Young China Hand

Republic Lost

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:46:00 +0000

狗急跳牆
To be driven to extremes (lit. a cornered dog will leap over a wall)

At Gtown, I had the pleasure of being guided through the intricacies of America's terribly corrupted copyright policies by an insightful (and parenthesis-loving) Lawrence Lessig. So when I heard that he had given up his study of copyright law to take on what he viewed as a more fundamental issue of a broken Congress, I went out and got the book.

Here's his talk at UC Berkeley, if you'd like to skip the 400 pages:

Lessig's Republic Lost

My favorite snippet is the Gallup poll citing that just 11% of Americans have confidence in Congress--which is undoubtedly less than the percentage of Americans who supported the British Crown in 1776! Even if one does not believe that private campaign cash buys results in Congress, it is undeniable that the mere presence of campaign cash has significantly undercut the faith that Americans have in their law-making institution.

My only nagging doubt in the validity of his argument is this: Given that most seats in Congress are "safe seats" (he cites over 80% of incumbents not facing serious challengers), why does Congress obsess over raising campaign cash? That campaign cash has no other use other than fighting off challengers, and if most folks don't need to worry about fighting challengers, then should we really believe that money has the potential to buy results?

I buy just about everything else, but am uneasy about this fundamental question left unanswered. And now have a more nuanced view on Citizens United v FEC.

In other news, I'm now in Palo Alto, trying to see if this data analytics startup idea has legs that it can run on. Looks good so far! 到現在為止，我覺得矽谷的確是全球創業的最理想環境。只是沒想到加州溫度會將那麼低！

Getting back to the topic of copyright law: Hitler reacts to...SOPA! Key moment is 3:06

台灣選舉

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:26:00 +0000

蘿蔔青菜各有所愛
Folks have different preferences (lit. some like turnips, some like veggies)

We're on the eve of the Taiwanese elections, which in the fine Taiwanese tradition, is going to hit 75% voter participation rates. I've personally heard of a Taiwanese Brazilian and a Taiwanese aunt here in Hawaii flying back to cast their votes this week, and am not all surprised to read that Foxconn (possibly the world's largest private sector employer, with 1m employees) is reputedly paying for 5000 of their China-based Taiwanese employees to go home and vote.

I have, however, been a bit surprised to read the American coverage of the elections. First there's this unabashedly pro-Taiwanese article in Time, "China has muscle; Taiwan has soul. It's the true people's republic."

Then there was the NYT, which attempted to be a little more even-handed, but still revealed quite a bit in their choice of interview quotes:

"Mr. Yantun said he was still undecided. Should he vote for the continued reconciliation championed by Mr. Ma or the wariness advocated by Ms. Tsai? “I guess I’m torn between my own selfishness and the future of Taiwan,” he said."

Our McK office in Taipei was 80% blue, reflecting the demographics--folks in the north are like the coastal elites of the US: more urban, more educated, more cosmopolitan, and ultimately more tied to the global economy. Still, I think that quote out of the NYT captures the typical blue view very aptly: not wanting to be a part of China, but wanting peace and prosperity that come from better relations.

Huge great white shark spotted off of Hawaiian waters! And folks wonder why I'm not very sympathetic to the anti shark fin movement--I swim with these guys!

Winter in the 808

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:11:00 +0000

腳踏實地

Down to earth (lit. feet stepping on the earth)

Enjoying the vacation the best way I know how here: Outdoors.

Checked off the list: Tackling the 3922 steps of one of Oahu's most challenging hikes

Tree climbing 101 with out-of-town guests

Watching an inspiring feat: Legally blind man cheerfully taking on the Manoa Falls trail

One of my favorite columnists wrote about an exchange with a Jehovah's Witness student (not sure how a typically anti-intellectual JW gets into Yale, but I digress...). Thought his point on distinguishing between rhetoric and meaning was a really timely one to make, especially in an election season.

Speaking of language used in addressing the body politic during an election...

An Elvis moment in the investing world

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:01:00 +0000

張冠李戴
To mistake one thing for another (lit. to put Zhang's hat on Li's head)

...Seth Klarman has left the building!

For the uninitiated, those of you who have not spent a perhaps unhealthy amount of time thinking about money: Here's a guy who wrote a book on finance, had a few hundred copies published, only to pull the books off the shelves after his friends called him to tell him he was crazy to give his investing secrets away. Nowadays, a copy costs $1500, and a copy is rumored to be on the desk of Warren Buffett himself.

