My response re Orange & RED pill of life, the steps before finding a truly Meaningful (dare I say Impactful) Job

The #1 Feature of a Meaningless Job | LinkedIn:



In response to another comment..



Jeremy Russell

Student at Idaho State University

Sounds like you have a great sense of humor. A very long winded ( but interesting ) way of saying: you become your environment; If you want to change you, then change your interaction with your surroundings. People, places, and things all change when you apply (keyword) the force to change it.


I tried to clarify further what I meant in my previous post on Linkedin:



+++




kinda. 

Meaningful job: nice to have but most are too busy/consumed with "going through the motion", 

and would not take time to 'ask' nor 'search' what 'true meanings' are for them. 

Hence by challenging themselves, and testing/learning more, they should then be able to get to know 

1) what they really want/would like to achieve (meaningful job might just be one of 

them) 

2) set goals and concrete steps to achieve them. whether it is new skills to a meaningful job or indeed impactful life,

this would be the Orange pill of life (matrix analogy). 

Of course next step would be to take the RED pill, & (challenge oneself to) learn more about the whole world and its global challenges of Food, Water, natural Resources, & systemic problems of the finance world... 

and get mightily depressed.. 

If there is enough GRIT applied.. then maybe work towards a viable solution.. on that happy note, back to my work. 

Question: Would you dare to take the Orange or RED pill? (Congratulations btw, as its a given that you are not taking the blue pill as you would not have taken the time to read Prof Adam's post and my long-winded reply!) 

Good luck to us all! 

BR 

@GarethWong

Would totally recommend reading @AdamMGrant 's original post that sparked these comments: The #1 Feature of a Meaningless Job | LinkedIn:

seen this fantastic initiative to help find a meaningful job?  http://80000hours.org/

2 Stupid Simple tests and Actions as first thing to do to get to The #1 Feature of a Meaningless Job | LinkedIn

The #1 Feature of a Meaningless Job | LinkedIn:





Great insights Prof Adam as ever!  how could we survive without you in all the years before 2013/4!? ;-)



Our reality of life (rat race?) means that everyone need to find a balance between their



1.) physical needs (money for home/warmth/food) &



2.) higher faculty needs:

a.) educating themselves (probably at the same time as 1.)),

b.) for those that are brave enough to self taught or go to night schools (as its much easier to just sit and consume, from junk food or reality TV)



therefore, (terrible generalisation here, pls forgive me) a big proportion of the population would find it easier:



A.) to whine and complaint .. but go back to doing same thing/nothing changed



B.) to consume than asking themselves some higher questions (unless you are religious, or well read, & not only addicted to/feast on tabloids news)..



Therefore, the question of Meaningfulness and Impactfulness of one's life/work would be much easier to chat/think about it than doing something dramatic to change one's behaviour (if it needs to be improved)!



Therefore, some might argue that if there is a well paid job that is meaningful and paid well, they would do it.. just like being served the best meal on the plate when they get to a restaurant or fast food joint.. We know that is not the case as we have to work hard even "to find" the best restaurant.. yup we will travel 1-2hrs or wait in the queue for an hour to join the best restaurant right?



1st Acid Test: have you spent 1-2hours to challenge/improve yourself this week?



You are absolutely right that people need to "search for meaning'.. (thanks for the tip, I shall buy that book to read!) but once again that might be too high a question to ask, and it would just get back to the Wish list.. (alongside with fixing the door/changing the light bulbs or the night school to learn another language or go to do GMAT & wishing to enrol on an Executive MBA course)..



IMHO, I would therefore argue that people should be able to do something simpler, easier to do, just like David Allen Company Dave Allen suggested, something under 2minutes initially..



2nd VERY Simple TEST: take a pen & a piece of paper: Ask yourself this: what did you 'learn' last week!? (compare your written answers again at the end of next week)



Just for fun, for 2minutes daily, challenge yourself to learn a new skills, like learn how to use chopsticks, or if you already know how to, teach the other hand! .. once finished, congratulate yourself and set yourself another challenge. see how you feel!



Therefore, as we discussed Prof Adam, re "Intelligent giving", I would like to argue people need to adopt "Intelligent Self-help", as per my to be launch movement called @Be_Champion, people just need to challenge themselves on a daily basis. WE all need help, from Ultra-high-net-worth (who don't know what mortgage is) to those below the poverty line, and especially the middle class.. We ALL need to challenge ourselves to be more impactful and meaningful.. but need to do something simple first.



