Sweetheart

"Hey There Delilah"



Hey there Delilah
What's it like in New York City?
I'm a thousand miles away
But girl tonight you look so pretty
Yes you do
Times Square can't shine as bright as you
I swear it's true

Hey there Delilah
Don't you worry about the distance
I'm right there if you get lonely
Give this song another listen
Close your eyes
Listen to my voice it's my disguise
I'm by your side

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me

Hey there Delilah
I know times are getting hard
But just believe me girl
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar
We'll have it good
We'll have the life we knew we would
My word is good

Hey there Delilah
I've got so much left to say
If every simple song I wrote to you
Would take your breath away
I'd write it all
Even more in love with me you'd fall
We'd have it all

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me

A thousand miles seems pretty far
But they've got planes and trains and cars
I'd walk to you if I had no other way
Our friends would all make fun of us
and we'll just laugh along because we know
That none of them have felt this way
Delilah I can promise you
That by the time we get through
The world will never ever be the same
And you're to blame

Hey there Delilah
You be good and don't you miss me
Two more years and you'll be done with school
And I'll be making history like I do
You'll know it's all because of you
We can do whatever we want to
Hey there Delilah here's to you
This ones for you

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me.

[轉貼] 縱橫集－好人? 壞人? 「價值」決定一切

陳慧玲／外稿 2008/02/29

有一次，到香港旺角購物，想買一個相機鏡頭，但完全沒有概念該買哪個品牌、哪種功能的產品，所以，我隨意走進一家店鋪，店員介紹了3個不同的鏡頭，價格分別是1,000港幣、1,500港幣、2,000港幣，在聽完店員的介紹之後，我心裏是想買2,000港幣的產品，經過一番殺價後，店員給了一個1,400港幣的「Best price」，但我還是沒買，只是偷偷記下產品品牌與型號，很有禮貌的向店員道謝，然後立刻快速轉身離開，留下店員在背後喃喃自語的咒罵。

隔了幾天，我走進另一家店，直接告訴店員要買的產品品牌與型號，店員告訴我的價格是350港幣，但這個店員又立刻開始遊說我：「這個不好啦，我們現在店裏也沒有貨，這樣好了，我介紹更好的產品給你，保證你滿意！」。

對第1家店的店員而言，我應該是個不折不扣的「奧客」，對他而言，我是個讓他做不成生意的壞人，但對我而言，在第1家店得到的待遇，對照第2家店的開價，第1家店的店員就是打算把我當肥羊宰的壞人。

而第2家店的店員呢？他開了350港幣的價格給我，是因為他是誠實無欺的好人？還是因為我已經清楚的告訴他產品需求資訊，讓他沒有機會痛宰我呢？而後來他遊說我改買其他產品，是誠心的要介紹更好的產品，還是打算換個方式，讓我變成可以海削一筆的冤大頭呢？在我與第2家店的店員互動中，誰是好人？誰又會是壞人呢？


　
遇到壞人？　不是運氣不好，是價值不對！

有許多公司進軍國際市場失敗，回到家鄉的第1句話都是：「唉，運氣不好，遇到壞人！」。

事實上，在國際市場業務的經營過程中，很難一刀切開地去論斷所謂的「好人」與「壞人」，因為，好人與壞人的差別，其實是雙方認知與期望的價值(Value)出現落差，關鍵在於雙方是互利還是對立。當雙方的利益與價值具有一致性的期望與認知時，這就是一段「好人對好人」的合作交易關係；但是，當雙方的利益與價值出現不對等的落差，恐怕就會有人變成壞人了。

許多公司在拓展國際市場業務的過程中，特別是在第1次進入市場，不論是透過所謂的人脈關係，或是在展覽中結識，其實都是先與貿易商(Trader)建立往來關係，就是要先想辦法把產品賣出去，而許多被欺騙、或被坑殺的經驗，往往就出現在此類與貿易商的往來關係中。

貿易商的交易型態就是在買與賣之間賺取價差，關心的是這一批貨、這一筆交易的價值，在貿易商眼中所看到的價值，是你現有的價值，不會、也不見得有餘力去關心明年的新產品、新技術、新布局的價值，不是雙方長期合作創造的價值，這些貿易商所關心的，就是短期的價值。

就如同文章開頭買相機鏡頭的例子，如果沒有蒐集情報，就直接去與這樣的人做生意，當然就等於是送上門的肥羊一樣，任憑對方漫天開價；但說實話，這也怪不了對方騙你，而是因為你錯把只看重短期價值的交易關係當成長期合作的夥伴關係，這就是雙方的認知與期望出現了落差，只在乎短線價值的交易對象，就變成了想要真正長期經營市場的公司眼中的壞人。

很多人一開始做國際市場都很開心，覺得上天真是眷顧自己，遇到許多好人、交了許多好朋友，但過了一陣子之後，就發現自己越來越不開心，最後甚至會很痛苦，因為發現生意沒了、連朋友也沒了。

之所以會發生這樣的狀況，就是因為在投入國際市場業務的初期，許多人都是倚仗熟識的朋友關係，認為只要「朋友」就可以搞定一切事情。但是，朋友或許可以短期情義相挺，但絕不是可以長期犧牲自身利益的；在很多時候，反而更要小心那種拍著胸脯保證挺你到底、沒有賺錢也沒關係的「朋友」，因為，這種人往往到最後就是會害你害得最慘的人。



