From USA - Malaysian Eisenhower Fellow 2007

Final Report and becoming an Esienhower Fellow

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 15:36:00 +0000

I have been neglecting this blog after I came back. Too busy with SKALI .

As part of my program I had to submit my final report. So here is my report

Eisenhower Fellowship 2007 Multi-nation Program
End of Program Final Report
Tengku Farith Rithauddeen, Malaysia

Introduction

The Eisenhower Multi-Nation Program (MNP) has been both hectic and enlightening for me professionally and personally. After 15 destinations during a short period of 8 weeks I have not only learned and met my program objectives, but I have also have a different perspective of the United States. Another valuable aspect of the Program is the friendship that I have fostered with the other Fellows in MNP.

Program Objectives

My objectives were as follows:-

€ To study and understand community based and affirmative action policies of local and federal governments in the development of entrepreneurship;
€ To study and understand on the impact of the Web 2.0 or the new Internet to the industry and entrepreneurship;
€ To study and understand how large and mid-size corporations e-Business initiatives

The objectives are inter-related and can be summarized by the intersection of he 3 circles below:-

The three large circles i.e. the main objectives of the Program, which I originally planned to discover and research is of course valuable but not as much of a value as the discoveries and findings in regards to the intersection of these 3 circles of Entrepreneurship, Web 2.0 and E-Business implementation.

Achieving the Program Objectives

I have had various meetings covering the 3 main circles and such meetings allowed me to explore on the intersections as well. The table below depicts the meetings and program activities which relate to particular objectives

Entrepreneurship Web 2.0 E-Business Implementation
NBIA Annual Conference (Seattle), Kauffman Foundation (Kansas City), Washington University (St. Louis), Florida International University (Miami), Research Triangle Regional Partnership (Raleigh), Hutchison Law Group (Raleigh), CED Entrepreneurship Center (Raleigh), National Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Conference (Raleigh), University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), North Carolina Technology Association (Raleigh), Babson College (Boston), Howard University (Washington DC), National Foundation of Teaching Entrepreneurship (NYC), New York University (NYC), Weill Cornell Medical College (NYC), Enterprise Florida (Miami), Rivervest (St. Louis), Oakwood Medical Management (St. Louis),
Science and Technology Advisor to North Carolina (Raleigh),
Web 2.0 (San Francisco), Franklin Templeton Investments (San Francisco), Comcast (Philadelphia), Red Hat (Raleigh), Meadwestvaco (Richmond), Air Products (Philadelphia), Comcast (Philadelphia), Wireless Philly (Philadelphia), Peak 10 (Raleigh),

Other Meetings relating to International Trade and competitiveness

• C&M International (Washington DC)
• Stonebridge (Washington DC)
• Harvard School of Strategy and Competitiveness (Cambridge)
• Starr Foundation (NYC)
• American Economy lecture (Philadelphia)

Other Meetings related to Leadership

• Young Professionals Organization (Watertown, MA)
• Micheal Useem, Wharton, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)

Other Visits and Meetings relating to Civic Society

• Columbia Presbyterian Hospital (NYC)
• Pew Charitable Trusts (Philadelphia)

Other visits relating to American culture

• American Culture Seminar (Philadelphia)
• Native American Museum (en route to Grand Canyon)

All together there were close to 40 meetings and visits during the Program.

(a) Entrepreneurship in America

Entrepreneurship is high in the US due to its long history and culture of risk taking and acceptance of failure. The United States is a land of opportunity and it’s a land of immigrants. Immigrants came to the “New Land” to find new opportunities and new beginning. Such new comers left all to risk a new life in the US.

This history is important to understand the cultural ability of Americans to absorb risk. In fact most interviewed has highlighted that to succeed, a person should fail first. Like Jack Welch said “I will not hire a person who has never been fired”

The Environment is very important

The environment in which entrepreneurship is practised is very important. However what is the “Environment”. Many models of innovation has adopted the Triple Helix Model (adapted
from Etzkowitz & Leyesdorff, 2000) as depicted below: -

The Triple Helix model depicts innovation and entrepreneurship occurs when there is a collaboration and intersection of University, Government Industry. Many development models have used this concept including Malaysia. However many countries such as Finland and Malaysia has not realize innovation and entrepreneurship using such model. The model is flawed because it does not consider the main player- The Entrepreneur.

A better model in to depict the Environment is the Double Helix model (Brännback, M., Carsrud, A. & Krueger, N. (2007), “The ‘Molecular Biology’ of Regional Innovation Systems, Research Papers in Business Studies from Åbo Akademi University #6, Åbo: Åbo Akademi) as below: -

As depicted in the diagram above, innovation and entrepreneurship will occur when the Entrepreneurship Assets, Innovation Assets and Bridging Assets are strong and reinforcing.

