Side Note: March Madness



Hello, Mister...

March Madness has several meanings apart from the popular American reference to some kind of baseball thing that has to do with college teams, presumably in March. To me March Madness is two things: first the mating season for rabbits (need I say more) and secondly this March for sure, a hole slate of weird ‘stuff’ – and don’t tell me that is because whichever planet is in retrograde.

 

Under ‘stuff’ I would file the funky weather for instance. That is, it’s been freaking cold and snow has been falling in all the wrong places, like South Jersey wants snow, really!  Dump it in Lake Placid please.

 

Next on my ‘stuff’ list:  MH370, the plane that disappeared, crashed, was blown up, hijacked by aliens, or swallowed by David Blaine who will spit it out in a month.  The ensuing madness of cultural “lost in translation” miscommunication, obsessive über-sharing of information of the wrong kind by the media, and the rampant conspiracy theories make it that more baffling that in our world today a plane could disappear mid-flight to never (?) be seen again.  

Digital Citizen

I became an American citizen a few years ago and I feel very comfortable being an American.  Actually I should say, being a New Yorker.  The rest of the country can be a bit more challenging, then again: I don’t think that’s an issue of being American or not American, but merely goes to show that New Yorkers are a breed of their own.

 

About being a ‘digital citizen’ I feel similar. I’m definitely not a native, I was born in the wrong place on the time line, but I feel totally comfortable moving around in the digital arena. My job and my personal curiosity have made it a necessity and have given me the drive to learn ‘digital’ as much as I have learned and continue to learn being American.

The Culture Code

There’s a book with that title I wish I had read after a year or so of living in the States.  The Culture Code found me in 2006, the year it was published and it was a veritable “aha” experience.  Clotaire Rapaille, cultural anthropologist and marketing expert (not without controversies), originally from France takes an advertising approach of distilling each experience, i.e. cultural differentiator into one word.  He gives the example of car advertisement in The Culture Code. 

 

What would the one word be that comes to mind when advertising cars to Americans?  It would be “freedom” – look at the truck commercials in particular – the car in the wild-wild west scaling some desert mountain, or roaming freely deserted down town streets:  it screams freedom to move around as you please.  How would you sell a car to Germans?  “Precision” – Germans want to know their car is of highest quality precision engineering possible.  No “over-engineered” Mercedes would ever come out of Detroit.

Zwei Spie-gel-ei-er, Bitte - sunny side up!

My name sake, Nina Stoessinger posted a wonderful story on cultural mis-understandings.  It's in German and if you are reading it make sure to catch the comments too.

And since you are on the "other" Nina's Blog - browse a bit it's worth it - the other entries are all in English. I met Nina in New York, not as one would think because we share a name or are both Swiss, but volunteering at the New York City Marathon only weeks after 9/11. 

I've been watching Nina's graphic work and one day, I hope, there will be an opportunity for collaboration. We share a love for words - hers laid out and presented, mine spoken and heard, but I could switch any old day if only I had the skill set. 

I am thrilled to see that we also share the joy of the written word and musings about cross-cultural differences. 

 

Giving and Volunteering



Far Rockaway, NY: "U Loot. We Shoot"!

This weekend I volunteered for the disaster recovery of Sandy, and I’ll be brutally honest (when am I not): I did it because I felt survivor’s guilt, I wanted to see what devastation looked like other than on TV and yes, I wanted to help as much as I could.  The bottom line is: why you volunteer is irrelevant as long as you do.  

 

Spending a waaaay long time in various buses to and from the Far Rockaway’s I had two very interesting conversations about disasters, giving and cultural differences.

Links and Plain Old Plagiarism

Sometimes an opportunity or a trend just hits you over the head every which way.  You guessed it: time for a blog entry on the topic of plagiarism, or maybe we call it links, pingback, copy and borrowed.

(As an aside: plagiarize is one of my favorite English words. I learned it as a teenager listening to Tom Lehrer songs and was mighty proud to know such a difficult word – the song in question is on YouTube.  If you don’t know Tom Lehrer – you must! Harvard mathematics professor fired for singing political songs back in the 50ies and 60ies; darkly funny, cynical and on the money with his social observations.)

