Funny-Europe: Then and Now

How Southwest Airlines connected me to my grandfather…

Had a pretty special moment at BWI the other night, courtesy of Southwest Airlines.

As I was going through security, I saw about 45 people in wheelchairs going through as well.

On their hats, I saw words such as “WWII vet” and, after going through screening, I inquired.

Turns out it was a Southwest Airlines “Honor Flight” and these guys had gotten up at 4am, flown from Cleveland, taken a bus from BWI down to DC and visited the WWII, Korean, Vietnam Memorials as well as going to Arlington Cemetery (trust me, that’s a lot in 1 day) and were returning home at 7pm.

All thanks to SWA.

As I chatted with these guys about their experiences in WWII (they had been in the south Pacific), I thought of my grandfather, Poppy, who died a few years ago, but had served in China.

I literally got chills thinking of him and these men’s sacrifices on our behalf.

Seriously…it made me appreciate and “LUV” Southwest even more.

Choo Choo Trains and Other Fleeting Moments…

The NFO was away for weekend a few days ago so I was a bit more present in parenting than usual.

I like to think I am generally pretty good, but you know…

Anyway, while on the job (or at least on point), I really took notice of some of the beautiful things that my kids do, particularly in playing with each other.

I know those moments will soon be gone so, as we are encroaching upon Thanksgiving, I figured I’d document them

• how all three of them can play in the bathtub for as long as we let them
• how they build forts out of mattresses and pillows
• how they line up in towels after they get out of the bath and make a Choo Choo train, dropping off each kid in their room to change into pajamas
• how they can play tea party all together with American Girl dolls…yes, even Paco
• how they aren’t embarrassed being naked around each other
• how they love it when I chase them up the stairs
• how we all get together and read the Berenstain Bears books (or any one of a number of others) and we’re all snugging together, listening intently while we do it
• how beautifully they sing with each other
• how they help each other out (most of the time)
• Yep, I’m tearing up a bit now
• how they love asking questions
• how they are so imaginative with the Playmobil sets
• how they are so thrilled to learn new games like chess and backgammon
• how excited they get about dessert
• how much fun I have when they are so excited about things like football cards, Disney princess underwear, and having a butterfly or Dora band-aid
• and how I never thought I could love or care so much about someone else’s future

This parenting thing is a crazy ride indeed.

I guess that one of the reasons I blog is because, just in case they want to, at least I know they’ll have the chance to go back and find out who I was when they first started to know me.

Risk as a muscle…

Yesterday I shared an example of rock-climbing as a way to stretch the “comfort zone” muscle.

Earlier that day, I was on a call with one of my rock star financial advisors and he shared an investment idea with me.

It was risky. Not like 99 to 1, but definitely a bit higher risk.

I like to think I have a good balance on my portfolio (I could be wrong and time will tell), but after hearing him out (I trust his judgment), I was confronted with this moment of nerves and a bit of fear.

It was that feeling of RISK.

Then, I just stepped back from the moment and said, “ok, if I lose ALL this money, will it break me?”

The answer, at this moment, fortunately was no.

Then, I said, “sometimes I have to do things that are risky, just so I keep myself comfortable with taking (SMART) risks.”

So, I did it.

Got to keep the muscles in shape.

I was climbing the walls

My friend Joe (that’s him in the picture) invited me to go rock climbing with him at the Earth Treks Climbing Center, which was something I had never done before.

That was the point.

I find that it’s really easy to stay in our comfort zones and now take on those new adventures as we get older.

To me, risk, adventure, innovation, newness…these are muscles which require exercise, so that was reason enough to go.

Given all the ropes and equipment it’s a relatively safe thing to try (except for the guy who almost fell on me-that was a bit scary), so I figured “go big or go home” and while not quite going up the toughest route (they are color coded), I did intentionally try to push myself.

Like any activity, there’s a pretty healthy sub-culture around rock climbing, as was evidenced by the number of people there and the way they dressed and spoke, for example, but being one of the older ones, I could take a different perspective on it.

It wasn’t the most strenuous workout (I was pretty sore the next day, but more because I think I was using muscles in a new way-good!), but it was a solid one.

A surprising aspect to the experience was the strategic thinking required to navigate the route in the most energy and physically effective way.

I don’t feel the need to go back immediately or buy all the gear, but it was a good chance to get out there (or in this case, in there, since it was inside) and look at life for a different perspective—like 75 feet off the ground.

What Larry David Has Figured Out about Marriage…

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Ok, if you are a fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm, you’ll get this.

If not, feel free to come back tomorrow.

Husbands have two choices.

They can devote a huge amount of effort in overcoming their natural desire to be selfish and do whatever they want and constantly think/ask themselves “what can I do to be a helpful husband?”

Let’s call that Strategy A.

On the other hand, they can basically commit to a life of achieving the bare minimums at a low level of expectation.

Let’s call that Strategy B.

Strategy A, of course, is popular and politically correct, but I wonder if, from a Game Theory perspective, it actually yields the optimal output?

It depends, naturally, on how much effort the husband puts out and how satisfied the customer (the wife) is.

Note: It’s important to mention at this point that marriage is similar to marketing (satisfy the customer), but not entirely.

The marketplace is different.

While a husband is not entirely a monopoly provider (and vice versa), there are a lot of “switching costs” and “negative externalities” in changing providers, so it’s not a “highly competitive” marketplace.

In Strategy A, you are 100% guaranteed that, at some point, your wife will be upset with you for some missed moment of sensitivity. I am sorry, but there is no husband on the planet who has a 100% track record.

Now, over time, they may decrease, but you’re still left with a gap.

On the other hand, if you go with Strategy B (especially if you start early), you lower expectations dramatically. There’s some short-term discomfort, but like diet and exercise, it’s worth it in the long run.

Anything you do can’t disappoint, because expectations are so low that, even the slightest positive gesture is a huge victory, thus resulting in a favorable outcome.

