Makes no difference who you are. Sweet dreams, just as you please, for who am I to risk debris? It seems to me that what many people call dreams are shattered again and again, yet we dream on, desperately clinging on to the hope that one day, that dream would become real. After all, we’ve […]
Trade routes have always been a key feature of international relations. Since sea routes are still the most economical form of transport, nations are inevitably concerned with keeping them open, and keeping them safe. Where possible, nations will also try to have shortcuts so that the cost of transport goes down. The Panama Canal and […]
So how do you get BIG? Being big means that you tend to affect those around you. You cannot help it, you are simply too big to avoid it. Size does matter. Does it mean, then, that the big fish will continue to eat up the smaller fish? Does it mean that the smaller fish […]
I call it the, you guessed, “Two-Thirds Rule”, and it’s measured in thumbs. With all the hoopla about burnout, work-life balance, need for white space and related others, I thought I’d share this for your benefit. Some people say life is a marathon. Some say it’s a series of sprints. I say it’s more like […]
Our old washing machine had died, and I was taking its body to the scrap metal dealer near our home. My son and I were pushing it along on our trolley. After we crossed the road to get to the scrap metal dealer, we had to negotiate a staircase downwards. Without thinking, we were about […]
Helen Keller was certainly right, and she lived by that quote. Security is something that we naturally look for, for without security the business of everyday life becomes rather difficult, if not impossible, if the environment is highly insecure. Life seems quite secure these days, if we look at the statistics about increasing life expectancy, […]
I suppose you know enough by now not to nod your head. To me, compromise is never good. This is because I sense that the word “compromise” seems to have more of the implication of “Cheating-On-My-PROMISE” than of the sense of “…to abide by an arbiter’s decision…” I would suggest that the following terms be […]
I saw a LinkedIn post the other day vilifying what it referred to as “stretch goals” in organizations. I can’t find it now, or I’d put the link here. Well, whether people choose to refer to “stretch goals”, “quantum leaps” or whatever new terminology comes along, I know one thing for sure – I always […]
That is not an oxymoron. I happened to read Bob Sutton’s post on LinkedIn, about leaders needing to get out of the room, and was immediately reminded of another post I’d written, “Leaders Need To…Lead, Follow And GOOTW!” This then led me to think of the quote by Mary Anne Radmacher which I see quite often, […]
I always find it so amusing when people wring their hands in anguish at the prospect of an impending change at the workplace. Change is seen as something distasteful, something to be feared, for it upsets the sacred calm waters of the status quo. For when those calm waters get stirred, who knows what may […]
I have come to view “studies” that involve purely surveys of people’s opinions with a great deal of suspicion. Even those that purport to use experiments and trials ought to explain the basic premises that led to those experiments, and we as receivers of such information need to discern whether or not the bases upon […]
That’s because the basics ought to be an integral part of our workplace, indeed of our entire life. What ARE basics? Are they not the very building blocks of our existence? Since when have we ever needed to “Go back to basics”? They just went missing from your daily routine, that’s all! If you have […]
There was an occasion more than ten years ago when I was red-faced at work. Literally. My colleagues noticed that my face seemed redder than usual. In fact, they said that my face was unusually red, and asked if I were having a fever or some other ailment. I didn’t feel sick at all. In […]
There seems to be a trend towards people gaining from “the wisdom of crowds” at the moment. While I certainly appreciate the advice and inputs of people who really care about me and about what I do and stand for, I am not too concerned about what the majority of people think or say. Many […]
Have you heard that successful people take action? Yes, they certainly do! As I was pondering on this yesterday, the letters “SPCA” flashed across my mind. “Successful People CHOOSE Action”! Am I just playing with publicity? Absolutely not! So, what’s the difference? None. It’s not about whether there is a difference, it’s about going a […]
Anxiety. Stress. Eustress. Distress. Do any of those happen to you? Of course, you’re human, right? The literature is full of articles and posts about anxiety and performance. There are arguments about whether there is a balance for optimal performance, meaning how much anxiety is too much, how much is too little, and how much […]
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 […]
Remember the “Twilight Zone” TV series? Purportedly about mysterious events and goings-on in the realm of the paranormal? Well, there’s a new zone, and it’s called the Comfort Zone. So much hype has been created around it, so I decided to weigh in. First of all, you can’t always be living outside your comfort zone. You […]
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 […]
I came across an article on Harvard Business Review today called “Less-Confident People Are More Successful.” I wonder if there was any misunderstanding about what “confident” really means. Looking up the etymology dictionary, we see that “confident” is from: If the writer, Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, intended for “confident” to lean more toward the side of smugness and […]
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like an oxymoron to me. What is “wealth”? Health? Happiness? Large portfolios? The 5 Cs in great abundance? If you have great wealth and you think that your wealth can be destroyed, you are a very poor man. True wealth cannot be destroyed. What is destroyed, what […]
In one of Tom Clancy’s novels, a Russian agent has been knocked unconscious and is being held by some Rumanian operatives. In order to verify that the unconscious man is, indeed, Russian, the Rumanian operatives rouse him and ask him a non-threatening question in Russian. The half-conscious man responds in Russian, and precipitates his swift […]
How can a job be destroyed? It is like saying that a road is being diverted. You don’t divert roads, you divert traffic. You realign roads. Rivers can be diverted, aircraft can be diverted, but not roads. Jobs cannot be destroyed. They get obsolescent or obsolete. (Yes, there is a slight difference, go look it […]