觀念生落差 朋友變路人

我們第1次到巴西去時，與某家零售通路商建立很好的合作關係，雙方經營團隊也都變成好朋友，關係非常的親近、非常熱絡，他們也表達能夠與我們進一步合作的希望，但後來評估之後認為，他們公司的狀況並不符合我們的需求，沒辦法有更進一步的合作。可想而知的是，後來我們之間的關係當然就變差了，雙方也很難再當好朋友，最主要的原因，就在於我們無法符合他們的預期，對這家零售通路商而言，我們就是「壞人」。

再舉個例子，曾有家台灣公司在某個國家市場做得非常好，與當地夥伴共同成立的合資公司甚至在當地掛牌上市，但後來卻在一夕之間垮掉，為什麼？細究背後的原因，就是因為當地合資夥伴認為公司已經掛牌上市，已達到他們當初投資合作的目的，這家台灣公司品牌、市佔率等價值，不再是他們在意的重點價值，而當雙方的價值認知出現歧異，合作關係當然就會出現問題，過去再好的合作關係都沒用，因為在此當下，雙方已然站在不同的價值認知點上。

因此，即使在建立合作關係之後，也還是要不斷的評估(Evaluate)對方的狀況與價值，因為價值是會不斷變動的，今日的好朋友、明日可能就會變成最狠的競爭對手，原本歃血為盟的情義相挺也可能消失無蹤。

從白天到黑夜、從黑夜到白天，天色的變換不是一眼瞬間的事，而是要經過黃昏、黎明的過渡轉換；好人與壞人也是一樣，就像在黑與白之間，也同樣有灰色地帶，好人會變成壞人、壞人也會變成好人，需要注意的重點，其實就在於灰色地帶的轉折變換。

在經營國際市場業務的過程中，價值鏈上的每一點、每一個環節的價值隨時都在流動改變，與合作夥伴的關係也是如此，所以，要記得沒有永遠的夥伴(Partner)，永遠要抱持一顆警醒的心，才能夠在白天與黑夜、黑與白、好人與壞人的變換轉折上，看清自己與對方的價值，不要讓自己落入有機可「騙」的命運中。



有價值？沒價值？　孔雀開屏才能吸引注意！

有一次，我逛街經過一家藝品店，看到店裏擺了件很漂亮的石頭擺飾，老闆開了個不低的價錢，但我仔細看了看東西，隨口向老闆說起這個石頭的來歷、是什麼種類的石頭、市場賞鑒看法如何如何，老闆怔了一下，然後笑著對我說：「喔，你是內行人哦！」，突然就跟我聊起玩石頭的心得，兩個人聊得開心的不得了，最後，老闆說：「既然都是同好，那你就開個價好了。」，而我客氣的說：「不好意思啦，我随便說說，我怕我開的價錢你會生氣」，老闆連聲說不會，硬是要我開個價錢，於是，我就老實不客氣說了個照老闆開價打三折的價錢，老闆當場傻眼，但他傻眼的不是我開的價錢太低，而是我開的價錢才是真正的市場行情價，而不是過路客的肥羊價。看到老闆面有難色，我接著就立刻對老闆說：「我很喜歡玩石頭，我也有很多同樣的朋友喜歡石頭，你這邊東西不錯，以後我會常常帶朋友來看看」，老闆一聽，就像是找到把東西賣給我的理由一樣，當下立刻點頭成交。

對老闆而言，我拿出的價值，是我對石頭的了解，但這只是當下這筆交易中，我所擁有的價值，而我允諾以後會常常帶朋友來看石頭，則是對老闆展現另一段更長期的價值，讓他知道，我也許不只是過路客而已，而有可能成為他長期的老主顧，這就是我們這段交易關係中可能建立的長期價值。而更重要的是，我成功的讓他看到我的「價值」。

「價值」其實就是在經營國際市場業務過程中的「胡蘿蔔」，你總是要先把胡蘿蔔拿出來，才能夠吸引人上門與你合作，如果沒有價值，那麼說得再好的市場發展計畫，都也只是瞎攪和而已。

所以，重點在於「價值」，而且這些價值不是公司自己心知肚明就可以了，而是要展露於外，讓別人注意到你的存在。許多公司在發展新市場的過程中非常痛苦，因為明明公司的產品、技術、服務都非常出色，卻總是遇人不淑、踢到鐵板，造成這樣狀況的主要原因，其實就在於公司並沒有真正「展現」自己的價值，就好比「錦衣夜行」一樣，穿著漂亮的衣服在黑夜裏行走，沒人看見，當然就不會有人讚美，甚至是上前問你衣服是哪買的。在這樣的情況，有價值也等於沒有價值。

如果不能讓市場上可能的交易對象注意到公司的價值，甚至是公司的價值並不符合對方的需求、與當地市場狀況脫鉤，就算公司自認為擁有再高的價值也沒用。所以，除了要清楚自身的價值以外，更重要的是，要清楚的展現價值，並且必須展現切合當地市場與交易對象需求的價值。

