Business with style and a smile

It has been another change of scenery. Not as drastic as the one from Nairobi to Hong Kong, but still I cannot help noticing the differences. I am now in Singapore, sitting with a glass of red wine in my friend Nicolaj's apartment overlooking Robertson Quay from the 13th floor. We are still within the old English empire so the electrical plugs are still the sames as in Kenya and Hong Kong and they also drive in the wrong (left) side of the road.

Both Hong Kong and Singapore are to Asia what Switzerland is to Europe. They make a big part of their living functioning as a regional hubs and tax refuges for the big international corporations. All three of them administrate an amazing amount of wealth despite the fact that they produce few or no physical goods. But they do i very differently and I particularly like the way the Singaporeans do it. Just like in Hong Kong and Switzerland everything is very well organized. Public transportation (for some reason always used as a measure for public administration of countries) works like clockwork and you are very safe whereever you go. There is more space in Singapore, so the city is not as build up and congested as Hong Kong, but on the other hand it does not having the enormous natural beauty of Switzerland.

What I like about the Singaporeans is that they do it with style and with a smile. They take their time to enjoy what they do. It is not a matter of just delivering a service in the most effective what, but it is also about how you do it. Take the taxi drivers for example. In Hong Kong they will take you from A to B in the fastest, shortest and most effective way without cheating you. You will be thrown around on the backseat as they take the turn in order to reach this goal.

The taxi drivers in Singapore will also go the shortest way without ever cheating you (sometimes it is even hard to get them to accept the tip), but they will do it with a big smile, cracking jokes and telling you about the things they think you should see in their beloved city. They are always in a good mood and if everything else fails you can always talk Premier League football with them. One of them even showed me his ManU tattoo on his shoulder one time. The taxi drivers are a good representation of business in Singapore. It is all about business, don't get that wrong, but it is the way it is done that I find appealing. Much more than in Hong Kong and Switzerland.

Dennis, another old friend of mine, is also here, so the talk goes on the old days and what has happened since we met last. I was out here for the Formula 1 last year, the first F1 for both me and Singapore. The city is now preparing for its second race which will be held this coming week. Unfortunately I will be gone by then, but at least I had the experience already. Another weird thing about being here is that it feels like I was here yesterday. I can remember everything we did and all the details. I just cannot get it to fit in my brain that it was a year ago. Another one of those scary reminders of how time flies.

We are heading to Boat Quay for Indian food, then to Robertson walk to catch some other friends that are there for tonight's Premier League game.

Global mindsets

We have had a relatively soft landing after South Africa. We have been in the class room all week with Professors Cyril Bouquet and Jean Pierre Jeannet working through the subject of 'Managing within global companies'. We have been through two cases each day that have stressed the importance of approaching problems with a global mindset in today's world of business. Today we had a really interesting case about the Swiss America's Cup team, Alinghi. It was the story about how they in a period of 37 months build both a team and a boat in landlocked Switzerland and moved it all to New Zealand to bring back the most prestigious trophy in the world of sailing.

Most of all the case was an example of how much building a high performing sports team resembles building a high performing business team. Tomorrow, we will continue down the same road with cases on Manchester United, Juventus, Real Madrid and Ajax Amsterdam. I will be wearing my AaB jersey tomorrow. Never heard about AaB? I don't blame you. It is my club in Denmark.

I have my apartment full of guests this weekend. 5 of them, actually, if you include my girlfriend. They have chosen the perfect time to come. I took this picture when I was out biking in the vineyards east of Lausanne the other day. The picture is taken with my phone and does not at all justify the amazing colors; the vineyards are completely green and the lake has a very deep blue color. It is an absolutely breath taking view. It is equally breath taking trying to climb these hills by bike. Eventually I had to give up and walk. Anyway, if you have been considering visiting some of you friends in Lausanne, NOW is the time to do it. I am afraid that in a months or two nature will start preparing its winter coat again.