FOR TRUE SUCCESS.....

Spent today working in the Auckland office of Rider Levett Bucknall.  Very nice group of motivated people all the way through.  On the wall in the office staff Break Room there are a number of quotes but this one struck me as being particularly poignant;

“For true success ask yourself these four questions: Why? Why not? Why not me? Why not now? .”
James Allen (New Zealander, Statesman, Minister of Defense (1912-20) - 1855-1942).

Seems like a worthwhile way of thinking about things.

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INTERCONNECTEDNESS - WHY THE EURO CRISIS IS IMPORTANT

This past Friday I was fortunate enough to be the guest speaker at the Property Council of Australia - South Australia lunch and in researching for the speech (titled "The US Construction Industry Crunch"), I came across some rather good information in the book "This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly" by Carmen M. Reinhart which helps explain why we should ALL be worried about the Greek / European debt crisis.  Ms. Reinhart explains that:

• Banking crises in advanced economies significantly drag down world growth. The slowing, or outright contraction, of economic activity tends to hit exports especially hard.
• Weakening global growth has historically been associated with declining commodity prices.
• Banking crises in global financial centers (and the credit crunch that accompany them) produce a “sudden stop” of lending to countries at the periphery.
• Banking crises have historically been contagious,
• A banking crisis in one country can cause a similar loss of confidence in neighboring or similar countries, as creditors look for common problems.

That definitely got my attention - the trouble in Greece / Europe is actually important to us all.

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