What Larry David does, by being such a jerk, is essentially say to his wife (maybe that’s why he’s on his 2nd wife? He went with Strategy A on the first one?) “You can expect nothing supportive or sensitive from me.”

It’s all upside from there.

Of course there are those guys who are the statistical anomalies and would feel intrinsically motivated to help around the house, etc., so we’re only talking in broad generalizations here.

Battle Hymn of Tiger Mother….

Image via Wikipedia

My mother-in-law gave the NFO a copy of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, but the NFO never got to read it.

I picked it up and read it first.

Then, as it turned out, I was invited to be the discussion leader for my synagogue’s roving book club about the book.

If you’ve read the book, chime in. If you haven’t, chime in, but at least say “I haven’t read the book, so I don’t have all the facts and am relying on the interpretation and lenses of others to make these comments.”

So, yes, Amy Chua is intense. She’s Type A and unapologetic about it.

I also felt bad for her husband, Jed. It just seems like with all of the focus that Amy had on raising her perfect Chinese daughters, combined with being an author and a Yale Law professor…I just wondered if, you know, he ever had sex with his wife?

(Sorry, but I did actually have that thought.)

Ok, now let’s move on to the meat of it.

Here’s what I admire about Amy and her approach.

• She instills a reverence for persistence, determination, and a work ethic. I love her for this.
• I am in awe of her never-ending source of energy. After a long day at work, I have had more than one occasion where I say, “I just need to get the kids to bed.” For her, the day just started and, as they say about some great football players, she “gets stronger in the 4th quarter.” I really admire that.
• I agree with her focus on discipline and accountability. Sooner or later, we all realize that life isn’t fair, that you have to deal with the fact that you screwed up, and that you are responsible for your actions. I’d rather have my kids learn that when they are in my house than on their own. It’s the difference between rock climbing with ropes and…without them.
• I also admire her as a marketer…She tells some great stories that get people riled up…and gets them to talk about her (and her book)…which leads to sales.

I think the biggest issue, for me, is how she determines what “success” is.

I get the fact that she wants the girls to have good grades and be the concertmaster, but to what end?

Is it to have a sense of accomplishment?

I doubt it, since you can get that in many ways.

I think (and I don’t know) that she thinks that this is the path to job security and wealth.

And that’s where I don’t agree with her…at least anymore.

20, 30, 40, 50 years ago? Sure.

You got a good degree and you were assured of, at least, a middle class lifestyle.

I don’t believe that’s true anymore as we move into the truly globalized economy.

What’s more, the piano and the violin seem to be (and getting good grades), succeeding within a system of rules and I think that innovation, being the driver, of the future economy/wealth is sometimes about creating your own rules (or at least, vision).

And, of course, there’s the question of “what’s the purpose/meaning of it all anyway?”

Am I a worse-off person because I had a friend sleepover (or vice versa) in 6th grade? Was that an unacceptable trade-off?

I was talking to the Rabbi of my synagogue about the book and one thing he mentioned that seemed ridiculous to him was the notion that there was no “day or rest” in her kids’ repertoire. The human body needs rest/recovery time.

In some respects, I felt bad for her.

She seemed to want to “be Chinese” so badly and felt guilty about being in America that she had to “out Chinese” the Chinese.

Call it China-envy?

Best part of it all is that when my kids are crossing the line now, I say, “you know, I can be the Tiger Mom, if you want.”

That scares them straight

The Flag and Story of Ep(p)stein

Someone asked me about this the other day…so may as well share why I fly the flag of a small German town in front of my house.

My family had a cousin whose hobby was genealogy. He somehow managed to trace our family tree back to the Beneveniste family of Girona, Spain. During the year I spent in Germany, I traveled to Girona, which is north of Barcelona, and visited the Jewish museum there. The curator confirmed the existence of the Beneveniste family, indicated that they had been a very prominent family and had indeed been expelled from Spain during the Inquisition in 1492.

At some point after the Expulsion from Spain, the wandering tribe which had been known in Girona, Spain as the Benevensites ended up in Germany. They were in the money-lending business and lent money to one Count von Eppstein. As collateral, he offered up a piece of land.

When the time for the loan came due, the Count didn’t have the money and refused to turn over the land, saying that it belonged to his brother, a priest, and Church land couldn’t be given to Jews. Instead, he offered them the use of the distinguished last name of Eppstein. Apparently, the family took him up on his offer and eventually moved on to Lithuania, from whence my paternal grandfather emigrated.

I had never heard of the town of Eppstein until the summer of 1994 when a classmate of mine at the University of Regensburg where I was taking summer courses told me that it existed on the outskirts of Frankfurt.

For the exact location, see here.

During my travels through Europe thereafter, I made a point to take a trip out to Eppstein, a town nestled in wooded hills by a small river with a tiny fort on a hill, with a population of (I’m guessing) 2-3000 people.  At some point during my teenage years, my father had given me a family crest which had the name “Epstein” underneath it and which has three chevrons upon it. Interestingly enough, this same symbol was on all of the official Eppstein municipal items (trash trucks, the city hall, etc.).  I climbed the small hill to the little fort, the museum for the history of the town, and knocked. 

A woman answered. I told her my last name and showed her my passport. She was very excited and let me in for free (I thought the town still owed a lot more than that 1 Deutsche Mark that I saved, you know with interest and everything).  I told her the story and she confirmed the possibility of its veracity saying something to the effect of “the Counts von Eppstein were very dishonest and made a living of robbing travelers and traders on the river next to the fort”. 

During the year I spent in Germany, I went back twice more, once with my father and once with Dina, Asher, and Julie.  At my father’s request, I also made an inquiry to the City Hall to determine the name of the factory where the town flag was made and subsequently ordered one, which to this day flies outside my parents house and another one was recently ordered and is flying outside of our house.  It was also used at the wedding ceremony for Asher/Julie as well as for Tamar and me.

