Ego Libre

This might start to appear as a theme, unless I make a decision about it sooner than I anticipate, but I am starting to re-value why am I doing an MBA and what is it going to bring me.

Why? Well, obviously I have doubts about it.I have some prior experience with living with MBA’s in Copenhagen and many of them remain my friends and I track their progress and careers (hi guys ;-), so I already have a base on how to compare the schools and potential outcomes from different career choices.

Ever since I started doing that, I also started having doubts whether MBA is the right choice for me, but none the less, I decided to go for it and try ti find my way in.Now I did and it’s time to review this decision. Today’s though it on MBA and market value.I am a young guy, merely 24 years of age. I have some work experience in various industries and can already fit more on my cv than many people of my age. On the other hand, there are extraordinary entrepreneur’s that shame me by having running and growing mature business by now, but let’s leave that aside.The fact is, that after my Master’s I will probably hit my full-time career. And I need to find a proper job, where to get a serious experience.

Is MBA going to help me? Hardly. Maybe even on the contrary.

Interestingly, the reason why so many people are taking MBA is do just that, but they are in a different position. If you are around my age, having an MBA might impress some, but the fact is that it will artificially inflate your market value.Without a job experience, unless you are lucky or have extraordinary network, you are most likely to be looking at the same job offerings MBA or not. But having those three words on your cv might actually mean that people won’t hire you because they think you would be too expensive or too overeducated for such a position and what’s worse, you might think so as well.

So MBA for early career makers? Probably more a detriment than an advantage. Interestingly enough, I can hardly find anyone who agrees with me on this. Well, it might be because my social circle currently consists of people exactly like that.So round 1? MBA is not suited for me right now as it will increase my market value despite the fact that having this education will not justify it.

P.S: Feel absolutely free to comment on my thoughts here, especially if you disagree. You might change my mind and don’t forget, this is my career I am deciding here Thanks

You might know my attitude towards SAS. Well my friend Christian obviously knows, so he sent me a press release that went under my radar since I am currently busy with new studies (5 weeks remaining of this term, bear with me and my complaints ;-).
SAS permanently grounds its Dash 8 Q400 fleet. Now that is interesting news. If you know SAS, you know how extensively they use them. Even though the release says it consists of only 5% of customers, it is still pretty serious blow. And if other carriers who had problems, such as ANA follow, it is going to hurt Bombardier quite a bit. I wonder what is SAS going to replace them with…
And despite I feel a bit sorry about this (I have a nostalgic feeling towards turbo-prop planes), I cannot pass this opportunity to take a jab at SAS. In the press releases, the current SAS director says: SAS’s flight operations have always enjoyed an excellent reputation and there is a risk that use of the Dash 8 Q400 could eventually damage the SAS brand.”Too late buddy, too late. It’s not just planes that make up a carrier. SAS people hurt the SAS brand the most. I wonder when was the last time this guy flew SAS economy.

Now it seems obvious. Australia is in the Southern hemisphere and thus has summer when the ‘normal’ time says it should be winter.Logical, right?
But has anyone of you considered the implications of that? I surely have not when I set up my clock one our backwards as I would in winter. But it’s summer time here! So in fact, you need to set it up one hear aheadsds in winter.And that means that inads European summer the difference to Australia is 8 hours, but during European (or North American for that matter winter the difference is 10 hours.
Now that can screw things up
Cheers from summery Melbourne.

Yesterday I managed. Seriously, I checked my RSS feeds only once. I was so proud of myself. Today the internet beat me. I had to check a second time. But Hopefully you will understand why (well you will if you are as geeky as I am

Today was an important day in regards to information. First, Apple OS Leopard was officially announces, so as a true believer I had to pre-order it

And then keeping true to my geeky nature, I simply HAD to see the layout of the Airbus A380 for Singapore Airlines. I am sure that ever since it was announced that Singapore Airlines ordered only roughly 450 seats for a plane that can house more than 700. You must have been wondering what did they use all that space for, right? I know I did

So check it out. SA redefined First class. Now it’s called Suit class!

