LAST DAY IN MANILA
Today is our last day in Manila. I have to say that this week I’ve been dreading leaving this place. We’ve made a lot of friends, and just as we are getting assimilated, we have to leave. Even the staff has been saying their goodbyes. Yesterday was our last day in the office, and it was tough to say goodbye to some people who helped us over the past few months. I am not sure there is anyone more nostalgic then me, so it’s tough. Life here is so much simpler, and just thinking about returning to my life in the US I can already feel the angst. Just this week alone, I had four e-mails from three banks requesting me to join their teams. It’s good to be “in demand” and have your work recognized, but in the end, it’s going to be tough to go back to a regular project after doing something like this.
One of the roles I was offered was to run the largest treasury merger our firm has ever done. It sounds like a really good opportunity, but I know exactly where it will lead, how my life would be sucked up by work again, and how the work I would be doing really wouldn’t make the world a better place. Once you live on this side for a while, it’s a realization that I’m not sure you can ever recover from. It is as if a light goes off, and you realize that you feel better about yourself, and your life when you’re doing work like this. Even hanging out with some of the younger crew of our client, they have really important roles, and they are all truly happy (that’s generally a Filipino thing though). Yesterday morning, one of them (aged 23 or 24 years old) got to represent the client on a radio show talking about climate change, and the Copenhagen conference. The night before, we all hung out, and in jest I interviewed her and tried to stump her. I couldn’t. She was incredibly prepared. Two days ago, a Whale Shark (butanding) was found dead in Manila bay. The shark had no signs of damage, and the autopsy yielded that the shark had trash and nails in its belly. The shark was 2 years old. They had a proper burial for the shark as well, and one of the younger crew of the client made a statement at the funeral. It made the front page of the national paper. My point is that the opportunities they have are just as challenging as those in the private sector, and they are doing very important work – much more important than running the largest treasury merger.
What’s next?
I tried to get onto a project in Africa or Europe doing something similar, but I was told no. Our firm has high demand at the moment, and I am technically on loan from my business unit. Before I start work, I need to decompress for a while, so I am going to spend two weeks in the region on personal travel. I’m starting out my trip to visit some friends in Singapore, and then heading over to India and travelling for about a week. I’ll be stopping in London for a night on my way back, but can’t stay out here too much longer.
Longer term, I want to go to business school (met a ton of LBS folks on this trip) and I think I’ll try and do another ADP role next summer. Hopefully I will be able to do this on a yearly basis.
As for the blog, I think I’ll keep posting here for a few more weeks. Thanks for following my blog over the past few weeks, and thanks for all your comments and e-mails! I've had my fair share of tough days, and your support has really carried me through.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
THE PROJECT OUTCOME
The last few weeks have been extremely political, stressful, and a number of behind the scenes power plays were brought to our attention. I pulled 3 all nighters this week trying to get stuff ready, but in the end we just could not get past some internal conflicts the client needs to work out. Here’s a synopsis we provided our advisor:
Last we left off, we were trying to sell the client a better approach of bundling their projects and setting up a ‘conservation’ fund to essentially collect donations for un-investable projects. We faced some significant push back because essentially our immediate clients (The Core Team), was insufficiently prepared to get into the detail of our work and complicated things by selectively filtering much of our work from the shareholder executive team (the SET). The result is frustration by the SET for not even knowing the nature of the problems that were being encountered and frustration by us for not even being allowed to have direct interaction with the senior clients. Our client contact, has repeatedly given us insight to the internal power plays and communication problems that have plagued the region. She even mentioned one of the three, effectively controls the channel to the CEO and doesn’t even like the other 2 to approach him directly…
Another repeated request of ours was to have an internal finance contact to work with to help out with the project and sell the messages of the fund. They finally decided on the last day of the project (yesterday) that it would be good for us to share the model with the CFO of Australia. It will now be in good hands, but disappointing this wasn’t done early.
The end result is that they realise they cannot go further until the sort out their internal issues and get everyone all together. Much of this doesn’t come as a surprise. We have left them with a very robust model upon which they can then design the right fund. We left them with a draft prospectus that was very useful for them, but incomplete until the final model is agreed upon and external administration identified. We also left them with detailed slides on the approach we took, tradeoffs made, and key risks they need to address.
We’ve been told that we gave them what they need and this was a highly useful exercise. In sum, the CEO of the region did not take an active role and let three marketers essentially be the sole input into our work, which at time was inherently complex and required serious decisions to be made and tradeoffs to be addressed. It was a great learning experience for both sides. We told them we will be available for any further questions, etc, should they be able to sit down and agree on the way forward. They appreciated the work we did and I think only at the end realised they were in over their head with the technical aspects of the fund and did not seek sufficient help.
As much as we were disappointed for the project not working (at least we had one recommendation that would make it work), we were told by the client that the point wasn’t to solve the problem as much as it was to do some further analysis, which we did. The CEO of Australia called my model the “Rolls Royce” of financial models, which made me feel good too. I think I can walk away knowing we did well, and I’m certain that the client will call us if their needs change in the future.
The last few weeks have been extremely political, stressful, and a number of behind the scenes power plays were brought to our attention. I pulled 3 all nighters this week trying to get stuff ready, but in the end we just could not get past some internal conflicts the client needs to work out. Here’s a synopsis we provided our advisor:
Last we left off, we were trying to sell the client a better approach of bundling their projects and setting up a ‘conservation’ fund to essentially collect donations for un-investable projects. We faced some significant push back because essentially our immediate clients (The Core Team), was insufficiently prepared to get into the detail of our work and complicated things by selectively filtering much of our work from the shareholder executive team (the SET). The result is frustration by the SET for not even knowing the nature of the problems that were being encountered and frustration by us for not even being allowed to have direct interaction with the senior clients. Our client contact, has repeatedly given us insight to the internal power plays and communication problems that have plagued the region. She even mentioned one of the three, effectively controls the channel to the CEO and doesn’t even like the other 2 to approach him directly…
Another repeated request of ours was to have an internal finance contact to work with to help out with the project and sell the messages of the fund. They finally decided on the last day of the project (yesterday) that it would be good for us to share the model with the CFO of Australia. It will now be in good hands, but disappointing this wasn’t done early.
The end result is that they realise they cannot go further until the sort out their internal issues and get everyone all together. Much of this doesn’t come as a surprise. We have left them with a very robust model upon which they can then design the right fund. We left them with a draft prospectus that was very useful for them, but incomplete until the final model is agreed upon and external administration identified. We also left them with detailed slides on the approach we took, tradeoffs made, and key risks they need to address.
We’ve been told that we gave them what they need and this was a highly useful exercise. In sum, the CEO of the region did not take an active role and let three marketers essentially be the sole input into our work, which at time was inherently complex and required serious decisions to be made and tradeoffs to be addressed. It was a great learning experience for both sides. We told them we will be available for any further questions, etc, should they be able to sit down and agree on the way forward. They appreciated the work we did and I think only at the end realised they were in over their head with the technical aspects of the fund and did not seek sufficient help.
As much as we were disappointed for the project not working (at least we had one recommendation that would make it work), we were told by the client that the point wasn’t to solve the problem as much as it was to do some further analysis, which we did. The CEO of Australia called my model the “Rolls Royce” of financial models, which made me feel good too. I think I can walk away knowing we did well, and I’m certain that the client will call us if their needs change in the future.
Partner’s Night and I Meet My First Billionaire
Monday after landing from Barocay, we were invited to our client’s partner’s night, where their major sponsors get together, get an update on the work that is going on, as well as wine and dine with the board of directors. The CEO of my client was also in town meeting with the President of the Philippines, and the Asian Development Bank on some initiatives ahead of the Copenhagen conference. The CEO definitely walks with a lot of clout, and you can see that he has a lot of power. Of course, it helps when he gives a speech and provides anecdotes about heads of states…
I also met the Ayala family, which is huge in the Philippines. They just donated a billion pesos to the education system the week before. Some other characters who were around: the CEO of Coca Cola in the Philippines, US ambassador Kennedy, and I met a man named Vince Perez, who was for sure the most interesting person to talk to (check out his profile and you’ll be amazed at how much he has done in his life: http://vinceperez.net/profile.htm)
It was an awesome event, but we were super tired after partying late the night before, and getting up at 5am to catch out flight back. After the event, we hung out with the younger crew of our client and talked for a few hours while some of them cleaned up. It was a lot of fun, and one of the nights I’ll remember for sure. This night was also the only time I wore a suit in the Philippines. It’s way too hot to ever wear a suit down here.
Monday after landing from Barocay, we were invited to our client’s partner’s night, where their major sponsors get together, get an update on the work that is going on, as well as wine and dine with the board of directors. The CEO of my client was also in town meeting with the President of the Philippines, and the Asian Development Bank on some initiatives ahead of the Copenhagen conference. The CEO definitely walks with a lot of clout, and you can see that he has a lot of power. Of course, it helps when he gives a speech and provides anecdotes about heads of states…
I also met the Ayala family, which is huge in the Philippines. They just donated a billion pesos to the education system the week before. Some other characters who were around: the CEO of Coca Cola in the Philippines, US ambassador Kennedy, and I met a man named Vince Perez, who was for sure the most interesting person to talk to (check out his profile and you’ll be amazed at how much he has done in his life: http://vinceperez.net/profile.htm)
It was an awesome event, but we were super tired after partying late the night before, and getting up at 5am to catch out flight back. After the event, we hung out with the younger crew of our client and talked for a few hours while some of them cleaned up. It was a lot of fun, and one of the nights I’ll remember for sure. This night was also the only time I wore a suit in the Philippines. It’s way too hot to ever wear a suit down here.
Barocay
Wow, it has been too long since I posted. Since my last post, we went to Barocay, which is an awesome island that has some of the best beaches I have ever seen. We woke up on Saturday morning, figured it would be fun to go, so we rushed to the airport and bought our tickets on Sea Air – on a prop airplane.
While going to the Airport (the airport terminals are spread apart in separate buildings on different properties) we noticed a bunch of emergency vehicles on a runway. We asked the taxi driver what was going on, and he informed us that a Victoria Airlines flight crashed, and some people didn’t make it – scary! Fast forward about an hour and a half later, we’re landing into Barocay. The pilot takes his initial approach, and aborts his landing at the last second. We fly around, and circle back for the second approach… same thing, he aborts at the last second. At this point, I’m wondering if this guy knows how to land a plane. The runway is right off the beach, and is incredibly short. If you don’t hit it just right, you crash. The pilot comes around on his third attempt, hits the edge of the runway and slams on the brakes… we barely stop at the edge of the runway. Interesting that he has to do that a couple of times a day.
Barocay was awesome and relaxing. We hunted for a while to find a hotel (since we had no reservations), and finally settled on some place called Nigi Nigi Noo Noos or something like that. We chose the place based on the fact that they had two awesome dogs outside, and their bar was populated with decent looking people and played awesome music. My roommate has this thing where he will never eat at empty restaurants, etc – his theory is that crowds make smarter decisions (not always true).
Anyway, Barocay was chill, we spent time just sitting on the beach. We also got to do some snorkeling at what is for sure some of the best reefs in the world. Philippines has world class diving as well. When I get around to posting pictures, you’ll get a sense of what I am talking about.
The music scene in Barocay is awesome too, and as usual we ended up partying with one of the rock bands. Though it was a relaxing weekend, it wasn’t fee of our client panicking and calling us to do some work. We had no internet connection, and explained to her that we were at the beach (she didn’t think that we were off the island entirely). We also booked our flight to leave Barocay at 6am on Monday morning, and we figured we’d make it into the office by 9am…the client assumed we were local and come Sunday she starts making requests for us to send her additional slides for a presentation we had on Wednesday. In the end, it wasn’t that important, and she understood.
Taking off from the runway was less eventful. The pilot applied the brakes, spooled up the engines and let the brakes go and away we went. Prop planes can be fun…
Wow, it has been too long since I posted. Since my last post, we went to Barocay, which is an awesome island that has some of the best beaches I have ever seen. We woke up on Saturday morning, figured it would be fun to go, so we rushed to the airport and bought our tickets on Sea Air – on a prop airplane.
While going to the Airport (the airport terminals are spread apart in separate buildings on different properties) we noticed a bunch of emergency vehicles on a runway. We asked the taxi driver what was going on, and he informed us that a Victoria Airlines flight crashed, and some people didn’t make it – scary! Fast forward about an hour and a half later, we’re landing into Barocay. The pilot takes his initial approach, and aborts his landing at the last second. We fly around, and circle back for the second approach… same thing, he aborts at the last second. At this point, I’m wondering if this guy knows how to land a plane. The runway is right off the beach, and is incredibly short. If you don’t hit it just right, you crash. The pilot comes around on his third attempt, hits the edge of the runway and slams on the brakes… we barely stop at the edge of the runway. Interesting that he has to do that a couple of times a day.
