Each new day...

Attitude Is Everything by Jim Rohn

2011-03-15T00:01:00.002+08:00

2 things that I got out of this article.

1. It's quite amazing on how the dead continues to shift the thinking of the living, that's what I think they meant by legacy.

2. A positive attitude to life is important, determining the outcome given a scenario. Having said that, it can be difficult to maintain that positive outlook hence discipline of keeping in that state is also an important factor.

Never the less it is never about the parts but it is more of synergy from the sum of parts - to my present understanding, they are "Attitude. Beliefs. Action" Each is an important component and together they form the basis of success.

The process of human change begins within us. We all have tremendous potential. We all desire good results from our efforts. Most of us are willing to work hard and to pay the price that success and happiness demand.
Each of us has the ability to put our unique human potential into action and to acquire a desired result. But the one thing that determines the level of our potential, produces the intensity of our activity and predicts the quality of the result we receive, is our attitude.
Attitude determines how much of the future we are allowed to see. It decides the size of our dreams and influences our determination when we are faced with new challenges. No other person on earth has dominion over our attitude. People can affect our attitude by teaching us poor thinking habits or unintentionally misinforming us or providing us with negative sources of influence, but no one can control our attitude unless we voluntarily surrender that control.
No one else “makes us angry.” We make ourselves angry when we surrender control of our attitude. What someone else may have done is irrelevant. We choose, not they. They merely put our attitude to a test. If we select a volatile attitude by becoming hostile, angry, jealous or suspicious, then we have failed the test. If we condemn ourselves by believing that we are unworthy, then again, we have failed the test.
If we care at all about ourselves, then we must accept full responsibility for our own feelings. We must learn to guard against those feelings that have the capacity to lead our attitude down the wrong path and to strengthen those feelings that can lead us confidently into a better future.
If we want to receive the rewards the future holds in trust for us, then we must exercise the most important choice given to us as members of the human race by maintaining total dominion over our attitude. Our attitude is an asset, a treasure of great value, which must be protected accordingly. Beware of the vandals and thieves among us who would injure our positive attitude or seek to steal it away.
Having the right attitude is one of the basics that success requires. The combination of a sound personal philosophy and a positive attitude about ourselves and the world around us gives us an inner strength and a firm resolve that influences all the other areas of our existence.

The Serenity Prayer

2011-02-15T01:16:00.002+08:00

One of my favourite prayer of all times

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next

Amen

God's help...

2011-01-30T17:59:00.001+08:00

I recall this mass where the Father told us this anecdote

There once was a flood where all people reached safely except for one man.

This man climbed onto his roof top with the water gushing through his home below.

A helicopter saw him, flew over his head and tried hanging down a leader for him to climb, but the man shouted "I'm okay, go and save someone else more in need than me. The lord will save me." So the helicopter flew away.

The water continued to rise and is lapping his feets. This time a rescue boat came to him and again he shouted "Save someone else more in need than me. The lord WILL save me." The boat sped off.

The water is now dangerously deep by his knees as another helicopter came by to rescue him. Unsurprising on cue, the man shouted "Go! The lord will save me" The helicopter left reluctantly.

The rain continued to pour and eventually drowned the man.

The man's soul reached the heaven and saw God. In a confused state, he asked God "God, I have lived the life of a faithful so I'm puzzled why did you not save me?" God replied irritably "For goodness sake, I have sent you two helicopters and a boat but you have ignored them!"

A lot of times, we pray for help from the lord, praying for wisdom, praying for opportunities and some praying for financial needs. Yet, most of us fail to realized the opportunities that God has already presented to us - it can be an opportunity which we may reject thinking that we are not ready for, perhaps a wonderful person whom we find not worthy of and maybe a bulk money from nowhere. Alright, the last example might not be suitable since it touches the boundary of morals.

The main idea is, we fail to realized or grab hold the opportunities that are already made present to us in one way or another from the higher being!

Think hard on the opportunities that you had missed out so far. Pray for the wisdom to recognize the furture opportunities and be present to what we are doing in live.

God's help is always around you but are you ready for god's help?

Year 2011

2011-01-26T02:07:00.002+08:00

As I am stepping into my 4th decade in life, I just realized that how much things have changed - most of it due to what technologies have shaped us - instant this, instant that. It just made me wonder, how much thinking am I actually doing?

I think it is time for me to take a step back, to stop following that river of information, less I drown in them. Timeout, reflect and to consider what is important to us, 5 years down the road, 10 years down the road or even longer. And focus my energy on that. It is never too late to dream and take actions, on another hand, time wake for no one.

