Last day at the Economics Ministry

My final day at the Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology was on Friday, December 19, 2008. In typical German fashion, I prepared some cookies and brought in other refreshments for my co-workers. Yes, in Germany, people follow the BYOP rule (bring your own party). I had heard of this tradition from past Fellows so I knew what to do. On Friday, the entire office came by and my advisor presented me with a gift after a kind speech about me. I was flattered. Then we nibbled on Dunkin Donuts, my homemade chocolate chip cookies, fruits, and juices while chatting. The rest of the day was spent saying goodbye to co-workers, writing thank you notes, and packing up my office.


Making chocolate chip cookies the night before. (Un)fun fact: baking soda is very difficult, if not impossible, to find in Germany. So I substituted it with baking powder. Lets just say the cookies were not fluffy.



My Referat all in my office: Here I asked everyone to pose for a quick photo.


My last outgoing mail: I decided that I'd use the intra-Ministry mail service to deliver all the thank you cards to my co-workers. Here is the stack. The Ministry has a mail person who comes 4x per day and picks up and drops off mail into your office. Great service!

Christmas party

The office Christmas party.

On Wednesday, my department had our office party. The highlight and much-anticipated event was called "Horror Wichtel", which is similar to the White Elephant party game familiar to the U.S.. In this game, everyone brings in an ugly, kitchy, and outrageous object that has been lying around the basement or attic for so many years. But each gift has to be packed nicely! Then we rolled the dice and when we hit a six then we could pick out a gift. Once everyone had an unopened gift in front of them, we rolled the dice again and opened each gift one by one. Some of these gifts were incredibly ugly, thus perfect for this game! It was hilarious. Then we had 10 minutes to pass around the dice and could choose to switch with someone if we rolled a six. This caused frantic rolling and switching of gifts! I rolled a six 4 out of the 6 chances I had and so I had a total of 5 gifts in front of me.


The game can now begin: here are all the gifts laid out on the table in the conference room. Don't they all look so nice? What things could be hidden behind these nice packages?


The gift unwrapping yields surprises: a woman's faux leather handbag with a seemingly-homemade strap made of plastic beads, a full set of irregular wood goblets, an apple baking dish from the DDR times, two unmatching votive candle holders, a hideous octagonal dish with plastic easter grass and three odd egg shaped ornaments, a clay elephant mask, and others draw ooohs and ahhhs from us.


Hello Buddha! This was the gift I unwrapped. I actually kind of liked it but knew that it would be switched soon during the flurry of exchanges that would come soon. This buddha was made of solid glass and sat on a sand-filled cushion. It would make a great paperweight...but who uses paperweights nowadays anyway? What purpose do paperweights serve?


The exchange begins: Imagine this. People rolling dice, hoping to roll a six. If they do then they switch with someone else in order to get the gift they want. This continues round and round...


I choose this TREASURE as my first exchange. About this tree: it weights about 8 pounds, is made from (handmade) glass leaves and flowers, wire, ceramic, and metal. Nobody knew who brought it (secret) or who would possibly want such a outrageous object. This was by far the "best" present and I was quick to take it. But soon I changed my mind and switched when I rolled my next six to get...


...a copper sun (plate?) with a bird-shaped bike horn (imagine a dog's chew toy and how it sqeaks). Figuring the high price of copper on the commodity markets nowadays, this may be useful. But how would I carry that back to the States? On the next try I roll a six. Only 2 minutes left and I can choose from all the objects! Finally I choose...


A plastic replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa with a lamp inside! This is great! The bulb even works to create a soothing glow through all of the tower's little windows. But wait, there's a special feature...the bulb heats up a small imprint on the tower's roof and a questionably sweet perfume odor emerges. It's a scented tower!


Game over: After the ten minutes, everyone is pleased and shows us the gifts they are bringing home.


