Working with Europe

Here is a summary of key points from Mark Hoban's recent presentation to PricewaterhouseCoopers:

1. London is both the most global and the most diverse financial capital around the world.
2. We will better create a more stable and competitive financial centre by working with the EU than by turning our back on it and letting other Member States get on with it.
3. The EU has signalled that it's open for business and will not close its border or restrict the free movement of capital.
4. We have demonstrated that we can work with and influence EU policy, by reversing the Council's position on the alternative fund managers directive.
5. We should be working to ensure that new regulation promotes transparency, is non-discriminatory and support's competition.
6. To achieve this, the government will need the engagement of and support from within the industry.
7. The establishment of the City of London Corporation's International Regulatory Strategy Group, as well as the emminent launch of the UCITS IV consultation, are steps towards this.
8. Engagement must be backed by solid evidence, and clear rationale.

It's hard to fault the argument that the UK needs to be part of a larger economic economic and policy bloc if it is to compete with global behemoths like the USA, China, etc.   Balancing all the special interest groups to achieve this in practice, however, is likely to prove much more difficult.

"Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

I've just finished reading "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, which deals with the subject of how to achieve happiness and enjoyment from work.

The fundamental thesis is that people most enjoy activities in which the goals are clear, the are opportunities for action towards those goals and feedback is immediate.   Mihaly delves at length into the concept of an "autotelic personality" - that is, a person who is able to:
1.   set their own goals, balancing both long term high level goals with shorter term more immediate goals, and
2.   create opportunities for action (rather than feeling like a passive observer or even a victim).

Mihaly also goes into great depth about the difference between people who rely on external goals, such as greater wealth, more fame, etc., and those who are more focused on more intrinsic goals such as developing their personal skills and cognitive abilities.   Unsurprisingly, he suggests that latter are more resilient to environmental difficulties, and therefore more likely to sustain a sense of well-being regardless of what is happening around them.

When all of these conditions are present, it is said that you will be in a state of "flow".   Your concentration will become focused, and your daily stresses will recede from consciousness.   This, suggests Mihaly, is the key to sustained happiness,

It's a fascinating and well researched book, with numerous anecdotes to demonstrate the theory.   I can highly recommend it to almost everyone.