Guest Article: Mistakes not to make in interviews - Strange but true?

author: Kevin Foley (Boston-area biotech)

We surveyed top personnel executives of 100 major American corporations and asked for stories of unusual behavior by job applicants.

The lowlights:
1.Said he was so well-qualified [that] if he didn't get the job, it would prove that the company's management was incompetent.
2.Stretched out on the floor to fill out the job application.
3.Brought her large dog to the interview.
4.Chewed bubble gum and constantly blew bubbles.
5.Candidate kept giggling through serious interview.
6.She wore a Walkman and said she could listen to me and the music at the same time.
7.Balding candidate abruptly excused himself. Returned to office a few minutes later, wearing a hairpiece.
8.Applicant challenged interviewer to arm wrestle.
9.Asked to see interviewer's resume to see if the personnel executive was qualified to judge the candidate.
10.Announced she hadn't had lunch and proceeded to eat a hamburger and French fries in the interviewer's office.
11.Without saying a word, candidate stood up and walked out during the middle of the interview.
12.Man wore jogging suit to interview for position as financial vice president.
13.Said if he were hired, he would demonstrate his loyalty by having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm.
14.Interrupted to phone his therapist for advice on answering specific interview questions.
15.Wouldn't get out of the chair until I would hire him. I had to call the police.
16.When I asked him about his hobbies, he stood up and started tap dancing around my office.
17.Had a little pinball game and challenged me to play with him.
18.Bounced up and down on my carpet and told me I must be highly thought of by the company because I was given such a thick carpet.
19.Took a brush out of my purse, brushed his hair and left.
20.Pulled out a Polaroid camera and snapped a flash picture of me. Said he collected photos of everyone who interviewed him.
21.Candidate asked me if I would put on a suit jacket to insure that the offer was formal.
22.Said he wasn't interested because the position paid too much.
23.While I was on a long-distance phone call, the applicant took out a copy of Penthouse, and looked through the photos only, stopping longest at the centerfold.
24.During the interview, an alarm clock went off from the candidate's brief case. He took it out, shut it off, apologized and said he had to leave for another interview.
25.A telephone call came in for the job applicant. It was from his wife. His side of the conversation went like this: "Which company? When do l start? What's the salary?" I said, "l assume you're not interested in conducting the interview any further." He promptly responded, "I am as long as you'll pay me more. "I didn't hire him, but later found out there was no other job offer. It was a scam to get a higher offer.
26.An applicant came in wearing only one shoe. She explained that the other shoe was stolen off her foot in the bus.
27.His briefcase opened when he picked it up and the contents spilled, revealing ladies' undergarments and assorted makeup and perfume.
28.He came to the interview riding a motorbike and left it in the reception area. He didn't want it to get stolen, and stated that he would require indoor parking for the motorbike.
29.He took off his right shoe and sock, removed a medicated foot powder and dusted it on the foot and in the shoe. While he was putting back the shoe and sock, he mentioned that he had to use the powder four times a day, and this was the time.
30.Candidate said he really didn't want to get a job, but the unemployment office needed proof that he was looking for one.
31.He whistled when the interviewer was talking.
32.Asked who the lovely babe was, pointing to the picture on my desk. When I said it was my wife, he asked if she was home now and wanted my phone number. I called security.
33.She vomited on my desk, and immediately started asking questions about the job, like nothing had happened.
34.Pointing to a black case he carried into my office, he said that if he was not hired, the bomb would go off. Disbelieving, I began to state why he would never be hired and that I was going to call the police. He then reached down to the case, flipped a switch and ran. No one was injured, but I did need to get a new desk.
35.Asked if I wanted some cocaine before starting the interview.

12 Ways to Retain ‘Swing’ Talents in Your Organization

In my previous article, I wrote about ‘Customer Loyalty and Retention’ and brought to our attention a group of Customer’s known as the ‘Swing’ group. These are customers who stick around your business only because you happen to be the best alternative at the moment until they find a better alternative. This makes this group if customers valuable yet un-retainable in the long run.

Here, I would like to bring forward also the concept of ‘Swing’ Talents. To begin, there are two groups of Talent who are staying with you now: Loyal and Swing.

Loyal are those Talented employees who stick around your company either due to the job, the boss or the company’s mission/business/image. The moment any of these three does not seem right, they will start leaving.

On the other hand, Swing Employees who are Loyal to you because you happen to be the “Best alternative at the current moment until I find another alternative” situation. In other words, these are key talents who are ready to leave any moment no matter what you do to enrich their jobs or to give them a good boss. You are simply not their permanent choice.

Why then do they stay? Swing Talents are ‘loyal’ because:
1. Individual Relationships with people in the company
2. Convenience (at that point in time)
3. Contractually tied-up
4. Exciting Direct Incentives
5. No better alternatives in the market yet
6. Subordinates whom they love and love them back
7. No known alternatives in the market yet
8. CV friendly

OK then. What can we do? Well, other than pray and hope, I can only think of 12 ways:
1. Over Promote
2. Loans
3. Spot Bonuses
4. Block recruiters
5. The Spouse (and their Children, if possible)
6. Toys (e.g. iPODs, MACs, MP3s, 22” LCD Screens etc.)
7. Glorified Titles
8. Forced Ambassador
9. “Position” the competition
10. Sell the Dream
11. Give them a Best Friend
12. Appoint them as Internal Trainers

In other words, try to do some of these 12 things and hope for the best. At least you can say you have tried.

-TURD-

OOBEY Guest Article: Tips For Attending a College Career Fair

This guest article is brought to you by:


Introduction
A college career fair is an ideal way for soon-to-be college grads and students with an eye towards their post-college career to network with employers looking for the skills and education they're completing. Most colleges sponsor at least one major career fair each academic year, and proper preparation will be your best friend if you plan to attend one.

- Visit, call or email your school's career services department to ask about career fairs planned for your campus. Make a note of the dates and learn as much information as you can about the employers who are expected to take part.

- Make an appointment with a career counselor to learn more about the career opportunities available to graduates in your field of study. Figure out what employers you want to target when you attend the career fair. Ask your career counselor to offer further advice on how you can best represent yourself when meeting with prospective employers at the career fair.

- Attend a resume-building workshop, which are frequently available through your school's career services department. Use the tips you learn to create a resume that best represents the education and skills you've been mastering in college.

- Rehearse questions to ask each of the employers you're planning to meet. It's a mistake to think that employers should ask all the questions in an interview. Having questions of your own shows commitment to your career path and attention to detail.

- Dress professionally on the day of the career fair, and make sure your resume is error-free. Bring at least 20 copies with you to give to the company representatives you meet with.

- Make sure you have a polished, informative and professional self-introduction planned. The first thing you'll be asked by prospective employers is to tell them about yourself. Have your answer ready, and make it a good one that demonstrates your knowledge of their company and sets you apart from the rest of the field.