Innovation Assets (stocks and flows of ideas),

Entrepreneurial Assets (stocks and flows of relevant human and organizational capital)

-and-

Bridging Assets (proactive persons and mechanisms to both coordinate and encourage the interaction of entrepreneurs and ideas and to proactively connect both with resources)

Using the above model the following can be deduced:-

€ Promoting Innovation Assets
o Fuelling entrepreneurship early in High School encouraging youth to experiment and practice business e.g. National Foundation in Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
o Promote cross industry or intra disciplinary entrepreneurship to promote innovation and ideas e.g. Howard University, Washington University, Babson College, UNC and FIU.

€ Promoting Entrepreneurship Assets
o Entrepreneurship can be taught and this is what Kaufman Foundation has been active in via Universities by teaching the right tools in entrepreneurship. Babson’s model to entrepreneurship is also successful model.
o Promote practice rather then theory. YPO model for learning as presented by Bob Halperin is a useful method.
o Teach entrepreneurs on Family owned business e.g. Florida International University

€ Promoting Bridging Assets
o Outreach programs early in teaching entrepreneurs in Universities e.g. mentoring programs.
o Funding – promote funding by informal investors rather then VCs. According to the Global Entrepreneur Monitor (GEM) report informal investors are 4 times more to invest in start up stage rather then formal VCs.
o SBIR and STTR funding mechanisms where customers are involved in innovation will assist in market entry.
o Innovation close to customer demand like Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City is also a strong Bridging Asset.

(b) Web 2.0

Although Web 2.0 was coined and became a market realization 3 years ago, many industry players are still puzzled where it will go. Google, Wikipedia, Myspace, Skype are all Web2.0 companies and their recent acquisition has boosted the development of the industry to a growth rate of 600% per annum.

Google vs. Microsoft

There is not doubt that Microsoft is threatened by the growth of Google. Microsoft Office suite and OS business is being challenged by free and shared software offered by Google.

The main issue is that it is not just about a battle between two giants but a change in an industry that will challenge traditional IT and software vendors like Microsoft

Now Consumers later Enterprise Businesses and Organizations

The main Web 2.0 companies had always been for the consumer market e.g. Google, MySpace and Skype. However at the Web 2.0 Expo there are signs of companies providing Web 2.0 Technology and Business model to the enterprise and government market.

Although still low in numbers, I can see some more companies (smaller and big) challenging the existing business model of software vendors.

Lower cost of start up in Web 2.0 companies

Entrepreneurship and Web 2.0 has also changed how new Internet companies are being formed. First the cost of setting up such companies will not be as high as compared to the Web 1.0 companies. Exit may not be via floatation but via trade sale.

(c) Implementation of E-Business in Corporations

E-Business implementation in corporations is still touching the surface and more opportunities are available. However, E-Business implementation, like many other regions, is still very expensive, require tremendous training and change management; and take a long time.

One company has taken 4 years to get the main platform throughout the company but face greater challenges in the customizing solutions to its current market environment.

However, many companies have taken the opportunity to co-locate back-end processes to cheaper locations and utilize E-Business applications to ensure proper management and monitoring of such functions.

Personal Highlights

The trip has been very enjoyable. For my wife, Elfina, it is her first trip to the US. She was able to experience all aspects of the Untied States which will not be able to experience during short vacations or business trips. Some of the key aspects that had an impact on my personal experience were as follows: -

• Hiking down the Grand Canyon while it snowed. It was the first time Elfina saw falling snow
• Experiencing Southern hospitality and food in North Carolina. Don Hobart, the USA Fellow for 2007 was a very good host.
• Learning from about cultures and countries from other fellows, which will include some collaboration that I would like to initiate.
• Sharing my thoughts of the program and the US with other fellows.
• Talking to a beggar in San Francisco which gave me an insight on Disability Insurance and how much such people can make in a month from begging.
• Scenic and beautiful drive to Newport Beach, Balboa Island and Orange County, California.

Additional Learning

American Culture and the media - Black, White and No Gray.

I wrote earlier in my Blog (www.tengkufarith.blogspot.com) about Dr. Weaver’s lecture on American culture. In my writings, I said that Americans tend to believe on the Good and the Bad or Black and White. To the Americans what they are doing is for the best of interest to all humankind. Anyone that disagrees on this belongs to the opposite camp - The Bad.

On foreign affairs, Iran is considered the opposite camp.

During the sensitive situation of the British marines being captive by the Iranians, I was personally relieved that both the British and the Iranians had made concrete steps to settle this via diplomacy.

Furthermore, Iran’s agreement to let the British soldiers go would have injected Goodwill in current foreign affairs between Iran and the West.

However, Iran’s move was reciprocated by accusations of a hidden agenda. I was in Los Angeles when the Iranians freed the British soldiers and I noticed the American media pounding on the issue with scepticisms. To the American Media, Iran is the evil empire and anything good by them should be responded by extreme caution and distrust.

What ever the Iranians’ intentions are, we may not know. But shouldn’t a positive move like the freeing of British soldiers be reciprocated by another positive reaction like a “Thank you and let’s move towards a better understanding”. However the opposite was the reaction of American Media.

