Tag: India

Our VHS future

Beta was more superior. Yet VHS won out.

The market (in this case, movies on tape) dictates the terms. At the present time, it wants all things mobile. In other words, our knowledge and skill set need an upgrade (But I thought technologically, Beta gave crisper resolution!?!! Sorry Sony.)

While on tour for his book “After Shock”, Robert Reich mentioned on Charlie Rose that despite Obama’s ability to synthesize every one’s opinion earlier in his campaign, he now fails to connect the dots i.e. to tell a narrative of America’s vanishing middle class.

Silicon Valley has reinvented itself once again, this time, into a Mecca of clean tech (just about time, because Chinese IT companies are forming clusters in TX to compete against India’s counterparts right in the heart of America) and mobile/cloud/social network (zynga-like). Between Detroit, Disney and Dell, America can still do it, with better choices and better counsels.

Again, the global market will decide winners in each group (VHS 2.0) and don’t be surprised if it might not be you, even when your mother thinks you are her most beautiful baby.

I have heard of re-engineering, reinvention, and recession. Then we came up with soft power, thought leadership and self branding.

Meanwhile, all attempts to dress up old concepts won’t mean a thing to the lady in Las Vegas outskirts who is the last on the block to stay in her house. Or the Lonely tenant in Miami condo high-rise.

I notice a significant drop in day laborers in Orange County. And I heard rumors that Vietnamese in CA now migrated en mass to Houston, where housing is more affordable, and unemployment rate lower (in the early 80’s, the movement was reverse due to Texas oil crisis). The story of Vietnamese immigrants in America is tied so much to the rise and fall of technology companies in the Bay areas (electronic and chip industries). As soon as those jobs got shipped overseas, America’s immigrants decide to go home (after Indian IT professionals who went home to India, or Vietnamese American applying for Intel recent facility in Vietnam). After all, the future belongs to automation or hybridized version therein.

It’s market demand which dictates supplies, including labor supplies. First shipping jobs overseas, then automating the marketing side of the equation. I have blogged about migration movement, automation and death of the salesman. In doing so,

I stumbled upon a narrative. It’s America’s. It’s the new America, whose future is staked upon its choice to go Beta or VHS, metaphorically speaking. And it has nothing to do with Beta’s superior resolution. As of this edit, it is facing a choice to arm to send boots to Syria. Soft or hard boiled? Since when it is easy to be King of the Hill? Good luck to those who “think out of the box”, instead of getting out of it altogether.

P.S. Fareed Zakaria‘s article on TIME featured “How to restore the American Dream”. At least, he listed a few pointers worth considering e.g. “benchmarks” which are take away from other countries’ policies. After all, other countries have tried to reverse engineer the American way of life for decades. Upon CNN 30th anniversary, I saw an ad for Singapore. When CNN started out in Atlanta, Ted Turner couldn’t even conceive its network celebration would be underwritten by Singapore, then an emerging country. One must wonder about its 40th, if there will still be a Cable News Network. What a struggle between television and telephony. The jury is still out for whoever can be on the go, with better softwares.

Continue reading Our VHS future

buy-in behavior

Ambivalence is a sign of maturity, the study concluded.

But an ambivalent buyer produces anxiety and uncertainty.

Here are the gist of a recent study, as published in the N Y Times.

PEOPLE WHO SEE THE WORLD AS BLACK AND WHITE TEND TO…

  • Speak their mind or make quick decisions.
  • Be more predictable in making decisions (e.g., who they vote for).
  • Be less anxious about making wrong choices.
  • Have relationship conflicts that are less drawn out.
  • Be less likely to consider others’ points of view.

PEOPLE WHO SEE THE WORLD IN SHADES OF GRAY TEND TO….

  • Procrastinate or avoid making decisions if possible.
  • Feel more regret after making a decision.
  • Be thoughtful about making the right choice.
  • Stay longer in unhappy relationships.
  • Appreciate multiple points of view.

Ambivalent people make good philosophers, but poor partners (in an otherwise better-off being divorce).

Case in point.

Doctors and hospitals are digitizing their billing and medical records. But many are fence-sitting. Sheer ambivalence.

Inertia.  Yes, it’s complex. But simplicity will come once one acquires a new set of routine (infrastructure solution is often messy).

