Wake up Mother Malaysia!

Mother Malaysia, I love you.

I have a great wish for you come 2009. I want you to wake up and squash the vile viruses that are spreading in your belly.

This nation, build on a promise of equality and social justice is being attacked on all sides by insidious forces which gained their nourishment from you. Now, they seek to destroy you. This nation which promised everyone a place under the sun, is now bleeding silently while a proxy war is raging in every single national institution. This nation which providence has brought together is being shattered by the hammer of parochial thinking.

Mother Malaysia, wake up.

There is great shadow cast over you now. In the name of God, EVERYBODY is carving you into little pieces. In the name of God, man’s supposedly holy institutions are spawning beasts of hatred and suspicions. They are sowing vile and venomous thoughts in your children. Babies come home from school and tell their parents that they hate the Malays (or the Indians or the Chinese)! Parents teach their children that they are somehow superior to others because they eat different or pray different. Teachers….oh the honorable teachers….have forgotten their sacred duties. Their loving eyes are no longer colour blind. Their love is coloured with preferences and biasness. Your schools were supposed to be a bastion of love and unity. Now, they are in shambles trampled by the putrid feet of those whose only desire is to see the continuity of their hegemony.

Mother Malaysia, wake up.

Time is running out. The world is moving so fast. You have blessed your children with great health and intelligence. Now, please bestow upon them with wisdom so that they can see the vanity of their ways. You have to make them see that this is the only home they have and they have to come together and huddle to keep warm in this cold…cold…brutal world. Will they not see that they are destroying you and they are going to end up on the streets of humanity with nothing but despair and regrets?

Mother Malaysia, wake up.

Will you not silence the politicians? Who are these vulgar beasts whose every word and action seem to drive stakes of differences into our hearts? They don't speak for me Mother. They never did and never will. Those who speak for me are those who right now are caring for the aged and diseased. Those who speak for me are those who right now are feeding and cradling a child of not their colour or race. Those who speak for me are those who right now are building this nation in the corporate offices of this land without fear or favour. Those who speak for me are those who view their neighbors as their kin and think not while rushing into the fire to save others or into a crumbling cliff to give another the breath of life. They are the ones who speak for me. Not these despicable vermins of society whose only legitimacy comes every five years I want them to stop speaking so that the beautiful melodious voice of your children can rise above the din of confusing and manipulative words of treachery being spewed in the most august of arenas. I wish for the true intelligence of your children, gained from your blessings no doubt, rise above the howls of these deceitful politicians.

Wake up Mother Malaysia!

Will you not halt the march of those evil minds disguised in robes of spirituality of all colours and shapes. They are all the same. They preach not the love of God but the blind alliance to their man-made institutions with their superficial rules and regulations. They are herding your children into a filed of fiery destruction while all the while chanting the holy names for God. Will you not strike them with retribution before they poison the soul of this nation?

Wake up mother Malaysia.

Will you not breathe the sacrosanct value of balance into this land? Teach your children that there is a time for one self and there is a time for others. There is a time for one’s same kind and there is a time for the good of all. This is a time for the latter. I want my two little girls to live in a haven of fairness, brotherhood and love which this nation has the potential to be. I want them to find the balance to learn their culture and language and remember their ancestry with the desire to protect what is sacred for the longevity of this nation. I want them to look at their friends as an extension of themselves NOT as an inconvenient presence to be tolerated. I want their friends to find that balance too. I want the august institutions of this land teach that balance.

Wake up Mother Malaysia.
For I believe in you as my ancestors did.
Wake up.

The 10 Hottest New Management Gurus

“ Someone who is depressed over loosing his job projects sadness everywhere in his body – the brain’s output of neurotransmitters becomes depleted, hormone levels drop, the sleep cycle is interrupted, neuropeptide receptors on the outer surface of skin cells become distorted, platelet cells in the blood become stickier and more prone to clump, and even tears contain different chemical traces than tears o joy”.