This is the stuff I was talking about. It’s about time to redefine air travel and premium offerings and I am glad (however not surprised) that Singapore is the front-runner in this direction. New era of travel is starting.

If I had the money I would pay 10.000$ for the round trip quicker than you can say: “sex on a plane” Gotta keep stocking my miles And speaking of miles, now even the rich and less adventurous will be able to join the mile-high club Not that I have had the plesure….yet

Forget coke and e, there is a new substance in town.

This blog post on Lifehack.org was fairly interesting and I thought about posting it here FYI, but then I got to point 6. It defined a new term for me: Information addiction. It hit me right there and then: I am an addict. Seriously, I have to cut down. I spend up to 2 hours every day reading news, RSS feeds and designing bags. (Well, that might have been a one off thing But I am complaining that I am busy. I mean WTF?

I will try to limit my daily hit of RSS feeds and news to 1 whiff of information in the morning. That’s it.

And I will start tomorrow. Urghhh. I can feel the cold turkey already.

Can’t…..hit…..the….reload…..button. Should….not…..check….for……new…..mail. Arghhhh…..

And what about you? How many times a day do you indulge yourself in the sinful pleasure of information ecstasy? I would say that for some of you it’s time to think about it as well…

Have you heard of Freitag bags? No? You should have. I am absolutely amazed about this company and their concept. I am absolutely convinced, that this is the ultimate business concept of the future fashion and retail industry.

I started noticing these strange bags that young and trendy Japanese were carrying around Tokyo. I also noticed the tag Freitag on them, which made me wonder whether they are really Japanese. Well, as I found out they are not. When I was in Tokyo last time, I saw the bags in store and found out that they are made from old truck tarps, straps from seat-belts and edges toughened up by old inner-tubes. All recycled materials and the bags look great! What a fantastic idea!

Then I realized that every single bag is original. Wow.

And then I went online to Freitag.ch. And that’s when I finally understood the whole concept. This company is a true visionary. You can design your own bag on the website, they will cut it, sew it and ship it to you!

So let’s recapitulate. This is a company making bags from 100% recycled materials, thus making eco-minded customers feel good about the purchase. Each and every bag is unique, which of course caters to new generation of customers looking for uniqueness rather than mass production. Read the company history. Feel the tone? The personal feel? THIS is how companies ought to talk to customers. That is what we want to hear. Not impersonal press releases. These guys simply GET IT. And finally, you can even create your own bag. Customized, on demand, I mean mark my words, this is how we will be shopping for 50% of our clothes in 5-10 years. I know I will.

With possibilities to outsource actual production and with logistic solutions getting more integrated and cheaper, I think that the time when we will be designing our own t-shirts, custom made shoes and suits is not far away. Ready-to-wear mass production is so 20th century. Customized tailoring, welcome back!

And if you want to see my cubistic creation, you can check it out here

Today I found some free time to catch up with the 1000+ unread RSS feeds that were waiting for me in my reader and stumbled on three articles that are somehow struck my interest.

One is about recently discovered bug in Excel and its explanation. The reason why I list is twofold. One, I just purchased Apple iWork 08, so I am about to switch from Excel to Numbers and two, quite recently I witnessed a beautiful argument between two people (hello Christian about the user friendliness of Excel. And for the record, I think that Excel is the worst and most-unfriendly application ever created and people who say otherwise should never be allowed to get involved in any consumer product development. I am serious.

Another link is from one of my favorite bloggers and businessmen out there - Guy Kawasaki and his interview with Steven Smith about his egonomics book. Interesting interview, the book seems wort reading.

And finally there is an article that might not offer too many solution, but talks about a topic that is on my mind lately: Slavery of consumerism. When you move (especially to a new country so you have to pay exorbitant amounts of cash for shipping), you realize how much crap you own. I seriously want to cut down on that. But not just that, it reminds me how enslaved by the whole concept I am. So I shook my head, woke up and decided not to buy the new iMac. Ouch.

