World Trade Center

So last weekend I went and saw World Trade Center by Oliver Stone. 9/11 is a sad tragedy and it's one of these events were most people instantly remember what they were doing when it happened. I was on a business trip in Baltimore and first I heard was someone mentioning a helicopter went into the WTC. This sounded so unbelievable to me that I told the guy this can't be true. Then went into a meeting and it didn't take long and along came the CEO knocking on the door telling what was unfolding. I and a friend were stuck for a couple of days in Baltimore and than had to take a flight back to Seattle and from there drive back to Vancouver.

The movie makes the tragedy personal. It tells the story from the perspective of two families and seeing it makes you realize what horrible times these families went through. Even after seeing the movie it is unimaginable for me what the two police officers buried under the buildings went through. The terror they had to live through and will continue to live through for the rest of their lives.

I also saw United 93 which ends quite differently than WTC. United 93 ends showing the despair people went through on the plane and their families on the ground while WTC shows the horror two families went through but the happy ending they have. It ends with the hope we all clamor for. Both movies are very emotional but both movies tell a bit of today's history and I really hope many will go and see it. Because our western society is inflicting the same terror on innocent people in Afghanistan and Iraq. The same terror is unleashed in Lebanon. Unfortunately it is innocent people who pay the price in this war. And there is no doubt this is a war, like WWI or WWII but obviously quite a different war where the enemy doesn't particularly live in a certain place you can just bomb. The enemy is a moving target and is recruiting terrorists amongst our own people.

This movie has been very well done. And like United 93 it is very moving. We can only hope that we don't have to go through such a tragedy again. I for sure would not have the courage many of the affected people and families have shown! I have the utmost respect for the individuals and families affected by this and who are than able to move forward in live!

Celebration of light - Mexico

Last night I went and saw the last of the four shows. This year I made a point to see all of them. And before the show I was quite sure Italy would make it. But it didn't take long and I wasn't that sure anymore. They had a great music and choreography! And yes they made it, it's well deserved. They have put on a great show! And the crowd was just unbelievable. The show on Wednesday - Czech Republic - wasn't that well visited. But this one, I don't remember ever seeing so many folks watching it.

So this year's shows are over. All of them were great and for anyone who likes fireworks this is a must event! I am looking forward to see it again in a year! Here is a video clip from YouTube.

The Culture Code

The book "The Culture Code" is quite interesting. The author through his studies and methodology is establishing the sub-conscious code we associate with basic behaviors and things. It claims that each culture has its own code, so for example the code for health in America is movement while in China it is being in harmony. This book is about the American culture code and explains the code for things like

beauty...man's salvation
fat...checking out
health...movement
nurse...mother
hospital...processing plant

And many more. This is a very interesting read and gives great insight into some of America's behaviors and values. A must read on my book list for marketers and anyone who wants to understand American behavior better.

My favorite business book list

I am not a terrible fan for business books. But lately I am on streak. There are a number of business books I really like and I consider everyone should read.

The World is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman
Winning, by Jack Welch
Good to Great, by Jim Collins
Rapid Development, by Steve McConnell
FutureThink, by Edie Weiner and Arnold Brown
Execution, the discipline of getting things done, by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
Chinese Business Etiquette, by Scott D. Seligman
Five Frogs on a Log, Mark L. Feldman and Michael F. Spratt
The Offshore Nation, by Atul Vashistha and Avinash Vashista
The Culture Code, by Clotaire Rapaille

The Long Tail

So today I ran into this clip and blog about the long tail. There is also a fairly new book out about this. This looks very interesting.

Who killed the electric car

There is an interesting documentary out at the moment, called "Who killed the electric car". So in the early 90's California had a zero emission law, which meant that car makers who sold cars in California had to also sell a certain percentage of zero emission cars by a certain date. The spured innovation and the creation of the electric car.

This movie tells the story how this was fought by the car industry, oil industry and the federal government and how these cars disappeared. One might say the story is a bit one-sided. Well, that is not really how I walked away. There are some compelling arguments this documentary makes. The hardest to swallow being how the electric car - a working solution which needed improvements - was abandoned and replaced by the hydrogen car - which is an unproven technology decades away before it will be commercially available.

Anyone who has some interest in what's happening in today's world and how sometimes the system doesn't work should go and see this documentary. Also go and see "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore - see my earlier blog post. I think these are important topics and the consumer - meaning every single one of us - has a big control in this.

This also ties into some other interesting topic I recently read about - The World Is Flat. If America wants to compete with other markets and geographies and if we want to stop our environmental destruction, there is only one solution. Innovate, fast-paced innovation, which means we need to invest in infrastructure, technology, science and education. Areas we started to neglect more and more in the last couple decades. And as usual here is your YouTube clip!

Celebration of light - China

So last night it was China's turn in the Celebration of Lights fireworks. The music was more traditional Chinese (at least in my view). So overall I didn't like the music as much as Italy's and the fireworks started out a bit slow. But in the second half the fireworks were awesome too. So I did like them but Italy is my favorite right now. And, it didn't take long and the first clips are showing up on YouTube. It's like your free movie clip service, love it!

Celebration of light - Italy

So Wednesday I went and saw the Vancouver fireworks - Celebration of light. Italy kicked of this years event and they had an amazing choreography. I really liked the music and the fireworks were just awe-striking. It was estimated that about 400 thousand people saw it. The crowd was unbelievable. When you leave you see people everywhere - at least for an hour! And obviously it didn't take long till some clips showed up on YouTube!

The World Is Flat!

The world has changed while we were sleeping. The world became flat again, figuratively speaking. The book called "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman is a must read on my list. The latest edition has been published earlier this year. It talks about a triple convergence which in 2000 flattened the world and now enables knowledge workers from every corner of the globe to participate, collaborate and compete via a single platform - the Internet. For example it enabled two young geeks to build a browser which got downloaded 10 million times within one month and eat into Microsoft's share in the browser market. Or it now enables workers in India, China and many more places to do creative work which not even ten years ago was believed it can only be done in North America or Europe.

Friedman makes a very compelling argument and it ties together many individual stories and reports we have seen in the media. Sure, I don't buy into all aspects but the bigger argument - hell, yes it makes so much sense. And it provides some context which allows me to see and understand things going on around me so much better. He also ties this into some of today's geopolitical events going on and into the obvious struggle of American-jobs-being-lost. And it makes a strong case that we need to rebuild some of our educational and science strengths - and you can insert almost any European or North American country here. The very same strength which allowed us to prosper. It also makes a strong argument that 9/11 has hidden a much more important problem from us. Immigration of talent, strengthening the educational system and positive imagination. The last five years were so much about FUD that we are now much more obsessed with fear and what can happen to us instead of concentrating on strengthening and utilizing our knowledge and imagination.

This book certainly has changed my context and outlook. And there are also many aspects which can be applied to corporations. The strongest one is to work horizontally instead of vertically. We need vertical structures for HR reasons, etc. But we need to work around projects and communities to get our day-to-day work done and add real value to your business.

I can only say one thing. Go and buy this book, read it and then think about it. This is a must read for all senior managers on my list!

Your YouTube playlist!

It's amazing how easy YouTube is to use and what an incredible user experience it provides. Below is my latest YouTube playlist. Amazing music clips you can find on YouTube for free.

Yahoo Finance - Badges

Yahoo Finance is now offering badges which you can embed into your site - http://finance.yahoo.com/badges. Just like YouTube allows you to embed movie clips into your site. And many more. Syndication of content has become a big differentiator in recent years. It allows sites like YoutTube, Yahoo, Google, etc. to embed their content to many other sites and reach a much wider audience. Check it out below