Newyearforbetterment

Looking inside and understanding deeply of ourselves with a desire for reinventing our beings allows us to leverage knowledge to increase the influential outreach for the betterment of human society.

It is the end of year, before making a resolution, perhaps we should take a moment to reflect; before taking actions, we need to ponder deeper and prioritize properly. 

New Year is the perfect time for digital leaders and professionals to predict, prioritize and practice the better ways of creating change momentum. They must realize that they cannot wait until there is an immediate pressing task, constantly learning and improving is necessary in an ever-changing world for the upcoming new year.

Learn to think beyond a single dimension; see underneath the surface; pursue more than one solution and appreciate the world of difference: The digital world is dynamic, interconnected, and interdependent, with the abundance of information. The idea of digital paradigm shift, starts from mind shift. To break down silos and break through thinking ceilings, you need to gain sufficient knowledge and unique insight to observe deeper, see things underneath and think profoundly. Increasingly, we should see value in being mindful, appreciate multiple viewpoints and think of alternative solutions.

When you intend to understand, interpret, judge, or articulate something, you need to form a critical opinion of it based on true facts, discerned information, in-depth understanding, and clarified notions. Contemporary global citizens understand the value of harnessing differences, leverage tools and experiences to communicate and build trust across diverse cultures, to shape the true global society effectively.

Awaken your consciousness and liberate your mind to obtain accurate knowledge and wisdom because it gives you a holistic view of circumstances: The career or life is an accumulation of experiences; some you can choose, others perhaps just happened to you. The experience of the world through the senses and the mind, the various processes of thinking and the different implications of this experience are all personal information for people to shape their own perceptions and influence on how they make decisions, large or small; how they take actions in their own ways.

Thinking outside the current constraints and comfort zones requires a different vision and the courage to pursue it. In order to accomplish the impossible, one must be able to see the hidden clues and spark creativity. Good experience brings you confidence, negative experiences make you frustrated. It’s important to gain an in-depth understanding of your experiences and learn from them, turning roadblocks to building blocks for shaping future changes.

Innovation requires balance, balance increases harmony, harmony catalyzes collective human progress: The world is far from perfect, and most of the problems are caused by negative thinking, miscommunication, poor judgment, misbehaviors; or to dig deeper, many are caused by the unbalanced mindsets which lack of emotional intelligence or interdisciplinary knowledge. Imbalance is inevitable if you pick one of the two opposite sides of viewpoint only, and take the two-dimensional lenses to perceive the multi-faceted world.

Balance is a dynamic equilibrium to make change continuum. Balance is not about putting casual things in the same box and expecting natural harmony or creative inspiration.]. Balance seems effortless, but there are all different ingredients such as communication, interaction, flexibility, and resilience, etc, in it to make it work, creating something new to achieve a state of dynamic balance.

The past is part of the history, from which we could always learn something. The present is when we have the time to think, act, and make accomplishments. The new year is the time we make a wish, hopefully, things are going smoothly, so we can overcome obstacles, move ahead to lead changes we want to see. There is more than one road to lead changes and innovations, and there are many best practices you can take in the upcoming new year for unleashing collective potential. Looking inside and understanding deeply of ourselves with a desire for reinventing our beings allows us to leverage knowledge to increase the influential outreach for the betterment of human society.

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A Day Trip to Windsor

My three hour walking tour in Windsor was cheerful with holiday charm and swan lake delight.

In the early morning about 7 am I woke up and headed to the bus station in the city center of London, planning to visit Windsor - the town located in the south bank of London. London is still half awake and half sleepy in the early morning; many shops and restaurants are not  open yet, but the public transportation is already functioning smoothly. So I could take the subway or bus to the coach station and from there, there is a long distance bus to go to Windsor.

Everything was going smoothly as planned, but there was about a 15 minute delay for the bus departing. Windsor is located west of London, about twenty five miles away. Around ten am, we arrive in the Windsor town center. It’s a lovely town still full of Christmas themes, with lighting and holiday ornaments.

Christmas market: I walked through the market streets, there were many shops, cafes and restaurants around. Quite many are the chain stores brand name which you can find in London and many European cities. They offer holiday discounts and those shopping streets are popular to the tourists. I had my brunch in a lovely restaurant. The breads with egg, mushrooms plus flavored sources provided the nutrition I need and recharge my energy to continue my walking tour in Windsor.

Great Park: Going deeper and deeper and walking back to the streets passing through the residential areas with a few clock towers. Surprisingly, after I passed through the small street called brook, I entered the great park - it is spacious, greenery, elegant, with beautiful landscape design and architectural taste. Although it started raining, many people hang around in the park, enjoying the nature scenes.

An amazing swan lake in Windsor: I walked across the castles and fountains, made the left turns, and walked through the river bank of Thames. What a delightful surprise- hundreds of swans geese and birds swam in the river, cheering up the tourists and creating a unique scene. An amazing swan lake in Windsor. Across the river bank, there is a winter amusement park with games, ice skating, and other holiday activities. I also walked through the local Windsor college, libraries, churches, supermarkets. It is an advanced England town with a fully-functioning social ecosystem.

I walked across the author street and planned to visit some museums, but they are not open. I passed through a few residential areas. The deeper I went , the fewer people I saw, the quieter the surroundings were. Most tourists hang around in the town center. But I went a bit further and explored the unknown. My three hour walking tour in Windsor was cheerful with holiday garden charm and swan lake delight.

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LondonTVprograms

We all have mixed lifestyles; we can learn from different channels, entertainment programs make us relax, and education programs rejuvenate our mind.

I didn’t watch TV a lot especially when I was traveling, getting busy with various activities. But I am still curious about what's going on for London TV programs.

When I was in Oxford the day after Christmas, it was raining, so I stayed in the hotel in the mid afternoon and turned on the TV to peel through different TV channels. Overall speaking, there are quality programs to fit the taste of different audiences. Some are entertaining; others are more educational. There is news and weather updated periodically. It’s the holiday season; lots of programs had Christmas themes.

Entertaining content: In the afternoon, there are a few cartoon character fiction movies on TV, such as beauty and beast, lion king, Ice age. There are also some comic sitcom episodes broadcasting daily. Perhaps some audiences are more addicted to popular old movies, so a few channels fit their taste. There are shopping channels and knowledge competition or sports channels

Education content: There are quite a few programs that broaden our knowledge or stimulate our imagination. One of the programs introduced the beautiful landscapes or creatures on the earth and the other one explored spaces or special historical events to open people's minds. There are a few education programs which introduce new technologies or cultural enriching content to audiences. People on the screen are diversified, reflecting the multicultural roots and dynamic life of contemporary society like London.

