spruiked: jakarta style

vision: destiny

Back in June last year, I sat down with the Group CEO to set some key objectives for the year. By then, I had been in charge of things in Indonesia for about a year. It was time to set some long term goals. I’m pretty hopeless at this kind of thing. To be perfectly honest, I was secretly chuffed that the business was still intact and I hadn’t killed anyone. Wasn’t that enough? Apparently not. “By this time next year, I want you to have developed a long term vision for the business,” he told me. “That and double local profit.” I had no idea what he was talking about. What the hell is a long term vision? Up to then, all I had really thought about was making sure we kept making more money than we were spending. “Attaboy, keep ‘em working.” Pretty much every conversation I had with staff was about money. Record more time. Improve your time entries. Reduce your write-offs. If we weren’t talking about billing clients, we were arguing about salaries and employee entitlements. Is this what I wanted? Hardly. Things were going okay, but why did it have to be so combative? Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone had the same goals? Hang on a minute. “Everyone with the same goals”. That sounded pretty good. I spent some time thinking about what sort of goals I might have in common with employees. Make money? Too easy. Succeed? Maybe. But not everyone wants success. Some people might be happy enough coasting along. What then? What does everyone want? Then it came to me. Control. Everyone wants control over their own lives, but few feel they do. What would it look like if everyone had a say in what we do together as a business and how we do it? After much agonizing, I finally came up with my long term vision for the business: For every employee to be in control of their future, and empowered, inspired and motivated to achieve their goals. Apart from the personal satisfaction that would give me, I believe that success will come naturally from having happy, empowered and motivated employees. Where to from here? Well, I have started the process of making this vision a reality. If you’re interested, read on...

a change in focus

Lately I've been finding it difficult to write. The main problem I have is finding something to say. It's not that there's nothing interesting going on. There is so much going on that it's hard to keep track! There's an election coming up in three months, renewed tension in Ambon, an endless stream of corruption trials and of course the looming annual floods. Take your pick! The problem is that there's nothing particularly positive or inspiring about these things. So, I have decided to take a leaf from Javajive's book and write about me - or more specifically what's happening to me. You might find this hard to believe, but I am intensely private about my personal life. Sure, I'll wax lyrical about what's going on around me. But when it comes to what's going on in my own life... well, that's a different story. I have only just begun to realize that this has a huge impact on how other people relate to me. Last week, I was traveling back to the office from a meeting with my co-director, Gunawan. I was telling him about the challenges of building a house in Central Java with Awan, when he turned to me and said, "I am glad you  told me about this, because it is something I would like to discuss with you." I was immediately suspicious. What did he want to tell me? Gunawan wouldn't elaborate when pressed. "We can discuss over dinner some time." A couple of days later, I realized that there was nothing specific that he wanted to tell me. He was simply glad that we could talk about my personal life. I didn't realize that it was off limits, though I could see why people might think so. Why so secretive, Brett? So, I have decided to get a little more personal. Don't worry. This isn't going to be some twenty-first century Javanese version of Lady Chatterley's Lover or Brokeback Mountain. I'll keep it clean. I hope it's still interesting...

a public appeal

A couple of days ago, I read a news item about an American family who, after boarding a domestic flight, were removed from the plane. This occurred because of the fears, superstitions and prejudices of the passengers on the plane and the spineless and amoral staff. So what happened? Apparently two passengers overheard two members of a family talking about where was the the safest place to sit on the plane. The man and woman having this discussion were "Arabic in appearance". That's Mid West speak for "Well, he wer'nt a niggah, Mexicarn or a God fearing Christian like you 'n me. Must be one of them Muzlem terrorists." Two passengers overheard the conversation and thought it highly suspicious. So they alerted the cabin crew, who alerted the captain, who asked the two federal marshals on board to remove the family from the plane. I wouldn't have thought that this conversation was particularly suspicious. A little pointless? Yes. But suspicious? No. It's something that goes through my head pretty much every time I board a plane. The cold hard truth is that nowhere on the plane is safe. If the plane crashes, then your number's up, babe, whether you're in 1A or 33B. In any event, the entire family was detained, questioned and eventually cleared by federal authorities. No doubt this would have taken hours. However, the airline refused to let them board another plane and the family had to find another airline. The airline issued an apology of sorts and refunded the family's money, but only two days later when the media attention made the failure to do so untenable. Even then it wasn't really an apology. It was one of those "I am sorry you feel that way" apologies, where you don't really say sorry at all, or even acknowledge any wrong doing on your part. In fact, everyone concerned, including the airline and the federal authorities, maintain that it was handled appropriately. The federal authorities were quick to point out that the proper procedures were followed to determine whether there was a security threat. That's great, but "following procedure" doesn't justify stupidity. I totally understand suspicion and fear, particularly in a country that has lived under a Reign of Fear since 9/11. What I do not understand - or accept - is how we can let that fear and suspicion override logic and reason. There was nothing suspicious about the conversation or the passengers. Think about it. Why would a terrorist planning to blow up a plane draw attention to himself by talking about it?! Why would he bring his wife and kids along for the ride? How exactly would he do it, given the unbelievable security you have to go through to get on a plane? It makes no sense! If it makes no sense, then why were they removed from the plane? Presumably the captain, the crew and air marshals have collectively flown thousands of flights, with millions of passengers, many of whom would have been Arabic or Middle Eastern in appearance. They must have come across this kind of carry on before. If the family were cleared by the FBI, why didn't the airline let them board another plane? Presumably the flight left once the family were removed from the plane. Why not put them on another flight? Fear and prejudice. So why did it happen? Two words: mob rule. The fear and prejudices of a few prevailed over reason. With reason out of the way, the airline staff were free to harass this family because of their assumed religion. Can you imagine the trauma of going through this? Removed from a plane, then interrogated by the FBI? Because you may be Muslim? All this in a country which guarantees freedom of religion, whose founders left their homelands to escape religious persecution. Wow! This isn't a unique story. It happens every day in a myriad of different settings. Every day we see reason and logic overcome by fear, prejudice and hysteria. How base have we become? Are we really so stupid that we have lost the ability to reason? If we cannot reason, we are no better than the very terrorists we claim to be fighting. We must not let this happen. We cannot just sit by and let hysteria reign over reason. If we do, we only have ourselves to blame.