Finding our life goals and making our life impactful & meaningful whilst having enough food on the table would be wonderful. Happiness will no doubt follow!



Some food for thoughts maybe.



BR

@GarethWong

My comments re "It does matter" but Bitcoin is a Dangerous Non Asset and Non currency! Marc Andreessen tells Why Bitcoin Matters - NYTimes.com

Why Bitcoin Matters - NYTimes.com:

Media coverage does funny things to people, it empowers public but amplifies exponentially that of millionaires and perceived successful people (Marc of course is the former!)... This type of posts is dynamite, and not in a good sense!

We are now in 2014 and trust is at an all time low... People are looking for alternatives... could Bitcoin be that alternative? I would argue NOT. Wisemen say don't get involved with things you don't understand, and this is true for bitcoin! 

Bitcoin means a total lack of what I call the much needed 'TAT' (Transparency, Accountability and Trust) ie the lack of which led to the downfall of the banking system! 

Fact: Even major value adding enterprising firms that are Rated, Listed AND Audited can still go bust by 4:45 pm any afternoon (consequently, their shares mean nothing and all creditors loose out..with no recourse.. directors might get a bad name for a short period of time). Surely it is madness for anyone to argue how some encryption codes are changing everyone's lives as a currency that has no visible people behind it, let alone any supporting 'underlying asset' or any promissory note from any government!? 

Yes, bitcoin may be a great technology and it signifies a major goal posts..I agree with Marc.

But how would this be different (take the much touted technology encryption aside) logistically to using GE shares for transaction, or indeed using our own portfolio of shares.. I would argue using Warren's Berkshire Hathaway shares would be 100x better! 

Note to other Tech Entrepreneurs or eBay mafia: might be an idea to create #StockKASH as a product? paying using shares in escrow but it would have to have some tangible underlying instruments?

Any share price that is highly volatile means that something is wrong with the company/asset... or it's a sign of a bubble. How does one rationalise the volatility of Bitcoin?  How can we be sure that there is only a 'limited' supply of such coins!? We can be sure re physical assets or the issue of money by a Central bank through an official announcements (i.e. QE). But where is the Trust and Transparency regarding Bitcoin?

Why not spend Marc's $50m on something more important and long term, which would help fix the systemic issue of finance (although I appreciate this would take time and huge amount of money), as reported during FinTech City events this week in London. Almost all of the FinTech ventures worldwide are concentrating on doing something better/different, and also mainly towards B2C or B2SMEs.

The crowd lemming bandwagon behaviour of VCs that invest in firms that don't add real value to our world is just astounding. Their shackle of 5/10years return structure means sadly these types of bubble ventures like Bitcoin are perfect for creating firms for exit. 

Strangest thing is that most FinTech firms are not really disruptive at all.  In the most basic form, all the FinTech firms still use banks, payment processors (paying similar fees) and no one (sadly) is working on fixing the broken 'plumbing' of Finance nor fixing the mid-market plus value chain... 

The multi-million, billion, trillion pension/insurance/rating/auditing markets are ripe for disruption and unless fixed there will be many bitcoin type firms that turn up and confuse the heck out of most people, professionals included!

Reality: All these types of 'good press' for bitcoin will hurt those consumers that end up losing badly in such high stake "pass the parcel game", which could 'explode' at any time.

I am glad that China took lead and banned the banks from transacting on bitcoin related trades (Dec.2013).  Let's see which other country has good sense... Kudos that Alibaba follow suit! 

But don't listen to me, listen to Nobel Laureate Robert Shiller, and Jamie dimon of JP Morgan, both calling bitcoin a bubble... 

I just hope the public will not spend all their savings for the supposedly short term gain... $50m might be short change for Marc and ok to gamble, but the rest of us should stop and think twice when it comes to Bitcoin!

@GarethWong

my short blog re Disaggregation of a Bank - Fermi.VC

Disaggregation of a Bank - Fermi.VC:

Hi Zander

great start of a conversation regarding a very important area of startup.

Almost all however are mainly looking at doing the same thing better/different. As many great entrepreneurs have show from Steve to Bill, the biggest opportunity lies with a firm/product that

1.) disrupt a market or

2.) changes the value chain or

3.) create a new business model (ideally all three!)

