They all refute an assertion by Lawrence Summers, former president of Harvard University [...]]]> Today’s New York Times features a Room for Debate section about the need to learn multiple languages. Six panelists, including author Stacie Berdan, agree that it is crucial to learn more than one language to operate in the new, globalized world.

They all refute an assertion by Lawrence Summers, former president of Harvard University and former secretary of the Treasury (and a man with a history of making blanket statements), who wrote What You (Really) Need to Know.

 The world is much more open, and events abroad affect the lives of Americans more than ever before. This makes it essential that the educational experience breed cosmopolitanism — that students have international experiences, and classes in the social sciences draw on examples from around the world. It seems logical, too, that more in the way of language study be expected of students. I am not so sure.

English’s emergence as the global language, along with the rapid progress in machine translation and the fragmentation of languages spoken around the world, make it less clear that the substantial investment necessary to speak a foreign tongue is universally worthwhile. While there is no gainsaying the insights that come from mastering a language, it will over time become less essential in doing business in Asia, treating patients in Africa or helping resolve conflicts in the Middle East. [emphasis mine, read more here]

This strikes me as arrogant and short-sighted. Even if more non-Americans are learning English and Google Translate is getting better, that does not negate the value of learning other languages.

Being able to speak more than one language has had an immeasurable impact on my own life.

I learned Spanish before the age of five, thanks to my wonderful Nana Petra. While my parents were working, she totally spoiled me with home-cooked Mexican meals, lacy white dresses, and games of Lotería. She drilled me on pronunciation (A, E, I, O, U) and taught me nursery rhymes.

This early exposure to Spanish paved the neural pathways in my brain to let me think in more than one language.

I continued to study Spanish all through school and all through college, including a year here in Chile.

When I graduated with a degree in Latin American Studies, I moved to China to teach English at a university near Shanghai. I’d never studied Chinese and never been obsessed with Asian culture, but I was able to quickly pick up the basics of child-like Chinese through conversations with vegetable vendors, security guards, and migrant workers on the train.

Over the next few years, I took many private lessons and small-group classes. Thank you Layla and Xiaofei for helping me elevate my Chinese skills from toddler level to that of a nine-year-old who likes to talk about wind turbine engineers and garbage incinerators. Learning Chinese gave me access to get beyond China’s single story, beyond the world of tour guides and textbooks, to take part in everyday life.

Now back in Chile, I use Chinese less. In the last month I’ve used it twice: at a restaurant and with a new Start-Up Chile entrepreneur from China. But linguistic crossover shapes the way I see the world.

Last week I led an entrepreneurship seminar at Casa de la Mujer, a community center in a poorer neighborhood of Santiago. The last day, fabulous Start-Up Chile video intern Javiera came with me to film the class and interview me and the ladies about our experiences. (The video will be ready soon!)

I talked about the course in English and it was SO HARD!  You might be thinking, but Leslie, you’re AMERICAN. English is your first language. How can it be hard?

Since I taught and thought about the class in Spanish, explaining it in English felt distant, foreign, and even patronizing. I stumbled over words; I felt like English made the distinctions between myself and the ladies too dramatic. In Spanish it felt more communal, more egalitarian, more personal. My testimonial, of how leading discussions with these woman has inspired me as an entrepreneur, flowed with enthusiasm in Spanish, but in English it felt forced, hesitant. Good thing Javiera took lots of footage: there should be at least a few clips in which my English is fluent and confident.

Linguistic crossover has had such a profound impact on my worldview. It has given me a broader understanding of words and grammar, but more importantly the tools to navigate the world with flexibility and empathy.

I truly can’t imagine life in only one tongue. I wish every preschooler could have a multilingual headstart!

So far this link has been shared, retweeted, and favorite’d 15 times, which is a lot more than most of the links, pictures, and observations I share on Twitter.

Why this tweet? I have some ideas.