So, it's hard to dispute that the guy's rockstar status in the world of high fin-uhnce. And as a rockstar, they can be quite choosy on their public venues (unless your penchant for buying mega-mansions leaves you as destitute as MJ), so it was awesome to catch a full hour of interview here:

An Interview with Seth Klarman and Charlie Rose from Facing History and Ourselves on Vimeo.

Speaking of rockstars, I caught an article covering Mitt Romney--who was on his A game while in consulting, but whose stock has fallen precipitously in this Republican primary (the competitors he lags in the polls are so incompetent/crazy/corrupt that Democrats cheer every time a new non-Mitt frontrunner is announced). Carrying a very unflattering view of consultants, I was pleasantly surprised to pick up a new "McKinsey is so smart that..." anecdote:

More recently, McKinsey consultants told General Electric in 2007 not to worry about a credit crunch, according to Jeffrey R. Immelt, G.E.’s chief executive.

Nice. Nice.

Euro Debt

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:04:00 +0000

相濡以沫
To help each other in difficult circumstances (lit. it's pretty gross: to wet each other with saliva)

There's an old saying on debt (which unfortunately comes up in US-China relations, you'll see why):

When you owe the bank, the bank owns you
When you owe the bank too much money, you own the bank

Though I've now learned that there's a third stanza:
When you owe the bank way too much money, you own the German taxpayer

Putting on the dusty macro hat

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:39:00 +0000

沐猴而冠
Worthless person hiding behind an imposing appearance (lit. monkey wearing a hat)

Finally got around to reading Ray Dalio's A Template for Understanding What's Going On that Fino sent a few weeks back. Wow. It's a short 20 pg analysis that starts from basic definitions of money and credit, and ends with broad observations like “In booms everyone is a capitalist and in busts everyone is a socialist," all without straying from the glossary that you'd find in the back of first-year econ textbook. 厲害。

For reference, the last semi-serious stab I took on the current economic mess was reading one of Richard Koo's ppt decks on "Balance Sheet Recessions", though it was ~100 slides that involved the nuances between the "Ms" that I didn't really get.

So my updated understanding is that a Deleveraging is fundamentally different from a Recession, and that the policy cure for one is different from the other.
-Recessions are temporary (several Qs) contractions, brought on by a central bank raising interest rates to curb the growth of money & credit.
-Deleveragings are much more serious, because they occur when buyers and sellers of money (aka borrowers and lenders) can't transact at any price--there's too much concern about the borrower's earnings power, currency devaluation, and deflation to warrant making a loan.

You end a Recession by letting loose the reins on interest rates.
You end a Deleveraging by letting loose the market on identifying and eliminating its excesses in the form of write-offs and debtor negotiations. When financial assets are re-valued correctly, confidence is restored, and credit growth occurs again.

Implicitly, I think he's also saying that well-timed recessions eliminate the need for deleveragings. After all, if markets are regularly chastened to mind their standards, then you stave off the market manias which result in the buildup of terrible assets into the economy's capital structure--which deleveragings can sort out, but via a super painful adjustment process.

Hayek is gaining a lot of intellectual ground, nowadays.

@ SPI in Dallas

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:29:00 +0000

SPI 2011: it's go time!

Swing through HK/TP

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 21:26:00 +0000

茶餘飯後
At one's leisure (lit. tea after dinner)

Sitting here at ICN in Seoul, slightly regretting the decision made weeks ago to not schedule the trip into Taipei directly into the itinerary. Today's flights have thus been as such: Taipei -> back to HK -> Seoul (+6 hour layover from 5AM - 11AM, aka right now) -> Dallas.

Next time, I should just assume as an article of faith that a trip to Taipei will be worth it--always has, always will be, right? Quick recap on the last few days.

So I started off in HK, arriving in time for the wedding of my two "older siblings" at McK.

Pretty sweet.

Also had a few solar meetings in town, of course with a heavy finance bent. You know you're in HK when a table can erupt into laughter for a joke for which the punch line is, "Enterprise Value". For the financially curious/宅男或宅女 in the crowd, please see Exhibit A: LDK's latest financial statements.

