a positive parent-child relationship was more important for women than men, but the importance of these adolescent relationships should not be overlooked as we think about programs and policies to foster the long-term health of children.

"

'via Blog this'

my (no doubt insightful) comments re: 'Groupon Is A Disaster'

2011-10-24T03:10:00.000-07:00

'Groupon Is A Disaster':

Henry, your comment is fair, but sadly the fundamental proposition of Groupon is sadly wrong.. as I eluded to in the previous private tweets via @GarethWong (a real negative of tweets due to it focuses on real time mainly, does it get archived anywhere!?)

but I did finally blogged it as comments on @pedHub here: http://garethcxo.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-response-prediction-pehub-depressing.html

In short, yes, by all means give Groupon (& other startup) time, but since it is so easily emulated and it mainly rely on 'next deal' (& not return business from vendors' PoV), very much like a bottom feeding investment banking model.. which any investment banks can tell you it does not and will not work. Look at the all the deaths of multitudes of 'boutique' advisory/research firms that spring up after the credit crunch.. most lucky ones have returned to work in big banks now.

however though, this is not to say people cannot make money from this uncertainty and 'money making opportunity' of Groupon listing.. I would say for certain that VCs that already has a piece to the investment banks that are advising, to the really savvy investors who can buy and sell 'soon enough'... sadly though, there will be quite a bit of tears going forward when the IPO comes though. that is my gut feel and I hope I will be wrong in this one.

Good luck to you all.

@GarethWong

We have proof now!! Which are the "1318 co.? Revealed – the capitalist network that runs the world - physics-math - 19 October 2011 - New Scientist

2011-10-20T00:09:00.000-07:00

Revealed – the capitalist network that runs the world - physics-math - 19 October 2011 - New Scientist:

I knew it, but its great to have some proof..

Must read!

Which are the "1318 transnational corporations" that runs and own the world!?

With Time Running Short, Steve Jobs Managed His Farewells - NYTimes.com

2011-10-14T04:54:00.000-07:00

With Time Running Short, Steve Jobs Managed His Farewells - NYTimes.com:

Must read!

Model for me for sure.

Lets all claim our rights to our family's privacy!

Healthy Eating, Calcium and Milk: What's Best for Your Bones and Health? - What Should I Eat? - The Nutrition Source - Harvard School of Public Health

2011-10-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

Calcium and Milk: What's Best for Your Bones and Health? - What Should I Eat? - The Nutrition Source - Harvard School of Public Health:

I do like milk, but its eye opener to be sure that we will be drinking with eye wide opened..

now you know its potentially cancer inducing & maybe better to eat other calcium rich food.. suggest you read that article above!

Also check out the

"Start here to learn more about the new Healthy Eating Plate, created by nutrition experts at Harvard School of Public Health, in conjunction with Harvard Health Publications."

1997 Video Explains the Marketing Genius of Steve Jobs | Digital - Advertising Age

2011-10-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

1997 Video Explains the Marketing Genius of Steve Jobs | Digital - Advertising Age:

This is the best...

simple theories.. but making it happen persistently.. can you??

suggest you click through to see the link above also.

The Power of Persuasion

2011-10-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

The Power of Persuasion:

The Power of Persuasion

good list of BEST 5 from @mashable 10 Excellent Examples of Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns [VIDEOS]

2011-10-04T01:03:00.000-07:00

10 Excellent Examples of Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns [VIDEOS]:

we are all very busy.. but suggest you click through to see full list above.

otherwise, below are the best five I have selected...

For simplicity & Scalability in B2C (using technology like Wifi), you gotta learn from this:

Most useful for low budget people, car stickets for insurance website:

Social/charity issue like helping raise awareness & money for clean water (UNICEF):

Interesting list indeed. the first one was best..

not sure if airport authority sanctioned it.. what do you think??

sadly don't think it is even doable now in 2011 post 9/11.

like this for appealing to the 'greed' of people:

any Acid tests? Davies report on Women on boards, Feb 2011 (pdf)

2011-09-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

Great summary below from 30% club:

Fact of the matter is, if boards are aware of the material impact on the bottom line having women on the board.. then surely the competitive pressure and opportunity cost would mean they would also want to appoint women!??

of course if there is also a good pool of talent around! or am I missing something!?

"We welcome the recommendations contained in the Davies Report, published in February 2011, which calls strongly for concerted voluntary action by UK companies to redress the gender imbalance of UK boards.

The report requires that all Chairmen of FTSE 350 companies set out the percentage of women they aim to have on their boards in 2013 and 2015. FTSE 100 boards should aim for a minimum of 25% female representation by 2015.

Furthermore, all CEOs are required to review the percentage of women they aim to have on their executive committees in 2013 and 2015.

The deadline for announcing these goals is September 2011."

'via Blog this'

Amazon Kindle Fire’s Silk browser sounds privacy alarm bells | Naked Security

2011-09-29T00:54:00.000-07:00

Amazon Kindle Fire’s Silk browser sounds privacy alarm bells | Naked Security:

food for thought indeed.

"It sounds as if Amazon will install a trusted certificate in the Silk browser allowing them to provide a man-in-the-middle (MITM) SSL proxy to accelerate your SSL browsing as well.

As Amazon is a US based company this would enable a US court order to intercept and record your secure communications.

Fortunately Amazon will support an "off-cloud" mode for Silk. This lets users opt-out of the benefits of using EC2 while retaining the traditional privacy benefits of connecting directly to remote web sites.

While most of us roll our eyes when confronted with long privacy policies and pages of legalese, privacy risks lurk around every corner. If you buy a Fire device, think carefully as to whether your privacy is worth trading for a few milliseconds faster web surfing experience.

"

'via Blog this'

I would like to argue its 1) Vision, 2) balls & then 3) courage! CEOs Need Courage - Jeffrey Pfeffer - Harvard Business Review

2011-09-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

CEOs Need Courage - Jeffrey Pfeffer - Harvard Business Review:

I would like to argue CEOs would need:

1) right Vision first,

2) then balls to make it happen

3) & then courage to stick to it as this article mentioned!

"One might think that in a world of soaring CEO salaries, the high pay would have produced innovative and courageous leaders who both know and do the right thing for the long-term well-being of their enterprises. But that's not what goes on. For the most part, CEOs hire outside experts to help them benchmark — as though you could benchmark your way to the top. And they pay way too much attention to business pundits and analysts who are great at commenting on what has gone on but poor prognosticators of the future (if I had a dollar for every person who has written Apple off in the past as being irrelevant in the market, I could retire).

"

'via Blog this'

How to kickstart your co-creation platform - 20 examples

2011-09-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

How to kickstart your co-creation platform - 20 examples:

very interesting!

How to kickstart your co-creation platform - 20 examples

View more presentations from Board of Innovation (BOI)

State Of The Internet 2011 by OnlineSchools

2011-09-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

State Of The Internet 2011:

thanks for @BrentHoberman pointing out

nice cool simulation indeed..

Created by: Online Schools

Pew Finds Many Children Fall Out of the Middle Class as Adults - The Pew Charitable Trusts

2011-09-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

Pew Finds Many Children Fall Out of the Middle Class as Adults - The Pew Charitable Trusts:

"Those who are divorced, widowed or separated are more likely to fall down the economic ladder than those who are married.

If men and women raised in a middle-class home obtain education after high school, they are less likely to be downwardly mobile.
"

very interesting read.

suggest you check out the full report pdf.

