Survival and the Firm

Its been almost a year since I posted something on this blog. That is an indication of how busy I have been in the past year.

Survival and the Firm

I just thought I would share this thought with readers. The though has to do with survival. What is the purpose of the organization? That was a question that I was asked once by a Lecturer. The purpose of the organization is to survive. That was an interesting thought. The most succesful companies in the world have one thing in common- they survive. Take Siemens for example. The fabled German tech company has survived its factories being bombed in WW II. Many of the units of Standard Oil are still around today - Exxon Mobil, Chevron. BP is over 100 years old. It was previously Anglo-Iranian Oil and before that Anglo-Persian Oil. It survives to this day.

In the past year we have seen the goats and the sheep seperated on Wall Street. The goats are Bear Stearns and Merril Lynch and a good example of a sheep would be Goldman Sachs. What separates them? The answer is the quality of decisions they made. Who makes decisions? People make decisions and they are supposed to do so in the context of systems. Senge notes that there are no bad people only bad systems.

English Country Side

Wiston House, West Sussex is about 45 minutes from Gatwick Airport. That's my shadow on the road.

Visiting JR and paying respects to JFK

Its been a while since my last post.

J.R. Ewing and John F. Kennedy

I was in Dallas last week (November 5th to November 12th 2007) . That’s right the same place that boast the famous 1980’s television series “Dallas” that starred Larry Hagman as the ruthless Texan oilman, JR Ewing. Dallas has also earned its place in history for the November 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Being a natural cultural explorer I couldn’t visit this American city and not visit Southfork Ranch, where Dallas the TV show was shot and Dealey Plaza where JFK was assassinated. JFK was well liked American President who was murdered under suspicious circumstances in the prime of his life.

Robert Groden

It was with great respect that I visited Dealey Plaza and paid my respects to the late US President. I have seeen Oliver Stone's movie JFK and I have seen a number of documentaries on the assassination. Walking in Dealey Plaza was therefore like walking through history. I met Robert Groden who served as a consultant to Oliver Stone on the 1991 movie "JFK" and was able to converse with him on some his theories. Groden has also written a number of books on the subject of the controversial assassination of JFK.

A Note on JFK

John F. Kennedy was the first United States President to be born in the 21st century. His Presidency is described in pop culture as "Camelot". He represented the coming of age of a new generation of American's. As an Irish Catholic - he was a break with the traditional protestant President's. His family "the Kenndy's" are considerd to be an American political institution. I liken him to Bill Clinton who in 1992 became the first "baby boomer" to be elected President.

The Music of the Night

Bravo!!

If you have never heard of the Phantom of the Opera you are probably a typical Trinidadian or under a rock. Last Wednesday I saw the famed musical at the Majestic on 44th Street Manhattan. The 2005 movie with Gerald Butler does not come close to matching up to the real thing. According to the information provided, the Phantom of the Opera has, since its London debut in 1986, grossed some 3.2 billion dollars. This means that the Phantom has grossed more money than the number one money earning movie of all time, the Titanic. On the same street (44th Street) there is the Minskof theatre which was showing the Lion King. I was also made to understand that Evita ( another Lloyd Webber production) was not showing in New York.

Doubles on a Sunday

Ok on a lighter side. This picture is a scene most common in Trinidad on a Sunday morning. Can you guess where this is and what the people are doing. Its doubles in El Socorro. Doubles on a Sunday morning. Its a time honoured low cost, high calorie, artery clogging Trini breakfast. Ok, I admit I had three. It was most tasty!

100 years of Oil

Commercial oil production in Trinidad started in November 1907 according to Higgins' a History of Trinidad Oil.

2007 marks the 100th anniversary of an event that is the foundation of our economic history. But alas, being a non-intellectual society....not a whimper from anyone.

Can we expect more from a "jump and wine" society? It seems that we are destined for regression into the bush.

Progress or Failure: 50 years of Party Politics in Trinidad and Tobago

On Thursday 16th November the Caribbean Institute of Public Policy (CIPP) held a round table discussion on the topic " Progress or Failure: 50 Years of Party Politics in Trinidad and Tobago". The event was hosted at the Xtra Foods Conference Room in Chaguanas.

The feature speakers included: Balgobin Ramdeen a former Member of Parliament 1961-1966, author and at Attorney at Law; Clive Nunez a veteran trade unionist and columnist with the Probe Newspaper and Louis B. Homer a veteran Journalist and Historian. The presentations of the three speakers were followed by a lively discussion on the current state of Trinidad and Tobago politics and a display of photographs, books and letters.

The next planned event of the CIPP is a pannel discussion on the 70th Anniversary of the 1937 Labour Riots in Trinidad and Tobago.