Barocay was awesome and relaxing. We hunted for a while to find a hotel (since we had no reservations), and finally settled on some place called Nigi Nigi Noo Noos or something like that. We chose the place based on the fact that they had two awesome dogs outside, and their bar was populated with decent looking people and played awesome music. My roommate has this thing where he will never eat at empty restaurants, etc – his theory is that crowds make smarter decisions (not always true).
Anyway, Barocay was chill, we spent time just sitting on the beach. We also got to do some snorkeling at what is for sure some of the best reefs in the world. Philippines has world class diving as well. When I get around to posting pictures, you’ll get a sense of what I am talking about.
The music scene in Barocay is awesome too, and as usual we ended up partying with one of the rock bands. Though it was a relaxing weekend, it wasn’t fee of our client panicking and calling us to do some work. We had no internet connection, and explained to her that we were at the beach (she didn’t think that we were off the island entirely). We also booked our flight to leave Barocay at 6am on Monday morning, and we figured we’d make it into the office by 9am…the client assumed we were local and come Sunday she starts making requests for us to send her additional slides for a presentation we had on Wednesday. In the end, it wasn’t that important, and she understood.
Taking off from the runway was less eventful. The pilot applied the brakes, spooled up the engines and let the brakes go and away we went. Prop planes can be fun…
Thursday, October 15, 2009
COURTESY OF MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WORLD (SHITAL)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbEKAwCoCKw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbEKAwCoCKw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw
TO STAY OR NOT TO STAY?
The client has requested that we stay on further (after we design our fund) to take on some alternate work for the region. The work will be for the Coral Triangle, which is a region in the ocean that six governments have a stake in.
The Coral Triangle region is the most important and diverse marine region in the world. This ‘nursery of the seas’ supports millions of livelihoods across Asia and worldwide. But it is under threat - from over-exploitation, environmental degradation, poverty, and global economic recession – all compounded by severe climate change.
Overcoming these threats, while putting new economic growth on a sustainable path, requires courage, innovation, partnership and, not least, access to credit, finance and investment – often a major barrier to progress, whether sought for the purchase of circle hooks or the large-scale development of a carbon-neutral resort.
In May 2009, the six heads of state of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI) www.cti-secretariat.net committed to ambitious conservation and development targets across the region through a regional Plan of Action. Delivering on this plan requires, in large part, meaningful engagement from the private sector. With the Government of the Philippines and partners, my client is hosting an inspirational international business event for the Coral Triangle making the case for sustainability as the future of economic health and profit – convening business change-makers, key marine resource industry sectors, the communications sector and the investment community to come together in partnership to start a green revolution.
The event will outline the business opportunities the CTI represents for key sectors and set out the financial support and investment available to businesses willing to commit to sustainability and green growth. We as a firm have been invited to support my client to research and assemble intelligence which will help my client make a compelling case for sustainable investment and business in the Coral Triangle. This will be achieved by focusing on market trends and demand from both, supply chain companies as well as consumers, located within and outside of the Coral Triangle Region Which can be delivered the 3 day business and industry event helping to make the case for sustainable business.
In a nutshell, our job would be to research industries and figure out what the best way to preserve the coral triangle would be – from coordinating fishing activities so they don’t deplete the region (but still be fair to all countries), to having the Asian Development Bank fund business enhancements that will make operating in the region ecologically safer. The project is primarily a research based role, but is highly interesting. The best part is that we would be interacting with a completely different side of our current organization – instead of business-heads, we’d be talking to scientists and conservationists. We would be interacting with companies who rely on the region for their economic livelihood, as well as their supply chain. Our recommendations could really make a substantial and sustainable impact!
It would require staying in the region for another month or so (which I am not convinced on.. in all likelihood it will take us through Jan) – which is where the question arises: should I stay or not? I love the work I am doing, and it’s truly fulfilling, but I also miss my friends and family. Stay tuned on my decision…
The client has requested that we stay on further (after we design our fund) to take on some alternate work for the region. The work will be for the Coral Triangle, which is a region in the ocean that six governments have a stake in.
The Coral Triangle region is the most important and diverse marine region in the world. This ‘nursery of the seas’ supports millions of livelihoods across Asia and worldwide. But it is under threat - from over-exploitation, environmental degradation, poverty, and global economic recession – all compounded by severe climate change.
Overcoming these threats, while putting new economic growth on a sustainable path, requires courage, innovation, partnership and, not least, access to credit, finance and investment – often a major barrier to progress, whether sought for the purchase of circle hooks or the large-scale development of a carbon-neutral resort.
In May 2009, the six heads of state of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI) www.cti-secretariat.net committed to ambitious conservation and development targets across the region through a regional Plan of Action. Delivering on this plan requires, in large part, meaningful engagement from the private sector. With the Government of the Philippines and partners, my client is hosting an inspirational international business event for the Coral Triangle making the case for sustainability as the future of economic health and profit – convening business change-makers, key marine resource industry sectors, the communications sector and the investment community to come together in partnership to start a green revolution.
The event will outline the business opportunities the CTI represents for key sectors and set out the financial support and investment available to businesses willing to commit to sustainability and green growth. We as a firm have been invited to support my client to research and assemble intelligence which will help my client make a compelling case for sustainable investment and business in the Coral Triangle. This will be achieved by focusing on market trends and demand from both, supply chain companies as well as consumers, located within and outside of the Coral Triangle Region Which can be delivered the 3 day business and industry event helping to make the case for sustainable business.
In a nutshell, our job would be to research industries and figure out what the best way to preserve the coral triangle would be – from coordinating fishing activities so they don’t deplete the region (but still be fair to all countries), to having the Asian Development Bank fund business enhancements that will make operating in the region ecologically safer. The project is primarily a research based role, but is highly interesting. The best part is that we would be interacting with a completely different side of our current organization – instead of business-heads, we’d be talking to scientists and conservationists. We would be interacting with companies who rely on the region for their economic livelihood, as well as their supply chain. Our recommendations could really make a substantial and sustainable impact!
It would require staying in the region for another month or so (which I am not convinced on.. in all likelihood it will take us through Jan) – which is where the question arises: should I stay or not? I love the work I am doing, and it’s truly fulfilling, but I also miss my friends and family. Stay tuned on my decision…
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
NON-PROFITS AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
First let me provide a recap of where we are on the project. We finally began writing the prospectus for the investment fund, and during a meeting today I cautioned our client that my colleague and I were in many ways working in a vacuum and we were designing the fund on our own without the level of organizational participation that would be ideal. After she responded, it became clear that the entire time we were acting like consultants, rather than investment bankers. Consultants typically want to ask questions, gain consensus and build the right thing from the start. Bankers are more transactional, and less concerned about marketing the fund, administering the fund, and the long term performance of the fund. Still, given the choice, I’d much rather be a consultant than an investment banker (never thought I’d say that in a hurry!)
Okay, on to another issue that came up in some informal discussion. When discussing the figures behind a business case, it was clear that there is a diverse view between the non-profit’s head office, and the regional leadership. This is not uncharacteristic, but I found it interesting to highlight here.
The issue lies with the non-profit partnering with an airline. After every online ticket purchase, the airline asks if you would like to make a contribution to the non-profit. If you elect yes, it gets added on your bill, and the non-profit realizes the gain in funds. It’s cleverly put together, and the pitch for funds on the airlines website is directly linked to a conservation project – that is to say, the airline asks “would you like to donate X pesos to help conserve the biodiversity in x,y,z swampland”. The description is actually more prescriptive, but you get the idea. Most of the money goes directly to the conservation effort, and 30% of the donation is termed as “unrestricted”, meaning it can be used for anything other than the conservation (such as marketing, or paying salaries, etc).
Here’s the catch: The global headquarters in Switzerland frowns upon doing business with airlines. In truth, from an environmental perspective, the only thing worse than setting a forest on fire is flying. Here’s where the divergent view comes in: while the local office recognizes that flying contributes to pollution, they are realistic in the fact that there is no viable alternative to flying. Additionally, they partner with corporations to help them reduce their carbon footprints. So while the airline may be a huge polluter, if the region can help them use paper cups on every flight instead of plastic cups, that’s seen as a win. I have to say that I side with the regional offices in this instance, but it does make you pause when it comes to these gray areas. Other companies, however, are still bad business (tobacco companies is everyone’s favorite example). Another example of the regional offices working with unlikely companies is with fishing companies. The organization works to teach them to fish in smarter ways, using more appropriate hooks that don’t harm dolphins, etc. Incidentally, the non-profit does not seek donations from corporations it consults to (so as to avoid a conflict of interest). This one is pretty self explainatory: If I give you a better carbon report, you'll donate more, or vice versa - If I give you a horrible carbon report, you're more likely to solicit more of my services to figure out how you can be a better corporate citizen. Interesting stuff indeed.
First let me provide a recap of where we are on the project. We finally began writing the prospectus for the investment fund, and during a meeting today I cautioned our client that my colleague and I were in many ways working in a vacuum and we were designing the fund on our own without the level of organizational participation that would be ideal. After she responded, it became clear that the entire time we were acting like consultants, rather than investment bankers. Consultants typically want to ask questions, gain consensus and build the right thing from the start. Bankers are more transactional, and less concerned about marketing the fund, administering the fund, and the long term performance of the fund. Still, given the choice, I’d much rather be a consultant than an investment banker (never thought I’d say that in a hurry!)
Okay, on to another issue that came up in some informal discussion. When discussing the figures behind a business case, it was clear that there is a diverse view between the non-profit’s head office, and the regional leadership. This is not uncharacteristic, but I found it interesting to highlight here.
The issue lies with the non-profit partnering with an airline. After every online ticket purchase, the airline asks if you would like to make a contribution to the non-profit. If you elect yes, it gets added on your bill, and the non-profit realizes the gain in funds. It’s cleverly put together, and the pitch for funds on the airlines website is directly linked to a conservation project – that is to say, the airline asks “would you like to donate X pesos to help conserve the biodiversity in x,y,z swampland”. The description is actually more prescriptive, but you get the idea. Most of the money goes directly to the conservation effort, and 30% of the donation is termed as “unrestricted”, meaning it can be used for anything other than the conservation (such as marketing, or paying salaries, etc).
Here’s the catch: The global headquarters in Switzerland frowns upon doing business with airlines. In truth, from an environmental perspective, the only thing worse than setting a forest on fire is flying. Here’s where the divergent view comes in: while the local office recognizes that flying contributes to pollution, they are realistic in the fact that there is no viable alternative to flying. Additionally, they partner with corporations to help them reduce their carbon footprints. So while the airline may be a huge polluter, if the region can help them use paper cups on every flight instead of plastic cups, that’s seen as a win. I have to say that I side with the regional offices in this instance, but it does make you pause when it comes to these gray areas. Other companies, however, are still bad business (tobacco companies is everyone’s favorite example). Another example of the regional offices working with unlikely companies is with fishing companies. The organization works to teach them to fish in smarter ways, using more appropriate hooks that don’t harm dolphins, etc. Incidentally, the non-profit does not seek donations from corporations it consults to (so as to avoid a conflict of interest). This one is pretty self explainatory: If I give you a better carbon report, you'll donate more, or vice versa - If I give you a horrible carbon report, you're more likely to solicit more of my services to figure out how you can be a better corporate citizen. Interesting stuff indeed.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
AT THE MOVIES…
Last night we went as guests of our client to a movie premier for “The Age of Stupid”. The movie was (as you would expect) about the climate change, and was pretty good. It was, of course, a star studded affair (at least when it comes to the non-profit world). The president of the Philippine’s climate advisor, along with a couple of senators and zero presidential hopefuls (no surprise there) were in attendance. A couple of other honchos were also around (OxFam’s head of the U.K., etc)…they even had the customary red carpet (though, it was green in this case).
The movie was crowd funded, which in itself is a cool concept. I believe the first premier of the movie was in a tent, and the projectors were powered by solar energy. The real point of the movie was to raise awareness of the importance of the Copenhagen Climate conference this year on Dec 12. The conference is where world leaders will be given one more chance to reach an agreement on reducing carbon emissions by 30% - a number that all scientists agree on. A number of countries have already taken steps towards this figure, but major countries have failed to meet the standards set by science.
