UK Law Update – Living With a Cat or Dog at Home – Things to Consider as a Tenant?

November 23, 2020

One of the major problems that tenants have had in the rental sector over the years is that the vast majority of landlords do not allow cats and dogs. This could all be about to change, though, as The Mirror has reported that Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell has launched a bill in Parliament that would ban landlords from rejecting tenants that want to live with pets.

Rosindell commented on the current situation:

“Sadly, pet owners moving into rented accommodation face the reality that their family could be torn apart because most landlords have unnecessary bans on pet ownership.”

Benefits of Pet Ownership

The bill is due for a second reading as soon as January and if it reaches Royal Assent later in the year it could completely transform the rental sector and the lives of many. Many people in the UK want to own pets but have been unable to due to their tenancy agreement but this could all change in the near future. It is proven that pets can improve mental and even physical health, so this is fantastic news for many and could lead to a much happier and healthier generation of renters.

A Large Responsibility

While being able to live with a pet could certainly enrich the lives of many, iit is also important to note that pet ownership is a huge responsibility and not a decision that should be taken lightly (especially when it comes to dogs) and choosing the right dog breed to take care of. People need to decide whether they are in the right place in their life for a pet and if they will be able to give it the care and attention that it needs. In a time with so many people now working from home, it is likely that people will be more inclined to buy a pet but it is not just time that you need to be able to provide. If you returned to regular office hours after the pandemic, consider a doggy day care centre instead of leaving your pup at home all day.

Having a Suitable Space

People must also consider whether or not they have a suitable home for their pet. If you have a small flat with no garden, for example, then a dog might not be the best idea even if it could soon be legal for renters. People will need to make sure that they have a suitable space to look after their pet of choice but it is also important to factor in the property itself.

Protection

While this new bill might make it legal for tenants to own a cat or dog, you certainly do not want to get a pet only for it to cause damage which could harm your relationship with the landlord as well as lead to deductions from your deposit – if the bill passes, it could certainly muddy the waters when it comes to tenancy contracts which is why it will be so important to have adequate tenant insurance in place and to know your rights.

The bill now has cross-party support and this could be a huge plus for renters in the near future. While there are many benefits to pet ownership, it is still important that renters make sure that it is the right decision for them and make sure that the property is protected and suitable.

Go to top

COVID-19 Global Economic Impact

November 23, 2020

Today, the losses of the world economy from the COVID-19 pandemic are estimated by various experts at $ 4-5 trillion, but there is also an estimate of losses at $ 8, and even at $ 11 trillion. Time will show what these losses will be in reality, but it is already obvious that in the next 2 years the world will face both direct and indirect consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

Industries hit hardest by the global crisis

First of all, COVID-19 will hit such industries as:

– international trade;

– transport (air and auto);

– tourism, hotels, and restaurants;

– offline services and entertainment (hairdressing, fitness, sports, theater, cinema, etc.).

But there are also “lucky ones”:

– local e-commerce, especially groceries and ready meals;

– food delivery services;

– online entertainment;

– production and sale of medicines and remedies;

– remote medical consultations, tutoring.

A significant part of the financial industry, including stock exchanges, can also find positive aspects for itself in the current situation. For example, over the past few months, trading volumes in the Forex and CFD markets have significantly increased.

The oil industry deserves special mention, which, by some fatal coincidence, went into a tailspin after the unsuccessful negotiations of the OPEC + countries and in the same days when the explosive spread of COVID-19 began in Europe and the United States. Many small and medium-sized companies engaged in the production, transportation, and sale of oil may not survive this crisis, but those who remain will gladly share the vacated business niche.

World economic decline in 2020

It is too early to make forecasts for the United States and Europe, but for Southeast Asia, including China, there is already an estimate by the World Bank – from 5.8 to 2.1%, and in a negative scenario, even to minus 0.5%.

But the main question is still not how much the economy of the world or a particular country will slow down. More important is how the economy will look after the epidemic, whether it will be able to return to its original form, albeit losing a few percent of growth.

And there is no obvious answer yet.

Click on the infographic to view the interactive version (via BlackjackOnlineCasinos.net)

Go to top

When to Hire Tax Professional In Place of FREE Software

November 23, 2020

“The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility and flow of risk capital from static to more dynamic situations, the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth of the economy.” – John F. Kennedy

Tax preparation and payment are some of the mandatory activities adding value to one’s overall creditworthiness and country’s economy. Still, people often make efforts to neglect to pay the wholesome tax amount considering it as a loss of their hard-earned money. But when you wake up to the realities, you realize that it was a myth.

Another fact associated with tax preparation is that hiring professionals can be extravagant, therefore prepare and file tax on your own. There is a fine line between seeking a professional’s assistance and filing your own tax papers. A minor mistake can turn into a major hassle ruining your credit score or financial status forever.

Difference between professional help and DIY (do it yourself) tax preparation

Financial documentation is a bit delicate and technical; thus, it requires professional help. Plus, there are some financial terms and conditions which are hard-to-understand for a layman. Therefore, it is advisable to seek professional help rather than juggling with the papers. Yet, if you are opting for preparing and filing tax papers on your own, consider asking yourself three questions –

How much will it cost to hire a professional tax accountant?
How much time do you have to prepare tax papers?
Are you familiar with the financial and tax-related terms?

Tax documentation and filing isn’t as easy as 1, 2, and 3. From circumstances to accounting complexity, countless reasons are explaining why you need a professional tax accountant. They don’t just help you get access to creative tax solutions but suggest the safest financial plan suiting your financial status. You, as a layman, may take years to explore financial benefits which a professional can explain in the first year of filing tax returns.

