A Call For Open And Sustained Dialogue

söndag 19 september 2010

Swedish Parliament - Parliament member's offic...Image via WikipediaI'm thinking a lot right now, but more than that I'm feeling. I resent it, but I feel stings of despair and I'm trying to fight them off - by doing some more thinking.

The Swedish election is close to over. The "Sweden Democrats", a one-issue party campaigning against immigration in general and muslims in specific, will take place in the Swedish parliament tomorrow. They will be in the position of "vågmästare" or key player / tie breaker, i e since neither of the big party blocks have majority on their own they can tip the scale either way. It's an important role, and even more - for Sweden it's the decline into the company of Austria, Denmark and the other European countries where xenophobic parties have been gaining political power gradually.

This is not the time for agitation. This is not the time to shout "death to all racists" on the streets. This is a signal - a call for the opening and sustaining of a calm and level-headed dialogue. The kind of conversation that technology and the so-called social media/web2.0 revolution have been paving the way for, and which is fostering understanding of multiple perspectives in so many arenas.

Anytime a player such as the Sweden Democrats gain voters' trust, it's because their supporters are unhappy with how things are run. One status update that appeared in my facebook feed was "We should take away the passports of SD supporters! They should not even be allowed into areas where there's no SD support!" - and that kind of knee-jerk reaction just makes me sad. So now we're gonna beat them at their own game? Sorry, but that dog don't hunt.

There must be a win-win solution. There must be a frequency where we can meet eye to eye and talk AND LISTEN to each other. And if we feel that the other party needs to be lectured into our "better understanding of reality" then guess what? That's probably what the other party feels, too.

I'm thinking of two things, two suggestions to move forward:

  1. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. On an individual level, reach out to the person whose opinions insitinctively scare you. Ask "why?" and then listen to the reply. Ask again - dig deeper, understand the person. This will not be possible from an attitude of fear and hate - so first, dig deep into yourself to overcome those issues.
  2. The overwhelming majority of the party blocks is a major factor that has allowed SD into political power. Lots of people vote more out of dislike towards the established parties than actual support of racism and xenophobia. What if there was a myriad of smaller parties with clear agendas in topics that significant niches of the population has a real passion for? Would you vote, hypothetically, for The Entrepreneur Party (Christian Rudolf), The Social Media Party (Brit Stakston), The Sports Fans Party (um... Zlatan?), The Joker/Trickster Party (Magnus Betnér), The Foodie Party (Lisa Förare Winbladh)? Names in parentheses are my suggestions for the people that could be the founders of those parties, by the way - so "ping" at YOU.

Please, discuss below in the comments. I especially invite SD supporters to share your story. Also, please use your real names.

Another Niclas (deeped) blogs about the election result in Swedish here.
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Sourcing my Breakfast in China

söndag 29 augusti 2010

Just a blog post from some western business person working in Shangha. Whoa. Look at the video below, THAT LOOKS SO DELICIOUS.

Reminds me of the Chinatown food stands in KL, Malaysia. On top of that, the writing provides an interesting perspective of globalized business climate. All good.

What do you think?

//Niclas

via Vistage Buzz Blog av Gary Young den 2010-08-26

Instead of talking strictly about sourcing products and services in China, lets talk breakfast. I usually make 4-5 sourcing trips to China each year that can last 2-4 weeks each, depending on the nature of that particular trip. Sometimes It is a quick 2-week trip visiting candidate factories, touring facilities and negotiating deals, other times we’re personally inspecting production and manufacturing facilities throughout China. But our home base is the Avela Shanghai office. And on every trip  I allow at least four solid days to work with the office staff on improving systems and procedures and brainstorming on what is around the corner. I have a created a small apartment out of 2 rooms at the office. The cost of the extra space is about equivalent to what the hotel stays would be over the course of a year. I like this so much more than a hotel as this space is mine and it feels like home.

http://avela.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Office-Sunset-e1281291976719.jpg
View of Shanghai from my office window.

