Great flow chart! The Ultimate Web Cash Flowchart | Fast Company

The Ultimate Web Cash Flowchart | Fast Company

Great flow chart indeed...

Security of a JOB (that blinds you) vs. The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination | Harvard Magazine

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination | Harvard Magazine

thanks Sarika for pointing this out.. must watch for everyone... especially for future generations..

Having met tonnes of CXO level people (from 2nd generation money/connections, to 1st time CEOs to multiple exited & independently wealthy entrepreneurs) ... and Careered people, the differences are rather big contrasts.. but as highlighted by JK Rowling's speech below (sadly can't comment on even greater goals re Amnesty Internation), which is their personal/business goals.

The successful CXOs levels as defined above (other than 2nd generation monied people) seem to be not only relying on some luck but well positioned (politically, or moving into the right industry as pioneers) and a lot of hard work which align to what they decide to do entrepreneurially or as part of their corporate job.

I have seen it many times before though, even CXOs in a seemingly secured role usually blind them as to the opportunity and risks of their supposedly safe job.. some even let their ego and lower level staff's brown-nosing went to their head.. cockiness set in and they certainly let their colleagues and even clients know... little did they know typical lifespan of CEO or chairman's role is only 4-6years if they were lucky... by the time they needed other's help, realised that unlike JK Rowling, they killed off all their relationships..

Their power and ego also went to their heads, so much so that missed most of the opportunities as typically, their schedules and ego-messaging events filled up most of their time and minds.. and sadly they had lose sights of planning for the future.. by leveraging and re-investing in their relationships and build a better opportunity for the future.

In fact, most have been so comfortable 'in a job' that are already panicking when 'thinking' about potentially doing anything outside of our 'roles'...

That would be another discussion, but planning ahead is paramount!! more to be blogged later..

But real question is, Would you prefer security of a job, or would you prefer the challenge of re-building from failure?? different question indeed!

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

"Genius or Folly"?? Challenge & my proposed solution Banks that combine retail and investment banking. look set be carved up by John Vickers -WSJ

Banks that combine retail and investment banking. including the U.K.'s biggest--Barclays, RBS and HSBC, look set be carved up by John Vickers in his review of the banking system - The Source - WSJ

In our presently worldwide financial and electronic/digital market,

1.) it is for certain that no one government can legislate for the world,

2.) nor can any mathematician be clever enough to create a 100% accurate model to 'predict' what might happen in the coming months to the instruments, assets (various classes) and multitude of geo-political risks which might affect the intrinsically transient spot price of various 'securitised' instruments which form the bigger transatlantic asset classes.. plus cash and currency risks of each multi-national financial institutions. (where prices of certain assets are also dependent on counter parties' risk/market prices... like CDS etc.)

The sooner we recognise these facts, the sooner we can be humble enough to try to figure out what really happened (to the credit meltdown, because apparently, we still do not know!?? Ahem.) and what might need to be done to resolve all this mess, but most importantly plan for the future to ensure that it will NOT happen again (which seems to be the focus of all these new study bodies and select committee and or senate hearings etc.).

If it all above meant total gobbledygook for the laymen.. it probably is, some might argue that it is the same even for some industry insiders...

In our now short term world, shareholders and investors are all chasing the short term spot share prices and hence market capitalisations that we may have all lost sight of what is important for the business world, namely: "Long term viability" of the companies and the industry itself!! (sadly most conglomerates do not exist now, maybe except the Sage Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, or GE.. sadly, we have ONLY one Warren! as sadly all boards are now only caring about short term share price, it was refreshing to see comments on Reid Hoffman's LinkedIn IPO document, saying that they would do things despite it might negatively impact on their performance, way to go Reid!)

As the short term culture become now pervasive worldwide across all sectors, especially for consolidated and super competitive digitised world of financial market (which is essentially one market for most of the western world now!), Basis of competition is shifting from non transparency to (as efficiency & speed kills the margin/spread), now 'customised' instruments is used to differentiate but in some cases would mean less transparent nor totally understood, to 'increase' the value, hence bring hopefully margin/profit to client, and consolidate potential return....

Such value chain, during the good times do not need to worry much as the whole chain is raking in the fees. Using the 3 little piggy parable, all 3 piggy brothers do not need to even consider building the sand house, let alone the straw nor brick houses.. as they would be driving Ferrari by just end of the month, as sadly that task of worrying about sustainability of the market rested squarely on the regulators for the financial/insurance/ electronic regulators..

