You might be familiar with the saying “We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.” As leaders, we need to remember this for ourselves as well as for those around us, and lead accordingly. That saying is true, of course. Our mental and emotional states tend to dictate how we […]
If you happen to be from the Band of Brothers I used to work with, or if you happen to be in HR or equivalent, you might be familiar with the term “Currently Estimated Potential.” It is meant to be an assessment of how far an individual is likely to advance given his performance so […]
Before you throw that stone at me, answer this question: Would you like to keep cancer tissue in your body? Right, I didn’t think so either! Did you experience righteous indignation welling up inside of you when you saw the title of this post? Why? Do you subscribe to “Get the right people on the […]
We are all humans, and we all think that we deserve this, that and the other. We guard what we think are our rights jealously. We laud those who affirm our rights, and look with a jaundiced eye at those who emphasize the fact that we really should be happily busy with our responsibilities. Convenience […]
“I’m serious”. “No, I’m not”. “Yes, I am”. “What ARE you really saying?” “Well, research has shown that people who exercise three times a week are twice as likely to die suddenly as people who exercise five times a week”. “Egg white has nutrients you don’t know about yet”. Welcome to the strategic art of […]
Douglas O’Loughlin shared this on Facebook, and I thought I’d pen some of my thoughts about this, since effective, practical leadership development is central to the topic. The McKinsey article may be found here: http://bit.ly/JqlnGE The article lists four principles for a better public sector: Better evidence for decision making. Greater engagement and empowerment of citizens. […]
We have all, I suppose, heard of “constructive conflict”. Do you think it exists? When was the last time you had some “constructive conflict”? Did you feel as though you were in conflict with others? It has been said that when you have more than one person in an organization, disagreements are inevitable. Therefore, the […]
I might be attracting the ire of some people with this post, but that’s an occupational hazard. Mind you, I’ve had many pets over the years. Dogs, mostly, but also mynahs, rabbits, guinea pigs, white mice, budgerigars, tortoises, fish, spiders and others I shall not name for the sake of the queasy of stomach. Did […]
We are constantly bombarded by messages of all genres promising us success if we would change our thinking, take massive positive action, sign up for some talk or course, do things like rappel down the side of our office building, walk over hot coals, faithfully and diligently take our supplements, perform our exercises with great […]
Yes, you read it right. Quotes like “The Greatest Good of the Greatest Number” sound very good and noble. Think about it for a while and you realize that it is not the greatest number but the smallest number! After all, pyramids end at a point at the top, don’t they? And those at the bottom […]
Download the pdf. Hi, this is Elijah Lim. Today I would like to ask the question “Is Business War?” And most of us have of heard of expressions like this: “Business is war”, “Business in the trenches”, “We have to outperform the competition”, “We have to kill the competition”, “We have to absorb them”, […]
In Singapore, a few companies have made the news because they posted job ads worded in such a manner as to imply a preference for foreign workers over Singaporeans. This violated some legislation which stipulated that companies ought to have a certain percentage of Singaporeans already in their headcount before they could proceed to hire […]
Download the pdf. Hi, this is Elijah Lim. “What do we learn from movies?” Now, most of us, if not all of us, have watched a movie or two in our lifetime. And of course, movies are meant to entertain us, meaning that when we go to movies, we are amused. Now, the word “amuse” […]
Semper moronis. No, you won’t find that in the Latin dictionary, I made it up. “Always moronic.” I was at a Roundtable for Customer Service yesterday. One of the observations shared was that people seem to trust their social media to the nth degree, going by the numbers. It seems that people are more likely […]
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like an oxymoron to me. What is “wealth”? Health? Happiness? Large portfolios? The 5 Cs in great abundance? If you have great wealth and you think that your wealth can be destroyed, you are a very poor man. True wealth cannot be destroyed. What is destroyed, what […]
The video gives a good illustration of how interconnected we really are. I do not agree with the worldviews expressed, particularly references to evolution, but I thought it was still a good illustration. In previous posts, I’ve alluded to something like this with Spider Webs, 3D Spider Webs, if you will. I think it is […]