At least there are fifty different TV programs, some perhaps need to subscribe to additional data services. We all have mixed lifestyles; we can learn from different channels, entertainment programs make us relax, and education programs rejuvenate our mind. Once in a while, we would like to entertain in different ways and welcome the new year coming…

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UrbansuburbconvergenceinEngland

Because of the advanced public transportation system, urban and rural areas converge smoothly; citizens of England can travel around conveniently regardless of who they are and where they live.

After the Oxford trip, I took a coach bus heading back to London in the morning. The weather is considerably clear; but you can feel the chilly wind in some areas. But the long distance Oxford tube coach bus is warm and comfortable, with all necessary facilities we are used to in modern society.

The bus passed the Headington in which I visited the day before, and it only stopped in a few stations before arriving in the city center of London. The landscape is beautiful on the way the bus passed through. Looking out of the window, it’s very greenish and vibrant even though it’s the deep winter season; many areas are like golf courses; beautifully designed and carefully nourished. I didn’t see any people around, but I saw many sheep eating their breakfast. Perhaps there are some farms and villages around. London suburbs sustain a very healthy ecosystem cycle.

A few people came up to the bus from different stations on the way. I observed them and took a guess who they were. Are they farmers, school teachers, or local community employees? Most of them had winter coats like Londoner ladies, just carrying a small handbag to go to the city. I guess they went there very frequently. But I saw one lady carrying a few bigger bags, I guess there might be some goods produced in the farm inside, so she brought them to her relatives or friends who live in the city.

Because of the advanced public transportation system, urban and rural areas converge smoothly; citizens of England can travel around conveniently regardless of who they are and where they live; People from all over places are able to blend into the big metropolitan culture pot more seamlessly. So the nation becomes more enriched and the global city is shaped cross boundarily.

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Global Trip Summary

Learn to be a global citizen, appreciate the world of differences.

The “Future of CIO” Blog has reached 10 million page views with 11,500+ blog postings in 59+ different categories of leadership, management, strategy, digitalization, change/talent, etc. 

The “Digital Master” book series includes 29 books to share insight from the multidimensional digital lens and perceive the multi-faceted impact the digital era upon us is making to businesses and society. The content richness is not for its own sake, but to convey the vision and share the wisdom. Here is the weekly insight of innovation leadership, IT Management, and Talent Management.

London Bridges Returning back to London after the nine city Europe trip, I would like to live like a Londoner. With a convenient transportation card. I can take subways or buses accordingly. But I always prefer to walk around, getting familiar with London and discovering the fresh spots, hidden gems interactively. I enjoy standing on the bridges and overseeing the city landscapes. I appreciate the function of bridges to connect the city or the world.

Brussels -the Capital City of Belgium, with Christmas Fairy Tales Theme My train pass was almost expired, so I decided to take the train from Munich to Brussels Belgium. Brussels is Belgium’s capital and home to the European Union headquarters. However, there is no direct train. I have to transfer to Frankfurt, where I visited for the book fair in mid-October.

Up to the Summit of the Eiffel Tower Standing firmly under- strong wind, heavy rain, she is not shaky; holding up- thousands of people inside, she is not fragile; shining up with- holiday light, she is not cold; she is - elegant, firm, magnificent Paris landmark.

Journey to Munich – A Contemporary City covered by Snow Reluctantly, the train from Bolzano to Munich would be on schedule at noon. But after the train was leaving the station, the staff notified the passengers that the train would be stopped in Eastwood- the other small town in Italy. Then there is the long distance bus we need to take to get to Munich. That perhaps takes another three hours. Goodness, that would be around 6pm in the dark as the day becomes very short in winter.

Go Rome, as Romans do We all know this old saying. Unbelievably, I went to Rome in late November for a couple days, explored this historically glorious grand city, and practiced what this proverb told us. I bought 3-day transportation tickets to explore Rome, experience the breadth and depth of Italy’s capital city.

Blogging is not about writing, but about thinking of new ideas; sharing and innovating. It’s not just about WHAT to say, but about WHY to say, and HOW to say it. It reflects the color and shade of your thought patterns, and it indicates the peaks and curves of your thinking waves. Unlike pure entertainment, quality and professional content takes time for digesting, contemplation and engaging, and therefore, it takes time to attract the "hungry minds" and the "deep souls." It’s the journey to amplify diverse voices and deepen digital footprints, and it's the way to harness your innovative spirit.

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Informationinitiatives

When people learn how they have effectively used intuition in the past, captured insight from the information they have, they become more effective at harnessing this attribute for future decisions, leading changes and harnessing innovations.

There are all sorts of thoughts or ideas which are all happening in the sphere of influence of an individual human or groups of humans, or humans interacting with knowledge of the past, or connecting with the universe. Insightful leaders and professionals today are able to understand the subjectivity and objectivity of information they have, apply analysis and intuition accordingly, to capture the hindsight and shape foresight, to position and lead themselves, teams, or the organizations via periodical review, objective assessment, and interdisciplinary logical reasoning to increase effectiveness & efficiency, harness innovation, flexibility.

Objectivity vs. subjectivity: As now with the abundance of information, the world has become hyper-complex, uncertain and ambiguous. One’s perception matters, but often subjective. Because people have a different knowledge base and cognitive understanding to perceive and express; cognitive gaps are inevitable. Also, because many people avoid reality and put their own perception of it in its place. Some of the reality is indeed subjective. Your perception affects how you are going to respond to “what happened.” How can you become more objective in making fair judgment or sound decisions?

An individual’s perception is his/her personal reality, and this reality is transient. It’s important to consciously limit the influence of our own biases. To be objective, we must step out of what one is trying to understand, to capture the holistic picture, otherwise, your false perception perhaps clouds the view of objective reality. A part of objectivity includes self-criticism and the ability to be open and flexible to new ways of thinking. That means you will always see the two sides of a coin, listen to the stories from different perspectives; and understand things via interdisciplinary perspectives.

Analysis vs. Intuition: The purpose of human decision making is to frame the right questions and validate the assumptions. Both analysis and the right dose or intuition count. Analytics can give you the best answer to the right question oftentime. Intuition is one element for our unconscious process which is created out of one’s distilled experiences; it is often used when there is a high level of uncertainty. We need to be provoked to make our intuition work, sometimes it is a thought-provoking question, other times, it is a triggered event.

We need to use both - our rational, logical mind and also our intuitive minds - “gut-feeling.” We should clearly rely on analysis of data, and equally as importantly, remember that even our subjective experience has value too. Gut feeling is important, but it needs to be supported by good logic/quality data. Analytics has no value until they inform decisions, optimizing processes, directly or indirectly related to long-term prosperity.

Foresight vs. Hindsight: Past is important as it provides invaluable lessons for us to learn. But the future is what we should focus on and advance ourselves and human societies. You may not be able to foresee specific instances of futures, but you can imagine general classes and positions to take advantage of, shape, mitigate what is then occurring. What happened yesterday will not be a perfect image of today or tomorrow. If hindsight is more data oriented, then foresight is shaped via the right mix of past analysis and intuitive gut feelings leading to a certain degree of wisdom.