To the point: I met with a serial entrepreneur last week. We were connected through an acquaintance. I had looked at his LinkedIn profile, looked at his newest venture and figured he’d be interesting enough to meet.  We met and turns out he’s a twenty something. I went back to his bio on LinkedIn and looked at the dates more carefully.  It seems this young man has achieved more since high school than most of us will in a live time. He told me that he didn’t want to waste his time with University he had too many ideas of what he wanted to do so he DID them. 

I visited his blog and found a profoundly funny and interesting infographic on getting things done (I’m a fan of that; getting things done I mean), some of the infographic. I do not agree with but that’s beside the point.  On a second visit to his blog, now with a bit more time on hand to read further I see that the infographic is linked to a different source. Totally legit, but still, I felt a tiny bit put off, because for that 12-or so hour span in-between I thought he was beyond brilliant – which I’m sure he is, but not THAT brilliant – as in coming up with THAT infographic.  I was wondering if I’m just too naïve, or if I missed the point somehow.  

I subscribe to the wildly popular Swiss Miss blog, not only because I know Tina (she designed the first Clock Wise Website back in the 90ies), but also because her blog is a collection of all things design – and her taste is towards the clutter-free, clean, minimal, fun and very sophisticated.  Through her blog posts I found another design blog that I liked enough to subscribe to it as well, only to find out that I looked at the same content every once in a while. Are there enough readers or subscribers for both to duplicate? It seems so.  Do they copy from each other, or do the same people submit their ideas to both. I guess the latter.  

It begs the question however, where does link end and plagiarize start? Is this a cultural phenomenon or a generational one?  Are we faster to read a visual image and to ‘link’ it to the publisher without paying attention much to its true origin?  Why do the links on Swiss Miss not bother me and why was I bothered with the infographic on the serial entrepreneur’s blog?

It’s all about trust and context.  Today’s hyperlinks are the footnotes of yesteryear.  The difference is that formats of delivery and context change from blog to blog.  With the overflow of information I choose a few blogs and newsletter to deliver information (of whatever kind) and with that I curate content and I do so by choosing trusted sources (see earlier blog entry on trust agents).  Swiss Miss is a trusted agent and her blog is set within the context of: “I show you the design world through my eyes”. Naturally that means she goes out and curates for me, the reader, and I know that I’m looking at other people’s work (be it jewelry, art, design elements or furniture). On the other hand the young serial entrepreneur is not a trust agent (yet) and so with I was missing context. 

But there is also the cultural versus the generational phenomenon.  Americans are much more at ease in passing along a great idea without much concern about, or burden of crediting the source.  A Swiss person would much more so be reluctant to pass an idea along without making sure it was clear that they really aren’t the brilliant ones to come up with the idea in the first place – this modesty also creates a buffer of “not my idea originally” when it falls flat.   

As for the generational difference: stuff gets shared and if possible for free, this holds true for my generation to a big degree, but even more so for a younger generation of millennia, irrespective of culture. Not only geographical boundaries are taken down by the World Wide Web (sic), but also intellectual property rights are fuzzy at best, and I’m not talking about the major film studios, record labels and publishers. Context is important and ‘knowing’ your source.   

The moral of the story:  make the context of your blog entries crystal clear, hyperlink diligently and only plagiarize when you’re sure the idea is beyond brilliant and you WANT to be credited for it (oh, and take some error and omissions insurance out).   

What If?

What if my birthday were on February 29^th? I could claim to be three quarters younger than I actually am. That in itself is a very scary idea; imagine having to go THERE again. And if you wonder what “there” is, divide your age into four and remember how that felt. 

Most likely that was a time when you hated your parents, actually all grownups pretty much. You couldn’t WAIT to be grown up and make your OWN decisions and not follow those STUPID rules. Needless to say, taxes, rent, college tuition (your own or your kids), and (talking of which) kids, spouses, pets, errands, leaky pipes, bosses, deadlines and the whole lot seemed so lovely (if you knew of them at all) and certainly better than the BS you were dealing with right then: OK, I’ll turn the music down – say what? I can’t year you – speak up.

In reality of course, I’d still be mpf-old, but I would have only had mpf divided into four birthdays. That would SUCK. I love birthdays – if you have ever have been fortunate enough to be invited to one of my birthday parties you’ll know what I’m talking about. 

Here in New York we often go out to a restaurant to celebrate a birthday and the bill gets split up such that the “birthdayee” is invited.  I tried that a few times myself, but always felt bad for my less economically fit friends. 

