Rhineland vs. Anglo-Saxon?

"[Malcolm Gladwell's new book "Outliers"] is being received by reviewers as a call to action for the Obama age. It could lead policy makers to finally reject policies built on the assumption that people are coldly rational utility-maximizing individuals. It could cause them to focus more on policies that foster relationships, social bonds and cultures of achievement."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/opinion/16brooks.html

In this Op-Ed piece in yesterday's NY Times, it appears yet another call to the more socially coherent characteristics of the Rhineland leadership model: focus on holistic unity instead of individual gain over the common good. It seems to me to be a remedy for these troubled times.

Internationals Series 2009

We are planning for our Internationals Series 2009. On 2 December, 2008, we will be holding a presentation, offer sample workshops and holding discussions with the goal of hearing from our Internationals group what they would like to see offered in 2009. We are also looking at a way to share the costs of this offering amongst all the participants, and their contribution to this business model is essential.

If you would like to be considered for an invitation to this exclusive event, please send an email to Rozalinde at r.zurel@debaak.nl. After 2 December, we will use this blog as a forum for collecting ideas for developing next year's offering. Please feel free to contribute. Comments are open for everyone.

Internationals Dinner
2 December 2008, 17:00 - 21:30
Landhuis de Horst, Driebergen, the Netherlands

17:00 - Meet and greet at the Landhuis
17:15 - 17:45 - Tour of the estate
17:45 - 18:00 - Torch-lit trek back to Landhuis
18:00 - 18:30 - Presentation 2009 Offering and appetizers
18:30 - 19:15 - Sample workshops
19:15 - 19:45 - Tilburg Tigers
19:45 - Dinner and informal discussion at table

Internationals dinner

We've had our third internationals dinner, this time at the restaurant Edel in Amsterdam. Click here to see a video: http://www.debaak.nl/en/deBaakTVint

Intercultural coaching - how it's NOT done

Teaching Baseball as Second Language in China

NY Times, 5 July, 2008

BEIJING — On a dusty, shoddy baseball field here this spring, Jim Lefebvre, manager of the Chinese national baseball team, gathered his players and demonstrated the Red Sox slugger Manny Ramírez’s philosophy on hitting.
“If you hit it here,” Lefebvre said, acting as if he were hitting a ball after it passed his body, “you drive a Chevy.”
“If you hit it here,” he said, pretending to hit the ball as it crossed the middle of the plate, “you drive a Cadillac.”
“But if you hit it here,” he said, pretending to connect a smidgen earlier, “you’re in a Rolls-Royce with a chauffeur! Get it? That’s how much money they have. They don’t count it, they weigh it!”
The players, who speak little English, stood by, looking puzzled. Yi Sheng, the third-base coach and unofficial team interpreter, struggled to relay the story.
Yu Lei, a pitcher, giggled and said in Mandarin: “The coach has got a good sense of humor. We all like his gestures. But, no, I can’t say we understand him most of the time.”

-- To see entire article, click here

Strategic direction

"We strive to be recognized as a partner in international learning. Our goal is that by 2010 our clients will naturally see us as an authoritative institute, on the European continent, with which they can partner to address leadership and other business-related topics in an international context. "

-- from Strategienotitie 2008 - 2011

The Future of Learning and Work : Big Thinkers Forecast the Next Big Moves

This article from Ingeborg:

Recruiting, training and managing will continue to be in great demand, but they are about to undergo substantial change. Prominent thought leaders in the field of learning and work (Malcolm Gladwell, Howard Gardner and Richard Florida) forecast the skills that will be needed in the upcoming labor market and the future challenges for workplace training. How will organizations attract and retain top talent? What will be the prevailing personality of the next generation of managers? The reflections consider characteristics of the future workforce, the importance of learning in hiring and retention, the changing role of trainers, and the importance of coaching.

For network link to full article, click here.

Today's term

Being here at the ASTD 2008 Conference in the US I've had the chance to update my knowledge of the training world. Yes, the emphasis is on the training world in the US, but there is a very strong international contingent. There are 100 members of the NVO2 group from the Netherlands alone, and a very strong representation from South America, all parts of Asia and the Middle East. Germany has a huge area reserved in the Expo, the trade show portion of the conference.

Anyhoo, today's term is "SME". In my experience, recently updated by my interactions here, has always been that "SME" is the equivalent of the Dutch "MKB", small and medium enterprises. However, the most common use of "SME" in the training world appears to be "Subject Matter Expert." These are the content-providers within companies: those who provide the technical background and knowledge for training: technicians, professors, and others who provide the raw content matter for the particular training that is being delivered. A minor use of the term "SME" is "self-made expert", someone who by the dint of their own efforts has become an authority on a given subject.

For network link to doc, click here.

Repatriation

This adaptation from an email to a colleague:

"How is it being back in the US? Being here is great. It's a different world. Even though it's my own country, it's always a shock coming back: the tempo, the commercialization, what's important/not important. When I come back here I think back to my adopted country and think of all those people there who are warning against the "Americanization" of Europe, the Netherlands in particular. Sure, there are some trends, largely symbolic, that may look American to an outsider. But in terms of what these trends mean in terms of value systems . . . Like I said, it's a different world."

