有許多人用email問我問題，問的問題都非常好，我真的認為問的問題本身就是值得大家分享的問題，因此我決定歡迎大家在這裡多多利用Q&A來問問題。
任何問題都可以問，因為我有決定不回答的權利!
398 thoughts on “Q&A”
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{BE THE CHANGE} Be inspired – Get involved – Take action
Dear Juei:
Thank you for your generous comments.
I am the lucky one who has made many young friends in ICB. I am so happy to see you writing in English. Please press on and engage yourself with any English environment. Please google with English website so you can go directly to the source.
If we learn together, we stay together.
This is your blog too.
Ping
Dear Ping,
It’s my first time to leave a message here but not the first time to come to your blog.
I’ve been following your articles here since I know you from my teacher.
And I learned lots of fresh ideas about beauty, about life and about “quality” from your words.
Today, when I read your old articles which talked about having a house with balcony again, I suddenly realized how true you are.
This summer, I went to Turkey for volunteer work there.
I found something really amazed me at the sight I saw their houses.
They all had balcony!
No matter it was big or small, they all had one!
And they painted their wall into light green or orange and so on.
That was totally different from my image to houses.
What’s more, they’d have their dinner on the balcony and chat on the balcony and so on.
Balcony was really part of their lives.
With these image in mind and read your article again, I’m convinced that balcony could enrich our lives and make it more joyful!
Thanks for sharing this idea to us.
You are so true about it!
Seeing is believing.
People who cannot understand the idea should experience the life living in the house with balcony.
So that you’ll see how wonderful it is.
Best wishes,
Wendy
Dear Ping:
I know you from ICB.
You are my new idol.
I just want to tell you that I like ideas you share in ICB.
Because I can know more this world and new concepts through your passages and blog.
Thank you very much.
Dear Karen:
I purposely delay to answer your question.
My answer is still : I don’t know.
It is confusing if we stuck in the definition of these words: Business Enterprise, Social Enterprise and CSR.
1. To me, there is no difference. All businesses have a social meaning: providing a job that creates value to the company so people working there can earn a living, supporting their family. If they did not add value to the company, company will cease to exisitence and people will be laid off. No business can sustain with the entitlement proram and charity expectation. With this in mind, even NPO or NGO cannot sustain forever. This is why I change the name for social business to happy for-profit conscious business.
2. Social Enterprise is a business. Therefore, it is a market tested and profit driven competitive business. It is just happened that they have a defined social purpose. Please view my article on the case study for for-profit social enterprise.
3. This is why I advocated the integration of work and life in for- profit conscious business. You have to have a higher purpose in order to integrate any work with life. Authentic happiness is to make a life, not just make a living. Make a life requires some form of social purpose.
4. You need talented people to optimize the effort for social solution. This is so hypocritical to ask people to earn meager income and demand them for outstanding performance. I have been advocated to pay these people who work on NPO or NGO higher salary. I also believe there will be more brilliant people joining the for profit consious business. True brillaint people will not work at big firm. This is my cynical conclusion. 🙂 True brilliant people will feel insult by high paid job with empire building company. Ture brilliaint people have the guts to quit and make a life for themselves.
I am so angry with the thought that most of money raised or earned should goes to social purpose or charity. How can you sustain the social purpose if you cannot recruite or keep the brillaint people with decent reward. Brilliant people needs to have a better lifestyle if they can deliver the value and justify their brilliance.
Two home works for you, dear Karen:
1. Study closely on the website http://www.kiva.com Loans that change lives. Please study the busines model.
2. Re-read my case study on this bog for the happy for profit social enterprise article. http://pingchu.com/?p=290
Karen, I can tell from your impecable English writing that you must be educated from the abroad. Taiwan needs people like you to inspire more young people to make the necessary trade off to find the meaning in their life.
Please keep up the debate with your friends so you will find the answer by yourself.
I am so sorry that I am still leaning and cannot provide all the answers.
Happy New Year,
Many Hugs,
Ping
Dear Sabrina:
Yes, I want you all to start learning English so you can reach out to the world and not be limited by other people to filter or screen any cutting edge knowledge. It is never too late to learn English. English is the easiest language in the world.
It is my honor to get to know you all.
Keep blogging.
Happy New Year.
Ping
Dear Colleen:
I agree with you. Actually, we all need a third place where everybody knows your name. As you noticed that I opened an Aveda salon/spa based on this concept and name.
