Networking on the Internet or rather, Inter-net-working

Facebook and LinkedIn. These are two of my big finds in 2008.

Karen introduced me to FB in January 2008 - the start of this year. I found LinkedIn not too long after that. A lot of people are hopping on the bandwagon now.

The internet is a big world but the networking parallel between its cyber world and the real world is true.

oh crystal ball, oh crystal ball

"Rooney anticipated the pass," the commentator said excitedly this morning, "got to the ball first and shoots."


"The decision was strategic and right at that time," Yanaka defended. "Who could have foretold that the market conditions would change so drastically."


Who wouldn't love to be able to see the future? That would be money in the bank. We'd all know what stocks to buy and where to purchase real estate. Everything we anticipated would come true.


There was an article in the Straits Times yesterday about a fortune teller reading the palms and predicting the fortunes of some TV celebrities.


There's a difference between anticipation and fortune telling.


Being able to anticipate what is likely to occur in the next few months and the next few years is enough to give you an edge over the 99% others who simply go along with whatever happens.


My sifu once taught me that to hone anticipatory skills, accept nothing. Question everything.


The "what ifs" should be endless. What if my current products doesn't sell? What if my top performer is recruited by the competition? What is the sales leads dry up? I constantly ask "what if" questions.

Don't just think outside the box...there is NO box

"I went for an interview at dell just before Christmas," Fabian told me.

While he was still in university, Michael Dell told his father: "I want to compete with IBM." His father didn't think that was very funny.

I have often found that if I wanted to break from the pack and stand out from the crowd, sometimes I have to risk being perceived to be as eccentric as Michael Dell, Richard Branson, and all these people.

I make a good living building and motivating high performing sales and marketing teams, but I myself have to get busy deciding what lens to look through each day. Talent and training alone may tee-up high performance but they are not sufficient.

What my Christmas prezzies taught me about brand building

I got a bottle of Absolut Vodka from my Secret Santa. My wife got a body shop item. These were amongst some of the prezzies we got.

Absolut and Body shop were great at marketing and brand building. Other great success stories I admire are Nike and Cirque de Soleil. In my line of work, I continually ask myself, "how do I make a stay or meeting at my two hotels I am managing as fun and unpredictable as a contemporary circus.

I learned many years back when I was appointed Brand Champion for Pan Pacific that asking this kind of question allows me to see what business I am really in, or could really be in.

Season Greetings

Here's wishing everyone a smashing Christmas and a great 2009!

Out of balance

My good friend David was diagnosed with a heart condition.

It was a wake-up call for him as it was for me. Lack of balance can kill.

Some of these factors can cause someone to be out of balance and place additional stress.

At work it could mean a new job, lack of support, politics and turf wars, a problem staff, bad boss, not getting results.

On the personal front, it could be marital problems, loss of a loved one, financial difficulties, health problems, parent problems.

These factors can truly cause feelings of being overwhelmed. I realised this: it's time to change and regain the balance necessary for real success both at work and home.

Difference between David and Goliath

"Polaroid has filed for bankruptcy," Albert told me last night.

One of the case studies which I undertook whilst studying was about how Polaroid enjoyed 28 years of monopoly control of the instant photography market until Kodak came along in 1976.

After years with giants like AMEX, Aetna, Hilton, Pan Pacific, Starwood, Meritus, I now work for a relatively small, but fast growing company. After over 1 1/2 years, I realise a major advantage of working in a so-called small company.

A small company can mobilise quickly, change directions in turbulent waters on short notice. That's why the big Titanic sank - because it can't change course quick enough.

Leadership lessons from the school of hard knocks

"Strong leadership qualities", "A leader who knows how to unite a team." These were a couple of written comments from peers and subordinates in my recent performance management process.
A major part of my working life has been spent trying to understand what it really means to be a leader. Academic theories during my MBA days seemed far removed from the challenges I had faced as a leader. A series of life experiences, plus the challenge of lecturing and consulting, led me to blaze a new path.

My experiences in the past 19 months taught me that the very act of doing something concrete creates a sense of momentum. A series of small victories will lay the foundation for eventual success.

We are not superhuman

"This Blackberry should be called a badberry," Chloe murmured.

Pacing is a critical part of sports training. Business leaders, however, get in a cycle of setting impossible expectations of themselves. In addition, often there is an avalanche of e-mails that keeps coming, meetings to attend and more meetings, competitors shifting tactics and we must respond.