Focus and move on. *Tick Tock*

Why Weigh, Count and Measure? by Jim Rohn

2010-05-18T21:04:00.002+08:00

Three key words to remember: weigh, count and measure. Now why weigh, count and measure? To see what your results are from your activity, your attitude and your philosophy. If you find that the results are not to your liking, there are only three places to look. Your philosophy needs to be fine-tuned, your attitude needs to be strengthened or your disciplines need extra skill. But that’s it. Activity, attitude and philosophy create results.

Now on results I teach that life expects you to make measurable progress in reasonable time. But, you must be reasonable with time. You can’t say to someone every five minutes, How are you doing now? That’s too soon to ask for a count. Guy says, “I haven’t left the building yet, give me a break!”Now you can’t wait five years—that’s too long. Too many things can go wrong waiting too long for a count to see how you’re doing.

Here are some good time frames:

Number one: at the end of the day. You can’t let more than a day go by without looking at some things and making progress. The New Testament says, “If you are angry, try to solve it before the sun goes down.” Don’t carry anger for another day. It may be too heavy to carry. If you try to carry it fora week, it may drop you to your knees. So some things you must get done in a day.

Here’s the next one: a week. We ask for an accounting of the week so we can issue the pay. And whatever you’ve got coming, that’s what you get when the week is over. Now in business there are two things to check in the course of the week: your activity count and your productivity count. Because activity leads to productivity, we need to count both to see how we’re doing.

My mentor taught me that success is a numbers game and very early he started asking me my numbers. He asked, “How many books have you read in the last 90 days?” I said, “Zero.” He said, “Not a good number.” He said, “How many classes have you attended in the last six months to improve your skills?” And I said, “Zero.” He said, “Not a good number.” Then he said, “In the last six years that you’ve been working, how much money have you saved and invested?” I said, “Zero,” and he said, “Not a good number.” Then here’s what he said: “Mr. Rohn, if these numbers don’t change, your life won’t change. But if you’ll start improving these numbers, then perhaps you’ll start to see everything change for you.”

Success and results are a numbers game. John joins this little sales company. He’s supposed to make 10 calls the first week just to get acquainted with the territory. So on Friday we call him in and ask, “How many calls?” He says, “Well.” You say, “John, ‘well’ won’t fit in the little box here. I need a number.” Now he starts with a story. And you say, “John, the reason I made this little box so small is so a story won’t fit. All I need is a number because if you give us the number, we’re so brilliant around here we could guess the story.” It’s the numbers that count—making measurable progress in reasonable time.

Here’s the best accounting. The accounting you make of yourself. Don’t wait for the government to do it. Don’t wait for the company to do it. But you’ve got to add up some of your own numbers and ask, “Am I making the progress I want and will it take me where I want to go now and in the future?”You be the judge!

When I reflected on the article, I just realized that on a personal basis, my progress has been limited. It's time to set some goals and have my personal KPIs measured.

Lesson's from today's homily.

2010-05-02T15:33:00.003+08:00

Fr Stephen shared this joke with us today in his homily

"Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts that they were able to give to their elderly mother.
The first said: "I built a big house for our mother."
The second said: "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver."
The third said: "I've got you both beat. You know how Mom enjoys the Bible and you know she can't see very well. I sent her a brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took twenty monks in a monastery 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for twenty years but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it."
Soon thereafter, Mom sent out her letters of thanks.
She wrote to the first son: "Milton, the house you built is too big. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house."
She wrote to the second son: "Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home all the time, so I never used the Mercedes... and the driver is SO rude."
She wrote to the third son: "Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to know what your mother likes... The chicken was delicious."

I think it is a joke that will keep me laughing till Mother's day next week. More importantly though, is the underlying message of loving others as He has loved us. To consider if have we have shown our unconditional love to others. As in the joke, the greatest love does not equate the most expensive or most luxurious gifts. It can be just as simple as observing what your mom likes to eat. Simple it may be, yet it takes the commitment to make the effort to observe - and that's all it counts.

Life is like Bolero...

2009-08-02T14:27:00.000+08:00

Was listening to this tune on my Zen when it just reminded me how life show be.

Slowly a crescendo builds up and ends with a bang.

Something to strive for. =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-4J5j74VPw

The Importance of Learning in Organizations

2009-05-03T00:45:00.004+08:00

Quite a good video on learning organization. Good stuff that you can apply to everyday work.

Article of the day...

2009-04-05T22:26:00.000+08:00

Developing A Vision For Your Future
By: Brian Tracy

What Only Leaders Can Do
The one quality that all leaders have in common is that they have a clear and exciting vision for the future. This is something that only the leader can do. Only the leader can think about the future and plan for the future each day.

Develop A Clear Vision
Excellent leaders take the time to think through and develop a clear picture of where they want the organization to be in one, three and five years. Leaders have the ability to communicate this vision in such a way that others "buy in" and eventually see the vision as belonging to them.

