I know that I live an enchanted life. I'm a healthy fat person (if that's not a contradiction in terms). My kids don’t sniff glue. My wife fills in the gaps where I am inadequate in all departments (fortunately, there aren't THAT many!). I have a super bright sister and wider family network. I live in a great community, under the Rule of Law. I have people who call me a 'friend'. My work is mentally challenging and I am paid well for adding value when I can demonstrate a greater return several times what my clients or investors are prepared to invest in me or my entrepreneurial ventures.  I am comfortable in my own skin and I am resigned to meet my maker at any time. Most significantly, in many ways, is that I know what I stand for, best illustrated by the description on my Twitter handle:
 
🔞 💱 🔙 🔜Gary Ling
@garysballs
What do I stand for? #God #Helen #Family #Neighbours #Watford @Patriots #England #BallsyThinking #Liberty #Law #Opportunity #InEquality #Earth @SpaceX #Universe
 
How can a Man be, if he doesn’t know what he stands for?
 
In this, I have to thank my parents Hazel and Jim Ling. Without their love and encouragement I don’t think I’d ‘BE’ what I 'AM' at all.  My mother is witty and street smart. A born trader and deal maker who can read people and is great to have in your corner when the poop hits the fan. Dad is a more cerebral character who in his time could ‘fix’ almost anything mechanical or electrical. The pair of them love to communicate and are massive Silver Surfers. Digital Tablets have transformed their lives, although Dad still loves his Big Screen PC.
 
Last week Mum called me and said: “It’s our 64th Wedding Anniversary Tuesday, what are YOU doing about it?” 
 
“Er, What would you like to do?"  I stumbled.
 
“Dad says he wants to go back to where we used to hang out,” came the reply. 
 
So the following Monday we drove down to Hersham and Chertsey in Surrey where Mum and Dad grew up, met, courted and got engaged. Mum remembered the Church they were married in 64 years ago and I shot the video above…
 
I know just how lucky I am to have them around and in tip top form at their ages of 84 and 86 (I'll leave you to guess which is which).  I cherish everyday that I can talk to them and am still learning from Mum especially as I get older.
 
A while back when my 16 year old was being an idiot, I said to her in exasperation : “Mum, I think I have a Moron as a Son!”
 
Quick as a flash she shot back.  “I know what you mean. I had one of those once!”
 
Lucky is…as lucky does.

QUESTION: How will people vote in this election? On Local or national issues? Listen:

Click to comment below....

Listen to my response to questions on jobs for young people and should 16 and 17 year olds be allowed to vote:

We are living in the age of the Terrorism of Things (ToT) where the perpetrators of terror weaponise ordinary, everyday objects to kill, maim and instil fear into the general population. A truck in Nice. A machete in Charleroi. Petrol bombs in Paris. Fires in national forests. A knife in Russell Square. How do we respond as civilians to this type of violence as we go about our everyday business?

I ask this question because in 2012 I wrote a Ballsy Thinking piece entitled (see here) “ROI Terrorism, a Smouldering Issue” which posited that smart terrorists don’t need to go for massive spectaculars to get the scary media coverage that they crave. They can attack weak parts of our national life and infrastructure and get a much better ‘terror return’ on their efforts. Whether because of the great work of our security services or an inability to organise it does seem that our terrorist foes have decided to adopt a variant of this approach – the “Terrorism of Things”. In fact, yesterday's Sunday Times informs us that "ISIS has called on supporters 'behind enemy lines' in Britain to embark on a wave of spontaneous attacks that the authorities will struggle to spot in advance." (see full article below)

As a former soldier who fought terrorism (photo above) I carried a gun and went into certain areas to patrol British streets expecting to be attacked in any manner of ways. Today, I do not travel to London or to other western cities or towns expecting to be attacked but I am at least conscious of the possibility. Here is my personal strategy for being ready for the Terrorism of Things:

1. Be aware of your surroundings. I am as bad as anyone at having my head in a screen but I watch who gets on the tube at every stop when I’m underground and check out my surroundings before I sit down at a restaurant. A few years ago I would have added as a separate point here “assess the likelihood of your location as a target”. Are you in a government owned or militarily connected building for example. However, importantly, in the age of ToT anywhere can be a target. Just ask those enjoying the promenade in Nice.