簡單而言，在開拓新市場的過程中，孤芳自賞是沒用的，不開屏的孔雀看起來不過就像隻火雞，所以，進入新市場的第一步，請把你的雀屏展開，讓所有人都看到你的「價值」！


賣產品？賣技術？　重點是賣「價值」！

有好產品、有好技術，就一定能夠賣出好成績？這是許多公司在開拓國際市場業務時經常碰到的問題，經常看到的狀況是，A公司的產品明明就比B公司好，價格也更有競爭力，但B公司的業績卻是一路長紅，反倒是A公司是半死不活。這其中當然有很多可能性，但其中有一個關鍵就是陷入「曲高和寡」的困境。

蘋果(Apple)近年來在MP3市場創造的iPod奇蹟，其實就可解開許多公司心中的迷惑。坦白講，MP3是新產品嗎？iPod技術真有神到讓所有MP3望塵莫及嗎？並沒有。但為何iPod能成功呢？因為，蘋果賣的不是iPod的產品技術，而是iPod整體性的價值，包括了iPod的MP3功能再加上iTune的音樂內容平台，這就是iPod的「價值」，而這樣的價值訴求為何會成功，就是因為消費者願意買帳，因為消費者認同、需要這樣的價值，簡單來講，iPod的成功，其實就是因為蘋果為iPod創造了一個熱賣的「價值」。

所以，不論是產品、技術、服務，這些都是每家公司重視的核心價值，但這些「價值」要如何銷售出去？要如何熱賣？其實才是公司應該更加關心的重點。
　
而你有怎樣的價值、展現出怎樣的價值，自然就能在市場中找到被你所展現的價值吸引的合作夥伴，正如【縱橫集】之前曾經提過的，在主流市場中，對於新進公司都有相當長的一段觀察期，就是要觀察新進公司對經營此一市場的承諾與決心，同時還要確定這家新進公司不會把事情搞砸，在這樣的過程中，新進公司就必須把握機會展現價值、證明自身存在的價值，才能有機會讓主流市場的通路或客戶注意到你的存在，進而將你納入可能合作的名單中。

但這就代表從此過著幸福快樂的日子嗎？並不是，因為，若你有一天無法再提供同樣的價值時，或是交易對象發現無法再從你身上得到好處、賺到錢，那麼就有可能開始騙你、坑你了。

以我過去的經驗來看，很多人擔心俄羅斯的放帳風險，但事實上，如果我們的經銷商70%的營收都仰賴我們公司的產品線，那麼，我放帳給他，他會跑掉嗎？他不會，他會繼續做，會一直付你錢，自然就沒有倒帳的問題。

不過，這樣的價值並不是恆久不變的，就如同我們先前所提到的，價值鏈上的每一個環節都會不斷的移動變化，因此，就俄羅斯經銷商的例子來看，如果俄羅斯出現巨大的政治、經濟變化，那就必須要注意他可能會發生問題，可能就會真的跑路。

總結來看，也許很多公司在面對新市場時，總是會心存畏懼，擔心會遇上壞人、會被騙，但我的良心建議是，與其每天疑神疑鬼的擔心害怕，綁手綁腳的不敢做生意，還不如認真的靜下心來，清楚定位、展現、銷售自己的價值，建立起與交易夥伴間長期且對等的關係。

在一段交易的關係中，如果你對交易對象的價值是長期的、是具有未來性的，對方會期待後續還能夠繼續合作，也期待會透過此一合作能賺更多錢，那麼，你就不用太擔心被騙、被坑殺。相信我，秀出你的價值，沒人真的能騙你！
(本文由曹安邦口述，記者陳慧玲整理撰寫，讀者若對文章內容或對相關議題需進一步討論交流，歡迎來信至irene.chen@digitimes.com信箱發表高見。)
曹安邦，現任友訊科技D-Link International總經理，負責巴西、俄羅斯、印度、中東、中南美等多個新興市場，參與資訊通訊產品業務行銷工作經歷超過20年。

[轉貼] 威爾許答客問》人才跳槽？有備胎，安啦!

威爾許答客問》人才跳槽？有備胎，安啦!

‧聯合理財網 2007/12/03

【編譯于倩若】

紐約的貝提許問：當傑出員工有意跳槽到敵營時，我應該挽留他到什麼地步？

答：當優秀員工威脅要離職時，大部分主管會感到惶恐不安，但是你不必考慮太多。

不過在回答問題前，我們要先感謝你，因為你是第一個問我們關於如何「關懷」頂尖員工的讀者。頂尖員工遠勝於任何其他因素，是決定企業成敗的關鍵。畢竟擁有最優秀員工的團隊通常都是贏家，不是嗎？

但是透過我們的專欄或在我們旅遊期間收到的人資問題，大多與如何管理混水摸魚的員工有關。我們聽到：「每年解僱績效最差或欠缺潛力的員工會不會太過冷酷無情？」，我們的回答是「剛好相反，表現差勁的員工需要了解他們在組織中的定位，如此才能著手尋找他們有能力長期勝任的工作。」

抱歉有點離題，表現差勁的員工顯然不是你的問題。

在正常情況下，想討好優秀員工，只需給予他們所渴望的，像是優渥薪酬、大力表揚、提供有趣又富有挑戰性的工作，以及讓他們感覺獲得充分授權。但是，當傑出員工要求見你、關上辦公室的門對你說「我得到一份無法拒絕的好差使」時，一切都改變了。