After some cake, cookies, coffee, and sweets, we all headed out to take the bus to a photography exhibit at the Martin-Gropius-Bau. "The Martin-Gropius-Bau is one of the most famous and most beautiful exhibition halls in Germany. It was built in Berlin by architects Martin Gropius (for whom it is named ) and Heino Schmieden in the Renaissance style, as an arts and crafts museum. It was opened in 1881 and housed the Berlin Museum of Prehistory and Early History as well as well as the East Asian Art Collection since World War I. The building was severely damaged in 1945 during the last weeks of World War II. It was classified as a historical monument in 1966. It was meticulously restored in 1978, and has become one of the most famous and most beautiful exhibition halls in Germany, hosting many international exhibitions." (Wikipedia)

It was a collection of Robert Lebeck's photos over his long career as a photographer for German magazines and other print media. My office had a private tour of the exhibit and we learned alot about the life, travels, and photos of this talented and lucky photgrapher. Afterwards, I headed back to the office to finish up some odds and ends. What a great day with the office!

Leipzig in Christmas-mode

On Sunday Mike and I hopped on the train at Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) in Berlin and took the 1-hour train south to Leipzig. Good thing we reserved our seats because the train was packed! Arrival in Leipzig was a joy because we saw something immediately upon exiting the Leipzig train station - Europe's largest train station. What did we see? You guessed it! Sun! We then set out to explore the city's historic downtown.

Nudging through the throngs of visitors of the Weihnachtsmarkt, we walked past literally hundreds of stands. Then we spent time at the main city museum at the Altes Rathaus and learned about the city's history. Did you know the first trade fair occurred in Leipzig? Then we continued through the city and saw all kinds of sights, sounds, and especially smells. It was a great day outside of Berlin!


The entrance to the Leipzig Weihnachtsmarkt


Roasting/smoking salmon: I took this photo at the small Finnish Christmas market. They of course served these delicious morsels of salmon nearby.


Christmas lights inside the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof: supposedly the biggest in Europe. It did not seem that way though.


Rustic bread baking: These breads were handmade and then baked the old-fashined way.


The prize: hot out of the oven, filled with bacon and lots of melted cheese. Caloric content: in the high 1000s I'm sure!


A relic from the city's commercial history: an elaborate document granting the owner the right to conduct commerce.


Diarama showing early commerce: in the museum


Wall of judges: this long row of portraits documents the city's judges for the past hundreds of years.


City Hochhaus (City Highrise) and fountain at night. A little info about the Highrise: City-Hochhaus, at a height of 142.5 metres, is the tallest building in the city of Leipzig, and the tallest multistory building erected in the former East Germany. Designed by architect Hermann Henselmann in the shape of an open book, and built between 1968 and 1972, it was originally part of the University of Leipzig campus at Augustusplatz. The building was completely renovated between 1999 and 2002, and is now rented to private tenants including the public broadcaster MDR and the Panorama restaurant. The roof is equipped with a viewing platform. (Wikipedia)


Evening light.


The world's largest advent calendar: those have to be some HUGE chocolates!

Weihnachtsmarkt in Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin

After work today, the Bosch group in Berlin met at the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) at Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin-Mitte. This weekly (Stammtisch) get-together is usually indoors in a warm restaurant or bar, but this time was different! Beforehand however, Brian and I had a short dinner at my apartment. We stepped out into the rainy night and took the 5-minute walk over there, trying to stay dry.

The Weihnachtsmarkt was a typical one - with lots of little booths selling all types of little gifts, sweets, and random handicrafts. But the Glühwein was the brightest highlight by far. Glühwein is a very traditional hot spiced wine that is served in mugs at outdoor events in Germany in the winter. A cursory survey of the market landscape revealed that revenues at the Glühwein booth were clearly the highest, followed maybe by the grill serving various meat products. The Germans really love their meat here.

Huddling under the umbrellas to avoid the rain wasn't easy because space was limited. But the Stimmung (atmosphere) lifted as a live band dressed in santa claus costumes started playing (fairly corny) christmas music. It is hard to believe that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away! Alas, I had little time to check out the goods being sold. Maybe tomorrow night.

