Management Philosophy

What is my management philosophy?

First criteria is Attitude and Aptitude. Attitude and aptitude are built-in to a person. I will always pick on with right A&A rather than experienced person with all the right skills but with the wrong attitude. Right Attitude is "can do" or "willing to do" Aptitude is the ability to learn.

Team spirit - all of us work as a team. We celebrate our successes together and share our failures.

Buddha says "I can point the way, you have to walk the way." This is what I adopt as my leadership philosophy. If needed, I will do the work myself to show the way.

Always do the right things first, then do things right.

Internet and TV

I am up at 4:30 am. Turn on the computer and TV. It is a good way to occupy myself if I am up in the middle of the night. I start to think what I did when I first travel to US and experience my first major jet lag. What did I do then? I can remember in US it was easy, there more than 50 channels and CNN was new. I was impressed by the CNN who report news all the time without commercials. I marvel the fact I can put a cup of water and it freezes overnight. Everytime I was out of the hotel, it is like walking out into a giant deep freezer. It was the first winter for me.

When I return to Singapore, what did I do when I am up? We have only two channels then. English and Mandarin, in tv language Channel 5 and Channel 8. Programs end at midnight. No TV or Internet. I must be reading to past time. It must be hard to past time twenty years ago. Maybe it is just a habit change with the technology change. I remember always bringing reading material on every time I fly. Nowaday, reading material is only required when I fly in domestic flights in USA. Singapore Airlines has a wide range of audio visual options.

Internet is the first thing I use when I am up. I will check emails, update my blog, read news, etc. Jet lag become easier to deal with today.

Cabin Fever

Our boys were starting to have "cabin fever". A term my wife use to get me out of the house. Cabin fever is a common term used in Canada when the winter is long and you get tired of staying at home. We have to pick one of the malls as our city-bred boys has no desire to go to Botanic garden or other nature parks. I decided on Marina Square as there are plentiful carparks there. I was surprised car park sign states "FULL" at the entry points. We try our luck anyway and did get a lot after circling for maybe 5 mins. Not bad!

The place was busy. We walked over the Suntec City's Toy R Us and it was full of people too. It seems like everyone is out to the malls. "Must be school holidays" I thought. After reading Sze Li's blog, her observation is better. It is the Great Singapore Sales!

Another Road Warrior

Sitting beside me on the way back from LA to Singapore was Min Liang. Min Liang was very interesting. He is a young lawyer who is now a venture capitalist. He made his fortune during the dot fever. He studied in the top school in Singapore. He now makes money through computer games and computer peripheral. "Computer games is now a much bigger market than movies today" he says. He continues to share with me the successes of others he know on the high tech arena. I had a different view. There are a lot more failures. Just like smokers who love to share the people they know around them who live to a ripe old age of 80 while smoking like a chimney. I used to sell equipment for Lung Function test. Going to the hospital department that used my equipment, I can see all the people with lung problems.

However, on reflection, I realise he is right. I need a paradigm shift. The world has changed. I am rooted on the world I grew up on, too negative and focused on the failures rather than success of the new model. I should open my mind to the new opportunities. The old way may not sustain for too long. It is time for renewal.

Breakfast with another old friend

Life is a series of meals...this morning breakfast with another friend. He is a little impatient. He likes me to be more decisive. I was taking a long time to mull over this decision. Well, US is quite far and tremendous change for the family. Although there are push factors, the pull factors are not strong enough for me to decide to drop all we have in Singapore and relocate to US. It is nice to have the option. However, there will be a lot of work. Work that I enjoys. I love to share with my friend all my glories and successes. I am very proud of my team and their performance.

What should I do?

Dinner with an old friend

Had dinner with an old friend last night. It is nice to catch up again. Every time I come. Will meet with another for breakfast tomorrow morning. I am beginning to feel like a global citzen with friends in different part of the world and mum in Canada. Living anywhere in the globe should be available to everyone not just the rich and famous.