I know Iranians and as much as the West things Iran as being an evil empire, the contrary is true of what Iranians think of the West. The majority in Iran are moderates rather then extremists, and like many in the rest of the world no one wants another invasion just like Iraq.

The American media’s negative reaction had fuelled extremist views and further the gap of understanding between Iran and the West. Any goodwill that can be capitalized by the freeing of the British soldiers had been neutralized by a more aggressive negative reaction by the western media.

Leadership and changing a culture

In regards to entrepreneurship, there is no doubt Malaysian culture needs to change to be more risk taking and accept failure. For example, our Bankruptcy laws should be changed to provide a time frame for Bankrupts to start fresh should their venture fail.

But how do you change a culture? A model provided by YPO is a good concept for such changes: -

To answer the question how do you change a culture? The answer - only through leadership. An organization or individual(s) will need to act as leaders to change a culture.

Seeing (and talking) is believing

Before I came to this program, I had some preconceived ideas of the United States. To my delightful surprise, many Americans and Asians share the same dreams, visions and do ask the same questions.

I must thank the Program to bring such enlightenment to me and allowed me to have the mental closeness between US and Malaysian beliefs.

There were two occasions which allowed me to express and communicate on some issues on wrong information in regards to Malaysia.

First was the meeting with C&M International and Stone Bridget in Washington DC. Both organizations are advising US Businesses in Asia. At the meetings, I managed to communicate the reasons of an Affirmative Policies in Bumiputera industries and companies. I highlighted the reasons to the Affirmative Policy is to build the critical mass of Bumi companies that are able to compete globally. Such policies are seen as a critical component to accelerate the growth of these Bumiputera companies.

Second, was at Howard University which I had to explain on a mishap of an African – American individual being detained by Malaysian Police for 24 hours. Following my explanation to Howard University students, they had proposed to have a yearly session with the student community and other Eisenhower Fellows with the intention to promote better understanding and cooperation.

On both occasions, I was allowed to explain which allowed better understanding between all parties on the issues.

In light of these two positive occurrences, I feel that we cannot rely on our Governments to foster understanding between two nations but to further accelerate programs like the Eisenhower Fellowships to promote understanding between different countries.

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my Gratitude to the Eisenhower Foundation, the management and trustees that allowed me and other Fellows to join this program.

Special thanks to Dan Geisler, and Rachel Meadows who have been so accommodative and helpful in setting up close to 40 meetings for me.

In addition, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Foundation for the understanding and making this trip an enjoyable and not so strenuous event for my wife, Elfina who is expecting our fifth child.

I sincerely hope and look forward for the opportunity to provide the assistance to all Eisenhower Fellows in fostering better understanding among the different countries.

Tengku Farith Rithauddeen
MNP Eisenhower Fellow 2007
15th of May 2007

Good Marketing Experience at FAO Schwarz, New York City

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Thu, 31 May 2007 14:32:00 +0000

Was at FAO Schwarz in New York City and did a customized hotwheels for my two sons. They had video to show how the cars are made. Obviously, it is really not what it seems but it was good concept of brand experience for both FAO and Hotwheels..and when i showed it to my kids, they loved it. They got more excited on how the cars are made rather then the end product themselves.

Fadzlan car video

Faidz car video

Black, White and No Gray.

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Thu, 17 May 2007 06:37:00 +0000

I wrote earlier in this Blog about Dr. Weaver’s lecture on American culture. In my writings, I said that Americans tend to believer on the Good and the Bad or Black and White. To the Americans what they are doing is for the best of interest to all humankind. Anyone that disagrees on this belongs to the opposite camp - The Bad.

On foreign affairs, Iran is considered the opposite camp.

During the sensitive situation of the British marines being captive by the Iranians, I was personally relieved that both the British and the Iranians had made concrete steps to settle this via diplomacy.

Furthermore, Iran’s agreement to let the British soldiers go would have injected Goodwill in current foreign affairs between Iran and the West.

However, Iran’s move was reciprocated by accusations of a hidden agenda on the part of Iran. I was in Los Angeles when the Iranians freed the British soldiers and I noticed the American media pounding on the issue with skepticisms. To the American Media, Iran is the evil empire and anything good by them should be responded by extreme caution and distrust.

What ever the Iranians’ intentions are, we may not know. But shouldn’t a positive move like the freeing of British soldiers be reciprocated by another positive reaction like a “Thank you and let’s move towards a better understanding”. However the opposite was the reaction of the West.

I know Iranians and as much as the West things Iran as being an evil empire, the contrary is true of what Iranians think of the West. The majority in Iran are moderates rather then extremists, and like many in the rest of the world no one wants another invasion just like Iraq.

The American media’s negative reaction had just fueled extremist views and further the gap of understanding between Iran and the West. Any goodwill that can be capitalized by the freeing of the British soldiers had been neutralized by a more aggressive negative reaction by the western media.

