Notes From The Week #10
Week 38: 19th September - 25th September
Welcome back all. Hope you’ve had a good week. This week I’ve been on the move so I’ve been thinking a bit about the roles a respective nation’s passport plays in its’ citizens ability to travel. I’m also sharing a framework that’s been super helpful for me and one that I’ll continue using going forward. We finish off with Big Mike’s long anticipated return to the UK music scene.
Strategic Planning
Over the years I’ve been looking to find ways to improve my effectiveness for my career pursuits and personal life. I’m always experimenting with new frameworks of planning and goal-setting that allow me to achieve my intended objectives. I’ve had to break down what I want from first principles and build up with an assurance that what I’m deciding to now invest my time is in alignment with my vision for life. One of the most helpful frameworks that I’ve been using for the last few years has been the Eisenhower Matrix. The framework is named after Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, who was well known for his organisation and high output. The Eisenhower Matrix provides a system to prioritise tasks by urgency and importance.
“I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
At the start of my finance career—I remember taking part in an assessment centre; one of the tasks we had to do over the course of the assessment day was a prioritisation task. We were provided with a list of tasks that were necessary to be completed within a time span of 24 hours and had to organise the tasks in order from most important to least important. The trick was that while some tasks seemed critical on the basis of urgency, they weren’t very important in accordance to the overall aim that we were provided with. As we received feedback on the task—our moderator told us that the aim of every successful and productive performer is to spend as much time as possible in Quadrant 2. As that is where the most value is derived.
Thinking about Quadrant 2 actions reminded me of the video below. During his time as Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos speaks about recognising that the results Amazon were seeing at the time came as a result of work done in previous years. A particular point he made that sticks with me was: “If you start to think that way [focused on long-term thinking]—it changes how you spend your time, how you plan, where you put your energy.” What’s crucial to consistently operating in Quadrant 2 is articulating, recognising and focusing on what is important to you. Your goals, objectives and plans; once these have been identified then you will be able to concentrate on the most important tasks as opposed to fixating on the most-pressing ones.
Passport Privilege
I remember when I was coming back from a holiday a few years ago. I was in the airport and had just been provided with my boarding pass and was reaching customs. The man at the start of the queue asked for my passport; I gave it to him, he looked, did a few checks, smiled and directed me onwards. There was a family behind me, I remember the mum was speaking a language that my mum understands so I developed a small affinity with them. They were directly behind me so I thought that, at least, for this leg of my journey they would be accompanying me. You know the unspoken bond you have with strangers who are sharing the airport journey with you. The man asked for their passports also and it was a different colour to mine. A colour that seemed to make the man uneasy and instead of guarding them onwards as he did me. He flagged them sidewards where they were stationed for some time. I carried on through the airport. I’m not sure how events unfolded but I remember the body language of the airport officer shifting when the woman presented her family’s passports. I’ve been travelling quite a bit recently and so have been thinking quite a bit about this incident. Would I have been treated similarly had I presented the same passport? On the basis of this anecdote I thought to have an introductory look into passport inequality and privilege.
All things being equal, the freedom to travel has expanded worldwide over recent years. In 2006, the average international traveler could visit 57 countries without needing to obtain a visa in advance. Today, the average has climbed to 107. However, the freedom to travel has not increased equally between nations and if anything has caused a steeper divide between the Global North and the Global South. The map below shows which countries’ passports have gained the most power between 2006 and 2022. The darker blue countries have been most effective in increasing the number of destinations their citizens can access visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival.
One of the biggest movers has the United Arab Emirates, with 140. The UAE has witnessed tremendous economic growth and it seems like its concerted efforts to open up itself to the wider international community is being rewarded. During that same period, the U.S. added 56 destinations, while Canada and Mexico have added 60 and 61, respectively. For much of Africa and the Middle East, global mobility has been outpaced by the rest of the world. What implications does a widening delta in the visa-free access between nations in the global south and north have on globalisation? Particularly when the majority of the population growth that will come to characterise this century will come from the global south.
If you’re interested in having a deeper look into the varying visa-free access that different passports provide then have a look at the video below.
*[Also I’m aware language is important in discussions such as these—what are your thoughts on the labelling of Global North and Global South? I’m interested to hear from everyone what you think. I know terms such as First World and Third World have been rendered unhelpful by policy specialists and academics. I’m interested to hear people’s thoughts on the current language we use in international relations (and wider contexts)]
Big Mike’s Back (Mel Made Me Do It)
“Look how far we’ve come..” is the opening line on Stormzy’s Intro for the Dreamers Disease EP. The Dreamers Disease EP came out in 2014, 3 years prior to the release of Stormzy’s debut album Gang Signs and Prayers. In retrospect, the line provides a unique foreshadowing into the career that Stormzy has went on to have. In his recent music video Mel Made Me Do It—Stormzy reminds us just of how far he’s come and how far we are all going to go together.
It’s clear that Stormzy and the Merky team are tapped in to the cultural zeitgeist. The title of the song references his stylist—influencer Melissa Holdbrook-Akposoe, better known as Melissa's Wardrobe, and her ability to engage her audience—most notably demonstrated through the #MelMadeMeDoIt hashtag.
The video provides a delightful celebration of Black British culture. The video pays homage to the old and celebrates the new. The new school leaders in music, athletics, literature, entertainment and fashion walk in tandem with the original trailblazers reminding us it’s a long game and while the players will change—the mission will inevitably remain the same. Thanks to the people who helped pave the way we are now able to take the baton further. The interesting thing about the Black British culture is that it is one of the clearest melting points for the Black Diaspora. In the video we hear the voice of a Ghanaian mother rightfully boasting in her son, we see a Jamaican sprinting legend watching our story unfold and we see British-Nigerian rappers walking in tandem with each other. We exist together and our stories are weaved in and amongst each others. That is how we must progress: collectively.
It would be amiss to forget that while the video beautifully captures the renaissance of culture taking place in the black community—the song is technically brilliant. Stormzy maintains a clarity in his bars that makes sure we hear every word he wants to tell us of who exactly he is and why his assertions of being the king of the UK rap scene are true. It’s hard to debate at times. Especially when you manage to get the Special One—Jose Mourinho to make a cameo. Stormzy clearly wants us to remember who he is in this rap thing. All my real ones know that there are levels to this. There are indeed levels to this and sometimes you’ve got to remind people, not in case they’ve forgotten but just to make sure that they never do. Mel Made Me Do It does exactly that.
There’s so much more to say with this one and it’s nice to see the conversation and pride the music video has evoked. For a terrific and more comprehensive breakdown of Mel Made Me Do It—check out this article from Richard Adetunji.
This is not a phase; this is phase one.
Until next week. Peace.