Quote of the week

“We basically have two bankrupt parties bankrupting the country. With all the vested interests that have accrued around these two parties, they cannot think about the overall public good and the longer term anymore because both parties are trapped in short-term, zero-sum calculations.”

–Larry Diamond, Stanford University, in today’s NY Times Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman

Quote of the week

“I am a huge bull on this country. We will not have a double-dip recession at all. I see our businesses coming back almost across the board.”

— Warren Buffett, at the Montana Economic Development Summit on Sept. 13

Quote of the week

“One of the things you obviously do is you have to destroy this notion that it’s okay to trade against your customers. Maybe what you say is you can be a firm like Schwab that has customers, but you don’t trade in anything for yourself. Or you can be a hedge fund. But you can’t be both.

Because the minute you start trading against the customers is the minute you start designing things that aren’t good for the customers. And the minute you start designing things that aren’t good for the customers, you start designing CDOs, subprime mortgage bonds. You start to misallocate capital. You’re trying to misallocate capital.“

— Michael Lewis, from his Bloomberg interview where he discusses his new book, “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine” (on my reading list)

Good career advice

Interesting NY Times interview of Guy Kawasaki, managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, and co-founder of  Alltop.com. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc.

Q. And what would you say to business school graduates?

A. It’s a more general lesson, but in the end, success in business comes from the willingness to grind it out. It’s not because of the brilliant idea. It’s because you are willing to work hard. That’s the key to my success.

Q. Tell me about the best bosses you worked for.

A. My boss in the jewelry business was great because he taught me how to sell and how a business reputation was built on trust.

My boss at Apple was a guy named Mike Murray, who was the director of marketing of the Macintosh division. He gave me so much rope that I could hang myself and sometimes I did. After a while, your neck gets stronger and you also learn not to hang yourself.

A few levels above me, I learned from Steve Jobs that people can change the world. Maybe we didn’t get 95 percent market share, but we did make the world a better place. I learned from Steve that some things need to be believed to be seen. These are powerful lessons — very different from saying we just want to eke out an existence and keep our heads down.

Read the entire interview here.

Quote of the week

“Most everyone in the industrialized world can get their hands on a silo full of data and stimulus in a matter of minutes. The challenge is to get the most relevant, meaningful, contextualized information so that we can turn that into useful knowledge and wisdom.”

— David Shenk

Quote of the week

“We intend to return to the basics of the Toyota Way.”

— Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Corp., referring to a production philosophy based on continuous improvement and efficiency that once made the company the envy of global manufacturers.

Quote of the week

“The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug.”

— from the best-selling 2002 book by New York Times war correspondent, Chris Hedges, and opening quote in the critically-acclaimed 2009 film, “The Hurt Locker”

Quote of the week

“I don’t believe the American people want us to focus on our job security. They want us to focus on their job security. I don’t think they want more gridlock. I don’t think they want more partisanship. I don’t think they want more obstruction. I’m a big believer not just in the value of a loyal opposition but in its necessity.”

— President Obama, from today’s televised debate with Republicans.

Quote of the week

“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things … and no good thing ever dies.”

–Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), from “The Shawshank Redemption”

Avatar: An awe-inspiring WOW

James Cameron’s new film, “Avatar,” opens tomorrow. The production budget was estimated to top $230 million. The New York Times gave it a big thumbs up.

Mr. Cameron lays out the fundamentals of the narrative efficiently, grabbing you at once with one eye-popping detail after another and on occasion almost losing you with some of the comically broad dialogue.

He’s a masterly storyteller…Mr. Cameron has said that he started thinking about the alien universe that became Pandora and its galactic environs in “Avatar” back in the 1970s. He wrote a treatment in 1996, but the technologies he needed to turn his ideas into images didn’t exist until recently.

Few films return us to the lost world of our first cinematic experiences, to that magical moment when movies really were bigger than life (instead of iPhone size), if only because we were children. Movies rarely carry us away, few even try. They entertain and instruct and sometimes enlighten. Some attempt to overwhelm us, but their efforts are usually a matter of volume. What’s often missing is awe, something Mr. Cameron has, after an absence from Hollywood, returned to the screen with a vengeance. He hasn’t changed cinema, but with blue people and pink blooms he has confirmed its wonder.

From The New York Times.

