Amiram Hayardeny's My China Experience

About Communication and Responsibility

How many times did the following happen to you?  You read an email, talk to a person (sometimes a really close person), or listen to the news and... you frown.  You're lost, confused, upset, thrown, disappointed, sad, overly happy...  It is very likely that you have been subjected to miscommunication.

Communication is usually much more difficult than people think.  Actually, communicating is not very hard.  Everybody does it all the time.  But effective communication is a completely different story.  Getting your message across doesn't mean that you understand it correctly.  In fact, it means that everyone else understands it the way you intended it to be understood.  And that is not very easy.  There are many reasons why a message does not get across.  Language, context, noise, predisposition, to name a few.  You can easily find out if you can communicate effectively.  It's simple: just ask.  Try to express a point, a message to someone close.  Then ask them with directed questions whether they have received not only the "syntax" but also the semantics, the intention, the lines and what's in between them.  If you see that the message was received in its entirety - good for you.  Do it a few more times just to make sure, and pick different people: friends, family, in-laws and even pets.  If you realize that when you say to the family dog: "fetch", and the poor animal just gets on the floor and pretends to be dead - you may have a communication problem.

Miscommunication can be funny (http://www.chillnite.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/miscomm.jpg).  It can also be dangerous and even tragic.  Pilots try really hard to effectively communicate with the control tower at the airport.  Surgeons try hard to communicate with their teams in the O.R.

My point is that communication should be done in a very careful way.  In certain situations it is strongly advised to get help.  If you write an email to an important person, especially when the topic has high potential for misunderstanding, be thorough, polite, courteous.  If you make allegations - back them up with evidence.  If you have someone close whom you trust, ask for review, another pair of eyes will help.  The last thing you want is that your email is interpreted in a completely different way than you have intended.

I found the following article about  what communication is and the responsibility involved: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcom.html  I honestly think it should be mandatory reading for all of us.

Did I get my message across?

Posted at 02:21PM Jan 31, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[10]

If You Think You're Beaten - You Are

I can't remember for sure, but I must have been no more than six years old when I first heard this poem.  My father used to recite it to me every time I said something like "I can't", or "it's impossible".  A colleague came to see me the other day to discuss some managerial issues.  We talked about challenging people.  Like a classically conditioned Pavlovian dog, I found myself reciting the poem to myself.  It's interesting, my father must have recited this poem to me a thousand times.  He doesn't anymore.  He doesn't have to, I can do it myself...

When I left home to go to school, 20 years ago, I took this poem and framed it.  It has been hanging in my dorm room at the university, and in all my cubicles and offices I used ever since.  It is hanging in my Beijing office now, old-looking, yellow page, plastic covered.  But the message is clear.  I think it is time that I pass this on to my children, and my staff as well.

Lastly, I was always under the impression that this poem was written by Rudyard Kipling (The Jungle Book).  Apparently, this is a common mistake.  The poet who wrote this inspiring poem was Walter D. Wintle.

Posted at 09:54AM Jan 26, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[12]

The Sun is Rising!!!

Yes, this cliche is being heavily used by the news media in the last few days.  And although I usually resist using cliches, I thought that there was nothing better to describe this phenomenon.  I guess that some of the arguments will go to rest now: yes, Sun is alive and kicking, Sun is viable, Sun will be around for years to come, and yes, the Sun is rising...

By the way, I found a few other appropriate cliches: "Behind the clouds, the Sun is shining...", and "The Sun always shines after the rain...".

Two announcements were made this week.  The two are significant and historical.  Sun and Intel formed a strategic alliance.  Sun's financial report were better than analysts expected.  This is great news, and it reflects nothing but the ingenuity and hard work of Sun's staff around the globe, and the confidence the customers have in Sun.  We are looking forward to a great year of accomplishments and good results.
(Sun in the Black - Examiner.com)

Posted at 08:44AM Jan 24, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[0]

Strategic Alliance - Sun and Intel

This is going to be a very special entry.  After all, it doesn't happen every day, that the company you work for gets an incredible and very clear vote of confidence from another global technology leader.  Sun Microsystems announced a strategic agreement with Intel.  Intel has marked Solaris as a top-tier OS and is recommending Solaris as the mission critical Unix OS on Xeon processors.  Intel is also endorsing OpenSolaris, Open Java and the NetBeans IDE. 