你的直覺反應一定是開出條件相當的薪酬，但通常一定不夠，狡猾的對手肯定在其他方面提供更優渥的待遇，引誘你的員工，例如更大的職權或更高的頭銜。你也可以開出與之匹敵的待遇，但這時候麻煩就來了。

以升遷的方式挽留優秀員工會激起騷動，尤其會讓自認該得到升遷、但尚未威脅要離職的人感到不滿。在你還沒意識到之前，其他出色員工會因為你滿足了威脅要離職員工的需求而感到受辱，就連表現普通的員工也會感到憤憤不平。最後所有工作可能都會落在那位唯一感到滿意、決定留下來的傑出職員身上，他會感覺自己從未如此不可或缺。

聽起來很極端是嗎？實情就是如此。

我們推薦一個主動出擊的方法，平時就把管理傑出員工列為優先要務，千萬不要將他們視為理所當然，並確定你的管理階層了解，留住傑出員工是評量績效的重要準則。

但同時你也得記住，有時一流員工想離職純粹是因為在貴公司已看不到發展機會。他們優異的表現已為自己贏得更上一層樓的機會，超越長遠看來你所能給予的發展空間。

基於這樣的現實，你必須永遠做好關鍵人物離職後的遞補準備，不論該職位的業務範圍有多大。嚴謹的人力資源計畫可以讓你有備無患，因為該計畫的優點是隨時評估業績、前後一致的訓練以及適用於各項要職的備援規劃，可以輕易地回答「倘若喬治或凱蘿離職，誰可以取代他們？」之類的問題。順便一提，這樣的備援規劃每年至少得執行一次，而且絕不能用死記硬背、填鴨的方式，敷衍了事。

相反地，執行備援規劃的強度必須如同軍事演習。只有這樣，你的組織才有能力在八小時內取代即將離職的傑出員工。沒錯，就是八小時，貴公司也才能傳遞「沒有明星職員比組織來得重要」的訊息。

現在我們了解，極力挽留優秀人才是很自然的反應，尤其當勁敵涉入其中時。不過，經驗也告訴我們，一旦傑出人才萌生去意，英勇的挽救行動通常成效有限。你可以給他們體面的職稱，為他們錦上添花一番，暫時說服他們留下來，但通常這些人終究仍會離去，留給你的是慌忙拼湊而成的組織架構和一群困惑的員工。最好保有組織秩序，以一顆祝福的心送走你的明星。如果你做好份內工作，那麼很快地，將有另一顆明星誕生。

【2007/12/03 經濟日報】

My Sweethreat 2

My Sweethreat

Taiwan

[News] A Chinese Century? Maybe It’s the Next One

By LESTER THUROW
Published: August 19, 2007

CHINA claims that its economy is growing at 10 to 11 percent a year, and China’s official analysts say that their nation will catch up with the United States long before the 22nd century arrives. Don’t believe it.

First, let’s deal with the implausibility of the official Chinese statistics. Mathematically, if the overall economy were to grow 10 percent annually, and the 70 percent of the economy that is based in rural areas were not growing (as stated by the Chinese government), the economy in China’s cities would have to be growing by 33 percent a year. The urban economy is growing rapidly, but not at a 33 percent pace.

Furthermore, Chinese statistics conflict with those of Hong Kong, the semiautonomous territory that serves as the financial capital of much of southern China. In 2001, Hong Kong had a recession, which is to say that it reported that its gross domestic product fell. Guangdong, the adjacent Chinese province, has a population of around 200 million. In 2001, it reported that its G.D.P. grew by 10 percent. What are the chances that both of those numbers are correct? Very slim.

Economic growth rates can be inferred from electricity consumption. In every country in the world, electricity use has generally grown faster than the G.D.P. Electricity is necessary for nearly all productive activities, and because of inefficiencies, consumption of electricity has generally outstripped economic growth. Rising energy costs have resulted in more efficient use of electricity, but especially in the developing world, economic growth has still generally lagged growth in electricity.

But if China’s official numbers are to be believed, there are provinces in China where the G.D.P. has been growing faster than energy use. That is unlikely, since the central government’s statistics also say that energy use per unit of G.D.P. is going up — not down, as claimed in provincial G.D.P. statistics.

Among the world’s 12 most rapidly growing economies over the last 10 years, the G.D.P. has grown only 45 percent as fast as electricity consumption. In the early 1970s, Japan was shutting down its electricity-guzzling aluminum industry. During this period, the G.D.P. grew 60 percent as fast as electricity consumption, the highest recorded level among industrialized nations.
Using those numbers as a guide, if we consider China’s actual electrical use, which is relatively easy to measure, and do a little math, we come up with this estimate: The G.D.P. in China has been growing somewhere between 4.5 percent (using the average for a rapidly growing country) to 6 percent a year (using the highest rate for Japan), not at the 10 percent rate claimed in official statistics.

The official statistic for China’s overall growth rate is best regarded as an approximate growth rate of the economy of its cities.

China also officially claims that it will catch up with the United States and become the world’s largest economy well before the 22nd century arrives.

There is an equally simple reason that neither of these predictions is likely to be realized. It simply takes more than 100 years for a large, less economically developed country to catch up with the world leader in per capita income. One need look only at the history of the United States, which had a much higher growth rate than Britain in the 19th century, yet did not catch up until World War I. Or consider Japan and the United States. Some 150 years after Japan started to modernize during the Meiji restoration, the country’s per capita G.D.P. is still only 80 percent of that of the United States in terms of purchasing power parity — although, in nominal terms, it has caught up.