And I must confess that once or twice I bailed on a friend’s birthday because I knew there would be some big spenders and it was an expensive restaurant. I have not taste for paying for someone else’s three cocktails, entrecote, desert and port wine – although I pull my weight in the wine category.  I find it awkward at best. 

So, I celebrate my birthday the Swiss way. I invite my friends to my house. I bake my own cake, buy the booze, prepare all the food and in general go pretty much nuts to have a great party for my friends. Not me, because after all I want everything to be perfect.  So really, it’s not a birthday party as much as it is my annual thank you to friends for being just that.  It just happens to be around my birthday.  The cake baking is up for grabs by the way… hint.

In Switzerland kids bring a cake to class on the day of their birthday to share with the others.  I think it makes an awful lot of sense, because the kids (their mom most likely) are not going to forget their birthday and so with a cake each time there’s a birthday is guaranteed – unless you’re one of the super unlucky ones to have a birthday during vacation time.  And that’s worse than having a birthday only every four years!

Body Language and the Greek

I'm no expert on body language, neither am I on the work of the International Monetary Fund, nor do I have any in depth understanding on what makes the world go round in the finance world, but I do understand loud and clear what Madame Lagarde is saying to Mr. Venizelos. I just wonder what he said (or didn't) to prompt the clenched jaw and those fists (uikes).

Evangelos Venizelos and the
International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director, Christine Lagarde
source unknown

Giving Thanks

Switzerland does not have a holiday to give thanks and I think every country should. My first Thanksgiving in America – I had been here for 11 months - I must have had about a dozen invitations so I would not be alone. I do not remember where I went, but I do remember one of my first Thanksgiving meals in the following years spent with the big family of my friend, with all the trimmings and the leftovers for days after and, of course black Friday – what a concept.

There was nothing not to love about Thanksgiving – it’s non-denominational, no gift giving involved.

One year, maybe 15 years ago, I hosted a thanksgiving dinner for ten people. Trouble started early when I picked up the 20 pounds turkey from the farmer’s market not realizing that a 20 pound turkey was going to weigh 20 pounds (duh). It had never occurred to me either that the turkey might not fit my oven – it did with 2 mm of clearance all around. Then I did not tie the legs together with nylon but left the cotton strings the bird came with, which of course singed and disintegrated in the oven which resulted in a literal spread eagle and a VERY dry affair. The one thing that did turn out great was my mom’s recipe for gravy and we sure needed it for the dry turkey. Needless to say I have been the very fortunate recipient of invitations to Thanksgiving ever since.

Thanksgiving gives me an opportunity to reflect on what I am thankful for without being caught up in the frenzy of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Other than a roof over my head, food on my table and the newest gadget I am thankful for having the opportunities I’ve been afforded by my upbringing and my education, for a really cool job I love and for working with so many awesome people that run the gamut from CEO’s of fortune 500 companies, to community leaders, diplomats, college students, teamsters and some serious divas (of all sizes, shapes and forms).

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

The Trash Trend

To be filed under: “We must be the change we wish to see” Gandhi

I’ve always wondered how trends start, who instigates them and how they spread. A few years ago I read “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” by Malcolm Gladwell, but don’t remember much hands-on ‘how to’ advice. I’m the last person to set a fashion trend and I’m afraid I’m not going to start any kind of visionary or intellectual trend either.

But now, inadvertently I might have started a trend after all – it might be wishful thinking, but here it goes: let me call it the Trash Trend. Very sexy, I know.

Sunday I got back from a quick bike ride in Central Park and as I pulled up to my condo I noticed a few big ticket trash items strewn around our entrance. As I did at my old home which was a brownstone without a super in attendance I started picking up the trash and walked it over to the trash bin at the curb and since I was at it I picked up a few more items there. The result was much easier on the eye. I went home, took a shower never thought of it gain.

Two days later I get an email through our building’s Google group: a forward of a guy who had posted on http://www.everyblock.com/ an exact description of what I had done and how great it was and he had never seen anybody but himself pick up trash off the side walk in Harlem. I was flabbergasted that anybody would have noticed, let alone write about it. What ensued was an on-line conversation about the merits of picking up after others. And our discussion got quite a few “thanks” – that’s akin to the FB “like”.