NUS High

We just received news that B1 has passed his written test and selected to attend NUS High selection camp. This is a very pleasant surprise. The test was very challenging and B1 was very upset after the test. Now, he regain his self-esteem.

My wife was very worried and was anxiously waiting for the results. Now she is happy and we are celebrating this moment. Next hurdle will be the camp. Life is a series of hurdles. Hurdles with right amount of challenges that stretches our capabilities and increases our competency.

It is wonderful to write about this. I love my wife, B1, B2 and B3.

Work Environment in USA

I have been going around the different offices to meet with different people. The office environment in US seems quite diffent yet the same. All offices contained books. A few books caught my attention. Good to Great is ubiquitous. It must be because KC is one of the good to great company during the reign of Darwin Smith. Another constant theme is books on meetings. "Death by Meeting", "Get the Best out of Meetings", etc. It seems like meeting is a way of life here. Big corporation work by going to meetings. The more the layers of hierachy, the more meetings needed to communicate through the chain of commands. Middle managers become the communication pipeline and the glue that keep the organization together.

Sleepless in Altanta

Slept at 5 pm local time and was up at 10 pm. This is the part of travel that is not so fun. The programs in the cable is not interesting. I had read the Wall Street Journal and now making tea. There is nothing outside that is open. It is me and the hotel room.

Had a meeting with Randy yesterday. I was very frank and honest with my opinion. He has his take and views as well. As he says, we agree to disagree. I guess I made my point and he agrees with that.

WSJ has an interesting article in the MarketPlace section. Headlined "The Commuter CEO", this article highlight the trend of CEO who refused to move to the company's headquarter and commute to work. The companies used their corporate jets and paid for the apartments. The companies current have commuting CEOs are ConAgra, P&G & NCR. "Some experts say that in the age of the BlackBerry, the CEO's whereabouts are increasingly irrelevant." quote from the article. I couldn't agree more. I live in Singapore for the last four years, while my office is in Kuala Lumpur. It has worked well. We have improved our business and growing both sales and profits. My management is philosophy as Jim Collins put it succinctly "Get the right people on the bus and wrong people off the bus."

With the right attitude and aptitude and clear priorities and processes, the business will run well. Time may be right to figure out a new business model for the global enterprise.

Road Warriors

While waiting for my flight to Altanta, another fellow passenger from SQ drop by the McDonald at the gates. She works for UPS as a Business Development Manager. It was good to have company for a while. Santha Koh is a mother of 4, two boys and two girls. She has to travel an average of one week per month. China is growing at the rate of 8 to 10 times in Sales. Therefore she now visits Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai regularly. Today transient meeting like this in the airplane or airport is very common. We split when we arrived in Altanta. I have to go to Hertz to pick up a car while she pick up her checked lugguage.

At the airport in LA

I have 5 hours to kill while waiting for my flight to Atlanta. There is no internet in Bradley Airport. America, the no.1 economic power in the world, the leader in technology and…no internet in the airport? No wonder Changi Airport has been voted the best in the world by travelers.

On the way to LA, I was watching the show Jerry McGuire by Tom Cruise. In the show there is a statement in the changing room “It is better to have a positive anything than a negative nothing.” This reminds me of my current boss whom you can only talk positive stuff. Any negative viewpoints or remarks will invite his wrath and poor perception. This seems to be a typical American values. I recall an ex-colleague who lived in America for a couple of years. His version is "How are you? Everything is great! would be the standard reply even if the person's home roof has just collapsed, his wife is divorcing him... Yeah, everything is great!" They have been taught by all the positive thinking gurus. If you have a positive mind, everything will turn positive. It does not matter if your behaviours, actions or lack of action is causing everything around you to react negatively. Think positive! Laugh and the world laughs with you and cry, you will cry alone.

Good Times

Kino is having a 20% discount for this week. I had a good time browsing the store. I noticed there are a few men using baskets like a grocery stores. One had a whole basket full of Financial books. I noticed another group of three men buying books like "Learned Optimism" and other books on Psychology. It seems like reading is alive and well!

