這地球，天天轉，奇妙事不斷有!!

有聽過以下的故事嗎？世事如棋，原來反轉全局，所經時光不過是一個甲子！

回到六十年前的世界，列強環伺，那時,「只有共產主義才能救中國」；四十年後，柏林圍牆倒塌，引發一場「蘇東波」-- 蘇聯解體，東歐變天 -- 環顧全球，只有中國能救共產主義....

....故事還未完結呢！一個甲子後最新推出的，是個逗人的「搞笑版」：金融海嘯剛過，全球驚魂甫定，瞬間出現以中美爲主軸的G２格局。在其中，身陷泥沼的美國，自身難保；倒是中國「水頭」充足，實力雄厚，不單英雄救「美」，今番更救了資本主義；只是包括美國在內的傳統資本主資陣營，最終恐怕只有社會主義才救得了?!

當真!? 這話怎說？

公元２００１年，世界發生了一件改變人類歷史的大事。不，不是「９１１」；那無疑是件大事，但西方社會與伊斯蘭世界的「文明衝突」，由來已久，那天爆發的驚天大災難對此並未帶來甚麼改變。至於美國以此爲借口，大舉出兵中東，以致泥足深陷，也不過是一場「一子錯」的軍事舉措，９１１並非出兵的真正原因！

你我今天一同見證世界歷史改弦易轍的大事，是「１２１１」, ２００１年１２月１１日 -- 經過十五年一波三折的漫長磋商中國正式加入「世貿」的日子。繼絲綢之路之後，這天，再次透過商貿，爲環球社會打開了資訊年代東西方全方位互通互動的空間，對人類文明，影响深遠。就是這短短八年回顧起來，已覺其震撼，以後發展，史家自有詳盡分析。但相信日後收入史冊的論述，必少不了以下兩項令論者莞爾而笑的「歴史的意外」！

其一，金融海嘯一役，以美國爲首歷來高舉自由經濟的西方國家，對內相繼接管「大得不能倒閉」的銀行和企業，無限補貼；對外徵收保護性關稅；政客的取態由Free Trade變爲Fair Trade。種種反應，與一直以來發展中國家備受批評的做法，完全沒有分別。而加入世貿後成爲經濟全球化大贏家的中國，倒成了國際間最熱衷捍衛自由市場的國家。

其二，經濟危機過後，全球社會發展的主要動力，毫無疑問是來自在全球化經濟中「站起來」的各國中產專業人士 -- 在中國和印度等發展中國家，這階層正在快速冒起 -- 一方面，這將促使國際社會逐漸邁向全球一體化的「中產階層核心價值」；但另一方面，這支生力軍在各國本身土壤中得到的「軟性養份」，由於文化及社會條件不同，也各具迥異的特色。在中國及鄰近曾受儒家思想薰陶的國家，早已深入民間的孔孟價值觀，將繼續發揮其源遠流長的影响力；而源自希羅文明的西方社會，經過金融海嘯的洗禮，對放任「篤本市場主義」（Market Fundamentalism)所帶來的嚴峻問題不再盲目接受，加上IT科技給個人及社群注入的無比動力 -- 作個大胆推斷 -- 一種在Web2.0生態中孕育出來的「新社會主義」文化，勢將出現，成為引導歐美社會在全球化世界中重新定位的座標。

-- 謹以此文紀念甲子國慶 --

view related resources in Concept Map

related posts:
Sept. 24, 2009 The Unraveling continues....
July 31, 2009 From Web meets World to Web is World
July 7, 2009 Whither American Way of Life!?
June 15, 2009 New New Economy: small guys win!!

Don't blame it on Obama, America!!

No surprise. Despite President Obama making a personal appearance to speak at the IOC, America lost her bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

No surprise. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil won.

No surprise -- except perhaps for Americans, Democrats or Republicans -- Chicago was first to be eliminated ; followed by Tokyo; followed by Madrid.

(No surprise. The news was already twittering around the globe even before it appeared on CNN, BBC or any other major world news channels.)

No, no, no, no.... Americans might live in a world in which "Celebrity is the name of the Games", as suggested by the title of this Washington Post report. Americans might be accustomed to putting on big events and became good at it, as expressed by Obama in his speech to the IOC membership. Unfortunately, or fortunately, this is not how the score of the games is taken. Bring all the celebrities to the world stage; this time it wouldn't have made a difference.

The world has changed. (Americans had better come to terms with it.) The 21st Century has finally arrived, ushered in (belatedly) by momentous events one after another in the year 2008: the fall of Lehman Brothers and with it the near-meltdown of the world economy, the ignominious conclusion of the Bush Administration and the total defeat of the Republicans in the U.S. Presidential Election that followed, and the Beijing Olympics; to name a few.