Who requires the professional assistance of a tax preparer?

A professional earning an income that comes income tax bracket
A small or mid-scale business owner. Here, no matter if you are an IT business owner or run a retail store, associating with a professional for being financially sound, is a must.
Those who are about to buy a home and require a hefty loan
Freelancers thinking to kick-start a venture.
Those thinking to invest in a business or large-scale assets

Types of tax professionals to know about

CPA (Certified Public Accountants)
Enrolled Agents
Tax attorneys

The final word

Accountants and tax-related matters do demand concentration and a higher degree of financial understanding. This makes it necessary to associate with a tax preparation and filing expert having a thorough knowledge and helping you sail through the tax-related hassles. In the initial stage, going for experimental DIYs can work, but when it comes to making investment decisions and preparing tax returns, you require assistance. So, rather than juggling with financial terms and papers, seek expert’s assistance.

Go to top

What Children can teach us about Leadership: Seeing both the Trees and The Forest

November 23, 2020

By David De Cremer and Hannah De Cremer

Leadership and management are two different things. Managing a work force today implies taking up the role of a controller in which on a weekly basis metrics are used to evaluate employees in how they execute the tasks that they need to do. Managers keep the boat steady and try to minimize disruption as much as possible. Leaders, in contrast, live because of disruption. Indeed, leadership is needed when the boat is rocking and change is needed. Change implies that the situation we used to know will be different in the future and this transformation process needs to be guided. It’s in that transformation phase that leaders create value for their organization. They do so by pointing out the direction that should be taken, for what reason we need to do so, how we will do this, and, finally, what kind of value it will bring to the organization as a whole.

For obvious reasons, people feel uncertain in times of change and leaders then also face many challenges when motivating them to contribute positively to the transformation process. A specific challenge that leaders face is to make everyone part of the transformation journey by being able to clearly communicate the overall picture of why the organization is changing and at the same time still be guiding the daily activities and responsibilities of employees. Motivating employees takes here a dual perspective in which transformation can only succeed if the work force recognizes both the forest (the overall strategy and vision) and the trees (the specific tasks that have to be done). Leaders therefore need to be able to take the perspective of different levels of action required for the transformation journey to succeed. Many among us consider this kind of orchestration where we see both the forest and the trees as something of “cognitive gymnastics” that especially under times of pressure is difficult to maintain. Some have argued that because at later stages in our careers, when we have developed ourselves into leaders, our mind becomes less flexible, we may learn from the young minds on how to balance a higher level style of processing information (the big picture) with lower-level more concrete styles (the specific tasks to do). And, I agree. Why? Well, I have started to learn some lessons of life by observing my four-year old daughter Hannah.

We may learn from the young minds on how to balance a higher level style of processing information (the big picture) with lower-level more concrete styles (the specific tasks to do).

Hannah has a strong interest in drawing and in her journey to develop her own style it has been fascinating to see how she constructs her own stories about reality. While her drawing skills have developed at a very fast pace (the young mind at that age develops in creative and spectacular ways) so has her way of looking at that reality she is trying to put on paper. Specifically, she has gradually become an artist able to look at both the bigger picture (e.g. a castle, a playground, a city) and the individual characters that are supposed to live in that context (e.g. dinosaurs, princesses, father and mother) at the same time. Yes, she seems to have transformed herself into someone who looks both at the overall scene and the details within that scene to shape up the stories that she tells her parents. To her, everything is related and both the general idea of the drawing and the details she adds to it are important.

This kind of working has definitely implications for making what she’s doing understandable to the rest of the world (as leaders also try to do). Indeed, when she starts drawing she has a story in mind that gradually builds when she starts adding more and more details. In a similar vein, when leaders respond to change they need to know the story of what is happening and once this story is recognized the specifics will have to be developed to get the work force going. In the case of Hannah, working this way allows her to make a drawing where a lot of action is happening within the context of a bigger setting. In more psychological terms, Hannah is clearly looking at the world in what can be called a “holistic” way where she focuses on the context at hand, but, in her case, this tendency goes hand in hand with also an eye for concrete details that she considers fixed such as the personality of a dinosaur or a princess.

Interestingly, within the psychology literature, humans have been shown to focus on and process incoming information in two different ways (Smith & Trope, 2006). Specifically, people either engage in more abstract information processing or in more concrete information processing. Abstract processing involves looking more at the central aspects that make up the context (i.e. the forest). It also includes detecting relationships between the different objects within that context. This tendency to zoom in on the relationships between the parts of a whole to see the entire context corresponds with being a holistic thinker. Concrete processing, on the other hand, involves looking more at the exact details of a situation and identifying the differences between these details and objects (i.e. the trees).

Being able to stand back and see the overall picture, but at the same time also able to embed yourself in the context to look at the more concrete reality seems more kids-play, but then in the difficult sense of the word kids-play.

The above makes clear that Hannah in her drawings considers both the trees and the forest in taking action. As adults, who often feel more comfortable within predictable boundaries rather than setting out on creative and rebellious explorations (Nayar, 2008), there are some lessons here to understand the art of leadership. As leaders, we need to be able to communicate in both clear and effective ways. We need to make clear why we are doing things, how we have to do it, and what we want to achieve. These three questions (why, how and what) require a kind of thinking that is fed by both an abstract and concrete mode of processing. This is not an easy thing to do because in the complexity of the business world, it’s easy to lose track of the vision when confronted with the details of the execution and vice versa. Being able to stand back and see the overall picture, but at the same time also able to embed yourself in the context to look at the more concrete reality seems more kids-play, but then in the difficult sense of the word kids-play. Indeed, the way kids move around the world by embracing both modes of processing allow us to identify the following dimensions relevant to being a more effective leader.