Fortune in (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0811/gallery.10_new_gurus.fortune/9.html) has listed ’10 new gurus you should know’. Reading the short biography of each of these 10 ‘gurus’ was like reading a scientology material; a collection of new-age healers who are adapt at using age-old remedies with cutting-edge scientific explanations. Indeed, these 10 individuals are attempting some of the fundamental problems of today’s and tomorrow’s business. The following is a brief description of all 10 of them (not in any particular ranking). You can read more by following the above link.

1.BJ Fogg – Thinks that technology will be the great seducer (persuader).He is a researcher but is viewed as a ‘thinker’ in Silicon Valley
2.Patrick Lencioni – The author of the ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team’. I have read this guy’s book! I remember the title and a questionnaire that came with it. Pretty good stuff. Now, thanks to Fortune, I will remember his name too. Anyway, Lencioni says that the ‘internal health’ of a company will have a strong bearing on its success or otherwise.
3.Rakesh Khurana – I suppose there needs to be an Indian in the list to replace the great CK….but then I am assuming he is merely from his name. Khurana says that companies will be at peril if they continue searching for ‘charismatic’ leaders as charisma don’t always translate into success. Carly…you can be at ease now. It was not your fault; it was your charisma. Khurana is a fierce critic of the existing business education's form and substance. He is a tenured professor at Harvard!Go figure.
4.Valerie Casey – Undoubtedly the most good looking in the list (and hence has the honour of gracing the top of this blog entry...yes...yes I can be shallow too!).She believes that designers should be governed by a set of rules a la Kyoto Protocol to ensure sustainable design. An icon of green-design movement. Casey, Malaysia needs you desperately in road-transportation design. By the way….you like red wine?
5.Don Sull – A Serious looking dude who is with the London School of Business. His buzz-word is ‘active inertia’ which is a very LBS way of paraphrasing Einstein’s definition of madness.
6.Joel Poldony – I love this guy and I hope he becomes a popular figure here in Malaysia. Because then, I can pursue my DBA. He says that the current education of business leaders are outdated. So, he revamped Yale’s business education curriculum by taking out previously core subjects like finance. I love him already. Poldony is now with Apple; setting up Apple University.
7. Nouriel Roubini – From his picture he looks like Marlon Brando from a distance with a cotton balls in his mouth. He is called ‘Dr. Doom’ because a couple of years ago he predicted that the US will go into a terrible recession for….well…for the very same reasons it is in recession now.
8. Janine Benyus – A biologist who helps organizations innovate by mimicking nature. Need I say more?
9. Dan Ariely – A professor in behavioral economics. The type of guys who teaches organizations on how to make us spend more than we really want to.
10. Nikko Canner – Helps organizations manage change and make strategic shifts without destroying their core strengths.

There goes the list. You are probably wondering what is the relevance of the quote at the beginning of this entry with the list that I have just shared with you. Well, I would like to add one more individual on to the list – Deepak Chopra. Those were his words from ‘Ageless Body, Timeless Mind’. I believe as management (and people) challenges become more complicated and as the search for more holistic solution gains popularity, philosophers and thinkers like Chopra will be able to assist managers and leaders to view their challenges in entirely new perspectives. So Deepak, as far as I am concerned you are on the list and as syncrodestiny goes, you will read this and know that you have a fan in Malaysia!

Enjoy the last days of 2009.

A Time to Reflect

It’s that time of the season again.

To sit still
and reflect
on the triumphs of the past year
and the failures too.

It is all quite natural
to measure the success
of the flattering quarterly results.
Or lament the miserly sales volume
or the drop in share value.

But that is not the purpose of this reflection.
At a time like this
we need to reflect deeper
because great companies shall not live
on quarterly results alone.

I want to reflect on
the hearts that I touched.
The minds that I opened.
The solutions that I proposed.
The manager that I counseled .
The executive that I empowered.
The company that I assisted.

I hope I did even a little of these.

But not just for the returns on investment.
But more importantly
for the joy of working.
Growing and learning
at our places of work.
If work is worship
I hope in my own little ways
I have prepared the altar
so that others can worship
in peace and gladness of heart.
And contribute all
that they are able to and blessed with.