Therefore, IMHO, biggest potential startup opportunity is area(s) in finance that needs fixing. Banking is one important vertical but there are many other players from insurance/re-insurance firms, to asset managers/pension funds, as they need each others' support in the very complex & intricate finance/capital market. 

First lesson from any entrepreneurial professors and even entrepreneurs turn guru would say what are the problems, and how do you propose to fix them!  Given the dire economic situation of the world right now, no doubt we can all think of something to fix?

a good example is, what "really" went wrong before the credit crunch? is it fixable? some might argue that the real fault lies with the value chain, how information is used, valued and maybe in fact the process of 'securitisation' itself.. ?

e.g. from fund management startup like Nutmeg to any future startups that can augment/change/fix the systemic financial/capital market risks would be the next iPad of finance. (look at it from billion pension funds, Family foundations' perspective)

so, yes, disaggregation is key but probably providing a solution that would fix the broken part(s) of the financial/capital market could very well be the lowest hanging fruit/holy grail.

Technology will play key part but substantial capital will also needed to buy a seat at such a table and sadly the 6/7 figure sums of typical VC investments sadly might fall short; as big corporates would pay more than that per project just for opinions!? equally, likely return would also be substantial and of course barrier to entry!

not a game for the faint-hearted.

BR

@GarethWong

Must check out his slides (suggest full screen and download if you figure out how!):

View Disaggregation of a Bank v1.pdf and other presentations by alexander33be.

make sense.. or just get our butts off the couch and simply jump around.. !? The Commercial Break Workout Keeps You Fit While Watching TV

The Commercial Break Workout Keeps You Fit While Watching TV:

make sense.. or just get our butts off the couch and simply jump around.. !?

My short blog re: Using copyright to keep repair manuals secret undermines circular economy | Guardian Sustainable Business | Guardian Professional

Using copyright to keep repair manuals secret undermines circular economy | Guardian Sustainable Business | Guardian Professional:

Good points raised Kyle, but of course some might argue that you might be slightly biased.. ;-)

In all seriousness though, as pointed out eloquently by @GeorgeMonbiot 's must read article on consumerism: "Materialism: a system that eats us from the inside out" in @guardian http://bit.ly/1d6RfZB just last week, our world economy is too much geared for "growth at all costs".. sadly but understandably, firms are trying to ensure people 'buy' more and 'fixing' things are sadly is against the present market's DNA..

Unless of course if consumers ask the right question(s) and look for 'alternatives'..

For example, for those who can afford the bags that are 'guaranteed' for life, like Bally, Tumi, Briggs & Riley etc. they can easily be 'fixed' by the vendor! However, sadly most find them too expensive..

Equally, from gadgetry to white goods, we need more viable 'choices' and more brands and manufacturers (not only exclusive ones) that create products that lasts.. and can be fixed by ourselves or by experts.

I would like to assert that what our world desperately needs therefore are products that are "Designed and Built TO LAST.." hopefully still affordable and make economic sense in the long run.

Will this become a reality? or have we past the point of no return, I wonder. I certainly hope its the former!

BR
@GarethWong 

My blog comments re Doug Richard: Hong Kong is Asia's premier start-up hub - Telegraph

Doug Richard: Hong Kong is Asia's premier start-up hub - Telegraph: "Hong Kong is acknowledged as one of the world’s smart cities, with its excellent ICT infrastructure, transportation, health care and governance systems. These are the foundations that are fast accelerating its appeal for international startups and entrepreneurs looking for a base that can offer a launch pad for international expansion.
"

My Comments:

'As a biased Hong Kong born & raised entrepreneur, I would say we have only 50/50 chance to ensure a thriving HKG past 2047, hence my last blog/comments ("We need a visionary to lead a new "#TheFutureHKG" initiative, repositioning HKG past 2047! " http://bit.ly/19mYnSQ) 

Hong Kong is well positioned. but the situation between Singapore and Hong Kong is now reverse (compare to the 80s), plus anything past 2047 will be uncertain, thus this provide further challenges for firms that are seriously planning to build products/services rather than building something for short term exit. 

It is easy for proponents for the entrepreneurship (gold rush movement) to talk about startups based on InvestHK 's initiative (great work, btw, anything helps!), one need to think back, Chinese, especially Hong Kong/southern China Chinese are very entrepreneurial already, works hard, just need ideas/encouragement to take the plunge..

