TOMATO CATCH-UP: Newsletter Issue 162 – July 2013

Your monthly resource on working capital, process optimization and issues relating to the world of corporate treasurers, IT professionals and bankers!

Introduction:

With so many people on vacation during the summer, we usually combined the July and August issues into one. This time, we had a lot of material to pass on to you. Also, since the weather here in North Carolina and parts of Europe has been anything but summery, I decided to write a shorter/lighter newsletter for July. Well, it’s turned out not shorter and may be just a tad lighter than usual. Still, it has topics for each of you in your field of expertise and in your life.

Enjoy the variety!

Regula Spottl

 

In Today's Issue:

TOMATO UPDATES

FINANCE-, BANKING AND IT

MANAGEMENT AND CAREER

MISCELLANEOUS

 

How Tomato’s Website Looked Ten Years ago

In a recent New York Times tech blog, a reader asked: “When a Web site shuts down, is it gone forever or is there a copy of it somewhere for research purposes?”

NYTimes’ J.D. Biersdorfer’s reply: “…if a long-gone Web site is still anywhere to be found, the Wayback Machine is a good place to look first. To use it, visit the site, type the URL of the site you want to dig up in the Wayback Machine address bar and click the Take Me Back button.”

To visit Tomato’s website from July 2003, click here! You can tell how we evolved and refined our core strengths based on market developments since!

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Auswirkung neuer Datenschutzanforderungen an Banken-IT

Im Artikel “Datenschutz: neue Anforderungen an die Banken-IT” erklären Dr. Robert Rümmler und Tom Schmidt, Senior Managers,  EMEIA Financial Services Advisory bei Ernst & Young Schweiz, womit Banken-CIOs künftig rechnen müssen.

Sie weisen auf die neuesten Regulierungen, interpretieren das Positionspapier der SBVg und die FINMA–Anforderungen und erklären die Auswirkungen auf Banken. Computerworld.ch Artikel…

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CIO Roundtable in Zürich: Themen, Diskussionen

Am CIO Roundtable der Schweizer CIOs diskutierten die Teilnehmer aktuelle Herausforderungen im IT-Management wie z.B. Storage, Big Data, Cloud, die Grenzen zwischen Hardware, Software und Netzwerk, Risiken usw.

Computerworld, einer der Sponsors, veröffentliche mehrere Artikel über diesen Anlass wie z.B.:

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Switzerland Enters Race to Become European Hub for Renminbi

On July 5, the Swiss Bankers Association issued the following statement: Due to China’s rise to economic power, its currency, the renminbi is ever more important. “…the Swiss Bankers Association set itself the goal of positioning the Swiss financial centre as a hub for the China and (offshore) renminbi business. This is why we have published the brochure entitled: “The Swiss Financial Centre – Ready for the Renminbi”.

In their bid to become an offshore trading center in Europe for the Renminbi, Switzerland is competing with Frankfurt and London. Full story in Bloomberg article Switzerland Will Join Race to Be Trading Hub for China’s Yuan

NZZ Artikel: Wettbewerb um den Handel mit Renminbi

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SBB’s Project to Simplify and Centralize Treasury Function

The key focus of SBB’s complex project to revamp the treasury function focused primarily on the management of payments. In the case study “Enhancing Financial Control at Swiss Federal Railways”, published in GTNews, Dr. Stefan Eggli, head of cash management, middle and back office at SBB, introduces the background and objectives, explains the process and stages involved, and describes the benefits.

This detailed case study is hugely informative for any CFO, CIO and their staff. Full story... (registration required, free)

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SWIFT Service Bureaux Buyer’s Guide

GTNews just issued its 2013 SWIFT Service Bureaux (SSB) Buyer’s Guide. However, instead of downloading the entire 40-page guide, you find key information in GTNews editor Ben Poole’s article “SSBs: A Clear Message.”

If after reading, you still need more information, you can download the complete guide (pdf).
(These links require registration, which is free)

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Software Quality: An often Overlooked Business Risk

CIOs are responsible for ever more complex enterprise IT systems. The quality of processes and the risk involved is a major concern for them. The quality of software isn’t as much a focal point, however. One reason may be that IT doesn’t emphasize ”software quality issues in terms of financial risk to the CFO and the boardroom,” says Bill Curtis is a senior vice president and chief scientist at CAST who is best known for leading development of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM).

