It seems that Berliners must be genetically stronger, because it takes a Herculean effort to open a door here. Any door. In true German fashion, they are all built solid and heavy. If it doesn't open automatically for me, I have to physically lean backwards to get it open - no exaggeration. Well ok, the only doors that open easily are the ones to the mall… but perhaps that's no accident.
We had another yummy cultural dinner tonight. Kay organized a Thai food extravaganza at a local restaurant and it was delicious (beef curry, pad thai, and other things I can't pronounce, let alone spell). However, it has totally unmotivated me to do research for tomorrow's "hot topic" discussion on the talent crunch.
Yesterday I "decorated" my apartment for Christmas, meaning I put a string of lights around my window, a bowl of bulbs on my table, and purchased a poinsettia. Then conveniently I received a cute Christmas decoration from my aunt and uncle yesterday as well. In all, the effect is quite nice!
And finally, my new addictive website: http://www.freerice.com/.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
A Whole New World
The past week or so we have been doing a module on scenario planning. It was an entirely new process for me, but very interesting and stimulating. So I thought I'd share the basics with you (and prove that I don't spend all my time gallivanting around Europe!).
The basic concept behind scenario planning is that you imagine what the world would look like if X and Y happened, and then determine what the implications for your company would be in that hypothetical scenario. It's a very creative, imaginative process because you're trying to stretch your mind to envision a future that nobody has conceived. It's different than strategic planning because each scenario is highly uncertain, so you're not trying to determine a single course of action. Our background reading described it as, "The purpose of the exercise is not to come up with a forecast, because you know it will be wrong. Instead, it's to draw a circle around multiple possibilities and think about whether you are prepared to face the range of futures that might unfold." Or, said another way, scenario planning is about moving beyond the "official future."
You start scenario planning by choosing a focal question to investigate. For example, how will evolving regulation impact our Assurance business? or, how will changes in the competitive landscape impact the firm's business model? The question usually has long range consequences or deals with upcoming decisions.
Once the focal issue is defined, you brainstorm and research all the driving forces that affect and influence the focal issue. These could be in any number of areas including social (changes in population, demographics), economic (international trade, growth of emerging markets), political and technological. The driving forces you identify will either be predetermined (i.e. aging population) or uncertain (change in the value of the dollar). The predetermined driving forces are excluded from scenario planning, though if they're important the company should be including them in its strategic plan. The uncertainties are what you're concerned about for scenario planning.
Once you've identified the uncertainties affecting your issue, you choose the two most critical uncertainties and plot them on an X and Y axis. For example, you might have an X axis that is high value of the dollar at one end and low value of the dollar at the other. This could be paired with a Y axis that has a strong, capitalist economy in Russia on one end and a weak, protectionist Russian economy at the other. The 4 quadrants formed by these 2 axes create your 4 different worlds, or scenarios. For each scenario, you create a narrative or description of what the world looks like given those two particular scenarios and what events occurred to bring you to that point. The challenge is to both stretch beyond known facts and also keep the scenario plausible.
After the scenarios are defined, you assess the implications the new world would have on your company and then determine what warning signs would indicate that the world is moving to that scenario. Then, when you see these warning signs that would be the time for a company to take the scenario and begin forming a strategic plan.
If you've made it this far through this post, congratulations! I'll shift from the conceptual background and briefly highlight the results of my team's scenario planning. We were divided into 4 teams with each team responsible for creating and presenting a set of scenarios. My team decided to address the focal question, "How will the changing nature of the 21st century work environment impact our firm?" The two key uncertainties we chose were the Perception of Technology (positive or negative) and Human Connectivity, meaning the relationships and loyalty we have to our companies and fellow employees. These led to some interesting scenarios - everything from the resurgence of guilds to the establishment of a PwC University.