According to the agreement, Intel will be able to distribute and support Solaris to its customers.  Sun will launch a line of servers based on Intel's Xeon processor.  For years we've been hearing the strange sounds of Wintel and Lintel.  I believe we will now hear more and more the refreshing sound of Solintel.  Solaris on Intel - sounds like a winner to me.

Obviously, the Web, the media, the news broadcasts have been reporting this item for the last 24 hours, at least.  It started as rumors (sources say), but very quickly it became a huge news item.  I am not going to bore you with my own analysis.  I chose the following link, because it comes from "LinuxInsider - Linux News & Information from around the world".  See for yourself.  For more, just google "Sun Intel" and go to the News tab.  There's plenty.  (LinuxInsider - Sun and Intel Agreement)

Posted at 08:39AM Jan 23, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[0]

Happy New Years 5767, 2007, The Year of the Pig...

Frankly, if someone would have told me a year ago that I will be living in China with my family working for Sun Microsystems, I would have thought he must not have taken his medication in the morning.  If that someone would have said that in a year I would be standing on stage doing stand-up comedy in front of 600 people, in Chinese, I would urge him to rush and commit themselves voluntarily to a closed mental hospital.  But here I was, in China, doing stand up, in Chinese.  And I am happy and proud of it.  Let me just tell you the story.

A few weeks back, my assistant asked me to take part in the annual party in celebration of the Chinese New Year.  I said yes, of course.  She is not someone you say "no" to.  She gave me a printout of what's called "San Jiu Ban", or "Three Sentences and a Half".  In short, four people stand on stage, 3 say a semi-funny line, and the fourth hits a gong, and delivers the short (half sentence) punch line.  Imagine this: four foreigners performing in front of hundreds of Chinese colleagues.  Surprisingly, it was very enjoyable, and if I may say so myself, successful.  Our mistakes were forgiven as soon as they were delivered, and there were a lot of laughs.  Some of the laughs, I am sure, were related to the contents of the lines...

But although our act was the "party opener", it was nothing short of negligible, compared with the rest of the performances.  It was incredible.  Over two hours of singing and dancing, acting and lucky number drawing.  There was Beijing Opera, piano recital, classic guitar, karaoke...  It was loaded, and all in good taste and well performed.  I can probably write tons about it, because both my wife and I were sitting there admiring the people, and yes, although it was almost not felt, the service and the food were great.

But I chose to focus only on a few observations.  We are so used to seeing the same people at work.  Serious, hard working, sometimes worried, polite.  It takes something completely different to be able to see the people you work with daily - in a completely different context.  I had never thought that my assistant could host an evening, beginning to end.  I never thought that if appropriately made up, she could be a Beijing Opera star, or a dancer.  I never thought that the manager of my Storage team has such a lovely voice, and that his teammates can perform a pretty song in such a beautiful way.  I never imagined the manager of my Network team wearing a funny hat and delivering the punch line in a "San Jiu Ban" act...  I had to practically remind myself that I was not watching professional performers, and that these guys are my colleagues, my office mates.  But that is exactly the point.  Never to forget that the people you work with are, before everything else - people.  People with personalities, families, hobbies, friends, and capabilities that might have nothing to do with work.  It was fun to see people with smiles, really happy, really proud, really appreciated.  I was proud to be part of them.

Another observation which was less of a surprise to me, was that teams who worked together, performed together.  It was great to see that teamwork found its way to the annual party.  People who play well together, work together very well.  I was impressed and happy.

Finally, it occurred to me that for the first time in my life, I will be celebrating three new years in a matter of a few months.  The Jewish New Year started in September, the Gregorian New Year started on January 1, and the Chinese begin on February 18.  Does this mean that I am getting older faster?  Were you born on the Year of the Pig?  1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007... (http://www.c-c-c.org/WebClass/zodiac/Pig.htm).

I hope it will not sound too corny if I thanked everyone at Sun Microsystems China Engineering and Research Institute for the opportunity to enjoy such a great evening.  Have a Wonderful New Year!

