THE DREAM IN ACTION

I spent the last 2 hours relaxing at a tea shop in a market called Tea City in Zhong Shan Park, Shanghai. As I read (4 Hour Work Week) the man running the shop (Wu Jin) prepared and poured tea in the typical Chinese fashion. My goal was to read, relax and have tea. The shop I chose delivered perfectly. I also learned a very valuable lesson about underselling your competition from this shop owner.

As I walked through the market all the tea shops were essentially the same. 1 or 2 workers per shop waiting to prepare your tea. Each shop had tea products ranging from tea sets, pots, containers, and tea itself. They all basically offered the same thing so how was a customer supposed to choose which shop to go to?  Well, I made my decision based on where I thought I could relax the most and with all the vendors practically yelling at you as you walk by, I didn’t see that I would be able to relax very easily. The vendors all yelling for your business was the offline equivalent of spam. So, I chose the vendor that didn’t yell at me, the one who didn’t spam me. I chose the shop where the vendor was sitting peacefully in the back reading and wouldn’t scream at me. He differentiated himself by underselling. This was a valuable lesson.

With all products and service roughly the same it was difficult to differentiate from shop to shop. I was very happy to find one shop out of 30+ shops that was inviting and could deliver a moment of relaxation. This is a less is more situation. The same principle may be applied to a guy trying to pick up a girl in a bar. If the guy in the bar doesn’t hit on the beautiful girl in the corner but instead gets her attention and waits for her interest to bring her to him, he will likely have a better chance. Hubspot always preaches the importance and value of inbound marketing and this is classic inbound marketing. Create a good product and let the customer come to you. Put out the right “vibe” and wait for her to come to you. Save your energy and your budget by not spamming the customer.

Then, 2 hours into it, I had plenty of tea, was very relaxed, had a chance to read, and decided to buy about 500RMB worth of tea products. I got 2 hand carved tea containers, 2 different Oolong teas, and traditional wooden Chinese tea tools.

I should also say that I didn’t even get charged for the tea that I drank, only for the products I purchased. In the future when I recommend the Tea City to friends I will definitely point them back to Wu Jin’s shop. By underselling his competition Wu Jin differentiated himself perfectly and got quite a bit of business. You should try the same.

On Saturday afternoon I went to the top of the Shanghai World Financial Center. This sky scraper is the tallest building in the world (if you don’t count the spire on top of others). And, it’s the tallest structure in China. The building stands 492 meters high or 1,615 ft. The technology in this building was very impressive. Everything from the urinals to the elevators were top notch. As you can see in the picture to the left there is a walk-way in the middle of the open circle. This walkway is the observatory deck and has parts of the floor that are glass so you look directly down under you to the depths of Shanghai’s financial district. The views of Shanghai can’t be beat from this building, and as long as you catch it on a clear day to avoid the thick Shanghai pollution, you’re sure to get some great photos.

The building to the right (in the picture),  Jin Mao Tower,  used to be the highest in the world, then Sears and The Petronas Towers were built. In true Chinese 1 up man-ship fashion the Shanghai World Financial Center was built (as the tallest in the world). Now, with the Chicago Spire and Burj Dubai planned, Shanghai has already broken ground and gotten approval on yet another world record sky scrapper. The crazy thing is that this new building will be right across the street from this one!

With 2 weeks of Shanghai experience under my belt, the most obvious thing that stands out is the impressive architecture of Shanghai’s 71 sky scrappers. The city is much more spread out than NYC or other metropolis’s. At first glance you may think it’s smaller, but as you drive for 10-20 minutes on the highway and realize that you’re still downtown, you realize just how impressive and massive this city of 21 million actually is.

Sunday night photo from the Bund on the opposite side of Pudong, in Shanghai, China.

Tonight we are headed to Skybar at the top of the needle behind me. Yes it is true, the dream is certainly in Action!

Here are some pics from the trip thus far. I’ll be updating the China 2009 set a few times a week with new pics.

This is our network solution for our Ecommerce case study. I’m not sure how many of the readers of this blog are technical but  I’m definitely open to thoughts, tweaks, or suggestions?

I’ll also have to impliment a similar solution for my next role so it will be helpful to learn from this example. Cheers!

I’ll probably end up posting a cumulative version of this list at the end of my trip but I wanted to share a few of the crazier things I’ve experienced here in Shanghai over the first week. Some are just cultural and some are just weird…some are both.

-massages while urinating – You know that guy that every hates tipping just to give you some soap…well, in China when using the urinal in a mens restroom in most bars or clubs there is a guy to massage your back. I’m not a fan. Special messagy?

-employees watching window washer (silently) – I was grabbing a snack the other day and I walked by a conference room and there were 15 hotel employees standing at the window watching the window washer in silence. Upon my return about 15 minutes later, they still stood there. Awkward.

