Indecent Proposal

My lady boss, a not-so-old filthy rich business executive, once offered me an indecent proposal. To make the story short, I agreed. We were all alone in the room when she told me, "What's your favorite position?" Without batting an eyelash, I replied, "CEO." End of contract.  :D 

P.S.

The illustration on the left side (click to enlarge) is totally another story of an indecent proposal. It is open-ended, so it's up to your wild imagination on how you will end the story. Enjoy reading!

Let’s ‘Dudefy’ the Corporate World

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."  

— Charles Darwin

The corporate world is rapidly changing. The acceleration of all things—as we enter the realm of intelligent infrastructure, mobile technology, and smart automation—offers tremendous pressure for companies to change the way they do business. Thanks to some great dudes for making it happen.

The once mighty hierarchical organizational structure is being run to the ground. The market is being pounded by constant product and service innovation. The hyper-innovative industry is getting smarter and smarter. Virtual office set-up, fast fashion craze, instant business model implementation, and the increasing reliance on multitasking ability are just among the new realities for business. Only those who have the ability to align themselves to high-velocity future trends can survive the new corporate rat race.

Multiple careers

Expect today’s workforce to be completely different in terms of how they view careers. According to Rudolf Melik, author of "The Rise of the Project Workforce: Managing People and Projects in a Flat World", a book that provides a comprehensive reference for enterprises that are making the shift to a service-based and project-based structure, “[The younger generation of workforce] fully expect a career path that will allow for multiple different jobs and careers throughout their lifetime, simply to avoid the boredom and tedium that comes with routine. They want to be provided with a regular stream of new projects and varied assignments and responsibilities.”

This paradigm shift is easy to understand because these are the generation who've seen their parents right-sized, outsourced, re-engineered, and transformed, said Melik in his book. “[These younger generation of workforce] come to embrace the reality that there are no guarantees, nothing is long term, and that much of their success will come from their ability to constantly reinvent themselves,” added Melik. According to trends and innovation expert Jim Carroll in his write-up “Don’t Mess with My Powder, Dude!”, his surveys showed that more than 50 percent of American kids now believe that self-employment is more secure than a full-time job.

In addition, Melik views today’s employees as “fiercely collaborative and extremely team oriented.” These ultramodern employees define themselves by what they like to do, not by what they do for a living. Melik points out that these employees don’t subscribe to the concept of a corporate work philosophy that says you have to come to a certain location every day to do things.

Virtual office

“The concept of nine-to-five will have just absolutely disappeared. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to become a nation of home offices, but I think there will be a lot more choices that people will be making as to where and how and when they’re going to be doing the work and what constitutes the organization,” according to Gyle Konotopetz in his write-up the “Futurist eyes next-generation work trends” published online in Business Edge.

Today’s generation of workers prefer to work on a per project or contract basis, rather than full time. They don’t give a damn whether they have an office or not (although, the concept of SOHO or small office, home office, and hoteling are designed specifically for them). They’ve got their smart phones, tablets, or laptops to communicate and do stuffs. They have their webcams and are always online; thus, they can work anywhere and can collaborate with anybody around the globe.  

“I think they’re just going to shake up the concept of the workplace to a huge degree. The reason that hasn’t happened is because of simple boomer resistance to change,” Gyle said. In addition, Gyle has predicted that broad changes can be seen in the corporate structure 10 to 15 years from now as the baby boomers, who have been very resistant to change, will eventually be out of the workplace. 

           

Flat organization

           

For some time now, the predominant workplace trend has been to go flat—giving rank-and-file workers direct access to top management and even the company president. It is an organizational structure in which middle-management functions have been eliminated. It shortens the time to achieve decisions, and at the same time, brings the decision makers close to the “dudes” and innovators.

           

In the book “The Art of Possibility”, the conductor Benjamin Zander describes the flat organizational structure as “leading from any chair”. According to Zander, the system has produced many of the most innovative products and services that people use these days. There is a problem, however, of leadership gap—the traditional route to leadership has been shortened. Also, there are chances of loose control because there are too many subordinates under one manager.

