What a year 2006!

There is a stronger feeling of “as TIME goes bye” when another year gets to an end. Just a few days to go and 2006 will be gone. A new year, 2007, will start and who knows what it will bring (hopefully, a lot of good things for everybody!)
From a personal perspective 2006 has been a really good year. I reached most of my personal and professional goals and objectives. I could say I’ve been quite lucky! But at the same time, I realize I’ve worked hard till get to the point where I am today.
My life has changed a lot. If you compare where I was in January 2006 and where I am today you will see the big differences. I’m not talking just about moving countries here as you might guess.
People’s life changes and I believe that CHANGE is good. Change makes you feel more alive. Sometimes we are afraid of changing. We think it will get us to a worst position or state but it’s not true. Change is good if you’re able to take it in a positive way. If you manage the way it happens or, even better, if you are able to control it.
In the famous and brilliant book “Who moved my Cheese?” Spencer Johnson talks about how to manage change in our personal and professional live.
It’s New Year’s resolution time too. Have you already make your list of things to improve for 2007?
Personally, I would like to finish the MBA without getting too crazy… :-) and would like to get more often into sports… a bit of exercise is not bad for the spirit my friend!

Thanks and smile,

dk

p.d. Do you like my new marketing promotion campaign?Isn't she cute...? :-)

Happy Christmas!

Hello Friends!

I hope you have all received my message.

Yes, some weeks ago I started this BLOG. At the beginning, I didn’t know what to do with it. But, so far, I’m using it to express myself in English and to try not to forget Shakespeare’s language. Even that I use it sometimes at work, I believe it’s not enough. That’s the main reason I keep pushing myself to write in it and in English.
Another reason for this BLOG (digital knight) to exist is to allow me to keep in touch with you guys. I’m quite busy these days with the MBA plus my job at Alcatel-Lucent. So, I don’t have much time to socialise. I thought writing in this BLOG could be an easy way for you to know about me.

At the same time, I would like to know about you guys!

So, my proposal is the following:

· Don´t wait a second and add this URL to your Internet Explorer favourites list.
· Why don’t you visit it some in a while?
· Why don’t you make your comments in English? It’s a good excuse to keep your English skills up...

Ok, If you think I’m crazy with all this “digital knight thing” or if you feel like not writing in English, well, good enough, but please be aware... Spanish comments are also welcome! Honestly!

Really looking forward to BLOG-know about you guys! :-)

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!
dk

Check this link out, The Times Magazine has elected person of the year... and it´s YOU. Really interesting article about web 2.0 and digital revolution in the Information Age!

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html

Allen Carr´s Easyway

Allen Carr, the world-renowned stop smoking guru, died 29.11.06 at the age of 72. He died because his habit. He used to smoke 100 cigarettes a day during 30 years!

Around his middle ages, after several failing intents to quit, finally, he could beat nicotine thanks to hypnosis.
In that journey, he suffered a lot in his personal live. Got a lot of problems with himself and with his family, specially his wife.
At that moment, he changed career and decided he wanted to do something about it. Therefore, he became a writer in order to communicate his experiences about cigarettes. Allen developed a new innovative method to quit the habit. I have read the book and it is really good.

http://allencarr.com/central/

I’ve been a smoker myself for some years, not a lot, but enough to know I was hunk to it. The clarity of the ideas he transmits was good enough to convince me. He made me aware that I was acting as a fool, in fact, I already knew it myself but anyway he told me again. A fool cheating with myself as many smokers cheat with themselves. Smokers are just lying to themselves. I quit 28/08/06.

I strongly recommend that book to anyone who smokes or knows anyone that smokes and would like to help him or her.

Don’t be healthy my friend, be the HEALTH!

Good luck!

Thanks and smile!
dk

IE VISION

So, every company, modern enterprise, big corporation need a mission and a vision in order to success. Good ideas, good people, a strategy, a market, the power of marketing, sales, technology and so on. We are trying to develop some strategic way of thinking day to day in our IE MBA class. I mean in our Strategy class at the MBA.
Analisying big thinkers, gurus, people very smart and wise that write and analises others companys behaviours and the historic results of their decisions.
It´s a very good exercise to THINK, yes, to use our brain to try to match CEO´s ways of understand management and decision making. Have to say I strongly recommend anyone with interest in bussiness and spanish culture to join Instituto de Empresa and get an MBA.
Nevertheless, using a bit of critic spirit, thinking about this institution teaching strategy theories... what about its own strategic thinking? What´s exactly IE mission and vision?

