Gallup's Q12

After hundreds of focus groups and thousands of interviews with employees in a variety of industries, Gallup came up with the Q12 - 12 key questions that identifies strong feelings of employee engagement. Results from the survey show a strong correlation between high scores and superior job performance. Those that I highlighted in blue below are what I deem as "must-have". If you don't, maybe that's why you are feeling less than fulfilled in your current workplace and it may be time to move on.

• Do you know what is expected of you at work?

• Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

• At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

• In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

• Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?

• Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

• At work, do your opinions seem to count?

• Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

• Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

• Do you have a best friend at work?

• In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?

• In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A page turner, just like his earlier book The Kite Runner. I read this on a bored Sunday at one sitting, and ended up with very sore eyes. Books like this are great, because they raise social awareness about issues that are happening in some dark corner of the world and casting them in real, human terms helps bring such issues closer to the public. But it is depressing to read and frankly I am feeling a little de-sensitized towards over-reported instances of war, oppression and violence. I am beyond "how can this happen?" but I have no answer to "how do we stop this from happening?" and perhaps the result of this is apathy, followed by attacks of guilt. The ending gives us hope, with the intending birth of another generation, and optimism that things can change for the better, hopefully not too long in the future.

汉代风云人物

西汉前期的风云人物有刘邦，项羽，韩信，萧何，张良，陈平，还有吕雉（吕后）等等，易先生以一贯清晰，稳重的风格，一一为这些人物的性格做分析与讲解。

“政治家要考虑的问题不仅仅是一件事该不该做，而且还要考虑能不能做，现在做还是将来做”。

“狡兔死，走狗烹；高鸟尽，良弓藏；敌国破，谋臣死”。

“用得着你的时候，他会用。用不着的时候，他就杀 - 这是历史的教训”。

刘邦的领导艺术：
1。 知人善任 - 知人首先在于知己，其次在于知彼。人贵有自知之明，自知之明是最大的聪明。
2。不拘一格。
3。招降纳叛。
4。不计前嫌。
5。坦诚相待。
6。用人不疑。
7。论功行赏。
8。暗中控制。

Grace Kelly's Bridal Gown

Lovely, isn't it? But only she can carry it off. Stunningly regal. The rest of us minions would look frumpy, at best. In this photo, she looks like a cross between Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow (80:20).

Milton Friedman series

Am watching this on IdeaChannel.tv which is streaming the PBS series of "Free to Choose", essentially Friedman's views on the free market mechanism and its benefits. The series was first aired in 1980 and then updated in 1990. 30min into the video I'm already hypnotised, not really by the ideas per se but more the man himself. Don't know why, I just am.

品三国 （二）

续品三国 （上），易先生继续精彩的分析， 尤其后段他从重要人物的政治理想的角度的统一分析与见解，更是让人读得津津有味。比如曹操与诸葛亮的政治理想的共同点等。关于孙权的部分也不错，有很多地方可供参考。

孙权：“生存的时候不忘灭亡，安全的时候忧虑危险”
“夫战，勇气也。一鼓作气，在而衰，三而竭”
“敌进我退，敌驻我扰，敌疲我打，敌退我追”

孙权沉得住气，变得了脸，弯得了腰，也抬得起头。但这不代表他没有保留，没有原则，没有底线。

《留侯论》：

“古之所谓豪杰之士，必有过人之节，人情有所不能忍者。匹夫见辱，拔剑而起，挺身而斗，此不足为勇也；天下有勇者，卒然临之而不惊，无敌加之而不怒，此其所挟持者甚大，而其志甚远也”。

就是实在

“。。人可以清楚记得过去的事，人可以专注 正在进行的事，而未来一定会来，不必着急，那不该是一头咄咄逼人的文明野兽。像这样的节奏，她就有充足时间去相信在自己身上发生过的一切，无论是美好的无 论是遗憾的，就像一针又一针那样实实在在。在这般节奏里，每样事物的开端与结束都能心平静气地历历可循。一件事情，就是一件事情，完了还能将感情像缝到最 后一针打个结那样有个完整句号。然后将整幅手艺拿起来瞧瞧，付出多少，一目了然。”
--- 吴韦才

不慌不忙，按部就班。专注于现在，把握眼前所拥有的一切，就是实实在在地活着了。

If you can call this a moral issue

In my line of work, there are times when I'm bound by the need to respect client's privacy and not allowed to disclose the full or even real story to candidates. This is especially so with regards to reasons for rejection, client company info etc. As far as I can stretch the constraints, I give the true story, although very often this requires a bit of creative crafting and paraphrasing to ensure that the interests of the client are not compromised in any foreseeable way. But sometimes, I'm forced to say half-truths, which objectively speaking is unavoidable since my loyalties lie with my clients, who are afterall paying us for our services. Not being able to be completely upfront all the time with my candidates makes me uncomfortable because it goes against my values, although I recognise the need to put the client's interests first. I did not foresee grappling with this issue when I first came into this industry and the irony is that one of the reasons my previous workplace irked me was the secrecy shrouding the work and how it shaped the people there. Like how you never knew the complete picture, the overused excuse of "compartmentalization" or the "tsk-tsk" that came from those brain-washed folks when you were caught saying things you weren't supposed to and how it made me felt like an embarrassed bad kid. Of course, there isn't anyone to do the "tsk-tsk" now but myself at myself, when I know I should be or should not be saying certain things. No matter what, I am equally uncomfortable when confronted with half-/untruths whether I'm the originator or recipient of them.

I have tried to come to terms with this and resolved to be as clear and upfront as possible to my candidates rather than take the easy way out and fob them off with lies or worse, stop all communication (like RMs running away from their clients in the current financial crisis). This is the only way where I can continue in this line of work and make something out of it.

Skinny times

Apparently, the latest wage survey showed that a quarter of the total workforce in Singapore earns SGD 1200 or less. That's more than a million folks here, although I'm not sure if this figure includes foreign labour. Anyhow, in times like this when food prices and other basic necessities like utilities bills and even transport costs are rising faster than ever, plus plenty of job insecurity, one doesn't know whether to try and save more or earn more. Both seem equally difficult.