How to Motivate People
It is the vision of the future possibilities, of what can be, that arouses emotion and motivates people to give of their best. The most powerful vision is always qualitative, aimed at and described in terms of values and mission rather than quantitative, described in terms of money. Of course, money is important, but the decision and commitment to "be the best in the business" is far more exciting.

To encourage others, to instill confidence in them, to help them to perform at their best requires first of all that you lead by example.
Be A Great Team Player
A study at Stanford Business School examined the qualities that companies look for in promoting young managers toward senior executive positions, especially the position of Chief Executive Officer. The study concluded that there were two important qualities required for great success in leadership. The first is the ability to put together a team and function as a good team player. Since all work is ultimately done by teams, and the managers' output is the output of the team, the ability to select team members, set objectives, delegate responsibility and finally, get the job done, was central to success in management.

Keep Your Cool
The second quality required for rapid promotion was found to be the ability to function well under pressure, and especially in a crisis. Keeping your cool in a crisis means to practice patience and self-control under difficult or disappointing circumstances.

Everyone Is Watching
The character and quality of a leader is often demonstrated in these critical moments under fire, when everyone is watching, observing and privately taking notes. As Rudyard Kipling once said, "If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, then the world is yours and all that's in it".

Your job as a leader is to have a clear vision of where you want to go and then to keep your cool when things go wrong, as they surely will.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, project forward 3-5 years and imagine your ideal future vision. What does it look like? What steps can you take immediately to begin turning your future vision into your current reality?

Second, resolve in advance that, no matter what happens, you will remain calm and cool. You will not become upset or angry. You will take a deep breath and focus on the solution rather than on the problem.

Article of the day : Key to motivation

2009-01-31T22:55:00.001+08:00

The Key to Motivation
By: Brian Tracy

Your Real Goal
Your goal is to become a transformational leader, the kind of person that motivates and inspires people to perform at levels far beyond anything that they had previously thought possible.

Keep People In the Know
Transformational leaders empower others by keeping them "in the know," by keeping them fully informed on everything that effects their jobs. People want and need to feel that they are "insiders," that they are aware of everything that is going on. There is nothing so demoralizing to a staff member than to be kept in the dark about their work and what is going on in the company.

Give Regular Feedback
One empowering behavior practiced by transformational leaders is regular feedback on performance and results. People need to know how they're doing so they can improve if performance is below standards and so that they can be proud of their successes. The more feedback you give to people, the better it is, as long as the feedback is objective and not critical. My friend, Ken Blanchard, says that, "Positive feedback is the breakfast of champions."

Be Generous With Praise
Be generous with your praise and encouragement. Remember, people are the only asset that can be made to appreciate in value by giving them warmth, respect, approval and by creating a climate of positive expectations.

Create An Exciting Future
What companies and countries and institutions need today are courageous visionary leaders who are committed to creating an exciting future for themselves and others. You have within yourself the ability to evolve and grow as a leader and to make a real difference in the world around you. And the one thing you can know for sure about yourself is that, no matter what you've accomplished up to now, there is far more that you can do.

As you practice the behaviors of effective leaders, you will grow more and more toward the realization of your full potential. It's completely up to you.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action in your work.

First, hold regular meetings with your staff and tell them everything that is going on. Invite their comments, questions and concerns. Make everybody feel as if he or she was an insider in the organization.

Second, continually look for opportunities to give positive feedback, praise and encouragement. People need praise and encouragement like roses need rain and sunshine. Take every opportunity to make people feel better about themselves and their work.

Day dreaming...

2009-01-18T14:41:00.002+08:00

Plain day dreaming but sometimes I wonder - "What would happened if I could turn back time and join @ 2 or 3 years earlier?" Would I have ran for EB? Would I have ran for MC? Would I have obtained a vote of confidence from my fellow peers? How would the future from there on be?

It's something that I won't have the opportunity to find out. But oh well, life is as such - we get some and we lose some.

Okay, day dreaming session over. Get on to work.

Catholic High Rox!

2009-01-12T22:50:00.001+08:00

2008 GCE ‘O’ Level Examination Results

L1B5 aggregate	9.8 (estimate)
School Band	Band 1
Passed ≥5 ‘O’ levels	100%
At least 5 distinctions	77.7%
Eligible for JC	99.2%
Cohort size	381

No. of students with A1s
10A1	5
9 A1	22
8 A1	13
7 A1	21
6 A1	28

No. of students with distinctions (A1 & A2)
11 distinctions	1
≥10 distinctions	29
≥9 distinctions	79
≥8 distinctions	140
≥7 distinctions	206
≥6 distinctions	256

Subjects	% Distinction	% Pass
English Language	65.4	99.5
English Literature	50	94.4
Higher Chinese	40.5	92.8
Chinese Language	73.2	100
Chinese Literature	76.5	88.2
E Mathematics	93.4	100
A Mathematics	82.4	99.7
Physics	73.4	99.7
Chemistry	74.9	100
Biology	91	100
Science	66.7	100
Geography	77	100
History	81	100
Combined Humanities	71.1	99

