Reverse Globalization

As oil prices soar higher, the higher cost of transportation is obliterating the East Asian wage advantage. Cheaper transportation has played its part in globalization as businesses could transport raw materials to newly created manufacturing plants in the developing world, and then once again to market in the industrial nations. Globalization is thus dependent on cheap energy and cheap transportation.

Media in the US, recently reported that DESA , a company that makes heaters to keep football players warm, is moving all its production back to Kentucky after years of having them made in China. While it once cost $3,000 to ship a container from a city like Shanghai to New York, it now costs $8,000, prompting some businesses to look closer for manufacturing needs.

What happens if energy rates rise so high that the cost of shipping raw materials and processed goods in a global market exceeds savings from cheap labor abroad? Will it stop the march of Globalization?

The magic of Guus Hiddink

He is affectionately called 'Aussie Guus', 'Tsar Hiddink' and 'The Goose', has been led off football fields after astounding victories to chants of 'Guus for President', Guus Hiddink also become the first-ever foreigner to be given honorary South Korean citizenship.

Guus Hiddink is known for Five championships wins, a European Cup and Champions' League
semi-final with PSV Eindhoven, leading South Korea to a 4th place finish in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, taking the Netherlands into the same position in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, leading Australia to the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup—their first appearance in the tournament for 32 years. And now, his team Russia comprehensively outplayed the amazing Dutch team in Basel to reach the Semi Finals of the Euro 2008. Hiddink's legend is assured with all these achievements.

Hiddink has made a habit of turning underdogs to dark horses, and for those who had overseen, a reminder was served in performance of the Russians. Could Russia go on to weave a fairytale finish that would not only lift the spirits of a whole nation, but also add yet another glittering star to the manager’s illustrious career?

Pitch Invasion

There is a memorable scene in "Jerry McGuire" where Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) tests Jerry's (Tom Cruise) resolve through a very long telephone conversation, which culminates in the famous "Show Me the Money!" telephone yelling match between Rod and Jerry. Among other things, this scene effectively depicts how sport became so full of money.

Barbara Smit's book " Pitch Invasion"(also published as Sneaker Wars) is the amazing story of how the rivalry between two brothers Adi and Rudi Dassler turned sport into an industry. Adi and Rudi Dassler started a shoe business in a small German town in 1920s, which was an instant success, but soon rivalries began to pull the two brothers apart, and by the end of the Second World War it was outright warfare. Forced to split the company between them, Adi and Rudi not only split their family and their hometown, but went on to divide retailers, sportsmen and countries for the next five decades with their rival brands: Adidas and Puma.

Today, Adidas and Puma are two of the biggest global brands, paying stars, clubs and competitions to wear their label, dominating everywhere from football pitches to magazine pages. Pitch Invasion charts the story of how Addidas and Puma revolutionized the world of sport - exploiting advertising, influencing fashions and following the money at every turn.

"Pitch Invasion" also has interesting tales of some of the greatest controversies and sportsmen :

The Black Salute - At the 1968 Olympic games at Mexico, Tommie Smith (winner of 200m) and John Calros, made a stand for the rights of black Americans by standing on the podium in black socks, with black scarves draped around their necks. As the American Anthem was sounded, they dropped their heads and each raised their fists which were covered in a back glove. This gesture shocked the established and Smith was banned from atheletics. Apart from his political commitment, Smith also kept his sponspors in mind,as he had laid down a single Puma spike carefully on the podium.
The Pele pact - As part of a peace agreement between Adidas and Puma, they agreed to stay away from a bidding war for Pele's sponsorship. Due to this pact, at the begining of 1974 World Cup, one of the greatest players was without a contract. But, Puma could not resist in the end and Pele gave his name to several Puma products. This event further escalated the rivalry between Adidas and Puma.
There are also interesting tidbits about Addias and the Ali Shuffle, Boris Becker's unfortunate contribution to the decline of Puma, about how FIFA and IOC courted sponsors and the wheelings and dealings in the world of sports.

A very interesting book, which not only captures the raise of money power in sports but also details events like the Second World War, Olympic movement and the Soccer World Cups through the years.

Dhoni and the art of leadership

The first edition of IPL was a rousing success with a fitting finale. The best performing team won, though initially, no one thought much of Shane Warne's team. In the final, the teams were led by two contrasting captains: one a colorful character who is a bundle of energy on the field and the other, calm but nevertheless a charismatic person. Though Dhoni ended on the losing side, he motivated his side well, used the talent to potential and above all, played very well himself.

Dhoni's raise in the Indian cricket establishment has been meteoric. For a player who debuted in December 2005 to reach an icon status by 2008 is no mean achievement when you have the likes of Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly still around.

As described by Rosabeth Moss Kanter in her book, Confidence, Team sports are a great source of metaphors for leadership, because they are good microcosm for examining patterns of winning and loosing and seeing the elements of exceptional leadership and teamwork. The qualities that most distinguish ideal leaders are their exceptional capacity to articulate a plan and lay out a way of achieving it. Effective leaders have an unswerving support for and pressure on those who can solve problems.

If you observed Dhoni's captiancy, it is evident that his leadership style is to build the confidence of everyone else. Dhoni's confidence in the ability of his teammates to come through in difficult situations often pays off. It is evident that his endeavor is to create a positive emotional climate to inspire and motivate people.

Irfan Pathan’s anecdote about Mahendra Singh Dhoni shortly after India had won the tri-series tournament in Australia gives some insight into Dhoni's leadership style. “During my last over,’’ Pathan told the ESPN commentators, “Dhoni walked up to me, patted me on the back and said with a smile, “You’re not such a bad bowler to give away three boundaries now!’’

Whatever subsequent events will reveal, it is clear that Dhoni's leadership style is based on grounded optimism- positive expectations based on specific facts that justify the optimism. But, as Ayaz Memon mentioned in his column, the unorthodox and the unexpected are still the essential constituents of Dhoni’s cricketing persona. Who would have tossed the ball to Joginder Singh to bowl the last over in the Twenty20 World Cup?