In the web article of Scott McDowell “Why Flat Organizations Don't Create Great Leaders (& What To Do About It)”, he proposed that effective management can be achieved by cultivating leadership in the flat organization, i.e., hiring someone with a strong drive and execution, rewarding leadership, institutionalizing mentorship, among others. By encouraging autonomy and self-direction, a flat organizational structure strives to tap into employees’ creative talents and to solve problems by collaboration.

            

Less aggressive companies opt to establish communication hubs—like the so-called brown bag and town hall meetings—that would serve as a venue for top executives to reach out and talk to rank-and-file employees.

Smart casual

Smart casual is a loosely defined dress code that is casual, yet smart. It is a multi-purpose outfit that is acceptable for formal occasions, dating, or casual social gatherings. Oxford Dictionaries define it as "neat, conventional, yet relatively informal in style, especially as worn to conform to a particular dress code.”

Global men's fashion business Topman emphasizes the flexibility of smart casual by stating that an individual's personality and comfort level of clothing choice defines the dress code. On the other hand, women’s magazine Fashion Central defines a woman's smart casual from an employment perspective by emphasizing the importance of understanding the workplace's environment and culture.

Smart casual outfit can include a mixture of jeans, chinos, blazers, sweaters, dress shirts, or a pair of decent sneakers or leather shoes.

In Japan, the Cool Biz dress code, which is part of the austerity campaign launched by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) in the summer of 2005 as a means to help reduce the use of air conditioning to save on electricity consumption, advises workers to wear trousers made from materials that breathe and absorb moisture. Additionally, workers are encouraged to wear short-sleeved shirts without suits or neckties.

Speaking of suit and tie, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson regarded the suit and the necktie as having no place in today’s corporate world. In an interview published in a column at leading business magazine Entrepreneur, Branson believes that suit and necktie don't serve any practical purpose and office workers have been complaining about how uncomfortable they are for generations. The workers feel like they’re putting nooses around their necks every day. Branson further said that the suit and tie is an anachronism; there is no viable argument why gentlemen should wear ties. For Branson, a sweater and corduroy trousers are his standard business attire.

Aside from Branson, U.S. president Barrack Obama, U.K. prime minister Tony Blair, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, among others, are frequently appearing in public without necktie.

            

The author of “The Smart Creative's Guide to Dressing for Work” Dr. Christian Jarrett said in his article that clothes affect people’s mindset and alter how they feel about themselves. Dr. Jarrett cited a US research published in 2007 by saying that employees described themselves as feeling more productive, trustworthy, and authoritative when they wore a business suit at work, but more friendly when wearing casual clothes. Voila! If that is the case, then wearing smart casual could bring the best of both worlds in smart dressing.

Flexible schedule

           

The Boston College Center for Work & Family conducted a two-year research in collaboration with six large U.S. companies: Amway Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Honeywell, Kraft Foods, Lucent Technologies, and Motorola Inc. The research project is aimed at assessing the impact of workplace flexibility.  Results from this study of 1,353 employees and 151 managers suggest that, in most cases, greater workplace flexibility is a win-win situation for both companies and the individuals they employ.

           

Accordingly, workers who are given opportunities to do their job more flexibly are more dedicated and productive, are more satisfied with their jobs, and are better able to manage their lives outside of work. On the other hand, companies that allow flexibility in the workplace (e.g., flextime schedule, telecommute arrangement, on-call basis, etc.) are finding that their commitment is paying off as manifested by increased in productivity, better quality of work, and lower employee turn over rate.

Employees using daily flextime are more likely to say that this flexibility has a positive impact on their productivity, quality of work, and their plans to stay with the company. For individuals, the findings are equally exciting. Employees working flexibly are more satisfied with their jobs, more satisfied with their lives, and experience better work-life balance.

Way forward

More and more corporate executives are coming to realize that it’s time to throw out the old ways and try some things that are new. Those who are slow to react will be having a hard time to catch up in the new corporate rat race. Those who are unwilling to take good and calculated risks will be facing more uncertainties. Those who are afraid to embrace changes in the workplace and marketplace will just be expediting its corporate extinction.

They have learned that the way forward is not by relying upon their company's solid foundation and traditional way of doing business. They have realized that to deal with the high-velocity future, they must do away with their unyielding, slow-to-respond corporate norms, but instead introduce some new policies to make their companies attuned to the times.  