I bought 3 books. "Passion and Purpose" is about finding out the patterns that shape my work/life. "Choice Theory" is on personal freedom. "Built to Last" is on companies that has lasted a long time. I noticed the books I acquire reflects my state of mind. I think I am searching for meaning in my work...

Blessed Schizophrenic

My wife just reminded me of a saying which tickles our funny bone...

"When God see you, you are blessed. When you see God, you have schizophrenia."

Home Work

There are lots of benefits of working from home.

1. There is no time wasted on commuting
2. No commuting saves energy
3. No need for office wear - another saving
4. Watch TV or listen to music while working increases productivity
5. Flexibility to run errands during office hours
6. Exercise at any time instead of going to California Fitness Club during lunch time
7. Time for thinking and reflecting
8. Take a nap if you are tired and sleepy...
9. Avoid office politics (avoid and not "no")

There are drawbacks too.

a. No social interaction with colleagues
b. Hours are irregular. Studies have shown people who work from home spends more than at work than people who work in office
c. Need discipline
d. No grapevine i.e. not tap into office rumours
e. Very lonely

Spending the last 4 years working from home, I must say this will be the way of future. With today tools, you can work anywhere in the world. Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin works in his swimsuit in an island he owns.

Sleepless

I will be sleepless next week with a short trip to US. The time is exactly 12 hours difference with Singapore. So day is night and night is day! I have learnt not to worry about sleep or looking or feeling sleepy during the meetings or dinner. Good thing is my hotel will be directly opposite the office.

Work give meaning to life. In one of the books I read many years ago, a futurist predicted that work will be reserved for the privileged as machines will take over all the mundane chores. I hope that day will never come.

Olivia Lum - Hyflux

Olivia Lum, CEO of Hyflux was featured in Discovery channel. Olivia grew up in a small town in Malaysia. It was her school principal who advise her to come to Singapore as he told her that she should go far as the opportunities are abundant. She came to Singapore by bus with 10 dollars in her pocket. She went through school and unversity. She took Chemical Engineering course and all the time she think of business. Her first and only job was with Glaxo. She raised more than a million dollars with her professors and other venture capitalists. China was the place where she gain her success. In Singapore, the NEWATER project vaulted her into big time with the media attention and international recognition. She is tenacious and has indomitable spirit.

She did extremely well in business. A model entreprenuer. I think the only thing lacking in her life is family. She probably feels her life is full.

Words

Words... words don't easy to me... I was thinking of the lyrics of song that describe my feelings every time I have to update this blog. Writing is a discipline and take time and efforts to write, edit, rewrite again and again. Henry Mintzberg, one of my favorite author of books on Strategy and Planning says all his papers go through numerous iterations. Then a stroke of inspiration can help. He gave the example of his award winning article "Crafting the Strategy". He had considered many titles for this article when it dawn to him the parallel of Strategy development to pottery making his wife was describing to him as she was attending pottery making classes then.

While on the computer, my TV was on and this saying was flashed in Channel News Asia and I thought it make a lot of sense. So I am sharing it.

Learn to be calm and you will always be happy. - Paramahansa Yoganada

Reflections

I was reflecting back on my jobs. There seems to be a pattern. After I stablised and do well, I seem to desire for change. I have this innate need to seek new challenges. I was doing very well in one of my previous job before I decide to go to Canada to be nearer to my mum. The company was turnaround from loss to profit and is growing well. I could have stay until today as what my successor has done. In Canada, I had two different jobs. I think I broke the record of getting promoted after 5 months in my new job. Now I am back in Singapore and it looks like I am itching to move again.

Do I have a restless spirit? Will I die with an unfulfil dream of being an entreprenuer? Should I let go and go with the flow as my ex-colleague, Grace Wong suggested? What is my destiny??

Managing Oneself

This is my summary of one of Peter Drucker's book. We are all knowledge worker today.... Peter Drucker basically has very sound advice and we just need to answers the right questions.