Followed that up with a quick 3 day trip out to Taipei to check on the family. Dropped by Taipei office to see the new and old faces. Despite the generous proportion of new faces, I was really glad to see (and partake) in some very old school activities: Cashbox (ending with 愛我別走) & Primo. In the last day, I checked off the rest of the list (Momo's Paradise, 珍珠奶茶, and an epic bone-shifting massage), and now I'm Texas-bound for this bit o' nerdy solar joy: SPI.

When someone asked Ernest Hemingway how to write a novel, his response was "First you defrost the refrigerator." I kinda feel the same way about my attempts to improve one of my weak spots: Memory. First, I need to get more sleep...But check this guy out, memorizing 54 decks of cards with one look: http://litemind.com/memory-palace/

What might solar and pretzels have in common?

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:03:00 +0000

活到老, 學到老
You are never too old to learn

Had a 6 hour discussion today with the founder of Auntie Anne's on franchising--did you know that they have 650 franchises? My goodness. Best story takeaway was on the challenges of opening the first pretzel store in Indonesia. How do you sell pretzels in a country that has no cultural or linguistic equivalent to a "pretzel"? You hire scantily clad models to eat pretzels in front of your store. Duh.

< Irony > Today the Fed announced Operation Twist < /Irony >

Someone asked the Dalai Lama what surprises him most. His response: "Man, because he sacrifices his health to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he's never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived."

Next up on the musical learning queue, a local favorite:

If all my dreams were made of gold

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:22:00 +0000

沉默是金
Silence is golden

I uncontrollably broke out in song today. Seriously. Working working working on a powerpoint, and then bam! Inexplicably, "Gold", by barbershop quartet Boston Common, a song which I haven't sung, much less heard for at least a year.

This is what happens when I don't get my Cashbox fix at least once a month. This condition will inexorably worsen until I get some 'sing on--next up: unwelcomed & inappropriately-timed Christmas carols. Ding dong ding dong for your happy Halloween.

In other news, I came across some really fascinating reading on interest rates under QE. What happens when the Feds buys nearly 1t+ USD of fixed income securities (and MBS) with the aim of dropping long-term interest rates? Shockingly, interest rates rise! At the end of the day, bond markets loathe inflation. And in the bond markets, a democracy where dollars do the voting, the private funds are simply more numerous than even an unprecedentedly aggressive Fed w/ printing press. Here's the video, an interview of Pimco arch-rival Gundlach.

One other catchy bond-related comment at the end of this interview with a contrite Gross from Pimco:
"Bonds are not an income instrument anymore. They are a put option on the price level. This is why they trade in [opposite] tandem with gold, which is a call option on the price level."

Took me a while to figure out what he meant by this, but it's true. Old folks in America may still buy bonds for the coupons which signify a steady stream of cashflow, but the big funds certainly don't.

NMA covers the Gtown-Bayi Rockets game!

Quiet Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 09:41:00 +0000

天涯何处芳草
There's plenty of fish in the sea

Just watched Up in the Air, that consulting movie that perty much everyone was talking about two years ago

不言而喻, I had dozens of eerie "that was me" moments--from the prosaic routines of methodically scanning the airport security lines looking for hold-up baby strollers, down to that singular heartbeat-skipping moment upon discovering "whoa, she has another life outside of this one".

But for all the similarities, alas, I'm still not George Clooney. Who was clearly destined to play the lovable roguish spirit forever and ever and ever.

That central tension though, the trade-off between freedom and personal attachments, is one that I've written about extensively while I flew the McK flag.

And one that I still consider even now, while I'm ostensibly based in Hawaii--I leave every other month, though you can't blame the dog for habits that have ingrained over four years--which is nonetheless the longest time that I've been home for a while. Doin' the entrepreneurial thing, controlling my schedule, spending time with the family--I'm unquestionably closer to where I'd like to be. But I'm also painfully aware that several things are missing.

A funny lesson learned from George Carlin on the courage needed to create

Cornucopia

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:17:00 +0000

别具一格
To have a unique style

Did this hike last week, and successfully jumped off a large rock not once, nay, twice! Clearly doing very big things here on the island.

Busily introspecting and writing nowadays, which has sadly meant a return to the self-imposed imprisonment after James & Cindy have left back for SF.

Couple of interesting things came across the radar though!

