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 have arrived at the same conclusion to validate that initial BLINK (first impressions, first 6-seconds).

Without that instinct for survival, we wouldn’t still be here.

No matter what color we put on outside.

Underneath it all, lays our human nature: ambitious and ambivalent.

We initially employed SWOT and ROI analyses in business.

Then, work doesn’t stop after 5PM. So we start doing that in social and academic context (study for a career that is most promising, she is a good match i.e. suitability measured in socio-economic fit).

So there is no  point in denying it.

Still cavemen-like. Still operating reflexively with the reptilian brain (WIIFM = what’s in it for me).

Keep that in mind. When two or more get together, there will be collision of self-interests.

Group leaders know this and thrive on it. 2+2=5 when it is handled well. It’s called synergy.

Hunt in pack. Celebrate together. Burning men and bushmen. Boardroom or bedroom. We need one another if we were to live a ROI life. It’s worth a try. Despite all the threats. We are still here, together, working for the common goods.

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, aside from “death” rate, we got divorce rate.

Yet people keep falling in love, and getting married.

Hint: more shopping and spending for a family of two and more.

In America, there is no shortage of imponderables.

I am starting to read Paterno bio. I could barely get through the first few pages.

Something quite imponderable there (despite the lucid prose).

After all, what happened in America, stayed in America.

Sex shops, butcher shops.

Churches and strip clubs, sometimes near each other.

Schools and parks (for homeless people) near fast-food and donuts joints.

Dental office next to candy shop.

And 24-hr gym (all you can lift)  near Hometown Buffet (all you can eat). Go figure.

America spends a large chunk of change on incarceration, pornography (hard and soft e.g. NYT best-seller list, top 3 are taken by the same author who caters to women taste for escapism), guns and amos (especially amos, modeled after HP cartridge business model), medical marijuana and spirits (that get you on a downward spiral).

My name is Thang. And I am not an alcoholic. So help me God.

Somewhere somehow, the line has been moved: the incarcerated are better cared for than the non-incarcerated.

The top 1% refuses to pick up golf balls, while the rest can’t afford meat balls.

Kids aren’t learning (slipped in ranking), while workers need to but can’t get it paid for by the employers or government.

Politicians are talking, but leaders aren’t leading.

We are bidding for time, for election, for miracles, and are freezed like deers in front of approaching head lights.

Actors are either making quiet retreat (Sundance Festival), or gone overboard (Eastwood and Samuel Jackson).

It’s the best time to be in  late-night comedy.

But SNL fans can’t stay up late (wrong demographic for that time slot).

Voting booths seem to always have problems in Florida. (Voters should be required to have an eye-exam). We are enjoying our time on the deck, but forgot to check the ship’s name. ( Titanic ?).

Even if it’s free, no ride lasts forever.

Every once in a while, we need to check the navigating instrument. No such thing as auto-piloting (Google unmanned car?).

Not in this age of post-innocence. Not at this time of austerity. Not now. Not ever. We need to be vigilant against those who quack like a leader, walk like a leader, but in fact, are not leaders at all. Leadership comes with a price. They come to take credits. This is the root of all imponderables: those who can’t lead, lead. Those who can, refuse to stay in the game.

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 cross-pollinate and get cross-trained.

Management just hope for collaboration. They can organize people into teams, build them and encourage cohesiveness. But ultimately, the decision lies in each member. To help one another as fellow sojourners.

Times are hard.

I guess companies are hoarding cash, and get the most productivity from their employees.

The next and last step is to optimize team work and output.

Managers will need to turn themselves into leaders of team. Resolving those conflicts, working with diversity in cultures and expectations, and reward both strong and not-so-strong personalities. Teams need both the weak and the strong.

Just as society does.

For the period between WWII and  these past 2 wars, we in the US have lived off the glory of the past: GI bills and Dollar bills.

Now, with a stronger China and Japan sliding (though still an industrial power might), we need to acknowledge to ourselves that the playing field has been unleveled (this past Olympic screamed this message loud and clear).

Need to teach our next generation how to do things, fix things, and not jut buying things ( often times from the credits China and the Oil-rich countries extended to us).