Technically speaking, while information gleaned from historical data can be factored into any decision, the "wisdom" in the decision process incorporates the decision maker's tolerance for risk for the foresight. Breakthrough ideas always are logical - in hindsight, but they are rarely logical in foresight. Collective wisdom can make the difference. Those forethoughtful minds collectively feel the horizon in which you are able to make reliable predictions coming closer, shortening or quickening.

Insight is the most wanted and abstracted knowledge to gain an in-depth understanding of a specific cause and effect in a specific context. Information confluence means breaking down functional silos or geographical borders, streamline data flow, analyze quality information, generate differentiated value, When people learn how they have effectively used intuition in the past, captured insight from the information they have, they become more effective at harnessing this attribute for future decisions, leading changes and harnessing innovations.

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Oxfordtripafterchristmas

Let it rain, let it wind, we can work together to make progress. My tour will continue to go broader and deeper in the upcoming new year, for reimagining the future of global advanced Education courageously.

The day after Christmas I planned another trip to Oxford as last month I only spent one day there, not going deep enough. Fortunately the transport system went back to normal. It only took less than two hours to arrive in Oxford downtown. However because it’s the box day, and also the winter break time, the Oxford colleges are closed and not allowed to go inside, It seems I still cannot go deeper enough.

There are quite many tourists gathering in downtown West Gate shopping center and a few hot spots of tourists. So I walked through queen street, strolling across a few main streets and shopping center. Many scenery and shops were not open; the train station was also closed. It might still be the official holiday here. It was raining in mid afternoon, like the last time I visited here, So I decided to come back to Oxford downtown again the next morning to visit museums and libraries.

Like London, Oxford rain a lot in the winter time In the early morning of the second day it was chilly, windy, and rainy so I bought a daily tickets and planned to go-broader, visiting a few more small towns nearby, so I jumped on the bus, went to the nearby small town -Headington for a short visit. There are small shopping street with a few charity stores opening, restaurants, cafes, gifts and grocery stores there. Now I remember the long distance buses between London and Oxford passed through here, there is the Headington college ]and a green, spacious Bury Knowly park nearby. 

And then, I headed back to the city center, went through the high street, passed by the gate of theQueen College and walked through the alley-the Queen lane and came to the square with quite a few colleges, libraries and museums. I walked through St Mary church tower which was not open. The colleges I passed through perhaps included All Souls College, New College, Hertford College, Lincoln College, Jesus College, Exeter College, Trinity College, and I also walked through Oxford business school and brook college, St. Peter college etc.

At about noon time, I booked the guided trip to visit Bodleian library and divinity school as they start opening. The division college was like the church hall building. We listened to the female tour guide’s introduction there. Then start visiting the old Bodleian library. This old library was opened in the year of 1602. The tour guide asked us to guess how many books they had at that time. I guess it was fifty, but she said it was only a 20 book collection; but right now, as one of the oldest libraries in Europe, it is one of the largest libraries in Britain with more than 17 million printed items. I also visited history of science museum and museum of Oxford, both had very limited art collection, compared to the museum Ashmolean with very large-scale enriched art gallery, I visited in Oxford last month. 

The wind was gusty and the rain became heavy, so I went to lunch on the roof terrace in the west gate center. It was a beautiful environment and full of the holiday theme. When I headed back to the city center again, I entered the covered market- going to the deep alley decorated with Christmas lights and decorations. There are many shops and stalls which sell gifts, decorations, foods or drinks. I also walked across the logic street there, but disappointed, not very logical, with a locked gate and cobblestone little street. I tried to take more buses to go broader, but for some reason, I couldn’t find my big daily tickets. So I changed my mind, and went to the local library in the shopping center and read a few books instead. The communication library has a great collection of books, quite many people study inside even though it is the holiday season.

Perhaps the tourists ' voices woke up this ivy town almost everyday. River Isis - the stretch of the river Thames and the river Cherwell are the mother rivers of Oxford, they flow forward quietly and clean up this academic city diligently. Because of the winter break I can’t get into the college campuses this time, I am pondering: are those ivy colleges with deep Christianity root open-minded enough to drive the world of innovation collaboratively? My tour will continue to go broader and deeper in the upcoming new year, for reimagining the future of global advanced Education courageously ... .Let it rain, let it wind, we can work together to make progress.

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Citycharm

Walking into-the crowd gives –me a peace of mind; your diversity broadens up-my vision; your dynamism, cures-my stagnation; your firmness eases- my procrastination; your sophistication stimulates-my imagination; I appreciate your city charms..

In the chilly,

windy,

winter time,

I arrived in –

the city,

come to the board,

in the rainy night,

can’t wait to –

see you again,

stare at –

your urban eyes;

catch up with-

your fast pace,

make me passionate inside…



You are so near,

you are so far away;

you are so same,

you are so different;

you are so new,

you are like a home;

see you from different angles;

walk you through by-

taking varying paths,

your charm is a delight.



Walk along –

the trendy river bank,

watch over-

the flocks of birds,

flying over,

swans dancing around;

the water flows –

forward endlessly;

the towers stand across –

the city, vigorously;

the bridges connect –

the world,

seamlessly,

your calm cools down-

my emotions,

your charm warms up-

the cold streets;

chilly weather,

peacefully…



Hang around in –

the downtown,

the other day,

the Christmas light is-

shining up,

like the stars,

breaks through-

the darkness,

brightens up-

the surroundings;

brilliantly;

walking into-

the crowd gives –

me a peace of mind;

your diversity broadens up-

my vision;

your dynamism,

cures-

my stagnation;

your firmness eases-

my procrastination;

your sophistication stimulates-

my imagination;

I appreciate your city charms,

In the winter time…

….

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Reinventingourselvesduringholidays

Reinventing yourself is about tapping the inner and outer resources of strength, and to get yourself doing things with principles, disciplines, practices to achieve ultimate goals.

This year, I am staying in London for the Christmas holiday. Enchanted by its metropolitan charm and enriched cultural heritage, I tried to follow many ancestors’ footsteps, go further, discover deeper, explore the city and the world with anthropological touch points and philosophical insight. What shall we do for the Christmas season to improve our professional maturity?

Recharge ourselves to be open-minded: Allow our own self-awareness to discover, learn and apply the life lessons to discover the true spirit of Christmas; carve out time to reflect on what, and how we have been doing lately. Our mind is not cluttered. We are free, with an inner feeling, positive emotions, excellence by choices. We are using our unique talent, doing something we are proud of.