The United States is not standing still. In fact, its per capita income grew faster than nearly all other big countries from 1990 to 2007. Europe’s per capita income fell from 85 percent of that of the United States in 1990 to 66 percent in 2007, according to International Monetary Fund statistics.

So let’s say that the inflation-adjusted growth rate for China is 4 percent a year. This is optimistic, because China will certainly have some bad years in the next century. Every country does — remember the Great Depression in the United States. A 4 percent rate is faster than any big country has ever grown for 100 years. But assume that China can do it. Assume, too, that America grows at the 3 percent rate it has averaged for the last 15 years.

Now project the two growth rates forward: the inflation-adjusted per-capita G.D.P. of China would be less than $40,000 in 2100, versus almost $650,000 in the United States. That’s because China starts at $1,000 per capita and the United States at $43,000. If, in 2100, China has four times as many people as the United States, as it does now, China would still not have a total G.D.P. equal to America’s.

But it is unlikely to have four times as many people. It is always a mistake to project population growth rates for a century, but let’s do it anyway: With a one-child policy and a sex ratio that favors boys (many men won’t find wives) — China should experience a decline in population in the 21st century. Yet let’s assume for a moment that China’s population remains constant, at 1.3 billion. If immigration to the United States continued at the current rate, America’s population would rise. If the population grew at 1 percent a year, as it has recently, it would more than double by 2100, reducing the enormous population gap between the two countries. Are these projections likely to be realized? Who knows?

What is clear is that China is unlikely to surpass the United States in G.D.P. in absolute or relative terms anytime soon.

There may be a Chinese century, but it will be the 22nd century — not the 21st.
Lester Thurow is a professor of management and economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also on the board of Taiwan Semiconductor, which does business in mainland China.

[轉貼]美國次級房貸危機

以紐約股市為首的全球股市再度出現一波劇烈動盪，其最主要的導火線就是美國次級房貸危機惡化，使美國房市低迷不振。連帶地衝擊美國經濟，而可能對全球經濟產生負面的連鎖效應。
所謂次級房貸就是抵押貸款市場中的次優等抵押貸款，其與一般房貸最主要的不同點在於，這種貸款是提供給那些信用程度較差，及還款能力比較弱的購屋者，其利率也比一般抵押貸款高二至三個百分點。
美國不少金融機構在這波美國房市景氣擴張的過程中，大幅承作次級房貸，使次級房貸的規模快速膨脹。而在美國房市景氣逆轉，聯準會（Fed）為了抑制通膨壓力持續升息，導致貸款者還款壓力大增，也造成次級房貸違約率大幅攀升，對美國金融市場產生相關的負面效應，一些體質比較不健全，以經營次級房貸為主的金融業者如新世紀金融公司等，被迫停止業務，甚至倒閉。
同時以次級房貸為投資標的的共同基金、避險基金、以至大型銀行與保險公司，都將面臨資產大幅損失的風險。華爾街投資銀行貝爾斯登旗下的兩檔避險基金，即是因為投資次級房貸，而出現嚴重虧損。其中一檔基金的資產已一無所剩，另一檔基金的價值也大幅縮水至原有規模的九％。
在美國次級房貸問題尚未完全解決，及房市還未復甦之前，美國股市以至全球股市，未來仍有可能出現大幅波動的走勢。
而美國房地產業界專家預估，美國房市最早也要到二○○九年才會復甦。（編譯王錦時）

[轉貼] 紐約博物館 (Museum in NY)

http://www.backpackers.com.tw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=494558&highlight=#494558

參觀博物館 免費有門路 【文：姚增馨】

紐約市是文化之都，博物館的品質、數量和多元化種類都數一數二，但是在物價高漲之下，若想要一一參觀，每間博物館動輒十元以上的門票價格，可能會讓人大呼吃不消，但若能善加利用博物館的「免費時段」，也可來一趟輕鬆文化之旅。 許多博物館在某些時段提供免門票入場的優惠，然而這一類的優惠，博物館隨時有權更改，前往之前最好先查詢。

古根漢美術館(Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum)：位於曼哈坦上東城5大道1071號，與89街交口，票價18元，每周五由傍晚5時45分開始，隨意付費即可進入，7時15分後不再售票。美術館強調，周五傍晚門票並非免費，也不可提前購買，且周五開放至晚間7時45分。電話(212)423-3500。網址guggenheim.org。

猶太博物館(Jewish Museum)：位於5大道1109號，與92街交口，平常門票12元，每周六上午11時至下午5時45分免費。電話(212)423-3200。網址jewishmuseum.org。 El Museo del Barrio：位於5大道1230號，與104街交口，耆老周四免費，平常成人門票6元，耆老4元，12歲以下免費。電話(212)831-7272，網址elmuseo.org。

藝術及設計博物館(Museum of Arts & Design)：位於曼哈坦中城，西53街40號，平常門票9元，每周四晚6時到8時隨意付費入場，電話(212)956-3535，網址madmuseum.org。