A thoughtful take on the pros and cons of McK

And if I ever get a soapbox even 1/100th as influential as his, I hope that I use it in similar way--big picture thinking in a folksy accessible style: Buffett on tax hikes for the ultra-rich. A few days later, he invests $5bn in BoA and makes $1bn in a day--having been inspired while stewing in his bathtub the day previously. Seriously.

Hilarious & True.

Having cakes and eating them too: An American problem

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 07:24:00 +0000

忠言逆耳
Honest advice is difficult to accept (lit. honest advice is unpleasant to the ear)

I tend to avoid the New Yorker, as I (pretend to) have better things to do than to read long-winded social commentary.

Though every now and then, I catch an incredible article that challenges a long-held assumption. If you're interested in American health care--and I think it's hard not to, given not just its personal impact on all of us, but also its fundamental importance across all industries and levels of government--check out this article.

For the synopsis, here's the central assumption being challenged:

Every country in the world is battling the rising cost of health care. No community anywhere has demonstrably lowered its health-care costs (not just slowed their rate of increase) by improving medical services. They’ve lowered costs only by cutting or rationing them. To many people, the problem of health-care costs is best encapsulated in a basic third-grade lesson: you can’t have it all.

KPCB on the US debt: Tackling the right core issue (a badly misinformed public), but did they really have to choose one of the most infamous cheerleaders of the dot-com bubble to carry the message?

And some great harmonies:

Why are we so messed up? Hawaii edition

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:23:00 +0000

一籌莫展
To be at a loss for an idea (lit. to be left without a chou (chip used for counting in ancient times))

Tocqueville, a Frenchman who visited America in the early 1800s, has been credited with making some of the most astute and lasting observations about what makes America, "America." In a similar vein, I heard another outsider make a similarly astute comment which continues to circulate in mind--this time from a controversial mainlander who has recently moved to Hawaii.

"Hawaii is trapped between deciding if it's going to be Singapore or Jamaica"

As someone educated in the semi-elitist private school system here and whose bulk of working years were based in development-hungry Asia (including Singapore), I'm cognizant of my bias towards the "Singaporean" model of thinking--a prioritized economic agenda, an emphasis on analytics, a faith in the meritocracy of ideas, and a preference for pragmatism over history.

And so I've always had trouble understanding how ostensibly sensible development projects in Hawaii are consistently killed by environmentalists and "environmentalists". Take for instance the Superferry, a 1000-passenger 300-car catamaran that would enable a new route of inter-island travel (today, we have just airlines). It was killed for a variety of reasons, though it certainly didn't help that protesters on surfboards would barricade the ferry in port, halting travel schedules and destroying customer confidence.

Naturally, I was curious to see what I would learn about the "Jamaican" POV by watching this documentary, Message in the Waves, which covers Hawaii's environmental problems. The narrator's central premise, that Hawaii's resources need to be managed as if "we were living in a canoe", is fantastic--nicely captures the intrinsic scarcities that we deal with here. But that's pretty much the only part that impressed me (intellectually, anyway. Gotta love the clips of Jack Johnson teaching the kids to sing the "Reduce/Reuse/Recycle Song" & the clips of ridiculously cute monk seals rolling around on beaches). It was long on anti-tourist rant and pretty pictures, short on thoughtful content.

Problems in the environment, as they rightfully point out, exist in a very complex system--and there's two ways of dealing with that. The first, fundamentally conservative, view is to restore the old and banish the new. The second, fundamentally progressive, view is to borrow new concepts to improve upon the existing system.

There's not even a question in my mind which approach has any hope at all of succeeding. And my perception is that the clear majority on the island would even agree on this. And so, apart from the high-profile ~Superferry incidents where minority populations are able to enforce their wishes on the broader population (huzzah for you, interest group politics in our democracy), I remain confused by why we're so stuck.