In fact, some of the most basic life skills such as being courteous, being kind, paying it forward, saving, eating healthy, basic math and science and geography-history, need to be taught. Other digital skills such as texting, playing games, computer operation and programming, will come as given.

In short, new combination of skills are required for survival in this new age.

I am thinking of SMS contest vs hot-dog-eating contest. The former stays with us for quite a while, and the latter can be let go (nice and fun tradition, but it encourages gluttony).

Back to collaboration. People who work together need to make teams work.

And when team works, companies reap the benefits of happy collaborators.

You will be amazed how one creative idea sparks another one, and another one. 3M’s Post-It notes, HTML are just a couple of examples how creativity and collaboration really make our lives easier.

Look at your co-worker again. See if he or she needs more nutrition, exercise, or just encouragement. Be the collaborator you have always wished you run into at work.

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 services. People come with it, to wheel and deal. To be the middle man. Silk road to railroad, Shanghai to San Fran.

We toss and turn. The vessels are not designed for sleep comfort. Want that, you have to go to the nearest Mattress Discounter. I was told the internal combustion engine was really hot inside. No wonder, in the heat of summer, it is only getting worse, even with coolant and freon to insulate us. One more reason for the switch to electric vehicles.

Those who take the train. It is analogous to one’s life.

Once you took that fork in the road, let’s say career vs stay-at-home, from there, many mini-forks will present themselves. And it’s irreversible.

People advise us first to pick a good team. Then, a product, strategy and exit.

It is to show who you  chose to work and live with are of extreme importance.

They can bring out the best or worst in us.

Dreamers, Doers or Nay Sayers.

Take that road trip, or that rail track.

Just be mindful that with thrill, comes (price) tags.

And pick your travel mates carefully. It’s going to be a long and winding road. But short, if in good company. That’s a thrill in itself, who you are with.

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, they appear to be taking practice shoots.

I have seen people holding up the I-pad, I-phone for every day shoots. Now Amazon is entering that hardware space as well. And of course, Facebook.

Watch out Samsung!

After all, one of the Japanese companies started out making toasters.

Then it diversified.

What does it mean to us? We would have less chores to work longer hours to be able to afford those convenience.

It has been like that always. The loop.

We don’t want to get caught using a typewriter these days (unless we hang out with Norman Mailer and Andy Rooney).

Wait until Foxconn completes its assembly line with full automation!

It will be just a private-label exercise.  Intelligent device and manufacturing.

This time, the invasion of machine will be second to none.

Back in the 50’s, machine barely got into the home (bulky but they lasted a long time).

Now, we can take it in the car, into the office and back home. Even the machine got climate-controlled by other machines (A/C).

When it gets plugged-in, it talks to the cloud, updating its latest version of open-source. Machine gets smarter by the day, while man gets complacent.

Little by little, we are pushed to the edge (the edge of decline), joining the rank of the expired and expandable.

Machine will generate an auto-filled, auto response to our job inquiries. If any consolation, machines (fax, typewriter, film camera) also get displaced by other machines. No man or machine are indispensable.

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 has earned our trust (click here and the books get delivered ).

Or, as kids, we know we will get picked up after school. So we learn about trust.

Lovers expect Valentine cards. Trust.

Government deducted our paycheck. Hope they pay out when we are old.

Trust (hopefully they don’t keep moving retirement age).

Without hope and trust, we would go array.

Can’t function. We need that certain amount of predictability to operate.

Expect the best, plan for the worst.

The best compliment one can get is “he/she can be trusted”.

Past behavior and consistent nature tend to increase trust.

Knowledge of each other and yes, a few fights in between, also deepens trust.

Conversely, trust issues are up there in company’s priorities (escorting a sacked employee to the door).

Been there, done that.

Somehow we need to build trust into organizational culture (cash donation for self-served lunches. Not only it saves company’s time – but also can serve as an exercise in trust. Conversely, the fridge at work is the worst place when no one is in charge).

Transparency, constant updates, keeping people in the loop, on the same page etc… all build trust.