No wonder we can’t solve our problems.

American Patriotism

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Thu, 17 May 2007 06:31:00 +0000

The US is a proud country but these are changing times and even patriotism by the Americans are being questioned. They are looking hard in the mirror.

Entrepreneurship is about the Mix and Match

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:56:00 +0000

St. Louis was wet and cold except for the last day we were there. It was a nice walk to the Knight Center (where we stayed which was equipped with accommodation for executive education) to the Skandalaris Center – the center of entrepreneurship, Washington University at St. Louis.

We were given a presentation by its Center’s head, Ken Harrington. During the presentation I found out something new. Here it is…Entrepreneurship is driven by innovation which in turn is driven by the Intersection of cultures, societies, industries etc.

Hmm..Intersection ? What is that??

What Ken or the Skandalaris Center is saying is that innovation will be developed by the merger (intersections) or fusion of ideas that may originate in other domains or industries.

Well here are a few examples: -

· Google = Merger of Search engine (ICT) Technology + Online Advertising = USD141 billion
· iPod and iTunes = Hardware + Online technology + Music/ Entertainment industry + its cool design = more then USD1 billion
· Myspace = Online technology + Sociology (the need to interact) = USD580 million.

Get what I am saying??

Process to Innovation is not enough

Ken mentioned that the normal process of innovation i.e. taking the idea to market that involves Business Plan is not enough but the entrepreneur must also do the following:-

1. Increase his or her network intersections in other areas because innovation relies on this. So the idea that entrepreneurship should be limited and taught in a vertical or specific group of certain students is wrong.
2. Understand these intersections
3. Know how to identify the opportunities in these intersections.
4. Use the tools needed (and this needs to be learned) to capture the opportunities in these intersections.

In fact, I am writing this Blog at the Web2.0 Conference in San Francisco is all about Internet and Social networks (sociology). In 2 years Web2.0 grew at 622%.

USA VC vs Malaysian VC

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 06:54:00 +0000

Today in St. Louis, I had the opportunity of meeting Tom Melzer. Tom is a senior financial figure in the States, being served in the Federal Reserve under 3 Presidents. In my discussion with him, I can summarize the drastic differences between an American VC and a Malaysian VC...here are the main ones.

(i) American VC tend to be very focus in particular sector (ICT only or Biotech only or Medical Devices only etc.) , Malaysian VCs will invest in many sectors.

(ii) Because of their focus, the American VC has the depth and can put in substantial business building expertise

(iii) Both country VCs will tend to invest in later stages rather then Idea and Seed.

(iv) 8% dividend rate for its pref shares (non -cumulative) for US VCs compared to Malaysian VC rate of 10% - 25% cumulative dividend pref shares.

(v) The insurance, pension and large funds tend to invest in the VC industry (about 5-10% of their funds). In Malaysia most funds come from the Government.

(vi) American Private Investors in VC funds tend to have direct tax credit by expensing out the mgt and operational fee of the VC management company. Investment premium tax allowance is at 15% instead of the 30% rate for personal income tax.

Tom did highlight that VCs tend to invest in later stages and that there are many aspects of the eco-system that gets to work before a VC invests into a company....

(i) A strong incubation to assist in the physical and soft infra of new and later stage companies.
(ii) Strong demand for a particular sector or specialization e.g. the medical faculty in Washington University, St. Louis has a large R&D budget that provides an economic stimulus in commercialization.
(iii) Networking by the local business councils bringing together funders, entrepreneurs, university and other relevant specialists.
(iv) Grants and angel funds to provide funding in the early stages of the venture. These are funders prior to the VC investment.

The Culture of Failures

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 05:42:00 +0000

In our new book, SKALI LAGI, I mentioned that Entrepreneurship is about failures and not about successes. I expanded that entrepreneurship is about getting up when ever you fail.

For entrepreneurship to strive, a community or country needs to accept and (in fact) celebrate failures.

I think the main reason to the United States success in entrepreneurship, is its tolerance to failures. It is this tolerance that has provided its propensity for risk.

Today I met with Dr. Raul Perez, whose father immigrated from Cuba in the 1960s after the Communist took over. Dr. Raul's father came to the States without speaking English and (at that time) medicine in Cuba was behind to the States.

Well, Dr. Raul's father survived and did very well. He concluded this is the land of second chances and of new opportunities.

The United States for many people are a new beginning after failures or being a social outcast in there own countries. So when a failure occurs or someone has had some failures, they do not take this against a person.

Can Malaysia celebrate failures and learn from it ? Maybe and like the Kauffman foundation said it takes some small successes first and to show everyone that failures will lead to successes.

Kansas City and The Kuaffman Foundation

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:07:00 +0000

Kansas City was wet and cold and when we arrived at the airport I noticed the Tornado shelter. This strongly reminded me that we are in the Mid West of USA.