品三国 （一）

之前已经记载了这本书，但因为没有把它读完，所以并没多加评论。喜欢读史吗？喜欢《三国演义》 的 故事情节与人物吗？ 稍微对《三国》有点兴趣的朋友，一定会对易中天的《品三国》爱不舍手。易先生将《三国演义》里的虚虚实实一一解剥和分析，令读者更深入和正确地了解一些重要事件以及核心人物的性格与立场。譬如：曹操如何由英雄转变为奸雄，诸葛亮的高超的政治手腕 （诸某乃是政治家，非军事家。），诸葛亮与刘备的微妙关系和所谓“三顾茅庐”的来龙去脉，鲁素在孙刘联盟上所扮演的重要角色 （鲁素为孙权清算了要不要与刘备联合对抗曹操， 而诸葛亮和周俞则清算了能不能与刘战胜曹操）等等。上册尤其精彩，也将曹操这个人物作了一次非常细腻的分析与解说。


“帮助一个人，最重要的是不要让他觉得受了施舍。欠了人情，更不能老是提醒别人受了自己的帮助。”
“华而不实爱摆谱的人，是从来就成不了大事的。”

曹操妥善地处理了五种关系：
1。 名与实：名至实归，更重实际。
2。 德与才：德才兼备，唯才是举。
3。 廉与贪：重用清官，不避小贪。
4。 降与叛：招降纳叛，尽释前嫌。
5。 大与小：抓大放小，不拘小节。

曹操如何是一个好老板：
1。 智人善用，唯才所宜。
2。 令行禁止，赏罚分明。
3。 推诚取信，用人不疑。
4。 虚怀若谷，见贤思齐。

洞察人性，洞悉人心。 设身处地，将心比心。

“急之则并力，缓之则自相图。”

时机不到，条件不成熟，你不能硬来。时机到了，条件成熟了，也不能坐失良机。机不可失，时不再来。

Audacity of Hope

I like "Dreams from my father" much better than this, but I acknowledge it's sort of comparing apples to pears because the thrust and content of this book are different. Obama irons out his views ranging from values to international relations, and writes lucidly. But at times, he can drone on a bit too much and can come across as trying very hard to impress. His treatment of the highly politicized topic of race is good, but even better was his landmark speech on this topic in Pennsylvania earlier this year during the campaign. That was excellente.

iPhone

This is quite fun. Looks cool, feels cool and works cool. I'm so glad I got rid of that SE770i. The iPhone is fairly basic, like no MMS function but I like that it replaces my laptop and I can pretty much have access to Internet as long as there is wireless coverage, so it's good that Singapore is gunning for island-wide coverage including MRT tunnels. And $100 for this phone is a pretty good deal.

This left me screaming

Click for larger view

Something light

Haven't watched a movie (and a good one at that) for a while. So typically when I am starved of something, I'll overdose to make up for it. Watched Body of Lies and Madagascar II and both were very enjoyable. Body was rather formulaic but good action Hollywood stuff. Mag was hilarious, and a nice surprise because I was snoring through the first one. The snap decision to catch Number II was right, mainly because the scriptwriters beefed up the Penguins' part and the comic timing was near perfect.

Bear Farming

This really makes me sick. I cannot imagine a worse way to live a life. Let's do something, however small. Putting your name on petition is a start.

http://www.animalsasia.org/

http://www.endbearfarming.org/en/

http://moonbears.org/

The Greed Merchants

Fairly readable and explains clearly the complex relationships among different functions under one investment banking house, and how the banks leverage these relationships to gain profit at the expense of retail investors.

How not to look like a porcupine

Couldn't resist copying this from a LinkedIn account user's profile page:

Contact Settings

I am generally receptive to being contacted if we have *common interests*, especially within my areas of specialty. I will also respond quickly if you have *clearly articulated* the reason for us to connect - no boiler-plate invitations please. However, you will find me quite protective of my network. Many are private and busy individuals, not super-connectors. Thus, make sure your introduction requests are *specific* and *directly relevant* to my network contacts.I am also very conservative when it comes to endorsements: I will only leave endorsements for people that I have directly worked with and have experience of their capabilities.

How friendly. Sometimes it's better not to be too frank about your thinking. And note the little *asterisks* (roll eyes).

Barbarians at the Gate

Reads like a Tom Clancy/John Grisham thriller, with an insight into the social history of wealth in the late 1980s in America. The story of the takeover battle for RJR Nabisco between KKR and its management group (who initiated the raid but lost in the end) during a time when LBOs were the rage was pieced together by two Wall Street Journal reporters who had spent weeks tracking the events for the public. Good way to gain some knowledge on investment banking, corporate boards, innovative financial instruments and the excesses of corporate management.

Dr Seuss can be very inspiring

Oh, the places you'll go!

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You’re off to Great Places!

You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.

About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”

With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,

you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any

you’ll want to go down.

In that case, of course,

you’ll head straight out of town.

It’s opener there

in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen

and frequently do

to people as brainy

and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,

don’t worry. Don’t stew.

Just go right along.

You’ll start happening too.

OH!

THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

You’ll be on your way up!

You’ll be seeing great sights!

You’ll join the high fliers

who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.

You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t

Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so

but, sadly, it’s true

and hang-ups

can happen to you.

You can get all hung up

in a prickle-ly perch.

And your gang will fly on.

You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch

with an unpleasant bump.

And the chances are, then,

that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump,

you’re not in for much fun.

Un-slumping yourself

is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.

Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.

A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!

Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?

How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…

or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?

Or go around back and sneak in from behind?

Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,

for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused

that you’ll start in to race

down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace

and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,

headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place……

for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go

or a bus to come, or a plane to go

or the mail to come, or the rain to go

or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow

or waiting around for a Yes or a No

or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite

or waiting for wind to fly a kite

or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.

NO!

That’s not for you!

Somehow you’ll escape

all that waiting and staying.

You’ll find the bright places

where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,

once more you’ll ride high!

Ready for anything under the sky.

Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!

There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.

And the magical things you can do with that ball

will make you the winning-est winner of all.

Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,

with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t.

Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times

you’ll play lonely games too.

Games you can’t win

’cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!

Whether you like it or not,

Alone will be something

you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance

you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.

There are some, down the road between hither and yon,

that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go

though the weather be foul

On you will go

though your enemies prowl

On you will go

though the Hakken-Kraks howl

Onward up many

a frightening creek,

though your arms may get sore

and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike

and I know you’ll hike far

and face up to your problems

whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course,

as you already know.

You’ll get mixed up

with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life’s

a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,

you’re off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So…get on your way!

