Life, Liberty & Pursuit of Happiness

While searching for the origin of "Pursuit of Happiness" at Wikipedia, it turned out that "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. These three aspects are listed among the "unalienable rights" of man. Notice that the declaration however, does not state that one has a right to happiness, but a right to pursue it.

The phrase is based on the writings of John Locke, who expressed a similar concept of "life, liberty, and estate (or property)". While Locke said that "no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions", Adam Smith coined the phrase "life, liberty, and the pursuit of property". The expression "pursuit of happiness" was coined by Dr. Samuel Johnson in his 1759 novel Rasselas]. 2 of his other quotes (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson) :

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. - Chapter 41, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759)

Men more frequently require to be reminded than informed. - The Rambler (1750-1752)

What a powerful wiki & wish all a pleasant weekend!

Deal or no Deal - Banks ABC

Yesterday I watched the Singapore TV version of "Deal or no Deal" for the first time. Since I played a simple online game before, the whole process didn't seem to be very exciting, probably also because I was just a spectator:-)

The more exciting "Deal or no Deal" being talked about these days is obviously the take-over bidding of Dutch bank ABN-AMRO. Now there's an interesting twist with two Asian powers backing up the London based Barclays bank, one of which is China Development Bank.

Following is the full-report: http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9549590&fsrc=nwl. Along this chain of interests, Bank B is trying to catch A but not enough capitcal, C & some others are behind B, in the hope of gaining some share of interest once B bought A. Sounds like the Chinese parable "螳螂捕蝉、黄雀在后" (tang2 lang2 bu3 chan2, huang2 que2 zai4 hou4) The mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole is behind. Luckily, there's a more appropriate business term called "Win-Win". We shall find out the result soon, after the "commercial breaks"!

Bell'Italia! - Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Featuring: Arthur Fagen conductor, Gao Manhua soprano

Repertoire/ Programme:

ROSSINI - Il barbiere di Siviglia: Overture

ROSSINI - 'Bel raggio lusinghier’ from Semiramide

MASCAGNI - Cavalleria rusticana: Intermezzo

PUCCINI - 'Quando men vo’ from La Bohème

PUCCINI - 'Un bel di’ from Madama Butterfly

PUCCINI - Manon Lescaut: Act 3 Intermezzo

VERDI - La forza del destino: Overture

VERDI - 'È strano… Ah fors’è lui’ from La Traviata
BIZET - Carmen: Suite No. 1
RESPIGHI - Pines of Rome

Got the ticket last minute free of charge and I enjoyed the concert mixed with classic Operas & Symphonies, by famous French & Italian composers. The team is also an interesting multinational group. With the lyrics of operas translated & printed, I could understand a bit of the soprano's dramatic interpretation of all those love, jealous, murder and tragedy themes. It's impressive to hear a powerful voice accompanied by an orchestra under the guidance of a conductor. I just can't help wondering, how does a composer actually work out a symphony, are there different chords for each & every instrument? How can he/she get the orchestral effect even before composing the symphony? Sounds like a human creation.

And of course there's the difference between live concert & home theatre. In a concert hall, you observe the behaviors & communications of musicians, notice their movements & gestures, sometimes also get the unwanted noise from somewhere. It's just more vibrant & more captivating that you can feel the music in the air - Bell'Italia!

The Notes of Bainies

Arriving at Flutes at the Fort 5 mins to 7:30 pm on Friday, we (3 IMD 2008 MBAs) were warmly greeted by a group of Bainies. The partner was quite impressed that we came as a group and sharp on time, asking whether this is a prerequisite to get into IMD. Most probably:-)

Though I didn't find the flutes there, it's a nice, unique place at the very heart of Singapore yet you find yourself surrounded by greenery, feeling a bit closer to the stars also because it's at the fort.
It's a celebration initiated by Bain South East Asia with its office located in Singapore for a group of 25 newly admitted MBAs. We were still surprised to see 15 Bainies out of the 80 staff of Bain SEA joining us. What a privilege! No flutes, no band of Bain, I did catch the sound full of resounding notes from them:

1！exclamation mark — every employee is energetic, passionately sharing about the strong company culture which is very unique among the top consulting firms.

2 = equation mark — each formula must lead to certain results and that's what Bain always strive to achieve for their clients, starting from day 1, to make companies more valuable by delivering targeted results. As their logo "True North" stands for a clear focus on client results.

