Quantitative easing or just printing money?

So we have just been through a period of quantitative easing but what does it all mean? Quantitative easing is considered an unconventional monetary policy, or at least new, to lower interest rates and increase money supply.

So the central bank creates electronic money to purchase government bonds from the secondary market, as this creates buying demand the price of the bond should rise in accordance with the principles of supply and demand. Naturally, this distorts the natural equilibrium of the free market creating an oversupply of capital. 

So far we haven't seen the effects of inflation and we need to ask why? Have the central banks managed the process to such a fine degree that they avoided the old issue of inflation? The core issue during the global financial crisis was liquidity and business lending, as the banks held onto cash with business activity curtailed. 

QE provided the required liquidity and flooded the bond market with cash. The growth of money didn't appear to affect the  markets, well not yet anyway and may just push the problem out. This is what we are finding out now, I was told they will be no world growth for the foreseeable future, just the growth of money and that is what we are seeing.  

Classic Heuer chronographs

I love old Heuer timepieces, whilst I don't own any vintage Heuer, this is before TAG bought in and rescued the company in 1984, I will keep looking. I don't buy these goods online but keep my options open with dealers.

Heuer has a heritage dating back to 1860; for me, the golden period is the 1960s and 1970s when Jack Heuer was in charge of the company. Heuer stood for motorsport and their chronographs were spectacular, TAG Heuer has maintained their motorsport linkages.

They had the Carrera, to my way of thinking, this was the classic chronograph design. Whilst the Carrera has been re-released in multiple formats, even as a three hand watch, the chronograph is the ultimate expression of watchmaking style.

The Autavia has been recently re-released by TAG Heuer and people have been raving about the timepiece. Initially released in 1962, the Autavia was a dashboard instrument later becoming a wristwatch.

The Camaro was released in 1968 and powered by the hand-wound Valjoux 7733 movement and was never fitted with an automatic movement before being discontinued in 1972. The Valjoux 7733 movement was a no-date model, although some Valjoux 7734 date versions were sold with a Valjoux 7736 movement that included the 12-hour sub-dial. The two sub-dial format of the Valjoux 7733 movement offers a really clean and uncluttered dial.  

The square cased Monaco is an outstanding timepiece, made famous by Steve McQueen in the 1971 movie Le Mans. Available with a Calibre 11 with a left hand crown or a Calibre 12 and right hand crown, the Monaco was released in 1969 and running to 1975 as the first automatic movement in a square case. Looking back, it is hard to believe that the Monaco was a failure, now appreciated as a classic timepiece, the Monaco is an expression of the time.

The Monza was an economy version of the Carrera although its design was a re-edition of a 1930s inspired timepiece. The Monza used a brass version of a second generation carrera case with a chrome plate or PVD finish. The Monza was fitted with an in-house Calibe 15 movement, basically a low cost version of the Calibre 12 with a left side crown and right side pushers.

The Montreal, released in 1972 had a 42 mm brushed case with right hand fluted pushers and a left hand crown. The earlier series were white dials with an array of colours on the hands and sub-dials. The earlier models hand in-house movements with the later versions fitted with updated Valjoux 7750 movements.

Looking back now, it is hard to believe the Monaco was not a success when it was first released. The Silverstone, released in 1974 was the replacement for the Monaco. The square case with rounded corners came with three dial colours with sub-dials at the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions.

Not only does Rolex have a Daytona chronograph, Heuer released their version in 1976. Rather short lived, the Daytona used Heuer’s in-house chronograph with the pushers on the right side of the case and the crown on the left. The 39 mm brushed case held an integrated three link bracelet that came with no leather strap options.

The Kentucky, with horseshoe shaped case is a chronograph but does not have the motorsport heritage of most Heuer chronographs. The Kentucky launched in 1977 targets the equestrian crowd with screws at the lower section of the case and the Heuer name plate attached.

The Cortina was released in 1977 and was fitted with the same dial, albeit with the name change and the sub-dial hands differed. The case was octagonal and an integrated single link bracelet was fitted. The Cortina had a choice of index markers or roman numerals on the dial with a left crown and right pusher format.

The Jarama appeared in 1977 and only lasted a couple of years, named after a racetrack near Madrid that hosted a number of Formula 1 events. This isn’t a great looking timepiece by any stretch of the imagination with the fluted bezel and isn’t hard to see why it was released in limited numbers.

The Verona was released in 1978 and returned to clean lines and style of 1960s design. The sub-dials were positioned at the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions with the date at 6 o’clock. I find the internal angled tachymeter scale an interesting inclusion. The crown is positioned on the left-side of the case and chronograph pushers on the right-side case to wind, adjust and operate the Calibre 12 movement.

The Pasadena was released in 1979 and fitted with the Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement. The black 41 mm lugless case design appears to be an anodised steel or there were also stainless steel options available. The Pasadena transitioned back to the crown and pushers located on the right side of the case. 

TAG Heuer has re-released a number of their vintage timepieces with the Carrera, Monaco and Autavia all listed in the current collection. I would argue that some of the vintage Heuer are not to my tastes although the Verona, Silverstone and possibly the Camaro might work for me.