現代美術館(Museum of Modern Art，簡稱MoMA)：西53街11號，介於5大道和6大道之間，成人門票20元。MoMA重新開幕後一度取消免費入場時段，後來在目標折扣店(Target)贊助下，每周五傍晚4時至8時免費進場，但不可提前訂票。16歲以下孩童平日也是免費。電話（212）708-9400。網址moma.org。

紐約科學館(New York Hall of Science)：位於皇后區法拉盛草原可樂娜公園內，111街47-01號，平常門票成人11元，兒童和耆老8元，由9月至6月間，每周五下午2時至5時、周日上午10時至11時免費進場。電話(718)699-0005。網址www.nyhallsci.org。

動畫博物館（Museum of the Moving Image）：位於皇后區阿斯托利亞（Astori-a）35大道和36街交口，平常門票10元，每周五下午4時至8時免費，但是不包括觀賞電影。電話（718）784-4520。網址www.movingim age.us。

布朗士藝術博物館(Bronx Museum of the Arts)：位於布朗士區洋基棒球場附近，1040 Grand Concourse，夾165街，平日門票5元，每周三免費。電話(718)681-6181。網址www.bronxmuseum.org。

惠特尼美術館(Whitney Museum of American Art)：位於麥迪遜大道945號，與75街交口，每周五由下午6時至9時，隨意付費。電話：1-800-WHITNEY，網址www.whitney.org。

另外，紐約市也有一些免費的博物館，包括美國藝術文字學院(American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters，西155街633號)、美國錢幣徽章協會(American Nu-mismatic Society，96 Fulton St.與William St.)、富比世藝廊(Forbes Galleries，5 Ave.與12 St.)、西班牙美術館(Hispanic Society of America，位於Audubon Terrace，Broadway介155和156 St.)、美國印地安博物館(National Museum of the American Indian，One Bowling Green與百老匯)、新力新奇科技館(Sony Wonder Technology Lab，56th St. 與Madison Ave.)、惠特尼美術館(Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria，Park Ave.與42 St.)等。

而例如知名的大都會博物館(Metropolitan Museum of Art)和布碌崙博物館(Brooklyn Museum)等，都是建議門票價格(suggest-ed)，但並未強制要求付該價格購票，這一類的博物館，民眾可以自行決定想付多少門票費用，但因是建議，若能力所及，不妨按照建議門票付費，以支援博物館的財務。 (世報)

Mr. 6

Mr.6 是一位提供Web 2.0 創業(Entrepreneurship)相關資訊的Blogger。他所提供的資訊或發表之文章常常讓人驚覺 "原來有人在作這件事啊!!"

http://www.mr6.cc/

有興趣的人可以拜訪他的網站，瀏覽更多的訊息！

Don't get a business degree, get angry

By Anita Roddick
Published: November 15 2006 02:00

I never went to business school. I went to the business school of life. And I did so from an early age. I was brought up in an Italian immigrant family with a work ethic that teetered on the verge of slave labour.

We got up each morning at five to make breakfast for the local fishermen in our café in Littlehampton and did not close until the last customer wandered home. The other cafés opened at nine and shut at five. This was a clue to me about what makes some people entrepreneurs and not others. Our café was owned by ferociously determined immigrants; the others were not.


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This is an important difference and the reason that I do not advise new entrepreneurs to submit themselves first to the rigours of an MBA is that business schools do not understand it. The conventional advice to budding entrepreneurs is that they should groom themselves to be the whizz-kid with a suit and a fascination for spreadsheets that bank managers like.

Actually, potential entrepreneurs are outsiders. They are people who imagine things as they might be, not as they are, and have the drive to change the world. Those are qualities that business schools do not teach. An MBA can give you useful skills that can be applied to a life in business. But they will not teach you the most crucial thing: how to be an entrepreneur. They might also sap what entrepreneurial flair you have as they force you into the template called an MBA pass.

I often get asked to talk about entrepreneurship - even by hallowed institutions such as Harvard and Stanford - but I am not at all convinced it is a subject you can teach. How do you teach obsession - because often it is obsession that drives an entrepreneur's vision? How do you learn to be an outsider if you are not one already?

In the business school model, entrepreneurs are most at home with a balance sheet, a cash-flow forecast and a business plan. They dream of profit forecasts and the day they can take the company public. These are just part of the toolbox of re-imagining the world: they are not the defining characteristics of entrepreneurship. The problem with business schools is that they are controlled by, and obsessed with, the status quo. They encourage you deeper into the world as it is. They transform you into a better example of corporate man. We need good administration and financial flair, after all, but we need people of imagination too.

So here are 10 lessons that entrepreneurs need more than what they teach in business school.

Tell stories. The central tool for imagining the world differently and sharing that vision is not accountancy. It has more to do with the ability to tell a story.Telling stories emphasises what makes you and your company different. Business schools emphasise how to make you toe the line.

Concentrate on creativity. It is critical for any entrepreneur to maximise creativity and to build an atmosphere that encourages people to have ideas. That means open structures, so that accepted thinking can be challenged.

Be an opportunistic collector. When entrepreneurs walk down the street they have their antennae out, evaluating how what they see can relate back to what they are doing. It might be packaging, a word, a poem or something in a different business.

Measure the company according to fun and creativity. Business schools are obsessive about measurement. The result is vast departments of number-crunchers, but often little progress. What is most important in a company - or anything else - is unquantifiable.

