Admit weaknesses and limitations

"Honestly, stealth mode is not one of my strongest," Po, the Kung Fu Panda said in the sequel.

The fact is, we all have our weaknesses, and if we try to cover them up, we'll probably put ourselves in a situation of having to do more and more of what we aren't good at. So, I am never afraid to admit my weaknesses and limitations.

Spot trends through travel

Johor Baru. Melaka. Now Kuala Lumpur. 3 cities in 3 days.

Those who travelled and experienced local culture are the fortunate individuals who scored big. Even the inspiration for Starbucks came from its founder's love of European coffeehouses.

Anytime I am outside Singapore, I spend some time walking the streets and watching what's happening, particularly with the young.

The right thing

"Heard the good news, congrats and wish you the very best with your new role. I heard you are selected from over 80 candidates. I am sure you will do extremely well." Emmanuel sent me a message on LinkedIn.

I beamed as I thanked him for the well-wishes. My brand image which I have created in my work-life is this: I am 1 of those people with guts and vision, a person who want to change the world from the inside out. Most important, I am a person who want to do the right thing - the right thing in terms of building businesses, the right thing in terms of creating an environment that people are proud to be part of. A person who do right by people - who then in turn do the right things for their company.

Surprise gifts that are connected to nothing

"Why a husband never give surprise n gifts for all occassions to the wife?" This questions was posted on Yahoo Singapore Answers.

I think it refers to surprise flowers or gifts that are connected to nothing but the desire to surprise and delight. Giving our loved one surprise flowers - or any thoughtful gift - is an unspoken message that lets her know we are thinking about her, and that we went out of our way to please her, and that she is special to us.

Many men give flowers after doing something stupid. Can you spell "i-d-i-o-t"? Although buying flowers to emphasise an apology is not a bad idea, we don't want to inextricably connect flowers to acts of stupidity.

Guys, in a world where so many relationships fail, doesn't it make sense for us to do the thoughtful little things to tell them in a 100 different ways that they matter to us?

Children mirror their parents

ACE and his friends got together to de-stress after their mid-year assessments last Tueasday.

As the twig is bent, so is the tree...and so they say. It is interesting, when one sees children, to speculate from the way they act as to the kind of homes from which they come. I think, as one can judge the vitality of a tree from the fruit it produces, so one can tell the character of the parents from their children.

from left: John, ACE, Kenneth, Gerald

Customers are our best salespeople

"We lost US$27 million in Australia in Q1 because of IT problems," Steve revealed. "Thankfully, we have a few customers who spoke up on our behalf."


I have organised events where our existing customers mixed with prospects. A customer bragging about our service/products beats our salesperson's presentation any day.

front row from right: Natalie, David

back row from right: Chloe, Albert

Liking is key in making relationships last

"How much do you actually like your partner?" Sarah asked .

Like seems a rather weedy emotion compared to love, but as Sarah explained, it is one of the most important components in making a relationship last. It might seem surprising, but Sarah argued that some people fall in love with partners they don't like very much.

Complex, though it may seem, I tend to agree with what Sarah said. If two people enjoy each other's company, find each other interesting, approve of the way each other thinks and behaves, they might fall in love. But eventually the "in love" feelings would pass. If there are things that irritate or bore us about our partner, or which make us feel cross or comtemptuous, these will matter more once we have stopped feeling madly in love.

The ultimate question is: would I want to be friends with this person if we weren't in love?

Preparing for battle

Sir Alex, sharing in the 19th title celebrations, is already thinking of ways he can improve his squad or extract better performances from those already in his ranks.

Many leaders mistakenly believe that their primary responsibility as a coach is to provide feedback and encouragement. I personally believe that prior to doing all that, a leader/coach's responsibility is to prepare his team to compete.


Preparing the team for battle would mean to ensure that we have the right people in the right positions, with the right skills, at the right time. It also means that all team members are properly trained for the mission and also have the tools, equipment, information and resources to get their jobs done.

The many faces of mum

Today is mother's day.

Mothers are often taken for granted. In truth they work so hard to accomplish so much. Among a mother's roles are: head chef (prepares food), hostess (serves food), caretaker, teacher, Miss manners (monitored etiquette), moral guardian, social secretary (juggles child's social schedule) and manager. It is breath taking when we contrast with Dad's two: conversationalist with wife and play buddy with son.

Gift from God

ACE is 12 today. We have to pay full adult price for him at buffets from today onwards.

Parenting isn't a science. In a lab, we get to control all the variables. At home, we are lucky if we get to control the TV remote.

"Children are from heaven," so wrote Dr John Gray. I agree...ACE is a gift from God.

He can be exhausting, maddening and irritating - but he is still a gift. He can be funny, endearing and lovable - and truly feel like a gift. He can wrench my soul and break my heart - precisely because he is such a precious gift.

And to top it all off, he is a gift that comes with strings attached.

Wait for the right opportunity

"Today is my second day at my new job," Vic said over the phone.

Picking the winning job and organisation isn't quite as obvious as it sounds. Even the most talented manager could fail by taking the right job at the wrong time. Wait for the right opportunity has always been good advice.

My own mortality

"It's not good," Simon announced. "The doctors stitched her back. They said it's beyond what they can do. We are discharging her from the hospital tomorrow and bringing her home."

My aunt is in critical condition. I am assaulted by my own feelings.

My own mortality is much more an issue with me since I have moved into the position of being the generation next to die. Time has a different meaning. Expense of life energy is valued differently. I am not yet comfortable with thoughts of my own aging and dying. But I don't need to get comfortable as much as I need to get busy enjoying the time that remains.

Turn the other cheek or slap back?

ACE, captivated by the movie score, watched the movie The Magnificent Seven with me yesterday. The movie is about an oppressed Mexican peasant village assembling 7 gunfighters to help defend their homes.

We often allow others to treat us unfairly because we do not want to confront or challenge them. We tell ourselves that we are above engaging in conflict over unimportant trifles.

Many of us were taught that when someone slaps us, we should turn the other cheek. So, we turn the other cheek; not because it is right, but because it is easy. Or it might be that we are afraid to further provoke our antogonist.

This is not always the best course of action. I learned the lesson that "trying to be nice" may not be the right thing to do. There is a time to submit to being slapped and there is a time to hit back twice, so we will not be slapped again.