I’ve subsequently relayed this entire story to a German colleague at Microsoft who grew up in Eppstein. He too had heard that the Counts von Eppstein were not such great people. Furthermore, he asked if he could send the story I had sent to him to his friend who works in the City Hall and also to the town of Eppstein’s historian.  He has since done this. He told me that the name Eppstein comes, supposedly, from a knight named Eppo, who built a fort upon a large stone (Stein in German). Hence, Eppo’s Stein or Eppstein.

Cool App: Traffic Report from your friends…and everyone else

I saw this mobile app a few months ago and rediscovered it recently.

It’s called Waze (they have iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and Nokia versions) and basically what it allows you to do is get real-time traffic and route information from OTHER drivers on the road.

Meanwhile, your phone (anonymously) is contributing information about your speed as well to the service.

So, in essence, we all benefit because we all are telling the network “here’s how fast the traffic is moving on this road at this time” (thanks to GPS, the phone knows where you are.)

I just think it’s pretty neat and potentially a lot more reliable.

Perfect example of the Mesh, btw.

Related articles

• Waze Raises $30M to Expand into China (vccafe.com)
• Robert Scoble: Beating the traffic woes: Trapster vs. Waze (scobleizer.com)

The Job of the Future…

I’ve been blogging/fascinated/focused on the jobs of the future and American innovation.

My marketing guru is Seth Godin. I thought this post of his was spot on.

It’s the skill set we’ll all need in the future as the very nature of organizations change from BIG to small.

How I handle the “Pick Your Brain” Question now…

A while back, I shared that I was feeling a bit conflicted when I get the “Can I pick your brain?” request.
I didn’t want to be a jerk by saying “no,” but I couldn’t say “Yes” to all of them.
So, here’s what I do right now.
I say,
“Sure, I’d be happy to chat about your marketing issue, but before we do, it would be great if you read my three eBooks CDM, Dandelion Marketing, and Grow Your Fans. Then, since you’ll have the background down, we can specifically talk about your issues.”
What I find is that this weeds out the serious from the non-serious.
I kind of feel like “if you’re prepared to ask for my time (in an area where I make my living) and don’t want to do any prep for it whatsoever, then I don’t feel bad about not giving my time to you.”

Thinking vs. Doing Economies

I was reading an article about the disaffected youth of Europe and their protests (similar to Occupy Wall Street--Occupy Europe: How a generation went from indifferent to indignant) and one part jumped out at me

Wendy Cunningham of the World Bank in Washington says the old social contract that college equals a job is fast disappearing.
The days of "I have a degree in medieval studies, I deserve a job" are over, she says.

I suspect that the “old social contract” was based partially on the notion of “well, you seem to be responsible enough to complete a degree at a university, so we can trust you do to this job where, like college, you just follow the rules and you’ll be set.”
If you think about it, it’s kind of always been “follow the rules and you’ll be set.”
Whether Agrarian, Industrial, or Post-Industrial (the last 30 years or so), most employees weren’t asked to think or innovate on the job. They were given a set of tasks and told to “go do them in this order,” whether in the field, the factory, or in most offices.
Now, however, it’s different.
Now, if you can list the tasks to be done in order, it’s cheaper to either automate or outsource those tasks which means that you either figure out how to create value where it didn’t exist before, you have a low-level job that can’t be outsourced (although those will increasingly shrink due to automation), or you’re unemployed.
A lot of people have noticed this trend in the past, but we’ll highlight Dan Pink’s work “A Whole New Mind” since, well, he’s a client, but the message is the same.
It’s no longer about “following the rules and the recipe,” it’s about “take what you know about this subject area and figure out how to leverage your skills, your network, information, and supply chains to deliver something unique.”
It used to be about doing. Now, it’s about THINKING…then doing.
Big shift.
(HT to Matthew Woodget for the original pointer on the article).

The Horse Made Me Cry…

Ok, not so much the horse, but the movie about the horse, Secretariat.

I just love stories about people who take risks, never say die, and go BIG.

Sure, I have 3 kids and am 3-4 years behind the times on movies, but eventually I get there. This one, if you haven’t seen it, is worth it.

Dolls and Puppets…Wrestling

In one of those “never thought I’d be there” moments, Nadia and I had a 10 minute play session involving dolls and puppets.

First, the dolls were singing.

Then, dancing.

Then, they had a tea party.

Finally, it got interesting, and the four doll puppets started wrestling and tackling each other.

A perfect hybrid.

Time to Retire “Retirement?”

A friend sent in this question/quandary. Figured I’d put it to the blog readership for input. What would you tell his father?

My dad told me he will retire in Jan. He’s only 59 ½ and would have another 2 ½ years to go at his work place.

He comes from a long line of public servants, was born and raised in a country where “careers” in public office are common, and his hometown basically has two job sectors, public and tourism (which during his life was low paying).

So he’s always been brainwashed into the long, stable career at one place and eventually retiring. From the same culture, retiring is seen as “life is over, now I idly wait for death”. He even brings this up in his email (that retirement does not mean death), so it’s definitely still present in his way of thinking.

I think the word retirement should be banished from the face of the earth. It’s been way too long since my college years of studying Economics, but I know it’s the result of an old system/way of thinking that is just no longer applicable.

The Challenge:

Help me find an alternate word or phrase for this period of life. I’ve always been fond of a period I describe as “Independent with no dependents”, which is usually that moment after college where you have your first job and no worries on your mind.

It’s that entrepreneurial spirit that lets you take risks without care, since you’re in it for the experience and thrills. It seems like “retirement” would be a similar phase.

You’ve done your time, paid your dues to higher ups, presumably saved up and will not worry about bills and finances.

You’re independent – again. You’ve also, in many cases, raised your kids/family and they’re off and on their own.

You’ve got no dependents – again. What a wonderful time to be in – again! Yet “retirement”, yuck.

