Lets Be Agile
I read somewhere, a long time ago, that writing your thoughts on things around has a calming effect. This has been true for me. Essentially I don't write for my readers (all 3 of them), but myself. So when I don't feel like writing. I don't.
So now I've been on a several weeks hiatus. Maybe it was the darkness. Maybe everything around me here in Iceland just seemed a little unreal. There's something strange going on when the temperature hits double digits in February. Global warming is coming and it's happening fast. Which is a scary thing. I just got a postcard (yes, one of those made out of paper) from a friend in Japan and there are scary things happening there. The thing is that it's hard for those of us who live so far north to really understand why global warming is a bad thing. Looking out of my window and watching a clear blue sky with the sunlight glittering in the snow. It just seems unreal to think that hotter weather is a problem. Somewhat as unreal as the news about the current situation.
We have a new central bank governor. This, I believe, is all for the good. We've now seen the culprits of the crisis removed from their positions. The high flying bankers are gone. There are new people in the Icelandic financial watchdog. There's a new government and now we've done some cleaning in the central bank. There's even been a few people who have apologized for making mistakes. Not the key people. They are still blaming one another for their own failure. After awhile I realized that's probably how they see it. I've become convinced that it's a built in problem of our system. Competitive behavior based upon the principle "winner takes all" simply leads to certain specific problems. Now, I want to ensure that I'm not misunderstood. I'm all for competitive behavior. I think it's the driver behind many good things.
Now think about this for a second. Without the complex and highly advanced information and communications structure we enjoy today. This latest econmic crisis would have been averted. So would anyone seriously suggest that we stop using the Internet. I hope not, as that would mean I would have to find a new job. But some people seem to think that we shouldn't allow competition. Clearly the cause of the financial crisis was competition. The capitalist system caused it. Absolutely right and spot on. The only thing is. I'm not really convinced that there are any better alternative. Instead I believe that we need to be more agile. Think in the short term (not just, but also). Five year plans don't work. Six month plans don't work either. Two week plans seem to work just great. Plus we need surveillance and some authority that can provide the checks on the people who have access to capital. There are all sorts of good things that can be done. We can also make all sorts of silly mistakes. Here's what the past few months have made absolutely clear in my mind. Allow people access to "free" money and they will take it and run as quickly as possible. Show them how to do this without breaking any laws and they will take advantage of it. So clearly we need a highly regulated financial system. Enron and now the collapse of the banks show the danger of unregulated markets. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, that those in power at Enron and in the banks, did not at any given point give more than 5 seconds thought about the other minority owners. Their actions speak for themselves in that regard. So my conclusion is that we need more democratization of business. Not that I know much about business. But I understand a few things.
Now I mentioned before that I got a postcard. A paper thing with a photo on the outside. It was nice to get such an actual analog thing. I like it. Just because we can send e-mail, shouldn't mean that we stop doing all the analog things. A postcard is just about perfect. It doesn't have enough room for a lot of stuff. So you don't have to think long about what to write. It makes the receiver happy. So I say we should send more postcards and do more analog stuff. Do analog stuff and be more agile. Seems like a good project for the next 2 weeks.
So now I've been on a several weeks hiatus. Maybe it was the darkness. Maybe everything around me here in Iceland just seemed a little unreal. There's something strange going on when the temperature hits double digits in February. Global warming is coming and it's happening fast. Which is a scary thing. I just got a postcard (yes, one of those made out of paper) from a friend in Japan and there are scary things happening there. The thing is that it's hard for those of us who live so far north to really understand why global warming is a bad thing. Looking out of my window and watching a clear blue sky with the sunlight glittering in the snow. It just seems unreal to think that hotter weather is a problem. Somewhat as unreal as the news about the current situation.
We have a new central bank governor. This, I believe, is all for the good. We've now seen the culprits of the crisis removed from their positions. The high flying bankers are gone. There are new people in the Icelandic financial watchdog. There's a new government and now we've done some cleaning in the central bank. There's even been a few people who have apologized for making mistakes. Not the key people. They are still blaming one another for their own failure. After awhile I realized that's probably how they see it. I've become convinced that it's a built in problem of our system. Competitive behavior based upon the principle "winner takes all" simply leads to certain specific problems. Now, I want to ensure that I'm not misunderstood. I'm all for competitive behavior. I think it's the driver behind many good things.
Now think about this for a second. Without the complex and highly advanced information and communications structure we enjoy today. This latest econmic crisis would have been averted. So would anyone seriously suggest that we stop using the Internet. I hope not, as that would mean I would have to find a new job. But some people seem to think that we shouldn't allow competition. Clearly the cause of the financial crisis was competition. The capitalist system caused it. Absolutely right and spot on. The only thing is. I'm not really convinced that there are any better alternative. Instead I believe that we need to be more agile. Think in the short term (not just, but also). Five year plans don't work. Six month plans don't work either. Two week plans seem to work just great. Plus we need surveillance and some authority that can provide the checks on the people who have access to capital. There are all sorts of good things that can be done. We can also make all sorts of silly mistakes. Here's what the past few months have made absolutely clear in my mind. Allow people access to "free" money and they will take it and run as quickly as possible. Show them how to do this without breaking any laws and they will take advantage of it. So clearly we need a highly regulated financial system. Enron and now the collapse of the banks show the danger of unregulated markets. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, that those in power at Enron and in the banks, did not at any given point give more than 5 seconds thought about the other minority owners. Their actions speak for themselves in that regard. So my conclusion is that we need more democratization of business. Not that I know much about business. But I understand a few things.
Now I mentioned before that I got a postcard. A paper thing with a photo on the outside. It was nice to get such an actual analog thing. I like it. Just because we can send e-mail, shouldn't mean that we stop doing all the analog things. A postcard is just about perfect. It doesn't have enough room for a lot of stuff. So you don't have to think long about what to write. It makes the receiver happy. So I say we should send more postcards and do more analog stuff. Do analog stuff and be more agile. Seems like a good project for the next 2 weeks.
Ummæli