Health talk

I am going to share a couple things related to health and wellness that I subscribe to. There is this great website Hovid.sg that is run by Hovid, a Malaysian-based company that manufactures and sells pharmanceuticals and nutraceuticals. They have an online store that delivers the next day to customers in Singapore at a flat rate of $10 (so buy more at one go). I discovered the website by accident, on a doctor's blog who said that he buys his clinic's medicine from them. I checked it out and realised that its Carotech subsidiary holds a patent for the extraction process of carotenes and tocotrienols from palm oil. Now I have been reading alot about tocotrienols, which is a type of Vitamin E that is a few hundred times more easily adsorbed by the human body, as compared to the more common form of Vitamin E available as supplement, called tocopherols. Tocotrienols are not easily available as supplements due to the high cost, mainly from the extraction process, so the Vitamin E supplements retailing are tocopherols (in Singapore, I have yet to find tocotrienols being sold in pharmacies). Tocotrienols are strong anti-oxidants, which bring a whole slew of benefits to the human body, including anti-aging, cholestrol reduction, cancer & tumour prevention, and lower blood pressure. Tocotrienols are also found to be more potent in their anti-oxidation and anti-cancer effects than tocopherols. Dr Nicholas Perricone, a well-known US dermatologist and scholar, has written extensively about the benefits of tocotrienols. Hovid sells tocotrienols at a cheaper price than those I have checked out online, because the middleman is cut out, but tocotrienols are 2-3 times more expensive than tocopherols, the common Vitamin E supplements we see on the shelves. Hovid also sells a good multivitamin formulation known as Betaton, which contains a far wider range of essential vitamins than most products I see at Guardian or Watson's, although the vits included may differ in terms of constituent amounts. Then it really depends on what you think you would need more. For example, Betaton contains many more members of the Vit B family like B5 and B8. It also contains the rare Vit H and trace amounts of Copper, Manganese and Molybdenum, in addition to all the common vitamins we know.

So town councils were suckered by Lehman too

I wonder based on who's advice do the town councils carry out the investment of their funds, of which apparently up to 35% are eligible to purchase financial instruments. Do town councils hire in-house fund managers or financial advisors? Are the funds professionally managed? What are the risk horizons and who decides them? And what happens now that it looks increasingly likely these structured products are turning into junk? How do we make up for the losses and who will be responsible?

Anyhow, I am waiting to see by how much they will raise conservancy charges next.

Yes, I know I'm kinda late joining the bandwagon...

And probably half the business world has read and given his/her take on Jack Welch's Winning. So what I am going to do is pick out some of the good bits and record them here.

His approach to the Strategy process, which I thought could be adapted for sniffing out value investments:

1. What the playing field looks like now: Competitors & market shares. Where do you stand? What are the key drivers of profitability? SWOT of each major competitor. What is the customer base and how do they buy?

2. What the competition has been up to: What has each competitor done in the past year to change the playing field? Who are the new entrants and what have been their activities for the past year?

3. What have you been up to: What have you done in the past year to change the playing field? Have you lost any competitive advantage?

4. What's around the corner: What scares you the most in the year ahead? What one or two things could a competitor do to nail you? What new products or technologies could your competitors launch that might change the game? What M&A deals could knock you off your feet? What's your winning move?

5. What can you do to change the playing field: What can you do to make your customers stick to you?

The key is to look at "How we can do better than last year" and "How we can beat competition".

His take on personal career:

...there are some things you can do to keep moving ahead. Exceed expectations, broaden your job's horizons and never give your boss a reason to have to spend political capital on you. Manage your subordinates (and I would include peers too) carefully, sign up for radar-screen assignments, collect mentors and spread your positive attitude. When setbacks come, and they will, ride them out with your head up.

Such great value, this read. One book that covers business management, corporate strategy and personal development. And twenty bloody years as CEO of the world's largest company, we should pay this guy some attention, no?

Bao Ka Leow

Saturday's Straits Times did a special report on Singapore wanting to be a Philanthrophic Hub. Mmm.. so we now want to be a hub for NPOs. In addition to being an aviation hub, a shipping hub, education hub, medical (tourism) hub, biotech hub, MICE hub, financial hub, insurance/reinsurance hub and let-me-know-if-I'd-left-it-out hub. Erm, whatever happenened to the theory of competitive advantage? If we are injecting our resources in a million different directions with the hope of diversifying our economy and risks, are we not also running the risk of spreading ourselves too thin? This mentality of placing our bets on so many different sectors, and some of them I am not even sure if we have some expertise/competitive advantage in, and then hoping eventually that at least some of them pay off in the long run just doesn't sound like a solid strategy at all. And why a Philanthrophic hub? I think I got my answer from the title and intro to Saturday's article:

Doing good PAYS
US$2 trillion: That's what non-profit organizations spent in 40 countries. 5% of GDP: Their contribution in 8 developed countries. Yes, there is money to be made from this sector and Singapore wants a piece of the pie.

What could be

It's always easier to focus on what is and what was but working towards "what could be" takes a lot more imagination, verve and energy. I guess that's because humans do not like change and the uncertainty that comes along with it. But keeping a constant focus on what could be keeps the energy level up, gives one a sense of direction and can literally keep one alive. Like the time when we came close to spending the night in the mountains in Huangshan. There came a point when I could no longer feel much in my legs and every step wobbled, and even with a torch I was missing the steps. There was no end in sight but in my head I was imagining what our hotel at the foot of the mountain would look like and how I would feel when I finally put my pack down and lie on the bed. The only way was forward and down, having of course assessed with some certainty that it's the right path. But the one thing clear to me was I will get there if I do not stop, if I just keep moving. Keeping focus on what could be is useless if one does not act towards what could be and action makes the difference.

Thoroughly enjoyable

How do I define "a thoroughly enjoyable book"? One that makes me break away from the reading frequently, to pause and reflect on the implications and how lessons can be applied in a similar or related context. One that makes me want to own it, AND reread it. One that tells me something that I do not already know but is useful to know, i.e. surprises me. Lessons from Private Equity any Company can use, a tiny booklet in the Memo to the CEO series published by Harvard Business Press is one. I am not in private equity, I do not work in a company, in the traditional sense (I work for a professional services firm) and I am certainly not a CEO. But I picked it up anyway, mainly because (now this is interesting in demonstrating where curiosity can lead you) I was reading Raffles Conversations 2007 by Business Times and there was a feature on Orit Gadiesh, Chairman of Bain & Co. She projected smartness, strength and loads of can-do in the short feature and her background as a staffer for the Israeli Army's Deputy Chief of Staff intrigued me sufficiently to google her, and found out that she had co-authored a book recently. Lessons (essentially six of them) is immensely readable and I can think of ways to apply them to work, equity investment and personal growth.

