One relatively new entry into the chaotic world of technology and the digital market is Vietnam. The country has moved a long way from being a technology backwater to become one of the fastest growing IT markets, through it’s young and eager supply of entrepreneurs and their ability to embrace and quickly adapt to global trends. There are now more than 750 software companies employing around 35,000 people and counting. Vietnam is now also among the top five outsourcing destinations in Asia, manufacturing software and games for foreign companies, and is starting to export mobile phone apps overseas. A young population and cheap labour costs are two major advantages that many start-ups have been tapping into. The government in Vietnam has also been very encouraging, making licensing a doddle and enabling companies to start up quickly.

Despite this promising start however, the long term sustainability of Vietnam’s ground-breaking success is in question because of the weak part of their People, Process and Technology chain; the People. Education in the country is not geared towards innovation, and is still fostering a very task-focussed approach to teaching. Those developers who are innovative leave for more desirable jobs in larger and more experimental foreign companies, where they may get the chance to work on products of a more far-reaching standard. Further, the government does not provide enough funding for start-ups with more ambition than just to create apps, meaning that long-term success is limited to a very niche-area.

The Vietnam story is an example of how people get so focussed with the process and technology approach that the crucial people part is overlooked. Vietnam might be one country that is enjoying the rapidly growing success of our digital world, but their competitive edge will eventually be lost if they don’t start investing in their people.

• It can take 3000 basic ideas to lead to true innovation
• The impact of innovation on the organisation is as important as the innovation itself
• Uncontrolled innovation can create chaos
• Innovation needs to be more efficient & effective, so many chasing the same pot of money
• People are wanted in the front line again, technology needs to support that
• There are still many companies who don’t have an innovation process – the innovation gap
• Mobile technology is changing things faster, demand & user adoption is high and fast
• Leaders of innovation need:
• Strategic focus
• Insight
• Collaboration tools
• Process
• Organisational support
• Tenacity

Ever thought about how you would make an existing building more sustainable? Mark Collinson from TATA Steel Colours talked about The Sustainable Building Envelope, the aim to generate, share and release energy at source – awesome open innovation models that are in pilot.

Just think about the devastation that hit Japanese business following the Tsunami, what would have seemed like insurmountable challenges trying to get industry back on its feet. Annesley Wright talked about the power of Kaizen and a workforce who grew stronger as they creatively delivered more solutions including rescheduling of week-ends to different times in the week.

What about retail, total doom and gloom where is the innovation there? Phil Smith told us about the innovation in technology and the customer service shift:

• Virtual mirrors being trailed by John Lewis
• Land Securities providing virtual tours of their shopping centres
• The supermarkets installing contactless technology
• Social media becoming the new customer service platform

Seen or been on the Airbus A380? I have and loved it but to hear that innovation was about building a plane as we have always known it but bigger, Gareth Davies shrugged that off as nothing truly innovative not like the A350 currently in build which will be the first sustainable aircraft built through the BAE extended enterprise supply chain. A completely different cultural experience working with risk share partners.

Professor Carla Millar has some thought provoking results from some recent research on entrepreneurs:

• Innovators have a “clinical eye” – do you have one?
• Entrepreneurs are no longer always risk takers, they may not be in a position to do that
• They do share social need, the need to excel, leadership drive, need for interaction & networking
• Continuous reinforcement of behaviour even though they know what, when and how
• The biggest reason for failure? Unrealistic expectations

And me, I talked about my experience leading innovation in 3 areas of products, process and building design and the fact that if we don’t see all our workforce as being able to contribute to the innovation of the business then you aren’t utilising your assets effectively. You want your business to grow, then you need to innovate, hopeful this review has given you an insight into some of the amazing stuff that is going on in these tough times. What’s your contribution going to be?

Not that to learn, broaden horizons and enrich our brains with knowledge isn’t important too. It’s just that, now, we don’t seem to have the choice of learning without a tangible outcome. In this challenging jobs climate people are realising this, and maths is slowly showing to be linked to context, like financial independence and creative problem solving. Subjects too are being looked at differently, rather than being seen in isolation, there is the opportunity to teach more than one subject at any one time- increasing dynamism in pupils and getting them to multi-task. The actual problem we will now face if we attempt to radicalise learning will not just be the quality of our students, but the quality of our teachers.

