strategist

US Mid-term Elections: Future or Past?

The November mid-terms should give the world a look into the true hearts of Americans. Does the country head back to the past, circa 1950s or to the future, 2025? I worry that the Tea Party will yank the republic back to the past. Overturn Civil Rights, Brown vs. Ed, Roe v. Wade, and much much more.

It is time for the GOP to take back their party and kick out the racists and segregationists. There is no room in the party for such idiotic and petty thinking. If the GOP wish to be taken seriously again, it needs to enter into genuine debate with the Obama White House. For the love of God, please let someone within the GOP stand up and be counted. And 'no', Ms. Palin should not be the GOP flag-bearer. Let her stay in Alaska and run on the platform of secession.

Game on boys and girls.

Troubling Times: Movie Gets "R" Rating

It is funny how a comedy this year could get an "R" rating due to a scene where the main actors, Meryl Streep and Steve Martin toke up. Yup, that's right. They smoke some dope. How did it ever get to this point? It definitely has become the 'slippery slope' in the US.

Pretty soon, we should expect the "Tea-baggers" and the 'Birthers" demanding that all libraries burn books that do not share their views of the world. We should thank the weakened GOP for allowing the country to get to this current state. Where are the men in the party? Have they all gone home to hide?

The Republic is destined for death should the true GOP relinquish power to the extreme right wing of the party. C'mon boys and girls - it is time to kick out the lunatic fringe and reclaim the party. Let the nut-jobs form their own party.

Christmas Gift: Ten Trillion Dollars from Capitalist Pig Asset Mgmt LLC

Once again, Jonathan sent a gift that keeps on giving: a crisp new bill from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe with a denomination of 10,000,000,000,000 dollars (10 trillion dollars). The hyper-inflation of the country practically makes this single note bill worthless. What a great gift. This is what is going to happen to the currencies of the world one day.

Perhaps, Jonathan recommends that we go short on global currencies and load up on gold, silver, cotton, oil, diamond and water. All else will be worthless.

And to Jonathan - Happy Holidays.

strategist (tokyo)

LinkedIn Business Networking Event in JPN

Heading to tonight's business networking event in Tokyo. I passed on the word about the event to a few of my colleagues. Hopefully the gathering will be both productive and enjoyable. I'll get a chance to see some of my former colleagues and possibly meet up with some future ones as well.

I'll snap a few fotos of tonight and post them here and elsewhere. If you are in Tokyo tonight, drop on by.

Overseas: Biz Trip

Business trips are never easy. Especially when they are trips abroad.

Been taking lots of pictures. I'll post them later. Tomorrow, I will lug my suitcase to the train station and head off to the next city. I hope I don't get too lost. Must bring a map.

US Healthcare Debates: Civilized or Not?

I am getting tired of all the bickering on both sides. In the 21st Century, shouldn't the Democratic Party and Republicn Party sit down to a civilized, televised debate? Don't the people of the republic deserve that from politicians?

China: Selling PCs in the Middle Kingdom

I don't think foreign PC makers can convince the Chinese government from reversing their controversial policy of demanding the installation of some (tracking/web filtering/monitoring) software on all PCs shipped to/into China from 1 July. The only way the Chinese government would ever drop such a high barrier to PC makers is when they perfect a 'human tracking/camera embedded in the eye' software/hardware for each of the 1.3 billion people in the country.

China wants to track and follow everyone in the country. Once this technology is perfected, the government need not care what people do with their PCs: the government will actually see what they are doing through the government-installed camera in every citizen's left eye/right eye.

I am quite sure some company based in Silicon Valley, Austin Texas, Boston Mass, or Waterloo Ont is working on the design specs right now.

Just think when you go in for an eye exam, some government-backed doctor will place a few eye drops in both eyes with nano-size bots in the liquid. Once inside, the bots will embed themselves right at the back of the eye and voila - we have a live connection.

Instead of the West screaming about installing stupid software onto PCs, the West should think of ways of preventing the tracking of humans by the Chinese government. How about tin foil hats or something like that?

MySpace: Continues on the Headcount Reduction Path

The only question I have for Jonathan is 'how lean do you want the animal to be?'