I like the first lesson very much: Defining the full potential through "strategic due dilligence" is a guide for evaluating businesses based on a few key metrics. Of course PE firms will always have more info than what the average investor can lay his hands on but knowing what you need to know helps a lot when you are partially blind.

The rest: Develop the blueprint, Accelerate performance, Harness the talent, Make equity sweat and Foster a Results-Oriented Mindset. The good PE firms are systematic in process, focused on results and aggressive in the way they create value and grow companies. I am not going to summarise the book since I have it. So go read it.

Artful Navigation

It is often said that having the right connections gets you places and networking is key to success. Sure, but I think there is more to that. I am beginning to experience how connections can be a great source of knowledge and in the process help me grow and develop as a person. Not that I didn't know it before but to experience it brings home reality. There is only how much info one can acquire through books, media etc or what I would group together as "passive sources". But moving in the right circles (what is right depends on what you want to know and achieve) or what I would say "artful navigation" among insiders can and will yield so much more. Picking up the phone and speaking directly to someone who knows the deal beats having to trawl through tons of info to locate what you want to know. In addition to speed and less frustration, an interactive approach very often leads to discovery of blind spots, as opposed to a purposeful search through passive sources. Watch how many times you say to someone, "oh, I didn't know that!". Well, now you do.

What's new

Tell a story everyday. Any story, fact or fiction, or anecdotes, as a tool for better and more effective communication. Being able to tell good stories and say them well certainly scores on people engagement.

Learning from Obama

The Welches put up a good article on Businessweek dated 4 Nov: Barack Obama's victory: 3 lessons for business. The media is probably flushed with similar articles giving their two cent's worth of take on how and why Obama won but this is worth a read. The Jack way of writing means bite-sized, digestible food for thought. His 3 lessons are on the importance of having and articulating relentlessly a clear and consistent vision, clean execution (you win if you make fewer mistakes than your competition) and having well-placed allies (or "friends in high places", notably the media because of its immense influence, more so now than ever). "To grow, you have to invent a new game and beat them at that, too."

A day in the life of a couch potato

I thought I would try and really do NOTHING for a whole day, but sit on the couch, for my do-something-new-each-day endeavor, primarily to just stop moving and take a breather. My stress level did not go down, in fact it went up. I felt grotty, restless, irritated and ended up with a headache. Yes, a headache just because I did nothing but sit all day. Ok, I was watching TV, mostly surfing cos nothing was interesting enough to hold my attention for more than a few minutes and I am never much of a TV junkie anyway. Then Discovery channel came on and I learnt something new. So it wasn't so bad after all.

Night vision takes 45 minutes to come on for the average person and with sufficient moonlight, it can be similar to daylight conditions. To preserve night vision, cover one eye if there is a change in light conditions, e.g. switching on the torchlight to check the map and bearings. For better vision in poor lighting, view objects from the corner of the eye as peripheral vision gives greater clarity.

This Hitotsubashi book

I'll be honest, I picked this up because I wanted to get some granular on this so-called "signature course" on knowledge management at Hitotsubashi's MBA program. And I'll be even more honest: It took me quite a dogged while to get through it. This "knowledge management" thing clearly draws a lot from organizational learning, communication, some aspects of psychology as well as philosophy. Much of it is based on the Japanese experience, as captured by this "ba" concept of contextual learning and knowledge management. Effective knowledge management is heavily premised on dialectic thinking and the ability to hold two opposite views at the same time and function effectively, which is quite abstract and needs to flesh out in greater detail and more meat on how to execute and to influence results. Here, I think a more case study-centric approach would help give the concept more ground.

What's new

Not a completely fresh idea, but am gonna start a "word-of-the-day" thing, to improve vocabulary and learn proper pronunication.

Yoo Hoo!

Obama made it. And the Republicans got a big fat kick in the ass. I'm not sure if Obama is really aware of the full extent of the shit that he has to clear up from now but between him and McCain, I believe he is the better choice for the world and for America. Finally they are voting with their heads.

Something different

I'm gonna try and do something different, new, everyday, something that does not have to be drastic, big or dramatic, but it must be a change and of course a positive one. The keyword here is DO, so thinking about it doesn't count. Insights gained, lessons learnt must translate into some form of action, no matter how small. Nope, just reading a new book doesn't count unless I do something about it. I don't think this is going to be easy but I want to try and see if I can stick to the "everyday" commitment. And I will blog about it and keep track of that commitment. Let's see where this leads to.


For today, I am going to search for alternative views/criticisms of books that I read, especially on theoretical issues and concepts, to obtain a more balanced view of whatever I read. I am getting too sold on some stuff.

Avenue Q - Episode II

Didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Maybe cos I was tired out after China. Maybe our seats weren't the best. Maybe it was not as funny as I thought it should be. Some parts were good, the puppeteers did an excellent job but at times I was quite bored. The puppets were well-made and so cute though. Trekkie!

1 more day to go

America, please vote with your head. I can't remember the last time I am so excited over an election. It's not my country, but whoever becomes No.44 has real impact across the globe.

