Global Biz Review

Old School versus New Cool Thinking
Innovating to benefit from global realities

With 2011 approaching, I would like to share with you a story that was forwarded to me via e-mail which reflects an, “old school thinking” about the world economy:

THE OLD SCHOOL THINKING
“John got up at 6am, woken by his alarm clock (made in Vietnam), the coffee filtered through in his coffeepot (made in China), while he shaved with his electric razor (made in Hong Kong). He put on a shirt (made in Sri Lanka), jeans (made in Indonesia), and shoes (made in Korea)

… and so his day went by with him using the following items through the day:
an electric cooking skillet (made in India), a calculator (made in Mexico), a watch (made in Thailand), a radio (made in Taiwan), a car (made in Korea), filled with gas (from Saudi Arabia)

He continued his search for a good paying North American job and wondered, "Why was there no good paying jobs in America?”

My reply to this story is what I call, “the new cool thinking” which builds on the global realities of the 21st century. The “old school thinking” is based on an industrial age international economy that dominated the 20th century.

The 21st century reality is shaped by an information age global economy that sees no borders. Both commercial and financial markets are global. In addition to this, we now have a global middle class that makes up the consumer public.

In the old industrial economy the quest was for “lifelong employment” that secured a good working life and a comfortable retirement. However, the information economy pays a premium for knowledge hence today’s reality demands, “lifelong education”.

John actually now has a chance to focus on a work trajectory that will ensure a good quality of living with the prospects of a long healthy retirement that includes a beautiful home and opportunities to indulge in hobbies and global travel.

The investment that John needs to do is to allow his creative juices to start working. He needs to focus on his strengths, cultivate his self confidence and obtain skills training that will give him the tools needed to benefit from the global business opportunities.

A talent for creating a product that fulfills a consumer need could be converted into a profitable venture. Just let your imagination flow, your confidence build and your creativity blossom.

Here is what I call the “new cool thinking” that is actually staring all of us in the face through the appliances we use daily:

THE NEW COOL THINKING
If we allow the low energy light bulb to light up in our brain, we will realize that many of the appliances made all over the world which we use have actually been, conceived, designed and invented in North America. This was done by a pool of educated individuals who focused on research and develop of new products which investors funded to commercialize for profit.

We can now sign up for a skills training program through the internet on using lean principles to launch a product idea globally at tremendous cost savings through a website.

Armed with new knowledge and initiative we can put our thinking cap on while chilling out at a café on Kit’s beach, Vancouver, Canada. Working on our ultra slim Apple Mac we could come up with a new product for busy Asian hands to work on.

The North American economy is founded on the principle of sanctity of contract. We can therefore protect our intellectual property under copyright, design, patent and trademark laws in Canada and the United States of America which constitutes the world's largest market. Investors are always interested in funding the commercialization of intellectual property that offers a good return on investments.

To prepare the initial business and marketing plan to start the business you can utilize the services of a business consultant to work on a global business strategy. Utilizing a website even a small business can have a global market reach. Within a few years you could look at the possibility of selling shares to investors or venture capitalist that are interested in franchising or even listing the business.

The returns from the business could be invested through a wise investment strategy to fund a quality of living that includes a happy retirement.

Take the right step to obtain the skills training to either start that business or get that job you have always wanted. Your future is in your hands. Stay cool, make the right decision and succeed!

Siddha Param
International Business Consultant  

Worldwide Business Connection.com 

Healthy Livng

Enjoying the chutney culinary sensation
Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, astringent

As a little boy I do remember thinking about grandma’s lunches, “So many dishes on the table”. There would be at least 3 types of vegetables such as an astringent cabbage, a deep fried bitter squash, and a sweet beet root dish. Then there was the dahl lentil boiled with onions, sea salt and turmeric. The meat dish could be mutton, chicken or fish curry along with a prawn sambal and chutney. All these dishes were eaten with rice or chapati made from whole-wheat flour. To complete the meal there was a sour yogurt sweetened with brown palm sugar. For desert fresh fruits and a sweet milk rice pudding sprinkled with chopped pistachio or cashew nuts.

