I'm in Hong Kong en route to China.  It's my second trip to China in the last year.  Of the many aspects of my work with Evergreen IP and its offshoot, TrashCo Inc., the opportunity to travel to this part of the world has been among the most interesting.

I've come to understand the capacity to get work done a function of capability and resources.  Capability, in turn, might be thought of as a function of skill and attitude.  When it comes to doing the iterative, hard work of developing the multiple innovations required to bring a new consumer product to market, the people we've worked with in China have a positive attitude that overshadows any immediate shortcomings (relative to American or European counterparts) in skill and technology.  Funny thing--actually doing innovative work tends to increase skill.  We all read about it, but my colleagues and I have been able to observe the increase in the capabilities and capacities of Chinese manufacturers.

On the one hand, I'm thrilled, because our success depends upon having access to such capacities.  On the other hand, it's annoying--because we've interacted with many American manufacturing firms that have relatively high skills and resources, but their effective capacity is limited because they have an overly conservative attitude that is excacerbated by confusion between uncertainty and risk.

Business took me on a whirlwind trip to China last week.  With a Mandarin-speaking colleague, we swept up and down the coast from Hong Kong to Shanghai and back.  I was on nine plane flights in seven days plus an untold number of taxis, subways, buses, and trains (including the Maglev in Shanghai).  I'm still buzzing.

Sylvie is at ski race camp on Blackcomb Glacier in Whistler, British Columbia.  Shelley, Sean, and I didn't want to be left out, so we've been touring BC while Sylvie is at camp.  Our travels to date have included stops in Castlegar, Osoyoos, Vancouver, Whistler, Nanaimo, Victoria, and Burnaby.  If you haven't visited BC, you should.  It's as spectacular as it is immense.  (BC is two and a half times larger than Montana.)  Check out the snapshots elsewhere on this site.

Last week, my partner John Funk and I had the opportunity to speak at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.  Shelley, Sylvie, and Sean were able to join me for a somewhat extended trip.  The itinerary included a limo ride, a stay at the InterContinental Hotel, shopping along Michigan Avenue, a visit to the Shedd Aquarium, a tour of the Art Institute, a ride to the top of the Sears Tower, good food, and lots of walking.  We had a blast!

Last Sunday, we awoke expecting to travel to Seeley Lake for our annual stay at the Tamaracks Resort with family and friends.  Unfortunately, the Jocko fire blew up overnight, and we were waved off by the proprietors.  However, we re-grouped, purchased camping supplies, and joined the Cole, Smithgall, and Tronson families at Hauser Lake.

 

The kids got to do a lot of waterskiing.  Sean learned how to cross the wake, and Sylvie was able to do a deep water start on a slalom ski for the first time!