Leadership skills. Communication skills. Group huddle. He who trusts others will receive it in turn. Trust as currency. And this currency tends to multiply.

The trust virtuous cycle. Keep investing in it.

Inverted 80/20

Lemonade for Vampires
Lemonade for Vampires (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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, my inner stereo got turned off.

Hard to jump up and down.

Being an optimistic, I rely not on externalities. Not on other people or circumstances to cheer me up. Telecom has been down for a while, inverted 80/20..

But in the process (of decline), I learned about myself, about my colleagues and about reinvention.

How people react to hard times by reinventing to survive.

I was forced to listen, to watch and to adjust my style.

In short, I no longer am idealistic. Just optimistic.

I still advocate quick action, follow the money, use all your resources etc….

But at the same time, I know there are flipsides, inverted rules, and unintended consequences.

We cannot rid ourselves of one another. We need to bail one another out, to share the same fate .

Inverted 80/20 or not, we are either on the giving end or receiving end.

Just keep in mind that your failed opponent will someday become your ardent advocate, and best customer….if he/she survives to see the day.

Be generous and ready to entertain the though that someday, you will have to make lemonade when it is your turn.

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 had first occurred. Bully problems at school, for instance, need intervention. Or as recently as this morning, Sandusky‘s sin exposed and dealt with in public.

It’s a call to take chances, to take risks if we were to make any progress.

This Recession has drawn out both the best and the worst in us.

Some of us rose to the occasion. Diversify ourselves. Or take the high road (going after our passion or non-profit work).

Others just checked out. Drifted.

I have met a bunch of expats who kept staying in-country indefinitely.

Extended vacation.

Or permanent student.

Profitable venues i.e. financial and housing sectors are hitting bottom.

We are left with the “sure things”: food, clothing and shelter (renting).

Even families once so close now seem so far. Recession pull them apart, that was.

My friend reminded me how long it took Japan to get through its V-shaped recovery. 18 years.

Ouch! I will be dead by then.

Still there are things that need risks: crossing the street, eating one more bite of that greasy foods or banking on the elusive thing called love.

Friends went into fields which are quite different from their academic and career backgrounds. That’s risk-taking.

I spotted excitement and adrenaline.

For VC‘s, they need to hit 20% of the time, to cover the other 80% failures.

Still it’s worth it.

Still taking that chance.

Still go for it. Or else it wouldn’t be solving the problem at a higher level.

Because after all, many of those problems cannot be solved if left where it started.

But beware of over-promotion (beyond one’s level of competency). Peter’s Principle.

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 was asked “do you bring any agricultural products” at custom.

Being a city boy all my life, I failed to register the significance of that inquiry.

Perhaps there were others who tried so hard to transplant those tropical fruits from Asia.

Or the exotic fish.

Whatever the case, let’s enjoy what abundant America has to offer, from sea to shining sea.

When hard times are looked at as opportunities to reinvent, to retrench and relaunch our new and improved SELF, we have made use of it for what it’s worth.

Companies and countries are doing the same thing. Just use it. Press Reset!

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 busy street (CMTT). Any time of the day. Even at 3 am when seafoods merchants divide their catch.

Even in the alleys, you will find more shops: alteration, general stores, beauty salon etc…

People live in boxy homes. But not cardboard boxes (rainy season has just started ).

No evidence of homelessness as much as in Skid Row or S. Central LA.

More room in the alley, little space in the streets.

Mexicans would feel at home here, hearing loud music from retail stores.

Fashion stores, sweet-cake and coffee shops (western-style cappuccino, espresso, smoothies).

The Filippino band found their new home at the Hard Rock Cafe. The Pitch Black got a bright future . Not bad for kids from Barangay, near Bataan (where Vietnamese and Cambodian made their stop on the way to America back in the early 80’s). As of this edit, I heard they were disbanded.

When I am back to the US, jogging on the trail of a deserted golf course, I will miss all this.

Little elbow room, yet lots of heart.

Nuong nhau ma song (relying on each other to make it through).

There was always one more bowl and a pair of chopsticks back when I was growing up. Anh xoi com chua a? Have you eaten today?