Michelle and Scott have become Canadian today!

A few pictures and videos taken at the Citizenship ceremony.

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World

我在一個社企 (社會企業 social enterprise) 的晚宴看到這本書，題目很吸引。特別是我也在科技界工作了一段日子，更想知道有甚麼驅動這位John Wood放棄成功的事業，投身到完全陌生的世界，為一群他不認識的小朋友建造圖書館。

John Wood是 Room To Read 的創辦人，專為落後貧困地區的兒童建設圖書館和學校，包括硬件(建築物)及軟件(書籍)。跟每一位社會企業家一樣，他有一顆赤子之心，也有一點點衝動和較為容易放下的性格。這種性格對任何創業者，無論是社會企業或掙錢的企業，都是非常重要。計算太多或太傾向安全的生活模式對創業者來說都是大忌。John Wood跟其他大多數社企或慈善工作者不同的地方，在於他的商業經驗。當然現在愈來愈多有商界經驗和背景的有心人加入NGO的行列，開展他們的第二事業。在十多年前這現象還不大普遍，所以John Wood 以營商的手法去經營慈善事業就予人耳目一新的感覺。

這是一本半自傳半叙事型式的書，非常易看，絕不沉悶，也有看小說的感覺。激勵人心以外，也有幾個引人思考的要點。第一是他決定離開 Microsoft 全身投入慈善事業的過程。許多人包括我在內到一些落後地區旅遊時，都會有剎那間的衝動要為那地方做一點事情。但旅遊完後回復忙碌工作很快又忘記得一乾二淨。John Wood 能把自己的理想付諸實行，己經很不簡單。在其時他還要是Microsoft 亞太區的要員，就更不容易。書中記載了幾段關於微軟的小插曲，包括作者與 Steve Ballmer 和 Bill Gates 接觸的小故事，可以滿足讀者八卦的心態。他描述自己內心世界的掙扎頗為細膩，亦令人信服。最精彩是他和女友感情的發展，由開始的志同道合，到真正落實計劃時意見相左而分手，雖然是作者單方面的故事，我覺得對他的女友不是很公平，但己確切地反映了要改變 Corporate Life 的困難。

書中另一 insight 是作者如何克服創業的重重難關。雖然John Wood 要創立的是非弁利的事業，但中間領略的艱辛，跟建立賺錢的企業沒有甚麼分別。好像一開始時籌募資金，找企業贊助，沒有人明白你在做甚麼，受盡白眼，沒有秘書，每樣事情都要親力親為。中間經過一段黑暗期，懷疑自己的決定是否正確，懷念過往大機構的日子，甚至於後悔冒了這個險。最後一個 big break 突然來到，把握著機會突圍而出，成功達成第一宗生意 (John Wood 則是成立第一所圖書館)。隨後生意愈做愈大，經歷 growing pain 等等。對於搞過生意的過來人，這一切都感同身受，很有共鳴。

跟另外一本書 Three cup of teas 比較，我覺得John Wood 的經歷較為傳統，讀他的故事就好像讀一個典型美國創業者的故事一樣。Mortensen 的經歷則像一位傳教士，努力學習當地的文化風俗，融入他要幫助的社會。John Wood 擅用他的商業技巧，在美國的關係網絡， 把『商品』輸入到目標市場去。Mortensen 則憑他一股幹勁，以摸著石頭渡河方式達成他的夢想，整體過程更曲折甚至驚險。兩人有不少共通的地方，不約而同對教育女性都非常看重，亦為理想放棄很多。他們堅韌不移的鬥志，和面對困難時顕現的決心，都值得有志開拓新天地的人借鏡。

Dreams from My Father (Part 3)

The story of Obama in Chicago is highly impressive. This is easily the most enjoyable section of the book, well…at least for me it is. His determination in devoting his career to some cause that had been irking his heart for so long (racial issues in the US and his roots), even though that would mean he would make much less money, have a less stable life, and venture into a job not highly regarded by most people around him, mesmerizes me. Maybe it is because I had more or less similar experience in my youth (I devoted six years of my twenties to a cause I felt strongly about.) Most young people have a strong conscience and sense of justice about people, things and society around them. Not many of them give them serious and lasting thoughts, even less will risk their life style or career prospect to turn these thoughts into action. Obama did it. Beyond his wildest dream, even he could not imagine 20 years later he would be presented the chance to do even more.

