Five-O

I turn 50 tomorrow, which is young for a tree, mid-life for an elephant and ancient for a footballer. Last week I was in New York and there are 50 states in the United States of America. The TV show Hawaii Five-O is so called because Hawaii is the last (50th) of the states to officially become a state.

The percentage (50%) equivalent to one half, so that the phrase "fifty-fifty" commonly expresses something divided equally in two; in business this is often denoted as being the ultimate in equal partnership. Nowadays there are also 50 shades of grey.

Fifty is supposed to be my dad's age, it is not the number that I was prepared to have hung on me, but now I am stuck with these elevated digits and everything they mean.

A youth-and-beauty-worshipping culture dominates Singapore, where what is "new" is generally presumed to be better than what is "old". Hence it is more important to maintain physical and mental fitness. Our sunset may lack some of the brightness of our sunrise, but it has its own special beauty if we learn to see and appreciate its possibilities.

President Reagan was re-elected to a second four-year term in 1984, when he was 73 years-old.

The essential ingredients for a fulfilling life in the vintage years are the same for young and old. Love, friendship, a feeling of connectedness with others, a sense of humour remain critical to our sense of well-being. As time goes by, we should not forget the redemptive power of smiling, laughing and hugging. The secret to happiness - I read somewhere - is having something to do, something to look forward to and someone to love...

 

Honest communication build trust

"We definitely got played out and taken for a ride by Donald," Minte said matter of factly in her bbm.

Honest communication build trust. It is not so bad to be lied to. The bigger problem is my loss of ability to believe in you.

Who do you trust more, firemen or real estate agents? Librarians or lawyers? Nurses or sales people? The perception is that firemen and nurses care for others by nature or their jobs. But we wonder if the salesperson really has our best interests in mind. Those who are trusted are candid, transparent and authentic.

Leadership is like exercise

Several old acquaintances commented lately that I have lost weight.

Good leadership is like exercise. We do not see any improvement to our bodies with day-to-day comparisons. It's only when we compare pictures of ourselves over a period of weeks or months that we can see a stark difference. 

The impact of leadership is best judged over time.

Become the leaders we wish we had

"I can't talk to my ex-boss the way I can talk to you," SW admitted, feeling comfortable enough to share after a year of tenureship.

Every single employee is someone's son/daughter. Parents work to offer their children a good life, a good education. Those parents then hand their children over to a company with the hope the leaders of that company will exercise the same love and care as they have.

This is what it means to be a leader....it's like being a parent...to treat people like family and not mere employees. As leaders, it is our sole responsibility to pristine the care of our people, and in turn, our people will care for each other nd advance the organization together. And in doing so, we become the leaders we wish we had.

Raising ACE

I wished ACE "Happy Birthday" 5 minutes before midnight on 6 May. I was 5 minutes away from missing out the chance to wish him on his birthday. That devastated me!!!

When I was a proud new papa holding my little bundle of joy in my arms 15 years ago, it was difficult to imagine that someday that little package of helplessness could be 1.75m, 55kg who would speak chemistry, philosophy and correct my grammatical errors.

Raising a kid is not an easy trip by any stretch of the imagination, but it sure is fun, exciting and tremendously rewarding.

 

How to measure human character

"Steve behaved very badly. He constantly talks down on the wait staff,"CT reported upon arriving back from Shanghai

I had to admit it, but there was a time in my early life that I, too, persistently leave others feeling demeaned and de-energised.

Now, as I know, the difference between how a person treats the powerless versus the powerful is as good a measure of human character. To me, when a person is persistently warm and civilised toward people who are of unknown or lower status, it means he/she is a decent human being.

Holy Trinity of Health

"I don't do any exercise at all," Ping declared. " But I have made a revolution to start exercising."

To achieve big results, we need big energy. We can only achieve big energy through the Holy Trinity of Health: exercise, nutritious food and sufficient rest. We cannot control the pace of technology but we can help our bodies to weather the storms of change.

Work economically

I'd just completed the 7 habits of highly effective people training last week.

It reinforced into me that maximum productivity is not the same as working continuously or working to exhaustion. It is managing time and resources efficiently. 