2. Plan your escape routes. I’m sure you’d be surprised to learn that I am probably not as fit as I used to be in my days as a soldier on counter-terrorism duty. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have the same instincts. No soldier likes to get caught without having options and neither should you when you are going about your business in cities or towns. If you stay in a hotel know where the fire escapes are. If you are in a restaurant spy the exits (don’t forget a way out through kitchen - it saved punters during the recent Islamist attack in Bangladesh). Remember how many terrorist incidents you see where people have got out of the area of immediate danger and hidden somewhere (think the Tunisia beach attack where local shopkeepers took people in). Get away but if you are not sure of the area, go hide.

3. Think about what objects that you can weaponise. Look around you right now. What can you use to get back at your attackers if you are trapped and cannot run away. First what can you throw at them to keep them back if they are not carrying firearms. Second, how can you hurt them in a close quarter struggle. Bog standard glasses are good things to throw – the heavier the better (bring back smoking as ash trays were heavy and tailor made for this purpose). If your attacker is advancing on you, knives, forks, bottles (especially those with long necks) make good weapons. Even a rolled up magazine or Sunday supplement can cause damage (stab rather than swing). In short, turn back a ToT attack if you can by using the same principles against an attacker.

I am fortunate to be connected through LinkedIn with some of the best minds combating terrorism. I’m not sure how many would endorse the content of this article. What I can endorse however, is the attitude that no matter how young or old you are, if your luck runs out (and let’s face it the chances of you being caught up in a ToT attack are very, very low) and you can’t get away, go down fighting. If as many people as possible do this, we can decrease the return on investment from Terrorism of Things attacks that our enemies hope to accrue and increase deterrence. That's got to be a good thing.

From the Sunday Times 9 August 2016

Four weeks after the #EURef BBC News 24 stopped by Watford's market to gauge peoples' reaction to the result and to ask about the government's future negotiating strategy...I just happened to be passing!

A week ago I blogged on my key experiences of campaigning for #VoteLeave in Watford a barometer voting district in the UK bordering London. See "Gary Ling: If Watford #Brexits, Britain Exits" from Wed 22 June 2016 here.  How do the key points in last week's analysis stand up post #Brexit? What is the Conventional Wisdom (CW) today:

Prediction for Watford Result: A week ago I wrote: “It will be very, very close. I’m calling the result in Watford District as 51:49 for Leave on the day. If I’m right Britain is headed out of the EU…”.

CW Now: Total Votes Cast: 46,635. LEAVE 23,419 (50.2%) – REMAIN 23,167 (49.6%). LEAVE majority 252. Turnout 71.69%

++Key Experience 1. A week ago I wrote: “The Remainians have been trying to turn the tide on the effectiveness of the views of so-called ‘Experts’… The extent to which they are successful in this as the campaign ends will determine the outcome.”
CW Today: Clear that Government overplayed its hand when it controlled state communication machinery before the Purdah period. Vote Leave side was successfully able to make #ProjectFear tag stick all the way to the end.

++Key Experience 2. A week ago I wrote: "In fact, as a digital strategist I regret to say that social media buzz is a side show or an irrelevance to many working people."
CW Today: Got a lot of criticism from friends particularly those who do social media for FMCG about this comment. Admit it was too sweeping. Of course, young people are influenced by social media. But a lot of people I met who normally never vote but said they would in this plebiscite were not, in my opinion, heavy SM consumers.

++Key Experience 3. A week ago I wrote: "Since Watford is one of the most densely populated and diverse Districts outside of inner-City London, immigration is an important issue here."
CW Today: This important point still stands. Like many, I want to see an Australian-style points based system for UK immigration. If our EU trading partners don’t understand that we don’t accept the Free Movement of People principle, then both sides need to be prepared for tariffs on trade which will hurt European industry more than us in nominal terms (because we have a whopping trade deficit with them) but is counter intuitive, regrettable and will be a petulant move by the EU. Think this is unlikely but... Bottom Line: Free Movement of People must go.