As a result, not only are the rules of the games changed; we might well be watching totally different games altogether.

related resources in Concept Map

related posts:

Sept. 24, 2009 The Unraveling continues....
Sept. 16, 2009 蝴蝶效應：How the world has changed!!
Sept. 8, 2009 Whither American Way of Life!?
May 4, 2009 香港新論述，新角色

The Unraveling continues....

I mentioned in my last post that I'd go on to explore the nature of the current global financial crisis and the part that the U.S. has in it:

• Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman saw it coming. In his book, The Great Unraveling: losing our way in the new century (2003), drawing from insights of an earlier work, Irrational Exuberance (2000) by Yale University professor Robert Schiller, Krugman described how the U.S. financial market was surviving on a Ponzi Paradigm.
• World-renowned journalist Thomas Friedman picked up the same theme and compared the financial market and the American way of life to Bernard Madoff's ponzi scheme in these two articles in his New York Times column: "The Great Unraveling" (081216) and "The Inflection Is Near?" (090307) . Both articles stressed the need for Americans to change their unsustainable practices leading up to the financial crisis.
  
• Retired Harvard Business School professor, Shoshana Zuboff, went further. She called such practices in the financial market "Wall Street's Economic Crimes Against Humanity." (Business Week 090320)

The above are highlights of the materials which I've gathered in the accompanying Concept Map under the following headings:

1. The "Madoff" in the System
2. What transpired
3. One Year after the crash

Based on these analyses, the general prognosis on Wall Street is not an encouraging one. Risking over-generalization, it might be said that the same die-hard attitudes leading up to the financial crisis have stubbornly prevailed:

• OPM: Other People's Money
• IBG: I'll Be Gone

Worse still, as described in this New York Times video, despite tremendous changes to the Wall Street "landscape" (such as the collapse of Lehman Brothers last Sept.,) "none of the building blocks that led to this crisis has changed." There is even a sense that those who have "made it to the other side" are "emboldened" by the experience.

Recently, President Obama had some strong words against the "reckless behavior" of Wall Street. Nevertheless, it seemed quite apparent that persistence of irresponsible self-interests in the system might be too deep-rooted for him to bring about any of the real changes that are desperately needed.

If the above brief summary generally matches reality, what this means is that history is repeating itself. Astronomical amount of taxpayer money has been funneled into the federal bailout by the U.S. government. However, what this is doing might be not much more than containing a catastrophic global financial meltdown by creating yet another giant bubble that is large enough to cover the burst one; financed by borrowing heavily from the global financial market.

To quote Thomas Friedman above: "If that isn’t a pyramid scheme, what is?"

view resource materials in Concept Map

related posts:
Sept. 16, 2009 蝴蝶效應：How the world has changed!!
Sept. 8, 2009 Whither American Way of Life!?

蝴蝶效應：How the world has changed!!

Question to ponder: What have integrity in government and Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. got to do with the near-instantaneous metamorphosis of what was originally a Wall St. investment gimmick, the BRICs (金磚四國), into a joint declaration of shifted economic stance among 4 major world powers, which otherwise share little common cultural, geographical, or ethno-religious interests?

A lot, as the accompanying Concept Map with this post implies; and the connections appeared far more traceable than how the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas.

To be specific, on the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers on Sept. 15 last year -- the event that set off the series of chain-reactions which sent the whole world economy into synchronized chaos -- as we examine the extent of the transformation that the world has entered into as a result, one cannot but be impressed by how much the position of the U.S. in it has diminished.

This is hardly accounted for by what has come to be known as the "rise of the rest" -- a line of thinking that was popularized through the last U.S. Presidential Election. In this Newsweek report, Fareed Zakaria, who coined this phrase in his book: Post-American World, summarized four areas in which he saw the U.S. as being far ahead of the rest of the world, which was deemed ground for the conviction that "the U.S. has not lost the ability to lead."

But leadership is primarily not about staying ahead. In most surviving ancient cultures, it is about inspiring confidence through words and deeds. In Confucian teaching, people and government alike are judged by the integrity of their words and action: 「聽其言，觀其行」,「先行其言，而後從之」, 「民無信不立」. In the past eight years, the U.S. first dragged the whole world into a war with allegations which right from the beginning were unfounded; then in the past year, sought to come out of a home-grown global economic crisis in ways which are totally contrary to the financial discipline that she has all along mandated the rest of the world to follow. This is hardly the kind of leadership that inspires confidence.

