It could only be called CONCRETE

I am living on the New Zealand time at this moment after paying a short trip to the states. I'll be heading off to Stockholm this Thursday - another whole day's flying and waiting in the airport plus changing of time zone really scare me now. I am getting old for such things. Or I have been exploited (hehe...I love the word) last year. Finally, I can pull my arse together to update about the conference I attended - BAWB Global Forum (Cleveland, Ohio).

The conference is a cooperation between the Case Western Reserve University (whose b-school is doing pretty well in the states) and global compact talking about how business can benefit the entire society and how b-school education can transform the next generation of business leaders. With and without surprise, most of the delegates are professors of American universities who have at least 1 PHD degree if not several and spent all their life teaching and researching on economic models which enable business to do more good to the society. Plus jetlag, I felt like a dummie at the conference. ;-) Nevertheless, when people like Ray Anderson, C.K. Prahalad coming up to the stage using concrete examples to show case how business can be an agent of world benefit, together with 400+ research papers from the academics, I was completely convinced that:

1. There are more than one way for business to be profitable and do good to the entire society. We just need to document all the practices and spread them around.
2. There are a lot of people believing in the concept of CSR. It is a matter of knowing the HOW.
3. Surely education is going to make a huge difference.
4. USA finally is catching up on this concept whose economy and business are being so powerful.

To my greater surprise, I also got some understanding how the mentality of Asian societies on CSR: doing good is doing good which doesn't have to be associated with financial bottomline - which is something hard to understand from a western perspective.

Yet I don't have a clear idea of how I am gonna pursue my career under such a concept - a direct way or a mediate role - not sure! No doubt that this conference has made me very hopeful also more aware of the state of the world today - environmentally and socially.

Under the wave of 'commercialization'

Being a Chinese, I am very critical about commercializing things - NOT because I am a big fan of communism (hell no!). Because in a market size of 1.3 billion, market economy is too theoretical to work. I dare to say that with a good justification, selling shit can make one rich in China. Our consumers are very unsophisticated and a tiny percentage ends up with a huge number.

Out of the Chinese context, somethings are not designed to be commecialized:

Religions. It's a good thing to renovate temples. But how about charging a high price for entrance and incents? How about charging even higher for special dates? I recently start to think about those Zen Monesteraries. I wonder if it is going to be one of those 'products' some day soon.

Martial Arts. I joined an Aikidoist's yahoogroup and got to know that there are more and more people opening dojos to earn big money.

Isn't it very ironic to commercialize things with a spiritual prupose?

A doomed result

You Belong in Australia

Ace! Sunny, upbeat, and cute You make the perfect surf bum Now stop hogging the vegemite!

What English Speaking Country Are You?

Having lived with 2 Aussies in the same apartment, and spent 5 weeks out of a 3 month country visit in Australia - totally toxicated! I know I would have got this result!

Dedicated to Malaysia

Aron and me recently discussed about the concept of 'home': it should be geographical, it is an emotional tie, or it is about finding the Mr/Mrs Right? We couldn't answer. We realized that being at our home country for now, neither of us feel homey. We want to continue looking for 'the home' which we can't even define. Seems the journey will be long even though we might end up the starting point. But at least, after all, we'll realize that it is home now.

When I came across quite a few countries, I am always asked even by myself, where do I click the most? It has been only 1 answer so far, 'Malaysia!' I burst out. Now this doesn't contradicting my Indian Fetish, check out the top reasons why I love Malaysia so much (though my experiences were special cuz I stayed with Chinese and Indian Malaysians):

1. Chaos. (Guess I cannot live without a certain level of chaos. I am too random to be structured or process oriented.) Malaysia has enough of it though hard to notice - just go to the train stations or take local trains in KL.

2. Life quality. I have decided long back that Malaysians have way higher life quality than the Singaporeans. (I cannot understand why so many Malaysians want to work 'overseas' in Singapore!!!) Most people have cars (most of the @ers I met have their own cars) and live in a 3 storey house just outside of KL. There is no hussle and stress of taking public transportation. It's always nicer to be in a house than an apartment in a skyscraper. ;p

3. Food courts! As a hardcore fan for cuisine, especially Asian cousines, food courts suit me perfectly. Because you can choose from Korean to Malay! Because the food is always yummy, cheap and clean. I can have anything I can think of (not just I want, hehe...) at 1 stop.

I have always hated that I could only eat this much cuz I have always wanted more than 1 type of food. Apart from the dishes, I often cannot decide which drink should I order for that particular meal cuz there are simply too many to choose from!!! Such hard choices start from the mornings. (Faint!) Imagine how excited I am to start every day! Hehe... I don't even regret growing fatter while in Malaysia. Hehehe... And I know many other countries have food courts, so what? They are never as cheap or as yummy as the Malaysian ones!

4. Tropical fruits! Mango, Durian... I cannot name many of them but I recognize them once I see them. Perfect desert after meals - healthy and yummy.