Effective leaders can tell a story. This is important to be effective because a story that people can recognize themselves in promotes commitment to the idea and vision articulated. A story where both the big picture is clear and the details are nicely developed helps people to make sense of the situation at hand while at the same time appealing to their responsibilities. So, when engaging in story-telling imagine being a child drawing a story while being unlimited in how you want to colour the story.
Telling a story is of course not enough. Once the story is out action needs to be taken. And, this is where kids are amazing examples. As I have witnessed many times, once Hannah has finished her drawing and the story line is clarified, the fun really starts. The idea now really comes to live and is continuously modified, which makes for the additional bonus that her parents sometimes have to listen to the story the entire evening, but every time the story is a little bit different. This ability to modify and adapt the story shows a high level of agility in a child’s mind and this is exactly what leaders need to do when dealing with changes. So, as leaders bringing your story and vision to life clearly should include an element of change itself. Indeed, as we all know, the only thing unchanged is change itself. As such, do not be afraid to modify your story to keep motivating people, but assure that the gist of the story remains.
Of course, once a story is set into motion, the leader needs to stay confident and keep endorsing the direction that has been set out. This sense of confidence is something that kids in their favorite activities have abound. When Hannah has drawn a story, she truly believes in it. The story is hers and at that moment it defines her. It is who she is. She believes in it and she does not lie, she represents the reality as it is and she adds things to it that we as adults do not pay attention to anymore (seeing the invisible).
Finally, motivating a group of people means that one also needs to work with diversity in the team. And, this is where the dual model of processing comes in handy, because likely your teams are composed of individuals using one of these two modes. In a similar vein, this diversity also reflects the cultural dimensions that many business leaders in today’s globalized world have to deal with. Interestingly, within the psychology literature, the more abstract reasoning (holistic) where the context at hand is focused on is suggested to be more present in collectivistic societies (a proxy for most Asian countries) whereas the focus on more concrete processing and analytic ways of looking at the world is more present in individualistic societies (a proxy for most Western countries). Studies have indeed shown that, for example, participants from East-Asia spend more time focusing on the context of an image, whereas participants from the US were focusing on the details of the image (Chua, Boland, & Nisbett, 2005).

These four dimensions that are clearly present in kid’s play potentially outline what leaders can do to promote a dual way of looking at reality when motivating others:

Be a participant of the story but also an observer at the same time
Be comfortable with changes
Stay authentic and tell the truth (honesty)
Accept diversity and work with it

Finally, and interestingly, these suggestions do not only help us to activate the child in ourselves to find our own leadership abilities (Nayar, 2008), but also can uplift us to transcend a specific context and culture. Indeed, as we noted earlier, these two modes of processing (abstract versus concrete) correspond with the way Eastern versus Western societies look at reality (i.e. context-oriented versus detail- and object-orientated). As such, the abilities of our children may therefore fit well with the skills needed to facilitate leadership in a globalized world. As it has always been the case, children are the future, and this also seems to be the case in the field of leadership in today’s world.

Go to top

About the Authors

David De Cremer is Provost Chair and Professor in Management and Organisations at NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, a former KPMG endowed Professor in Management Studies and current honorary fellow at Cambridge Judge Business School, and a fellow at St. Edmunds College, University of Cambridge. He is also the founder and Director of the Centre On AI Technology for Humankind. He is named one of the top world’s top 30 management gurus and speakers in 2020 and is a best-selling author with his latest book being on “Leadership By Algorithm: Who Leads and Who Follows in the AI Era? His personal website: www.daviddecremer.com

Hannah De Cremer is an enthusiastic four-year old exploring the world by asking questions, testing ideas and wondering about life’s deeper meanings like the necessity to bring the entire Sylvanian family together. She is a global citizen (UK, Singapore) with a multi-cultural identity and foundation (Belgium, China, India). Early on she became interested in unfolding the reality of perception by focusing on her versus other’s interests. Young of age, she also served as an inspiration for the book “Leadership by Algorithm: Who leads and who follows in the AI era?

References

Chua, H.F., Boland, J.E. & Nisbett, R.E. (2005). Cultural variation in eye movements during scene perception. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, August 30, 102 (35) 12629-12633
Nayar, V. (2008). What leaders can learn from children. Harvard Business Review, November 10.
Smith, P., & Trope, Y. (2006). You focus on the forest when you’re in charge of the trees: Power priming and abstract information processing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 90(4), 578 –596

Proven Ways to Increase Workplace Productivity

November 23, 2020

Boosting productivity has always been the holy grail of business growth. That being said, achieving maximum efficiency is a tall order for most organizations. There are too many factors involved that simply eat away at productivity.

The good thing is that there are ways to solve most of these issues and boost the productivity of your team by a significant margin. Join us as we go over some of the most popular methods that could help you in this effort!

Streamline Communication

Communication, or lack thereof, is one of the main causes of low workplace productivity. Every organization, no matter how small or large, has to have clear vertical and lateral lines of communication. The orders and tasks coming from the top have to be concise and clear.

If you have a constant stream of questions and calls for clarification every time you receive or issue a work order, there’s something wrong in your lines of communication. All of these redundant feedback costs a lot of time, makes work difficult, and is generally inefficient.