Be different, but look safe. If you are different, you will stand out. But do not take risks with people who can make the difference between success and failure, especially if you are a woman trying to borrow money from the bank - which is how I came to be turned down for my original loan.

Be passionate about ideas. Entrepreneurs want to create a livelihood from an idea that has obsessed them; not necessarily a business, but a livelihood. When accumulating money drives out the ideas and the anger behind them, you are no longer an entrepreneur.

Feed your sense of outrage. Discontentment drives you to want to do something about it. There is no point in finding a new vision if you are not angry enough to want it to happen.

Make the most of the female element. Companies as we know them were created by men for men, often influenced by the military model, on complicated and hierarchical lines and are both dominated by authoritarian principles and resistant to change. By setting up their own businesses, women can challenge these models and will be welcomed by customers for doing so.

Believe in yourself and your intuition. There is a fine line between entrepreneurship and insanity. Crazy people see and feel things that others do not. But you have to believe that everything is possible. If you believe it, those around you will believe it too.

Have self-knowledge. You do not need to know how to do everything, butyou must be honest enough with yourself to know what you cannot provide yourself.

Until they can teach these lessons, business schools will remain the whited sepulchres of the status quo.

Dame Anita Roddick, founder of Body Shop, will speak at the British Library tonight for Enterprise Week on the subject of Commerce with a Conscience

A Spartan's Guide to Business

This is an interesting article referenced from http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/article176006.html

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300 may seem like a bloody action movie, but it's also a lesson in creating a formidable and fearsome business.

By Geoff Williams
March 19, 2007


When the movie 300 recently debuted, making more than $70 million during its opening weekend despite having no big-name actors, Hollywood was stunned. Many people have speculated that what attracted the audience was the over-the-top violence, the naked women and the special effects.

Maybe that helped--a little. But director Zack Snyder's film about Spartans bludgeoning Persian soldiers in a fight to the finish is also a business parable.

No, seriously. If you squint a little--and you probably will during some of the beheading scenes--the story resembles what an entrepreneur often faces when competing against a big corporation. It also offers some insight into what it takes to be an effective leader, inspire employees and create a recognizable brand. And, yes, this film can be ugly, but that's sometimes the nature of the business world.

Business Lesson No. 1: Your CEO needs to be a strong leader.
King Leonidas is as resilient as they come, in both the film and the actual historical battle that took place in 480 B.C. between 300 soldiers of Sparta, Greece and the Persian army. Although Leonidas is a warrior, he treats his family and friends as equals. His wife, the queen, is a partner, and he's smart enough to solicit her advice when it comes to business matters. He also spends quality time with his six-year-old son, teaching him the business (i.e., showing the little bugger how to fight).

But when Leonidas suits up and goes to his day job--vanquishing bloodthirsty enemies with his spear and shield--he's focused on what's best for the business and his employees; in this case, the kingdom and his soldiers.

Sure, his competitor, King Xerxes, through messengers he sends to Sparta, makes some powerful arguments for combining the smaller organization with the larger corporation known as Persia. For instance, if the merger goes through, Leonidas would be allowed to live, and his employees wouldn't have to see their families enslaved or worry about getting their limbs hacked off. But while Leonidas appears to mull the offer over, he's concerned that his people's way of life (think office culture) and his freedom to make independent decisions won't be allowed to thrive.

He firmly declines the deal by spearing and then throwing a bunch of Persian yes-men into what appears to be a bottomless pit.

Leonidas next prepares to stop the growing threat of a hostile takeover. He seeks approval from some grotesque oracles (his board of directors) to take 10,000 Spartan soldiers to fight off the Persian army, but he is rebuffed. And so, like all good entrepreneurs, Leonidas finds a loophole. He informs fellow Spartan colleagues that he's taking a walk, bringing 300 of his top-flight employees as body guards, and goes off to complete his business plan--to fight the Persians at the narrow cliffs of Thermopylae and frighten the immense army into fleeing.

Business Lesson No. 2: Train your employees and foster a culture that promotes loyalty.
The Spartans had a grim but effective process for making sure their society only contained healthy children. (If you don't already know what that process was, you probably don't want to). To put it mildly, their organization only accepted the best and brightest employees, who were trained and molded into effective killing machines. It sounds gruesome, but it's handy when your business involves protecting your community from a foe that aims to crush you.

Arguably, loyalty may be the most important aspect of a successful team. At one point in the battle, Leonidas and Xerxes meet up. The Persian ruler tries to reason with his foe, asking how Leonidas can possibly defeat him when "I would kill any of my men for victory."

"I would die for any of mine," replies Leonidas, suggesting that an employee who knows he's valued is going to fight harder for the company's survival than a miserable grunt in the firm. The king has a point. His 300 men are effective at killing what must be thousands of soldiers in the first few hours of the battle. And it's not that surprising. Xerxes literally walks all over his employees; but in Leonidas' enterprise, his staff takes ownership and pride in the company and has a stake in the firm.

Business Lesson No. 3:You need to have a strong brand.
Leonidas is no fool. He knows that his 300 men and several hundred more Athenian soldiers who tag along can't completely destroy the Persian army, which outnumbers the Spartan force at least 1,000 to one. But he figures that if the Spartans live up to their reputation by ruthlessly and efficiently killing the Persians, the enemy might flee. In other words, Leonidas saw the Spartans as a brand.