The most enjoyable part of this project has been all the side conversations it stimulated within our group even though they ended up being totally unrelated: Should PwC Global be investing in India? Does modernization necessarily lead to a maturity? What would happen if you could genetically engineer the perfect auditor (yeah, that would be scary)? Does the president of Bolivia always wear sweaters? ....Our group was definitely not the most efficient, but we certainly got a lot out of the project!
The basic concept behind scenario planning is that you imagine what the world would look like if X and Y happened, and then determine what the implications for your company would be in that hypothetical scenario. It's a very creative, imaginative process because you're trying to stretch your mind to envision a future that nobody has conceived. It's different than strategic planning because each scenario is highly uncertain, so you're not trying to determine a single course of action. Our background reading described it as, "The purpose of the exercise is not to come up with a forecast, because you know it will be wrong. Instead, it's to draw a circle around multiple possibilities and think about whether you are prepared to face the range of futures that might unfold." Or, said another way, scenario planning is about moving beyond the "official future."
You start scenario planning by choosing a focal question to investigate. For example, how will evolving regulation impact our Assurance business? or, how will changes in the competitive landscape impact the firm's business model? The question usually has long range consequences or deals with upcoming decisions.
Once the focal issue is defined, you brainstorm and research all the driving forces that affect and influence the focal issue. These could be in any number of areas including social (changes in population, demographics), economic (international trade, growth of emerging markets), political and technological. The driving forces you identify will either be predetermined (i.e. aging population) or uncertain (change in the value of the dollar). The predetermined driving forces are excluded from scenario planning, though if they're important the company should be including them in its strategic plan. The uncertainties are what you're concerned about for scenario planning.
Once you've identified the uncertainties affecting your issue, you choose the two most critical uncertainties and plot them on an X and Y axis. For example, you might have an X axis that is high value of the dollar at one end and low value of the dollar at the other. This could be paired with a Y axis that has a strong, capitalist economy in Russia on one end and a weak, protectionist Russian economy at the other. The 4 quadrants formed by these 2 axes create your 4 different worlds, or scenarios. For each scenario, you create a narrative or description of what the world looks like given those two particular scenarios and what events occurred to bring you to that point. The challenge is to both stretch beyond known facts and also keep the scenario plausible.
After the scenarios are defined, you assess the implications the new world would have on your company and then determine what warning signs would indicate that the world is moving to that scenario. Then, when you see these warning signs that would be the time for a company to take the scenario and begin forming a strategic plan.
If you've made it this far through this post, congratulations! I'll shift from the conceptual background and briefly highlight the results of my team's scenario planning. We were divided into 4 teams with each team responsible for creating and presenting a set of scenarios. My team decided to address the focal question, "How will the changing nature of the 21st century work environment impact our firm?" The two key uncertainties we chose were the Perception of Technology (positive or negative) and Human Connectivity, meaning the relationships and loyalty we have to our companies and fellow employees. These led to some interesting scenarios - everything from the resurgence of guilds to the establishment of a PwC University.
The most enjoyable part of this project has been all the side conversations it stimulated within our group even though they ended up being totally unrelated: Should PwC Global be investing in India? Does modernization necessarily lead to a maturity? What would happen if you could genetically engineer the perfect auditor (yeah, that would be scary)? Does the president of Bolivia always wear sweaters? ....Our group was definitely not the most efficient, but we certainly got a lot out of the project!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Vienna
This past weekend I got to cross off one of my top Cities to Visit. I met up with Sarah Bailey (an old friend who is currently working in England) and another one of her friends in Vienna. Not only did we explore all the historical and culture sights, but we also got to experience a number of the Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmarkt) set up around the city.
The best way to explain a Weihnachtsmarkt is like a craft fair on a grand scale with the added charm of Christmas magic. It's made up of a number of separate stalls selling Christmas ornaments, other crafts, food and drinks. Over speakers Christmas carols (all American) set the mood and the food stalls create an enticing aroma of fried dough and sizzling fat. In Vienna, the old Rathaus (City Hall) presides over the largest market in the city and is converted into a huge advent calendar with 24 windows opening - one every day - as Christmas approaches. This weekend I'm probably going to visit Dresden which is the sight (supposedly) of the very first Christmas market and draws up to 2 million visitors each Christmas season.
