I met a woman at the World Expo who grew up in Tijuana, Mexico. We talked about the internet being blocked for You Tube, Twitter and Facebook. She said she doesn’t mind. She is willing to give up Freedom of Speech for the safety she feels here in China (there is little or no crime on the streets, etc). She asked me if I didn’t agree. I said, being from the US where Freedom of Speech is one of our founding principles, I could never willingly give that up.
But I don’t have her background—growing up where there is SO much crime that you constantly fear for your own personal safety. Interesting how our perspectives are shaped so differently depending on our backgrounds. A good thought.
P.S. People ask why there is no “crime” here. I asked too one day on another trip as we walked down an alley at 2 a.m. looking for a foot massage place….I wondered—is it because their jails are so bad or prisoners are treated so horribly? I was assured not. It is that most people who commit crimes are caught as people are not fearful of being eye witnesses here. There is no “I don’t want to get involved” or “I saw nothing.” They tattle tale!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Francoise Mukagihana
I met Francoise Mukagihana from Rwanda in the Africa Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. She was selling items made in Rwanda by her Rwandan Art-Crafts & Beyond women's group. I'll be buying fruit baskets (like the one she's holding), treasure baskets, pencils, earrings and dolls from her which should be arriving in July. Let us know if you'd like any specific color on the baskets. The treasure baskets are a bright red.
Coaching Stephen and Joan
I am going to the Expo with an 18-year-old boy whose English name is Stephen. Earlier in my trip I spent a couple of days with a 16-year-old girl. She had given herself the English name of Linda but we changed it to Joan. Both Stephen and Joan want a US Visa to go to the US to study so I am trying to coach them on their English, and give them a lot of practice in speaking to me! This is necessary for them to “pass” their Embassy interview.
I have really enjoyed the time I spent with both of them. They are very sweet and appreciative. Stephen even took me shopping on Sunday to the Silk Market with his mother. His mother does not speak English but she is VERY stylish and I appreciated her opinions on what to buy – and what not to buy. Yes, I did buy a Chinese-style dress. She smiled and said that she has never bought such a dress. But that is what I have found—it is the foreigners who wear the Chinese-style clothing, not the Chinese!
Anyway, I think Stephen will be glad when I go home—a day shopping and two days at the Expo! He’s ready for a break, I’m sure.
I asked my business partner here in China, who handles these immigration matters for clients, why Chinese students want to come to America for high school, when in the US we complain about our failing education system. She says, the Chinese system is so rigorous that the students—and parents—don’t like it. They gain no “social skills”, and this is important if they want to do global work. Stephen’s father owns a very successful company that manufactures valves and taps for oil wells. Stephen does not want to go into that business, he wants to start his own business and build it up. Right now he is thinking of being an engineer—that is, when he’s not thinking about playing basketball (no wonder we get along so well!)
I have really enjoyed the time I spent with both of them. They are very sweet and appreciative. Stephen even took me shopping on Sunday to the Silk Market with his mother. His mother does not speak English but she is VERY stylish and I appreciated her opinions on what to buy – and what not to buy. Yes, I did buy a Chinese-style dress. She smiled and said that she has never bought such a dress. But that is what I have found—it is the foreigners who wear the Chinese-style clothing, not the Chinese!
Anyway, I think Stephen will be glad when I go home—a day shopping and two days at the Expo! He’s ready for a break, I’m sure.
I asked my business partner here in China, who handles these immigration matters for clients, why Chinese students want to come to America for high school, when in the US we complain about our failing education system. She says, the Chinese system is so rigorous that the students—and parents—don’t like it. They gain no “social skills”, and this is important if they want to do global work. Stephen’s father owns a very successful company that manufactures valves and taps for oil wells. Stephen does not want to go into that business, he wants to start his own business and build it up. Right now he is thinking of being an engineer—that is, when he’s not thinking about playing basketball (no wonder we get along so well!)
Monday, May 31, 2010
First Day at the World Expo
Whew! Done with my first day at the World Expo. I will do another day tomorrow. Today we visited the Africa Pavilion, Caribbean Pavilion (no Bermuda—sigh), DevNet Pavilion and China Pavilion. Our “contact” got us into a two-hour que at the China Pavilion—otherwise it would have been four hours!