For above all I thank the Universe
for this blessing
of doing what I care
and love.

I thank my company.
I pray that I am worthy of the vision and values
of those who lead me.
I hope that I will always give more
than what I receive.

For that is my worship.

Entrepreneurial VS Managerial : A Clash of Skill Set, Mind Set and Tool Set

I have seen it so many times before. This time it cut too close to home. A very dear friend is the latest casualty in the endless clash between entrepreneurial business owner-CEOs and their professional managers.

Entrepreneurs are a special breed. They have the drive, focus and limitless energy to carve something out of nothing. They are indeed the engines of a capitalist economy. Entrepreneurs do not fear failure, they do things at great speed and confidence which at times may border on arrogance. They despise tardiness, pessimism, nay-sayers and the dumb-witted. They see opportunities where others see walls and they become lucky while others hope to get lucky. They don't suffer fools gladly.

With these characteristics and attitude towards life and work, entrepreneurs become successful at what they set their sights on. But, these very same values and personal characteristics that makes them so successful are also the very same things that will derail them later as the businesses grow.

An entrepreneur, lets say in the business of prawn farming, who starts a farm in Kuala Kangsar may well succeed in his endeavor with his sheer persistence and drive for success. As he is omnipresent at the farm, he is able to ensure his vision is carried out to the precise execution to his liking. He can get his hands dirty and he can ‘interfere’ in his employees job functions and take immediate corrective actions if the situation warrants. He is able to (and by right)make all important decisions pertaining to the daily operation of the business. He and he alone is the face of the business .He becomes the business.

Now, imagine that this entrepreneur enjoys great success in his prawn farming in and decides to establish 2 other farms; one in Tawau and another in Sibu. He would of course appoint a ‘manager’ for each of these new farms as he will not be able to be at 3 places at one time (although he may very well try!). Also imagine that, the 2managers that he has recruited are well qualified and are highly capable to manage these farms. The entrepreneur, in his usual driven-communication style may even have painted a very attractive picture of the critical roles these two managers are going to play in realizing his vision in making the company number one in prawn farming in Asia. He insists to his two managers that they take ownership of the farms and make it their business. His passion and drive excites these two managers and they come on board with great hope and confidence.

A few years down the road, the business grows and the company expands and prospers. But, the managers in each of the farms (by now totaling 4) increasingly feel sidestepped by the entrepreneur. Despite being told that they are to take ownership of the farm, these managers find very little to take ownership of as all decisions are either made by the entrepreneur or needs to be bounced off him. Even trivial matters like staff year-end party or who gets what and when need to be referred to the entrepreneur. Needless to say that over time these managers start to feel like office boys who take orders and has very little control over their own employees. Now, remember that these are all highly qualified and capable managers. Soon they loose passion for the business and they don't feel that they are able to inject their own DNA into the business. Being proud of their abilities and their sincere hope to leave behind a legacy which to at least a little degree, coloured by them they begin to loose hope that things will change. They stop thinking and do the bare minimum. It is not long before other opportunities come knocking and they go for it leaving behind a dumbstruck entrepreneur who is so disillusioned by the ‘disloyalty and un-gratefulness’ of these managers. He feels so angry at them as despite having them as managers at each of the farm, he has always been there to make sure that everything goes smoothly. In fact he now feels that they are simply ungrateful for not feeling thankful for all that he has done for them. Didn’t he make it so easy for them? Didn't he take the trouble to lay out the precise plans how they can become successful managers? Didn't he always…always…ensure that they run by him all their operational activities which ensured that no major fatal business errors are made? Why?

Why indeed!

The entrepreneur failed to metamorphose into a business leader even after bringing on board professional managers who were supposedly tasked to run the business for him. He could not stop the urge to micro manage. He just couldn't help himself from having to know every little detail that happens in each of the farm. He needed to be in the thick of the action and always on top of things. In that driven state he committed a grave error. An error of observation.