- Collect a business card from every prospective employer you speak with, and always follow up a day or two after your meeting. Thank them for meeting with you and tell them you are looking forward to discussing their company's career opportunities further.

Visit www.oobey.com for more articles.

Archive
Basic Resume Writing Tips

10 Tips For Bagging That Raise

Mastering the Interview

3 Types of Bosses

True Job Search Blunders

Hate Your Job? 10 Ways to Cope

Be a Better Boss

Top 4 Biggest Career Mistakes You'll Ever Make

A while ago, I was asked to speak to a group of young, eager, and aggresive post-studies executives who have just landed their first jobs but still unsure about their future. I was asked to talk on someting about Career Planning and stuff like that.

During the session, I was asked a substantial amount of questions concerning what would be the 'wrong' steps to avoid while climbing the career ladder. As a summary, I noted these 4 biggest career mistakes they'll ever make:

1.Keeping a career in line with your education
This is the first that came to my mind. I have seen and counseled many people whom were in despair halfway through their career lives, saddened by the fact that they are stuck where there are because of a wrong decision made concerning their education many years back.

My simple advice is this - look at the successful career professionals around you. You will notice that the common thing about them is that they are mostly doing something which is not directly tied to their paper qualifications (except for thos in professional jobs e.g. lawyers, accountants).

Do not ever let your education (or lack of) tie you down. Work on the career you want.

2.Getting career advice from your parents (or relatives)
This, to me, is mistake NUMERO UNO. Most parents have no clue to what a good career is and many parents (though out of good intentions) still insist on advising their children what to do.

Question: If you want to be a successful Engineer, who do you ask - your parents or a successful Engineer? The answer is obvious. Take advice from professionals. Parents should only give general advice - study hard, work hard, be honest etc.

3.Changing jobs without long-term strategy in mind
This is simple. The 500 dollar increment from another company may look interesting but may also kill your career in the long run. Change jobs only when you are very very very very sure that it is a strategic step to your overall career plans.


4.Letting your Boss (or company) manage your career
Never forget this one. You are your own boss and your own master. Manage your own career. Invest in yourself. Don't cry if your company does not send you for training. Save some money and go for your own training.


If you can take care to avoid these "Top 4 Biggest Career Mistakes You'll Ever Make", then you are on your way to a satisfying career.

-TURD-

Guest Article: Make your PC search-friendly

From Monsters and Critics.com
Tech Features
By DPAOct 20, 2007, 11:53 GMT

Washington - With computers these days, it's all about search.
And there's a good reason: with mounds upon mounds of data on our hard drives, the primary obstacle we face is finding what we need when we need it.

The irony is that it's almost easier to find information online than it is to find it on our own PCs.
Thankfully, that's changing. New tools are going some way toward making our own hard drives as accessible as what we see online.

But to make your PC truly search friendly, you have to know how to optimise it for faster searching - and which tools can get you to the information you need the fastest.

--- The Vista approach
Comprehensive and ubiquitous hard drive searching may be the single best reason to upgrade to Vista if you're considering the move. Vista puts a search field almost everywhere - on the Start menu, in the Windows Explorer task bar, and even in many applications, including Media Player and Internet Explorer.

Microsoft calls this feature Instant Search. What makes it different from previous implementation of search in Windows is that Instant Search gives you results almost in real time.

Open the Start menu, for instance, type in the first few letters of a program or file you're looking for, and as you type a list of search results will present you will names of programs and files that Vista thinks you're seeking.

The secret behind Instant Search is a Vista's comprehensive indexing service that runs in the background almost from the time that you first install the operating system. Instant Search indexes not just the names of programs and files but the contents of files, e-mail messages, and visited Web pages on your hard drive.

It is, in essence, similar to an Internet search engine - and just about as effective. If you're looking, for instance, for an e-mail message you wrote in which you discussed zebras, you can go to any search prompt in Vista and type 'zebras,' and you should be presented with a link to that e-mail message.

--- Better searching in XP
Windows XP and earlier versions do not have the Instant Search feature found in Vista. Instead, XP users must initiate a search by using the Search option in the Start menu or by pressing the Windows key and tapping the latter F (for 'Find'). Searches take much longer this way than they do in Vista, and you must specify whether you're searching for file names or for contents within one or more files.

But Microsoft has made available its Windows Desktop Search (WDS) (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch) application to users of Windows XP, and with it, you can improve substantially the speed and accuracy with which you can find what you need. The latest version of WDS, 3.0.1, is designed to run under Windows XP SP2. Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP 64 bit.

Windows Desktop Search indexes the contents of your My Documents folder, any e-mail messages that you have in Outlook or Outlook Express, contacts, calendar entries, and tasks. You can change the default search locations to ensure that the tool catalogues the files and folders you need it to. WDS can search the contents of mapped network drives as well as your local hard drive.

--- Other search tools
Although thanks to Instant Search and Windows Desktop Search, Microsoft has an edge in search for Windows users, Google and Yahoo were in the desktop search game early - and they won over lots of fans. Google's Desktop Search (http://desktop.google.com) and Yahoo! Desktop Search (http://desktop.yahoo.com) are still top-notch tools, and they're available for more platforms, including Linux and the Mac. Both tools are free.

Google's Desktop Search tool, in fact, gives users what some feel are the best attributes of Vista - integrated search and a sidebar with gadgets - without the overhead imposed by Vista's Aero interface. What's more, Google Desktop Search has that familiar Googlish look and feel that has endeared millions of Internet users.

But it's the Yahoo! Desktop Search tool that arguably has made the greatest strides in usability. The latest iteration of Yahoo's Desktop Search tool shows you search results as you type, much as Vista's Instant Search does. Once indexed, searches generally occur instantaneously - or so quickly that results appear to be instantaneous.

The search tool goes farther than others to show you the contents of files as they were created. Yahoo! Desktop Search includes viewers for more than 400 file types, so that you can see documents that might be stored on your PC even if you no longer have the applications that created those documents installed.

Copernic, Inc., though, has been putting out products that do desktop search longer than just about anyone else. And the company's latest free product, Copernic Desktop Search 2, may have the best interface of them all. Copernic Desktop Search differs from the browser-based products of Yahoo and Google in that it comes as a standalone application. But its search capabilities are widely seen as some of the best around.

Gone are the days when an effective desktop search tool can be seen as an option. The good news is that there are plenty of free tools available to you, no matter which operating system you use. Find the one that's best for you, and get back the time you would have spent searching for information you know you've stored somewhere.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur © Copyright 2007 by monstersandcritics.com. This notice cannot be removed without permission.

7 Essential Management Skills for Career Survival

Two questions - Do you want a good career? Do you want a good career Fast or Slow?

If you answered positively to both questions, then you would want to carry on reading and find out the 7 Essential Management Skills you need for Career Survival.

