Shanghai isn't as different a place as I was maybe expecting. There again, I've seen little other than the Airport and Pudong - a business district that has emerged from the fields in the past 10 years. The buildings are tall, and somewhat "space age" in a Buck Rodgers kind of way. There's a definite … Continue reading TravelBlog 10 – Shanghai
Category: Projects
Until you actually get to spend some time working in a different environment, it's very difficult to get a handle on the subtle differences that exist between cultures - whether they be borne of nationality, industry or company. There are striking differences between the ways in which people in our Sydney and Hong Kong offices … Continue reading TravelBlog 9 – Cultural differences
That's quite a view from the office window. Especially for someone who usually is in a basement office with no windows!
The East Hotel in Tai Koo where I'm currently staying is only five months old, and shows a cool sophistication that puts many of its European counterparts to shame. It's also, without doubt, the most gadgety place I have ever stayed. Some of it is a bit gimmicky - at reception you sign your name … Continue reading TravelBlog 7 – Hotel Gadget
You've got to admire the refreshing honesty of the connection process to the East Hotel's wifi networks (shown above). Arrived safely in Hong Kong to a wonderfully hospitable welcome, and a beautiful (and only five-month-old) hotel.
A number of people that I have spoken to in the past few days have observed that doing business in Australia is much more dependent on an individual's network than back in the UK. It can be probably accounted for by a combination of it being a much smaller population, combined with a more outgoing … Continue reading TravelBlog 5 – real v virtual networks
An interesting conversation this afternoon - to what extent are our increasingly instant communications media shrinking the time that we think about what it is that we do? And to what extent does the use of a communications tool mean that we've done something, or just that we've indicated we've done something. A few years … Continue reading TravelBlog 4 – Bad things happen fast
Some time spent this afternoon with our new Digital head in Sydney. It's interesting to hear that clients' interest in social media is now becoming top of the agenda in many briefing sessions. Over a decade ago, American marketing guru Seth Godin wrote a book called Permission Marketing, in which he argued that "interruption marketing" … Continue reading TravelBlog 4 – Digital Marketing
There's no getting away from it - Sydney is a stunningly located city. It is, however, a very, very long way away from home. Our ability to communicate in the modern age is quite simply miraculous. So far today, I've been able to catch up with my Asia IT Manager (who is in Tokyo this … Continue reading TravelBlog 3 – Sydney
One of the advantages of flying into a civil war zone is that the plane was eerily empty. I shared an entire row with just one other passenger (she at one window, me at the other). For all that modern technology has shrunk the world, flying east from Europe to Asia to Australasia still reminds … Continue reading Travelblog 2 – Bangkok Airport
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