Burial Society and Perspective…

Following up on yesterday’s post on the burial society, I wrote that one of the things I appreciate about it is:

the serious dose of perspective that it provides you on the ultimate end of your (all of our) lives.

The interesting part about that is the question that it raises for me.

Should you “go all out and, as Thoreau said, ‘dare to live the life you’ve imagined’” or (and they may not be mutually exclusive), do you just slow down and act with even greater humility for the life you have and the responsibilities/obligations you have to others?

The Burial Society

One of the community tasks in which I am involved is to serve as a member of the Ritual Burial Society, aka the Chevra Kadisha.

The ritual process of preparing the deceased for burial is fascinating in and of itself, but I find two elements of it gratifying in particular.

First, the serious dose of perspective that it provides you on the ultimate end of your (all of our) lives.

Second, the comfort in knowing that, down the road, someone will treat your remains with the same respect you show them.

Internet Addiction and Religion

As I am fascinated by the topic of the Attention Economy, I recently watched "Crackberry'd: The Truth About Information Overload" while on the treadmill.

Definitely some sobering insights re: texting/talking while driving, but I think it could be a good marketing ploy for observant Judaism (where use of electronics is prohibited on the Sabbath-and people actually follow that rule!), as the show emphasized the benefits of “checking out” from the constant technology.

Something I do every week for 25 hours.

If, as they say, “Internet Addiction” are the recognized top social problems in China and S. Korea, then a system (one that costs less than the $27k/3 month retreat they profiled) with a built-in support community might be of value

I’m sure they re-run the show a lot, so see if you can find it on your DVR…you can skip the commercials and text me when you do.

(The show is a little dated since we all know BlackBerry is lame now, but the larger point still stands).

A Moment of Parental Pride...

Paco is playing soccer this fall and the other day, his team was in an epic battle with an equally talented team.

The game was tied at zero for almost the entire game and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was fired up that my boy scored the game winning goal, but you know what made me the most proud?

There was one point, late in the game, and the opposing team's best player was making a major thrust down the field. He was all alone, headed toward the goal and Paco just turned it on.

He tracked down the other guy and slid his foot in front of the other kid, just enough to knock the ball out of bounds and possibly save the game.

I've told him from Day One..."I don't care if you win or lose. I don't care how many goals you score. What I care about is that you 'leave it all on the field.'"

I'm serious about that...who cares if he scores a goal in 6 year old soccer? This is the moment in his life when his character, grit, determination and attitude are being formed.

Seriously, it was one of the proudest moments I've experienced thus far as a Dad.

How many more Tea Parties?

The other day, Tonka (7.5 years) had a friend over for a play date.

Afterwards, I saw their American Girl-centric Tea Party and I found myself wondering, as a proxy for ‘they grow up so fast,’

How many more Tea Parties will she have before she’s “too old” for them?

Airline Customer Service…

It’s become a given. “Airlines don’t care about their customers.”

“Service is terrible.”

“Flying is painful.”

It’s so common, it’s become canon.

Now, maybe I fly so much that my expectations have been lowered, but in my opinion, the actual experience on the airplane is just fine.

The real hassle is security (thank you, Yasser Arafat for that innovation), but the plane part…it’s just not a big deal.

I have more than enough stuff to keep me occupied. Laptop, iPad, Kindle, and a book. Plenty of water.

And, maybe 1 out of 30 trips, there’s an issue with my bag (and the last 2 times have both been during major rain delays—not an excuse, but a bit more understandable.)

I just wonder if our perceptions of airlines and travel experience has become so ingrained that the reality doesn’t matter (a problem for many marketers in many industries, btw) OR have I become numb to it?

Get Some Perspective…

Another good one (video) to keep us all balanced.

 

HT to Rajesh Setty.

Get Some Perspective…and some tissues

Get out the tissues and watch Emmanuel sing.

HT to Rajesh Setty.

The Cost of Water

Over a year ago, I suggested that we needed to rethink the use of our water.

In the last 2 bills, the cost of water for us has gone up to $4.53 per 1000 gallons for water and $5.61 per 1,000 gallons for sewer.

I don’t have the previous amounts handy, but wondering if this is true in other locales?

Sports Cards and the Passage of Time…

Image via Wikipedia

Somewhere, about 30 years ago, my mom bought me pack of basketball cards.

In it, was a 2nd year NBA player named Magic Johnson.

That card, along with hundreds of others, have been in a special case that has travelled through the years with me.

Recently, Paco has recently gotten into sports trading cards.

So, while I was tidying up, I found that Magic Johnson card and gave it to him.

It was like I was transferring a part of my younger self, with all of the energy, enthusiasm, and optimism that I had at age 7 to my son…all through some basketball and football cards that I, too, had cherished at his age.

Pervasive Technology...A Day in the Life

Every so often, I have a day that is just so immersed in modern technology that I have to capture it. Now, as you obviously know, I'm a huge technophile, so I believe this type of experience is generally a good thing.

After we got the kids out the door in the morning...

1. did a workout on the Xbox Kinect game "Your Shape, Fitness Evolved"
2. Scanned over the daily news on the iPad
3. Drove to the dentist, made some calls on the EVO (big deal, I know), but listen to 3 TED talks on the Zune player in the car (it's really good for that)
4. While in the dentist's chair, streamed a Netflix movie about Michael Vick as my "in-flight entertainment system" on the EVO using the 4G connection (now, that was fun)
5. That afternoon, I did two webcasts using the Microsoft High Def camera attached to my home computer
6. Based on some input from a customer, I recorded a video using a FlipCam and a demonstration of some marketing concepts using a LiveScribe Smart pen (see demo here)
7. Walked on the treadmill and watched an episode of Modern Marvels, recorded on the Windows Media Center DVR system
8. While relaxing on the couch after dinner/bedtime for the kids, I watched 2 videos I had queued up using Squrl.com on the iPad
9. Used Dropbox (just a FANTASTIC tool) to synchronize 4 different devices 

This, of course, doesn't even include all of the software, etc. that I used during the course of the day. And, I think I've even forgotten a few items.

