Thang Nguyen 555

Cultures on Collision Course

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With some short-term relief work in Asia/Africa and long stint in Telecom, Thang also earned a B.A. at Pennsylvania State University. M.A. in Communication at Wheaton Graduate School, M.A. in Cross-Cultural Communication at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, Boston. In addition, he earned a CELTA – classes taken in Hanoi for cultural re-immersion.

Tag: Business

  • SWOT and ROI

    We do millions of those calculations a day (the reptilian brain). Threat? Opportunity? Fight and flight. Yet we also learn to trust, to take risks. In business or in life. Situations and circumstances, problems and people (who often times become problems). Some of us are more reflexive than others. But at long last, we will…

  • Imponderables

    Dead Valley is known to be the hottest place on Earth. Yet millions have traveled pass there on their way to Las Vegas. Venture Capitalists are also well versed in what’s so called “valley of death” i.e. when a start-up moved pass its honey-moon stage, and simply cannot sustain the burnt rate. Yet people keep trying. Then,…

  • From Co-worker to Co-llaborator

    Some workplace didn’t even get to that phase. People just share a parking lot, a refrigerator and maybe a Christmas Party. Meanwhile, you can collaborate with  people miles apart, in different languages and time zones. Welcome to the new work place. MNC’s have gone through this phase. From relocation to repatriation. Employees got shifted around, to…

  • The thrill of a trip

    Essentials only. Portable stuff. Restricted carry-on. Off we go. Leaving behind the desk top, roof top and all  the stuff on the counter-top. While traveling, we put on more weight. Eating “lesser-of-the-two-evils” choice of foods. Meeting and making small talks with people we had never met. It’s  a thrill nevertheless. The exchange of goods and…

  • Machine run

    When I logged in, it’s auto-filled. The Machine says, “if it’s routine, let me handle it”. It’s permeating: embedded in the chip, in the code and in the company. This morning, I saw a group of photographers with long-lense cameras, shooting what appeared to be a lotus (Vietnamese Buddhist Temple in Orange County, CA).  At least,…

  • Trust as currency

    I have had great team experience. Been looking for an encore. When team works out, we can skip the prelim and go straight to solving problems. It saves a lot of time. Besides, trust binds us together. Online, it’s hard to know who is who. Hence, trust online comes at piecemeal. Tit for tat. Amazon…

  • Inverted 80/20

    We make lemonade when life gives us lemon. Who wouldn’t want to focus on the top money-making time-saving activities! But …given the constraints we found ourselves in, we should celebrate not Independence Day, but Survival itself. First, stay alive. Then, stay free. I hear fireworks cracking. I hear music playing. But it’s been a while,…

  • Taking chances

    Peter’s Principle states that line managers are often promoted “beyond their level of competency”. In other words, a technical guy, best at his job, ends up being the boss who has to crawl his way through business dilemma and personnel issues. In life, however, some problems cannot be solved at the same level where they…

  • Use it

    Hard times push people to diversify, retrench or change. My friends turn organic farmers. I have tried the road less traveled (although there were many scooters on it) and early morning gym (also less popular).  Honing and toning. Just another way to react to hard times. It will make us stronger, wiser and more creative. I…

  • Little space lots of room

    Saigon wasn’t built or planned for 10 million (back in the 50’s, its population was 1 million). And certainly not when scooters are on fire as happened lately. Raging hot. World in flame. Flashback of Monk Thich Quang Duc protesting dictatorship (Tunesian’s style). I fight for my jogging lane, negotiating between the sidewalk and the drainage. It’s a…