en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/705189 Comments by GuyW http://catarinasworld.com/bringing-silicon-valley-mentality-to-africa/#IDComment1024591922 I wasn't suggesting the local universities rank with Stanford - just illustrating that we have a number of (non-governmental!) backed initiatives here, which is great :-) Fri, 24 Jun 2016 15:26:20 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/bringing-silicon-valley-mentality-to-africa/#IDComment1024591922 http://catarinasworld.com/bringing-silicon-valley-mentality-to-africa/#IDComment1024581857 It's great, Catarina, but I have to say this sort of thing has been happening for a while in South Africa. ICL used South Africa as a test bed for its latest technology as far back as the 70s, for example. Today, there are many innovation hubs around the country encouraging new ideas, helping turn them into businesses and mentoring them through the early years. In Cape Town, two that spring to mind are the Cape IT Initiative (CITI) and Workshop17. Pretoria has The Innovation Hub (TIH) among others, while The JoziHub in Jo'burg does similar work. Then there are the top universities here (UCT, Stellenbosh, Wits, Tukkes...) all of which have sections driving innovation and start-ups to help commercialise the efforts. Fri, 24 Jun 2016 12:52:10 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/bringing-silicon-valley-mentality-to-africa/#IDComment1024581857 http://catarinasworld.com/how-will-africans-get-a-better-life/#IDComment1023027111 To be honest, Catarina, the issue of sorting out the leadership issue has not really been tried. Politics in Western countries always got in the way and they only made token attempts to do anything (Mugabe being a great case in point - he was knighted AFTER the Matabeleland massacres of 1981, although this knighthood has more recently been withdrawn for other reasons). The issue with trade is, unfortunately, that the current leadership will typically ensure a good portion of trade revenues will be abused in some way. That's why the leadership changes are so necessary - after that, other things will be able to work effectively. Mon, 13 Jun 2016 19:10:39 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/how-will-africans-get-a-better-life/#IDComment1023027111 http://catarinasworld.com/how-will-africans-get-a-better-life/#IDComment1023017282 This is a very complex subject Catarina. There is no question that if Africa could be lifted out of its current dire poverty levels this would result in benefits to Europe, and other parts of the world, in terms of far fewer refugees, while providing a decent quality of life for those in Africa. The issue of Western (Europe) agricultural subsidies alone would occupy the politicians for many years - there are simply too many votes at stake for governments to abolish them. My view is that the biggest single problem facing Africa - by far - is the quality of its leadership. There is a tendency for elected leaders to stay in power (Mugabe et al), and to view the country as their own personal fiefdom (or should that be thief-dom?). Yes, we can say that these leaders have been elected (turning a conveniently blind eye to rampant election fraud), but that does not address the issue. There has to be a way that the West (and other interested democratic institutions) can use aid money not just to pour it into already-corrupt governments but to use it effectively as a carrot-and-stick way to ensure that democracy, in a true sense, comes to Africa and it gets the leaders it deserves. This would position the continent to raise itself out of the straits in which it currently finds itself. Mon, 13 Jun 2016 16:00:56 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/how-will-africans-get-a-better-life/#IDComment1023017282 http://catarinasworld.com/is-the-economy-complex-and-evolving/#IDComment1021723188 I don't believe for a moment that markets are orderly and rational, Catarina. They are subject to the same 'butterfly effect' as most things in life. While they might have appeared more orderly decades ago, that was really more about the relative slowness of reaction to events due to slower information flow. In today's hyper-connected, always-on, instant-info world, reactions are instant and further complicated by having both human responses and computer-programmed responses acting alongside each other, so exaggerating the effect of almost any piece of information. Just as global warming will exaggerate the intensity of storms, so will this information glut exaggerate the response of the markets. Tue, 24 May 2016 08:02:43 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/is-the-economy-complex-and-evolving/#IDComment1021723188 http://catarinasworld.com/how-do-you-communicate-with-your-audience/#IDComment1017819958 There's no question, Catarina, that one of the most important skills of a leader is effective communication. Without it, having your team understand your goals and objectives is very difficult, and inspiring them to work with you to succeed even more so. One often has to present fairly dull information and do so in a way that keeps the audience interested and involved. Too often, presenters get bogged down with the detail on slides and the audience ends up trying to read these - or, as bad, the presenter reads the slides to the