For most parts of the world as it is for most Americans, there is little doubt about the exceptional superiority of strengths which the U.S. possesses for many more years to come. What is beginning to be questioned though -- at home and abroad -- is the consistency with which her words are put into action. In the next post, I shall think more about the nature of the current financial crisis and the involvement of the U.S. in it. In the Concept Map that comes with this one, I'd simply highlight some developments in world events which might be linked directly or indirectly to the fall of Lehman Brothers and the crisis that followed.

view materials in Concept Map

Self-referencing: 變不離道, 亂中有序

承接上一篇文章：ConceptMap-aided blogging: How it works，請看以下一些在不同渠道遇上，本來互不相干的「沈寂」資訊，怎樣經過「釋義」活躍起來 -- 「埋堆」成組，串連整合 -- 化爲「導想圖」(Concept Map)，一幅能引導思想的圖畫。

第一組經過這樣過程出現的資訊是由兩個問題所組成：

1. 問得好：孔子是先有「從心所欲」? 還是先有「不逾矩」? --這是我在網上踫上的問題。
2. 也請問：齊白石畫蝦的風格，是自由 ? 還是規範 ? --這是我回應上述問題心中的提問。

第二組資訊是兩項引伸出來標榜高速的運動：

• 「高山滑雪」(downhill skiing)
• 「方程式賽車」

第三組資訊來自這段時間腦海中出現的不同聯想，其中包括：

1. 一本較前衛的管理學著作，透過高端科學理論探討所謂的「自組織理論」 (Self-organization)：Leadership and the New Science by Margaret Wheatley。
2. 一個自然界裡與「自組織理論」十分吻合的例子：How things in nature tend to sync up? （TED video Dec., 08; 這輯短片我在本博客的第一篇文章"Question Peter Drucker's Questions"中曾經引用過。)
3. 一篇在網上搜羅到的Wikipedia文章："Self-referential Encoding", 藉以進一步了解上述著作常提及，與「自組織理論」相關的另一概念：Self-reference（「自參照」）。

下面是我所看到，藉以把這三組資訊連繫起來的三者彼此關係：

1. 資訊(一)提出的兩個問題，也同樣是資訊(二)兩項運動所面對的挑戰：「自由」與「規範」。
2. 資訊(二)的兩項運動：滑雪和賽車所要求的速度，都不是直接來自運動員的體力本身，運動員的主要角色看來是「應變」；若資訊(三)可以冠以「變更管理」(Change Management)爲大標題的話，則與資訊(二)的關係明顯非常密切。
3. 孔子七十而「從心所欲，不逾矩」，相信這也正是齊白石透過他的畫所展示出來的境界 --資訊(一)。問：長時間地不斷「自組織」，「自參照」，是否可以達致這樣的成果？ --資訊(三)

現把由上述思維所引進的各項相關資料，放入導想圖中繼續「孵育」整理，讓其中的潛在信息都得到浮現發展 -- 整個過程，其實就是不斷的「自組織」，「自參照」-- 讀者請看看，是否成了一幅意義「呼之欲出」的圖畫？有興趣把您在當中得到的一些想法用文字描述出來嗎？

view presentation in Concept Map

related posts:
Aug. 27, 2009 ConceptMap-aided blogging: How it works
May 6, 2009 Concept Mapping versus Mind Mapping

ConceptMap-aided blogging: How it works

瀏覽本博客，可以留意到其中一個特色，就是每篇文章都是與一個導想圖(Concept Map)一起配合發表的。讀者或許會問，這些文章與導想圖之間究竟有甚麼密切的關係？對這問題，此前另一篇文章: "Concept Mapping vs Mind Mapping"，已先就Concept Map在今天Web2.0世界所產生的特殊功用作了簡單分析；以下再進一步解釋，我是怎樣利用Concept Map這方面的功用來撰寫本博客的文章。

首先指出，從資訊搜集的角度來看，應用於今天的資訊社會，Concept Map實在是個理想的「資訊存取」工具；只不過傳統以來，存檔的目的是爲方便尋索，而Concept Map所針對的，則是思維方法，兩者互不相干，因而直至今天的Web2.0 Applications出現之前，大概沒有人會理會Concept Map可以有甚麼資訊處理的功用。

上一世紀的存檔方法，是以邏輯爲進路，按類別把資料存入預設的目錄系統之中，亦即圖書館一直沿用的入檔方法。今天，隨著IT科技發展，更方便快捷也更能照顧個別需要的存取方法，是簡單地按個人想到的關鍵字(key words)，任意爲每項要貯存的資訊加上標簽(tagging)，作爲尋索識認；其後，經過互聯網上的交流互動，這些標簽逐漸匯合起來，「約定俗成」地成爲互聯網上通用的所謂「俗民分類」(Folksonomy)。