-rumpled table cloths – I’ve not seen a table cloth just normally drapped over a table. Almost every single one is ruffled or folded in some artistic fashion.

-pigeon soup – The other night I had a soup that taste similar to chicken noodle soup, except without noodles. It turned out the soup was pigeon…and by the way, there was an entire pigeon in the soup…head and all. Yum!

-waitress got slapped from dropping glass – (I did not see this) The other morning my friend watched a waitress drop a plate at breakfast. About 30 seconds later the manager of the service people (of which there are many) come up to the waitress and slap her. I thought that was a not an equal punishment for her error.

-doorbell ditching from room service personnel – I was taking a nap during my lunch today my room doorbell range. I got up to answer the door and when I opened it I saw a lady (hotel staff) hiding across the hall behing the corner. Once she knew she got caught she said, “sorry”, in terribly pronounced english and ran off the other direction. I check for a flaming bag of shit but couldn’t find one.

So, I’m sure there will be many more experiences to come but these are just a few of the crazy and culturally different experiences I’ve had thus far.

“It seemed an advantage to be traveling alone. Our responses to the world are crucially molded by the company we keep, for we temper our curiosity to fit in with the expectations of others. They may have particular visions of who we are and hence may subtly prevent certain sides of us from emerging… Being closely observed by a companion can also inhibit our observation of others; then, too, we may become caught up in adjusting ourselves to the companions questions and remarks, or feel the need to make ourselves seem more normal than is good for our curiosity.”
–Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel, (2002)

These words of Alain de Bottom couldn’t be more true of my last day in Hong Kong. This day, the crew decided to split up again. I decided to avoid taking the more traditional tram to the Hong Kong International airport over on Lantau Island. This tram (that we took into town) cost $100HK and took about 40 minutes time. I decided on the more adventurous journey… to take a ferry from Hong Kong Island to the rural town of  Mui Wo (on Lantau Island), then the bus to the airport (so I thought). Plus I planned to see the huge Buddah on Lantaue before my trip to the airport (again, so I thought).

On the ferry I met some Brits on Honeymoon and exchanged engagement sentiments, always fun to relate with foreigners from the west when submerged in the east. In my Fodor’s travel book of China, it stated the ferry should last about 25 minutes. It totaled near 45. Then when I arrived in Mai Wo there was about 80% less English on signs and buildings than on HK island. This turned out to be an issue. I found out via the Brits that there was no way I would make the bus to the Buddah and back, and still make my 19:30 flight, so plans changed for the first time.

The airport bus directly from Mui Wo was supposed to arrive at 16:20. At 17:00 it wasn’t there and the first bit of worry that I was going to miss my flight crept in to my head. I’m sure you’ve experienced the feeling of missing a flight, let me just tell you, it’s worse when you’re in China and don’t understand a damn thing people are saying.

I decided with the help of an English speaking American/Chinese backpacker that I should take a bus to Tang  Tung then make a transfer to the airport. Again, this means I have to read more signs and introduce more variables into making my flight. Not good.

As I was getting onto the bus to Tang Tung I had no idea of the price. I stood at the entry for a full minute trying to make out the fare of the ride until the entire bus just got fed up with my non-Chinese shinanigans and began yelling. I figure I’m the luckiest human alive because right about that moment, an English speaking South African “bloke” walked in behind me paid my fare and said he would explain the route to me for the rest of the trip.

I followed the South Africans directions to a T and found myself arriving at the airport with about 40 minutes to spair before my flight. As I was checking in I had a grin from ear to ear. I was worried much of the afternoon about missing my flight out of Hong Kong but as I realized that I was fine, I had time to reflect on how much fun I had blazing the path on my own! Traveling in this environment solo has got to be one of the most fun experiences I’ve had. 

As I finish writing this post, I’m sitting in my hotel in Shanghai. Much more to come from Shanghai soon. Be well.

Today I’m traveling around solo in Hong Kong, the first of my 3 city month in China. We’ve been here for 2.5 days and we leave on Saturday evening. First impressions: amazing city.

When we first arrived we hunted around for a place to stay on the Island of Hong Kong. The places were expensive and I didn’t want to pay top $ for a place that I knew I wouldn’t be spending much time in. I finally convinced the group to head across the harbor to Kowloon. It’s obviously the more “seedy” of the two areas but for cheap accommodation’s that’s the place to be. We were walking down Nathan St. in Kowloon as we were approached by an Indian guy first trying to sell us a suit, next a watch (Rolex & Breitling, which Dave and Tony later purchased, only to have then break about 20 mins after), then he proceeded to sell us a room. We checked out the room and it was…well, you get what you pay for. We’re paying $300 Hong Kong dollars which is about $19 US dollars per person, per night. It’s all about the experience right.

