The last decade has been a period of extreme confidence.  All the markets continued to rise and rise for the majority of the decade.  We were told to believe in ourselves, we learnt that investing was a necessary behaviour to grow wealth, we made business decisions based on the high point of our revenue, and the environment was one where more wealth was created than any previous decade.  Some of the numbers during the last 10 years were staggering – there were more new cars sold, there were more property transactions, there were more people in employment, the average earning capacity of an individual rose to record levels and more wealth was created in the last 10 years than in the previous 50 years.  So when you reach such highs, why did the sudden drop come so unexpectedly? 

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I recently spent time in New Delhi, India and I was fortunate to be hosted for a lunch at a traditional Indian restaurant. 

When you are in someone else’s country you are effectively in someone else’s culture.  We got to talking about languages and the traditions that surround the use of language.  Over the past 10 years English has become a preferred teaching language in India, to the stage where many parents who can afford it send their children to international schools to ensure their children have exposure to English. 

The interesting point about this is that when a generation is being taught a new language then the gap between the generations becomes wider.  But from talking with my hosts, there is an upside and that is the desire to understand culture has never been greater.  His children want to know and ask a lot of questions about Hindu traditions and they want to learn more about what their parents and grandparents have done in the past.  Is the past considered important enough to the future? 

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As 2009 draws to a close I start to think about the year that I have had and the year that lye’s ahead. It is my time to take responsibility. What sort of year have I had and how will I take ownership of it? My book deliver is inspired through a letter that I write to myself each year. In 2007 one commitment I made to myself was to complete a book – a collection of writings for me. Little did I know that Deliver my book would be the outcome in April 2009.

I can attribute many achievements and positives from writing my own letter. It is my self ownership. It is my transparent life on paper for me.

I begin to think about my letter now and I will write it prior to the end of the year.

My letter is headed up ‘Dear Carey’. It now has 5 headings I included an additional heading ‘MyPromises’ in 2008

1. 2009 My Year
2. 2010 Family 
3. 2010 Health 
4. 2010 Work
5. 2010 My Promises                     

Then I will open up my letter from last year. I know what it is in that letter but it has remained sealed from the day I signed it. Anything that I do not remember has not been important. I have much to be thankful for in 2009.

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This week I had the pleasure of being involved with the signing of our first Indian retail real estate business which will be located in Delhi, India.  The signing ceremony was attended by the Chairman of our company together with our Financial Controller and the two parties from India.  As we sat down and talked about the final stages of the Agreement, we were about to sign and the Indian parties said “we just need to hold for a moment”.  They went to the corner of the room and had a short discussion then they came back and we all proceeded to sign the documents. 

We then exchanged the documents, and I then went to shake hands but immediately the senior person from the Indian delegation got up, came around to my side of the table and gave me a hug but held on for longer than I expected.  He then went around the table and did this with each person in attendance from our side.  I suddenly learnt that expressions of gratitude are very much part of a cultural understanding and while the agreement will remain as part of confirmation that we have a relationship, the gesture to bring his culture to ours seemed to give the agreement and the relationship so much more.   The way we do things is to shake hands – I wonder what that would have meant to them?

I ask him later why did he have a short discussion before he signed – he said to ensure the order of gratitude.

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What is the ideal balance between Speed and Perfection? The pressure is on more and more in regards to the need for speed.  In the day and age of transportable information the use of speed should be something that benefits us all.  Has it increased or decreased our productivity? 

Currently I am working on implementing changes to our business because of new legislation that is coming into place over the next 4 weeks.  One of the documents is an Independent Contractors Agreement which will be used across our company for our sales team.  I am working with a legal person who I expect to ensure that this document is perfect (in the sense of the word being able to protect us), but I am also working to a timeline, and it brings forward the question of the need for speed but also for perfection. 

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