Quote of the week

“All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Sharpest recession rally

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich offers his opinion of  the rally here.

From The Big Picture blog.

Quote of the week

“Is this bill all that I would want? Far from it. Is it all that it can be? No. But when history calls, history calls. And I happen to think that the consequences of inaction dictate the urgency of Congress to take every opportunity to demonstrate its capacity to solve the monumental issues of our time.”

Senator Olympia J. Snowe, Republican of Maine, on her Finance Committee vote supporting the health care bill

Everyone gets paid on commission

Just read this post on Seth Godin’s blog and thought it was worth putting here in its entirety:

The Washington Post recently laid off a columnist because his blog posts didn’t get enough web traffic.

Of course, in the old days, the newspaper had no real way to tell which columns got read and which ones didn’t. So journalists were lulled into the sense that it didn’t really matter. The Times quotes Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at NYU,  “It’s an unusual public rationale for serious newspaper people, that’s for sure.”

Wrong tense. It’s not going to be unusual for long.

In fact, in a digital world where everything can be measured, we all work on commission. And why not? If you do great work and it works, you should get rewarded. And if you don’t, it’s hard to see why a rational organization would keep you on.

You don’t have to like the coming era of hyper-measurement, but that doesn’t mean it’s not here.

Quote of the week

“The biggest reward for a thing well done is to have done it.”

— Voltaire

Obama in Yellowstone

From today’s New York Times Editorial:

President Obama and his family plan to visit Yellowstone National Park on Saturday and the Grand Canyon on Sunday. We hope this visit will inaugurate a new commitment to conserving the national park system and to the science on which sound conservation is based. We also hope that the visit will impress on the president the serious fiscal issues threatening the parks.

Since the first national park — Yellowstone — was created in 1872, the idea has spread around the world, including to Afghanistan, which opened its first national park in June. But this is not an idea that sustains itself easily anywhere. It requires conviction and leadership and, overseas, the continued, inspiring example of America’s national park system.

Read the entire editorial here.

Quote of the week

“Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they only unveil them to the eyes of men. Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or weak; and at last some crisis shows us what we’ve become.”

— Brooke Foss Wescott

Out of my cave

My last post below was May 11. It’s been a month of non-stop work and prepping for the big day. Didn’t even know the Lakers were playing in the NBA Finals until someone mentioned it last week at Pavillions at 9:30pm…after Game 3.

In Tokyo now; we arrived last night. We took ANA’s premium economy class for the first time; it was basically as roomy as business class with the same food. You can even order snacks in-between meals like udon, ramen and tonkatsu sandwiches. Highly recommended. A celebrity sat behind Harumi: the popular enka singer, Jero (ジェロ). It’s nice to see everyone here again.

Looking forward to seeing Mom, Pop, Carol, Michael, Sue and Deano here next week…and going to Bora Bora the following week!

Quote of the week

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Mother’s Day!

A happy Mother’s Day to mom, and my future mother-in-law in Yokohama, Japan…and Carol, cousin Amy, Coco, Cheryl, Linda and all of our other friends!

Later today we’re taking mom to Torafuku for dinner…thanks Sue for making arrangements!

Will leave with this quote:

“The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.”

–Honore de Balzac, author

Manny Ramirez opinions

Biggest news story today was clearly Manny Ramirez’ 50-game suspension for using banned substances. I first heard about it afternoon on an elevator video screen in Century City. As expected, opinions varied, based on articles I read this evening:

“I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I’m sorry about this whole situation.” — Manny Ramirez

“Who hasn’t done something we wish we hadn’t done?” asked Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti. “Had he dismissed it or acted like it was somebody else’s fault, I’d have a hard time with it. He took ownership of what transpired. That speaks to the man. Admit your mistake in a public forum, that’s not easy to do.” — Ned Colleti, Dodgers GM

“You see that there’s no favorites being played. That shows you that baseball is serious about what they’re saying and doing. I’m happy that we’re heading in the right direction.” — San Diego Padres pitching ace Jake Peavy

“Hey Giant-fan! Why are you even on this chat board? Or are you here just to show us how to deal with PED using team members from all the experience you have.” — Fan comment, Dodgers.MLB.com article

“Now take some of that 8 million you just saved and spend it on a bullpen that can hold a 6 run lead.” — Another fan (Dodgers blew a 6-0 lead tonight, losing 11 – 9)