但其實俗民分類(Folksonomy)的著眼點，與傳統的科學分類方法(Taxonomy)基本是一致的，都同樣是如何把資訊歸類，分別只在分類的方法而已，並未有回應今日Web 2.0 Applications所帶來資訊世界的根本變化。今日的知識型社會，不單資訊充裕更是快速轉變。而由於信息的交流，是完全由目的來主導，因而在充滿著無數選擇的資訊環境，是更逼切地需要「意義」和「價值」來帶動，以至今日存檔時要首先處理的，已不單是「歸類」的問題，更是「釋義」的問題：爲甚麼這項資訊值得貯存？我怎樣理解這項資訊在當下環境中的意義？這博客的Concept Map，目的正是把這樣經過「釋義」而得的資訊，彙集起來，編成一幅能表達意義的圖畫；然後在博客的文章，再透過文字把這些「導想」圖所蘊涵的意義進一步闡述出來。

簡單總結，從以上的分析可以看到，在今天Web 2.0帶來的資訊世界，導想圖/Concept Map可以成爲存取資訊的另一選項，就是把一些從個人視角選取的資訊「圖象化」地連繫起來，成爲一個個具有「適時意義」，方便記憶，並可隨意按需要增減內容的「資訊組合」。運用得宜的話，這樣的資訊組合正是 a way of discovering how we see the world and giving it a name -- 十分適切知識型社會「學會學習」的重要途徑 -- 這博客內的導想圖與文章內容，就是透過這樣的學習途徑得到的果子。

特別一提，上述這種文章與導想圖之間的關係，是互爲因果而非單向的 -- 透過發掘意義，文章與導想圖彼此影响 -- 過程中，兩者的內容都不斷互相豐富。

最後，以一個實際運用Concept Map的例子作結束：

1. 在本博客的上一篇文章(The Dilemma of Learning)，我提到哈佛商學院教授Clayton M. Christensen１９９７年出版的一本經典著作：The Innovator's Dilemma，並指出可以藉Learning Curve所標示的學習變化，解釋技能發展過程中所經過的cognitive stage, associative stage，及autonomous stage三個不同學習階段的特性，從而了解爲何大企業雖然資源豐富，管理完善，卻是越成功越與帶動轉變的Disruptive Technology接不上軌。從這分析，我想到另一本近年備受注意的商管著作：Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim & Mauborgne (2005, 中譯【藍海策略】)，當中提倡一個關係企業致勝的核心概念：Value Innovation。對The Innovator's Dilemma一書所描述陷於「成功困局」的大企業來說，Value Innovation的重要作用，從上述「學習弧線」的角度看，正是針對企業沿「正途」發展邁向高峰過程中面對的Innovator's Dilemma，對症下葯，透過與客顧尋找雙贏的策略，不斷開啟新的學習弧線，打開更緊貼環境轉變的學習空間，引導企業從發展困局中脫穎而出。至於這書題目：Blue Ocean Strategy所標榜，藉以抛離競爭對手的「藍海」市場，其實只是這樣不斷學習所帶來的結「果」，卻不是令企業持續發展的真正原「因」。
2. 從 (1.) 的圖表可以容易看到，Blue Ocean Strategy一書提出達致Value Innovation的途徑，其實與Stephen Covey所提倡的"Think Win/Win" (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1990)， 基本是同出一轍。
3. 這樣的觀察，也讓我即時想到，我在〔講生意，學耶穌〕博客的文章，記述了兩個成功的經營例子，原來都是以「藍海策略」爲營運方針：

   • ASM Pacific Technology (神在職場裡: 『相對於所謂「紅海策略」，「藍海策略」主張開拓新的市場空間，把原本的市場競爭化解於無形。』)
   • Saddleback Church (牧師也營商?!: 『不要爭奪市場，另創商機，提供別人沒有的服務。』)

現把與上述各點的有關資訊彙集起來，藉著Concept Map ，編成一幅「能表達意義的圖畫」。有興趣跟進這題目的朋友，可以思索一下：

1. 在附上的導想圖，找到甚麼與您切身有關的「點子」？
2. 您還聯想到甚麼其他可以放入圖內的相關資訊。在這重編的「導想圖」中您又看到甚麼新的信息？

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related post:
May 6, 2009 Concept Mapping versus Mind Mapping

The Dilemma of Learning

分析近年對技能訓練的研究， 發現「學習」原來包含著難解的吊詭性：起步時(cognitive stage)，吸收的速度最快；中段(associative stage)收穫最大；相較之下，到達完美階段(autonomous stage)，學習量和速度的增幅都一併減少；這也解釋了爲何學藝到了一定境界，雖然操練不輟，卻難有新的突破。若按這樣的「學習弧線」(Learning Curve)來了解人生，一生事業可粗略分爲三個階段：有趣地，孔子對一生學習的自述 --「吾十有五而志於學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳順，七十而從心所欲，不踰矩。」-- 也可以透過這樣的Learning Curve來理解：圖表中，可以吊詭地看到，人到了「從心所欲，不逾矩」的階段，其實有其不易調整的矛盾。一方面，黃金歲月，得心應手，處處掌聲。另一方面，身處高峰，容易「目空一切」，困於自己的「廣闊視野」而不自覺。哈佛商學院教授Clayton M. Christensen１９９７年出版的一本經典著作：The Innovator's Dilemma, 指出原來實力雄厚的大企業也陷入同樣的困境：完善的管理，大量人才物力資源，所有的創意都用於開發已證明是高回報的市場空間，業務蒸蒸日上，但越成功便越與潛在的新趨勢脫節，越缺乏回應環境急速轉變的能力。冷不提防新興的中小型企業，由於更能靈活運用緊貼環境轉變的所謂Disruptive Technology，迎頭趕上，殺個措手不及。