Running one’s business in this fast-paced world is as important as managing the affairs of today's “agile” workforce, who is sometimes temporary, always transient, part-time in nature, tech-savvy, and multi-skilled in background. The increasing specialization of knowledge, rapid career evolution, relentless market and business change, and globalization have led to an ever-growing reliance on project-based “workforce for hire.”

In the keynote speech made by global management guru and leading futurist Jim Carroll for the Monster Government Solutions Human Capital Management Conference in 2010 in Washington, D.C., he mentioned the shift from continuity to flexibility and the importance of attraction, not retention in the workplace. Carroll said that the depth of the baby boomer skills exodus is of such a degree that there's a need for a lot of flexible work policies in order to retain them, but at the same time, there is a need to play into the unique career attitudes of the younger generation. He further believes that lifestyle, not loyalty is what made workers happy and contented at work.  

           

Welcome to the era of corporate dudes.

REFERENCES:

Branson, R. (2012). Richard Branson on Office Ties and the Company Dress Code. Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223670#ixzz2W3Xi25Aq

Carroll. J. (2012). Trending in 2012: What’s to Come in the Year to Come? Retrieved from http://www.jimcarroll.com/2012/12/trending-in-2013-whats-to-come-in-the-year-to-come/#.UbkfzpyeQa8

Jarrett, C. (n.d.) The Smart Creative's Guide To Dressing for Work. Retrieved from http://99u.com/articles/14510/the-smart-creatives-guide-to-dressing-for-work

Konotopetz, G. (2006). Futurist eyes next-generation work trends. Retrieved from http://www.businessedge.ca/archives/article.cfm/futurist-eyes-next-generation-work-trends-13793

Melik, R. (2007). The Rise of the Project Workforce: Managing People and Projects in a Flat World. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Project-Workforce-Managing-Projects/dp/047012430X

Coursera - Writing II: Rhetorical Composing

Ohio State University

Assignment X: Revising Rhetorically

By Ludwig Ritchel A. Kalambacal

23 June 2013

The Corporate Dude

"I do defy old-fashioned business norms. I do defy worn out company conventions. I dudefy the corporate world."

“My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I’m happy. I can’t figure it out. What am I doing right?” — Snoopy (Charlie Brown's dog)

To "dudefy" is "to transform into a modern day dude", as defined in the UrbanDictionary.com.

Originally, its root word "dude" was used to describe a "fancy-dressed city folk who went out west on vacation". In this usage it first appears in the 1870s, according to TheFreeDictionary.com.

After more than a century, in the late 1990s, the infamous comedy film "The Big Lebowski", whose main character nicknamed "The Dude", became a classic cult. As a result, the word "dude" got a negative connotation—as a "lazy person" or an "unemployed slacker".

But thanks to the "Dell Dude" commercial advertisement in the early 2000s for it somewhat gave the "dude" a facelift. The ad campaign was a huge success and not only helped bring prominence to Dell computers, but to the self-proclaimed dudes of that time as well.

The phenomenal "Dell Dude" ad paved the way for dudes to penetrate the corporate world. "Dude" became an office buzzword, an everyday expression of strong feeling, and a fashion statement.

Today's dude is no longer bound by a set of stereotypes from past generations. He is now becoming more self-aware in learning new and better ways in a rapidly changing world. Today's dude is all about blazing new trails, trying new methods, and challenging the old school.

Coursera - Writing II: Rhetorical Composing

Ohio State University

Assignment 3: Making Visual Argument

By Ludwig Ritchel A. Kalambacal

18 May 2013

Paging the Postmaster General of PHLPost!

 

We are already in the age of digital technology, touch-enabled gadgets, and wireless connectivity, but your post office is still far behind. Mr. Postmaster General, it's a pity to see your hard-working employees who are still employing the tedious process of manually recording transactions in the log book. Why don't you fully-computerize your department?

I went to the Manila Post Office earlier this afternoon to verify the package that was sent to me by my uncle from the US. It has been over three weeks now and I haven't received the package yet; thus, I decided to visit your main office. 