We decided that this first night would be one we would rage. We took it all in going to Lan Kwai Fong and meeting as many people as possible. In a club called Beirut, we met the CFO of Pepsi Asia. He was awesome, and a huge proponent of Hong Kong. He was also very encouraging about our roles with GE. Then we met a bunch of Indonesian girls who it seems just party and have been in HK for 13+ years. Sounds fun, but no thanks. I met a sweet bro, Patrick, from Dublin who works for a ritzy hotel chain. He worked for their corporate office in Ireland or the UK (didn’t catch it) and now here in HK. He’s been here for 5 mths and he also loved it. Pretty much everyone we met loved living here in HK. We stayed out extremely late, took in as much of the cities nightlife as is safely possible, and were successful in avoiding the ladies that go out for business, if you catch my drift. That apparently runs rampant in HK.

Kowloon, where we are staying isn’t as far as it seems on the map. We staying in a guest house (same as a hostel) that is owned & operated by some Indian guys. It seems way sketch when you first get there but I’ve been encouraging the guys to not compare it to anything they’ve experienced in the US. Things are different and just because it may seem unsafe or dirty to US standards it’s actually not to bad. They’re not really buying it. HAHA!  As far as the ferry to get over to Hong Kong Island it costs a total of 1.70 Honk Kong dollars which is 1.70/7.5 = uber cheap. It takes only about 10 minutes to get across and the views of the harbor and downtown are beautiful.

The next day we walked around the city just to take as much in as possible. We had 3 main requirements on the first full day. 1) Ride on the tram system, which is terrifyingly amazing and efficient. 2) Go to the Victoria Peak for the day, dusk, and night views (pics to come). The city is brilliant as the lights really bring things to life. 3) Eat authentic meals. Aside from Kevin’s Subway sandwich as about 2pm, we ate very authentically. I had porks, beefs, and lots and lots of steamed rice. Yum. We called it quits relatively early that night so we could maximize the next day.

Today started around 7:15am. I left the main part of downtown and came East, past Wan Chai to North Point by the Victoria Park. Here I found the Hong Kong public library so I’m stealing some free internet. The library is nicer that any I’ve every been in and was happy to get into such a calm environment. I feel a little bad about sitting in the library writing this post when there is much to be consumed just outside but a little reflection and rest can’t be a bad thing right now. It’s 12:50p and its about 74 degrees and quite humid outside. For me, it’s paradise. I’m thoroughly enjoying the change from Milwaukee’s 20 degrees.

I’ve really enjoyed Hong Kong so far for one main reason. It’s diversity. My first impressions of Shanghai were not as good because it’s ALL Chinese. Hong Kong has whites (British, American, and Aussie), blacks, Chinese, Mexicans….everything. I love that. But these are just first impressions. I’d say 1/3 of the people can at least understand and help a little in English.

The place I had lunch about 2 hours ago was brutal, no pictures on the menu to point to, only Cantonese characters on the menu and no English speakers at all. I finally lucked out when one of the workers began eating. He had a plate of pork with steamed, white rice. That’s exactly what I wanted so I just got up, walked to his meal, and pointed to it. It worked and they loved it. I got my pork and steamed rice and had an amazing lunch. I also got laughed at for ordering the equivalent of a 40 ounce Tsing Tao beer at 11am. Oh well. I met a Hong Konanese taxi driver at later that lunch named Kai, great guy. We spoke about Obama and the US economy. He told me about the Chinese financial crisis in the 90’s and how it cost him his job. He started driving taxi’s and 11 years later still does. He’s the one who gave me the tip about the library. I figured I might be able to get free web so here I am.

The guys are all meeting back up tonight around 7p or 19:00 as they’d say here. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to write again until I get to Shanghai on Sat or Sun. Hope all is well in you’re part of the world. I would love any tips, comments, or feedback! From Hong Kong. Cheers.

As you are reading this post, I’m likely on a plane a la Shanghai, China. This image of Shanghai was taken by my friend Blake when he was on this same trip 1 year ago.

I’ll be in China for about a month and for that time this blog will likely (temporarily) transform from a startups, social web, entrepreneurship blog, to a travel stories, pictures and travel video’s blog. It’s likely I’ll be tying the topics together but I wanted to give you a heads up on what is to come.

While I’m in China, I’m planning a 3 day trip to Beijing where I hope to meet Xiaoteng Jin the CEO of Linkool, a Beijing based software startup. If you’re in Hong Kong, Shanghai, or Beijing and run a web startup I’d love to see if we can connect in my spair time! Much more to come!

A few days ago, the San Diego based Mashable writer, Jenn VanGrove, wrote a post comparing and contrasting Last.fm and Slacker.com, 2 popular music streaming sites. I commented and I also subscribed to the comment feed so I could follow the conversation. I usually don’t, but wanted to see what people had to say.