The open and forward-looking mind is the very driver to learn, grow and change. Forward- thinking people do not restrict themselves to conventional wisdom, they have foresight with a proactive and predictive understanding of cause and effect, not reactive response; they become more creative to come up with alternative paths or solutions..

Be self-aware to pursue authenticity: Discover who we are in the holidays. When we are authentic, our mind keeps flowing, releasing positive energy. Self-reflection is important for the recognition of one’s strength and weakness, cognitive ability, and style, intellectual engagement, creative problem-solving. Out of this comes a beautiful thing, the freedom of choice and plenty of thoughts and quotes.

Being authentic means being true to that in every aspect: thinking, saying and doing, ensuring that your voice and actions are in synchronization by combined action, endurance, and with the right spirit. Real thinking occurs when we are authentic, look for inner understanding of our journey in order to find a way to contribute something of value,

Reinventing oneself with resilience: Christmas is the season actually we should devote more time to understanding self and others. We all have suffering moments; tests and trials expose one’s character for who we really are. A person with resilience lives in a grounded place, being flexible and adaptable in the midst of adversity, threat, and stress.

The amount you learn is closely related to the amount of risk we take, resilience is about a bounce. Resilience refers to a personal attribute which enables people to press on and persevere despite difficult circumstances. Just like those plants growing in the gardens I visited recently; a tree is still recognizably a tree even if it's all crooked to get adequate light or soil; and we could be recognizably "us" even if we adapt to a difficult situation. It takes time to know what needs to change in your perspective so you can choose actions in line with your own life force and career flow.

The Christmas spirit is about kindness, love and peace, etc. We can choose to lead and to live with kindness and insight. Each of us could make a contribution to make a better world. Reinventing yourself is about tapping the inner and outer resources of strength, and to get yourself doing things with principles, disciplines, practices to achieve ultimate goals.

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Christmasday

It is a memorable life experience for us to celebrate the holidays in all sorts of ways and rejuvenate ourselves with the Christmas spirit up.

It is a quiet Christmas morning. I walked around nearby and almost all stores were closed in this very busy street. I didn’t expect McDonalds to be closed, as I planned to have my breakfast here. So I had some cookies and juice I bought yesterday for breakfast. The subways and buses were also not operating on Christmas Day, I planned to have a walking tour, capturing some unique vista points and doing some exercise as well.

I listened to the tower bell ringing in the street, and I walked into the nearby Kensington Garden. Although the trees had fallen out of leaves, they still look great; standing straight on the chilly winter day. The garden looks very spacious and harmonious, with birds chirping and people chatting. After walking deeper, surprisingly, I saw another swan lake inside the park. I walked through the garden a few times before, but didn’t see it before. What a Christmas delight here.

There are hundreds of swans and birds flying around the lake or swimming inside the water. They are colorful -white, black, gray, yellow brown etc. I fed them some cookie pieces, the swans stretched up their long necks to tick them up. Some even walked up to the river bank to get them and smaller birds flew up to the sky to swallow them up, very delightful. More people came here to meet with birds and Swans. Quite many birds walk on the meadows; it’s vibrant, energetic and cheerful on the lake side. Suddenly almost all birds big or small started to fly back to the lake; it’s a teamwork. it seems they received some secret signals, very impressive. Those are all well trained birds. Obviously there are bird masters behind the scenes to orchestrate it.

What a lovely Christmas morning, birds cheer up people and people entertain with birds we co-share this wonderful world and sustain a dynamic and healthy ecosystem. I walked around the lake and kept moving forward. There is the sign that directs towards Paddington. If bicycling it took about six minutes so I walked, it might take me about fifteen minutes to get there. It took me quite a while to reach another gate of the park nearby where there was a fountain and statue. After exiting the gate, there was the Lancaster subway station. Honestly, I was lost again, as my phone was out of the network, I had to count on the global strangers’ help and a few signs across the street to get there. I walked around back and forth a while and arrived at the shopping streets in Paddington. It’s about 11 am, most of the stores are not open but a few small coffee shops and restaurants are open, very encouraging. I passed through the statue of a group of imaginary figures, and went to the local fish and chip shop for lunch. There were very few guests there. Their fish cakes are delicious and their tea is sweet; it’s a simple and tasteful brunch for me on Christmas Day.

And I decided to walk back to the street I came from; but got confused again on the way, even though I tried to follow the street signs. I passed through Hyde Park with the Swan lake as I visited there a week ago to go to Winter wonderland. More people came into the park to greet the swans and birds here. Perhaps hundreds of people spread nearby the lake, more people joined the crowd. Since I already came here not so long ago. I asked a senior couple about the direction to go back to the street, and the gentleman pointed out the shortcut. Actually I need to go back to Kensington garden again and then walk back to the high street. I passed the same swan lake I went to this morning. I saw a beautiful black swan joining the group of birds I saw in the morning. A pair of black and white swans captured lots of attention.

Going back to the street, there was a food court, and a few smaller grocery stores opening. Quite a few people walk in the street, but all other stores are closed on Christmas Day. It was drizzling, so I took a rest and went to the nearby Holland park in which there are castles and parks inside the park I came here before. So I revisit the Kyoto garden. There were geese swimming around and when I stepped up to watch the mini waterfalls, I also saw colorful fish swimming around, squirrels jumping on the ground. It is a mid-sized park with a healthy ecosystem. I passed through the park and went to the coffee shop sipping my afternoon Jasmine tea and wrote something, surfed the internet for a while and greeted my family. The day turned dark, the rain hadn’t stopped yet; the holiday lights were still on, I felt calm inside.

My Christmas Day with a walking tour in London is cheerful with Swans and peaceful with wonderful parks and quiet streets. It is a memorable life experience for us to celebrate the holidays in all sorts of ways and rejuvenate ourselves with the spirit up.

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Love in Christmas

Love is -nature of truth, the tone of holiday; love is soft and hard, inclusive and exclusive, personal and universal. Love is- the right fit-in holiday puzzle pieces.

Although there is -

no snow flakes,

flying in the sky;

no reindeers running -

in the streets.

When we see -

millions of the trees,

shining with lights

the night is -

brighter than-

the daytime;

we know -

the Christmas is -

coming,

conveying love themes with -

holiday delights


Love is-

the mindset;

releasing -

positive energy;

love is -

the right ingredient for-

holiday celebration;

love is the silent force to-

help each others,

touch the mind,

bridge the world of -

differences.


Just like Christmas ornaments

love comes in-

many forms with -

full spectrum of-

color themes,

varying size & shapes...

bring us-

holiday charms...


Love is -

nature of truth,

the tone of holiday,

Love is -

soft and hard,

inclusive and exclusive,

personal and universal.

Love is-

the right fit-in holiday puzzle pieces.


When we ponder -

in the holiday,

love is hope,

believing, doing-

what is right;

love is-

empathetic,

sympathetic

universal to-

advance the world

harmoniously.