I asked for some instructions to a lady employee manning the entrance gate. I told her where to verify my package delivery. She seemed to have a bad hair day that afternoon as manifested by the tone of her voice; nonetheless, I just ignored the attitude and proceeded with my inquiry. In fairness, she gave me the correct window to go through to check my delivery.

Thus, I went downstairs and proceeded to Window 131 as instructed. I approached a stout lady manning the window and told her that I want to verify a package delivery. I told her I have the tracking number with me in my possession. When I told her the tracking number, she told me that there is no record of such because certain tracking numbers—like in my case started with LC—can't be traced. I was told that such delivery is treated like an ordinary mail. The stout lady said that the package will go directly to the post man and not to their department.

So, I asked her if there is a way to verify my item. Because i told them that if it is proven that my package had arrived already, then I could be able to check with the postman in our area. She just said "wait", then she went to a room. Having no idea what I would be waiting for, I talked to the other lady manning Window 131. She is a thin lady. She apologized for the inconvenience and she shouted to the fat lady if she already found the log book for December. The stout lady went back to her station with the log book of about two inches thick. She told me to just look for the record of my package. 

The  apologetic thin lady told me to please bear with them because they have no computers and they are undermanned due to the recent "rationalization" in their department. Having no recourse, I proceeded to sift through the pages.

Whoa! I've finished examining the whole log book but I found no trace of my delivery. I was told by the thin lady that it could probably be in "one of the bags", but they can't help me look for the bag where my package belongs because there is no supervisor to counter-check, plus no one will be left manning the front line.

The thin lady told me if I want to expedite the search she told me to call the Pasay Post Office which is where the main segregation center of mails and packages delivered via airmail is located. She told me to get from them the "bag number" and the "date of dispatch". Also she gave me a tip not to mention LC when I provide the tracking number, just mention directly the numbers in the tracking number plus the place of origin like in my case US. She said that mentioning LC as in my case seems like a plague and no one in the post office will be willing to assist me for that matter. Once I get those information, I could go back to them and they could easily trace the package.  WTF!

On second thought, I understand the dire situation of those employees. Hence, as much as I want to loose my temper I'd rather keep my patience.  I just told myself that for as long as my package won't get lost that would be good enough to warrant my trust and confidence to the very institution that is the source of my other passion, i.e., philatelic collection. 

  

Robust Philippine currency threatens business process outsourcing industry

Outsourcing to the Philippines is now said to be 30% more expensive than India and China, according to Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP). But what is ironic is that the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, which contributes much to the domestic economy, actually helped drive up the peso's value. The combination of an appreciating peso and a depreciating Indian rupee had provided India with a meaningful cost advantage. Ditto the steady Chinese yuan.

A survey of BPAP members on the impact of the strengthening peso revealed the following:

• about 46.7% of respondents said it had been more difficult to hit their respective revenue targets;
• about 40% of respondents said they had lost some business to other destinations;
• about 40% of respondents said they had canceled expansion plans.

Southeast Asia has become a preferred destination for global portfolio investors in which case their investment inflows result in increased demand for the local currency.

Aside from the BPO industry, exporters are also hit hard by a robust peso since they make less money in peso terms for every dollar they earn.

In a related development, some property experts are encouraging property developers to look beyond the BPO industry. Global consultancy firm Urban Land Institute, for one, advises property players to find new growth areas. One suggestion is to consider developing “middle office” hubs for financial institutions.

Front office usually refers to sales and marketing, and the back office covers administrative and support services, where call centers and BPOs usually come in. But middle office, on the other hand, refers to the segment within a bank or financial services firm that takes care of risk management, calculates profits and losses, and handles the information technology platform using the resources of front and back offices. Hence, the business of assigning middle office tasks to a third party is known as “knowledge process outsourcing” (KPO).

"Fifty Shades of Grey" sans the passion and romance

The controversial "Fifty Shades of Grey" is a top-seller erotic novel by British author E. L. James. It is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes — between a college graduate and a young billionaire — featuring elements of sexual practices involving bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism.

