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Backgammon after a session with a board

Backgammon after a session with a board

Apr 3, 2023 | Joakim

Time for some after-board meeting sessions. On our way to the Club Room at the Royal Automobile Club in London. Hosting an afternoon with newspapers, some tea and backgammon with the board of directors.

The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses. The one in London at 89 Pall Mall includes 108 bedrooms, seven banqueting rooms, three restaurants, a business centre, a full-size marble swimming pool, squash courts, a billiards room and Turkish baths.

We were there, and we lived

We were there, and we lived

Mar 5, 2023 | Joakim

Most of my time is used in my studio to create business communication and presentations in business development. And a majority of my time will also be used to support management and boards with my experience and business know-how.

And in some assignments, I get time to invite to meetings and networking. There I am the master of merging business into people and, conversely.

Just after 4 p.m., the sun peeked out but disappeared just as quickly. The crowd on the sidewalk created a magnetic pull, and we floated along; it was in the right direction. Charing Cross Road has personality and is always inviting as a signpost where a compass is no longer needed.

After crossing the street, the pub sign gleamed as the sun just wanted to say, here it is before the ray disappeared again to rest behind the clouds. We arrived - The Harp.

We entered into a buzz of sounds, the room was deep rectangular, and the bar stood like a majesty in the middle of one short side. The gaze swept over the taps, and the labels get memorised by our inner logical thinking. The choice fell off a local bitter and cider. Balancing glasses in the crowd, we found that place, which only a pub allows to settle in, a bit in a corner without being a seat but still a seat. The drink touched lips on the edge of the glass as guests came and went into our view. With the jacket lightly unbuttoned in a mix of indoor and outdoor but still inside, we felt the atmosphere that only a London pub, with its personality, can give to fill your mind for the moment. Just taste the atmosphere that is more than a drink.

We were there. We lived.

The sun took us back outside as its rays danced in time with the traffic on St Martins Place. This place gives in its simplicity magic, where we always let our walk stop as we take the memorial to Edith Cavell. A woman whose efforts we all know were unique to humanity.

It’s about what meetings and experiences can give in terms of impressions. Welcome to take part in the walk next time to end with a chat at the pub. As I told you earlier, we were there, and we lived. See you again next time.

India the coming number one

India the coming number one

Mar 1, 2023 | Circling Overland

There's something special about Nelson up there at Trafalgar Square, the closest thing to God you can be and still be seen here on earth. We've mostly seen each other from a distance in recent years. It's been a while since I've been in his place, the planet's centre, they say, in an empire where the sun never set. For some reason, I always end up close to the south of Piccadilly but never at the centre of our Lord.

This day I chose a new path. I cut across his domains, stopped at one of the lions, and let my gaze sweep 360 degrees. If Nelson is the centre of the world, Canada and South Africa's enormous buildings to the east and west stand as the bastions they once were when the New World was conquered, starting with Elizabeth the First. Great Britain built enormous wealth by conquering and establishing trade.

History is becoming increasingly apparent as I continue my journey, having first said goodbye to Nelson. I set my sights on the Strand and followed one icon after another. Charing Cross, with perhaps the most beautiful facade in the world for a train station, the Savoy, the hotel that sits a little furtively tucked away in a side street, a magnific one. Imagine what its bar has created of world-class drinking classics; yes, there are several American Bars in London, although my favourite is in St. James. Finally, on this hit parade, we find, as always, Twinings. Their address is easy to remember, as they have been selling tea there for over 300 years.

But this morning's walk aims not to relive the birthplace of Dry Martini or Earl Grey. Today we'll focus on - The Empire Strikes Back in a new edition.
Where the Strand takes over in a curious turn, shall we say half circle, we also find a classic Waldorf Hotel. But above all, India House takes pride in place, with a substantial Indian flag covering a large part of the facade. It all points to the new India, today's India, the incredible power of India, and the biggest market of the future. The empire is fighting back.

India has already surpassed its former colonial host in the size of its economy, and Indian investment in real estate on English soil is now greater than domestic investment. In the past, Indian players have become owners of British classics such as Jaguar, Land Rover and British Steel.

The legacy of the post-colonial society and its relations have sometimes been challenging for each party. We are now seeing how India, based on the best of Britain's social traditions, such as language, education and justice - is developing its society with geography and population in a global world where India is knocking on the door to become number one. I admire your flag, saying: Well done, India, before I continue my walk and look for the High Commission of Australia just around the corner.

I am circling overland in silence and invisibility, instantly scanning and checking to bring the insight, a column by Mr Joakim Dahl. It's a scheduled posting that is not necessarily based in real-time but can also occur at a particular time after the assignment, depending on external circumstances and integrity.

I always go here to find a perfect conversation topic

I always go here to find a perfect conversation topic

Feb 26, 2023 | Joakim

When darkness falls dull in its effect of change, afternoon breaks into the evening. At the same time, a pulsating flow of people on the sidewalk increases, down to the subway and up from the subway.

I turn off from Duke Street after my regular visit to the Checkers Tavern; as the raindrops hit the surface, my umbrella is raised, and Jermyn Street is in front. There is something magical about this time frame in London, between the afternoon and before dinner - an hour of possibilities and exploration. The effect of Dunhill and Floris reaches me as Jermyn, in his usual way, presents hit after hit, but now it is Waterstone's flagship.

Few stores can initiate, inspire and invite you to a journey in intelligence - an intellectual path of discovery as you have never seen. I always go here to find a perfect conversation topic for my drink at the club before dinner. With my classic conversation opener - look what I found…:
Dominion will place the story of how we came to be what we are and how we think the way we do in the broadest historical context. Ranging in time from the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC to the ongoing migration crisis in Europe today and from Nebuchadnezzar to the Beatles.

It broadens my view in business and as a fellow human being to create insight and take part, as well as learn from others and be inspired. Welcome to the conversation before dinner.