Another message that resonated with the movie is the need to act now. Climate change is a lagging indicator, and so the effects of polluting today won’t be realized for years to come. For that reason, it is imperative to act now and begin reducing emissions by 2015. The movie also stressed the generally accepted point that if the earth heats up 2 degrees more than the historic variance, the effects will compound and the earth will in essence have a self fulfilling prophecy (that is, if the earth heats up two degrees, more carbon is released from plant/animal life, which compounds the effects and things spiral out of control from there).
I will also mention how ridiculous some of the mainstream media (by some I mean the far right, and in particular Matt Drudge!) portrays climate change to be a hoax. On any given day, you’re likely to see articles on the drudgereport that talk about the coldest temperatures on record for a particular area, and he mocks the idea of “global warming” by citing those examples. What he does not realize is that the cold temperatures are a result of climate change, which is caused by… you guessed it, global warming. I could go on and on about this, but the point is simply that there is no longer a debate on whether humans are responsible for climate change. About 60% of the general population is doubtful as to whether climate change is caused by humans. In the scientific community, that percentage is about 1%. Pretty convincing.
The last thing I will say about the movie is that most people are genuinely concerned about the environment, but human nature is such that it’s impossible to act drastically for events that are seemingly years and years into the future… we’re just not built that way. Think fight or flight, etc. all those responses are geared towards acting immediately. Plenty of life forms have experienced extinction in the past. The thing that makes our current situation different is the irony that we are the ones who are responsible for our own extinction if this happens. We’ve come so far as a species only to almost commit suicide. Scary thought indeed – I think that was the point of the movie.
Last night we went as guests of our client to a movie premier for “The Age of Stupid”. The movie was (as you would expect) about the climate change, and was pretty good. It was, of course, a star studded affair (at least when it comes to the non-profit world). The president of the Philippine’s climate advisor, along with a couple of senators and zero presidential hopefuls (no surprise there) were in attendance. A couple of other honchos were also around (OxFam’s head of the U.K., etc)…they even had the customary red carpet (though, it was green in this case).
The movie was crowd funded, which in itself is a cool concept. I believe the first premier of the movie was in a tent, and the projectors were powered by solar energy. The real point of the movie was to raise awareness of the importance of the Copenhagen Climate conference this year on Dec 12. The conference is where world leaders will be given one more chance to reach an agreement on reducing carbon emissions by 30% - a number that all scientists agree on. A number of countries have already taken steps towards this figure, but major countries have failed to meet the standards set by science.
Another message that resonated with the movie is the need to act now. Climate change is a lagging indicator, and so the effects of polluting today won’t be realized for years to come. For that reason, it is imperative to act now and begin reducing emissions by 2015. The movie also stressed the generally accepted point that if the earth heats up 2 degrees more than the historic variance, the effects will compound and the earth will in essence have a self fulfilling prophecy (that is, if the earth heats up two degrees, more carbon is released from plant/animal life, which compounds the effects and things spiral out of control from there).
I will also mention how ridiculous some of the mainstream media (by some I mean the far right, and in particular Matt Drudge!) portrays climate change to be a hoax. On any given day, you’re likely to see articles on the drudgereport that talk about the coldest temperatures on record for a particular area, and he mocks the idea of “global warming” by citing those examples. What he does not realize is that the cold temperatures are a result of climate change, which is caused by… you guessed it, global warming. I could go on and on about this, but the point is simply that there is no longer a debate on whether humans are responsible for climate change. About 60% of the general population is doubtful as to whether climate change is caused by humans. In the scientific community, that percentage is about 1%. Pretty convincing.
The last thing I will say about the movie is that most people are genuinely concerned about the environment, but human nature is such that it’s impossible to act drastically for events that are seemingly years and years into the future… we’re just not built that way. Think fight or flight, etc. all those responses are geared towards acting immediately. Plenty of life forms have experienced extinction in the past. The thing that makes our current situation different is the irony that we are the ones who are responsible for our own extinction if this happens. We’ve come so far as a species only to almost commit suicide. Scary thought indeed – I think that was the point of the movie.
Monday, October 12, 2009
PLUGGING AWAY AT WORK…
Today we spent time with our advisor fine tuning our model, and confirming formulas we used. Our advisor runs his own Private Equity fund of funds, and started a fund in Malaysia at some point as well. He heads FS Strategy for our firm in this region, and was helpful, but not as helpful as we would have liked. In the end, he left us with a lot of decisions, which we gladly took the responsibility for. With final decisions nearly done, today we finally cracked the whip and started writing the prospectus. We also received a request from the client to stay until the end of the month, which we will do (if we can’t finish before then).
Today we spent time with our advisor fine tuning our model, and confirming formulas we used. Our advisor runs his own Private Equity fund of funds, and started a fund in Malaysia at some point as well. He heads FS Strategy for our firm in this region, and was helpful, but not as helpful as we would have liked. In the end, he left us with a lot of decisions, which we gladly took the responsibility for. With final decisions nearly done, today we finally cracked the whip and started writing the prospectus. We also received a request from the client to stay until the end of the month, which we will do (if we can’t finish before then).
BACK IN MANILA…
Coming back to Manila after Hong Kong was a bit rough. Partially because the new direction that we received in Hong Kong set us back about two weeks, and partially because it’s been so long since I was away from home. I knew it was going to be a shitty week when I started getting sick again. I also lost my ATM card to a machine that ate it, rendering me broke, sick, and frustrated with work. By Tuesday, I was back in top form. I managed to find a Forex desk that I sold some cash and HK dollars to get some more pesos. I also went to a clinic and got some antibiotics to get over my cough, and by the end of last week I was back to normal.
I spent this past weekend doing the touristy stuff in Manila. We went to an old Spanish fort that was amazing. We also went to a park that’s akin to the central park of Manila (and has a rich history). After that we went to the harbor for a drink and to watch the sun set. It was amazing. For dinner, we went to Malati and watched a traditional Filipino show. I’m not really a fan of Filipino food, but it is what it is. After dinner we headed to a local spot to watch this band play (who we’re now “in” with), and also meet up with some of our American friends who are here doing a semester in Public Health. We wrapped up the weekend going to a museum, which was also really cool. Got a crash course in Filipino history, which is pretty interesting, and definitely sheds a lot of light on some of the influences here. Very cool.
Coming back to Manila after Hong Kong was a bit rough. Partially because the new direction that we received in Hong Kong set us back about two weeks, and partially because it’s been so long since I was away from home. I knew it was going to be a shitty week when I started getting sick again. I also lost my ATM card to a machine that ate it, rendering me broke, sick, and frustrated with work. By Tuesday, I was back in top form. I managed to find a Forex desk that I sold some cash and HK dollars to get some more pesos. I also went to a clinic and got some antibiotics to get over my cough, and by the end of last week I was back to normal.
I spent this past weekend doing the touristy stuff in Manila. We went to an old Spanish fort that was amazing. We also went to a park that’s akin to the central park of Manila (and has a rich history). After that we went to the harbor for a drink and to watch the sun set. It was amazing. For dinner, we went to Malati and watched a traditional Filipino show. I’m not really a fan of Filipino food, but it is what it is. After dinner we headed to a local spot to watch this band play (who we’re now “in” with), and also meet up with some of our American friends who are here doing a semester in Public Health. We wrapped up the weekend going to a museum, which was also really cool. Got a crash course in Filipino history, which is pretty interesting, and definitely sheds a lot of light on some of the influences here. Very cool.
A PARTING GIFT…
When leaving Hong Kong, the client presented me and my co-worker with these AWESOME Baby Tree trinkets. It’s basically a tree (that looks like a real tree in a small glass container). It’s also a seed that you water, and the tree grows. You can even transplant it to the ground once it gets big enough. The gift is actually part of a new merchandising program they are launching, which plants trees in a conservation site. Every purchase of this item comes with a certificate, as well as the latitude and longitude coordinates of where your real tree is planted at the conservation site. You even get uploaded to Google earth, so everyone can see exactly where your tree is planted. I thought this was the coolest, and most creative gift ever. It’s not yet commercially available, so I couldn’t get it for all my faithful readers… but who knows, someday. I haven’t downloaded all the software to see it myself, but here’s the coordinates:
Sector: 105 WWF HK
Tree ID: WWF 2805
Latitude: -8.46481
Longitude: 116.56558
When leaving Hong Kong, the client presented me and my co-worker with these AWESOME Baby Tree trinkets. It’s basically a tree (that looks like a real tree in a small glass container). It’s also a seed that you water, and the tree grows. You can even transplant it to the ground once it gets big enough. The gift is actually part of a new merchandising program they are launching, which plants trees in a conservation site. Every purchase of this item comes with a certificate, as well as the latitude and longitude coordinates of where your real tree is planted at the conservation site. You even get uploaded to Google earth, so everyone can see exactly where your tree is planted. I thought this was the coolest, and most creative gift ever. It’s not yet commercially available, so I couldn’t get it for all my faithful readers… but who knows, someday. I haven’t downloaded all the software to see it myself, but here’s the coordinates:
Sector: 105 WWF HK
Tree ID: WWF 2805
Latitude: -8.46481
Longitude: 116.56558
TRANSPORTATION & FLYING BACK
A noteworthy thing about HK is the taxi drivers. They are the most efficient drivers on the planet. Their cars are fast, they know exactly where they are going, they drive like the wind, and they don’t mess around at all - it’s all business as soon as you step into their house. The rest of the world should model itself on these guys. Hats off to them for sure, and a welcome change to the guys who run the streets in Manila.. You’ll be lucky if they get above 30mph.
There’s a train that takes you from Hong Kong to the Airport. It’s the most comfortable train I’ve ever been on. It’s fast and fairly cheap as well. Hong Kong has amazing public transportation. In addition to busses, they have electric cars, trams, an underground subway, taxis, and ferries. How many cities can you name that have a network like that?
Although I loved Hong Kong, I was reminded that I am still in Asia when I tried to book a flight back via the Manila airline (who shall remain nameless). First, it’s impossible to get through to the Airline reservation system via phone. If we did get through, we’d get cut off, or the service rep was unable to help us because our request was off script. They are so scripted, that I asked about changing a flight, which the response was 5,000 pesos plus the difference in fare. When I asked her how much the new ticket was she said it was considerably less. I asked her why she didn’t recommend I buy a new ticket entirely, rather than spend a few thousand extra pesos to change my existing reservation. She was stumped! Anytime you ask them to confirm something, they confirm the ENTIRE reservation… including spelling your name out (Bravo, Hector, Alpha, Victory, Indigo….. painful!!!). We were also unable to book the ticket via their website. It would crash, or would not take credit cards. They also do not take American Express, and my visa cards have their security number rubbed off. This is a perfect time to ask Visa why they still print that security number on the strip… seriously! Makes no sense. I need to find a credit card suggestion box, or fire off a letter to the CEO of Visa. But.. I digress…so we were unable to change our flight – rather, we figured we’d just purchase a new “one way” ticket. Trouble is they don’t’ sell those to foreigners unless you show them proof of a return ticket out of Manila. In the end, we had to purchase the ticket at the airport on our way out, which was an event in itself. You can’t purchase it at the same counter, so we had to run from counter to counter to verify that we had another return ticket, then verify that there was space on the flight, then purchase the ticket, then go back to check in.
Finally, we were on board and on our way home…
A noteworthy thing about HK is the taxi drivers. They are the most efficient drivers on the planet. Their cars are fast, they know exactly where they are going, they drive like the wind, and they don’t mess around at all - it’s all business as soon as you step into their house. The rest of the world should model itself on these guys. Hats off to them for sure, and a welcome change to the guys who run the streets in Manila.. You’ll be lucky if they get above 30mph.
There’s a train that takes you from Hong Kong to the Airport. It’s the most comfortable train I’ve ever been on. It’s fast and fairly cheap as well. Hong Kong has amazing public transportation. In addition to busses, they have electric cars, trams, an underground subway, taxis, and ferries. How many cities can you name that have a network like that?
Although I loved Hong Kong, I was reminded that I am still in Asia when I tried to book a flight back via the Manila airline (who shall remain nameless). First, it’s impossible to get through to the Airline reservation system via phone. If we did get through, we’d get cut off, or the service rep was unable to help us because our request was off script. They are so scripted, that I asked about changing a flight, which the response was 5,000 pesos plus the difference in fare. When I asked her how much the new ticket was she said it was considerably less. I asked her why she didn’t recommend I buy a new ticket entirely, rather than spend a few thousand extra pesos to change my existing reservation. She was stumped! Anytime you ask them to confirm something, they confirm the ENTIRE reservation… including spelling your name out (Bravo, Hector, Alpha, Victory, Indigo….. painful!!!). We were also unable to book the ticket via their website. It would crash, or would not take credit cards. They also do not take American Express, and my visa cards have their security number rubbed off. This is a perfect time to ask Visa why they still print that security number on the strip… seriously! Makes no sense. I need to find a credit card suggestion box, or fire off a letter to the CEO of Visa. But.. I digress…so we were unable to change our flight – rather, we figured we’d just purchase a new “one way” ticket. Trouble is they don’t’ sell those to foreigners unless you show them proof of a return ticket out of Manila. In the end, we had to purchase the ticket at the airport on our way out, which was an event in itself. You can’t purchase it at the same counter, so we had to run from counter to counter to verify that we had another return ticket, then verify that there was space on the flight, then purchase the ticket, then go back to check in.
