Tag: International Olympic Committee

Automation and creativity

What if you had a third eye in the back of your head? (one of the Creativity Test questions). Or how would it turn out if Earth goes without 0xygen for 5 seconds? If you were a car, what would that be?

Gone are the days of “you can have the model T’s in any color you want, as long as it’s black”.

In fact, S Korea not only won the bid to the Winter Olympics, Kia and Hyundai are surpassing Ford to position against Nissan and others.

Apple was quite daring when it tried to personalize the PC’s (emphasizing the P in PC). The result was the Mac series (when Jobs was still “hungry”, he took a calligraphy course, which helped shape Apple’s product  differentiation).

Once we reached full-automation, the only thing that makes us stand out is creativity and differentiation.

In the 70’s music was commoditized with unbundled single albums and in 2000’s for 99 cents (free Facebook Video chat and Google Plus ‘ hangouts).

Even Facebook IT admin jobs are not safe: they dispense hardware accessories via in-company vending machines (automation that cut through the red tape).

We cherish vintage cars (the Mini’s, the VW‘s) because they strike a chord: nostalgia.

Manufacturers will have to consider women in the work force, translating into purchasing power and buying decision. Pretty in pink.

The rise of Food Network and Interior Decor shows our inclination to differentiate and personalize (hence, the rise of my Facebook page or WordPress theme).

Yes, we often choose default template out of convenienc (organ donation default choice in European countries), but we also want to embrace individuality (a taboo in Asian culture).

Yet on this side of Taylorism, that’s what makes us stand out. Personal branding (I could hardly find my little silver Civic outside the Mall).

The age of automation asks: which do you prefer, a black car or a black car?

I applaud S Korean’s dare-devil (as opposed to highly conforming Japanese culture) choice for pink car. It must have been an eye-sore to older generations. After all, it’s the same over here when Mrs Robinson song was in full blast with Dustin Hoffman, the Graduate, zooming down the coast in a red convertible. You can cutaway to modern Korea, and visualize how the Presbyterian congregation there react to their  version of “Dustin Hoffman” in a pink car. “Heaven holds a place for those who pray” hey, hey, hey.

Forced realities

“the Network Effect of Nations”.

Brazil, the “B” in BRIC, is on course to be number 5 by 2014 according to the Economist.

http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14845197&source=most_commented

So, it’s not just the International Olympic Committee which noticed Brazil Rising. Nor is it seen only as the  corn basket of the world (When I hear Brazil, immediately popped to mind is “energy”, long before the Ethanol craze). In fact, Brazil doesn’t rely solely on energy exports as Russia or Venezuela. It also caters to tourism, commercialism and world-class sports (in 2016).

With EU and Emerging economies out of the Recession, we will see Network Effect mesh of G-20 : more multi-lateral trading, traveling and telephoning.

One example. What does Banco De Chile have to do with Vietnam? Yet, it has a presence there, and tries to secure markets for its agricultural products (as if Vietnam were not agrarian enough). Nations crisscross exponentially.

The US Navy Commander is visiting his relatives (see Gatsby in China Beach).  President Carter is coming to build

houses  for the Mekong poor (Habitat for Humanity, an organization I support). And French Prime Minister is touring Hue (probably putting 2 and 2 together: Colonial past and Commercial present). And Meet Vietnam will feature Vietnam Minister of Education in San Francisco. And let’s not forget Obama visiting China, where his half-brother was launching a book, having stayed there and married local for quite some time. The Network Effect of Nations!

Technology and people are always ahead of the political process. Deng was seen wearing a cowboy hat when visiting Texas in the late 70’s ( He just reciprocated Nixon’s trip to China where 3000-course meal had been served) . “To get rich is glorious” . Subsequently, we heard similar echo on Wall Street in the 80’s: “Greed is good” .

Information flow used to go from North to South. Now, the global picture has completely changed.

No longer do we see a bi-polar world. And while changes are taking place on the global stage,  “groundswell” is detected online (kids joined in to play games, but pretty soon, will be glancing at headline news, and shopping for “early Black Friday” deals on peer’s recommendation. No wonder Dell cannot sit still, waiting to take “just-in-time” orders.

After all the shopping at the urging of President Bush right after 9/11, Americans are now penny-pinching.  So, it’s President Obama’s turn to give the same speech, this time, to the Chinese, with a BTW,  try our Made-in-USA stuff (SPAM?).

It’s tough to be a Recommender-In-Chief . Even the Vatican can’t seem to get a handle on the new Social media that seem to grow their flocks much faster than Christendom’s. So the Pope invites in the paupers, out of the dorm to the Dome for a  (face-2-face) chat. Where do you click? You mean one doesn’t have to sit down in front of a monitor? Mobile Apps?

At the Olympic in Rio, with a Smart phone, you won’t miss a single soccer score . Are you game? One will never know where the putt is going to be . And it makes the journey all the more exciting. Stay “eyes wide opened” for forced realities. The future doesn’t sleep: it is on steroid. No wonder Emerging economies, especially Brazil, seem to get out from under much more quickly than the rest. Fareed Zakarai coins this “the rise of the rest” in Post American World. He certainly has Brazil in mind.