'via Blog this'

catastrophe insurance vertical hit (naturally) UPDATE 1-Australia's QBE cuts insurance margin fcast, shares hit | Reuters

2011-09-12T03:23:00.000-07:00

UPDATE 1-Australia's QBE cuts insurance margin fcast, shares hit | Reuters:

plus other verticals within insurance/re-insurance being hit, it is surprising that not much visible efforts been done to look for 'new markets'... it is surely a bit strange!? ;-)

"Large catastrophe claims for the financial year to date came from storms and a cyclone in Australia's Queensland state, storms in the state of Victoria, other storms in Australia, New Zealand's Christchurch earthquake, the Japan earthquake and eight major tornadoes in the United States.

QBE is not alone. Global insurers including Travelers Cos (TRV.N), Allstate Corp (ALL.N) and MetLife (MET.N) have also warned of difficulties following an unprecedented start to the year for the industry. [ID:nN10172421].

"

'via Blog this'

UK commuters complaining!? look at how crammed Photos of the Day: Aug. 30 - Photo Journal - WSJ

2011-08-31T04:11:00.000-07:00

Photos of the Day: Aug. 30 - Photo Journal - WSJ:

My comments re: THE APPLE INVESTOR: The Changing Of The Guard. What's Next?

2011-08-27T03:02:00.000-07:00

my comments to the post above.

Acid test would be the next 3-5yrs..

gut feel is that no one (Tim included )cannot replace Steve.

Tim can sail for 1-2yrs max on tailwind of what Steve's put in place, remember, running a ship is very different from pioneering it to uncharted territories and managing (in some case squeezing/coercing) partner boats along the way by sharing the pioneer's vision AND Faith of where the destination is...

Industry dynamics dictates that it would also depends on whether the PC & mobile industries can get their act together AND collaborate and take down the beast of Apple (in some of their eyes, but for some Church of Apple) whilst during the transition..

One thing is for sure, it would be interesting to watch, hope Tim can still be the captain in 3 years time, good luck & god bless to both Steve & Tim indeed..

A still not yet Apple user (I did buy the at the time top of range 40G iPod, used few times as backup HD whilst travelling)..

@GarethWong

Future of gaming & media (converged entertainment) & social network (Facebook): @Guardian ITV signs gaming deals for Simon Cowell's Red or Black?

2011-08-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

This is a very significant piece of news for the converging entertainment sector (media+gaming) for multiple reasons. Because if the show is a success, it will provide:

1.) Strategic incremental source of income:

Media & rights owners are all looking for sustainable incremental revenue in addition to creating & selling new AAA formats (given the state of media fragmentation & decreasing of traditional advertising revenue)

2.) opportunities to find /define the right business model(s) for the converged gaming entertainment category

(media sector has been looking for hits like "Deal or No Deal" for years.. what they need is something more fundamental, like a 'black box' that can be added to program to easily monetise and bring value= that can easily be replicated across international markets in terms of interactive engagement & business model.) Do note that even Facebook is now accepting gaming dollars this week!

3.) a bridge to bring "trust & confidence" between media & format owners AND the gaming gambling sector.

[i.e. Simon Cowell's Syco (production co.) and ITV Studios were looking to have partnership with Camelot (UK national lottery) but since that discussion broken down, they settled with Gamesys (who has long experiences of partnering with published newspaper and media brands already...]

ITV has its unique challenges... since the closure of ITV Play due to PRS (premium rate services) scandal (despite it earned reportedly £26m within six months of launch, on Guardian 5Mar07!), and after a then new chairman Michael Grade come & gone (with Adam Crozier in power, but despite"ITV turns the corner but still needs direction for the future (1Aug10)". ) Therefore, ITV is desperate to find the 'next big thing' in supplementing cash flow without jeopardising their brand/trust with consumers.

Given the above piece of news, no doubt the whole media & entertainment sector worldwide is watching with eagle eyes to see "Red & Black"'s launch & results with muted excitement (no doubt secretly hoping it will be successful, but not that successful.)

Acid test that Red & Black will prove itself in terms of combination of:

A.) ratings & big draw of audience AND interactive participations..

B.) technically resilient (as no doubt it will need to scale up)

C.) the revenue model and expectations of not only viewers (participants) are managed & met

D.) being done responsibly given the previous history of PRS...

E.) given early success of A-D, we will see a lot of copy cats from other production companies (maybe via other formats) or indeed coming out of brands and might even host the games on their corporate B2C website (note the news above or on excerpt below that it will not be on the ITV.com website as yet! arms length still)

F.) as & when likes of Virgin Games (existed since 2006) ramp up, the basis of competitions for the hearts & mind of the consumers will be very much different indeed (or indeed from other trusted brands in the local market, how about "Saks fifth avenue's Black & White weekend" or "BBC coin flips for charity"...

We might not need to wait too long to find out!! let the Big Boy's games begin!

===

"ITV strikes deal with gambling company Gamesys and social TV firm Monterosa for paid-for and free games based on show"

"ITV has signed deals with two companies to produce a range of free and paid-for games based on Simon Cowell's new big-budget primetime show Red or Black?.

The show, which will be fronted by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, gives contestants the chance to win £1m on the spin of a wheel.

ITV has signed a deal with online gambling company Gamesys to produce a series of four pay-to-play games based on the branding of the gameshow.

The games – called Red or Black Slots, Red or Black Instant, Red or Black Hi Lo and Red or Black Stacks – will be available at www.jackpotjoy.com.

The games will be promoted with a TV ad campaign and will cost from 5p to 50p to play. They will not be made available through ITV.com." Please do refer to full story above link or here.

Convergence of On&offline, the only real opportunity! Google agrees to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion - latimes.com

2011-08-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

Google agrees to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion - latimes.com

forget about the valuations etc.

key is future cash flow and how to protect it..

only way is to create/buy and protect IP .. more offline business (manufacturing, distribution/brands) the better.. yes, sometimes (short-term) it does not make sense from valuation and shareprice point of view.. but hey, it make perfect sense now to 'change the game'..

this is a brilliant start, and hopefully others will follow..

Now the next challenge is how best to do the post merger integration AND re-invent oneself... golden standard would be how to beat apple at its game..

Google may have a chance here .. but as offline tech.people might be able to remind google the buyer, MOT might not have been best in creating user friendly solution (despite technically very competent and one of the market's best!)..

It will prove to be interesting indeed. I for one want more choice vs. IOS/iPhone/iPad..

@GarethWong

old but applicable still! one should adopt "drip feed of non-linear selective programming" 4 future generations! on documentary Starsuckers - YouTube

2011-08-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

Starsuckers - YouTube

Totally recommend for sure, still as applicable and timeless despite the latest development with the Murdoch empire!

It has not given direction as to a solution though! which is what can be done to protect our future generations!? drip feed of non-linear selective programming I would say..

and add 'tonnes of salt' on whatever one hear/listen/watch.. and try to educate oneself on whatever the issue.. may we live in interesting time!!

Must read! very insightful GroupM China and CIC identify ‘Luxury Voice’ in Chinese Social Media

2011-08-10T03:12:00.000-07:00

GroupM China and CIC identify ‘Luxury Voice’ in Chinese Social Media:

this is fantastic insights..

click through above 4 more.

"Showing-off as Top Buzz Driver
A ‘Shai‘ culture has evolved with the development of the luxury market in the digital world, and is mentioned in 90% of the conversations on brands. Essentially, to ‘Shai‘ is to show-off your good taste and purchasing power.

Chinese Consumers are ‘in the Show’
Currently, Chinese netizens can be considered ’in the show‘ phase of enjoying luxury brands. That is to say, consumers are ready and willing to show off their purchasing power but they still lack the know-how to leverage brands to create a stylish and sophisticated lifestyle."