3 ∞ positive infinity — by adopting a "generalist approach" for developing Associate Consultant, Consultant, Manager, Partner, you will not be constrained in one industry but have many opportunities to work on all sorts of projects, including Pro bono work, externship, etc.

4 * — though Bain is famous for its strong culture, each consultant has to carve out his/her own career path, under the guidance of mentors. So there's unity in culture but not uniformity in career development.

5 ∆ — a triangle is one of the most stable and balanced shapes which symbolizes Bain's promotion of work/life balance.

Above are just what I've taken away from a short night cocktail with Bain and hopefully it's not misinterpretation or misleading. Thanks to all Bainies & I've truly enjoyed the notes conveyed without flutes!

Financing an overseas MBA: Where, What & How?

An interesting artile on the financial aid, again from an American perspective but I think it's also helpful for other international students. Just to clarify one ISSUE about the tuition fee. It's mostly true with many other European schools that they're increasing the program fee substantially, e.g. INSEAD has just raised the fee from Euro 45,000 to 48,800 for Sep 2007 intake. Instituto de Empresa (Madrid) also increased almost 10% to Euro 45,000. But IMD has kept the MBA program fee at CHF 55,000 + 20,000 (2-week overseas discovery trip + 10-month daily 3-course lunch buffet, the quality of which i've detailed in another blog entry:-) for a few years. I didn't apply any U.S. school, so nothing to say about that which is also not relevant for this article because it's discussing US students going abroad. Enjoy reading:

Business Week - Financing an MBA Abroad: Where to Go, What to Know, and How to Borrow?

Higher tuition and living expenses can make pursuing an MBA abroad a financial nightmare. Here's how to obtain the funds so you can sleep easy

by Erica Pelzek, http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jul2007/bs2007076_525258.htm

"You've spent a few years in the domestic workforce, hip to the ever-globalizing economy, and now your culture-savvy professional interests (inclinations?) make the idea of pursuing an MBA abroad particularly enticing.

Well, start researching schools and try not to let high tuition prices and poor currency conversion rates give you pause. With a few calculations and hearty, equal doses of research and realism, you too can join the discerning 2% of U.S. MBA students pursuing their degrees internationally. Think of your financial aid hunt—and the ensuing computations—as a refresher course in decision science...

Furthermore, though the 152-student (90 MBA + 62 EMBA) International Institute for Management Development , or IMD, in Lausanne, Switzerland carried a price tag of $60,700 for the 2006 academic year and the majority (70%) of its students did not receive financial aid in 2006, the worldly school still provides unique financial aid opportunities. An affluent alumni board doles out scholarship and loan monies from a fund; the pool, backed and run entirely by IMD grads, dished out $900,000 for needy students in the 2006 academic year alone..."

Top 10 CIAs (China, India A-list companies)

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/02/0222_china_companies/index_01.htm (from Business Week - Slide Show ) a very informative & interesting online interactive library:

Ten Chinese Companies You Should Know
Whether they're catering to the growing middle class or expanding overseas, these Chinese companies are making an impact:
1. March of the Penguin - Tencent Holdings
2. Beyond Big Blue - Lenovo Holdings
3. Worldwide Connections - ZTE
4. Big Oil, Chinese Style - PetroChina
5. Worldwide Wireless Champ - China Mobile
6. Top Banker - Industrial & Commercial Bank of China
7. Electronics Retailer - Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings
8. The Google Killer - Baidu.com
9. Attention Grabber - Focus Media Holdings
10. Serious Fun - Shanda Interactive Entertainment

Ten Indian Companies to Watch http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/02/0211_indiacompanies/index_01.htm
The corporate high-achievers driving India’s hot economy aren’t yet immediately recognizable global brands. Here are 10 that could change that:
1. $2,260 Compact - Tata Motor
2. SUV King - Mahindra & Mahindra
3. Global Ambitions - Bharat Forge
4. India’s Global Site - Rediff.com
5. Software Powerhouse - Infosys Technologies
6. Acquisition Machine - Wipro
7. India Pharma - Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
8. Wireless Wonder - Bharti Airtel
9. Energy Champ - Reliance Industries
10. Money Spinner - ICICI Bank

The Power of Network - Online vs. Offline

116 days ago, BBC Gaza Correspondent Alan Johnston was abducted by a group called the Army of Islam on his way home. Since then, BBC World Service has started a worldwide campaign for this courageous journalist, both via radio & on the internet. Over the last 16 weeks, more than 200,000 of BBC listeners have signed the online petition, thousands more have added their comments to our Have Your Say website. This kind of support had inspired Alan both mentally and emotionally.

