10 years from now, Malaysia will go the way of Myanmar economically and socially. We will become a poor nation. This will be the worst case scenario. At best, we will be prodding along aimlessly amidst a region of up and coming super-powers and secondary-powers. We will survive and that will be just about it. If we are that lucky.
In this age and time, it will not take a generation for a nation to be reduced to economic and political insignificance. Even with the best intentioned government of the day, it only needs less than 10 years for a country to go the way of Myanmar or Brazil in the 1980s. I fear that this nation of ours is also on this perilous path.
Not such a nice thing to say especially in this season of festivities and merry making but it needs to be said. We are in deep trouble and the government and us the people need to sit up and take stock of what we are up against. Forget whatever you have been fed with in terms of how advanced we are in this or that. Forget about what the official media tells you about how attractive we are for the investors. We are no longer the shining star we used to be. Of course we are still surrounded by the relics of our golden age, just as the Italians are probably constantly reminded of their glorious past; but that doesn't mean a thing. So, forget too that our relics are a sign of our greatness. It was past greatness (if at all it was one). By next year, China will be the 2nd largest economy in the world. By 2050, India will rival China. Between these two powers, there will emerge a form of modern day tribute states whose sole function will be to manufacture goods and provide energy and resources to these two countries. By 2050, today’s developed countries will be at an economic plane that is higher and more advanced and they would have, by then, entirely divorced themselves from the 3D jobs (dirty, dangerous and difficult). I think it is not science fiction to say that the day will soon come where the western countries (and Japan, Korea) will be managing the ‘knowledge of the world’ while countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Nigeria and Indonesia will be so well positioned that they will do everything else.
Where will we be in this scenario? A tribute state or a leading knowledge driven economy given due respect and recognition by the ‘knowledge super powers’?
As alarmists as my statement may sound, it is nevertheless not something that has missed the more discerning Malaysians. Take Datuk Seri Mohd Effendi Norwawi. On Dec 20, he wrote a piece of enlightening and bold piece of opinion that I hope will be translated into the Malay, Tamil and Mandarin languages and published in the respective papers. For one, this may kick them into sobriety and realization that while they are busy condemning each other, this motherland of ours is going deeper into oblivion. Next, it may jolt the man on the street to demand more than just temples, suraus and churches from their elected representatives and ask what on earth they are doing to prepare us for the next 10 years.
The respected Datuk Seri says that The New Economy Model (something I will touch on later here) will not succeed unless it is supported by a new implementation model.
Then on 24th December, the shining star of Malaysian intellectual and principled discussion, Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam (one of the original drafters of the NEP in 1970, the year of my birth) wrote in the same paper that not only do we need an implementation model for the New Economic Model, we also need to ensure that the model is not flawed to begin with.
The statistics that are being churned out are not pretty. Vietnam for example had overtaken us in many areas especially in terms of attracting FDI. We are also loosing out in the knowledge economy as we didn’t continue the initial push and investments in this area. Our biotechnology and our multimedia are doing a great job despite the odds stacked against them. It's a wonder how they are doing as well as they do considering that they have to answer to a bunch of bickering and obnoxious politicians who for some strange and peculiar reason inevitably become the masters of these areas of utmost importance to our survival as a nation.
Come February, we will know what our New Economic Model is all about. The fact that we need a new economic model and the fact that the current administration had seen it prudent to develop one is a testimony to the fact that our Vision 2020 is not achievable under the current circumstances. Of course we can always point our fingers at the sudden and unexpected economic downturn for this but if we look carefully, we could see that right from the beginning, Vision 2020 was doomed to fail as it so entirely depended on external factors i.e. the global economy staying bullish AND it was based upon the fact that the failures of the NEP could be whitewashed by the sheer prosperity of the economy (read the size of the economic pie). Very little of Vision 2020 was dedicated to develop a framework for organic growth and innovation to sustain us regardless of how the global economy was performing. Although it’s true that, as Bill Clinton says, this is an interdependent age where there is no way we can on our own ensure our growth and prosperity. We will have to and must depend on the wider global scheme of things. Yet, we must also surely have some gumption to do things that gives us some form of insurance against being totally dependent on the ebb and flow of world economy.
Hence, it seems to me that finally our policy makers have come upon the one thing that we have been paying only lip service all these while: Innovation. So, the new economic model will apparently drive us towards an innovative economy. It also seems that we are going to become an innovative economy and we will be capable of emulating the innovativeness of the Americans and the Europeans.
So far, from the little snippets that are being leaked out on the new economic model, I must say that all the right things are being said. However, whatever the final look and feel of the new economic paradigm is going to be, I anticipate the following 7 factors will play a critical role in determining its eventual success or failure:
1. All stakeholders in nation building MUST accept that this will be a long term drive. All political parties, racial champions, NGOs and the intelligentsia must acknowledge the fact that a new economic model is not a quick fix but rather a slow and potentially painful recovery process. It's a total re-alignment of what we need to do to our economic engine.
2. Everybody….absolutely everybody needs to realize that American innovation in the past was a direct result of her willingness to allow for differences of opinion and respect for differences. She welcomed all. She embraced all. Malaysia needs to do that. Let’s begin by tapping into the creativity and innovation latent in the hearts and minds of our minority groups whose talents are being wasted due to the stifling social infrastructure which has long lost its usefulness. The time is now to revolutionize our thinking and this revolution should begin with the idea that “Malaysian innovation lies in its people…all her people”. We can’t say that we will have an innovation driven new economic model by merely inviting global companies to set up shop in Iskandar. Even if Steve Jobs takes up our ‘Malaysia, my second home’ offer, we will still not become an innovative economy. The reason for this…my next point…
3. Go for the jugular of our education system. Kill it. Allow for a rebirth. Anything less will not work. The killer of innovation today is our education system. As it is now, not only does it block true and meaningful integration, it also stifles innovation at the most fertile ground: our children. As long as our education does not produce a generation of people who can ask the right questions, we will not become an innovative nation in any meaningful way.
4. The BEST minds should get the job and do the job. Regardless in what skin colour that mind may be wrapped in.
5. All new economic initiatives must be designed to take us out of the middle –income trap which means that by merely attracting manufacturing related FDI will not be sufficient.
6. The Iskandar region must be de-politicized and made into a model for the implementation of the New Economic Model.
7. Our institutions of higher education must be governed by a fully empowered board of governors who must have the power to hire and fire. This board must be comprised by people of the highest social standing and achievements; regardless of their racial and cultural background.
The future of our country lies in what exactly the New Economic Model is. Will it be a true and honest policy with equally honest and robust implementation focus? Or, will it be another ‘flavor of the administration’ and as vague as the 1Malaysia concept?
I have hopes that our current Prime Minister (if he can keep the humbugs of our political landscape at bay), will do things right and do the right things. He has that pedigree. But maybe, he needs more than just his political power. He may end up needing a referendum of our collective support to ensure that we don't go the way of Myanmar.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
The World of Work - On the Ground Level
As I sit here at the spanking clean departure lounge of the Senai Airport (officially its Sultan Ismail Airport but my security-check label says its Senai Aiport and I too prefer the latter), I am observing a cleaning lady going about her work. For the past 35 minutes or so she has been going up and down the aisle where I am facing, cleaning it to a shine. First, she cleaned it from dust, then it was a wet mop and finally (I thought) a dry mop. No. She was not finished. She came back again one more time to make sure she had not missed a spot.
This morning, I was served my first coffee of the day by a young man at the Crystal Crown hotel. He was smiling and courteous. As I was one of the few there so early in the morning, he greeted me and asked whether I was heading back to the airport. I said no and that I was actually getting ready for work at a client’s place (without telling what exactly I do). I then asked him what time he will go off and he replied “In about 30 minutes”. Which meant, it will be 7 am then. Then it dawned on me that he had been working the night shift which typically in a hotel means : 7pm – 7am. Yet, he was smiling and having a friendly chat with me. Doing things that were not probably expected or required of a 3-star hotel waiter in Malaysia.
My taxi driver, whom I used for all my running about the last 2 days was a jovial and cheeky guy. He had something cute to say to all the toll booth girls and they responded with a smile or laugh. He had scars on his face and looked like a possible ‘gangster turned good” type. Even after driving around the madly crowded JB city, he still had that cheerfulness about him. He made me relax on the way back to the airport a little while ago although I was drained after an excuriuatingly difficult session with a group of people who took me on (unofficially) as their therapists!
Coming back to the cleaning lady; I don’t see her anymore. Probably cleaning another spot somewhere else in this building.
What I am thinking is : how many times had her supervisors said ‘thank-you’ or ‘good job’ to her this past one week? How many ‘pats on the back’ did that young man get or how many thank you’s did my taxi driver get?
What is it about us humans and our world of work? What is it that absorbs us into it?. It takes our life. We want to work. We want to contribute. We want to envelope ourselves with meaning and we use our work to provide that meaning. Without work, life has no meaning. Yet, we have not mastered this magic and use it to lead our people. We hardly understand the meaning of work in our own lives. Its amazing that we understand so little of something that takes up our entire lives.
On my study table at home, I have a little post-it-note with the words “ Every little act of work can become creation – beautiful and holy. Worship through work”. Krishna told Arjuna to act. When Arjuna sat in despair and threw his armour and weapons to the ground, Krishna had basically said “ Get up you fool…do your job. You are a soldier. So, fight you lazy potato”. And so Arjuna fought.
There is magic in work. But, there is miracle in those who work for passion. Its a tragedy when they are not recognised.
This morning, I was served my first coffee of the day by a young man at the Crystal Crown hotel. He was smiling and courteous. As I was one of the few there so early in the morning, he greeted me and asked whether I was heading back to the airport. I said no and that I was actually getting ready for work at a client’s place (without telling what exactly I do). I then asked him what time he will go off and he replied “In about 30 minutes”. Which meant, it will be 7 am then. Then it dawned on me that he had been working the night shift which typically in a hotel means : 7pm – 7am. Yet, he was smiling and having a friendly chat with me. Doing things that were not probably expected or required of a 3-star hotel waiter in Malaysia.
My taxi driver, whom I used for all my running about the last 2 days was a jovial and cheeky guy. He had something cute to say to all the toll booth girls and they responded with a smile or laugh. He had scars on his face and looked like a possible ‘gangster turned good” type. Even after driving around the madly crowded JB city, he still had that cheerfulness about him. He made me relax on the way back to the airport a little while ago although I was drained after an excuriuatingly difficult session with a group of people who took me on (unofficially) as their therapists!
Coming back to the cleaning lady; I don’t see her anymore. Probably cleaning another spot somewhere else in this building.
What I am thinking is : how many times had her supervisors said ‘thank-you’ or ‘good job’ to her this past one week? How many ‘pats on the back’ did that young man get or how many thank you’s did my taxi driver get?
What is it about us humans and our world of work? What is it that absorbs us into it?. It takes our life. We want to work. We want to contribute. We want to envelope ourselves with meaning and we use our work to provide that meaning. Without work, life has no meaning. Yet, we have not mastered this magic and use it to lead our people. We hardly understand the meaning of work in our own lives. Its amazing that we understand so little of something that takes up our entire lives.
On my study table at home, I have a little post-it-note with the words “ Every little act of work can become creation – beautiful and holy. Worship through work”. Krishna told Arjuna to act. When Arjuna sat in despair and threw his armour and weapons to the ground, Krishna had basically said “ Get up you fool…do your job. You are a soldier. So, fight you lazy potato”. And so Arjuna fought.
There is magic in work. But, there is miracle in those who work for passion. Its a tragedy when they are not recognised.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
2009 : The Year That Was
The following was what I had predicted for 2009. Lets see how I had done this time (in italics)!
Global Trends and Changes (Business)
1.Mega mergers of financial institutions. Probably involving North American and European banks. American law makers will pass a slew of new acts to allow the Feds to keep all forms of financial institutions under close scrutiny. Been there and done that.
2. Chinese manufacturing may not recover from the current slump and this vacuum could be filled by India, Mexico and the former Soviet block countries. In India especially, manufacturing will loose it’s ‘dirty’ tag and become a profession of choice just as IT and services related jobs. I know Chinese manufacturing had lost some of its luster and the millions of workers who were forced to return to the villages were partly blamed for the sporadic violence against government officials and institutions. Indian automotive players made some news (local and foreign) but not much else. I have blogged on what the Nano is going to do for India and by default for the rest of the world.
3. Chinese and Indian firms will aggressively buy into ailing companies at fire-sale prices. Possibility of Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern investors gaining a foot-hold in Detroit’s automotive industry is quite high. The talk is that Chinese players like Shanghai Automobile Company are getting into Detroit. We all know that Land Rover and Jaguar is part of the Tata brands now.