Real danger of "surface water flooding" for London, London Assembly report on For a Rainy Day | Greater London Authority

2011-07-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

For a Rainy Day | Greater London Authority:

London Assembly's report on Flooding for London! watch below video of Darren Johnson, Deputy Chair of Environmental Committee, London Assembly:

"Recommendations
The Committee says the Mayor should:
Ensure surface water flood risk information is publicly available, alongside information for householders of what they can do if they are in a flood risk area.
Extend a funding scheme for green roofs to include other forms of sustainable drainage and use sustainable drainage, if possible, in GLA group property.
Retain and show a plan to achieve his target to restore 15km of rivers in his Climate Change Adaptation Strategy.
Support a call for water companies to be able to work directly with householders to correct misconnected drains.
Take steps to identify and secure funding for work to reduce flood risk in London."

finding something positive & delivering from prison education..? @PBS How to Succeed in Business by Really, Really Trying | PBS NewsHour | PBS Video

2011-07-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

How to Succeed in Business by Really, Really Trying | PBS NewsHour | PBS Video

George perez, after serving 12yrs of drug dealing & homicide "apply same negative energy & revert it & change into positive energy for anything!"

Max Kenner, BRAD Prison Initiative, "Its not a good thing we find such extraordinary talents in this situation, it is a tragedy"...

Maybe something can be learnt from this positive story for UK & Europe??

Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.

(Do U agree?/?) Download: Turning Venture Capital into Wisdom: Why returns in Europe are now outpacing the U.S. | Earlybird Jason

2011-07-28T02:27:00.000-07:00

Download: Turning Venture Capital into Wisdom: Why returns in Europe are now outpacing the U.S. | Earlybird Jason

Interesting take indeed.. one for my weekend read for sure.

download the full PDF here from Jason's site.

wonder if you agree at all though?

Earlybird Europe Venture Capital Report

View more presentations from earlybirdjason

My comments, 3KSFs (Key Success Factors) re peHUB » TALK BACK: Will Google+ Displace Facebook?

2011-07-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

peHUB » TALK BACK: Will Google+ Displace Facebook?:

As promised to @laragon /Lawrence, I will comment to one of the PeHub post soon... hope this fulfils my promise. ;)

I think to adopt the Buddhism motto, "everything is meaningless" could be a good approach, .. let me explain:

especially in the online/startup world (hight capital expenditure world of telecommunication is different), due to their nature, even likes of google, facebook and even microsoft could change their business/direction/products/T&Cs on a drop of a hat... what does that mean to users and or loyalty??

as the Google+ might just be the favourite new baby daughter now (& google labs!?) how soon would the public sentiment/expectation change (and boy they do!) and then the new service becomes the ugly sister that no one want to know?

Therefore, unless and until one of these system/product(s) become so integrated with our OFFLINE lives that we cannot live without them (literally), then, that product/services would be the winner..

As otherwise, everything is meaningless.. as the barrier to entry is not that high (in the online world), loyalty is limited (especially for startups or even subsidiaries of big corporates, Apple excluded), and there will ALWAYS be the next favourite daughter of the month..

Ultimately, winner probably exhibit all of the following:

1.) when the taxi /cab drivers are talking about the product, NOT ONLY as a fad but USING such service actively/daily

2.) service move closer to the money/cash flow (guess google checkout is one? more powerful than buying virtual goods via facebook for example, yes hardcore gaming live or die by their virtual lives but that is considered as 'addiction' which is typically single % of target audience)

3.) networking effect sets in that target NOT only online communities but also rest of the population, including the old ladies in the mall /local markets (who probably do not yet use internet but has a mobile only..)

but then again, thats only from my tinted boring glasses (my typical medium to long term view..), as I don't look at short term sadly, a good example, I observe each start-up a year before I use them (blogger.com , twitter etc.) .. not sure if I should be proud to say that I joined facebook using my business school email address before the free for all now.. (I did wait!)

Based on my above thought process then, I would probably bet on Google+ though (despite i do not use it yet!)

@GarethWong

"Now, we’ll watch over the next 24 months as each of these Internet titans slug it out for the title of most dominant social network. The brewing brouhaha also leaves plenty of questions, and that’s where you come in, dear readers: Who will win? And, is the title of “top social network” a permanent role, or one that is bound to shift every few years to the “next big thing?” Also, what is the impact that will be felt by businesses dependent on Facebook’s and Google’s reach for their advertising and subscription revenue — who will be winners and losers?"

My comments re: Real Business - Dragons' Den 2011: seven facts you didn't know

2011-07-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

Real Business - Dragons' Den 2011: seven facts you didn't know

One need to look at this as 'entertainment', and take everything with a pinch of salt.

If you look at company house, there are hundreds of entrepreneur/companies that are bigger than the so called dragons.. and if you take into account of the rest of the europe, and worldwide, this is definitely a small fish in a small pond.. but hey it is great entertainment for some, and why not!? (thankfully for us, most just focus on doing & growing their own businesses!)

I was approached when the first season to pitch, but it was limited to max £25k and I already told them that it would be self selective to lifestyle business..

Dragon's den certainly serves its purpose:

1) raise profile of potential companies that has thought through business/product plans (most sadly have not, and no doubt for 'fun' of the ruthless panelists)

2) message egos for the dragons, some needed more than others

3) create a great format for rights owner/producer(s) in the appropriate countries..

sadly as per mentioned above, if you are a serious business, you might as well follow the normal channels (Angels/VCs/PEs) and they would not be as greedy as the so called dragons.. and they would have more respect for you behind closed doors, and not to dress you down as entertainment for the world to see...

Of course though, it is self selective, as I know for sure given the chance, some CXOs would be confident enough to give the dragons a run for their money & give them right "dress down", but they would not waste their time doing that for sure.. Life is too short, why teach other people's children?

good entertainment for sure, as good as "true blood" of the Business World, BUT without Anna Paquin & other semi-decent babes sadly..

@GarethWong

already has 30% discount! guess no"buy 1 get 1 free!" FSA fines insurance broker £6.9m for anti-corruption failings - New Model Adviser® -Citywire

2011-07-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

FSA fines insurance broker £6.9m for anti-corruption failings - New Model Adviser® Edition - Citywire:

Here is Brendan McManus, CEO Willis ltd.'s response.

It is a very competition world.. but sometimes one still need to strike balance between profit/growth vis ethics..

challenge is when it gets to a grey area.. where if a certain country that is the ONLY way of business, what does one do then??

It would be great if all countries/busiensses all play to the same rule.. sadly however, it is never easy nor would people play ball..

tough one this.

"The fine is the biggest imposed by the FSA in relation to financial crime systems and controls. It would have been £9.85 million but Willis qualified for a 30% discount as it agreed to settle with the FSA at an early stage."

Only one stupid simple question: Why not monitor "present cash flow"? Volcker criticises plans for UK banking reforms | Cass Business School, +video

2011-07-20T02:52:00.000-07:00

Volcker criticises plans for UK banking reforms | Cass Business School:

see this picture large on black

Got a spare hour? I heartily recommend you invest it listening to, and watching Volcker's excellent speech (pdf). (Volcker video via this link) (I was there, though strategically positioned in the camera’s blind spot. I hope.)

Neither my experience nor intellect are comparable to those of Mr. Volcker, but there is one question, however ignorant, which I was bursting to ask him. I suspect Dean Richard guessed it, and therefore deliberately passed over me, in favour of a woman from Citi.

My question is this: "Why don’t we get ‘back to basics’, and monitor the present cash flow of the regulated companies?"

All capital ratio and stress tests are based on the markets’ consensus of what they 'might need' to prevent another crisis.

Sadly, however, other than all the regulatory proposal studies and limited retrenchments (which still needed to be sorted out, even at Sovereign debt level), it seems to me that in 2011, we’re back to the pre-credit crunch level of finance merry go-around. That includes banks, whether investment or clearing, pension funds, VC/PE, insurance, re-insurance, hedge funds and alternative risk finance firms.