It was a pleasant evening with great friends and conversation. The holiday season has officially arrived, at least for me.

Enjoying a light dinner at my apartment with Brian

Some of the Bosch group at the Weihnachtsmarkt: Me, Michael, Brian, Emily, Zuzanne, and Catherine

Fellow fellow Catherine (also from the fine state of NJ) and I

Creeping nationalization?

How the U.S Federal Government is approaching the issue of the failing U.S. auto industry is more important and deep than just headlines. While the current bill to subsidize the operations of GM, Ford, and Chrysler was thankfully blocked by the more-than-reasonable Senate Republicans, I am concerned about the long-term implications of the mindset that is now in fashion. This topic will be explored. In the meantime, let me know what you think. The NY Times article below explores an interesting question.
www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/business/economy/09nationalize.html?emc=eta1

Patching simply won't suffice here

The new corporate logo is unveiled

Successful logo may be first sign of successful merger.

As 2:30 rolled around, 5 co-workers and I gathered at the elevators in the Ministry building and then filed into the Ministry car waiting to pick us up. Destination: Invest in Germany - the Federal Investment Promotion Agency headquarters on Friedrichstrasse in Berlin. Why were we all leaving in the middle of the day to go across town for a short meeting? Today was the unveiling of the new corporate logo of Germany Trade and Invest (the merger of Invest in Germany and the German Office for Foreign Trade). After weeks and months of wrangling and poor logo after poor logo presented by the contracted ad firm, it was finally decided to allow employees to come together and produce it themselves. Today, they wanted to make sure the Ministry (us) approved of the logo they came up with before they presented it to their respective organizations. A prescreening, if you may.

After a brief presentation by a young man who had been on the design team, the new logo appeared on the next powerpoint slide and the room went quiet. Did we like it? Yes! It was a sophisticated, 3D logo which worked well. Since there is an embargo on the information, I cannot tell you what the logo is but you'll see it soon.

So what is so interesting is not necessarily the logo, but how the logo came to be. As I mentioned, the ad firm they had on retainer was worthless and time was winding down before the Jan 1, 2009 merger. We needed a logo, bad. Management had the foresight to allow young, interested employees from both organizations to come to Berlin, essentially lock themselves in the building for a day or two, and emerge with the new logo. So that's what happened. No bickering from the ingrained management, no stonewalling of ideas by stubborn employees. Essentially the end result was that these young employees acheived in one day what the management of the companies could not in months. Brilliant!

I see this as a positive first step both organizations are taking at becoming one. What better way to inspire and "pull" the staff together than a successful logo? I know it may seem superficial to focus on a logo, but I think the message sent will be the necessary seed that will be vital for both organizations to grow together as one.

Curious about the logo I saw? Check http://www.invest-in-germany.com/ in the coming days and let me know what you think!



Side note:

This award-winning poster with model Claudia Schiffer was a huge success at the 2006 Football World Cup. This poster, along with others, plastered Grand Central Station, inviting potential investors to Germany. This framed poster also hangs on several walls at the German Federal Ministry of Economics where I work. My coworkers are proud of this marketing success.

Little known fact:
My office chose Claudia Schiffer at the time after Heidi Klum (also a famous German model) asked for a very large sum of money to pose for the shots. Claudia did these free of charge. How patriotic. It was also her idea with the flag.

The globalized world in 2020: where will Germany be?

Event at the Federation of German Industries (BDI)
The Financial Crisis - The Transatlantic Business Partner - New Economic Powers
December 2, 2008, 14:00-17:00

After leaving work at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology a little after noon with a coworker for lunch, I arrived at BDI at Breitenstrasse 29. This is the third time I have been here in the last week, so I already feel at home. Entering the Mendelssohn Room, we took seats in the second row and listened with interest to the lectures and moderated discussions.