There is a dialogue in the book that I like. It’s when Obama met his to-be employer Marty Kaufman in a job interview, for an organizer trainee role in Chicago. Here is the dialogue:

“Why does somebody from Hawaii want to be an organizer?”
Obama went on and told him a bit about himself.
“You must be angry about something.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Marty shrugged. “I don’t know what exactly. But something. Don’t get me wrong – anger’s a requirement for the job. The only reason anybody decides to become an organizer. Well-adjusted people find more relaxing work.”

Doesn’t this bring back some old fond memory to you? It does for me. Probably only those who have taken part at social actions for some causes they believe in understand the meaning of this question “What are you angry about?” Without this anger people will not be motivated to step outside the pre-defined boundary the world has imposed on them. Without this anger the world cannot advance, humanity cannot step up to a new level. It is great that Obama directed his anger at something positive and constructive.

Now in Hong Kong there are discussions about those youths who expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s decision to go ahead with the high-speed railway project. The media calls them “Post Eighties” and generally depicts them as a group of young people not having a career, losing orientation, and too aggressive in expressing their opinions. Too aggressive? Well I don’t know about that. I have not seen them carrying a suicidal bomb to Legco yet. One thing I am sure, however, is that they have demonstrated their conscience. It may not just be about this railway project. It is about the government consultation process for major capital spending. It is about the extreme imbalance of wealth distribution in the society. It is about why the interests of those rich and wealthy commercial entities are always taken care of over the poor and underprivileged. If our society can tap into the anger and energy of this group of young men and women, and turn them into something positive and constructive, the society as a whole can only benefit.

Dreams from My Father (Part 2)

His stepfather Lolo, an Indonesian, also had some influence on his growth. A boy at pre-teen age like Obama was at that time will be strongly influenced by a trusted father figure. There was a discussion between Obama and Lolo about men. Obama asked if Lolo even saw a man killed. Lolo said yes and Obama pushed on for the reason why this man was killed. Lolo’s answer was straightforward.

“Because he was weak.” And he went to lecture Obama about his view of power, “Men take advantage of weakness in other men. They’re just like countries in that way.” His final advice to Obama? “If you can’t be strong, be clever and make peace with someone who’s strong. But always better to be strong yourself. Always.”

I think the best word to describe my reaction when I read these few paragraphs is: Amused. It’s so Asian. It has some truth in it, just like any other words of wisdom. But I can certainly relate to these words. They are the same teaching from adults around me when I was a boy! Being masculine is the key to survival for a man in Asia, especially during those 30 years after the Second World War. I’m not sure if this has affected Obama’s life philosophy or even how he governs a country. His few years’ experience in Indonesia is good for him as a politician. At least he understands more about what justice, power, wealth, rights – the set of words politicians always use, actually mean in other cultures.

His two-week spell with his father in Hawaii was only described in less than 10 pages, though his father’s influence on him is everywhere in the book. Every time he mentioned his father, there is a sense of mystery as well as admiration. Yes he worshipped his father. He was swollen with pride for his father’s talents and wits. While his father was in Hawaii visiting him, his mom and grand parents, he went to Obama’s school and eventually ended up giving a speech to Obama’s class. You can tell by the way Obama described the reaction of his classmates and his class teacher – he is really proud of his old man. From those little stories heard from his grandparents and other friends, we can also say Obama has inherited his father’s intelligence, persuasive power and influencing skills. Of course he also inherited from his mother the good look, hard working attitude and good heart.