China trip

Back from China: 10 days in 4 places. It's my first time in Shanghai, though not in China. First and lasting impression? Beware, Hong Kong. The big city vibe is palpable, the cosmopolitan feel is there. Give'em Chinese a decade or so, and they will surpass Hong Kong, in being the global city of Asia-ex Japan, in every sense. For now, Hong Kong probably still leads in the financial sector and probably some professional services sectors but Shanghai has clear upside, given its size and location. The younger generation, defined as mid-thirties and below, are a whole new breed different from their parents' generation. Certainly more civilised, considerate and cultured than the long-held stereotype of spitting, uncouth country bumpkins. Still plenty of these around certainly, when we went to Huangshan, Nanking and even Hangzhou but the country is becoming more civilised, even in an environment ever-increasingly fuelled by capitalism. They really have to do something about the pollution though; Nanking was a horrible experience due to the bad bad air and we just cut short the trip altogether and ran back to Shanghai. Nanking was skippable, though it was good to experience first-hand CPC's nation-building efforts with the massacre memorial museum. The whole place was a huge propanganda extravaganza, more a nation-building tool for the CPC than to really commemorate anything. The photo archives were not as "chillingly gruesome" as some people have described; I thought the photos from Iris Chang's book had a more "yikes" factor. Hangzhou was just another big Chinese city, we realised, as the throngs of people, the smell and the air hit us the moment we stepped out into the bus station. These long-distance bus stations are truly a great way to experience "real China". Until we moved to the area surrounding the West Lake. Ah, that had the fabled Jiangnan feel which Qianlong was so nuts about, if you managed to shut out the noise and crowds. The misty weather helped, and the lovely willows caressing the waters of the lake.. mmm.. Had a lovely meal as well, the best meal in fact since stepping out from Huangshan where we had to eat cup noodles. Had some Hangzhou specialties like 莼菜汤 (a kind of duckweed from the lake cooked in clear soup with a slimy gelantinous texture)， 桂鱼醋(Chinese perch steamed with Zhejiang vinegar, most excellent with the soft texture and sweet/sour sauce) ，龙井虾仁 (small shrimps stir-fried with Longjing tea leaves, most ordinary of the lot) etc. The day-trip out to a nearby canal town 乌镇 was alright, except that it was raining quite heavily AND we had to run after the bus. But with all the canal towns overrun by tourists and like all the sights we went around in China, most of the the time domestic tourists made up 90% of the people there, it was not easy to tease out a "romantic feel" which these towns are famed for. Huangshan was the loveliest and best part of the trip, thanks to clear blue skies and bright sun, although we were roundly whacked by the mountain for attempting to trek down 4.5km without stopping. "Clever" us underestimated the time needed to trek downhill and it got dark before we hit the foot of the mountain. Towards the end, my wobbly legs were "walking on clouds" but had to hurry on nonetheless or spent the night in the mountain. But because it got so late, we could really appreciate the silence sans crowds and was truly awed by the majesty of the mountain. The tourism mechanism was well-oiled and functioning, sucking away half our budget for the entire China trip, though the wonderful mountain views and sunset more than made up for the bleeding of our pockets. Can appreciate why Huangshan is so named: the Emperor's Mountain. And I will never look at pine trees in the same way again: the Huang Song (黄松) is in a class of its own, forget the xmas pines and think bonsai. Thank God for Kammy who advised us to book our hotels online through a reliable operator C-trip (携程) cos all the lodging on Huangshan were too local and not online. So here's a tip: book your domestic tour stuff through C-trip online, they are great and cover pretty much everywhere in China. And for helping buy our night sleeper train tickets Shanghai-Huangshan, which was comfortable and totally un-nightmarish, contrary to popular saying. Trains and train system are really quite ok and efficient, not too far from first world standards. But of course, in my heart, the Japanese network is and always will be King. The dinner with Kammy and the girls from the office in Shanghai was excellent, though a tad pricey: am now quite a fan of Sichuan food. Spicy yes, but the flavours are so complex, you'd probably taste something different when you have the same dish again. Mmm.. Shanghai is a great food place, way ahead of Singapore. In fact, Shanghai is in my opinion ahead of Singapore, after taking into consideration all ingredients that constitute a global/cosmopolitan city. We really got to buck up man.

Uncle Sam

Obama looks set to take the White House, if we go by all the stats and polls that have been churned out recently. But will race ultimately be the deciding factor? Is America ready for a non-white President? The key question is clearly whether the American electorate has evolved and come far enough to see beyond color and vote with rationale, not emo. With the economy and that silly fluffy mama Palin sinking the Republican ship, the Democrats certainly have the upper hand. The election has already been lost by Bush and his 8 years of disastrous rule. If McCain prevails ultimately, it will certainly be a sad day for America and the rest of the world. For America, because in times of crisis, they no longer look to hope and change, prefering to stick to their insular ways, the us/them thinking applied to white/non-white Americans as well. And sad for the world too: we wake up to 4 more years of Bush.

It's time

Action leads to renewed vigour. When push comes to shove, moving forward is the only way leading to change and hopefully improvement.

Closure

It's amazing how people never really make the effort to close anything properly. Close a conversation, close an email correspondence, close a deal even, where there is money at stake. Why not? It just shows how short-sighted one can be, when one doesn't bother to make the effort to ensure future contact and interaction can be picked up again, especially when you really need to do it for your own benefit sometime down the road. Leaving things hanging, or "some things are best left unsaid" kind of thinking will never get you anywhere, because first, "things", whatever they may be, do not mean the same to everyone all the time. So if you want to pick up from where you'd left off, you don't even know what to pick up and from where. As for "some things are best left unsaid", it just smacks of a lazy, cannot-be-bothered and often cowardly attitude, doesn't it? Cowardly because some times, we just want to avoid all possiblities for confrontation/conflict, even though those "possibilities" are often imagined. So, better to quietly melt away and hope everything is ok, lah. Yeah, just hope.

Great People Decisions

Picked this up cos it's written by an Egon Zehnder guy. The beginning was a bit boring, as he droned on about why companies need to hire right. Maybe useful in helping to convince organisations that still do not believe that having the right people on board is crucial to business performance (do such organisations still exist? I pity them cos then they are or will soon be light years behind competition.) The book picked up the pace midway through and there are some interesting insights offered. Helps that he likes to use stats to beef up his analysis, probably due to his engineering background. I mean the guy even came up with some mathematical formula for spotting the "perfect" candidate. But for me, the numbers and strange shapes in the formula don't make the link to reality. These however do.

37% rule: after screening through the first 37 candidates, pick out the best one (B),then from the 38th candidate onwards, select the first one that is better than B. That person will be the one. This probably works for a large pol of candidates, maybe middle management and below. He suggested a 1 in 12 rule for more senior management hires, where the pool is likely to be much smaller.

Facts, first things first: i/v questions should all be geared to gather facts or behaviors from the candidate. The focus should be on concrete actions, events etc that underscore his personality/competency. And competency requirements should be defined in behavioral terms.

Truly understand a candidate's motivations.

Bias: First impressions last and it's not always a good thing. Falsify your own initial hypothesis. Unfortunately, humans are wired to seek out evidence to confirm their own thinking while shutting out warning signals.