The panel was a "who's who" in international business and diplomacy:
- Jürgen Thumann (President of BDI)
- William Timkin (U.S. Ambassador to Germany)
- Fred Irwin (President of AmCham Germany)
- Mark Spelman (Global Head of Strategy at Accenture and Chair at AmCham)
- Jochen Homann (State Secretary at the Economics Ministry)
- Dan Hamilton (Professor at SAIS Washington and coincidentally Chair of the Bosch Fellow Selection Committee which picked me and the other 19 Fellows this year!)
- Michael Baunton (VP EMEA, Caterpillar, AmCham)
- Mikael Hägstrom (EVP EMEA, SAS Institute, AmCham)
- Moderation by Petra Pinzler (Die Zeit)

After introductions by Thumann and Spelman, State Secretary Homann provided the keynote (prepared written) speech which mentioned statistics on Germany's trade and investment, current issues in transatlantic commerce, the role of Ambassador Timkins in international relations, reports that cite U.S.'s decreasing dominance, and his optimism at commercial resilience.

Then the podium went to Dan Hamilton who introduced and pointed out key findings of his research study titled, "Germany and Globalization" which is part of a series titled, "Globalization & Europe: Prospering in the New Swirled Order". He elaborated on five indicators: trade, investment, capital, ideas, and people.

Here are some key ideas that stuck with me about Hamilton's findings:

- Trade: Germany is too dependent on exports and thus its trading partners.
- Investment: Investment flows from Germany to U.S. are 4X higher than trade flows (!)
- Capital: Germany profits from free capital flows.
- People: Germany is a "magnet"for uneducated migrants, but deters highly-educated migrants. - Educated workers see the U.S. as a more promising destination than Germany.
- Ideas: Education is Germany's "achilles heel".

Following Hamilton's presentation (in perfect German language, which totally impressed and surprised the German audience), the panel went on stage. Mrs. Pinzler, who clearly had experience moderating, steered the discussion with directed questions at panelists and transitions between speakers.

While I will not go through everything that was said, I would like to mention the things I scribbled into my notebook that seemed insightful at the time as evidenced by a star next to them:
- Germany needs to be more self-confident about itself and communicate itself to the world better.
- Irvin, who was a real pleasure to listen to, stated that President Bush and Treasury Secretary Paulson were doing the RIGHT thing in their actions in the financial markets and the rescue package. Why? Because they restore confidence.
- Irvin and Ambassador Timkin both critiqued German education as suppressing the top students and pulling along the "weaker"ones.
- The lack of identity among German citizens is a weakness. Integration, which is a very sensitive topic in Germany, was apparently not going well and leaving many behind. (I sensed that this was not well-received by the German listeners)
- France attracts more FDI than Germany (!)

Finally, the moderator asked the panel, "What one thing would you do if you were the King of Germany?"

Here's what they said:
- Focus on services, the untapped potential in Germany
- Attract creative talent, for it is important for the future
- Restore pride and trust to Germans
- Embrace diversity
- Promote people
- Instill meritoracy to replace the planned and regulated system

As a finale, Spelman pleaded us to do the following:
1) read the report
2) communicate to your organization
a) benefits
b) balance
3) use our leadership positions to influence behavior

A very ornate, fully catered, reception followed.

What is the BDI?
The BDI is the umbrella organization for industrial businesses and industry-related service-providers. As the representative of the interests of industry the BDI coordinates the views and recommendations of its members. It provides information covering all fields of economic policy. The BDI thus supplies support for businesses in the task of keeping pace with the intensive competition resulting from globalisation. (from website)

The upcoming Czech EU presidency

Panel discussion at the German Council on Foreign Relations
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 18:00

Following the event at the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Mike Bocchini (another Bosch Fellow and good friend) and I rush with the 200 Bus to the German Council of Foreign Relations located in the prestigious neighborhoods along the Tiergartenstrasse (Berlin's Embassy Row). There we quickly sign in and join the audience.