Be Efficient with Your Meetings

Meetings are necessary. There’s no way around them in an organization that has more than one department. However, how you conduct and organize the meetings can definitely impact the productivity in your workplace. The golden rule of thumb here is to never call a meeting for something that can be done via email.

Emails are an awesome and often underutilized tool that can solve most of your organizational problems. There’s no need to call a meeting for everything. Save meetings for special occasions where face to face communication is key.

Workplace Organization

The way your offices are organized plays a major role in workplace productivity. Office fitouts exist for a reason and finding a proper one for your organization can completely transform the efficiency of work being done in your workplace. Of course, the nature of the work has to be taken into consideration when figuring out what kind of office layout you want. Design studios and similar creative environments thrive in open office spaces where it’s easy to reach out to other people around you.

On the other hand, more data-oriented workplaces where data crunching makes up for most of the work being done, benefit from cubicles and isolated workspaces.

Delegate Tasks

Delegating tasks is one of those skills that can greatly improve the productivity of individuals as well as entire organizations. Knowing when to pass on a task to someone else can be tricky for some. We all have our own ways of doing things. Entrusting someone else with a task takes trust.

This brings us back to communication. Trust is built on clear communication and is at the very core of any organization.

If you’re a manager, you need to learn how to delegate tasks to people in your team. The same applies if you’re higher up the chain of command. The only real difference is that you need to encourage delegation of authority to your subordinates and low-level managers. Once the entire team is on the same page, workplace productivity will skyrocket.

Get Rid of Distractions

Distractions are a massive issue in just about every workplace. It’s also a fact that distractions come in all kinds of shapes. Getting rid of distractions is easier said than done. We aren’t machines, hence we can’t behave like ones, at least not for long.

However, removing distractions by limiting your employee’s freedoms is an unsustainable strategy. Blocking social media, a no-phone policy, no browsing policy – all of these have proven to be inefficient ways of curbing workplace distraction.

A much more effective way to approach this issue is to make the work more engaging. If your employees are interested in their work, they won’t pay much attention to their phones or social media. This is the only real way to deal with distractions.

Strap In

Boosting workplace productivity takes time. It’s not something you or anyone else can rush. In fact, boosting workplace productivity is a matter of building a healthy workplace atmosphere and promoting healthy work habits. An organization that rewards its employees for the hard work they do, using both conventional means such as salaries, and non-conventional means, is productive.

The fact that you’ve recognized the problem in your workplace is the essential first step towards finding a solution. Your job now is to lay out a plan of attack and start implementing changes that will ensure a long-term boost in productivity. We hope that these tips we’ve shared with you today will put you on the right path towards achieving this goal.

Go to top

No Regrets! Accepting the Past to Survive in the Future

November 22, 2020

By David De Cremer

Before COVID-19 became a reality, the business world in China was still very occupied with understanding how global success could be achieved for Chinese companies (De Cremer, 2017). In light of that question, I was asked by several universities to talk about the management structure and leadership style of one of their biggest business champions, which is Huawei. Huawei was founded in 1987 in Shenzhen by Ren Zhengfei and has in the meantime transformed itself into one of the giants in the world of telecommunication technology, infrastructure and smart devices. They have become a global player by employing more than 194 000 employees across more than 170 countries and regions. In the fiscal year of 2019 Huawei’s revenue reached CNY858.833 billion (US$122.972 billion) and CNY62.656 billion (US$8.971 billion) in net profit (in 2018 revenue reached CNY721.202 billion and CNY59.435 billion in net profit). They currently rank number 61 in the Forbes 500 list.

When I finished my talk students could ask questions and especially one specific question has stayed with me. This student asked me whether I thought that Ren Zhengfei would have any regrets today concerning his company. In itself an intriguing question, but also not that surprising given the fact that at the time of the talk the conflict between the US and China, which is basically one of technology, was more or less escalating. Indeed, the trade war between the US and China clearly expressed the fear that the party possessing the most advanced technology will eventually gain all the benefits, ranging from market share and economic prosperity to political influence and global leadership. As a result, the US started to impose sanctions on high-profile Chinese companies and the biggest one of all was Huawei (De Cremer, 2019).

Clearly this trade war situation elicits many negative emotions and one emotion that is usually felt if negative things happen to you is regret. Regret is a negative cognitive or emotional state that is caused by blaming oneself for a bad outcome. When one feels regret one reflects on what could have been or how a given situation could have been different. So, the question of the student was clearly about whether Ren Zhengfei, knowing the situation in which his company ended up, would regret the decisions and actions taken in the past. After carefully considering my response for a few seconds, I said – in line with Edith Piaf’s song “Non, je ne regrette rien” (I have no regrets) that I did not think he had any feelings of regret. Of course, the follow-up question was asking why I thought so. In response I noted that Ren Zhengfei considers any event in its own historical context (De Cremer, 2018). He loves historical references so much that he once argued that it is history that has determined the existence of Huawei. Specifically, if China didn’t open up, Huawei would not exist; if private companies would not be allowed, Huawei would not exist and so on. So, I explained that based on his tendency to account for the historical perspective, he likely is a person who accepts history as it is. In other words, his response to the student’s question would likely be that ‘The company that Huawei is today is probably the company they were supposed to be.’ Such reasoning has no room for regret.

In order to understand why I believe that this response would also likely be Ren’s response we need to go back to see what the DNA of the company is and especially how the founder has shaped the way the company looks at the world. To do so, below I identify four principles that drive the perspective and hence leadership of Huawei’s founder.