He failed to see how distant and disinterested his managers have become. He failed to see how much of their discretionary efforts were not directed towards the company but for other pursuits. Most critically, he failed to see how disengaged and disempowered he has made them into. He killed their initiatives by trying to inject his entrepreneurial spirit into a business that has transformed from a one-man show into a full-fledged corporate organization. He didn't quite observe that he is no longer the business. The business has become larger than himself and he needs the full and complete contribution from and participation of others.

My friend is a professional manager with a great sense of ownership for what he does. He is a passionate people person with a great sense of fairness. As much as I am worried for his next career move (which I am sure to assist in any way I can), I am glad he the made this decision. He needs to reignite his passion for his chosen vocation and it is time he embarked on a career novation.

Good luck to you RN.
Merry Christmas to all.

People Management During Downturns

I have written on this subject before but under the circumstances it may have more relevance now. So here I am in my favorite Starbucks (because it is ‘attached’ to a Borders) sipping my expensive coffee trying to make sense of it all. I am well cognizant of the fact that I may have to cut down on Starbucks in the new year.

If the Sunday papers are to be believed, Western Digital has confirmed that it will be shutting down it's plant in Sarawak and will lay-off its entire 1500-strong workforce there. Many other manufacturers are either scaling down production or have already begun their VSS exercise. A particular safety-box manufacturer I know has entirely stopped over-time pay. A Japanese electronics manufacturer has instituted reduced working-hours. Rumours have it that Sony will be laying-off more than 1000 workers next year if the current downturn shows no signs of easing. The list goes on.

Then of course we have the global automakers either going around asking for financial bail-out or announcing a steady stream financial warnings. Thrown into this is a financial quagmire involving scandals, malpractices and down-right idiotic decisions. It all points to a massive re-correction in the global economic system. And, there will be casualties. Who? Your average wage earners!

If you are part of your organization's HR team, life could be pretty tough. You are probably feeling that you are trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea. You are right! I hope the following tips will help you through and ease your burden a little.

The first thing all people managers have to accept is that; it is nothing personal. When your employees vent their frustrations at you, it is a cry for help. Be there. Listen to them. Show empathy. When your organization decides to ‘right-size’; it is a business decision. When entire business units are shut down; it is a necessary painful decision.

Next, don't say never.....you may end up looking like a liar. The fact is HR is not always privy to critical decision making process . Often times, HR only implements decisions made elsewhere. In the case of Western Digital for example, its local HR team was told about the plant closure by their US bosses only a few days before the news broke to the press (as was reported in the press). So, if your people do ask you whether there will be any such thing happening in your organization; say that to the best of your knowledge no such thing seems to be in the pipeline. However, it is good to be prepared as the economic down-turn is indeed upon us.

However, if you were informed and in the know that a separation scheme is in the pipe-line, you are duty bound to protect the confidentiality of the matter as per your leaders’ instructions. In this instance, you have no choice but to plead ignorance if your employees enquire about it.

Now, if your organization is currently considering certain cost-containment measures in the form of work-force downsizing, the best thing you can do is to advise your leaders that it will be prudent to engage experts in the area of career transition and work-force outplacement management. Let’s face it, announcing work-force reduction is not easy to do and managing the after-effects of such an announcement is usually beyond the skill sets of most managers and heads of department. Get help and guidance from those who have helped countless organizations manage this in a more efficient and humane manner. Don’t allow the pain and hurt which is entirely avoidable from becoming a festering wound that drags the company down for years to come.

It is your responsibility as a HR professional to pressure the management to provide all possible help and assistance to those who have been ear-marked to leave the organization. This means, they must be provided with career management and career transition services so that they are able to transit out of the organization by making informed decisions. This will engender a feel-good factor within those who are separating from the organization. More importantly, and this is the real ROI from such outplacement services; those who are going to continue to be employed in the organization will have the confidence that they are working for a responsible and caring employer. This, more than anything else will ensure the quick rebound for the organization immediately after a work-force reduction has taken place. Let me also put a caveat here that such outplacement services should be provided to ALL levels of employees. The experts in this area will advise you on how best to go about it.