I am not expert on Basel III either, but once again, if the collective brilliance of human minds can predict and manage risk in a responsible manner (which it mostly manages to until disaster strikes), we would not have near market failure events like the credit crunch, nor even the aftermath of Japan’s earthquakes. As natural diasters ARE intrinsically NOT predictable, creating a set of rules (no matter how brilliant) to second guess the likely capital requirements, or deciding how high to build the coast wall to prevent tsunamis breaking through, are nearly impossible tasks.

Some might argue that I am biased, but this is a critical and fundamental question that needs to be answered.

(Full disclosure: I have spent my last 6/7 years working to create an industry default risk insurance/re-insurance sector. The competitive landscape means that most regulators will have to take into account all stake holders' needs and regulate accordingly, but we should take time out to look for "ANOTHER Way".)

Therefore, surely it is now time to investigate, and invest in, an alternative capital market model that:

1.) Shortens the value chain.
2.) Focuses upon the viability of companies as a whole rather than segregating and securitising chunks of companies or operations when, as we know, even the companies themselves do not know how events might unfold.

I am a very boring, stupid person, who doesn't own stocks, and more to the point, doesn't really understand the price of instruments that typically have no relationships with the underlying assets, but purely on counter party demand and supply.

Maybe someone can change my mind. There’s nothing wrong with people buying and selling (though this is not my point), just not when it adversly affects the boring assets I own.

I digress. The event closed with a vote of thanks from very gracious Sir Malcolm Williamson:

====

Paul Volcker: "He told a packed audience of students, alumni and City professionals that 'critical details are lacking' in the proposals put forward by the Coalition government's Independent Commission on Banking (ICB).

'The question will inevitably arise as to the financial and regulatory logic of maintaining a 'retail bank' as part of what in most cases would appear a much larger highly diversified and 'systemically significant' organization,' he said.

'In any event, the nagging overriding question will still arise: how to deal with the imminent or actual failure of such a large, systemically significant, financial institution whether or not it is a 'bank'.'

Mr Volcker, who was chairman of President Barack Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board until early this year, also said he was concerned by attempts to 'resist new regulatory discipline for fear of impairing the markets'.

He said: 'When we count in the enormous economic losses consequent to the collapse of the financial system, the case for pressing forward with thoroughgoing reform should be uncontested.'"

Surely the opportunity is 'reverse' of search"!?? How Does Google Make the Big Bucks? An Infographic Answer | Epicenter | Wired.com

2011-07-19T18:18:00.000-07:00

How Does Google Make the Big Bucks? An Infographic Answer | Epicenter | Wired.com

gr8 infograph..

this shows surely who ever that can create the new category of 'reverse of search' which is surely the 'holy grail'!?? ;-)

my question 4 @FDestin: European VC Needs Revolution, Not Evolution

2011-07-18T03:18:00.000-07:00

Destin: European VC Needs Revolution, Not Evolution

Lack of competition & transparencies between successful & exited/exiting entrepreneurs also play a role.

e.g. As kings of UK industries typically would retire as tax exiles with few/ tens of millions (likewise for European key cities like Hamburg/Paris etc.) and they rarely have 'healthy' competitions despite bumping into each other in St.Moritz or Saint Tropez...

Unlike the NYC/SFO/Boston bunch where people (as I see it from afar & few I met whilst I was there), seems to be more driven even after becoming multi-millionaire... or maybe because culturally they care more about what other think of them? or have I read that all wrong?

European seem to be too polite and respect each other and respectfully keeping the distance and enjoying (in some cases preferring) the anonymity... (look at Monaco)

Could this all be due to long established European culture?? (outlook of life/business/competitions)...?

Fred, you seem to be expert and I would be keen to have your insights in this!?

@GarethWong

Bridging the Baby Gap | Fast Company

2011-07-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

Bridging the Baby Gap | Fast Company

Nice use of creativity indeed!

help educate & save babies..

well done BMB!

my short comments on @Loic Needs To Get His Head Out Of His Silicon Valley

2011-07-09T03:58:00.000-07:00

Loic Needs To Get His Head Out Of His Silicon Valley

gracious reply Loic, give me more respect and inclination to join LeWeb (sadly not managed yet),

Its sadly a systemic issue, not that the startup 'wanted' to copy but surely

1.) there might be quite a few startup that take a global view but the money man themselves (even HNW/UHNWs or VCs/PEs) take national or even for some regional views mainly, and some might prefer to only fund #safer# copy cat startups (with view for trade-sale), rather than original ideas?? (~funder preference of copy cats)

2.) there might not be enough transparencies AND competitions between VCs/PEs and Super Angels (HNWs/UHNWs) across the EU & RoW/Asia so they take more regional/international views as quite a few of MoneyMan just exit and retire as tax exiles and not like the valley where they are indoctrinated to make the next millions/billions and take some more risks.. (~peer pressure?)

3.) given the 1.) & 2.) above, entrepreneurs that are funded usually would only take the shorter term and national/regional views.. and only handful of them get funded with worldwide ambitions.. but even for those lucky world-view ones: some might have to move to the States as there is a bigger homogeneous market for growth, like @Bandrew Alex Kelleher @alexkelleher etc. (~still migrate to US)

Hence with my broken english, I would like to assert that we need in fact more competitions/transparencies and drives from across the market and across countries/industries, hence creating more opportunities and potential success for funders and the funded..

Keen to see if you agree or not as I would like to learn more.

However, in my B2B world, especially in finance/insurance/re-insurance, sadly I think most have not heard of what LeWeb or even TechCrunch is.. (yet).. which I trust no doubt will be changed. (mind you, some of the CXO levels guys I know do not even carry their own cards, let along use emails! Twitter for them is a different language)

@GarethWong

The Future of Mobile Payments [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

The Future of Mobile Payments [INFOGRAPHIC]

great info-graphic..

===

Another proof the WW gaming market is stagnating if SIN>Vegas, Casinos and gambling in Singapore: Singapore transforms into a gambling hot spot

2011-06-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

Casinos and gambling in Singapore: Singapore transforms into a gambling hot spot - latimes.com:

this is incredible,

As I have mentioned many times when I spoke in conferences (which I don't do much now), biggest challenge of the worldwide gaming gambling sector is one of the addressable market is in fact limited and not growing as much as the capacity (especially offline) is growing/grown.

real opportunity thus is the products or services that will address key trust issues in the gaming world that will enable the sector expand responsibly.

I said 6mths + ago already! The BLN | GroupOn – Ponzi schemes, insolvency, the next Amazon and proxy valuations

2011-06-20T17:41:00.000-07:00

The BLN | GroupOn – Ponzi schemes, insolvency, the next Amazon and proxy valuations

don't think it is harsh, I already says so last year, Groupon's is not sustainable, its a fad, and erm, buyer's beware.. original, no doubt badly put together post below:

http://garethcxo.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-response-prediction-pehub-depressing.html

to be frank, weakness of internet startup is that most of them are focus on short term and the flip (sometimes forced by the VCs that are backing them or peer pressure or indeed lack of vision).. but should we be judge on whether they should do it?

Ultimately if no one gets hurt, would it be ok? would anyone be hurt if we somehow play a role in continuing this bubble by not bursting it?? would people listen to us?? sadly not likely.

a somewhat proud naysayer.

@GarethWong

Seth Godin's Domino Project: Can It Beat the Big Six? | Publishing Perspectives

2011-06-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

Seth Godin's Domino Project: Can It Beat the Big Six? | Publishing Perspectives

very interesting indeed.

