Happiness Index

We have Ministry of Information and the Arts, Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Education, Ministry of "No-portfolio"...

I like to propose a Ministry of Happiness. We should have a few happiness index. One for the country, one for the family, one for the individual. We can develop a social networks and communities to help increase our happiness indices. Volunteering for altruistic causes, helping others to get gainful employment, programs for retirees, alleviate fears or help others to startup and sustain small businesses. The Minister is charge with making citzens and residents happy. The goal is not to create utopia but have a gracious and happy society. Singapore will continue to have a bright future. I like to quote the movie - A Few Good Men, "It is the duty of the strong to protect the weak."

The best of times, the worst of times

Charles Dickens. "It is like retooling a Boeing 747 at 40,000ft" Vernon Loucks, ex-CEO, Baxter Corporation. In other words, restructuring, re-engineering, downsizing, right sizing, cost-cutting, etc, etc. This was in the 80's. 1980s that is! Why? "The competitive environment is changing rapidly. We need to get ready for the future" he continues. Fast forward to today. Baxter is still undergoing change. Harry Kramer succeeds Loucks and had a amicable parting with the company. A new CEO from a competitor has been hired. All big companies are undergoing change all the time. Yet, someone puts it aptly "the more it change, the more it stay the same." Interesting paradox.

Backache, stiff neck and other bone issues

I sprained my back more than 20 years ago during army time. I have low back pain ever since. The pain will come and go. It can get severe. This is the time to try physiotherapy, tui na(Chinese massage), and the most effective was a master who practice chi kung. Unfortunately, the master who could relieve my pain died a few years ago. Two or three years ago, I start getting neck pain. I consulted my family physican and she order an x-ray of my neck. This is where I discover I have spurs growing in C2 and C3. The spurs were rubbing each other causing pain.

In the last 14 weeks, I have being practicing Ananda Marga Yoga. It is different from Hatha Yoga. The exercises were simple stretching and asanas are not very challenging. I find my back and neck do not bother me anymore. I can get up from squatting position easily. Anyone who has a low back problem will know what I mean. It is next to impossible to stand up from a squat position without support from bookshelf or wall or even pushing up from the floor with your arms.

Today, my movements are friskier and I can run up stairs easily. Getting out of the car is a continous fluid movement and not getting myself in the right position before standing up. I highly recommend this form of yoga to improve physical capabilities.

Sunday

It is nice and quiet morning. The maids were about doing their chores. Birds are singing. The incessant sound of hammering from construction site in a distance can be heard.

Good writings

The Wee Shu Min fiasco is an eye opener for me. There lots of people who write well. Reading the commentaries as well as the blogs, I am impressed. Does one becomes more articulate when emotional? The expressions were poignant and impactful. Today, we can freely express our views in blog like this. We can also invite comments. Nobody want to read non-controvesial entry. I guess sensational news and commentaries does get attention. So does inflammatory views.

Are Shu Min's views reflective of the elite? the Gifted? From anecdotes about scholars, I believe it is more prevalent than what is visible. The meritocracy system of Singapore is similar mandarin system of ancient China. The scholars who passed the imperial examinations can expect to work for the government and be comfortable for the rest of their life. Those who are good in politics and work the system well rise in rank. So in our scholarship system, there is elite of the elites. Is this a good system? Only time will tell.

Brutal Facts aka Callousness

There is a fine line between brutal facts and callousness. The globalization is making tough and challenging for everyone. It is scary times. It always has been scary time at any point in time. There are always two school of thought - Optimist and Pessimist. The Optimist will always look at the positive side. The world will be fine. And pessimist? the world is falling apart. Then there is a new category call the pragmatist. The world is not fine but it is not falling apart either. It is the same as Buddha's Middle Way.

I hope Singapore Government will practise benevolence and compassion.

Leading Quietly - Joseph Badaracco

I read a couple chapters of Leading Quietly by Joseph Badaracco. I acquires this book after reading leadership article in the Straits Times by Tan Tarn How. Tan was took sabbatical from ST and studied Leadership in Harvard. I was sold by Tan's description of Prof Badaracco and his accomplishments. Hence I decided to buy the book from Kino during a 20% discount sales.

Leading Quietly contains a series of ancedotes followed by an analysis of leadership qualities or actions. The stories are about ordinary managers going about dealing with difficult issues and organization complexity and solving the issues without trying to be a hero. It is thought provoking and insightful.

Meeting Customers

I have a series of meetings today. It is a productive day. There are lot of business. It looks like we can grow well into the future.

Inspired by freedom

It is rare that I am not occupied by work in the evening. Usually, I will work through late in the night doing emails. Today is Hari Raya and office is closed. Here I am in the hotel with only a few emails. I wrote an entry just now on Bandi and Luni. I just finished reading an essay on Compensation by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

I bought this book in 1996 in Sydney where I was exhibiting in the World Congress of Anesthesiologist. In Sydney, Dymock is the bookstore to go to. I date the purchase date of all the books I acquired. This habit I pick up from SGT Chiam in my army days. It is useful as it help me remember how long this book is in my possession.