If you are indeed the key contact point for employees during such an exercise, I strongly recommend that you keep your office doors (and communication lines) open. As the announcement has already been made, employees will have all sorts of questions and queries. They will hear countless stories and half-truths. They will be closely watching how the company is treating their colleagues who are separating. They may not understand the reasons for these or they may not comprehend why the company is doing what it is doing. Some of the separating employees may also plant extremely negative and destructive thoughts and fears which need to be managed professionally. You can’t do this if your doors are closed!.

Whether your organization has already announced a separation scheme or is rumored to be heading that way, the following would be fail-safe HR practices to be adhered to even if some of it sounds like things you have to do anyway; because in truth they are:

1. Show respect. Show respect for those who are leaving the organization as they have all contributed in their own ways. Show respect for people’s fears and worries. Don’t make light of your employees fears as they are genuine and needs to be addressed.
2. Go beyond work. You need to relate to separating employees as a human being. This means you have to relate to them from the perspective of a working man/woman with families to support, children to educate, ageing parents to look after and fragile egos and self confidence that needs rebuilding.
3. Don’t be too apologetic. As much as an employment separation always hurts, it is after all a strategic decision any business has the prerogative to make if the situations warrants. I have seen many times how a people friendly HR professional often crosses the boundary of being apologetic to laying the blame on the company without even realizing it!
4. This will be the best time to practice ‘management by walking around’. Take the trouble to be as near and as accessible as possible to your employees both for those who are separating and those who are staying behind. Listen to them. Respond quickly and firmly to unfounded and/or negative rumours.
5. Take the lead. I find that many HR professionals themselves withdraw into a shell of self-pity and hopelessness when a separation scheme is announced. As I said earlier, it is true that often times HR only implements decisions and is not privy to the decision making BUT that doesn’t mean that the situation is all that hopeless for a HR professional to play a meaningful role. Take charge of the people. Go to the management with questions that you are unable to answer. Identify those who need special attention or observation. Suggest ways how business discontinuity can be minimized via the right people management strategies.

Wishing you all the very best in these trying times. For those of you who know me...well you know that my lines are open 24/7.

Saving (Publicly) the Detroit Three

The million dollar question (or shall I say the multi-billion dollar question) that needs to be answered now is should the American government bail-out the Big Three Detroit automobile companies? Ford, GM and Chrysler have asked for American tax-payers’ monies to help them through these difficult times. At one point in their retracted negotiations with the American Senate and Congress they were asking in excess of US$30 billion in aid! Mark Zandi, the economist, predicts that the total rescue package could be up to US$125 billion! Many feel that the automakers will in the end be making 4 trips to Washington with each trip costing tax-payers close to US$30 billion.

My take is this : These 3 behemoths need to be saved but before I put forth my argument in support of them, allow me first to categorically say that I am also not fooled by their arguments to tap into government largesse. I suspect many other observers will say the same.

Firstly, these companies’ troubles did not begin with the sub-prime crisis or during this latest round of economic downturn. They have been going down-hill this past one decade and they didn't do a damn thing about it. Actually they did quite a few things…but for all the wrong reasons. GM sells close to about a million vehicles per year in China alone; but that don't seem to translate into anything more beneficial to its overall financial health. They have been loosing market share to their Japanese competitors for years. Their products were continuously lambasted by consumers for their lack of quality and innovation. They produce petrol guzzling monsters in an age where discerning consumers are desperate for fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly cars. On top of that these car makers had so many models in any particular range that they began to cannibalize each other. Till today, I wonder why is that Suzuki had the foresight to set up base in India and wait for the country to grow and reap the benefits. Why didn’t the Big Three think of that? With so much Indian connections in their skilled workforce, the Americans could have very easily leveraged on this to venture into the Indian market. They didn’t but the Japanese and Koreans have done so. This is a prime example of how, like many other too-big-to-fail companies, these car makers still think like their country-men in the deep south : That the world revolves around America! Well, it doesn't. American manufacturers can’t depend ONLY on their domestic markets AND they have to open their markets to others. That was what they preached to the world – Open market, un-hindered capitalism, etc. Can we say that the rest of the world has learned the lessons too well while America it self forgot what it was preaching? But I digress…

Secondly, by the American government pumping in billions of tax payer monies into their coffers, they are not going to be doing any better three years from now. While this may help them to avoid from filing for bankruptcy, the longer term viability of these companies will still be in doubt. They need to make some fundamental changes to the way they build and sell cars. In fact, they have to revamp their business model. The Big 3 is probably too big for America. They may have to seriously consider a merger between them. Why acquire/merge with a German car maker when you have enough merger possibilities on your own shores?