Finally, we were on board and on our way home…
MORE ON THE CITY…
The general population does not speak English, yet tons of Ex-Pats live here.
If you’re ever here, take the tram to the peak, and play in the clouds. We waited forever to get a clear view of the city, which we finally did. The skyline is on my laptop’s desktop. Pics to follow at the end of my trip.
Also, go to SoHo. Great nightlife, and awesome food. Same in Lan Kwai Fong.
You should also go to the Golden Buddha statue, which unfortunately we did not get to see.
Since our hotel was booked only until the middle of the week, and we had to extend our stay over the national holiday, we ended up switching hotels to this part of HK that was very much how I imagined Asia to be. From the sights and sounds (and smells!). The hilarious part was when our client described the area we were staying in as “traditional in the sense that old guys walk around with their shirts off”.
The general population does not speak English, yet tons of Ex-Pats live here.
If you’re ever here, take the tram to the peak, and play in the clouds. We waited forever to get a clear view of the city, which we finally did. The skyline is on my laptop’s desktop. Pics to follow at the end of my trip.
Also, go to SoHo. Great nightlife, and awesome food. Same in Lan Kwai Fong.
You should also go to the Golden Buddha statue, which unfortunately we did not get to see.
Since our hotel was booked only until the middle of the week, and we had to extend our stay over the national holiday, we ended up switching hotels to this part of HK that was very much how I imagined Asia to be. From the sights and sounds (and smells!). The hilarious part was when our client described the area we were staying in as “traditional in the sense that old guys walk around with their shirts off”.
FIREWORKS!
We celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Chinese communist party. It was a national holiday, and I dutifully celebrated by working all day. At night, we went to the harbor and saw fireworks. Two things were immediately apparent:
- The Chinese know how to put on a fireworks show. I’m telling you, the show was RIDICULOUS! They were spelling letters with fireworks. I was truly impressed. The show was fired off of four ships and synchronized – you wouldn’t believe it if I told you how much fireworks they burst. After all was said and done, I said a prayer for the ozone layer… you should have seen the level of smoke.
- The Chinese are incredibly skilled at disbursing crowds with amazing speed. There was a sea of people where we were, yet we were able to get to the other side of the island in fifteen minutes. It was shocking. After that episode, I noticed that this was the case with wherever we went. They have unbelievable crowd control.
Some other thoughts: when we got back to the hotel, we had to present some revisions to the client, which we stayed up until 3:30am doing. While working, I had the TV on and caught up on what the parade looked like during the day. It’s fascinating to see the military march with their power. They polished their missiles and marched with them, along with their tanks, and other displays of their military might. They even had two jets refuel in mid-air. You’ll never see something like that in the west, and it was almost surreal, since most of the images of this sort of propaganda lends itself to the 70s or early 80s. Very cool. After exhausting ourselves, I went to bed with my model in perfect shape.
Waking up in the morning, I started creating some slides on explaining the revisions and results of the model. To my surprise, something didn’t quite add up and the model was not yielding the results I thought. After frantically spending 15 minutes trying to figure it out, it turned out that all was well, and that it was working. Scary none the less, since we were presenting first thing in the morning.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Checking In
Today is the 60th anniversary of the Communist party in Hong Kong. My plans to infiltrate the party under the guise of being a consultant are going well. I am a good American.
The workshop went really well (from a facilitation perspective) but horrible from a "getting some answers" perspective. The client is extremely confused as to what they want, changed the scope of the work entirely, and has us now designing some equity products. We've got today to do some serious number crunching (unrealistic) and we present options tomorrow. In light of the additional work, we extended our stay in Hong Kong until Saturday. We still don't have a hotel or a flight back...
In other news, Vietnam had a typhoon, Samoa had a Tsunami, and Indonesia had a 7.6 earthquake. All had casualties. We're expecting another typhoon this weekend.
Today is the 60th anniversary of the Communist party in Hong Kong. My plans to infiltrate the party under the guise of being a consultant are going well. I am a good American.
The workshop went really well (from a facilitation perspective) but horrible from a "getting some answers" perspective. The client is extremely confused as to what they want, changed the scope of the work entirely, and has us now designing some equity products. We've got today to do some serious number crunching (unrealistic) and we present options tomorrow. In light of the additional work, we extended our stay in Hong Kong until Saturday. We still don't have a hotel or a flight back...
In other news, Vietnam had a typhoon, Samoa had a Tsunami, and Indonesia had a 7.6 earthquake. All had casualties. We're expecting another typhoon this weekend.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
MOM AND DAD, I’M MOVING TO HONG KONG
This place is nothing short of amazing. Take the waterscape of Chicago, the heart of New York City, the hills of San Francisco, and sprinkle it with the culture of London, Amsterdam, and a hint of Switzerland and you’ll understand what it’s all about. This place is by far the most different than what I had imagined. It is so easy to forget where you are and feel like you are in a European city – in fact, most people here are ex-pats from Europe or Australia. Even the architecture lends itself to European and American influence. The skyscrapers are amazing! Better than New York, and dare I say Chicago. It’s newer, and Asia has a flair for doing things in a very unique way. This place is also unbelievably wealthy.
Country Snapshot:
Area: 1,104 square kilometers, or 426 square miles (New York City is 468 sq. mi)
Population: 7,000,000 people (NYC is ~1.6MM)
Per Capita GPD: $44,413 (Hong Kong ranks 14th, NYC ranks 2 in terms of GPD overall. In terms of Country GPD, it ranks right after the US http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita )
It's tough to believe that Hong Kong is a part of China given all we see/read in the news. It’s just a pity that I am only here for three days...
This place is nothing short of amazing. Take the waterscape of Chicago, the heart of New York City, the hills of San Francisco, and sprinkle it with the culture of London, Amsterdam, and a hint of Switzerland and you’ll understand what it’s all about. This place is by far the most different than what I had imagined. It is so easy to forget where you are and feel like you are in a European city – in fact, most people here are ex-pats from Europe or Australia. Even the architecture lends itself to European and American influence. The skyscrapers are amazing! Better than New York, and dare I say Chicago. It’s newer, and Asia has a flair for doing things in a very unique way. This place is also unbelievably wealthy.
Country Snapshot:
Area: 1,104 square kilometers, or 426 square miles (New York City is 468 sq. mi)
Population: 7,000,000 people (NYC is ~1.6MM)
Per Capita GPD: $44,413 (Hong Kong ranks 14th, NYC ranks 2 in terms of GPD overall. In terms of Country GPD, it ranks right after the US http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita )
It's tough to believe that Hong Kong is a part of China given all we see/read in the news. It’s just a pity that I am only here for three days...
Monday, September 28, 2009
FERTILIZER IN AFRICA
A dear friend of mine is in Africa at the moment doing some field research for a foundation for a couple of weeks. I thought her project was really interesting, so I thought I would share some of her challenges.
Her project is a study on how to increase adoption of fertilizer in Africa. In theory, having farmers use fertilizer or better seeds will have tremendous benefit to the rural economy. It’s the perfect success story: use fertilizer or better seeds, increase your crop’s yield, sell or export it, and increase the wealth of the local economy. Wealth, of course has a direct link to addressing some of the fundamental issues underdeveloped societies face. It all sounded so interesting until she expressed her frustration with the project: even if they found a way to get every farmer to optimize the use of fertilizer for their crops, the project would go nowhere. Nobody would ever see the benefits, and it might actually turn out worse. What? You’re probably scratching your head wondering what could possibly be wrong with this picture. In a word: infrastructure.
The reason her project would never (at least in the short to medium term) work is because farmers do not have the infrastructure in place to transport the produce to areas where they could export them. The local economies already grow enough to support surrounding areas. The use of fertilizer adds approximately 20% to the cost of food, and because food is such a perishable item, there is a high % of wastage associated with transporting it over long distances. The use of genetically altered seeds is just as bad. In many cases, the seeds are more resilient to pests, or even yield crops that are nutritionally superior (such as rice that’s infused with beta carotene). The issue here is that the companies who design the seeds made them sterile, so every year, and every season, the farmer has to purchase new seeds, and is reliant on the large agricultural companies for that. That’s another story though… Even if Farmers are lucky enough to get the produce ready for export, trade tariffs are too high, rending their produce prices uncompetitive in the open marketplace. The deck is stacked against them before they even get started! The infrastructure issue is one that Africa has faced for a very long time, and it is one that only Coca Cola has been able to succeed at.
On a side note, It’s interesting how, walking around in Manila, you can find bananas or other produce that looks so different then what you find in the store. They aren’t shiny, and perfectly shaped, and yellow. They’re green! They come in all sorts of shapes, but taste equally good. They even have markets with restaurants alongside them. You sit down, order the type of fish you want (they even do this with vegetables), and the server literally walks to the market, buys the fish as fresh as it comes, and cooks it for you. I thought this was pretty neat.
A dear friend of mine is in Africa at the moment doing some field research for a foundation for a couple of weeks. I thought her project was really interesting, so I thought I would share some of her challenges.
Her project is a study on how to increase adoption of fertilizer in Africa. In theory, having farmers use fertilizer or better seeds will have tremendous benefit to the rural economy. It’s the perfect success story: use fertilizer or better seeds, increase your crop’s yield, sell or export it, and increase the wealth of the local economy. Wealth, of course has a direct link to addressing some of the fundamental issues underdeveloped societies face. It all sounded so interesting until she expressed her frustration with the project: even if they found a way to get every farmer to optimize the use of fertilizer for their crops, the project would go nowhere. Nobody would ever see the benefits, and it might actually turn out worse. What? You’re probably scratching your head wondering what could possibly be wrong with this picture. In a word: infrastructure.
The reason her project would never (at least in the short to medium term) work is because farmers do not have the infrastructure in place to transport the produce to areas where they could export them. The local economies already grow enough to support surrounding areas. The use of fertilizer adds approximately 20% to the cost of food, and because food is such a perishable item, there is a high % of wastage associated with transporting it over long distances. The use of genetically altered seeds is just as bad. In many cases, the seeds are more resilient to pests, or even yield crops that are nutritionally superior (such as rice that’s infused with beta carotene). The issue here is that the companies who design the seeds made them sterile, so every year, and every season, the farmer has to purchase new seeds, and is reliant on the large agricultural companies for that. That’s another story though… Even if Farmers are lucky enough to get the produce ready for export, trade tariffs are too high, rending their produce prices uncompetitive in the open marketplace. The deck is stacked against them before they even get started! The infrastructure issue is one that Africa has faced for a very long time, and it is one that only Coca Cola has been able to succeed at.
On a side note, It’s interesting how, walking around in Manila, you can find bananas or other produce that looks so different then what you find in the store. They aren’t shiny, and perfectly shaped, and yellow. They’re green! They come in all sorts of shapes, but taste equally good. They even have markets with restaurants alongside them. You sit down, order the type of fish you want (they even do this with vegetables), and the server literally walks to the market, buys the fish as fresh as it comes, and cooks it for you. I thought this was pretty neat.
WET WEEKEND WITH ONDOY AND MOISTURIZING MY HAIR
Crazy weekend indeed!! Looks like some of the Atlanta weather found me. On Friday, we were in Quezon City, which is about 20k from Manila working out of the client’s office. Quezon City is underwater at the moment. I had a look at the forecast, and on Friday, Manila had 17 inches of rain. Saturday’s reading was “n/a” and the city was completely shut down. Although the business district was fine, there were a number of people who I work with that were directly impacted. The city was completely dead on Saturday, with areas very close by devastated. 95 were reported dead by Monday morning, with about 250,000 more affected by floods. It’s amazing how rivers can quickly turn deadly.
The saddest part is that the areas that are affected cut across socio economic demographics, and some poor people who had nothing probably lost the little they had. If we didn’t have a huge deliverable, we would for sure be helping out.