"Compensation" is often quoted in the self help or motivational books I read in my younger days. Stress in the office is causing me to brood over trivials. This article is excellent in lifting up my spirits. I like to take to liberty to quote some of the statements that make a lot of sense to me.

Every act rewards itself.
For every thing you have missed, you have gained something else.
Give, and it shall be given to you. He that watereth shall be watered himself. What will you have? quoth God; pay for it, and take it.
Nothing venture, nothing have.
Thou shalt be paid exactly for what thou hast done, no more, no less.
The swindler swindles himself.
Our strength grows out of our weakness.
A great man is always willing to be little.
Whilst he sits on a cushion of advantages, he goes to sleep. When he is pushed, tormented, defeated, he has a chance to learn something.

I strongly recommend this essay to my friends and readers. It is quite dense and will take a few reads AND a dictionary by your side before appreciating the profound meanings. You will be truly rewarded.

Bandi & Luni

Finally, I decided to note the name of the bookstore in the COEX (conference & exhibition) mall. I had a wonderful time browsing through Bandi and Luni. The book selection may not be a wide as Kinokuniya but it is a refreshing change for me. They have a different collection although there are a lot of the same books usually the bestsellers. (You got to sell bestsellers!) This store has a wonderful selection of classics and audio. The audio books are not available in stores in Singapore (Kino, Times or Borders). Borders has the best selection of audio book. B & L has audio books on popular fiction such as Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. Audio Poetry books such poems by William Blake is in the store. I would have love to buy a couple of titles as they are on discount. The price is still high. So I decide to defer my impulse to buy.

Yoga

Yoga is an excellent form of exercise in the hotel. The space requirement to practise is small about 2 and half feet by 6 feet. I am sold by yoga since my lower back has improved since I started to do asanas. Asana is yoga posture with controlled breathing. Yoga is posture cause the spine to be stretched and muscles rarely used strengthened. Anyone with stiff neck or low back ache should do yoga.

Seoul, the busy city

Seoul is crowded, busy and expensive. It is nice to stay in the same hotel. It is like coming home. Not really but familarity does help in frequent travel. I stayed in the same hotel and walk through the same mall. There are a couple of shops changed. The rest is the same. So it is familiar. Of course my favourite, a book store. This book store is bigger than Kinokuniya in Taka. So there is a foreign language section (read English books!). Weather is cool. Fall is always nice wherever you go.

Secret of Greatness

Here is the research based tip sheet for Greatness from Fortune Oct 30, 2006 issue.

1. Approach each critical task with an explicit goal of getting much better at it.

2. As you do the task, focus on what's happening and why you're doing it the way you are.

3. After the task, get feedback on your performance from multiple sources. Make changes in your behavior as necessary.

4. Continually build mental models of your situation - our industry, your company, your career. Enlarge the models to encompass more factors.

5. Do those steps regularly, not sporadically. Occasional practice does not work.

The article state uniequivocally that nobody is great without work. And there is a minimum ten-year before anyone can reach their peak.

The Question?

Why do I get bogged down by trivials of work and work environment?

Life is up and down. Work is life and therefore work is up and down. Maybe it is time for Ralph Waldo Emerson. I have not read his work for a while now. It is time to revisit. It is difficult to read in the beginning. This is the best time as I am in the right mood.

Roast Duck from KL

Today, I brought home a roast duck from KL. This roast duck taste better than the Peking Duck I had in China. Although it is cold and not as crispy, it tasted good. My family like it. The name of the resturant is Sunrise. I get to know this resturant because it was featured in the Straits Times. Ya, I am a typical Singaporean, obsessed with food.

Pho Hoa - The Vietnamese Noodle House

I am beginning to like my new hotel more and more. Last night, I had a late dinner at Pho Hoa after finishing two conference calls. I ordered the noodles at 9:45pm, the cutoff time for the last order. The noodles was delicious. It reminds me of Canada. The taste is close to the Canadian chain. The manager asks if I have tried the one in Holland Road. I did and I did not go there again as I find the taste different. Although this KL store soup tasted a little different as well, it still meet my memory of how it should taste like. I had Pho in Ho Chi Ming city many years ago. By the way Pho means noodle. It was prepared by my distributor's caretaker. She was the cleaner and the cook for the company. She was an excellent cook. After tasting her food, the first thought that come to my mind was to bring to Singapore so that I can start a Vietnamese resturant.

I did not follow through with my idea. If I did, will I have a different life?

The Curve

I just change to a different hotel. I took a walk around the mall called the Curve. It is quiet unlike Sunway where activities are up late and a hawker style coffee nearby where office worker will go for breakfast before heading to work. The Curve is a newer mall. When I walk along the road on the perimeter of the mall, I get the sense I am in mall somewhere in US. Reminds me of San Diego. The white trimmings on the windows, the low height of the mall, the houses on the opposite side of the road, even the grassy patch between the road and building, Borders at the corner,... sigh! I would love to visit again and maybe live for a while in US.