My main reason in Kansas City is to Visit the Kauffman Foundation, probably one of the most advanced institution in entrepreneurship.

Why should the Kauffman Foundation care about entrepreneurship in Malaysia ??

The Foundation would interview us (Olga - Czech Fellow and I) on camera and the above was one of the key questions.

It was a good question...my answer was better understanding between East and West and world peace.

Entrepreneurship is about economic growth and prosperity for a community. The current wars and global conflicts are not about a conflict of ideology or religion but of economic concerns. Entrepreneurship allows a community to prosper and avoid conflicts.

Understanding has been spread for many centuries via commerce and not by the sword.

Therefore the new ambassadors to promote understanding in the globalized world are not politicians but entrepreneurs.

Helping economic minorities

One of the programs by the Kauffman foundation was to assist economic minorities, especially the Hispanic and African American communities.

This is similar to Malaysia where there is a real need to assist the Malays, whom are a economic minority, to have an equal share of the Malaysian economic pie.

Similar to the Malays, the Hispanic and African American communities will need affirmative action to assist them out of a economic misfortune because the capitalist system will not.

In assisting these communities substantial emphasis is on education and training; and not to spoon feed.

Psychology is the stumbling block

Is a community's psyche a stumbling block? Yes because it is an impediment to growth and sometimes there are deep rooted fallacies and beliefs that do not help a community to grow.

But such thinking can change. Malaysia changed its people from a farming/ mining industry to manufacturing; and now to turn Malaysia into a Knowledge economy.

From the challenges I hear at the Foundation, I realize that it will be the most challenging change, my community will embark.

The answer is to make visible small successes to show that long time fallacy and thinking is wrong. This will slowly change people's thinking and instill confidence in the community.

Coaching as part of education and training

Coaching is one of the main pillars to assist these new entrepreneurs. First coaches are matched to the entrepreneurs by skill sets that the venture require and not the industry they are in. A common mistake many Incubators make (this was also confirmed during the NBIA Conference in Seattle).

Coaching is a structured and process driven activity. First with matching the mentor to the entrepreneur, then to conduct an assessment of the entrepreneur's venture together with detail analysis. Then a development plan is made and agreed between the entrepreneur, the Foundation and the mentor.

In the analysis of the entrepreneur's venture, the basics will apply to the assessment. Key basic questions are asked: -

1. Does the business concept make sense. Does it really satisfy a demand ?
2. How do you make money from the business idea ? i.e. Profits.

These basic questions need to be answered first before the development plan (like a business plan) is formulated.

I know..the above seems basic but you will be surprised that even many Fortune 500 companies don't get this right.

However, the main challenge the Coaches highlighted is the basic understanding by the entrepreneurs of key revenue and cash flow mechanisms i.e. the basics.

Hey Look..It's Janet Jackson

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 03:50:00 +0000

We arrived to sunny LA during Good Friday and Easter Sunday, which gave us some time to explore Santa Monica, Orange County and Hollywood.

During the Hollywood tour we saw Janet Jackson having lunch with her father.

She noticed we were around and hid her face (as if it would stop us snapping our cameras)

The NBIA Conference in Seattle

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 03:37:00 +0000

Besides from the excellent food by my fellow Malaysians in Seattle, I was also there to work and attend the National Business Incubator Association (NBIA) Annual Conference

(this is very much for the Eisenhower Foundation staff to read just to show them that I am working :-))

Some of the lectures were pretty basic but there was some that was very interesting.

One of these lectures, was about the 25 mistakes start up companies make. A very senior and experience Incubator was presenting the 25 mistakes. After the presentation it dawned on me that none was about the Idea but more on execution. When asked, he admits that you can have the most brilliant idea but it is execution that matters most.

So my message to the Venture Capitalist at home is that the idea is not everything but the execution and the people behind the idea.

The Global Malay

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 05:31:00 +0000

Met Azman from MTDC (our landlord) and Dr. Faridah (UPM) who also attended the NBIA Conference. They been around for 3 days ago and been eating Malaysian food everynight. They met a few Malaysians in Seattle.

I had the opportunity to have dinner with them and it was a really good dinner.

Md. Ali, Ana, Puan Zaireen, Me, Azman, Cik Lah and Fazillah

Met a few other Malays the next day and I must say they are doing well. A throws out the argument that many Malays cant survive without the Government to support them.

Haji Nor. A fellow Kelantanese. Stayed back from his studies to capture opportunities in the US.

These Malays tend to have similar characteristics, they had left Malaysian after the Asian Currency crisis in 1998 . They were effected tremendously by the crisis and had come to the States to start fresh. They are educated, intelligent and determined but they left Malaysia because we are society that do not accept failures.

There failures is a big lost to our country. It was a bigger lost when these Malays leaves our country because they represent Intellectual assets that is needed for our future.

Leo, their pet is high tech. He has a chip embedded inside him to identify his ownership. Mandatory for all pets in Seattle.

