Managing

Managed to get two interviews out of the way. Art Fry, inventor of the Post-It pad managed to talk to the Breakfast Club on 938 LIve this morning about innovation and the developing of an innovative mindset and later on, I finally managed to get Ed Ng, CEO of GECF, SEA interviewed by the Asian Banker. Neither of these interviews were what I'd call highlights of my life in arranging interviews but they felt very satisfying to get out of the way. Somehow, they had been long in comming and now that they are underway. I guess when something feels like hard work, getting it done feels all the more satisfying.

GECF was particularly satisfying. General Electric is one of the world's greatest businesses. Much of the myth around GE was created by its former CEO, Jack Welsh. The man ranks as one of the world's greatest business leaders. Half a decade after his retirement, the business section of the bookshops remain stacked with his words of wisdom and most importantly current business leaders still follow Jack's mantras religiously. And to be fair to Jack, he actually left GE properly - his successor, Jeff Immelt is doing a fabulous job and GE is getting stronger, and more importantly Jack Welsh has actually left the company and not creating post for himself to "MENTOR" his successor.

GE was actually a strong company before Jack Welsh. I guess it has something to do with the corporate culture. Ed Ng, SEA CEO of GECF mentioned that GECF is very open in sharing its "Best Practices" from its other business units with its customers. That strikes me as quite unique, a company so confident in its abilities that it will share its knowledge with others - as far as I know, no Singapore company would do it for fear that it may be grooming its customers to become competitors.

I did see GECF as my biggest paycheck this year. But think an association with them can be more than that. It can be a glimpse into a company that has become the by-word for how to do things in the business world. I might actually learn something from them. - Incidentally, I discovered that Ed Ng is a former SAF schoolar. - nice to see an SAF Schoolar having the guts to make his move into the private sector (GLC's don't count) and actually making a respectable mark in the company.

Alan Greenspan has writen a book that describes the economic policy of the Bush Administration for what it is - INCOMPETENT. Even the stupidest neo-CON has to understand that when a man like Greenspan tells you that your economic policy is screwed - you have to take note. Greenspan actually thinks through things through. He's got the track record to prove his competence.

Much of the focus on the Bush Administration has been on its incompetent handling of the war in Iraq. However, its handling of basic economic policy has been equally screwed up. The Bushies understanding of economics revolves around spending money you don't have on helping your buddies get rich and then blamming China for the fact that the Chinese actually make products that American consumers want to buy. Hummm, I think even my sister's late pet hamster, Tansey, knows that there's more to economic policy than blamming someone else for your own stupidity. The Chinese, like the Arabs are learning that there is only one way to treat an incompetent bully - stick your middle finger in his nose and tell him to shove it and before you know it....he'll wet his pants and run home crying.

Look at the difference between the way Saddam Hussein and Kim il Jong acted. Saddam blew lots of smoke up people's arses about how he was going to lead the Arab world against Israel and how he was so well armed that nobody would dare to take him on......and for his efforts he was hanged. Kim il Jong on the other hand openly declared that he had WMD and tested a nuclear weapon just to prove his point and then procceeded to declare that he would use them if so provoked. And what is his reward..........he's paid lots of money! So here lies the lesson - don't blow hot air, just show you're serious about being nasty and the whole world will fall at your feet.

Not that I'm trying to condone Mad Kimmy here, but he's certainly making a good show of showing up the neo-CONS for what they are - Anti-Semitic, Racist Cowards - "Oh, its perfectly OK to kill Arabs and Yellow People (I mean, it seems to be less of a worry to them that Kim il Jong could harm Japan and South Korea, two nations that contribute to American than it is for Saddam to threaten Israel - a nation that takes from American) except when they can shoot back " - is the clear Mantra of the neo-CONS.

I suppose there's not much that we in the streets can do about this crazy situation other than to learn the lessons that they teach us. As mentioned earlier, Saddam made a mistake in his efforts to blow hot air. It's much better to show your capacity and will to be nasty and even if the other guy is a million times bigger than you, they'll quake in their boots. The other thing people need to learn to do is to not to fear bullies. Bullies at their very core are cowards that are only good for toilet paper.

Take the people who talk to you about dying for your country as example. Quite often, these are people who have never fought in a war before. More often than not, these are people who are usually sitting behind a desk when you are out there doing work. So, should you take orders from such people even if they hold a higher rank than you? The answer has to be NO. The only people anyone has a moral duty towards are the people that one knows will sacrifice their lives for you.