Here’s my take on it. I firmly believe in the broken windows theory. Quote: “The broken windows theory was first introduced by social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, in an article titled "Broken Windows" in the March 1982 edition of The Atlantic Monthly. The title comes from the following example: Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside. Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or breaking into cars.”

Littering is a one of my (many) pet peeves (can you tell I’m Swiss?). I have asked strangers in my neighborhood over and over again to pick up their trash when I see them litter. The guy who commented on my action noted in the email exchange that he was taking to a friend, walking down 116th Street, commenting on the trash, when he got a nasty stare from a person walking in front of them. And I must add that 116th street between Freddie and Adam C Powell is notoriously “trashy”. I think there’s a big difference between ‘commenting’, sic: criticizing and doing.

I have never had anybody give me hard time for picking up trash on the street. Mostly I get thank you’s and the occasional stare of disbelieve. And most of the people I ask to pick up their trash do so and apologize. And the cool thing about getting older is that kids actually listen and pick up after themselves when I tell them to.

Now: every now and then there’s a person who will litter in front of a house to spite the occupants. So be it. I’ll gladly keep picking up their trash too and take the high road and if I catch them I will (politely) tell them to use a trash bin. Littering is a lack of education and respect for oneself and others.

I come from a culture where littering is a major no-no. Every kid, every tourist, every person who has ever littered in Switzerland will know what a swift and forceful reaction they get from total strangers and will think twice the next time. Policing a strict no-litter policy citizen driven and self-regulatory, no intervention by authorities needed. I think it's a matter of respect for oneself and ones surroundings; a matter of self-esteem and taking pride in one's street, block or neighborhood.

Somewhere in a New York City park I saw a sign that read something like: don’t litter, use the trash receptacles: they’re free and easy to use. Are you with me?

Eid Mubarak

It is Eid al Fitr – the end of Ramadan. To stay in the neighborhood of my last blog entry – that is physical neighborhood I wanted to share what I experienced this morning. It made me think about so many things at once.

I woke at 6:45 AM and as always (weather permitting) I opened all the windows in the house to let some fresh morning air in. On Frederick Douglass Boulevard a lone male voice was calling for prayer. Allah Akbar! The strong voice sang in a surprisingly strong and carrying voice. Normally very adverse to any kind of unduly noise I had to smile. It’s only once a year that the local mosque up the block calls to prayer on the streets; onEid al Fitr and I did not mind and was imagining the excited children with their Eid presents and parents (I imagine) relieved that the fasting was over and they could properly hydrate during the hot summer days.

Suddenly I heard a voice from a window: “Hey, stop it, stop it, stop the noise!” This I thought very curious – we are subject to HOURS of pounding car stereos (the kind that makes your chair skip with the ‘thump’, ‘thump’ of the base), young women in yelling matches and cat fights, people holding entire conversations yelling down the block and I have NEVER heard anybody lean out the window complain. Was it the early morning hour that woke one of our ‘out of work’ neighbors that prompted the complaint? Someone who had been partying all night on the block? Of course the Muezzin carried on – I’m not sure if he even heard the complaint.

I was thinking what an upside down world; where no one leans out the window to tell a nuisance noise to stop but the Muezzin who calls out once a year gets reprimanded. I’m thinking next time I’m up all night because of a car stereo, rather than calling 311 and waiting for naught until the police comes by to stop the noise I’ll just get up early in the morning and do a bit of yelling myself.

Happy Birthday Switzerland

720 years ago the foundation for Switzerland was laid, when the men of the region of the three original cantons threw out the Habsburgians and formed the Swiss confederacy also known as Confederatio Helvetica.

As much as America is in its adolescence today (see my post of July 4th), Switzerland is an old lady – actually make that a grumpy old man. If there were characteristics to summarily dispense on the Swiss it would be: opinionated – because being neutral does not mean you don’t have a strong stance on issues, traditional and change-adverse, a wee bit stubborn, quiet and modest. We believe our actions will speak for themselves, no need to go shopping with them and no fear that others will if you don’t.

We are of course very punctual (you kind of have to if you sell the watches we do), quality driven, reliable and dependable and yes, to a Swiss person those are two different qualities. I would like to add a great sense for esthetics; maybe that’s why so many Swiss are gifted designers. The Helvetica font was created by a Swiss: Max Miedinger in 1957. It was an instant hit. The documentary Helvetica about the font is very cool.

