National Identification Cards are on their Way

As we see more and more pressure for action against illegal immigrants, we are headed towards a national identity card for everyone. Since we will not be able to make illegal immigrants carry identification showing that they are illegal, we can only make citizens and legal residents carry I.D.
Therefore as the demand for more controls on illegal immigrants and terrorists grows, the inevitable requirement is that everyone, of all ages, will have to carry ID. After all, if we make it everyone over 16, how do we know that a young person without ID really is only 15!

Networking Groups can be extremely valuable

Over the past few years the idea of Networking has taken off. However, it has changed from a process of people making friends and helping each other into a more aggressive, "what's in it for me" approach. As a result, one of the few places where people can meet others in a safer environment is a Networking Group. Organizations such as the Marketing Executives Networking Group foster an environment where members are under a moral obligation to "pass it on." As a result for most people, joining a networking group is a very productive solution.
We may wish for the good old days, but as new technology speeds up the world, it makes sense to adapt.

Do we over-emphasize strategy and ignore execution?

There is so much emphasis on strategy in business today. Often it is flawed. Sometimes this is because it is based in incorrect or incomplete knowledge, sometimes because it is based on faulty logic. Yet, most of the business failures may be rooted in inadequate execution of strategy rather than the strategy itself. This applies whether the strategy is for new products, acquisition, expansion to new geography or re-alignment of product markets.
Business schools find it difficult to teach execution. Most corporations do not train managers in it effectively. Yet, there are principles of execution which can be learned. However, they are best learned by a combination of experience and process.

So much hope for the new year - 2008! A mark of humanity?

At the start of each new year, we all have so much hope. Perhaps this is because we have been so disappointed in the old one. But almost all humans look forward to what the new year will bring. We make New Year resolutions, expect completely different experiences, and have a party to celebrate the new year. This is a mark of humanity. We are optimists. We hope and even expect change and improvement.

The situation in Pakistan shows how complex South Asia really is

Whether it is Bangladesh, India, Pakistan or Afghanistan, understanding history and culture is critical to being able to foresee possible outcomes. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto was always a foreseeable possibility, yet it seems to have caught most by surprise. Did leaders, diplomats and journalists simply not want to believe it because of the potential catastrophic consequences? Why is Pakistan, with such superficially similar roots to India taking such a different path? Did the character of Jinnah, so different and yet so similar to Nehru result in such different results? How did Subhas Chandra Bose impact Bengal, even to this day? What is the history of Afghans and Western invaders?

History often makes us feel good - but is it truthful?

The purpose of history as taught in schools, shown in movies and mentioned in the press is ofter to reassure us that we have a proud heritage, are on the side of truth and justice as well as to reinforce civic lessons. In order to succeed at this, liberties with the truth are often taken. One way to see this is to read history as in the text books of two neighboring countries, such as Canada and the United States, or Germany and France. While it serves an apparently noble purpose, it can also separate neighbors who have more in common than the history books show, and often fails to let us really understand the real differences which do exist. This has created many conflicts, in Africa, South Asia, Eastern Europe and even Western Europe.