audience. Visual aids are key, as is the clear excitement of the presenter in the information being presented. And when all else fails, remember Guy Kawasaki's 10/20/30 rule for presentations - no more than 10 slides, 20 minutes or a font size smaller than 30 point... Tue, 29 Mar 2016 07:51:16 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/how-do-you-communicate-with-your-audience/#IDComment1017819958 http://catarinasworld.com/know-successful-digital-companies/#IDComment996991662 A good post Catarina. I think there's a fundamental difference between existing companies looking to go digital, and somebody looking to start a digital company, though. Existing companies need to look at their existing model, as Kate says, and determine how that business will change over the next few years due to the digital impact, and work towards that. A new business, though, is about finding an unmet need now, and addressing that - adapting it as the business progresses. The key to both, though, is adaptability - be prepared to adapt your plans as things evolve in unforeseen directions (the impact of the iPad when introduced in April 2010 is a classic case here, for example), and learn from your failures, while continuing to innovate. Mon, 28 Sep 2015 08:03:28 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/know-successful-digital-companies/#IDComment996991662 http://catarinasworld.com/are-you-a-strategic-leader/#IDComment976832774 I think the word Strategy often causes a measure of panic as many believe that strategy is about having some sort of long-term prescience. In fact, strategy covers everything from immediate, relatively small, decisions, to long-term, broad ones. The latter are clearly a lot more difficult to get right because of all the variables involved and this is what puts people off. As the saying goes, "The journey of a thousand miles beings with one step." Don't let your lack of confidence to accurately predict the future stop you taking that first step - build your strategy with the facts you have at hand and be prepared to change / develop it as you go along. And, yes, innovation - like anything - needs a strategy to succeed... Mon, 8 Jun 2015 15:21:06 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/are-you-a-strategic-leader/#IDComment976832774 http://catarinasworld.com/do-you-know-how-to-leverage-your-skills/#IDComment975261355 There's no question that the world of work is changing, and the pace of this change accelerating. The 'Post-War Cohort" (born 1928-45) and many of the first decade of the "Baby Boomers" (1946-54) had an expectation of jobs for life. This started changing in the 80s and 90s with technology developments, and accelerated rapidly with the economic downturn from 2007/8. Increasingly, individuals will be employed on an as-needed basis and will need to take responsibility for their own skills development and marketing to make the best of their prospects. In my case, I've been doing consultant and interim work for 7 or 8 years now and this definitely seems the way of the future - I use my experience and skills in a range of executive and non-executive roles... Mon, 1 Jun 2015 08:05:09 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/do-you-know-how-to-leverage-your-skills/#IDComment975261355 http://catarinasworld.com/dubai-branding-mars-next/#IDComment972169170 There's no question that Dubai's marketing has been excellent - taking a small city with few natural resources (the UAE oil is primarily in Abu Dhabi, not Dubai), and making it a global centre for travel (busiest international airport) and one of the fastest-growing financial centres. Having lived there for over 3 years (2007-2010), I have significant first-hand experience of the country. In my view, what the city-state still needs to do to ensure it lives up to its image is to put in place a suitable legal structure that enables people, and businesses, to operate on an equal footing. The damage done to Dubai's reputation during the financial crash of 2008-9 when people fled, fearing automatic jail sentences for falling behind on bill payments is still an issue. I also believe that residency issues should be looked at to encourage further investment. Mon, 18 May 2015 10:17:42 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/dubai-branding-mars-next/#IDComment972169170 http://catarinasworld.com/do-you-know-how-russian-hackers-accessed-obamas-email/#IDComment968936787 My view is that governments are treating cybercrime in much the same way as they're treating climate change. They know it's happening, and it will get worse, but it's difficult to quantify accurately and expensive to address properly, so rather delay it and let "the next government" have the problem... I agree that the 'poacher turned gamekeeper' concept is a great one, and that those involved with hacking should be shown they can make a good living and have even more challenges by putting up defenses against other hackers. Governments really need to start being concerned about problems that will arise beyond their current term of office (climate change, massive deficits, hacking, etc...) but I suspect this won't change, unfortunately. Tue, 5 May 2015 09:32:59 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/do-you-know-how-russian-hackers-accessed-obamas-email/#IDComment968936787 