Sin is a monster of such awful mien That to be hated needs but to be seen But seen too oft, and full in face We at first wonder, then pity, then embrace This familiar poem reminds us of the power of repetition, the power of reinforcement, the power of inoculation. Being creatures of habit, […]
The sense of taste is the focus of a billion dollar industry. Although our senses of taste and smell aren’t supposed to be as discriminating as those of many species of animals, many of us still take pride in being more “discerning” than our fellows where tastes and aromas are concerned. We revel in being […]
How can a job be destroyed? It is like saying that a road is being diverted. You don’t divert roads, you divert traffic. You realign roads. Rivers can be diverted, aircraft can be diverted, but not roads. Jobs cannot be destroyed. They get obsolescent or obsolete. (Yes, there is a slight difference, go look it […]
Quotes. Positive inspirational quotes. Negative demotivational quotes. Humorous quotes. Deep thinking quotes. Leadership quotes. Anonymous quotes. We all love quotes, don’t we? Quotes capture the essence of an idea, a concept, a state of being. They help to point out our foibles in ways that don’t make us feel so badly about ourselves. If you remember […]
Fairness. There are two underlying thoughts that accompany the concept. The first is “If I can’t have it, neither should anyone else.” The second is “Everyone has it, so should I.” You disagree? Think of popular culture. There is a line in a song which goes “If I can’t have you, I don’t want nobody, […]
I get ideas for my posts from all over. I think I must really be a reactionary sort of fellow. I love having bricks thrown at me, gives me material to make things. The title of this one came from a casual remark made by a friend I was with before we went to call […]
When Martin Luther King declared “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal”, he inadvertently gave a phrase and a concept for all modern-day Robin Hoods to exploit. Now, I’m certainly no fan of the Sheriff of Nottingham either, but two wrongs don’t make a right. You know by now […]
You are biased. I am biased. They are biased. We are all biased. If you encounter someone coming up to you saying, “My reporting of the case in unbiased” or “I settled the quarrel in a fair and unbiased manner”, you should quickly laugh out loud in his face! There is simply no such thing […]
During the course of work, I often hear remarks like “I think the energy is low”, or “I think they need an energizer.” While this is true in some cases, it is not always so. You know it yourself. Just because you’re sitting at a table sipping coffee doesn’t always mean you’re relaxing. If you’re […]
If you’ve ever been called “Weird”, “Abnormal”, “Freak” or some other dubious accolade, you’ve probably felt an overpowering urge to conform to the lowest denominator just so you can “fit in”. Perhaps you’re one of the blessed few upon whom those titles or similar descriptive epithets have never been bestowed. If so, have you ever […]
I came across an article a few years ago describing how composting is on the increase in Java, Indonesia. Artificial fertilizers in the 1970s had boosted crop yields for a short period, but yields dropped after that, and the land was poisoned. A local bank initiated a composting drive, collecting waste from markets and converting […]
Baby Boomers. Gen X. Gen Y. Gen Z. Gen Gap. Gen Repeat Process. Gen ad infinitum. We really love labelling, stereotyping and generalizing, don’t we? Just because some “expert” said that “studies have shown that…”, means we pick up the paint roller and give all and sundry the broad-brush treatment. Does that happen to you? […]
We have heard that getting the right people on the bus is extremely important. What we may not realize is that keeping the wrong ones from coming aboard is equally vital if we are to maintain a thriving organization. We need to understand and realize that “inclusiveness”, applied indiscriminately, is the most damaging lie of […]
Of course, you can guess my age looking at the title. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can always stare at it in a lecherous manner, meaning go ogle it! If you understand chunking, you’ll know what I’m talking about! Did you have a great pen-pal? I never did, but I have […]
Daniel Pink, author of “Drive” and other books, says that people have three basic wants. They are Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. You might remember that a little better if you think that people like to be “AMPed”. I wonder what he might have said about gamification. As far as I can tell, gamification also fulfills […]
What’s Fun, but a fleeting, cheap emotion? I suppose this post could also be called “I CAN Get MORE Satisfaction”. Now, before you roll your eyes heavenward, do you think I am against having fun? No, not at all! I just think that having a great sense of satisfaction is a whole lot more fun […]
Reverence. Deep respect. Solemn, gloomy hallways. No fun. Wait a minute! Is there joy? Is there esteem for others? Esteem for self? Is there deep satisfaction? A bubbling up of enthusiasm from an ever-springing fountain? Would reverence be relevant to you? Irreverence. The opposite. Nothing is sacred. No limits. No boundaries. Free and easy. No […]