Singapore has been way ahead in terms of incorporating modernity into their schools. Students learn multiple subjects that are linked by a common theme (nature could be the common denominator of biology and environmental studies) and then be challenged to problem solve using real-life scenarios. The pioneering way they are looking at strengthening the link between the school and workplace has the world wanting to do the same. The results are not only guaranteeing students to be better equipped for working, but they suggest innovation and independence, providing a desirable model for other countries to follow suit. The question now will be whether the UK has the gumption to start really committing to change within our schools so that we again have a winning system. It’s a topic I will definitely be watching unfold in the next coming months.

I was a proper tomboy, refused to wear anything girlie and as time went by my obsession with City grew so I refused to wear anything red as well. My bedroom was wall to wall City, my school bag, in fact if you could get that crest on it I had it. I remember my mum telling me that I should try a skirt for a change; I bought a blue and white rara skirt and wore it with a City shirt. She despaired. The only really naughty thing I did as a kid was to get a friend to come to a game with me, we weren’t allowed to go on our own, so we lied about where we were going and snook off to the game. City lost, we missed our bus and got grounded by the time we were home.

Despite my dads poor taste in football he took me to loads of games, he’d shout for the opposition whilst stood on the Kippax and pulled me out 10mins before the end of each game, apart from relegation games where he would let me sit on the steps and cry. I read the pink final taking cuttings from the games and writing my own commentary – I wanted to be a football commentator like my hero Elton Welsby.

I grew up and started travelling, so I couldn’t go to the games but followed every one. No matter where I went when people found out I was from Manchester they would add “ahhhh, Manchester United”. I was the unofficial ambassador for City, going round the world spreading the love for the blue (and only) team from Manchester. The team results would always let me down of course, despite that every game I thought our fortunes would miraculously change and would big them up again ready for the next match. I guess that’s why when you meet another City fan it’s like meeting a family member, mentalists together.

I was working in Thailand when news came that Thaksin Shinawatra was buying the club and our fortunes and profile changed overnight. Despite the horror stories I had read about Shinawatra the people I was working with loved him and suddenly they loved City too. I went through passport control and as usual got the “you from Manchester”, but this time the same voice said “Manchester City”! Fake shirt shirts were every where (the unofficial success criteria), Sven came to our City and we beat United twice – CITY WERE BACK! As if our fairytale would have that easy an end…there were WANTED poster all over town for Shinawatra and a big hole looming.

Step forward Sheikh Mansour, boot out the miserable Mr Hughes for the winning smile of Roberto Mancini, heard that news as we left the ground on BBC Radio Manchester – had to Google Mancini to see who he was when I got home. Season 2009/10 I had to pinch myself every time I left the game, the style of play was so different. Now it wasn’t IF we would win something, it was WHEN. You may or may not know what that turnaround is like. I’m a sucker for a lost cause and will spend infinite amounts of energy trying to help people and businesses because the thrill of taking a lost cause and seeing it flourish is second to none. I was watching that from the stands of my own club, 30 years of hoping that would be us, dreaming that we would be team to beat.

The FA Cup run was amazing and replaced my last Wembley visit for the legendary Division 2 play off final but it was nothing compared to the emotion of this 2011/12 season. From the start of the season where we looked unbeatable, to the slide where it was hard to understand the hole that Yaya had left, the resurgence when he returned which seemed too late as United picked up results. Sloppy losses, ranting at Vincent Kompany on Twitter (sorry) I felt like they didn’t want it as much as me which was unbearable (irrational I know). Wigan and Everton take points that put us back in control of our own destiny…the derby is in the bag, each game is taking me closer to an ulcer.

I sob unintentionally after beating Newcastle, one win to lift the Premiership Title Trophy, surely even we can’t f’ck that up. I’m not really talking to my best mate (also red) she can’t, I can’t that’s when you know its serious. My mum now comes to the game with me, she has only known success and she loves it, she’s smiling – happy that we are here. I am close to being sick, QPR only need a point, they will park the whole team in front of the goal – they don’t need to score. But they did twice. Our lead goal evaporated in chokesville. At the 89th min I could see the headlines in my head; from champions to chokers, etc, etc. Not after this season. Not this time.

I couldn’t believe people were leaving, we were no longer that team that let me down I was sure of that. The Dzeko goal was a blur, the Aguero goal brought life to a halt for a moment in time. I was screaming (my mum told me I nearly burst her eardrums) it felt like hysteria it had gone beyond a goal to be celebrated. In those Aguero screams were years of hopes and dreams that one day we would be the recognised force to be reckoned with, if I’d have been commentating I’d like to think this would have been me (listen to it loud).