But the said novel is not all about kinky romance and strange seduction after all. The book also exudes some business sense such as these remarks by one of the main character Christian Grey: "Business is all about people . . . I employ an exceptional team, and reward them well . . . It really is all about having the right people on your team and directing their energies accordingly . . . The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership."

Moreover, readers would find amusing the legally bizarre, but unenforceable, non-disclosure contract (NDC) between the billionaire Christian Grey ("Dominant") and the newly-grad Anastasia Steele ("Submissive"). A recommended template for those who are planning to embark on . . .  uhumm . . . an indecent proposal.

Some of the world's famous billionaire dropouts

Michael Dell

Michael Dell enrolled as a biology major at University of Texas, but spent more time fiddling with stacks of computer parts in his dorm room than hitting up the library. Instead of studying, he started selling new computers through advertisements in local papers. It was a lucrative distraction. By the end of his freshman year, Dell was selling about US$80,000 a month in computers. With the money rolling in, Dell decided not to return to school. He dropped out of college at age 19 to run the company that would become Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL). Within the next few years, Dell's annual sales passed US$100-million.  Dell's estimated net worth is pegged around US$16-billion.

There are several other billionaires in the United States, like Dell, dropped out of some stage of schooling. Those others are like Dell in another way too: They didn't drop out to watch daytime television on the couch. But they left school to work hard. Dell explained his attitude to University of Texas graduates at a 2003 commencement address: "Circle the pitfalls and highlight the opportunities. Then build a vision of how it could all be better and work like hell to make it happen." 

Sheldon Adelson

Sheldon Adelson is another billionaire lacking a degree but possessing plenty of hustle. Adelson enrolled at City College of New York, but didn't finish, probably because he was too busy with other ventures. When he was 12 years old, Adelson borrowed US$200 from his uncle to start selling newspapers. He dropped out of college to become a court reporter. He also worked as an advertising salesman, a consultant, and a tour-business operator. That relentless drive led him to his first big windfall. He organized the computer industry trade show COMDEX and made handsome profits leasing out exhibition space. He's since jumped into casinos, where he's been adding to his fortune ever since. He bought Sands Hotel & Casino for US$128-million, demolished it to build the US$1.5-billion all-suites Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the 1.2-million square-foot Sands Convention Center. His estimated current net worth is pegged at over US$25-billion.

Richard Branson

Some billionaires didn't even make it as far as Adelson in school. Richard Branson, who had dyslexia, was a lousy student. He dropped out at age 16 to start a magazine. To fund the publication, he also started a mail-order record business; the venture grew into Virgin Records. He took a risk by signing a raucous band called the Sex Pistols, which had already been cut from two other labels. Other hit acts followed, including Boy George and Peter Gabriel. Plenty of other companies have followed as well. He's since expanded into airlines, health insurance, and medical care. His latest company is Virgin Galactic, which is traveling tourists beyond the Earth's atmosphere. But don't get the idea from these billionaire dropouts that school is worthless. Even the world's most famous dropout, Bill Gates, acknowledges the importance of a good education. 

Bill Gates and Paul Allen

William "Bill" Gates left Harvard during his junior year to work on a little company he'd started called Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). He testified before the U.S. Congress a few years back on the importance of improving the U.S. education system. "Too many of our students fail to graduate from high school with the basic skills they will need to succeed in the 21st-century economy, much less prepared for the rigors of college and career," said Gates. 

Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen has a net worth of about US$18-billion. Dropped out of Washington State University, he may be one of most hopeful tech investors ever. Spent eight years at company he started in 1975 with Bill Gates -- and a few decades after quitting, it still provides a quarter of his net worth. Lost huge sums on far-off visions, including Interval Research Group (tiny solar-powered, wearable computers; shuttered in 2000). Still has fun: rock 'n' roll museum in Seattle, basketball's Portland Trail Blazers, football's Seattle Seahawks, 413-foot yacht. Attended prestigious Lakeside School with Gates in Seattle. 

Li Ka-shing

On the other hand, Li Ka-shing, whose net worth is estimated at US$25-billion, dropped out of school at age 12. Once a poor immigrant, Li got his by started selling plastic flowers in Hong Kong in the 1950s. Now one of Hong Kong's richest persons, he is the world's largest operator of container terminals, world's largest health and beauty retailer, a major supplier of electricity to Hong Kong, and a real estate developer. He has announced plans to donate one-third of wealth over time. Eldest son Victor helps him run his massive empire; son Richard struck out on his own in early 1990s and is a billionaire of his own right. 