Let us go back to the beginning: You want a Good Career fast? Well then, only PROFESSIONALS get to have a good career fast. BUT, Professionals have to pay a much higher price than semi-professionals and amateurs. So, do you want to be a Professional or Amateur?

OK, good. Since you are still reading I presume that you want to be a Professional in order to have a good career fast. What then are the 7 Essential Management Skills? Let us begin.

Firstly, are you interested in a Job or a Career? You have to learn how to differentiate the two. Check whatever you are doing now. If it's a job, you would have no interest in learning, no motivation to improve, no energy, no growth plans. If it's a career to you, you would be learning, always wanting to improve, lots of energy and have a firm growth plan. If what you are doing is a job to you, stop here. If it's a career to you, proceed.

The 7 Management Skills in summary are:

1. Managing your Job
2. Managing your Boss
3. Managing your Time
4. Managing your Relationships
5. Managing your Discipline
6. Managing your Attitude
7. Managing your Career

1. Managing Your Job
Remember this: "Know your job well, do it well, and be better than anyone else doing it." (this is taken from a book called "The Rules of Work" by Richard Templar). Bottom Line: You must be really good at your job before attempting anything else. Otherwise, it's just wasted efforts. Don't listen to those so called career coaches who ask you to 'dream' or 'envision' your career 20 years from now. That's just plain rubbish. If you are not doing your job well, or you are not the best in your job, don't even think about climbing the ladder. Do your job well first.

Make sure you know the difference between Activities vs. Results. What's the difference? We can either refer to our job in terms of Activities or Results. Whichever reference you choose determines your behaviors on a daily basis. Remember: Success depends on managing your job based on RESULTS-oriented thinking.

2. Managing your Boss
There are four parts to this: Understand and find solutions for your Boss' problems, Manage your Boss as a Client not a Boss, Manage and influence your Boss based on his Personality, and finally learn how to deal with Bad Bosses as well as when to give up and walk away.

3. Managing your Time
Time is irreversible, so make the best use of it every second of your life. What you really Value is found in how you spend your Time and Money. Love is spelt as T.I.M.E. to your loved ones. Interruptions will always happen, so plan for them every time. Time investments compound, so be patient and persevere. "I don't have time" is a sorry excuse for someone who has placed the issue as a lower priority. Time required for something expands according to expectations - which means that if you set an urgent time-frame, it will be done fast. If you set a long and relaxed time-frame, it will be done slow.

Only three things really matter in Time Management: 1) Learn how to Prioritize, 2) Develop and use a To-do List, and 3) learn how to Maximize Time

4. Managing your Relationships
Why? Because good performance and skill won't get you very far. You need others to succeed.
You cannot get people to listen to you if they don't like you. And if they don't listen to you, you won't accomplish anything! Remember that Relationships = Expectations. You must know the expectations and manage those expectations.

People are interested in themselves, not in you. What is the most interesting subject in the world to them? THEMSELVES. Take four words out of your vocabulary: "I, me, my, mine" and substitute for the most powerful word: "YOU". Remember that the more important you make people feel, the more they will respond to you. Avoid arguing.

5. Managing your Discipline
Discipline consists of three parts: discipline in Habits, discipline in Self Development, and discipline in Feelings.

Control your habits, and you can control your Success. Failure is also because of habits. The only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the difference of their habit. Think about it - your actions are ruled mostly by your habits. Only a habit and control another habit. It takes an average of 21 days to form a new habit. The goal habits: It will be part of your subconscious mind. You need to form good habits in 3 areas: Thinking, Speaking, Doing.

Self Development is an Investment in your self. Investment means how much Time and Money you spend on your self. Nobody is going to invest in you. Start Early because small differences compound in the long-term.

Control your emotions. "Anyone can become angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not easy." (I think this is by Aristotle)

6. Managing your Attitude
List down Bad Attitudes - and reverse them. Be careful of 'us' vs. 'them' thinking. Serve before expecting to be served. Have high standards for yourself. Never complain about how hard you work.

7. Managing your Career
Just remember the following biggest career mistakes a person can ever make: Keeping a career in line with your education, Getting career advice from your parents (or relatives), Changing jobs without long-term strategy in mind, and Letting your Boss (or company) manage your career.

Remember: If you are not doing your job well, or you are not the best in your job, don't even think about climbing the ladder. Do your job well first. Don't say I didn't warn you.


-TURD-

How Can Leaders Reduce Fraud And The Great Wall Of China Theory

There has been a lot of talk lately about ethics, governance, fraud...you name them, we have them. What then, is the Leader's role in reducing these kinds of risks in an organization?

Well, let us start with some basic insight:- ironically, Success is the root cause of risk. More success, more money, more fraud. So, the easiest way to reduce fraud is to reduce business.

Don't laugh. This is what most Finance and Human Resource people do, unintentionally. What do I mean? Well, some Heads of Finance/HR are so over zealous in reducing fraud-related risks (especially when the KPI for this is pegged at 80% of their performance), that they will do everything in their power to put in all kinds of ridiculous policies and procedures up to a point that it kills all the flexibility and success factors of a business.

What then should the Leader pay attention to when looking at Fraud and Ethics?

1. Price to Pay for Fraud/Risk Mitigation is almost always "Business Flexibility". Remember this.
   
2. Control and Growth have always had a reverse correlation effect. E.g. As a control, the more controls we put on foreign ownership, the less economic growth resulting from a loss of FDI.
   
3. Rules vs. Humanity/Motivation. The more rules we put in place, the less Humane a company becomes. This in turns reduce Motivation.
   
4. Most Leaders are not tackling the real root causes of fraud and ethics i.e. Motive & Opportunity i.e. Humans. Most managers spend more time in tweaking the procedures and rules instead of dealing with human issues
   
5. If an organization is focused on reducing Fraud thus giving more and more powers to Finance and Accounting vs. Sales/Marketing, guess who is in control of the business? Aren't you afraid?

So... what has the Great Wall of China got to do with anything? Well... almost everything. Many many many moons ago, China decided to build a great wall to keep the Mongolians out. They spent countless resources, time, effort, and lives in building this great, strong, long wall. However, it seems that the Mongolians could easily penetrate this wall using a simple powerful proven concept: BRIBE. You see, the Chinese spent so much time and money on the wall, they did not realize that their Gatekeepers were unmotivated, restless, poor, ill treated with no obvious career advancement opportunities. Any Mongolian soldier can bribe the Gatekeeper with USD5,000. And this Gatekeeper would happily accept the money and open the gates.

What is the moral of the story? Well..

1. Humans are the weakest link
   
2. Bad treatment of staff will lead to weak links i.e. making them easier to bribe, easier to con, etc;
   
3. Bad treatment arises from bad leaders who are insulting, makes staff lose face, deliver broken promises, publicly criticize staff, re-structure without communication etc.

Stop dealing with process. Stop issuing rules. Stop humiliating your people, and you can reduce fraud.

