Ideas on Capitalism 3.0

There are many new and useful thoughts on the next generation of supporting society and the planet. A growing school of thought that aims to be disruptive in the traditional view of economic systems, that being Impact Investing. The markets stranglehold on value, on product, on market, on return and on investment seems to be lacking both creativity and holistic (joined up) thinking. This reminded me of a lecture delivered by the now elusive but then highly influential Jed Emerson who was the pioneer of what he terms the 'Blended Value Proposition'.

In one of his seminal papers, Jed Emerson once said that:

Companies move from marginal profitability to sustainable economic performance as a function of not focusing upon the parts, but rather the total value they have the potential to create. This value comes not only in financial terms but also in environmental and social terms. The intersect of these three constitutes the real value potential of companies.

This wise and sage statement lead me to thinking about the next inevitable stage of capitalism. With austerity riots in Greece and the Arab Spring western democracies are displaying the usual arrogance of laissez faire power brokers but we the people should look at why these things are happening and what are the root causes. Who are the puppet masters and who's strings are being pulled?

Paris Bistro

First night in Paris and Gloria and myself decided to take ourselves out for a traditional Paris meal. We struck gold on the first visit with this first example of the best of Paris bistro fare. If you are ever in Paris and in the Marais district, looking for the taste of old school bistro, please click on the link below:

N.B. Chef Speciality Pt1 = Côte de bœuf pour 2 personnes

http://robertetlouise.com/

Sunday Sounds

I found this couple whilst killing a few hours looking around the Sunday markets of the Bastille. Strangely enough the sound of their instruments did not resonate but their image will live on forever.

Paris Culture

I took this image whist waitinbg for my wife to buy a pair of sunglasses. in the Marais district of Paris. Notice that this father and son are passing the only Kosher Pizza joint I found in Paris.

Homeless in Paris

Rue De Voltaire - Sunday Afternoon

Walking from Bastille to Republique I spotted a sleeping community of Paris Outcasts.

Looking for references on this subject I found the blog which covers this topic if shown from a detached perspective.

j t w i n e - n o w: Homeless in Paris

Sadness of homelessness

alongside the blissful refuge in sleep, hiding a cruel reality under the shroud of Sunday slumber.

Reflections On Paris Pt1

This is my wife; Gloria. We are in Paris to present her company at the British Embassy for French retailers. The trip was arranged to ensure that UK manufacturers were given the opportunity to create a confident platform to display their products to new international market.

I went with a mixture of anticipation and expectancy at what might be gleaned by this new venture into overseas marketing for my wife's company - Big Tomato Company , under the supposedly authoritative guidance of the UK Department of Trade and Industry.

Mixing business with pleasure we spent four enjoyable days walking, talking, drinking and eating our way through this beautiful city. This was a great opportunity to share our collective enthusiasms and Paris is one of those cities where you are positively encouraged to do this. The relaxed urban culture and pedestrian friendly city planning made this the perfect city for a short break.

And after exploring much of what the city had to offer we came away from this trip with the a few experiences I would like to share:

Observation 1. We will always have Paris: After such a short journey by train from St Pancras to Gare du Nord we realised how near (in terms of distance) but how far (in terms of culture) we are to our gallic neighbors. As soon as we arrived I could sense romantic suggestions that Paris brings to a person is obvious and unavoidable. As such, most of our activity over our four day excursion paid homage to the city of life and love. We navigated our route through Paris by map and metro; but walking aimlessly was my personal favorite modus operandi.

Observation 2. Navigate with soul. Suffice it to say when husband and wife get together to navigate a new territory; maps, advice and knowledge take a back seat to trust, patience and conviction. These qualities were both our anchor and true guide throughout the various adventures through the Paris streets over our stay in the city.

On the first day we explored the Marais a once artistocratic suburb in the 3rd and 4th arrondissements. This is district has a bohemian quality in terms of culture but the architecture keeps reminding you of Le Marais regal past.

Observation 3. Keep moving - Our routes took us across Paris from the Louvre in the west to the Bastille in the east. We sampled the chic shopping districts around Concorde and the thriving african and asian cultures around Chateau D'eau. Musee D'Orsay and the Louvre to high culture, through to La Layette and then north to the Pompidou. This was a trial of adventure and mutual exploration between us both a surprise around every corner (what tourists what fun). What fun and what discovery. I do not ant to give to much recommendation on what we found and what we enjoyed as this will take away what pleasurable mysteries Paris has in store for these who wish to let go and go with the Parisian flow.

Observation 4. - Lingua Franca

I have not been to Paris from some time now and my experience is that whilst a short distance away it was the language that separates the Brits from the French. My recent experience was a shock to the cultural system. English is the most commonly heard language with a myriad of different accents. I was pretty disappointed that my rudimentary grasp of the language fell on deaf ears only revived when lazy english was spoken.

P.S. A map is not mandatory as the real route to discovery comes from the heart and not the printed page.

Colette Paris - Rue St. Honere

Colette Paris - Rue St. Honere. As part of the research project on our trip to Paris we went to the taste makers shop of choice Colette (213 RUE SAINT-HONORÉ 75001 PARIS). Whist outside surveying the commings and goings of this uber fashion street I noticed that there seemed to be some excitement over a promotion for a new skating publication being launched in the store. The gathering was was hip, it was current and it was a natural crowd pleaser. But was it educative to the new Paris consumer of the theme (skating) at its hard core best? The answer, to my mind, was no. My experience was that I had travelled the streets for three days looking out for the familiar sounds and sights of skating culture, I searched in the Bastille, Marais, Place de la Concorde and many other others areas and all were devoid of skating culture. Skating had not appeared to revolutionise Paris and yet Colette was showcasing Skating culture as the fulcrum at which Paris youth culture is balanced. I know that real skate culture is discovered underground and I may not have dug deep enough. I am cool with this, but I realise that the adoption of this punk sport is easy for the trendy to usurp.

However it was good to see the amount of attention that a skate event could generate amongst the high fashion crowd of Paris.