Posted at 06:02PM Jan 20, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[1]

Out of China Experiences

The following experience has nothing to do with my China experience.  But it has to do with with experience.  A bad one.  One that raises a lot of questions.  You can call me old fashioned, you can call me old school.  But I really like to talk to a reservations agent when I call an airline reservation line to make reservations.  Let me start with the conclusion.  If you were in the travel business, and you really wanted to drive your customers away to the competition, while annoying them to the point they are ready to scream, then this is how you do it.  Get an automated attendant on your toll free customer service line.  Not the simple one which only knows to point you in the right direction by reciting menus ad nausea.  The smart one.  The one which goes: "if you're calling to make a reservation, I can help you shop... let's get started".  "Are you calling for a reservation you've already made?".  If you don't answer, the thing changes the strategy and assumes that if you didn't respond to "made", you certainly will respond to "book".  "Are you calling for a reservation you already booked?".  If you ignore that question as well (remember, your goal is to talk to a live agent) it states: "I still don't understand" or "I didn't hear you".  Finally it actually gives up and hangs up on you: "Thanks for calling Foo Airlines, goodbye".

I can be a really really stubborn person when I put my mind to it.  So I did.  And I won, I got to speak to a live agent.  She was very courteous, and suggested to transfer me to the correct extension.  When I made a nasty comment about the automated attendant, she said that the complaints are coming from everywhere, that the agents pass them on to headquarters, and that it is beyond her control.  I believed her.

So this is what I get from this really frustrating interaction: If you have memories about companies who want to please their customers in whatever ways they can, wake up, smell the coffee.  It seems more like they waged a war on their customers, who want them to spend a fortune on hiring actual people to help drive the business.  If you can't make a reservation with a machine - go away, we don't want your business.

There was some bright side this week though.  Two weeks ago workers started to erect a bridge over the Fourth Ring Road in Beijing, for what seems to be an Airport Express train or subway.  They shut down two half lanes, which immediately created a congestion for 5 miles.  My trip home from work in the evening picked up an extra 30-40 minutes.  Are you familiar with the feeling of "what can I do, that's life", or the way it is put in Chinese - "Mei Banfa"?  I resigned myself to the fact that my trip back home from work will take an hour or more every day.  Monday evening I realized I was very wrong.  The pillars were planted in the ground, the bridge placed on top, and the lanes reopened.  No backed up traffic, back to the good old 30 minutes.  Miracles do happen.

Finally, as an avid watcher of House M.D., I want to state that he should go to prison and his license to practice medicine should be revoked.  His staff are pathetic, his friend (Dr. Wilson) his the most pathetic of them all.  And despite of his amazing ability to diagnose, his addiction and his attitude should keep him away from serving patients forever.  I said it, I now feel much better.

Posted at 11:26AM Jan 17, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[1]

A Memorable Evening in Beijing

Disclaimer: if you are into classical music, if you don't get excited over formal international events where heads of states are present, feel free to skip this one.

As for me, I had one of the most interesting, exciting, even exhilarating evenings in years.  The occasion: celebration of 15 years of diplomatic relations between The People's Republic of China and the State of Israel.  The venue: Century Theater in Chaoyang District.  Present: Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister of Israel, Beijing State Chancellor, the Israeli ambassador to China, military attaches in formal uniform, diplomatic corps from well over half the world, guests and an incredible combination of Israeli and Chinese performing artists.

The concert hall is beautiful.  One exception - there was no cellular reception, apparently imposed by active interference.  I respect the need for quiet during concerts, but I am really anxious when my children have no way of contacting me in case of emergency.  The evening started on time, which is an exception by Israeli standards.  There were a few speeches, short and concise, by the ambassador, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.  They all spoke about the similarities between the Jewish and the Chinese peoples.  I completely agree, by the way, that there are some strong similarities in history, tradition and culture.

By that time I was thinking to myself that it's an interesting irony, that only in Beijing, I am seeing the Prime Minister of Israel for the first time in my life.  Another thought was that I was grateful to have been invited to this exceptional event.

And then it really started.  If you have been to a concert before you know this feeling.  I vaguely remember it, but it's been too long ago.  The orchestra is settling down.  It seems that they purposefully play at random.  It sounds a lot like noise.  There is no order, no rhythm, no structure.  And then the conductor comes out, and there's this sudden silence and anticipation is in the air.  Maestro Omer Wellber (omer-wellber.com)  is young, really young, in fact he's almost guaranteed to be younger than any other person on stage.  Born in 1981, he is house conductor for the Israeli simphonette of Raanana, and assistant conductor of the New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv.  The orchestra (and the audience) waits, the conductor raises his hands, and then a miracle happens.  After all the chaos and cacophony, music, beautiful music is heard.  The juxtaposition is incredible.  My wife and I looked at each other and realized that we are both having the chills.  It was that beautiful.