I know, I know, a bit of a sensationalist title- but the Facebook floatation on the stock market this week could be an interesting window into the shape of our digital future-; or how much we’re prepared to bet on it. Since Facebook’s conception a few recent years ago, it’s astronomical growth has laughed in the face of other social networking sites, and while many faddy concepts have fallen, the rising star of Facebook seems to keep on rising.

The Facebook population totalled 0.85bn in 2011, and the company decision after 8 years to release its offering to the public to realise a market capitalisation of 90bn billion dollars has triggered an interesting reaction from investors critiquing the Facebook business model and assess it’s true capability for growth. As part of it’s own risk assessment, Facebook had to reveal its concerns about the shift to mobile access and the practical barriers to advertising on a small screen, thereby limiting ad revenue streams. The recent flare up over privacy concerns and the worry that society might tire of the desire to share themselves with the world is also something that investors are summing up to help reveal a true evaluation. But this also begs the question- what is true in this crazy digital world? With new technologies being developed and released, and the digital wheel spinning on an axis that constantly changes the direction of societal trends, it won’t be easy for anyone to say they’ve placed a safe bet with certainty.

Years after the dotcom bubble burst in 2000, people still have fears about the uncertain terrain of digital trade- simply because of the amount of business rules and dynamics it has turned on it’s head, and the speed with which it’s done it. The buying of Facebook shares will be, for any investor, a punt. There is of course, no model like Facebook, not even Google- despite the extent to which Facebook is keen to associate itself with in order to reaffirm it’s high valuation. My guess- Facebook’s ability to realise it’s value will depend on the speed at which it can respond to its users’ needs with innovative, money-making bolt ons. The balance will tip, of course, if the money-making part becomes annoying or intrusive, or detracts in any way from the user experience. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts- would you put a punt on Facebook?

Today it was reported that Britain has hit 10 million twitter users – that makes us the fourth most obsessed nation behind the US, Brazil and Japan! 80% of us use the site on our mobiles

Twitter was 6 years old in March and has impressive statistics:

• Over 140 million active users worldwide as of 2012
• Generating over 340 million tweets daily
• Handling 1.6 billion search queries per day

It’s just a shame it doesn’t make any money! It generated revenue of $45 million in 2010 and operated at a loss. As a business model that’s not great but lets face it Google started in 1996 and for the first few years they didn’t make any money and didn’t even know how they were going to. They thought if they focused on providing the best search experience on the web the money would follow and guess what…they were right! In 2010 Google was valued at $163.2 billion

So what’s the plan for Twitter and how will it affect the user experience:

• Twitter Brand Pages – Companies that spend at least $25,000 are allowed to have their own Twitter brand page which includes a long banner across the top to advertise their products and prioritisation of their tweets on the page to ensure the most important ones stay at the top
• Promoted trends – These ads are integrated into the trending topic section where all the viral twittering takes place. Promoted trends will appear at the top of the page with the aim of getting people talking and engaging with the ad
• Promoted accounts – These are what you see when Twitter promotes accounts for you to follow, the closest people get to paying for more followers, you can even target Countries or locations where you want to attract followers
• Promoted tweets – These can be added to a users search, time line or geo location. They are being used in the American 2012 political campaign by Mitt Romney & Barack Obama to communicate key messages, for the advertiser the deal is pay per click, you only pay if users engage by clicking a relevant link

Is it working? Well they generated $139.5 million in advertising sales in 2011 are forecasting an 86.3% growth in 2012 to $259.9 million. Reports suggest the average price to promote a tweet or a trend for a day is £20,000.

They attempted advertising last year when the quick bar was introduced, it wasn’t a success! It was seen as intrusive with a bar hovering at the top of the screen scrolling advertising messages, it lasted a month! Promoted tweets seem to be settling in much better as Twitter promises it will only display the promoted tweets in the timeline when they are ‘relevant’ and they will flow as users scroll down their timelines not scream out at you! They were launched in March and reports suggest revenue of £3 million in the first couple of months.

What do you think? Has it affected your experience? As a daily Twitter user I’m glad to say it isn’t affected mine, in fact if I’m honest I didn’t even realise it was happening until I read a couple of articles in the last couple of days have they found a way to strike the balance between creating a viable business while keeping their customers happy?