Sadly, the financial regulators worldwide only has power given by the local/national government(s), which invariably is limited in the world stage (e.g. US cannot legislate for Switzerland), as what really would happen if UK forced the banks' hand too much??

Opportunity cost dictates that likes of Goldman, Citi and Morgan to take a few examples, would have to calculate the 'real' cost.. and weight up whether and where to move the operations & jurisdiction.. as surely the power in fact, lies with the companies that has Money/cash to lose!!

[There are initiatives like International Centre for Financial Regulation, www.ICFFR.org but, whether the regulators would want to meet, coordinate, and push through new co-ordinated regulations is another big issue (as governments invariably would make decisions that they can see results within their term, this will be a 2->3term initiative!) of course, some have more to loose than others like Zurich and London for example if they do not get it right!]

As CASH is till king... but for different people, there are different view of what the CASH should be used for.. some might not even want to keep much of it, as one expect better return of any classes of asset, especially CASH... but a virtuous circle could be created to encourage risk based (maybe anonoymised or delegated) information can be shared for one purpose, which is to help put price on the default risk of the industry and an individual company within it!

Therefore, no matter what regulations, carving, or financial/cash requirements/modelling is done, one thing that is not considered is this:

Surely it make sense for the regulated institutions to open their book(s) or risk assessment systems (real-time, or near-real-time) to an independent party which compare data with the value chain with ONLY one goal in mind, which is to establish the on-going viability of the company, benchmarking against others, and put a price on the said company's default risk??

And of course, at present, this product does not exist worldwide, and hence, everyone is preferring to do what the peers tell them, and or prefer the status quo (looking forward to the next senior advisor role for KKR etc.) and waiting for the regulators, and independent boards to advise how best to further monitor (oh, btw, where are the rating companies !??)

This as I see it now is the only way, and whether, why, and how that can be done is still to be devised, and that is what GamBond® has been working on tirelessly since 2004.. and sadly no one listened and thought we were singing loony tunes..

If you are an investor with £100m plus, please do get in touch!!! We can together revolutionise and dare I say it, attempt to potentially fix the now all pervasive connected financial world!

Am I dreaming still? I would prefer to make it a reality!

Particularly, 'our members come firstLinkedIn's IPO filing: the interesting bits - Internet Business :: Real Business - The Champion of UK Enterprise

LinkedIn's IPO filing: the interesting bits - Internet Business :: Real Business - The Champion of UK Enterprise:

I love LinkedIn, Not Reid.. but most importantly the motto below.. and part of the reason why back in 2004, when I was looking around to have our exclusive MBA alumni group to be hosted, I chose LinkedIn, and were a few of the first to try out the beta group function.

so glad that decision was correct. and now also written down on the IPO document.. hope that the future management will stay true to that!!

"LinkedIn takes its motto 'our members come first' seriously. The company admits that it has lost out on commercial opportunities as it didn't think they were in the users' best interests: 'In the past, we have forgone, and may in the future forgo, certain expansion or short-term revenue opportunities that we do not believe are in the best interests of our members, even if our decision negatively impacts our operating results in the short term.'"

Signing ceremonies, and SMEs genius or folly.. UK and Chinese firms sign deals worth over £2.6 billion:

UK and Chinese firms sign deals worth over �2.6 billion:

Its brilliant and fitting to have now the maybe overused signing ceremonies worldwide (particularly in China, as it used to be the preserve of major political signing and or legislations) to celebrate the multiple agreements highlighted in the above link (yes, I don't blog as often as I would have liked, too much effort).. but surely one thing stood out and tickled my curious mind, which was the piece below.. and key guys in the picture below:

It would of course depends on definition of what Small Medium Enterprise (SMEs) might be, but majority of them would not be having annual multi-million turnovers, I would have though, and if that is the case, then a frequent travel to China would be out of the question for the key directors... that is if the directors of the said SMEs got spare time from the typical tactical and 'treading water' movements of SMEs..

In China, it might even be worst (depends on the definition), as speaking to them about europe or UK would be like speaking to Eskimos about Hogwarts.. despite how much an 'opportunity' it might seem by description.. just the effort and management time that need to be spent in understanding (whilst treading water) may just be an insurmountable tasks..

I did tell Sir. David Brewer.. as surely part of the solution would be to have better targeting to the top echelon of the SMEs (maybe minimum at least £10-£15m turnover companies with at least £3m profit and hence our CXO level guys).. only these people would be able to take a breath and take some strategic informed information and decide and put in action some transatlantic plans..