Knowledge Worker

- Have to place themselves where they can make the greatest contribution
- Learn to stay young and mentally alive during a fifty-year working life
- Learn how and when to change what they do
- How to do it
- When to do it

New Demands

- Who Am I?
- What Are My Strengths?
- How Do I Work?
- Where Do I Belong?
- What Is My Contribution?
- Have to take Relationship Responsibility
- Plan for the Second Half of Their Lives

What are my Strengths

- One cannot build performance on Weakness
- The Feedback Analysis – whenever there is a key decision or action, write down what one expects will happen. 9 to 12 months later feedback the results to one’s expectations
- Concentrate on one’s strengths
- Work on improving your strengths
- Intellectual arrogance causes disabling ignorance
- What not to do
- Waste as little effort as possible on improving areas of low competence

From Competent to Star…

- How Do I Perform?
- Am I a Reader or a Listener?
- How Do I Learn?
- What Are My Values?
- Where Do I Belong?
- What Is My Contribution?
- It is not “What Do I want to Contribute?”
- Nor “What am I told to Contribute?”
- It is “What Should I Contribute?”
- Where and How Can I have results that make a difference?


Management Challenges for the 21st Century by Peter Drucker.

Re-organization

Just received news from my boss as well as another colleague that the unit we are in has been reorganised into a Global Organisation. Who knows, I may be changing boss from US to Australia. Next week, I am supposed to go to US for a "career discussion" trip. I was not too optimistic about my career. It seems like I have hit a glass ceiling(read another entry under Bad Boss, Mar '06). With this change, things may turn out interesting. The trip is still not firm yet and may not happen with all the upcoming changes.

Will be posting progess report...

Required Readings and Book Reports

We were on the topic of giving books to read and then making it compulsory. I told this story during the party last night that I made everyone do a presentation on the books I gave them...a book report. Initially, I just gave my colleagues books to read. It was an encouragement of reading habits and continous self-development. However, I made everyone do a presentation because one of my sales manager told me in a disparaging manner that she will let me know when she read it. I do know not everyone enjoys reading or learning. I did not realise my ex-colleagues was probably thinking what a self-serving person I am to force others to read.

I want to use this blog to clarify my stand further. I actually stop book presentations after feedback from my team and move to self-development and self discovery. We did personality tests, IQ tests, Communication Styles, Management Styles, etc. Basically, everything I was taught during my days in Baxter Canada where I was under Executive Development scheme for High Potential and Retention Risk Managers.

I like to go on record that it is up to the individual to learn or read or NOT to as they wish. My only caution for my team members who make it clear that they have no wish to learn further is not to expect huge growth in income and they must be able to adapt to the changes the company is undergoing. Carol Cheong in Isuta is one who told me she is happy doing what she is doing and after she told me, I stopped asking her about when she is going to take a course.

I also have two ladies who worked for me in Contracts Department in Baxter Canada who said they are past 60 years old and have no wish to go to "school". My response was as long as they keep adapting to the changes the company is making, it is fine with me. However, if they stopped, please do not be surprised if they are layoff. They are fine with that too.

Hopefully, I turnaround some negative impressions...

Positive Glow

This morning, I am still enjoying the warm and positive glow aftereffects of meeting old friends and colleagues. I am still a social animal. I am an introvert. Usually, I read or visit bookstore my favorite activities after discharging my responsibilities as a father and husband. All this activities come after work has been done.

It is good we have decide to organise another gathering in a couple of months. I really enjoy this home. The birds are active and chirping. Sounds like I am camping in the wild! Yes, for the diehard, wild in the city boy context. I do not mean the jungle in Pahang. A trek in Macritchie reservoir will be considered "wild". Maybe close to nature would be a better description:)

Ex-Ohmeda Party

We host a party for ex-Ohmeda colleagues. We had a wonderful time catching up with each other on the news and talking about old times and sharing the good, the bad and the evil. Nicholas Ong was the best devil. The rest was teasing me that since I have 3 sons and he has a daughter, luck may have it that one of my sons may marry his daughter. He will make my life miserable. My counter is if any of my sons has his daughter as a girlfriend, they can live together but not get married. This is modern day. Marriage is a thing of the past. We all had a good laugh.