Actually, you can have a personal space in your own home too. It may be your chair, your bathroom or even just a counter top that you decorated it as an altar.
I’ve known a few foreign artists who did have their own Atlier ( workshop ) so they can create their work within their own space.
You are so young. Please focus on one thing that you really good at and have passion with it. You will create an Atlier of your own one day.
The sky is limit.
Happy New Year,
Ping
朱老師您好：
我是保德信人壽的Sabrina。
今天我在我的blog裡看到您的留言回應,
我很開心也很興奮,
因為這麼忙碌的您,願意看我的blog,並且在那裡寫下你給我的話。
很感動也很感恩,因為這樣的機緣能夠認識您。
你的文字都是英文,也讓我開始好好練習英文的部份了,
謝謝您!
也祝您一切順利,平安喜樂
Sabrina
Dear 怡華:
Hey, I know exactly how you are feeling now. I think you might have better chance to find a rooftop room in Shanghai than in Taipei.
Please keep your dream alive. In the mean time, I recommend you to go to restaurant that has rooftop or big terrace for a brunch by yourself. In Shanghai, there are lots of this kind of restaurants.
Sometime, we don’t have to own it to enjoy the solitude and outdoor living. Ownership is the reason that we postpone our enjoyment to live a life we choose to.
Love,
Ping
Dear Eileen:
Wow, I am envious of you to have the opportunity to study in Japan. I will recommend you to spend sometime in Japan’s remote village. It is so beautiful. I was always awed by Japanese aesthetic sensibility. Somehow, we just lost it, especially when I encounter their farmers and normal craftsman. They all have aesthetic standard of their own. In Chinese culutre, we lost the refinement for the pursuit of convenience and practicality.
Now, you will find that LOHAS is so natural with Japanese culutre. Taiwan has failed in LOHAS completely. It has become a marketing slogan or a product selling point. This is very typical in our culture. We always can adopt a wonderful concept and turn it into a superficial copy cat.
LOHAS is a very sophisticated lifestyle, it is not a simple life as most marketer want us to believe. Most LOHAS movement advocated are well educated and intelligent sonsumers who don’t believe marketer’s promotional slogan. They all are very international and understand the global trends and practice the lifestyle that are infomation intensive and engaging.
You are the few people who did not use Chinese word ” Le Huo” as a translation for LOHAS. I congratulate you to recognize that LOHAS has little connection with happily live a life.
LOHAS is a movement of a group of intelligent consumers that vote with what they buy and demand the manufacturers to change their practice that harm the earth and health. It is an activist, not a passive to take care of themselves.
Please call my office and see if the time is available so I can help you on your project.
In the mean time, please google me on LOHAS’s comments.
Thank you for recognize Canmeng Aveda as a LOHAS practitioner.
Merry X’mas
Ping
Dear Ping
在您分享大陽台生活
讓我覺得一個成功的藝術家或設計師的人是否一定有一個屬於自己的Space？
它不是臥房，也不是一個客廳，更不是做自己私人的事
而它是屬於一個讓你天馬行空做自己想做藝術的地方
我不曉得這概念對不對
但我相信一個人必須要有第三個空間做自己想要的事
在這空間隨你怎麼佈置擺設，當然應你的喜好而定，相信在這空間一定有很多靈感來源。
我是一個22歲的女孩，想成為一個有能力的設計工作者
是否Ping也是有跟我一樣想法呢？！
因為我一直相信一個成功的人一定屬於自己的私人工作空間
親愛的朱先生:
我真的很希望能有自己的小小屋
一開始看到你的這篇文章 恨不得馬上擁有一間
現在的我人在上海
我只能有小小一間公司配的宿舍~
總希望有一天回台~能有自己的小窩~
Hi Ping,
I got into a debate with my friends recently on social entrepreneurship and I am looking for answers for the following:
1. What is the difference between a social enterprise, business enterprise and CSR?
2. Don’t business enterprises do a better job at addressing social issues than social enterprises?
3. Is the business model social enterprises work on (double bottom-lines) viable in the long run? Some feel that an enterprise can never achieve both social and profits
4. Are social enterprises strictly not-for-profit? Some feel that once an enterprise start to make profits, it is not truly social because not all resources are optimally used to solve the social problem
Thanks in advance!