4. More mergers in the airline industry with Asian flag carriers being the target this time. Asian airline have decided on status quo but British Airways had bought Spain's Iberia
5. The birth and widespread use of extremely affordable note-books which will change the industry inside-out. This will most possibly be spearheaded by giants like IBM and Microsoft with India, China and Latin America as the target markets. Not sure about this. Over the last two years I have been noticing a steady announcements on companies developing affordable computers including laptops. I was hoping that 2009 will be the year for this.
6. Mega mergers of auto manufacturers. Yup. Fiat had a field day in Detroit.
7. Reconfiguration of air-line industry. As above. Though I have forgotten why I have two inputs on the airline industry?!
8. Hostile take-over of Yahoo by Microsoft! They tried. God knows they tried!
9. Mergers involving the world’s three biggest pharma companies with GSK leading the way. Some happened. Pfizer and Wyeth for example.
Global Trends (Politics and Social)
1. 2009 will be defined by Barrack Obama. He will have to manage the unbridled expectations placed on him and the payback that the various interest groups will be clamoring for. The world will begin to see more and more of America’s soft power. As of this week, Obama’s approval rating was hovering around 47%. The honeymoon is over. But, he did indeed make news. From his ‘bow or not to bow’ to his so called multi-tasking are becoming ‘Oprah’ish stuff.
2. Russia will flex its muscles further much to the chagrin of the hawks in Washington. A proxy war of sorts is in the cards. Russia’s dominance in gas supply to Europe will once again become the point of contention. Remember Ukraine?
3. Japan will edge closer to end its pacifist constitution which will anger China. A new schism is quite possible in East Asia. Nope. Japan is as insular and as boring ever.
4. Chinese social revolt will finally come onto international radar screen. The Uighurs were in the news! Amazingly, as I followed the unfolding of this tragedy, I realized how new technologies have enable us to conceptualize, launch and manage an uprising (for whatever reasons)…remotely. I suppose today you can ban someone from staying on your soil but that doesn't mean you can stop her from holding the heart-strings of her followers. Thanks to the internet.
5. India’s relation with Pakistan will worsen and a war between these nuclear powers should not be ruled out. Unless of course, America and the international community decides to avoid an all-out war between these two countries by waging a managed war on Pakistan’s terrorist sheltering regions with UN blessings. As always and as what many believe, Pakistan’s semblance of governance exists only because it is anti India. Take that away and we have a full-fledged rogue nuclear nation. However, things may not be rosy for India with its national elections looming. A hung parliament is likely with the Congress and BJP loosing ground to regional parties. Economic and business wise, things should be quite predictable with the Indian Century continuing its progress. Well, I was way off on the hung parliament stuff as the Congress against all odds consolidated its powers and wiped out many of the regional pests. I know you are laughing….who can ever go wrong by predicting that Indian-Pakistani tensions will rise?!
6. Israel will strike Iran’s nuclear facilities while the Palestinians will look away from America as their peace brokers. Barrack Obama and his team will not have the same kind of self-proclaimed importance for the Arab-Israeli peace process. Hasn’t happened yet but the talk was serious last month and is still a possibility. Maybe a little Christmas present from the Israelis and plunge the rest of the world into despair perhaps?
7. The consolidation of institutions of higher education in the form of branding and marketing. Nope. Proud ivory towerians they are!
8. Protectionist policies and rhetoric will trump free market and liberalization. China will do all it can to protect its economy for anything less will create an unprecedented social calamity. This shift back to ‘hermit economy’ will put the Chinese and the Americans on a loggerhead. Europe will gravitate to more conservative policies spearheaded by France. All over the world, proponents of globalization and free market economy will find themselves hard pressed to explain that globalization is the way forward. Well….just read the news and you will know I was bulls eye on this! When the US announced its almost 800 billion dollars stimulus package, it also made sure that construction projects only used American made steel and iron. This blocked out China, Brazil and Russian made materials. Similarly a recent row broke out over Chinese made automobile tyres.
9.A major military conflict in Africa with Mugabe playing a key role. Nope…but who is keeping track of conflicts in Africa?
10.China will be less tolerant of North Korea. We may see some real breakthrough with the Hermit Kingdom but not before a huge nuclear scare in the Korean peninsular. Yes. China was less than thrilled with the North Koreans hurling spare missiles over Japan.
Malaysia (Business)
1. Datuk Tony Fernandez will sell down his interests in Air Asia. More active participation from Middle East players and Bumiputera centred institutional fund managers in Air Asia. Nope. Not yet!
2. Labu LCCT project will not take off. Oh yes!
3. The merger of two or more banks to form a mega bank positioned to compete at regional levels. Nope.
4. Major changes in the railway industry beginning with KTMB and a possible second operator finally taking shape. Sad. Nothing.
5. The establishment of unit trust funds specifically for Sabah and Sarawak in the likes of the current ASB. Nope.
6. Proton will move beyond Mitsubishi to form a business partnership with a European car maker most notably VW or Peugeot. Talks of merger with Perodua may also surface and be taken seriously. Both are in the news. Something is simmering.
7. Malaysia Airlines will form a ‘partnership’ with SIA. Nope.
8. AK will make some major moves in the market with probably institutional investor support. ASTRO may be taken private. He did make a move…by bringing back Maxis into the public domain.
Malaysia (Politics and Social)
1. Will be a defining year for Malaysia. What Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says and does immediately after taking over the reigns of the administration will define Malaysia for the next 50 years. He has 2 options : Go back to Mahathirism OR push forward with the reforms set in place by the Abdullah administration. The BN convention slated for early next year will be a watershed in Malaysian politics. The aftermath of this convention may see some BN component parties striking out on their own. Well...Najib has not done anything earth shattering but neither has he reverted to Mahathir style leadership; except perhaps in Perak.
2. The Pakatan Rakyat will be severely tested. But, Perak Penang & Selangor will go further away from BN’s grip. Yes on all counts. At least to me except for Perak. That was a rabbit out of BN’s hat.
3.Radical Indian activism will take root. Yes. The struggle has gone underground. Again. I have said it many times before : the Indian dilemma needs solving. Otherwise, a huge, violent underclass will bring our urban areas to its knees. Lets not forget that the Indians have a collective history of resistance and ‘nationalism’ towards a cause that they can draw lessons from. Besides, the latest round of protests are lead by the Indian intelligentsia which knows how to use all modern political and avenues open to them. I was going through some of my old letters to editors and I came across a letter that I wrote to the NST almost 10 years ago. I wrote then that if the MIC did not change, it will be one of the major cause for BN’s decline.
4. Samy Vellu will not last the year as MIC president. This was a close one. But, who knows. But then, the man had always beaten all predictions.
5. MCA will face its most serious leadership struggle in decades. Amazing right? I just felt it in my coffee fueled guts then.
6. The return to active politics of certain questionable people. The man they call Isa is back by popular demand! Sad.
In summary, I anticipate 2009 to be an exciting year which will define how future generations look at this generation. The world of business will witness a total reengineering with substance finally getting its deserved due over form.
All in all not too bad for some predictions done at the Starbucks at Borders, Curve. The wonders of an Americano grande and some quite time!
Got to do that again soon for 2010.
Global Trends and Changes (Business)
1.Mega mergers of financial institutions. Probably involving North American and European banks. American law makers will pass a slew of new acts to allow the Feds to keep all forms of financial institutions under close scrutiny. Been there and done that.
2. Chinese manufacturing may not recover from the current slump and this vacuum could be filled by India, Mexico and the former Soviet block countries. In India especially, manufacturing will loose it’s ‘dirty’ tag and become a profession of choice just as IT and services related jobs. I know Chinese manufacturing had lost some of its luster and the millions of workers who were forced to return to the villages were partly blamed for the sporadic violence against government officials and institutions. Indian automotive players made some news (local and foreign) but not much else. I have blogged on what the Nano is going to do for India and by default for the rest of the world.
3. Chinese and Indian firms will aggressively buy into ailing companies at fire-sale prices. Possibility of Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern investors gaining a foot-hold in Detroit’s automotive industry is quite high. The talk is that Chinese players like Shanghai Automobile Company are getting into Detroit. We all know that Land Rover and Jaguar is part of the Tata brands now.
4. More mergers in the airline industry with Asian flag carriers being the target this time. Asian airline have decided on status quo but British Airways had bought Spain's Iberia
5. The birth and widespread use of extremely affordable note-books which will change the industry inside-out. This will most possibly be spearheaded by giants like IBM and Microsoft with India, China and Latin America as the target markets. Not sure about this. Over the last two years I have been noticing a steady announcements on companies developing affordable computers including laptops. I was hoping that 2009 will be the year for this.
6. Mega mergers of auto manufacturers. Yup. Fiat had a field day in Detroit.
7. Reconfiguration of air-line industry. As above. Though I have forgotten why I have two inputs on the airline industry?!
8. Hostile take-over of Yahoo by Microsoft! They tried. God knows they tried!
9. Mergers involving the world’s three biggest pharma companies with GSK leading the way. Some happened. Pfizer and Wyeth for example.
Global Trends (Politics and Social)
1. 2009 will be defined by Barrack Obama. He will have to manage the unbridled expectations placed on him and the payback that the various interest groups will be clamoring for. The world will begin to see more and more of America’s soft power. As of this week, Obama’s approval rating was hovering around 47%. The honeymoon is over. But, he did indeed make news. From his ‘bow or not to bow’ to his so called multi-tasking are becoming ‘Oprah’ish stuff.
2. Russia will flex its muscles further much to the chagrin of the hawks in Washington. A proxy war of sorts is in the cards. Russia’s dominance in gas supply to Europe will once again become the point of contention. Remember Ukraine?
3. Japan will edge closer to end its pacifist constitution which will anger China. A new schism is quite possible in East Asia. Nope. Japan is as insular and as boring ever.
4. Chinese social revolt will finally come onto international radar screen. The Uighurs were in the news! Amazingly, as I followed the unfolding of this tragedy, I realized how new technologies have enable us to conceptualize, launch and manage an uprising (for whatever reasons)…remotely. I suppose today you can ban someone from staying on your soil but that doesn't mean you can stop her from holding the heart-strings of her followers. Thanks to the internet.
5. India’s relation with Pakistan will worsen and a war between these nuclear powers should not be ruled out. Unless of course, America and the international community decides to avoid an all-out war between these two countries by waging a managed war on Pakistan’s terrorist sheltering regions with UN blessings. As always and as what many believe, Pakistan’s semblance of governance exists only because it is anti India. Take that away and we have a full-fledged rogue nuclear nation. However, things may not be rosy for India with its national elections looming. A hung parliament is likely with the Congress and BJP loosing ground to regional parties. Economic and business wise, things should be quite predictable with the Indian Century continuing its progress. Well, I was way off on the hung parliament stuff as the Congress against all odds consolidated its powers and wiped out many of the regional pests. I know you are laughing….who can ever go wrong by predicting that Indian-Pakistani tensions will rise?!
6. Israel will strike Iran’s nuclear facilities while the Palestinians will look away from America as their peace brokers. Barrack Obama and his team will not have the same kind of self-proclaimed importance for the Arab-Israeli peace process. Hasn’t happened yet but the talk was serious last month and is still a possibility. Maybe a little Christmas present from the Israelis and plunge the rest of the world into despair perhaps?
7. The consolidation of institutions of higher education in the form of branding and marketing. Nope. Proud ivory towerians they are!
8. Protectionist policies and rhetoric will trump free market and liberalization. China will do all it can to protect its economy for anything less will create an unprecedented social calamity. This shift back to ‘hermit economy’ will put the Chinese and the Americans on a loggerhead. Europe will gravitate to more conservative policies spearheaded by France. All over the world, proponents of globalization and free market economy will find themselves hard pressed to explain that globalization is the way forward. Well….just read the news and you will know I was bulls eye on this! When the US announced its almost 800 billion dollars stimulus package, it also made sure that construction projects only used American made steel and iron. This blocked out China, Brazil and Russian made materials. Similarly a recent row broke out over Chinese made automobile tyres.
9.A major military conflict in Africa with Mugabe playing a key role. Nope…but who is keeping track of conflicts in Africa?
10.China will be less tolerant of North Korea. We may see some real breakthrough with the Hermit Kingdom but not before a huge nuclear scare in the Korean peninsular. Yes. China was less than thrilled with the North Koreans hurling spare missiles over Japan.
Malaysia (Business)
1. Datuk Tony Fernandez will sell down his interests in Air Asia. More active participation from Middle East players and Bumiputera centred institutional fund managers in Air Asia. Nope. Not yet!
