Hong Kong

Hong Kong as always, seems somehow ready to go bang.   I just got back from Hong Kong, staying at the Mandarin which is probably my favourite hotel anywhere with a service ethic that makes other institutions weep with envy.  Please don't pity me.  I have to do these things, I do.

We spent some time with Philip Delves Broughton who wrote the rather wonderful 'What They Teach You at Harvard Business School'.  Philip took the delegates on a sneak preview of his next book which enters the weird and wonderful world of sales.  Many corporate audiences are not natural salespeople and struggle personally to identify, hire, motivate or understand those who are.   Philip is articulate and charming and uses a very smart presentation trick of showing a series of photos of people (most of us had never heard of) and shaping stories that illuminate and engage and, yes, make you think.  I am sure the new book will entertain as much as it informs.  The city seems vibrant - the thousands of miles of malls crowded across the weekend.  But the traffic in Central is horrendous, the air molecule thick and the havens of the hotel lobbies and restaurants; more bustle and hustle than glamour and fun.  It is after hours that Hong Kong amazes and terrifies in equal measure.   Its like some image of "the last days", a hangover beyond all hangovers waiting to happen.  All experiences are there literally in your face - for sale, as your stagger through Lan Kwai Fong or Wangchai.  On previous visits this was exhilarating, madness incarnate.  This time, more of a a chore. 

But please, don't pity me.  I have to do these things, I do.