For many people, it is either fail to plan or plan to fail. Don’t believe the tripe that most people can plan well, they just have trouble executing it. Nothing can be further from the truth! Now, I have said very often that most companies can plan well, but just can’t seem to be able […]
Knowledge. Understanding. Wisdom. Sagacity. Sophistication. Do those words describe you? Are there people upon whom you would pin those terms without hesitation? Practical leadership effectiveness is really all about, as the title says, “Understanding Wise Applications Of Knowledge.” It is what enables your strategy to be operationalized. It is what keeps your enterprise running profitably. […]
I came across this video recently while searching for something else, and I thought it made pretty good sense. Two main takeaways for me were that Good Strategists have it in them to choose Bad Strategies, because they think those strategies are Good Strategies. I go a step further and say that it is because […]
We have all, I suppose, heard of “constructive conflict”. Do you think it exists? When was the last time you had some “constructive conflict”? Did you feel as though you were in conflict with others? It has been said that when you have more than one person in an organization, disagreements are inevitable. Therefore, the […]
Is networking important to your business? To your job in the company you’re working at right now? Is it important to you personally? Do you think it’s important to people generally? Why or why not, and what IS networking, anyway? When I refer to networking, I mean the establishing and sustaining of healthy, profitable relationships. […]
I’ve just completed a day and a half facilitating a teambuilding session under the auspices of my allies Fish Camp Learning Sdn Bhd. Participants were put through their paces with both challenging outdoor and indoor activities, including sea rafting, and had the opportunity to know each other much better. They were very cohesive and definitely […]
I’m sure you’ve heard many gurus telling you not to work IN the business and to start to work ON the business. Bless them, they’re telling you to do the right thing. Trouble is, they’re not telling it to you in the proper way. We need to do BOTH. When an artist is working on a canvas, he steps back […]
Yes, you read it right. Quotes like “The Greatest Good of the Greatest Number” sound very good and noble. Think about it for a while and you realize that it is not the greatest number but the smallest number! After all, pyramids end at a point at the top, don’t they? And those at the bottom […]
Download the pdf. Hi, this is Elijah Lim, and to borrow from what Tweety the yellow bird said, “I tot I taw a puddy tat!” Now, we’re quite familiar with that expression and what does that mean? Well, I’d like to discuss today something about what we see, how we interpret stuff, and what we […]
Download the pdf. Hi, this is Elijah Lim. Today I would like to ask the question “Is Business War?” And most of us have of heard of expressions like this: “Business is war”, “Business in the trenches”, “We have to outperform the competition”, “We have to kill the competition”, “We have to absorb them”, […]
In Singapore, a few companies have made the news because they posted job ads worded in such a manner as to imply a preference for foreign workers over Singaporeans. This violated some legislation which stipulated that companies ought to have a certain percentage of Singaporeans already in their headcount before they could proceed to hire […]
View the pdf. This is an edited transcript. Hi, this is Elijah Lim – Who’s Afraid Of Hierarchical Orgs? Or hierarchical structures? Now, we’re all quite familiar with hierarchical structures. What it means is that usually there’s someone at the top, he has maybe three, four, two, people directly reporting to him, and each of […]
Download the pdf. This is not a word-for-word transcript, but the essence is the same. I came across a LinkedIn article called “Key Reasons Delegating Is SO Difficult and What To Do About It” on 07 Oct 2013. I’d written something about “Deliberate delegation” before, and this post caught my eye. It seems that the […]
Download the pdf. This is not a word-for-word transcript, but is essentially the same content. Anyone who is in business is automatically in Sales, Marketing and Customer Relations. If you’re not into all these three, you aren’t really in business. Sales and Marketing are closely related. You could call Marketing the Strategy and Sales the […]
When times are tough, meaning when sales aren’t as good as they could have been, or, more accurately, when profits aren’t what you’d expect, then you might have the tendency to “cut costs.” After all, that’s what everyone else does, isn’t it? Stop it! Are you “everyone else”? No, you are you. Now, you know […]
Do you have issues with strategy implementation? In simple terms, how often do your plans actually translate into fruitful and profitable action? Have you found the execution of your plans to be smooth, or have they been nightmarish quagmires of frantic attempts to get the plan moving? Have your business units been able to cooperate […]