2. Labu LCCT project will not take off. Oh yes!
3. The merger of two or more banks to form a mega bank positioned to compete at regional levels. Nope.
4. Major changes in the railway industry beginning with KTMB and a possible second operator finally taking shape. Sad. Nothing.
5. The establishment of unit trust funds specifically for Sabah and Sarawak in the likes of the current ASB. Nope.
6. Proton will move beyond Mitsubishi to form a business partnership with a European car maker most notably VW or Peugeot. Talks of merger with Perodua may also surface and be taken seriously. Both are in the news. Something is simmering.
7. Malaysia Airlines will form a ‘partnership’ with SIA. Nope.
8. AK will make some major moves in the market with probably institutional investor support. ASTRO may be taken private. He did make a move…by bringing back Maxis into the public domain.
Malaysia (Politics and Social)
1. Will be a defining year for Malaysia. What Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says and does immediately after taking over the reigns of the administration will define Malaysia for the next 50 years. He has 2 options : Go back to Mahathirism OR push forward with the reforms set in place by the Abdullah administration. The BN convention slated for early next year will be a watershed in Malaysian politics. The aftermath of this convention may see some BN component parties striking out on their own. Well...Najib has not done anything earth shattering but neither has he reverted to Mahathir style leadership; except perhaps in Perak.
2. The Pakatan Rakyat will be severely tested. But, Perak Penang & Selangor will go further away from BN’s grip. Yes on all counts. At least to me except for Perak. That was a rabbit out of BN’s hat.
3.Radical Indian activism will take root. Yes. The struggle has gone underground. Again. I have said it many times before : the Indian dilemma needs solving. Otherwise, a huge, violent underclass will bring our urban areas to its knees. Lets not forget that the Indians have a collective history of resistance and ‘nationalism’ towards a cause that they can draw lessons from. Besides, the latest round of protests are lead by the Indian intelligentsia which knows how to use all modern political and avenues open to them. I was going through some of my old letters to editors and I came across a letter that I wrote to the NST almost 10 years ago. I wrote then that if the MIC did not change, it will be one of the major cause for BN’s decline.
4. Samy Vellu will not last the year as MIC president. This was a close one. But, who knows. But then, the man had always beaten all predictions.
5. MCA will face its most serious leadership struggle in decades. Amazing right? I just felt it in my coffee fueled guts then.
6. The return to active politics of certain questionable people. The man they call Isa is back by popular demand! Sad.
In summary, I anticipate 2009 to be an exciting year which will define how future generations look at this generation. The world of business will witness a total reengineering with substance finally getting its deserved due over form.
All in all not too bad for some predictions done at the Starbucks at Borders, Curve. The wonders of an Americano grande and some quite time!
Got to do that again soon for 2010.
Friday, November 27, 2009
The Middle Eastern Korean
It has been a very busy 2 weeks. I was so busy that I did something that is extremely uncharacteristic of me : I forgot to inform somebody I respect that I will not be able to make it for a conference call. It may sound like something small but not for me. If you can’t make it for a meeting or a call; you HAVE to tell the other party/parties. I apologized and this person graciously accepted it and brushed it aside as a non-issue. It is to me.
I have been itching to write of course. And, I was actually planning to write something on how employees will be viewing the state of affairs in 2010 and what business leaders should do to manage, what I suspect will be, very high expectations. But that will have to wait because I heard something from somebody recently which I just had to put in writing. I am being vague here…with all these ‘something’ and ‘somebody’, I know. But, you know the reasons for that. And, this IS a true story albeit all the names and characters changed.
Imagine a Korean couple adopting a middle eastern child when he was only a few months old and this child growing up so oblivious of the fact that he is, by all accounts, not a Korean. He eats, sleeps and plays Korean. He thinks like a Korean and chooses Korea and all that it stands for just as passionately as a ‘genuine’ Korean child. He thinks Korean girls are the most beautiful and he loves Michael Jackson just as all his compatriot Koreans do. The only thing is, he is NOT a Korean. He is of a different stock. He comes from an entirely different civilization and in his veins an entire cultural genome is running freely as that of his ‘people’ in the Middle East. Yet, he is Korean. At least for him and for those who love him, he is.
Being a Buddhist Koraen, he shuns beef. He goes vegetarian on most days. Now that he is a teenager and can understand his unique situation, he goes about his life as if nothing has changed. He still behaves like a Korean. He still avoids beef products and he is still a Buddhist. It seems like the ancient blood of his ancestors just can’t fight a far more superior force in this world. You can be born of any race or religion. You can come from any proud clan or genetic pool. Yet, there is one powerful force in this world that you can’t fight. That is the force of Socialization.
Not too long ago, I posted a poem that I was inspired to write after listening to an extremely myopic, close minded and homophobic individual. It frightened me then that there are so many of us who by all accounts are kind and good hearted but deep within us we fail to see and appreciate that this world was never created to be of one colour. It was always intended to be a tapestry. The message that I wanted to get across in that poem was that “ don’t be so damn sure of your self and your beliefs”. The gods and prophets you worship may not even want you in their presence as your belief was one of self aggrandizement. Not one of Faith. And, what we think to be true and honorable are nothing but the results of mankind’s socialization over the millennia. I am going reproduce that poem here as it brings new meanings to me now after hearing this story that I have just illustrated above. In fact I feel vindicated as I have always believed that what we are is nothing but a chance happening determined by where we are born and brought up.
The following was what I wrote then:
There are as many colours as there are words to describe them
There are as many stars as the numbers can count them
There are as many truths as the hearts that believe them
There are as many Gods as Man can worship them
There as many rhythms as the sounds that make them.
This is a world
nay
a universe of differences
of every imaginable kind.
The colour of your skin.
The language of your ancestors.
The choice of your tastes.
The pleasure of your love.
The height of your intellect.
The 'truth' of your convenience.
The God of your birth.
But
when compressed
all of these is as big as a green pea.
Thats how big we are.
A green pea!
Don't kill for that
Don't hurt for that.
Atoms, protons and bosons maketh us
The God particle forms us
But its us....just us
maketh hate!
We are separate
but we are one
I will wait for you
my brothers and sisters
at the gates of heaven
and I will welcome you
into my home as if we were born of the same womb
But, indeed we are.
What we are right now is not WHO we are. It was nothing but a result of our socialization with the world around us. What we consider to be truth is nothing more than just a ‘truth of our convenience’.
Who are we then?
Nothing. Just dusts of the universe. A very Conscious dust though.
Krishnamoorthy…if you are reading this, remember that you are the Universe's way of reminding us that we are not whom we are so proud to say we are. You and those who have similar histories like you are living labarotaries that constantly reveal the REAL truth of this world.
God bless you.
Note : Krisnamoorthy was somebody I knew when I was doing my undergraduate studies. He will know what I mean though I doubt he will ever read this. But then the world is indeed small and stranger things have happened.
AND....I am loosing my patience with those who can't see further than the courtyards of their temples, churches, mosques and synagogues. I literally feel repulsed by their words and deeds. The only thing that helps me tolerate them is the fact that they are also part of this tapestry that makes up this world.
I have been itching to write of course. And, I was actually planning to write something on how employees will be viewing the state of affairs in 2010 and what business leaders should do to manage, what I suspect will be, very high expectations. But that will have to wait because I heard something from somebody recently which I just had to put in writing. I am being vague here…with all these ‘something’ and ‘somebody’, I know. But, you know the reasons for that. And, this IS a true story albeit all the names and characters changed.
Imagine a Korean couple adopting a middle eastern child when he was only a few months old and this child growing up so oblivious of the fact that he is, by all accounts, not a Korean. He eats, sleeps and plays Korean. He thinks like a Korean and chooses Korea and all that it stands for just as passionately as a ‘genuine’ Korean child. He thinks Korean girls are the most beautiful and he loves Michael Jackson just as all his compatriot Koreans do. The only thing is, he is NOT a Korean. He is of a different stock. He comes from an entirely different civilization and in his veins an entire cultural genome is running freely as that of his ‘people’ in the Middle East. Yet, he is Korean. At least for him and for those who love him, he is.
Being a Buddhist Koraen, he shuns beef. He goes vegetarian on most days. Now that he is a teenager and can understand his unique situation, he goes about his life as if nothing has changed. He still behaves like a Korean. He still avoids beef products and he is still a Buddhist. It seems like the ancient blood of his ancestors just can’t fight a far more superior force in this world. You can be born of any race or religion. You can come from any proud clan or genetic pool. Yet, there is one powerful force in this world that you can’t fight. That is the force of Socialization.
Not too long ago, I posted a poem that I was inspired to write after listening to an extremely myopic, close minded and homophobic individual. It frightened me then that there are so many of us who by all accounts are kind and good hearted but deep within us we fail to see and appreciate that this world was never created to be of one colour. It was always intended to be a tapestry. The message that I wanted to get across in that poem was that “ don’t be so damn sure of your self and your beliefs”. The gods and prophets you worship may not even want you in their presence as your belief was one of self aggrandizement. Not one of Faith. And, what we think to be true and honorable are nothing but the results of mankind’s socialization over the millennia. I am going reproduce that poem here as it brings new meanings to me now after hearing this story that I have just illustrated above. In fact I feel vindicated as I have always believed that what we are is nothing but a chance happening determined by where we are born and brought up.
The following was what I wrote then:
There are as many colours as there are words to describe them
There are as many stars as the numbers can count them
There are as many truths as the hearts that believe them
There are as many Gods as Man can worship them
There as many rhythms as the sounds that make them.
This is a world
nay
a universe of differences
of every imaginable kind.
The colour of your skin.
The language of your ancestors.
The choice of your tastes.
The pleasure of your love.
The height of your intellect.
The 'truth' of your convenience.
The God of your birth.
But
when compressed
all of these is as big as a green pea.
Thats how big we are.
A green pea!
Don't kill for that
Don't hurt for that.
Atoms, protons and bosons maketh us
The God particle forms us
But its us....just us
maketh hate!
We are separate
but we are one
I will wait for you
my brothers and sisters
at the gates of heaven
and I will welcome you
into my home as if we were born of the same womb
But, indeed we are.
What we are right now is not WHO we are. It was nothing but a result of our socialization with the world around us. What we consider to be truth is nothing more than just a ‘truth of our convenience’.
Who are we then?
Nothing. Just dusts of the universe. A very Conscious dust though.
Krishnamoorthy…if you are reading this, remember that you are the Universe's way of reminding us that we are not whom we are so proud to say we are. You and those who have similar histories like you are living labarotaries that constantly reveal the REAL truth of this world.
God bless you.
Note : Krisnamoorthy was somebody I knew when I was doing my undergraduate studies. He will know what I mean though I doubt he will ever read this. But then the world is indeed small and stranger things have happened.
AND....I am loosing my patience with those who can't see further than the courtyards of their temples, churches, mosques and synagogues. I literally feel repulsed by their words and deeds. The only thing that helps me tolerate them is the fact that they are also part of this tapestry that makes up this world.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Farewell Enke
The pain is gone
no need for justification
no clarification required
be happy now
with your little princess.
I know...your kindred souls
weep
for if only you paused.
But then again
You are happy.Now.
Farewell Robert Enke.
no need for justification
no clarification required
be happy now
with your little princess.
I know...your kindred souls
weep
for if only you paused.
But then again
You are happy.Now.
Farewell Robert Enke.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
The Wall
Tomorrow marks the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Though I would prefer to call it as the ‘dismantling of the Berlin Wall’ lest future generations think that the wall just came tumbling down by it self due to poor construction materials used – Malaysia style. No. It was dismantled by the Germans who years earlier plunged the world into a war and then with this single act brought it together again; of sort.
Thomas Friedman identifies the fall of the wall as one of the 10 or so global movements that brought about the flattening of the world. It was indeed a momentous event. At the very least it removed a monstrosity from the heart of Berlin and at its very best, it heralded the end of the cold war and the demise of the Soviet empire and with it its Communist apparatus. The world was indeed a different place then.
