CORPORATE VISION / September 2017 25 is that I I have an incredible passion for new technology, helping to build the next global economy, and just like a friend of mine at Bitcoin, want to help make sure that everyone has access to food and water in the future with no one starving. I do, however, empathise with their concerns. No one will attend a two-day business group war game, unless I offer a tremendous competitive advantage. I do, however. I offer a tremendous competitive advantage to those who attend, at a more than reasonable rate for the advantage that I provide to their businesses. I’ve been mostly a loyal corporate soldier in the trenches most of my professional life. I consider myself both a grunt and a strategist, at the same time. I enjoy chess. I used to spend hours on my computer playing Rollercoaster Tycoon games, at all hours of the night. I spend many hours in the fall playing fantasy football. And I enjoy learning new distinctions through both transformational personal growth and development work. I also love mud. I studied geology at Virginia Tech and was fascinated by Dr. Dewey McLean’s theory on the extinction of dinosaurs being from volcanism in the Deccan Traps of India, instead of from an asteroid. In 2004, after three years struggling at a low-level accounting position, I somehow convinced myself that life wasn’t working for me. So, I quit my job, sold everything I owned and backpacked across Southeast Asia and China for four months. I spent three weeks in Vietnam, with four days in the Mekong Delta. While in the Delta, I had the opportunity to trudge the mud, from the bottom of the Mekong River. I enjoyed it immensely. I helped a mom-and-pop shop create clay pottery from the mud. I learned they sell these pots to companies in Thailand, that then paint the pots. In turn, the Thai companies send the painted pots to Hong Kong or Chinese companies, that place the phrase ‘Made in China’ on the pots and then sell them to the US companies. You and I buy the pots for $4,000 apiece and the Vietnamese make pennies on the dollar. Somewhere in between, the movement of the Company: Minerva Data Advisors, LLC Name: Jamil Hasan Email:
[email protected] Web Address: www.minervadataadvisors.us Address: Darien, CT. Telephone: 833-228-9444 Exploit the Blockchain - Adopt, Adapt and Thrive g actual pottery in the supply chain are foreign exchange rate conversions and if the pottery gets cracked, so no one really knows where that crack occurred. Blockchain has the ability, in the case of a breakdown in the supply chain, to be used to track any defect almost immediately through smart contracts. In its simplicity, it can be used to detect the source of a crack in pottery. In actual use cases, it can be used to determine the source of a plane crash, sunken ship, explosion at a nuclear power plant and possibly even for missile defence or to subvert radiation in ocean waters. Since it can read and use Bitcoin and others, these cryptocurrencies can play an instrumental role in the promotion of international commerce without transaction fees, tariffs and foreign exchange costs. Outside a purely speculative role, cryptocurrencies will be real game changers as they can be used to lower supply chain costs and improve productivity when part of your Blockchain solution. I agree with the Goldman Sachs analysts when they say Bitcoin speculation is risky. I hold a Masters’ degree in Finance and although I earned my degree back in 1999, I must attest what I learned in my studies, is that any speculation is risky. When used optimally and efficiently, Blockchain and Bitcoin, can both break the 11-year trend of Fortune 500 companies experiencing no organic growth. Whoever is an early adopter, will do exceptionally well and my war game events will help companies who dare to be innovative, stress test and exploit Blockchain to become industry leaders. In my partnership with Dr. Drew Miller at Advanced Analysis Applications, I facilitate war games. I must admit, they are fun to attend, but that should not be the draw. They’re incredibly effective. That’s the draw. War games result in real action plans for your business or organisation, that come from stress testing both your ideas and strategies. I bring a few things to the table that were not present in previous war games, which are summarised below: • My 10,000 hours of intellectual property is on adopting, adapting and thriving. • I was bullied as a youth by other kids in my neighbourhood. Wednesday was my scheduled day to be beaten up. Kids would wait for me at the bus stop and it was my life. And I was filled with fear when growing up. Years after the bullies were physically gone, they stayed in my head for a long time. Overcoming the gap of no self-esteem, little self-confidence and believing my only purpose in life was to survive and by learning how to exploit every resource I have gained access to, I have enabled myself to create a life of abundance. I can do the same for companies and organisations. • I have an incredibly diverse career background. I’ve worked in many different roles: data analyst, technology manager, corporate intelligence analyst, operations specialist, financial reporting specialist and client service support member. I can operationalise any company and industry. • I have extensive experience leading meetings in the corporate ‘war room’. I have found the best way to design a solution to a complex problem that affects many business areas including external stakeholders is to get the major players in a room and hash it out. Play devil’s advocate. Take a critical look and solve the issue. I led numerous discussions at AIG, when building our CCAR financial projections platform, that eventually led to shareholders being paid back $25 billion over two years. • My first event (not Dr. Miller’s first event; he has led war games for many years): Exploiting the Benefits of Blockchain to Adopt, Adapt and Thrive is November 2-3 in Denver, followed by an event in New York on December 4-5 and Silicon Valley January 8-9. I’m really excited about our first event in Colorado, as we have an amazing keynote speaker Charlie Shrem who is a Bitcoin pioneer and an honourable man. After these three events, we expect to run one per month, starting the spring of 2018 and then take on other challenges as well. • I’m a certified merger and acquisition advisor and a member of the Alliance of Mergers and Acquisitions Advisors. My website is www.minervadataadvisors. us. People can register for the War Games on Drew’s site at www.advanaapp. com/Blockchain. Sign up; you will get a tonne out of attending. Or call me. I’m happy to speak with you. And you will gain a competitive edge, by stress testing your ideas with using Blockchain.