怎樣從這樣的「有成」困局脫穎而出？我想可以透過書法家「當代草聖」于右任的「寫字歌」得到啟示:

起筆不停滯
落筆不作勢
純任自然
自迅速 自輕快 自美麗
吾有志焉而未逮

從這歌，我看到新鮮活潑不斷開啟的學習空間，以下是個"fusion"詮釋：

view resource materials in Concept Map

From Web meets World to Web is World

請看以下三組信息：

1. 管理學大師Peter Drucker比較工業革命與資訊革命異同的觀察：
2. 一年一度在美國舉行的Web 2.0 Summit今年十月進入第六屆，去年的主題是"Web meets World"，今年的主題將會是"Web Squared"。按主辦者Tim O'reilly的解釋，Web 2.0 is all about harnessing collective intelligence。隨著Web 2.0的科技發展，環球智能透過網絡互動，逐漸形成Collective Mind-- "Increasingly, the Web is the world.... Web Squared is our way of exploring this phenomenon and giving it a name." (italics mine)
   
3. 有聽過Social Computing嗎？ 一篇以"The shift to Social Computing"爲題的文章，把Social Computing視為Web 2.0的延伸，文章從Web 2.0與Social Computing的關係，了解Social Computing 是甚麼：若Web 2.0 是覆蓋國家的公路網，Social Computing的功用，便是開發這公路網帶來的商機，譬如：旅遊，商貿，能源需求，衛星城市發展.... 等等。 Social Computing帶來了甚麼特別的轉變？The following are identified in the article as the generally accepted basic tenets of SC:

• Innovation is moving from a top-down to bottom-up model
• Value is shifting from ownership to experiences
• Power is moving from institutions to communities

附上導想圖/Concept Map，把上述三組資訊的背景資料從以下角度扼要列出，藉以爲未來企業環境勾劃出一個輪廓：

1. 歴史角度
2. Web 2.0的發展理念
3. Social Computing: Web 2.0的具體表現

在其中我觀察到的，是主導未來的職場生態，將會是一種要求高度自動，自發，自主的「自由人」工作方式，你同意嗎？

view background materials in Concept Map

relate post:
Mar. 26, 2006 你的業務是甚麼？

公道自在人心

With the help of the accompanying Concept Map, the objective of this blog post is to connect and explore through the connection, how 2 apparently isolated trains of events might after all be closely related together.

The first such series of events is concerned with Middle East politics and reported in a (July 23, 2009) New York Times article:

Seven months after Israel started a fierce three-week military campaign here to stop rockets from being fired on its southern communities, Hamas has suspended its use of rockets and shifted focus to winning support at home and abroad through cultural initiatives and public relations.

"The aim," the article continued, "is to build what leaders here call a 'culture of resistance,' the topic of a recent two-day conference." This is how the article traced the change in tactics:

“Armed resistance is still important and legitimate, but we have a new emphasis on cultural resistance,” noted Ayman Taha, a Hamas leader and former fighter. “The current situation required a stoppage of rockets. After the war, the fighters needed a break and the people needed a break.”

Mr. Taha and others say that the military has replaced field commanders and restructured itself as it learns lessons from the war. The decision to suspend the use of the short-range Qassam rockets that for years have flown into Israel, often dozens a day, has been partly the result of popular pressure. Increasingly, people here are questioning the value of the rockets, not because they hit civilians but because they are seen as relatively ineffective.

“What did the rockets do for us? Nothing,” Mona Abdelaziz, a 36-year-old lawyer, said in a typical street interview here....

As a result of this shift in strategy, in June this year it is reported that "a total of two rockets were fired from Gaza, according to the Israeli military, one of the lowest monthly tallies since the firing began in 2002."

I'm not readily convinced that the prime reason behind such drastic reduction in rocket shelling was a new awareness that it has accomplished nothing. Since when has such popular pressure been built up that rockets "are seen as relatively ineffective"!? This surprise development in Middle East politics begs an obvious question: Why has public opinions, at home and abroad, suddenly gained such prominence in a struggle that has all along been fiercely determined in the battlefield by the warring parties? Other dynamic force(s) must be also at work.

As I pondered upon these questions, it became apparent to me that changes that are happening concurrently today in what is often referred to as the Information Revolution is a likely candidate capable of inducing such a strategic shift, which leads me to the second category of information that I'd like to bring into the discussion.