With more headcount reductions, you are begging for the rest of the staff to bail out and run for the hills.

HBS MBA Graduates Sign "Ethical Pledge"

Glad to read in the NYTimes that some of the students at HBS have decided to sign a plege of ethical behaviour. Let's hope the graduating class have more honesty and integrity that some of the students who graduated so many years ago.

Question: Is business school turning out future criminals? Or is business school a great training ground for those students more inclined to criminal behaviour?

Let's see how the class of 2009 turn out over the next 10 years. How many will be in prison by 2019?

Lies, Lies & Business Lies

Do business schools spend an entire semester teaching the 'future captains of industry' to lie and cheat? Take a look at all the companies, business and LLPs that have imploded due to flagrant violations of the law. Can you say Enron? Drexel? Worldcom?

If I go to business school, will I, too, be corrupted by untold riches? Will all that golden glitter make me become less human? Less caring? Less feeling? Or should I go to business school and then, spend the rest of my time developing businesses that help the poor? Uneducated? Under privileged? Or will I go for the fast and dirty buck and go into investment banking? F*&k no way.

Host Utters Bad Word: Gets Fired

Not a good thing to happen to anyone. Especially, if it was done accidentally. I hope Dr. Rice can forgive the guy who did it.

Read CNN

Sam Walton is Turning Over in His Grave

WTF is going on at Wal-Mart? Are the executives over there completely stupid? Have they lost their minds? How the hell are they allowed to maintain on the job? Do these people want to ruin Sam's legacy?

CNN: Another Wal-Mart Scandal

Warning: How Projects Get Screwed Up

I received this wonderful analysis from a buddy from Nortel. I guess that he, too has seen some wonderful ideas go down the toilet as well. I wonder why 'grown ups' screw up so many simple ideas by not delivering what the client wants. Perhaps it is true that the simplest way is the best way.

Business schools should use this drawing as a lesson for all future consultants and strategists.

Terminal Values: Part Deux

A few days ago, I blogged about how business students may be using a flawed method for acquisition valuation. I referred to a case study put out by HBS in the mid-1990s. Basically, one of the assumptions in completing a terminal value for a business acquistion is to run calculations which state at what rate will the business continue growing in the future. Or simply put, growth in perpetuity. Well, Professor Krugman, yes the famous guy, has just written a similar piece for the NY Times. (See article.)

Can companies continue growing forever? If so, at what rate will it be? Will it be 4% over the next 100 years? Will it be 7% as some in the US government believe to justify their Social Security (radical) changes? Or will it be a teeny 1% CAGR over the next 100 years?

In my humble opinion, I believe business students should only "run numbers" to show how much a company acquisition might produce for the next 10, 20, or 30 years. Anything further is just 'wishful thinking'. Think about it another way: how many investors do you know who buy shares in one company and hold onto those shares for more than 50 years? Are those investors still alive? Personally, the longest I have ever held a stock was 7 years.

Since GW Bush did graduate from HBS Business School, I would expect that GW has a much better financial background than, let's say, another US President. As for Krugman's op-ed piece, from a business/economic perspective, I whole-heartedly agree with the professor. There is no way in h-e-double hockeysticks that any company can see 4% growth, let alone 7% growth in perpetuity. Never going to happen.

New Business Model: Rip-Off Taxpayers

Do they teach this stuff at business schools? How in God's name can people rip-off taxpayers by submitting invoices for non-existent work? Is there any sense of 'fair play' or 'good pay for an honest day's work' anymore? Have we entered into a new era of business: Steal, cheat, and lie? Is this what they teach to all new business school graduates? Perhaps, business schools should add an additional year to their curricula and teach the future 'captains of industry' about religion. Here's a good lesson for all business students: If you steal, cheat and lie, you'll burn in HELL! And if they do it, send them to Hell!

Has any firm conducted a study on how many company CEOs have cheated? Stole? Lied? I wonder what percentage of CEOs from large Fortune 500 companies have done it? What about the smaller companies? I'd venture a guess that more than 60% of company CEOs have done it.