Top performers in 2008 GCE
Name	Chinese Name	Class	Results
CHAN HUA PENG	曾华鹏	4-8	10 A1s
LI ANG	李昂	4-9	10 A1s
MELVIN YIN CHEE PENG	严子鹏	4-9	10 A1s
XU ZIYANG	徐子扬	4-9	10 A1s
YAP CHIEN	叶展	4-8	10 A1s
ANG JUN KIAT	洪俊杰	4-8	9A1, 1A2
CHEE ZHENG FENG	池政锋	4-8	9A1, 1A2
DILLON YAP	叶毅仁	4-9	9A1, 1A2
HOW GUO YUAN	侯国源	4-9	9A1, 1A2
JEROLD LOH WEI ZHE	罗伟哲	4-10	9A1, 1A2
TU ZHENGKAI	涂征凯	4-9	9A1, 1A2
XU RUOLIN	徐若麟	4-8	9A1, 1A2
YEE KUAN HAO	余冠灏	4-9	9A1, 1A2
ZHANG SHEN	张燊	4-9	9A1, 1A2
ZHU QIREN	朱麒仁	4-9	9A1, 1A2

An anime conversation that struck on me...

2008-12-25T17:37:00.003+08:00

Was watching Gundam 00 when this quote struck on me

Lockon Stratos : "Making up for the mistakes in the past?"

Setsuna F Seiei : "It's not about the past. It's for the future."

Many a times, we are just too burden down by the past when we forget that it's the future that matters. I think we all need to change our mentality about the past; the past as it is, is passe. Learn from it and leave it there. What matters more is the future and what we are doing NOW for that bright future.

Walking down Shenton Way...

2008-12-23T00:36:00.003+08:00

As I was walking down the city street, seeing the wonderful city lightings, the shimmering Singapore river, Marina bay. This song suddenly popped in my mind.

Whenever I am feeling low
I look around me and I know
There's a place that will stay within me
Wherever I may choose to go
I will always recall the city
Know every street and shore
Sail down the river which brings us life
Winding through my Singapore

Indeed, my heart is tightly bound to Singapore, appreciating what our founders and ancestors set out to achieve for this Island nation.

People may say that I might be brain washed by the PAP; which I might be.

Whatever the case, I am glad to be born on this peaceful, serene nation; knowing that I am safe walking down the street, knowing that my family and friends (well, at least most of them) will be around showing care and concern for one another, knowing that deep in my heart, I will live to protect this nation and its ideals and most importantly, this is my home.

Just felt like showing gratitude to the place where I grow up. Merry X-mas Singapore. May 2009 be a better year!

Lessons from homily

2008-12-21T22:15:00.004+08:00

Something that was shared today and I thought it makes good sharing.

1. Love is a free choice and we all had that freedom; love cannot be forced.
God has chosen Mary to be the mother of Jesus and Mary chose to accept the Lord's choice. Likewise, despite what actions we took to show our love to that someone; it might not be reciprocate, because the other party also has that freedom of choice to accept or deny that love.

2. Different forms of love.
Expression of love may be different but the quality is the same. A husband might not show his love to the wife by doing the loving things that he used to do; showing affection publicly, giving gifts, etc. He might have shown it through other means, being concern about the family welfare - whether there's enough money for the family, education for the children, etc. Likewise, a wife might show concern by taking good care of the children, keeping the home clean and tidy. Whichever happens, do not think that your partner does not love you. Take the pro active role of showing your love, your appreciation to your spouse.

Gratitude

2008-12-21T02:45:00.002+08:00

Listing out some stuff that I am glad about
1. Alive and kicking
2. Free of illness
3. Have 3 meals a day and water from the tap
4. A family who shows their concern for me
5. Know many wonderful friends who taught me many lessons in life
6. To know that I can give even more to the people around me
7. Doing work that I can find satisfaction and enjoyment
8. Experience what I have experience.
9. To be born in such a small yet great country
10. To have live a life.

Setting out for the year to come... GOAL SETTING

2008-12-15T23:48:00.003+08:00

It's the end of the year and it's time to take account of the present year achievements and set out new resolutions for the year to come...

By: Brian Tracy
Clarity accounts for probably 80% of success and happiness. Lack of clarity is probably more responsible for frustration and underachievement than any other single factor. That's why we say that "Success is goals, and all else is commentary." People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine. This is true everywhere and under all circumstances.

The Three Keys to High Achievement
You could even say that the three keys to high achievement are, "Clarity, Clarity, Clarity," with regard to your goals. Your success in life will be largely determined by how clear you are about what it is you really, really want.