a xmas message from the pope

[singlepic=184,240,180,,left]Pope Benedict X is putting the Catholic faith back a millennium or two by coming out with the most stupid shit I have read since, well, Bush last opened his mouth. According to Reuters, the so-called Holy Father has said that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour is just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. We need to "listen to the language of creation" to understand the intended roles of man and woman. What the f—?! The problem I have with this latest piece of drivel is this. First, the fundamental message given by Christ was to love one another. He didn't say "except the gays". Second, Roman Catholic doctrine is full of abuse of the "language of creation", starting with the Immaculate Conception. Third, the Church has a pretty tawdry past when it comes to buggery and general abuse of the weak. It has no credibility. Nana. Zip. The best thing the Pope can do right now for his flock is shut the f— up! Finally, it is morally reprehensible to piggy-back Church indoctrinated hatred on the back of the environmental protection. Environmental issues finally have global attention and what does this jerk do? He decides that this is a great opportunity to spread his message of hatred and intolerance. This is exactly why I gave up on God. Well, the Pope's version of God, anyway.

this dolphin ate my modem!

[singlepic=183,240,180,,left]Okay, so it's a slow afternoon. Sue me! It's just about time to go to the gym for a quick work out before heading off to dinner at Samarra or Buddha Bar...

absence of charity

[singlepic=182,240,180,,left]What have we become? Last week, a friend's brother died in hospital because he did not receive medical treatment for a head injury in time. Why? Because the hospital refused to treat him without payment upfront. The boy had suffered severe head injuries when falling from a tree. Doctors at the hospital told my friend that he would die if they did not operate immediately, but refused to carry out the surgery without a 60% down-payment - US$3,800. All she could come up with was $1,500 (which is still a lot of money), so my friend spent the next four hours trying to find another hospital. Polri Hospital agreed to do the surgery, but it was too late. My friend's brother died two days later. What really sucks is that Meilia Hospital still demanded payment of $500 This is the sort of f—d up shit I expect to see in the West, not here in Indonesia. What hope do we have if doctors will allow someone to die if there is a risk of them not getting paid? What about the Hippocratic Oath:

I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone. I will keep myself far from all intentional ill-doing.

Okay, I understand the position Indonesian doctors are in. This is a poor country and if they don't demand payment upfront, our doctors will be as poor as everyone else. But there are other ways! How can we expect compassion from the man-on-the-street, when our hospitals will quite happily turn away a dying boy?

sunset

[singlepic=181,240,180,,left]I don't often catch sunset here in Jakarta and tonight's was a stunner. Sunset comes and goes so bloody quickly. There is no lingering twilight here on the Equator. There's no mucking around. At 17:59 it's day. At 18:01 it's night.

meet the press

[singlepic=180,240,180,,left]Yesterday was my first press conference in Indonesia, and only my second ever encounter with the media. The press conference was arranged by the Indonesian Anti Counterfeiting Association, MIAP (Masyarakat Indonesia Anti Pemalsuan), to discuss counterfeit lubriants. It wasn't exactly what I expected. It was extremely informal. We met four or five print print journalists in the lobby of the Gran Melia Hotel, one of Jakarta's fading glories. They were a very cool bunch: young, good-looking and very hip. They got right down to it and asked bloody good questions. Still, I was surprised to read in several resulting news items claims that 50-60% of lubricants in the market are counterfeit, when the figure given during the press conference and in MIAP's printed press release was 40-50%. My cultural liaison expert explains the phenomenon as follows:

50% or below is no news, over 50% is news!