It was interesting to hear people go back and forth comparing feature sets and usability issues. Then a certain comment caught my eye. Someone shared a Last.fm and Slacker.com mashup called lastSlacker. It takes much of the social benefits of Last.fm and works in the more mainstream music of Slacker. Very interesting.

Mashups like this are what make the new web so cool, so flexible, and give it so much potential. API’s which allow one  application to share the data of another application are creating infinite possibilities. Not all but some of these possibilities are providing huge value to the consumer. Why pick and chose between applications, use both, easily with a slick interface!

This goes right along with my huge support for platform transparency. This means that the user stops worrying about what services they are using and starts focusing on the service they are receiving. In this case, the user will be more concerned with the music they are listening to and not the whether they are using Last.fm or Slacker.

In another example, people will stop worrying about using Twitter, Identi.ca, Yammer, or Facebook status updates, they will just  update there message and all/any service they’ve hooked up will be populated. Their friends will be updated and the value will be received without the distraction of, what service should I use? This is the new web, service vs. services.

ActionsTalk #26 – Thief Wine

Amateurs built the Arc

Professionals built the Titanic

I’ve recently been thinking proactively about what to do when a partnership going wrong. I’m not talking about a co-founder, or good friend I’m talking about a client partnership. You should already have a agreement/contract in writing, I won’t even dive into the importance of that. These are some thoughts for after the fact. Note: I’ve not had to use any of the below statements with partners, I’ve been lucky. So far.

1)
Call out their good nature…
“Dear client, we appreciate the work we’ve done together, but we noticed that you’ve not yet _________.  If you need any help on the matter, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.”

2)
Call out their integrity…
“Dear client, You have agreed to ________.  We signed the agreement in good faith and will honor our side.  If you think we need to modify the contract, we would be happy to discuss a modified deal. We understand you concern with _________, and would be willing to discuss a price that is fair for both parties.”

3)
Call out their sense of the law….
“Dear client, It is clear our signed contract requires you to ______. We think it is clear you are violating the terms of the agreement. Please let us know if you think the terms of the contract are unclear.”

4)
Add to the old agreement, don’t change it…
“Dear client,  since there has been no communication, we assume that you wish to renegotiate the original agreement.  Our price for the service we’ve provided is $1,000 per day, retroactive to the time we started working with Company X, plus $100/hr * 50hrs of time spent implementing our product with your service.”

5)
At last resort, you’ll have to use the legal system…
Call a lawyer. Hopefully you trust them, it could get real expensive.

Usually people aren’t trying to screw you and are more than willing to diplomatically work out the misunderstanding. Don’t embarrass or threaten before you have to or it could get ugly for no reason.

Been listening to (RAA) The Rural Alberta Advantage a lot recently. Good tunes.

Have a taste with ‘Don’t haunt this place‘ or ‘ Frank AB‘.

*photo credit to Fred Wilson – AVC.com

Last week I had the great opportunity to speak at Alverno College on the power of embracing the web to professionally network. It’s something that I love doing and something that I’ve really focused on as you know. Using social networks, especially twitter and my blog to meet people in person has been a blast and extremely valuable to me. I was very excited to get the chance to share those experiences with a great group of people at Alverno.

The night I presented there were some technical difficulties and I was unable to get my Mac to project. Luckily I had already uploaded the deck to slideshare.net and was able to use another laptop with a web connection to present. Went perfectly with my talk. Thank you slideshare!

Here is the deck from that night.

One fo the huge reasons that Gmail has been so damn successful is how simple they made the email experience. You can do it from anywhere, reliably. You can pull other email accounts into your Gmail inbox so you don’t have to have a Gmail.com email in order to use the service. Also, they solved a huge problem that people were having at the time of Gmails release…SPAM!

I don’t even think about spam any more. My Gmail account does such a good job that I’ll have maybe one spam email get through their filter a month, maybe. That’s pretty impressive!

Recently, the service that I use for managing my blog comments has been hit hard by spammers. Daniel of Disqus has been alerted and I believe they are working to solve the issue. This screen shot shows what the spam messages are looking like. “Nice article. nice site….” makes you think that it’s a legit comment. The first time I even responded with a very warm, thank you very much. That kind of stuff makes me feel great when someone enjoys my writing. Then when I saw the same comment 2-4 times per day I obviously knew it was a spam thing.

What I don’t understand about this spam is that it’s not advertising anything, it drew no attention to a site or event the commenters name (a common comment spam strategy). I really don’t understand this one but I do know that as I’ve given Disqus permission to come directly to my inbox, they really need to take this sort of thing seriously. Keeping Disqus simple and easy to use without undesired distractions and nuisances will be critical to their success. I’ll definitely continue to support Disqus and help them test through these issues.

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