When I told people that I was moving to Hong Kong, they asked, “For how long?” I fully recognise that when business people move to foreign shores, that they often do so as expatriates and for a specified or unspecified period of time. Very often these same people do little to fit in. They continue buying their groceries from international brands, they eat in Western restaurants, they don’t learn much of the local language or culture and perhaps do nothing to befriend local people.

When you immigrate as a child, you are forced to fit in i.e. if you’re fortunate enough to be sent to a local school and not an international one. You soon make friends, learn a second language, learn a lot about local culture and feel very much at home. As an adult my move to the Netherlands was also pain free. I immediately started a Dutch language course and I avoided becoming a member of a British or South African Women’s Association. Through work, I soon became acquainted with Dutch nationals, who still remain friends today. 

With immigration, comes integration, or so I believe anyway. I prefer referring to myself as a ‘localised immigrant.’ Beyond professional networking associations, I actually try to avoid groups which may ostracize me from meeting local people. But, I was fortunate! A wonderful Chinese lady reached out to me through Linked-in (prior to my move) after I had posted an update which had inspired her. Neither of us, generally speaking, reach out to strangers through Linked-in, but we agreed that our professional backgrounds and ideals lent themselves to further investigation. When we met recently in Hong Kong, it was as if we had been friends forever. We attended a couple of courses together at the Hong Kong University, during which I have met three of her friends, and we all just know that we’ll be friends for a very long time. Was this just luck? Or, do you attract the people that you need in your life? Or, is it just so obvious, that if you attend activities that you’re interested in, you’re bound to meet like-minded people i.e. as long as you’re open to meeting other people. Remember, you are the visitor to the country and the locals don’t need to change for you. Would it surprise you to hear that we all have an interest in CSR? I guess not! 

This evening we had a fantastic meal in a place that I probably wouldn’t have dared go to on my own, just because I don’t speak Cantonese yet. I say yet, because that’s my next mission; to study the language and to be able to have conversation; no matter how badly I pronounce the words. This evening, I was also christened again as these lovely ladies took the time to discuss what my Cantonese/Mandarin name should be. More on that next time.

Our next step is to meet regularly in each other’s homes, which is entirely unusual for Hong Kong. Homes are small and people generally don’t invite strangers to visit. But, we all believe that if we cook for each other, we will get to know one another better and we can use the time to discuss important personal, CSR and business-related issues. 

So, how long will I be living and working in Hong Kong? Perhaps I’ll answer that question with “how high is up?” I don’t know? But given the fun I’m having, the number of friends I’ve already made and my fantastic new job at Cisco Systems, it could be for a very long time!

We’ve all done it at some stage; whether it’s sitting quietly on a park bench, lying on a beach, or during your lunchbreak; Dreaming. Let’s face it, there’s nothing nicer. You can be whoever, wherever or whatever you’d like to be. Dreaming about winning the lottery, moving home, immigrating, driving that new sports car or moving jobs.

I live life by my own motto, “As soon as you start living your dreams, your dreams evolve.”

You can achieve anything you want. I regularly advise people to allow themselves to dream but also to set their sights realistically, “If you can visualise it and write it down, you can make it happen.” Too many people talk about their dreams but, they never achieve them. It may be because they’ve forgotten that fulfilling a dream also takes some required action. “I’ve never won the lottery,” but, you could ask, “Have you ever bought a ticket?”

There are no half measures. I believe in constantly pushing boundaries. Raising the bar. Pushing the envelope. Exceeding everyone’s expectations but most of all exceeding my own. I believe in living life to the full. Life is not a dress rehearsal. We don’t get second chances to do it over again. We need to create opportunities to realize our dreams.

This month I resigned from a company that’s been very good to me. Deloitte in the Netherlands has given me the freedom to achieve many of my dreams and many, many more. There will be people and places that I’ll miss; local charities that I’ll follow on twitter; and, I’ll leave my ‘baby’, Fair Chance Foundation, behind in the competent hands of Anne-Marie de Jeu and Mireille Spapens. Will I miss it all? I certainly hope so! But, one doesn’t give up near perfection for nothing 😉

I once had a dream about living and working in Hong Kong. I’ve been offered a terrific position in Hong Kong and I’ll be moving there next month………..I do hope you’ll continue following my personal and philanthropic antics but, this time, from Asia. Watch this space! 🙂

Hong Kong – Xianggang (fragrant harbour). One of my favorite cities of the world. A magnificent financial hub of towering skyscrapers and a 24/7 mentality. If you thought New York was the city that never sleeps…..think again.

I’ve been visiting Hong Kong for the past few weeks on vacation, which has been quite a different experience than purely attending business meetings, events and conferences. I’ve had time to get to know the lay of the land, walk the streets and even practice a little of my Mandarin Chinese.

Last night, I attended the Hong Kong Art Walk, an event which is held once a year. Art galleries open their doors to the public, showing special exhibitions and the evening is made quite festive by music, snacks and refreshments wherever you go.

One of the galleries I visited, served as my wake-up call. No matter how beautiful a city is at first glance and no matter how shiny the surface, there are always many dull cracks and crevices and an abundance of duct tape serving to hold it all together. 

I’ve experienced the enormous valley between rich and poor in many countries around the world, so I’m no longer naive. I understand that whilst wealthy business people enjoy the fruits of their hard labour, many less fortunate hard working people live a very different life.  

The Society for Community Organization drove the hard facts home by exhibiting photographs and film of marginalised groups, living in cage homes, cubicle apartments and roof-top flats. In Hong Kong 20% of the population lives below the poverty line. Whilst, I understand the challenges that the government is facing with respect to illegal immigrants, one can’t help but wonder how many of these people are actually of Hong Kong descent. 

I’m happy that something is being done to raise awareness; fighting for the rights of the elderly, health rights, the working poor, civil rights and education. I’m also happy to say that everyone who attended the Art Walk, supported the Society for Community Organization (even if they had no idea). I can only hope that the government may also take an example from more social states around the world. For more information visit the SoCo website, where you can also make a financial donation to this worthy cause.

In the past, volunteers and employees of NGO’s were often people that had difficulty ‘fitting in’. They were people on a mission to do good in the world. They choose to ‘solve world hunger before breakfast’, rather than working for a profit organisation that did little to fulfil their need to change the world. 

Fast forward to the present and many NGOs are analyzing their business plans, revisiting their strategies and ultimately, reorganizing. Dutch NGOs, in particular, are focused on 2015. The year in which many government subsidies will cease to exist. A year in which NGO’s will need to be self sufficient. The year in which non-profit meets profit! 

The unfortunate circumstance of this hard reality is that many people may no longer ‘fit’. Let’s face it, ‘do gooders’ will always be necessary. Those people that join NGOs to travel the world in order to teach, to  rebuild homes or makeshift shelter, to offer love and understanding, to save lives; the list goes on and on. The hard reality however, is that if the back office is not working effectively, the front office can’t go and get its hands dirty.

NGOs need to be far more commercial, than they may have been used to. They need to make themselves really attractive to third parties in order to raise funds. They need to review their business propositions and be more flexible than they’ve ever been. They need to focus on running a profitable business. 

‘Profit’ is a dirty word in the mouths of many hard core volunteers in the ‘front office’. What these people need to understand is that without profit, generated in the back office, the front office ceases to exist.

The coming 3 years will not be easy for many NGOs. But, it’s my opinion that when IQ and EQ converge, or should I say the worlds of profit and non-profit, that real change will start to happen in the world.

Let’s make sustainable waves!