For more senior hires: he conducted some surveys and ranked the various combinations that contribute to a successful hire (one that has moved up the ladder 3-5 years after he was hired)

1. Experience + EQ

2. EQ+IQ

3. Experience + IQ (lowest: in fact a candidate with low EQ is highly correlated to failure)

Thinking Big Picture & Confidence

One of the most critical elements to success in life, be in career, family, love, is the ability to think strategically, which by definition implies not just having the big picture but also grasping the fine details, being able to look at the picture from different angles, pulling it closer or further for review and analysis and making meaningful connections among different elements that constitute the picture. Clearly not everyone possess this quality and I think the level of confidence of an individual plays an important causal role. Because a lack of confidence plays up the fear element, where the tendency to view oneself as smaller, usually in terms of ability, as compared to peers and societal benchmarks, perceived or otherwise, produces some level of anxiety in the individual. And when anxiety kicks in, it tends to cloud one's mind and affect the ability to think in an analytical/logical and coherent way, which is pre-requisite to having that big picture in view. So what do all these mean at the end of the day? Build confidence, first things first.

Stick out your tongue

I cannot tell the difference between fact and fantasy in this book and I loathe to think these were real-life events. Ma Jian's writing, ever so provocative and harsh in a deadpan sort of way, makes it worse: there were times I felt almost nauseous.

Seth Godin II

I must say this guy hits the right spot most of the time. He has some interesting ideas and puts them across effectively. This advice could be pretty radical to many of us who have done presentations which essentially means reading off the slides. "words belong in memos. Powerpoint is for ideas. If you have bullets, please, please, please only use one word in each bullet. Two if you have to. Three never."

And I agree with this totally:

"Short! Do you really need an hour for the presentation? Twenty minutes? Most of the time, the right answer is, "ten." Ten minutes of breathtaking big ideas with big pictures and big type and few words and scary thoughts and startling insights. And then, and then, spend the rest of your time just talking to me. Interacting. Answering questions. Leading a discussion."

- sethgodin.typepad.com

Not knowing

It really gets to me when I discover blind spots that I fail to cover. Really nothing gets to me more than not knowing, when I think I am supposed to know. The "argh" feeling can be so great that I can be consumed in anger for a while. Anger directed at myself mostly. The last question I want to ask myself is always: why didn't I think of that in the first place? The bloody gap is so bloody obvious, how come you can zoom by and not even notice it? Ok, that's really harsh on myself but I'd rather be harsh than slack off. It's always shape up or get shipped out. Once is enough, and I'd better not overlook something similar again.

Grad School

Been thinking about going back to school for a while now and after going through my options, it appears that getting an MBA is the best way to go ahead. When people ask me why an MBA, I tell them it's about increasing my market value, exposure and gaining knowledge, in that order. The next question is then which school? That is also quite straight-forward: the best program out there! But the scene is highly competitive and costs prohibitive, especially for the top US and EU schools. Mainly because of the funding issue, I was looking through some of the top business schools in Japan and whether there are good programs, preferably conducted fully or partially in English, which I could have a shot at with hopefully the financial backing of MEXT. Hitotsubashi's MBA program looks extremely attractive after looking through its faculty, who are either DBA/PhD holders of top US business schools in the likes of Harvard and Wharton, or alumni of McKinsey and BCG. The prospect of securing funding and the fact that the course is conducted entirely in English aside, spending 2 full years in Japan will allow me to brush up my Japanese language level, which has fallen to a dismally low level. Reading and listening probably can muster a pass but speaking and writing, especially the latter, well let's just say that whatever that comes out has become terribly mangled. So what are the cons? There are risks and opportunity costs for sure: (1) taking 2 years away from work: where will I stand after I return to work? (2) Can I get really get into management consulting, which is the overall objective, broadly speaking (cos I am not completely sure yet if I'd like to and can do the job)? (3) I'd better make sure that I have no financial commitments that will tie me down back here. But all in, I'd say the pros for me to go ahead and give it a shot are more weighty. Application for 2009 has began but that for MEXT has closed. So I'd probably have to apply next year for 2010.


Check out if the program is eligible for MEXT scholarship - Jp Embassy.
Bone up on the school's program, publications, faculty members' research areas.
Got to do more reading in terms of business knowledge.
Re-take GMAT - that can be next yr.
Make sure I have 2 referees: got to ask for help again.
If I get in in 2010, I'd be 30 when I start the course, which means 32 when I graduate.

The Dip

An interesting little book produced by Seth Godin, who piqued my interest with his blog and reported personality quirks. This book is probably the only one to be found on the shelves of the self-improvement section, while the rest of his writings, which help bolster his reputation as a marketing guru, are displayed prominently at the business section. Taking a leaf from TIME's classification, this is worth a skim. Godin comes across as clearly intelligent and creative in this writing.

What he advocates is really simple (like all self-proclaimed gurus do): focus your energies on something that you have the talent for, stick it out when the going gets tough and the rest of take care of itself. The rest meaning success, money or fame. But the critical part is determining what you are really good at and that requires one to be completely honest with himself. As usual, all these are easier said than done but really the underlying principle is simple. How else can people like Godin make so much money by articulating simple things in a clear and "oh this makes so much sense" way? Really the greatest talent in people like Godin is to strip things down to their fundamentals and put them across in an engaging way.

"Persistent people are able to visualise the idea of light at the end of the tunnel when others can't see it. At the same time, the smartest people are realistic about not imagining the light when there isn't any."

He quotes from another: "You're the happiest if you play it as it comes and maximise what you're doing at the time. And do the very best job at whatever you're given to do. The rest will take care of itself."

Moneyed Men

I wonder who this book actually targets. The authors claim that this helps marketers understand the psyche of the nouveau riche and that there is a need for market segmentation to cater to the different needs of various types of wealthy personalities. Erm, market segmentation, as a business concept, has been around for more than a decade. The authors also noted in the introduction that this book helps to address the numerous "misconceptions" about these moneyed guys that the general public (i.e. the rest of us slaving away for a decent living) harbour. So maybe they were hoping that these wealthy guys would shell out some loose change to purchase the book in return for their effort to redress these "misconceptions", whatever they define them to be.

But as with all other things, there is always some stuff worth picking up and logging down as future reference:

Those who make it (i.e. rake it the moolah) generally possess the following attributes: analytic savvy, extreme forms of business literacy, a capacity for teamwork, the ability to "manage up" and a special facility for sales.

They are also possess optimism, a problem-solving approach, the ability to analyze both the drivers of success and errors, confidence, which translates into risk-taking, and a sincere concern for others.