1. Do not try controlling what has happened, but accept

Ren Zhengfei is known for using vivid images and practicing the art of storytelling whenever he introduces new ideas or talks about Huawei’s journey and ambitions (De Cremer & Tao, 2015). In this process he uses many historical facts to illustrate his vision and shape the future actions of the company. In this sense he does not challenge the past but uses it as it is to make a point for the future waiting for them. Indeed, every past example has a meaning for the future! And, in that sense, Ren Zhengfei realizes that he and all other executives in the company have no real influence on how time and history influences everyone’s journey. To illustrate this belief, he once noted that one’s life journey is “like riding on a flying carpet. It is not us who are flying, it is the carpet carrying us upwards.”

All of this makes clear that for Ren Zhengfei, things happen for a reason and thus should not negatively influence you (read: make you regret things) in the present. A clear example is how in 2003, Huawei was about to sell itself to Motorola for $7.5bn’ a deal that would have significantly impacted history of telecommunication. After a few weeks of negotiation, a deal had been agreed, but eventually it never materialized. Outsiders today are still wondering what would have happened if Huawei would have become part of Motorola. Would Huawei have saved Motorola (the latter company was eventually eclipsed by other companies)? No one knows, and according to Ren Zhengfei, the only thing that matters is that Huawei has become one of the most important, and currently most controversial, telecoms supplier in the world. So, the past makes what company you are today, and we can learn from it, but do not dwell on it. The focus is always the future, and this brings me to the following principle.

2. Stay focused on the things you can control

Leading a company requires that you can connect the past with the future by doing the right thing in the present. Dwelling too much on the past and not realizing its potential to engage in meaningful future action is a waste of time. As a matter of fact, according to Ren Zhengfei, no value can be created if one sticks to nostalgic feelings and gets caught up in it. As point 1 above illustrates, his belief is that history decides and not you. Therefore, stay humble and realize that there are many things you cannot control. Being aware of this fact of life should motivate you to focus on the things that you can control. Ren Zhengfei is especially a big fan of being focused on what matters to make a difference for the company in the future (De Cremer & Zhang, 2016).

A focus on well-defined priorities is one of the secrets that Ren Zhengfei believes will contribute to the ability of a company to overcome negative events and hence survive on the longer term without being consumed too much by negative emotions. In 2015, Ren Zhengfei noted the following in support of this belief: “It’s been a rough 28 years. Huawei has remained focused on our strategic business of ICT infrastructure development. Over the past 28 years, over 100,000 people have fixed our sights on a single opening in the gates, charging it over and over again. Huawei’s investment strategy is just that: Fast beats slow. Focusing on one point is actually a fast-beats-slow strategy. That’s why it generates results.” Thus, by knowing what it is you want to achieve allows you to transcend the difficult times and the accompanying negative emotions. One reason why this strategy may work is that it keeps your feet on the ground and installs a kind of recognition that nothing is a given and that hard work will always be needed. Warren Buffett indeed once noted that staying humble helped him to stay focused on what really matters, in a similar vein this kind of humbleness can be found in Huawei that hard work combined with a strong focus is needed to survive.

3. Work hard to achieve your priorities

Knowing your priorities allows you to stay focused even when things do not go according to plan. When companies have experience a crisis, a risk is that negative emotions stay and low energy fuels the organization. Being aware of and endorsing the right priorities provides a kind of guidance that can avoid wasting too much energy and getting caught in sentiments of regret, disappointment and an overall sense of helplessness. Of course, staying focused requires a certain attitude among your work force. That is, it requires that they are willing to go the extra mile to survive, work hard, and persist even when things don’t go their way. Ren Zhengfei has expressed on multiple occasions that Huawei is willing to suffer and work its way through any crisis. Huawei employees believe and are convinced that more effort, dedication and passion will eventually help the company to achieve their goals. As one Huawei executive said when talking about Ren Zhengfei’s way of making decisions; even if we only have 30% confidence in the decision then we will still take the risks, because we believe that the other 70% will come from our willingness to sacrifice and show dedication at every level of the company.

4. Surviving means sacrificing

Why would such a fierce leader as Ren Zhengfei allow himself to accept situations and maintain a focus on the future rather than being victim to negative sentiments? The most plausible reason may well be the fact that the focus of Huawei’s founder is by default directed towards the future – as he is concerned mostly about his company surviving as long as possible. Consider the following anecdote: On one occasion, someone asked him what Huawei’s most basic goal was. He replied: “Survival.” The person then asked what Huawei’s ultimate goal was. Ren Zhengfei replied that it was also survival. And, it’s not only Ren Zhengfei who has this belief. It is a belief that has taken over the company. For example, in the foreword of Huawei’s 2019 report rotating Chairman Eric Xu noted at one point that “survival will be Huawei’s first priority.” As it usually goes within Huawei, the way to survive is to “optimise” their own functioning and install – once again – an attitude “to fight inertia and rid themselves of complacency.”

This focus clearly underscores the importance that Huawei assigns to being willing to keep fighting when things are rough because they want to keep improving to stay around. Obviously, such a request implies that it is expected that Huawei employees are willing to suffer and sacrifice their interests when being asked. Such a culture clearly does not work if feelings like regret and disappointment would linger too long. The most compelling example of Ren Zhengfei’s belief that working hard for the future demands sacrifice concerns what he said when his daughter Meng Wanzhou, the Chief Financial officer of Huawei, was arrested in Montreal in the face of the US-China trade war. Ren Zhengfei expressed his gratitude to his daughter for her year of “suffering” and at the same time added that he believed that this experience will make her stronger. This response makes clear that the willingness to suffer is recognized and applauded but at the same time also considered behavior that one would expect from any Huawei employee.