-TURD-

P.S. You can also locate a copy of this article from EzineArticles.com directory:http://EzineArticles.com/?id=682410

Note: New Presentation Download

Hi.

I have just uploaded a new presentation for anyone who wants to download:

Where: Under the "My Presentation Downloads" section on the right
Event: ABF Public Relations & Corporate Communications Conference
Title 2: Managing and Maximizing Your PR Budget
File 2: Powerpoint, PPT
How 2: Download and save unto your hard disk. Open with "Powerpoint" program. (Somehow it keeps downloading as a .doc file)

Enjoy :)

-TURD-

5 ways how R&D will not be effective

Research & Development is the core engine of all companies, but yet many organizations still get it wrong.

I have listed down here 5 ways how R&D will never be as effective as it should be:

1. Top Down – Process problem: R&D to Market instead of Market to R&D. Also known as the ego-myopic problem with most R&D staff: “this is what we developed. Now go sell”
   
2. Because I can - Competency problem: Being too good is a weakness. Certain R&D staff will keep on developing stuff not relevant to needs of the customers but instead based on what they are good at
   
3. Poor business value – Ignorance problem: Most R&D teams are not aware that every organizations focus is different i.e. Market Disciplines. They do not understand what is the business model and strategy, thus having the wrong priorities as far as R&D is concerned.
   
4. No budget lah - Alignment Problem: There are five areas of R&D that needs to be aligned: Philosophy, Structure, Resources, Leadership, and People. Most R&D are unable to muster and focus resources to produce good R&D deliverables because of this mis-alignment problem.
   
5. Not-Invented-Here – ego problem: Apple readily admitted that their iPhone was developed based on swiping many different ideas from outside Apple. That is why they have a good product. A lot R&D in companies (in Malaysia anyway) that are so egostic up to such a point where they say that anything not invented from themselves should be allowed to see the light of day.

OK...so how do we make R&D more effective then? I have listed down here

1. Know Your Business: Focus on what makes the business tick. McDonald's have never focused on making their beef burgers better (my theory. otherwise I cannot explain why their beef patties have been consistently terrible for the past 10 years). McDonald's grew big because they focused on R&D in areas where it is important to them: burgers that can be eaten with one hand while driving. This is because 50% of their business comes from drive-thru.
   
2. Research: Be very very very very careful on how R&D staff research and filter information. All human beings are likely to fall into the 8 "Information Drifts", thus altering data and research info until it suits their thinking.
   
3. Reverse Marketing: Develop what the market needs, not what we can. Simple, but most R&D knuckleheads do not seem to get this point.
   
4. Align: Again, focus on aligning the five areas of R&D: Philosophy, Structure, Resources, Leadership, and People. This will ensure that resources are optimized.
   
5. R&D Today → RD&D*: The new phrase is Research, Development & DESIGN. Design talks about three core areas: Function, Aesthetics and Logistics. 'Function' is about making the product/service practical e.g. iPod, iPhone, Nokia OS, Waterlife DIY, CNI SC88 Detergent cover, cup with bags stuck on bottom. 'Aesthetics' focuses on the looks e.g. mickey mouse shaped Vitamin Pills, Google interface, iPod. 'Logistics' includes studying the product/service in relation to their distribution & storage – IKEA, car boot for MLM.

So... let's go out there are develop something good.

This article, "5 Ways How R&D Will Not be Effective" - can also be found in the EzineArticles.com directory:http://EzineArticles.com/?id=682461

-TURD-

*P.S. You can also download a related article by "Karen E. Spaeder" from Entrepreneur.com called "Designed to Sell". Alternatively you can download it from the Selected Training Materials Download section on the right column.

New Personal Blog: Maggi Goreng

Hi,

I have juts started a new personal blog, called "Maggi Goreng" at:

http://gorengmaggi.blogspot.com/

Check it out if you want :)


-TURD-

Note: New Presentation Download

Hi.

I have just uploaded a new presentation for anyone who wants to download:

Where: Under the "My Presentation Downloads" section on the right
Event: ABF Seminar on Human Resource

Title 1: HR At The Board Table - Delivering Strategic Counsel To Senior Management (Part1)
File 1: PDF Document, PDF
How 1: Download and save unto your hard disk. Open with "PDF" program. (Somehow it keeps downloading as a .doc file)

Title 2: HR At The Board Table - Delivering Strategic Counsel To Senior Management (Part2)
File 2: Powerpoint, PPT
How 2: Download and save unto your hard disk. Open with "Powerpoint" program. (Somehow it keeps downloading as a .doc file)

Enjoy :)

-TURD-

Note: New Presentation Download

Hi.

I have just uploaded a new presentation for anyone who wants to download:

Where: Under the "My Presentation Downloads" section on the right
Event: ABF Conference on Research & Development
Title: R&D today: Addressing and enhancing R&D's effectiveness
File: Powerpoint, PPT
How: Download and save unto your hard disk. Open with "Powerpoint" program. (Somehow it keeps downloading as a .doc file)

Enjoy :)

-TURD-

Choose your Topic!

Hi,

I apologize for not posting anything significant recently. This is due to the fact that I had a brand new baby boy a month back and everything has been very hazy (i think some of you know what I mean...)

Anyways, I would like to try something new. I am going to list down a few topics, and I'll get you to vote which topic I should write on next:
1. How to be more Strategic
2. Dangers of Direct Incentives
3. How to Maximize your Time
4. Books that have changed my Life
5. Delegation and Empowerment
6. How to detect Bad Consultants
7. HR Philosophies that I believe in
8. New roles of Middle Managers

So... let's start voting?

-TURD-

Note: New Presentation Download

Hi.

I have just uploaded a new presentation for anyone who wants to download:

Where: Under the "My Presentation Downloads" section on the right
Event: JOBSTREET.COM HR Networking Event
Title: Positioning your Organizaiton to Attract and Retain Top Talent
File: Powerpoint, PPT
How: Download and save unto your hard disk. Open with "Powerpoint" program. (Somehow it keeps downloading as a .doc file)

Enjoy :)

-TURD-

Note: New Presentation Download

Hi. I have just uploaded a new presentation for anyone who wants to download:

Where: Under the "My Presentation Downloads" section on the right
Event: ABF Managing Risks in Corporate Fraud Seminar
Title: Reducing Fraud Losses Through Risk Mitigation
File: Powerpoint, PPT
How: Download and save unto your hard disk. Open with "Powerpoint" program. (Somehow it keeps downloading as a .doc file)

Enjoy :)

-TURD-

Leadership RDA for RDA

Two questions: How do I detect a potential leader? How do I know whether a leader is progressively growing?

These two questions concern two groups of people i.e. organizations that are looking for & developing leaders, and individuals who want to become leaders.

Now, to answer the first question:
A person can detect leadership potential through RDA. In the nutritional world, RDA stands for Recommended Daily Allowance, which in essence, stands for something that you have to intake on a daily basis if you want to remain healthy.

