Don’t worry, I’m not inviting you to die today. I’d rather you live for as long as your body was designed for. Nobody likes to talk about death or dying. However, if you are one of those people who are able to say “It is a good day to die!” with full conviction and with […]
I find it hard to believe that so many people find work so onerous. Is it true that so few of us actually enjoy our work? The amazing proliferation of all things to pamper at leisure seems to be a firm testament to that state of affairs. Sad reality is that we often need “…a […]
Josef Klus shared this on LinkedIn. I commented on the post and would like to share a little more here, as I think it is important. With all the proposed moves to legislate the presence of women on boards to forty percent, and similar initiatives, I would like to state here again clearly that I am […]
Fire the Boss. Secret and not-so-secret desires of many people. We ARE an arrogant lot, aren’t we? Thinking that we can do better if we were in the Boss’ shoes. Which is astounding, since very few ever bother walking in the Boss’ shoes for any distance at all. Few attempt to engage with the Boss, […]
Like mercy, the quality of loyalty is not strained. That means it cannot be forced out of anyone. Loyalty is always based on mutually-beneficial relationships, actual or perceived. Not only that, loyalty is an attitude of desiring the good of the person or entity that one is loyal to. Even symbiotic relationships do not necessarily […]
Heard these statements somewhere at some time? “Dominate your market!” “Grow rich in your niche!” How about “Attracting your customers” and “Woo your buyers”? “Make it juicy for people”? While brand posturing, marketing and selling are of course very important, how many of you believe, really believe deep down inside, that your goods and services […]
On 26 Oct 2012, Anthony Robbins posted an article on LinkedIn. It was shared by Horace Tee and was titled “Change Your Words, Change Your Life: The Simplest Tool I Know for Immediately Transforming the Quality of Your Life“. As I read the article, a few thoughts came to me. One of the main functions of a leader is […]
No, I am not talking about listing your business on the Stock Exchange. I am talking about Leading In Small Things We all know intuitively that a leader who takes care of the small stuff is a leader who can be trusted. “Small stuff” includes what others might also see as “small people”. Are you […]
That sounds simple enough. Or does it? Why does it take courage and boldness to lead? Is not the fact that you have been entrusted with the position of leadership sufficient endorsement of your capabilities and rights? We have all seen, heard of, maybe experienced, the leader who appears to be full of confidence, making […]
A program I recently helped deliver with my Allies in Fish Camp brought back memories of life in a setup akin to an Op Centre. If there is an antithesis to the seemingly ubiquitous “silo” mentality in organizations, the Op Centre must surely be it! I’m talking about Op Centres that actually work, of course.
“Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait point.” ~Blaise Pascal~ (The heart has its reasons, whereof reason knows nothing.) I came across this quote by Blaise Pascal in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time several years ago. There is a pretty good explanation for what Blaise Pascal meant on the Helium website, written by […]
This came to me after I’d finished delivering a short introduction to behavioural styles to the C-suite of an international insurance company in Kuala Lumpur. I realized that the old song by Billy Joel, which is the first part of the title, described how we ought to relate to others, especially those with behavioural styles […]
Picture this. Head office of an MNC in Boston faces issues with silo mentality existing between a few Divisions which actually need to work together. Team-building, team coaching and leadership programs have so far failed to bring about any changes of note. In desperation, the CEO throws up his hands and barks to his HR […]
In case you’re wondering – no, I do NOT agree that 90% of conflict is due to the wrong tone of voice. Here’s why. Do you know some of those people who are always in control of what they say, how they say it and when they say it? Have you ever wished that you […]
No, that’s not a tongue-twister. In fact, it’s something for you and I to focus on. Focusing on this will help a lot in freeing us to be and do all that we are meant to. Ready? Say it out loud, now, “yt ilib isnop serym siti!”. Hmmm…let’s do that again, shall we? With a […]
Most of us have heard of, or know a thing or two, about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Although some have said that Maslow himself never used a pyramid to depict this hierarchy, it is commonly represented as that rather well-known pyramid. The bottom four layers are supposed to represent the “Deficiency”, or “D” needs and […]
I officially joined APTS at this meeting. The meeting was fun, and the two speakers spoke about stuff which resonated a lot with me! Dr Kala spoke about Personal Mastery, which really was all about making choices to develop yourself and make yourself happy, in simplistic terms. Deja vu, I had just written a post […]