The influence of the Hapsburgs pervades the city and I felt my AP European history class coming back to me as we wandered. The Hapsburgs were also huge patrons of the arts and so there is quite a rich artistic and musical heritage in the city. Anything related to the old composers was my favorite. On Sunday morning we heard the Vienna Boys' Choir sing mass in the one of the small chapels. They were incredible!
Sadly, we were thwart in our attempt to see an opera in the famous Opera House. They show a different opera each night and offer a limited number of standing room only tickets (mostly for the benefit of tourists). Both Sarah and I had decided that was one thing we absolutely wanted to do during our visit. The opera showing on Saturday night was The Barber of Seville - one we were actually familiar with which was a bonus. Our guide book said that many tourists only stay for the first part of the opera and that you can grab their tickets as they were leaving. So instead of standing in line for over an hour, we decided to take this approach. However, for the first time Rick Steves steered us wrong and we were unable to get into the opera. Not to be undone, we noticed a sign for some kind of matinee show on Sunday, though it didn't exactly look like an opera (but being in German, it was hard for us to tell). So we showed up on Sunday and bought cheap tickets to what turned out to be a 1 1/2 hour narrated explanation of Wagner's music - I'd say it was 75% German narration and 25% real music. Not exactly what we expected! Regardless, it was great to see the inside of the Opera House and experience a concert there, even if it lost a little in the translation.
Other than that miscue, the rest of the weekend went very smoothly. We toured Schonnbrunn (Hapsburg's summer residence), saw the royal treasury which included the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor and wandered through one of the art museums. It was great to spend time with Sarah catching up! I've posted some pictures, but it was either gray or raining most of the weekend so they don't really capture the feel of the city. I could have easily spent several more days exploring Vienna!
The best way to explain a Weihnachtsmarkt is like a craft fair on a grand scale with the added charm of Christmas magic. It's made up of a number of separate stalls selling Christmas ornaments, other crafts, food and drinks. Over speakers Christmas carols (all American) set the mood and the food stalls create an enticing aroma of fried dough and sizzling fat. In Vienna, the old Rathaus (City Hall) presides over the largest market in the city and is converted into a huge advent calendar with 24 windows opening - one every day - as Christmas approaches. This weekend I'm probably going to visit Dresden which is the sight (supposedly) of the very first Christmas market and draws up to 2 million visitors each Christmas season.
The influence of the Hapsburgs pervades the city and I felt my AP European history class coming back to me as we wandered. The Hapsburgs were also huge patrons of the arts and so there is quite a rich artistic and musical heritage in the city. Anything related to the old composers was my favorite. On Sunday morning we heard the Vienna Boys' Choir sing mass in the one of the small chapels. They were incredible!
Sadly, we were thwart in our attempt to see an opera in the famous Opera House. They show a different opera each night and offer a limited number of standing room only tickets (mostly for the benefit of tourists). Both Sarah and I had decided that was one thing we absolutely wanted to do during our visit. The opera showing on Saturday night was The Barber of Seville - one we were actually familiar with which was a bonus. Our guide book said that many tourists only stay for the first part of the opera and that you can grab their tickets as they were leaving. So instead of standing in line for over an hour, we decided to take this approach. However, for the first time Rick Steves steered us wrong and we were unable to get into the opera. Not to be undone, we noticed a sign for some kind of matinee show on Sunday, though it didn't exactly look like an opera (but being in German, it was hard for us to tell). So we showed up on Sunday and bought cheap tickets to what turned out to be a 1 1/2 hour narrated explanation of Wagner's music - I'd say it was 75% German narration and 25% real music. Not exactly what we expected! Regardless, it was great to see the inside of the Opera House and experience a concert there, even if it lost a little in the translation.
