Writer's Block

Many articles, books and blog entries are written on the topic. Anyone who has written or writes out of habit, for assignment, pleasure or vocation, has probably experienced the phenomenon. That's me right now. Stuck in an uninspired rut. The worst part for me is that I realize the best way for me to recuperate is often to write a large quantity of garbage I end up throwing out and eventually I will stumble upon something profound.

The economist in me things that with concepts such as scarcity, limited resources, and how little time there is in a day, week, lifetime, that the composition of quantity over quality is wasteful and I should adopt new coping mechanisms. Any thoughts on how to best proceed? What has worked for you and helped hone your writing?

Routine

One thing I have learned over the last several months is that I am a creature of habit. What I mean is that I like to have my routine at work and in life, and when something breaks that routine I tend to struggle some to adjust to the change. On the other hand, I still enjoy a moderate amount of spontaneity in life, and adventure and new experiences are exciting to me. How about you? What is your preferred style? Do you like more routine or more of a free-flowing time-space continuum?

Lately...

I was sitting next to a man the other day who told me he had been applying to thirty job postings per day. No wonder the recruiters and HR departments are flooded with resumes, if everyone is following his strategy of using a machine gun instead of a shotgun. You've heard about the shotgun theory, right? That a single well-aimed bullet at a single target is better than shooting a bunch of bullets and overwhelming the recipient of the information. I think the same is true in personal marketing/branding as a job seeker. The elevator pitch, knowing what it is that you do well that no one else (or at least very few) can do is of the utmost importance. Also, making sure you are not wasting time filling out applications for jobs you don't even really want. Do your homework, and work smarter not harder.

DMZ - North and South Korea

I just came back from the de-militarized zone between North and South Korea, and it was an interesting trip. To think that this location has more land mines per square meter than any other is a little un-nerving.

I visited Dongducheon and saw all the notes and sad stories of the families that were caught up in this conflict, and how they just wanted to visit with each other. Then we went to the observatory and saw the DMZ itself, followed by a walk down to the tunnels.

The thing that makes this a little more appropriate is the current "war games" that are being acted out by the USA and the South Koreans. This and North Korea wanting to test fire a missle. Indeed it will be an interesting few days here.

Guest Writers

I recently invited a few of my colleagues to contribute to my blog. Steve (Pop) Tufty and Livia Blaszak may be writing about observations and discoveries of their own on occasion. If you are also interested in writing about sustainability, Asian culture, and other international business related themes, please let me know and I would be happy to add you to the list of writers.

Trucks and Mayonnaise

We went on two factory tours in the last two days. One was at Hino Motors (an affiliate of Toyota) and the other was at the Kewpie mayonnaise factory. Surprisingly, they were both extremely entertaining and our group learned a lot about effective assembly lines in practice. My favorite part of both was the sustainability measures taken in the mayonnaise factory: first, the factory is ISO 14000 certified. Another initiative the factory has taken is to eliminate waste of the eggs used in production, and over the years the company has expanded to use the shells for calcium supplements and chalk; they also use the egg yolks for emulsification and other food products; finally, the egg membranes are sold to cosmetic, medical product companies and others. I am wondering what Japan is investigating in the way of alternative materials to plastics. In the U.S. there are corn substitutes, but I have my reservations about the long-term repercussions. Is anyone familiar with alternative packaging abroad?

Kaizen, Akihabara and Ramen

This morning we heard from two different Japanese businessmen, one hailing from a career in banking and the other involved with Tokyo from the beginning of kaizen, and the process of eliminating waste toward continuous improvement. Even though it is originally a production method, I enjoy thinking about how the Toyota System can be applied to other industries, services and life skills including: studying and time-management.

As we were walking through the department stores in Ginza and the electronic stores in Akihabara, I was wondering what would happen if all retail were produced using "Just In Time," or nearly made-on-demand. Retail outlets have much less space in Japan, so reducing backstock is less of an issue, but I am thinking of back home where stores are crowded with stock items on the floor. Often what is out for consumer purchase does not even include backstock. Then, how is it that I can still go to the store and they will be out of the one item I want? Is it simply poor inventory management? I am not sure if that is the only problem. I know of one clothing retailer that attempted to limit backstock and offer customers incentive to order goods, but they went under and sold their brand to another clothing company. Certainly ordering more goods than can be sold is not a sustainable practice, but who is to blame? Is it marketing's fault for innacurate demand forecasting? Or maybe the customer's for inconsistent purchasing patterns? Personally, I believe sustainability and reducing waste are the responsibility of all.

On a lighter note, we went to a very delicious ramen shop, tucked away in a small alley near Akihabara station, where we pre-paid for our meal in a vending machine-type menu out front and gave our ticket to the cook when we walked in. Very dive-y, but amazing food nevertheless. The walk around the area was refreshing after sitting for so long, and I am looking forward to what lies ahead tomorrow.