1) Clear Audience. I addressed this tweet towards China-philes. This is a [...]]]> Yesterday I tweeted:

So far this link has been shared, retweeted, and favorite’d 15 times, which is a lot more than most of the links, pictures, and observations I share on Twitter.

Why this tweet? I have some ideas.

1) Clear Audience. I addressed this tweet towards China-philes. This is a relatively broad, inclusive, and self-defined category, and there are a lot of China-philes on Twitter.

2) Specific Keywords. A grad student friend once referred to Harvard as the H-bomb. This name catches people’s attention!

3) Immediate Benefit. The course is available online. It’s free. A Harvard education for anyone with an internet connection and the attention span to sit through a lecture (or 37!)

What do you think? When do you find that your tweets get a lot of attention?

Esta semana es el año nuevo chino. Feliz año del dragón!

Nos ofrece la oportunidad de destacar un ejemplo exitoso del comercio chino-chileno: la [...]]]> To celebrate the Year of the Dragon, I am trying something new: posting about trade with China in both English and Spanish. The English version of this article is here.

via Wikipedia

Esta semana es el año nuevo chino. Feliz año del dragón!

Nos ofrece la oportunidad de destacar un ejemplo exitoso del comercio chino-chileno: la exportación de las cerezas chilenas para este feriado importante.

Roja, dulce y empacada en cajas de regalo.  Las guindas chilenas son consideradas como algo especial en el año nuevo chino. El eje principal de las exportaciones desde Chile a China ocurre durante este feriado.

De acuerdo a los reportes de Portal Fruticola: 

El próximo 23 de enero se celebrará el Año Nuevo Chino (ANC) fecha durante la cual no se puede descuidar ningún detalle, siendo uno de los más significativos la fruta y en especial, las cerezas.

“Las cerezas se han logrado posicionar como un elemento característico del ANC y especialmente en las grandes ciudades donde  las cerezas son consideradas como un producto de lujo: es un producto importado, por lo que da una aire de exclusividad a quien lo compra y consume; es caro y escaso porque se puede encontrar sólo en esta época. Por último, el color rojo de esta fruta influye ya que todos los adornos van en rojo y dorado. Estos factores producen que se genere una alta demanda y la gente esté dispuesta a pagar muy buenos precios, que es lo importante para los exportadores”, explica Arturo Aranda, country manager de “The Foodlinks” en Shanghai.

Este año nuevo chino será dos semanas antes que el año pasado, lo que es un desafío para los exportadores, lo que significa que el periodo de cultivo también tendrá que ser antes. Tres flotas especiales fueron enviadas a finales de diciembre y llegaron a China aproximadamente entre el 16  y 18 de enero.

De acuerdo a Bernard Wu, el supervisor commercial de la importadora Zhxing Runfeng Food en Guangzhou, “las cerezas chilenas son bien evaluadas por los consumidores chinos principalmente por su calidad, delicioso sabor y buena presentación”.

The FoodLinks, una empresa que conecta a los proveedores chilenos con compradores chinos, plantea que sólo un 3% de los alimentos chilenos exportados son enviados a China y solamente un 0.7% de la comida importada a China viene desde Chile. Esto significa que hay un enorme potencial de crecimiento que sólo requiere un cuidadoso alineamiento entre lo que los consumidores chinos quieren y lo que los agricultores chilenos pueden ofrecerles.

Feliz Año del Dragón!!

In honor of this holiday, I would like to spotlight a successful example of Chile-China trade: Chilean cherries for Chinese New Year.

Red, sweet, and packed in gift boxes, Chilean cherries are a special treat. The holiday is centerpiece of Chile’s exports of high-end [...]]]> This week is Chinese New Year. Happy Year of the Dragon!

In honor of this holiday, I would like to spotlight a successful example of Chile-China trade: Chilean cherries for Chinese New Year.

Red, sweet, and packed in gift boxes, Chilean cherries are a special treat. The holiday is centerpiece of Chile’s exports of high-end fruit to China.

image via Wikipedia

As reports Portal Fruticola:

January 23 is Chinese New Year, a date when no detail can be ignored, since it is one of the most significant dates for fruit, and especially, cherries.