“We’ve had a chance to learn from him and it brought us confidence to be where we are right now. It’d be tough to say we won’t miss him in the lineup, but I feel we’ll find a way to get the job done.” — Andre Ethier, Dodger outfielder

“I’m turned off by players that try and test the system. It doesn’t make any sense.” — Larry Bowa, Dodgers 3rd base coach

“I must admit, when I first heard the news that Ramírez had tested positive for use of a banned substance, I honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I was filled with a lot of I-told-ya’-so anger directed at the people in Los Angeles, most notably the fawning media that had bought into the whole Manny act and that had apparently decided that we Big Meanies in Boston had made it all up.” — Bob Ryan, Boston Globe sports columnist

There’s a good chance we already know how this whole thing is going to end, probably a Sunday game against the Giants in late September, 50,000 people on their feet screaming, ‘Manny, Manny.'” — T.J. Simers, L.A. Times sports columnist

Quote of the week

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”

— John Wooden

Obama’s stand in the auto crisis

Interesting article on President Obama managing the many people and organizations with a stake in GM and Chrysler. Excerpt below:

For a new president, the automobile industry crisis has tested the boundaries of his activist approach and the acuity of his political instincts. As with so many issues in his action-packed 100 days in office, Mr. Obama confronted choices few of his predecessors encountered. His ongoing intervention in an iconic sector of the economy offers a case study in the education, management and decision-making of a fledgling president.

Tutored by veterans of past administrations, Mr. Obama, often after dinner with his wife and daughters, devoured briefing papers until midnight to master the intricacies of the auto industry. But he had advisers deal directly with the car companies and never spoke with the G.M. chief executive he effectively fired.

Methodical and dispassionate, Mr. Obama aggravated powerful players in Congress and the unions that helped elect him, then moved to assuage them. He encouraged internal debate but was forced to head off tensions as his treasury secretary and White House economic adviser maneuvered for position. In the end, he struggled with the proper balance between government power and market forces, a theme that has defined his first months in office.

From The New York Times.

Family crest

Last night got an e-fax from my dad’s cousin in Hiroshima, Yoshinori Sawa, with our family crest, or kamon (家紋). After asking some relatives on the Osa side, he managed to track it down. It looks cool…will have to learn more about its meaning when we’re back in Japan. Thank you Yoshinori!

Quote of the week

“I don’t think that Tim Geithner was motivated by anything other than concern to get the financial system working again. But I think that mindsets can be shaped by people you associate with, and you come to think that what’s good for Wall Street is good for America . . . [This] led to a bailout that was designed to try to get a lot of money to Wall Street, to share the largesse with other market participants, but that had deeply obvious flaws in that it put at risk the American taxpayer unnecessarily.”

— Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel-winning economist at Columbia University and bailout critic, from today’s New York Times

Food in Tokyo

It’s Sunday morning and we’ll be heading to the airport in a couple hours. Thanks to Harumi, we ate really well this week, probably too well … veggies next week.

Our first meal…tonkatsu (とんかつ), fried shrimp (えび フライ) and potato croquette (コロッケ) lunch at Wako, between Yurakucho station and the Imperial Hotel.

ハンバーグ (hamgaagu, or Japanese-style hamburger) at Tsubame Grill (つばめ グリル), near Tokyo station. Really good…the hamburger was so tender. If you like Hawaii loco moco, you’ll like this.

Tonkotsu (pork broth) ramen at Kyuushuu Jangara (九州 じゃんがら) in Nihonbashi. Outstanding!

Click for more pictures…

Obama’s new Blackberry

President Obama will soon get his new, high-security Blackberry, according to the Washington Times:

The top-secret BlackBerry 8830 is in the final stages of development by the National Security Agency, which will soon begin checking to make sure its encryption software meets federal standards. The device could be ready for use in the next few months.

Once in hand, the president will be able to send text and e-mail and make phone calls to others with the secure software loaded on their devices. Others expected to get secure BlackBerrys include top aides as well as first lady Michelle Obama.

The software being used is called SecureVoice, developed by The Genesis Key Inc. of Washington. It can turn any BlackBerry 8830 or Curve into a device that is designed to defeat hackers, eavesdroppers and spies.