Write and Rewrite Your Goals
The more you write and rewrite your goals and the more you think about them, the clearer you will become about them. The clearer you are about what you want, the more likely you are to do more and more of the things that are consistent with achieving them. Meanwhile, you will do fewer and fewer of the things that don't help to get the things you really want.

The Seven Step Process for Achieving Goals
Here, once more, is the simple, seven-step process that you can use to achieve your goals faster and easier than ever before.

First, decide exactly what you want in each area of your life. Be specific!

Second, write it down, clearly and in detail;

Third, set a specific deadline. If it is a large goal, break it down into sub-deadlines and write them down in order;

Fourth, make a list of everything you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal. As you think of new items, add them to your list;

Fifth, organize the items on your list into a plan by placing them in the proper sequence and priority;

Sixth, take action immediately on the most important thing you can do on your plan. This is very important!

Seventh, do something every day that moves you toward the attainment of one or more of your important goals. Maintain the momentum!

Join the Top 3%
Fewer than three percent of adults have written goals and plans that they work on every single day. When you sit down and write out your goals, you move yourself into the top 3% of people in our society. And you will soon start to get the same results that they do.

Review Your Goals Daily
Study and review your goals every day to be sure they are still your most important goals. You will find yourself adding goals to your list as time passes. You will also find yourself deleting goals that are no longer as important as you once thought. Whatever your goals are, plan them out thoroughly, on paper, and work on them every single day. This is the key to peak performance and maximum achievement.

Action Exercises
Here is how you can apply this law immediately:

First, make a list of ten goals that you would like to achieve in the coming year. Write them down in the present tense, as though a year has passed and you have already accomplished them.

Second, from your list of ten goals, ask yourself, "What one goal, if I were to accomplish it, would have the greatest positive impact on my life?" Whatever it is, put a circle around this goal and move it to a separate sheet of paper.

Third, practice the seven-step method described above on this goal. Set a deadline, make a plan, and put it into action and work on it every day. Make this goal your major definite purpose for the weeks and months ahead.

Get ready for some amazing changes in your life.

Giving...

2008-11-30T00:57:00.002+08:00

Giving is difficult...

Giving without regrets is even more difficult...

How can I give without expecting anything in return...
I am and still have yet been able to see pass this...

I think I need to do more self reflection...

Let's observe a minute of silence...

2008-11-28T23:13:00.002+08:00

May the Lord bless the souls of those who are unfortunately sacrificed in this terror incident; and even more so, may the Lord give strength to those who are affected to stay strong and live a more fulfilled life in place of those who had suffered.

Singaporean killed during Mumbai hostage incident: official

She was identified by her husband, who was accompanied by Singapore's high commissioner. -AFP

Fri, Nov 28, 2008
AFP

SINGAPORE - A Singaporean taken hostage during coordinated attacks across India's commercial capital of Mumbai has been killed, the foreign ministry said Friday.

Lo Hoei Yen, 28, was identified by her husband, who was accompanied by Singapore's high commissioner, Jai Sohan, consular director of the foreign ministry, told reporters at a late-night news conference.

"We were only told, confirmed, at 21:35 hours (1335 GMT) this evening that she had suffered a tragic death," Sohan said.

Her body was found on the 19th floor of the Oberoi/Trident hotel, he said.

At least 93 people, most of them foreigners, were released Friday from the Oberoi/Trident hotel more than 36 hours after armed militants seized the building, police said.

Mumbai's police chief said 24 bodies were found at the hotel after rescue operations concluded.

Article of the day

2008-11-27T00:03:00.004+08:00

Saw an interesting article which I wish to share cause it really got me thinking.

Extracted from the ST INTERVIEW, Straits Times, Nov 26, 2008

Now's the time to spend more

Companies able to invest in a recession will gain market share and come out stronger
By Susan Long

THE public backlash that DBS Bank suffered when it slashed 900 jobs was a classic case of 'first mover disadvantage'.

When times are tough, the first to wield the axe gets all the bad press, says Dr Stewart Black, executive director of the Insead business school's Centre for Human Resources in Asia.

Of course, the bombshell announcement, coupled by the fact that DBS is a national icon and still profitable - it declared a third-quarter net profit of $379 million, albeit 38 per cent less than last year - did not help.

But the 49-year-old says: 'It's almost impossible for outsiders to judge whether a company needed to make such a big cut. They likely considered the negative reception of going first but took the decision anyway.

'Often companies struggle with how much to reveal. The more you open the books, the more you satisfy workers. But it can make customers nervous and can give competitors an advantage.

'So did they reveal too much or too little? And was their response proportionate? Often, you can't tell until way after the fact.'

He says it is not always the case that companies should hang on to all their employees. Of late, there have been calls here to revert to the Eastern or Japanese way of viewing the company as an extended family, and sticking together through thick and thin.

