Getting published is easy; getting noticed is trickier; How can writers make themselves heard in the age of blog and self-publishing saturation?

Getting published is easy; getting noticed is trickier

How can writers make themselves heard in the age of blog and self-publishing saturation? Japan authors offer a diverse range of views

BY GIANNI SIMONE

OCT 28, 2013

“Writers shouldn’t be afraid of using their imagination,” Hugh Ashton says, before launching into a quote from Sherlock Holmes: “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” Ashton, a Japan-based author of new Holmes material and other novels, takes the sleuth’s words very seriously. “I find his character and working practices can be applied to the writer’s trade,” he says. “Indeed, as long as the plot has some plausibility, it’s a good plot. There are some very strange things that happen in real life, after all,” he adds, explaining the message he takes from the words of Arthur Conan Doyle’s best-known character. Read more of this post

Walking the leadership tightrope

Walking the leadership tightrope

PUBLISHED: 4 HOURS 21 MINUTES AGO | UPDATE: 0 HOUR 6 MINUTES AGO

LYNDA GRATTON

If you’re a business leader today, you’re working to understand and balance the perspectives of an unprecedented variety of stakeholders, from NGOs that are becoming more voracious in their demands to workers who are increasingly hard to engage. And you’re doing so in a world that is more transparent and connected than ever before. It’s a tough challenge. I found myself reflecting on this recently while speaking with two business leaders in one of the world’s great pharmaceutical companies. The conversation turned to the growing complexity of the business environment, and the question was inevitably posed: what had I, as a business professor, managed to figure out about what it takes to succeed under such conditions? In no particular order, here are my thoughts: Read more of this post

The chairman of Tsui Wah Holdings (1314), Lee Yuen-hong, was but a humble cha chaan teng delivery boy when he started his working life in the 1960s

Serving up success
Karen Chiu
Monday, October 28, 2013

The chairman of Tsui Wah Holdings (1314), Lee Yuen-hong, was but a humble cha chaan teng delivery boy when he started his working life in the 1960s. But through sheer hard work and perseverance, the 58-year-old is now the proud owner of the listed Tsui Wah chain, boasting 25 cha chaan teng in the territory, one in Macau and eight in the mainland. What sets Tsui Wah apart from other cha chaan teng is the ethos that Lee upholds. We have used our heart to keep the taste of local favorites at our eatery for nearly five decades, even in the face of challenges, Lee says, noting how the chain has evolved in an innovative manner to stay in step with the rapidly changing eating habits of Hongkongers. Read more of this post

Top bosses fear striking out; Increasing shareholder scrutiny is leading to a drop in top executives’ fixed pay

Top bosses fear striking out

October 27, 2013

John Collett

Increasing shareholder scrutiny is leading to a drop in top executives’ fixed pay.

Just the threat of facing a second strike makes directors more accountable. Photo: Jessica Shapiro

Rule changes to give shareholders more say over the pay arrangements of top executives are reining in excessive pay packets, according to researchers at Griffith University. The ”two-strikes” rule was legislated in 2011, and there is evidence that executive compensation is being curbed and boards of directors are paying more attention to shareholder views, says Associate Professor Reza Monem from the Griffith Business School. Read more of this post

How not to be a boss like Kevin Rudd; Don’t take all the glory or blame others for your mistakes. “The best companies are run from the bottom up. Rudd never recognised that. That was his mistake.”

How not to be a boss like Kevin Rudd

October 24, 2013

Adam Courtenay

Don’t take all the glory or blame others for your mistakes. Alex Hamill says it’s not uncommon to find bastards in leadership positions. It took just one word from former attorney-general Nicola Roxon to question not only the character of Kevin Rudd but his leadership. Delivering the John Button Memorial Lecture this month, Roxon called her former boss a “bastard”. The party never addressed his management problems or explained properly why he was dumped in favour of Julia Gillard, she said.

“The best companies are run from the bottom up. Rudd never recognised that. That was his mistake.”  Read more of this post

Getting published is easy; getting noticed is trickier; How can writers make themselves heard in the age of blog and self-publishing saturation?

Getting published is easy; getting noticed is trickier

How can writers make themselves heard in the age of blog and self-publishing saturation? Japan authors offer a diverse range of views

BY GIANNI SIMONE

OCT 28, 2013

“Writers shouldn’t be afraid of using their imagination,” Hugh Ashton says, before launching into a quote from Sherlock Holmes: “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” Ashton, a Japan-based author of new Holmes material and other novels, takes the sleuth’s words very seriously. “I find his character and working practices can be applied to the writer’s trade,” he says. “Indeed, as long as the plot has some plausibility, it’s a good plot. There are some very strange things that happen in real life, after all,” he adds, explaining the message he takes from the words of Arthur Conan Doyle’s best-known character. Read more of this post

How Anxiety Can Lead Your Decisions Astray

How Anxiety Can Lead Your Decisions Astray

by Francesca Gino  |   8:00 AM October 29, 2013

High-stakes decisions — which can range from starting a business to consummating a joint venture to hiring or firing someone — have something in common: they involve high levels of uncertainty. When so much is unknown or unknowable, trying to decide what the right course of action might be triggers anxiety. In response, many of us seek the counsel of others to help us make these weighty decisions. Read more of this post

