Back to campus

Hong Kong neither feels home anymore, nor in any way exotic. Don't know what it really is for me at this point in time. To be fair, this time I have not seen much, because I was extremely occupied last week and spent my time in Cyberport. Now I am back to campus. Let's see what I will discover in the month to come.

Back to campus in Pokfulam

Bel Air residential development adjacent to Cyberport. Not really thinking outside the box.

View from the new part of the main University campus

Life at the Westwood exit of the MTR (subway) station Hong Kong University.

Sad news in Hong Kong

I arrived in Hong Kong. Watched two movies on the flight. One was "Steve Jobs". I think I could follow the plot quite well, because I know most of the Apple products and versions of the company's early days. Also, I read the Steve Job biography before, even I don't fancy very much what I know about his personality. I have my own experiences working with assholes, who blow their technical incompetence into the genius miracle saga orbit by an aggressive ego. But I have no first hand experience with Steve Jobs, so I can't say anything about him. The other movie was the latest James Bond, called Spectre. Car was okay (Aston Martin DB10), bond girl also (Lea Seydoux). Then I fell asleep a few hours.

What struck me upon arrival, was the message that our good friend Peter Olaf Looms suffered a fatal heart attack in Argentina. He was travelling to visit family with his wife Clementina. Last thing I saw from him was a question on how to reduce evaporation from a water reservoir. Then the communication halted on October 2nd. He died October 3rd. I am very sad about this. In April this year, we all still were greeting summer with a glass of wine, over the Grand Harbour of Valletta. We strolled around Malta and Gozo together and took a shaky boat into the Blue Grotto. 

We met Peter the first time at the breakfast room of the University guesthouse. He was a new arrival to the other Professors who were meeting there every morning. I remember, that I asked Feibai who he was, and she said: "I don't know. But he is a very intelligent man". Peter became Feibai's mentor and choached her for her research proposal for the Frankfurt School of Management and Finance, where she is now doing her PhD. No matter where in the world the other one was, these two were on WeChat every day - exchanging papers, and thoughts and questions. Slowly I learned, how much energy Peter had, and how committed he was to guide his mentees. And I also slowly grasped how many of them there were, and over how many years, and where on the planet. Everywhere. Some of them turned into respected intellectuals and scientists. Others into political dissidents. From Bolivia to China, Peter shaped ideas and lives. He was in the end even my mentor, because I admire how he did that. Now he is gone. Not just, he did not come back to our little circle in the breakfast room, where we all have been expecting him. He is away. I am really sad. Everybody is. 

Morning walk after a rainy night in Pokfulam. Taifun warning signal #1 hoisted today.

I am staying away from the buzz of Hong Kong these days. The touch down in the guesthouse was a good start. Then moved to hotel closer to Cyberport for a week, for practical reasons. Hotels rarely have an atmosphere I really like. It is a nice hotel. But I think, if you travelled a lot, you might know what I mean.

It's Friday. The English leftovers and new arrivals are getting drunk in the hotel bar by this time of the week. The prostitutes from Shenzhen are preparing for a hard working night. And the sun has set over the Lamma Island Strait.

Evening view from Telegraph Bay to Lantau Island.

Hong Kong

"One country, two systems" was one of the mantras and rules of the hand over of Hong Kong, a former British colony, to the People's Republic of China (PRC). One country, two systems means Communism (with Chinese characteristics) and Capitalism in a special administrative region. This gave the PRC a capitalist experimental zone, and it gave Hong Kong the chance to develop into a model zone for application in other Chinese cities. But while the Mainland's development breathtakingly performed the largest economic development in human history and dragged hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, the autonomous Hong Kong failed to deliver many of the results expected. It could not translate its prosperity into quality of life, did not develop models showcasing applicable examples to PRC. Instead, it turned into a frightened local society, with no significant culture, a one cylinder economy, a lack of entrepreneurship and an overall fading capability to lift itself out of this situation. In the best case, Hong Kong is a well managed high density storage and logistics system for about 7 million life human bodies - or a free trade zone in the Southern suburbs of Shenzhen. Given the expectations, what can be achieved with the experiment of Hong Kong, it is a compete system failure. Now some Hong Kongers might ask: what about the rule of law, the low levels of corruption, the superior education system ...? Sure, that's good. Make something out of it. And do not just maintain it, but bring it to the next level. Other Hong Kongers will blame it on the Mainland China. But the simple reality is, that non of the problems of Hong Kong has been induced by the Mainland. All self made problems. Just the opposite: without Mainland support and good will, Hong Kong would be gone by now. Hong Kong has nobody to blame, but itself.