Arturo Aranda, country manager of The FoodLinks in Shanghai says, “Cherries have successfully been positioned as a characteristic element of Chinese New Year and especially in the big cities where cherries are seen as a luxury product: it is an imported product, which gives an air of exclusivity to those that buy and consume them; it is expensive and scarce because it can only be found in this season. Finally, the fruit’s red color matches all the red and gold decorations. These factors lead to high demand and the people are prepared pay very good prices, which is important for the exporters.”

This year Chinese New Year is two weeks earlier than last year, which presents a challenge to the exporters, because it means that the critical date falls earlier in the growing season. Three special charter boats left Chile in late December, to arrive in China between the 16 and 18 of January.

According to Bernard Wu, commercial supervisor of the importer Zhxing Runfeng Food in Guangzhou, “Chilean cherries are welcomed by Chinese consumers principally for their quality, good flavor, and good presentation.”

The FoodLinks, a company that connects suppliers in Chile with buyers in China, states that only 3% of Chilean food exports are delivered to China and just 0.7% of food imported to China comes from Chile. This means there is big potential for growth. It just requires careful alignment between what Chinese customers value, and what the fruit can bring to the table.

Here’s to health, happiness, and prosperity in the year of the dragon!!

China Post issued this stamp for the year of the dragon. Some found it "too ferocious." Read more here on NPR: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/01/04/144671003/chinese-year-of-the-dragon-postage-stamp-deemed-too-ferocious

Madam Tusan, a Chinese-Peruvian restaurant, opened a few months ago at Parque Arauco, an upscale mall that looks like it could be in Southern California.

We visited the restaurant after reading this [...]]]> I wrote this a few months back, right when the restaurant opened. A delicious side of modern China-Chile relations! 

Madam Tusan, a Chinese-Peruvian restaurant, opened a few months ago at Parque Arauco, an upscale mall that looks like it could be in Southern California.

We visited the restaurant after reading this tempting review in the September 30, 2011 edition of Wikén, the Friday magazine of Chile’s most prominent newspaper, El Mercurio, I translated parts of it into English. 

Chifa Cuisine Arrives in Chile: Fusion of Chinese and Peruvian Gastronomy. by Bárbara Muñoz S. 

Cebiche con wantanes? Not only is it possible, it’s delicious. The tasty mix of Peruvian and Chinese cuisine – sweet-and-sour, intense, and with an important historical weight – has just landed in Chile, in the Boulevard of Parque Arauco, by the hand of Gastón Acurio and his ultimate whim: Madam Tusan.

When he was a child, Gastón Acurio – today a super-famous chef, mega-businessman, and face of the Peruvian gastronomic revolution – asked for “una chifa” for his birthday. His parents thought he wanted to celebrate by eating at one of the many Chinese restaurants that existed in Lima, known as “chifas.” But what he had in mind was something else: he wanted to HAVE a chifa.

When I visited the restaurant, I spoke with Liliana Com, who was visiting from the main location in Lima to manage the Santiago location’s opening. Liliana is “tusan,” or Peruvian-born Chinese.

I asked Liliana about the derivation of the word “tusan.” Does it come from the familiar Chinese words for “earth” and “three”? Not directly, she explained; there are specific words for different generations of Japanese descendents – issei, nissei, sansei for first, second, and third generation, respectively – but not similar words for Chinese descendants, at least not in the Peruvian vernacular.

The first Chinese arrived in Peru around 1854, when slavery was abolished and landowners needed a new labor source.

The El Mercurio piece describes how this migration shaped Peruvian cuisine.

“Many of those Chinese stayed to live forever and never stopped eating their food. In fact, part of their payment was in rice,” explains Liliana. The combination of Chinese techniques and Peruvian ingredients gave rise to chifa cuisine. As time passed, the immigrants and their families installed themselves on Capón Street, in the center of Lima, which developed into a Chinese neighborhood. “In this time the chifas in Lima were opium dens and a kind of red-light district where the ‘madams’ reigned over the places,” tells Liliana. From that comes the name Madam Tusan.