I remember words like ‘glasnost’ and ‘perestroika’ which were probably the most loved and used words coming out of the old Soviet Union. The other was probably the Red Army and of course for the wrong reasons. The fall of the wall not only reunited Germany, ended the cold war and unleashed a new economic dynamism, it also brought forth a new Russia. I can only imagine what the Russians would have felt as they watched their empire crumbling before their eyes. Suddenly the Kremlin was not that imposing nor the communist menace that dangerous – if at all it was a menace. I remember reading some years back where, this was one of the busiest and exciting time for the world’s secret services. Every intelligence organization in the world was on tenterhooks as they just did not know what was going to happen to Russia. Nobody could say with any level of certainty what will the fall of the Soviet Empire bring about. One thing was sure though : The architect of this amazing change – Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev was well protected and the governments of the free world headed by the United States had probably readied a small army and armada to whisk him away from the Kremlin if things had gone out of control. Such was the man’s importance to what Americans had been dreaming for decades. To see the end of the ‘evil empire’ of the Soviet Union. Interestingly, there are also reports saying that Margaret Thatcher and Francois Mitterrand were not that happy about the re-unification of Germany. I suppose it brought some bad memories to them. They can be forgiven because Germany has a habit of getting the world into disorder. But then again, Margaret Thatcher could also have found her match in the towering figure of Helmut Kohl. Strange names indeed in the era of Obama-mania. But these were the ones ruling the world at one time. With Bush the senior of course.
As the world celebrates this event tomorrow, I am hoping that we are also conscious that as leaders in our respective organizations, we are tasked to bring down walls too. We need to break down the walls of indifference, apathy, lack of focus, disregard to customer value, meltdown of organizational values, misalignment of vision and mission and a general disregard for good corporate governance, the deadening dearth of innovation, the stupor of complacency and the paralyzing short-sighted and myopic corporate planning and strategy. Indeed, we have these walls to break down by not shovels and metal roads as the Berliners did 20 years ago but through our determined and honest leadership practices. This is the time for courageous leadership and it is the responsibility of every CEO to allow for this type of leadership to emerge at every level of the organization. And, this is the type of CEOs that the corporate boards need to have in place. 2010 will be a defining moment for most of our organizations as we will come head to head with a single choice : Do we change the way we did business or do we do things the way we did? If the answer to this is change than we have multiple walls to break down fast.
And as citizens of this country, lets also remember that over the last 20 years, as the world came together politically; we have grown apart internally. There are invisible walls running through the very fabric of our society. The tapestry that once made us strong is being strained at the seams. All the while divisive walls are being erected by both words and deeds. As one columnist said in a local paper, its hard to imagine that a wall can running through in the heart of our beloved KL. But I think there are many already dividing us.
Remember that one young man died bleeding in no man’s land while trying to escape the former East Germany while the West Germans just stood by and looked helplessly. Such are the consequences of a wall. Whether one in our political landscape or one in our organizations.
The question is : Are we breaking down walls or are we erecting more in our daily interactions with our people and stake holders?
Happy anniversary Germany!
Thomas Friedman identifies the fall of the wall as one of the 10 or so global movements that brought about the flattening of the world. It was indeed a momentous event. At the very least it removed a monstrosity from the heart of Berlin and at its very best, it heralded the end of the cold war and the demise of the Soviet empire and with it its Communist apparatus. The world was indeed a different place then.
I remember words like ‘glasnost’ and ‘perestroika’ which were probably the most loved and used words coming out of the old Soviet Union. The other was probably the Red Army and of course for the wrong reasons. The fall of the wall not only reunited Germany, ended the cold war and unleashed a new economic dynamism, it also brought forth a new Russia. I can only imagine what the Russians would have felt as they watched their empire crumbling before their eyes. Suddenly the Kremlin was not that imposing nor the communist menace that dangerous – if at all it was a menace. I remember reading some years back where, this was one of the busiest and exciting time for the world’s secret services. Every intelligence organization in the world was on tenterhooks as they just did not know what was going to happen to Russia. Nobody could say with any level of certainty what will the fall of the Soviet Empire bring about. One thing was sure though : The architect of this amazing change – Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev was well protected and the governments of the free world headed by the United States had probably readied a small army and armada to whisk him away from the Kremlin if things had gone out of control. Such was the man’s importance to what Americans had been dreaming for decades. To see the end of the ‘evil empire’ of the Soviet Union. Interestingly, there are also reports saying that Margaret Thatcher and Francois Mitterrand were not that happy about the re-unification of Germany. I suppose it brought some bad memories to them. They can be forgiven because Germany has a habit of getting the world into disorder. But then again, Margaret Thatcher could also have found her match in the towering figure of Helmut Kohl. Strange names indeed in the era of Obama-mania. But these were the ones ruling the world at one time. With Bush the senior of course.
As the world celebrates this event tomorrow, I am hoping that we are also conscious that as leaders in our respective organizations, we are tasked to bring down walls too. We need to break down the walls of indifference, apathy, lack of focus, disregard to customer value, meltdown of organizational values, misalignment of vision and mission and a general disregard for good corporate governance, the deadening dearth of innovation, the stupor of complacency and the paralyzing short-sighted and myopic corporate planning and strategy. Indeed, we have these walls to break down by not shovels and metal roads as the Berliners did 20 years ago but through our determined and honest leadership practices. This is the time for courageous leadership and it is the responsibility of every CEO to allow for this type of leadership to emerge at every level of the organization. And, this is the type of CEOs that the corporate boards need to have in place. 2010 will be a defining moment for most of our organizations as we will come head to head with a single choice : Do we change the way we did business or do we do things the way we did? If the answer to this is change than we have multiple walls to break down fast.
And as citizens of this country, lets also remember that over the last 20 years, as the world came together politically; we have grown apart internally. There are invisible walls running through the very fabric of our society. The tapestry that once made us strong is being strained at the seams. All the while divisive walls are being erected by both words and deeds. As one columnist said in a local paper, its hard to imagine that a wall can running through in the heart of our beloved KL. But I think there are many already dividing us.
Remember that one young man died bleeding in no man’s land while trying to escape the former East Germany while the West Germans just stood by and looked helplessly. Such are the consequences of a wall. Whether one in our political landscape or one in our organizations.
The question is : Are we breaking down walls or are we erecting more in our daily interactions with our people and stake holders?
Happy anniversary Germany!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Save the People's Company!
It is ironic that when our national car company was in dire straits and was contemplating a new ‘strategic direction’ by going into partnership with an European manufacturer with an established brand name and R&D capabilities, a hue and cry was raised by certain quarters. They argued that Proton is a national asset and it should not be ‘given up’ so easily. The same people brought forth the argument that Proton is the people’s company and thus it should be protected. It mattered little to them that in business, having a strategic partnership is not the same as selling out. Nevertheless, the din that they raised was loud enough to scuttle those plans. At least temporarily.
Strangely lately, as a behind the scene battle is raging for control of Proton, these very same people have not argued for the ‘independence’ of Proton as a people’s company! One will have to be an avid reader of business publications to put the pieces together but suffice to say that there is an intense jostling by certain individuals and their companies to buy over the government’s stake in Proton which is currently held via Khazanah and the EPF. The asking price by these individuals for this stake is way below the real value of Proton currently; at least that's the impression I get by putting together the bits and pieces that are trickling out. I will not be surprised though that the offered price is obscenely low as such things have happened in corporate Malaysia before.
I have been critical of Proton. In fact, I used to just hate reading every move that Proton used to make. I used to wonder for whom exactly was Proton building its cars for? And what was all that raving about Proton’s export capability? And yes, the Islamic car! That too. But of late, Proton has shown it self to be a savvy company (the pun is intended). Like our national carrier, left alone to decide what is best for its business survival, Proton showed a remarkable ability to be creative, strategic and market savvy. Something that many pundits thought were no longer within Proton’s competencies after years of proxy wars and un-fair protection given to it by those who used its existence for their own political mileage…and empty nationalistic rhetoric and chest thumping.
Now that this venerable company is rising and recovering from an extremely bad patch in its history, there are those who are jostling for some low hanging fruits at the expense of Proton’s true value. Lets face it, Proton’s true value lies in 3 areas : Its land bank located in the prime area of Shah Alam which I reckon could be close to half a billion ringgit in value, its under utilized manufacturing facility in Tanjung Malim and; its new found sexiness among global automotive players. Also, as was one my wishes at the beginning the year, Proton is making serious inroads into the future of automotive market : India and China. Especially India where the market is less crowded although probably with more entrenched interests; but nothing Proton can’t handle as Malaysian companies are regarded highly in the subcontinent. Add to these, Proton’s successive hit models in the form of Persona and the new Saga (and I suspect the Exora too very soon), Proton has added a couple of hundred millions to its value by showing a strong future value proposition. The market is also enthusiastic with the planned arrival of the Mitsubishi Lancer as a Waja replacement model in 2010. Don’t forget that Proton has Lotus in its stable too. All these are surely mouth watering prospects for wily businessmen, their cohorts and their sons and daughters.
Hands off gentlemen! The Malaysian people suffered with Proton. We bought its cars despite its poor quality and horrible delivery time. We put up with its declining brand name. We stuck with it and now we should have a say in its direction.
Unless the offer being made to the government is something that is totally fair value for Proton’s current and future potential and unless the whole transaction is transparent and above board, the Malaysian people should send a clear message to the government that we will no longer tolerate the corporate musical chair of the past. We may yet see a new champion to be proud of. The current management team of Proton has done a remarkable job doing an almost thankless job. Lets give them time and see where they can take this company. The global automotive market is a largely transformed one today and Proton may yet find a lucrative niche for it self.
After all, those stalking Proton are also loved by the Malaysian people for their respective successes and charisma. Don’t get greedy now and loose that goodwill.
If ever, now is the time for Proton to be saved. It is a people’s company.
Strangely lately, as a behind the scene battle is raging for control of Proton, these very same people have not argued for the ‘independence’ of Proton as a people’s company! One will have to be an avid reader of business publications to put the pieces together but suffice to say that there is an intense jostling by certain individuals and their companies to buy over the government’s stake in Proton which is currently held via Khazanah and the EPF. The asking price by these individuals for this stake is way below the real value of Proton currently; at least that's the impression I get by putting together the bits and pieces that are trickling out. I will not be surprised though that the offered price is obscenely low as such things have happened in corporate Malaysia before.
I have been critical of Proton. In fact, I used to just hate reading every move that Proton used to make. I used to wonder for whom exactly was Proton building its cars for? And what was all that raving about Proton’s export capability? And yes, the Islamic car! That too. But of late, Proton has shown it self to be a savvy company (the pun is intended). Like our national carrier, left alone to decide what is best for its business survival, Proton showed a remarkable ability to be creative, strategic and market savvy. Something that many pundits thought were no longer within Proton’s competencies after years of proxy wars and un-fair protection given to it by those who used its existence for their own political mileage…and empty nationalistic rhetoric and chest thumping.
Now that this venerable company is rising and recovering from an extremely bad patch in its history, there are those who are jostling for some low hanging fruits at the expense of Proton’s true value. Lets face it, Proton’s true value lies in 3 areas : Its land bank located in the prime area of Shah Alam which I reckon could be close to half a billion ringgit in value, its under utilized manufacturing facility in Tanjung Malim and; its new found sexiness among global automotive players. Also, as was one my wishes at the beginning the year, Proton is making serious inroads into the future of automotive market : India and China. Especially India where the market is less crowded although probably with more entrenched interests; but nothing Proton can’t handle as Malaysian companies are regarded highly in the subcontinent. Add to these, Proton’s successive hit models in the form of Persona and the new Saga (and I suspect the Exora too very soon), Proton has added a couple of hundred millions to its value by showing a strong future value proposition. The market is also enthusiastic with the planned arrival of the Mitsubishi Lancer as a Waja replacement model in 2010. Don’t forget that Proton has Lotus in its stable too. All these are surely mouth watering prospects for wily businessmen, their cohorts and their sons and daughters.
Hands off gentlemen! The Malaysian people suffered with Proton. We bought its cars despite its poor quality and horrible delivery time. We put up with its declining brand name. We stuck with it and now we should have a say in its direction.
Unless the offer being made to the government is something that is totally fair value for Proton’s current and future potential and unless the whole transaction is transparent and above board, the Malaysian people should send a clear message to the government that we will no longer tolerate the corporate musical chair of the past. We may yet see a new champion to be proud of. The current management team of Proton has done a remarkable job doing an almost thankless job. Lets give them time and see where they can take this company. The global automotive market is a largely transformed one today and Proton may yet find a lucrative niche for it self.
After all, those stalking Proton are also loved by the Malaysian people for their respective successes and charisma. Don’t get greedy now and loose that goodwill.
If ever, now is the time for Proton to be saved. It is a people’s company.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Paris of the East
“Where is the soul of this city”?
