BIG R&D spenders

"A select group of the world’s 1,000 largest corporate R&D spenders perform significantly better than their competitors over a sustained period while spending less on R&D than their industry rivals"
http://www.innovation-america.org/index.php?articleID=243

I thought software industry invests R&D most, but the fact is that auto and pharmaceutical companies are the highest investors.
(However, actually, Microsoft was No.1 last year.)

RANK COMPANY R&D SPENDING HEAD- INDUSTRY R&D/ 2004
(in Millions) QUARTERS % SALES RANK
1 Ford 8,000 U.S. Auto 5 3
2 Pfizer 7,442 U.S. Health 15 2
3 Toyota 7,178 Japan Auto 4 5
4 Daimler-Chrysler 7,019 Germany Auto 4 4
5 General Motors 6,700 U.S. Auto 3 6
6 Siemens 6,546 Germany Industrials 7 7
7 Johnson & Johnson 6,312 U.S. Health 12 10
8 Microsoft 6,184 U.S. Software 16 1
9 IBM 5,842 U.S. Computing 6 9
10 GlaxoSmithKline 5,700 U.K. Health 14 11
11 Samsung 5,428 S.Korea Electronics 7 17
12 Intel 5,145 U.S. Computing 13 12
13 Volkswagen 5,071 Germany Auto 4 13
14 Sanofi-Aventis 5,025 France Health 15 31
15 Matsushita 4,989 Japan Technology 6 8
16 Novartis 4,846 Switz. Health 15 18
17 Nokia 4,753 Finland Electronics 11 15
18 Sony 4,698 Japan Electronics 7 14
19 Roche Holdings 4,578 Switz. Health 16 19
20 Honda 4,508 Japan Auto 5 16
Source: Booz Allen Hamilton Global Innovation 1000

Outrageous Optimism

What is the most important thing for a successful entrepreneur? The answer is today's title, Outrageous Optimism.

I am reading a book, which has the same title and was written by Jack Roseman, who was a professor in Tepper Business School. Actually, the book was one of the reading assignment in Entre class which I took in Mini3, but I hadn't finished reading it yet by the end of Mini3... Thus, on the way and back to Paris, I read this book. It was easy to read and interesting.

Too much eat

Today, I don't feel very good. My stomach was giving me trouble and my wife felt the same thing. Apparently, this is because of too much eating. We were too excited to eat French.

Actually, we took full-course lunches at a small restaurant in St-Germain des Pres yesterday. Then we ate sweet crepes before dinner. In addition we took full-course dinners. Today, we went to the same restaurant in St-Germain des Pres for lunch because that was amazing and I wanted to eat a scallop salad at the restaurant and then we ate a ramen, a Japanese noodle...

When we went to Korea last year, we did the totally same thing. Traveling foreign makes us to eat too much. We have to learn something.

Pittsburgh to Paris

I came to Paris yesterday. I wanted to go to Spain or Brazil because I have been to Paris already. However, my wife is pregnant and she wanted to go to Paris because she was a bread making teacher and she is really interested in cooking. This might be our last trip before giving a birth and thus I prioritized her preference. Anyway, so far, Paris is amazing. Beautiful buildings, people, foods... I cannot eat anymore today.

Ageless Song

"When I was youth, there were the gods
Mighty strength made my dream come true
Even after you have grown up,
a miracle happens in a morning you get up with a soft heart

Open the curtains
Sunbeams falling onto you might make you happy softly and warmly
Everything you can see is a message"

"Yasashisa ni tsutsumarete (優しさに包まれて)" by Yumi Arai, in 1974


Last week, I met my brother in NYC. He loves Hayao Miyazaki's movies and especially he likes "Kiki's Delivery Service" (魔女の宅急便)

Then, in the book I read yesterday, the writer, Mogi-san says that he is a big fun about Yumi, a famous singer song writer. The theme song of Kiki's Delivery Service is written by Yumi. It's been a while since I listened to the song.

Impelled by a sudden thought, I listened to the song, and I was really touched by lyrics to this song. Thus, I tried to translate the song into English though I have final exams during this week...

Brain Brain

Being impressed is equal to damaging brain. Thus, when the damaged part is recovered, creation happens.

I was impressed by this sentence in a Japanese book, "everything starts from brain", written by Kenichiro Mogi, a well-known brain scientist. However, I heard that a famous singer was so touched and then cried when she read this sentence. Her sensibility is amazing.

Has my brain been damaged by experiences in Tepper? Of course.

English Blog vs Japanese Blog

Since I came to Pittsburgh, I have been writing my blog in Japanese. However, my concern is that my English skills don’t improve if I write a Japanese blog everyday. So, I decided to make a new English blog. In addition, I made a rule that I can write the Japanese blog only after I write the English blog.

The result is... I have been not able to post a Japanese article for the last three days. It is really hard for me to write both blogs everyday.

However, today, I found a comment in my Japanese blog. The comments said that he likes my blog and he encouraged me to keep writing. I need to improve my processing limit. :-)

Who are you?