Other than that miscue, the rest of the weekend went very smoothly. We toured Schonnbrunn (Hapsburg's summer residence), saw the royal treasury which included the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor and wandered through one of the art museums. It was great to spend time with Sarah catching up! I've posted some pictures, but it was either gray or raining most of the weekend so they don't really capture the feel of the city. I could have easily spent several more days exploring Vienna!
Friday, November 23, 2007
Thanksgiving in Berlin
I'm leaving for Vienna shortly, so I don't have time to fully describe the Thanksgiving festivities last night, but here are the hightlights:
-35+ people gathered at the Hollas' large apartment for a full turkey and stuffing meal. It was potluck with everyone bring their contribution, many of which were traditional foods from their cultures - delicious!
-After the dinner, we played a couple games - celebrity bowl and charades.
-While most people went back home, I went out with a couple friends to a bar that shows American football and got to see the 2nd half of the Cowboys' game and the 1st half of the Colts'.
-Getting home after 3am, it was truly a wonderful Thanksgiving!
-Here are pictures.
-35+ people gathered at the Hollas' large apartment for a full turkey and stuffing meal. It was potluck with everyone bring their contribution, many of which were traditional foods from their cultures - delicious!
-After the dinner, we played a couple games - celebrity bowl and charades.
-While most people went back home, I went out with a couple friends to a bar that shows American football and got to see the 2nd half of the Cowboys' game and the 1st half of the Colts'.
-Getting home after 3am, it was truly a wonderful Thanksgiving!
-Here are pictures.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. ~I Chron. 16:34
This evening we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner - complete with turkey, pumpkin pie, lots of friends, games and even American football. It was great to be able to share the meaning and traditions of such a special day with everyone else in the program. I am overflowing with gratefulness to the Lord for His goodness to me!
This evening we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner - complete with turkey, pumpkin pie, lots of friends, games and even American football. It was great to be able to share the meaning and traditions of such a special day with everyone else in the program. I am overflowing with gratefulness to the Lord for His goodness to me!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Third Reich
Though not intentional, this past weekend turned out to be focused on Nazi Germany. On Saturday, I recruited Lili and Brenda to go on a walking tour with me. I'd heard really good things about the walking tours in Berlin and have been eager to go on one since I arrived. Since we didn't get our act together early enough in the day, we missed the general Berlin tour but decided to take the Infamous Third Reich Sites tour. Back in high school, I took a 3-wk class on Nazi Germany at Western MD (before it was called McDaniel College) so I was excited to re-learn the history "on location" as it were. It was a 3-hr tour, but the time flew by because the information was so captivating. Our guide (who was from Baltimore!) gave very detailed stories covering Hitler's rise and fall.
On Sunday, a group of us visited Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp on the outskirts of Berlin. While it was primarily a camp for political prisoners and prisoners of war, it also held Jews who were typically en-route to Auschwitz or other death camps. It was a training camp for SS troops who were then deployed elsewhere and there was also a crematorium there. After WWII, it was converted into a Soviet Special Camp (not exactly a step up). To say it was sobering is inadequate.
I've posted pictures from the weekend if you're interested.
On Sunday, a group of us visited Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp on the outskirts of Berlin. While it was primarily a camp for political prisoners and prisoners of war, it also held Jews who were typically en-route to Auschwitz or other death camps. It was a training camp for SS troops who were then deployed elsewhere and there was also a crematorium there. After WWII, it was converted into a Soviet Special Camp (not exactly a step up). To say it was sobering is inadequate.
I've posted pictures from the weekend if you're interested.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Recap of the Week
Since I can't seem to post anything during the weekdays, here are the highlights from this past week.