Larry Ellison

Another dropped out billionaire is Larry Ellison with estimated net worth of US$22-billion. He dropped out of University of Illinois in Chicago. He started Oracle in 1977. Took public in 1986, one day before Microsoft. Companies have been fiercely competitive since. Side bet, he invested US$125-million in Web software outfit NetSuite. Despite his richness, he is still yearning to win yachting's most prestigious trophy, the America's Cup. He also owns 453-foot Rising Sun; building a smaller leisure boat because mega yacht is hard to park. 

Roman Abramovich

Roman Abramovich, meanwhile, also college dropout, made a fortune in a series of controversial oil export deals in early 1990s. His fortune took off in 1995 when he teamed up with Boris Berezovsky (now also a billionaire) to take over oil giant Sibneft at a fraction of its market value. He spent some of his cash buying U.K. soccer club Chelsea. His estimated net worth is US$22-billion.

Amancio Ortega

Amancio Ortega, net worth is about US$20-billion, left school at age 14. With help from then-wife Rosalia Mera, got start making dressing gowns and lingerie in their living room 45 years ago. He became one of world's most successful apparel manufacturers. His Inditex Group now has about 4,000 stores in 70 countries. Ortega is chairman. Owns a horse-jumping circuit and part of a soccer league. 

Francois Pinault

Francois Pinault and his family have an estimated net worth of US$16-billion, He dropped out of high school. He is a majority shareholder of luxury goods group PPR (formerly Pinault-Printemps-Redoute), whose brands include Gucci, Balenciaga, and Stella McCartney. He also owns more affordable catalog brands Lerner and Chadwick's. Likewise, he also owns auction house Christie's. His personal art collection is now showcased in Venice in the Palazzo Grassi. Was awarded the French Legion d'honneur about a few years back.

 

Jack Taylor

Jack Taylor and his family have net worth of over US$12-billion. Taylor dropped out of Washington University. He left the school to serve in the Navy; became fighter pilot on U.S.S. Enterprise during World War II. Sold cars after war, became sales manager for St. Louis Cadillac distributor. Backed by boss, took 50 percent pay cut to start own car-leasing business; offered rentals as temporary replacements for stolen, wrecked cars. Business boomed in 1970s after courts made insurance companies pay for replacement rentals. Nowadays, Enterprise Rent-A-Car sales exceed US$10-billion. 

Gautam Adani

Overseas in India, Gautam Adani, a college dropout who made his money building Mundra Port, a private sector port on India’s west coast, was one of the richest in Asia with a personal fortune of about US$9-billion.

Here in the Philippines, we also have our wealthy college dropouts. 

Danding Cojuangco

Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr., chairman of the San Miguel Corporation, is a man Filipinos admire -- and loathe. His food and drinks empire cuts a wide swath from Southeast Asia and China all the way to Australia. Its flagship product, San Miguel Beer (SMB), commands more than 90 percent of the Philippine beer market, and the company says it is one of Asia's top brands. Cojuangco's prowess in maneuvering San Miguel into the largest publicly listed food, beverage, and packaging company in the Philippines -- and to keep it rolling in profit -- often generates awe among the country's business elite. While streamlining operations to focus on core businesses, he has pursued an ambitious expansion since he took over in 1998, spreading to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, China, and Australia. Currently, the San Miguel group is diversifying and expanding into infrastructure, mining, and utilities businesses. Cojuangco is a De La Salle dropout. His San Miguel empire worth a few billion U.S. dollars.

Lucio Tan

Cojuangco's counterpart and perceived by many as his fiercest business rival, Lucio Tan, owns SMB's lone market competitor Asia Brewery Inc., which produced Beer na Beer and Manila Beer. Tan also owns Fortune Tobacco, Philippine Airlines, Philippine National Bank, Allied Bank, Eton Realty, among many others. This Chinoy's empire is also worth a few billion U.S. dollars. Tan is a drop out of University of the East. That's why he bought the school!