Someone asked me this of Shanghai recently as we both admired this city that acquired its importance and status since 1297. As the morning mist and pollutants gave up the fight against a brilliant autumn sun, and as the hustle and bustle of the most fashionable city of China began, it is easy to forget that you are in China with her more than 1 billion souls where a huge portion of this are too far away from the modern cities lining its shorelines. China is not one country. There are two. Each feeding on the other. One of peasants and one of merchants. Shanghai is without doubt the lair of the merchants and the bourgeois. In the same breath as the question was asked, this great city was compared to the mega cities of India where despite great leaps into modernity and progress, Indian cities have maintained their ‘Indianess’. For many, India is seen as not having sold its soul for modernization…unlike cities like Shanghai. But then to me, Shanghai is not any other city. It has never been.In fact it is unlike any other city in the middle kingdom. Even the communists could not keep it’s spirits down. The Japanese tried before that but Shanghai survived. Long before the Japanese, the imperial powers of old Europe carved out little plots of the city to themselves. The hotel that I stayed in is in the French concession and I could have bluffed you by saying that I was in France by showing an early morning photo taken from my hotel room’s balcony. There is no city in Asia that embraced western mores as wholeheartedly as Shanghai. There is no city as full of intrigue and romance as Shanghai too. One needs to know a little bit of Far Eastern history to appreciate this. Shanghai is different. Historically, she is incomparable. To appreciate this great city, you need to see beyond the sky scrappers that had mushroomed in the last 15 years or so. Chinese history is far more colourful than what we know by reading western sinologists works and in any narration of Chinese history, Shanghai will always get a special mention. People say that China had become a confident country in the last few decades but they forget that long before the rest of China became comfortable in her own skin, Shanghai had already proclaimed it self as the mother of all cities. The place to be. The place where high fashion lived side by side with third world poverty.
They say that the world that you see is determined by the lenses that you use. In my case, the world that I see is very much influenced by my search for the similarities and the universality of us. Not the differences. Without fail, as I prepare to board the plane home from another strange land, I often think to my self that it was not a strange land after all. In the end, we are indeed the same. Human greatness and its inherent weakness are abound everywhere. A perfect example of this was illustrated by an experience I had in the Old Town of Shanghai. As I waited in line at a designated taxi stand, I noticed that some of those who were in the line became impatient and walked a couple of metres ahead to hail a cab (which means that they are ‘hijacking’ a cab away from whoever was the first in line at that moment). For some strange reason the cab drivers seem to be more than willing to entertain these ‘line breakers’ although they know that there is a lot of would be passengers waiting just a few metres down the road at the designated taxi stand. Things were made worst by those who just pop in and stop a cab from nowhere leaving the 6 or 7 of us lining up looking bewildered. As the evening wore on, I noticed a remarkable thing. Those who lined up were essentially made up of two kinds of people although we were of different colours and nationalities: 1. Those who kept to the principle of waiting for their rightful turn; and 2. Those who took a shortcut to the detriment of others. The former stood their ground and refused to take the shortcut while the latter thought and behaved otherwise.
While I was contemplating this, an African couple came by and stood behind me and moments later a group of street vendors surrounded them with all kinds of wares; from laser pointers, fake LVs to fake Omegas. I heard the man telling one of the vendors that he needs a taxi not a watch. At this, one of them said in broken English that he will get him a taxi for a tip. My fellow African traveler agreed and off the street vendor went. He walked a few steps ahead to highjack a taxi that was approaching the waiting would be passengers! This time it was me who was at the head of the waiting line of people. As the taxi pulled up at the curb this vendor just ran along and asked the taxi to stop at where we were waiting. You get the picture? He is not doing anything. He did not cross the street or go any distance to find a cab. He just took an easy way to make a few bucks. When the taxi stopped in front of me, the street vendor blocked my path with one arm and ushered in the African couple with the other. At that exact moment, I had another reason to believe in my fellow humans. The African guy refused to take the taxi as I was up next. I suppose he had the same idea as the rest of us when the street vendor offered to find a taxi….to actually go out of his way and look for a taxi. Not steal one from those who had already lined up for close to 45 minutes. His refusal was met with English curse words. I looked up at him and thanked him. He just smiled and said “ no problem bro”. As my taxi pulled away, I looked back and saw the street vendor venting his anger with more verbal assault. I thanked that African guy again. This time silently and for his action that once again affirmed my belief that left alone by priests and politicians; we can do what is right. We can make this world a better place. Kinder and perhaps a little bit more happier. We can live harmoniously and keep the extremists and the vulgar among us in check. We can live the middle path and keep the liars and manipulators at bay.
Little did I know that as I was considering these thoughts, the supreme leaders of our very own leading political party, UMNO, were giving inspiring speeches back home to pull this great political party to the middle path. UMNO has the ability to bring the best out of this nation. It has the ability to play the middle ground and do what is right. Left alone by racial zealots, the Malay masses who support this party will allow the middle path to blossom and the non-Malay components of this great land will willingly allow this party to lead. But I digress…
As I boarded my plane I took one last breath of this ancient land of emperors and great teachers and I mentally separated this nation from the Chinese Communist Party and the recent economic prowess it has enjoyed; and what was left behind in my mind’s eye is the Middle Kingdom. A nation that was at peace with it self and one that was self sufficient and willingly thought and learnt from others. After a long, long time this country has awaken to do justice for a gorgeous historical city like Shanghai. China has now earned its right to host this great city! If China is ever to lead the world, that is the past that she has to rely one. Not, her current superiority as measured by western matrices. Rome’s greatness was not in its empire but in it’s legacy of knowledge and honour. China needs to reach out much further into her history of wisdom and balance than the mere 60 years that has been celebrated recently. Paris of the East was what I imagined it would be and maybe we all can learn a thing or two about survival and dogged determination from her.
Her soul is there for all to see. If only we knew where to look.
Someone asked me this of Shanghai recently as we both admired this city that acquired its importance and status since 1297. As the morning mist and pollutants gave up the fight against a brilliant autumn sun, and as the hustle and bustle of the most fashionable city of China began, it is easy to forget that you are in China with her more than 1 billion souls where a huge portion of this are too far away from the modern cities lining its shorelines. China is not one country. There are two. Each feeding on the other. One of peasants and one of merchants. Shanghai is without doubt the lair of the merchants and the bourgeois. In the same breath as the question was asked, this great city was compared to the mega cities of India where despite great leaps into modernity and progress, Indian cities have maintained their ‘Indianess’. For many, India is seen as not having sold its soul for modernization…unlike cities like Shanghai. But then to me, Shanghai is not any other city. It has never been.In fact it is unlike any other city in the middle kingdom. Even the communists could not keep it’s spirits down. The Japanese tried before that but Shanghai survived. Long before the Japanese, the imperial powers of old Europe carved out little plots of the city to themselves. The hotel that I stayed in is in the French concession and I could have bluffed you by saying that I was in France by showing an early morning photo taken from my hotel room’s balcony. There is no city in Asia that embraced western mores as wholeheartedly as Shanghai. There is no city as full of intrigue and romance as Shanghai too. One needs to know a little bit of Far Eastern history to appreciate this. Shanghai is different. Historically, she is incomparable. To appreciate this great city, you need to see beyond the sky scrappers that had mushroomed in the last 15 years or so. Chinese history is far more colourful than what we know by reading western sinologists works and in any narration of Chinese history, Shanghai will always get a special mention. People say that China had become a confident country in the last few decades but they forget that long before the rest of China became comfortable in her own skin, Shanghai had already proclaimed it self as the mother of all cities. The place to be. The place where high fashion lived side by side with third world poverty.
They say that the world that you see is determined by the lenses that you use. In my case, the world that I see is very much influenced by my search for the similarities and the universality of us. Not the differences. Without fail, as I prepare to board the plane home from another strange land, I often think to my self that it was not a strange land after all. In the end, we are indeed the same. Human greatness and its inherent weakness are abound everywhere. A perfect example of this was illustrated by an experience I had in the Old Town of Shanghai. As I waited in line at a designated taxi stand, I noticed that some of those who were in the line became impatient and walked a couple of metres ahead to hail a cab (which means that they are ‘hijacking’ a cab away from whoever was the first in line at that moment). For some strange reason the cab drivers seem to be more than willing to entertain these ‘line breakers’ although they know that there is a lot of would be passengers waiting just a few metres down the road at the designated taxi stand. Things were made worst by those who just pop in and stop a cab from nowhere leaving the 6 or 7 of us lining up looking bewildered. As the evening wore on, I noticed a remarkable thing. Those who lined up were essentially made up of two kinds of people although we were of different colours and nationalities: 1. Those who kept to the principle of waiting for their rightful turn; and 2. Those who took a shortcut to the detriment of others. The former stood their ground and refused to take the shortcut while the latter thought and behaved otherwise.
While I was contemplating this, an African couple came by and stood behind me and moments later a group of street vendors surrounded them with all kinds of wares; from laser pointers, fake LVs to fake Omegas. I heard the man telling one of the vendors that he needs a taxi not a watch. At this, one of them said in broken English that he will get him a taxi for a tip. My fellow African traveler agreed and off the street vendor went. He walked a few steps ahead to highjack a taxi that was approaching the waiting would be passengers! This time it was me who was at the head of the waiting line of people. As the taxi pulled up at the curb this vendor just ran along and asked the taxi to stop at where we were waiting. You get the picture? He is not doing anything. He did not cross the street or go any distance to find a cab. He just took an easy way to make a few bucks. When the taxi stopped in front of me, the street vendor blocked my path with one arm and ushered in the African couple with the other. At that exact moment, I had another reason to believe in my fellow humans. The African guy refused to take the taxi as I was up next. I suppose he had the same idea as the rest of us when the street vendor offered to find a taxi….to actually go out of his way and look for a taxi. Not steal one from those who had already lined up for close to 45 minutes. His refusal was met with English curse words. I looked up at him and thanked him. He just smiled and said “ no problem bro”. As my taxi pulled away, I looked back and saw the street vendor venting his anger with more verbal assault. I thanked that African guy again. This time silently and for his action that once again affirmed my belief that left alone by priests and politicians; we can do what is right. We can make this world a better place. Kinder and perhaps a little bit more happier. We can live harmoniously and keep the extremists and the vulgar among us in check. We can live the middle path and keep the liars and manipulators at bay.
Little did I know that as I was considering these thoughts, the supreme leaders of our very own leading political party, UMNO, were giving inspiring speeches back home to pull this great political party to the middle path. UMNO has the ability to bring the best out of this nation. It has the ability to play the middle ground and do what is right. Left alone by racial zealots, the Malay masses who support this party will allow the middle path to blossom and the non-Malay components of this great land will willingly allow this party to lead. But I digress…
As I boarded my plane I took one last breath of this ancient land of emperors and great teachers and I mentally separated this nation from the Chinese Communist Party and the recent economic prowess it has enjoyed; and what was left behind in my mind’s eye is the Middle Kingdom. A nation that was at peace with it self and one that was self sufficient and willingly thought and learnt from others. After a long, long time this country has awaken to do justice for a gorgeous historical city like Shanghai. China has now earned its right to host this great city! If China is ever to lead the world, that is the past that she has to rely one. Not, her current superiority as measured by western matrices. Rome’s greatness was not in its empire but in it’s legacy of knowledge and honour. China needs to reach out much further into her history of wisdom and balance than the mere 60 years that has been celebrated recently. Paris of the East was what I imagined it would be and maybe we all can learn a thing or two about survival and dogged determination from her.
Her soul is there for all to see. If only we knew where to look.
Monday, October 05, 2009
People Management in the Upturn
According to psychologists, déjà vu (yes, Denzel Washington experienced this big time on one of his movies too !) is an intense feeling of familiarity although the situation or experience seems to be the first that you can recall. But somehow you feel that you have been there, said that, or did that. The faces that you seem to have seen somewhere before, the utterances that seems to be said at a time and circumstances not entirely the first time. Jamais vu on the other hand is an experience or situation which you find strange although by right you should be familiar with it as you have indeed experienced it before. A name you should know, a response you should be familiar with.
As we move into 2010, there will be two kinds of people managers; one who has a déjà vu and one that has a jamais vu. Which one are you? You have been there before haven’t you. Or, have you forgotten? For those of you who have gone through a period of downturn before, you will find all these strangely familiar while for some, you might be scratching your heads to remember what exactly you did the last time you had to manage people during an upturn.
The economic crisis has blown over. I bet my money on this. But I must tell you that I don’t have much money. Still, my bet is that 2010 will see a definite bullish market. Though I was not planning to argue my case why I think so (as you can see, the title is on people management), I think it is prudent to do so just in case you are still using the ‘downturn’ as an excuse to push your usually excellent people management skills to the back burners.
