Can Asians Think - Kishore Mahbubani

I think I'm neither the target audience (the book is more geared towards a Western audience) and many years have passed since much of the contents of the book was first published (abt 8 years ago). However, I do find the book a pretty good read - there are many ideas within which are relevant. It took me some time to get through the book through - I can't say foreign affairs and geopolitical issues interest me that much.

But anyway! Here are some of my takeaways:

1. Economic growth and cultural renaissance. The former usually precedes the latter. In this regard, the western's dominance of the cultural complexion of the world (the music, dressing, language, etc) is a result of the economic progress that the west has made over the last few decades. I wonder when we would start seeing the asian culture begin its flourish? Right now, it feels like asia has been trying to beat the west in their own game, but I think that I might be able to see some unexpected changes in my lifetime.
2. Economic growth precedes political transformation. This is probably not a concept that's unfamiliar to students of political science and economics (I think) but I had a little "oh yah hor" moment when I read this. The model that the west had been trying to establish in various countries - immediate creation of democracy without first stabilising the economic situation of the country concerned, has led to rather disappointing results.
   
3. Issues with a "free press". The book makes the point that the free press in the US enjoys too much power and although it has passionately embraced the role of being a moral police for the Government (and other famous people), it seems immune from any moral wrongdoing whatsoever. As one group (the other being financiers of parties) that influences political and policy outcomes greatly, it seems dangerous that they themselves are not in turn checked by another force. In addition, with reference to the earlier pt above, economic progress and political stability have to be present first before a free press can be "unleashed". Even then, we have seen in several asian societies how a wild press can lead to more social issues.
   
4. China and soft power. This was the part that I found the most interesting. The book argues that China has exercised more sophisticated foreign policy than the west had in recent years, and its soft power is slowly beginning to take effect. As a large market for many of its neighbouring countries (even those that are not neighbouring), it wields great influence over the actions of the other countries, which it had used intelligently. The book also argues that China takes a longer term view in terms of its international strategy, while the US is increasingly focused on the short term (which might be the result of how its Government is structured). Another reason is that the west might have been clouded by its arrogance about how much it can use force as a solution to global issues, even though the dynamics of the participants have started to change some time ago.
   

What the dog saw - Malcolm Gladwell

I have always enjoyed reading Malcolm Gladwell's books, and this one I must say I enjoyed tremendously. It provided bite-sized material that gave me new insights and perspectives to various issues - I feel I grew a little wiser and also learnt a little more about the world after reading this.

Some of the key things that I learnt:

• Amplitude - how different tastes blend together - as an important factor in how things taste. Now I know why I love my Coke Zero and Santouka ramen. I suppose this also has implications in other areas of life. Perhaps personalities also have blends, and some people are more well-blended than others?
  
• Body language and other non-verbal cues as a powerful way which we communicate with other beings around us. In the case of a dog, which can't really understand most things we say, these cues become amplified and hence can lead to large chances in the behavior of the dog. I believe that the impact on humans is equally strong, but it is harder to become skilful in dealing with humans.
• The benefit of retrospect - I think many armchair economists / theorists / pundits are tremendously skilled in making sense out of things (and accusations too) in retrospect. And it is quite easy to make things look simple (and oneself look intelligent) with the luxury of hindsight. (I'm starting to doubt all the business books I've read! Oh dear.)
• Choking vs panic - these are two things that I often battle with in times of extreme stress. Now I know which situations to use my brain more and which to use my instincts more.
  
• Late bloomers - this gives me some comfort! There are different kinds of genuises and the type of talent they bring to the world are slightly different in nature. Now that I'm over the age for precocity, perhaps I can aim to do something great by my 50s and 60s.
  

HR Transformation - David Ulrich

Was forced to read this book as I had to go on a study trip on HR transformation, which I had very little idea about. Turns out that there is a whole new world to HR which I never knew about.

In a nutshell, driven by David Ulrich (who wrote the book), HR has been transforming itself structurally and functionally so that it could deliver more strategic value to businesses, a opposed to the basic and transactional work that HR traditionally performed. With the transformation, HR will raise its position as an equal partner alongside line managers. At the same time, the transactional work is agglomerated, technology-enabled and streamlined to cut costs.

During the trip to UK to study other organisations, I discovered that many organisations were implementing similar transformations in their HR functions. It does seem like there's some advances going on in the field of HR, and hopefully this field will grow bigger in the coming years. Might be an opportunity to capitalise on in the future, and makes my work now a little more relevant!