Speaking of problems. Sugar We're Going Down Swingin': S&P downgrades the US AAA this week:
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/08/05/sp-downgrades-u-s-debt-rating-press-release/

"Schooled"

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 03:41:00 +0000

针锋相对
To stand in sharp opposition to each other (lit. pin against pin)

我总是会开自己的玩笑，说美国人相对来说不会做数学。虽然我这样说，我一直认为我的数学能力还不差。没想到在大学念四年的文科加上三到四年的顾问工作之后，数学果然变得超烂！

数学观念都忘了，但是华侨的关键优势还是有：磨练！

我记得有一位历史学家提倡：在目前的中美关系状况之下，美国该研究二十年代的英国国际政策而做对照。当时，英国成功地让美国取代它全球领导地位，但没有完全放开它的影响力。看完这篇文章后，现在觉得那个历史学家错过很重要一点：中美冲突的根源确实很深，来自于双方的政治系统。http://nationalinterest.org/article/hegemony-chinese-characteristics-5439?page=show

Wrapping up extra-island trip #2

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:46:00 +0000

快馬加鞭
To work at top speed (lit. to whip the galloping horse)

Headed back to Honolulu on Sunday, which would conclude my second Escape-the-island (as opposed to the more typical Island Escape) trip since striking out on my own. It's been surprisingly productive, both on the "client development" and on the number-crunching/powerpoint-generating fronts.

And fun. Boy howdy.

Three weeks to cover HK/SH/SF--it's like McK all over again, down to the client-paid travel. But without a Partner expecting a 9AM arrival at the office.

One way I know that I'm thoroughly enjoying myself on this schedule goes down into my genetics: Unlike most other McKs I know, I lose weight under stress and gain weight when I'm not. And in the past few weeks, I can feel that "not"-ness impacting the tightness of my clothing :/

现在来看的话，我觉得我能下定决心说出未来这五个月的三个主要目标：
1：继续努力处理家庭的事
2：建立生意（最理想是它能支持我万一达到第三个目标）。不会浪费暂时涨势！
3：准备两本申请书，收到一本录取申请书

如果在这段时间之内能够达到这三个目标，会觉得这很满。

McKinsey Quarterly just put out some excellent articles on Japan, using different lenses to discuss what needs to change for Japan to make a comeback. I particularly enjoyed the gaming and sumo pieces.

NMA commentary on Chinese censorship of the rumored death of Jiang Zemin

Here we go again

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:39:00 +0000

望梅止渴

To console oneself with illusions (lit. to quench one's thirst by thinking of plums)

Realized something today:

Every single major life decision has been agonizingly difficult to reach, but surprisingly regret-free afterwards (well, nearly).

Hallmarks of a good decision maker? Or just an inherently happy person?

Honestly, I hope it's the latter.

Getting in some 練習

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Fri, 06 May 2011 01:40:00 +0000

金窝银窝也不如自己的草窝
There's no place like home (lit. homes of gold and silver aren't as good as my own grass home)

刚跟一家太阳能硅片和电池公司开完了电话会议。倒霉是，他们大本营属于欧洲的西班牙。从二零零八年以来，欧洲太阳能生产的占有率不断地降低，之前全球上的领导都来自于以发达国家：德国的Q-Cells和Conergy和Solarworld，美国的Sunpower和Evergreen Solar，日本的Sharp, Sanyo, Kyocera。在这短时间以内，产业的巨人突然改成来自中华地区的公司：Suntech, Yingli, Trina, GCL, Motech。

由于这家公司困扰的根源在于生产成本的竞争力，他们开始时问了很多关于中国公司的生产优势。他们简直无法相信他们海外的对手能够达到那么低的成本。说实话，严格意义上这个“比赛”不是公平的。硅料太阳能已经算是成熟技术，因此创新的重要性不如其他的清洁技术。中国的劳动力成本便宜，環保規則管理得不嚴，国企银行愿意扶助战略性新兴产业。

面對問題是改善的第一步，後來還是要想辦在這樣的環境生存。我推出的建議還不是很確切而且軌道很陡，儘管還是對的。希望他們後來會成功。

還是有兩個生詞我沒用到，下次，下次：复古，臭名昭著

You'll never guess which company this is an advert for:

QE and the Great Recession

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:41:00 +0000

走马看花

To take a brief look

Was pretending to don my HF investor hat while leafing through this powerpoint deck of macro-economic figures by one Jeff Gundlach. Pulled out some fun conclusions out of the data which contradicted some of my own thoughts on the intersection of QE and the recession.

The first was QE's impact on long-term rates, which, if we're trying to stimulate dead-as-dornail housing market or encourage business investment, we're trying to push down. Not quite working as planned, likely due to our credibility as a trustworthy debtor declines with each pass at the printing press.

This recession really is different--on the jobs front. I'm tempted to conclude that our education system has done us in, by giving workforce training that is not relevant to the modern economy. It's probably still true, though how to explain the fact that even as recently as 2001, the recession saw a recovery of jobs after ~6 months in?