Anyway...I just realized how I move from device to device to device and optimize my time to do what I want to be doing at that moment.

When Ideas Have Sex…

Just a fantastic presentation on the power of ideas and what happens when they are combined with other ideas.

Doing my part to pollinate the ideastream

Michael Vick and Forgiveness….

After reading the book about life at Leavenworth prison, I’ve been thinking a lot about the question of rehabilitation and debt to society.

It came up recently as the dental hygienist and I got into a debate about Michael Vick.

As a dog lover, she said there is no way she can ever forgive Vick for what he had done. He had “crossed the line” and even paying his debt to society in the form of prison time couldn’t make her look at him anew. It didn’t’ matter how much remorse he had shown.

That raised the question of “when do people deserve a 2nd chance and when are their crimes-no matter how many years before-unforgivable?”

Child sex offenders, murderers?

Robbers/Thieves?

Shoplifting?

Which are the ones where…”ok, you made a mistake, pay up and you’re back into society?”

and which are the ones where it’s “sorry, you are marked for life.”

Perseverance to get a Nobel Prize…Of A Personal Kind

So, it’s cool news about this Israeli scientist who won the Nobel Prize.

The moral of the story…perseverance, commitment in the face of adversity…that’s the eternal lesson.

Life Asterisk at the Bank…

Into the category of people who get a small asterisk in our family’s life history, we now add Johnny of Capital One bank.

I took Tonka and Paco in the other day and helped them each set up their own bank accounts.

That wasn’t the real purpose of the trip, however. It was the next step in their financial acumen educational process and Johnny played his role beautifully.

We talked about the dangers of overdrafting your checking account, buying on credit, and how to responsibly save (as well as check your balance).

We talked about interest, loans, and even currency swaps (ok, maybe not the last part).

His patience was first rate and I thanked him for his help.

Many years down the road when, hopefully, the guys are of sound financial mind, we’ll look back at the positive influences on their lives and remember that Johnny had a small, but important, role to play.

Next up: teach them how to check their balances via the iPad

Related articles

• Overdraft fees: Next challenge for consumer panel (money.cnn.com)
• Some banks starting to charge customers to use debit cards (pennlive.com)

America: That Used To Be Us

Image via Wikipedia

It would be easy to dismiss Tom Friedman’s new book, That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back, as a rehashing of his previous themes.

To some extent, that’s fair, but where this book differs is in its objective.

Whereas, for many years, Friedman has been a keen and astute observer of the way the world is changing because of globalization, this book is meant to be a really loud wake-up call, to give America and Americans the awareness and the sense of urgency of what will happen if we don’t act, decisively, to change our current trajectory.

In this respect, my thinking and his thinking align perfectly.

He cites the 4 major trends affecting us

• globalization
• IT revolution
• our large and growing deficits
• our pattern of energy consumption

as the forces at the core of the threat to the American Dream and the promise of the middle-class lifestyle.

He (and to be fair, this book is co-authored with Michael Mandelbaum), also addresses what 5 areas need to be our focus if we are to overcome the challenges.

• education
• infrastructure
• immigration
• research and development
• regulation

Now, while I don’t agree with everything they suggest, given my recent travels, I certainly agree with most of them.

They are optimistic…when all is said and done, America has historically risen to the challenges, but the road won’t be easy.

We MUST cultivate an environment of radical innovation and entrepreneurship in this new environment, make it easier for the right people to come into the country, make it easier for people to start businesses here, and provide the right type of education for our citizens.

These are easy things to say…not easy to do, particularly given the somewhat paralyzed nature of our government, which the authors address at length.

But, the book is a reframing of the discussion. Instead of saying, “oh, we have the best school in the county or the state,” ask, “how does our school compare to Shanghai, Sinagpore, or Helsinki?”

In my mind, that’s exactly what we should be doing. And it’s something we need to start doing NOW.

94% of the book is an assessment of the challenges and on those, I agree.

Where I walked away a bit disappointed was the solutions:

• more and better math/science education (easier said than done)
• a 3rd party presidential candidate
• belief in the American ideals

While both could make a difference, it left me feeling a bit lacking in terms of specifics.

Still, I fundamentally believe that most Americans do not yet fully appreciate the challenges of the new world order and on that score, I’d read the book.

If the resulting anxiety can help increase our odds of solving the problem, then I’m all for it.

Party Hard!

I went into the kids' bedroom the other night to discover that all three of them were wide awake. It was 10pm.

"I'm not so upset," I said, "since you don't have school tomorrow."

To which Paco replied, "Yeah! Party hard!"

Trying to control myself, I said, "Sorry, but there will be no partying hard tonight."

At which point Tonka said, "Yeah! Party not so hard!"

The Facebook World and the China World

I saw this picture behind Mark Zuckerberg recently. Plenty of brands from all over the world.

None from China.

Given my recent trip there and the “Great Firewall of China,” I was thinking about the fact that, despite their massive population, it could be more and more like we’re on different planets.

Those of us who share via Facebook (and can access the unfiltered web) and those of us (Chinese), who can’t.

I wonder if it means that all of us will develop one shared perspective while the Chinese continue with their own?

Ship of Gold…and more

Image via Wikipedia

If you’re looking for an exciting page turner of a book, one that is nearly impossible to put down, check out Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea: The History and Discovery of the World's Richest Shipwreck

It’s all about what happened to the SS Central America in 1857, which went down with $2 million worth of gold (leading to the Panic of 1857) and the amazing technological achievement associated with its recovery in over 8000 feet of deep ocean.