My heart sinks when I read things like Judgement Day by Nigel Rayner who believes that machines make better decisions than humans and views that machines will kick human managers to the kerb – why would we want this? To be honest I thought the argument was old hat, that we agreed the human brain was superior and human contact was the way forward but I have a couple of weeks where I have realised I am out of touch on this subject and actually you need a few things to go wrong to see how the perverse twist in this evolution – we are taking superior human brains and dumbing them down to the point of AI…is this the master plan? make people as emotionally void as machines so when we replace them no-one will notice the difference?

I am going to share (and in doing so, name & shame) some recent experiences that prove my theory:

• Mini – I bought a lovely new one less than a year ago. It has had to go back to Mini 3 times for a intermittent problem that they can’t fix because the computer hasn’t logged a fault. Me the human experiences the fault every time I drive the car away from the garage. When I ring up each time to discuss the problem a human receptionist can’t place my call because I don’t fall into one of the options on her list, so she doesn’t know what to do with me. It’s a cycle that sends my blood pressure soaring each time (next visit 14th May).
• I moved one of our business bank accounts to The CO-OP Bank because I thought they shared the same value set as us and I would have a better relationship with them over the non-existent one with HSBC. Moving our clients to new bank details takes time and although I didn’t realise their was a time limit, I received a bill for not using the account, then a letter telling me the account had been closed. When I tried to call them to get an explanation I had to go through an irritating automated (punch all your account details in here…) just to get to an operator who then wanted them all again. The human operator couldn’t deal with the issue (not on his list) and promised to get someone to call me back – still waiting…)
• BT, my mums neighbour has just lost her husband to a horrible battle with cancer, she is elderly herself so we are helping getting things sorted for her. The bill needs to be transferred to her name and she would like a paper bill to pay while she gets herself settled into life on her own. All the human operator could say in robotic fashion was the computer wouldn’t allow him to do this and we could only have one of the options on his list – none of which actually resolved the issue in hand. This painful transition is still work in progress.
• Starwood Hotels and in particular The W Hotel in Leicester Square London. A disastrous night (that I can only imagine is not the norm) being caught up in a situation where people where using cocaine, a hostile crowd culminating in fighting in the bar. Following a chat about how this was not the night we had imagined in the exclusive hotel, the Customer Services Manager said “I can’t refund the cost of the room because the computer has already taken the money”. She did though see why we had the complaint we had and was really shocked about the drugs, etc that it required further investigation. The Operations Director would be in later and we would get a call at 3pm…that was on Saturday, still waiting.

I could go on but I’m boring myself, so HSBC, 3 Mobile (who are particularly irritating) & RBS you have all got off lightly! I have discussed this effect of AI on our lives with the people around me and it seems we have forgotten what it like to get great human intelligence and customer service in our day to day lives. When we do get what we should receive as normal service we are amazed and its a real talking point e.g. Nick the concierge at The Scotsman Hotel In Edinburgh, did everything that a concierge should do; he talked to us, found out what we wanted to do and came up with suggestions to help, his responses didn’t come from a computer; they came from the knowledge he gained about us and his knowledge about the area we were in – his recommendations made a really nice difference to our stay. To be honest that is his job but we rarely see this any more and worse we don’t expect it.

I feel that we should fight back against this infiltration of AI and demand real human intelligence it will boost our moods (how many times a week does a company you pay money to send your blood pressure up?) and I’m sure the businesses who believe in it, so every week I’m going to name, shame and celebrate those businesses I have had contact with and I urge you do do the same. If the computer can say no, so can we.

There have also been lengthy debates about the influence of the right and left brain, nature and nurture, and all the other ‘yin and yang’ aspects of being human and being successful. The Intelligent Quotient, or IQ, was first developed by French Psychologist Alfred Binet to standardise the measurement of child intelligence in French Schools. It was later adopted by the U.S who further developed the test. The score was calculated by dividing the test taker’s mental age by their chronological age, and then multiplying this number by 100. For example, a child with a mental age of 12 and a chronological age of 10 would have an IQ of 120 (12 /10 x 100). This might seem limited, and has come up against contrasting views, but is still widely used as a way of measuring child intelligence, especially in the US.

Efforts have recently been made to introduce a new way of measuring intelligence and it’s contribution to success. Keld Jensen, a well-known speaker who talks about how to be successful, has come up with the EQ (Emotional Intelligence, MQ (Moral Intelligence) and BQ (Body Intelligence) as measures of success. EQ is about aware of your own feelings and those of others, regulating these feelings in yourself and others, using emotions that are appropriate to the situation, self-motivation and building relationships. MQ directly follows EQ as it deals with integrity, responsibility, sympathy, and forgiveness. Keeping commitments, maintaining your integrity, and being honest are crucial to gain a high moral intelligence. Finally, BQ reflects what you know about your body, how you feel about it and take care of it. Body intelligence ‘absolutely affects your work because it largely determines your feelings, thoughts, self-confidence, state of mind, and energy levels’.