Well, in essence, to become a leader (or to detect a potential one), a person needs the Leadership RDA – which stands for Relationship, Discipline, and Attitude. These three characteristics will determine a person’s leadership level. In other words, the higher the basic RDA a person has, the higher the person will grow in leadership.

What then, are the components of Relationship, Discipline, and Attitude? Let me briefly explain:

A. Relationship

1. Why? Good performance & skill won't get you very far. You need others to succeed.
2. Five Rules for Successful Relationships:- Be Yourself, Be of Value, Be Consistent, Be Truthful, and Do What You Say
3. You cannot get people to listen to you if they don't like you. And if they don’t listen to you, you won’t accomplish anything!
4. Relationships = Expectations. You must know the expectations and manage those expectations.
5. People are interested in themselves, not in you
6. What is the most interesting subject in the world to them? THEMSELVES
7. Take four words out of your vocabulary: “I, me, my, mine” and substitute for the most powerful word: “YOU”
8. Remember that the more important you make people feel, the more they will respond to you.
9. Avoid arguing.
   

B. Discipline

1. Discipline consists of three areas:- Habits, Self Development, and Feelings
2. About Habits: Your success depends on what you do. What you do depends on who you are. Who you are depends on Habits. In summary, what we do, say and think is 90% controlled by habits.
3. About Self Development: It is an Investment. Investment = Time + Money. Nobody is going to invest in you. Start Early. Small Differences compound in the long-term.
4. About Feelings: “Anyone can become angry –that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not easy.” If you cannot control your feelings and emotions, forget about being a leader.

C. Attitude

1. List down Bad Attitudes – and reverse them
2. Be careful of ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ thinking
3. Serve before expecting to be served
4. Have high standards for yourself
5. Never complain about how hard you work
   

OK…now, for the second question: How do I know whether a leader is progressively growing?
The answer is very easy. Is the leader taking their RDA for their RDA? In more explicit terms, is the leader taking their Recommended Daily Allowance for their Relationship, Discipline, and Attitude. In even more explicit terms, is the leader, daily, progressively, improving on the three aspects?

This is where leadership development comes in. Forget about teaching delegation, empowerment, leadership styles, employee engagement and all those other hooplas that consultants try to sell to you. Get the basics right first. If your potential leader is not strong in the three basic areas of Relationship, Discipline, and Attitude and doesn’t have a daily regime to improve on them, you need help. Otherwise, find another leader.


What else do you need?

-TURD-

Note: New Presentation Download

Hi. I have just uploaded a new presentation for anyone who wants to download:

Where: Under the "My Presentation Downloads" section on the right
Event: ABF Executive Secretaries and Personal Assistant Conference
Title: Essential Management Skills for ES and PA
File: Powerpoint, PPT
How: Download and save unto your hard disk. Open with "Powerpoint" program. (Somehow it keeps downloading as a .doc file)

Enjoy :)

-TURD-

This Blog Featured on EzineArticles.com and obtaining Expert Author status

Hi,

I have just received a personal good news: the writer of this blog has just been officially featured on EzineArticles.com as well as earning the status of 'Expert Author'.

This is a first for me and I hope to continue sharing more and better articles for everyone to enjoy.





-TURD-

Audrey's Video

Hi,

As a change, I just wanted to share a video of our baby girl Audrey:

New Feature: Get Your Latest Updates via Email!

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Just sign up in the "Subcribe!" section on the right hand side with your email address. Click on 'Subcribe me!' and you are done.

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Never Learn

I just received this great image from my sister:


This explains EXACTLY the problem most people have with admiting and learning from their own mistakes. This is turn causes most people to continue failing over and over again, and never being able to achieve their potential.

In fact, I find that 'Leaders' are the people most at fault in commiting the above.

Sad isn't it?

-TURD-

TIME to know

Before we can start to really 'manage time', we need to know a few things about it:

1. Time is irreversible
Every second is precious. Once a second passes, you can NEVER EVER claim it back. Do no waste it with activities that do not add any value to your life. Analyze all the time wasters in your day. Use the "Off" switch on your TV. Play with you kid.

2. Value = Time + Money
What a person really values in their life can be tracked from where they spend their discretionary Time and discretionary Money. A person can lie and boast about how much they value their spouse, but if they spend their time and money on stuff other than their spouse, I know they are lying.

3. Love is spelt as T.I.M.E. to your loved ones
This is obvious. The most precious gift I can ever give to my wife (according to her) is my time.

4. Interruptions will always happen
It always surprises me how so many people keep giving the excuse that they don’t have enough time to complete something or meet a deadline because they were “interrupted”. ‘Interruptions’ is a part of life – it will always happen and we should just accept it. In everything that we plan, always always always always build in the interruption factor.

5. Time investments compound
Two facts about compounding: the earlier the better and starting small will always compound to something big down the road. As such, the investment of time in anything (relationships, self development, planning, etc) must be done with these two facts in mind. In other words, “Start small, grow fast”.

6. “I don't have time” = lower priority
When somebody tells you that they ‘don’t have time’ for something you ask them to do, it means only one thing – your request is of lesser priority than whatever they hand in hand. Managing time means managing your priorities and making sacrifices (more on this in a later post)

7. Time required for something expands according to expectations
This is a tough one explain, but I will try. Let me ask you question which you have to honestly answer… “Do you get more or less work done on the day before a long holiday compared to your other work days?” More work done? Why? Simple. On normal days, we expand our time to complete tasks to fill up the time available. In other words, the excuse of “I don’t have enough time for…’ is not valid. It just means that you have not learned to optimize your time.

Time to do something.

-TURD-

Customer Loyalty and Retention

What is a loyal customer? To start off, ‘Loyalty’ is misleading…
• Heavy Consumption ≠ Loyalty
• A person who buys frequently from you may not be loyal.
• Loyalty ≠ Heavy Consumption
• A person who is loyal to your brand, may not buy frequently or in big quantities

Just a thought… are we in business for loyalty or for consumption?
Actually = BOTH are important and must be in balance. But today’s topic is on one side of the Equation (Loyalty) and we must be mindful of that.

OK…for today’s session, there are two definitions and therefore two types of Loyal Customers whom we have to treat differently:
Experience
Swing

What’s the difference?
‘Experience’ loyalty means that a customer is loyal to you because their Expectations are satisfied with their Expectations. What are their expectations?

1. Customer Intimacy - "Exactly what I need", Customized products, Personalized communications, "They're very responsive", Preferential service and flexibility, Recommends what I need, "I'm very loyal to them", Helps us to be a success
2. Product Leadership - "They are the most innovative", "Constantly renewing and creative", "Always on the leading edge"
3. Operational Excellence - "A great deal!", Excellent/attractive price, Minimal acquisition cost and hassle, Lowest overall cost of ownership, "A no-hassles firm", Convenience and speed, Reliable product and service

Those customers who fall under the Experience category are what we will call true LOYAL customers. They will most likely stay with in the long run as long as their expectations are continually matched by their experience with you.