http://catarinasworld.com/can-you-control-your-brand-online/#IDComment967059851 Whether or not they like it, all brands have an online presence today, and so it's vital to be an active participant in that online presence - otherwise you risk severe damage to your brand without necessarily even being aware of it. If you passively sit by, you risk a good deal of negative comment about your brand without anything positive. It's essential that you ensure you have advocates and evangelists for your brand, to send a positive message, too. Mon, 27 Apr 2015 12:54:58 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/can-you-control-your-brand-online/#IDComment967059851 http://catarinasworld.com/renaissance-for-muslim-women/#IDComment963762375 Having lived in the Middle East, like you Catarina, I'm more aware of this than many people. It's clearly good news that gender-equality movement is happening in the Muslim world as it is elsewhere - frankly, the sooner we move away from looking at people on the basis of gender, race, religion or other "accidents of birth" and look at them from the perspective of what they can do independent of these issues, the better. Mon, 13 Apr 2015 08:10:04 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/renaissance-for-muslim-women/#IDComment963762375 http://catarinasworld.com/what-do-you-know-about-economic-growth-in-nigeria/#IDComment955969820 It's not only Nigeria that is seeing high growth rates at present, but much of Sub-Saharan Africa - albeit these growth rates off a low base. When you consider the size of the African continent's population (approaching that of India and China) and its total GDP there's clearly a lot of room for growth. The laggard here is South Africa with a growth rate sub-2% due to having been the most advanced economy on the continent for decades, coupled with the current government's misguided policies. However, when investing in Africa it's important to recognise that corruption is a significant factor across the continent and this needs to be taken into account when doing a risk assessment. Having said that, if you go in with your eyes wide open and avoid getting involved with corruption, there are significant opportunities. Mon, 9 Mar 2015 08:24:43 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/what-do-you-know-about-economic-growth-in-nigeria/#IDComment955969820 http://catarinasworld.com/do-you-buy-fair-trade-products/#IDComment954334080 When we lived in England, we looked first for Organic and then for Fair Trade, and would pick Fair Trade products over non-Fair Trade ones if both were organic, happily paying a bit more for this. I don't believe we've seen Fair Trade labelling now we're back in South Africa. We will always try to buy products that best serve the local communities that produce them and Fair Trade labelling is a good way to do this. Mon, 2 Mar 2015 11:15:49 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/do-you-buy-fair-trade-products/#IDComment954334080 http://catarinasworld.com/rising-inequality-the-main-risk-facing-the-world/#IDComment952570823 An interesting (re)post, Catarina, especially coupled with last week's one and the reference to Charles Emmerson's Eve of Disaster piece. It's certainly food for thought! There's little question that inequality is a serious problem and it's good to see world leaders are talking about this, even if they are as much a part of the problem as the richest among us - look at the fees that (ex) politicians command for speaking, etc., apart from the rampant corruption of the political classes in many countries, such as my own. The question, though, is what feasibly can be done about it. Raising taxes doesn't work - people are too mobile and changing countries is quick. Even with those who can't easily move, raising taxes yields no significant benefits anyway as other means can be found to reduce the tax burden. It's also counter-productive insofar as it tends to lead to lost jobs. What is clear is that small businesses around the world are the main creators of new jobs, so perhaps governments should look to reducing taxes and red tape and encouraging small businesses to be formed and to grow. A lower overall tax base that people see as fair would mean less tax avoidance or evasion and should ultimately raise the revenue realised while encouraging job creation. Perhaps this is worth a try as it's clear the current approach isn't working. Mon, 23 Feb 2015 13:22:00 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/rising-inequality-the-main-risk-facing-the-world/#IDComment952570823 http://catarinasworld.com/can-we-increase-global-productivity-and-equality/#IDComment950987824 This is a difficult and complex subject Catarina. Some points to consider: - A basic income - such as that in the UK, a country from which I have returned to South Africa after a few years - might seem like a good idea, but does not work in practice. There is growing resentment there of the people that work the system, rather than doing any proper work, and live very well on social benefits. The current government has tried to cap benefits to encourage people back into work, with limited success. There is work, but immigrants are doing many of the lower-level jobs as they are prepared to work for lower wages. - There's no question that inequality leads to problems. Look at South