Goodbye Philly and Hello Seattle

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 04:10:00 +0000

Philly was very interesting and educational. Before i left, we managed to see the famous steps of the Rocky movie and see a jazz show at the Art Museum.

The Rocky statue

Jazz music in the museum. Good way to bring the public to exhibits.

Hello Seattle...

Arrived in Seattle on Saturday night with Fatin (Saudi Arabia) and Khash (Mongolia). The National Business Incubator Association (NBIA) Conference will start on Monday, which gives me some time to explore Seattle.

View from my hotel room overlooking the Bay.

The Market at Seattle

A cat shelter volunteer with his favourite cat to raise funds for the Cat Shelter.

Interesting poster of the WWII time period warning of Nazis spies in the US. Found this at one of the shops at the market.

The Convention Center in Seattle

The EMP (Experience Music Project) building. It has the most equipped Science Fiction museum withe props from most of the Science Fi movies.

The Space Needle from the Monorail.

We the People....

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 02:16:00 +0000

Or as Rafael (Philippines fellow) would say "We the fellows..."

My visit to the Constitution Museum was very exciting. The museum had an excellent opening with a live actor narrating over some screenshots and movies on the founding of the US Constitution.

The exhibits that followed was also very well organized and structured to show how the US has evolved.

As I contemplate after the museum, I realize that the US is not perfect (for example slavery, no centralized government at the start of independence) and like many nations it is changing and trying to adapt to both its internal and external challenges.

However, what the US has (and with my admiration) is a system that allows it to change.

Me with the statue of General Washington

With Benjamin Franklin statue

The Liberty Bell

A picture says a thousand words

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 01:52:00 +0000

Another lecture was by Bob Halperin on Change. One of the exercise was to pick a picture which best describes what we think of the US. Here are some, including mine, which I felt had some good descriptions.

This is the picture I picked - The hand print. To me the US represent individualism and the pursuit to be someone better, a Land of Opportunity. But individualism is represented by many communities seen as some lighter and darker shades of the print. While the scars and the cracks in the past has really shaped and changed what "Individualism" is in the US.

On the other side of the same coin, the hand print also represent US aggressiveness which tend to label what should be and interpreted by what Americans see and want...overpowering and overshadowing other beliefs and interpretations.

Shirlene's (Singapore fellow) picture which represents the freedom of the kite to aim as high as the sky. Her interpretation of the US.

Marcelo's wife interpretation of the US - Dignified, honest and friendly. But be careful as she warned..."this dog can turn around and bite you".

Not Enough !!

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 23:30:00 +0000

One of the seminars, during my fellowship was about the US economy. A repesentative from the Bank of America said that the US economy's growth cannot be supported by the current workforce and suggested that immigration to be more open to allow labor to be imported.

However, as I explore the United State further, I can see in the papers and the Television, there is a large majority that wants to stop immigration into the US.

It is not obvious who will win, but this country is built on immigrants. That was how the country was fueled and the main reason for its independence. Will the US stop now ? Will the US stop its immigration policy which has been a historical foundation of its expansion.

Charitable USA

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 18:06:00 +0000

The civic society or charities in the USA is whopping USD1 trillion a year industry. Giving money to the charities, the arts and other societies is a big thing in the US. This includes donations to political parties. Obama just raised USD25 million in 3 months for this campaign, including USD 7 million coming from individuals via the Internet.

All in all, individuals and families contribute up to USD200 million annually.

After hearing the numbers from the Pew Charitable Trust, I could understand how they can have such an expensive office with a breath taking view of Philadelphia (see picture)

On the volunteer side, many corporations get their staff to volunteer in such charities. Why ?

A study had some findings to share:-

51% of mid and upper managment learned how to manage in such scarce resources

49% said they utilized the art cultuer as an entertainment value for friends and family

74% said of volunteers felt good by giving back to the community.

Increase in leadership, team managment and networking among the volunteers.

It was indeed an intresting presentation. A past USA fellow who works for the state education board said that she utilizes such charities to overcome certain administrative hurdles.

However, eventhough a lot has been given there is still many schools without proper teachers and faciliaties.

Maybe they should save the USD240k a minute they are spending on Iraq to save their schools.

Instead of Bullets invest in Books.

The Changing face of American Culture

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 14:27:00 +0000

The first seminar of my program in Philadelphia was by Dr. Weaver (seen in picture) who presented his paper on the American Culture.

It was an indeed an interesting topic. Dr. Weaver views may have been very similar to my views on matters of how the World perceives American values and cultures. However, I think that I have not really explored views that counter to Dr. Weaver’s stand.

Nevertheless, the information on US history and American psyche in Dr. Weaver’s paper was very beneficial. I guess to understand the US you must first understand its history.

The Many faces of the American Culture

There is probably no single theme of the American culture but a formation of many different cultures which has strongly represented its current face to the outside world.