(The Globe and Mail: Ad agencies RIP-OFF taxpayers in Canada) - Have they no shame???

Delta Airlines: Image Problem???

Read the blog of the recently 'fired' Delta flight attendant. Does Delta have any idea what they have done?  Somebody has to write up a case study of how Delta likes to fire workers without any cause for action. Sure glad I don't fly Delta.

Amazon: Full Entry into China

Looks like China is going to be the place to do business for e-commerce companies now. Is it time to start learning Chinese??

(FT.com)

The Screamer

I want to write about a strange phenomena that I have recently noticed about people, especially co-workers. I'm sure all of us work alongside someone whom I call 'The Screamer'. The Screamer is someone who always talks out loud and complains about every aspect of his/her job. Often the Screamer wants to draw attention to himself/herself in a vain attempt to have those around him/her feel pity toward him/her. Why? Because the Screamer wants attention. No, the Screamer craves attention. The more often someone comes up and says 'Oh, you have such difficulty. Please keep at it!' or 'I feel so sorry for you having to work with such stupid people all day long.' or even 'They should pay you more money because you are so busy.' I think you get the idea. The Screamer wants to have the entire company look at him/her and think, "WOW" - he/she must be important because he/she is always screaming. Well, I hate to burst your bubble but often the Screamer is just covering up for his/her own deficiencies.

The Screamer wants to deflect attention away from his/her weaknesses. The Screamer wants to appear busy when actually he/she is not even remotely busy. The Screamer simply wants to appear important.

Now, I have worked with many Screamers in my various careers. Each Screamer I come across is yet another reason why companies must rein them in. I suspect that many companies do nothing to prevent Screamers from screaming because they fear them. I recall a few times when I had to pull aside the company Screamer and ask them to refrain from screaming. As I was the Screamer's supervisor, I felt it was time (and I had had enough of their screaming) to ask them one simple question: Do you want to keep your job? The Screamer got the message and immediately bit his tongue from that point forward.

Offices are too small for Screamers to be present. I hate working alongside a Screamer. And I hate it even more when a Screamer is always 'in my face'. I hate it. (Now I know when some people choose to live in recluse and up in the mountains...)

China: New Silicon Valley

Very interesting article in the NY Times today. Thomas L. Friedman writes about how young Chinese workers are about to change the face of the world. I have only visited (mainland) China once but have been to Hong Kong numerous times. What I take away from my first visit to Shanghai is a new found sense of how the young workers and entrepreneurs are going to change the business and competitive landscape for the next 10 to 20 years.

Each young worker who enters the labour market gets his or her first taste at what hard work can bring in the form of 'the fruits of one's labour'. After a few paychecks, I am sure these young workers will help transform China into a true market economy while in the background the Party Officials try to rule the politics for the Middle Kingdom. Fortunately, with a half billion young workers who hunger for more riches, they will help bring about the end of communism in China.

Excerpt Begins

Just as in manufacturing, he added, "Chinese people first were the employees and working for the big foreign manufacturers. And after several years, after we have learned all the processes and steps, we can start our own firms. Software will go down the same road. . . . First we will have our young people employed by the foreigners, and then we will start our own. It is like building a building. Today, the U.S., you are the designers, the architects, and the developing countries are the bricklayers for the buildings. But one day, I hope, we will be the architects."

Excerpt Ends

(NY Times)

Lack of Managerial Professionalism

In my many years of working in various roles within small and large organisations, I can honestley say that I have worked for many great managers and many shitty managers. While still in Canada, I got my first taste of general management working for a rather large organisation with business operations around the world (Canada, USA, Australia and the UK). The partner who ran our region always believed in working with his subordinates (GMs, Senior managers, etc.). He instilled a sense of 'fair play' and 'professional management within our teams'. Once I asked him why he spent so much time and money on sending us to professional training programmes and he responded, "if we want to run a professional organisation, you need to think like professional managers". Our company was founded by a Harvard Business School Graduate. One of the most important lessons I learned from him was that I was never to 'yell' at a subordinate no matter what the reason. If the subordinate made an error, I was to speak with him or her in a calm manner and try to use the situation as a learning event. Never was I to use a negative event as a 'point for a scolding'. Never.