What are the more popular bandwagons in town these days? Know any? Are you riding on one, maybe two of them? I came across another article on open-plan offices, which sparked this post. Bandwagons. Jump in when they best serve your interests. Jump off when you’re done. Because if you stay on, you might find […]
You’ve probably heard that “… people may not always remember what you say but people will always remember how you make them feel…” How pathetic! Are we really such a bunch of self-interested brats that we cannot give honour where honour is due? Do we really need such simple, basic training in the quality of […]
Angelina Jolie was applauded all round on TrendIn this week. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the title was “Sophie’s Choice“. Was it a coincidence? The TrendIn article talked about how Jolie decided to go ahead with the double mastectomy based on a “higher probability” that she would have breast […]
While discussing the effects of strip mining and related unsustainable agricultural practices as part of our family’s syllabus, we came across the name of Georgius Agricola. It is very likely that he cared not only for the environment, but for the well-being of mine workers as well. Not something you would have thought a 16th […]
Read the title aloud. With punctuation and without. Notice the difference. Fairness is impudent. It dumbs down. It pulls others down to your level of decadence. It is the excuse of laziness. Justice is ennobling. It quickens people. It raises others to a higher level of consciousness. It is the hallmark of due diligence. Don’t […]
Profanity seems to be more and more prevalent these days. That’s how I hear it, in any case. The age at which the use of crude or foul language is “acceptable” appears to me to be getting lower and lower. It used to be that girls who cuss were really wayward. Now it seems to […]
An article just caught my eye. It talks about people ignoring their own moral standards when acting as market participants. That is, when buying food at the supermarket or wet market, trading in stocks and shares and the like. People have a tendency, the article says, to justify deliberately ignoring their own moral standards with […]
This is going to be politically incorrect, I know. Well, that’s ok, I’m not known for political correctness. It has got to be one of the biggest blemishes on human conduct. Which is why I’ll ignore it and talk about retirement the way I do. Are you looking forward to retirement? Why? What do you […]
I am sharing Alan Weiss’ “Monday Morning Perspective” for this week in this post. You may download the pdf here. If you find Alan’s memos useful, as I do, you can subscribe via this link: http://summitconsulting.com/databack/index.php Have a great week ahead!
It was Mark Twain who said “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society”. Was it only dress he was talking about? Does what we wear define us, or do we wear whatever expresses our quintessential selves? If our workplace has a dress code, does that inhibit our creativity? If […]
I saw some news online today that reminded me to get the message out – when the majority of the planet is in dire need of help, should we be wasting resources on our own selfish fancies? The news reported that a Dutch reality show was seeking volunteers for a one-way trip to Mars. If […]
Have you made out your will? That’s something we all need to do, regardless of how much or how little we think we have in terms of assets.What about making a W.I.L.L. as in “Walk In Lifelong Learning”? It is a pity that so many who seem to be so highly educated want to have […]
There was a boy who lived in a village several years ago. His father had died, and the family was very poor. One day, one of the other children at the village school stole the only notebook that he had. Feeling sad and angry, the boy was passing by a stall selling fruit on the […]
Have you heard of Pedigree Pal, the dog food company? Sometimes I think that dogs eat better than some humans I know of! Yes, indeed, Pedigree Pal, for those of distinguished pedigree, of course. How qualified are you for what you’re doing, and for what you’d like to be doing in life? Do you feel […]
I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left. Margaret Thatcher If it had not been for the Falklands Islands Campaign, codenamed “Operation Corporate”, I would probably not have remembered Margaret Thatcher the way […]
Are you familiar with the terms “pedagogy” and “andragogy“? “Pedagogy” is supposed to be education which is centered on the needs of the child, and “andragogy” is supposed to centered on the needs of, you guessed it, adults. You think so? I don’t! We have taken terms to the extreme. That is part of the […]
I came across a few articles in various forums discussing what might happen if automation were to increase to the nth degree, sentiments to that effect. What would happen to employees? Would unemployment also rise in tandem? Well, do you remember the hue and cry over Y2K? Did anything untoward happen? Not that I recall. […]
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