Seth Godin

He is such a classic example of a self-marketing genius, a profiler (as some in the civil service call it), with the slick packaging and quirky viewpoints, all extremely well-articulated in person and on paper. What irony that this guy is often labelled as a marketing guru: yes a guru in marketing first and foremost himself. No no, I certainly do not disapprove of him and his tactics to get ahead and get noticed. What I want to note is the importance that this society as a whole place on the ability to capture attention and get heard, and as a result get paid (very well) for it, even though what is being said is generally common sense or some very basic principles, but repackaged and delivered in bite-sized, snazzy style. And of course, publishing always helps, especially with a reputable university press, plus pocketing that coveted MBA to highlight your credentials. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Writing with Power

First impression: this is written in the "old style", very much unlike the practical guide/catchy/breezy "edutainment" style that has been so fashionable for the past decade. This book inspired me to put up another blog: freewritingfree.blogspot.com, which is a personal log to capture ideas, thoughts and other brain mush in a free-flowing way, with absolutely zero concern about editing, rearranging etc. No need for grammar, no need for coherence or even complete sentences. The whole idea is to produce raw writing that can become ingredients for picking and choosing, and then reproduction into written pieces, if the need arises in future. Here are some more interesting anecdotes and ideas culled from the book:

Stewing/Simmering process: Put in mind the general idea and all nuggets related to it, distract/relax yourself (he suggested having a beer or a nap) and sometimes things work themselves out. "The point is deeper thinking can go on when you relinquish your conscious grip on your material."

Some ways to work through your thinking (which definitely leads to better writing): he suggested about 13 and I picked up those that I thought were more applicable and useful or uncommon.

1. Prejudices: before thinking, reading and researching about the topic, record all your biases on the subject.

2. Dialogue: basically create voices that converse about the topic. This is interesting and requires a nimble and flexible mind but I can see it producing new and never-thought-of perspectives. "Writing a dialogue produces reasoning, but produces it spontaneously out of your feelings and perceptions."

3. Stories: best applied for purpose of writing a job analysis or an evaluation of a person/project. Keep stories short and succint.

4. Scenes: this is like taking photos. Write in a snapshot fashion, recalling significant or memorable incidents, sights, sounds etc and putting them in writing.

5. Portraits: this is about people and helps in evaulating an organisation, for example.

6. Errors/lies: write down things that are almost true or trying to be true, or even downright false. This is to capture odd, crazy things. Helps to uncover some important preoccupations and assumptions related to the topic.

Taxes

This is something new: French Environment Minister said France will begin taxing non-recyclable cutlery and plates to entice consumers to buy more eco-friendly products. They call it "picnic tax" which is at USD1.29 per kg; not much but better than nothing. The French got it right because it's more critical to tackle the problem of over-consumption, which results in over-production of environmentally unfriendly products and services, than tout the popular concept of recycling. It's not how much we recycle that can help the earth; it's how much we consume in the first place that matters. I wonder what S'poreans will say if there is such a tax. Surely we are not going to just swallow and whine secretly, given our love for catering buffets for every occasion, DIY East Coast bbqs/chalet etc. But then again, if the tax rate is SGD2 per KILO of plastic cutlery, the public will probably pay as much attention to it as they do to the BYOB-or-pay-10-cents-for-NTUC plastic bags scheme. Huh? Pay lor.

Multi-tasking

It's the best of times, it's the worst of times. Nothing dramatic like what Dickens wrote about but these are overwhelming times for me personally. Never really a great multi-tasker to begin with (although I think I should be quite ok since I managed to pull through under Sillypore's education system), I have been feeling rather overstretched recently. It's the best of times now because we are in the process of entering the next stage of our life together and it's the worst of times in light of the amount of stuff we have to oversee, co-ordinate and manage with a budget looming at the back of our heads. It's been tiring so I think the first thing to go will be the budget, given that we both really hate bargaining and foraging for the fabled best deal. Because we never really believe "best deal" ever exists; something has to go somehow and it's not the "best" if it's not totally what you want. But it's a good experience to be shocked by the cheek of some self-branded professionals charging exhorbitant prices just because they think people who are getting hitched are so lost in la-la-land that they cannot count the number of zeros. It's also good to get involved personally in the prep work, rather than settling for a cover-all package which may not cover all in the end. And honestly, I am kinda looking forward to the DIY aspects like the flowers and car deco plus working with the designer on the gowns. The creative part is always appealing and keeps me from getting bored, although that means I have more things to toggle between.

Shopping

This is a definite BUY. And to re-read. In fact, I am going to lug back a number of <百家讲坛> series of books, and most of them by Yi Zhongtian (易中天) when I head to China next month. His arrangement and style works particularly for people who have fragmented knowledge of the historical events during the Age of the Three Kingdoms and would like to have a clearer understanding of the motivations of the characters involved behind their decisions that shaped the political picture during those times. Picked up the book only lately, although I had heard much earlier about the book and Yi, who is now recognised as a historical/cultural authority (国学家) in China, after I was kinda impatient to sit through all the downloads of the TV series produced by the CPC, and reading the entire series is too time-consuming. I like that Yi followed the chronological order of events, while drawing on a number of respected historians' interpretation of the whats/hows/whys of events in the Three Kingdoms, although he appears partial towards a certain guy's reading of the psyche of major characters like Cao Cao, Liu Bei etc.

Another <百家讲坛> speaker to note is of course Yu Dan (于丹) but her books on Zhuangzi (庄子) and Lunyu (论语) are more "educational" in their thrusts, which is probably why she is so "welcomed" by the CPC, who finally saw the need to re-culturalise its people after stripping them of all moral values and thinking 40 years ago. Nonetheless, the series of historical/cultural tomes in <百家讲坛> has great merit in teaching us important lessons drawn from history and I always believe there is something useful in these lessons that can be applied to better and surpass ourselves.

Soul Mountain

灵山 defies conventional categorisation. Nobel Laureate Gao Xingjian (高行建) has carved out an entire new genre of writing that is semi-autobiograhical part-travelogue some-fiction. More of a document of a man's internal journey rather than record of his travel to the more remote areas in Western/Central China , he is adept at slipping into the psyche of different roles and does this so quickly that sometimes it's easy to lose track of who the "I", "You", "She" and "He" refer to. His treatment of women is more refined than Ma Jian (马建), who can sometimes be too provocative. But then I like Ma for different reasons.

The Trial

Was struggling towards the end to finish it. Maybe it was too suffocating for me. His attention to detail and precision in word choice make it real for the readers.