Its great to have more MoUs and agreements to be signed though, not only with China... lets do more for sure! ;-)

@GarethWong

"The China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME) signed a memorandum of understanding on co-operation. On this agreement which will increase cooperation and exchanges between Chinese and British small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), CBBC Chairman Sir David Brewer said: “This is a great opportunity to encourage SMEs from both countries to work together. China offers UK SMEs some really exciting opportunities and we have worked with many who are doing good business in China already. So many more could, and I would encourage British SMEs to contact their local CBBC office to learn more.”"

Bill Draper Takes Stock Of A Venture Industry He Helped Create - Venture Capital Dispatch - WSJ

Bill Draper Takes Stock Of A Venture Industry He Helped Create - Venture Capital Dispatch - WSJ

Must read..

wish some of the smaller VCs are as gracious.. the little frys are worst..

Bill Draper Takes Stock Of A Venture Industry He Helped Create - Venture Capital Dispatch - WSJ

Bill Draper Takes Stock Of A Venture Industry He Helped Create - Venture Capital Dispatch - WSJ

Must read..

wish some of the smaller VCs are as gracious.. the little frys are worst..

In short, eating more Spinach, Oysters, Garlic, Avocados & Bananas.. Top 5 Facelift Foods - Yahoo! Lifestyle UK

Top 5 Facelift Foods - Yahoo! Lifestyle UK

In short, eating more Spinach, Oysters, Garlic, Avocados & Bananas..

great!

Must read for both Parents & Teen's alike! @ConnectSafely |Safety Tips | Table

Connect Safely |Safety Tips | Table:

Your lost if not used, great resources from @ConnectSafely

thank you!

"Article Title
Tips for Smart Videogaming
Safety Tips for GPS Location-Sharing
Kids' Virtual World Safety Tips
Virtual World Safety Tips for Parents of Teens
Tips for Strong, Secure Passwords
Tips to Prevent Sexting
Tips to Help Stop Cyberbullying
Social Web Tips for Teens
Social Web Tips for Parents
Cellphone Safety Tips
Top 10 Safety Tips for Video-Sharing
Chat Room Safety Tips"

YouTube - THE DIGITAL STORY OF THE NATIVITY

YouTube - THE DIGITAL STORY OF THE NATIVITY

How did I miss it this year!? and I thought I was in touch with the 'real-time' web!!!

good event earlier today at Magic circle HQ with @Fasken & some great speakers..

Foreign direct investment | The Economist

Foreign direct investment | The Economist

Bubble Ball game, designed by 14-year-old, knocks Angry Birds off top spot in App Store | Technology | Los Angeles Times

Bubble Ball game, designed by 14-year-old, knocks Angry Birds off top spot in App Store | Technology | Los Angeles Times

time has changed now, barrier to entry and acceleration of digital distribution and discovery means the face of digital future might not be recognisable..

Global Risks 2011, Sixth Edition - Risk Response Network - World Economic Forum

Global Risks 2011, Sixth Edition - Risk Response Network - World Economic Forum

indeed very interesting. ;)

BBC - BBC Two Programmes - Natural World, 2010-2011, Sea Otters - a Million Dollar Baby

BBC - BBC Two Programmes - Natural World, 2010-2011, Sea Otters - a Million Dollar Baby:

Gorgeous program!

PUP SLEEPS ON MOTHERS BELLY

Sea Otter mothers are very protective of their pups and rarely let them out of their sight. Here the mother enjoys a rare peaceful moment when the pup falls asleep on her belly.

Free resources Growing up with Chinese 成长汉语 - Free Mandarin Video Lessons on CCTV

Growing up with Chinese 成长汉语 - Free Mandarin Video Lessons on CCTV

No more excuses not to learn one of the most important language with the longest heritage but also for the future worldwide economies!

Now, lets make a schedule of learning mandarin for yourself!

My short reaction to Sarah Tavel / Adventurista: Bessemer's Top 10 Laws of eCommerce: Introduction

Sarah Tavel / Adventurista: Bessemer's Top 10 Laws of eCommerce: Introduction

These are great rules, thanks for sharing.

Surely though, the biggest elephant in the room is what can be done to accelerate the adoption of e-/m-commerce by the 92.9% of people that are paying for goods?? or am I missing something??

therefore, if that is the case, guess the 10 points above address that or do you think this merits a new point??

my first thought by glancing through ..