References: Battlefield Detectives – Massacre at Waterloo Gartner On Big Data: Everyone’s Doing It, No One Knows Why Why the CMO Will Soon Have a Better Pulse on the Business than the CFO Previous posts on Big Data and related Generals are, well, generalists, in a sense of the word. Able to zoom out in […]
What comes to your mind when the word “Fort” is mentioned? Riders galloping out the gate? Desperate last stands? These images and impressions have been reinforced time and again by Tinseltown movies. Are they true? Of course! Partially. Do you know what a fort is really for? Of course. A fort is sited, meaning positioned, […]
This is a short clip about character and competence. If I had to choose between either, I would always go for character. The transcript is below the embedded video, and you can also download the transcript in pdf. Transcript for Character and Competence. Hi, I’m Elijah Lim. Today, I’d like to talk to you a […]
F Spencer Chapman’s book observed that the jungle doesn’t favour any side. It’s just the jungle. The environment you operate in doesn’t favour you or your competitors either. It’s just the business environment. Big Data? You got it! The data is all there, all available for you. It’s how you choose to see it, organize […]
Authority. You look up and squint so you see it more clearly. You stop in your tracks as it rumbles so nearly. The things that you wish for, you hold them so dearly. Yes, authority has a way of eliciting a range of different responses from different people at different times and seasons. Do you […]
Do you know what a plow pan is? It’s when you plough the land crop after crop, season after season. A hardened layer of earth soon forms below the deepest point where your plow plows. If this is not broken up periodically using deep rakes, the plow pan prevents water from going through into the […]
Big Data. It has become a household word. Some are excited by it. Some dread it. Some feel that it invades their privacy, as though privacy were not the preserve of the War Councils of nations, or in corporate planning rooms, or in the homes of people. What comes to your mind when you see the […]
If you are used to me by now, you will know that I don’t mean “Public Relations” in the first “PR.” So what do I mean? Personal Responsibility, of course! If you are a Public Relations honcho and depend on that to pay your bills, lower your hackles and read on! Of course, “PR Campaigns […]
This is not only for all who are serving in large organizations, particularly government ones. Hands up if you have used that phrase, or a similar one! Right, that should include just about everyone! Hands up if you have ever been a Chief this or a Chief that! Ok, not too may hands going up. […]
Do you admire the person who seems to be able to make seemingly difficult decisions quickly and easily? Not only does he do that, but it always seems that he’s right? Do you know someone like that personally? Are you that person? Why do I get the impression that many people are content to become […]
Most people I meet seem to be always absorbed with their “Mission”. That mostly has to do with what they think their bosses want them to do on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. That’s important, of course, we need to complete assigned tasks and fulfill responsibilities. Meet or exceed team goals on […]
In the post “Lead Measures. Lag Measures. So What?” written on 04 Apr 2013, I talked about what lead and lag measures are. I hope you are taking the initiative implementing lead measures in your daily business! I just came across a discussion on a LinkedIn group called “Automotive Fixed Operations Managers“. The discussion is […]
Office politics. What comes to your mind? How does the phrase make you feel? Is it an unavoidable evil or something that can be eradicated completely? Do you think that there is just too much of it where you work? I dare say that the majority would think that there is too much going on […]
The term “SOF” has become a household term because of the media. Of course, “SOF” stands for “Special Operations Force”, with all the perceived glamour that goes along with the title. Have you ever seen yourself as an SOF trooper? What makes them so special? Is that why you wanted to be part of them, […]
We have heard that an ounce of prevention is better than pounding regret, or words to that effect. Intuitively, we know that to be true. Why, then, does there seem to be such an unhealthy fascination with glorifying disasters, things which could have been prevented but left to corrode away slowly to their grim conclusions? […]
Innovation. Buzzword for our times. People who innovate are seen as rainmakers. An “Innovator” is hailed as an inspiring leader, while an “optimizer” is popularly seen as someone who just does the mundane work of running the system. Innovators are seen as creative, bold, risk-takers, visionaries, strategically-minded, and a list of other accolades. Optimizers are relegated to the […]
The term “Clear and Present Danger” may refer to Tom Clancy’s book by the same title, the film, or a doctrine adopted by the US Supreme Court. In simple terms, a “clear and present danger” is sufficient casus belli for immediate, pre-emptive action. My friend Zaccheus remarked that he seemed to be seeing many more […]