The story (on both sides) is phenomenal, opening up a part of American history that is doubly significant and enriching your understanding of the world in which we live…plus, it has the added bonus of connecting the dots from different centuries, so you see the cause and effect over long periods of time.

Throw in some great technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, a validation of free markets/incentives, and some just first-rate storytelling and you’ve got a glorious book.

You just don’t find too many like these and the empathy you feel for the heroes/characters puts you on all of the ships.

Jobs in the New Economy...

Take 12 minutes to watch this...you'll understand my perspective.
Here's the bio of the presenter. Not too shabby.

Random Thoughts on US Foreign Policy...

Was just thinking about US Foreign Policy and wondering if some of the assumptions underlying it no longer hold.

Given the realities of the world, some things came to mind that I thought might be worth re-opening. Just putting them out there for debate/discussion.

• Does NATO really matter anymore? I mean, the Soviets were defeated.
• Should we continue to maintain military bases in places like Germany or move them to lower cost, more strategic places (that might have us) in, say, eastern Europe?
• S. Korea...maybe it's time to say, "ok, you want us to defend you from N. Korea? Fine. Here's the annual bill. Pay up."
• Same thing for Taiwan. Frankly, given my recent trip to China, I'm starting to be skeptical that China would actually attack Taiwan. I could be wrong about that one.
• Aid to the Egypt and Israel
• Bases in Japan/Okinawa
• I'd throw in the whole UN experiment, but I know that's a non-starter
• embargo on Cuba. I mean, except for a bunch of people in S. Florida, no one really cares and no one thinks of them as a threat anymore, right?

Celebrating Native Americans…

Image via Wikipedia

Our most recent family outing took us to the (relatively new) National Museum of the American Indian.

The kids had a great time, but I found myself challenged a bit in explaining the history.

I mean, I didn’t want to come out and say “Western Civilization is evil,” but I didn’t want to say “hey, everything that was done was justified.”

I didn’t exactly hem and haw, but I do wish I had thought about it a bit more in advance.

The kids, as usual, didn’t seem to mind and embraced the experience with open arms, open eyes, and open minds.

There is a huge statue out front of a Pueblo Indian doing a dance (which they loved) and there were some very kid-friendly videos that told some Indian stories in a compelling way. What’s more, Tonka, in particular, really appreciated some of the beadwork on moccasins and the headdresses, but all of them found something special.

The one disappointment was that we were 1 week early for the renovated kid-focused activity area, but all in all, a strong outing and one that I definitely recommend (the building itself is just gorgeous and inspiring—even the kids noticed the unique architecture).

And, appropriately enough, we skipped watching a Washington Redskins game to visit the museum. Even though I’ve been a fan most of my life, I do realize that the name is offensive…it probably should be changed.

 

Paranoia, Anxiety, and the Day to Day…

One of the business books which has most informed my thinking is Andy Grove’s “Only the Paranoid Survive.”

I think it needs a sequel. Something like “how to make it every day when you are paranoid.”

You see, I’m in the midst of 3 big projects right now…all of which have HUGE innovation components. That is, I’m deliberately trying out some new things.

It’s ridiculously exciting, but since there’s a real chance that any or all of them could fail and that could make my clients dissatisfied, there’s anxiety.

But, my paranoia about failing to innovate and staying fresh, relevant, and hungry goes beyond all of that so I gladly and willingly do it.

Getting comfortable with being out of your comfort zone…that’s the trick. I don’t have all the answers though.

Alaska and the Flat World…

When you arrive in Alaska, you can’t help but think about how big the world is, how magnificent nature is, and how you fit into it.

Tyler Arnold grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and at age 16, a teacher gave him a copy of Tom Friedman’s book, The World Is Flat .

So, Tyler did what comes naturally to people with an “Alaska Perspective,” I suppose…

He started a company…at age 16.

But, this company sells services to agencies in New York and San Francisco and manages computer programmers in Pakistan and Romania.

His business took off as he was “managing it from a Blackberry” during 10th grade and, now, at age 19, he spends 8 months a year outside of Alaska (not because of the weather), because he’s either seeing clients or managing his teams around the world.

His monthly revenues would make most of you pretty happy.

There’s been a lot of talk recently about creating jobs and innovation. IF we had more people like Tyler, who understood how to create value in a new, globalized world, we wouldn’t be having that discussion.

Just an inspiring guy. Meet Tyler in this video or check out his website: www.tylersystems.com

A Glacial Perspective

“Everyone,” my host began, “has their own mythology of Alaska.”

As we drove out from Anchorage, past the town of Wasilla (yep, the hometown of Sarah Palin), I reflected on that.

Many states have images that are conjured up when you hear their names.

California. Florida. Texas. New York.

But, Alaska, probably because it’s so distant (I didn’t even know until this trip that it takes 3 hours to get there FROM SEATTLE), so big (and thus difficult to get our heads around), and somewhat the land of lore (think Klondike Gold Rush), definitely defies a unique stereotype…and that is what Steve meant, I believe.

Part of that mythology these days is Sarah Palin and, frankly, my non-scientific research says that most Alaskans could do without that.

But, part of that mythology is in the outdoors, roaming, going out and about…you vs. nature or, better yet, you AND nature.

Steve drove me up to the Knik River Lodge, owned by Peter, a Dutchman who has lived in Alaska for 24 years and done something quite special.

He’s combined a lodge experience with gourmet European cooking (he brings in a French chef) and a passion for the outdoors to create a unique experience that is about appreciating the state and its beauty.

With the help of Steve Richards, our pilot, we flew in a helicopter (my first time doing that) out to the Knik Glacier where I had a meeting with God.

It wasn’t on the calendar, He hadn’t sent an email, but He was there.

Ok, so I’m exaggerating, but if God is about feeling a sense of deeper connection to the earth and of giving you a better perspective into just how small you are in the grand scheme of things so you don’t get so full of yourself, then he was there.

The glacier is something like 6 miles wide, 26 miles long and no one knows how deep.