Must watch, need help more urgently then African Elephants surely!? BBC Dragons help? BBC News - What children think and feel about growing up poor

2011-06-08T05:53:00.000-07:00

BBC News - What children think and feel about growing up poor

Download it before it is too late from iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b011vnls/

It always pains me to see the non transparency and in some ways too many charities around that are raising money for arguably great causes around the world.. but sadly our next street 'neighbours' are left to rot... make sense!??

companies and service providers that prey on these people and provide services and 'increase' the cost for them although make business sense, but sadly failing miserably morally...

There are solutions but need properly addressed by people that are in more gifted circumstances... and devise some systemic solution, rather than doing 'ad-hoc' donations..

I will definitely try to help in this regard in the future but sadly I am not even in the Sunday times rich list yet and my effort might not be as prominent as even one dragons of the dragon's den just 'mentioning' it!?

this hopefully will be resolved! with everyone's help...

(not finish watching it yet, but I will give it the time it deserve in the coming weeks (now in my sky+) and with tears tissues ready)

Dragons?

ps: see the views from the director: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2011/06/poor-kids.shtml

SECs & likely results.. YouTube - Bloomberg's Johnson Discusses Groupon's Eric Lefkofsky

2011-06-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Bloomberg's Johnson Discusses Groupon's Eric Lefkofsky

and his supposedly phone call after & analysis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXwivMqCyaE

Personally, seems to me groupon never had a sustainable business model from day one (as I also blogged about it)..

hence, whoever might want to buy the shares should only do so with eyes wide open and hopefully for the short term..

sadly most retail investors are not as savvy...

thus, unless SEC blocks it, or ensure the cooling period is long enough,

people will sadly get hurt!

EU Health Chief Slams Germany Over E.coli - Yahoo! News

2011-06-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

EU Health Chief Slams Germany Over E.coli - Yahoo! News:

serious issue but way this report put it, slightly comical how cucumber was defended..

we need good & reliable and tried & tested information, not scaremongering , especially from government level!!

"'I stress that the outbreak is limited geographically to the area surrounding the city of Hamburg, so there is no reason to take action on a European level.'
Mr Dalli said the commission was holding daily meetings to analyse the situation and insisted that the EU's rapid alert system had worked, although 'we need to learn lessons as we go along'.
A Spanish delegate also stood up at the parliament while holding a cucumber, and defended the vegetable, saying: 'We need to restore the honour of the cucumber.
He then accused Germany of rushing in to blaming Spanish cucumbers and said the European Commission had not done enough after they were cleared."

Rory is on form as ever.. YouTube - Rediscovering a Lost Science - Rory Sutherland at European Zeitgeist 2011

2011-06-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Rediscovering a Lost Science - Rory Sutherland at European Zeitgeist 2011: ""

Great work, must see if U have time! Tate Modern| Current Exhibitions | Miró

2011-05-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

Tate Modern| Current Exhibitions | Miró

if only watch the video below..

Must watch/read: @IFSTnews Lecture 2011 Food Security and the Impact of Science and Technology by Sir.David King: http://bit.ly/isFHeJ

2011-05-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Food Events:

Must watch/read..

"Consumption of natural resources, including fresh water, food, oil and minerals, is happening at a rate far faster than they can be replenished or replaced by natural processes. The mismanagement of other resources, in particular the atmosphere, land and oceans, means that the ecosystem services required from the Earth for a population of 9 billion are being rapidly eroded.

Climate change provides the biggest challenge that our civilization has yet had to face up to, since it requires a collective response of the global population to mitigate the effect. We will also need to manage the growing impacts upon our societies. If these challenges are not future-proofed, enforced environmental migrations coupled with growing health, food, energy, mineral and water challenges will lead to widespread conflict by mid-century between developed, rapidly emerging and developing nations. The socio-political challenges in directing the necessary collective responses are beyond anything previously managed. Meeting these challenges will require a global cultural and technological transformation on much the same scale as the Renaissance or the Industrial Revolution, coupled with the development of a widespread understanding of the need to adapt and strengthen global governance procedures. "

Music Power 100: The full list | Music | guardian.co.uk

2011-05-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

Music Power 100: The full list | Music | guardian.co.uk

Interesting list indeed!

My cheeky comments re Dorsey's Square tries to eliminate the card swipe by bringing back the tab - Fortune Tech

2011-05-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

Dorsey's Square tries to eliminate the card swipe by bringing back the tab - Fortune Tech

This is a good start in the right direction, sadly it still does not address:

1.) if something goes wrong, whose fault is it?? (e.g. if PIN is supposedly used to authorise, it is automatically the card holder's fault, despite the risk of system being hacked.. who hold the hot cake if something goes wrong in this new Square model?? someone tell us? )

2.) identity, erm, guess anyone that take my iPhone (no, I am not a lemming yet, and do not own any apple products) with the square payment can buy small things to their heart's content? or is it intelligent enough to stop the card being used to buying multiple tens of packets of cigarettes from various shops? or is it just a dumb pipe system?

3.) as mentioned already, adoption would be enhanced greatly if the business model is competitive, but if the % fee is still similar to the incumbents (most likely will stay that way).. then it is just playing balls with hopes to be fully bought by the big duopoly players.. of course, nothing wrong with that, that is the game after all..

all in all, guess it might not affect us much unless and until we have some end to end revolution that has a business model that works and it is stupid simple enough for joe blog and secure enough that hopefully data is 200% secure and stored locally rather than centrally? I guess I have a solution but sadly no time nor big VCs to fund us as we are not based in silicon valley nor are we under 20/30s.. oh well, good luck Jack. ;-)

MustRead:need 'something more' the 'higher mission' in life: Three Traits Every CEO Needs - Justin Menkes - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review

2011-05-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

Three Traits Every CEO Needs - Justin Menkes - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review

Brilliant article, totally agree..

Its that 'something more'.. the 'higher mission' in life and mission that differentiate us.

MUST Read!

===

To perform their best in today's turbulent atmosphere, leaders must possess this highly unusual set of three traits that often run counter to natural human behavior. These attributes are catalysts for the mastery displayed by the world's best CEOs — and, together, they add up to a new definition of leadership:

Realistic optimism. Leaders with this trait possess confidence without self-delusion or irrationality. They pursue audacious goals, which others would typically view as impossible pipedreams, while at the same time remaining aware of the magnitude of the challenges confronting them and the difficulties that lie ahead.

Subservience to purpose. Leaders with this ability see their professional goal as so profound in importance that their lives become measured in value by how much they contribute to furthering that goal. What is more, they must be pursuing a professional goal in order to feel a purpose for living. In essence, that goal is their master and their reason for being. They do not ruminate about their purpose, because their mind finds satisfaction in its occupation with their goal. Their level of dedication to their work is a direct result of the extraordinary, remarkable importance they place on their goal.

Finding order in chaos. Leaders with this trait find taking on multidimensional problems invigorating, and their ability to bring clarity to quandaries that baffle others makes their contributions invaluable.

lets look for our own 'meaning of life' & !relationships'.. A New Gauge Helps to See What’s Beyond Happiness - NYTimes.com

2011-05-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

A New Gauge Helps to See What’s Beyond Happiness - NYTimes.com

Great insights..

lets look for 'meaning of life' & !relationships'..

Must read, click through above link! abstract below,

====

“People find meaning in providing unconditional love for children,” writes Dr. Brooks, who is now president of the American Enterprise Institute. “Paradoxically, your happiness is raised by the very fact that you are willing to have your happiness lowered through years of dirty diapers, tantrums and backtalk. Willingness to accept unhappiness from children is a source of happiness.”Some happiness researchers have suggested that parents delude themselves about the joys of children: They focus on the golden moments and forget the more frequent travails. But Dr. Seligman says that parents are wisely looking for more than happy feelings.