Here is why I think the Big Three should be saved. If they go under, they will bring many others with them; particularly their serpentine connections of supplier companies. This is a fear already voiced by their Japanese competitors! The thing about the car industry is that the small side-view mirror maker in Alabama or Shah Alam is the same guy who makes for two or three other car makers. So, if one as big as Ford or GM collapses, he will have to wind-up and create a big mess for his other clients. If Toyota faces problems in the US, which is already facing the lowest car sales in 26 years, the ripple effect can be felt all the way to Thailand and other parts of South East Asia where it has considerable presence. The world is connected remember? Already the Big Three Japanese car makers, Toyota, Honda and Nissan has drastically lowered their earning projections. Nissan has in fact been reducing its production output since 2007. More than the American companies, their Japanese counterparts are what we should worry about in this part of the world. If the Japanese, as an extension of the problems they face in the USA vis a vis their close ‘connections’ to the Big Three there face the prospect of further reduction in their investment and production, this part of the world will suffer the greatest. I shudder to think the impact this will have on Thailand for example. Although, I suspect it may be a blessing in disguise for indigenous car companies in the region, especially Proton. But then again, this may be short lived.

But, I am still a little puzzled about how these companies are going to manage government interventions. Ford, for example, is still a largely family owned company while Chrysler is owned by an equity firm (if I am not wrong). How accepting public money is going to change the ownership of these companies still remains to be seen. Surely the American government is not going to just give billions away on a silver platter?

But then…...in America…..any thing is possible.

ROI from Coaching

Being in the company of those who are responsible for quarterly results and the overall financial health of the organization is always challenging and exciting all rolled into one. And, I always relish that opportunity. Understandably, they have a professional responsibility to want to relate everything that they are being asked to do in relation to the bottom line of the organization.

I have long ago suspected that consultants and management trainers have always steered away from the issue of return on investments on the initiatives that they suggest to clients. The reasons for these are two fold :

1.Not all returns from consulting/management training are measurable in terms of dollar and sense in a direct financial manner and in the immediate term.
2.The choice of dimensions to be measured are not well defined and sometimes difficult to be determined.

I remember some years ago, a senior consultant with whom I had the privilege of 'shadowing' while giving a high level presentation to a group of Malaysian Board of Directors of a main board listed company, saying this when asked whether he can guarantee the ROI from the year long training intervention he is proposing : “Yes. I can guarantee the ROI provided you allow me to change some aspects of your organizational culture after the training and if you can assure me that all my suggestions and recommendations are followed to the word”! My heart was in my throat when I heard one after another the distinguished personalities in front of us...laughing. We got the project and I would like to believe that we brought some degree of change to that organization.

I am sure you remember the once famous Fish Philosophy training modules based on the amazing people of the Manhattan Fish Market. It was all the rage a few years ago and inevitably after the ‘buzz’ begins to wear off, the often repeated question of whether there is clear and direct ROI surfaced in some circles. Then there was a follow-up video and other materials that highlighted the ‘success’ of the training program as experienced by various organizations, including an American hospital. Interestingly, each and everyone of these organizations that have made the Fish Philosophy as part of their culture have measured its success in their own ways. I am not aware of whether there is any study done to actually quantify these ‘successes’. But, do we need to?

Who can say that that the success of the program was not due to the other changes that had happened to the organization and the market independently of the training program? Who can say that it was indeed the training program that brought about the positive changes?