One thing our group is doing is to have different evenings were we experience food from our native countries. Last week the guys from India fed us Indian food as part of their country presentation. This week, we had traditional German cuisine at a restaurant right next to the old west Berlin City Hall. Apparently Kennedy used to eat in this restaurant frequently when he was in town (the walls are covered by pictures of JFK). It's not a large restaurant, so we pretty much took it over with our group. I had some kind of goulash served with spatzle and red cabbage (my new favorite vegetable). The goulash was described to me as game and was basically hunks of meat in a savory sauce with mushrooms - delicious! There were a couple German speakers at my table who helped translate the menu for the rest of us... which was no small feat considering we spent 10 minutes discussing the first item. It was initially described as a "sophisticated chicken." They finally settled on a translation of "partridge" and we moved on through the rest of the menu at a slightly faster speed. Subsequent research revealed it was actually a guinea hen. :-)
On Friday evening, Ozlem invited everyone to her apartment and cooked Turkish food for us - which was delicious! Fortunately, since she has her son with her in Berlin, she has a somewhat larger apartment. So with people bringing extra chairs and dishes, we managed to all fit comfortably. It was a really fun evening and a great way to kick-off the weekend. I've posted some pictures from the party if you're interested.
On Thursday evenings, all the museums in Berlin are open late until 10pm and admission is free after 6pm. This Thursday was the first chance I've had to take advantage of this deal. Several of us grabbed dinner after work and then walked to the Gemaldegalerie, an art gallery featuring 13th-18th century European art. We did discover that though admission is free, they get it back from you by charging for the audio guides, which are typically free. Though granted it's much less than the normal admission. The gallery is fairly large and had a good selection including artists such as Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, and others who didn't start with "R." Most of the group headed out after the first hour. But Martin and I stayed until closing time, having a grand time coming up with our own "interpretations" and barely making it through the whole exhibit before being kicked out. I'm hoping to enjoy many more Thursday evenings at museums.
Another highlight from the week is I decided to go to Amersterdam for a weekend in early December! There are a number of people from the group going, including one guy from the Netherlands, so it should be a great time.
One thing our group is doing is to have different evenings were we experience food from our native countries. Last week the guys from India fed us Indian food as part of their country presentation. This week, we had traditional German cuisine at a restaurant right next to the old west Berlin City Hall. Apparently Kennedy used to eat in this restaurant frequently when he was in town (the walls are covered by pictures of JFK). It's not a large restaurant, so we pretty much took it over with our group. I had some kind of goulash served with spatzle and red cabbage (my new favorite vegetable). The goulash was described to me as game and was basically hunks of meat in a savory sauce with mushrooms - delicious! There were a couple German speakers at my table who helped translate the menu for the rest of us... which was no small feat considering we spent 10 minutes discussing the first item. It was initially described as a "sophisticated chicken." They finally settled on a translation of "partridge" and we moved on through the rest of the menu at a slightly faster speed. Subsequent research revealed it was actually a guinea hen. :-)
On Friday evening, Ozlem invited everyone to her apartment and cooked Turkish food for us - which was delicious! Fortunately, since she has her son with her in Berlin, she has a somewhat larger apartment. So with people bringing extra chairs and dishes, we managed to all fit comfortably. It was a really fun evening and a great way to kick-off the weekend. I've posted some pictures from the party if you're interested.
On Thursday evenings, all the museums in Berlin are open late until 10pm and admission is free after 6pm. This Thursday was the first chance I've had to take advantage of this deal. Several of us grabbed dinner after work and then walked to the Gemaldegalerie, an art gallery featuring 13th-18th century European art. We did discover that though admission is free, they get it back from you by charging for the audio guides, which are typically free. Though granted it's much less than the normal admission. The gallery is fairly large and had a good selection including artists such as Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, and others who didn't start with "R." Most of the group headed out after the first hour. But Martin and I stayed until closing time, having a grand time coming up with our own "interpretations" and barely making it through the whole exhibit before being kicked out. I'm hoping to enjoy many more Thursday evenings at museums.
Another highlight from the week is I decided to go to Amersterdam for a weekend in early December! There are a number of people from the group going, including one guy from the Netherlands, so it should be a great time.
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