Here are some reasons why I think the economic crisis is over and that there will be a definite pick-up in 2010. BUT…this will be true only if Israel doesn’t attack Iran, India doesn’t attack Pakistan, North Korea doesn’t attack the South and/or Japan, China doesn’t attack Taiwan/Tibet and Russia doesn’t throw a nuclear missile into Georgia and a few hundred other former Soviet block nations bent on humiliating Vladimir Putin and the other guy who is supposedly to be running the country. Other than that, the reasons are clear why 2010 will be a robust economic year. Now, for my reasons to be optimistic:
1. This was not an economic crisis. It was a financial fiasco. The big fat financial manipulators are out of the way (or so they tell me).
2. Indian and Chinese banks have been pretty much protected from the devastation thanks to their conservative lending policies. So are most of South East Asian banks.
3. The African economic potential will begin to be felt and once again we must thank the Chinese and Indians for this as they are re-igniting the dark continent long forsaken by the west and by default by much of the free world.
4. World Cup 2010 in South Africa. It will not be the grandest but the stock market in the FTSE is going to hit the ceiling especially if the English team is doing well and the ripple effect will be felt through Europe. South Africa will make this an African dream and the whole continent will stir from its slumber. We will know more about South Africa and the African Continent than we did for the last 100 years. Advance thanks to ESPN, BBC, FIFA and the SkySports.
5. With the awarding of the 2016 Olympics to party town, Rio, the whole geo-politics of South America will be more business driven. Just like South Africa’s World Cup, Rio’s Olympics will be a South American event. Good for business I tell you as maybe finally the world will remember that there was a time when the Brazilian economy was bigger than the United States and that Argentina were the India and China of an age long gone by.
6. Barrack Obama – conservative whites-Iran-Russia-China-Europe- Israel. I can’t explain this but whatever he does will flow in this continuum and somehow I feel he will not loose which will be good news for the stock market. The fact that he couldn’t swing votes to Chicago at the IOC voting should not be an issue. Please!
7. The Japanese is stirring from their extended sake fueled slumber. Can you feel it? I can..and that is going to be good news for world business. Imagine all that money saved by Japanese housewives flooding the market. Imagine the purchasing power.
8. The Ikeas, Nokias, IBMs, GEs, Fords, VWs, Samsungs, Philips and Sonys of the world will do more of their business in Asia which will help them reduce their costs and open up more markets in Asia, Africa, South America AND parts of Europe that will enjoy a dramatically lowered pricing of goods and services. There is a huge slice of the Eastern European market that is under served as they are unable to enjoy the same purchasing power of their more affluent cousins in Western Europe. I have a feeling this is the market Ratan Tata is eyeing with his European version of Nano.
Now that you are convinced with my scholarly arguments for the recovery, I am sure you are eager to hear my expert advise on how to manage people in the upturn. Thank you. Here it goes :
1. Remember that your people are damn angry with you. In fact, they have sharpened their knives. Your situation will be worst off if you had downsized, froze promotions, cut budgets, reduced employee welfare, closed plants, etc. Don’t expect any love. Your survivors didn’t stay around and keep their knives in their pockets because they love you. They just knew better. But with things getting better and with job opportunities opening up, you are in trouble buster. Be closer to your people than you have ever been or you are going to loose valuable battle hardened talents to your competitors. Find out what they are planning to do in 2010, how they feel as we move into a new financial year, how did they take the whole downturn and its effects.
2. Whatever credibility and good-will that you had accumulated over the years have evaporated. You have to begin all over again from ground zero. You have to win over your people again. Your soldiers are wary and battle scarred. They are also questioning your loyalty to them. This is the time to use your personal power more than your expert power. Win them over (again) with your heart. Huddle together with them while waiting for the sun to rise over the horizon and allow the old familiar warm feeling of trust and security to emerge.
3. Your carefully and lovingly developed talent structure, power base, chain of influence, and internal sponsors are all gone or dramatically re-configured. You are back where you started when you first began. You will not wield the same kind of influence anymore. Your wise words and motivational advise will not have the same kind of effect. You will have to slowly develop new relationships. There are bound to be those who had to take the plunge into new roles and responsibilities when you downsized. Nurture them as you did their predecessors. Take time to build new relationships. Give all, expect little for the next one year.
4. You probably broke every promise you made to your people – with the board’s blessing. The board had probably covered your back these last 12 months or so. Now, they want to see results and they are no longer going to protect you. Ironically, the ones that you will depend on again are your people. You will have to dig deep into your people management skills to re energize and reignite the team. Go for refresher courses. Take your team to team-bonding sessions. Allow time for venting and get all unresolved issues out of the way. Remember, your board is impatient for results. Your results, as always, depend on how well you manage your people.
5. Take some time off. If you are like most of the people leaders that I have met in the last 15 months, you have probably worked non-stop with total disregard to your physical and emotional health. Go refresh your self. You need to allow that punching-bag body of yours time to heal. Enjoy your family and friends. The storm is over. Time to dust your self, pull up that tie, put that lipstick on and face the new year with renewed hope and energy.
Remember : Give it all you got, expect little in return.
Good luck.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Called to Lead
I don’ think you can train just anybody to become an effective leader. You can assist him or her to manage ‘a position’ that requires leadership qualities or even competencies but not a leader in the true sense of the word (I know I am going into contentious grounds here by saying that). A true leader is one who just leads. He doesn't try to lead…he simply leads. And, I am not even talking about charisma; though that helps too. Those who have a calling to lead don't stay in a 'position' of leadership although this may be bestowed upon them in many ways and forms. Rather they stay in a 'state' of leadership.
You can only make a leader out of someone who has a calling to become one. The challenge is – how do you measure a ‘calling’? Well, instead of worrying about how to ‘measure’ or in essence how to identify someone who has the calling to be a leader; it could serve your purpose better if you redefine what ‘leadership’ means for your company and your business. By focusing only on what I term as ‘classical leadership’ .ie. those who can lead with all the strength and refinement of a heaven-sent leader, you will be on a journey as epic in scale as the search for the holy grail. No, your company do not have that luxury. Instead, look at leadership from a more realistic levels. Perhaps you should look at the functionality of leadership more than the qualities of what is deemed to be great leadership. This would probably change your entire organizational leadership development interventions. Maybe even dramatically so and for the better.
Consider this. There are more than 1 type of leader or shall I say there are more than 1 type of situation in which a company may need leaders. A company may need leaders :
1. To lead the people (what we commonly refer to as executive leadership/classical leadership)
2. To lead strategy (formulation)
3. To lead strategy (implementation)
4. To lead strategy (follow-through)
5. To lead client experience
6. To lead the company’s knowledge advantage (those who want to be seen as leaders in their respective job-specific areas and may not necessarily want to be seen as executive/classical leaders)
7. To lead sales
8. To lead marketing (Yes! There is a world of difference between leading sales vs leading marketing and I am yet to see one who can do both equally well)
9. To lead the company’s ‘happiness index’ (individuals who are adept at keeping the peace and sowing the seeds of harmony and joy at the work place. It is better if the executive leaders can play this role but often times, they will need someone on the floor to do it. Those who are magnets for others to share and confide to are leaders in their own right and often becomes good change leaders too if given proper training and preparation.
10.To lead the company’s culture and values (those who constantly remind everybody else to keep true to the company’s values). These are the living brands of the company. Though they may be unfairly labeled as the ‘furniture’ of the company, they are in truth an embodiment of the company’s DNA. I have an amusing (and sad) story to share here : Some years ago when I was an independent trainer, I was involved in delivering leadership development workshops for a company that was incidentally going through a branding exercise. I got to know from my participants that the company had formed a 45 strong brand ambassadors who had the following qualities : female, young, pretty, ‘energetic’. The new brand values and promises of this company was around the idea of strength, stability and maturity. Right there in my sessions, I could have identified those who would have made great leaders of this type. No offense to the PYTs though. It was not their fault to begin with.
Lets take a look at the 1st type of leaders as this seems to be what we are all most interested in. Companies invest huge sums of money to identify, assess and develop those who are deemed as possible future leaders of the ‘1st type’. The results have been mixed. I suspect that the problem lies in the misconception that the 10 types of leadership are interchangeable and hence anyone can be trained to narrow the gap. So, if you have a super-performing R&D specialist, you can easily train and develop her to become an excellent lab manager (which involves much…much more than just researching, recording and analyzing data)….or so this thinking goes. It is not impossible for a knowledge specialist to become an effective executive leader but this is not a given. It is a lottery game. Failure rate is high.
So, as you might have guessed it by now : Right selection is the key.
There are some tell-tale signs (which are not scientific and I can’t defend this vigorously except that I have noticed these qualities in different settings and circumstances). There are some unique qualities of those who have a natural calling…a certain predisposition…to lead people and if viewed in tandem with more scientific and objective tools, there is a higher chance of making the right selection:
1. They are grounded. Their language is one of realism with a healthy dose optimism. They are able to show others how to reach for the skies while keeping their feet firmly on the ground.
2. They like to be involved (there is bound to be a slow progress from getting involved in everything and anything to selective and meaningful involvement without any sign of detachment for those things deemed not worthy of their involvement).
3. Exhibits a strong sense of personal values. I have said before that it is one’s professional duty to find a company that fits one’s personal value system. Those who have a calling to lead seem to be able to find jobs and companies that are aligned to their values. This value-alignment gives them the confidence and wherewithal to explore their personal boundaries of capabilities in terms of taking the risk of leading. They are also the first to leave when there is a non-alignment for extended periods of time.
4. They do not constantly tell stories of their past successes and their good deeds to establish their credibility. In the art and science of leadership, sharing truthful stories of past successes (and failures and the subsequent learning) are indeed an excepted strategy to build one’s leadership credibility. One with a calling to lead will know how much and how often this sharing should take place. For most effective leaders, their success lasts for only that moment. They do not live on past glories. They take their due credit and move on to new success paths.
5. Shares credit and keeps away from trivial and insincere praises.
6. Seeks out leadership tasks even without an official leadership portfolio or reason. They lead for the sake of wanting to lead to add value, to provide direction and ensure collective success.
7. Develops others in many different ways and often times beyond the call of duty.
8. Takes initiatives and explores beyond the boundaries of their comfort zone at the risk of failure.
9. Spirited and reflective and somewhere in between this continuum, they are constantly showing subtle signs of insecurity and self-doubt. This enables them to constantly improve and achieve better results while showing their followers their very human side.
10. They exhibit a fierce and determined sense of ownership.
So, for those of you good talent development professionals out there, remember that leadership development is as much an objective process as it is a wise decision. Decide wisely every step of the way and you may see the intended results that your company so richly deserve for such a huge investment of money, time and effort. I am all for objective data based selection and development process though I will not discount the benefit of a wise observation and judgement call.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Marrow of Life…
“Live deep and suck out the marrow of life..”
Henry David Thoreau in Walden
Thoreau challenged us to experience life deeply in all its excitement, wonder and glory. Don't float on the surface. Dive deep. Live intensely. Love powerfully.
There are 3 of us wannabe hot rods who frequent the gym, pumping away at the irons or burning the rubber until our bones ached. In the course of my usual 1 ½ hours in the gym, there were countless times when I just feel like throwing in the towel, literally, and hit the shower. I would have been well justified as it is not easy to do a full workout after a day at work and I am sure my other gym buddies felt the same. One of them works as a ice-cream distributor and he clocks hundreds of miles in a day. Another is an entrepreneur with a string of companies under his belt. I am sure they have a more demanding day than me. In fact it is never easy to be in the gym for anyone. There are just so many other things one can do instead of sweating it out. So many other pleasant things like a couple of cold beers for instance or a comfortable sofa with a TopGear and a drink in hand. One of my gym buddies usually ends his final set of weights with an expletive….not sure at what or whom that is targeted at but it usually signals a good workout for him. A good workout for me is when my sweat clouds my vision. A good workout is one that takes you to the edge; when you feel your heart is going to explode or when you feel your arms are just going to give away and yet you could push your self for one more minute or one more set of weights. And….that is when I sometimes feel that I have sucked the marrow of my live for all its worth. It is indeed worth all that effort as somebody once said -you don’t pay the price but rather enjoy the price of doing things that you otherwise would rather not. Later, as I hit the shower and wash away the sweat of the work-out and the day’s physical, mental and emotional pains and aches, the subsequent feeling of relief and ‘achievement’ can be a seductive catharsis. It is that feeling of achievement and subsequent flow of warm soothing relief that I crave for. Strangely, I find my self being more vigorous and pushing my self harder in the gym on days when work seem mundane and lacking of any particular challenge to satisfy my craving for ‘worthwhile and meaningful endeavors’.