Hmmm… well, apart from the fact that the letters EQ, MQ and BQ don’t actually translate as intelligent thinking (what does the Q stand for??) It’s true that people need far more than logical intelligence to interact, gain trust and conduct business. The skill of knowing what makes people tick takes far more than rational thinking.

So the Scottish Parliament has announced that if you have an Irish passport you are eligible for free University tuition within Scotland. As someone who went to University in Edinburgh this topic is particularly close to my heart!

In 2000 Scotland replaced fees with a graduate endowment scheme whereby all Scottish students studying in Scotland would have their fees paid upfront by the government and the students would gradually repay just £2000 once they had graduated and earned a salary of more than £10k. In 2007 the Scottish government abolished the graduate endowment giving Scottish students studying in Scotland free tuition fees with no repayment.

Under EU rules, students coming to Scotland from other European countries have to be treated in the same way as Scottish students so they also get free University tuition when studying in Scotland but this rule doesn’t apply to other UK countries. However, the announcement regarding Irish passport holders has now opened up the debate again – the Republic of Ireland is not part of the UK and is therefore eligible for free Scottish education however anyone born in Northern Ireland which is part of the UK can choose dual Nationality and get an Irish passport which under this announcement would grant them free tuition. To add further fuel to the fire a Scottish government spokesman has also confirmed that nationality not residence was the key when it came to defining an EU student, and that anyone with an Irish passport living anywhere in the UK could apply for free tuition.

So in real terms its probably easier to talk about who in Europe doesn’t qualify for free tuition..that will be the English and the Welsh – is that not discrimination? I understand that the Scottish Government wanted to look after their students but as they legally have to include the rest of Europe surely it should be all or nothing?

Currently, nearly 16,000 EU students attend Scottish education establishments, costing the taxpayer £75m a year. They have seen a 6% rise in the number of EU students applying to its universities to study this autumn, while applications to other UK universities fell by as much as 16.5%.

I was the only English person on my course, everyone else was Scottish, after all why would they want to travel a couple of hundred miles South for a degree with a £27k price tag when the best things in life, for them, are free?!

Cheeky Monkey are helping The Wellspring in Stockport, if you don’t know it drop in and check it out, its a resource centre for the homeless and disadvantaged in the area and a place where a single act of kindness goes a very long way. From the volunteers through to the people who visit the centre for help you get that inspirational view on life from people who have had to endure more than I would ever know how do cope with; I could never bore of listening to them and after every visit I feel energised to do something that will make life better for all of them – its awesome.

Now isn’t that an amazing cycle;

• People saw a need (actually 21 years ago it started with a meal for one person)
• They got stuck in to fill the need, made some food
• A connection was made with the people they were helping and they appreciated that
• That made the helper feel amazing and they wanted to do more
• Now they aren’t just giving out food, they change peoples lives; give them a second chance

We want this to spread, so The Wellspring are launching a campaign that everyone can get involved in called A Single Act of Kindness…

We will launch the campaign at the Great Manchester Run on the 20th May where we will have stand 16 in Manchester Central and we will be in the crowds encouraging acts of kindness on the day. We also have some fun stuff that has been donated to give away to those people who can show they have embraced the moment and come and tell us about their acts of kindness. If you can’t make it you can post your acts here and I will make sure they are included on the day.

Some ideas to get you started:

• Have a normal conversation with a homeless person, perhaps even over a coffee
• Give someone a compliment
• Buy a lottery ticket and give it to a stranger
• Cut your neighbours grass
• Pick up some rubbish
• Buy an inspirational book for a friend
• Let someone jump in front of you in a queue
• Pay for the drinks of the people on the table next to you
• Check in on an old person
• Smile at everyone

What goes around comes around, imagine how you would feel if someone walked up to you and just randomly gave you a lottery ticket? or paid for your drinks one day for no reason? or treated you like you mattered in this world and you cared about them? it’s powerful stuff.

I won’t just be encouraging acts of kindness in the crowds, I will also be doing the 10k, if you want to throw a few quid that way www.justgiving.com/nina-dar

If you do nothing else, just smile at people, its contagious.