In the accompanying Concept Map, a selected sources of materials (mainly videos) are connected together, with a view to gaining an understanding of (i) the Web 2.0 phenomenon, and (ii) the amazing developments of Twitter as a Web 2.0 manifestation.

I'll leave it to the readers to figure out how these factors might have generated a new dynamic that is capable of empowering popular opinions to play a significant part in world politics.

view resource materials in Concept Map

公民社會：香港未來的發展條件

日前讀到香港〔信報〕幾則值得留意的港聞報導：

• ７月１４日「政策政情」版消息，民建聯創黨主席曾鈺成去年在一片「疑似地下共產黨黨員」的爭議聲中，獲選為立法會主席，其後需要面對社民連三子公然挑戰權威，但總結其一年來的表現，各大政黨都表示接受，其中社民連主席黃毓民更直言「做得唔錯」....

• 同日，余錦賢「香港脈搏」專欄的小道消息，估計最有機會担任下屆特區政府政務司司長的熱門人選，是兩位以幹練並承担力見稱的女將：前保安局局長，現任立法會議員葉劉淑儀及現任發展局局長林鄭月娥。其中葉劉藉O七年參選立法會議員，「成功洗底，更屬教科書式案例。」

• 此外，上月「六四」二十周年燭光晚會參加人數創出歷史新高，領先指標，以至不少人都認定「會改寫今年七一遊行，以至年底政制改革的面貌！」但結果七一遊行人數遜於預期，帶來了連串至今仍然繼續的評論分析。

香港政壇常常予人一種「等待果佗」的「雙無」感：無厘頭兼無奈。上述幾宗報導特別值得留意，是因爲在當中看到，港人的智慧，才幹和質素，似乎在一片政治「內耗」聲中，終於出現一些可喜的正面發酵的跡象。

香港雖是彈丸之地，但背靠國家，面向世界，各行各業，都具備優厚的發展條件。不但如此，在海峽兩岸的區內城市中，香港人的專業精神不單有目共睹，對和平，自由，和公平等公民社會價值，更有一份沉毅的堅持。維園「六四」燭光每年持續燃點，是港人分享國家十多年來經濟成果的同時，也分担國人面對歴史的沉重，並且對「公道自在人心」這出自華人社會基因的普遍價值，仍保持著一份近乎戇直的執著。「六四」與「七一」參與人數出現反差，正好反映港人一絲不苟的專業操守，甚至把內在情操與自身訴求也區分清楚。

放眼世界，人類文明今天正經歴一場翻天覆地千年一遇的時代轉折。而中國社會，經過百年折騰成功與世界接軌後，一大挑戰是如何與國際社會同塑未來世界價值秩序。去年3.14西藏暴力騷亂，今年7.5新疆發生同類事件，只是中央政府面對的其中兩個較為極端的例子。展望未來，香港對國家重大的貢獻，正是港人累積下來的公民社會發展條件。

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Whither American Way of Life!?

1984年，美國總統列根歴史性訪華，期間在上海復旦大學演講，高調宣揚 American Way of Life--那是美國人老實地相信「美式生活」的年代！其後，89年柏林圍牆倒塌，兩年後前蘇聯解體，國際間，是友是敵，都接受了美式生活爲美國國力的代表。

有誰想到，廿五年後的今天，再三宣告美式生活徹底破產的聲音，不是來自被前布殊政府圈定的「邪惡軸心」國家，而是一眾歐美各界領袖：

• Jack Welch, 前奇異公司(General Electric)董事長兼總裁, "father of the shareholder value movement": "shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world"
• 著名貨幣投機家索羅斯："It's the end of an era, as far as the United States is concerned, because the prosperity was built on a false foundation."
  
• 英國首相白高敦："Old Washington Consensus is over."
• 美國前副總統戈爾: We Need Sustainable Capitalism
• 其中最誇張的，是美國著名新聞從業員，The World is Flat 作者佛里曼，在他的一篇【紐約時報】專欄文章，竟把去年觸發美國房地產泡沫的次貸危機，與美國世紀大騙子 Madoff 的「龐氏騙局」運作方式，相提並論！

剛讀到最新一期 Business Week 的一篇文章，由前美國哈佛商學院教授 Shoshana Zuboff 所撰寫，內容之震撼，與上述言論不遑多讓，指稱哈佛昔日之管理課程，今天不單經已過時，更是引發目前金融及經濟危機的重要原因；另一方面，文章也就適切未來世界轉變的管理，提出了一些前瞻性的觀點。

茲將上述這些言論，在附上之 Concept Map 一併列出，以供參考。

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Gospel according to Johnny

就稱作「尊尼福音」吧！得此六技旁身，無懼職場百變：

1. 見招拆招--There is no plan.
2. 取長棄短--Think strengths, not weaknesses.
3. 捨己隨人--It’s not about you.
4. 鍥而不捨--Persistence trumps talent.
5. 錯有錯著--Make excellent mistakes.
6. 留下掌印--Leave an imprint.