...and so next, I'd blame the composition of the US economy. One way to slice it is, perhaps too many American corporations themselves have fallen behind vs global competitors? But nope.

Plus they're still hiring...just not in the US. So...I'd still think of it as too many people trained to take orders at McD's, too few people trained in the dark arts of hard sciences.

So what's leading the financial media to begin proclaiming the end of the recession? US consumer discretionary spend is up, though where is it coming from when the job market stubbornly refuses the zero/neg net marginal benefit workers and houses everywhere are under water? Well here's one answer, remember those things people used to pay, called mortgages...?

为了多认识其他的夏威夷“海龟”，上个礼拜跟一个朋友的朋友见面。她的履历表是一流的：长春屯大学上本科，后来去金融行业做几年的事，念前几名的商学院（暑假时在大三咨询公司做实习）。毕业后去Google当公司内的环保顾问（启动它们的大规模再生能源电缆项目），几个月前才搬回家出任：当夏威夷唯一电力公司的投资者关系总监。她刚满了三十岁。

跟她讨论时，再次确认我一直怀疑的假说：回到夏威夷的道路真的跟传统的职业轨道不同。由于社会小又慢，从最低的工作阶层往上爬是一个很慢的过程。因此获得夏威夷之外的经验特别值钱。但是呢，要做这个搬回家的决定其实要考虑一个很不稳定的平衡，因为你花越多时间在夏威夷之外，你越不可能把夏威夷看成家，尤其是如果你在大陆/国外成家。虽然搬去夏威夷听起来是一个很容易的决定，其实不然。太早的话，你有可能会限制自己的职业前途。太晚的话，你宁愿住在外面。

我的好运气持续到现在，跟这里的商业主管讨论能源产业的时候，发现我的太阳能工作背景其实很值钱。加入这些公司的话，应该能加到够高的层面。还是有问题存在，例如：很多夏威夷公司竞争力不足，薪水降低生活消费额（跟台北/上海比起来）提高多了，而且美国跟夏威夷州政府两边都快破产了。更令我动脑筋是一个策略上的问题，我应该归属于什么地方。

话说回来，这些问题也不新。

Price of Paradise

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:29:00 +0000

落叶归根
Leaves return to their roots

I'm now back at home! It's the first time in almost 10 years that I've bought a plane ticket to Hawaii without a return ticket somewhere else. 不言而喻, it feels strange.

Of course there's the stuff requiring immediate attention, though I'm also trying to take a more strategic view this time. McK's given me a great view on the traditional paths to success (it involves letter strings like, MBA, IBD, and PE), and although I've always known that the "rules" for making a successful transition back to Hawaii would be different, that rulebook has always been written in glyphic Hawaiian instead of convenient ppt decks.

So along that line, I've also been learning more about what the drawbacks of going home are...and there's a couple of things to think about:
Everything's on a smaller scale: 1/2 Megawatt is a big solar project in Hawaii. No Topaz farm out here
Small town politics: We don't have a culture of change and everything has a history--getting new ideas implemented can take a really long time.
"Price of Paradise": ...is a really romanticized way of saying that we all get a 30-50% pay cut versus comparable jobs on the mainland. Sometimes more.
Brain Drain: It's for real. Count up your friends from high school and know that you'll be lucky if 3/4 come back.

...which all, somehow, adds up to the happiest people in America. Go figure.

For the national perspective behind that last link, check this out

Bit o history

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:23:00 +0000

不知所雲
To not get it

Back in Taipei...

...and it feels great.

Sitting on the couch today with my Grandma, we watched the latest updates on earthquake-stricken Japan. As an aside, if you think the 24hr CNN news cycle lends itself to over-played and over-hyped "news", you haven't seen anything until you come out to Taiwan--there's a half-dozen Taiwanese CNNs covering stories on this island of 20 million.

Anyhow, the news served as the starting point for a few stories. Evidently both my grandparents were students at the Japanese imperial high school, a school primarily built by the Japanese government to ensure a quality education for the sons and daughters for the imperial officialdom coterie. However, 20% of the school's population was allocated to the local Taiwanese, who were to be groomed as future local officials and liasons with Japan--provided they could pass the entrance exams to attend the school. So that's where my Taiwanese grandparents met.