When I pulled this newspaper clipping from my bag, Liliana pointed out that El Mercurio misquoted her. She clarified that the Chinese neighborhood was “not a place for families,” but the Chinese restaurants were NOT opium dens and brothels. She became quite animated when she said this, as it clearly touched a nerve.

So, you might be wondering, how was the food? Delicious!

My companion and I started off with fresh juice (the restaurant had yet to receive its liquor license.)

Then one of the dozens of attentive waiters (unusual in Chile – this country is not known for customer service) presented three types of chili sauce. The spiciest one featured crushed peppers from Jilin, China. The second mixed Peruvian chilies and crushed ginger. The third was hoisin con rocoto: a blend of hoisin, the sweet sauce that traditionally accompanies Peking Duck, and rocoto, a Peruvian spice paste.

Next we enjoyed the butifarra china, a plate of three delicate sandwiches filled with pork, cilantro, julienned vegetables and hoisin con rocoto on steamed buns.

The Pollo Bruce Lee – which came with a warning of solo para valientes – reminded me of the gong bao ji ding (chicken with peanuts, chilies, and other vegetables) that I ate so often in China.

Our most elaborate dish was camarones rellenos a la naranja, enormous shrimp stuffed with almonds, battered, fried and topped with a sweet-and-sour orange sauce and green onions. It reminded me of a dish you might find at an upscale, fusion-inspired restaurant in San Francisco.

Our final dish was a simple chaufa con pollo, fried rice with chicken and eggs. It was tasty and simple, and closer to home cooking than the complex dishes that sat beside it.

My Chilean dining companion found the food spicier than what he normally eats. (Chilean food is relatively bland: lots of bread, sandwiches, and barbecue.) But he really enjoyed the mix of flavors and the overall experience.

He also loved the design of the red leather chairs.

Overall, our experience at Madam Tusan lived up to its tantalizing review, and showed a stylish, modern, and globalized face of China in Chile.

Madam Tusan. Boulevard del Parque Arauco. Avenida Presidente Kennedy 5413, Las Condes, Santiago.  Call for reservations: 02-2190152. Lunch for two, including non-alcoholic beverages and tip: 30.000 Chilean pesos (roughly $60.)

Here is my translation of the beginning of the report (emphasis mine):

Latin America exports cheap raw materials, [...]]]> Today the Economía y Negocios section of El Mercurio has a special report on China-Latin America business. It’s by the Grupo de Diarios de América, and the whole text is here, via Mexican site El Universal.

Source: El Universal http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/graficos/pdf11/china.pdf

Here is my translation of the beginning of the report (emphasis mine):

Latin America exports cheap raw materials, energy and food to China, and China exports technology products, finished goods, textiles and cooperation projects to Latin America. In the past decade, exports from the subcontinent (LatAm) to the economic giant (China) have increased 12 times, while imports have grown 8 times, according to the American Economic System (SELA).The trade exchange exceeds that with the US and neighboring countries.

Economic observers see this relationship progressing in a way that can be compared with relations with Japan between 1960 and 1990. Then, Japan’s technological development fueled economic growth and per capita income increased from 15% to 70% of the US per capita income.

“China has become a strategic partner for Latin America and the Caribbean, there are many opportunities to reach agreement on export and investment in mining, engineering, agriculture, infrastructure, science and technology,” said Alicia Barcena, Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

The country has already displaced the U.S. as the main trading partner for Brazil and Chile. In Venezuela, China outpaced Colombia and Brazil to become the top trading partner. Mexico’s case is special because although its products compete with Chinese exports to the United States and Canada, bilateral trade grew 2000% between 1990 and 2010. In other countries, progress is evident: Uruguay’s trade increased 40% between 2010 and so far this year, and Ecuador will sell 54% of its oil to the Asian giant.