Take India. The country is trying to assign digital ID for 1.2 Billion people. Biometrics.

Analytics. Number crunching. Daunting task.

I used to work with an Indian customer base, and was exposed to some of the longest last names.

12-digit ID to make sure future shortage.

I realize now we have to rely more on automation, algorithm and auto selection (SEO).

Google said it would take 300 years to achieve their goal (organizing the world’s information).

That year is 2298 .

Some sales cycles are longer than others.

I love  a black-and-white prospect. He/she either rejects the proposal right off the bet or signs up. One-call close. It saves time.

Those people often rise to the top. They know how to make decisions, and make them quickly. No regrets.

But then what is life, if not filled with uncertainties and unpredictability. A smart man would recognize that, but then go ahead anyway.

It’s called gut check.

I saw an expiration date on the milk bottle. Of course, I chose the furthest-out date possible.

I wish life choices could be that black and white, with a clearly marked expiration date. Tell that to the owner of Segway, who died in a Segway accident while beta-testing his product. The most important date to him was withheld to the last-minute. At least he ended up dead doing what he loved best.

From BRIC to VIC

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/de_de/uktihome/pressRelease/117708.html?null

Among the top findings from an UK investment survey (Economist Survey Unit – above), Vietnam, India and China (VIC) are the top three to watch. Other findings by HSBC came up with CIVETs (remember BRIC?): Columbia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and S Africa as stable political markets (as of this edit, you can take out Egypt).

Vietnam itself has held top spot three years in the row (ending in 2010).  It’s GDP growth has teetered above 6 percent, despite the Global Recession we all know too well.

While developed countries move toward a post-consumerism stage, Vietnam barely starts shopping (the size of its supermarket shopping carts says it all – half the size of the likes in Walmart and Costco).

76% over 23%  of  surveyed companies say they plan to adjust (localizing) their product offerings to domestic market as opposed to just offshoring for cost-saving .

IT outsourcing stands just below construction, tourism and retail growth in Vietnam. Thus, HP took notice (it is obtaining a license to invest 18 million dollars in a Quang Trung software park company). Samsung in Bac Ninh just passed its $1 B mark of handset manufacturing and exporting to other countries. Hon Hai also chipped in another $ 5 Billion.

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4515280

Meanwhile, after years of savings, Chinese are on a buying spree for London properties, the same way the Japanese did in Los Angeles back in the 80’s (remember Michael Douglas in Rising Sun?).

Nikita, the TV show, now casts a Vietnamese-Euro actress with sharp shooting precision (to make a case for Euro-Asian mash).

Apple I- phones are selling well in Vietnam.

It has been obvious that China and India are doing well, manufacturing and service respectively.

Vietnam tries to fit the bill as a CI+1 destination, a low-wage labor market despite its own infrastructure problem.

(a taxi stuck head down in a city pot hole during a recent storm).  Sure, Vietnam has an undeniably long history (1000 years Hanoi), but only one future: it will have to move quickly to reverse brain drain, and beef up its infrastructure to accommodate growth. The higher the FDI inflow, the higher the expectations.

Due to easy loan, Shanghai office buildings faced low occupancy rates.  With increased urbanization comes other consequences.

London urban influx in the 19th century taught us a lot (plague and crime). And the new UK investors’ survey tells cautionary tales about a new century, a new market without improving on old business practices (opium anyone). If so, the top ten on the list will have to fight like gladiators, while the King enjoys his grapes and wine.

I am with sword in hand, ready. Gotta to follow the money.

India + 1 cafeteria

I ordered an iced coffee with milk, this time not in the to-go cup.

I just want to sit down, and take it all in. No I am not in India.

But close. I am in formerly known as Saigon. On the  8th floor. REBOOT CAFE.

The LogiGear building. Offshore software testing center. Young engineers

might as well be in India, where I read so much about (their call centers offered training in accent reduction, their corporate night-out etc…). As of this edit, there is a sister branch in DaNang 200 testers strong.

Back packers who are first timers in Vietnam often cocoon in Ta Hien or De Tham.

From that standpoint, they observe  people walking the street in pajamas and cone hats.