There is a consistent theme. The lower level employees feel that it is easier for Managers to get jobs. As a Manager, I always thinks it is easier for the lower level employee to get another job. The stress of globalisation is impacting all levels. The Technical Support Manager is looking for a job now. It is getting tougher and tougher for everyone. Stress level is high everywhere. I am thinking of what I can do to help. Also may be it is good to start businesses and be successful and teach it so that as jobs moved out or get reduced, people can be independent. I now know three men who are not working and two actively looking for work.

Vesak Day

Now I know why the moon was round when I was up the air. I had window seat this time because the flight from Shanghai was full and I check in late. I prefers aisle seats. I was tired of reading and the inflight movies were not very good. When we were about an hour from Singapore, I looked out of the window and saw the moon. I wondered why the moon look the same size since I am now 30 thousand feet nearer to the moon. At first the moon looked full, then I looked carefully and notice a little shadow on the rim on the southwest side of the circumference. Today is the fifteenth day, the moon will be full.

The temples will be extremely busy today. I do not like crowds so may not go to pray today. Maybe I will go tomorrow since Terence(B1) has music lessons in Sophia Road and Queen street is just right there. Yes, my regular temple is the Kuan Yin Temple in Queen Street.

No entries from Tuesday to Thursday

I was travelling to ShenZhen on Tuesday and then to Shanghai on Wednesday. Had a busy schedule together with the Business Development Manager for China interviewing candidates for Sales positions in China. Hence did not keep up my promise for writing every day. We interviewed 4 in SZ and 7 in Shanghai. We will giving a firm offer to 3 candidates - one for SZ, one for Shanghai and one for Suzhou.

China is a fast expanding market. We will be busy for many years to come. Business opportunites are in abundance. If I can figure out what I can do on my own, the chance of success will be high.

Business Development Manager, Sung Sung, is very committed lady who delivers. She has great adapability and she is a consummated networker. I have no doubt she will go far in the company.

Claypot Rice

Right beside the temple with Giant Buddha is a coffee shop that specialises in Claypot Rice. It's been a while since we had claypot rice. We used to make our own when we were living in Canada. When we moved back to Singapore, we gave our claypot to my mother who is still living there. I just called her to check. The pot had broke and she has thrown it away. Earthen pots are ready low cost. The pot we passed to her cost like 7 bucks. Anyway, back to the rice. The wait was long but worth it. The rice is very tasty. We ordered sambal kangkong, steamed minced meat with salt fish, Hakka fried pork belly and onion omelette. The meal cost $49.80. Good value for good food.

This meal also bring back memories of the past like living in Canada and when we first were married. We used to eat clay pot rice for dinner in a hawker centre near our home in Commonwealth Close. That was in 1988. Today the hawker center has been rebuilt and is a lot brighter. I do not know if claypot rice is there anymore. Singapore keep progressing and landscape keep changing. The place I grew up has been renewed and change. As one writer in Straits Times lament, we cannot go back to where we grew up and find the trees we climbed or the places we hung our clothes. We no longer have the anchor as the old places continued to be torn down for newer building. We can no longer travel back to our ancestral homes to refresh our memories of childhood times. Yes, it can be difficult. Emotional bond has been weaken by the physical changes.

Boring Blog

I have been asking my friends to visit my blog. One after visiting my blog asked who would visit my blog and why. I read my blog and it is not very interesting as it is a diary for me. Sze Li has a more interesting blog with pictures, commentaries and other nice tidbits.

Like Dan Brown, I will slog on and on until my writings become more interesting. As Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki says it is important to sell. Authors are successful when they have bestsellers. It is not best writers or best writings that determine success.