Now, that makes sense! You can read more here, here, here, here, here and (in English) here.

a new ad is NOT news!

[singlepic=177,240,180,,left]Anyone who has known me for longer than 4 minutes will know that I am what they call a "fanboy" when it comes to Apple and its products. I say 4 minutes, because that's about the longest I can go without my iPhone. Any longer and I start twitching. Since purchasing my first Mac (a 24" iMac) in late 2005, I have bought two MacBooks, one Mac Mini, 4 AirPorts (including an AirPort Extreme), 3 Mighty Mice (or is that "Mouses"? "Meeces"?) 7 iPods and 3 iPhones* and countless software. So it goes without saying that I understand Apple enthusiasm. Or as the kids say, "Whatever. I get it."   What I do not get is enthusiasm for Apple's 'Get a Mac' ad campaign. The ads, which debuted in 2006, follow an identical format: a man dressed in casual clothes introduces himself as a Mac running Mac OSX ("Hello, I'm a Mac..."), while a man in a suit and tie introduces himself as a PC running Microsoft Windows ("... And I'm a PC."). What follows is a brief vignette in which Macs and PCs are compared.  There have been more than 50 TV ads in the States and 8 or so Internet ads. The ads are not particularly clever. At best, they are mean-spirited, smug and self-righteous. At worst, they constitute comparative advertising, which is a no-no in most civilized countries. Guardian columnist Charlie Brooker went so far as to suggest that the advertising campaign damaged Apple's image: 

So when you see the ads, you think, 'PCs are a bit rubbish yet ultimately lovable, whereas Macs are just smug, preening tossers.'

He's right. But there is one thing that is even more annoying than Apple's misdirected advertising. That would be the Apple community's obsession with these ads. Almost every technology-based news website I follow, including the respectable Ars Technica, Macworld, Macuser, all announced with glee Apple's latest animated Xmas ads. The ads, which are filmed in 'claymation' and carry a Xmas theme will warm the cockles of your heart apparently. Wow, Xmas-themed ads at Xmas? Revolutionary! What makes this so much worse is that at the same time Apple announced that it would no longer attend trade shows, and would abandon its highly successful annual expo, Macworld. This is big news! According to Tuesday's press release:

Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers.

So far only Wired has picked up on this news. Maybe analyzing Apple's motivation for this marketing shift is just a bit deep for your average Apple user. I suppose that's why we're fanboys. We don't care. Update: My favourite satirist, Aulia Masna, has more to say about Macworld minus Apple at TechWeek. *Including gifts.

the day the earth stood still (or not)

[singlepic=176,240,180,,left]"If the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the Earth survives." With those words, Klaatu via Neo via Johnny Mneumonic via Johnny Utah via Keanu Reeves declares that the Earth is too valuable to sacrifice for one species. And he's right. This year's "remake" (and I use the term loosely) of the Cold War classic, The Day The Earth Stood Still, is Hollywood's latest attempt at greenie propaganda. I say "attempt" because, as propaganda goes, it's a lame duck. Klaatu's got nothing on Al Gore, or even the scientist dude (played by Dennis Quaid) who keeps haranguing the Vice President in The Day After Tomorrow. "Our climate is fragile. The ice caps are disappearing at a dangerous rate." As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, what is Klaatu's great plan? Turn off all the lights in New York. Because we all know that the greatest threat to our environment is excessive lighting in lower Manhattan. Turning off lights is sure to have a big impact in the Amazon, where 12,000 square kilometres of trees (an area roughly the size of Connecticut) were chopped down this year. But I'm not so sure that it'll save the bluefin tuna fisheries in the Atlantic and Mediterranean from collapse, as predicted last month by the Technical University of Denmark.  Oh, wait. So the 'lights out' bit is symbolic - of the sacrifice we must make to save our environment? Now that's deep. Stupid, but deep.  Not that the movie's a complete dud. Kathy Bates' Secretary of Defence is so mind-bogglingly stupid that I am convinced she was channeling Condoleezza Rice - albeit a whiter, slightly older, plumper version. It may well be that Queen Kathy, resplendent in a now all-too-familiar beehive, was sending us a subliminal pre-Election 2008 warning: putting Sarah Palin in the White House could very well result in the end of civilization. Jaden Smith gives an equally impressive performance as movie history's most obnoxious child. The curly haired one is the progeny of 'Fresh Prince' Will Smith and his gnome wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. So this is what happens when celebrities breed? Oh, the humanity! However, these stunning performances are not enough to save this film. It is a cowardly treatment of the single biggest issue of our time. If only those responsible for this drivel had half the balls Robert Wise had when he directed the original. Oh well. Maybe the next Harry Potter film will be better...