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London Bridges

As one of the great global metropolitan cities. London bridges close the gaps, mind the differences and become unique scenes.

Returning back to London after the nine city Europe trip, I would like to live like a Londoner. With a convenient transportation card. I can take subways or buses accordingly. But I always prefer to walk around, getting familiar with London and discovering the fresh spots, hidden gems interactively. I enjoy standing on the bridges and overseeing the city landscapes. I appreciate the function of bridges to connect the city or the world.

So the first stop, I went to the London Bridge, I could walk down stairs to get closer to the Thames river and stroll on the river bank towards the tower bridge. Last month, I was confused and thought the tower bridge was the London bridge, they are different but not so far away. The tower bridge has a modern look with blue suspension chains with more than two hundred years of history while the London bridge has a more traditional look but seems to have a bigger name. Anyway they are all great London bridges, functioning, firm, and delightful.

I walked across different directions, walked through the Thames river bank on a rainy day. Tere were quite a few galleries full of coffee shops, restaurants with Christmas trees and decorations bustling with tourists; and there were imaginary creatures near the shopping center that greet tourists lovely.

The Thames river looks open, calm, and smells fresh on a rainy day. The tower bridge opened its blue wings and looks very beautiful. When you see it from different angles. capture different scenes. I can watch the London bridge and Tower bridge from different locations, watch the Thames river flow peacefully; greeting the imaginary figures across the river bank and get inspired to explore the metropolitan city on winter days.

When visiting the city center, I also passed through the Waterloo bridge and Westminster bridges a couple of times, and captured the views of the city landscape openly there.

A few days later, I also had the chance to visit the other bridge- Golden Jubilee Bridge which connects the Westminster and South bank of Thames River. It has a modern look and when walking through it, you can capture great scenery of London and the Thames river. After crossing the bridge, I visited the poetry library located in the South bank center. It is a warm small library with friendly staff and a limited collection of poetry related literature. I also visited the Christmas Markets there. .

London has dozens of bridges for connecting the different regions of the city. They are all solid functional, some of them are so delightful, and attract tourists all over the world. As one of the great global metropolitan cities. London bridges close the gaps, mind the differences and become unique scenes.

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Christmasmarkets

Christ Markets are the places not just for shopping but also for enriching our holiday experiences and lifting up the spirit of the holiday.

Starting in late November or early December, many places set up Christmas markets to sell holiday crafts, sweets, gifts, games, foods, wines, or coffee in many places all over the world. I Visited Christmas markets in Brussels Belgium and London. Those Christmas markets brought us holiday themes, fun places to go, and cultural enrichment.

In early December, I stayed in Brussels for a couple of days. The Christmas markets near the city center are very big with hundreds of booths and merchants, decorated with holiday lights and ornaments, sell exquisite crafts and gifts, delicious sweets and foods, quality clothing and accessories, and are very crowded, full of the holiday theme.

Since mid December, I have visited a couple of Christmas markets in London. They spread around the main subway station over the city, usually nearby shopping centers or city parks bringing holiday entertainment for people and reflecting the Christmas spirit.

Winter Christmas Wonderland located in Hyde park is one of the biggest Christmas markets with amusement park themes attracting people all over the place. They come here for relaxing, eating, shopping, ice skating, playing games, and having family fun together. Not so far away, there is the swan lake also bringing joys to visitors

In the center of London, there are quite a few Christmas markets in different main streets. I went to the market in Trafalgar square and Covent gardens. Even on rainy days, there are lots of people and lots of booths that bring more fun to those tourist hot spots.

A few days ago, I intended to visit the poetry library which is located in the Southbank center. Not only did I visit the library there, but also stopped by the Christmas market located on the bank of river Thames in the afternoon. Many local families came here for meals doing Christmas shopping and let their young kids play games full of holiday themes. Standing on the nearby golden Jubilee suspension bridge, you can capture the city view and watch over the tower tip. The trees are decorated with Christmas lights and the shops around are full of people who entertain themselves during the holiday season. 

Yesterday, I stopped by the Ealing Broadway Christmas center, saw the deer and love lighting symbols and decorations. There is even a mini Santa workshop inside the store, where kids chatted with Santa and big bears. There are quite a few department stores, smaller boutiques, flower stands, cafes & restaurants there. Upstairs, it’s the community library, but they are closed at the holidays. People came here to buy Christmas gifts, home decorations, full of the holiday delight. 

There are perhaps dozens of Christmas markets in London, I can’t visit them all. I believe each one of them has unique themes, fun activities and special merchandise. They are the places not just for shopping but also for enriching our holiday experiences and lifting up the spirit of the holiday.

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Reflecting, Refreshing & Rejuvenating

If we look at the world through a lens of genuine positive intent, think through our intention, decisions and actions and the ripple effect being created, the world would change for better significantly.

In a big metropolitan city like London, the holiday light has been lit a month ago. There are Christmas trees, decorations, and markets all over the place, we know, quite a while ago, Christmas is coming. Now, Christmas Eve is just around the corner, holidays are the time to refresh our mind, recharge our energy, and rejuvenate the spirit of Christmas.

Christmas is the moment to hold all thoughts, refresh ourselves, and ponder deeper about the very spirit of holiday: Nowadays, we live in a hyperconnect and interdependent global society, during the holiday season, when we walk in the crowd, participate in parties, take holiday activities, we could observe deeper, learn from others, get to know each other deeper , help each others in a certain way, to reflect the spirit of Christmas.

In reality, people may have different values, different perceptions, different personalities, and different judgments based on different information. The truth is that each of us is a complex blend of contrasts - positive and negative; intuitive and analytical with imperfect judgment. We all want to believe that our judgment is perfect, yet none of us can claim to be a perfect character. Misunderstanding with each other causes chaos, conflicts. Holiday season is the right time to refresh our thinking. Complementary thoughts can overcome the common challenges facing humankind, enhance digital thinking such as holism , creativity, growth, balance.

Christmas is the day & season we recharge our energy, rekindle our passion, rejuvenate our dream, and rejoice our spirit: It takes a lot of energy to break down old habits and outdated thought processes. Holiday season is the time to recharge our energy, and make resolutions. The real challenge is to understand your priorities, and know where and how you can and should improve, boost the energy and excitement.

Holiday season is the time to discover and reinvent ourselves; rekindle our passion, and rejoice our spirit. Be passionate about learning and growing. Passion is an emotion, which is something that comes from within, with the strong sense of connection with "self"; enabling determination, creativity, and growth, rejuvenate our dream, aligning focus and therefore potentially.

Holiday season is the time for blessing and prediction, reflection and celebration: The global world becomes more diverse and dynamic, some perceive the world as black and white, others see the full spectrum of color. It further reflects our inner world. In this holiday season, let’s make the world brighter, better and more colorful. Do some reflection. Reflection on human desire and how it shapes our understanding of truth is one gateway to finding ourselves within the environment we are attempting to think about.