Here I am sitting on the 8th floor with back-up generators, CAT5 running up the stairways, and engineers test all sorts of things, from TRANSFORMERS the game to Steven Covey‘s Habits-forming software.

Sure, who wouldn’t suffer from the economic downturn.

But young Vietnamese engineers have somewhat been spared. They have grown up not demanding too much space for oneself.  Here, on the 6th floor, they can play a game of ping-pong, sing a song like they would at school recess.

It’s not Electronic Arts, and it’s not India. But it’s something that has potential to take off. Everybody is on the path from pajamas to tuxedos.

Some of us got as far as shirt-and-tie. Others in uniforms.

Most perhaps will never own a tux or wear one.

But one thing for sure, online, no one knows or cares if you wore a pair of shorts underneath (Peter Jennings used to report from the balcony of the Continental Hotel with sport coats and tie, wearing shorts).

After all, Facebook Mark wore his pajamas to a Venture capital meeting.

I don’t condone such practice. But take heart. A nation will advance not only from its broadband built-out, but also due to its young and thriving work force. Here, I see ingenuity, commitment to excellence and team  work.

This morning, I saw a candidate, perhaps in for an interview.

I held the door for her, and can’t help seeing the sweat on her forehead.

It’s hot here in Saigon, and perhaps, she carries a mixture of cold sweat as well.

I wish her luck. In the western sense, luck is something you can control,

first by showing up. She did that (90 percent down, 10 to go). See you at REBOOT CAFE.

Not India. Just India + 1. Vietnamese are used to delay opportunities, as long there were any at all.

No wonder the nation still stands on its own legs, after having driven out the giant in the North (then pleaded for peace throughout its history). It’s less insulting to title this India+1 (high-value service driven economy) then to call it China+1 (manufacturing driven and less sustainable).

 

strip tease

A Canadian lady, on her insurance-paid leave for mental distress, walked into a bar. Not just any bar, but a male strip tease bar. And she posted her excursion in Facebook to share with “friends”. Among the uninvited  “friends” was the Insurance adjuster. So, her insurance checks stop coming. Reason: “we have joy, we have fun, we have seasons in the sun”, now back to work.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091121/wl_canada_afp/lifestylecanadahealthinternetfacebook_20091121190842

Yahoo News has “denial” theme today: claim denial (Canadian) to Communion denial (Kennedy).

Huge companies are probably up for another round of Stimulus . The Beast got a taste for blood. Should that be denied also?

V-shape recovery? Here is a portrait of a nation, according to Garp.

More people are “discovering” Thrift Shops. More people are buying Peanut Butter and Jelly.

Black Friday pre-sales, soft opening etc…Long Island or nation wide, Walmart doormen now have plan C, with color-coded alert taking a page from Home Land Security.

Less people on the payroll= less tax revenue=tuition increase.

Berkeley students protest , this time, not against the Law professor who argues for torture, but against the U system that seeks to turn torture closer to home: on their own students.

Instead of “Hell No, we won’t go”, it is Pink Floyd’s ” We don’t need no education”.

Some have argued for a 3-year college sysrem. Others went overseas to obtain nursing degrees (cheaper).

I personally went to Hanoi, to obtain my CELTA , a taste of Edu- tourism.

There is a growing field if one really wants to get a job: negotiating for a lower national debt in Mandarin. That’s what our Utah ex-governor was doing in China.

Or you can claim extreme stress, and wants to be depressurized in a strip bar. Just make sure you are thorough with your Facebook privacy setting. Out of fear, we settle for the lowest common denominator, and end up with triviality, and plasticity. Facebook turns Filebook full of self-incriminating evidence instead of peer recommendation.

Everything you post may be used against you in the court of law. There, you have been warned.

In social history, every time we were told to shut up, we ended up with a movement that changed history.

I can’t wait to see what’s next. But first, let me go get my Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.

P.S. I feel for California college students, among them, my daughter. Give peace and Aimy a chance.

You don’t want both Daddy and daughter “backpacking” in Vietnam, on an extended eco/edu tour, do you?

I am just being proactive, in case the US needs a bi-lingual debt negotiator after I am gone. I got a succession plan in place. Today’s freshmen are tomorrow’s congress person. Treat them right, and do not provoke them, Provost!

Ireland and India offered free education, and look at where those two countries are today.