But Dr Black, who spent five years working and living in Japan as a consultant and professor and has visited it extensively since 1978, says: 'Family loyalty served Japan well in the roaring 80s but they were very slow to restructure and get rid of uncompetitive assets and excessive employees after the bubble burst in 1991. It cost 17 years of stagnation.

'You have to ask if the cost of a more dramatic response would have been less costly than the response they took which spread the pain out over 17 years. Would a Western response have inflicted less pain?'

The right response, he says, is probably somewhere in between the American way of slash and burn and the familial orientation of Japan, which protects workers as long as possible.

Before companies reach for the axe, he says they should first do a cost-benefit analysis of how much it will cost to recruit, train, develop and get a replacement worker up to speed.

For a blue-collar worker, studies show that it costs roughly about 30 per cent of his annual salary to achieve this. For a white-collar worker, it costs between 50 to 70 per cent of his annual salary.

'Quite often, companies underestimate this when they reflexively cut people. They are penny-wise, pound-foolish, saving money at the moment only to spend more money in the future.'

Another common mistake firms make is failing to differentiate between high and low performers, and firing en masse. 'Research shows that top performers contribute 40 to 70 per cent more than average performers. It's important to put pressure on low performers but keep your top performers during a recession.'

One way to do that in lean times is through awards and recognition. 'It may be that sales are not as high in a downturn but the company is still doing better than others. In that case, are we celebrating, rewarding, recognising top performers?"

An inexpensive method, he suggests, is an Employee Of The Month competition. The winner gets dinner vouchers, and his picture in the newsletter.

Another way is to offer more flexibility in work hours. 'If you gave employees a choice of working flexible hours or slightly fewer hours, some may take it. They may have childcare or parent-care needs or other things they would be happy to trade 10 hours a week at work for on a temporary basis.

'They won't be able to sustain that in the long term, in terms of income, but it could be welcome flexibility for a while. This will save money, versus forcing everybody to take shorter hours or laying people off.'

Beefing up development opportunities also helps. This can be done through setting up a task force and offering 'temporary assignments', to look at, for example, process improvement, cycle time or customer service. 'This helps employees' development so that when the recovery comes, they have added capabilities and greater opportunities to advance.

'Sometimes taking a step back helps you leap forward. If we take on a new skill, there is a learning curve. A good time to put in that investment is during a recession, so that you're up that learning curve and can gain all the benefits at a time when the economy is recovering. That way, you get acceleration during the recovery, versus a company that waits till the recovery to put in that investment.'

In his past 20 years of researching 50 different companies worldwide, he says over 85 per cent enjoyed a positive return on their investments in marketing, operations and human resources made during recessions.

Now is not the time to cut back but spend more, he urges. 'If companies have strong balance sheets and the liquidity to make investments, there is no better time to gain market share, retool and emerge stronger.

'So far we haven't had a recession last forever. Every recession has been followed by a recovery. If you prepare well for the recovery, you can catch the front of the wave and surf out in front of your competitors.'

Unfortunately, most companies look only at how dire the here-and-now is, and forget that things will get better. So, a bad economy is the best time to hire good talent.

'You can get the best of both worlds by keeping your best people and going out to grab your competitors' best people. Now coming out of the recovery, you're in fantastic shape. You've kept your best people, you've got rid of your worst and you've hired your competitor's best.

'You've made investments so that your learning curve will match the recovery curve. With that, you're firing on all 12 cylinders.'

suelong@sph.com.sg

Additional reporting by Cassandra Chew

About Dr Stewart

DR STEWART Black, 49, is the executive director of the Insead business school's Centre for Human Resources in Asia, which conducts research and serves as a learning hub for senior HR executives from about 30 large multinationals.
The American is the co-author of a bestseller on leading change, It Starts With One, and a leading textbook, Management: Meeting New Challenges, along with 10 other books on leadership, globalisation and strategy.
He was based in Singapore from 2005 till recently as Affiliate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Insead. He now lives in Colorado, in the United States, where he is in charge of the business school's executive development activities for the Americas region.
Prior to joining Insead in 2005, he was Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan. He is married with five children aged six to 24.
Background Stories