朱先生您好:
我是一名研究生，目前正在日本就讀雙聯學位。
幾個月前在與台灣的指導教授討論論文方向時，
與教授討論了一下自己有興趣的方面之後，他建議我以LOHAS為主題來進行我的論文研究。
由於AVEDA是LOHAS代表企業，在台灣與日本也各有代理店及分店，在LOHAS產業這一方面也表現十分出色，所以我想針對台灣與日本的AVEDA做研究。分析兩地在向當地消費者推廣LOHAS這的概念以及AVEDA商品時所採用的行銷策略，以及消費者的認知度與接受度為何。
非常誠心的希望能與肯夢做訪談，讓我有機會更了解LOHAS概念與其企業的經營。
期待您的回信
祝 順心
Eileen
Dear Gina:
I am so happy to meet you here. You have asked a great question.
Canmeng Aveda’s culture and team based pay system is not for everyone.
People have different priorities at different stages of life.
Firstly, I don’t think Canmeng Aveda’s pay for new hairstylist is very little. We pay our new hairstylist college graduate pay, even though they don’t have a client base. Salon owners will not pay any hairstylists who have no client base with college graduate pay. They only pay the low base salary and expect that one will work harder to make up the income from the commission.
This is why we lose good stylists in this profession at the beginning phase. Most of them cannot survive the first one or two years with the low base pay plus commission in the conventional pay system. If they don’t have a client base,
they simply cannot make a decent living.
Canmeng solves this dilemma by taking the risk first.
We pay these young stylists a college graduate pay. We have a pay scale based on the performance of the stylists throughout her/his career. We just hope these young stylists will remember that we take the risk up front. When they develop their clientele, their pay scale will move up. We also raise their service fee along the way.
Now, the most important part of the reward system is not just the cash pay but the total package which includes employee benefits that are common for big businesses but not for salons, such as 8 days off a month, maternity leave, sick leave, retirement, health insurance, overseas education. There is also the mission of creating a work place that uses products which do not pollute your body and the environment. The uniqueness of Canmeng is in the opportunity to get involved in Earth Month, to meet the wonderful and loyal Aveda lovers, to have the opportunity to grow such as to become an instructor to teach your craft to young students in an Institute environment, to grow with Canmeng and take up the new role within Canmeng so you won’t end up switching salons every 3-5 years for the rest of your life.
Canmeng offers a transparent system where on top of the pay, there is a 20% profit sharing, which is very generous for any business, big and small. No salon owners here in Taiwan are willing to give away 20% of their profit to employees, have an open book so everyone knows the financial state of the
company and contribute as a good corporate citizen by paying full taxes and having our books audited by PriceWaterhouseCooper. ( top 4 accounting firms in the world. )
Do you know your salons accounting firm? Do you have time to go to museum and socialize with your friends who are not
from the salon industry? I know many hairstylists who make lots of money with commission pay. They make lots of money because they work almost two jobs in terms of the time they put in. This is a lifestyle that doesn’t sustain the passion and may lead to burn out.
If you have had a chance to talk to our senior hairstylists, those who have been with us four to five years, you will know that we do reward based on experience, attitude, contribution and performance. They must have good reason to stay with us.
Their salary is more than their previous work now. They are much happier than their previous job because they find a meaning in Canmeng
Gina, commission based pay is to reward you to do more, earn more at the cost of time and your health. You can make a lot of money like someone who works two jobs. You are always held hostage by your clients. Your focus will be to do your best to hoard your client base. Your behavior tends to be protective and defensive. There is no true team spirit if you cannot share clients.
No one wants to change this commission based pay because it is the safest way for salon owner. No one will believe that there are stylists who want to have quality life in terms of time and fun, not just money.
Believe me, my goal is to raise stylist’s pay and improve the social status for hairstylist by improving hairstylist’s quality life. We can do this because we have great products from Aveda and the 40% from retail volume in our salon has changed the total dynamic in salon industry. Retail business is the key leverage to enhance stylist’s income and productivity.
Again, we do have stylists leaving us. Actually, we advice some stylists to leave us and open their dream salon with an Aveda store inside their salon. I also warn them that it is not easy to be a salon owner now, especially, if you take the easy way: commission based pay, if you work more, you get paid more model. The vicious cycle of losing your most productive hairstylists and taking your clients away is the norm in salon industry.
Your most highly paid stylist will hold salon owner hostage. It is hard to manage high revenue stylists under a commission system. These high volume hairstylists can take their clients to anywhere they decide to go. Mostly, they will leave as a group to set up their own salon to have the 100% commission for themselves.