The panel includes:
- Christian Schmidt, MdB - State Secretary at the German Defense Ministry
- Dr. Alexandr Vondra - Vice Prime Minister from Czech Republic
- Dr. Jan Karlas - Institute for International Relations, Prague

The discussion revolved mostly around what we should expect of Czech Republic's upcoming 6-month EU presidency. Dr. Vondra stated that since the "Czech way" is a little more subdued, pensive, and conservative, we should not expect earth-shattering policies or initiatives. He proceeded to outline general stances with regards to energy policy, Russia, neighboring geopolitics, the current financial crisis, macroeconomic issues, and others.

The 2-hour discussion was held in three languages: Czech, German, and English. Needless to say, the translators were busy and us in the audience were constantly putting on and taking off the cordless translation headset according to our language breadth. The discussion took place in the Robert Bosch Hall and was financed by the Robert Bosch Foundation.

Following the discussion, wine, drinks, and delicious prezels were served to the gathering. The audience comprised largely of the Carl Friedrich Goerdeler-Kollegs, the sister program at the Bosch Foundation to the U.S. Fellows program I am part of. We all stood around the standing-tables and talked about the issues we just heard and how our work Stages are currently going. They are all currently in Berlin for their Seminar and it was good to see them all again.

Overall, I am glad I went to this event tonight. It was interesting hearing about the EU presidency and how the Czech Republic is approaching this task. EU politics is generally not my focus but it never hurts to learn!

Perpetual darkness

Sights from a very typical commute

Here in Berlin the sun dips from the horizon at about 3:30pm and it is pitch dark by 4:00pm. Therefore, much of what I do during the week goes on in the dark, literally. This rainy night is very representative of the normal weather here.

The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology on Invalidenstrasse: I am currenly working in this historic building and learning about the German Federal Government's inward investment and location marketing policies. You can see my bus stuck in the oncoming traffic. My commute home starts here.

Rush hour on Friedrichstrasse: lights, cars, busses, trams, and pedestrians all seem in a hurry to get home.

Bus driver on the 147 Bus: I take this bus directly from the doorstep of the Economics Ministry to a few blocks from my apartment.

Unter den Linden (Under the Linden Strees) with Christmas tree lighting: This is the most historically significant and scenic boulevard in Berlin. It was built to link the Berlin Palace located on the eastern side of the avenue with the Brandenburger Gate which served the entrance into the royal hunting playground called the Tiergarten (Animal Park). Berlin takes great effort to decorate this avenue - lucky for me!

Unter den Linden trees over unusually empty street: the 1.5 km boulevard with its bright tree lights is a sight to see. It is also 1 block from my apartment!

Brandenburger Tor with new neighbor -the Christmas tree: I took this photo facing west while standing in Pariser Platz. The Berlin Wall ran right behind this Tor. Today only cobblestones trace the path of the wall throughout the city.

The commute ends 30 minutes later: My apartment building on the corner of Wilhelmstrasse and Behrenstrasse: I love living here. No, I haven't yet been at the Block House steakhouse right on my doorstep. I can get chain steakhouses in the U.S.!

Thanksgiving 2008

Betreuerabend Thanksgiving 2008

As a symbol of appreciation to the mentors who generously host the Bosch Fellows at their organizations, the Fellowship Foundation organized a Thanksgiving event dinner at the Victoria Restaurant in the Kreuzberg Berlin. These mentors come from the high echelons in their organizations and agreed to have a Bosch Fellow work in their office from October to December 2008.

This event was a huge success!

This unconventional evening consisted of Fellows first working alongside their mentors in cooking hand-picked traditional Thanksgiving dishes based on recipes the Fellows brought from home. Chopping celery for the stuffing, peeling sweet potatoes, grating cheese for the mac & cheese, and preparing drinks were just a few of the many things we did in the restaurant's kitchen. The entire restaurant was reserved for our group of about 30.