Now, it seems to me that this is what management consultants the world over (like yours truly) tell their clients whether in their one-on-one relationships, in seminars or in workshops. Manage and Lead like you are sucking at the marrow of life. Do things with such focused intent and purpose that what you do brings out the best out of your people and adds the greatest value to your organization. Push your mental and emotional energy to the edges of human endurance BUT don’t break. Keep your cool. Manage with a smile and loads of wisdom. Create a friendly atmosphere and be a magnet for those seeking advise and guidance. Grow others, leave a legacy, build a winning team. Defeat your fears and walk on fires, literally.
Usually in a workshop, I can get my clients excited about the prospect of managing and leading as deeply as sucking at the marrow of life. But I also know that the positive feeling lasts until the next morning when they step into their offices and the first nasty email from a customer pops up or hears what a new and arrogant young staff says or whatever. At that exact point in time, their managing and leading becomes less than experiencing the marrow of life. All that energy and motivation dissipates into thin air. And that's why in fact, I have christened this blog as First Coffee. It is to remind my self, my participants and clients that they should not get excited with what I say and what we discuss and get all fired up and feel a great sense of energy; just like what you feel as the first gulp of your morning coffee goes down your throat. Then, when the first irritant hits the face, that feeling vaporizes. The idea is to keep repeating that experience of a first coffee through out the day, to keep sucking at the marrow of life throughout your day at the office. Keep feeling that warm soothing sensation throughout the day. It is possible.
In my experience there is only one thing that can make that happen : Your Values.
The marrow of our lives is in our VALUES. It is not in the way we live. Definitely not in the accessories that we surround ourselves with. It is to be found in WHY we life? Go find them and/or make them. Never just accept them. Once they are identified use it for everything, for every single interaction, decision and action. Find jobs and companies that are aligned to those values. Make it as a basis for dealing with the easiest of problems and toughest of the challenges. Drink it through-out the day and that first coffee feeling should creep back and spread soothing warmth and calmness down your spine.
Know that each time you loose that first coffee feeling, you are probably doing something incongruent with your values. Trace back, make corrections, say your piece; and go home knowing that you have been true to your values.
Do yourself and everybody else a favour - don’t get a job to pay the bills as you will soon pay the price. Get a job that fulfills you and you will find it pays the bills and more. Also, if for whatever reasons you find that your values are no longer aligned to that of the organization or vice versa – leave honorably and on a position of strength and truth. There are too many of us stuck in our seats and lamenting how ‘wrong’ that seat feels. Go find a better seat. There always is one that will fit you perfectly. You will find that the fit is usually more to do with a fit of values than anything else.
In my line of work, it gives me a great sense of comfort knowing that at the highest levels of our organizations, our leaders have their hearts at the right places. They do indeed focus on the values of the organizations. Making a profit is a given. How that profit is made will make the difference between a lasting and benevolent organization and a short-living and selfish entity. Again, as I said earlier, it is not what life we live but rather how we live it.
The how is always answered by our values. I salute each and every individual whom I come across on a daily basis who continue to suck at the marrow of live by living their values and constantly having that first coffee feeling at work.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Present Truthfully and Efficiently : Basic Principles for Effective Business Presentation
As my relationship with my workshop participants or my career transition candidates evolve into more than just a consultant-client relationship, and when they share their trials and tribulations at the work place I often hear them lamenting how difficult it is for them to make effective presentations. Once, a senior manager of an organization who was in my workshop wrote to me this sentence (with a smiley added at the end) : “I am cooked! Remember, the new area GM? Presenting to him tomorrow! Any remedies other than a malt?!”
I have delivered my share of successful and less than successful business presentations and over the years I have begun to trust a simple mantra for making the best out of any type of business presentation : Present the truth….present it efficiently….walk away with your integrity if nothing else. I hope you will find this useful too.
First, PRESENT THE TRUTH, don’t take people for a ride! A presentation be it to influence or to inform has one underlying purpose and that is to educate. Facts need to be conveyed first and foremost with confidence and conviction; not arrogance. Do not sugar coat what you have to offer with bombastic words and phraseology as usually that is a clear sign that you are fishing for something to cling on for dear life. Why? Because you didn’t go in with a clear ‘point-of-view’ (POV). Have a crystal clear POV and decide what exactly you want to walk away with. For example, your POV could be : I am going to inform the Boss that the launch of the new product in November this year is not the way to go as we have quite substantial historical data to prove this. Your take away could be : I will walk away from the presentation with the Boss’s agreement that another round of meeting need to be held with our external branding advisors’.
Part of presenting the truth also involves clarifying your intend and purpose. Why are you the one delivering the presentation? Why have you taken up the responsibility of presenting? Is it because of your expertise, your convincing ability, your humour, your strong personality? Or, is it because this is an opportunity for you to shine, to make an impact, to put your name on the organisation’s radar? The answer to this question will to a large extend influence your intend and purpose and hence your approach. If you are asked to deliver a presentation ask the person assigning you the task this question. For all you know, you could be asked to deliver the presentation for a purpose that you are not naturally and truthfully inclined towards. For example, if somebody had asked me to present a solution to a client with the believe that I can convince, I will be in trouble. I don’t see my self as a natural convincer. I am more like somebody who will say all that is need to be said; both positive and negative, and hope that the listeners have an open mind to make their decision. I sincerely believe that in my industry what differentiates between one product from another is the passion put behind its delivery and that is what I will hope for my clients to detect rather than trying to convince them that ‘this framework is better than that’. For me to present most effectively, I need a less rigid ‘client take-away’ especially from a first meeting. For example, if a client called me in to share our Coaching solution as a way out for their performance problems VS if I was asked to share our coaching solution and what ever else that I think they will benefit better from, I will definitely do better in the latter. It will be difficult for me to go in with an aspirin-pill that the client had chosen and walk away ‘convincing’ them that that is the right pill for their aches!. Some presenters are what I call ‘high-focus/narrow-information’ type. People like me are what I call as ‘high-radius/broad-information’ type. There is a need for both type of presenters for different purposes.
Another element of presenting the truth involves ignoring the pressures of the moment. Have you experienced walking into a presentation feeling well prepared and relatively positive about your balanced approach only to be greeted by a obnoxious client who shoots you down after your first few lines or PowerPoint slides? I have, but more on that later. If you have than you will agree with me that your most immediate reaction is to switch to the survival mode. What will one do in a survival mode? That’s right…anything and everything to survive. When we are cornered into a survival mode, it is hard to present the truth as we have lost our upper ground. So, regardless of what initial reception you get, keep to your game plan. But that doesn't mean that you do not readjust to your listener’s motives and requirements. This brings me to my experience with a rather difficult client who barked at everything that I presented and shot holes into my presentation to an extend that I began to doubt my own preparation, which is rarely sloppy. But, as I persisted with my POV and maintained a humble predisposition and explained why the training program that I am proposing will be of value to his people, I noticed that he seemed to catch on with the idea that one of the modules will help participants identify where their true passion in life lies. With that, a presentation that was at the risk of being terminated prematurely, extended into late evening over cups of coffee and teh-tariks. I got the project and made the training provider a happy man for a year.
Next in the equation for effective presentation is to PRESENT EFFICIENTLY. This means you are conscious of your listener’s time and you are humble enough to admit that what you have to say is probably not really a life-or-death matter that they are willing to forgo their lunch hour for. So, say your piece succinctly and get the main points across quickly and allow time for questions and clarifications. Deliver your POV as clearly as you possibly can and make it known what take-aways you are expecting out of the meeting. Arrive early to get your materials ready. Make sure your laptop battery is fully charged and the slides are already on the screen before your clients/audience walks in. If you are not using a power point presentation but only printed materials, use your early arrival to arrange them neatly. Have your notebook and pen ready and open. Don’t begin the meeting or presentation by saying trivial things like ‘this is a nice meeting room’. You will have better chance of scoring some points if you mention something positive about the company that you have read recently. If it is a follow-up meeting, summarize the major points from the previous one before getting into you latest presentation.
In the end I suppose what makes or breaks a presentation is our mindset going into it. If we can get that right, the tool set follows seamlessly.
So, Present the Truth…Present it Efficiently….Walk away with your integrity.
You might just not need any 'malt' the evening before!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Tread Softly on Earth
I read an article recently about how one can create a rural haven right smack in the middle of a modern city. The writer expounded the idea that humans need to be kinder and gentler to the environment and as an extension to our very mother planet herself. As I was reading it, one particular phrase caught my eyes …..“ tread softly on earth”.
It is an amazing phrase. Beautiful, powerful, soul-piercing; and it hit me like a tonne of bricks. ‘Tread softly on earth’? This got me thinking and reflecting for the rest of the afternoon on that day. It sounds like an oxymoron to say 'tread softly' and 'earth' in the same breath. Its such an antithesis to my life on this planet. Maybe yours too.
Do I ‘tread softly’ on earth or do I stomp, tramp and crush my path through this life? Am I one of those humans, as one of the talking-tree characters say in the Lord of The Rings “cutting, slashing , burning…”? Do I leave more than footprints and take away more than memories from this life giving planet?
I think I don’t tread softly. I am a brute who thinks of only my pleasure and comfort and only my time on earth. Damn what happens after that. Not my problem!. I leave a trail of destruction on my path and by the time my sojourn on this planet ends, I would have left behind a place far more worst than when I came into it. I would have left behind nothing but hurt, pain, devastation. That would be my legacy. Is this anyway to live? Is there any other way?
As I was contemplating this unsavory thought about me and my life on this planet, I instinctively remembered a gentle soul who once graced my world many years ago. My late grandmother. She was probably one who left this world a better place or at the least not one that was worst off. I remember her as a little sweet old lady who glides effortlessly from one chore to another. Constantly on the move; doing something or other. Her small frame and her frail demeanor can be misleading as she was a woman of great energy and strength. Yet, she was quite, soft and moved about her life in a gentle whisper. The only ‘noise’ that she would make is when she sits on the veranda every evening, with her legs resting flat on the cool floor while she pounds her beetle nut in a wooden bowl made by my late grandfather. She will do this until I return home after my game of football or a round of wild running and shouting in a nearby playing field. Most times, I will return home with cuts and bruises. She will look up slowly at me, and without saying a word she will get up and prepare some hot water for my bath. During these times, I knew that the more silent she was when I came home dirty and bleeding the more ‘punishment’ is awaiting me. True enough, once I have had my dinner and is just about getting ready to laze the evening away she will ask this one all powerful question : “ Aren’t you going to study now?” Regardless of my answer, she will begin a slow, deep and almost inaudible narration of my family ‘history’ and how my mother is sacrificing so much for my education. Over the years, I memorized her entire narration. Soon after talking about my mother, she will begin saying things about how much my aunt is helping to educate me. After that it will be about what kind of example am I setting for my younger sister. She will end this narration by her all powerful self-questioning : “Will I die knowing that you have turned out to be a good for nothing boy?”. With that final whisper from her, my evening would be totally and absolutely destroyed and I would drag my feet to my room. She was devastatingly effective in getting her message across. Gently. Ever so softly.
She had never shouted at me or at anybody else for that matter. She is not one who curses others but I distinctly remember her cursing quietly at those who drag their feet while walking as she considers that act as “ burdening mother earth”. My sister and I were not allowed to stomp around even in jest. She never steps onto the little plot of land in front of our house with her slippers on. That is not ‘polite to mother earth’ she would say. When she died, she was happy, comfortable, witnessed me going to the university ; one of her silent goals in life…quite amazing for a illiterate woman from a little village just out of Madras of the old days. I would like to think that she entered the world screaming and shouting but exited it quietly and softly and disappeared into the great realm of nothingness of what life essentially is. She treaded ever so softly on earth. At least that's what I witnessed until my early 20s when she passed on.
I am on the contrary, a terminator. Through out my days, I terminate what is beautiful and nice. From the moment I wake up till I crash on my bed late into the night, I destroy the beauty of this world. The things that I consume, use, throw, deplete are all designed to do one thing and one thing only : reduce the splendor of this world. I am a virus that spreads and multiplies and destroys this planet in every imaginable way. I chip away at nature slowly, steadily and with a quite vengeance and efficiency. When the day comes for me to say goodbye, I will have done more damage to this world than anything else that could have ever done. I am a master of destruction. I don’t add. I reduce. I eat away at the transcendent purity of this earth. I pollute the very essence of this planet. My greed and my insatiable desire for comfort have always won over the need to preserve and protect. I do not ‘tread softly’.
But, I compensate. I try not to justify.
I tread softly on the hearts of those who cross my path...I try. I attempt to connect with others on the fertile soil of kindness, honesty and fairness. I hope that at least will redeem my soul. My ancestors were farmers who respected and worshiped the earth that they treaded on. They put back much into life than what they took for themselves. I will never redeem my self in their eyes but at least I hope people will remember :
“Here lies a man who destroyed. Here lies a man who treaded softly on his kind”.