Bosses, if you must make cuts, here's what to do
1 AVOID DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS
It is better to do your calculations thoroughly and then retrench in one fell swoop, than make multiple cuts as things worsen, says Dr Stewart Black, executive director of the Insead business school's Centre for Human Resources in Asia.
'By the second cut, remaining employees will wonder if they will survive the third or fourth round. The impact is counter-intuitive. Instead of working harder to keep their jobs, they get anxious and lose concentration.'
Because misery loves company, they will spend all their time commiserating in the hallways. Productivity, he warns, will plunge further.
2 BEWARE THE SURVIVOR EFFECT
'Employees are human beings first, economic animals second. If you didn't get cut, but your friend does, it's your friendship heart that kicks in first,' he says.
According to research done on car companies where many were let go in the 1980s, for companies where job cuts were perceived to be fair, productivity did not go down or up. At best, there was a neutral effect.
But where people felt their dearly departed were unfairly targeted or treated, they slowed down their work to 'exact revenge'. He says: 'Even though it was not in their own economic interest to do that, people's hearts obviously won over their heads.'
As such, the 'why' and 'how' of retrenchment becomes paramount. 'Was it because the person was of lower seniority or belonged to a poor performing unit? Was there prior consultation or did they just come in one morning and get escorted out by security?'
If a company is seen to be reasonable, even if not generous, productivity goes back to neutral. 'Quite frankly, neutral is good. In a slowdown, the last thing you can afford is any further drop in productivity.'
3 RALLY THE REMAINING TROOPS
'Like a sports team, you need to inspire the survivors to fight on. When you are losing, many players feel like mentally and emotionally giving up. Once they do, the game is over,' he says.
'However, the rally cry must be based on reality. If you are down by 50 points in basketball with one minute to play, promising the players they can win the game if they try just doesn't ring true.'
In some business cases, the goals need to be more realistic.
'For example, General Motors recently announced that for it, winning would be surviving the next two years. For many companies, winning could be just surviving. In other cases, you can help employees see that the actions being taken now can help the company emerge from the recession even stronger.'
ON THE WORST THING COMPANIES CAN DO
'If you've never invested in employees in past downturns, don't pretend to start now. Do it only if you are serious. A while ago, companies seized on participative management. They went around asking employees for opinions but ignored it. They raised expectations, then dashed them. They would have been better off never asking for input rather than asking for it and then ignoring it.'
ON DEFENSIVE MEASURES
'In both good times and bad, companies with strong cultures, like Disney, Shell and BASF, have low staff turnovers. One of the things to think about is how do I enhance my working environment such that even if my employees have portable skills, the benefit of moving to a new employer isn't worth the cost of losing the company-specific culture. Studies show that a 10 to 20 per cent pay differential can be offset with a good company culture. Now, lots of people will leave for a 50 per cent pay raise. But companies are not losing most of their people to 50 per cent more, they're losing them to 10 to 20 per cent salary increases.'
MANY savvy companies have harnessed recessions to their benefit and taken to heart American civil war general William T. Sherman's famous saying 'March when the enemy is sleeping'.
Insead's Dr Stewart Black's favourite examples are:
INTEL: During the 1991 recession, California-based semiconductor company Intel launched its 'Intel Inside' marketing and branding campaign, and emerged a household name.
'Before that, it was an anonymous microprocessor supplier. Now, we think of Intel as a brand and we want an Intel chip inside our computer. Since then, they rarely, if ever, retrench, and consistently make investments during recessions.'
WAL-MART: During the 2000 recession, American discount retailer Wal-Mart pushed its 'Everyday low prices' slogan. This year, it has launched 'Save money, live better'. 'Wal-Mart, known for its low prices, doesn't mind recessions because some people who shop at the higher end tend to come down a little bit, but in the last two recessions, they have taken advantage to position themselves strategically.'
TOYOTA: When the big car companies were busy laying off workers from 2000 to 2003, Toyota expanded operations, and emerged with a higher market share.
During that time, it shut down a plant in Turkey for 10 months but kept all its workers, and trained them. When it restarted again, it went on to have some of the highest productivity and quality ratings at any Toyota plant globally.
This year, Toyota in the US is not going to lay off any of its around 4,500 employees. They have shut down plants for three months and are training workers in new techniques and new models. 'They are also keeping them in shape with exercise, so that when the factories start up again, the workers will be ready to start.'

Thoughs on Discipline and Passion

2008-11-25T23:52:00.002+08:00

Just some thoughts that I had and wanted to note them down.

Q. What is discipline?
A. Discipline is doing things without regards to feelings. Whether you like it or not.

Q. Is discipline essential to success?
A. Yes and no. It depends on what your definition is. You can reach the goal if you are discipline but it is not the only way. And without regarding your personal feelings sometimes make the success a hollow one.

Q. So what is more critical?
A. Acting on passion and hope.

Q. Why do I say so?
A. A person with passion will put his mind / heart / soul into what he do, hence has a greater chance of succeeding. Also with passion and hope, one will have true satisfaction on what he has achieve because he achieves what he wants not what other people wants.

Q. How can I benefit from this information?
A. Think of ways that you can align your passion and hope with what you do. Ask yourself what spurs you in your job. Ask yourself what elements in your job gives you the most satisfaction.