P.S. 2 we need a new policy to protect online sharing, that way, people are less vulnerable to preying and prying. The insurance claim specialist was probably enjoying his/her moment of “gotcha!”, thinking he/she was en par with CNBC special investigation.  I hope the lady (even posed in bikini lying on the beach) gets her checks. And this time, don’t spend it all in Chippendale.

 

Kaizen

In the 80’s, we saw many books about Japan e.g. Rising Sun, The Japan That Can Say NO.

Now, the Most Admired Country list seems to say NO to Japan, and places it at number 5.

Versace closed its door there after having sold to all the old people of the laggard group.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e5e6a886-b325-11de-ac13-00144feab49a.html

(in Dalat, Vietnam, a plan to build an all-Japan city for retirees was also scrapped).

Meanwhile, Toyota put out a recall for many of its late- model vehicles (its floor mat made the gas pedal stuck and killed 4 in San Diego).

And last month election results ushered in a new Prime Minister  from the opposing party.

Japan needs a quick fix.

Not from Robots, or foreigners, whose labor it needs (especially for the service sector), but whose origin it despises.

Young Japanese, generation without the Sun, got their play book from the Woodstock generation, hence no Versace

or if they needed accessories, they try SampleLab, or knock-off. When you sleep on your parent’s couch,

you don’t want to get caught trading up. Besides, high-end accessories don’t jibe with dark leather.

I admired the Samurai spirit, and how quickly Japan adopts technologies: AI, nano, just-in-time manufacturing, and

of course, the Beatles.

I also respect their stamina when faced with humiliation, from France’s De Gaulle to America’s Japan-bashing era.

I also wowed at their bouncing back , from the real estate fiasco to the Asian crisis of the last decade.

Somehow, Japan, personified by Toyota, seems to be able to pull rabbit after rabbit out of the hat (kaizen?)

Lexus, Scion, Sony (with Samsung “closer than it appears in rear view mirror”).

Its export-driven economy has been its crown jewel. Until neighboring China, India, Singapore, Korea

joined the game. All of a sudden, Japan found itself defending its home turf.

No more shopping trip to destination Vegas (whose show hosts used to greet the tour audience in Japanese in between drum rolls).

The outlet mall which served as a bus stop in between Los Angeles and Las Vegas has seen this boom and burst too well.

Now, at Number 5, Japan needs a miracle to get out from bad loans, to sustain its world tourist life style and to take care of its aging population.

At least, its defense bills have all been paid for since WWII.

Now, it needs to open up to fresh voices and visions. It did that when sending a Toyota designing team to drive up and down California Freeways. The result was the Lexus. It should now do the same, only this time, Kaizen at home.

 

Red lanterns

There is a story on BBC news about an Indian engineer who complains that he only married thrice:

“why would the Muslims have all the wives, and me, a Hindu, cannot have multiple marriages” he vented his apparent frustration.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8224746.stm

Truth be told, he was confirmed to have been married at least six times, concurrently.

This reminds me of a joke . It goes like this.

Three guys battling around. First guy says ” my girl got a very nice crooked tooth” (in Asia, esp. VN, one crooked tooth is considered exotic and rare).

The second guy chimes in “mine got them on both sides”.

The third guy instinctively refuses to lose face “you guys know what, mine have a whole jaw like that”.

I call this misplaced competition.

Sure, It’s the survival of the fittest. So nature lends itself to competition in the process of natural selection.

But competition knows no bound. During the 80’s, cheerleader’s mom went way out of bound to ensure her child’s admission.

My first daughter went to a lot of cheer-leading competitions in S California, so I know the sacrifice and commitment

parents made to their child’s team.

With hip hop, my child learns the value of team work,  hard work  and their place in the larger scheme of things.

We keep hearing for days now how Senator Kennedy was able to reach across the aisle to make sure work get done.

I am sure the Last Lion wanted to win, but he also knew the other side had the same thing in mind.

The art of negotiation is to sell to yourself and your position.

How much compromise are you willing to make? When to hold, and when to fold.

And most of all, to resist the urge to sacrifice all the hard work in the heat of the moment: I win, you lose.

All or nothing. Chances are… you might have the last word, but you may not win. If anything, it’s your girl who ends up with  crooked teeth by the mouthful.