Election Day

Today must be exciting day for our politicians! Who will win? Who will lose? It will be like exams jitters waiting for the count this evening and the final results.

They must act confident and cool all the time before the results are out. I bet they are all jelly inside - shivering and quivering. My best wishes for all our politicians and good luck!!

Is it a line or is it the phone?

My sister-in-law has a good deal on cellular phones and phone line packages from M1. B1 have been wanting a new phone for long time. My wife has promised to get him one provided he fulfil certain obligations. Meanwhile, I am reading this book "Why we do what we do" on understanding Self-Motivation and just learned that giving rewards for doing things is less motivating than doing it for intrinsic reasons. Hence my position was to get rid of the strings. Unfortunately, when it come to implementation, I told B1 to choose a "free" phone that come with a contract. He was very disappointed and angry. I explained to him rationale and logic. I was worried to give him something that will make him keep up with the Jones(Lims in Singapore context). This may start a value or behaviour to keep expecting and demanding more and more material things to satisfy his desires. He has a complete shutdown. He does not want a phone anymore. He thought we have no intention of giving him the phone and just keep lying to keep him happy for a while.

We have a threesome meeting i.e. B1, Mummy and Daddy and have the issue clarified. I was wrong in my assumptions and unfortunately (for me) Mummy is right again. He only wanted the phone. The line was secondary. So we agreed to get him the phone. He just have to fulfil some conditions. He is still not very happy with this whole episode and I am very uncomfortable. Home life can be challenging and complicated...

Is my passion teaching?

I have been toying around the idea of giving training and coaching for a living. I know I always enjoyed learning and teaching. I reflect back all that I have achieved in my career. As I climbed the corporate ladder and move from doer to working through others. Work through others is very difficult at first. The temptation to do it myself is always there. Micro-managing i.e. telling people how to do and checking every step of the way. Over time, I grows and grows. I first learn to manage and then to lead. Today, my joy is seeing people grows under my watch. I am very proud to say many who worked with me before consider me their mentor.

I learned different techniques. One of my favourite is leadership by example. The other is story telling to get a message through. I have turnaround two businesses that were making losses to profit. People in my team grew in their capabilities and earnings. It is very rewarding for me to see my team grow and develop and become leaders in the own right.

Should I be a professional coach and consultant?

Thinking

I spend lots of time thinking and reading. Right now I am reading this book Dharma Moments. This book was featured in Bangkok post. The author right now is jobless because he decided to quit after his boss was fired. His boss was the founder of the Advertising company and this company has been acquired by a bigger company. The author was offered his boss' job. He refused as he felt it is not right for him to take over. He resigned instead. He was the Managing Director. Right now he is figuring out what to do next.

Hmmm! He stick to his principles. He did extremely well following Buddha's Dharma.

My Good Friend

This afternoon, I went to the old Royal Holiday Inn that is on Scotts Road. I cannot remember the current name of this hotel. Anyway, a friend of more than 20 years is back to Singapore for a visit. Mike relocated to Xi An in China for almost a year and is back because his wife is here for a meeting. Mike moved to China as a result of his wife getting a job based there and she is now promoted to Regional position and will be relocating back to Singapore. This is a fantastic progress. I am envious...promoted in less than a year! I am very happy for her and Mike.

Giant Buddha

I went out shopping with my wife today and she need to pick up some items from Race Course Road. While waiting for her, I was killing time by walking around the building. I noticed a group of people standing at the entrance of a temple. I was wondering if there is something happening and decided to take a closer look. As I get closer, I realised from the language spoken, they are tourist from mainland China. Looking inside, I saw this huge statue of Buddha in white. It is the largest Buddha I have seen in Singapore. Sitting inside the temple were two "ang mo" women. There is such an interesting temple and as a Singaporean, this is the first time I come to this temple. Obviously, the tourists know more about this temple than my wife or I.

This temple is right on Race Course Road. For fellow Singaporeans and tourists alike take MRT to Farrer Park MRT station. It is about 300 metres MRT station.