That, is the least I can ask for as I don't tread softly on earth like my sweet and gentle grandmother did.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Strategies for Organisational Effectiveness
Note : An interview with BFM (with my colleague). The processes discussed here are my firm's IP.
Q : Ok, first of all, why does a company need a strategy?
A : A very fundamental but an extremely critical question really. Well, a company needs a strategy because it does not operate in a vacuum. It operates in a business environment. This environment has two sides to it; one that is predictable and one that is unpredictable. To manage these, especially the unpredictable ones, a company needs a strategy. So fundamentally, a strategy is your collective efforts of both soft and hard actions to navigate these two sides to take the company where it wants to go. If the ocean is your business environment, and the ship is your company; then strategy is your navigation plot.
Q : ‘Strategy’ is possibly the most used word in the world of business. But in essence what is ‘Strategy’?
A : Well, bear with me for a second here as I define ‘strategy’ from the abstract to the concrete. Strategy is first and foremost a set of organizational paradigms that will ensure that the company will take the needed actions to achieve operational effectiveness(profit). So what it means is that a strategy is something that is supposed to guide your actions in a way that helps you achieve your objectives. Say for example, a low cost carrier. Its strategy is to go for volume at minimal cost not high yield like full service carriers. With that strategy it will take actions like tapping into hitherto untapped markets, providing hard to refuse offers, going paperless, having fewer cabin crew, extensive use of the world wide web, landing at secondary airports and so on. So, in essence your strategy will help you get to where you want to go…be it cost efficiency, market leadership or whatever.
Now, lets say a promising manager in this low cost carrier suggests that the company now offer at least one cup of fresh juice free for each passenger. A cup of fresh juice is no big deal but this action will be decided on only one criteria .ie. will it jive with the strategy and what is the strategy : High volume, minimal cost. That's it! Will adding a cup of free orange juice for each passenger achieve that? The answer to that will determine whether that particular action is go or no go.
Q : So, strategy should not be equated with actions?
A : No and that is a huge problem because it is so very easy to confuse both. Often we find ourselves busy taking actions, even seemingly creative and proactive ones, thinking that this is the strategy. They are not. Actions by themselves are of no use until and unless they help you to realize your strategies. You can only have that many strategies but you can take an infinite number actions to fulfill that strategy. And, sometimes a company makes it known to the market of its strategy and yet it takes actions that are contrary to that strategy - at least in the perception of the market. I am not saying strategy can’t change. They can but whatever it is your actions must help you achieve your strategies.
Q : Can you provide an example to illustrate that?
A : Lets say you run a coffee shop and your strategy is to position your little quaint shop as a place for middle aged businessmen and executives have their cuppa while getting their work done in a place that will bring back sweet memories of the little coffee shops of the old days. You promote your shop as such and yet when your targeted customers enters your shop, he or she is greeted by a worker who can’t speak a word of any of the Malaysian languages. Your menu is more western. Your wifi has moods every now and then. Will you close shop? Probably not but in the long run, you don’t have anything to create loyalty. Worst still when a competitor learns how to execute that strategy better than you.
Q : What exactly goes into a strategy or in other words what ingredients make a good or effective strategy?
A : Well, let me first put a caveat here. By it self all strategies are good strategies. They may be imperfect but good nevertheless as they are intended for improvements of some kind whether increase in profit, market share, customer satisfaction, and so on. What makes it effective or otherwise is in the implementation or execution.
Anyway, a more pertinent question is what should a strategy address? A good strategy should address 3 things : 1. Structure, Roles & Capabilities; 2. Leadership; 3. People, Systems & Processes. When your business strategy addresses these 3 areas, you then have high Employee Engagement, which in turn produces Customer Satisfaction and which in turn gives you optimum Organisational Performance i.e profit.
Q : Sounds logical and seemingly easy. Yet so many business strategy fail. Why is that?
A : It is logical but many organizations have this illogical believe that they can focus on one or maybe 2 of the 3 areas I mentioned earlier and that should be enough to take them across. No. You can’t be world class in your Leadership development strategies and hope for your People, Systems and Processes to sort it self out. No. You need to plan and execute all three effectively. Your strategies are dependent on all 3 areas and together they will give you your competitive advantage. In that sense, some of our GLCs are doing well now because they have realized that they can’t focus only on customer satisfaction without having a robust people systems or that they can’t achieve profit by merely focusing on cost and not employee engagement.
Then also, sometimes a strategy may not be well formulated with its end results not precisely determined. What is your strategy intended to do? In other words, where do you want to go with your strategy – Profit, retention, share price, efficiency, cost reduction, quality, market share, culture change? You also can’t bite off more than you can chew. You can only be good in one or two things. Have strategies to make you the best in these one or two things.
Let share some data on this. In 2005, the Wharton School Publishing reported that companies only achieved 63% of the expected results from their strategic plans. In 2007, MIT Sloan Management Review shows that fewer than 45% of board of directors believe that their company is capturing strategic objectives. Interestingly in 1999, Fortune magazine estimated that 70% of CEOs fail not because of bad strategy but because of poor execution. In 2005, the Harvard Business Review said that 2/3 of the HR functions are not aligned to the business strategy and 95% of the employees don’t understand what the strategy is all about. So, is it a wonder that according to a Towers Perrin global study in 2007 only 21% of employees are fully engaged with their companies and their jobs?
Q : Having a good strategy is one thing, but executing it is another! What can leaders do to ensure their strategies are executed effectively.
A : Well, they have to ask 3 critical questions : 1. What are the most important levers of strategy execution for me currently? 2. How can we improve our ability to deliver on our strategic commitments? 3. In what way we can leverage our current talents to achieve our strategic objectives?
Q : I have always wondered how consulting companies like yourself can help a business develop its strategy. I mean, its their business, not yours right?
A : That's an insightful question. We at Right Management of course will take pains to understand your business through our research and our interactions and discussions with you. That's gives us an understanding of who you are and where you want to head. But more importantly, what we can do for you is to ensure that you go through a systematic thinking and planning process in developing your strategy. We will also ensure that you are considering all the factors that you need to consider and sometimes we may also help you find the answers you need or identify the gaps you need to know about as you plan your strategy.
Q : Typically, what would be the recommended process for an effective strategy development?
A : 1. Discovery, 2. Executive Alignment, 3. Strategy Design & Planning, 4. Strategy Implementation, 5. Measure & Review
Q : Any last words on how to achieve organizational effectiveness through effective strategies?
A : Well, as we have been discussing in the last 4 sessions with you, all businesses have been impacted by the financial and economic crisis. To manage this, we have had to down size and restructure our business. So, while we begin to motivate and realign our existing talent and resources, we may be in a position to re-visit our business strategy moving forward. Take this opportunity to do the right things for your business. You owe that much to your people and your shareholders.
Especially for SMEs, our message is that pay attention to all facets of your strategy. I reckon that the business environment for SMEs will get tougher in the coming years. They need to strategize and the need to be nimble enough to adapt. A good and actionable strategic framework should help them do that.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
Deepak Chopra has been branded many things. New age guru. Hodge-podge philosopher. The celebrity guru. Very recently he came to be known as Michael Jackson’s spiritual adviser. It matters not that MJ never proclaimed him as such. For me, coming from the Indian-Hindu tradition, he is a philosopher more than any thing else. He is no doubt an extremely savvy marketer and purveyor of Hollywood chic. Hey… lets get real. So was most of the greatest philosophers of the modern world. Somebody once told me of how he is inspired by Bob Dylan’s philosophical lyrics. If Bob is a philosopher, Deepak is definitely one. And please, don’t equate him with St.Augustine, Sankracharya or Khalil Gibran or Lao Tzu. He is not but he makes sense. Anybody who can help dense souls like yours truly make sense of quantum physics deserves some respect.
One of his books, usually The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success which I bought on Christmas day in 1998 is always on my bedside. I have read it a dozen times and I am still reading it.
To be honest, you need to understand a little of Indian philosophy and cosmology before you can truly grasp the messages that Deepak tries to convey OR you need to have a totally open mind and heart to allow the messages to be absorbed. OR, you must have been exposed to this world view in some manner to appreciate it. Otherwise, I doubt you will have the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by your bedside! If you do, and if I am being presumptuous… my apologies.
One of the things that I find fascinating about Deepak’s approach is his belief that the universe works instantaneously and effortlessly. There is no pressure or compulsion involved. The universe just works its magic. The energy in all flows effortlessly. Butterflies just fly. Flowers bloom. The sun rises and sets. Water flows. Babies smile. They don’t try. They just do it. He terms it as the Law of Least Effort. We have within us the ability to move mountains without missing a heart beat. Didn’t somebody once say – be silent, and the universe will dance at your feet? As I am writing this, Morgan Freeman comes to my mind. If you watch his movies, you will think that he happened to walk by the shooting set and decided to pop in and have some fun. He doesn't act….he just IS. Now, I am also thinking for Zinadine Zidane, Lois Armstrong, Mario Puzo, Stephen Hawking,Tagore, Fateh Khan. They never showed that they strived to achieve their ‘stardom’. Their lesser competitors amply illustrated that they were ‘working hard’. Yet they never achieved the level of success as enjoyed by their idols.
So, the saying that ‘what’s worthwhile, is worth fighting for’ may not always hold true. The human race has developed a paradigm that struggle is to be respected. Strive and toil is honorable. In fact the ancient Chinese used to scorn traders as they were seen as enjoying the fruits of ‘no-labour’ ( in other words – least effort) while the farmers were held in high esteem as they ‘worked hard’ for their living. They were honest while the traders were not; so it was said. Is this true or does it makes sense at all? At least for me, all those things that I fought hard for are no longer with me. They even seem so irrelevant now. What I have now and what seem to have lasted are things that happened to me instantaneously and effortlessly. My love and my life - my beautiful and gentle girlfriend Alcie, my twin daughters Vana & Vila, the peace I enjoy, the serenity I experience, my new extended family that I am getting to know. All these happened to me effortlessly. Sometimes, I am embarrassed about it as I often feel I don’t deserve them as they just happened. Without much effort from me. Am I not supposed to ‘work hard’ for them?
Even some of the people I have met and still meeting in my life. They bring new and profound meanings. It makes me stop in my track as these individuals are adding so much value into my life and they are painting it with such beautiful colours that I sometimes wonder how did I attract them into my little universe in the first place.It takes my breath away. They are just popping up, literally, everywhere and we are connecting instantaneously and effortlessly. Even my relationship with my mother which was strained for many years have undergone a total transformation – again without any particularly strenuous effort from me; for once.
These things began to happen as I slowly learned to ‘let go and let God’ (as a dear young friend told me recently). In my case, I let the universe take care of the details. This probably came about as I began to realize that in the end, we don’t really control anything. It’s an illusion to think that we are in control. We only have choices not control. We can take actions but we can’t determine the results.
Even in the world of business, I think there is a place for ‘letting go and letting God’. As leaders and managers, there is a need for us to be able to make things happen instantaneously and effortlessly. If we are constantly fighting raging fires, running all over the place, being busy all the time, constantly on edge, harassed; something is wrong with our leadership and management style. Calmness in a business leader is an underrated thing. Great achievements are a result of being ‘in the flow’ and it is a state where we ‘create’ unprecedented successes almost by magic. Usain Bolt ran 100 metres in 9.58 seconds a few days ago and he looked pretty relaxed at the finishing line. The number two, and three were huffing and puffing. If you ask him how he did it, he will probably say “I just did”. Anyway, coming back to leading and managing, we need to accept the humbling reality that we can’t control everything. We need to ‘let go and let trust’ work. We need to trust that our people will do what is expected of them and that they will do the best they can. Sometimes they may not repay that trust in full but that's a price we have to pay so that we can let go of the trivial and get on the real stuff. Stuff that really makes a difference for the organization. We need to be conscious of the choices we make and the actions we take but not the end results as they are determined by factors beyond our control. Maybe this is what Krishna was saying to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Maybe that's what Jesus was saying to his followers. Maybe this what the Sufi mystics have been saying in their lyrics and hymns. Make the choice and don’t be burdened by the results. Float. Be light. Be free. Let go of the control.
Float like a butterfly…soar like an eagle (sorry Ali!).
Oh, by the way…did anybody wonder why Silvio Berlusconi still manages to be in power? He doesn’t try very hard. He just IS with all his faults and strengths and the Italians love him for that. The rest of the pretentious politicians ‘work very hard’ to be other than what they really are.
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