I also got a taste of my firm’s Global Asset Protection outfit. I got a number of e-mails this weekend, and the firm even called the place where we were staying to make sure we were accounted for. Feels good to know the eye in the sky is watching out for us. They even offered to air lift us out of here if we were in an affected area. We continue to get health advisory e-mails about what to do after a flood.
Aside from the Typhoon, the other brilliant experience this weekend was going to a barber (not sure if that’s the right term though) shop to get a haircut. I walked out of there with a facial, some moisturizing steam treatment for my hair (which, by the way feels RIDICULOUSLY soft), a massage, and a haircut. It was awesome! Now, before you go name-calling, I should point out that this is the Asian male way of life, everyone in there was getting pedicures and manicures. The best part? It was incredibly cheap. A Swedish massage will set you back 300PHP (that’s $6) for an HOUR! This may very well become a Sunday ritual.
Crazy weekend indeed!! Looks like some of the Atlanta weather found me. On Friday, we were in Quezon City, which is about 20k from Manila working out of the client’s office. Quezon City is underwater at the moment. I had a look at the forecast, and on Friday, Manila had 17 inches of rain. Saturday’s reading was “n/a” and the city was completely shut down. Although the business district was fine, there were a number of people who I work with that were directly impacted. The city was completely dead on Saturday, with areas very close by devastated. 95 were reported dead by Monday morning, with about 250,000 more affected by floods. It’s amazing how rivers can quickly turn deadly.
The saddest part is that the areas that are affected cut across socio economic demographics, and some poor people who had nothing probably lost the little they had. If we didn’t have a huge deliverable, we would for sure be helping out.
I also got a taste of my firm’s Global Asset Protection outfit. I got a number of e-mails this weekend, and the firm even called the place where we were staying to make sure we were accounted for. Feels good to know the eye in the sky is watching out for us. They even offered to air lift us out of here if we were in an affected area. We continue to get health advisory e-mails about what to do after a flood.
Aside from the Typhoon, the other brilliant experience this weekend was going to a barber (not sure if that’s the right term though) shop to get a haircut. I walked out of there with a facial, some moisturizing steam treatment for my hair (which, by the way feels RIDICULOUSLY soft), a massage, and a haircut. It was awesome! Now, before you go name-calling, I should point out that this is the Asian male way of life, everyone in there was getting pedicures and manicures. The best part? It was incredibly cheap. A Swedish massage will set you back 300PHP (that’s $6) for an HOUR! This may very well become a Sunday ritual.
CELL PHONES
The Philippines is not unlike any other third world nation in that everyone has a cell phone. Cell phone penetration here is estimated at around 70-80%. The ironic thing is how people in the developed world view this as a luxury item, but here it’s almost a necessity. Case in point, there is a banking system built on the mobile platform. You can share your load on your pre-paid cell phone with your friend by simply texting the amount +2+their phone number. If you’re at a restaurant and your friend is out of cash, they can easily transfer (or smart money) the amount to you directly. In the US, you’d have to either get the balance in cash, or get a check from your friend. If you happen to bank at the same bank, you might be able to transfer money directly – all of which takes time and is far from instantaneous. Even merchants accept money via cell phone.
For someone with a banking background, I see the convenience. I also get why a model like this would never work in the US. For one, we have a substantial network of banks. In the Philippines, some of the areas across these 7,000 islands are so remote, that it’s a great inconvenience to get to a bank. The other reason it would never work in the US is because the mobile banking system largely caters to the “un-banked”, which in the US would be seen as aiding illegal immigrants or traffickers and the like gain access to the banking system. Most of the accounts here are pretty small (likely under $100). Anyway, I just thought that was fascinating and worth sharing.
The Philippines is not unlike any other third world nation in that everyone has a cell phone. Cell phone penetration here is estimated at around 70-80%. The ironic thing is how people in the developed world view this as a luxury item, but here it’s almost a necessity. Case in point, there is a banking system built on the mobile platform. You can share your load on your pre-paid cell phone with your friend by simply texting the amount +2+their phone number. If you’re at a restaurant and your friend is out of cash, they can easily transfer (or smart money) the amount to you directly. In the US, you’d have to either get the balance in cash, or get a check from your friend. If you happen to bank at the same bank, you might be able to transfer money directly – all of which takes time and is far from instantaneous. Even merchants accept money via cell phone.
For someone with a banking background, I see the convenience. I also get why a model like this would never work in the US. For one, we have a substantial network of banks. In the Philippines, some of the areas across these 7,000 islands are so remote, that it’s a great inconvenience to get to a bank. The other reason it would never work in the US is because the mobile banking system largely caters to the “un-banked”, which in the US would be seen as aiding illegal immigrants or traffickers and the like gain access to the banking system. Most of the accounts here are pretty small (likely under $100). Anyway, I just thought that was fascinating and worth sharing.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
GETTING IT (THE MODEL) RIGHT!
This one is going to be a bit business-y, so bear with me, my life has literally revolved around nothing but this over the past few days. The major work that I am responsible for this week is the risk model. This is the tool that we are going to use to tell us how risky the cash flows of the fund are, and then convince investors that it is a winning proposition after we adjust for risk. As you now by now, there is no precedent to this project and so it’s tough to ascertain just how much risk is inherent, and how deep should we cut their forecasts to arrive at a more realistic idea of the profit they can confidently expect.
The stakes are high: if we reduce forecasts by discounting too much, the NGO looses out because they will not be able to fund as many projects as they originally thought. If we cut too shallow, the return promised to investors will be overstated and the organization will not be able to deliver – which will have serious repercussions for similar future initiatives (not to mention the reputation of yours truly). To complicate all this, my colleague and I had little context on what was driving their forecasts. In interviewing some internal experts, we routinely felt that the assumptions were too vague, there was a lack of focus, and nobody fully understood the complexity of what we were doing. When we discussed an approach and questioned the validity of the business cases, the client brushed it off like it was no big deal and assured us their estimates were fine. We were led to believe that it was formulated by marketing directors in a workshop earlier this year. Thankfully, we later learned that this was somewhat misinformation and got to the bottom of the projections. Sachin, you will be happy to know that it was based off of some of the metrics you spoke about (e.x. corporate spend on software as a proxy for the available market for corporate donations) – all sound indeed.
This one is going to be a bit business-y, so bear with me, my life has literally revolved around nothing but this over the past few days. The major work that I am responsible for this week is the risk model. This is the tool that we are going to use to tell us how risky the cash flows of the fund are, and then convince investors that it is a winning proposition after we adjust for risk. As you now by now, there is no precedent to this project and so it’s tough to ascertain just how much risk is inherent, and how deep should we cut their forecasts to arrive at a more realistic idea of the profit they can confidently expect.
The stakes are high: if we reduce forecasts by discounting too much, the NGO looses out because they will not be able to fund as many projects as they originally thought. If we cut too shallow, the return promised to investors will be overstated and the organization will not be able to deliver – which will have serious repercussions for similar future initiatives (not to mention the reputation of yours truly). To complicate all this, my colleague and I had little context on what was driving their forecasts. In interviewing some internal experts, we routinely felt that the assumptions were too vague, there was a lack of focus, and nobody fully understood the complexity of what we were doing. When we discussed an approach and questioned the validity of the business cases, the client brushed it off like it was no big deal and assured us their estimates were fine. We were led to believe that it was formulated by marketing directors in a workshop earlier this year. Thankfully, we later learned that this was somewhat misinformation and got to the bottom of the projections. Sachin, you will be happy to know that it was based off of some of the metrics you spoke about (e.x. corporate spend on software as a proxy for the available market for corporate donations) – all sound indeed.
Getting to that point was painful, but it clarified everything and finally gave me a hell of a lot more confidence to model.
In between talking to a number of experts (folks in fixed income securities, and a McKinseyite named Sachin Kadakia) I re-engineered my model to reflect two approaches:
1) The Income Approach – This model adjusts the income they propose to receive while maintaining the current cost structure
2) The Discount Model – This model is the classic model where we take a risk free security, tack on risk premiums as appropriate and discount their cash flows like there’s no tomorrow
For the finance guru’s reading this, relax – It’s a gross oversimplification. Furthermore, initial testing on both models seems to yield realistic results – I finally feel confident that I can go to an investor and address their concerns appropriately (and prove it with quantitative rigor)!
Tomorrow will consist of more meetings (including a guy who started a Private Equity firm and a fund in Malaysia) as well as creating a deck to explain the risk model. A lot of thought needs to go into the structure of the workshop we are hosting in Hong Kong next week. On Friday, we have a detailed review of the business cases, which should leave us in a place to make recommendations on what projects will be part of the fund, and what will not. This weekend we will prep for a short presentation we have to the Shareholders Executive Committee on Monday, as well as begin the process of building the case to invest, and really focusing on the value proposition and the key messages we want to sell. The faster we can get ahead of this, the more we can preview the fund with key investors, tweak as necessary, and then go to market.
One thing that has become interestingly apparent to me is the simple fact that in every scenario you try to quantify, the key driving force always ends up resting on some aspect that is just not tangible. If you think of the iPhone as an example (albeit not a very good one), research probably showed Apple what the potential market was, but there was no assurance that Apple would succeed in making a phone, that the market size would materialize and people would spend much more than the next best alternative, and that competitors would not catch up faster. So much rested on the marketing team to generate the buzz and get it right. The same way, we can model the crap out of these projects, but it fundamentally lies on the team on the ground to make it happen and deliver what they committed to. If Major Donors, and other network offices have faith in the Chairman selling this fund, they will undoubtedly invest – but their investment is a bet on the Chairman, not so much on the cash flows that we modeled. Sure, they will take a look at the model, but just like other financial instruments that are essentially securitized, very few truly understands the detail and nuances behind them. I think this part (simplifying it in the prospectus so they think they understand it) is going to be the hardest. It’s funny how much of the world ‘just works’ on blind faith almost. Anyway, that’s my $0.02 for today.
For those of you who made it to the end of this rant, here’s a treat. This is a picture of the bomb-sniffing dog that is king of the property I’m staying at. His name is James, and he is ALL business. He’s 3 years old, a happy dog, but never wags his tail, and is on alert at all times. It’s funny watching him always looking around for which direction the next thing is going to come from. Love this guy….
In between talking to a number of experts (folks in fixed income securities, and a McKinseyite named Sachin Kadakia) I re-engineered my model to reflect two approaches:
1) The Income Approach – This model adjusts the income they propose to receive while maintaining the current cost structure
2) The Discount Model – This model is the classic model where we take a risk free security, tack on risk premiums as appropriate and discount their cash flows like there’s no tomorrow
For the finance guru’s reading this, relax – It’s a gross oversimplification. Furthermore, initial testing on both models seems to yield realistic results – I finally feel confident that I can go to an investor and address their concerns appropriately (and prove it with quantitative rigor)!
Tomorrow will consist of more meetings (including a guy who started a Private Equity firm and a fund in Malaysia) as well as creating a deck to explain the risk model. A lot of thought needs to go into the structure of the workshop we are hosting in Hong Kong next week. On Friday, we have a detailed review of the business cases, which should leave us in a place to make recommendations on what projects will be part of the fund, and what will not. This weekend we will prep for a short presentation we have to the Shareholders Executive Committee on Monday, as well as begin the process of building the case to invest, and really focusing on the value proposition and the key messages we want to sell. The faster we can get ahead of this, the more we can preview the fund with key investors, tweak as necessary, and then go to market.
One thing that has become interestingly apparent to me is the simple fact that in every scenario you try to quantify, the key driving force always ends up resting on some aspect that is just not tangible. If you think of the iPhone as an example (albeit not a very good one), research probably showed Apple what the potential market was, but there was no assurance that Apple would succeed in making a phone, that the market size would materialize and people would spend much more than the next best alternative, and that competitors would not catch up faster. So much rested on the marketing team to generate the buzz and get it right. The same way, we can model the crap out of these projects, but it fundamentally lies on the team on the ground to make it happen and deliver what they committed to. If Major Donors, and other network offices have faith in the Chairman selling this fund, they will undoubtedly invest – but their investment is a bet on the Chairman, not so much on the cash flows that we modeled. Sure, they will take a look at the model, but just like other financial instruments that are essentially securitized, very few truly understands the detail and nuances behind them. I think this part (simplifying it in the prospectus so they think they understand it) is going to be the hardest. It’s funny how much of the world ‘just works’ on blind faith almost. Anyway, that’s my $0.02 for today.
For those of you who made it to the end of this rant, here’s a treat. This is a picture of the bomb-sniffing dog that is king of the property I’m staying at. His name is James, and he is ALL business. He’s 3 years old, a happy dog, but never wags his tail, and is on alert at all times. It’s funny watching him always looking around for which direction the next thing is going to come from. Love this guy….