++Key Experience 4. A week ago I wrote: "From the start it was obvious that there was strong support for Brexit in the Asian community in Watford."
CW Today: Stand by this as it is doubtful Leave would have won here without Asian support. Though whether a majority of this Watford community voted Leave is hard to tell.

++Key Experience 5. A week ago I wrote: "[The]…motivation of this [Young People] demographic to actually turn out and choose in this (to them) complex debate is questionable."
CW Today: ‘Nuff said:

++Key Experience 6. A week ago I wrote: "The determination of those who will definitely @Vote_Leave is remarkable. A plague of locusts could descend on Watford District tomorrow and Leave voters will fight their way through to the polling station. Thunderstorms are predicted Referendum day in this Town. Will that make even a marginal difference?"
CW Today: Thunderstorms afflicted Watford Voting District all afternoon on Referendum Day. When you win a campaign by 252 votes in a contest of tens of thousands the degree to which your supporters are motivated makes all the difference. So did the weather in Watford.

++Key Experience 7. A week ago I wrote: "Remain or Leave this event in Watford and nationally will have some serious structural implications for UK politics in terms of the futures of all the main political parties."
CW Today: Watch the news!

++Key 8. A week ago I wrote: "I have been involved in politics for many years and the people who say they ‘Don’t Care’ about voting this time around is the lowest I have ever seen in any plebiscite in my adult life… more people are thinking about the issues at least than for any campaign I have experienced including general elections."
CW Today: Record turnout. People who normally opt out of voting in party political elections made a critical difference in Watford. Despite what all the talking heads in the Westminster bubble and on TV tell us this really was a great exercise in democracy. People were discussing #EURef issues in the streets, in their homes, in places of work. Amazing. Those who say that people weren’t informed are dead wrong. I can’t think of an issue in my lifetime that got more public discussion. Hell, we went to War in Iraq with less public discussion. The worse criticism is those who say that the general public is too stupid to decide such things. This is woefully patronising and ridiculous. And Yes, I would have said this if the Remainians had won. Although I admit it would have been easier for the Leave side to accept the result since the European Union as a political project would have been doomed regardless of the result of UK #EURef. Brexit has given those countries in the East a chance to speak up against ever closer Union and take on the French-German Closer Union Axis.

Final Big Learning For Me: Think you can understand the mood of the British people by sitting on your backside and viewing things through the Internet and accepting a lot of the pap that the global corporatist mass media outlets pump out? Forget it. On important decisions, particularly binary existential ones like the #EURef, hitting the streets and discussing things with people from all walks of life who you live with in your community can't be beat!

Click here to read Gary’s article on “Why UK Watford is one of the most industrious places on earth”

Over the past few years individuals from the so-called ‘millennial generation’ have been crashing into my workspace. Most researchers use this term to describe those who were born in the early eighties through the early noughties so the development of the Internet has had profound effects on this group. This piece of Ballsy Thinking describes some of my experiences of working and munching lunch with the millennials. [Full disclosure: I am also responsible for procreating two millennials, both now at Russell Group universities]

At this stage of my working life it’s time to acknowledge that I am not a particularly socially observant person. If I had recognised this earlier perhaps I should have used it to answer the interview question: “Tell me about your weaknesses”. Since I have
always worked in the creative aspects of the digital IT marketing space, the struggle for women’s equality and Gay rights pretty much passed me by. From my first job out of university as a rookie IT consultant with Arthur Andersen (now Accenture) powerful women were just part of my working life. I appreciate or resent women in the workplace as much as I do a man whether they are straight or Gay and, honestly, I can rarely tell the difference.