Leonidas is an early marketer, fully understanding the power of words and images. When Leonidas and his men literally build a wall of corpses they know their enemy will see, it's an advertising message to the rest of the Persian soldiers that come their way: The Spartans are a company of men you don't want to encounter. They clearly hope the message will spread by word of mouth.

Later, the Spartan CEO tells his competitor, Xerxes, "The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, that even a god-king can bleed." And because Leonidas recognizes how important it is for the general public to understand the Spartans' unique brand of power and will, he sends a messenger back to Sparta to tell the tale of their fight. Leonidas appreciates that even if he and his 300 men don't win this particular battle, educating the public about the company will help the Spartan brand endure long after he is gone.

The brand, in fact, has endured so well that almost 2,500 years later Hollywood made a movie about this battle. If you haven't seen 300 yet, be sure to study these lessons and then go see them put to use in the movie. Do that and you may suck all the joy out of watching a blockbuster action movie--but you'll wind up with one heck of a business.

[轉載]<聯強EMBA>將帥無能 累死三軍

【杜書伍】

「將帥無能，累死三軍」這句話，大家應該不陌生。尤其身為主管者，更應該要深度體悟與銘記在心。

能成為一員將帥，一定是身經百戰，經驗豐富，所以並非沒有能力，但為何會累死三軍？其主要關鍵，在於將帥是以「系統思考」，還是「單點思考」，在統御他的大軍。

管理一個部門，就像統領一支軍隊一樣，是帶領一群人去達成部門的職責，而且要能持續、長期的發揮部門功能，並穩健提升部門績效。因此，所有的管理措施，都必須有一套完整的做法（就是系統），才不會顧此失彼；同時，部屬也因為有整套做法，不但學習容易，同時能夠逐漸融會貫通，進而靈活運用，產生最大的效益。

但是，一個缺乏「系統思考」的主管，卻習慣於「單點創意」、「見招拆招」的指示部屬「如何、如何做」，而未能預先思索新做法與原有的運作模式有何衝突。此種「單點創意」、「見招拆招」的想法，經常顧此失彼；當部屬依指示行事時，就會打亂原有的全套做法，使得原有系統亂成一團。不但把原有辛苦建立的運作模式摧毀，部屬也會易因指令與系統產生矛盾，無所適從而感到心力交瘁。

事實上，「單點創意」成效頂多只有一時，無法產生長期、持續的效益。而部屬卻要一而再、再而三的面對主管的「單點創意」，疲於奔命，「死而後已」，殊為不值。

管理一個部門的主管，也像是駕駛大巴士的司機。巴士駕駛每一次的轉彎、加速或煞車，並不能像飆車的賽車手一樣，可以瞬間、即興的操作；而是要顧及乘客乘坐的舒適度，漸進、平緩的進行切換動作。即使必須快速執行，也必須要預先提醒乘客，讓乘客從平穩的「狀態」（系統）快速轉換到合適的新狀態。否則，一而再的轉彎、加速、踩剎車，必然使乘客東倒西歪、暈車連連，迫不及待想下車。

所以，一個能幹、稱職的主管，想要突破、提升部門達成使命，而有任何新的思維時，應從思考如何改善、提升既有系統做起；假使改善既有系統無法解決問題，也必須重新建構一套系統，來讓部屬有一套做法可以依循。若是沒有系統運作的觀念，而獨立、單點的思考，其結果就是眾叛親離、一事無成。

還有一種狀況，是主管的「指示做法」雖然與既有做法並無衝突，但是長期下來，太多的指示使得系統變成非常的龐雜，導致部屬工作不勝負荷，也無時間思考。如此一來，仍會落得部屬顧此失彼、掛一漏萬，品質低落。

一個「系統思考」的主管，會了解做法龐雜可能造成的不良後果，因而有「總量管制」的觀念，所以在指示做法之前，會更深度的分析，那些做法是重複的？那些做法是低效益的？那些做法可以整合成更精簡？進一步去思索如何將龐雜的做法，精簡成簡單而又具成效的運作系統。如此一來不但效益大，部屬也可以更專注、落實的把事情做好。

從這樣的理解與認知，我們在評量一位主管的能力時，也必須要破除錯誤的認知：不要誤認為「積極任事、時有創意」的主管就是好的主管，而是要深度了解他是「單點創意」、「見招拆招」；還是「系統思考」，不斷的以運作系統的改善、提升，來顯現創意、突破現狀的主管。

因此，也提醒所有的主管，深度思索自己過去的行事作風，檢視自己是屬於那一類的主管。若部門無法長期穩健增強職能，更甚而忙碌、混亂、離職率高，則需先從自己檢討起，而不要只怪罪外在諸多原因。

（作者是聯強國際集團總裁兼執行長，本文取材自聯強內部管理課程主題「聯強EMBA」，更多文章收錄於「聯強e城市」網站）

經典名句 (一)

人生的規劃，不在匆忙之間的爭取
而是水到渠成的自然與坦然大方的自在

座右銘

不欲速，不欲小利；欲速則不達，欲小利則大事不成 - 司馬遷《史記》

My Motto

Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.

Robert L. Stevenson (1850~1894, The author of “Treasure Island”)