The Learning Performance

Politicians, the world over, are a special breed of people. They are liars with immense sense of responsibility and integrity. They can tell you a complete untruth, and firmly believe that it is for your own good. Case in point:- the Iraq War. President GW Bush stands firm and still believe it was the right war to fight, even though those around him have reckoned otherwise, and American soldiers are dying by dozen every other day.

You might not think highly of politicians. That is actually alright with the politicians. In fact, I don't think politicians ever thought about themselves. To them, thinking is for the weaklings, for the commoners, but to do is not their err; they have God-given right to achieve greatness, and they are not going to achieve that by mere thinking.

So, with a great sense self-importance, deep sense of righteousness, tremendous desire to do good for mankind in general, and with a conception of integrity (or lack of it), politicians are determined to bring utopianism into this miserable world, to establish morality, peace and prosperity to a world of decadence, wars, and poverty. Invariably, they fail flat on their face.

Just ask Tony Blair.

However, if politicians manage to put their mind (a contradictory in terms!), they can achieve some undeniable greatness. They may not have any great mind or intellectuals to speak of, but somehow they do possess an immense good sense of timing. Lately, in this Boleh-land of ours, our politicians have re-defined the meaning of "bocoh" ("leaking"). Beside ascending themselves to popularity stratospheres, the politicians concerns and couple of other, also manage to help call on god's hand in that, one after another, Government buildings started to have collapsing ceilings, burst pipes, and guess what, water, water, everywhere! When it leaks in this Boleh-land, it really LEAKS!

Today, completed the last journey with a dear friend, Chang CH. He has gone home to be with the Lord. As the last shovel of red earth covered the grave, I could not get over a sense of sadness over the passing of a kind hearted soul, a person whom was always encouraging, never condemning, and always worn a smile radiated from a deep seated joy only he could master.

Despite fighting with a illness for almost 7 years, I've never heard one compliant from him about his condition. I will remember Chang as a creative person, and could do wonders with an idea.

But most of all, he knew his place in this universe, and he has taken up that space & time with a peace only a person whom know the Creator intimately could do. No doubt, he has completed his plan & purpose the God has for his life, and now dwell in the Lord forever.

Chang CH was 37 years old.

This is my favorite story to tell during my training sessions:

A little girl was watching her mother prepare a fish for dinner. Her mother cut the head and tail off the fish and then placed it into a baking pan. The little girl asked her mother why she cut the head and tail off the fish. Her mother thought for a while and then said, "I've always done it that way - that's how babicka (Czech for grandma) did it."

Not satisfied with the answer, the little girl went to visit her grandma to find out why she cut the head and tail off the fish before baking it.

Grandma thought for a while and replied, "I don't know. My mother always did it that way."

So the little girl and the grandma went to visit great grandma to find ask if she knew the answer.

I love freshly cut lawn.

Once a month, I have a landscape contractor come in doing the gardening works. Seeing 4 -5 fellows attending to your gardening needs, is a sight to behold. I couldn't imagine there are so much works involved! Leave it to me, I could not imagine my garden would be in any kind of shape to speak off, probably would have more weeds than any others vegetation by now!

I love the smell of freshly cut lawn.

My children found couple of frogs the other days underneath a patch of flowers , and that set off some excitement.

My six-years girl played "hand-ball" with her 12-year brother. I watched them play, and for the light of me, have not figured out how the game is supposed to be played. The rules seem to change every second, and the game involved a lot of wrestling on the ground, giggling and tug-and-tag with each other. oh sure, there is a small rubber ball too.

I love the feel of freshly cut lawn underneath my bare feet.

You just need to sit at a corner, watching the dance of sunlight through palm leaves, feeling the slight breeze coming off the golf course, listening to the rustling of tropical pine tree off the distance, chipping of squirrels birds perched on branches, and amaze at the laughters of your children.

Life can't get any better than this.

It is around you. All you need to do is "to stop, and smell the roses"!

World is changing. In China, there are 380 million, and closing in faster then you can imagine, to 400 million, of mobile phones users. To put it in perspective, there are 1.3 times more mobile phone users than the entire population of USA, just under 140 million shy of combined population of ASEAN 10 member countries, just about at par with EU's 15 countries, and 83% of EU's 25 countries. The rate of mobile phone penetration in China, is escalating at blinding rate.

Closer to home (Malaysia), Maxis, the leading telco, is going private, after listed in Bursa Malaysia just merely 5 years. Business world is changing, for good or for bad, almost at a daily basis.

Technology is changing at a pace even technologists find it hard to keep up.

Enterprises providing products and services to this changing world face big challenges. To achieve business outcomes desired, one must put up so-called "radar", to constantly scanning for threats, and opportunities. At the same time, reviewing and finding own strengths, and weaknesses, and find ways to improve performance, to be able to compete in the chosen industries, without being squeeze out and becoming in-relevant!

The need for business owners/CEO/MD to become relevant again should be the agenda. SME/SMB businesses must realize that the rules have changed since the time their prior generations started the business. To ignore this shift is akind to ostrich sticking its head in the sand at signs of danger. That is recipe for self destruction.

Enterprises must learn to be adaptive. I don't think that is a choice, anymore.

Yes, the third edition of man spouting web out of his hand hits town today. A joke goes like this (from my children of course): "what would happen if SM was bitten on the leg rather than his wrist?". ah! Think about it first. The image of SM spouting out web by shaking his leg somehow lacks quite a bit artistic appear, right?

Movie making is an industry. Be it big screen, or make-for-TV, there are certain success formula that movie studios subscribe to religiously. SP-3 is an typical example. If it proves successful first time around, why not make it better and stronger the second time, the third time? of course, the challenge is to ride on consumers' "raising expectations". One movie critic concluded that if SM-2 was a great movie, than SM-3 is just a good movie. I feel that to do an encore on something which is "great" may be too much for asking.

However, organisations today live on a completely different paradigm. Merely "great" all the times may not achieve sustainable quality business outcomes. Which implies that by being "good" is actually practicing mediocrity. Mediocrity guarantees successes (just look at Malaysia's Education system, and the quality of graduates the system produces..well, I've digressed, and that is another story!) The question is what is the benchmark, or the water level? When you are low-down, "up" is the only way to go. But do you consider the "UP" is acceptable achievement?

Consumers are an unforgiving lots. Spoil by choices, if your products (measured by relevant attributes) are not better than the next guys, then you stand no chance of beating the competition. If you are not "great" all the time, in sync with raising expectations, than you may find yourself out of the ball game, or playing lesser fiddle, or slowly slide to extinction.

Sound like Darwinian's law of evolution: "survival for the fittest". Right? Unfortunately, that is business!