"The knowledge that so many people were showing their solidarity made Alan feel a duty to get through it to show their support was not misplaced. Typical Alan!" - BBC's world news editor Jon Williams shared about his colleague. Indeed, "for 14 of his 16 weeks in captivity, Alan had access to the BBC World Service. The messages from the listeners were an enormous source of strength - particularly those from former hostages like Terry Waite, John McCarthy and Brian Keenan."

After his release on early morining July 4, Alan was handed over to the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza City. Britain said the group had played a key role in his release. Now people see the synergy of both the online & real world networking powers. Missing either one, it could be a totally different scenario. Alan's first word was "just unimaginably good to be free" after 114 days in captivity in Gaza. For us "who have not been a prisoner of some kind, for some time, it's a bit difficult to understand how good it is just to be able to do the basic things that freedom allows." A big relief to see the nightmare ends and an eventful day for Mr. Graham Johnston, Alan's father, as he waved to cheers and applause from the audience and he picked up the radio journalism award on his son's behalf from Amnesty International , recognising excellence in human rights reporting.

Now the discussion continues as people started to question the motive & hidden agenda of Hamas group which will carry on for some time. Looking at the power of network, both online & offline, I can't help thinking of our gathering this week where 17 future Chinse MBA students or partners in Singapore met up to share with one another. We will go all over the place, Chicago, Michigan, UCLA, INSEAD, Cheung Kong, MIT, etc. How could this happen? Some of us were met on the forum http://www.chasedream.com/, some were invited by friends. Another example of the synergy of online & offline networkings. Blend them well, have a good balance, you can achieve the maximized power of network!

1997 - 2007: Tales of 2 Alumni

Talking about 1997 to 2007, what can you think of?

Ten years ago, I started my college in that hot summer day near the beautiful West Lake in Hangzhou, China and am now busy preparing for my new study at the shore of charming Lac Léman, Switzerland soon.

At the same year, Mr. Tony Blair walked into 10 Downing Street & reigned for a decade. But long before he was there, his pre-predecessor Mdm. Margaret Thatcher had already negotiated a deal with Beijing for the big day to come on that summer. I remember watching the ceremony of Hong Kong's transfer a few days before taking national entrance exam for university. After I got the results, Princess Diana passed away dramatically.

10 years on, Mr. Blair left for the Middle East envoy, Hong Kong is growing fast under "One Country, Two Systems" and people still remember England's Rose. What has all this to do with me, time will tell. For now, I want to introduce two IMD MBA alumni (though one of them still has 5 more months to go until graduation) who are featured on the website. They have a gap of exactly 10 years.

MBA 1997 Alumnus - Soren Skou, focusing on HR & value-added leadership at Maersk：
"It had been 10 years since Danishman Soren Skou was last on campus – he graduated from the IMD MBA in 1997. Then in June this year he returned for his 10 year Class Reunion...

While Soren hadn’t physically returned to campus since his graduation, he has still played an active role, by sponsoring two of his executives for the EMBA program and a couple of MBA ICP projects, “I wanted to support the school if I possibly could, and in doing so the company has also been able to benefit.”

From a personal point of view, Soren believes that the three most important things he got out of his MBA were: an updated tool box, a sharpened analytical ability and improved communications skills. “It was marketed as a tough program, and it was. But it was also an inspiring year and I had the time of my life.”

MBA Class of 2007 - Serena Shamash: a long-term dream： 　
...“I came to IMD for the leadership focus and the practical and global approach of the program. What I didn’t realize was how much I would enjoy being part of a smaller business school. I now understand the benefits of belonging to a tight-knit community where I can get personalized feedback and training. Additionally, the relationships and networks I’m developing are much deeper than I ever expected.”

...Following IMD, Serena plans to continue building her management skills in an international environment, working towards her long-term dream of consulting for start-ups in developing countries. “Entrepreneurship is like painting – you start with a blank piece of paper and create something out of a vision and a passion. With an enhanced self-awareness and refined leadership skills, I hope to be able to guide and inspire potential entrepreneurs in the future.”