Monday, September 21, 2009
MONDAY BLUES, AND I FINALLY FALL SICK
I spent a large part of the weekend creating a risk model that quantifies the risk inherent in the fund, and went to bed on Sunday night feeling really good about where we were. This morning, I woke up with a sore throat, and irritated membranes in my nose (sinus pressure and all). It was horrible. I knew it was going to be a long day. I was also running late, so I did not get my daily fix of scrambled eggs, cereal, and coffee. After getting into the office, I opened the model and realized that there were some logical errors it that set me back about a day, which was not good given that I committed to having it ready for the client to review today. At around 3:30, I had a breakthrough, and the thing was finally working (but far from pretty). Turns out that the client was not in such a rush because it was a national holiday for Eid, so I had some luck there as well.
At around 3:30, I also ended up hitting the wall, and was pretty much worthless at work, and spent the next hour and a half catching up on news in a general state of misery. I rummaged through my backpack and struck gold when I found a Sudafed in my bag, which provided some temporary relief. My co-worker was joking about me contracting the H1N1 virus. People here take the virus VERY seriously. When we enter the country, everyone has to do a health check where they take your temperature to see if you’re running a fever. The public busses are plastered with H1N1 billboards, and a lot of Asians wear face masks in public places. Even at the office, each elevator has a hand sanitizer dispenser that everyone uses. I’m not too concerned, though. I have plenty of friends in public health who have assured me it’s not a big deal. Mass hysteria is interesting.
Incidentally, on our way home, we stopped off at a pharmacy, where (for all his jokes) I spied my co-worker buying some Imodium…ha. It was bound to happen to one of us – better him then me!
All right, it’s 11:30pm, my risk model is still not complete, but tomorrow is another day… for now, I’m going to load up on Tylenol PM, stick my laundry in the dryer, do the dishes (yuk!) and get some rest!
I spent a large part of the weekend creating a risk model that quantifies the risk inherent in the fund, and went to bed on Sunday night feeling really good about where we were. This morning, I woke up with a sore throat, and irritated membranes in my nose (sinus pressure and all). It was horrible. I knew it was going to be a long day. I was also running late, so I did not get my daily fix of scrambled eggs, cereal, and coffee. After getting into the office, I opened the model and realized that there were some logical errors it that set me back about a day, which was not good given that I committed to having it ready for the client to review today. At around 3:30, I had a breakthrough, and the thing was finally working (but far from pretty). Turns out that the client was not in such a rush because it was a national holiday for Eid, so I had some luck there as well.
At around 3:30, I also ended up hitting the wall, and was pretty much worthless at work, and spent the next hour and a half catching up on news in a general state of misery. I rummaged through my backpack and struck gold when I found a Sudafed in my bag, which provided some temporary relief. My co-worker was joking about me contracting the H1N1 virus. People here take the virus VERY seriously. When we enter the country, everyone has to do a health check where they take your temperature to see if you’re running a fever. The public busses are plastered with H1N1 billboards, and a lot of Asians wear face masks in public places. Even at the office, each elevator has a hand sanitizer dispenser that everyone uses. I’m not too concerned, though. I have plenty of friends in public health who have assured me it’s not a big deal. Mass hysteria is interesting.
Incidentally, on our way home, we stopped off at a pharmacy, where (for all his jokes) I spied my co-worker buying some Imodium…ha. It was bound to happen to one of us – better him then me!
All right, it’s 11:30pm, my risk model is still not complete, but tomorrow is another day… for now, I’m going to load up on Tylenol PM, stick my laundry in the dryer, do the dishes (yuk!) and get some rest!
WEEKEND WRAPUP
What a long week! We spent Friday afternoon talking to our clients, and taking one of them through some detail in our methodology. We also made the case for hosting a workshop, which they confirmed that we would do in Hong Kong next week. Finally, after wrapping up the day with some interviews, we had our client’s head spinning enough to want to take us out for a drink. Oh, I almost forgot! We experienced an earthquake here (apparently it was a 6.6 on the richter scale). Even though buildings here are constructed with cement, we're safe becuse this island is pretty much on a rock that is solid. Not sure if that means it moves with the earth, or if it stays still when there's an earthquake. Either way, it's safe.
After work, we went to a place called M Café at Greenbelt, which is a very swanky mall. The mall has a section of restaurants that are pretty good (and pricey for local standards). During drinks, we met up with another one of our client’s close friends, who also works for an NGO, but more on the private sector side as a lobbyist. In the Philippines, if you host a high post at an NGO, you are somebody big. For example, one of the board of trustees for the NGO that I am working for is also on the board of the country’s biggest bank. It makes sense, since one of the assumptions in our models is predicated on the fact that the board and CEOs of the countries that are part of our fund will do their part to “open doors”. Essentially, this is the function they serve. After drinks, we left and got ready for a fashion show.
The fashion show was by a very well known designer (in the Philippines at least), Kate Torralba. We got to hang out with her, as well as some guy who owns two separate restaurant chains here. Turns out the guy also owns a culinary school, is a civil engineer, and an accomplished lawyer who has argued cases in front of the Philippines Supreme Court. The rest of the night we spent hanging out with the management of our property and getting to know them better (perhaps they will hook me up with extra soap next week – kidding).
One of the connections we made on Friday night was to an American girl who was now working in the Philippines doing some grant work. She has her Masters from GW, and she recently moved here to pursue an opportunity in conjunction with the World Bank. We met her and her crew at the Oceanarium, which is an aquarium right on the harbor, and a perfect place to see the sunset. There is no shortage of irony in the fact that the sunset is beautiful due to excessive air pollution. We also hung out with a dude named Carlos, who runs a tour business. He’s also a bit of a local celebrity, and is even featured in our Lonely Planet book. We also met a group of people who were from Boston University and were wrapping up their masters in Public Health, and were down for a semester doing research.
We ended the night going to a place called Penguins, in a part of town that is a bit more what I was expecting the Philippines to be like. We saw an incredible cover band there (seriously, they were amazing!) and also met a ton of ex-pats. Through random chance (and random encounters), I ended up meeting the other “ADP-er” in the Philippines. She’s from Washington and on a project here with the Asian Development Bank. Although she is a part of our Finance & Performance Management practice, she ended up doing some org role, and was not having as great of an experience as we were. Between my colleague and I, we have some experience so we will meet with her later and help her figure things out.
The most ironic thing about our down time away from the office is that we end up meeting a lot of the social elite here. Everyone is connected in some way, and it’s not easy to see how corruption is rampant. It really is all about who you know. In meeting people, the conversation often turns political, and at almost a whisper, natives will admit that the president is a puppet and that the military really runs the country. That’s a long story, though.
That just about wraps up my weekend!
What a long week! We spent Friday afternoon talking to our clients, and taking one of them through some detail in our methodology. We also made the case for hosting a workshop, which they confirmed that we would do in Hong Kong next week. Finally, after wrapping up the day with some interviews, we had our client’s head spinning enough to want to take us out for a drink. Oh, I almost forgot! We experienced an earthquake here (apparently it was a 6.6 on the richter scale). Even though buildings here are constructed with cement, we're safe becuse this island is pretty much on a rock that is solid. Not sure if that means it moves with the earth, or if it stays still when there's an earthquake. Either way, it's safe.
After work, we went to a place called M Café at Greenbelt, which is a very swanky mall. The mall has a section of restaurants that are pretty good (and pricey for local standards). During drinks, we met up with another one of our client’s close friends, who also works for an NGO, but more on the private sector side as a lobbyist. In the Philippines, if you host a high post at an NGO, you are somebody big. For example, one of the board of trustees for the NGO that I am working for is also on the board of the country’s biggest bank. It makes sense, since one of the assumptions in our models is predicated on the fact that the board and CEOs of the countries that are part of our fund will do their part to “open doors”. Essentially, this is the function they serve. After drinks, we left and got ready for a fashion show.
The fashion show was by a very well known designer (in the Philippines at least), Kate Torralba. We got to hang out with her, as well as some guy who owns two separate restaurant chains here. Turns out the guy also owns a culinary school, is a civil engineer, and an accomplished lawyer who has argued cases in front of the Philippines Supreme Court. The rest of the night we spent hanging out with the management of our property and getting to know them better (perhaps they will hook me up with extra soap next week – kidding).
One of the connections we made on Friday night was to an American girl who was now working in the Philippines doing some grant work. She has her Masters from GW, and she recently moved here to pursue an opportunity in conjunction with the World Bank. We met her and her crew at the Oceanarium, which is an aquarium right on the harbor, and a perfect place to see the sunset. There is no shortage of irony in the fact that the sunset is beautiful due to excessive air pollution. We also hung out with a dude named Carlos, who runs a tour business. He’s also a bit of a local celebrity, and is even featured in our Lonely Planet book. We also met a group of people who were from Boston University and were wrapping up their masters in Public Health, and were down for a semester doing research.
We ended the night going to a place called Penguins, in a part of town that is a bit more what I was expecting the Philippines to be like. We saw an incredible cover band there (seriously, they were amazing!) and also met a ton of ex-pats. Through random chance (and random encounters), I ended up meeting the other “ADP-er” in the Philippines. She’s from Washington and on a project here with the Asian Development Bank. Although she is a part of our Finance & Performance Management practice, she ended up doing some org role, and was not having as great of an experience as we were. Between my colleague and I, we have some experience so we will meet with her later and help her figure things out.
The most ironic thing about our down time away from the office is that we end up meeting a lot of the social elite here. Everyone is connected in some way, and it’s not easy to see how corruption is rampant. It really is all about who you know. In meeting people, the conversation often turns political, and at almost a whisper, natives will admit that the president is a puppet and that the military really runs the country. That’s a long story, though.
That just about wraps up my weekend!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Stepping out of the Makati Stock Exchange at 5:30pm (if I leave early) is an experience in itself. The sidewalk is packed with people, busses, and Jeepneys too. The streets are filled with public transportation – including taxis. There simply is no capacity to deal with traffic. At Fraser Place, stepping out at 5:30 to go somewhere will result in a reality check from the security guards: you’re better off going back upstairs until 8:30pm when traffic dies, and you have a chance at getting a cab.
Walking home during rush hour is electrifying. There’s so much energy on the street. One of the things you would immediately notice about the sheer volume of cars is that traffic is constantly flowing, which brings me to the first thing we can learn from developing countries – how to deal with traffic.
There’s a lot of irony in this one, particularly because traffic here is so disorderly. Nobody recommends driving in this city because most of the roads do not have lines on them. Traffic flows like water, with cars packed so closely next to each other, and no “order” to the flow. Stop signs are pretty much ignored and everyone goes through the intersection by missing each other. It’s a lot like India, or the Champs de Lycee or Arc du Triomphe in Paris. Recently, there have even been some articles published about the efficiency gained by chaos (when it comes to traffic). Even through all this disorder, people instinctively avoid each other, and are acutely aware of just how much room they have between their car and the bicycle rider, pedestrian, or car in the next lane. It’s fascinating how it works, and although we could learn from it, there’s no way the west could ever implement this…. It’s something that is inherent in the culture.
The second thing we the developed world could learn from the Philippines is related to waste. When you visit a restaurant, you get one napkin to eat your food with. Initially, it’s a huge inconvenience, but you learn to make it last. Portions are small here as well. My first day here, I ordered the largest Pizza Hut pizza, which the lady quoted as being able to feed 6-8 people. I ate almost three quarters of it by myself in one sitting. Portions are smaller here, and rightfully so. If you order a sandwich from Subway, they wrap it in half the paper used in the US. Just imagine the savings (both financial and otherwise) that could be generated by reducing waste. You never really think about it until you experience it. Think about how much resources you really need, and then measure what you actually use. If you extrapolate that to a month, half a year, or even a full year, you’ll be amazed at your personal impact to the world around you.
All right, I’m really tired from thinking a lot today. Between calls to people in Copenhagen, the UK, Hong Kong, and a lunch date with an exec, I’m spent. The project just got incredibly complex, and there are new discoveries that have completely reshaped our understanding…. Not to mention organizational politics beginning to be apparent. As a result of this, I had to cancel my trip to Singapore this weekend, and will be working instead. Ah yes, the glamorous side of consulting…
Parting thought, this is cool:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/11/kamen.water.slingshot/index.html#cnnSTCText
Stepping out of the Makati Stock Exchange at 5:30pm (if I leave early) is an experience in itself. The sidewalk is packed with people, busses, and Jeepneys too. The streets are filled with public transportation – including taxis. There simply is no capacity to deal with traffic. At Fraser Place, stepping out at 5:30 to go somewhere will result in a reality check from the security guards: you’re better off going back upstairs until 8:30pm when traffic dies, and you have a chance at getting a cab.