Most people confuse working long, hard hours with achieving results.

At the end of the day, we MUST guard our most precious resource: our time.

from left: Selena, Let, LL, Jades, Chloe, Zai

Back to basics

"After my 7th friend supported me and bought my product," Charles recalled, "the going got very tough after that."

In a recent survey amongst outstanding salespeople, there wasn't even 1% who was able to identify the real reason for his/her success. Usually, in trying to pin down the essential ingredients, they talked about luck, connection or hard work.

As a sales leader with over 20 years of battlefield experience, I'd say that relying on luck, connection or hard work isn't a reliable tool in a world that's riddled with change and as competitive as what it is today.

I'd say that success in sales depends on a clearly defined, professional sales methodology - knowing what you are doing and why.
With Salleh on a lunch cruise down Sydney harbour in the course of duty

From prospect to customer to advocate

"You are my guru...publish the PERCs" posted Melissa.

"Paul, great blog - keep it up!" Augie wrote.

"Truly enjoying your articles on PEr Chronicles," Elly wrote on my wall in Facebook.

Unsolicited testimonials are probably the strongest form of advertising whether it's my blog or my business or anything else.

My former SVP at Aetna taught me the golden rule of marketing: cross-sell, up-sell, re-sell. Have more customers, have your customers buy more often, have your customers buy more (in quantity, or higher rated products)

In our everyday lives, we are at one time or another either a prospect, a customer or an advocate. The businesses that succeed in pleasing us the most will receive the most transactions from us.

This is the vital area I always work towards: create a loyal customer base - convert occassional buyers into our biggest fans

ACE and I simply love the luge at Sentosa and we go around telling people about it

Don't be fooled. No one has all the answers

"I know one person can't do everything and solve every problem," Abhisit, the new Thai PM acknowledged.

It's hard not to be impressed with business leaders who continually dazzle us with the speed with which they can home in on what's really important.

But over the years, I found out that in a world where business conditions are constantly changing, no one can "have all the answers" for long. Worse, I have worked for some of these leaders who, because they need to feel that they already have all the answers, they have no way to learn new answers.

I don't pretend to know everything. That's why I surround myself with quality people.

Jolene and Nadeem following the leader with a little support from (left) Stephie, Let, Jades, Grace, Elly

With a little kindness

"All you need is love," chorused the Dim Sum Dollies at their Another Crazy Christmas gig last evening. "Love is all you need."

The real world can be cold, unforgiving landscapes - at times quite inhospitable.

There are people is high positions who have conveniently forgotten that there was a time when they were someplace else, isolated and alone. Some people forget where they came from. Boy, have I got news for you: only grave diggers start from the top. Show a little compassion, you little people.

No, I'm not going soft. It's still big-dog-eat-little-dog in pursuit of a piece of business. But there's no reason why the office or home environment could not encourage more civility and humility.

Make it piecemeal

"Be bright. Be brief. And then be gone," Erhard admonished the excom members.

Just do it. Nike's purpose were boiled down by their ad agency into these 3 words. The agency created an award-winning and sales-increasing campaign based on 3 simple words.

I have 3 Americans in my office. The essence of everything USA stands for is down to 1 word: freedom.

As a leader, I constantly work on the skill of identifying, articulating and summarising concepts that motivate others. Most important, I try to drill and break down concepts down to an understandable idea.

The worst thing to do in a negotiation

Shops such as Guess, Polo Jeans and Timberland at Raffles City had the "sale" sign on them last Saturday when I was there.

People like bargains.

Much of the retail trade plays on this desire for bargains. "Save 20%" shouts the ad. And it works. Sometimes it makes people buy on impulse. In effect they are not saving 20% at all - they are dissaving 80%.

But they are happy because they believe they have paid less than they would have done if they'd bought it outside the sale period.

I am a negotiator. We negotiators expect to negotiate. A first offer accepted without a haggle undermines our confidence in both the deal and ourselves.

That's the golden rule in negotiation and sales: never accept the first offer.

Fun at work

"If you have fun at work," EH said to me, "it's not work anymore."

Too many people I know wake up every morning wishing they were doing some other type of job. They aren't happy.

That's why I try to make going to work as much fun as I can for my team. I want them to enjoy their jobs. Happy employees are productive employees.