For example, Gretchen if your reading this I’m still pissed off with you when three weeks out of college you made me stay up all night at that Chicago training centre trying to spot the mistake in my brilliant COBOL computer code when it was a simple spelling error (I was using ‘centre’ the English way rather than the American one) that prevented that code from compiling. You should have told me! As for understanding prejudice against homosexuals, it just never occurred to me to think this was a big issue until I worked on two corporate magazines called TEMPUS and Managing Today in 1990s. Outside the Islington flat of the brilliant Gay contracted editor there was a colourful striped flag hanging which to my shame for the first six months I thought was that of Jamaica, until I asked him about its significance. In short, I work in markets which are always judging outputs and performance and accepting of equality, new ideas and change. So am I. (There you go; this was the answer I should have given to the “What are your strengths?” interview question).

With this in mind, the first thing to say about the impact of the millennials on modern working life is that you don’t have to be socially observant to notice them. Their workplace behaviour is jarring to the ordered mind. It’s interesting to me that if you research the effect of millennials on the workplace one of the things that seems to come up in their favour is that they are ‘sharers’ and want to be ‘included early on in projects’ by being ‘engaged’. In my experience this is most definitely true.

The millennials I’ve worked with in a variety of organisations want to be engaged but on their terms. They want to be themselves and be respected for who they are without having to give too much up in terms of conforming to what might be conventional office norms. I run digital strategy workshops and have a gentle policy of sterilising the workshop environment of clothes, phones and bags that may interfere with people movement if participants have to get up to do some white boarding. At one recent workshop a millennial brought in a huge tub of smelly soup and a baguette (with the accompanying baggage of utensils and paper bags) from Pret. He fully intended to munch his lunch as I kicked things off. When questioned about this he simply stated that this was “just what he did” and that "he was hungry.” This is the first characteristic in a nutshell that strikes you about millennials: the ‘I need to be me and I need to be satisfied’ thingy.

If you have read this far, then you are likely not a millennial as in my experience most millennials have trouble reading anything of value over 500 words. That’s why all blog based start-ups with them in mind have snippets of information rather than articles of informative substance. The creators of millennial content know their audience since they also increasingly note how long it takes to read a written piece (almost always less than a minute). In fact, a recent press report stated that university professors in the UK say that millennial students can’t cope with reading a book cover to cover.

At his point as a non-millennial you will expect me to mention the amount of time that millennials spend with their face in a screen. Since I’m a digital warrior, it would be hypocritical if this bothered me except with millennials it seems to have the consequential effect that it can hamper real life human communications in a commercial environment. Particularly if there is a chance of them being rejected in some way. Perhaps today’s businesses need to follow the lead of US and UK universities where I’m told it is now common to have ‘safe zones’ where people are neither rejected nor challenged.

More seriously, fear of even mild rejection has commercial consequences. I recently helped organise the Exhibition stand at a conference in the US where one of the devious plans I hatched to drive traffic to our stand was to hand out the superb leaflet that I devised promoting my clients ideas to the hundreds of people waiting to get through security and into the adjoining conference. Exhibition marketing 101, except getting millennial help with this was near impossible. The immortal words of one response to my request still rings in my ears: “They won’t be interested! They may throw them back at me!” Which of course begs the question; if you think this why did you bother getting on the plane and flying over with us to staff the exhibition stand in the first place? This was not an exercise in virtual reality!

Many of my peers describe millennials as self-centred, self-absorbed, self-obsessed. Is this right? As a self-confessed not very socially observant person what I do know other than thinking that generalising is very dangerous and that any one of these terms does it for me. Today’s UK millennials face increasing competition for jobs in the workplace from millennials in other countries and from innovative automation. There has never been a time when understanding where you fit in as an individual and can ADD VALUE is more important to making a commercial living. It may be as one of my colleagues said when assessing the historical value of millennials: “We’ll only find out their real value when we're hit by the next really big financial crisis or when the next war comes along.” On reflection, how a generation responds to crises has been the benchmark for evaluating their true value since the ‘Greatest Generation’ defeated fascism in WWII. The historical mark of that Generation in facing down an existential threat is assured and they didn’t even have the benefit of recording it all in Selfies! So watch this space. Hope lives eternal.