To conclude, the love for his company, the desire to survive, the sacrifice expected from every Huawei employee and the acceptance that history cannot be controlled, allows us to infer that it will indeed be likely that at this moment the founder of Huawei is not the person to allow the company to be consumed by feelings of regret. Rather, all the beliefs he has installed in the Huawei culture clearly signal that since the foundation of the company he has worked on creating a sense of community where Huawei employees can draw their strengths from.

Go to top

About the Author

David De Cremer is Provost ‘s chair and professor in management and organizations at NUS Business School, National University of Singapore. He is the founder and director of the Center on AI Technology for Humankind at NUS Business school; which is a platform developing research and education promoting a human-centered approach to AI development. Before moving to NUS, he was the KPMG endowed chaired professor in management studies at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. He is named one of the World’s top 30 management gurus and speakers in 2020 by the organization GlobalGurus and has published over more than 300 articles and book chapters. He is also a best-selling author with his book Huawei: Leadership, culture and connectivity” having sold more than one million copies. His newest book “Leadership by algorithm: Who leads and who follows in the AI era?” came out in print in May 2020.

References

De Cremer, D. (2017). What it takes for Chinese companies to succeed abroad. The World Financial Review, November-December, 65-68.
De Cremer, D. (2018). Know your history! Why historical awareness makes you a better leader. The Political Anthropologist.
De Cremer, D. (2019). Hard-Wired to survive in the UC-China trade war. The European Financial Review, August-September, 7-11.
De Cremer, D. & Zhang, J. (2016). Why Focus-based Leadership is important to Huawei’s Business Strategy. The European Business Review, May/June, 40-43.
De Cremer, D., & Tao, T. (2015). Leading Huawei: Seven leadership lessons of Ren Zhengfei. The European Business Review, September/October, 30-35.

RPEC: Why world’s largest free-trade pact matters

November 21, 2020

By Dr. Dan Steinbock

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an extraordinary achievement amid aggressive geopolitics, self-defeating trade wars, and accelerating global pandemic. It is also a leap toward a better future.

Last June, the ministers of RCEP countries underscored their determination to sign the free-trade agreement amid unprecedented headwinds in global trade, investment and supply chains. Following almost a decade of talks, 15 countries are poised to sign the world’s largest free-trade pact during the ASEAN Summit.

The RCEP is expected to increase trade integration between the 10 ASEAN countries, East Asian leaders (China, Japan, South Korea), and Oceania (Australia, New Zealand).

Surprisingly, India withdrew from the RCEP talks late last year, following Prime Minister Modi’s increasing cooperation with the US-led Indo-Pacific initiative. Nonetheless, India can still rejoin the talks at a later date, if it chooses to do so.

But even without India, the combined economic muscle of the RCEP participants is almost a third of the world gross domestic product (GDP). As a consequence, it will have significant global repercussions.

Why “shallow integration” works in tumultuous times

In the past four years, all multilateral trade deals have been overshadowed by “America First” unilateralism. In contrast, the RCEP will intensify multilateral trade integration in Asia, the world’s most dynamic region.

Until recently, the RCEP critics, particularly in Washington and Brussels, have argued that the pact represents “shallow” integration since its requirements are not as stringent as, say, the bygone Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), promoted by the Obama administration. And yet, it was precisely those stringent preconditions that made TPP the target of a host of anti-globalist groups, including President Trump who buried it upon his arrival to the White House.

Ultimately, the TPP prioritized the integration needs of international capital over those of national governments. That’s perhaps why it was negotiated in controversial secrecy and included murky clauses predicated on geopolitics rather than trade. Typically, the remaining 11 TPP countries agreed on a revised “Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership” (CPTPP) that’s largely the same as before, but omits 20 provisions that US had included in the original TPP.

Second, “shallow” integration is better aligned with the integration needs in emerging Asia, where governments play critical role in economic development, the idea of national sovereignty is vital, and legacies of Western colonialism remain prominent.

Third, the RCEP may be more aligned with the new international landscape that’s overshadowed by protectionism and tariff wars. Since the Great Recession of 2007-09, country blocs that aspire deep integration and homogeneity, particularly the Eurozone, have had to take steps back, whereas country blocs that were built on shallow integration and heterogeneity, including ASEAN, have retained greater strategic maneuverability amidst international headwinds.

What ASEAN and high-income countries hope to gain

From the standpoint of ASEAN, the RCEP is vital to develop progressive regional integration, particularly if advanced economies will opt for greater protectionism and new trade wars in the future. It can also serve as a platform toward greater global economic integration.

From the perspective of its high-income participants – Japan, Australia and New Zealand – the RCEP is vital to participate in regional growth. In one way or another, each is haunted by secular stagnation that is spreading in aging and increasingly polarized advanced economies.

The pact cannot offset such secular trends, but it can counterbalance against them. Among other things, RCEP is expected to remove tariffs on 86% of Japan’s exports to China, thus benefiting Japanese exporters, such as auto parts suppliers.

Indeed, the RCEP could eliminate 90% of the tariffs on imports between its signatories within 20 years of coming into effect, which could be by early as next year. It will also seek to establish common rules for e-commerce, trade and intellectual property.

