reading7-1 local memories of a global manager

There was a time when I used to believe with Diogenes the Cynic that “I am a citizen of the world,” and I used to strut about feeling that a “blade of grass is always a blade of grass, whether in one country or another.” Now I feel that each blade of grass has its spot on earth from where it draws its life, its strength; and so is man rooted to the land from where he draws his faith, together with his life.

現在business的教科書都這麼文藝了....

“Think global and act local,” goes the saying, but that’s only half a truth. International managers must also think local and then apply their local insights on a global scale.
The fact is that truths in this world are unique, individual, and highly parochial. They say all politics is local. So is all business. But this doesn't keep either from being global. In committing to our work we commit to a here and now, to a particular place and time; but what we learn from acting locally is often universal in nature.

This is how globalization takes place. Globalization does not mean imposing homogeneous solutions in a pluralistic world. It means having a global vision and strategy, but it also means cultivating roots and individual identities. It means nourishing local insights, but it also means reemploying communicable ideas in new geographies around the world.

The more human beings belong to their own time and place, the more they belong to all times and places. 
It is of the most importance to know who you are and not be led astray by others. Tap into your roots when you are unsure. You cannot be all things to all people.


最後這段關於社會主義的討論好精彩！
Although the principles of managing a business in the third world are the same as in the west, there are still big differences between the two. For me, the greatest of these is the pervasive reality of poverty. 

I have lost the towering confidence of my youth, when i believed that socialism could wipe away poverty. The problem of socialism is one of performance, not vision. If it worked, we would all be socialists. Ironically, the legacy of the collectivist bias in India thinking has been the perpetuation of poverty. We created an over-regulated private sector and an inefficient public sector.