And so my grandfather learned to speak Japanese so fluently that folks believed that he was an expat married to a Taiwanese woman, and it was only after the Chinese kicked out the Japanese that they began to learn Mandarin.

As I was receiving these stories, I realized this was exactly the type of conversation I wanted to have when I first arrived in Taiwan 3-4 years ago. Though back then, my own Mandarin was so 超超懒 that my Grandma would wave her hand in frustration after a minute in (actually, I'll bet I've written on this before). Nice to witness that change.

Possibly the best Comrades rendition I've seen, CTM 2011

Great song #1

Great song #2. My favorite part doesn't happen until about halfway through, when it builds up a bell chord...you'll see

Shameless plug

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 05:54:00 +0000

野心勃勃
To be overly ambitious

Well, the last post will mark the last time I'm grateful for sensible politics--just a few days later this story broke. Reading through the article, it's tragic that Huntsman's time as Ambassador to China during this critical period is also his greatest political liability, since he worked under the Obama administration. Also sad, even comedic, that the administration's skillful riposte involves glowing commentary about how great of a job Huntsman did, so great is the Republican hatred of the Obama administration. But before you start hating on the Republicans--how would you have felt if your favorite Dem had served on Bush 43's cabinet?

Wanted to also tell you guys about a project I've been working on. If you know someone looking to work in Greater China, check this out. Always looking for feedback, and of course internship/job opportunities to pass on!

- - -

Had a tremendously good time in Phily and DC this year, pictures and such forthwith. To first share a small tidbit from the trip:

*Handing my shirt from my luggage to my sister*

Me: How does this smell?

S: Smells like China...and also like mildew. Have you gotten a dryer yet?

Speaking of heated clothes, I nearly lit myself on fire two nights ago by placing my towel on my bedside heater before going to sleep. 哎呀.

Talent

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 08:05:00 +0000

大材小用
A waste of talent

Caught this fantastic interview of Jon Huntsman, the US ambassador to China, on Charlie Rose. Link to the interview here.

It's easy to get depressed about the direction of the US, a function of both our (truly) weakening fundamentals and the media portrayals of "us versus big scary China" which have become very popular. What gives me hope, though, is that we have people like Huntsman--truly and stunningly capable folks. And that we have a system that firstly, they believe is worth serving, and secondly, allows them to take positions of authority (admittedly with some narrow misses). Yes, he was given a silver spoon, though I don't think you can successfully argue that he's wasted it or that his accomplishments are strictly a reflection of his background.

This actually reminds me of a conversation I've had with a Singaporean friend when I was staffed down there. We were discussing education, an interesting subject particularly for an tiny island nation that (rightly) believe that they owe their "long odds" success in large part to a successful educational system. Think of a mix of the Chinese fanaticism for memorization and the Vulcan hyper-rational approach (hey, you try to come up with a real-life analogy to LKY).

He stated that there is a belief in Singapore that despite their fantastic success at raising student test scores, that their educational systems lacks the magic "creativity". Specifically that the emphasis on testing has driven out an intrinsic desire to learn, which in turn created an army of perfect-SAT automatons. Thinking that this was implicit praise for the American educational system, I asked him, "Why doesn't Singapore just adopt a laissez-faire American approach to education?" He looked at me like I was a little crazy, and replied, "We are an island nation of a few million people. We cannot afford to waste our talent like the Americans do, who can play a numbers game and pin their future on the few self-directed & talented superstars that rise out of the chaos."

We then had a great discussion about Obama, who was an underperformer up through high school (you can reasonably infer this when the best his high school alumni newsletter can muster about him is a few meager basketball accomplishments), but discovered himself and went on to quickly become the charismatic, well-educated, and articulate POTUS. In Singapore, this kind of person would have been shunted into the "back of the bus"-tier classes and been destined for a parochial desk job by middle school.

The Singaporean had a very good point--we waste a lot of people in our system. Though I remain grateful for those superstars that do emerge.

- - -

On a completely separate note, here's a late night e-mail I received from my roommate on Friday.

Subject: Mac Nuts

I ate them. Drunk. Sorry.