Anytime a supervisor of mine yells at me, I get very angry at their lack of professionalism. I especially get upset when my supervisors are graduates of business school. Sometimes, I do not believe business schools do a good enough job of 'yanking the poor manners' out of immature managers. No matter how many case studies a immature manager reads or how many class/group discussions one engages in, he or she can never be a 'great manager' until he or she grows up.

Managers who scream at me for no good reason other than they themselves got screamed at by their supervisors only show me their lack of professionalism. I know that I should not get angry at them but rather I should 'pity' them for their poor upbringing. Perhaps, I should begin managing upwards and help them 'grow up' - No! I'll just take a position of staying neutral while I watch those around me implode from their lack of managerial skills.

CEO Pay Scale Surges

Now that we know the recent accounting scandals, the bust-and-boom cycles of business, the company's-money-is-my-money-attitude has not affected the pocketbooks of corporate CEOs, we can expect B-school applications to increase for the 2005-intake year. Heck, if I can get a job that keeps paying me no matter how bad or corrupt I become, I'll gladly force myself to tough it out for two years at an Ivy-League B-school. On another note, I wonder how fast one has to sell his/her soul to the Devil in order to get into the Club of Rich CEOs??

Do you think B-schools will start charging higher fees for admission? What do you think about the Bigs charging $250,000 per year to study in Ivy-League tradition? Would you be willing to pay that much for a chance to become a member of the Club of Rich CEOs? What if B-schools charged a small fee upfront and then, charged you a 15% fee on all your future earnings for the next 20 years? Would you be willing to enrol in HBS? SOM? Stanford? Chicago?

(CBS Market Watch.)

Wal-Mart: What is going on???

If these numbers are correct, I shudder to think about how 'greedy' the guys and gals are at Wal-Mart. While they are making a fortune for their shareholders, I will stay away from them because I could not live with myself thinking about how 'bad' they treat their staff. "Just plain awful" that's what it is!

Wal-Mart is planning on setting up stores all across Japan very soon. I wonder how poorly they plan on paying workers over here? McDonald's is paying approximately 850 yen per hour for a day shift and a bit more for graveyard shifts. I don't know whether Wal-Mart plans on having a higher starting salary or not. Guess I will have to wait until a Wal-Mart opens up in West Tokyo to find out how much they are offering for labourers.

Do you think Sam is turning over in his grave right about now?? I think I will begin downloading some of their SEC filings to see just how much the company is paying their CEO. I mean did the CEO really pull in $23M per year over the past three years??? If so, I hate to see a comparison between the CEO's salary and the average guy who works the stockroom.

(Counterpunch.)

Don't get me wrong here: I am a capitalist at heart but I dread any actions taken by a corporation that leads to worker revolt or shareholder revolt. Without able and willing people to work the business, what good is a business for a capitalist? With more and more CEOs getting a wee-bit more greedy nowadays, I worry that workers will cause disruption to businesses.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Just received my book order from Amazon.com this morning. I ordered a couple of books and asked Amazon for their expedition. Purchased Bainbridge's Merger and Acquisitions after spending many hours reading his blog, Professor Bainbridge.

The other book I got is titled 'Financial Analyst's Indispensible Pocket Guide' by Ram Ramesh, MBA, CFA. I sure hope the book will help me cram for my exam in December.

Altering Time Cards

Apparently, some businesses in the US are cheating workers by altering their time cards/payroll records according to an article in the NY Times. Obviously managers at such businesses have very understanding of 'fair business practices' and 'the law'.

(NY Times.com)

Excerpt from article: Experts on compensation say that the illegal doctoring of hourly employees' time records is far more prevalent than most Americans believe. The practice, commonly called shaving time, is easily done and hard to detect — a simple matter of computer keystrokes — and has spurred a growing number of lawsuits and settlements against a wide range of businesses.