The importance of China to the region is concentrated in high demand for primary products. To maintain its 8% annual growth rate, China’s demand for food, energy and materials will continue to rise. And Latin America provides these.

Source: El Universal http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/graficos/pdf11/china.pdf

If you’re at all interested in this topic, I highly recommend that you read the whole report!

You want to know where the global commodities markets are heading in the coming years? Then it’s probably best that you remember a single word: China.

I loved the book’s artful explanation of how disastrous government policy brought forth creative self-reliance.

For most Chinese who lived through the [...]]]> Thanks to a thoughtful recommendation from Elise Bauer, author Scott Seligman sent me a review copy of The Cultural Revolution Cookbook, which is available on Amazon.com.

I loved the book’s artful explanation of how disastrous government policy brought forth creative self-reliance.

For most Chinese who lived through the Cultural Revolution, the very idea of a history of eating during that cheerless decade sounds like an oxymoron. It was an era in which the traditional food culture of China – which, according to an old Chinese saying, is on a par with heaven – went into near-total eclipse. Shortages were the order of the day, and one was lucky to consume as many calories as one burned on any given day. The art of cooking, in the sense of a body of collected wisdom about ingredients, seasonings and preparation methods, was summarily abandoned and was, in fact, criticized as a capitalist remnant. People ate whatever they could get their hands on, and there was almost never enough to go around.

…

Most would think of their time in the countryside as a disastrous waste of a decade, but that view told only part of the story. The experience had also been formative, and they came back more mature and self-reliant. They came back with lifelong friendships, with skills they had never dreamed they would acquire and with a hunger for learning and improving their lots in life that would lead many to great achievements. And many came back with the knowledge of Chinese countryside cooking with its flavorful and wholesome recipes that would be with them for the rest of their lives. (9, 12)

The time I spent in China was infinitely more prosperous and harmonious than the Cultural Revolution, but I definitely sensed this influence. My friends and students were the sons and daughters of the Cultural Revolution generation, filled with the “hunger for learning and improving their lots in life.” And of course I tasted many of the dishes in this book in hole-in-the-wall restaurants and friends’ kitchens.

Here in Chile, I decided on the most obvious (and delicious!) way to review this cookbook: testing the recipes!

The first time I opened the book, I breezed through it all in one sitting, right before dinnertime. It made me so hungry! I wanted to see what I could make from what was already in my kitchen.

Scrambled Eggs and Tomato. The photos in The Cultural Revolution Cookbook make even the most humble recipe look like a delicacy, and this was no exception.

I ate this dish so many times in China, especially at the restaurant across the street from the front gate of our university in Jiaxing. I think it was the first dish I learned how to say: “fan xie chau dan.”

But I’d never made it myself. I was surprised to see that the recipe included several tablespoons of sugar. The combination of sugar, salt, and oil transformed these simple ingredients into a tasty memory from China.

Each recipe page has a quaint Cultural Revolution anecdote like this one, which accompanies the Scrambled Eggs and Tomato recipe.

I served the eggs and tomatoes alongside a warm and chicken-less version of Cold Sesame Noodles with Chicken: spaghetti, garlic, cilantro, cooking oil, crushed chili pepper (I used merkén, a Chilean spice that seems quite similar to Chinese chilies… a local touch!), soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil. All ingredients that I already had in my kitchen!

I positioned the plate on top of a book of essays on the future of China-Chile relations. I like how this picture communicates the dish’s trans-Pacific provenance.

A few days later, I made a Chinese “banquet” for four. This time I shopped for ingredients at the neighborhood fruit stand and butcher shop.

Inspired by the book’s recipe for Pork with Green and Red Pepper Shreds, I made a Xinjiang-style beef noodle soup with vegetables. I ended up adding tomatoes, beer, cumin, cilantro, and several other ingredients that were not in the recipe. It was quite tasty.