Africa, for example, where crime is a huge issue. This is certainly exacerbated by the fact that there is a substantial body of people that have little or nothing to lose. Having said that, there should be more than enough work, and wealth, for everybody, but the kleptomania evident in the government is diverting resources into the pockets of politicians and their "close friends.' This issue alone would be the topic of a long essay... - I agree with Jacquie (above) that we need less government, not more. In fact, I think the reason for many of the world's problems today are simply that we have too much government. Politicians, to retain their jobs, create huge bureaucracies. It's sobering to think that more than half the workforce in the UK today is employed directly by government, for example. In Zimbabwe, I believe that it's closer to 80%... In my view, the role of government is basically to be a 'board of directors' for the country, and so be a fairly small body of people, with the citizens/residents being the shareholders. The solution? I'm afraid there is nothing simple. I do believe that less government and more privatisation of functions would benefit everyone in the long term. I also believe that a basic income grant will discourage work. It's a fact of life that most of us have to start "at the bottom" and will try to work out way up the ladder, but if it's unattractive to get on the ladder, people won't bother. Can we increase global productivity? Certainly, it is increasing all the time as we saw from last week's post. Can we increase equality? This is really the tricky one. Governments have tried to increase employment at various times in various ways, and this is probably what the global 'boards of directors' need to think about: how to increase employment by making work attractive... Mon, 16 Feb 2015 09:37:44 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/can-we-increase-global-productivity-and-equality/#IDComment950987824 http://catarinasworld.com/what-will-happen-to-global-growth/#IDComment949191608 An interesting post, Catarina, but I think there are a few considerations: - Although the global economic growth rate has averaged 3.6% since 1964, the population growth rate has averaged 1.6% during the time, meaning we have around 2.22 times more people in the world today than in 1964. This means that the world economic growth rate has risen at around 2.25 times the population growth rate, simplistically (3.6 / 1.6). - Projections I've seen for population growth to 2050 show an average over this period of 0.75%, so a 2% economic growth rate in this period would still be 2.67 times the rate of population growth. In other words, the world would continue to get richer overall - perhaps even at a slightly faster rate per capita. - The aging population means people can, and will want to, continue working longer. Partly because they are too mentally and physically active to retire at 60-65 and partly because longer lifespans will necessitate a longer working life to pay for this. This will offset the decline in population growth to some extent. - An aging population will, of course, give rise to new industries to cater for this - from healthcare to housing and leisure. The needs and wants of this aging, relatively wealthy population will be a good bit different to those of the previous generations, and in this will lie opportunity. All in all, I'm actually pretty optimistic about the next 30+ years and hope to be an active part of them :-) Mon, 9 Feb 2015 15:02:58 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/what-will-happen-to-global-growth/#IDComment949191608 http://catarinasworld.com/negotiations-part-ii-do-you-have-a-successful-strategy/#IDComment947215947 There are some useful reminders here, Catarina. For my part, though, I don't have a standard strategy - it depends so much on circumstances. Preparation is certainly key, whatever the case, as otherwise you don't really have a good idea of what a successful outcome will be for you... Mon, 2 Feb 2015 14:50:12 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/negotiations-part-ii-do-you-have-a-successful-strategy/#IDComment947215947 http://catarinasworld.com/do-you-enjoy-feeling-scared/#IDComment942732829 I think there are a few contributory factors here, Catarina: - Age: teenagers and young adults, especially males, have far less appreciation of danger and are more inclined to take risks - Family: those with dependents tend to be more cautious than those without - External factors: some substances, like alcohol, suppress caution I also think that the increasing safety of many Western societies (the British "nanny state") for example, probably encourage risk taking out of boredom. This, of course, doesn't make for great entrepreneurs as the sort of risks taken here tend to be short-term in nature, and often physical. Having said this, there is also no question that some people are more inclined to take risks - of whatever nature - than others. These are the people that become entrepreneurs and leaders in other fields (such the the two free climbers that ascended El Capitan last week). So, yes, entrepreneurs are, by nature, risk takers, although not all risk takers are entrepreneurs. Mon, 19 Jan 2015 12:06:14 +0000 http://catarinasworld.com/do-you-enjoy-feeling-scared/#IDComment942732829