How can you let your children get into a profession that pays on fear based commission system? When I decided to re-invent this industry with ” team based pay plus 20% profit sharing “, everyone said I was crazy based on three reasons:
1. Not able to keep talented people. These people only want money.
2. Only mediocre stylists who can’t make it elsewhere will work here to do mediocre job.
3. Taiwan’s young generation are even more hungry for money and want to own their own business by making as much money as possible when they are young. They will like your concept but when the reality bites, they choose money over idealism.
I know there are people out there who are looking for quality of life and freedom, and not just more money. There is a big difference between having lots of money and a better life.
Canmeng Aveda strives to offer our young generation an opportunity to make a life, not just make a living. If we want
to have more people from different backgrounds to join this creative profession, we need to change this commission based pay so people can have their own life with more free time for themselves and family.
Now, you see, someone has to do something to give an alternative option to this profession. I think salons could be a lifestyle center to advocate an aesthetic sensibility with earth friendly products and lifestyle.
To sum up, we pay decent salary, profit sharing and a package of employee benefits for our hairstylists to work in positive, beautiful, human- and earth-friendly environment, plus the opportunity to learn and grow in your career, free time to enjoy your life so your passion for your craft can be sustained.
Gina, you need to ask yourself what kind of life you want to live and what are your priorities at this stage of your life. If what we offer at Canmeng Aveda aligns with your priorities and you want to grow with our vision to re-invent salon industry, then welcome to the family. If your values and priorities are different, it’s also OK.
Thank you for giving me opportunity to answer this myth about Canmeng stylists being paid very little. How can we have happy stylists if we pay them too little? How can we keep our stylists if they cannot improve their lifestyle? We also have stylists coming back to us after working with commission based salons.
Thank you for your insightful question. Canmeng is not perfect and we continue to learn and improve as we go.
However, we need to let people know that Canmeng treats our stylists fairly.
Live, love, learn and laugh
Ping
Businessmaker, Daymaker, Ripplemaker
Dear Gliza:
First, I think I want to congratulate you for reaching out and ask for help. I don’t think I have answers for your question.
However, the idea is to engage and the willingness to face it and accept it.
You are not the only one who has this dilemma. It has happened to many young people. I never think I am the best people to answer the questions you raised. I have paid my due and was lucky to be at the right time, right place and right environment as Malcolm Gladwell’s new book Outliers pointed out.
http://www.kingstone.com.tw/english/Book_Page.asp?aid=e0810lit3&actid=e0810lit3&kmcode=2041870135735&partner=
However, I did work hard and trade off lots of things that many people treasure dearly. We all pay our dues.
For you, I would recommend you to find out what your signature strength is first. You can find it out from the web questionaire. http://www.authentichappiness.com
Then, find something that you are passionate about. lastly, try to find the meaning in your work. Please don’t worry about the pay or salary. You need to find the happiness through working on a meaningful work that you are very good at and passionate about it.
You need to take more risk and follow your heart. When you keep an open mind and curious about the uncertainty, one day, you will realize that we only live here and now.
If you read the About Ping Chu in this blog, you will notice that I am working on a business model that can provide meaningful work for young people like you.
I would like to recommend you to practice daymaking to strangers and especially those who are serving us and making honest living at the bottom of the society. You will develop empathy and realize that happiness sees no job preference.
Be true to yourself.
Ping
dear ping,
I have read many of your articles in magazines and I am familiar with aveda salons and the concepts you based your company on. I admire your positiviy and your spiritual outlook. i’m curious though and have a few questions i’d like to ask you. I know that canmeng uses the system of team based pay. The idea of that sounds good but I am aware that your salon and spa employees are payed very little compared to others in the industry. I am a hairstylist as well and I know that it is a job and wears out your energy every day. No matter what a person’s intentions are for doing a job ( i do my job becaue i love to make people feel good) they have hopes and dreams for the future. what can you do for your employees dreams of better lives if they are not well paid for their hard work. I’m sorry if this is too forward but I have seriously considered joining the canmeng team but my hesitations came from the reason I have said above. please do not get me wrong, I truly am a fan of yours and I support the new ideas Aveda brings.
cheers,
gina
朱先生您好
讀了你的文章
心裡很多感觸
本身正在找工作 但是一路上很多失望與挫折
我不願意把這樣的情形怪罪於經濟蕭條或金融危機上
我把它歸於自己的能力或個性
但一切不能重來
我也在努力
只是沒有方法
我也同意您的職業無貴賤的道理
但心裡總有什麼疙瘩放不下
有種高不成低不就的狀況
還麻煩你給一些寶貴的意見或分享
感謝
祝 順心
Gliza
Dear Daemon:
Yes, you made my day with this posting.
