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So what's this site for?
The chief purpose of this website is twofold: to learn, and to facilitate learning in some key areas of finance and business. Those areas will be dictated by my interests and professional activities, and will no doubt expand in scope and depth into the future. At present, they can be categorised into the following main fields:
Areas of Interest
Knowledge Management
Value-based and Performance Management
Risk Management
Other topical issues in financial services, such as: e-commerce, technology, valuation, regulatory policy, etc.
Learning Process
As most anyone will attest, the real test of one's understanding of a subject comes when one has to explain it to someone else. This is never more apparent than when that explanation has to be put in writing. Therein lies the means by which I hope to accomplish my twin objectives of learning and facilitating the learning of others - by attempting to elucidate ideas, concepts, techniques and solutions relating to the areas of interest outlined above.
Target Audience
This website's only target audience are those who share an interest in the topics discussed on it. The only prerequisites necessary are a mind with which to think and the time and energy to spend doing so. No prior knowledge or experience is required. I aim to encompass material that starts at first principles and explains the fundamentals, as well as deal with more complex issues that would interest professionals working in these fields. So, whether student, dilettante or practitioner, all input is welcome.
Rationale for this site
In ancient times, when little progress in extending the bounds of knowledge had been made, it was possible for the thinkers of that age to make original and lasting contributions to a wide range of areas. In fact, the ideas and concepts of the great minds - such as Aristotle - dominated fields as diverse as biology and metaphysics for many centuries. Since then, rapid acceleration in the division of labour has led to geometric growth in specialisation. If any true polymaths exist today, they'd have to be defined as such by the acute insight they bring to bear, rather than as vast reservoirs of knowledge in a number of different subjects.
The implication of this massively expanded knowledge universe for those who want to learn today is simply this: there are no readily consultable oracles of wisdom. No experts on every aspect of their field, let alone every subject. For each question, the dilemma is not - "Does someone have an answer?" But - "Which of the multitude of answers is right or best and how do I identify it?"
The challenge for today's thinker is not merely to find an answer to one's question or a solution to one's problem. The principal task is avoiding the massive proliferation of defective ideas and inadequate solutions that throw themselves at you while you're trying to find the best ones. One way you could do this is by attempting to collect all the information you could on the subject in question and study it from the fundamentals up, achieve a proficient understanding of it, and then evaluate each idea and solution yourself. If that sounds like a lot of work, that's because it is! Therefore, unless you intend making that particular niche your area of expertise, it's simply impractical to apply that method and time constraints make it impossible to apply as a general strategy.
So how do individuals and businesses deal with this inundation problem? Sadly, most of the time, they do so in deficient ways. They cut corners and settle for inadequate results. Individuals tend to go with the first relevant book they come across or follow the first advice they hear. Businesses often rely on familiar "generalist" consulting companies that offer solutions across a wide array of areas. Of course, this is hardly their fault. People would complain that no one is around to tell them which books and articles are the most relevant and appropriate. Similarly, businesses would contend that finding and identifying the specialists with the greatest expertise and success is just too difficult. Unfortunately, as things stand now, both would be justified - the hassles involved in finding the best solutions are usually more trouble than they're worth.
However, as is often the case, the cause of the problem is often also the means to a solution. In this case, the answer to the inundation problem is more specialisation - specifically, in filling that role of sorting, evaluating and identifying what the best solution is, or, at least, where to find it. This is one of the key concerns of a relatively new formal discipline called Knowledge Management. It is my belief that identifying the critical information, structuring and construing it appropriately, and timely delivery of it to the people who need it, will become increasingly important in the near future.
Presently, there is a serious shortfall in this area. The Financial Services field is a good example. In the last several years, the amount of raw data (think markets, financials, league tables); information (industry news and research); technology (new techniques, software, processes); and advice (consulting and advisory firms) has exploded. Participants are literally flooded with information, advice and options competing for their attention. The first stage in this information revolution was simply to provide the most access to data. Things have since progressed to the stage where information is now subject to more discrimination, analysis and evaluation. However, every significant website attempting to play the crucial knowledge management role outlined above, either began as a commercial enterprise or has become one. And for a commercial entity, the temptation to vastly improve profits by tying oneself to selling products or services is just too great. This inevitably colours the independence and judgement of these enterprises, and can easily turn the provision of unbiased information and analysis into marketing campaigns.
Hence, there is a real dearth of independent reporting, analysis, evaluation and review in the field of Financial Services. That is where this one-person, non-commercial venture comes in. I don't intend this website to be an alternative to the major sites and portals. I have neither the expertise, time or capital for that. The focus of this site will be limited to the specified areas of interest. Neither can I promise a great deal of original, innovative ideas, concepts, or techniques within these areas of interest - I am, after all, a one-man band. Instead, I propose to chiefly play the knowledge management role I outlined earlier:
My key objectives:
Within the specified areas of interest, to bring you the best and brightest ideas, concepts, technologies and strategies. As an independent, non-commercial site, I'll have the freedom to review ALL sources and only publish the most valuable work.
There will be no discrimination or favouritism. A great idea might be found on the pages of a large consulting firm, or on the home page of a student. I'll treat them on their merits.
Discretion will be used to separate the wheat from the chaff. In other words, I'll be applying my qualitative judgement in deciding what articles, information or resources to feature on this site. On occasion, "chaff" will be posted, but it will be identified as such.
Though I'll most often be featuring others' information, I'll rarely do so without attempting to add some value to it. You know - Identify and clarify the critical ideas, summarise, analyse, make connections with other concepts or relevant information, assess it's significance and practicality.
Many ideas and theories sound wonderful, are intuitively appealing and capture the imagination, but fail to produce results. Examining how practical and actionable new ideas and techniques are is a prime concern of this site. You can expect rigorous critiques and analysis in this respect.
I aim to be as fact-based as possible in my evaluations, however, often, the information required to draw conclusions won't be at my disposal. Though I won't be able to render judgements in such instances, I promise to at least provide you with some appropriate questions to bear in mind.
I make no pretensions to be an expert in any of these areas. All I claim is an interest and a smattering of intelligence. Add time and effort and eventually you get real knowledge and expertise. This is not intended as a didactic website. It's my learning website - and if you're interested in learning, I'm inviting you along to share this ride. I would greatly appreciate any input, suggestions or contributions. Eventually, I hope to get some multi-participant, ongoing dialogues on here.
Ok, that's all for now. Now run off and explore! And don't forget to tell me what you think!
Site Status
Jan 30th, 2001
I am currently migrating to this server from another one. I hope to have finished the basic redesigning and uploading by the end of this week. Reviews and commentary on articles may take a little longer, as I have yet to decide if/how I will host external material on this site. Any suggestions on site redesign or content are most welcome.
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