Can you call him a lucky person? Probably not. Just imagine he only spent two weeks with his father. Can you say he had a misery childhood? Again the answer is more no than yes. If you look at his grandparents, his mother, and even his stepfather, they all care about his well being, and have played a strong role at different stage of his life. Perhaps we should just be happy with the things and people around us, and live up to the full potential within us. Nothing in this world is absolutely good or bad. Everyone starts with a different hand. Just play the poker game the best you can.

To be continued...

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Dreams from My Father (Part 1)

This is a book written by Barack Obama long time ago. To be exact it was first published in 1995 and then revised in 2004. He wrote this book after graduation from Harvard Law School in early 90’s. The 2004 edition was made possible due to his success in being elected to the US Senate. The book is a perfect alley to the heart and mind of a President, in the truest sense. It is written well before he became a politician, a half memoir half root-searching story. Unlike his second book “The Audacity of Hope” which he wrote after his political career had been crafted, he had neither rhetoric to trumpet nor any political viewpoints to hide. Even in his widest dream he could not possibly imagine 15 years later he would have become the most powerful person in the world. The book is divided into three parts. Part One is about Obama’s childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, teen years in Hawaii again, and then his college life in New York. This part includes the first climax of the entire book – his getting together with his father in Hawaii for ten days. These ten days are the only time he spent with his father together, pretty difficult to imagine for most people including myself. Part Two is about his first career as a community organizer in Chicago. He had a first job as a trainee in New York but he didn’t consider this his career – just a job to make some money to pay for his college debt. There are lots of details about the campaigns and movements he had tried to instigate in a local community of Chicago. From this few chapters we came to know more about what’d been irking him in his early life, driving his actions and shaping his eventual career. Part Three is about his root-searching trip to Kenya. To be honest I just scanned through these few chapters. It is not easy for me to relate to his strong desire to iron out his identity through visiting his ‘home’ country and his extended family. He is a really good communicator and story teller. There are some debates in the US about who is the real author of this book but that is beside the point. This is his book, period. Some of the things he mentioned stir up some inner thoughts within me – I guess people call these insights. While he was still a boy living with his mother and stepfather in Indonesia, he made a couple of astute observations. The power is displayed in its naked form in Indonesia, he said, compared to the Western world. That’s after he witnessed a poor woman begging money from a group of men living in a wealthy neighborhood. I would say this is true for most Asians. For some unknown reasons, Asians are not ashamed to show off their wealth and power, even to these days. Mercedes will be running everywhere in China five years from now, not just because wealthy people there want a good car, but they need to tell the world around them that they are rich. They can afford a Mercedes. Adding to that is the cultural tendency of Asians to conform. That’s why luxury brands are bound to enjoy a booming decade in China. Obama paid tribute to his mother’s effort to bring him education while in Indonesia. Unable to afford International School, Obama went to local an Indonesian school. She supplemented that with correspondence courses from the U.S. She woke him up at four a.m. every morning, and taught him English lessons for three hours before he went to school. This reminds me of another recent book “Outliers” which suggests at least part of a person’s success comes from fate and luck. Without his mother’s effort, Obama might not have had a solid education which helped shape his life and career.

To be continued...

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Best Buy of 2009 – Amazon’s Kindle

l have heard e-books for quite a while but never had the courage to try it out. First I’m not sure about the technology E-ink. If it is an alternative version of LCD then it is unusable. My eyes will not be able to read LCD display without some discomfort for a reasonably lengthy time period (such as an hour). It is not uncommon for me to keep reading for a few hours, especially if the book is good.

Another worry is the lack of contents. Up until the beginning of 2009 all e-books ready for downloading seem to be collection of classics or out of favor books (I might be wrong but that was the perception I was under). Without new books available in e-book format the device will not be of any value.

In March 2009 Amazon launched their second generation of Kindle and I began to see lots of good feedbacks from customers. On the Kindle pages I also saw more and more newly published books listed there – at a very attractive price (mostly $9.99). Unfortunately Kindle 2 was only available in the US, meaning that even if you bought a Kindle (in fact Amazon did not allow you to purchase if you are based outside the US), you would not be able to download any books.