Work should be fun. If it's not, it's just work.

Shirley and Titin having fun at work

The wave from left: Chloe, Jolene, Grace, Stephie, Nadeem

Laughter the best medicine

"You made me laugh till I cried," Irene said. "You are so humorous."

I am a public speaker. Whether it's on stage, in a pub with friends, or over a dinner table, people are impressed by one's ability to tell jokes.

Think of the last time someone told you a joke that made you burst out laughing. Where you couldn't control your laughing. How did you feel after?

Research shows that those who have trouble with laughing at life often turns to drugs and alchohol to acheive the same feeling.

The bottom line? - laughter is said to to be the best medicine. Humour heals.

Carry some pixie dust around

Tigger with wings and a star and Mickey in a glass ball are perched high on top of my Christmas tree.

Since my toddler days, watching Mickey Mouse on TV; to my young adult days, emerging from The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror; to my parenthood days, seeing my kid's excitement on Buzz Lightyear's Astro blaster - each is a magical moment.

Walt Disney's fundamentals for success still ring true. Build the best product. Give people effective training to support the service delivery. Learn from experiences. Celebrate success. Never stop growing. Never stop believing.

Chances are good that you, like me, are not working in a theme park like Disneyland. But if you are working in sales and marketing like me, here's a fact: superlative interpersonal service is crucial.

It means paying close attention to every aspect of your customer contact. It means analyzing from the other person's perspective, understanding their needs.

Using the Balanced Scorecard

"If you can't measure, you can't manage," Douglas pointed out. Wilson echoed the message.

I have had experience working with the Balanced Scorecard in my days with Pan Pacific and Meritus Mandarin. Today, I draw on my own experience and from the willing cooperation of many friends at a variety of companies to introduce it at my present organisation.

Our role as leaders is to lay tracks so that our staff may follow. With the right tracks laid we can stay focused and not get lost. Solid tracks mean that we can build up speed.

I find the Balanced Scorecard very useful to help me communicate to everyone a clear picture of the purpose of his/her work.

Appraising myself

I spent a good part of today walking around Mid Valley Megamall in KL. It was jammed packed with shoppers.

If you are a canny shopper, chances are you evaluate the merchandise before you buy. I constantly try to appraise myself too.

How do I go about doing this?

A house appraiser would check the foundation, overall square footage, wiring, etc. Everything has a value - number of rooms, even the neighbourhood the house is in.

There were times in the past when I envied the impressive facade of the businessman, but I could not relate myself to their success. I wasn't in their "neighbourhood"

Aftermuch self-searching I have now found my unused wings and I now stand poised with confidence and enthusiasm, ready to use those wings.

Loving her and getting loved back

"He just flops over to his side and sleeps," Stephie laments. "He is the only one who gets the satisfaction out of it."

There are many things a man can do to express his love. As far as I can remember, as I did that, I found it mutually therapeutic.

Try and try again

"Be like a stamp," Charlie said. "Stick to it until you get there."

Determination is what keeps us hammering away.

I have always possessed the stamina and courage to pursue my ambitions despite criticism, ridicule or unfavourable circumstances. In fact discouragement only serves to spur me on to greater things.

One day at a time

"Hang on in there," Lawrence said empathetically. "Time heals all wounds."

It sounds good, but it is not true. Time heals nothing.

I remember vividly a time in my youth when I was hurting...time only magnified the pain. Days and weeks went by, and the agony hung on. The hurting won't go away, no matter what the calendar said.

Fast forward to me in my forties. I understand now that happiness is not living without pain or hurt - not at all. True happiness is learning how to live one day at a time, in spite of all the sorrow and pain.

Don't waste time with self-pity

"Life is not fair, so get used to it," Steve boomed. "If life is fair, we'll all be earning the same salary."

There may be times when we do most of the work and yet someone else gets the credit. We work twice as hard as the person next to us, and we know we're twice as smart, and yet we earn only half the money that he/she does.

But anytime I am tempted to whine and pity myself because I was certain that my troubles and problems are far more terrible than anyone else's misfortunes, I only have to turn on the TV or read the papers about the senseless attacks in Mumbai....and imagine how the families and loved ones of the deceased would feel.

Love is blind? Think again

"Love is blind," Vincent proclaimed.

Really? Consider again.