It's been a while

2008-11-02T22:38:00.003+08:00

Slightly more than a month that I last updated my blog. Mainly because I think I've been spending more time on FaceBook. Haha~ Still, I think there need to be a place to consolidate all my thoughts so that 10 years down the road, I will have something to refer back to.

The past 1 month+ has been filled with lots of activities.
- AIESEC in Singapore had the Alumni Dinner in Blooies.
- Watching the F1 in Balaclava, then rushing out to hear the excitement of the cars rushing by.
- KJ dropped by in Singapore and we managed to catch up with her over dinner
- My NTU class gathering which has not happened in quite a while
- Jeffery's wedding which was celebrated with a bang
- Alvin's birthday which was so filled with TouchLight activities as well as catching up with friends
- The annual CHS Alumni Dinner which happens every Oct 13th, not many people from my batch attended but I kindda enjoyed my time chatting with friends and Mdm Teng who had attended.
- Then there was the Makan Trail @ Cumi Bali Indonesian Restaurant, a great place to dine at reasonable rates
- Kelvin and Vida finally started their new phase in life with a Christian / Chinese style wedding.
- Sandy Lam performed in Singapore and I managed to catch the great performance which I really enjoyed.
- Farewell for Fida who returned to Indonesia to help her Dad.
- Rest of the time had been filled with Gym and studies for the CCDA, which I postpone as I fared badly for the mock. =/
And of coz, getting my job done at work; I think more has to be done to get my work process structurized so that I could get them done more efficiently and effectively.

Quite a bit of activities for the end Sept / Oct period. Will be looking to focus more of my time in Nov to study for my Cisco exams, what needs to be done needs to be done...

the FBI Game

2008-09-21T15:02:00.002+08:00

I came across this on Sharon's blog (http://sharontan.nomadlife.org/) who in turn saw this on Dey's blog (http://allingreen.blogspot.com/)

This sure sounds like a game whom one is looking to understand himself better would do - though I think I have enough questions on my mind - still, something from external might be something I had not thought of.

The FBI Game ~
You Have 10 Questions.
You Ask One By One And I Answer One By One with TOTAL Honesty.
You don´t have to answer any questions.
Unless you want me to ask you as well after I have answered all yours.
My goal is to get to recognize myself better through my answers to your questions.
And get to know a bit more about your perception of me through your questions.

Now isn't that quite an interesting concept? really forces you to come to terms with who you are... and it's definitely much deeper than spotlight (since that game usually just focuses on relationships)

I think I don't mind playing this... so.. who wants to ask? :)

JumpStarted for 2008

2008-09-14T22:38:00.004+08:00

Once again, JumpStart has come quietly and left with a bang. Simple in its mission - to bond all fellow newies @ers of 08/09 so that they can learn and contribute to this wonderful organisation. It has inspired the newies - broaden their pespectives, informed them availability of opportunities, familarized them to the COE (Culture of Excellence).

My takeback for this conference is once again a period of reflection, to see the relavence of @ with my life. Stories by the Chair Radu - about discovering that one must change one's attitude in order to understand the true value of the knowledge that he's gaining. About the stone mason who sees crafting a block of stone as crafting of one's destiny. Also, the sharing of stories from the newies has sort of humbled my learning experience, knowing that each member has a different life experience which we all could learn from - teachers becoming students and students, teachers.

I believe the value of @ is not of impacting one's life externaly, but rather, it seeks to influence others by posing its members questions, questions that help its member to shape their own beliefs, their attitude, such that the changes one can observe in an AIESECer is not outside in but inside out.

And I believe that this short conference has JumpStart the newies' life in @ - a journey in understanding themselves and to take action on becoming what they set out to be.

August flew in a flash...

2008-09-01T22:22:00.002+08:00

Time flies like always, yet so little is done. AIESEC welcome tea, interviews, meeting with friends, olympics, army half marathon, bro flying back to Beijing. Each event flew away in a moment. We are always in need of time yet we spent time so carelessly. It's time for internal reflection, to observe how we had made our choices, to reflect how we will make the choices if we are given that time again.

Why the who-haa about time - all thanks to a girl that I used to have a crush on; I'm happy of the good things that had happened to her though.

More-importantly, I had been reading too much of "7 Habits of highly effective-teen", one of my favourite book by Sean Covey (sounds familiar? Cause he's the son of Stephen Covey)

One wonderful peom to share with all - hopefully, it'd strike you to take any action now.

To realize the value of One year,
Ask a student who failed his exams.
To realize the value of One Month
Ask a mother who give birth to a premature baby
To realise the value of One Week
Ask an editor of a weekly magazine
To realise the value of One day
Ask a daily wage labour who has six kids to feed
To realise the value of One Hour
Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realise the value of One Minute
Ask a person who missed their train
To realise the value of One Second
Ask the person who survived an accident
To realise the value of One Millisecond,
Ask the person who won a silver meda in the Olympics