The Big Lesson from Twelve Good Decisions

The Big Lesson from Twelve Good Decisions

by Tom Davenport  |   8:00 AM October 28, 2013

How is it that managers facing high-stakes decisions, despite all the resources and knowledge available to them, often make them so poorly?  In large part, it’s because their whole perspective on decision-making is wrong. Managers think of major decisions as choices they must make in order for the work of the organization to proceed. The truth is that decision-making is work.  This simple shift in perspective – seeing big decisions as tasks to be managed – has huge implications. It means they should be approached with the same level of discipline and direction good managers bring to other areas.  It means everyone understands that decisions improve when the right people, tools, and processes are brought to bear on them. Read more of this post

In New York, How to Hothouse Your Tot; The pursuit of educational excellence is so competitive in New York that some babies are given personal tuition in French and Chinese, and four-year-olds are hothoused for the best schools

In New York, How to Hothouse Your Tot

The pursuit of educational excellence is so competitive in New York that some babies are given personal tuition in French and Chinese, and four-year-olds are hothoused for the best schools.

By Veronique Dupont on 10:24 am October 28, 2013.
New York City. The pursuit of educational excellence is so competitive in New York that some babies are given personal tuition in French and Chinese, and four-year-olds are hothoused for the best schools. Some of the richest, most competitive, most fashionable parents on the planet leave no stone unturned in the fight to provide their children with the upper hand. Babies who cannot even form sentences in their native English are signed up to “baby and me” lessons in Chinese or French in the ultra-trendy TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan. Read more of this post

Nature’s own walls, like reefs and marshes, have appeal and provide many other benefits, but questions remain on how much protection they would provide, especially in a major storm

October 28, 2013

Natural Allies for the Next Sandy

By HENRY FOUNTAIN

The floodwaters from Hurricane Sandy had barely receded in New York last fall when the suggestions started coming for ways to keep the city and other low-lying areas safe in future storms. Higher flood walls and more bulkheads were needed, some experts said. Others called for even bigger engineering projects, like storm-surge barriers, to keep the water at bay. But the most intriguing suggestions involved natural approaches. Why not return New York to its glory days as an oyster capital, some argued, and build reefs in the harbor that could help beat down a storm’s waves? Why not turn Lower Manhattan into an aquatic Shangri-La, fringing it in marshland that could reduce surging storm waters? Read more of this post

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone made “corrupt bargain” in bid to stay in position of influence in sport, court told

Bernie Ecclestone made ‘corrupt bargain’ to cling to power in Formula One

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone made “corrupt bargain” in bid to stay in position of influence in sport, court told

A German media company which claims it lost out as a result of the deal is taking legal action against Mr Ecclestone Photo: REX FEATURES

2:45PM GMT 29 Oct 2013

Bernie Ecclestone, the boss of Formula 1 motor racing, made a “corrupt bargain” in a bid to stay in a position of influence in the sport, the High Court has been told. Mr Ecclestone allegedly entered into an agreement with a banker to facilitate the sale of the Formula 1 group to a buyer chosen by him, Mr Justice Newey heard at the hearing in London. A German media company which claims it lost out as a result of the deal is taking legal action against Mr Ecclestone. Read more of this post

Giant mirrors bring winter sun to remote Norwegian village

Giant mirrors bring winter sun to remote Norwegian village

BY PIERRE-HENRY DESHAYES

AFP-JIJI OCT 29, 2013

Sunrise: Three giant mirrors erected on the mountainside above Rjukan, Norway, reflect sunshine toward the center of the town below. | AFP-JIJI

OSLO – Residents of a remote village nestled in a steep-sided valley in southern Norway are about to enjoy winter sunlight for the first time ever thanks to giant mirrors. The mountains that surround the village of Rjukan are far from Himalayan, but they are high enough to deprive its 3,500 inhabitants of direct sunlight for six months a year. That was before a century-old idea, as old as Rjukan itself, was brought to life: to install mirrors on a 400-meter high peak to deflect sunrays toward the central square. “The idea was a little crazy, but madness is our middle name,” said Oeystein Haugan, a local project coordinator. Read more of this post

A hard look at Paul Reichmann’s long goodbye

A hard look at Paul Reichmann’s long goodbye

Peter Foster | 27/10/13 4:15 PM ET
The following Peter Foster column appeared September 22, 2009, as Paul Reichmann was about to loose control of the last vestiges of his retail empire.  Mr. Reichmann , 82, died last week.

Paul Reichmann was once the reigning genius not merely of Canadian business but of the global real estate industry. Now he is reportedly about to lose his stake in Canary Wharf, the spectacular London development whose construction sunk Olympia & York, the company he controlled, in 1991. His 8.45% share was apparently pledged as collateral for a loan that has been called. Read more of this post

There has been a sharp rise in the number of children receiving medical consultations for emotional problems, an expert said

Pressures pile on kids
Staff reporters
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

There has been a sharp rise in the number of children receiving medical consultations for emotional problems, an expert said. Psychiatrist Kathy Chan Po-man said she is now handling at least one such case every month as against one very several months 10 years ago. One out of every four children she treats is below the age of eight. Read more of this post