Silicon Valley Rises Again
This
eWeek article on the recent boom in Silicon Valley offers some amazing statistics:
- SV is an ethnically very diverse region (second only to Miami in the US)
- ...has one of the most global workforces, with 40 percent born outside of the United States
- 48 percent of the population speak a language other than English at home
- 40 percent of its population has a bachelor's degree (the most highly educated region in the US)
- Over half (55 percent) of its science and engineering talent was born abroad, well over double that of the United States at large (20 percent)
SV ranks the highest in IT employment, but other world cities, such as Singapore, Taiwan, Tokyo and Munich, are quickly catching up. Within the United States, Silicon Valley is nearly neck-and-neck with Austin and Boston in terms of IT employment.
Sundance 2007: Skiing, Movies, Friends
OK, it was maybe a bit too much of travels, but it was so much fun: Only 3 days after my return to CA we sneaked out to Utah to attend the Sundance film festival with Stanford buddies over a long weekend: 2 beautiful skiing days in Deer Valley (blue sky, sufficient snow, excellent service), 8 exciting movies and 15 friends!
My 2 favorite movies were:
- Fido: Zombie comedy - sooo funny!
- Ghosts of Abu Ghraib - excellent documentary on how the events erode America's supremacy based on human rights
Thanks, Mike, for organizing this!
Hong Kong Finals
A peaceful day of sports and recreation ended my four week stay in Hong Kong and a busy and intense all-hands company meeting during the last week. After a long night of sleep, I went to run on the Happy Valley horse race tracks (photo), went to the gym and got myself a long massage. The final dinner in a simple, nice noodle shop somewhere on the East of the HK island with those of the company who were still around. I then hang out in Central and said goodbye to all those nice friends and acquaintances who have made this stay very memorable indeed. The return flight was only 11h short (thanks to tailwinds), uneventful and quite relaxing (due to emergency exit row seating).
db4o Meeting in Hong Kong
I think the intense, week-long meeting in Hong Kong from 1/8 to 12 was an important milestone in our company's history, building foundations for years to come. While we also discussed short-term planning such as the product roadmap 2007 and adaptations of our business processes to reflect our growth, the most important results were IMO the personal bonds which developed between the 25 participants from all 5 continents and the reinforcement of our core values openness, agility in the pursuit of quality and excellence, and diversity, especially with respect to other cultures.
Sure enough, it is quite time-consuming and exhausting to discuss many details in a full week of meetings, but I cannot think of any better way to get so much information out of so many relevant heads in such a short time, to make so many fundamental decisions while achieving buy-in, alignment, and motivation at the same time. And then: We only have meetings twice a year. I think every staff member in a conventional company easily spends more than a total of 10 days (80 hours) in meetings per year.
Above all, it is a real pleasure to work with all these bright people from so many different backgrounds, to learn from them and to see them grow. The local team members did an awesome job to make our visit in an already exciting city even more memorable.
Happy New Year 2007!
A wonderful walk with friends over sunny Lantau island and a late and long lunch at the South African/Mediterranean Restaurant "Stoep" opened 2007. If this first day was indicative, it will be a great year!
2006 ended with food, party, friends and work-out at the gym in HK, the last minute being experienced at the HK convention center promenade waiting for a firework which didn't take place (it's just a Western tradition you know - wait for Chinese NY!)...
All the best to you, your family and friends for a healthy, prosperous and peaceful year to come!
