So as part of my project, i made a trip to meet different writers. I met writers who have been doing this for over twenty years and some who are just starting out. I met those who do it as a hobby and students who are considering enrolling on writing course, but i never forgot to ask the moderator, Lynn Davies, who has written for over twenty years why he chooses not to stay in Birmingham but rather the country side. His response, i like to come to the city but my feeling is some of us writers may sometimes be called unsocial beings because we choose to be far away from everybody else.
In this modern days it is easy to have your music on and perhaps some glass of wine whilst being creative but i learnt something yesterday. The purity of great works like Shakespeare still leaves us in awe of their creative power without all the modern enhancements of laptops, music and chilled drinks.
I have often found out that sometimes the creative thoughts could happen to me whilst i am in the shower, even though it means i usually will stay under the shower much longer to bask in the purity of ideas, i am also mindful that by the time i have gotten myself ready to sit behind a laptop some of the ideas my ideas may have dissapeared. Perhaps one day they may have voice recorders that can work under water and i am pretty sure that i would be among the first to be in the queue to buy it. Other times the inspiration comes from talking to someone and me knowing that i am writing something in my head. The space of getting to a laptop for me can always be the timing where the greatest lose comes. You never know, if there were roses near my home, i may only have to keep the sweet smells of a flower in my head or even behold its beauty in my eyes long enough to have myself by a PC. I am uploading a picture of Shakespeare’s house in Stratford upon Avon which interesting has some flowers. I sure will love to ask him if some of the greatest works were inspired by his surrounding. But after speaking to some of the writers, it became apparent to me that it is always not a black and white with everybody. They always are grey areas. Inspiration may come to us all in many ways. I guess i may have to try Karen’s way and see.

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” – Peter F. Drucker

Interesting to know how Top Leaders in the world think about Business Leadership for the 21st Century.

Davos Annual Meeting 2010 – Business Leadership for the 21st Century

Out lecture this week was concerned with managing creative teams.  Chris Bilton’s reading was particularly illuminating with regards to ‘creative brokering’ – stimulating communication between members, understanding their creative processes and using their personal traits to encourage a creative synergy between them.

Annette asked us to think about our own creative process, so here is mine:

Far from Emmanuel’s romantic envisioning of the writer in a cottage, I work best in my square room in a semi-detached student house in Perry Barr.  The absence of cavity wall insulation means I write and design under the comforting heat of a £15 halogen heater from One Stop Shopping Centre.

Many magazine designers use Apple Macs, but I am happy with my laptop.  When I am designing pages I have to listen to music, which I usually listen to through Spotify.  Favoured artists are of the easy-listening ilk, such as Erykah Badu, India.Arie, Dwele or if i’m in a more commercial mood, Mariah Carey (don’t laugh).  I rarely plan or sketch out pages; I first think of the colours I want to use, then the heading font (which takes a while), then the pictures, and finally the text.

When writing or reading, I can’t listen to music.  A few of my friends used to handwrite their assignments on paper, but I can’t do this either.  I tend to just type whatever comes into my head and then read over it afterwards, but I don’t proof-read too much because I’ll stop concentrating.

I take breaks regularly, and like to get away from my room when doing so.  Rather than step outside the cottage and sniff roses, I go into the out house downstairs.  The outhouse  is beautifully adorned with graffiti, permanent marker scrawlings and moss, with the odd slug for company if it is raining.  There is also a beautiful pool outside, which has been created by a blockage in the outdoor drain.  Such surroundings may not be thought of as a stimulus for creativity, but you would be surprised.

Very interesting debate about the root of entrepreneurship. Personally, I also believe we all have entrepreneurship DNA within us. Some explore and develop it, some don’t. Training & experiences are part of process of turning entrepreneurship into what we dreamed or wanted to achieve. In my case, it is more nurture side than nature side. My parents never started up their own business, so did my grandfather, grandmother and my sisters and I don’t remember any of my close relative having their own business either. Does it mean that I do not have entrepreneurship DNA and that I should not start up business myself? I learned how to do business from every sources of life, education, friends, living experiences, working and I wanted to do own business – are these enough for me to be an entrepreneur?

I found this debate is very interesting and honestly I don’t know what is right.  I just believe that I also can be an entrepreneur if I want enough and have enough knowledge and experience to do that. Would be interesting to know how you think about this.

Entrepreneurship: Nature vs Nurture?

Solving problems is an important aspect of entrepreneurship, but it’s not the entire solution. Hard work is imperative, but it doesn’t always mean a fortunate outcome.. – Tina Seelig

Turning Lemonade Into Helicopters

It’s very interesting POV to me because I was, as same with her, taught by my Dad that hard work is key to achieve my goals. Growth up, I was taught a bit further that I should work hard and smart to achieve my goals. Actually sometime in life, I’ve practiced and experienced what Tina called “turning lemonade into helicopters”, however I did that without purpose and did not aware of such benefit or meaning of doing so. It is a really good tip though.

….When we think of manly leadership, thoughts of courage, resiliency, boldness and determination come to mind. We think of the man confidently in charge, steering the ship and leading the men. What we often do not think of is delegation. The ability to wisely and effectively delegate is a quality far more quiet than others, and yet one of the most crucial to a leader’s success. Whether you’re a manager at work, owner of your own business, officer in the military, or simply working on a school project, effective delegation is one of the keys to achieving your goals….

Brett & Kate McKay(February 23, 2010) Leaderhip: The Importance of Knowing How To Delegate, posted on Manliness blog

I found it very interesting POV and I also agreed with the Authors. What do you think?

Leadership: The Importance of Knowing How to Delegate

…There are still things women leaders can and cannot do because we are still operating in a restricted zone of operation. We are not to say things with the same tone as men. If we’re too nice, we are seen as too weak. If we’re too strong, we’re controlling. If we’re too direct, we’ve got an edge. If we defend ourselves, we’re hysterical…

Fawn Germer (Nov 5, 2009), The Huffington Post

I posted this on Vietnam Professional and Business Women blog. These are women leadership tips by Fawn Germer, Best-selling author and popular speaker on leadership and performance. Would be interesting to know how you think about those tips too.

Eight Ways Women Leader Can Win in the Perception Game!

I posted this on Vietnam Professional and Business Women blog. Found it is interesting to share here too.

It’s from Kaboodle.com

How To Get 6 Extra Hour Out of Every Day

Description: Komisar explains that there are different types of entrepreneurs for various stages in a company using an analogy from his book, The Monk and the Riddle. Early stage entrepreneurs, like a bloodhound, seek out resources to get the company off the ground. To grow the company, an operation leader is needed, like a husky that is willing to pull the sled and get the company to a public market liquidity. If the company ever faces difficult situations, a rescuer, like a St. Bernard, tries to save it.

Just across this short speech of Randy Komisar – Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. I think he has made some clear points on Entrepreneur, entrepreneurship. What do you think?

Different Entrepreneurs Excel in Various Company Stages

I have started Lap project with Vietnam Professional and Business Women Blog also on wordpress. This is a blog to test out targeted markets and marketing strategies  for my MA Project. The blog will be written mainly in Vietnamese but I will post selected blogs in English and share on this web as well.

It would be great if I could have your comments, recommends and/or advices in design, content, management etc. for this blog:

VNPBW Blog

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks and regards,

Hai Nguyen

hainguyen@eventnet.asia