HINT: If you’re buying meat from a butcher, ask the butcher to cut it up for you. This saved me both time and the chore of scrubbing raw meat juice off my cutting boards. A win-win!

We also made cucumber salad, one of my all-time favorite Chinese restaurant dishes, and a second round of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, served with a really nice bottle of Carmenere that my parents left behind after a winery tour during their visit. A lovely finish to a lovely evening!

Overall, The Cultural Revolution Cookbook reminded me that Chinese cooking can be simple, inexpensive, unintimidating, and delicious. It does not require special trips to unfamiliar stores for ingredients you’ve never bought before. All you really need is fresh ingredients, simple kitchen supplies, and a healthy dose of China nostalgia.

All images from The Cultural Revolution Cookbook except for the shot of my plate of food with the Chilean and Chinese flags.

On the way to an event, I thought of a comment by Rachel DeWoskin. Rachel’s first book, Foreign Babes in [...]]]> These days I give lots of speeches. In Spanish. A language that is not my mother tongue. A language that I speak fluently, without hesitation. But my accent reveals: I come from somewhere else.

On the way to an event, I thought of a comment by Rachel DeWoskin. Rachel’s first book, Foreign Babes in Beijing, is a memoir about her experience as the “bad girl” on a Chinese reality TV show in the 90s, and how the show mirrored her real life in Beijing. It was one of the first books I read about China.

Rachel DeWoskin. Image via www.racheldewoskin.com

I met her at her book signing at The Bookworm in Beijing when she had just published Repeat After Me, a novel about a young English teacher in New York who falls in love with a Chinese dissident.

During the book signing, Rachel described a Chinese friend, who once said:

“He has IS a successful career and a failed personality.” (see note below)

She saw this as a purer form of the English language. A native speaker is unlikely to say “He has  is a successful career and a failed personality,” but is there really any better way to express this idea? Native speakers use cliches and lazy, context-based phrases, often without clarity.

The extra effort it takes to speak a non-native language can make the ideas resonate. And stick.

I notice this on airplanes in Chile, where I actually listen to the safety announcements in English because they don’t sound like the rushed, almost-automated announcements on American planes. I notice it when my German, Korean, Chinese, and Chilean clients talk to me in English. Of course a high level of fluency, decent pronunciation, and full understanding of the topic at hand are all helpful. But in any case, being a non-native speaker can add power to the message.

I am proud to give speeches in slightly stunted non-native Spanish. I am always learning new words (recently: vorágine, licitación, apalancamiento). I will continue to learn new words for the rest of my life.

At the end of my recent trip to Concepcion, our host Felipe Sepulveda, founder of Atrévete Hoy, made this video of me talking about my new business, to send an inspirational message to the aspiring entrepreneurs of the Región del Bio Bio and beyond. Listening to it makes me cringe a bit: Gah, I sound so American. Is that really how I talk?

But daring to open my mouth and speak imperfect Spanish and talk about imperfectly-formed ideas on stage has opened the door to so many opportunities. I encourage all of you to banish your doubts, grab a drink (it helps, I swear) and start talking!!

P.S. If you can’t see the video, click on the title of the post to watch it on my website, or click here to watch it directly on YouTube. Gracias!

Amended 11/22/11 following correspondence directly with Rachel DeWoskin. She commented, “what Anna actually said was ‘he IS a successful career and a failed personality,’ even wilder, I think.” This reminds me of the question I always get asked here in Chile, after explaining in Spanish that I am American and my work involves solar energy, China, and mining: “But I don’t understand, what are you?” 

I met Matías from Conexo when I spoke at the Meetup in Viña del Mar, and he wrote this nice piece about my talk. 

He invited me to write an opinion [...]]]> I recently wrote my first opinion column in Spanish, for the website of a Chilean human resources consultancy called Conexo.

I met Matías from Conexo when I spoke at the Meetup in Viña del Mar, and he wrote this nice piece about my talk. 

He invited me to write an opinion column for his site. My article is called “Los cambios que ha traido La Generación Y, en el mundo laboral.