-Cully

3 Impressions

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 07:18:00 +0000

见仁见智
People have different views

It's funny, but I'm actually finding myself busier now that I'm post-consulting. It undoubtedly has to do with an entrepreneurial lifestyle, where I'm fully responsible for managing my own brand--no more Mother McKinsey making sure that I keep productive and landing cool solar gigs. Plus I incorporated a company just last night (Delaware LLC), which should add another layer of busyness.

Had a couple of interactions in the last few weeks that I thought were worth mentioning

1) The cabbie

I try not to take cabs here in Shanghai, which I view as a consulting luxury/crutch, instead opting for packed subways. Though this week I was rushing across town to a meeting with the police station (visa stuff), so I grabbed one. The cab driver, an older gent who spent some time in the Red Army driving tanks, picked up on a Taiwanese-ism that I had used in conversation and asked where I was from. Turns out the man loves Taiwan, having self-installed a satellite dish for his apartment 14 years ago well before it became en vogue here. Additionally, he loved the way that Taiwanese parents raised their kids to be so diligent and respectful (I didn't have the heart to tell him that the Taiwanese invented "Strawberries").

Driver: I raised my own daughter to be like that too. Do you know how?

Me: Nope, no clue.

Driver: When she was growing up, I told her that whatever job she took as an adult, that I want her to be able to hail a cab. Both leaving home and coming back.

An opinionated Chinese veteran cabbie whose biggest wish for his daughter was that she have the means to hail a cab herself every day, and share the wealthy lifestyle of foreigners who sit in his back seat every day. Fyi, turns out that the daughter is working at a securities house, and making a pretty penny for herself.

2) The father and son

Cabs I try not to do, but nicer restaurants I do do--partly driven by the metals scare I had 2 years ago. Last night I went to Wagas for dinner, an expatty soup/sandwich joint near my office. I sat next to a father-son combo, and unpacked my computer to get some stuff done (of course). They were Asian though obviously of Brit variety, the father probably a full expat given that everything he said was in delightful Brit-ish accent (even ordering) and had a bit of Gordon Gekko 'do going on. Son, probably in 4th-ish grade, also was an immediately recognizable stereotype to me. Kinda chubby, glasses, polo shirt, and Harry Potter backpack: Countries and object of obsessions may change over time, though I can spot my kind (nerds) anywhere. And in typical Asian style, they were testing each other on facts--though with a twist:

Son: ...Betcha don't know that one.

Father: Hold on, hold on, I've almost got it. Give me a hint, what letter does it start with?

Son: R.

Father: Um...Raven...claw!

Son: You are the unbeatable Dad! (seriously. can't make that stuff up.)

And they went on and on, for the whole hour and some I was there. Being Asian, I suppose Father couldn't pass up the opportunity to sneak in at least one math lesson (how many Knuts make for a Galleon if you were to buy a Firebolt), though was clearly enjoying engaging his son on the esoteric ins-and-outs of the World of Harry Potter. As I was packing up, I congratulated him--if I become a father (huuuge if), I'd want to have that kind of relationship with my son. Heart warming contrast to the Tiger Mother article that has been circulating around of late.

3) The complimenter

Continuing my luck, I massaged Xmas/New Years into my 3-month consulting contract with the Koreans, allowing me to come back to the big HI for the holidays. Befitting any trek back home, the gang got together for a game of Ultimate. After the exhausting "to sundown" game (and I thought I was out of shape at McK. Jeebus, the hotels at least had a gym), I was standing around with a friend, A.

A: Hey how do I know that other guy, B?

Me: Uhh don't know dude. Why?

A: In a group conversation he told everyone that I was awesome at what I do...though I can't even remember where I've met him. Maybe he heard about my web designs.

In that moment, a memory clicked (an extremely rare occurrence for me)--I had the exact same experience 2 years ago. B mumbled a compliment in a group setting, and I had the same initial unsettled reaction of "what does this guy even know about me?". Though still, my pride and ego claimed dominance in the end, and I had then understood the compliment to be about professional success.

Such is the power of compliments, even vague ones--and the fragility of what vain little creatures we are.

Cop out

noreply@blogger.com (Rich M) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:39:00 +0000

旧的不去, 新的不来
New things don't come until you let go of the old

Been really busy of late! New(ish) city, new(ish) gig. If you're in Shanghai, definitely drop me a line.

Cute Taiwanese ad...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcqduE_huss

...an impressive a cappella cover of Ne Yo...

...and Imperial stormtroopers track rebel scum on the NYC metro