Hope some of them will interest you as well. And now I have to get back to my MBA readings. Double Ouch.

One thing I will surely miss about Tokyo is the serenity of the commute. Interestingly enough, first time visitors to Tokyo criticize the “zombie culture” of Tokyo mass transportation, but if they would spend a bit more time, they would understand.

Now in Melbourne, I commute 1.5 hour each way school. A bit far, but nothing exceptional by Tokyo standards. However the Tokyo’s rules about not using phones in public transportation and switching phones to silent mode are a true bliss. In Tokyo you can relax. In Melbourne not so much. Maybe it’s simple coming from an extreme, but I feel seriously distressed every time a phone starts ringing some new hip ringtone smacked all the way up to maximum volume. Personally I keep my phone in silent mode all the time, or limit the volume to the minimum level. So what if I miss a few calls, I will call back later when it is more convenient. If there is one thing I am allergic to, it’s ringing phones… But hey, we live in modern world. But seriously, let’s take Tokyo as an example and start using the built-in ringtone profiles in the phone, the world will be a better place

Which brings me to a device that I would like someone to develop, which could become standards. It would be a simple short distance signal emitter that would inform a mobile that it is in a “silent zone” and should shut up. These would be in public transport vehicles, cinemas and similar venues. The function could not be switched off in a same way as the camera shutter sound cannot be switched off on Japanese phone to prevent perverts from taking upskirt shots in buses etc. Now that’s innovation in action

What do you see when you think of the future? What do you think will you be doing in 5, 10 years time? Or even worse, what is the next step going to be? Not the one you are making now, the next one…

I suddenly realize I stare into an abyss.

For years, there were goals in front of me. Points to get to and fairly clear paths leading to them. No more. Well, there is one. I have started new education. So once again, there is a holy grail of a diploma, but this time it’s different. This time I feel it’s my last and I do not see beyond that. Maybe it is premature t be thinking about career and future, but I can’t help it. For the first time, the weight of the darkness in front of me invaded my mind. Past experiences show that everything will work out in the end, but suddenly I am not sure whether I can rely on it. What has changed?

The truth is, in all honesty, responsibility is starting to change my mind. Maybe for the first time in my life I am starting to realize that it is not only about me and my plans, but that I have a partner now, a person in my life who has the same voice baring the same weight as I do and I need to take that person’s opinion into consideration. It is a valuable lesson and hopefully one I will pass. I need to throw away this fear of an abyss and jump.

My girlfriend is coming soon to join me in Australia. She jumped. I admire her for that. Of course I encouraged her, but at the same time wanted to point out, that it is her decision as well. Her jump. But once again, she knew better than me. She saw the abyss and she jumped anyway. My choice is simpler. I do not even have a choice. I just need to keep walking knowing that somewhere in front of me will be a huge decision to make. A deep abyss to cross. I just hope I will be strong enough to face. And I also hope that somebody will be holding my hand while free-falling to unknown ends.

Yes indeed, people change. Their dreams change. And so should their fears.

Do you have anyone who will be there with you?

After excuses and whining, I finally thought about something worth talking and thinking about here.
I have had my first real experience with Australian culture and it got me thinking. Of course this experience was in a club. There is no better place where to compare behavior and culture than in a club after 2 am. And I realized something…

A typical sign of Japanese culture is attention abundance, whereas a typical Australian feature is attention scarcity. This could be expanded roughly to a western versus easter cultures in general. I usually hate these polaristic views such as Hofstede’s famous cultural dimensions, but today I caught myself thinking in their terms. But if I were to use Hofstede’s view, I would add attention scarcity as a new element.

When you talk to a Japanese person, you have 100% of their attention. When you talk to an Australian, you can hope for 10%. Now this is not criticism, this is simply a fact that I need to take into consideration when living here. I wrote a paper on criticizing Hofstede, I just wonder why haven’t I figure this out back then…

If you have some sociologic background, please prove me wrong, but I guess this is another forgotten element of cultural dimension.