Brand Marketing: Marth Stewart

Pending appeal, Martha Stewart - the brand, is holding up to the scrutiny of her convictions. I foresee a few bumps in the road ahead for her company, but I believe the brand will hold up and continue to get stronger. People who have never given any consideration on shopping Martha Stewart will do so in the near term. Why? When people really sit down and examine what Martha was convicted of they will find the behaviour of the district attorney and the government downright unfair. She was convicted of lying to federal investigators. While lying is a big 'no-no' in anyone's books, no one should lose their company or respect of their peers over it.

It must be very exciting to be on the inisde of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO) right about now: the marketing teams must be working ovetime on how to use the recent convictions to the company's advantage. To be on that marketing team right now would be a 'thrill and challenge of a lifetime.'

(CBS Market Watch.)

Michael Eisner to Michael Ovitz

You have got to read this recently unsealed letter from Eisner to Ovitz on the eve of Ovitz's farewell to the guys and gals at Mickey Mouseland. I am unsure whether this letter will help Eisner or cast more doubt on his ability to be a CEO. I think it's time to buy some shares in Mickey Mouse. Gotta call my broker tonight at midnight. (Thanks to Professor Bainbridge for the link.)

(Hollywood Reporter.)

Outsourcing: How to survive

I sure hope the upcoming US presidential elections does not place 'outsourcing' as this year's boogeyman. Outsourcing is a fact of corporate business now. As company managers have been entrusted with one and only one goal - maximization of shareholder value - they must seek out ways in which to raise operating income. If company management deems that 'outsourcing' is one viable method to pursue, then so be it.

As a shareholder, I would like to see my investment be rewarded through higher dividends or increases in share prices. If companies have difficulties raising revenues, then it must examine ways they can reduce operating costs. Companies must continue to grow. Maximizing shareholder value allows companies to continue operating.

With many companies examining 'outsourcing' as a means to survive, I am left with the choice of doing nothing to help myself or do something to better myself. Deep down I too know that I must continue to upgrade my own education and position myself for the changes that will occur to the Japanese economy within the next few years. If I do nothing to help myself, I am going to end up having my 'job' outsourced. It's better to control my own destiny than allow anyone to do so. I guess that is why I plan to sink the bulk of my free time over the next three years devoted to obtaining my CFA.

(NY Times.)

U of Chicago GSB Exec MBA

Attended a special presentation at Tokyo Imperial Hotel tonight to listen to the marketing staff of Chicago's GSB Asia Program. Chicago runs an Executive MBA degree program out of Singapore and Barcelona. Got to the hotel a bit late and was surprised to see the room full of interested students. It was a nice presentation. We got to hear from several marketing staff and current APX students on the program: Year 1 and Year 2 candidates. A few of the Chicago campus alumni were in attendance as well. The President of the Tokyo GSB Alumni told us that there are some 500 GSB graduates in Japan. Wow! That's a whole heck of a lot of people to network with. Definite positive for the school and their program.

I did not get a brochure/material package but I hope they will remember to send one to me via snail mail. The tuition for the 20-month program is US$80K. This does not include air to and from Singapore, Chicago and Barcelona. Nor does it include accommodations or meals. Gee, and do you know what??? People are lined up out the door to get onto the program!! Go figure - either everyone is independently wealthy or everyone is eager to get some more education into their heads.

I am attracted to the Chicago program because of their strength in finance and economics. As a student of financial economics, I am very interested in learning from some of the brightest minds in the field. Not that I totally agree with the entire 'Chicago School of Economics' and their thoughts of 'efficient markets', I do respect the school. I stand in awe of how much research the school generates each year. Cutting edge econ and finance research, no less.

Don't think I can even think of enrolling in the program at anytime soon, but it never hurts to stand planning what I might be doing in the next five to seven years. It'd be nice to have a Chicago university diploma to hang on my wall.

China

In a special report (via CRS in China) on one person's recent experiences in the PRC, it may serve as either a lesson to be learned for other business people or as a severe warning of things to come. I, myself, am interested in the growing business opportunities within the Middle Kingdom but I must admit that I too am worried about the growing stories of political corruption. While such incidents may be isolated, I would never want to be caught up in the same situation as Andrew Hollingworth. (TimesOnLine.) If China does wish to attract more FDI, it needs to address each and every claim of business corruption. Without a clear and level (business) playing field, many foreign companies will walk away from their business relationships in the PRC.