The lover has a finer sense and more acute vision and sees, in the person of his affection, a hundred virtues and charms invisible to all other eyes.

So I conclude: love is not blind. It is the people who are not in love who are blind


Only the maidens who are in love can see the beauty in the beast

Another candle on the cake

"My birthday on 19 December is the same day as Ivy's," Peter said as a matter of factly over his bowl of piping hot Katong Laksa. Come to think of it, my birthday is just around the corner too.

Forget the fact that there are enough candles on my cake to light up a runway on Changi Airport. To me, age is an attitude. You are as old as you feel.

What are a few wrinkles?I take them for badges of courage for living.

Besides, age isn't the numbers of years you lived your life; it is what you did with those years.

The pursuit of love

"I love his long eyelashes....." Marie said. "But I can't stand a man who has no guts."

Yes, the quest for love makes a person do strange things. For example, it can cause a man to spend his rent money to impress a woman.

You can learn much about love simply by trying to attain it. You might find out what you were searching for or realise you enjoy the chase more than the capture.

The forbidden fruit

"I almost crossed the line," Sarene recalled. "Our urban world is full of temptations."

The dull and predictable rut in many couples' lives often wears them down. Dangerously so.

"I occassionally find myself envying, and even resenting, young couples I saw in evenings of frivolity and heaven knows what else," Chris confessed.

As a friend recounted, it started so deliciously different, so fresh and exhilarating as dinner with good company. Just to talk. And then one thing led to another, and the particulars are private.

When I made the promise 12 years previously to love, honour and cherish, I had never dreamed that marriage, even passion, could become old hat. But it can, and it does. It is a delicate plant, and without constant attention it begins to wither under the heat of everyday life.

Love is a 24 hours decision.

Children are gifts from heaven

"Soon it will be Christmas day....." the song filled the hall.

Our Christmas decorating began modestly last Sunday with the setting up of our Christmas tree. We have enough Christmas lights to illuminate an airport runway. With the enthusiastic help of my boy, I began hanging several miles (I am exaggerating of course) of lights.

While doing it, I thought of my childhood Christmases. Many parents I know, speak about the "good old days" when it was easier to raise children. Personally, I think parental concerns of 8 BC. are the same concerns parents are expressing in 2008. We all want our kids to grow up safe and happy, and we wish the task were easier than it is today.

Kids, they can be funny, endearing and lovable - and truly feel like a gift.

They can be exhausting, maddening and irritating - but they are still a gift.

New age fathers

"I did the last feed at 11pm last night," Ben chimed about his newborn. "And boiled the water this morning at 5.30am before going out to work."

Fatherhood used to be considered a part-time job. It was something men did at the end of the day between watching the evening news and going to bed.

As a matter of fact, in the past 15-20 years or so, it has been included in men's resumes. It is now something that commands respect.

When I was growing up, fathers used to be a bit of an enigma. What did you know about the man.....really?

He picked up prescriptions from the pharmacy, bring the car around to the door when it was pouring rain, put Christmas tree lights on the branches.

A new generation of fathers is emerging who want to do more than be spectators or reigning monarchs over a family. They want to be equal in it. They've even stepped up their hours.

PMP - a time to communicate

"Please find attached the performance review forms for year 2008" the email from our HR Manager started.

Some bosses I know place the wrong kind of emphasis on performance management. Some merely do it to compute the numerical assessments and pass judgement. Others see little value in taking time to complete them.

I see performance management process as it being about communication and alignment. I use it to focus on the work that must be done to ensure success.

Achieving outstanding results

Fly me to the moon. That was the 3D show I watched yesterday with my son at the Singapore Discovery Centre in conjunction with the 3DX Family Carnival.

With something as complicated as putting people into outer space having become routine, surely managing a business shouldn't be all that difficult.

The outcome of a research project undertaken recently showed that while most people agreed with the idea that managing is a matter of getting things done through other people, no one agreed on a best way to do it.

"Create win-win situation with your employees."

"Drive out fear and create an atmosphere of trust"

"Develop proper individual/team performance measures and monitor these measures"

"Empower your employees and then support them in their efforts."

"Wander around among your employees, be visible and communicate"

"Hire good people in the first place"

Here's my personal take: Understand that your people are your most important resource. (You can't achieve outstanding results by yourself). Know what motivates them or gets them excited.