5. Modernism VS Peace & Nature - one can get all. Sadly I have only been in KL so far due to busy travel schedules. Patronus twin towers have been the most significant I have seen so far. What I loved more than the Patronus towers is the rain forest one can see while driving into the city centre. KL is a very special city maintains its muslim route.

I've seen pictures of Lankawi and reckoned it is heaven. But I was told that islands on the east coast are even better!!! Clearly, it is where I am heading for next time.

6. Finally, regarding my special angle with the particular experiences in Malaysia, I loved how hardworking people are. There is no short cut to a good life. I reckon it is all the intense moment in the day time in exchange with all the chilling out at foodcourts till 2-3am. ;-) So much vibe.

Oh, last but never the least, where else I can find a place with equal amount of Chinese and Indians?! Hehe...

The Instant Revenge

"We might as well celebrate cancer treatment as a growth industry, rather than take cancer epidemics as a warning about the hundreds of toxic chemicals loosed in the environment." -- Paul Hawken in his book The Ecology of Commerce.

Strange enough, a lot of people in my network are getting cancers in their 40s or 50s. Sadly, a fair percentage dies or will die soon. Cancer is so common in China now that it is considered to be a 'long lasting' disease takes time to cure and recover instead of a deadly disease. This morning, in a conversation with Carol Yeo, I learnt this is not a unique syndrome in China. She was reading books about those fighting against cancers in their 20s and 30s.

I have been interested in sustainability issues for 2 years now. Still, I always had the feeling that when we talk about extinction of species, consumption of non-renewable energy, creation of waste faster and more than how much the nature can take, it only affects the future generations. And 'sustainability' on its own always seemed a futuristic and long-term oriented topic.

Now apparently, the revenge from the nature is instant. Besides cancer, there are many things human beings are 'suffering' DIRECTLY much more today compared to 50 years back: e.g. male fertility is decreasing remarkably based on the review of 61 papers and studies covering 150,000 men around the world between 1938 and 1990. (Directly quote from 'The Ecology of Commerce'.)

The facts are so daunting and cruel. Even if we don't care about other people (who are not even born now)'s life, we do feel the pain of losing those close to us. Or we might be those suffering from deadling diseases and causing pains to those love us.

I wonder how long we have been talking about sustainability. In the business of life and death, how much has been achieved?

Holiday Relocation

October holidays is a 7 day vacation when 1.3 billion relocates themselves. Plus a tiny little bit got relocated abroad temporarily. There is a general principle to perform the relocation: cross the developed and under developed regions. So Shanghai has been flooded by rural Chinese who think that this is the best place in China when Shanghainese spread out to small towns closeby or even Tibet and Inner Mongolia.

I took a cheap trip with some good friends to some islands on Tai Hu (Tai Lake) for 3 days. Main activities were walking under the trees enjoying the great view of the lake, eating a lot, drinking at the lake side late at night. And most of all gossipping: all my friends are working in an intensive environment (work and office politics) who needed nothing but a holiday when brain is useless.

We got very amazed by how tasty the food was: home-fed chickens and ducks, fish and crabs grown up in the lake not in a pond, fresh vegetables. We ate like we were refugees. We also got amazed by how blue the sky was (not as half blue as Europe or Australiasia! but much blue-er than Shanghai for sure), the fresh air...It's like getting out of the jail for all of us.

Thanks to the relocation and the great contrast, we found our desire to peace and nature. For me, it remains an eternal question that how much of it I'll want to have and what I would like to give up for it.

Celebrities and Relationships!

Whever I watch TV at home (though I seldom watch TV here cuz I hate brain washing), I feel my brain is the one thing redandunt - there are 2 things happening: Love Affairs and Celebrities! My best friend has just become a hardcore fan of a new Celebrity who I wouldn't want to comment upon. And the rest are getting married or already married. So one should be busy for one or the other.

The new 'American Dream' of Chinese people is to become a celebrity through talent shows on TV. It is such an American Dream that a 20-ish sissy looking boy who cannot speak (aka he is numb) won No 2 in a recent competition. And many others who have an okay looking face are pulling their arse together, jumping up and down on the stage.

What message does this transmit? Let's put down our books, sell our face and body to earn big money? How much this alignes to 'technology makes a strong China' as how the central government always talks about? Or this is more brainwash topping down?

Love affairs seem to be the biggest concern of this country second to nothing! It is talked about in many creative ways in most of the TV shows. And it is a big concern of people of my age so almost all my friends are either admiring those who are (getting) married or worrying about themselves not having anybody yet. If you see those above 60 years old are showing up in the match making programs on TV, you certain feel pathetic to be left alone. Besides, there are many who got screwed by their relationships, getting on TV to talk about the bad experience, ask for advice or simply curse the guy or the girl - god help me!!!

Apparently, things are getting a bit ridiculous lately with the so-called 'freedom of speeches'. However, I have heard a very interesting analogy about men and women and their relationships: men are the head and women are the neck. Probably this relfects more of how relationship should work in China more than anywhere else. Still I thought it is brilliant that the neck is not so much 'at the front' compared to the head but still controls the head in a crucial but subtle way. ;-)