@GarethWong

Time has changed. "value chain still divided for Apple to conquer". Motorola Xoom tablet crowned best CES gadget - The Independent

Motorola Xoom tablet crowned best CES gadget - Gadgets & Tech, Life & Style - The Independent

Just when the world has applauded the success of Apple that perceived, designed (& push technological boundaries) and outsourced the manufacturing and brought world the now expected standard and usability of iPod, iPhone, iPad..

maybe finally light at the end of the tunnel, with a little help from likes of Google, the best in class enterprise royalties like Motorola finally can stop the tie and deliver a not only semi-decent but award winning product that can 'beat' iPad? (did they beat iPad in that category, I wonder?)

winning these type of awards does not usually translate to sales, we have seen it many times before, but this is a very tell-tale sign maybe that likes of Nokia, SonyEricsson, maybe even symbian just need to focus on what they are good at and ask for help/collaboration(s)??

Still though, having a now award winning device does not mean it will be successful as the quality content or positive virtuous circle of perceived beneficial products/services would be key for any such device to become successful.. namely they will need the open and fully encompassing equivalent of iTune...

Would the multitude of rights-owner ready to play ball yet? any of them has the leadership and foresights that sadly they have divided themselves for Apple to conquer?? sad but true.

@GarethWong

YouTube - Steve Jobs Versus Dragons' Den - 2010 Unwrapped with Miranda Hart - Preview - BBC Two

YouTube - Steve Jobs Versus Dragons' Den - 2010 Unwrapped with Miranda Hart - Preview - BBC Two

what silliness

waste of tax payer's money to promote popular entertainment which sadly don't really promote best business practices but profiles of so called dragons.

@GarethWong

goo list indeed! healthy active living | realbuzz

healthy active living | realbuzz

good list!

Porridge, Popcorn, Apples, Oranges, Eggs & Soup.. click through to read more!

Google reported to be building an electronic wallet � The Bankwatch

Google reported to be building an electronic wallet � The Bankwatch

yes, close to the money is key.. and being TRUSTED..

sadly google has not got any billing relationships and its not as trusted.. as amazon is already trusted and got billing!

so, if Jeff of Amazon is keep on course, even with Google's money, Amazon can and will win! ;-)

fingers crossed I am right!

How to Become a Thought Leader in Six Steps - Dorie Clark - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review

How to Become a Thought Leader in Six Steps - Dorie Clark - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review

don't forget however, not a lot of 'thought leaders' make the bucks..

Thought leaders who EXECUTE and make it happen is key! ..

As summarised by Reuters here.

"Distinguish yourself as someone with a truly unique perspective respected inside and outside the organization. Here are three ways to do that:

1. Build your online presence. The Internet is a perfect place to start showcasing your knowledge. Post comments on blogs, write your own posts, and connect with other bloggers to create a network.

2. Win some awards. Identify awards that matter in your industry and don't be afraid to nominate yourself, or convince colleagues to do it for you.

3. Flaunt well thought-of affiliations. Your associations aren't always in your control but if you have a degree from a top school or testimonials from important people, display them prominently. Credibility by proxy is valuable."

This is maybe a bit too far.. sadly!? YouTube - 呼叫魚

YouTube - 呼叫魚

This is maybe a bit too far.. sadly!?

And the killer application for 2011 is … | Watching the connectives

And the killer application for 2011 is … | Watching the connectives:

"Totally agree Rob

Most of online so far is sadly hype and success for maybe 100′s of net entrepreneur who hyped up and sold in time.. Which these type of biz opportunity has not really happened much in the telecoms world maybe except a handful of exceptions (names escaped me now, commenting on my BlackBerry!)

Great post! Need more telecoms blogger!"

How time has changed...!? still applicable?? Identifying people on-line violates Data Protection laws, says European Court | Pinsent Masons LLP

Identifying people on-line violates Data Protection laws, says European Court | Pinsent Masons LLP

does it mean that in our age of tagging people on facebook, flickr etc. we are sharing too much information and is contravening EU data protection laws?? esp. re people's personal lives??

curious to see if any lawyers can shed the latest lights on such matter!?

thanks..

45 Funny Examples of Photography and Print Ads - Noupe Design Blog

45 Funny Examples of Photography and Print Ads - Noupe Design Blog:

good to go through them.. brilliant what people can come up with..

thanks for the list, I love the one below most.. ;-)

Collaboration

The Ultimate Kiss