Saving the US automobile industry

200705
(answer to the question "What can be done to save the U.S. Automobile Industry?")

Stop thinking as the US Automobile Industry.

Start thinking as mobility service providers in a new, open, competitive but respectful and responsible environment.

On Europe, the Old World

200705
(answer to the question "Europe: how do you see the Old World?")

I see Europe as a chance because of the richness of its cultural diversity and the size and soundness of its common ground. I see Europe at the crossroads of reinvention and disruption.

I see China embracing its own diversity to design a more agile, pervasive and adaptative variety of imperialism.

I see America on the verge of negating diversity and evolutivity - more conservative and monolithic, more inwards than outwards. A Bushite Amerika and a neo-Showa Japan would be the Old World of tomorrow.

Define: power

Power is about perception. You can feel it when it is at work, but it is much more difficult to tell who has it at other times. You can feel your hair rise when you pass by a small and obsolete power plant because much of the energy is wasted and that's OK because not much is at stake. But while fishing on a quiet lake, you cannot feel the huge potential of the dam you cannot see.

Don't see people as they want you to see them. See them as they truly are, beyond the power the may exert on their environment, including you. And see yourself as you truly are. We all have power within, not all the same, and not the same capacity to control it.

200705
(answer to the question "WHAT IS THIS THING WE CALL POWER? Does it come from OTHERS or does it come from WITHIN US, as a state of mind?")

Define: managing director, managing partner, general manager

The Managing Director manages the dates of lunches with the Managing Partner. The General Manager manages the rest.

200705
(answer to the question "What is the difference between a Managing Director, a Managing Partner, and a General Manager?")

What is unique in blogging ?

200705
(answer to the question "what is unique in blogging ?")

I use the term "blogule" for my small blogs. Red or white depending on my mood, not very important by themselves but somehow vital to me. As an author, blogging is part of what I call my "junk writing". And I enjoy it because as ugly as it seems, it can taste good and fulfil you. I need to zap from actual writing to junk writing to keep my balance. Because at the same time, blogging is like gymnastics to me. It's a quick fix when I need to stretch or let my mind wander on any topic I want.

You don't have to bother about the structure, nor the big picture. I've been blogging for 4 years but at the beginning, I didn't want to use a genuine blogging platform - that was frustrating and stupid considering the ease of use / instantaneity of blogs.

Define: change

Change goes beyond trade (giving up something for something else). Change is about abandoning one's very nature, modifying it. You can change your shirt but there's no way back when YOU change. Change has a cost and an impact. It is both a sacrifice and an opportunity. You often grow stronger after a change but you often are weak during the change. Change is somehow more radical than evolution, quicker too.

200705
(answer to the question "CHANGE - What does it mean to you?")

On innovation and branding agencies

200704
(answer to the question "What are the most important qualities managers want in an innovation and branding agency?")

I prefer smaller structures for reactivity and true innovation - provided the casting and methology don't suck, of course. A big name will do if the aim of the game is just for the manager to have his own concept sold to his own hierarchy.

International reach helps for branding : you don't want to waste time on verifications, and you certainly don't want to end up like another case study (ie Alcatel means "killer" in Arabic, Sega "to masturbate" in Italian).