The China building is amazing but I was disappointed in the content. Thanks to my client, Nancy Goshow of Goshow Architects in NYC, I have learned tons about sustainable design and practices. So on one hand I’m pleased to report that I really knew everything being presented and on the other hand—it was very disappointing that there was nothing “new” or truly “innovative” there. It seems like the other countries’ Pavilions are more for tourism outreach than following the theme of “Better City, Better Life.”
Tomorrow we will go to the USA Pavilion and I hope it is better than the disappointing reviews I’ve heard from other Americans who have attended. I also hope to go to Iceland and I will go back to DevNet again.
The DevNet Pavilion is in the United Nations area and it is where my two clients are exhibiting: JiuQiunJiu Wine, the Official Rice Wine, and HanSen Winery from Mongolia, the Official Red Wine of the Expo. Both are EXCELLENT wines. I meet with the President of DevNet tomorrow and hope I can make some significant changes (additions) to our displays.
The other impression of World Expo? Lines, lines everywhere. You may have noticed, or heard, before that Chinese do not really take well to lines. They have no problems “cutting” in line, pushing past, etc. I decided to be a bugger about this and they did not push past me! Although it is somewhat amusing because by pushing, they might move up 2-5 people and in a two-hour line—that means nothing time-wise. I was told that last week at the German Pavilion, when German workers were trying to stop the pushing and cutting, an all-out war-of-words broke out, with a lot of name-calling, and the Chinese suggesting a boycott of the German Pavilion. LOL German and Chinese cultures in that situation certainly would be clashing!
More to report after my visit again tomorrow!
The China building is amazing but I was disappointed in the content. Thanks to my client, Nancy Goshow of Goshow Architects in NYC, I have learned tons about sustainable design and practices. So on one hand I’m pleased to report that I really knew everything being presented and on the other hand—it was very disappointing that there was nothing “new” or truly “innovative” there. It seems like the other countries’ Pavilions are more for tourism outreach than following the theme of “Better City, Better Life.”
Tomorrow we will go to the USA Pavilion and I hope it is better than the disappointing reviews I’ve heard from other Americans who have attended. I also hope to go to Iceland and I will go back to DevNet again.
The DevNet Pavilion is in the United Nations area and it is where my two clients are exhibiting: JiuQiunJiu Wine, the Official Rice Wine, and HanSen Winery from Mongolia, the Official Red Wine of the Expo. Both are EXCELLENT wines. I meet with the President of DevNet tomorrow and hope I can make some significant changes (additions) to our displays.
The other impression of World Expo? Lines, lines everywhere. You may have noticed, or heard, before that Chinese do not really take well to lines. They have no problems “cutting” in line, pushing past, etc. I decided to be a bugger about this and they did not push past me! Although it is somewhat amusing because by pushing, they might move up 2-5 people and in a two-hour line—that means nothing time-wise. I was told that last week at the German Pavilion, when German workers were trying to stop the pushing and cutting, an all-out war-of-words broke out, with a lot of name-calling, and the Chinese suggesting a boycott of the German Pavilion. LOL German and Chinese cultures in that situation certainly would be clashing!
More to report after my visit again tomorrow!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Greetings from China
Greetings from China! I came to China for several reasons. First was the Global Summit of Women in Beijing. More than 1,000 women attended from about 85 different countries. The best part of these conferences is to meet the other women. I was moderator of a panel on “Handling the Difficult Conversation.” It was a GREAT panel and I hope to keep in touch with my panelists—two women from the US and the President of China Mobile in China (yes, a woman!). Actually Pam Teagarden, one of the “US” women, has homes in Russia, London and Berlin. We hope to work together in the future on crisis communications. She handles the behavioral psychology side of it and I would handle the planning and implementation. Sounds good to me!
I also hosted a booth for Sunflower, who provides the pearls for my Up from the Dust products. They had sales beyond belief in the 2 ½ days. Our booth was constantly packed and some women said they didn’t buy from there because it was always too crowded. A good problem to have. Before we started, Sunflower said she could not pay the booth fees as they were too expensive and what if they only had $1,000 in sales? They had four women there working. Well there sales were more than 10 times that and at the end they were saying—why didn’t you get two booths?
I have also introduced products from Susan Shi. Susan is from Beijing but lives in London. This is in my efforts to also help women business owners in the “missing middle.” Susan designs for the European woman so her designs will be a nice addition.