Key success for new HKG startups is to think longer term (rather than short term exits), and also think nationally (in china) and regionally, as the Hong Kong market is sadly too small. Being able to harness the present industries is also a major niche that entrepreneurs can easily tap into, sadly not easily done by fresh graduates that are following the gold rush and have not much experiences... 

Eitherway, Hong Kong and china is so unique that as Chinese guru (@martjacques martinjacques.com) has mentioned multiple times, China (HKG) is unique and need a different/unique model, and no westerners would know what is 'right' for China.. I would argue that it is the same for the entrepreneurial/startup community of Hong Kong. We just need to work together to help nuture the future HKG regional Baidu etc. 

good luck to all of us! 

BR

garethwong 

Yes & more no. my comments re The problem of the financial sector is institutional amorality | Guardian Sustainable Business | Guardian Professional

The problem of the financial sector is institutional amorality | Guardian Sustainable Business | Guardian Professional:

I agree with your logic but sadly if you were to rely on politicians and political system to fix the world (especially finance), then sadly you are way off mark. 

FACT: no one country can legislate for the world. Even if we do the right thing in UK does not mean we can fix the financial world, capital market is just too inter-connected internationally now, especially for London/UK. 

I would recommend you & other readers to the book "Winner-Take-All Politics" by Paul Pierson and Jacob Hacker.. Whitehall is not like the white-house but we have seen how lobbyist/think tank/foundations work the world over.. 

If politicians and regulators can really fix things, simple question: 5 years since the credit crunch, why is Lehman Brothers still around (@CNNMoney 16Sep13 Surprise! Lehman Brothers is still big http://cnnmon.ie/1eitDFB ) and JP Morgan only just been fined $13bn (half of their annual profit), and was JP the lone wolf?? 

IMHO, this is sadly only the beginning (yes after five years).  Surely the elephant in the room: how come no one dare to say publicly what really went wrong and most importantly how to fix it.. !

Salaries and bonuses need to be considered in the wider context of corporate governance and better reporting (yes it is complex), many great initiatives like Tomorrow's Company and the newly launched Integrated reporting does help to address the key issues and encourage firms to "do the right thing", but unless and until EVERYFIRM (government included) does it, sadly it would still fail. As it would be like finding and celebrating Naomi campbell as the fist/best black super model, it is 2013 now and we only see Naomi and Tyra banks (apparently most job still go to white models)!  What we need is ways to instigate an effective DNA changing Good-Rus (vs Virus) and change the world's value chain.. and their goals so everyone start thinking AND acting long, and investing into 'empowering innovations' (pls see below). 

Ultimately the challenge is rather complex and I agree that it involves finance, politics and indeed morality, and IMHO indeed everyone of us (talk is cheap but action is now needed!). We cannot rely on 'others' to make sense for us nor can we just do another 'occupy' movement to raise the agenda.. as the world need not more questions and dispatches/panorama exposes.. but stupid simple and viable solutions and concrete actions. 

I would argue that investment is not only political, it is in fact personal, the days that "blind trusting" the institution or the market and/or government is sadly long gone.  Your institutional amorality point is sadly too 'one sided' and simplistic, I would argue that it is in fact market-wide and financial value chain-issue, which every part of the value chain need to challenge their own thought process/goals. All these were succinctly summarised by Prof Clay Christensen's talk and slide: http://flic.kr/p/fNAFfL in essence market is now shifted toward 'keeping/playing money' in the [efficiency innovation mode] rather than investing further in innovations that create things and jobs ; [empowering innovation mode].

(I've been meaning to put down my solution/reply to Prof.Clay's slide, if you guys are interested, ping me, might want to do a blog post if/when I have time) 

What do I know? best to learn from another top professor and industry mogul: I would recommend you and others to read (no doubt you have already) two more books: 1) Prof Colin Meyer's Firm Commitment & 2.) The Clash of the Cultures: Investment vs. Speculation Hardcover by John C. Bogle (rent seeking vs value adding)

Time-horizon is key, you elude to tenure of junior investment staffs, however, same goes for pension fund managers/trustees and even family/charitable foundations.  Do they in fact have any choice?  Given the interconnected/inter-dependent systemically linked finance world now, plus the blind chase of 'growth' means that despite many pension funds only wanted a single digit growth investment option for 50 years, they have no option but to invest short term! Everyone is talking about exit and IPOs but forget key is making a long term viable and hopefully profitable business that does something (surely this is much more important than hype/party/news and paper worth)?