China’s support global and regional integration

In contrast to all other major nations, China’s economy has been rebounding since late spring. Despite the Trump trade wars, Chinese export growth improved once again in September to almost 10 percent on a year-to-year basis. The rebound of import growth at over 13 percent after two consecutive months of contraction suggests rising confidence– as do the record sales of the recent Singles Day.

Despite US-Sino trade wars and rising protectionism, China is supporting both global and regional integration. In part, this is a natural consequence of its rapid economic development. Just as Japan’s rise in the postwar era resulted in its cross-border investments in the region, China’s emergence is having a similar but broader impact.

The RCEP is important to China but not the only major regional venue to its huge economy. As global prospects of international trade have dimmed, China has been pushing for regional differentiation at home (the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area), and internationally (Belt and Road Initiative, BRI).

Nonetheless, China’s bilateral trade with ASEAN has increased steadily in the past decade or two. Between January and May, it accounted for almost 15% of China’s total trade volume, which exceeds its trade with US (11%) and EU (14%), respectively.

A sense of shared future for Asian Century

Due to its significant international trade muscle, the RCEP will also have global impact. Together, these economies represent 2.2 billion people (30% of world total) and a combined GDP of $26 trillion (almost 30% of total).

Most importantly, it heralds greater optimism after four years of global urgency. “The signing of RCEP,” said China’s premier Li Keqiang, “will send a clear, strong, positive signal for advancing regional integration and economic globalization.”

For all practical purposes, half of RCEP’s global muscle can be attributed to China, whereas another half comprises ASEAN and the high-income economies of Japan, Australia and New Zealand. If the pact participants will continue to thrive, the economic role of China and ASEAN will increase relatively faster over time.

Assuming peaceful and relatively stable conditions, the size of the Chinese economy will surpass that of the US by the late 2020s, while the economic muscle of ASEAN would rise in parallel.

Despite geopolitics in Asia (which the outgoing Trump administration could still rattle in the next few weeks), both China and ASEAN share a long-term quest for multilateralism, regional and global cooperation. It is this strong sense of a shared future that could make the long-anticipated Asian Century.

Go to top

About the Author

Dr. Dan Steinbock is an internationally recognized strategist of the multipolar world and the founder of Difference Group. He has served at the India, China and America Institute (USA), Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore). For more, see https://www.differencegroup.net

Newbies and Pros Love These Roulette Games

November 20, 2020

Whether you are new to online Roulette or a seasoned veteran, there are a whole host of games out there for you to enjoy. We have taken the time and done the research to find games that excite both newbies and pros, and of course offer massive pay-outs to players. These games include the classic rules of Vegas Roulette, but make their mark by offering something a little different to entice players to select them.

Read on to find out which games we have chosen that can be enjoyed by players of all levels, offering a challenge and at the same time, big wins.

Quantum Roulette

This is a modern variation of the classic game. Set in space as you travel through galaxies, you can start gameplay with as little as 0.20 coins up to 500 coins and have the chance to win up to 500x your initial stake on a single bet! A straight-up win pay-out is 29:1, which may seem low in comparison to the traditional game (where the pay-out is 35:1), but there are bonus features included that more than compensate for that.

During the game, electricity will surge through random numbers before the betting round closes. Up to five numbers are selected at random and will be lit up. The numbers that are struck by lightning will increase their pay-out rewarding you between 50x and 500x your initial stake! Extra bonuses can pop up at any time meaning there are plenty of ways to win, and be rewarded massive pay-outs from this game, which has a 97.30% RTP.

Spread-Bet Roulette

This game is a modern twist on classic Roulette. You can start betting from as little as 0.50 coins up to a maximum of 200 coins. What makes Spread-Bet Roulette unique is its golden wheel feature. Set inside the main wheel, the golden numbers spin independently and are activated by placing spread-bets on the wheel.

The spread-bet feature can reward you up to 400x your initial stake if you select the correct numbers. These winnings will be added to the main wheel winnings if you have already successfully chosen the correct numbers there meaning there is the potential for a massive pay-out. With multiple ways to win, this game is a favourite amongst players of all levels. The game has a 97.30% RTP.

20p Roulette

This interactive and sleek variation on the classic is universally-loved. The rules are simple and it does not include loads of bonus features to confuse you with. You can start playing with as little as one credit, increasing up to a maximum of 10,000 credits. There are a number of different bets to choose from, these range from selecting the exact number you think will come up, to choosing to wager over a range of numbers to try and increase your chances of winning.

If you pick the correct number it is possible to be rewarded as much as 100,000 credits in winnings. The game keeps the rules basic, but the interaction, emotion and tension are all incredible. Making this game perfect for starters to learn the fundamentals, and for pros who want a break from the seemingly endless bonus features and want clean visuals and great fun. The game has a 97.30% RTP.

Go to top

How to get your first 1000 Instagram followers

November 20, 2020

This article deals with how to get free Instagram followers and likes with an app while not having cash. Every person, from the traditional person to the stars, affects the hunting of all area unit Instagram as an important supply of communication with individuals and supporters everywhere on the planet. Thus if you want to be an influencer on Instagram which can be a very big platform, the primary issue you should do is to expand followers. If your posts don’t get enough likes and you’re not really a huge follower, then you’re essentially a daily Instagram user. There is no way to achieve goals on Instagram, although it is clear that you are extra involved on Instagram, the additional likes and followers you can wear to your post.

The best thing is that the GetInsta app is free. GetInsta is a great tool to urge free Instagram likes and followers. GetInsta can be a free sociable based app to expand genuine Instagram followers and likes.