I am bringing back incredibly unique designs and necklaces from both Sunflower and Susan and look forward to hearing my customers’ responses.
I also hosted a booth for Sunflower, who provides the pearls for my Up from the Dust products. They had sales beyond belief in the 2 ½ days. Our booth was constantly packed and some women said they didn’t buy from there because it was always too crowded. A good problem to have. Before we started, Sunflower said she could not pay the booth fees as they were too expensive and what if they only had $1,000 in sales? They had four women there working. Well there sales were more than 10 times that and at the end they were saying—why didn’t you get two booths?
I have also introduced products from Susan Shi. Susan is from Beijing but lives in London. This is in my efforts to also help women business owners in the “missing middle.” Susan designs for the European woman so her designs will be a nice addition.
I am bringing back incredibly unique designs and necklaces from both Sunflower and Susan and look forward to hearing my customers’ responses.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Strong Brands Recover from Recession Faster
Analysis released today by Millward Brown Optimor reveals that the BrandZ™ Portfolio, created from the world's Top 100 most valuable brands, is recovering faster than the S&P 500 as a whole. The BrandZ Portfolio is now worth 28 percent more than the S&P 500, and it has returned to profit ahead of the market.
The BrandZ Top 100 is based on the world's largest brand equity study. It is the only brand ranking that combines financial data with research among 1.5 million consumer and B2B customers in 30 countries.
Joanna Seddon, CEO Millward Brown Optimor said: “The recession has provided fresh evidence of the tremendous value of brand assets. Over the past year, even when things were at their worst, the BrandZ Portfolio outperformed the market. Our new analysis reveals that as the stock market recovers, the share prices of companies who have invested in developing strong brands are recovering fastest. Companies that continue to invest in their brands in a recession emerge with a sustainable competitive advantage.”
The BrandZ Top 100 is based on the world's largest brand equity study. It is the only brand ranking that combines financial data with research among 1.5 million consumer and B2B customers in 30 countries.
Joanna Seddon, CEO Millward Brown Optimor said: “The recession has provided fresh evidence of the tremendous value of brand assets. Over the past year, even when things were at their worst, the BrandZ Portfolio outperformed the market. Our new analysis reveals that as the stock market recovers, the share prices of companies who have invested in developing strong brands are recovering fastest. Companies that continue to invest in their brands in a recession emerge with a sustainable competitive advantage.”
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Brand Called YOU (And what to name kittens)
This month I have done three presentations on The Brand Called YOU. The first one was in Iceland to the women entrepreneur association and the second one to NAWBO in Sedona, AZ. Yesterday I did a free teleseminar on the topic to about 70 women who signed on through www.connected-women.com.
I want to highlight two things that have happened the last two days:
1) I just adopted two rescue kittens. One is a tabby (orange) and is five weeks old. The other one is all white and is three weeks old. They are ADORABLE. My daughter is really the big cat lover and she no longer lives at home but her roommate does this rescue work and these kittens were irresistible!
So we came up with the names Tiger and Snowflake. And then I realized that these were the most typical, unimaginative names we could have come up with. I told my daughter--we have to have better names. She loves Winnie the Pooh and wanted to change Tiger to Tigger and she wanted Snowflake to become Anna Bella. I said OK to Tigger and no to Anna Bella. A few hours later, I said OK to Anna Bella because I can call her Bell.
I really didn't think this through at the time that these cat names might affect my personal branding. I hope that part of my branding is that I am a creative person and I guess that kicked in, even subconsciously, as there was NO creativity in those original names. It's only after the fact (last night in bed) that I realized this WAS a branding issue for me!
(Plus--if you don't think Anna Bella and Tigger are very creative--I can just say, "My daughter named the kittens." That solves the branding issue for me, too!)
2) As I said, I was just in Iceland. I LOVE Icelandic fashion designers so someone sent me a link to where the founder of Steinunn, Steinunn Sigurd, one of my favorite Icelandic designers, has a Small Business Makeover by Fortune.
http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2009/08/26/sbiz_mak_steinunn.smb/ and
http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/1/smallbusiness/icelandic_fashion_business_makeover.fsb/index.htm
In the interview, Steinunn said she one of the things she learned through this process is to “Profile myself more so people can get to know who I am.”
Does this sound like “The Brand Called YOU”? I love having my messages reinforced in other places.
So--how do you profile yourself to carry out your brand?
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