It’s intense, which I got to see for myself when Peter set up the ice climbing and I rappelled down (not too far) into a ravine…the bottom of which NO ONE has ever seen, but leads to an underground river.

Out there, on the ice, you think about your daily issues and your (relatively small) world and you are reminded..in a way to yet another city cannot do), how magnificent the world is and the awe-inspiring capabilities of nature.

Alaska is really a world unto itself in some ways. There’s no state income tax and no sales tax…of course, it’s easy to do that (and balance your state budget) when you have a $50 billion fund from oil royalties that serves as an endowment for the whole state.

In fact, EACH citizen (kids, too) gets an annual check for $2000 from the fund as a dividend.

All of this put some of Palin’s claims in perspective, by the way.

But, this isn’t about Palin and focusing on her does a disserve to the people here.

They are warm and hospitable. They have a great attidute and a beautiful climate and their state provides a unique opportunity to regain a perspective on LIFE that we all sometimes lose.

For some video of the glacier (here and here)

 

State 48—Alaska-Helicopters and Glaciers

For those of you keeping track, it took 18 months to make it from state 47 (Oregon) to state 48. (Interestingly enough, it also took 18 months to make it from state 46-Michigan).

Now, how I got here is an interesting story in and of itself.

I was presenting at a national convention of Visitors and Convention Bureaus in the summer of 2010.

Halfway through, I felt like the audience and I had a good rapport, so I “broke character” and basically said,

“ok, if there is anyone here from Alaska, Nebraska, or Hawaii, let me know. I need to visit your state and I’m willing to negotiate.”

Wouldn’t you know it, but the guy from Anchorage came up to me at the end and said, “I’ll bite.”

13 months later, I’m riding a helicopter and then landing on Knik Glacier in Alaska.

More to come on Alaska….

But for now…enjoy the video from the helicopter. I loved that (had never done it before).

What would prison be like?

On very rare occasions, I wonder that.

See a documentary on TV or read a story about it, but never before have I really FELT a bit nervous about that question.

No, I’m not going to prison and, fortunately, I don’t know too many people who have, but finished a FANTASTIC book called The Hot House: Life Inside Leavenworth Prison.

Now, the book is almost 20 years old, but the tension is real.

You wonder how you would react to the intimidation, the extortion, the sexual predators and it’s daunting, a whole other side of society that you almost never think about.

There are the larger issues that we face:

• can criminals be rehabilitated?
• are some people just inherently evil?
• is someone’s life still worth equal to that of others even after that person has taken another’s?

The book doesn’t pass these types of judgments, but the author who had “brass balls” (they say you need “brass balls to work at Leavenworth”) raises them in a very fair way.

Reading books about people on the edge definitely takes you out of the comfort zone.

Prison, they say, helps a man (or woman) get down to the core of who he is.

Reading this book helps you think about the question of how you might react…and what kind of person you are.

I love books that blow your perspective on the world wide open and this one did.

On Competing with China…

It’s really not about just China, it’s about competing in a globalized world. My trip to China just being the impetus for the thought.
I read a book by Tom Peters a while ago called “ReImagine!” and he focused on the requirement for America to do just that…reinvent our approach to business.
Of course, the first person (for me) to recognize this was Dan Pink (client) in his book “A Whole New Mind” (required reading, by the way.)
With very few exceptions, it’s near impossible to out-manufacture China. They can throw people (cheaply) at pretty much any problem.
Our advantage is in the innovation and in creating the BRAND experience, the emotional connection to a company that cannot be replicated.
Apple is the classic example though I hate to use them since they are such an anomaly. Conceived and designed in California…manufactured in China.
Zappos, I suppose, is another one. I bet most of the shoes they sell are made in China.
Anyway, the big takeaway from the trip for me was the fact that we don’t have-but need-a real sense of urgency about America’s future.
I don’t have the answer, but I think that most of the current approaches are focused on “fighting the last war.”
It’s like we need a “Manhattan Project” for education, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
I sometimes wonder if the roots of the country as a “nation of immigrants” is where the strength lies…but to get there, we have to take away some of our entitlements and programs.
Not the best trade-off in the short-term, but like the recent debt ceiling issue showed us, we have to confront it sooner or later.

Related articles

• China's Path to Innovate (laf.ee)
• Creativity and Innovation Lacking in China (cash-bandit.com)
• Tom Silva: Made in America? (huffingtonpost.com)
• China - Saving Grace for World Economy! (trak.in)

China’s Underwater Turmoil…

Image via Wikipedia

“It’s kind of like an ocean where the water is calm on the surface, but underneath, it’s quite dangerous.”

One of my Chinese associates was telling me about the massive changes to Chinese society and culture brought about by the dynamic growth.

It gets all the attention, of course, but the consequences for the average Chinese, in his opinion:

• rapidly rising housing and automobile costs
• an aging population (consequence of the 1 Child policy)
• growing gap between rich and poor

There’s no social safety net, so you are very much on your own and, as is traditional, it is expected that children will take care of their parents.

But, with the One Child policy, you have a situation where two children (a husband and a wife) are responsible for 4 people (their parents) and because costs have skyrocketed, more and more of the income generated by the working couple is devoted to their own lifestyles.

That leaves less money for their parents.

In his opinion, it’s not sustainable (and, in fact, he told me that the government is reconsidering the One Child policy in part because of this).

What’s more…and this SHOCKED me…he shared that many of his friends (educated, English-speaking) are emigrating to US, Canada, NZ, Australia, UK, etc. and that (according to him), China now has one of its highest emigration rates ever.

I’m a bit dubious of that statistic, but the perception-in his mind-that economic security is in jeopardy in his future in China is real…and that’s quite astounding, given how so many people view China as the new “land of opportunity.”

Guess you can’t judge a book by its cover, eh?

Marketing Lessons from China….