“If we just wanted positive emotions, our species would have died out a long time ago,” he says. “ We have children to pursue other elements of well-being. We want meaning in life. We want relationships.”

In observing people’s need for accomplishment, Dr. Seligman says, he’s reminded of his early experiments that famously identified the concept of “learned helplessness.” He found that when animals or people were given a series of arbitrary punishments or rewards, they stopped trying to do anything constructive.

.... more via above link.

Video b4 he became billionaire by @Laragon peHUB » Video: 1 on 1 with Reid Hoffman, the Mastermind Behind LinkedIn

2011-05-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

peHUB » Video: 1 on 1 with Reid Hoffman, the Mastermind Behind LinkedIn

great to see Reid relaxed and got probed by some thought provoking questions..

great article also to see how he works even on Sunday!

suggest you click through above!

well done @Laragon

Reid Hoffman interview by Venture Capital Journal, Part 2 from lawrence aragon on Vimeo.

my short comments/blog on Chromebook Preview | Ubergizmo

2011-05-14T18:33:00.000-07:00

Chromebook Preview | Ubergizmo

It make perfect sense, and yes, 'once adopted' it would change the world, as google would like to often... more likely for business and enterprises where I guess it is geared for.. as 'control', security and prevention of data loss is key.

therefore, for these people, and the owner of the business particularly, the price tag is in fact cheaper than most of their present models for the 'road warriors'...

however, it would still need to change the business processes AND the human 'cultural & habitual inertia'.. which might take longer to adjust.. as PC & MAC users are used to store things locally on the device..

and it is purely impractical for countries that do not have universal wireless and wired internet.. so, sadly its also geographically limited!

However, it might be a good step in the right direction, time will tell! ;-)

GarethWong

My comments re: Visa Makes Square Bet

2011-05-13T23:45:00.000-07:00

Visa Makes Square Bet

Is it making a 'bet'? or is it 'looking for viable options'??

contactless AND mobile is definitely the way to go.. but

sadly it is mostly driven not by what users' need (so far), as there is still standards & fractions war.. and those already implemented by major players 'may have' major security issues, see:

http://www.katu.com/news/problemsolver/121550239.html

Therefore, I would say they are doing any good business is doing.. buying 'an option' for the future that 'might work'... who knows, right?

@GarethWong

since 5yrs old child took on role of taking care of household in Gui zhou, China 贵州留守儿童钟旺：5岁背起家庭生活重担-20100605走读大中华-视频--凤凰宽频--凤凰网

2011-05-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

贵州留守儿童钟旺：5岁背起家庭生活重担-20100605走读大中华-视频--凤凰宽频--凤凰网

this is the reality of 'migrant' economy of China, where some young children are left at home to be head of family back in their village..

very touching story of a young girl now 8years old, took care of her little brother and disabled grandpa (he looked pretty able to me, especially as he ate what the little girl cooked!)

tough life..

glad/pround Hong Kong top the list & Kyoto is 2nd, you should visit & support Japan! TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Destinations Awards - Top 25 - Asia

2011-05-07T04:38:00.000-07:00

TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Destinations Awards - Top 25 - Asia

So glad/ pround Hong Kong top the list & Kyoto is 2nd, you should visit & support Japan!

Found it, & man! Obama rocked & Trump slammed. ;-) @YouTube Obama, Trump Together for Correspondents' Dinner:

2011-05-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Obama, Trump Together for Correspondents' Dinner

Not likely Trump will be nominated, let alone win to become next President, I would have thought!

Facebook News Feed Settings: Random or Not, Biggest Secrets Revealed - The Daily Beast

2011-04-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

Facebook News Feed Settings: Random or Not, Biggest Secrets Revealed - The Daily Beast

Ok, important for those people that cared for sure. ;-)

my short comments, re why its a big mistake, US to use Facebook, Twitter to issue terror alerts | islandpacket.com

2011-04-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

US to use Facebook, Twitter to issue terror alerts | islandpacket.com

This is dangerous and not recommended.

how secure is Twitter & Facebook?

consider this, if/should it become a success (billion of followers)

how easily would /could the account be compromised and 'fake information' be spread like wildfire..??

this is a good idea in principle and I would bet my life that Facebook and Twitter will not take on that kind of responsibility/liability if something goes wrong, in fact, would they be around in few years time..

US government/homeland security should just run their own list/information distribute directly from them with secure and proven communications, with authenticate and trusted message (like PGP).. then and only then, would we be able to trust the message.

Sadly we are chasing like lemmings, and following the crowd, key part of the internet is not addressed, which is the 'trust' aspect of it all!

@GarethWong

It was rather funny! YouTube - Fox News anchor is pranked on April Fool's Day

2011-04-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Fox News anchor is pranked on April Fool's Day: "

thanks Andrew for pointing it out!

trying to find common language of cut of beef, between US, UK and France

2011-04-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

Had a fantastic conversation trying to find a common language with the French In-Laws...

Category:Cuts of beef - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Types of beef cuts

American:

British:

compare with French one:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Beef_cuts_France_with_numbers.svg

Description

English: Common cuts of beef in France. Brighter colors show higher valued parts

Français : Morceaux de bœuf selon la découpe traditionnelle en France. Les couleurs représentent les "catégories de valeur", la plus claire étant la première catégorie et la plus sombre la troisième

Basses côtes
Côtes, entrecôtes
Faux-filet
Filet
Rumsteck
Rond de gîte
Tende de tranche ; poire, merlan
Gîte à la noix
Araignée
Plat de tranche, rond de tranche, mouvant
Bavette d'aloyau
Hampe
Onglet
Aiguillette baronne
Bavette de flanchet
Plat de côtes
Macreuse à bifteck
Paleron
Jumeau à bifteck
Jumeau à pot-au-feu
Macreuse à pot-au-feu
Queue
Gîte
Flanchet
Tendron, milieu de poitrine
Gros bout de poitrine
Collier
Plat de joue
Langue

Date

2010-05-29 09:17 (UTC)

Jon Curtis, great singer songwriter busking in London Tube, A&R guys, take notice and forget the X-factor! (if all his songs are this good)IMG_3369

2011-03-31T16:20:00.001-07:00

Jon Curtis, great singer songwriter busking in London Tube, A&R guys, take notice and forget the X-factor! (if all his songs are this good)IMG_3369, a photo by garethwong on Flickr.

cannot believe he is not snapped up by Simon coward yet..

great voice and if he writes all his songs like this one, guys & girls try and grab him when you can, as he will soon have entourage and you will not be able to get close!

check out the song I heard, with acoustics inside tube station.. brilliant, first busker that made me stop, believe me, there are many in London!

Jon Curtis - Inside Looking Out Open Mic 2009

myspace: www.myspace.com/joncurtismusic

twitter.com/joncurtislive @JonCurtisLive

facebook: www.facebook.com/joncurtismusic

Great to see creativity and social enterprise alive & well in Hong Kong. YouTube - Nokia E7 Smartphone - HK Honey

2011-03-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Nokia E7 Smartphone - HK Honey

Nice one!

http://www.hkhoney.org/

Great to see creativity and social enterprise alive & well in Hong Kong.

wonder how much nokia spent on producing this though!

My comments re Entrepreneur friendly Britain « The Equity Kicker

2011-03-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

Entrepreneur friendly Britain « The Equity Kicker:

Indeed, this are all great news for entrepreneurs in UK indeed.

there is also likes of http://www.newentrepreneursfou...

don't forget the multitude of networks and events..

Question is that will we have more quality entrepreneurs (present & future) to rise up for the challenges & opportunities.. certainly hope so, as we need everyone to chip in to create great companies and build up economies and not just a lot of noise & no substances.. we need endurance runners not people that are after 5/15min of fame across the whole value chain.

now back to work (for me).