When I think back I realize that the meal contained all the necessary food groups of protein, carbohydrates and fats along with fiber, vitamins and minerals. A healthy balanced meal. If only I had the time to cook up so many dishes everyday. Besides that, we do want to enjoy the variety of ethnic foods so available in our multicultural society.

Balancing all these taste sensations I am told is important not just to enhance our enjoyment of food but it actually is a great contributor to healthy living. It ensures we get all the nutrition our body needs. Life is more fun when we are healthy so why not continue enjoying all these lovely delicious tastes and aromas.

Well, the simple solution is to go for variety in vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, cereals and protein source. A selection of ready sprinkle containers of spices and salts is a great idea.

But to get that quick mix of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent all rolled into one Grandma’s secret has always been chutneys. There are all kinds of vegetable and fruit chutneys to choose from. They go well with breads, roast meats and salads. Green mango chutneys just complement the flavor of roast chicken nicely. A spicy hot chutney can add a zesty sensation to a meal. Sweet fruit chutneys are just great as dips. Those ancient ayurvedic healers sure knew the importance of making healthy eating delicious.

Chutneys can give a bit of each of the six flavors if you are in a rush. So whether it is the traditional Thanksgiving roast, that Thai dinner or Greek lunch or that quick sandwich we can always have that combination of taste sensations on the plate with a little chutney. 

Who says healthy can’t be tasty.

Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

Worldwide Business Connection.com

Global Biz Review

Staying Competitive In The Global Market

The need to upgrade your business skills.

The Global Reality Check

The global economy post 2008 did not collapse. The complaint today is growth and recovery is too slow. This may be so, but the fact remains that the global economy is growing steadily.

The challenge now is to identify the new consumer trends, to innovate your products and services and to develop a marketing strategy to tap into this new growth path.

Canada is said to have replaced all jobs lost since 2008 but essentially with new jobs created.

The challenge today for all companies worldwide is how to retrain their managers and employees so that the company is ready to seize the emerging business opportunities.

Relevant Skills

For employees, retraining is an opportunity to remain relevant and to move up the skills ladder to better paying jobs. For companies, it repositions the business for new opportunities that global economic growth promises. 

The worlds’ largest market North America is putting strong emphasis on education and retraining with a sense of urgency the has attracted strong debate within industry and the wider society.

Canada’s good fortune is to be an economy with a highly trained pool of people supported by major commodities exports within this North American free trade area.

The 21^st century information age economy which has replaced the industrial age economy of the 20^th century pays a premium for new knowledge that creates new products demanded by an ever decreasing product life-cycle in the market place.

Rapid Technological Change

With such a rapid pace of technological change driving innovation, companies need to invest in “continuing lifelong retraining” of employees. Skills upgrade has to be an integral part of human resource management.

Keeping skills current is a major challenge that requires a yearly budget that allows for trainers to be brought in with fresh ideas in all areas of business management and operations. 

For individuals who do not have access to skills upgrade or retraining programs provided by an employer the option of continuing education and retraining outside of the workplace and on their own time needs to be considered.

Continuous Improvement

Individuals and companies need to keep up with new ideas and skills that emerge in order to stay competitive in the market place. Failure to stay current with developments in your area of expertise could result in you becoming redundant. To remain an asset to the business the mindset has to be, “continuous improvement is the law of success and continued profit”.      

The New Skills Reality

This is what all organizations and individuals need to do to succeed in this emerging global economic growth path:

1.      Identify the current skills assets of all individuals in the organization;

2.      Identify the strengths and weaknesses of current knowledge and skills;

3.      Identify the skills training that will give the organization an edge against the competition;

4.      Bring in the consultants to advise on current global market demands;

5.      Identify if individuals are motivated and inspired to excel at their current job;

6.      Identify the appropriate training needed to keep the organization competitive;

7.      Get your consultant to recommend the appropriate skills upgrade needed; and,

8.      Advise employees on benefits of retraining for their career and the organizations success.

Remember that certain skills retraining are always necessary in areas such as computer technology, productivity, marketing, language and communications.

These are the realities of living and working in a global information economy driven by the rapid spread of information and technological advancements.

It is therefore vital to stay ahead of the competition.

Siddha Param

International Business Consultant

Worldwide Business connection.com