Negotiating Effectively

Interesting look at how careers, perceptions, and post-hiring need to be carefully managed and developed to ensure professional hires are made successful. (Read CFO.)

Governments on Short End of Stick

No matter how many subsidies a local government promises to companies, those companies just walk away at anytime. This is exactly what happened between United Airlines and the city of Indianapolis. If this occurs with more frequency in the future, I am sure governments will just tell 'big business' to take a flying leap next time companies come begging for more handouts and incentives. It's a sad day when a company can just walk away without any feelings of remorse or guilt. (Related story.)

Long Weekend, No More!!!

No such luck for me. I have to write up a few reports for work this weekend. I don't mind doing work during the weekends as it keeps me out of trouble and saves me a whole bunch of cash. With Christmas coming soon, I can use the extra cash!!

CFO.com: Interview Skills

I just love it when they produce lists of 'what to do' and 'what to avoid' in job interviews. I don't think anyone gave me advice when I got my first job at the ripe young age of 16. The only word of advice my mom gave me was "don't embarass the family'. I didn't. I got the job. Nowadays, kids have so much stress worrying about 'providing that perfect answer'.

When I was running the HR department at one company back in Canada, I really didn't care if the person's answers were perfect or not. I only wanted the candidates to answer each question with conviction and not 'toss up some completely B-Sh*t answer.' After working in HR-related management positions over the past 8 years, I got so tired of hearing 'canned answers'.

Three years ago, when I was being interviewed for my present job, I was so tense and nervous. The job being offered was 'PERFECT' for me. Perfect in the sense that it would challenge all my skills and push me to the limit. I could use all my schooling in every aspect of my job.

For my grad thesis, I focused my work in the area of knowledge creation and management. My economics training has helped with my analytical work on project assessments. I really think my schooling had more to do with my being prepared for the interviews (there were 3 of them) than my being able to answer questions like (1) What are you going to be doing in five years? (2) What was the biggest challenge you faced thus far? And how did you approach it? (3) What has been your biggest failure and what did you take away from that learning experience? Yeah - you know the type of boring questions usually asked at interviews, right?

In the interview, I was asked why I chose that research topic. Not your typical interview-type question. It was great because half of the interview focused on both graduate programs. Oh, yeah, I did talk about my many years in HR, Operations, General Management, Consulting, etc.

I guess my only advice for job seekers is not to follow all those 'job interview skills books' like they were written by God, Himself/Herself.

Credit Card Fraud Up!

Yup! I have been a victim of credit card fraud. Luckily, the crew at Visa caught the fraudulent transactions immediately. What caught the crew's attention was that the 'low life' criminal used my card number in western Japan. Funny since I live in Tokyo. The Visa people called and asked if I had used the card to purchase $800-worth of travel related services. 'Nope' I answered. I hope all credit card companies do something about all this fraud going on around the globe. If the system is broken fix it. If criminals are getting away with it, hunt them down and 'prosecute them'. It is that simple. (Related story.)

Nikkei Global Management Forum 2003

Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, tells us that social responsibility is the 'new order' of the day for corporations as firms strive for 'double-digit growth'. Fujio Cho, president of Toyota, speaks of the favourite 'kaizen' for bringing continous innovation and change at the motor company. Kunio Nakamura, president of Matsushita, speaks up the importance of IT as it can eliminate layers of middle management thus, leading to 'flatter organisations'. My only hope is that each company can be honest with shareholders and grow their respective businesses without 'selling their souls to the devil'.

S&P may cut SUNW's credit rating

Standard & Poor's Rating Service is looking at downgrading the commercial paper of Sun Microsystem Inc. Looks like the rating agency is not too confident that Scott's team can turn around the company in the near term. Analysts have been calling for massive 'job cuts' to free up cash in the near term. I don't think Scott wants to give up workers just to please Wall Street analysts. Why should a company that prides itself on having creative people 'toss them to the wolves'??? I really do not respect any company that discharges workers in an attempt to shore up its next quarterly report and please the analysts. I am glad that Scott has not 'sold his soul to the devil/analysts'.