“With the recent foreign cybersecurity threats, it is important that the president has a BlackBerry that is completely secure at the top-secret level,” said Gary S. Elliott, Genesis’ chief information assurance officer, who is a specialist in cyberwarfare threats.

Busy week

We arrived in Tokyo Sunday evening and it’s already Friday morning. The days have been packed with planning and running errands … and every evening we’ve had dinner with friends, former colleagues or Harumi’s folks. We got many things done which is great.

Of course food is one of the important reasons to visit Japan, so I’ll post a few pictures later today when I have more time. Harumi took the shot above near Jindaiji temple in Chofu, about 10 miles west of Shinjuku (yes I had a ソフト　クリーム）.

Off to Tokyo

It’s been exactly one year this month since our family vacation to Japan. Today Harumi and I will be going there for one week. But I think we’re equally excited about eating some great food, like curry at Sangosho in Kamakura and Kaotan Ramen in Nishi Azabu, two of Harumi’s favorite restaurants. Will try to post here during our stay there. It’s 7am now and back to some work I need to finish before we take off.

Mom online: status report

One month ago today I posted about mom’s iMac and getting her started using the Internet and email. Looks like she’s taken to it like a duck to water, as mom’s been reading the Japan online news sites every day, sending email in both Japanese and English and even called cousin John to help her replace the Mac Mail icon on her desktop (that she deleted again) because she couldn’t wait for me to fix it! (thanks Carol for the tip)

Mom told me on Wednesday with a happy face that it’s all おもしろい (omoshiroi, or interesting), and she told uncle to try it.

Now if we can find some bowling web sites we may be able to get pop online.

Tribute to Lincoln

Back in February I had bookmarked this amazing tribute to Abraham Lincoln by designer Maira Kalman called “In Love with A. Lincoln” and meant to post it here.

The first two reader comments said it all:

Wow.

what a lovely tribute, maira. thank you so much for this long treat of beautiful pictures and words…

Abraham Lincoln quotes here and here.

Cool Honda commercial

A colleague just showed me this cool Honda commercial. If you can spare two minutes it’s definitely worth a look. After seeing it you’ll understand why it took 606 takes and $6 million to get right. I was told no computer graphics animation was used.

Quote of the week

“The emotions are, in fact, in charge of the temple of morality, and moral reasoning is really just a servant masquerading as a high priest.”

— Jonathan Haight, University of Virginia, from David Brooks’ recent Op-Ed, “The End of Philosophy“

Toyota to Overhaul U.S. Operations

New sheriff in town at Toyota:

Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to announce as early as Friday in Japan a major overhaul of its U.S. operations, bringing engineering, manufacturing and sales under a single executive to revamp the ailing business.

People familiar with the matter said Yoshi Inaba, a former senior executive who left the auto maker in 2007, has been formally asked by Toyota this week to oversee most of the key aspects of the U.S. business.

With the appointment, Toyota is expected to bring Mr. Inaba back to the company’s board, the people said. It is highly unusual for Toyota to bring back an executive who left the company.

As part of the reorganization, Toyota is expected to have its New York unit, Toyota Motor North America Inc., function as the company’s full-fledged U.S. headquarters that brings engineering, manufacturing and sales under one umbrella, the people said. Previously, the unit’s main function was investor relations and government affairs. Mr. Inaba, a fluent English speaker, is expected to be named president of Toyota Motor North America and live in New York.

From the Wall Street Journal.

Back to 100 Yen = $1.00

The Yen/Dollar exchange rate has gone from 90 to 100 since the beginning of the year, which is helpful because we’ll be visiting Tokyo in less than two weeks. From the Wall Street Journal:

Japan’s economy is mired in recession. The Bank of Japan’s tankan survey of corporate sentiment recently showed that the country’s big manufacturers are more pessimistic than ever. Exports fell 50% in February from a year earlier.

So the steady erosion of the yen against the dollar — it is down about 10% since the start of the year — could continue for some time. Goldman Sachs suggests that a fair value for the yen is around 114 to the dollar.

Surely, few in Japan are upset by this. Over the course of a year, Toyota Motor says, a one-point rise in the yen against the dollar eats up $400 million of its operating profit.

Meanwhile Bloomberg just reported that the Japanese government may announce a new 15.4 trillion yen ($154 billion) stimulus package to help revive the economy.