Sometimes I hear the phrase “You can bring a horse to the water, but you can’t force a horse to drink.” I invariably reply “Yes, but you can give salt to the horse to make it thirsty.” Developing healthy appetites is something like that. Hunger is something natural, but appetite is learned. We all get […]
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 […]
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. […]
The first time I flew to Australia, the film “The Man from Snowy River” was being screened. No personal screens, then, you watched the movie on the screen suspended from the fuselage. I remember one of the characters, played by Kirk Douglas, if I’m not mistaken, saying “It’s a hard country. Makes for hard men.” […]
When Martin Luther King declared “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal”, he inadvertently gave a phrase and a concept for all modern-day Robin Hoods to exploit. Now, I’m certainly no fan of the Sheriff of Nottingham either, but two wrongs don’t make a right. You know by now […]
During the course of work, I often hear remarks like “I think the energy is low”, or “I think they need an energizer.” While this is true in some cases, it is not always so. You know it yourself. Just because you’re sitting at a table sipping coffee doesn’t always mean you’re relaxing. If you’re […]
If you’ve ever been called “Weird”, “Abnormal”, “Freak” or some other dubious accolade, you’ve probably felt an overpowering urge to conform to the lowest denominator just so you can “fit in”. Perhaps you’re one of the blessed few upon whom those titles or similar descriptive epithets have never been bestowed. If so, have you ever […]
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 […]
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 […]
Angelina Jolie was applauded all round on TrendIn this week. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the title was “Sophie’s Choice“. Was it a coincidence? The TrendIn article talked about how Jolie decided to go ahead with the double mastectomy based on a “higher probability” that she would have breast […]
Al Bagocious shared an article from the WSJ titled “The Case for Lying to Yourself” on LinkedIn. The article says that in some cases it might be ok or even beneficial to lie to yourself, but that you should know where to draw the line between how much of lying to yourself might be beneficial […]
We all seem to forget that terms like “fluid”, “rapid”, “high rate of”, are all relative terms. Since they are relative terms, what is rapid to one may not be rapid to another. What seems highly fluid to one might be all in a day’s work for another. If you get to spend a week […]
Are you perplexed? Run into some things that are too complex for you? Even the dictionary has gotten the words mixed up! Well, not to worry, it’s pretty simple, really. Just as contentment is not the same thing as complacency, complexities are not the same as complications. Complexity involves the integration of things and systems […]
Be honest. Are you sufficiently at peace with yourself, are you “centered”, do you walk with your head held high, and does your stride say that you have a purpose in life? Or do you live waiting for someone to come up to you and tell you that you’re ok, that they believe in you, […]
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 […]
People like to say that life is like a marathon. We’re in for the long haul, so space yourself out, don’t get burned out! Others say that’s not true at all, that life is really a series of sprints. Rest at the right times, flat out when appropriate. What’s your view? I think life is […]
I came across a few articles in various forums discussing what might happen if automation were to increase to the nth degree, sentiments to that effect. What would happen to employees? Would unemployment also rise in tandem? Well, do you remember the hue and cry over Y2K? Did anything untoward happen? Not that I recall. […]
Do you grow vegetables? We do, in the narrow corridor fronting our very urban apartment. We grow them in pots because there’s no space otherwise. We can’t grow very much, of course, but we grow the vegetables in order to get some hands-on experience. There are some things you can learn from growing your own […]
The word “try” has been vilified by many as being symptomatic of a lack of self-belief, lack of commitment, and a few other things. I think it has been used too often by too many people as a cover-up for NOT trying. Sure, they “tried”, but they certainly didn’t “try” hard enough and/ or weren’t persistent […]
From Wikipedia, [Asymmetric warfare is war between belligerents whose relative military power differs significantly, or whose strategy or tactics differ significantly.] I don’t know about you, but I have often discerned hints of “Hey, no fair!” when I come across articles in journals or in the news talking about “Asymmetric Warfare”. Instead of whining about our competitors not behaving as […]
FUN! Oh, yes. And that is what girls just wanna have, if Cyndi Lauper is to be believed. Do you like having fun? Are you doing a face-palm movement in response to that question? Let’s have some serious play with the word. Looking up the word “fun” in the etymology dictionary, we see that fun […]
Do you have bad habits? Do you have bad habits that you’d like to break? Well, I have remarkable news for you – that’s NOT what I help you with! I help you to form GOOD habits and focus on forming GOOD habits. Then you’ll be in a better position to erase the remnants of […]
Fear is actually a good thing. It keeps us alive. A healthy fear of consequences helps us to stay safe even as we explore and find ways to become more creative. There are two basic motivating drives in all human beings: Fear of Loss, and Desire for Gain. These two complement each other. It is […]
Something I read on Inc. this morning caught my attention. Margaret Heffernan was writing about her observations that the pipeline for female leaders is full to bursting point. She said that, during her interviews with women leaders, she asked the question “So what have you done to help other women?” Those who answered with confidence, […]
We are often exhorted to “Find what you love and do it”. Less often do we hear “Love what you do when you’re in it”, meaning learning to love your job, whatever it is! Some of you might know the story of the bird that failed to fly to warmer climes for the winter. Shivering […]
“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 […]
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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