‘Swing’ Loyalty means that a customer is so called ‘loyal’ to you because you happen to be the “Best alternative at the current moment until I find another alternative” situation. Swing Customers are ‘loyal’ because:
• Specific individual Relationships
• Convenience (at that point in time)
• Tied-up
• Product Uniqueness
• Promotions
• No better alternative
• No known alternative
• Psychologically lazy

As a summary – Retention strategies for these two groups would have to be different. So, our job is to find out who we are targeting, and tailor the proper retention strategies for them.

By the way, this whole lesson goes the same for Employee Loyalty and its related retention strategies.


What will you do next?

-TURD-

Rights and Counter-rights of Leaders

This is one lesson I always share in the beginning of our Annual Leadership Programs.

As a Leader, you gain the rights to:

1. Receive a bit of glamour
2. Be admired
3. Be recognized as special
4. Special Training
5. Have special attention
6. Access Top Mgmt
7. Manage your career
8. Influence others
9. Draw the picture
10. Choose the timing
11. Choose the team
12. Choose the standards
    

You lose the rights to:

1. Complain to others
2. Complain in public
3. Complain downline
4. Lose your temper
5. Show-off
6. Be alone
7. Be Calculative
8. Be like “normal” people
9. Be off-time
10. Have a bad attitude
11. Eat first
12. Do what you enjoy
13. Think of yourself first
14. Avoid problems
15. Avoid responsibility
16. Transfer problems
17. Transfer responsibility
18. Be irritating
19. Backstab
20. Talk nonsense
21. Disobey orders
22. Have you own time
23. Remain the same
24. Ignore feedback
25. Be inconsistent
26. Claim everything (e.g. travelling claims, handphone claims, toll claims)
27. Work less than others
28. Be undisciplined
29. Break rules
30. Avoid participation
31. Avoid communication
32. Rescue yourself first
33. Blame others
    
    
    So… do you still want Leadership?
    
    -TURD-

OObey.com - Mother's Day Special

To intervene or not to intervene… that is the question.

The following was a question that I got a couple of months back:
“I’ve got two Department Heads reporting to me that recently went into an email debate. Normally how you handle the situation? Or there's no need to intervene?”

My response to him was:
“Based on my personal style, I would prefer to monitor the situation without intervention at the moment due to the reason that we are paying quite high salary to them to solve these kinds of problems.

If we intervene too early, it will beat the purpose to have them as a Department Head in the first place. This is especially true for situations that any solution is not 100% exactly right.

However, I would still monitor the situation up to a point when I am very sure of the solution and I want to make a decision to stop the discussion.

That is when I will intervene and make a decision once and for all.

Also, if I make the intervention too early, the Department Heads will start to be less and less accountable and committed to the project.”


Makes sense?

-TURD-

Note: New Presentation Download

Hi. I have just uploaded a new presentation for anyone who wants to download:

Where: Under the "My Presentation Downloads" section on the right
Event: ABF Successful Finance Shared Services Conference
Title: Customizing the Service Model to Align with Organization Objectives
File: Powerpoint, PPT
How: Download and save unto your hard disk. Open with "Powerpoint" program. (Somehow it keeps downloading as a .doc file)

Enjoy :)

-TURD-

Selecting Leaders

I get a lot of mails and enquiries regarding a few recurring but interesting questions:
“How do I get one of my teams to respect the team leader?”
“We have a team that is in conflict with the leader. How do we force the team to stop it?”
“One of our leaders is facing heavy resistance from his team. What can we do?”
“A department in our company works well together only when their manager is not around. What can we do?”
“Which teambuilding course should I send one of my teams together with their leader so that they can cooperate better?”
“What can I do to team members who talks disrespectfully about their leader?”


Before I go forward, let me get a few things straight:
The problem lies with the leader, not the team. Therefore, sending the entire team to a teambuilding course will worsen the situation.
Respect must be earned by the leader. Management cannot force the team to respect the leader.
The team has a choice to respect or not respect the leader. It is their right. However, as long as the leader is around, they have to listen to instructions from the leader, otherwise it is insubordination.

OK…with that out of the way, let’s start looking at the questions above. What strikes you as a common theme? You are right – Selecting the Wrong Leader. There is another related theme though – Selecting a Right Leader who is Not Yet Ready. These main theme – Selecting Leaders, appears to be the major root cause for a lot of organizational and team problems.

Selecting the wrong leader can cause the following (among other things) in the team:
Demotivation
Anger and Frustration
Conflict
Silent rebellion
Confusion
Constant gossiping and bickering

So… the RM1,294,856 question is… “How do I select leaders?”. To tell you the truth, if I had the answer, I would be filthy rich by now, in a yacht in the Carribean sea, enjoying my freshly squeezed orange juice, and not bothering to write anymore blogs.

But, I do have some clues. At the heart of selecting potential leaders, lies three basic criteria that MUST NEVER be compromised:
1) Track Record – has historically performed well consistently, managed to get things done regardless of the odds or lack of resources, and have been willing to roll up their sleeves for dirty work
2) Relationship Building – managed to influence peers without formal authority, able to gain respect based on character, can get people to like them
3) Emotional Control – I don’t need to clarify this one.


My advice is this – if a potential leader does not qualify ALL THREE of the above, it is better not to make that a person a leader yet. However, all three can be developed.

If you decide to do otherwise, I can guarantee all hell will break loose. You will keep the leader but lose your members (either physically or mentally).

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

-TURD-

Note: New Presentation Download

Hi. I have just uploaded a new presentation for anyone who wants to download:

Where: Under the "My Presentation Downloads" section on the right
Event: COMFORI Executive Secretary and Personal Assistant Conference
Title: Time Management - Earn More, Beat Stress, Enjoy Life
File: Powerpoint, PPT
How: Download and save unto your hard disk. Open with "Powerpoint" program. (Somehow it keeps downloading as a .doc file)

Enjoy :)

-TURD-

Power Points for Powerpoints

It still surprises me how so many people take their Powerpoint presentations so lightly. As part of my work, I have to sit in to quite a few presentations by subordinates, peers, project members, consultants, sales people, vendors, etc. and a large percentage of these people presenting clearly show me that they have not done enough homework on their skills with powerpoint presentations.

Let me get to one thing straight – public presentations are what I call “career defining moments”. It doesn’t matter the content or audience. At any point in time you are asked to present in public, it means that your entire image and personal brand (whatever you call it) will be subjected to review. This review will in turn influence their perception of your competence. I know this is unfair, but that’s just how it works.