Live everyday as if it is my last

This time last year Pauline was bubbly and energetic. But when I met Pauline last weekend, she had had 5 chemotherapy and numerous kidney dialysis.

If you knew for certain that you had a terminal illness - if you had little time left to live - you would waste precious little of it.

Actually we do have a terminal illness: it's called birth. We don't have life eternally. No one does!

So I always try be happy, without reason. I feel the sense of urgency.

If a blind man realises that he can see, has the world changed?

Action me

"I heard a rumour about you..." Robert said.

I do not fear gossips, opinion or the idle chatter of monkeys. All are the same to me.

For too long, fear has outweighed my desire to make things better in my life. Never again!

I am a person of action. I am energetic. I move quickly. As a leader, I hope to inspire others with my activity and encourage them to greatness.

It is true: an army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.

Don't carry baggages in life

"I laid awake last night thinking about the aggravation he put me through," Yen said. "Thinking about what he said. What I should have said."

Of course, that person is sleeping peacefully without any idea that Yen was awake, thinking about him. So, whose life is being ruined and wasted?

This bitterness...this resentment...this anger will cause you to do things that ruin your reputation, detroy your marriage, ending effective communication with your children, lose your job. It's a prison sentence.

Anger management is a big crock. We don't need to deal with our anger. We need to get rid of it.

For us to forgive another person, it is not required that he deserves our forgiveness. It is not even required that he is aware he has been forgiven.

Remember this: Forgiveness is about letting go of the past. When we decide to forgive, our lives begin anew.

Getting along

The Business Tourism seminar yesterday had three speakers. One of them skillfully lost his audience. He bored us to tears.

Our task in life is not necessarily to get everyone to like us.

After a career in sales spanning over 20 years, I fully understand that people feel comfortable with you if they feel you are a bit like them - if you have things in common.

As a trainer and public speaker, I know the same rules apply when talking to one person as when talking to a roomful.

Find things in common. Care. Be human. That has helped me chat quite easily with almost everyone.


Seated from left: Lorraine, Neil, Helen, Alicia

Customers are not always right...but they are king!

"In today's crisis, generating more revenue from our current customers is a key strategy," Jorge mooted.

The most important relationship any company has, the way I see it, is the one between the customers and the employees they interact with.

Consider this:

Who is more important...you or your customer?

Now, if there are only two people left in the world and one of you must die, who should die first...you or your customer?

The customer retention training I conduct lend themselves to further discussion and review. Participants discuss learnings during the debriefing and establish a gameplan for ongoing practice and review.

Team work gone wrong

"Team work dictates success," Cheong preached in the Ngee Ann Polytechnic seminar I attended this morning. He gave the analogy of how a split second breakdown in communication and coordination cause Ferrari the F1 race in Singapore in September.

That further confirms what I strongly felt and believed all this while: team building is critical.
Amen.
Massa, Ferrari F1 Driver, Accident at Pit Stop in Singapore - The best bloopers are here

Learning negotiation through games

I received acclaim for facilitating Power Negotiation and Consultative Selling courses at Dell and Sime Darby Engineering.

A significant portion of the course is conducted through games.

Some of the game are quick, fun energizers that raise participants' awareness of sales issues. Others are full-scale activities that teach a skill and offer participants the opportunity to practice the skill in an informal, non-threatening environment.

The games not only motivate the salespeople to do their jobs better; they also bring new meaning and motivation to their job. In turn, their success has helped their organisations to prosper.

Making team building fun

"Can you help us with our John Maxwell and Zig Ziglar programs?" Kath asked.

I had 6 years experience of speaking and training extensively in Malaysia and Singapore.

I discovered that people generally have very short attention spans; they respond better when training courses have life, variety and surprises!

The team building sessions I facilitate include a wide variety of activities, exercises that draw out feelings and emotions and life the spirit of the participants.

I have been told that my sessions have help transform a group of loosely connected employees into a dynamic and productive team - a process that seldom occur naturally.

Carolyn in action
Facilitating for Sime Darby Engineering

What parents want

I was at Giant hypermarket in Johor Baru yesterday. I watched people buying apples. They rotate each apple looking for a blemish. They squeeze each one for firmness. They study many apples looking for the perfect apple.

We parents perfect apples. We want successful and happy children. We want them to feel good about themselves. We want children who are loving and respectful of others, well behaved and self motivated.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe all parents have the same goals and aspirations.