Walking home during rush hour is electrifying. There’s so much energy on the street. One of the things you would immediately notice about the sheer volume of cars is that traffic is constantly flowing, which brings me to the first thing we can learn from developing countries – how to deal with traffic.
There’s a lot of irony in this one, particularly because traffic here is so disorderly. Nobody recommends driving in this city because most of the roads do not have lines on them. Traffic flows like water, with cars packed so closely next to each other, and no “order” to the flow. Stop signs are pretty much ignored and everyone goes through the intersection by missing each other. It’s a lot like India, or the Champs de Lycee or Arc du Triomphe in Paris. Recently, there have even been some articles published about the efficiency gained by chaos (when it comes to traffic). Even through all this disorder, people instinctively avoid each other, and are acutely aware of just how much room they have between their car and the bicycle rider, pedestrian, or car in the next lane. It’s fascinating how it works, and although we could learn from it, there’s no way the west could ever implement this…. It’s something that is inherent in the culture.
The second thing we the developed world could learn from the Philippines is related to waste. When you visit a restaurant, you get one napkin to eat your food with. Initially, it’s a huge inconvenience, but you learn to make it last. Portions are small here as well. My first day here, I ordered the largest Pizza Hut pizza, which the lady quoted as being able to feed 6-8 people. I ate almost three quarters of it by myself in one sitting. Portions are smaller here, and rightfully so. If you order a sandwich from Subway, they wrap it in half the paper used in the US. Just imagine the savings (both financial and otherwise) that could be generated by reducing waste. You never really think about it until you experience it. Think about how much resources you really need, and then measure what you actually use. If you extrapolate that to a month, half a year, or even a full year, you’ll be amazed at your personal impact to the world around you.
All right, I’m really tired from thinking a lot today. Between calls to people in Copenhagen, the UK, Hong Kong, and a lunch date with an exec, I’m spent. The project just got incredibly complex, and there are new discoveries that have completely reshaped our understanding…. Not to mention organizational politics beginning to be apparent. As a result of this, I had to cancel my trip to Singapore this weekend, and will be working instead. Ah yes, the glamorous side of consulting…
Parting thought, this is cool:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/11/kamen.water.slingshot/index.html#cnnSTCText
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
MEETING EXPATS
The internet connection was down, so I FINALLY got a chance to post. This past Friday, Fraser Place (the place I call my home away from home) decided to host a private happy hour meet and greet for some of the older residents to meet some of the newer people in the building. My first reaction was a bit unnerving. It's definitely not in my comfort zone to step into a room full of strangers and try and mingle - particulary when majority of them are middle aged. I knew I had to do it, and surprisingly, it turned out quite well.
The biggest difference in putting me at ease was made by the hosts of the event. They actively scanned for folks who had recently entered the room, and then engaged them in conversation. After figuring out what their interests were, they introduced them to residents who shared like interests. It was only after the fact that I realized they did this, and when I made that realization, I was surprised at how sophisticated it worked out. The thing this, I don't think they sat around before the event and discussed how they were going to go about creating a warm and inviting environment, rather I truly think it was just a byproduct of their cultural upbringing. I think the indian culture has some of this too. I’ve been to meet and greet functions (recruiting events, etc) where this is simply not the case and you’re left to fend for yourself, or form in clicks with people who most closely resemble you. Had I done that, I would have missed out on a lot!
The other thing that made this interesting is that majority of the residents had some connection to a NGO – two of the people marketing the event and the bistro it was held at were in their marketing professions only part time. The rest of their time was occupied by working with NGOs. It’s good to see the level of penetration and awareness that important causes are getting here.
Here are some of the personalities I met:
I met an investor who consistently outperformed the S&P for the last 15 years or so (this year he is up 39%). I informally quizzed him to see if his claim was bullshit. My assessment is that it is legit. Incidentally, he challenged my financial model and left me with some questions I couldn’t readily answer – hate the feeling of being undermined. For those savvy investors out there, he has 40% of his net worth in cash at the moment because he speculates the market is going down. I think about half of the mainsteam financial media is waiting for some correction, so this should not be earth shattering news. But, I digress...
I also met a miner from Australia. Being part of the Pacific Rim, The Philippines are rich in not only natural resources (in this case, they are exploring a site for coal and gold) but also have a tremendous biodiversity. This is of course in large part due to a violent history with the earth's crust (volcaono's in particular). This was by far the most interesting person I met in the Philippines so far (or perhaps all year). It was good to learn about the challenges they are facing with the local population – a considerable number of households (in the tens of thousands) currently occupy the site they are proposing to mine. The mining company is currently in talks with the government and environmental agencies to ensure that all the environmental considerations are understood before mining. This takes almost two years, which was his role to oversee. The local population also had some recent bad experiences with irresponsible mining companies (not this one) dumping toxic waste and polluting rivers beyond repair. The dynamics between unsettling people (willingly… they all will eventually accept the money), the environmental impact, and the idea of ownership (will the profits flow overseas?) makes it a pretty complicated situation. Incidentally, he is a sailor as well, and his stories re-affirmed my desire to cash in my “celebrating performance” points for sailing classes.
Lastly, there were a couple of health care professionals who were working with either the World Health Organization, or the CDC (both world authorities in health). Their role there was working with the Philippines Government to further their health objectives, part of which was training.
In all these cases, majority of the people at the happy hour have been living elsewhere for a number of years, they all excel in their professions, and they all are middle to executive management. Here’s the most interesting part: albeit long term, all of them occupied roles where they are training local Filipino people to give them the skills to continue the work after they leave. This last point is the most important and bears repeating: their work isn’t merely a means to an end, but rather a transfer of skills that creates value that is sustainable.
All in all, the happy hour lasted four and a half, and was a fun night!
The internet connection was down, so I FINALLY got a chance to post. This past Friday, Fraser Place (the place I call my home away from home) decided to host a private happy hour meet and greet for some of the older residents to meet some of the newer people in the building. My first reaction was a bit unnerving. It's definitely not in my comfort zone to step into a room full of strangers and try and mingle - particulary when majority of them are middle aged. I knew I had to do it, and surprisingly, it turned out quite well.
The biggest difference in putting me at ease was made by the hosts of the event. They actively scanned for folks who had recently entered the room, and then engaged them in conversation. After figuring out what their interests were, they introduced them to residents who shared like interests. It was only after the fact that I realized they did this, and when I made that realization, I was surprised at how sophisticated it worked out. The thing this, I don't think they sat around before the event and discussed how they were going to go about creating a warm and inviting environment, rather I truly think it was just a byproduct of their cultural upbringing. I think the indian culture has some of this too. I’ve been to meet and greet functions (recruiting events, etc) where this is simply not the case and you’re left to fend for yourself, or form in clicks with people who most closely resemble you. Had I done that, I would have missed out on a lot!
The other thing that made this interesting is that majority of the residents had some connection to a NGO – two of the people marketing the event and the bistro it was held at were in their marketing professions only part time. The rest of their time was occupied by working with NGOs. It’s good to see the level of penetration and awareness that important causes are getting here.
Here are some of the personalities I met:
I met an investor who consistently outperformed the S&P for the last 15 years or so (this year he is up 39%). I informally quizzed him to see if his claim was bullshit. My assessment is that it is legit. Incidentally, he challenged my financial model and left me with some questions I couldn’t readily answer – hate the feeling of being undermined. For those savvy investors out there, he has 40% of his net worth in cash at the moment because he speculates the market is going down. I think about half of the mainsteam financial media is waiting for some correction, so this should not be earth shattering news. But, I digress...
I also met a miner from Australia. Being part of the Pacific Rim, The Philippines are rich in not only natural resources (in this case, they are exploring a site for coal and gold) but also have a tremendous biodiversity. This is of course in large part due to a violent history with the earth's crust (volcaono's in particular). This was by far the most interesting person I met in the Philippines so far (or perhaps all year). It was good to learn about the challenges they are facing with the local population – a considerable number of households (in the tens of thousands) currently occupy the site they are proposing to mine. The mining company is currently in talks with the government and environmental agencies to ensure that all the environmental considerations are understood before mining. This takes almost two years, which was his role to oversee. The local population also had some recent bad experiences with irresponsible mining companies (not this one) dumping toxic waste and polluting rivers beyond repair. The dynamics between unsettling people (willingly… they all will eventually accept the money), the environmental impact, and the idea of ownership (will the profits flow overseas?) makes it a pretty complicated situation. Incidentally, he is a sailor as well, and his stories re-affirmed my desire to cash in my “celebrating performance” points for sailing classes.
Lastly, there were a couple of health care professionals who were working with either the World Health Organization, or the CDC (both world authorities in health). Their role there was working with the Philippines Government to further their health objectives, part of which was training.
In all these cases, majority of the people at the happy hour have been living elsewhere for a number of years, they all excel in their professions, and they all are middle to executive management. Here’s the most interesting part: albeit long term, all of them occupied roles where they are training local Filipino people to give them the skills to continue the work after they leave. This last point is the most important and bears repeating: their work isn’t merely a means to an end, but rather a transfer of skills that creates value that is sustainable.
All in all, the happy hour lasted four and a half, and was a fun night!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
I love Polar Bears. If marrying Polar Bears was legal, I would solve all my parent’s worries….But, it’s not. While I continue the good fight to make it legal (did you get my letters congressman?) they are being threatened both as a species and by the environment (abnormal heat = no ice caps = no polar bear = grumpy Bhavin). Which brings me to the title of this blog. In case you haven’t made the connection, the non-profit I work with focuses on wildlife and conservation projects (read: they save Polar Bears and Ice Caps!). That’s what we in consulting call a win-win! One slight problem though… turns out that the organization needs lots of money to help the bears. So how exactly does a Banking & Capital Markets consultant help? By helping them find innovative ways to raise money!
Non-profits operating in the development sector are reliant on donor funding to run their operations and projects. If they are lucky to be part of a global organization, chances are they are obtaining some “network funding” from some of the more developed (and generous) countries such as the U.S., U.K. for example.
Individuals are the primary donors to these types of organizations, and often times individuals want to ensure that their money is going to a very specific cause. When they donate money for a specific cause (like saving the dolphins), their money is termed “restricted”, which is to say that the organization can only use those funds for saving dolphins. When Individuals donate without any stipulation of how the funds should be used, those funds are termed “unrestricted”. Unrestricted funds are important because it allows the organization to use the dough in accordance to their greatest needs - not only on conservation projects, but also to pay salaries of their staff, rent for their space, and to have fundraising events to generate even more money and make an even bigger impact!
As part of the growth strategy for this organization, my co-worker and I will be designing an investment security to generate income for the organization. Here’s how it works:
Investors purchase an investment security. The proceeds that the organization receives from the sale of the security are then applied to fundraising projects. The monies generated by those fundraising projects are used to re-pay the investors, with interest. Sounds simple, right? Oh, if you only knew…
The concept is exactly like a stock or a bond, though we’re designing something that is a hybrid of both, and creates the right incentives for all parties involved. In addition to raising money, the structure of the product is important because the organization is looking to use it as a tool to shape some behavior within the organization. I will write more about that another time…. All indications are that this has never been done before, and when we pull it off, we will for sure revolutionize just how this organization (and others) obtains capital. The possibilities are exciting. I’ve considered writing a paper on this after all is said and done. Time will tell…
There. Now you know exactly what my work here entails, class is dismissed!
I love Polar Bears. If marrying Polar Bears was legal, I would solve all my parent’s worries….But, it’s not. While I continue the good fight to make it legal (did you get my letters congressman?) they are being threatened both as a species and by the environment (abnormal heat = no ice caps = no polar bear = grumpy Bhavin). Which brings me to the title of this blog. In case you haven’t made the connection, the non-profit I work with focuses on wildlife and conservation projects (read: they save Polar Bears and Ice Caps!). That’s what we in consulting call a win-win! One slight problem though… turns out that the organization needs lots of money to help the bears. So how exactly does a Banking & Capital Markets consultant help? By helping them find innovative ways to raise money!
Non-profits operating in the development sector are reliant on donor funding to run their operations and projects. If they are lucky to be part of a global organization, chances are they are obtaining some “network funding” from some of the more developed (and generous) countries such as the U.S., U.K. for example.
