Feng Shoot and Dim Son

China piqued my interest yesterday. I love China, having long been busy with Chinese business and even serving on the board of a Chinese company for a while. But it was something, at first glance more light-hearted, that caught my eye.

The BBC featured a story concerning a Chinese father - Mr Feng - who seemingly hired on-line assassins to kill his son's avatar in multi-player games. World of Warcraft was the offending title - perhaps somewhat ironic given the origin of Sun Tzu's Art of War.

At one level, this parental intervention may seem laudable. After all, we want the best for our children and keeping them out of harm's way is a profound duty. All Mr Feng wanted to do was to stop his "dim" son spending endless hours on-line. I know. I have been there.

At another level - actually at most levels - it's very concerning. I am not sure there can ever be a clear dividing line when parental caring oversteps to become something more sinister. But this does cross that line, wherever you draw it. An old boss told me once that, whilst some situations might be hard to call, bad stuff always looks like bad stuff, because it is bad stuff!

This story came hot on the heals of another talking of a New Year censorship dispute at the Chinese Southern Weekly. How can you ever reconcile freedom of expression as a human right with the emergence of a nation, still struggling with the balancing act of those freedoms and stability?

These stories are linked. One is micro. The other macro. Both address the issues of the challenge of change.

I have seen China become the new world power it is over the last 20 years. I remember joining missions in and out of China introducing Chinese business people and leaders to what happened in faraway kingdoms. Those small successes and failures are best kept to boardrooms and dinner tables. One thing that I did learn though was that it is unwise ever to jump to conclusions where China is concerned. It is seldom as it seems.

The good news is that a compromise is seemingly close that allows face to be maintained - warm porridge is coming from the Beijing News. According to The Global Times things might be settling down but there is a recognition that it's difficult to achieve the balance - referring to "walking a difficult tightrope". Indeed.

Freedoms need to be non-negotiable and China has a long journey ahead still but I do recall, from some of those shows all visiting dignitaries once had to witness,  that the Chinese are gifted as acrobats. Let's hope so.

And as for Mr Feng - he needs to eat an harmonious bowl of warm congee porridge of reconciliation with his son.

New Cathedrals

I have spent some of the last few days in discussions with what one could call "railway types" - those responsible for building and delivering the rail networks we take for granted. Absolutely fascinating. I have travelled a lot by train and even been involved in projects to bring high-speed communications track-side. Trains provide a place of relative calm where plans get made and problems sometimes get solved.

I had never appreciated those in the industry being akin to the cathedral builders of the middle-ages. Now I do. Listening to the idea that the current project of a young enthusiast was likely to be so long that it might be their last job was strange. To hear they were happy about it, was truly extraordinary.

Built to the greater glory of a Christian God, cathedrals were clearly mammoth undertakings. Taking as long as 600 years to finish (Cologne) or thrown-up in just a couple of generations (the rest). Why so long? I guess there was the usual issue of money and then the added complication of unforeseen circumstances, like encountering local opposition (a.k.a. war or revolution). It seems that this latter element was mostly to blame for delays. Then again, with a project the scale of a cathedral and the methods of construction used, I suppose that planning was by its nature long term! Agile development techniques were in their infancy.

Imagine, designing a building in the knowledge you would never see it finished. Just being content in setting the ball rolling and playing your part as best you can. Putting your skills in the mix. Just knowing that you were involved in something big and worthwhile. That's where I believe the analogy of comparing those who build our railways to those who built our inspiring cathedrals does resonate. Built through the present and there for the future.

I have had a great half-career where the notion of having a long term plan has become less and less fashionable. I began with helping to write 5 year tomes. They shrank to 3 year plans and then withered to rolling forecasts that worked in trendy horizons of anything from a quarter to a half-year. Contrast that with some cultures that work in true horizons. I still remember a celebration I attended of a Chinese company, where the Chairman talked of the success of the first 15 years and the promise of the next 50!

Pressure from involved stakeholders or just the Street? What matters most - getting there or the journey? When does the line needing appropriate visibility get crossed to become an unduly heavy interest? Should a crisis of confidence across an industry lead to the end of good risk taking and management? Then innovation surely dies and progress stalls.

Imagine the then Pope holding a planning session with Michelangelo... "Listen Mikey, how's that ceiling going? Looks to me like you're fallin' a bit behind. Can you show me the get well plan by Wednesday, else I'll call Leo?"

Railways will likely be the last industry we will see building cathedrals. Magnificent, great and green iron roads that allow time for people to dream.

Off to book a Thalys ticket.