Owls in KL

KL has lots of life late in the night. People are up and about at 11:30pm. I take a walk to help digest a heavy dinner (my favorite! ribs) and there still lots of people drinking at the resturants and cafe. Many have laptops turned on and others are in group discussing work or assignments. The crowd is young and hip. Maybe they are students. Many just finished their movies.

Word Power

One good way to learn more words is to go to www.readersdigest.ca and try out the wordpower game. Every day it is updated with 5 new words. If you answer all correct and within 15 seconds you will score maximum points. There are other good stuff such as humour and free cards. Readers Digest is an excellent magazine to develop one's English

Questions...

Is moving up the organization ladder important? More power, more status, more benefits, more money, more, more, more!!!

How about family? Happy, well-adjusted family! Relocation is disruptive to everyone. Schools, friends, extended family, neighbours, food...the list go on.

Feeling left out? Sour grapes? Not brooding but being pensive and thoughtful. Have I reach the level of incompetence? Or did the fire of ambition get extinguished? Why teach? Why help others improve? How about taking care of yourself? Questions are many. Answers? Continue searching...

Wendy Lui

Wendy came to visit. It was good to show her our house(my pride and joy). I know it is shallow and materialistic. Still it is nice to be proud. Although it is not a big or expensive house, it is my home, my sanctuary. We talk about old times in Canada, our colleagues (my ex-) and get to catch up on who has left and who relocates or promoted. I am glad she put priority to visit us. It is also good for her to see our kids. The last time she saw B3 was when he was a baby in Oakville, Canada. Thanks! Wendy, we are happy you visited.

New Books

More and more new books are published. Books are learning. It take time to write, it take time to read and understand. I learn from reading. Some learn by listening, others learn by doing. Some learn by talking (I am guessing here). The challenge to pick the right book to read is getting higher. I usually pick authors. Classics are Peter Drucker, Napolean Hill, and Dale Carnegie. I also find it interesting authors of Built to Last, Jerry Porras and Jim Collins diverge. Jim Collins became very successful with a prequel "Good to Great". Now a few years later, Jerry Porras came up with "Success Built to Last". Why I consider the authors diverge? Collins explore business success of companies who move average to great. Porras focus on business success of corporate managers.

Business Review

Will be in the office to review our results. We are doing well. Asia is a growing region. It is becoming more important to global companies. There are lots of opportunities. Will have to figure out how to grow personally as well.

TGIF

Thank God! It's Friday. Grant Smith, my first American boss bring me to a resturant called TGIF. He told me the full name is Thank God!... I look at him blinking. Still trying to understand what this mean...he interpreted my look to one of disbelief. "I am serious! This is what it mean." he added. In US and I guess many part of the world, there will be millions of workers who will thank God that it is Friday. Weekend is here! We get to do fun stuff. Stuff we enjoys doing.

A little brief about Grant Smith. Grant is an engineer. He designs electronics. He did not have a formal degree in electronics but he understands electronics well and enjoys the creative side of designing electronics circuits. After he left Singapore, I visited him in Ventura, California. He designs a power supply that won a contract in Washington, D.C. That brought a lot of calls from headhunters. This is the last news I had from Shirley, his wife. I worked for Grant from 1984 to 1986. Yoh-Chie Lu, owner of Biosensors today was our boss then.

Medicine

I wonder if medicine helps? Why am I asking? Well I feel very sick all day today. I felt much better in the evening. Is it because the effect of medicine wears out? This was my initial thought. However reflecting further, it may be the effects of medicine had kick in and make my body feels better. Sometimes I wonder. It is tough to be sick. Tired, lethargic, head's heavy, nose stuffy, worn out, it is tiresome.

Home work

Working from home is trend of the future. The saving can be enormous. No commute time(more time for work instead of traffic), no office wear(save $$ for staff), no office space(save $$ in space and airconditioning) and no social contact with other colleagues(higher productivity). The benefits for home work adds up to dollars and sense. Studies conducted shows that people who worked from home spend more time at work. Companies not only save money, they get more hours from their employees!

Is reading difficult?

This is THE question. I notices all the Senior Managers in US reads a lot. Our CEO publish his reading list every summer. I am dishearten by people who do not read. Reading open up a world of learnings. I guess it take all kinds of people to make up this world. As Bill Gates put it "Never bully a nerd, you will end up work for one."

Flu

Sze Li was right. I must be coming down with flu. I woke up at 5:30am with sore throat and stuffy nose. I feel weak and cold. I am irritable. Early to bed for my body to recover.

You are what you eat.

In today's yoga lesson, we have a short discourse on food. Vegetarian is the best for our body. Meat is poison. Tea and coffee is neutral. "Dada" our master is from Norway. He has been practising yoga for 12 years. He has become full vegetarian for 10 years. He learn yoga in India and is now teaching yoga in Singapore. We are learning meditation as well. It is a good form of exercise for mind and body.