San Francicso - Baghdad by the Bay

"When I was a child growing up in Salinas we called San Francisco 'The City.' Of course it was the only city we knew, but I still think of it as the City and so does everyone else who has ever associated with it... San Francisco put on a show for me. I saw her across the bay from the great road that bypasses Sausalito and enters the Golden Gate Bridge. The afternoon sun painted her white and gold -- rising on her hills like a noble city in a happy dream... New York makes its own hills with craning buildings, but this gold and white acropolis rising wave on wave against the blue of the Pacific sky was a stunning thing, a painted thing like a picture of a medieval Italian city which can never have existed. I stopped in a parking place to look at her and the necklace bridge over the entrance from the sea that led to her. Over the green higher hills to the south, the evening fog rolled like herds of sheep coming to cote in the golden city. I've never seen her more lovely."

-- John Steinbeck, "Travels with Charley: in Search of America", 1960

Glossary

Today we begin a glossary of terms for de Baak International. On the left side of the column are the Dutch language terms; on the right side the English equivalent.

These terms will be first introduced here before being placed into the permanent glossary on the de Baak Intranet. Any discussions or questions regarding the translation of a term can take place here. Once the word appears on the intranet, it will have been entered into the lexicon of de Baak. This first list has been proposed by Leo and Barbera and has been reviewed by a small team of internationals (Josette, Caroline de Ruijter, [etc]).

Today's terms:
- Programma = "Program": please note the spelling (US English)
- Programmaassistent = "Program Assistant"
- Programmamaker = "Program Director": the "programmamaker" function at de Baak is very broad and includes a variety of functions with different titles: program manager, trainer, account manager, program designer, marketing manager, sales and acquisition, business developer, etc. "Program Director" was decided upon as the equivalent translation even though it is not particularly accurate (a true Program Director is de Baak's equivalent of an OK director). The reason being that it was the only term that conveys the equivalent weight and status when interacting with international target groups.

The Relationship Between "Creative Economy" and Productivity

U.S. author Richard Florida helps us identify this correlation. Florida recently published the ranking of the countries according to the measurement criterion of his creativity index.
In short, Florida established what he refers to as the three “T’s” of Creativity: Talents, Technology and Tolerance.

The first 20 countries on Florida’s ranking of Talents have a population in which 20% of the people dedicate themselves to activities related to the “Creative Economy”. The Talents index also calculates the percentage of the population with a university degree, the number of scientists, PhDs, and the like.

The Innovation index, also referred to as Technology, is measured by the percentage of investments in research and development and the number of patents per one million inhabitants.

In the first twenty positions in the ranking, the percentage of investments in Research and Development ranges from a minimum 1.11% (New Zealand) to a maximum of 4.27% of GDP (Sweden); in relation to patents, the United States ranks first by far, with 307 patents per one million inhabitants, followed by Japan with 261, Switzerland with 196 and Sweden with 196.
In relation to the third “T" – Tolerance, the study involves more subjective evaluations, obtained through research that measures, above all, a given society’s acceptance of the so-called ethnic and religious minorities, among others.

The Global Creativity Index defined according to the criteria above, ranks the following countries in the first 10 positions. This index was published in “The Flight of the Creative Class”:
1. Sweden
2. Japan
3. Finland
4. United States
5. Switzerland
6. Denmark
7. Iceland
8. Holland
9. Norway
10. Germany

Brazil ranks 43rd on this list of 45 countries, behind Uruguay, Poland, China, Argentina, Turkey, Chile, India and Mexico, and higher only than Peru and Romania.

The research study published in Professor Richard Florida’s “The Flight of the Creative Class” in April, 2005, was conducted by him and by Professor Irene Tinaglia. Both professors are from Carnegie Mellon University, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

The development of regions, cities and nations is related to the growth of the so-called “Creative Economy” and, consequently, to the number of talents resorted to by this economy.
It is interesting to see a cross study of the results of this research study and the results of the research study on productivity prepared by the industry association “Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo/ FIESP (the São Paulo State Federation of Industries) published by Folha de São Paulo newspaper on September 23, 2005, and included in an article written by Marcelo Billi. Below are some excerpts:

“Brazilian competitiveness is still low, as evidenced by the study prepared by FIESP (Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo). The research study analyzed data from 43 countries that together account for 95% of the world’s economy. Brazil ranked 39th on the list prepared by FIESP.

The 43 countries were divided into four groups. Countries with high productivity levels were classified in the group led by the United States. Denmark, which ranked 12th on the list, led the group of countries with satisfactory competitiveness levels. Countries such as Italy, China, Portugal, Russia and Argentina have average competitiveness levels. Finally, the group that Brazil is part of includes countries such as Chile (34th place) and Mexico (36th place)”.

Analyzing the five countries that were best positioned, the research study ranked these countries as follows: United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan and Singapore. Interestingly, the highest ranking countries on the creativity list are as follows: Sweden, Japan, Finland, United States and Switzerland. This is no mere coincidence! There is a direct relationship between the educational level – the main link of the so-called “Creative Economy”, coupled, of course, with other factors - and a given economy’s productivity.

Reprinted from http://www.economiacriativa.com.br/ec/en/eventos/relacao.asp

De Baak Goes International

Welcome to the blog of De Baak Management Center VNO-NCW. This blog has been set up to give a place to show de Baak's international developments. If you want to be a member, send me an email: l.salazar@debaak.nl.