繼 Free Agent Nation (2001) 和 A Whole New Mind (2005) 之後，現今講論「自由人」概念最具代表性的作者 Daniel Pink，在他的近作 The Adventures of Johnny Bunko (2008)宣告以上的信息，對今日的打工仔來說，這不是福音是甚麼？

更可愛的是，書中的 Johnny Bunko 並非甚麼大人物，而是一個虛構漫畫故事的主人翁--在美國，以漫畫形式出版打工指南，這還是破天荒的第一次。好奇心的驅使下，我終於賣了一本，一口氣看完。意外地，不單感覺出奇良好，更發現原來只要言之有物，漫晝本是極具說服力的表達媒介。

結論嗎？首先，本書的指引，清晰明快，一步到位，加上故事趣味性強，對忙得連睡覺都沒有時間的朋友，十分值得推薦。

此外，本書最適宜用作打開話匣子的素材，假若透過讀書小組來研讀，藉以帶出參加者的個人故事，同時引入各人對世界大勢以及週遭環境改變的了解，可讓學習變得更豐富.

爲此，特別搜集了一些相關資料，在附上的導想圖/Concept Map中列出，供小組討論之用。

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New New Economy: small guys win!!

由 Vertical Integration 蛻變到 Virtual Integration 爲主導的企業新世代，終於來臨了！不僅是在個別的企業中發生，更是藉互聯網動力全球性地在業界中出現.... 正如早在上世紀八十年代末，美國麻省理工學院 (MIT) 教授 Tom Malone 所預言：互聯網將導致大企業分散重組--decentralize and externalize ，構成新的企業生態。

理由嗎？十分簡單：典型的二十世紀大企業的優勢，是整合經營，務求「肥水不流別人田」，把交易成本 (transaction costs) 減至最低。今天，透過環球分散式的資訊網絡聯繫，互聯網成了「工作平台」，複雜的工序在其上得以「拆細重組」，讓任何個別工作者都可以參與競爭，不單打破了地域的限制，更打開無限創新空間，使經營效益大大提高。就如 The World is Flat 一書的作者 Thomas Friedman 在這段短片所描述的。

但環顧全球跨國企業，廿多年來，上述的分拆重組不單並未出現，反倒在牛氣十足的股市催逼下不斷膨漲。直至2008年9月，隨著次按危機爆發，美國投資銀行開始接連倒閉或被逼轉型，各大企業相應收縮，國際社會才猛然警覺，這並非一場週期性的經濟調整，而是一次劃時代的全球政經運作模式徹底轉變....

危機過後，隨之而來的廿一世紀經濟，將會是個甚麼樣子？最新一期的權威 I T 科技雜誌 Wired Magazine, 刊登了四篇有關文章：

• The New New Economy: More Startups, Fewer Giants, Infinite Opportunity
• Beyond Detroit: On the Road to Recovery, Let the Little Guys Drive
• Secret of Googlenomics: Data-Fueled Recipe Brews Profitability
• The New Socialism: Global Collectivist Society Is Coming Online

其中資料，爲未來在職人士勾畫了一幅甚具啟示性的圖畫:

• The next new economy, the one rising from the ashes of this latest meltdown, will favor the small！
• The rise of cloud computing means that young firms no longer have to buy their own IT equipment, which helps them avoid having to raise money or take on debt.
  
• Likewise, the webification of the supply chain in many industries, from electronics to apparel, means that even the tiniest companies can now order globally, just like the giants.

現謹選錄各篇文章部分片段，在 Concept Map 中列出供讀者參考。

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Link Magic Craze

In an earlier blog posting that I wrote 23 days ago, I identified WE LINK, THEREFORE WE ARE as an Internet-induced phenomenon that has engulfed the world as a result of the Information Revolution, (which management guru Peter Drucker happened to talk much about.) The first example that I cited was "奧氏英語 in Japan". Since then, I've already noticed 2 more candidates that fit well into this category, namely:

• The first YouTube Symphony Orchestra
• Guerrilla Gardening

And I expected more would be forthcoming. Still, the latest star to hit the news is a surprising one. It is the rise of the Three Wolf Moon Tshirt from a meaga sale of 2 to 3 a day to a mega one at 100 an hour, powered inadvertently by a joke review made by a reviewer on amazon.com, as is reported on this video.