The original article is in Spanish. (Thanks Marcelo for your ideas and help with editing!) I back-translated it into English with some help from Google Translate. What follows is the English version.

- -

Leslie Forman is an American entrepreneur, who in just 27 years has traveled much of the world for her professional development.

She did her first studies at the University of California, Berkeley, then in 2005 through came to Chile to study at the Pontificia Universidad Católica. Then she traveled to China, where she lived four years, working in industries such as consulting, advertising, education and corporate social responsibility.

This year, she moved to Santiago to join a solar energy startup and be part of the government program, executed by Corfo “Start-Up Chile.” She also has served as a independent interpreter for Chinese, English and Spanish.

Generation Y (also called the “Millennials”) refers to the young people born between the late 70′s and mid 90′s. This generation is entering the workforce with different expectations than previous generations.

Marcelo Peralta, a project manager at a finance company in Chile, explains his personal point of view based on his work experience, especially in the last five years.

Generation Y has come to contribute positively to the twenty-first century job market. Characteristics that are worthy of admiration in this segment of the workforce are, for example, the familiarity with new technologies, the latest academic knowledge, openness of mind and thought, languages, etc. and these are positive contributions that are highly appreciated by companies in the modern world.

However, these same qualities could become disadvantages for businesses, particularly for the departments of Human Resources, because for they have become a difficult problem to address and solve. The latter is related to the behavior of Generation Y, whose independence and constant exposure to change, make hiring / resignations very frequent, with the consequent cost for companies.

Many times, the uncertainty of these young employees complicates the planning of more complex, long-term projects. And finally, there are cases in which the personalities associated with these professionals denote lack of commitment towards the company and / or employers.

I am part of Generation Y. I was born in San Francisco, California in 1984. I grew up in an atmosphere of infinite choice and constant feedback. I played water polo, soccer and other sports, with the support of professional coaches.

When I graduated from college in 2006, I entered a professional world that was very different than the environment I grew up in.

I’ve done many different jobs: I taught English classes at a university in China, did a corporate social responsibility internship in the Chamber of Commerce, wrote advertisements for a multinational company, worked in customer service for a software company, and more.

Opening the door of our hutong office in Beijing in 2009, as mom looks on. Is this what the new wave of careers looks like?

None of these jobs have given me the kind of feedback I remember from my experiences in sports. This situation is common among “Generation Y” at work.

I found a novel and simple idea to promote this kind of feedback in a groundbreaking book on the future of work. The book is called End Malaria and its sales raise funds for the prevention of malaria. The book has essays from more than 50 psychologists, entrepreneurs, designers and leading writers, collecting countless ideas to innovate the world of work.

The suggestion that most caught my attention was something very simple authored by Daniel H. Pink. Pink, has written four books about the changing world of work, including his latest creation, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. His essay is called “What’s the Matter With Milennials?”

Here is an excerpt from the essay (as it appeared in The Telegraph in 2010 under the headline “Think Tank: Fix the workplace, not the workers.”)

Kimley-Horn, a large American engineering firm, takes a peer-to-peer approach. At this sprawling 60-office company, anybody at any time can award a colleague a $50 (£31) bonus.

Instead of once-a-year acknowledgment from a boss who may not remember your heroic deeds, these modest bonuses allow colleagues to recognise good work instantly – and that, in turn, can create an environment in which feedback more regularly bursts through the dry sands of office life. Last year, Kimley-Horn employees gave each other nearly 2,000 of these on-the-spot bonuses.

A person’s supervisor must sign off on each award. But ultimately the decision rests with peers, not bosses – which can make the feedback and recognition more meaningful. As Kimley-Horn’s Julie Beauvais puts it, giving employees a way to acknowledge a co-worker “puts the feedback control in the hands of the folks who are closest to the activity”.

The $50 solution would not satisfy all the desires of Generation Y, but is a simple, practical, and economical way to provide more feedback in the office. And that feedback could make a difference.