We keep talking about teamwork all the time.  About team players and individualists.  When you go to a concert you realize: it is all about teamwork.  It doesn't matter how creative, skilled, any single player is.  The orchestra is about playing together, obeying the same rules, being tuned to each other, and being very attentive to the conductor.  This makes the difference between music and noise.  I was looking at it from above, it was nothing but amazing.  The players look at the notes in front of them (although it is obvious that they know it by heart), and they look closely at the conductor.  The conductor addresses them in what seem to be well recognized (perhaps common) gestures.  In a very subtle motion he tells them to get ready, and they pick up the instruments.  And then he makes another gesture, and they all play together, as one.  Imagine 30 violinists not only playing the same, but making the same movements.

I also noticed the order on stage.  Violins on the left, violas and cellos on the right.  Trumpets, clarinets, trombones in the back and behind all that a huge set of drums.

And it got better.  David Daor, an Israeli singer sang a few of his famous songs, along with some arias and musical songs.  Two Chinese singers, whose names I cannot remember, joined for some of the songs.  The combination was spectacular.

The evening ended roughly two hours after it started, it was an evening to remember.  My wife and I concluded that we are culturally deprived, that we must take some time to see more concerts, shows, and to listen to good music.  I am almost sure that we will still end up in front of the TV watching another episode of CSI: Las Vegas...

To comment directly: my.china.experience@gmail.com

Posted at 09:02AM Jan 12, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[0]

China Construction and my Back Yard

My family and I live in a nice apartment building in the north-east part of town.  Right next to the Chaoyang Park, if you are familiar with the area.  The entire neighborhood is no more than a few years old, and if you care to use your imagination, picture the following: 2 apartment building complexes, with roughly 8, 36 story buildings each, separated by a small "river".  When you try to picture the "river", don't try to see clear water running, with fish and trees on the banks.  I am not sure exactly what is the running liquid along the stream, but I am pretty sure that the water content is way less than 50%.  Anyway, when I moved in last April, my apartment building was sparsely inhabited, and the one across the river was not even finished.  Connecting the two sides of the river, was an old "bridge".  Again, do not try to picture the Golden Gate Bridge.  It only allowed cars to travel in one direction at a time, probably due to weight limits.  The problem was that once cars started to go in one direction, you could pretty much wait there, well, forever, before you could pass to the other side.  As the apartments were sold or rented, the traffic on the bridge became more and more significant, and some days it was simply impossible to even get home by car, the traffic was backed up to the cross street, a half a mile away.

I come from the middle-east.  In Israel, the above would have been the entire story.  Well, you could add another sentence: "the people living in the area complained to the mayor and to the authorities, but nothing was done, so they learned to use alternate routes, or stay at home".  But here in China, to my amazement, the story took a surprising turn.

One morning, a few trucks showed up, some heavy machinery, and a few dozens workers, and within 12 hours, the old bridge was gone.  They worked for another week to divert the running "water" to a small channel they dug, and then they started to do some real work.  They cleaned the area completely, and soon after that started the concrete work.  I will not go into great detail of the work that's done.  (Although I have to admit that my four year old son and I love to watch it from our 8th floor porch, and discuss the different machines, and plans).  What I do find fascinating is how swift it has been.  Quick decision making, planning and execution in a way I have never seen before.  I am confident that within a few weeks, we will have a brand new bridge, connecting the two parts of the neighborhood in a way which will make the traffic go a lot smoother.  Chapeau!

You may have realized already that I am a big fan of numbers and statistics.  I found this excellent (although somewhat old - about two years back) presentation from the U.S. Geological Survey about China's rapid growth.  I am confident that the numbers are slightly different now, and probably show more growth.  Here are some numbers:  China is number one globally in the production of the following minerals: Coal, Cement, Fluorspar, Aluminum, Antimony, Magnesium, Steel, Tin, Tungsten and Zinc.  It is not far behind on Copper and Lead.  In 1950 China produced no Hydraulic Cement.  In 1990 it was at 200 million metric tons (about one sixth of the global production), and in 2003 it produced 800 million metric tons (well over 40% of the global production and 8.5 times the US).
If you are interested, you can find the slides at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1374/2004-1374.pdf

In preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games, it seems that the entire city of Beijing is getting a face lift.  There's construction pretty much everywhere.  New roads, bridges, service roads, shopping malls, office and apartment buildings, new subway lines, a new airport terminal.  You name it, and it's being built, as we speak.  Someone told me, half jokingly, that China's national bird is the crane.  He said he wasn't sure anymore if the reference is to the flying crane, or the construction crane...