My conclusion? the financial world need to augment the value chain and its DNA, it needs to do things in such a way that it would be "stupid simple" and same across the world (as it is too complex now across different jurisdictions, before looking at the instruments!) In short Gear box change rather than changing oil and gears (& monitor better). 

Yes we are stuck but lets get out and do something impactful. ONLY relying on political change/help would be a grave mistake. 

BR

@GarethWong 

My comments re: It's pointless blaming brands for state world is in today, consumers can use their wallets to create change. Agree? bit.ly/1avupHR

(@Guardian It's pointless blaming brands for state world is in today, consumers can use their wallets to create change. Agree? bit.ly/1avupHR)

Totally, consumer can take a big role... but being informed, and able to make the right decision is NOT easy!

Sadly in our international & interconnected world, most would not have the time to adopt an inquisitorial mindset as reliable information/data is sadly scarce unless there is a MAJOR cahnge to our world's financial and supply chain DNA.

FACT: there is no one country can legislate for the world, and providing wrong/bad/mis-leading data does not affect powerful firm's bottom line (rightaway anyway). there are only handful of great firms that has the foresight and GRIT to be able to take long and difficult decisions..

Therefore, answer is yes but with caveats that consumers can take an active role to

1.) Ask the inquisitorial questions

2.) any answers are pre-qualified (Any wrong information provided must mean financial or other consequences)

3.) total transparent culture (not only done by one firm but by all.. )

Reason why it is not easy/simple tasks (yes we will still be talking about this in the next 5-10years, mark my words):

Most supply chain issues are so complex that there is no easy way but to invest time/energy to understand the WHOLE chain..

A.) from the UK energy supplier price hike, see RT @GarethWong: Must watch @C4Dispatches  Energy Bills Exposed on @4oD at @Channel4 http://t.co/35qnP1l5KK  With lack of choice, not much we can do!

B.) To the latest palm oil report, what can consumers do?? try not to buy anything with Palm Oil? no more Nutella and in fact most goods in the supermarket! (sadly not a choice most consumers would take!) see more below:

RT @GarethWong: @Guardian Major palm oil Co.accused of breaking ethical promises http://t.co/MEfNbWwGGV @po_st ignoring Comm.rights http://t.co/X88AGfjRLG
: @ForestPeoplesP conflict or consent pdf report on palm oil http://www.forestpeoples.org/sites/fpp/files/publication/2013/11/conflict-or-consentenglishlowres.pdf

( Would anyone want to spent 1-2hours to read up!? )

good to talk though for sure.

BR
@GarethWong

We need a visionary to lead a new "#TheFutureHKG" initiative, repositioning HKG past 2047! comments re Shanghai free-trade zone will hit Hong Kong quicker than expected, says Li Ka-shing | South China Morning Post

Shanghai free-trade zone will hit Hong Kong quicker than expected, says Li Ka-shing | South China Morning Post:

Mr. Li is right, understandably, as he and his family own most of the key industries. It is brilliant that he is giving his words that he is not leaving.

As a indigenous Hong Kong people, I am alarmed to see we have taken on worst of democracy (bickering for the sake of it) and having sadly lost international mind share to Singapore (I still remember they were "trying" to over take HK).

Do bear in mind we have a deadline of 2047 where Future existence of Hong Kong as a key trade hub will be in jeopardy if EVERYONE DO NOT work towards a common goal.

I would like to therefore challenge Mr. Li & others to work together, joining forces/resources and money to re-position HKG as the creative/intellectual/business hub for the region and hopefully for the world.

We will need Vision, Tenacity, hopefully with the support of a bi-partisan and ideally strong government.

IMHO, with so many billionaires, JPs and Multi-nationals asset at stake (in HKG), creating and carrying out a plan and get it funded should be done outside of the government and adopt the "JUST do it" approach.

We have everything in Hong Kong, culture, food, 'network density', hopefully still hard working people that we have grown up loving (we might talk loud but that's the language's fault!)

Now, someone come out and LEAD please!

if I have time, I shall blog more about this on: http://gw.cxovip.org

Wish us all luck and greater success (after some hard work) for TheFuture of Hong Kong!