NUS High

Attended a talk in NUS High. This is the new school NUS is experimenting on Secondary School education. The school is very interesting as it offers program similar to Universities in North America. They have a core curriculum, electives and enrichment. So students get to choose what they like to do. I am very impressed. The only challenge is my son. He is very sulky during the whole presentation. Teenager! I am having the challenge of my life with him. It is very painful, nothing seems to be right. I think we are trying to do our best for him. In return, we get abused. Maybe I am the trigger?

Sons

Today, I realise my eldest was yelling and giving trouble to the youngest causing B3 to be cranky and crying because I was the root cause. I yelled at him for waiting at the wrong place for me to pick him up the moment he enters into the car. The reason that it was the wrong place? I had a near miss with a van who turn right into my path. The moment of truth hits and I apologise. After that everything go back to normal.

So reflecting my son's behaviour is my behaviour. "You reap what you sow" is so true. I have to watch my own behaviour so that my sons grows up with the behaviours that is respectable.

Bad Boss

I have trouble sleeping last night. It is a regular cycle. Every year around this time, I will have a bad spell of insomnia. This pattern started three years ago. What does the title has to do with insomnia? Performance review and pay increase! The last two years I was not satisfied with my PR and PI. They were well below my expectations. This year my company has change the system in order to recognise high performers. We have multi-rater feedback(360 feedback) and a forced ranking system of high performers, solid contributors and need to improve.

I heard stories of 360 feedback and how others can sabotage you. So I was a little concerned. I was not satisfied with the old performance system either. My boss just write it up on his way to Asia. He use only the negative things he see and hear. This year with 360 feedback, my performance review was good. In fact my boss has to use the comments that were in my 360. He however still insist to rate most of my leadership skills "meeting expectations" even though there were a couple which should have been rated "exceptional".

With "calibration" i.e. forced ranking and rating from 1 to 9 with one being why are you still in the company to nine you have exceptional leadership skills and exceeds expectations, I received an eight. My boss thought it should be 7. He gave me a merit increase that is below the average(midpoint) of range allowed. Clearly, this is to signaled that I do not deserve even the midpoint of the increase. I was very discouraged to say the least.

Considering I have grown the sales and profits significantly i.e. profit grew by 100% annually for and Sales by more than 30% for the last 3 years, it is a strong signal he thinks I am not valuable to him. I have to re-consider my career option.

Love for Books

I call myself a booklover. A lover of books? I always enjoys reading. I used to go to MPH. It was the largest bookstore 20 years ago. I always buy many books during the MPH Book Bang! Then there were 10% discount. Today, Times and Kinokuniya gives you 10% discount if you become their member. Competition is a wonderful thing.

Before Borders come to town, I love to go to Borders and Barnes & Noble in US. MPH in my younger days had the best selection until Borders arrived in Singapore. Then Kinokuniya decides SuperStore is best way to be competitive. Since then the book scene has changed. All smaller bookshops are gone. There was WordShop and other specialised bookstore that no longer exists today. Another place where the selection is broad and the books are free is the library. All hardcovers to boot. Even library today has modernise and has books that are "good bad books". That books that enjoys popularity but not considered literary works.

Times has changed. It is the best of times.

Japan

Does the environment impacts our behaviour? I just return from Japan for my annual visit to see my Customers. One of the feedback I get is I am now more Japanese. I no longer say no and objects like American. Instead I apologise and says we will investigate and get back to them. I have no idea this was their impression. My first visit to Japan was four years ago when I was still living in Canada. I had spent 3 years there. I was new to this job and was planning to move only just before the new year so that our boys will start school in Singapore. It is interesting to get this feedback as I am not aware this was the impression I was giving to my Japanese Customers. Fours years in Asia, I have become more Asian again. I will always speak Singlish. In the last two years, I started to use dialect more frequently. Over time, the environment has impact on my behaviour...I have become more Asian again.