After our cooking, the dinner was incredibly delicious and fun - with Fellows, mentors, and Bosch Foundation staff feasting and enjoying the evening family-style. A great night to 'give thanks' to our mentors who have been so helpful in shaping our first Work Stage here in Berlin.

Fellows and mentors hard at work in the kitchen: cooking in a restaurant kitchen is lots of fun!


The gorgeous dinner setting: I took this right before we all sat down for dinner.

Business trip to Stuttgart

Stuttgart: the Global Connect Expo and Federal-State Committee on Foreign Commerce

From November 10 - 13, three co-workers and I traveled to Stuttgart (in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg) to attend the Global Connect Expo as well as a high-level committee meeting between the Federal Government, as represented by us, and representatives of the inward investment and location marketing units of all 16 German states.

Boarding the plane to Stuttgart.

The delegation I traveled with arriving at the Expo early in the morning.

Zuzana and I at the reception: she and I worked together at times and she is a Kolleg from a similar Bosch program for Eastern Europe. Zuzana comes from Bratislava, Slovak Republic and did her work Stage at the German Federal Inward Investment Promotion Agency called Invest in Germany.

Germany's Federal Minister for Economics and Technology, Michael Glos, touring the Expo floor: Minister Glos gave the keynote speech that morning to start off the Expo.

Russia's Minister for Economic Development and Trade, Elvira Nabiullina, giving a the audience a very thorough report on Russia.

U.S. Presidential Election 2008

Celebrating the Election night in Berlin

On the evening of November 4, 2008 I watched my country vote for its 44th president at a special venue: the "Amerika Wählt" election party at the Bertelsmann Building at Unter den Linden 1. The event was co-hosted by the U.S. Embassy Berlin and the American Academy while the TV-stations - CNN, RTL, and n-tv - did live, on-premise reporting and interviews with some special guests. These included John Kornblum (chairman at Lazard, former US ambassador), Michael Naumann (German politician, publisher, and journalist) und Margarita Mathiopoulos (business leader and academic).

While waiting until poll results to come in, I spent time with some other Bosch Fellows and met some other guests while enjoying the atmosphere. Approximately 900 guests attended in all thoughout the evening, with many alternating between this and the other 2 large election parties in Berlin. I learned afterwards that the guest list was made up of what the news called "top figures in politics, business, and society". That explains why I felt like I was at the Grammys the whole night! I recognized some faces vaguely from TV.

As the night wound down around 3am, many guests started leaving. But us American Fellows and a small hardcore group did not want to be sleeping while the president of the world's greatest country was being chosen! Nibbling on American food served at the "American buffet", we kept ourselves busy watching the CNN coverage on the large screens as the results slowly started coming in. Cheering and jubilation followed as states turned blue. This was clearly a pro-Obama crowd. (In fact, a very informal poll taken of the guests showed that the percentage of Democrats at this party was in the high 90s.) By morning, the results were in and Barack Obama was the president-elect! The Stimmung (atmosphere) was exhilarating and high-fives and hugs were shared among friends and strangers. Some of us looked at each other and said that we still couldn't believe it that Barack Obama would become the 44th President of the United States of America!


The venue: the Bertelsmann building at Unter den Linden 1



Mike and I: Mike is another Fellow from DC

The Bosch Fellow group: me, Emily, Mike, Meghan, Geoff, Sumi, Catherine

The interior design: red, white, and blue decorations everywhere!

The studio: this area was used as a lounge after the interviews were complete.

Entrance: this is the entrance area at the end of the evening after most people left.

Watching the results: as the poll results started trickling in, we watched in anticipation.

Obama wins U.S. presidency!: happiness on both sides of the Atlantic.

Pleased with the turnout: From left: me, Geoff, Sumi, Mike, Catherine.

President elect Obama took time out of his busy schedule to pose for a photo with me. What a nice guy!