Are we led more by Reason or are we led more by Emotion? Someone once said that we are led by both. Reason and Emotion are like two animals hitched together to the same cart. One animal is a Mule and the other is an Elephant. Which do you think is Reason and which Emotion? […]
I came across a Quartz article about how some well-known business chiefs hold ruthlessly effective meetings. I’d encourage you to read the article, and I’d just like to highlight the main points here, and what my take on them is. Throw out the least necessary person in the room Apparently, that was how Steve Jobs […]
I keep seeing posts and discussions on delegation, so I thought I’d better post this again, so that people can keep this thing called “delegation” in its proper perspective. Is the word “delegation” a dreaded word at your workplace? If you are a leader, do you know who, what, where, when and why to delegate? […]
For those unfamiliar with “Singlish”, which means “Sinful English” – no, just kidding, lah. “Singlish” is Singapore English, what someone called Toh Paik Choo used to call “Pasar Patois”. You donno? Why so goondu one? Well, for those still wondering, the title can also read “But I Know That Already!”. Of course you do. Then […]
We have heard that getting the right people on the bus is extremely important. What we may not realize is that keeping the wrong ones from coming aboard is equally vital if we are to maintain a thriving organization. We need to understand and realize that “inclusiveness”, applied indiscriminately, is the most damaging lie of […]
Technology is looked upon as a multiplier, and of course it is. We expect it to expand our businesses, get us more customers, help us deliver better products, services and outcomes for our stakeholders and help us manage our businesses better. Just get some technology and…voila! Problems erased. Our quality goes up, capacity is increased […]
Sounds familiar? Have you had days that felt like Humpty-Dumpty? How did you respond? Did you jump to your feet, blowing the trumpet for all the King’s horses and all the King’s men to come and salvage the situation? Or did you call for the Royal Physician to assess whether or not Humpty-Dumpty could indeed […]
While discussing the effects of strip mining and related unsustainable agricultural practices as part of our family’s syllabus, we came across the name of Georgius Agricola. It is very likely that he cared not only for the environment, but for the well-being of mine workers as well. Not something you would have thought a 16th […]
Have you heard of reverse logistics? This article highlighted by Barry Neighbors on LinkedIn talked about it. I’d served in one or two quasi-logistics roles when I was in Service, and although the concept of reverse logistics was mentioned in passing, I never heard people talking about it in depth. Logistics has been likened to […]
I was meeting two people at SingPost (Singapore Post) building when I had a sensation of something under my right foot. Thinking that perhaps something had gotten under my right foot, I looked down. Lo and behold, but the sole of my right shoe had decided to detach itself somewhat from the rest of the […]
Yes, you read that right. This has actually happened, and apparently on more than one occasion. A Grumman test pilot by the name of Tom Attridge somehow managed to do that while testing a Grumman F11F-1 Tiger on 21 Sep 1956. It happened while he was test-firing four 20mm cannon. After firing two bursts, Attridge actually […]
“HR seems to place more obstacles than provide solutions”. “Finance is utterly inflexible. Can’t they see what we need?” “We need to deliver the goods NOW! Why does Logistics take so long?” “Silo mentality” is a common complaint that we don’t want to hear about every day. Of course, any business would like to break […]
I happened to come across an article entitled “The Evolution of Blind Acceptance“, and immediately the thought of corporate conscience came to mind. If you’re familiar with what I write about, you’ll know that one of my lines is “If your business does not give great value to ALL stakeholders, you have no business being […]
“The good is the enemy of the best”. What is your definition of the “best”? It is the same question as “What is your definition of success?” As usual, people seem to be divided into two or more camps about this. One camp says that we should always go for what is best all the […]
Have you come across people who say things like that? They claim to be “practical” and “hands-on” people who “get things done”. Now, if only those people in charge of the planning would get their act together and produce plans that actually work instead of having to be made to work! This seems to be […]
Marshall Goldsmith’s popular book essentially discusses how certain small habits can actually hold us back from further progress in our lives. Many people might think that a certain characteristic they have, like always winning, for example, is something that fostered their success so far. However, the characteristic of always winning, whatever it takes, may actually […]
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