Crucial Conversations

I am now increasingly wary of picking up books like this, which tend to be very prescriptive and all say similar things in different ways. But I thought this might be a useful skim, after Nat suggested this. There are a few useful pointers, or rather reminders, which are noteworthy.

Focus on what I really want, and also what I really don't want - easy enough to know but very difficult to follow in reality, once emotions get stirred badly.

Start with the Heart - I have got to stop thinking those evil thoughts whenever something or more frequently someone crosses my path. But sometimes, I let my thoughts run loose in a rampage, and always end up feeling less well after that.

Try to find mutual purpose and foster mutual respect - obviously makes the other party more receptive to whatever shit I am going to fling across.

Stick to the facts and avoid judgement - this is in my own words, summarised effectively several chapters that I have hopped through.

Listen carefully for the real purpose and express interest for others' views - the trick here is to keep the other party talking without him putting up barb wires to defend himself.

Metamorphosis

Picked this up at the tiny library in Sembawang, cos I couldn't find Ma Jian's Stick out your Tongue. This is my first Kafka book and it has inspired me to read more of his works. The style here is unique, having not been exposed to German writers nor writers who write in German, the precise use of words in his writing is refreshing and adds power to the story. The other short story "The Sentence" is also pretty good, though less powerful.

The resilience of life

This was taken from the window in hubby's room. The little fern-weed plant has been there for some months, wedged at a corner of the ubiquitous, hideous gray piece of steel shield (designed by the oh-so-practical architects of HDB to provide shade from the hot afternoon sun), but we never noticed how and when it first began to take root. As the pictures show, the apartment faces a large tract of empty land, with the nearest buildings a couple of kilometres away, distant by Singapore's standards. The wind is often gusty and strong and it's a wonder how the fern-weed managed to hold on for so long, and grow too. The roots, dangling in the air, are more than a metre in length, and seem to be extending each time I see it. A lovely snapshot of how life can be so resilient when faced with the odds, in the fern-weed's case, a lack of a familiar life support system - no soil=no nutrients. I guess it has tried to make do with moisture from the air and energy from the sun, and has managed to come so far. But not for long, before the practicalities of society impose its will on it: hubby said the painters commissioned by HDB will be here in a year or so, as the apartment block is scheduled to be spruced up, which will probably spell the end of the fern-weed. As I look at it again, the swaying roots seem to tug gently at my heart. When the time comes for it to go, should I relocate it to a pot and domesticate it? How will it lend itself to life confined in a small space after all this time out in the open, engaging in battle after battle with the natural and often harsh elements, and yet coming away victorious time and again?

This is why Nike is King...

...of Marketing. (click on image for clearer view)

They came up with this in a couple days after Liu Xiang pulled out of the hurdles race. Hats off to the marketing team for the quick thinking to "capitalise" on his pull-out, spin it round and casting it in a whole new light, which could otherwise have turned out pretty damaging to Nike in China, given the furore among the Chinese public. I wonder how they got the ad cleared so quickly though, hurdling over layers of senior management. This shows that Nike, unlike most other multi-million dollar enterprises, hasn't gotten fat with success.

Love Competition
Love Risking Your Pride
Love Winning it Back
Love Giving It Everything You’ve Got
Love the Glory
Love the Pain

Love Sport Even When It Breaks Your Heart

Let's Motor

This is probably a bit dated, but worth putting together. MINI redefines cool.

And the Let's Motor tagline gives it so much personality.

MINI in SGP (above)

Noodle Maker

relations between people are very curious, the writer reflects. we behave kindly, even sycophantically towards people we are afraid of, but trample like tyrants over the shy and retiring. our roles are determined by our opponents. we all possess a dual nature...

a lighter read than Red Dust, but equally powerful.

Desire

I always say: It's how much you want it. If you want it bad enough, you'll get it. Translating this into reality is, on the other hand, a whole different ball game altogether. This is why the world is raving about Phelps, that crazy swimmer who came away with 8 golds and 7 world records in 1 Olympics. That, in itself, is already a world record. I don't (and can't) swim and I certainly cannot understand why some people get a thrill out of swimming fast. But I guess Phelps saw something in swimming that I didn't and he has become far richer for that. More than the twinkling gold medals, copious amounts of moo-lah (and much more to come) and fawning attention from pretty much every corner of the world, I think it's the desire to achieve and be able to look at himself in the mirror and say: I have done my best and done justice to all the punishing training routines I have subjected myself to in the past x number of years for these Games, that has enabled him to attain this superhuman feat. When I think about the amount of motivation and sheer determination to push his body and more importantly his mind, to swim his best for one race after another, for that one more gold medal, and to set one more world record, my head spins. I seriously cannot fathom how he can muster that much desire in his mind to achieve what he has done in 17 races in 9 days. How does it feel to want something that bad? As he says it: "If you dream your biggest dream, anything is possible. No matter what you set your imagination to, anything can happen." And I guess, if you want it bad enough, you really get it.

Mad About English

Rip-roaringly enjoyable, this (i shall term it) docu-movie. I was a little surprised, in an raised-eyebrow kind of way, to learn that it was made by a Singaporean, and a semi-professional to boot. The feature works quite well, with its pacy tempo, great music and nifty camerawork. The film successfully captures a sense of national fervor and eager anticipation of the Beijingers towards the Olympics, which is often referred to as 国家大事, like nothing, and absolutely nothing else matters. Laughing at the weird Chinese contortions of the English language aside, I now have a lot of respect for the Chinese's patriotism and their willingness to sacrifice the self for the country. Even the little kid at the English crash course concentration camp understands that she has to soldier on despite the lack of sleep, proper food, and the constant screaming (so as to aid memorising of the English vocab, or so the nutty coach claims), so that she can master the language and be a bridge between China and the world (and of course, better job opportunities). The 76-year old man's determination to speak English fluently, despite being passably conversant already, just so he can pass the test to become a volunteer guide at the Palace Museum and showcase China's culture and history to tourists. And Mr Cabby, who is perpetually stressed out by the need to pass his English test and be allowed to drive during the Games, not because he is worried that flunking the test will deprive him of an income during the period, but because he wants so much to play a humble part in this historic moment of national glory. And of course, who could forget the friendly cop's smooth Brooklyn accent, obviously a result of Hollywood's pervasive influence. He had us completely floored. http://www.asiaing.com/mad-about-english-2008.html