The Lippo Center seen from one of my secret ways, from campus to the lecture halls at Admiralty. I developed my ways of moving around in Hong Kong, avoiding the buzz and staying in a nice environment. I call these the "Academic Ho-Chi-Min Paths".

We have spent the last two months in Hong Kong. I have lived before in a remote corner on Lamma Island, a small island in the South China Sea. Here there are no cars and no greed. And from there I watched Hong Kong and five years of my life passing by. Sometimes, back then sitting at the waterside with a cold bottle of Tsingtao beer, we joked that we are the third system in the one country, two systems debate. Now, when we return to Hong Kong, we stay on campus of The University of Hong Kong. The faculty guesthouse is again an island, remote from the reality of the buzzing city: on the slope to the Victoria Peak, hidden behind large Bauhinia trees. From here ambulated in the Academic Bermuda Triangle, spanning between library, lecture hall and long walks. And we got lost there for two months. It is always enjoyable and interesting. And more so, it feels like an important contribution to one of the last outstanding strengths of Hong Kong, which is education. So, we will return for that next year.

The Robert Black's College Guesthouse. Our temporary home in Hong Kong. Here is where visiting faculty and the Swire Scholars stay. It has the best fun breakfasts with consistent food choices (which never change), and a very nice team taking care of it all.

Constant travel

Global view in Amsterdam.

Travel became so much the norm for me now, that most of the path is described in my normal blog. There is no base from which I do "trips" now. But it is all one long journey, since the end of November 2014. Starting from Beijing, first some places Germany, then Amsterdam, Copenhagen. Then one month in Hong Kong, 6 weeks in Australia and New Zealand. Back to Germany. And now as I write these lines, I am sitting in London.

Sydney Rawson Institute for Seamen

Sometimes I try to make an analytical judgement on which might be a place to settle. But there are so many factors, which are completely random, but still making a deep impression. In the end it is more the what than the where, on which the decision will be based.

But a few things, I learned about travel itself. For example to stay in every place at least a week, if not a month. If you move around too much, you don't find the time to get things done, and you stay a tourist. Also it became quite conscious, that I don't like winters. They are cold, dark and you have to carry a lot of clothes. Traveling light is important: rather 15 kilograms, then 20. Also when you mix urban and real outdoor trips in one bag, this will get quite bulky and not appropriate for any of the two purposes. As we had to repurchase a lot of things, after our destroyed container from Beijing to Germany, this also lead to quite a "modernization". There are no heavy leather good or business suits any more. And when you live so minimalistic, you think twice, whether you buy a book on paper or electronically. I even have a luggage balance, with which I scale a pair of socks before I buy them. 

Impressed by EMBA Global Asia

Yesterday night I was invited to to the Hong Kong Four Seasons Hotel, and talk on the future of the Chinese Auto Industry. This was for the information session of EMBA Global Asia. It is a joined Executive MBA Programme of London Business School, Columbia Business School, and The University of Hong Kong School of Business. Back in 2008, when I was the Programme's Dean in Hong Kong, I already believed that we are creating something exceptional in Business Education: truly global, academically rigorous and a life changing experience far beyond the classroom. And when I met yesterday some of the alumni and prospect students, I was literally blown away. Under the restless effort of many people after my time involved, this has developed into one of the world's strongest Executive MBA-Progammes. It will be interesting where it will be in the rankings, once the time has come. The mother programme, EMBA Global, which is run unitedly by London Business School and Columbia University Business School, has been ranking world's number one in the Financial Times, just when EMBA Global Asia was launched. At that time, we always comforted ourselves that the ranking of the Asia stream will be still years ahead. But soon this time has come. And I am very confident, that the quality will be recognized also in the rankings.

Thank you and good bye

Last Saturday I taught the last class of my course on "Management Consulting" in the MBA Programme of The University of Hong Kong. As often said, you learn things by teaching them. It is because, you have to do the abstraction first, before you can teach. And in this case, I enjoyed it even more, because I had very smart students. My guest speakers, Joanne Ooi, Thomas Lesinski and Feibai made it even more colorful. Great fun. This, and of course the very nice faculty interaction at the Faculty of Business and Economics, made me decide that I will come back later this year. For now, it is time to say thank you and good bye. But  also, as it is a term in anglo-american environments: take care and stay in touch. And I mean it. 