Back to the "hood".  The noise from the construction site is constant and never stops.  The site operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  At night, bright lights come up, and work continues, even at sub-zero temperatures.  I can't help but compare it to my home town, where a bridge like this one would be contemplated for 5 years, then will spend another 5 in committees, and sub-committees, and then will go to court for a couple of years, and then will end up being done by the contractor who put together the cheapest bid, and is coincidentally associated with the cousin of the official in the township responsible for construction.  It will be built for five years, opened up in a great ceremony, attended by all the town officials.  It will close the next day due to some mysterious cracks...

I hate to be so critical, but as I said, I can't help it.  I know, there's a price tag attached to the efficiency, but this is not the issue here.

Posted at 12:07PM Jan 10, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[1]

New Year's Observations

We are about to conclude our vacation in one of the most troubled regions on the planet.  The Middle East.  Need I say more?  Israel is in an actual state of war with the Palestinians, while at the same time it is trying to negotiate a peace treaty with the Palestinian state.  Unfortunately, the Palestinians have democratically elected Hamas to govern, which somewhat makes the situation a little more complicated, as Hamas is considered by many countries a terrorist organization.  Fath, the relatively liberal organization, formerly headed by Yasser Arafat (Nobel Laureate) was ousted in the latest election. 

Israel was also involved in a low scale war with the Hezbolla, a guerrilla organization in control of Southern Lebanon.  The result of this war were not very encouraging to Israel, and many Israelis are worried that a second round is imminent.

Syria is proposing a peace process, but almost nobody believes that the gesture is truthful.  The very same Syria is helping some "elements" pass through its borders on their way to Iraq, which is violence infested, effectively the terror capital of the world.
 
On top of all this, Iran is now working on the ultimate weapon...

Yet, when you visit in Tel Aviv you may think that this all happens elsewhere.  People go about their business, celebrating life as if the threats are on another planet.  I read an article in the local paper today.  It stated that Israelis should be commended (at least) on one thing.  On successfully leading a relatively normal life, while having to deal with these major problems.  Better yet.  Israel was recently upgraded to be the world's 36th largest economy (!) despite all the trouble.  (http://www.corporations.org/system/top100.html).  An interesting observation from this list, is that out of the world's largest 100 economies, 51 are corporations, and only 49 countries...

Lets leave all that regional middle eastern views aside and concentrate on the other stuff.  The visit.  It was too long, intense, jet lagged.  We ate too much, slept too little.  We have seen too many relatives, too little friends.  We drove too much (well over 1000 miles) and paid too much for the car rental (over $1000).  We brought too many gifts, and received too little.  We bought too much luggage back home - including over 50 children's books in Hebrew.  We flew too much (about twenty hours in the air).

Yet, it was a great visit.  We haven't seen the family in over six months, and it's amazing how quickly everyone takes their old place, and before you know it, you feel as if you have never left.  Old wounds open up, dead arguments come to life.  The bad news is that everyone is getting older, yes myself included.  My parents certainly look older.  When you see someone on a daily basis, you tend to miss the changes because they are so little.  But when you don't see someone for months, the difference is substantial, and yes, it is sad.  I won't go into the details, but it is sufficient to say that seeing your parents getting old is not a very pleasant sight.  I remember when my grandmother died, she was my last grandparent to pass away.  I was thinking to myself that I am now the second generation.  I must admit that I had a similar thought this time.

My brother who is the VP for Business Development for a major optical firm, is working hard, and is expecting his fourth girl.  My sister, who is a single mother and the head of  Research for a leading pharmaceutical firm is juggling children, a very funny Labrador, her work and a boyfriend.

And surprisingly or not, we missed Beijing.  As it turns out, your home is the place you define it to be.  We chose Beijing as our current home, and we missed it.  We missed the bed, the showers, the quiet, and the lack of relatives...  We're back, and we love it.  There's no place like home - probably the truest cliche.

So 2006 came and went.  2007 has started.  The two words that come to mind are "wish" and "hope".  I hope and wish that 2007 will bring world peace, that we are all healthy, happy and prosperous.  I really hope we will only hear good news all around.  And I hope to lose some weight too!

Happy and Peaceful New Year!

Posted at 07:31AM Jan 04, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[0]