Why to choose GetInsta?

GetInsta offers you Instagram followers, thus you should not spend a penny to get followers. You don’t have to produce daily new plans on how to improve your followers and likes because the GetInsta app ensures for you that you will be taking 1000 free Instagram followers trial. Companies, individuals and trades will use this incredible application to urge others of their level dead set. With this tool, you will be able to make your post viral instantly. If you are trying to withdraw some cash from your profile then the app is for you as it can support you to follow and like Instagram.

6 Important Options for GetInsta

1. Easy to use

This application is simple to use and comes with an intuitive program. No special skills are required to use this app and all you need to do is enter your Instagram details and start falling prey to this app.

2. Security and Privacy

The Security and Privacy Zone unit essential option of any app we use. GetInsta has been developed by a specialized and trained team, thus it can be a completely safe and secure app. There are no viruses in GetInsta. GetInsta provides complete privacy to your data without any leakage knowledge and risk. It provides importance and maintains your privacy. You’ll be able to get systematic improvements of choice with real Instagram followers and the GetInsta security system.

3. Get free Instagram followers at no risk

When gaining additional followers, the choice will also increase at the same time. All Instagram followers and likes are about to be sent to you during an intelligent time, in an organic and natural way. Therefore, you are not taking any risk of being illegal or blocked for good.

4. Supports multiple languages

The GetInsta tool will support quite sixteen languages and you will be able to select the language you want to choose easily. You will be able to modify your profile to be included by checking the profile section and through the Settings tab.

5. Complete free tools

You should not use cash to feel Instagram followers and likes. GetInsta is a completely free tool. However you want to earn the coin. When you enter GetInsta, you may receive a bottomless coin and you will be able to shop for Instagram likes and followers. You will be able to create coins by working directly on the GetInsta app.

6. Real and organic

Users provided by the GetInsta area entity are absolutely real Instagram users, not to scam Instagram users created by one thing. Likes and followers by active and real Instagram accounts can get you the area unit.

Steps for using GetInsta:

Create an account by logging on to the app or web site to get digital coins instantly, which may be used to buy followers and likes.
Then, add an Instagram account, although you’ve got a lot of Instagram accounts.
Select an Instagram account that you want to expand followers.
Check the development you want only profit.
You want to realize coins to urge additional Instagram followers.
To collect any coin, check the targets set by others and bit on the coin icon.

Go to top

Cedar Rose Receives Prestigious Cyprus Export Award

November 19, 2020

Business intelligence agency, Cedar Rose, has won the Cyprus Special Export Award for 2018

Nicosia, Cyprus – Business intelligence provider Cedar Rose has been presented with the Cyprus Special Export Award for Services from the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nicos Anastasiades. The award was accepted by the CEO of Cedar Rose, Antoun Massaad, at the Presidential Palace in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia on November 12, 2020.

The award ceremony was conducted at a special event held for a small group of attendees with strict protocols put in place by the Ministry of Health to ensure the safety of all guests. With the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic still weighing heavily on Cyprus and its citizens, the President delivered a positive message of hope for the coming year.

“I am absolutely sure, based on the measures taken at local, international, but also European level, that we are close to the discovery of an effective vaccine, that the pandemic crisis will be overcome so as to deal more effectively with the financial crisis in the hope that 2021 will be the year for the recovery to begin,” he said.

Exports of domestic products on the island fell by 4.6% in the first half of 2020, with exports of services falling by 8.8%. However, President Anastasiades believes these losses can easily be reversed in the coming year once the pandemic has come under control. To support the economy, Cyprus has secured an allocation of €2.75 billion for the preparation of a new Multiannual Financial Framework to help cover €1 billion of spending in 2020 and an amount likely to be far greater than €300 million planned for 2021.

Cyprus Export Services Award

Established in 1982, the Cyprus Export Services Award was created to recognise the efforts of businesses that have shown remarkable talent and initiative in improving the economic situation of Cyprus. By driving foreign investment, promoting new market opportunities, and increasing international awareness, many Cypriot businesses have won the award over the years.

Cedar Rose was amongst five companies awarded the Export Services Awards. The honours were bestowed in recognition of services rendered during the 2018 fiscal year, with the other winners including Christakis Agathangelou Ltd, Remedica Ltd, Armonia Estates Ltd and Thomason Machinery Ltd.

Cedar Rose

Cedar Rose International Services Ltd is recognised for its proficiency in delivering expert Business Intelligence advice, company credit reports, and due diligence research to the EU market throughout 2018. Established in the UK in 1997, the company relocated its headquarters to the beautiful island of Cyprus in 2007. The name “Cedar Rose” comes from the national emblems of Lebanon and England, the countries where founders Antoun Massaad and Christina Massaad were born.

Besides credit reports and due diligence investigations, the company also offers electronic identity verification and customer onboarding software to clients all around the world. Their services enable their customers to trade securely, to export and extend credit with confidence and to onboard customers without enabling fraud, money laundering or the financing of terrorism.

Cedar Rose’s customers include Tier 1 banks, Big 4 Auditors, export insurance agencies, governments and private companies. The company has been a National Winner for Cyprus twice in the European Business Awards and recently won the Commercial Credit Information Provider of the Year and the CCR Credit Excellence Award for Export in the UK.

Go to top

Strap In

EDITOR'S PICK OF THE WEEK

WISE DECISION MAKER GUIDE

POWER INFLUENCERS

Emerging Trends

The Future of Global Trade