Still diving my VR3

I get these unusual looks when I go diving; new divers watch in amazement when I strap on my old but reliable VR3 dive computer.

The technology may be equivalent to Microsoft's Windows 95 software; however, the algorithm is better than many modern computers and in terms of functionality, the VR3 was ahead of its time and stands up well.

The computer is bulky, it is the equivalent of an old style mobile phone housing with an operating system just as good as the latest release. In terms of trusting the algorithm. I will always dive any new computer side-by-side with my VR3 to verify the program.

This is why I played around with the pressure gradients to get my OSTC diving right. I have had plenty of decompression-stop dives with my VR3 and trust the program. Whilst I now have more modern dive computers, the VR3 will always be used for extended range dives as my reserve computer.

Making a decision

In my first year out in the workforce after completing my apprenticeship I was employed by a large earthmoving contractor at a major gold mining operation. The maintenance superintendent was incapable of making a decision and this was detrimental to the whole engineering workshop.

I was told by the frontline supervisors to "make a decision and follow that decision through even if it is the wrong decision." This was great advice that I pretty much used throughout my working life, it mostly worked.

This doesn't mean make a rash decision on the spot without collecting all the necessary data, this means collect all the data and make an informed decision. Don't be indecisive, you soon lose the respect of people if you are indecisive.

The maintenance superintendent was replaced not too far into the project and a hard core guy brought in. I lacked respect for the indecisive maintenance superintendent and held immense respect for the guy who replaced him - this has stayed with me throughout my working life.

Aligning decision-making with values is relatively new in my industry; this is the value of learning leadership at a business school. You need to make ethical decisions, this is a prerequisite for any leadership position.

A business school such as Kellogg at North Western University equips graduates with such decision-making skills to make informed decisions required in modern business environments. Leadership and decision-making is a very important aspect to management development.

Getting abused by losers - big deal

So I received some pre-warning when I returned to Perth, I was going to cop an ear full of abuse from some of my former colleagues when I volunteered over the weekend for the WorldSkills competition.

This all stemmed from a private email I wrote based to a former colleague based on a discussion we had prior to my departure. What I do know is the blow-hards and non-performers are pretty sensitive about their lack of ability.

The reason I left this employer was the toxic work environment based upon the lack of leadership by those instilled to provide direction. That being said, I should be a little more respectful of their knowledge and skill short-comings.

This is why that toxic work environment exists, they are miserable and I am laughing at them. They are running around weeks ahead of the event telling everyone around the office how they are going to abuse.

It gets better, I never applied for this job, they contacted me and made a reasonable offer that I decided not to refuse. Whilst it is an international location earning US dollars, they pick up flights, accommodation and all costs.

My post-tax income in US dollars is higher than their pre-tax income in Australian dollars, not that the salary was the deciding factor, but it helps pay the bills. What annoys them more is the fact that I won't brag about salary because they want to know what I am earning.

The biggest laugh for me is I never spent my full salary anyway, my mortgage was discharged at age 28. I paid it off after 6 years so my life after 30 was one of no financial stress, I invested some, spent a whole lot on travel and enjoying myself.

My move was all about the challenge and I am loving my new job and team mates whom I hold in high regard, unlike these other blow-hards. This is exactly why talent leaves and non-performers remain.

Diving Blue Corner - Palau

I was working in Guam in the late 90s and I was sent down to Palau for a week to repair a drag line we had dredging the harbour in Koror. I had my flights booked and the job had to be completed within the time frame, I had a team to work with down there and we pushed real hard to get the job done within the time frame.

The job was completed a day early and I was off diving for the final day, we worked back every afternoon for those six days to get the job completed. Our itinerary for the day was Blue Corner followed by the Big Drop Off and a night dive later on.

We were handed reef hooks, this was the first time I had ever used one so I was kind of interested in what this site had to offer if this is how they dive it. I think reef hooks are a brilliant idea, used correctly they really save the reef is strong currents.

Blue Corner is every bit as good as people say it is - we hooked onto the reef and sat in the current with the sharks, barracuda and pelagics out in the current hunting. I was counting sharks as they swam by before I thought to myself, why waste my time counting sharks?

Blue Corner is a sensational dive, I was lucky I was there in the late 90s, it was a good time to be diving with enough infrastructure and no overcrowding. Just enjoy your time hooked to the reef, watch the big fish swim past you and make the moment count - I did just that.

Action learning in the workplace

Action learning in the workplace has emerged as an on-the-job problem-solving methodology building team capability and individual leadership abilities holistically benefiting the organisation.

Action learning projects are designed to solve problems whilst developing leadership abilities as participants are required to apply critical-thinking abilities to problems, work collaboratively in a team and reflect on both processes and results.

The focus of action learning is to increase learning capacity within an organisation whilst responding to real world challenges in a cross-departmental teams. As complex problems require multiple skills to solve; individual team members develop customised learning agendas utilising a humanistic approach. 

A humanistic learning strategy requires motivation, self-development and affective skills differing from standardised behavioural and cognitive off-the-job classroom based training programs.

Action learning is an effective strategy developing individual leadership capabilities including team problem-solving skills; the program has been extensively utilised as an organisational leadership development tool reducing time lost off the job.