So… in order for us deliver better powerpoint presentations (or any form of public presentations), you may want to take note of the following…

For Presentations in General:
1. Handouts – you have pass out Handouts according to Protocol. Meaning…the first person receiving it should be the highest ranking person in the room (usually the Chairperson), followed by the next highest ranking, and so on.
2. Powerpoint skills – learn everything you can about operating and manipulating the powerpoint program. I have seen so many presenters embarrass themselves by showing how incompetent they are with a powerpoint program when something goes wrong. To me, it’s just plain laziness for not being an expert in powerpoint programs.
3. Handouts 2 – Powerpoint slides are used for highlighting main points. DO NOT (NEVER) cut-and-paste detailed stuff on slides such as charts, excel tables, etc. No one can see it and it makes you look dumb. The detailed items should always be given as handouts.
4. Details – How detailed your presentation should be must always correlate with the audience. I don’t care how clever you are or how many PhDs you have. If you are presenting to Top Management, or to an audience outside your realm of expertise (eg. IT presenting to Marketing), avoid using technical terms, jargons, and abbreviations. No one understands you.
5. Always give a copy of your presentation to the Chairperson/Boss/Client at least a day BEFORE the presentation.
6. In any presentation, you have to TALK to the audience, not read or make a speech. We don’t want speeches. We want conversation.
7. The order of presentation should be: Summary-Content-Q&A-Action/Summary-Thank You. Never start with a “Thank You for inviting me…”. End with it.
8. NEVER switch off the lights for a powerpoint presentation. If you have to switch off the lights in order to read your slides, then there is something wrong with your slides (font, color, layout).
9. YOU are the Star, not the slides. Remember that.

OK…now something more specific on Powerpoint Slides:
1. Use as little words as possible
2. Use Large Fonts (min. Arial, size 18 for small rooms, min. Arial size 22 for big rooms)
3. Learn how to expertly operate and manipulate the LCD projector
4. Use numbered or bulleted lists
5. DO NOT talk to the slides when presenting. Face the audience and maintain eye contact.
6. DO NOT fit many things into one page
7. DO NOT get fancy with slide transitions, builds and other custom animations


Go ahead. Do something.

-TURD-

Finger Sleeping Good

Hey...take a quick look at this picture I caught on my handphone a few weeks ago: What's the moral of the story?

You can spend millions of ringgit and hours and sweat on Corporate Branding...BUT... it will only take one employee in any location to kill it.

-TURD-

Why most HR functions are NOT strategic

I have received lots of enquiries about this topic. Almost every HR seminar, conference, gathering that I have been to, this topic is regularly discussed. You can't even escape this topic when reading journals and magazines.

How to be more strategic? Well, let me start with a simple illustration. Read the following statements:

• Average training hours per staff
• % of staff attending training
• # of training programs
• % of training programs conducted
• Training needs analysis conducted
• Competency models developed
• Training budget as % of payroll
  

What's wrong with this picture? Don't get it? OK, now read the following list:

• competency modeling
• learning culture
• knowledge management
• e-learning
• reengineering
• hr audit
• performance management system
• succession planning

What's wrong with this picture? Still don't get it? Well, now try reading this list instead:

• Business model innovation
• Business plan implemenation
• Business Continuity Planning
• Strategic Risk Management
• Product innovation
• Services innovation
• Market Leadership
• Competitive differentiation

The first and second lists make CEOs and BODs uninterested if not irritated. The third list is what CEOs and BODs really want to discuss.

Get the picture?

-TURD-

Beware of Career Advisors

I have always had the view that we should be very careful on who we get our career advice from early on in life, especially during the school days.

The following are people a person should NEVER get career advice from:
1. Parents
2. Relatives
3. Close friends
4. Teachers

Here is why - a person should only get career advice from people who have succeeded in some way in their careers. For example, if your father is an Engineer, and you would like advice about the Accounting profession, then it is not wise for you to seek advice from him. If he happens to be a really successful Accountant, then yes.

This goes the same with Relatives and Close Friends. Especially relatives. Most of them are just nosey people who think they know what's best for you. Again, if they happen to highly successful in their respective fields from which you want answers, then go ahead. Otherwise... beware.

'Tecahers' is a sensitive topic here. Teachers can teach...but... only about subjects that they have been trained to teach e.g. maths, statistics, accounting, physics. But from what I know, most teachers have not been trained and do not have deep experience in relations to different professions. Unless, of course, if the teachers happens to be a highly successful lawyer but decided to teach law because she wants to contribute to society - then I would advice you to take advice from this teacher (but only in the field of law, nothing else).

We have too many 'advisors' trying to tell us what to do every step of the step of the way. Be very careful, but do not be rude. Just say 'thanks' and seek the real pros.

Note to parents:- I hope that you try NOT to pressure or give advice to children about their careers. Help and support them, but do not mislead them if you are not sure yourselves. The days of "you must be a doctor, accountant, lawyer, engineer etc..." are gone. Give them the freedom but guide them to the proper resources and people for the real advice.


I have got many many hate mails from this message. But... I have also gotten a lot of 'thank you' notes. Anyway, it's your choice.

-TURD-

My Boss, the Client

Here is something I shared in some trainings about managing bosses:

1. RULE: Do not treat your boss as a boss. Treat your boss as a Customer
   
   What I have learned about properly managing clients and customers:
   a. Make them look good and they will make you look good
   
   b. What ever you give to the CEO (bis boss), give to the HR Manager (direct boss)
   
   c. You better be more prepared than the client
   
   d. The client wants results, not activity
   
   e. No matter how much I hated my client, he is still the one buying rice for my family
   
   f. Clients don’t like to hear the word “No”. They prefer “Maybe”. The best is “Yes, can be done.”
   
   g. Clients will pay you for one job but request ten other jobs for free if they can.
   
   h. You have to produce first, then only get paid.
   
   i. If you want a big project, aim for the small project first.
   
   j. If something goes wrong, the client will kill the consultant. He won’t kill anyone else.
   
   k. A client will pay you the rate that they think you deserve, not what you think you deserve.
   
   l. A client won’t pay for your development. They expect you to get better by yourself. If not, they just look for another consultant.
   
   m. You are not the only consultant they can hire. Are you better than the rest? How do you know?
   
   n. The client is always right. Agree first, try to change later.
   
   o. Clients hire you to solve problems that they cannot solve or do not want to solve.
   

You will thank me for this someday.

-TURD-

Flat Org Structure vs. Succession Planning

This entry is in response to the Talent Management issues raised in a few entries ago. This is the issue:

In flat organizations, it is difficult to convince existing leaders the merits of Succession Planning & Talent Management. This is true when those leaders know that there is no where else to go. The only other 'higher up' position is the CEO. So how?

This is tough. I can only think of three solutions:
1. Spin-off new small Business Units
2. Special Projects
3. Specialist Ladder

Before I continue , I have to make this statement: Embark only in pursuing these options ONLY IF the existing leaders are worth keeping.