Today, in Corporate Finance class, the professor called on one group out of all groups randomly and asked them to discuss about an article about a fee of an investment banker. The group was consisted of five students: Hisao, a Japanese student, and other Asian students. However, accidentally, Hisao decided not to join the class before the class started. Thus, the rest of the members, except for Hisao, stepped forward and made a discussion. It seemed really hard especially for international students.

The interesting thing is that the professor looked confused because only four people were discussing and maybe he didn't know exactly who is who. He seemed not to figure out who was absent. Hisao was really lucky!

After the class, JunJun and Ye, other members of the group, envied Hisao because he was not in class but the professor didn't realize him. Hisao apologized to them, and then he said,

"I will talk to the Professor and I will say,

I am JunJun and I am sorry I was not able to attend the last class..."


Yes. That's a way to survive in Tepper.

International Festival Info Session for Flex-time students

Last week, I had the info session for International Festival, as I mentioned before. International Festival is an event dedicated to sharing and learning about cultures and countries represented at Tepper. This is an annual event and I will be an organizer this year. The purpose of this info session is to let students know the overview of International Festival.

Last week, I was able to have the session for the Full-time students, but I couldn't have the session for the Flex-time students because of snow storm. So, today I planed to have it at 10pm because I heard that classes for Flex-time students start at 6pm and end at 10pm. However, the class finished at 9:30pm today of all days. I just arrived at school at that time, and so I started right away. I was lucky because it could have been worse if I arrived just before 10pm.

Flex-time students are working during the daytime and taking classes during the night time. They will finish the same education which will be provided in full-time course for three years. It seems very hard for them to work and study simultaneously but the data shows they can get the same test scores as Full-time students in classes. Great!

When I joined the Dean's session, he talked about the secret about how Tepper can keep the high-quality education with the smallest class size. 4 years ago, Tepper reduced the class size to half. In order to keep the faculties, they made the on-line Flex-time course in New York by developing video-conference classes. Faculties talk to students in New York through the video conference system. We have to thank to the idea because we are getting the benefits of the small class size and the high-quality education by keeping the prestigious faculties.

Tepper Tastes

"Tepper Tastes" is a new monthly event in Tepper, in which international student clubs showcase their culture through ethnic dinners. The first dinner will be held this Thursday.

Let me talk about why I came up with this idea.

As you may know, I was born in Japan but my grand parents were Korean and so I grew up with Korean food in Japan. I can say, in Japan, I saw what is Korea through Korean Food. For American students, Asian foods might look the same food. However, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc... Each food has each characteristic.

For example, while almost all Japanese want to eat Miso soup everyday, almost all Korean have to eat Kimchi, fermented Korean pickles. However, both want to eat rice everyday. Actually, I want to eat Miso soup and Kimchi everyday. :-) When I was youth, partly by understanding the difference between Japanese food and Korean food, it seemed that I got some acceptability toward diversity and different perspectives. "Oh, you like this. I like this. That's okay." It's not about which is better or not.

I talked with my friend, Worknesh, and I made sure that is the same thing with African foods. As a matter of course, each African food has each characteristic.


So, when I think of diversity and how we can raise recipient culture in Tepper, it's natural for me to think of food. (Maybe I just like eating.) Then, I came up with the idea that we go to an ethnic restaurant monthly with a student who come from the country as a guide.

Anyway, we will taste Korean BBQ at Sushikim as our first Tapper Tastes. Next dinner will be held by African Club or South American Club or others. Increase, embrace, and utilize diversity!!

back from New York

I just came back from New York. My purpose to go to NYC was to meet my boss. She came to NYC on business. It was really nice to see her in the US. Also, I met my brother and good friends in university. Surprisingly, some friends came to NYC directly from Japan coincidently. It was great to see them.

There are a lot of restaurants in New York. I and my wife love eating, and so we went to a Korean restaurant, a Chinese cafe, an Italian restaurant, and European cafe for two days. Too much eat. However, it's okay because my wife has to increase her weight for our baby. While a pregnant woman in Japan has to keep her weight strictly, she in the US has to increase it. It's strange for Japanese but we will have a baby in the US and thus we have to obey the rule. If we don't, we need to go to hospital every week because a doctor checks her weight.

Because NYC was great, I felt a little bit sad on the way to Pittsburgh. However, when I arrived at PIT airport, I felt I came back to my hometown. Though I have lived in Pittsburgh only for half a year, Pittsburgh is my hometown in the US for me. Also, I found a really good Chinese restaurant on the way to home from PIT airport. That made me really happy. Pittsburgh is not that bad. :-)

New York

I am going to New York on business now. Actually, this is the first trip to New York since I came to Pittsburgh last year. At the end of the last year, I had two plans to go to NYC but I couldn't because one meeting was canceled and also I found out my wife was pregnant and suffered from morning sickness. However, this time she has been getting better, and she decided to go with me. Yes! Finally, I will eat Japanese noodle, Ra-men.