Image via Wikipedia

I had the opportunity to go to Beijing to teach a class on Digital and Social Marketing.

I took it, not just because I am passionate about the topic and wanted to see modern China though.

The reason I elected to go (going for 3 days in total is not that glamorous, btw) is because it forced me out of my comfort zone.

It’s (relatively) easy for me to talk about marketing to a US audience. The slang, the jokes, the ideas…the come naturally.

Going to China and immersing myself in a foreign culture meant that I had to think…REALLY THINK about how effectively I was communicating.

I had to be aware of cultural sensitivities. I had to think and ask-rather than assume-what the motivations, aspirations, and interests of my audience was.

Now, of course, this is just marketing best practice. We should always do it.

But, sometimes we forget. Sometimes we don’t.

There’s a reason why Steven Covey tells us in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People that Habit #7 is “Sharpen the Saw.”

It’s because that’s precisely what we have to do.

Was I scared that my message and presentation would flop?

You betcha.

But, it’s about overcoming that fear and saying “I’m going to do it anyway because the primary objective here is ‘forcing the change.’”

It’s like saying, “I’m going to take the toughest course possible and even if I get a B or a C instead of an A, it’s going to be worth it in the end.”

The Takeaway:

Find (relatively) low-risk opportunities-on a regular basis- that make you feel uncomfortable and will force you to “get back to basics” in whatever your field. You may not enjoy the actual experience (although I did), but your long-term performance is worth it.

China and the Education Imperative…

As I sat at breakfast in Beijing, I read an insightful and scary blog (Back to Wrong School) post by Seth Godin about the challenges associated with American education.

It was spot on, in my opinion, and I forwarded it to my the guy in my network who thinks more about the need to revamp education in America more than anyone else…Daniel Lipstein.

A lawyer by day, Daniel has penned some thoughtful ideas including “Superwoman Was Already Here” about Dr. Maria Montessori and shared an article by Steve Denning about the dangers of the factory model of education as well as another piece from the WSJ (subscription required ) by Jonah Lehrer.

Now, why is all of this important and how does it relate to China?

Well, the reason, in my mind, is that as I see the impact of globalization, technology, and others on the rest of the world, it just reinforces what I already know…that the ONLY way to sustained growth for the US is to recognize that our competitive advantage is a culture of innovation.

It’s in teaching people how to be entrepreneurs and innovators.

By complete coincidence, that same day, my mom forwarded me an email from our friend, Saul Singer, author of Start-up Nation and a leading authority on innovation.

The email was quoting Tom Friedman from the 9/4 Meet the Press (see the 12.50 point in the video)

And what we did [for new book] was actually interview four employers, four major employers, one of whom actually is the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey. And we interviewed him when he was head of the Army Education Corps, and--which is just very recently. And here's what employers will tell you, David. They'll tell you that they're all looking for the same kind of employee now, someone who can do critical reasoning thinking, dot, dot, dot, in order to get an interview. That's not table stakes. What they're actually looking for are people who can adapt, invent, and reinvent the job because, in this hyperconnected world, change is happening so fast.

You know, there are companies now in Silicon Valley that do quarterly employee reviews now because their product cycle's changing so fast. You can't wait till the end of the year to find out you have a bad team manager. Now, that's got to work back toward education. What we argue in the book, basically going forward, is there are really just two kind of countries in the world, HIEs and LIEs, high imagination enabling countries and low imagination enabling countries.

Forget developed and developing. Why is it? Because if I have a spark of an idea now I can go to Delta in Taiwan, they'll design it; skip over to Alibaba in Hangzhou, they'll give me a cheap Chinese manufacturer; and make a jump over to amazon.com, they'll do my fulfillment and delivery; go to Craigslist and get an accountant; and freelancer.com will do my logo. They're all commodities now. What isn't a commodity is this (snapping fingers). And the countries, actually, that are thriving today, look at Israel, start-up nation. We--we're not going to bail our way out of this crisis. We're not going to stimulate our way out of this crisis. We are only going to educate, ultimately, and imagine and invent our way out of this crisis. 

And Saul adds his own analysis:

What Friedman is saying is what economists have known for many years but many seem to have forgotten: economic growth comes from increasing productivity, most increases in productivity come from innovation, and start-ups and entrepreneurship are the main engine of innovation.

That’s what I’ve seen on my trip to China (and India, Brazil, Russia…). As a nation, we have to just make our peace with the fact that the easy street we had for so long is over and just make a clean break and seriously double-down on this question of re-inventing education.

I certainly don’t have the answers, but I know it’s a huge problem. I also know that people like Daniel are seriously concerned and thinking about it.

We’ve got to raise the alarm before it’s too late and make it a top priority.

Beijing, Incense, and the Social Safety Net…

Day 2 in Beijing took me to the Yonghegang Temple, a fairly large complex that was full with multiple and ENORMOUS statues of the Buddha.

As I walked through, the thing that really hit me, that brought me back to 1997 when I lived in Japan and traveled around Asia was the smell…of incense.

Now, I happen to like the smell, so it works for me, but when I think of “sights, sounds, smells of Asia,” it is the smell of incense which I think connects me most with this continent.

One thing that I’ve noticed…at least in the areas where I’ve been which, admittedly, isn’t all that many, is how clean things are. I mean, some of them are tourist areas, but the subway is pretty darn immaculate.

Of course, with 1.3 billion people, you have a lot of labor to keep things organized.

One thing I did wonder about was, as the country grows is how does it provide for a social safety net for the millions(!) “left behind.”

On three consecutive subway rides, I saw (and gave money to) 3 different beggars who were in horrific shape. One had no legs and was crawling on the floor (I’d seen something like this in India). One was an amputee and blind. I don’t recall the 3rd at the moment.

IT was interesting (admittedly unscientific), but the guy crawling on the floor was the one who got money from almost everybody and the other 2 were ignored.

Just an observation.