When we walk into the crowd and celebrate the holiday, we should understand the power of people. Digital power is the combination of the power of knowledge, the power of information technology, the power of the crowd, and power of creativity. After reflection, we do prediction. The prediction of the future is based on the analysis of the past. The highest level of future sensitivity comes from appreciation of the whole situation which relies heavily on intuition and sensing. During the holiday seasoning and at the end of year, foresight is also an ongoing conversation for improving humanity constantly.

Think positively and act thoughtfully in this holiday season. Be kind both from the bottom of the heart and the top of our mind, keep refreshing and reinventing ourselves with enriched life experience and contribute to our co-shared world. If we look at the world through a lens of genuine positive intent, think through our intention, decisions and actions and the ripple effect being created, the world would change for better significantly.

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Christmas is Only a Few Hours Away

City is bustling with crowds, shops are still opening; but people slow down - their paces, buy last minute gifts, sip afternoon coffee or teas, to-boost the spirits of holiday, peacefully. I know -Christmas is -only a few hours away…

Walk into crowds,

on the high street-

shining with holiday lighting.

wander around in -

the Christmas market, full of-

craft shops, food booths,

we know -

Christmas is coming,

just a few hours away..


Blend yourself in -

the metropolitan regions;

listen to diverse voices,

Christmas music,

hang around in-

the big street;

stroll through-

the deep alley;

can you dig into-

cultural heritage,

sense the uniqueness of-

this urban city?

Could you feel -

the pulse of -

hyperdiversity,

melt into -

dynamic modern society to-

lift the holiday spirit?

Pass through -

city parks;

step into-

palace gardens;

breathe fresh air,

smell the flowers;

the wind is-

blowing;

leaves are falling,

people walk, jog, chat, laugh,

rejuvenate fresh energy;

when I run into-

the Christmas wonderland,

with rolling coasters,

game arcades,

I know -

the holiday is -

here already.



Listen to -

the Christmas carol,

watch holiday ornaments;

I saw -

reindeers running,

Santa workshops,

exquisite chocolate,

people start shopping -

last minute gifts,

in the market

I know -

Christmas Eve is coming!

The day becomes-

shorter & shorter;

the light turns to-

be brighter & brighter;

the journey of -

the life has-

up and down,

joy and sadness;

even if we took -

thorny paths;

detour routes,

shall we move forward,

make a laugh,

to overcome -

challenges, optimistically?

Are we able to-

keep reflecting, recharging, reinventing ourselves,

to lift the holiday spirit?

City is bustling with crowd,

shops are still opening;

but people slow down -

their paces,

sip afternoon coffee or teas, to-

boost the spirits of holiday,

peacefully,

I know -

Christmas is -

only a few hours away…

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London’s Hidden Gem

London is the global city mixing old and new, luxury and thriftiness, cheers and solitude, voice and noise.

I was a bit blue in the early morning because the handle of my backpack which holds my personal electronic belongings was broken yesterday. Although it’s a small issue, it caused inconvenience and could cause big trouble for travelers like myself. I need to find a fixer in big London. Is there still somebody who can take care of those logistic issues for the customers during the holiday season?

One of the global stranger ladies in a shop where I stopped by told me, I could go to a chain store for doing dry cleaning across the street, they might be able to help out. Surprisingly, they do have sewing machines there. However, the lady said she only sewed the fabric, not the backpack. But she suggested to me kindly to go to a nearby shop who does some shoe repair close to the subway station; I went there, but the gentleman said his machine didn’t work, and suggested I could go to South Kensington. There is a shop near the subway, they might help me fix the problem. I held my bag and took the subway to get there. I did find that shop, doing some repairs but their minimum charge is twenty pounds plus, truly over-charged for about five minutes work. They are also busy with other things, not very warm-hearted. My backpack looks fashionable but cloth-made, not very expensive, why should I overpay to fix the handle? So I didn’t use their service, try to find better solutions or buy a new backpack.

Just a few blocks away, I entered the local dry cleaning chain store bearing the same name as the store I stopped by in the early morning. The gentleman was also very friendly, and suggested to me that I could go to the neighborhood repair shop or the nearby home supply store. As the repair shop was not open, I found a nearby shop which sold all sorts of home supplies. I asked them for suggestions. They had a sewing kit for sales. They even sell large needles and strings for sewing bigger household items. London truly has everything, with all sorts of hidden gems.


I decided to do the self service -sewing the handle on my own, cost effectively, I bought the

necessary supplies and went to the nearby cafe, ordered fresh English tea to soothe my anxiety and sat there to fix my problem, just like making the holiday craft. Although I am not very good at sewing, I still made it, putting the handle back to my bag. It works and I also finished my tea with good taste. When I got out of the café and carried my bag again, it felt so light.

It was noon time; the Sun came out and my feelings turned from blue to sunshine. Now we know how our experiences impact our emotions; how our emotions impact our productivity and creativity. Especially since we have emotional connections with our own stuff, I carry my bag everyday. I am so glad I can keep using it. Thanks to global strangers and business people with the right information, resources and supplies, I can fix my issue and make my day more productive and enjoyable.

I am impressed in big London, business associates, entrepreneurs are hardworking, friendly and

detail-oriented providing all sorts of products or services to satisfy different needs and wants. There are quite many hidden gems here, you just have to discover them. Only days away from Christmas holiday, shops are still opening, people are friendly and helpful so I can have more enriched life experiences here. As an entrepreneur myself. I appreciate all great business people who can help others solve problems effectively.


London is the global city mixing old and new, luxury and thriftiness, cheers and solitude, voice and noise, etc. There are lots of hidden gems we can discover. When exploring deeper, I like it here better, as we can find what we need and people with professional capabilities do their best to help others and cheer up their days.

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Innovateviaprofessionalism

The high-level of professionalism is a mindset, principle, and discipline, with a set of the best and next practices.

A professional is an individual who strives to represent proper skills to perform certain activities and develop the right set of capabilities to make professional movement. Professional competency is a unique set of capabilities with focus. It is more related to knowledge and skills for particular work; performance and outcome. 

Technically, there is cognitive competency, knowledge competency, or skill competency, etc, all of which could be integrated into core competency to make professional achievement.

Being a digital professional means to master special sets of skills and capabilities to get the work done: It doesn’t mean if you had a profession, you would always be a well-respected professional with professionalism. The purposes for developing professional capabilities are to create value and solve problems large or small. Value creation is both art and science by balancing short term gain and long term advantage. With an increasing pace of changes, knowledge could be outdated sooner than what you thought about. So keep sharpening your skills can help to develop professional capabilities. In the interdependent, nonlinear world we live in, linear skills only are not enough; it's important to integrate a set of capabilities into core professional competency.