Similarly, what is the ROI when a senior executive is sent to listen to Bill Clinton…which is not cheap! What is the ROI of sending 150 high potentials to the 7 Habits Program?

I am a strong believer in giving clear and quantifiable returns to my clients from each and every one of the solutions that my organization provides. It is important at the outset, to determine the dimensions of measurement, how and when to measure, and, the methodology of measurement. This is when I walk away from a client knowing that I have made a difference to their business.

To the wonderful gentlemen who were in my program last week....I hope you enjoyed being with me for two long days as I thoroughly enjoyed your company.

Cheers mates!

Who is a Coach?

There are 6 people in my life who made a difference….well actually 4 plus 2!

The 1st is my mom who gave me life and who thought me about sacrifices. The 2nd is my aunt who gave my life a meaning by being more a mom to me than my mom!. The 3rd is my mentor, Dr. Edwin Varo who showed me what it takes to be a leader/manager. The 4th is my girlfriend who filled my life with hope and stood by me through thick and thin and finally, my twin daughters who are still showing me what it means to be happy and carefree.

Then, there are 3 other people who have had the greatest impact on my life. These people are what I call ‘gentle souls’ who teach us very sublime things in the quietest of ways.

The first is a 14 year old girl (1992) whose name I do not remember. She was a student in Convent Light Street, Penang where I was undergoing my practical training. On Teacher’s Day that year, she brought a plastic container filled with 2 slices of bread with a thick layer of butter as her gift to me. She said, she could not afford to buy me anything else like the other kids. I suspect, that was her breakfast and probably lunch too. I don’t know what I said or did to deserve that show of pure and innocent magnanimity. I cried on the way back to my campus.

The second is my grandfather who thought me how I should die….with grace and at peace with the world. This is the very same man with whom I had a running battle for almost all my life.
The third is my primary school bus driver; we called him Ah Chai. In the 30 to 40 minutes that it took me and my friends to reach school and another 45 minutes or so to reach back home, he used to entertain us with stories, advise, reprimands and sometimes little gifts of sweets. He was the first person who thought me that when you consistently provide more than what you are paid for; one day you will get paid more than what you deserve. What I loved most about Ah Chai was that, he treated us boys with more respect and love than even some of our teachers.

Why am I sharing these stories here? Well, www.firstcoffee.blogspot.com is not changing its form and content! This is still a business/management blog. I am sharing these stories to illustrate my amazement whenever a man or woman with years of work and life experiences say that they can’t coach or that they don’t have the skills to coach or worst still, that they don't have the time to coach.

Anybody can tell a story right? Everybody has a story to tell!

What is coaching? Take away all the fancy sounding terminologies; coaching is nothing but a calling. It is not a discipline or a process. It is not a job or role. Sure, there are some systems and processes that one can use but these do not make a coach just as Parenting Guide books do not make a parent. It is a calling.

When it is a calling, one will coach from the heart. He will know the stories to tell, he will go out of his way to make an example of himself; both good and bad, he will ensure that the people for whom he is responsible for will know how to do the fishing for themselves and he will reflect all praises back to where it belongs : To his people. With this sense of calling, a coach will take the responsibility of adding value to somebody else’s work or life even if it has no tangible benefit on his own. He will go out of his way to share his experiences and knowledge gained.

Interestingly, almost all coaching gurus that I know mention ‘trust and ‘respect’ as a founding principle for an effective coach. I believe so to but how can a person be trained to have ‘trust and respect’. You just have it or you don’t. I may be able to teach you the various reasons why you should coach; whether it is remedial, developmental, situational or whatever. I may even be able to make you memorize the detailed steps involved in coaching and the 5 stages of coaching BUT can I make you ‘trusting and respectful’ of others. I doubt that.

On the other hand, even if you do not have the so called skills of coaching but you feel that it is your calling to be of value to others, if you feel that you have a responsibility to guide and nurture others; I doubt ‘lack of skills’ is going to stop you from coaching others. In fact, I doubt that you will even realize that you are ‘coaching’.