Please remember that you are not teaching English or any courses, you are teaching critical thinking and how to be a decent human being.
I was told that not many people will be bothered to read my English comments. However, I think it is more important to raise the bar and create an evironment that is English friendly.
I never want to please anyone or am in a popularity contest. I just want to connect with those people who are ready and appreciate the engagement we jointly created here.
Thank you for lettimg me know you have received my letter.
Have you made anyone’s day today?
Ping
Hi Mr. Ping Chu
Thanks for replying my handwritten letter, the mail simply made my day!
And I appreciated of the inspiration you gave to me, which is to think English as a medium rather than just a language.
Although I think myself has temporarily moved my focus from graphic design to lecturing; however, I do feel the satisfaction in my heart when I could read “I really did learn something today” from my students’ expression. Two weeks ago, I had a chance to sub for a kindergarten teacher for two weeks, but actually I had had fear for teaching kids because they are hard to control. But for some weird reason they liked me since day 1; for some reason I always walked out of the classroom with a big smile, I guess that was a feeling of a “daymaker”. And it felt really great!
So again, thanks for the promotion of daymaking.
I’ve just read your newest article on ICB, and forgive me I could only have time to do your assignment #1, but I did enjoy reading the book – The Education of A Reluctant Businessman.
In my opinion, and also based on the speech you gave last time in XUEXUE, you enjoy and value a long-term process and relationship rather than short-term. So I could say the 11 experiments you have been doing are a package contains conscious, an authentic balance in business ethics and humanity profit; and also it is also a process and opportunity to provide a marvelous education to mankind, so we all can get on track with the upcoming century.
Again, thanks for reading and feedbacking my words from your precious time.
Hopefully the opinion will make your day with such interaction.
= )
have an awesome day!
Daemon
Dear Mr.Chu,
Thank you so much for your words,it also meant a lot to me,
i live in HK now,dont know when i will move back to taiwan again,
yes, i do have this special connection with taiwan,
here we have a group of people who are very much into the sustainable living concept,we try to share our idea with more and more people,as you know, HK is a key city of the Asia,
if we can influence HK people,then soon, we can influence China,
southeast asia,and event more internationally,
normally, we organize small workshop or gathering,we provide a space for everyone to exchange or share their idea,we realized that people need to relate to each other,base on that,we have trust and we can be influenced!
so, after reading your BLOG,i have a feeling that you can help or influence people to make the world better !
please let me know if you are interested or not,and you can always drop your words in my personal email !
have a nice day !
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/nasaka
Hi, I’m AJ. A new friend in Taichung. I want to tell you today is so warming. This is my BLOG. I want to share with you. I read ICB no so lone but I’m also lead a positive way like your ripple card. I also love their website. It’s colorful. You may intresting in NASAKA, though we are just start from this year. What we trying to do is the same as your (Businessmaker, Daymaker, Ripplemaker ), though I’m making effort!! In our blog also try to advocate some thing like you. We are so young, need to learn alot. I konw learn together, we stay together. Yeah!!
In our team, we have four members. No one major in design. We love to share our life and thinking to others. I saw your website is working some good concepts. If you have time you also can leave a massage in NASAKA.
One good news, My friend have a new openning hair slon.
They use AVEDA, I’m so happy for you. I vote what I buy!!
My friend , be good and constantly ripple.
My teacher, be businessman and giving some new concept.
We are happy maker! Welcome to NASAKA
Dear Dr. Paganini:
Thank you for your generous words. It means a lot to me.
One thing you can do for me is to let more people who are ready to join this blog. This is my experiment to have a blog that is not filled with info or daily entries, instead it is a comments rich blog that can generate more intellectural discussion so we can learn together and grow together. There are too many blogs focused on what’s new, what’s cool and what’s hot.
As you can tell, I work hard to solicit more comments so people can participate and express their unique views. The true value of the web is the interactive nature of this powerful media. Thank you for taking time to write to me. It must be a challenge to write something and talk to the world. 🙂
I also will experiment more web business ideas on this blog so we can find a sustainable model with higher purpose to build this community together.