The US of A was started by the influx of mainly North European immigrants. At that time these immigrants were the outcast and religious outcast of Europe. They came to the States to search for a new beginning and, of course, new opportunities.

Self Destiny and Risk taking well rooted in American culture

The US was founded by immigrants whom had a strong sense of self destiny. They had left their families and homes for a new hope in the “New World”. Of course, to make such a decision a community must have a strong belief in risk taking.

For example, as described by Dr. Weaver, for anyone in US to succeed they must first fail and as such, someone that has not failed is in fact looked down by the American society. Failure to them is good. This is of course very contrary to where I come from. Here, Dr. Weaver highlighted that the greatest President the US ever had was Abraham Lincoln whom had various failures before he became President.

Andrew Carnegie was another example, which is a model of an American entrepreneur.

These immigrants fought for their independence and had strongly believed that opportunity is in abundance. They also believed that the Government should be small and not interfere in the individual rights of its citizens. Remember that US independence came from its strong belief to break away from the strong centralist government of Great Britain.

However, in times like now and during the American Civil War a central/ federal government had emerged.

Americans have strong sense of self destiny and do not like to have things handed down to them. The average American would rather say “Can I borrow a piece paper” rather then “Can I have a piece of paper”. Beggars on the street would rather say “Spare some loose change” rather then “Give me arms and charity”.

Because of such strong self destiny, volunteerism is strong in the US with an average of USD800/900 is donated to the charities by the average American family. The size of such NGO/ Charity industry has now reached USD1 trillion per annum and charities from individuals and corporations has reached over USD200 million per year.
The Romantic American

Americans are romantics. They strongly believe in the strong representation of good and evil. The typical American cowboy movie would always have the “Good” guy wearing the white hat and the “Bad” Guy wearing all black. To the Americans there is no “gray” area and there is just Good and Evil on each side.

This is very different from Europe where many European cultures believe that in most cases good and evil is mixed in everyday life of “Gray”. Shakespeare’s “tragedies” and his writings are a reflection of European culture.

As Dr. Weaver highlighted in his paper, one of the biggest Hollywood movie was a movie called “Independence Day” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(film) which was about a US President leading the World against the invading Aliens from outer space.

As usual, to the Americans, the “Good” guy will always win.

How 9/11 changed the American Psyche.

9/11 is probably the biggest event in American history that has challenged all the assumptions that the US culture strongly believed in.

The US of A has never been invaded and its people have never seen the destruction of war first hand, unlike Europe and Asia.

This changed on September 11th 2001.

The American people felt the destruction of war which was fought many times by many different Presidents in the past in its foreign policy. Suddenly, the US idea of invisibility and not being directly effected by its foreign policy is now being challenged.

Post 9/11: A strong Federal Government

For the first time since the American Civil War, all branches and levels of the Government moved to sacrifice personal liberty for a stronger central government. The Patriot Act is just one of the examples of such changes, including the formation of the Homeland Security Department.

But times are again changing. The US is now getting over its Post 9/11 insecurity. We see many Americans challenging and fighting for their personal liberty. Guantanamo Bay has received more then 100 legal challenges in the Supreme Court and until recently the Democrats took control of Congress.

An Awaken US of A

As the United States awake from its insecurity, it realizes that its foreign policy that has existed post 2nd World War will have a direct effect to the average American. No longer can both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans be a safe cushion to its implications in the foreign policy.

Isolationists will also not have strong support because weather the US like or not they have to participate in the world stage knowing that if they do make a mistake, failures by its administration will have concencequences to its people.

Can 9/11 happen again? Maybe it could and maybe it could not but the loss of personal liberty by the average American citizen cannot be sustained in a country that was founded on the basis of justice, freedom and pursuit of happiness.

A different United States of America.

The new United States will also see a change. It will no longer be a melting pot because according to Dr. Weaver not all races and culture gets melted, especially the communities that do not look and practice the traditional northern European identities and religions.

The new United States culture will be a cookie cutter or better described, as a salad bowl where the identities and cultures of the United States are determined by the diversity of its people.

These changes are slowly appearing. The United States may have woman as a President or if Obama wins, an African-American President. In Congress it has already has a Muslim senator. More importantly, it had two Secretary of State that are of an African-American heritage.

Is this the changing landscape of the United States? By 2040s, Americans of European decent will be a minority.

As it changes internally and adapt its “integrated” role to the World, we will see a new change of America’s culture and its perception to the world.

Getting to know the other Fellows

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:46:00 +0000

First day of the fellowship was very enlightening.

We had our Induction after lunch on Monday the 26th of March. Of course the 3 minute maximum time for each Fellow was hard to keep considering the very outspoken individuals.

Susie (Standing) addressing EF staff and other fellows

Some Fellows really got my attention for example, Caroline (Ireland) and Wafa (Palestine).