PMBA6016 exhausted but still smiling at the end of an intensive course. 

After a whole day teaching on Saturday, our Sunday was quiet and we started off with a long morning walk up to the little and less visited summits around The Peak. I will resume on the basic concept of not working on weekends, I think. As our next stop is Australia, this will come quite naturally, I guess. In the afternoon, we went to a movie theatre to see a performance of National Theatre Live in London. It is really a great idea for a Performing Arts venue, to reach out to a world audience this war. Very well made.

We watched Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller. Watch trailer by clicking here. It was amazing. Of course, it is different than being in the theatre in London. But it also has its advantages, as you have the best angles through the camera and are not bound to your seat. The performance itself was spectacular. I was shivering in my seat, not because it is "horror", but because of the way the rather deep story was represented. Back to the campus, I swiftly signed up for their Newsletter (which I do rarely) and started to re-read Mary Shelley's novel. 

One month in Hong Kong

After heading for Europe from China, and enjoying the Christmas month in a traditional environment, we were heading for a month to Hong Kong. I have lived on Lamma Island for five years. Not surprisingly, this felt more like coming come than Germany. But also some things have changed since I left for Beijing at the end of 2011. 

Hong Kong view on a hazy day (which there are many) from the end of the first section of the Wilson Trail.

One remarkable change is the impact which the Occupy Central demonstrations had on the consciousness of many people I spoke with. No matter whether the person actually supported or disagreed with the initiative and its targets, it left marks in the understanding of the status quo. For example, a few years ago, when you asked people where they come from, they often quoted the origin of their family, for example: "I am from Guandong/Shanghai/Yunnan". Now, when you ask the same question, you mainly get the answer: "I am from Hong Kong". There are many reasons for this, which have nothing to do with the targets of the pro democracy demonstrations. But no matter why, this is not good news, as the identity gap between Hong Kong and its mother country has widened. Many people in Hong Kong are worried about the city's future. Economic reasons are prevailing for one group, as Hong Kong's economy is running only on one cylinder, which cripples most others. For others, the special rights Hong Kong has, are under threat. It is naive to believe that in a China where the Government consolidates its power and the country goes through a major transition with uncertain outcome, Hong Kong can really expand these rights. It will be hard enough, even only to preserve the status quo. Often I heard that Hong Kong would like to be the "democratic experiment" for China. But back when the agreement of "One Country, Two Systems" was formed, what was meant with two systems was Capitalism and Communism, not Democracy and Dictatorship. And as a "Capitalist Experiment", Hong Kong has failed, as the so-called free economy here, still tied up Adam Smith's invisible hand. So why should the "Democratic Experiment" work any better, in the eyes of the Beijing Government? 

My life in the University of Hong Kong, and as a guest on its campus, is of course very different from most people here. I enjoyed very much starting the days with breakfast in the company of other visiting faculty. As as friendships grow and old ones re-connect, I gathered again a sense of home here. Still very different from living on my island in the South China Sea, but close. Also, the very friendly welcome and the many helpful hands, made this stay very nice. Last but not least, I had a great class of postgraduate students to teach, which I really enjoyed. Still I also got reminded of the downsides of Hong Kong, specially the incredible noise pollution, and the often very closed mindset. I never understood how a city which is technically so open, can be so self centered. But as a short term visitor, surrounded with the forefront of Hong Kong academics and entrepreneurs, these downsides vanished into the backdrop and were easy to be ignored. 

I like Hong Kong. Not every part of it. But I like the country parks, as well as the narrow street canyons. It is a city that works, and people make the most out of their limited resources. In the end Hong Kong, is a city "on the rocks" - where no city would have been built, was there not an anomaly in history. It is a city that exists against the odds. And as long as it keeps its skills of doing so, it will be an interesting place to visit. 