You have never left Taiwan as long as your heart is here.
Please drop by and visit us here whenever you are thinking of us. 🙂
Love,
Ping
Dear Candy:
Actually, Canmeng is not a perfect organization. We have people leave us for better opportunity elsewhere. The only thing we know is that we are constantly changing.
As many people know that I don’t run the daily operation of all my companies. I entrust my team to build the team they want to work with. I would recommend you to send the resume and tell us what you would like to do if you join Canmeng. I also would recommend you to invest some money to experience a service in Canmeng’s spa to see if Canmeng deserves your commitment. This invesment will tell a lot about you as a person who are serious about her future. How do you know if Canmeng is a really good place to grow and to nurture. Please don’t believe everything you read from the media.
Spa is a very tough business. You have to have the heart in this most nurturing business. You simply cannot make big money in this business. Many people want to get into this business because of the glamour effect. Actually, it is an expensive business to operate with limited productivity growth.
We also are the first one in the Spa industry to pay our Spa healers a team based pay. I think if any spa business pays their staff on commission basis, it is not a trust based system so it defeats the very nature of going to Spa.
I also request all the clients coming to our spa to have a positive mindset: To become spa healer’s Daymaker, instead of coming to spa to be pampered.
I once told my business parner, Ms. Wen You Jun, the genius behind Canjun that spa aromatherapist should be redefined as healer. You are healing people through healing hands, groundedness, mindfulness and aromatherapy. This is why I want to eliminate the commission based pay in Spa and Salon industry. It is simple that if you want to make lots of money, these professions are not your choice. However, hairstylists and spa healers are one of the the best professions in the 21st century because the nature of using hands and creativity to serve people and make people’s day. What other profession that can give you this intimate relationship?
However, we need to fight the baggage of Chinese culture that looks down on people who use their hands and hearts. We, Chinese, prefer the profession to use brain, not to use hands. The 21st century is a century of artists. We need to do creative work that can touch people’s heart and soul. You can never outsource this kind of work to China, India, Vietnam or Indonesia.
Congratulation, Candy, for your finding your passion and strength to become a spa healer. There is a long way and uphill battle to change people’s perception about this profession.
Canmeng is working hard to build an environment and system to make sure that Salon and Spa could be a most fulfilling and sustaining profession for our future generation.
Good luck,
Live, love, learn and laugh
Ping
Businessmaker, Daymaker, Ripplemaker
朱先生，
謝謝你的好文章和許多…許多的啟發！
一時之間不知道該向您請教些什麼問題，
從我第一次在美國用過Aveda的產品，到我看見台彎的第一家Aveda的誕生，我感受到意識的轉換是如此的美妙，緣分竟是如此的神奇！
雖我已經不在台灣常駐，但是對於您致力於潔淨、環保、文化的保留
充滿敬佩！
希望有機會可以合作，我非常願意協助您將這份概念與更多人分享！
祝好！
朱先生~您好~
很冒昧的留言給你~我一直很喜歡肯夢的理念~
有別一般專櫃的商業經營模式~
不吝嗇對員工培植(在職精進和職前訓綀)和肯夢企業共同成長~
是我很喜歡的肯夢一個特點~
CNADY目前公司是作企劃行銷產品管理方面事務
對芳療有極大興趣的我本身有初階芳療證照
心中一直想圓專業芳療師夢~在自己破三十之前圓心中一直的夢
做自己有興職的事業 不知貴企業如何徵才?
可否麻煩請朱先生告知 謝謝囉
祝
順心 平安~
CANDY
Dear Melody:
It is a heartwarming feeling to read your email. It is people like you to replenish me with the energy. People thought I have unlimited positive energy. Actually, I have a secret. I always believe the positive energy I gave out would never deplete me. I will always be re-charged immediately by the reaction from people who has received my positive energy. It it depletes me, it is not a positive energy.
Yes, I remember the hand written notes from a handsome young man. Your friend’s English is excellent. I believe I have written him a thank you note not long ago.
I am so happy that RippleCards can connect you two in some strange way.
