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Dear friends,

Have you noticed how we all have changed during recent years and I do not mean that we have got more grey hair, at least some of us, or that we actually are older. I'm thinking of how we act during meetings. 20 years ago or even 10 years ago we paid attention during meetings. We took a break when it what scheduled and we normally took care of whatever telephone call or other matter during that break.

How about now? If you look around a meeting or conference hall today you can see most attendees busy on their Blackberrys, IPads, lap-tops or other devices.

Is this showing that you are interested or that you contribute to the meeting?
What is more important, is that respect to the person or persons that are talking??!!

I have seen participants that do not let go of the Blackberry for one single moment during a meeting, I have seen the use of IPads being used constantly during meetings. What is also becoming more and more frequent especially in larger meetings is that independent discussions start amongst the delegates resulting in everyone getting disturbed.
Now you will most likely say that I do the same which I have to agree is true. I do act the same way during meetings and I think this is showing how bad it has become. I have advocated for a long time that this is a very bad habit and I very clearly have the view that all these devices should be left alone during meeting, still I act the same way!
It is now my clear view that we should respect the meeting, this would benefit all of us!
The next meeting I attend my Blackberry will stay in my pocket

Once upon a time I used to travel quite a lot to Turkey, and especially than to Istanbul. I have not been there for many years now, so I am not sure if it is as fascinating as it used to be. At the time you could really feel and see how east meet west at the Bosphorus strait.

I am very much interested in history, buy I am not really a museum guy. IMHO most museums make history quite boring. Of course there are very good exceptions around the world but generally speaking I stick to my opinion. In Istanbul though there are many exceptions from this general rule. Topkapi with the harem and the treasury chamber is one of the most fascinating places I have seen and so is Agia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the subterranean water reservoir.

Although the coved bazar, close to Topkapi and Agia Sophia, is not a museum I have to say it's like being moved back in history when entering this maze of shops inside a building that was erected sometime during the 15th century. If you want to buy gold, rugs or antiques from the orient this is THE place to go.

And it was here, in a gold shop, I met the best sales man in the world, maybe of all times.

My wife was about to have an even birthday and I thought I should have a look at and maybe buy her some jewelry when in Istanbul. So I went to the covered bazar and entered in to a shop that had pictures of Bjorn Borg and some Swedish politicians on the wall showing how they, with a big smile, bought jewelry in this particular shop. Quite trust worthy indeed.

Got contact with one of the sales guys and told him I was interested in buying a ring - tiffany style. No problem at all. He draw a picture based upon my description and since the design looked really good I approved it. Three days later I could pick up the ring and it looked just as nice as on the picture. The ring made quite a success at my wife's birthday, so you could say I was quite a happy customer.

Four years later we had our first child and a couple of weeks after the birth of my daughter I found myself in Istanbul once again. I had some spare time so I thought I would go to the covered bazar and see if I could find a birth gift (don't know if you say like that in English but I guess you get the meaning) to my wife. Thought it would be a good idea to buy a pair of earrings in the same style as the ring I had bought four years earlier.

Of course I went to the same shop - nice service and good craftsmanship is always a good basis for recurring business. When arriving to the shop it was full of American tourists busy checking in the merchandise and discussing with the sales persons behind the counters.

At the back of the shop I spotted the same guy I bought the ring from four years earlier. He was quite busy servicing an American lady, but since he did such a good job with the ring I decided to wait till he had finished the business with the American lady. So I kept a low profile at the entrance of the the shop, waiting for my turn.

After abut five minutes my guy suddenly looked up and in to the shop, scanned the customers waiting and then his eyes stopped on me and ....

"Mr. Hakan! You are back!" he shouted out in the shop. I was looking around to see if there were anyone else he could have addressed, but it was quite obvious he meant me.

"It's impossible", I said.

"You can not remember me! It's four years since I was here".

"Of course I remember you Mr. Hakan. One month after you were hear I had my first child, a son, and I baptized him to Hakan. Of course I remember you!"

"Wow, that was very nice of you, but still ....".

"Baptizing his son after me", well, that sounded a bit to much of a sales trick to me.

"Wait, wait", he said, "I make a drawing of all the items we produce and sell. I'll show you."

He ran off to one of the counters and picked up a little black book and then came back to me.

"Look, look" he said. And there it was, a sketch of the ring I bought four years ago and along side the sketch a neat little note that said "Sold to a Swedish gentleman named Hakan".

Did I buy a pair of earrings to my wife from this sales man? Of course I did! Did I pay to much? Of course I did not! I paid exactly what I thought it to be worth, no more or no less. And to me it was worth quite a lot to be recognized as Mr. Hakan in this gold shop in the covered bazar in Istanbul!

During breakfast today I read in the morning paper that work career will peak when you get 44 years old. This really worries me! Not because I am concerned about what will happen myself because I passed 44 almost 10 years ago. I do not believe my career was at the top 10 years ago but possible some of you might have a different opinion.

What worries me more is the general views that are put forward and the lack of respect for people with experience and knowledge. At 44 you would have been in worklife for roughly 20 years and you have at least 20 years to go before retirement. During the first 20 years you gain a lot of experience and routine. During the next 20 years you can really put all your experience to work and be very valuable to your company. It is my great hope that younger associates in a company view older colleagues as an asset and not the other way around.

Of course it is of extreme importance that you even after 44 continue to grow with the time and actively follow the development. It really worries me if a general attitude of age discrimination spreads and that we will have situation where those that are below 40 will have the view that everyone above 50 is past his or hers best date and even more worrying if all above 44 will see themselves as on their way to retirement. We need a combination of young and older competences in a company and it is really important that those over 44 really see the how important they are.

By the end of March this year, China's FX reserves amounts to the dizzying figure of three trillion dollars. Imagine the shopping spree China's central bank could go on instead of buying boring American government securities.

How about buying Apple, Microsoft, Google and IBM and still have more than two trillion left? Throw in all real estate in Manhattan and Washington DC, the 50 most valuable sports teams and they still have a huge pile of money left. Amazing!

What would you invest in?


(Image from the Economist Article)

Read the full Economist article Who wants to be a triple trillionaire?

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Sibos was officially opened by the Tieto Sunday party yesterday evening. Some 150 people attended the party held on a boat in one of the Amsterdam canals. Now I'm in the huge conference center RAI. This is my first Sibos conference and this is really something different from the Eurofinance's I've been to over the years. Just the size of it - some 8000 delegates! It immediately becomes very clear that this is about networking. There is a really comprehensive programme with lots of interesting presentations, panels and discussions. But, networking is the key thing here. I have never had so many meetings booked in one day before. And the number of cocktail receptions and night clubs invitations I've received... You would have to clone yourself to be able to attend half of it. This is going to be fun! Cheers, Niclas.