Anyway, the Avela office building, unlike a hotel has no restaurants or room service, so I have to walk to get my breakfast. It is a mile each way to find my favorite breakfast street food:  food that the average Shanghai commuters eat after leaving the bus or subway on their way to work. I never cease to be amazed by how much walking the average workers do on their way to and from their jobs. I think on average people spend 3 to 4 hours just commuting each day. It is hard to move a city of 19 million people

So 22 floors down the elevator and I find myself immersed in the stunning Shanghai morning commute. I am walking toward the subway exit because that is where the vendors are. And people, bicycles, motorcycles, buses and cars are everywhere. I penetrate the crowd and let their energy whisk me along toward my breakfast street vendor rendezvous. Hundreds of smiles, strange looks and a mile later, I’m in line. Finally it is my turn as I watch my breakfast being created.

With breakfast in hand, I’m back among a packed sidewalk crowd, on my way back to the apartment. Having passed hundreds of fast walking people, I am at my desk and eating my favorite Shanghai breakfast while reading email. And I am thinking, this was great exercise. I should walk a mile each way for breakfast when I’m back in Houston. But it’s just not the same:  no masses of people to share energy with and no outstanding street food, made on the spot, to walk to. I guess that is what makes Shanghai so special.


Saker du kan göra härifrån:

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TedX Stockholm - The Art Of Being Kind by Stefan Einhorn

tisdag 24 augusti 2010

This speaker is so entertaining in a dry way, love it. And what an intriguing concept - he actually claims, and with good scientific backup, thar kindness leads to success. Enjoy!


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INCEPTION | Avancerad analys av avancerad film: Kommer vi någonsin att vakna?

My friend David has written a really well thought out analysis of the amazing new movie Inception. Run it through google translate if you don't understand Swedish - it's that good!

Min vän David har gjort en riktigt snygg, genomtänkt, välskriven och djupgående analys av den fantastiska nya filmen Inception på sin blogg. Den här måste ni läsa!


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Spansk kultur på svenska middagsbord och picknickfiltar i sommar?

onsdag 2 juni 2010

Ridderheims är ett intressant företag! Sen jag först började fundera kring min egen affärsidé Bar-deli så har jag inspirerats av hur Ridderheims har hjälpt till att främja och popularisera nya matkulturer med deras medelhavsinfluerade produkter ute i butikerna. Jag hoppas att jag har låtit mig smittas lite av deras matpassion och smarta tänk kring paketering och marknadsföring!

Nu igår var jag på en s k "spotting" anordnad av Ridderheims tillsammans med Spot And Tell. Spot And Tell (tidigare Tastecasting) är ett smart koncept som handlar om att skapa buzz för nya varumärken genom att bjuda in flitiga social media-figurer till trevliga events som man efteråt twittrar, facebookar och bloggar om. Grundaren Agnieszka är dessutom en väldigt trevlig, driven och mingelfrekventerande entreprenör :)




(Eftersom andra bloggare är MYCKET bättre än jag på att ta bilder så hänvisar jag till Allt blir bättre med bacon!, Receptomaten, Emma-Lou, Loppetoppan och Livet sett genom rosa glasögon för den som vill bli ordentligt suktad)

Syftet med just denna spotting var alltså att ge en marknadsföringsskjuts till Ridderheims nya satsning på produktlinjen Tapas Take Away - en samling av dryga fyrtiotalet kalla och varma smårätter som man kombinerar ihop efter eget behag till en mysig plockmiddag. Vem älskar inte tapas, liksom? Det blev ett väldigt trevligt event som började med en dragning av Patrik Brigander, kategorichef på Ridderheims, och fortsatte med vackert uppdukad buffé (jamen kolla bilderna då!) där vi fick testa många av läckerheterna.

Jag säger bara - HUR GOTT SOM HELST. Det här med smart förpackade och prissatta tapas känns som en självklar framgång hemma hos "svensson" som ju blir mer och mer av en matnörd. Jag kan bara säga "lycka till Ridderheims!" - som om det skulle behövas...

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Johan Lange - "Lean, Coaching and Social Media"

torsdag 18 februari 2010

Interview with business developer/executive coach and friend of mine, Johan Lange. We're having a discussion, high and low, about some business philosophies and how to apply them. Sorry about the light, or lack thereof. I blame my iPhone :)
Enjoy!

Part 1/2 here...



Part 2/2 here:


pt.2/2 "Lean, Coaching and Social Media"


more about "Johan Lange - "Lean, Coaching and Soc...", posted with vodpod

... Also, please excuse the abrupt ending! The phone ran out of space to save the final part of the interview, sadly. Hope you appreciate the video(s)!

Kindly,

Niclas


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