Ok. Now let me explain:
1. Spin-off new small Business Units - break up the the entire business into smaller Business Units (BU). The beauty of this is that the BUs do not need to be officially registered. Just make the BU Head be in charge of Revenue and Profits. Caution: Ensure that there will be no in-fighting among BUs.

2. Special Projects - re-create the organization as such that Departments become secondary and Projects become primary. Most Consultancies are managed this way. The existing leaders can then be heads of various Special Projects (hopefully each project lasting avg. 2 years).

3. Specialist Ladder - Instead of Heading a Department/Division, existing leaders who are technically inclined can be promoted into 'Consultant', 'Advisor', or 'Master' positions in subject fields that are important to the company.

No easy way out.
-TURD-

Feeling Lonely? Conduct a Meeting.

This is great. Someone sent it to me a couple of days ago, and it shows exactly the point that I always raise about conducting meetings:

MEETINGS MUST BE THE LAST RESORT

-TURD-

How to reach your maximum Potential

You think you've got potential? You think you are the special 'one' and the world will open up for you? You think that talent is all it takes? Boy have I got news for you...

Ok Ok. You've got Potential, and you know it. Interested in maximizing your potential to the fullest? Here goes:

1.Grow up
Stop whining and complaining. Life is not fair. Get used to it.

2.Understand Yourself
Know who you really are. Put your strengths to good use. Beware your weaknesses.

3.Invest in Yourself
Invest = Time + Money. Go do it.

4.Eliminate “Cannot be Done”
These three words will stop you from going far in your career. Stop it.

5.You are being observed all the time
Performance Appraisal is conducted on you 365 days a year. Don't forget it.

6.Everything depends on Relationships
If people hate you...well, it's hard to get things done.

7.Choose your close Friends
Close friends influence your character, thinking, and attitude. Enough said.

8.Serve
Aim to be always of service and you can get anything you want.

9.Control and use your Emotions
Gettting angry at the right moment in the right place is crucial. Practice.

10.Discipline
Do important things first. Prioritize things that are of Value. Switch off your TV and go play with your kid.

Time to do something.

-TURD-

Questions on Talent Management: March 2007

After delivering the topic on Talent Management (TM) in the recent Comfori HR Conference, I managed to pick up several recurring questions concerning Talent Management & Succession Planning (SP) that kept on appearing in every concersation that I 'eavesdrop' on.

In summary, the following seam to be the top TM issues of the participants:

1. Flat org structure restricting existing leaders from moving up



2. How to define 'Potential'



3. Managing Prima Donnas



4. Getting Top Management support for TM & SP

Have I got it right?

-TURD-

LC vs. MES = ?

At a recent Training & Development Conference, I was asked to share on how to instil Learning Cultures (LC) in organizations. Halfway through developing my materials I realized that the Malaysian Education System (MES) was the biggest stumbling block to instilling any LC in any company that consist of mainly Malaysians.

MES vs. LC:

1. Individual problem solving vs. Group problem solving
2. Classroom vs. Work Groups
3. Memory power vs. Reference power
4. Tests vs. Improvement Scores
5. Single Intelligence (IQ) vs. Multiple Intelligences
6. Keep Quiet vs. Discussion
7. One right answer vs. Multiple correct answers
8. Accept everything vs. Question everything
9. Follow Standards vs. Creativity
10. Pen & Paper vs. Calculator
11. Absolute points vs. Lifelong Learning
12. Narrow thinking vs. Broad thinking
13. Serious vs. Play
14. Telling methods vs. Questioning methods
15. Fear vs. Fun
16. Single Media vs. Multimedia

Go figure.

-TURD-

Leadership Contradictions

"in the past 18 months, we have heard that profit is more important than revenue, quality is more important that profit, people are more important than profit, customers are more important than our people, big customers are more important than small customers, and that growth is the key to our success. No wonder our performance is inconsistent"

The number one Leadership Challenge is that leadership itself is full of contradictions. However, a great leader is someone who can accept and use both sides of the contradictions at the same time.

The contradictions become even more and more ridiculous when a person rises in the leadership hierarchy. The following are some leadership contradictions that will pose difficult leadership challenges to all leaders:

• Decisive
  Accept uncertainties. Decide on what you need to decide and get on with it.
  
  BUT…. Not Decisive
  Think Gray (not black, not white), Delegate the decision-making, Put off to tomorrow - Timing of decision is as important as decision
  
  
• Dependent
  A leader must learn to trust and depend on their people
  
  BUT… Independent
  Ability to simultaneously view things from two or more perspectives
  
  
• Get advise from Experts
  
  BUT… Be careful of Experts
  Never take experts too seriously & Never trust experts completely
  
  
• Take recognition
  For losses
  
  BUT… Don't take recognition
  For victories
  
  
  
• Focus on present
  Reality, Results, Systems, and Processes
  
  BUT… focus on future
  Strategic foresight & Vision
  
  
  
• Skills are important
  
  BUT… Skills are not important
  Especially in human relation matters
  
  
  
• Its not what you say, its what u do that's important
  
  But… its not what you do, its what u say that's important
  
  
  
• You are in control (resources, processes, systems)
  
  But… You are NOT in control (people)
  
  
• Need ego (confidence)
  
  but… cannot have ego (pride, inflexibility)
  
  
• Decision based on feelings
  
  But… Decision CANNOT be based on feelings
  
  
  
• Leadership is the goal (influence, credibility, trust)
  
  But… leadership is NOT the goal (achievement, next level leadership, improved lives)
  
  
  
• Continue changing
  
  BUT… Consistent (values)
  
  
  
• Big view (business, community, lives)
  
  But… Small view (individual lives)
  
  
  
• Leadership is all about Inward (mind)
  
  BUT… leadership is all about outward (measure of success)
  
  
  
• Mature (thinking, actions)
  
  BUT… child-like (explore, why?, ideas)
  

Who said being a Leader is easy?

-TURD-

But first...

First...


A picture of 'us'









Our Princess - Audrey Ong. Sometimes known as MONGEL (MONster/AnGEL alter egos)





In my opinion, the best food in the world...MAGGI GORENG

(otherwise known as 'Malaysian Muslim-Indian Fried Instant Noodle MAGGI brand')

OK... that should be all for now.

-TURD-

Why am I here?

Hi. This is my very first posting on blog that has been created out of necessity rather than voluntarily. This is why:

At the end of most conferences that I have been invited to speak, I have been asked to write down and share my thoughts on various topics - some related (and many not related) to the ones that I spoken on. Why they ask me to share is still a mystery to me - my grammer so-so, I have limited vocabulary and I cannot seem to speell a lot of words propearly.

However, I do admit that the very same people who have heard me speak gave comments such as "unorthodox", "weird", "debatable", "not according to best practice", "honest", "practical" etc. Hmmm...maybe that's why. Anyway, here is the blog. I am not sure what I will share in each posting. It's going to be quite random (hence the title)... but hopefully useful and occassionaly life changing.

-TURD-