In the cfo-insight.com article “Software quality poses business risks”, Mr. Curtis cautions that the standards vendors adhere to are no guarantee for software quality. The various ways CFOs can ensure that software projects reap good results involves people. Most importantly, consistency in the people who work on a project – be it inside and outside the company - is hugely important. Full story…

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Innovation: Think Inside the Box

Most business leaders rank innovation as very important but are rather dissatisfied with the level of innovation in their company. It just may be that innovation needs to be approached differently.

A Wall St. Journal’s Saturday Essay contrasts the traditional approach to innovation Think Outside the Box with Think Inside the Box, which suggests that people are more innovative when working within the scope of what they know rather than brainstorm brand-new ideas.

Using the Inside-the-Box concept, groups take a product, service, process etc. and break it into attributes or components. They then use one of five techniques to manipulate the components and come up with new ideas that can be made valuable. The essay lists and explains the five techniques. The techniques include:

  • “Subtraction: Remove seemingly essential elements
  • Task unification: Bring together unrelated tasks or functions
  • Multiplication: Copy a component and then alter it.
  • Division: Separate the components of a product or service and rearrange them.
  • Attribute dependency: Make the attributes of a product change in response to changes in another attribute or in the surrounding environment.”

The article is adapted from the new book "Inside the Box: A Proven System of Creativity for Breakthrough Results."

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Qualities of Creative Leaders

David Ogilvy, Madison Avenue’s legendary advertising executive, is not your ordinary leader. Creativity in his business ranks higher than it does in more structured and rule-driven organizations. Still his list of 10 qualities of creative leaders found in

The Unpublished David Ogilvy contains some qualities that may be useful in organizations where humor and gusto are often lacking. The list:

  • High standards of personal ethics.
  • Big people, without pettiness.
  • Guts under pressure, resilience in defeat.
  • Brilliant brains — not safe plodders.
  • A capacity for hard work and midnight oil.
  • Charisma — charm and persuasiveness.
  • A streak of unorthodoxy — creative innovators.
  • The courage to make tough decisions.
  • Inspiring enthusiasts — with trust and gusto.
  • A sense of humor.

Found in Maria Popova’s Brainpickings, a favorite blog I subscribe to, titled Original Mad Man David Ogilvy on the 10 Qualities of Creative Leaders

Martin’s Comment:
I’ve been a proud follower of David Ogilvy’s views on doing business for years. Even in areas such as finance and IT, soft skills are crucial and the jobs of CFOs and CIOs are as much a science as an art. That’s why Ogilvy’s ideas offer useful lessons for leaders in any field.

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Switzerland Rated Happiest Country

The Better Life Index rates the thirty-six OECD countries in 11 areas which cover all aspects of life from income to education, health, life satisfaction, work-life balance etc.

OECD’s latest report found that the Swiss are the most satisfied overall. Following Switzerland, in the top ten are Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Netherland, Austria, Canada, Finland and Mexico.

USA Today article… explains how OCED used the 11 areas and lists details about these countries.

Find key attributes of Switzerland in OECD’s Better Life Index webpage…

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From the Desk of Regula Spottl, Greensboro, North Carolina

Applying the Ethos of Craftsmen to Everyday Life

We’ve had the slim book “Measure Twice, Cut Once” for several years but never studied it. We should have, I know now. It’s a book on advice to craftsmen.

Well, I came across the article “Measure Twice, Cut Once: Applying the Ethos of the Craftsman to Our Everyday Lives” and now I don’t have to read the book. This article, published in the online publication “The Art of Manliness” offers a advice on what the concept “Craftmen” once meant and how it can be applied to our lives. For example, Brett & Kate McKay elaborate on such topics as:

  • Do Things Well for the Sake of Doing Them Well
  • Plan (But Not Too Much)
  • Measure Twice, Cut Once
  • Work With What You Got
  • Cultivate Patience
  • Let Go of Your Ego
  • Develop Your Practical Wisdom
  • Mastery Brings Meaning
  • Find Your Workshop

The authors conclude: “Whether you spend your days knee-deep in sawdust, paperwork, or diapers, by adopting and living the traditional values of the craftsman you’ll find more personal fulfillment and meaning, enrich your family and community, and hammer, mold, and sculpt an indelible legacy as a man.”

I urge you to read the article at your leisure. It makes great points and has links to hugely valuable resources.

Your Tomato

Regula Spottl

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