dispatches from the new world of work

Thatcher's Shadow, Flat World, Etc.

Sign reading Fire Assembly Point

Tony Blair yesterday gave a speech asking business to be more aggressive in the EU. This is a Labor PM? Mrs Thatcher started a pro biz tsunami beyond the (1980) imagination, and has cast an enormous shadow. (Financial Times headline 0522: "Blair calls for louder business voice in Europe")
The Chinese bought a significant share of our largest private equity group, Blackstone. (Financial Times headline 0522: "Chinese agency charts bold path")
The Saudis bought GE Plastics. (International Herald Tribune headline: "Era ends as Saudis buy GE plastics")

Just another ho-hum day in the Global Economy, circa 2007.

(Speaking of the global economy, above is a charming picture of my view from the Heathrow Terminal 4 Hilton, where I'm hanging out for 10 hours between my Boston to London flight and my London to Johannesburg flight. A little different from Vermont in full Spring bloom at this time yesterday. So, why do I do this?)

Tom Peters posted this on 05/22/07.

Comments

Tom, you have no choice! You must do this... you take lots of info on business and process it in ways some of us wish we had the skill and ability to do...

Posted by Steve Gray at May 22, 2007 5:06 PM

You do it because it's damn inspirational for the rest of us.

Safe travels and many thanks.

Rick

Posted by Rick T. at May 22, 2007 8:52 PM

You do it to gather research for your new book - "Emergency notice signs of the world"

Posted by PaulH at May 23, 2007 2:10 AM

Tom;

Here's a thing?

Once you've thought it?

Are you visioning a whole new future without the travel, without the hotel rooms between flights, the BA restrictions, the hard plastic chairs (sorry you wouldn't know what that was! you don't fly cattle class anymore?) the rubbish food, the rubbish in flight air etc.

I have a day trip to Glasgow Friday its internal to the UK and makes for an interesting 20 hour day, imagine doing that from home, via the web, I know I do?

However, there are some things that just have to be done face to face, I guess this is one of those gig's.

Stay safe

Patrick

Posted by patrick at May 23, 2007 2:26 AM

Ahhhh!!! I'm so proud of my rolling green English countryside on a summers day ... Wordsworth got it right :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at May 23, 2007 2:27 AM

"New" Labour has won, Tom, and the world's gone to the centre in politics. Closest we get to the old socialist Labour is Bob Crow, top dog at the RMT Union. But even they now have a credit card for their members!!

Didn't like the old Labour, but at least it meant there was a different point of view. It encouraged debate and discourse about politics and social structure. Now their place is taken by the likes of the far-right BNP, so we debate race and Islam while Traffic Wardens get CCTV strapped to their heads and a Parish council with low crime spends 10 grand to get a camera installed.

Bring back Michael Foot. Bring back Enoch. Bring back Thatcher. Not because I agree with them, but because at least they understood the value of debate!

Rant ends!

Posted by Ross Hall at May 24, 2007 5:07 AM

speaking of the flat world. Friedman mentions software as one of the "flatteners" and the role it is going to play in the further flattening of the world. I am a project manager and have been using what I think may be one such flattener - CommuniClique (www.communiclique.com). What do you think of such applications?

Posted by David Leadbitter at May 26, 2007 2:53 PM