The people that I have mentioned above have coached me in one way or another. Each had their own ‘methodologies’ and ‘processes’ but they all had one thing in common : they believed in me, they trusted me and they respected me. I learnt different things from each of them and they have influenced me in more ways that they will ever know.

As I always say in my coaching programs, we all know Tiger Woods but do we know his coaches? We all know Sir Edmond Hilary, do we know his coach? How many of us know Nicol David’s coach? The reason why we don't know them is because they were great coaches……who stay in the background while their charges reap the benefits of their wisdom.

There is always ways and time to coach another. We owe that to those around us because that is the only way we can repay those who had coached us.

Engaging the Older Workforce

I received the following statistics from a colleague with whom I am hoping to collaborate on a study on the state of older work-force in Malaysia :

• Population growth rate of 2.6% per annum
• Median age increased from 21.9 years old in 1991 to 23.6 years in 2000.
2000 1991
<15 years old 33.3% 36.7%
> 65 years old 3.9% 3.7%
• Increased life expectancy to 74 years; 71.5 years for men and 76.2 for women
• Malaysians aged >60years expected to be 3.3 million in 2020 versus only 1.4 million in 2000


The startling figure of 3.3 million Malaysians above the age of 60 in 2020 with a median life expectancy of 74 years is a demographic nightmare...at least that's what it will be if we do nothing about it.

Lets say that a man retires from work at the age of 55 and lives to say, the age of 70. This means, he has another 15 years of life to manage. If he, like a lot of people I know of, live to the age of 80, he will have 25 years of post-retirement life to look forward to….hopefully. A woman, will have a few years longer than that as they generally tend to outlive the men.

And, at the age of 55 a working man and woman is not an invalid! They are actually very productive and some say probably at the peak of their work-life in terms of cascading their knowledge and teaching others. They would generally still have another 6 to10 good working years left. In my work with retiring professionals for example, I often hear them say that they want to and are able to work for another 10 years and the thought of retiring is just so alien to them and makes them uncomfortable. What more, they want to contribute. A particularly spirited gentleman told me that he is hoping to quickly land a job upon his impending retirement as he ‘needs to get this monkey’ off his back. The ‘monkey’ being the notion of being jobless. He says he doesn’t need the money. He needs the ‘job.

As our standard of living improves and our birth-rates fall, we too, like many developed nations will have a huge grey population to content with. Their needs and expectations will be hugely different from the younger population but yet, we don't seem to have the policies and the infrastructure to manage this. It seems to me that like everything else, we are waiting for a crisis to happen before we do something about it. More than 10 years ago, I wrote in a local newspaper how an underclass of Malaysian Indians are taking shape. I also said that if nothing is done to help them, they will turn out to be disruptive to the development of the nation. Similarly, if we do not prepare ourselves for this aging population, we have the recipe for a demographic crisis. Unfortunately, we as a nation do not have a good track record in anticipating and managing demographic shifts.

Coming back to the issue of older work-force, I would propose the following steps to ensure that an organization benefits from this valuable human asset:

Step 1 : Take a complete audit of those who will be retiring in 3, 5 and 7 years time. Their skill sets, tacit & explicit knowledge and insights into organizational processes must be determined.

Step 2 : Engage thought leaders to develop and institute a culture that respects this older workforce.

Step 3 : Develop a mechanism to instill a coaching/mentoring culture spearheaded by a respected member of this group. Each retiring individual must be assigned a coaching responsibility.

Step 3 : Develop and deliver Retirement Management program to empower them to continue contributing to the organization, their careers and society. This will also create a sense of trust and belonging on the younger workforce as they can see that the organization respects and cares about their older co-workers. This is a great retention strategy by it self.

Step 4 : Develop a post-retirement ‘retention’ strategy. A retiring individual will be a great asset when it comes to filling certain seasonal positions.

Step 5 : Develop a synergy with the industry so that experienced individuals can be provided with a certain amount of mobility in pursuing their post-retirement engagements.

All our investments in people development and an immeasurable amount of knowledge and skills walk out of the gate each time an employee retires. It's time to stop this and benefit from them. We will be doing a big favour for them too.