@GarethWong

short comments of how 'power corrupts'.. do we need 2use F** in business environment?? The Lean VC, Global Edition (March 2011, London)

2011-03-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

The Lean VC, Global Edition (March 2011, London)

I have observed a while this tech. "scene", been to a few events, major, small, twittervals & even pay for conferences, and learnt of many re-incarnations of some industry greats (yes, some do change job/role/focus/directions every 3mths!) and sadly I don't go anymore, as mostly same stories, different faces which I will not see again (yes, they vanish & give up also!)

but I do keep tap, as certain part of it will be the future (people, initiatives, funds, etc.) and I am here to stay for sure (if I don't migrate that is) ...

interesting to see Dave's presentation earlier today, similar messages, more initiatives, but his last 3 slides grabbed my attention, and reminded me of this article of "How Power Corrupts Leaders" .... cos maybe the money, social media popularity and groupies does change one's perspective?

I have never met Dave, heard & trust that he is a great guy (look forward to meeting) but also noticed his many tweets and contributions & talk and initiatives.. & no doubt that he is a multi-millionaires (albeit an outspoken ones, I have met many millionaires & billionaires but they tend to be more guarded, guess more to loose and in fact some afraid of kidnapping, which is real danger, just to be clear, I am very poor myself, hence I dared to blog).

surely though, it seems to me that maybe I am old school, and sadly missing the point.. but his slides that contain the F*words just unnecessary.. or maybe he is taking stance of HBO, more sex, drugs, and profanity, make the product more popular?

see it for yourself full presentation below (full of wisdom) but the two key slides in question:

I do know how annoying it is when people you don't know come up & speak to you as though they know you (let alone pitching), when I did the international speaker circuit (we too can & have done 5 countries in 4 days), too many time-wasters and some outright rude figures (some feel entitled to do so) approaches and stop me...

Hence now I do not speak nor chair conferences anymore but will make exception for some good guys (conference organisers/industry leaders) I mainly help in background and would turn up and support mainly.. this might be better than to swear at the world (cos that is what essentially the social media is helping Dave to do)... this works, as number of people approaches me decreased, but then again, I try to walk much quicker and try not to make eye contacts (practice the star gazing stare, Prof.Brian Cox is my idol), just a thought and maybe different way of looking at/dealing with it.

Wonder how @FredWilson deals with it?

The Lean VC, Global Edition (March 2011, London)

View more presentations from Dave McClure

YouTube - "As One" - 10 year old Aiyana-Lee sings for Japan - Play for Japan #play4jpn

2011-03-29T05:49:00.000-07:00

YouTube - "As One" - 10 year old Aiyana-Lee sings for Japan - Play for Japan #play4jpn

Julia Mills on SkyNews below to help raise awareness of the Japan Society Earthquake fund:

We encourage people to donate to the UK Japan Society appeal: http://www.japansociety.org.uk/donate/

If you, or anyone you know, would like to donate, it would be mush appreciated. If in the "claim gift aid" section you write OTSUCHI, the money will go directly to a local charity in Julia's mother's hometown.

info on: http://www.japansociety.org.uk/earthquake/

& intricacies of how charities allocating the money here (& some pictures of aftermath of OTSUCHI):

http://garethcxo.blogspot.com/2011/03/help-our-friends-in-otsuchi-prefecture.html

Criminals Look Different From Noncriminals | Psychology Today

2011-03-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Criminals Look Different From Noncriminals | Psychology Today

Must read..

so, guess we can now legitimately (without challenge from the tribe of political correctness do-gooders) that we should and can stereotype people!??

do this test: see who is a convicted criminal below and who is not?

JIANG GUO FANG 姜國芳, one of my favourite Chinese artist

2011-03-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

Especially his series on the forbidden city:

or more contemporary ones:

more details in Chinese:

http://art.people.com.cn/BIG5/41385/71467/index.html

& English:

JIANG GUO FANG - Paintings / 24th Sept. 2009 - 3rd Jan. 2010

In short, live to 'excel' & not stop. I agree. Japan, Libya, and Why Leaders Should be Paranoid - Rosabeth Moss Kanter - Harvard Business Review

2011-03-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Japan, Libya, and Why Leaders Should be Paranoid - Rosabeth Moss Kanter - Harvard Business Review:

paranoia has a negative connotation, I trust finding a worthy competitor, or set goals for oneself to achieve would equally work, as it depends on what each person's personal drivers might be.

"The positive paranoia mantra: Imagine the worst, and create the best. That's a good lesson for leaders under any circumstances."

YouTube - Counterfeiting In China

2011-03-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Counterfeiting In China

Dan Chow, law professor at The Ohio State University talks about the problem of counterfeiting in China. He says there is no silver bullet to stop this practice and that some local authorities in China often approve of it because it strengthens the economy.

LinkedIn crosses 100m member mark, proving the recession is not bad for everyone [infographic] | The Wall Blog

2011-03-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

LinkedIn crosses 100m member mark, proving the recession is not bad for everyone [infographic] | The Wall Blog

nice one indeed. must read, click through when you have time.

meanwhile, the all important pic:

Turkey becoming key business gateway also? Turkey, the EU and the Mediterranean uprisings | Czech Position

2011-03-22T03:48:00.000-07:00

Turkey, the EU and the Mediterranean uprisings | Czech Position: "Turkey, the EU and the Mediterranean uprisings"

This is a great if maybe slightly long but insightful article.

Separately, I heard UK has been helping turkey in the background re EU membership and lobbying, if that is really the case, then, this could yet be another great diplomatic manoeuvre.

Given the latest turmoil in middle east, Turkey might and probably will become the best gateway for the region, not only politically but also business wise.

For leaders of the business world (bigger SMEs, mid market firms that look for regional & international growth, namely our typical CXOs, min.CEO of firm with £3m/US$5m profit), get yourself ready now, if not only to visit Istanbul if you still have never been.

Key challenge is where do you start?

if you qualify, ping me, I know some family dynasties there (some promised to help us to launch it there), and maybe I can link you up when we have some adhoc CXO Istanbul private gatherings.

"Grandfather of Allergy" Dr. William Frankland, A life in Allergy :: The Anaphylaxis Campaign

2011-03-22T03:22:00.000-07:00

A life in Allergy :: The Anaphylaxis Campaign:

So proud to know that our friend Bill is so famous! ;-)

Dr. A.W.Frankland – “A Life in Allergy” – Part 1
www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/information/about-us/a-life-in-all...

Celebrating a Century of Progress in Allergy
A film celebrating the centenary of the only cure for allergies and the life and work Dr William Frankland – the UK’s oldest serving doctor, has been produced by Dr Sophie Farooque, who was the UK’s first allergy trainee and is now the country’s first allergy consultant to have been an allergy trainee. The film will be shown at the 2011 BSACI Annual Meeting on July 11th.
bsaci.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&...

Another article courtesy of BMA (pdf): bsaci.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_downlo...

"A great supporter of desensitisation, Frankland has noted that the rise in allergy can be linked to our increased cleanliness and the levels of hygiene in modern life. 'We don't set off our immune system early on, we are too clean. In the former East Germany for instance, with very poor work and housing conditions, people were less allergic'."

Nice video. #think: Freddie's posterous - Home

2011-03-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

#think: Freddie's posterous - Home: "smartel"

nice..

Will it work? luxury+social media.. same target audience??Neiman Marcus challenges in-store customers to earn mobile game rewards -Luxury Daily-Mobile

2011-03-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

Neiman Marcus challenges in-store customers to earn mobile game rewards - Luxury Daily - Mobile:

It would be curious to see.. when I go to Neiman Marcus.. do not see many social media type audiences..