Caroline Casey is a social entrepreneur. She is the Founding CEO of the Aisling Foundation and established The Aisling Foundation in June 2000 . More importantly, Caroline (1st from left) is visually impaired and works to promote the Ability of people with disabilities with particular emphasis on the area of employment

"You don't need eyes to see...you need vision" Caroline Casey

Then there was Wafa from Palestine, whom admits that she is not a fan of the US due to their foreign policy in the middle east. But surprisingly, she admits that the opinions of the US public (the men/ women on the street) is drastically different to what is implemented overseas by the current administration. I have to admit it was a revelation to me too.

Supinya from Thailand was also very interesting. She is an advocate for free speech had won a legal suit that Thaksin threw at her.

After the induction, we went to John Wolf's residence for reception and dinner.

Shirlene (Singapore) and Ratish (India)

Andrea (USA 2007 Fellow) and Susie (Sri Lanka)

Fatin (Saudi Arabia) and Supinya (Thailand)

Jo Guthrie - USA 2007 Fellow (yes same name as Guthrie Bhd. - listed company in Malaysia) and Mahela (John Wife's spouse)

Apparently Jo family name comes from a Scottish town name Guthrie. That is probably how the Malaysian listed company was also named.

Wafa (Palestine), Holly (EF Staff), Jenya (EF Staff), Rizwana (Bangladesh), Rabia (Pakistan) and Mandira (Ratish's spouse)

Hash (Mongolia), Marcelo (Brazil), Rafael (Philippines) and Emine (Netherlands)

A couple days later, Shirlene and I organized a Malaysian dinner for some fellows at the Malaysian restaurant. It was excellent.

The start of my fellowship

noreply@blogger.com (Farith) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:48:00 +0000

Hello from the States !!!

Just a few days on the start of my fellowship. Arrived on the Thursday last week and still recovering from the Jet Lag.

Just in case you ask.. what I am doing in the States..and also asking "fellowship ???".. is this like the fellowship of the rings ?

Nope.

What is the Eisenhower Fellowship (EF) ?

Eisenhower Fellowships engages emerging leaders from around the world to enhance their professional capabilities, broaden their contacts, deepen their perspectives, and unite them in a diverse, global community — a network where dialogue, understanding, and collaboration lead to a more prosperous, just, and peaceful world.

EF has various programs and my trip is under the Multi Nation Program.

The Multi Nation Program, the oldest and largest, brings together 25 emerging leaders from as many countries for two months of individually planned professional agendas. The Fellows travel throughout the United States to meet with relevant leaders in business, government, NGOs, journalism, and academia.

From Malaysia, we have Lat, Dato Johan Raslan (PWC) and Kamal Khalid (Prime Minster's Office) as fellows.

The past few days has been relaxing and it started with a introductory briefing on Friday with my Program Officer (PO), Dan Geisler who happened to be attached to the Malaysian embassy in the 90s. The President of Eisenhower Foundation is John Wolf who used to be the US ambassador for Malaysia in the early 90s.

So these people knows Malaysia very well.

We had a tour of Philadelphia on Saturday and dinner at Dan's place on Saturday night. Met his lovely wife, Christian - who is from France, David from Sudan (Dan is helping him out to form an association for the Sudanese in Phili), Lowena (Friend of Christian) and Susie (a Fellow from Sri Lanka)

(L to R): Christian, Lowena, Susie, Dan and David...I was the cameraman...so not in the picture

Sunday was a free day, so I took the time to finish my outstanding work form Malaysia and catch up on the Heroes. Malaysia is behind on the series, so I needed to catch up to the series here in the US.

After my trip to Borders, I found out that I can watch Heroes for free at http://www.nbc.com/. Thank god for the Interactive media and the web strategy by NBC. Something Media Prima can do also...hmm.

Walking about, getting lost and Malaysian Restaurant

Sunday was a free day, so took the time to walk around. My main objectives is to go to the Phili's Hard Rock to get the fridge magnet, my sis-in-law keeps reminding me about and go the Readings Terminal Market (the local pasa-malam)..but naturally I got lost.

Don't ask me how I got lost in a simple grid design city..duh !

But hey, blessing in disguise. Found a Malaysian restaurant called "Banana Leaf" that serves Teh Tarik, Nasi Lemak and Roti Canai. Awesome !

The owner is Mr. Chong from Subang Jaya and the cook - Fang from Ipoh.

Fang - Roti Canai in the making

Mr. Chong the owner of the restaurant

China Town, Philadelphia

After a good Teh Tarik and Nasi Lemak, I continued my exploration.

Woops ! Wrong kind of Cinema

Being a movie buff, naturally my eyes caught a small hidden place of a Cinema on Sanson Road. My thoughts was hmmm...nice cinema, cozy and clean. Good place to burn some time.

When into the cinema...woops its Gay Cinema. Maybe NOT !!

Looks innocent right ??

Continued my exploration further and decided to head back. Passed the majestic City Hall of Philadelphia. What a beautiful building.

The best way to explore a place....is to get lost !!!