Back to the classroom

Teaching my MBA Elective at HKU is great fun. It is a very nice class of smart and engaged students. Even the course covers the whole Saturday and is quite intense, a critical mass stays switched on all day. Given that some of them have a full time job aside, I really respect this level of energy. The Friday before, we had an excellent dinner with Maurice Tse, Sachin Tipnis and Josephine Chan. Under the leadership Dean Eric Chan, their team has built up the MBA Programme of the University of Hong Kong to the level that it was recently ranked Best Programme in Asia by The Economist. Given the intense competition in the region, this is really an outstanding achievement. I know this from my own previous experience with launching the EMBA Global Asia here in Hong Kong University. It is tough. So congratulations. Even rankings are not the only thing to look at, they do reflect the quality of delivery and design of educational programs, and last but not least the standard of students. And this time they are really good. Nice to be back to the classroom.

Getting ready for the next lecture on Sunday

First week in Hong Kong

Since I have arrived in Hong Hong I have been preparing course material, teaching a class of smart students at HKU, and catching up with friends. The week passed by very quickly, and perhaps I should have scheduled more than a month in town. But we can always come back. Yesterday, we visited my friend Magnus Barlett in his habitat on Lamma Island - the publisher of wonderful books and maps and owner of Odyssey Publishing Company. It is always a nice trip over to the island, specially off the beaten tracks. Sure, there is a bit of melancholy swinging for me when setting foot on the island. There were times I thought I should have never left it, perhaps like the pianist in the movie 1900. We had coffee on his sunny terrace and seafood, as you should never miss it, when you come here. Magnus' parents were painters and at his wall, in his study, he has a painting by his father, showing a bedroom in their house in Greece. It immediately resonated with me, like Chambre a Arles. I like it a lot.

Room in Greece (Bartlett Sr., as taken with a point and shoot camera on Magnus' wall - against the South China sea sunlight coming in from the right)

Last chance to see

Currently I am thinking about categories and the structure of a new photo website, which presumably comes life in mid 2013. It will be running parallel to this blog, but with a specialized dedication to photography. One of the categories I set up already has the title "Last chance to see", and is of course inspired by the book of Douglas Adams having the same name.

I was re-insured that it is good to take pictures of things, scenes and people which might disappear. So much does in Mainland China, but also elsewhere. On January 1st I opened the South China Morning Post and read, that from that day trawler fishing in Hong Kong waters is banned. This is for good reason, as it depletes the fish population, is indiscriminate and damages the seabed. But still I will miss the trawlers, which for me have been such a typical sight in Hong Kong. For years I watched them passing bye my window when I looked up from my desk, and I got used to the deep sound of their diesel engines. They were often a good object for a photo and I was not aware that when I take them, I record an endangered species of boat and profession.

On the fast ferry from Hong Kong to Macao on December 29th, I still saw many passing the outer island Cheung Chau. At that moment, I was not aware, that this was another "last chance to see".

Summing up Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a place to drop in, do your business, and leave again. It is designed to be used and not to be liked. And it is actually hard to like Hong Kong. It often calls itself a hub. And that's what it is: easy to get in and out, practical and convenient. Sometimes it also calls itself "Asia's World City". But this is wishful thinking. Hong Kong is an accounting trick. It efficiently processes millions of lives from the cradle to the grave. When you die, you just move into a smaller box. Life happens between a cramped flat, an office cubical and the Mass Transit Railway (MTR). This is not a city, but the most efficient storage system for life human bodies. A more pleasant reality people find on Facebook where they upload photos of their dinner plates sharing culinary pleasures with friends. The big moments in life are also posted: for example photos of the University graduation posing with academic gown and a "Hello Kitty" or wedding pictures when "prince and princess" are taken in front of the Luis Vuitton store. A carnival. Everything is just a costume to play something which they never become. You grow up very late in today's Hong Kong, if ever. It is an infantile society which's intellect is formed by local gossip tabloids and a view of the world which is framed by an iPhone and thick short sighted glasses.

For those who come for business though, Hong Kong is a great place. It has just enough regulation to keep things on the road. But what you do on the road, is absolutely up to you. Processes for everything are of breathtaking efficiency. Hong Kong is not really governed, but it is managed. And it is managed well. You find interesting people, who take advantage of this and have put Hong Kong on their list of places to operate. You "operate" in Hong Kong only. Other things you do elsewhere. But if you need to stay longer, there are still places to hide away, which are not converted into a shopping mall yet. Not many, but there are. And last but not least Hong Kong has wonderful islands and country parks - which are mostly empty, because the Hong Kongers live on Facebook and work long hours to pay off their overpriced flat. 