It would be great to see if this would really work.. not likely both parties would be happy to share their findings..

its like Harrods join forces with foursquare (who has many more users btw!) or with the uk local rummble.. are they even still around?

fact of the matters are these:

1>Internet, people rarely pay for things, except things that are standardised and have slight/better discounts, e.g. banking/insurance/DVDs/film/theatre tickets etc.

2>Mobile, people pay even more rarely, mostly subset of 1>

3>social media mostly make money for the platform and technology providers who have scale... number of the B2C successes are few & far between (unless it is part of the wider marketing mix, like for Dell etc.) to add incremental value..

4> truth is that people would still trust/prefer offline relationships..

therefore, this would only work if Neiman Marcus is using this campaign to:

a.) as call to action of their present customers who has an Android phone. (do they know who already has an android phone? and do they know how to download this application in-time for the 'excitement'??)

b.) using the application to reach more target audience for Neiman Marcus... (personally don't think they overlap much... but I have no clue, please do tell me if you have the information!)

but then again, it is great that they are doing this, as otherwise, we will have no innovations.. but it would only help if they share at least some high level insights..

so much is at stakes though (luxury B2C brand, and further series of fund raising), most likely this will be last we hear of it!

"Game face
The partnership between Neiman Marcus and Scvngr is an example of how a luxury brand can be an innovative leader in the retail industry by leveraging a social game.

Incorporating the interactive game with the retailer’s Big Night Out campaign creates a stronger community engagement.

“Scvngr has over a million players nationwide and we liked the idea of interacting and engaging with a new audience,” Ms. Gierhart said. “We believe that the digital- and mobile-based program Scvngr developed will appeal to this customer by creating a fun and interactive shopping experience.”"

Photos of Japan After Earthquake and Tsunami - Photographs - NYTimes.com

2011-03-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Photos of Japan After Earthquake and Tsunami - Photographs - NYTimes.com

Sobering...

Help our friends in OTSUCHI prefecture Japan Society of the UK - Make a Donation to the Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund, help local people

2011-03-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

Japan Society of the UK - Make a Donation to the Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund

It's been awful as my friend's family is in Sendai and the coastal towns of Otsuchi, Kamaishi and Miyako.

They were unable to contact any of them for several days and they are still missing a cousin and an aunt. Luckily, the majority of their family seem to have escaped, although they are now suffering food, water and heat shortages and have lost their houses.

We encourage people to donate to the UK Japan Society appeal:www.japansociety.org.uk/donate/
If you, or anyone you know, would like to donate, it would be mush appreciated. If in the "claim gift aid" section you write OTSUCHI, the money will go directly to a local charity in my friend's mother's hometown.

Also, one of Jetro's clients emailed this morning to say that if "Friend of Intralink" is put in this box, they will match donations up to a total of £10,000.

If your corporation want to do some matching fund, please do get in touch!

The British Red Cross is donating to the Japanese Red Cross, but the money will not go to any other charities over there so if there is more donated than the Japanese Red Cross can use for their activities, these funds will be used for later disasters elsewhere.

This is totally understandable and necessary, but the problem is that this seems to be the main charity that British people are donating to, thinking their money is going to Japan but it may not. This is why they support the Japan Society.

more pictures of Japan aftermath from LATimes: Otsuchi, Japan — Reiko Miura, 68, cries as she looks for her sister's son

Rescue workers amidst the rubble as they picked their way through the shattered city of Otsuchi.

A ship is seen perched on top of a house in the tsunami devastated remains of Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture.

Brilliant insights shared by Lord Turner, FSA Chair, but 2keyPt?? Leverage, Maturity Transformation & Financial Stability: Challenges Beyond Basel III

2011-03-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

Leverage, Maturity Transformation and Financial Stability: Challenges Beyond Basel III:

it was big shame that I missed the speech last night, but as many great regulators nowadays, his speech & slide decks are already available from FSA site!

It is ashame that the regulatory structure of UK will yet be changed again... but one thing I have observed, which is key challenge for maintaining any financial industry, which is this:

1.) is it feasible for any of mathematical genius to 'predict' what the intricate and maybe less inter-linked companies, markets, & instruments might behave in a continuously changing financial, geopolitical & natural disasters afflicted world??

2.) have you also noticed that Cash was not mentioned in the slides and only twice in passing in the speech??

This is the reason why GamBond®and how we work together with industry to create a custom but focused default risk insurance industry. It is so paramount as we recognise that one can only predict so much regarding how industry perform and KPIs defined/measured, but by focusing on cash flow and with the value chain, GamBond® know how to rate, monitor and put a price on future default risk(s) of a sector worldwide.

It is very different view to look at the situation but in short, we DO NEED a different view to rate, monitor industries from a long perspective. This will re-focus how companies are formed, structured, and run.. we need to cut these endemic short-term-ism as too many companies and people get hurt!

What do you think??

"Between 2007 and 2009 the global financial system suffered a huge crisis, with major harmful macroeconomic effects. In response, a major programme of regulatory reform has been launched and is part complete.

Last year we agreed a major reform of bank capital and liquidity standards – Basel III.
This year the Financial Stability Board will decide measures to address problems created by systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) – by banks seen in the past as ‘too big to fail’.
These changes will make a major difference..."

How much do you know about Facebook Photos? [infographic]

2011-03-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

How much do you know about Facebook Photos? [infographic]

Nice post from @theWall

"A great infographic giving a a breakdown of the phenomenon that is Facebook photos. A few quick takeouts for you:

*There will be 100 billion photos on Facebook by Summer 2011
*6 billion photos are uploaded each month
*Over 750 million photos were posted on Facebook globally during new years eve weekend
*40% more photos are uploaded on the weekend than during the week
*The most photos out of any day in the week are uploaded to Facebook on Sunday
*Women upload and tag 2X more photos to Facebook than men
*Older users upload as much as younger users BUT they tag less"

Earthquake Losses May Be Limited for Japanese Non-Life Insurance Providers - Bloomberg

2011-03-16T04:10:00.000-07:00

Earthquake Losses May Be Limited for Japanese Non-Life Insurance Providers - Bloomberg:

seem to have adopted best practice despite not being forced by regulators to do so, thats how it should be done!

"Japanese non-life insurers may face limited losses from the country’s strongest earthquake because of contingency reserves and an exclusion from insuring damaged nuclear plants, analysts said.

MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings (8725) Inc., Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. (8766) and NKSJ Holdings Inc. (8630), the three-biggest non-life insurers, may have 20 billion yen ($250 million) to 80 billion yen each in commercial losses, according to Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. The three have set aside about 88 percent of their 593.2 billion yen maximum liability, Fitch Ratings said."

how to prepare for any diaster, quiz your knowlege about earthquake.. get prepared a 'go-bag' & person/family safety procedures now!

2011-03-14T03:51:00.000-07:00

Our thoughts are with all the families affected in Japan... this shows how vulnerable we all are from disasters in the world, from natural to man made events..

Question: How prepared are we????

If you are in London, are you living in flooding area(s)?? see it for yourself here.

It is now time to reflect... and see what might need to be done to prepare ourselves and our families (our work has health & safety and disaster procedures.. why do we neglect our own families??) :

from US Homeland security: http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/basic_preparedness.shtm

get Kids involved: http://www.fema.gov/kids/ready.htm

get a Diaster supply kit: http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/supplykit.shtm

Great site, suggest you explore: http://72hours.org/index.html

Interactive test of your earth quake knowlege from SanFran: http://quakequizsf.org/

=== non governments, social media info below:

and also in video in terms of what need to be done to prepare yourselve:

document form (although sadly US centric, but good advice none the less.)

How to Prepare for Any Disaster