I checked its URL out and.. surprise! I found a mission but No vision. What´s the meaning of this? There is no goal or future purpose for this great institution? I might be wrong.. or you IE better start thinking in a good one to show in your URL!

thanks and smile!
dk

banker to the poor

Prof. Muhammad Yunus & Grameen Bank Awarded The Nobel Peace Prize for 2006.
This was in the news today, Nobel Peace Prize for that great man and his project. It got me quite curious, so I wanted to know a bit more about him and his vision.

http://www.grameen-info.org/

A Bank thinking about poor people? Well, that’s exactly what all of this is about. Poor people (specially Women) around the world are now benefiting of something called "microcredits". Microcredits were invented in the seventies and there are many types with different purposes or features. Grameen microcredits are small loans directed to the people who more need it. People who want to cross the Poverty barrier in their lives. Earn a living by themselves.
Grameen loan system is based on "trust". Yes, you read it right, just "trust", and at the moment there is a 98% rate of money paid back, highest than any other financial system (MBA gurús please take note of that...). Poverty is decreasing thanks to this initiative. In these days of lack of good and probably, too many evil hands acting unfairly in our modern economy. Yunus´s vision of making poverty history is fantastic and give us all hope. His personal involvement and actions to make it possible well deserve him a Nobel Price and all our respect.

thanks and smile!
dk

“If I could be useful to another human being, even for a day, that would be a great thing. It would be greater than all the big thoughts I could have at the university”
Muhammad Yunus

“By giving poor people the power to help themselves, Dr Yunus has offered them something far more valuable than a plate of food. He has offered them security in its most fundamental form”
Former US President Jimmy Carter

do I miss living in the UK?

Probably the quick answer is NO. Yesterday, I was asked that question by a work colleague. She is really a customer that we friendly know as "la barbie morena"... Well, going to the point , have to reckon it made me think a bit. Answer is NO but...

It´s true I was really looking forward to come back to my home country Spain and I´m really happy of my decision. Being with my friends, family and rest of Spaniards makes me feel better. My roots are here and the sense of belonging is great!

Nevertheless, there are a lot of good things about living in the UK. I left some good friends over there and had a wonderful experience working and knowing their culture. They ruled the world in the past and they well deserve our admiration.

In addition to this, I miss the sense of internationality and feeling the concept of "citizen of the world" quite stronger in England than here. Walking in London or even in my last job in Reading, people from almost every culture were represented. For instance, I remember my times in Vodafone, one of the biggest English companies and first of my serious jobs at UK, as exciting and challenging as discovering a new planet. A new planet of ways of working, behaving, communicating and understanding live.

Of course, you have good things and bad things. For instance, have to be honest, don’t miss the food and weather because as everyone knows is not very good at all! These days in Spain, with all those Christmas dinners, lunches and parties one can enjoy even further our excellent food!

On the other hand, Globalisation brings a sense of common belonging but to a greater area, the sense of belonging to planet earth! "Make poverty history" is a tremendous and gorgeous initiative by people who cares about things (http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/). People who matters other’s people live. I hope in a future the sons of our sons could read history e-books and see poverty as something of the past.

In this globalise world, it shouldn’t matter were you live, it shouldn’t matter which language do you speak, it shouldn’t matter your religion, what it should really matter is who YOU are!
I prefer to be idealistic because it´s free and gives me hope.

Don’t adapt to happiness my friend, BE the HAPPINESS!
Thanks a smile!
dk

1st of December is the international AIDS day

"In this new century, millions of people in the world's poorest countries remain imprisoned, enslaved and in chains. They are trapped in the prison of poverty. It is time to set them free", Nelson Mandela, 2005.

Delia, Dad and dk uncle

wonderful pics that were shot a couple of months after Delia´s birthday, it was my 30th birthday too so lots of reasons to smile!

brothers

Praha 2005 what a funny trip! my bro Julio plus 5 friends painting the city in red.

motorbike!

more than a hobby, riding bikes is like feeling free, speed, contact with the environment,..

winter windsurfing blue

Publishing with pictures looks better don´t you think?

Got that pic searching my hard-disk, it was taken this summer in Bolonia (close to Tarifa, Cadiz SPAIN). It was a wonderful windsurfing day.

Bolonia is less popular than Tarifa, it might be a bit less windy in average but it´s not that crowdy. Sightseeing in the way to Bolonia is fantastic! I went by bike and strongly recommend the trip.

Really looking forward to repeat and walk towards the sea, wind, waves, sun and fun!

thanks and smile!
dk

bussiness ideas

hi e-world!

So far so good, well still thinking in what to do with this blog. I´ve joined another one created by IE MBA class-mates:

http://exmba2007.blogspot.com

Yesterday, We had our first class about venture lab projects or bussiness creation, it was interesting and we had a laugh.

It would be very nice if little by little Spain changes and becomes a more pro-active country in that arena. Spanish bussiness culture is growing and hopefully new technologies will be adopted soon.

thanks and smile!
dk.

hi again e-world..

Well, let me be honest.. I don´t know how to use this bloody blog yet..

I suppose it´s a matter of time.. :-)

This is my second message, how will it look on the sceen..?

by for now..

hi e-world!

Hi everyone!

It seems as ..I´ve just created a blog!

I don´t know yet what to do with it. Our IE MBA teacher Santiago Iñiguez advice us to do it because could help us in the digital future.. :-)

To start with I decided to publish in english and later on in spanish. This way the "message" could get to more people interested in it.

Thanks and smile!

Jaime Caballero.