This is one of the stories that can be found in Rudyard Kipling’s “The Second Jungle Book”. The story is called “The Miracle of Purun Bhagat” and can be read free online. It is about a man who, having reached the dizzying heights of a long an illustrious career, forsook it all and took up […]
It is no secret that we as people tend to trend. We want to be with the “In” crowd. We want to be “Hip”, “Cool”, “Happening” and I don’t know what else. I don’t think it only happens to teenagers, meaning that supposedly crazy mixed-up bunch with raging hormones, which in my book should not […]
The number of books, articles and related scholarly, business and entertainment paraphernalia regarding the subject of warfare and business is indeed plethoric. Many, if not most, of these seem to hold Sun Tzu in high regard, and rightly so. There are indeed parallels between triumphant warfare, which includes “warfighting”, for my American friends, and the […]
I was reading Alan Weiss’ book “Thrive”, and was musing on what he said about WISH-ing your life away. It struck me that a fundamental difference between a DO-er and a WISH-er is that DO-ers Develop Opportunities and that WISH-ers Willfully Inflict Self Harm So, are you are DO-er or are you a WISH-er? Be […]
These are a few thoughts following a read of “More meetings, so more pay for OCBC directors” in the Business Times of 26 Apr 2012. Do you know what a Board of Directors does? Why is it there in the first place? Well, as far as I understand it, a Board of Directors is to […]
An article in the Business Times’ Editorial & Opinion column of 25 Apr 2012 talked about developing global leaders with an Asian focus. I thought it was well-written and it discussed issues facing many leaders today. What is an “Asian” leader? What is a “Western” leader? Is the “Asian” leader more “collaborative” and are “Western” […]
No options? Who says? We always have options. One of the biggest leadership cop-outs I know is when leaders take the stand that we have no choice. You always have a choice. You can choose to exercise leadership, which is what you’re paid for anyway. You can choose to let someone more capable than yourself […]
What is the purpose of implementing a minimum wage? Minimizing exploitation of low-cost labour, even foreign labour, by employers. Is that the only way to minimize such exploitation? Certainly not! The only reason I will support such legislation, if it indeed comes to pass, is to bring unscrupulous employers who exploit such workers, both local […]
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120301-330936.html Second day of the Budget Debate, and more calls for social safety nets. That’s what they should be – safety nets, not bedroom sets. We dive into water so we can pull a drowning person to safety. Having done that, may the rescued be grateful and perhaps make the effort to learn how to […]
I came across an excellent INSEAD article in the BT-Citibank Young Investors’ Forum on 27 Feb 2012, “Changing business behaviour”. Professor Jean-François Manzoni of INSEAD believes that it is possible to get organizations to behave ethically, but that it would probably take several years. Messages, and not just verbal messages, promoting ethical behaviour have to come […]
I used to sell for a couple of retail investment establishments, and I was always told to “under-promise and over-deliver”. That sounded logical at the time, but in hindsight, seems a little self-defeating. Firstly, I couldn’t promise whatever the company didn’t promise, and I certainly wasn’t in any position to deliver anything, since the investment […]
The 25 July 2011 issue of Business Times carried an article “Change of guard comes at a crucial time for SATS”, with the subtitle “Outgoing CEO cut reliance on aviation, transformed SATS” on page 9. I read the article with interest, and listed a few points about what I would say to SATS at a […]
How concerned are you with making right choices? What do you base your decisions on? How do you decide which career to embark on, what hobby to pursue, what financial instruments to invest in, where to go for your next vacation, and so on? In this post, I am not talking about making ethical choices. […]
I last wrote about this on the Lifeskills Enrichment blog (now defunct) on 7 Apr 2010. Since then, a lot has taken place and I’d like to add one or two more thoughts to what I’d already recorded. On 20 Apr 2011, I had the privilege of being at a talk by Professor Peter Hawkins […]
To lead the people, walk behind them. ~ Lao Tzu I thought, “This can only be done when a true leader has fully developed and equipped his people to be true leaders themselves!”. I sent this to the person who had sent me the quote. Leadership is very much like parenting. The aim of equipping […]
A few days ago, while waiting for the feeder bus, I happened to notice a student reading what appeared to be some sort of in-house newspaper. The heading of the article was “Does Democracy Make a Nation Strong?” or words to that effect. I was rather intrigued and reflected on it during the commute to […]
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