According to another report in New York Times:

The magic, it turned out, was not so much the undeniably totemic power of the shirt, now endorsed by about 700 other similarly rapturous, if not entirely serious, reviewers, but the lesson in the inscrutable power of online culture that it provided. Like the butterfly wings creating the tornado, Mr. Govern inadvertently helped set off an almost impossible marketing bonanza and pop-culture craze: The shirt has been Amazon’s top-selling item of apparel every day since May 19, and it has morphed into one of those instant icons of Internet culture.

“This is something a lot of companies spend $100 million trying to do and for us it just happened, and we embraced it early on,” said Michael McGloin, an art school dropout and creative director of the Mountain, the New Hampshire-based company that made the shirt.... “You could not dream of getting this worldwide notoriety for a T-shirt, but it became a viral visual,” Mr. McGloin said....

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The Third Drucker

Peter Drucker is acclaimed the Father of Modern Management. It is also known that he didn't like to be called a consultant, although much of his career was consist of giving advice to corporations. Instead, he saw himself as a social ecologist.

Yet, as this Concept Map seeks to demonstrated, deep in Drucker's heart, the results that he truly valued for his life were those of a mentor, that is, how he made an impact on the life of others....

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Jim Collins vis-a-vis Drucker

According to Jim Collins, when he first visited Peter Drucker to seek for his advice, he was "at a crossroad, trying to decide whether to jettison a traditional path...." (Management, pp. xvi)

This is how he remembered that meeting:

We settled in the living room, with Drucker asking questions from his favorite wicker chair, probing, pushing, challenging. He gave freely of his wisdom, asking nothing in return. He simply wanted to contribute to my development at what was then a pivotal stage of my career; I was only thirty-six years of age with no significant reputation. His generosity of spirit explains much of Drucker’s immense influence. I reflected back on his work, The Effective Executive, and his admonition to replace the quest for success with the quest for contribution. The critical question is not, “How can I achieve?” but “What can I contribute?”

--Forward, The Daily Drucker

This Concept Map is an attempt to explore how that meeting might have made a lasting influence on Jim Collins' subsequent work and thinking.

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Concept Mapping versus Mind Mapping

The mind map can be contrasted with the similar idea of concept mapping. The former is based on radial hierarchies and tree structures denoting relationships with a central governing concept, whereas concept maps are based on connections between concepts in more diverse patterns.

--Wikipedia

Mind Maps reflect what you think about a topic. By taking a brainstorming approach to generating and organizing ideas, Mind Maps seek to improve performance by enhancing the capability of the human brain.

Concept Maps, on the other hand, are focused on the relationship between concepts. They allow the brain to make meaning by (i) presenting information in a visual format, and more significantly, (ii) connecting the meaning so generated with other information to further generate new meaning.

This grow-as-you-go spiral effect of the information sense-making process is now greatly enhanced by the new interactive capabilities of Web 2.0 applications such as MindMeister, which makes Concept Mapping the tool of choice over Mind Mapping for idea organization and development as the world moves on from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age.

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香港新論述，新角色

[Originally presented at PES CME Dialogue]

In an article posted on the web by Leader To Leader, (No.16, Spring 2000,) Peter Drucker outlined one of his famous observations: “Managing Knowledge Means Managing Oneself”. This was how he began:

In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historians will see is not technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time -- literally -- substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society is totally unprepared for it.

Drucker was amazingly forward-looking. Indeed, momentous disruptive changes—an oft-repeated theme in Drucker’s writings—are already breaking through into our world today, right before our eyes. At other discussion group meetings, I identified the following as massive global changes that have taken place since the turn of the century.

Disruptive Changes in the Global Context

1. 2008: the beginning of the 21st Century;
2. Collapse of Market Fundamentalism: The end of Capitalism as we knew it;
3. Civilization's historic crossover into the era of Ubiquitous Knowledge.

Massive Global Shifts in terms of Content

1. Link to Think: The rise of the We-Link-therefore-We-Are generation;
2. The phenomenal expansion of the Global Middle Class;
3. Yin Yang (陰陽) as a prevailing way of seeing black and white.

I believe these are significant factors that serve well as a backdrop for discussions on the future of marketplace ministry in HK, which I propose may include:

1. 香港新論述：回歸中國社會/回應世界轉變
2. 香港新角色：「一人企業」的支援及培訓

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(updated June 10, 2009)

Benny Chin

090425

Questions about Peter Drucker's questions....

Peter Drucker is known for asking deceptively simple questions, in that answering them "invariably turns into an exigent excercise," as Drucker expert Rick Wartzman aptly puts it.

Why so? What makes an answer right? Why is it that Drucker seems to be the only one who readily knows the answers? As well, if Drucker's questions don't necessarily lead to the right answers, what are they really good for? These are some of the obvious questions surrounding Drucker's questions, which people seeking wisdom from his teachings seem to have taken for granted.

Taking some hints from nature, this concept map is an attempt to probe into some such questions, as a tribute to commemorate the 100th birthday of this great guru this year.

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