Karaoke party

We had a brast at Karaoke party organized by Asian Business Association. We, Japan Team, did our best to show our cultural songs and moves.

Cultural Tradition of Apology in Japan

When I studied Product Liability in Business Law class, I found one sentence that "There is a cultural tradition of apology in Japan." Yes, we have the culture. In the last month, a famous cake maker, Fujiya, hold a press conference in order to show its apology. The firm shipped contaminated sweets even though it noticed that they contained bacteria at levels about 10 times the density permitted under the Food Sanitation Law.
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070112p2a00m0na002000c.html

Having a conference for apology is very natural for Japanese. However, it is not natural in the US?

By the way, some American have wrong ideas about Dogeza. Though Dogeza is one form of apologizing, it is rarely happens now in Japan. Usually, we can see it in a historical dorama. I haven't seen it in my real life ever.

Japanese Tradition - Dogeza(Youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4V_K4eEmbQ

This is exaggerated, but good to know.

Business Law & Ethic - midterm

Attached is the mindmap of the summary of mid-term. I am using FreeMind for making a mindmap.

Business Law and Ethics

I will have a test in Business and Law class tomorrow. I am struggling with a lot of jargons which is difficult even in Japanese.

I tried to read the text book, but it was too thick... I noticed I just read introductory stories on the first pages of each chapter.

One story of them is very interesting. Oliver and Perry were college roommates. Oliver suggested buying a lottery ticket every week together until their graduation day. Perry hesitated but agreed with the contract. That month Oliver bought. The next month Perry bought. Then Perry won $52 million... However, Perry refused to give Oliver even one cent.

Oliver sued, seeking $26 million, and the return of an Eric Clapton compact disc that he had loaned Perry. Can Oliver get $26 million?


Finally, he cannot get based on the statute of frauds. When the agreements cannot be performed within one year, the agreements must be in writing! Oliver learned this the hard way... The good news is Oliver gets back his Eric Clapton disc.

I hate Perry, and tomorrow's test.

International Festival Info Session(2/13 Tuesday lunch)

I will have an information session for International Festival next Tuesday(2/13) during lunch. I am thinking of non-Pizza lunch. Please reserve the day on your calendar!

This year's International Festival should be on 4/27(Fri).

Ken as Barbie's Boyfriend

When I introduce myself in the US, I often say, "My name is Ken, like Barbie's boyfriend." Crowds laugh at my joke.

Six month ago, when I used this joke for the first time, I didn't understand what it means. Since I came to the US, six month has passed. Recently I think I understand. It is related not to the English language but the culture in the US. Maybe, I cannot understand it perfectly because I didn't grew up in the US with Barbie's staffs. (Maybe, even if I grew up in the US, I would haven't played with Barbie's staffs...) Anyway, though I cannot understand it perfectly, I can imagine sense, feel and share it, and therefore I can understand the US more. That's what I want.

Cheat sheet for Entrepreneur

Pick Great Project
1. Compelling Value Proposition
- Big Pain
- High Goodness Factor. Economic Value for Customer
- Customer must buy
2. Better than, Barrier to Competitors
- Better = Differentiation
- Barrier: Patent, Trade Secret, Customer Supply Agreement, 1st Mover
3. Market
- Big, Evolving
- Right Characteristics
4. Enthusiastic Team
- Expertise
- Can build team
- Can sell
- Marketing target, plan

For Investors: credibility
- Potential Customers Verification
- Board, Advisor
- Inner-ring Investors
- Smart use cash
- Size for Exit

Communication
- 1 word
- 7 words
- Elevator Pitch (19 seconds)
- PowerPoint slides
- 1page
- Logical

ARN: Fosterning Green Networks

Case Summary:
Auto recycling Nederland (ARN) is an agency responsible for overseeing the recycling of the auto components. The organization collects a EUR 45 fee for each vehicle purchased and manages those funds such that, at the end of the vehicle's lifespan, certified automobile dismantlers, collectors and recyclers can be paid a defined premium for recycling components. The ultimate goal of this national automobile recycling program is to recycle 85% of the each vehicle's weight by 2003, and 95% by 2007 as is suggested by the European Union. In order to make this program sustainable, ARN must use the upcoming opportunity on January 1, 2004 to revise the existing fee schedule.

Point:
The most important thing is to follow the money. Their income depends on the number of the new cars purchased. Their expenditure depends on the number of the end-of-life cars. If we put a EUR 45 fee into the funds, the money should be used for the car some years later. What is the future value of the money? What is the distribution of the end-of-life cars? We have to balance the future value of the current fee and the expenditure for recycling.

Levi's case

We watched a video. In the early 80's, Levi's wanted to get into a higher market, higher margin. They segmented their customers. They tried to make new brand for people who are categorized in Classic Independents, in other word, fascinating animals. They developed the suit brand, but they failed.

We have to figure out our strategy based on our brand image and our resources.