Happy Birthday Switzerland: I wish that you could loosen up a bit and find a way to combine the old and true with the new and exciting and that you can remember that change can be good! You are the “awesomest” country in the world, but you need to learn to participate in it and accept the change you invite by doing so.

Happy Birthday America

This is my first Independence Day as an American citizen. I have lived half my life in Switzerland and the other half in the US, or more precisely in New York, which by all accounts is not like the rest of the country. At my swearing-in ceremony a few months back quite a few people asked me how I felt as an American: I feel like a New Yorker and always have. Being an American is something I have to get used to.

New York was love at first sight. As any true love we’ve had quarrels, made up and deepened our relationship. 9/11 wounded New York deeply but also sealed my commitment to this city as a place to thrive, live, learn and love. I love New York for its energy, its grit, its people. New York passes no judgment. All nations, colors, levels of madness, cultures, religions, fads and neuroses live here in an unbelievable hodge-podge. Everybody is ‘other’. Every ‘other’ is the ‘normal’. What is there not to love?

Now that I’ve officially upgraded from New Yorker to American I can vote, I moved from “you” to “we”. I’m not an outsider looking in, commenting, I’m now on the inside and I can say “we” when I have an opinion. I can also apply for grants I previously did not qualify for… Most likely I will be called for jury duty the moment I register to vote.

Happy Birthday, America. My wish for you is to leave your teenage years behind and grow up to be a fiscally and politically responsible country, one that values educating future generations and goes out into the world to be a nurturer and not an oppressor. I’ll be watching closely and participating in my civic duties.

Doing Business in the US

On my last blog I ended with the quote: “He/she who makes the most noise will be heard”. This was in relationship to the future of Social Media and the onslaught of information that is coming at us and the need for filtering and curation. Interestingly enough this is also a quote I use each time I make a presentation about how to do business in the US or how to do business as an American in Switzerland. My clients are either Swiss (throw in a few Canadians) who relocate to the US or Americans who move to Switzerland.

One of the few big differences in doing and surviving, business in the US is that you need to speak up – never assume that your actions or accomplishments will speak for themselves – if you don’t make sure all know of them you run the very real risk that someone else will take credit for it.

This goes for meetings and team work as well. Whereas Swiss people will search consensus and a happy medium, Americans will look to choose a leader who will give directives. With all of this there are of course many subtleties and nuances, but the bottom line is: you need to be heard and rise above the fray if you want to succeed in the States. In Switzerland you want to reach a consensus that all can agree on and move forward from there, decisions are taken by a show of hands, the majority rules.

Film Production across a Cultural Spectrum

In May I visited a few production companies in Zurich to rekindle old and start new relationships for Clock Wise Productions. One vignette stands out.

I introduced myself to a commercial production house and sat in the ample kitchen conference table while the Swiss producer smoked and I was wondering if I could open a window without being rude. As I was contemplating that idea, the producer tells a story about shooting a TV commercial in the US, somewhere in the “booneys”.

“A US producer shows up with a little carry-on luggage on wheels containing a laptop, printer and surge protector. She sets everything up in the middle of a wheat field. Every time the client asks for a change or an addition she creates a document, hits print and gives the client that page to sign.” Everybody in the room is in stitches laughing.

I’m sitting there thinking: and, what’s the point of the story? The producer is printing out overage forms; that’s a producer’s job. Are they laughing at the portable office set up or at the fact that US producers make clients sign overage forms for major changes?

I tell the Swiss producer that that would be how I would show up on any set and that that would be expected by my US clients. He takes a pause and nods. Not sure what goes through his head at this point, but if I’d have to guess I’d say: “she’s been in America too long.”

We just do business a bit differently here – and what strikes me as funny is, that Americans are much more organized, paper heavy, to the book than Swiss productions are. You would think the reverse to be true. However, and this is the clincher: you ask a Swiss crew person to do something you walk away and never check in again – you assume it will be done. If an American producer would do that they would be considered reckless. We check, double check, we cross our “t’s” and dot our “i’s” and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. And that’s how I like it frankly.

As a producer I have the word “control freak” written across my forehead (there are less flattering words too) and I’m proud of it. Control freak means, I’m responsible for every detail and I can check in, follow up and go through worst case scenarios until I’m blue in the face and no one thinks I’m nuts. So yes, I’ve been in America too long and that’s because it suits me just fine here.