I kept checking once in a while and was pleasantly surprised when Amazon announced in Oct that international edition of Kindle was available. And good news is Hong Kong is among those countries that Kindle can be bought. I promptly placed an order and got hold of the new Kindle in early Nov.

It looks handsome on the outside. It is small (though will be smaller in the future I’m sure) and can be easily slipped into the side pocket of my suit. It is light (though again will become lighter in the future) and can be carried without imposing any burden on your trip. This is a great plus considering not too long ago I have to carry at least the weight of a paperback, sometimes a hard cover. I did not order the leather jacket as I don’t want to increase its size. It turns out to be a wise decision. I carry my Kindle on my pocket and pull it out for some intense reading in a train, in a bus, or even in an elevator.

The E-ink technology far exceeds my expectation. I later learned it was developed by MIT. It is based on tiny capsules filled with positively charged white particles and negatively charged black particles suspended in clear liquid. Display can then be manipulated by polarity in specific areas of the display. It is easy on the eyes and can be read even under bright sunlight. It does not require backlight so the battery can last for many days after one single charge. My impression is it looks exactly like a black-and-white printed book. No it does not have color, nor does it show great pictures or graphics. But it serves my purpose really well, which is to simulate a real book.

The download logistic from Amazon is also well designed. The 3G/GPRS network connection is great, whether I am in Hong Kong or Canada. I can browse through the Kindle store with ease, download sample chapter of a book for free, and if I like a book I can purchase and download immediately to my Kindle at reasonably good speed (within a minute). Prices for new books have been increased to $12.99 but are still acceptable.

I would call Kindle the best buy of 2009 for me. It exceeds my expectation. Although some new books are still not available in e-book format, most books are there once they are released in hard cover. I don’t have to wait for shipment after placing an order – downloading is immediate. The Kindle interface is easy to use if not fantastic – it does the job nicely. I’m sure future version will keep improving, but the time to jump into e-reading is – NOW.

Three Cups of Tea

I’ve been a little behind in updating my blog. There are many books I’ve read over the year 2009, and I want to write something about them. The typical excuse is I don’t have time. Adding to this is I really need some down time to be able to recollect my thoughts on these books.

I read “Three Cups of Tea in early 2009. It’s the type of book that can easily turn you off after the first 30 pages. English is somewhat difficult and you have to adapt to the co-author’s style of writing. Although the story starts with an adventurous expedition to K2, plus a tragic anecdote of the death of the author’s younger sister, the pace of story-telling is a bit confusing and at times lacking a focus. Once you get through this hurdle, however, you’ll be impressed by the author, Mortenson as he is known, and what he did and achieved in the end.

It’s an amazing story. Sometimes you find the author’s action really impulsive and naïve. It is this single-mindedness and naivety that I admire the most though. His entire act of charity that would eventually become his career, started from a simple conversation with an elderly of a mountain village in northern Pakistan. His sympathy of the children who lacked the most fundamental education drove his determination to do something for them. Reminiscence of his sister also played a part in his resolve. Rest of the book is all about a familiar story – how a person in an inferior position achieved something even he could not imagine in the very beginning. He just wanted to do something, but this something turned out to be a lot of influential events. It is also an adventure. Mortenson not just sacrificed his own personal time and family life, as he had to travel a lot to Asia. At times he was also risking his own life, being abducted for a week near the border of Afghanistan.

What I really like about this character is his willingness to respect the culture of other people. The title “Three Cups of Tea” is a statement of cultural difference. Mortenson even adopted the practices of Muslim, putting on their dresses and praying five times a day. After 9/11 and invasion into Afghanistan, he was actually invited by the US government to provide briefing on the latest development in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The book emphasizes many times the importance of soft power. Providing education for women in Pakistan and Afghanistan is the key to changing people’s hostility to the western world there. Hard power like guns and bombs can suppress, but cannot capture the hearts and minds of human beings. Only education can satisfy their most basic needs, help improve their living standards and eventually lead them to appreciate the developed world’s culture.

So overall I like this book, and recommend it. For those who believe in fairytales and enjoy multi-cultures, you will definitely enjoy it.