1. I majored in pharmacy. However, I am so glad that I decided to take one course that no foreign graduates would take during that time. I took a human behavior course simply because I want to learn. Graduate school will not count this undergraduate course as part of my master degree requirements. I still took the course. This is my advice to lots of young people going to America for their graduate study: Take some undergraduate courses like American history, psychology, American politics even though these credits will not be counted to your master degree requirement. I am so glad that I took all these courses. I also have the first hand experience to study with 19 years old American freshman. This experience has major impact on my understanding of American culture. I also recently have been heavily influenced by Martin Seligman’s Positive Psychology through a dear friend of mine. I started to incoporate Positive Psychology into my company’s culture code. Our goal is to provide a working environment that can integrate work and life so we can achieve authentic happiness by connecting our strength, passion and meaning.
2. I just attended a wonderful event created by The Big Question in Taipei http://www.thebigq.org It is a TED http://www.ted.com inspired event. The speakers in this event were Pierre Loisel, Robin Winkler, Ben Chiang and me. It was a first attemp to raise the conscious level of our youth to ask big question. Actually, I am also involved with Xue Xue Institute http://www.xuexue.com I offer a private mentoring program at Xue Xue. In the future, I might invite the readers of this blog to join me for a live event.
In the meantime, you can google me. There is a lot of info about me on the web already.
Melody, there are thousands of people like you and me in Taiwan. This is Taiwan’s true competitive edge. This blog is my experiment to find people like you who are willing to engage in intellectual discussion and are not afraid of English.
Thank you for the encouragement and being a daymaker for me.
Love,
Ping
Hi Mr. Chu Ping~
The first time I was in Taiwan (that was just over a month ago) I scrolled by Aveda and came across your ripple cards (which I end up with a few boxes), and I was amazed how geniune and wholesome beings still exist today! I didn’t put much thought into it when the sales lady told me that her boss made these cards.
Until a few wks ago, my boyfriend told me he went to a seminar of some sort held by the owner of Aveda. Suddenly it came to me that your ripple effect book was the coincidental gift he got me as I left Taiwan, not knowing that I loaded up on the cards already~ (hes the guy who wrote you a handwritten letter, if you have not got many already~)(And yes I’m jealous for I cannot write Chinese,LOL)
After skimming through your webpage, I realized a few things:
1. Are you from a Psychology related discipiline? (coz I am, and I somewhat feel that vibe)
2. Do you have any events where I can hear stuff you got to share?
3. Where else can I find people like you around here, as in a committee or something? Just seeing people who actually care about others geniunely with heart. I think I lost touch with that for quite some time, and that’s what attracted me to your mentality. For some reason I can almost call it a sense of tranquility just knowing that
Appologies for not being able to write coheriently or fancy- however, I do look forward t hearing back from you~
Melody
Dear Michael:
By posting this question, you have made a great contribution to the young people who are reading this blog routinely. Thank you for your initiative. Not many people will do this. You must be a business leader with thoughtful and engaging heart.
It is my honor to have this wonderful chance to get to know our future leaders. I only hope that I did not disappoint their high expectation.
The answer to your question is: YES, all future business should adopt this conscious business model. As a living enterprise, our responsibility is to provide a meaningful work to all our associates. I firmly believe that all associates or team members should live the life that their company has advocated for. Authenticity is one of the reasons we can reach full life.
It is my business philosophy that money is a form of energy. We need energy to do things. Profit is oxygen so we can survive. The challenge is what we should do if we survive. I have wrote a few articles about for profit social enterprise which I think is
the next phase to inpire young people to go beyond make a living to make a life. How to find meaning in work will be the nexg big thing.
Michael, I am so happy to get to know you here. I am so sorry that I did not get the chance to talk to you the other day.
Please continue your leadership to lead New East Rotary Club memebers. I am so proud of your achievement.
Be the Change,
Ping
Hi Ping Chu,
Thank you very much for sharing with me and young fellows of Taipei Rotary New East Club many of your thoughts Saturday afternoon. I trust those young fellows must have been inspired intellecturally in many perspectives no less than what I have been inspired.
One question I had in that first raining day of this winter yet did not have time to ask you is this: you mentioned that Aveda aims to combine work environment into life style for every of its associates. Is this an element you believe what a good enterprise in the future should possess or simply one responsibility you expect Aveda to take?
I agree with your 1% concept. I have been in your cafe a couple of times and will do it more often.
Let me expess on behalf of Taipei New East Rotary Club our gratitude for your taking our young fellows a valuable journey of intellectural exploration.
Hope to meet you often in your blog.
Regards,
Michael Hong
Vice President of Taipei New East Rotary Club