A bit like Graduating again

Just finished my second of 10 weeks summer teaching. After that I will be involved in more traveling and from December work again "in corporate", as my 5 years sabbatical is then over. This time feels a bit like decades ago when I went to work after graduation with thousands of ideas. Back then I was lucky to find environments that were very conducive in turning ideas into projects, products and profits. And I feel the same excitement when I will return to Volkwagen in December. Just a few differences are that I do not graduate from University, but I am a Professor. And then there is this strange difference, that I feel short breath when I run up a mountain and somehow 4 times 50 push ups as morning gymnastics don't come so easy any more. But other things come much easier.

Of course I am asked a lot, whether such a sabbatical "makes sense". Depends a bit on what "makes sense" means. Efficiency and "having new ideas" (I deliberately don't use the term "innovation") seem to be bi-polar forces. If you are only efficient by staying on the strait path then you have no new ideas. And if you only have new ideas, then you get nothing done. So, playing with both of them seems the key to "getting new things done". Perhaps this is the true sense of "creativity" in terms of creating something. And after 5 years being inefficient, I am exactly looking forward to do that: getting new ideas on the road - and I mean this not as a metaphor, but quite literally.

As I have just now the teaching load (that's how they call it strangely) of two tenured Professors (104 man weeks) in only 10 weeks, I am actually ten times more busy if you see it in teaching density. Having said that, I already see myself getting lynched on the lift to the Senior Common Room next week: "Did you just say we are lazy? ..." ... Nono, you are just so much more creative! Better have a drink. But only one for me, because I (!) have to get up early, haha!

Visit in the Ivory Tower

I have the privilege of staying in an Ivory Tower for 8 weeks, which is the Blacks College Guest House of The University of Hong Kong. At the breakfast table, I am surrounded by very nice people from all over the world, visiting the University. Some of them are “old fellows”, which mostly have spent their lives in academia, others are young academics who start this path. Because my own lectures are mostly in the evening, there is still time to run up to the Victoria Peak, do one or two rounds on the trail around it, and return. Summer has arrived and it is really a quite demanding exercise. On the way, mostly older Hong Kongers are doing similar routes - everybody at his/her own speed. The former Pinewood Battery plateau is a gymnastic an Tai Chi place in the early morning. People know each other, are relaxed and in a good mood and very friendly. Most of them are actually amazingly fit. Also some younger ones are up and running. But most of them have to get ready for their office cubical (and don’t like physical things anyway). But this seems to be “the other Hong Kong”, because these attributes are bipolar to what the city is in other parts. The scene reminded me of the movie “Morgens um Sieben ist die Welt noch in Ordnung” (At seven in the morning the world is still in order). I guess there must be an old Hong Kong Movie which describes better what I mean. Some of the fellows from the breakfast table, also run and walk around the steep forest slopes behind Pokfulam. Well, education is a way of life. And a nice one.

The University Museum and Art Gallery, which is hosting an exhibition called “Dance Melodies in Colors” featuring paintings of Lalan (Xie Jinglan, 1921-1995). The picture above shows, Enraged Tree, from 1969. It reminded me why I am here, and that the few weeks might be one of the last chances to explore the city a bit more. Let’s see, because the time will be also overpacked with lectures. I already witnessed the final round of the HSBC / McKinsey business case competition which was hosted by HKU and saw how the team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) outperformed all local competition easily. They were really great. The only team which came close was from Tsinghua University. They were also very good, but got caught in the final round by a topic, they were not familiar with (coffee farming in Laos). Anyway, both of the finalists: well done and congratulations to NUS.

Tonight I start my lectures off with “Decision and Risk Analysis”. This is always a fun course, because we have to bring so many dimensions together, ranging from the very technical to the very human. Students usually squeak a bit when it comes to maths. But in the end I hope some are convinced that the “scientific method” makes sense also for some unstructured problems.

Gewuerztraminer Made in Hong Kong

Going to a winery in Hong Kong should be impossible. But nothing like that is impossible in Hong Kong. In one of the old high rise factory buildings, which are so typical for the manufacturing past of this city, there a real winery. The grapes are harvested and frozen in Washington state and then shipped as a solid ice block. All wines are produced and bottled in Hong Kong. I specially liked the Gewuerztraminer.

In Unit 302, in the 3rd floor Harbor Industrial Center, 10 Hing Street, Ap Lei Chau, you would have never expected to find something like this: the www.the8estatewinery.com.