Skill development is something which depends on the individual's wish as per the organization's standards: The best professionals make the jump to perceiving their role as a business partner to help the company achieve its long-term business goals. From a talent management perspective, how to encourage professionals stepping out of their comfort zone, continue to learn, grow and innovate. 

If you want to create a truly high-performance team, you have to understand your people at the deep level, discourage mediocrity and build the culture to encourage learning and capability development, to unleash people’s potential. It’s also crucial to align the employee’s professional goal with the strategic goals of the organization to ensure long term prosperity.

Knowledge is rather a way to freedom; practice knowledge power relevant for solving tough problems: To move up the level of professional competency, people need to keep exploring their talent, broadening their relevant skills and deepening their expertise to solve more complex problems and get higher than expected performance results. From a business initiative management perspective, a forethoughtful leader who wants to have their ideas and that technical expertise shared and implemented into business initiatives needs to be a specialized generalist. The context of the work may mandate the concerned subject matter experts or technical professionals to have estimation, prioritization, and process management skills.

At the integral level of professional competency, people are not only fluent in making professional accomplishments, but also becoming more influential on innovating, coaching, and driving transformative changes. They are willing to think differently and acquire new patterns of habit and behavior; see the big picture with tolerance of ambiguity and uncertainty; have the ability to provide and receive constructive feedback. They are not only experts, but also great leaders who can integrate their professional competency with leadership vision and influence to create a ripple effect and make a high societal impact.

If your company aspires to the top tier of success then professionalism comes with it. High professionalism is a mindset, principle, and discipline, with a set of the best and next practices. Being professional means you present a certain set of qualities that show a high level of excellence & value, working ethics, peculiar and essential character. High professionals demonstrate multidimensional intelligence to decide coherently; develop differentiated competency to accomplish work smoothly; increase emotional excellence to overcome obstacles cool-headedly.

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Oxford – The College Town with Strong England Cultural Touch

I didn’t have time to go deeper, explore further about Oxford. Still, the condensed version of Oxford I captured has the enriched culture theme and historical heritage impressively. I will revisit there again.

After visiting Cambridge, I decided to spend another day exploring the other famous college town: Oxford, which has a high academic reputation and education credential. Like the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford is also divided into thirty plus different colleges with different academic focus.

That is the chilly sunshine day, there are many buses running back and forth between London and Oxford, and there are beautiful landscape sceneries on the way. The green trees on the roadside, the cloud mountain on the remote horizon is truly amazing, and makes you ponder around the imaginary wonderland, the fairy tale world in the higher space.

It took about two hours for the bus to arrive in Oxford downtown, which is mixed with antique architecture building and contemporary west gate shopping center, anthropological museums and fashion boutiques. In Cambridge, we walked through cam bridges, in Oxford, there is a sign bridge.

Walking across Oxford street, I found the direction to Oxford botanic garden; there are architecture buildings even inside the garden, green meadow across the lake, people walk, chat, take a rest, passing through the garden, the scenery looks great.

After a short visit due to the time limit, I headed to the street again, walking a while, getting to the places cross the King’s college, with a few unique buildings nearby. After that, I visited Oxford Publishing and introduced my work, their staff are friendly. An then, I sat at the restaurant downtown, ordered the daily vegetable soup with slices of bread, it tasted delicious. After lunch, going to a few tourists’ hotspots nearby, many places are crowded; outside the building of Soul’s College, Queen’s college, etc. 

I went to visit one of the famous museums in Oxford. There is the world class collection of art, sculpture, paintings, categorized by geographical location of the word, such as Europe, Asia, Africa, America, etc. In the coffee shop, there are quite many local ladies who sipped coffee and enjoyed their day in the museum.

 
I need to go back to London in the afternoon, unfortunately, I didn’t have time to go deeper, explore further about Oxford. Still, the condensed version of Oxford I captured has the enriched culture theme and historical heritage impressively.

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Gain an In-depth Understanding of London via Visiting Downtown Colleges

In the college campuses, we can see the growth of the next generation; the power of youth. Learning is ageless; we all should have an inner desire to learn and relearn, and refine our life experience.

After heading back to London in December, I visited a couple of colleges in the center of London, with the intention to learn more about advanced education and dig into the cultural roots of England anthropologically.

I appreciate the architecture design, libraries or café shops there. I sat there, observing, pondering around, reading or writing something in the academic environment with solitude. There are not so many students there during the winter break in the holiday season, but libraries still open and staff are friendly.

University of London: I went to the University of London in the morning in downtown London. Although it is the holiday season, there are still quite a few students and visitors going back and forth to the campus. There's a beautiful Christmas tree with lights standing in the center of campus. A female student was very nice, and told me the library was open until 5pm. So I went there, and asked the staff’s permission to visit there. She is also very friendly to give me some introduction and let me in warm-heartedly.

The library of UCL is like a small gallery, there are a few fine statues, paintings, the collection of references books about laws, literature, science etc, inside. There are probably dozens of study rooms, computer labs, or printing rooms inside. As right now it’s the winter break, very few students spread in the different rooms doing study in a very quiet environment. Upon the librarian's permission, I also sat down to read and write for a while. Besides me, only one female student studied in that room. Students came alone to do independent study, there are no groups of people sitting together, it is a quiet and peaceful environment. A few librarians work diligently. I also visited a café in the campus, very spacious with modern design.

The University of London has sufficient capacity for students to learn. To save energy, they could only open one or two study rooms for a handful of students and close others, so more staff could take the holiday off.

King’s College: Then I visited King’s college nearby the London Bridge. I wanted to visit the science gallery there, but unfortunately it’s still not open. I was very disappointed; as this is the second time I went there, but nobody was there and it is the Friday. I still remember last time, I did have difficulty in finding the science gallery. Ask around people who were friendly but pointing in different directions. I felt frustrated by trying different routes. Finally, there was a nice lady who works in the local shop showed me the clear direction. Up and down a couple of times I saw the sign of the science gallery. Unfortunately it was not open. The student in the King college explained it might not open on the weekend because it is not the school day. What a disappointment.

I went through the campus with a few sculptures, a café and student building with the gate locked, and the hospital building. There was a nice environment there as well.

Imperial College: The other college in the center of London I visited is imperial college last week as I passed through there to go to the science museum and the London natural history museum. The architecture looks elegant, lots of well crafted sculptures, there are a few famous museums and landmarks nearby. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed the enriched cultural area in the neighborhood.

I sat in the student cafe to have breakfast. watching people coming in and out of campus. Even if the weather is chilly and it’s the winter break. It is still full of energy, young people keep learning, growing, developing themselves, pursuing their own interests and building solid foundations for their future professions.