Individuals are the primary donors to these types of organizations, and often times individuals want to ensure that their money is going to a very specific cause. When they donate money for a specific cause (like saving the dolphins), their money is termed “restricted”, which is to say that the organization can only use those funds for saving dolphins. When Individuals donate without any stipulation of how the funds should be used, those funds are termed “unrestricted”. Unrestricted funds are important because it allows the organization to use the dough in accordance to their greatest needs - not only on conservation projects, but also to pay salaries of their staff, rent for their space, and to have fundraising events to generate even more money and make an even bigger impact!
As part of the growth strategy for this organization, my co-worker and I will be designing an investment security to generate income for the organization. Here’s how it works:
Investors purchase an investment security. The proceeds that the organization receives from the sale of the security are then applied to fundraising projects. The monies generated by those fundraising projects are used to re-pay the investors, with interest. Sounds simple, right? Oh, if you only knew…
The concept is exactly like a stock or a bond, though we’re designing something that is a hybrid of both, and creates the right incentives for all parties involved. In addition to raising money, the structure of the product is important because the organization is looking to use it as a tool to shape some behavior within the organization. I will write more about that another time…. All indications are that this has never been done before, and when we pull it off, we will for sure revolutionize just how this organization (and others) obtains capital. The possibilities are exciting. I’ve considered writing a paper on this after all is said and done. Time will tell…
There. Now you know exactly what my work here entails, class is dismissed!
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
- It’s HOT and HUMID.
- It is ALWAYS raining. Even when it’s not raining, there’s a very slight trickle of rain. I’ve been here 3 days now and it has not stopped raining.
- The air just hangs. The wind hardly blows. If a car passes you and has an emissions problem, the smoke just hangs right in front of you, no matter how much you think it will pass.
- People are super friendly, and timid. When they hand you a piece of paper, they turn it so that the text is facing you, and they hand it to you with two hands and bow. I’m not kidding. Everyone does this.
- They are incredibly respectful.
- Everyone speaks English in the Philippines (I knew that before coming, but was a pleasure to see how well they spoke it).
- When I walk to work, everyone around me is almost dancing to work because they are all trying to avoid puddles.
- There is a LOT of people in Asia. Whenever I am in a public place, it’s always cramped. No wonder I saw at least 4 GUCCI stores in the Seoul Airport (no joke).
- Cars don’t stop for pedestrians, instead, they just avoid you. It’s like India – you have to walk and keep walking regardless if you think the car is going to stop or not. Even though he steps on the gas, he’ll avoid you. Just don’t look!
- The country has a lot of British and US influences. Some Spanish. Basically anyone who has colonized this place has left their footprint here.
- The banks don’t trust anyone (they won’t exchange your money if you are not an account holder).
- Banks are surprisingly automated here. More so than the US, people rely on ATM machines for transactions beyond withdrawals and deposits (such as payments).
- I thought I would be taller then everyone here, I’m not.
- Filipinos LOVE fish.
- I feel rich. Right now I have 4,000 pesos in my pocket. That’s only about $80. I love it when I get like a 10,000 note.
I’ll add more later as time goes by.
MTV CRIBS
This is my crib in Manila. I admit that I was a little paranoid and went overboard when booking this from the US, but it’s all worthwhile now. Incidentally, the property is heavily secured with armed guards and gates. The best part is they have this AWESOME dog that’s trained to sniff for bombs. Totally need to get a pic of that sucker. Enjoy!
http://www.sendspace.com/file/gh3ukm
(click on the THECRIB.AVI link at the bottom of the page)
This is my crib in Manila. I admit that I was a little paranoid and went overboard when booking this from the US, but it’s all worthwhile now. Incidentally, the property is heavily secured with armed guards and gates. The best part is they have this AWESOME dog that’s trained to sniff for bombs. Totally need to get a pic of that sucker. Enjoy!
http://www.sendspace.com/file/gh3ukm
(click on the THECRIB.AVI link at the bottom of the page)
A NOTE ON AIR TRAVEL
My flight was from ATL – LHR – Seoul – Manila. I flew British Airways from the US to UK, and Korean Air from the UK to the Far East. I wisely decided to purchase the book “Outliers” (highly recommend it) in the Airport to read on the plane ride on my way to the Philippines.
Now, recently, for some strange reason I’ve been more and more afraid of turbulence when I fly. I even did some research on turbulence to put my mind at ease. Here are some facts:
- I flew on an Airbus 300 or 380 or whatever. In my mind, it was the plane that crashed twice most recently.
- I sat right at the wing. Statistically, the seats at the very back of the plane have the highest survival rate. They also have the bumpiest ride.
- Turbulence is more severe when going north to South (due to trade winds) then when going east to West. I was going north to South.
- There’s a section in the book “Outliers” that chronicles how shitty the airline Korean Air was. They had so many crashes in the early 90s that the FAA advised Americans not to fly on their airline. Their crash rate was 14 times higher than other Airlines. Did I mention that I was flying Korean Air? There was yet another example in the book about a South American pilot and an Asian first officer. I shit you not; my Korean Air flight was piloted by a South American!
- I was jetlagged, and I couldn’t sleep.
Collectively, this sucked. I did make it though though… turns out that the end of the chapter in the book chronicled how Koran Air turned itself around and is perfectly fine to fly these days. I also remembered how my brother in law told me how each rivet on the wing of an airplane is stress tested and meticulously designed so that it can withstand forces far greater than it would see in the air. I also understood that most crashes are due to pilot error, not equipment failure. Lastly, I just came to terms with the fact that I couldn’t do anything about it. That’s all I have to say about air travel. That and the fact that airplane Asian Veg food is good.
FIRST THINGS FIRST – TRAINING IN LONDON
It’s been a few years since I went to London, which was my first destination on my way to Manila. The co-worker who will be accompanying me on the study is also from the London office, so I got to meet him as well.
Aside from a great networking opportunity, training was in many ways an eye opener. We had people going to every imaginable place in the world (from Ghana, Kenya, India, Geneva, etc), and it was interesting to see how each of these nations had several common themes. We got a crash course in the issues that developing nations are facing: from trade barriers, to being saddled with debt by first world nations. We learned about how what might seem like progress is often times a destructive force in these fragile societies.
The case study we covered was how Coca Cola opened up operations in a developing nation which, to many brought the promise of reducing poverty by increasing jobs. After Coca Cola built their plant, the water table dropped by a third. Coca Cola was sucking the very resources that the farming community was so dependent on – water. We also got a crash course in how history shaped the “rules of the game” that the world plays by today. We learned about societies in these countries and how they are in a vicious cycle that is impossible to break out of.
Then, we challenged our own prejudices. How were we to be perceived in these countries, and how could we make recommendations without fully engaging and understanding the people in these countries. An interesting cultural exercise listed a few statements, and asked us to describe what we heard with an adjective (such as disgusting, interesting, exotic, normal, amusing, etc). Here’s a great example:
We also learned about staying healthy in these countries, and understanding coping mechanisms. We learned about common diseases and how to spot the signs of them, and when to see a doctor. We learned about how to purity water, and how to cook our food.
We closed by learning about the challenges of the clients we would face in these societies, and how to deal with the complexity. Often times, what a head office dictates is very much different from how an organization is run on the ground. We did case studies on these. Here’s an interesting example we covered in class:
This type of an example isn’t really uncommon, and is an interesting take on how different the landscape is from headquarters to the field.
Training was a ton of fun, and after being in London for two days, it was time to fly to the Far East.
It’s been a few years since I went to London, which was my first destination on my way to Manila. The co-worker who will be accompanying me on the study is also from the London office, so I got to meet him as well.
Aside from a great networking opportunity, training was in many ways an eye opener. We had people going to every imaginable place in the world (from Ghana, Kenya, India, Geneva, etc), and it was interesting to see how each of these nations had several common themes. We got a crash course in the issues that developing nations are facing: from trade barriers, to being saddled with debt by first world nations. We learned about how what might seem like progress is often times a destructive force in these fragile societies.
The case study we covered was how Coca Cola opened up operations in a developing nation which, to many brought the promise of reducing poverty by increasing jobs. After Coca Cola built their plant, the water table dropped by a third. Coca Cola was sucking the very resources that the farming community was so dependent on – water. We also got a crash course in how history shaped the “rules of the game” that the world plays by today. We learned about societies in these countries and how they are in a vicious cycle that is impossible to break out of.
Then, we challenged our own prejudices. How were we to be perceived in these countries, and how could we make recommendations without fully engaging and understanding the people in these countries. An interesting cultural exercise listed a few statements, and asked us to describe what we heard with an adjective (such as disgusting, interesting, exotic, normal, amusing, etc). Here’s a great example:
They eat a food from a paste made from the seeds of a type of grass, cooked once and then burnt near a flame, which is smeared with fat from an animal. They eat this with the albumen from a bird. Traditionally they eat it at certain times of dayWhat do you think of the statement above? Is it disgusting? Is it strange? Or is it describing toast, which we eat every morning!
We also learned about staying healthy in these countries, and understanding coping mechanisms. We learned about common diseases and how to spot the signs of them, and when to see a doctor. We learned about how to purity water, and how to cook our food.
We closed by learning about the challenges of the clients we would face in these societies, and how to deal with the complexity. Often times, what a head office dictates is very much different from how an organization is run on the ground. We did case studies on these. Here’s an interesting example we covered in class:
A Catholic organization is funding AIDS prevention work in sub-Saharan Africa. If you know anything about the Catholic faith, you know that they are against the use of contraceptives. As a consultant, you’re sent to the field to document their expenses and it’s clear to you that the head office suspects the field office of distributing condoms. As anyone in Africa knows, contraception saves more lives than alternative methods, and if the field office is using some of their funding to provide free contraception to the villages nearby, they are likely saving thousands of lives. The head office threatens serious repercussions if they discover the field is investing in these unapproved methods. As a consultant, what do you do? You’re bound by ethics on one hand to not lie on your report, and uphold the firm’s integrity. On the other hand, you have a moral obligation to do what you think is right, and allow the field
office to continue to distribute condoms. Should you lie about it? There is no right answer - just food for thought.
This type of an example isn’t really uncommon, and is an interesting take on how different the landscape is from headquarters to the field.
Training was a ton of fun, and after being in London for two days, it was time to fly to the Far East.
WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING IN MANILA?
Great question! I asked myself that daily over the course of the weeks leading up to my trip, and the answer was always the same: I’m not sure! The truth is that part of me wants to make a difference in the world. And then there’s the other part of me that’s looking to shape my life differently. I figured that shocking my system and stepping way outside of my comfort zone would help me achieve that result.
In looking at the world, Asia is the last place I thought I would find myself. The languages are completely different (in Europe, I could at least get by with French and Spanish), the food is even more different (I don’t even know what some of the vegetables are). In the end, I’ll revert to the cheese that Shital always opines about, and trust that the universe always conspires to get you what you want. I was destined to be here. We shall test that hypothesis over the next few months…
Great question! I asked myself that daily over the course of the weeks leading up to my trip, and the answer was always the same: I’m not sure! The truth is that part of me wants to make a difference in the world. And then there’s the other part of me that’s looking to shape my life differently. I figured that shocking my system and stepping way outside of my comfort zone would help me achieve that result.
In looking at the world, Asia is the last place I thought I would find myself. The languages are completely different (in Europe, I could at least get by with French and Spanish), the food is even more different (I don’t even know what some of the vegetables are). In the end, I’ll revert to the cheese that Shital always opines about, and trust that the universe always conspires to get you what you want. I was destined to be here. We shall test that hypothesis over the next few months…
IN THE BEGINNING - HOW ALL THIS STARTED
The company I work for has a highly selective program that operates as a non-profit entity within our firm. Through this, we are able to offer development sector organizations the same high quality consulting services that the firm provides to commercial clients, but at less than prevailing market rates in the private sector. We see this as a sustainable model which is based on a true partnership – one in which the firm, its employees, and our development sector clients all make a contribution. The firm makes no margin on the projects, and fees charged are not based on a loaded cost. As consultants, we take a 50% salary cut. The process to get here was not easy, and after being in this program for two years, the stars finally aligned and I got staffed on a non-profit project! Where to you ask? Manila, of course.
The company I work for has a highly selective program that operates as a non-profit entity within our firm. Through this, we are able to offer development sector organizations the same high quality consulting services that the firm provides to commercial clients, but at less than prevailing market rates in the private sector. We see this as a sustainable model which is based on a true partnership – one in which the firm, its employees, and our development sector clients all make a contribution. The firm makes no margin on the projects, and fees charged are not based on a loaded cost. As consultants, we take a 50% salary cut. The process to get here was not easy, and after being in this program for two years, the stars finally aligned and I got staffed on a non-profit project! Where to you ask? Manila, of course.
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