As a leader, we must understand the essential, and then be able to focus all our resources on that essence.

Parent + friend

ACE told me about the KL music fest today along with updates on the scouts job week. We also talked about buying a samsung S4.

As a father I try to balance being a parent and a friend. I want my kid to feel comfortable to come to me with his problems and whatever else is on his mind. That won't happen if I am distant and disconnected from him.

One of the highest compliments a father can receive is for his kids to pass on to their own children the values and wisdom he has taught them. And those children pass on the legacy to their children and so on.

Confidential feedback

My mentor ship program starts this coming Tuesday. I will officially have a mentor

In my experience the best solicited feedback is confidential feedback. We're merely ingesting honest commentary - which we requested! - from blind but we'll-meaning sources.

To maintain confidentiality, we need an unbiased third party to do the polling.

In soliciting feedback for myself, the only question that works is " how can I do better?"

When you hurt the worst

"There is no more boyfriend. I am hurting," Stephie lamented.

Lovers break up. A boyfriend or girlfriend walks away, trampling on what was once a beautiful relatinship. All that is left is a wounded, broken heart.

When you are deeply hurt, no person on this earth can shut out the innermost fears and deepest agonies. The best of friends cannot really understand the battle you are going through in the wounds inflicted on you.

When you hurt the worst, go to your secret closet and weep out all your bitterness. But let those tears originate only from the hurt, and not from unbelief or self-pity. Convince yourself that you will survive, you will come out of it.

Correctly define success

"It's mid February, and we're still doing our goal-setting," Kamran mentioned on the t-con.

Rigid goal setting that are inflexible or not appreciative of the challenges that were encountered in the previous year will tend to be very frustrating to employees. If people feel that the boss doesn't understand the challenges they faced that were beyond their control, it is actually quite demotivating.

As leaders, we have to be flexible about outcomes, and we must make sure we're correctly defining success.

The string

"Shirley is doing a great job at AIME," john informed me overt he phone, even without my asking.

One of my analogies I frequently use is to hand people a 12- inch string and offer $100 to the first person who can push it from one end of the desk to another in a straight line. Everyone's always motivated, but no one can do it. The string always coil and resists.

It's the same with people. If we push people, they resist. We can lead willing people, by training, coaching, answering questions and helping them. But we can't push them, and indeed, I won't. Somebody who has to be pushed has the wrong attitude.

Stay connected

"This is my big day," Sherly posted on FB

Most people think that love should always be magical and spontaneous. They loathe the concept of scheduling private moments with their loved ones for fear that this will suck the romance out of their relationship. 

Staying connected can be the biggest challenge a couple has to face. Life can move so fast that you don't set time aside for yourself and your loved ones, no one will bother to remind you about what's truly important.

Stand, don't sit.

"Shall we sit down?" Minte asked when the team came Into to my office for the goal setting discussion this morning

In some circumstances, I believe we shouldn't for sit a meeting at all. If the meeting is short and focused on making a decision of some sort, then I would  stand up for the conversation. This encourages participants to focus on the issue and come to a decision in a timely manner.

The difference makers

I have an award winning team.

The people side of running a sales operation is the most demanding, time consuming and difficult part of a sales leader's job. The ability to spot potential in others surpasses the value of being exceedingly capable himself/herself. If a leader does one thing well, it should be finding and supporting good team members. Nothing happens without the right people in the right job.

Our people make the difference.

No price tags

ACE and I just completed a 2.5 hour tour of sentosa this evening.....on a Segway. Moments like these don't have price tags.

The most important things I can give my son is not material things, rather the values that will carry him well through life. I must love him the best I can, leave the rest to God and hope for the best.

Tonight as like other nights, I will again go into ACE's room and wrap my arms around him and hold him close as he sleeps. I will whisper "I love you" into his ears. I don't want to someday regret what I didn't say.

New year, new growth

We achieved 26% YOY growth last year. I have scheduled a kick-off meeting later this month to talk about this year's growth and where it is going to come from.

A simple but often-overlooked premise in sales is that new growth comes from new thinking. For anyone under the impression that working harder at doing the same things in the same ways will generate new growth, please hop into a time machine and transport yourself back to 1960.