In the college campuses, we can see the growth of the next generation; the power of youth. Learning is ageless; we all should have an inner desire to learn and relearn, and refine our life experience. The college campuses could be the quieter, purer world to rejuvenate our holiday spirit, especially in the winter season.

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Inquiriesofleadership

The digital leadership effectiveness is not based on how loudly you can speak, but how profoundly you can influence and how further you can lead forward.

The digital world is diversified, divergent and dynamic, leadership becomes more open and omnipresent in the hyperconnected and interdependent digital era, Insightful leaders can see things differently, do things alternatively, and walk the talk to build an advanced society. 

Leadership is both abstract and situational, it’s always crucial to make inquiries about leadership, clarify the quintessential of leadership and improve leadership quality.

Query of leadership: It is imperative that "leadership" can be explained, explored, understood and embraced for it to be of any value via interdisciplinary lenses. Inquisitiveness stimulates imagination; amplifies influence and accelerates improvement. An effective question is about science, fact finding, analysis, structured thinking, objective evaluation and comparison, the progressive pursuit of better leadership practices. It’s tough and direct, engaging critical thinking, and logical reasoning about leadership principles and philosophy. The query of leadership leads to the vision, vision further drives inquisitiveness to explore the art and science of leadership.

Top leaders need to be inquisitive, shaping the right questions is perhaps more important than providing some single-minded answers. The query of leadership deepens the understanding of tough situations; finding common ground and initiating open dialogues; turn around the tough situations, and enjoy the challenges of complex problem-solving.

Quality of leadership: It’s always important to increase the quality of leadership. Besides soft quality, the hardcore of leadership is knowledge, insight, and wisdom in order to make sound judgments. Business games need to be more serious and value-driven, it’s about constructive competition, and creative destruction. Digital leaders today need to become more inquisitive, creative and informative.

We need to compete with purpose, unite via common values. Leadership maturity is not about how well you are good at following conventional wisdom, but about being mindful of decision-making or problem-solving. The difference between senior and junior (middle) leadership is not about how many answers you have, but about how well you can ask the open questions to attract the best answers and leverage all sorts of information to perceive the big picture; whether you can put the right people in the right position to solve right problems and enforce leadership maturity.

Quintessential of leadership: In essence, leadership is about the future, there is no generic set of leadership skills, but you should abstract leadership substances and capture leadership quintessential. Always eager to understand the other side of the coin, complement each other’s capabilities, and participate in open conversation for cultivating the culture of learning. Combined with the role, the purpose of leadership is to cultivate more authentic leaders and awaken possibility in people to deliver extraordinary results.

In the information abundant digital society, the leadership bar is raised because the leadership reputation cannot be built through certain static credentials or a few spotlight moments, the world has become more connected and transparent. Leadership is no longer just about a title or a position or some soft skills only, it is the set of integral capabilities to both connect the minds and touch the hearts. Leadership is ripened when the power of leadership is based on acute observation, insightful understanding, sound judgment, courageous questioning, unconventional connection, thoughtful discernment, culture quintessential. and deep penetration.

The digital leadership effectiveness is not based on how loudly you can speak, but how profoundly you can influence and how further you can lead forward. The very characteristics of strong leadership demonstrate vision, agility, courage, competency, empathy, etc. People lead at different levels. The senior leadership of the organization or the society is like the steering wheel to ensure their ships are moving in the right direction towards the uncharted water and dynamic business reality seamleslly.

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Cambridge – The Academic Town with its Own Charm

As one of the most famous ivory towers in the world, Cambridge has its own breadth and depth of cultural heritage and knowledge influence.

I met a few folks from Cambridge Publisher in the Frankfurt Book Fair in October, so after staying in London for a couple of days, I decided to visit Cambridge, the charming academic town with global influence.

After checking in at the hotel, I walked along the River Cam toward the center of the city. The water is clear, many poets, authors, artists wrote or painted River cam, there are enriched stories behind it. It was the drizzling rain at noon time, people were bicycling, walking, joking on the river bank, some were paddling the boat in the river, the surroundings look harmonious.

After more than 30 minutes’ walk, I was hungry, and found a small restaurant serving traditional English dishes, having some soup and slices of bread, I was crossing the main bus station, and heading toward the downtown area. Like London, Cambridge rains a lot in the winter time, especially in the early afternoon.

The University of Cambridge is composed of dozens of different colleges, distributed across the Cambridge area. The global strangers here answer quite many of my inquiries about streets, college directions. The downtown of Cambridge is just like the mini version of London, the same grocery chain store, coffee shop chains, brand name boutiques, and restaurants of all global flavors. The big Arcade shopping center has all sorts of stores, including the community library. Walking through it, you may reach different parts of downtown.

The river Cam flows smoothly across Cambridge, perhaps professors or students name bridges with some interesting names, inspiring their learning. One of the small bridges across the river inside Queen College is called Mathematics Bridge, very famous, because of her, I bought the ticket to visit the Queen College. It's a very nice environment, the Cam river flows quietly; a few students were studying on the river bank, some did exercises in the campus. Many tourists stood on the bridge to capture the beautiful picture of the river cam.

Exiting Queen’s college, going even deeper across the meadow, I saw the gate of King’s College, but the guardsmen there said they had some other arrangement at that afternoon, so we cannot visit inside. From outside, it looks very green and spacious.

Continually exploring deeper, asking around, I approached the gate of Cambridge University Library, but not everywhere open to the visitors. I am a bit disappointed, however, there is a small exhibition museum downstairs at the corner, in which you could see some political cartoons, history illustration, etc. Walking out of the library, exploring surroundings, I passed through Trinity college, a few gentlemen wore suits and high hats, exactly like the English gentlemen we saw in the movies which reflected the western lifestyles and societies in the 19th century. I asked them for directions, they were also very friendly, and showed me how to get back to the downtown area.

Just like the alley I went through , the deeper I walked through, the more scenes and views I could discover, but some of them were not opening. As one of the most famous ivory towers in the world, Cambridge has its own breadth and depth of cultural heritage, knowledge influence, also conservative traditions. The different colleges focus on a variety of subjects and academic research. The second day, I visited the Cambridge Publisher organization, their staff were also friendly and professional.

The other nice place I visited is Cambridge Botanic Garden, which is not so far away from the train station. It is delightful to immerse yourself into the shade of green in the deep autumn season. Plants, Landscape designs, flower nursery, fountains, meadows, etc, many students sit there painting, others hand ground, sipping coffee, chatting, truly a botanic light in Cambridge.

I lived in a couple of hotels across different directions of Cambridge. Learn to be a local, I took public transportation tools such as buses or trains to travel around. In the suburbs, usually there is at least one bus running across a different street. Very often I have to ask locals how to reach a specific address. Most areas are quiet and peaceful, making Cambridge one of the great places to visit.

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