BusinessWeek on Microsoft HR

Sep 10, 2007 issue of BusinessWeek has an article on Lisa Brummel, the HR Chief of Microsoft. In some of my articles earlier (May 2006 or thereabout), I was critical and disappointed with the HR policies and HR attitudes. I will quote sections on Lisa that make her successful.

Internal surveys - which at most companies help inform HR policy - presented a picture of a happy, contented workforce. Brummel didn't buy the rosy findings. "People weren't connected to the company or our mission anymore," she says. Brummel didn't want to follow the usual HR script: benchmarking best practices and imposing them on the company. "Before you go running off campus," she told herself, "you should know what's going on on campus."...Lisa went on a listening tour to all the Microsoft offices around the world.

Time and again, Brummel heard the same refrain: HR was a black box; it had to open up and get employee input. People loathed the forced curve in performance reviews. They wanted clarity on compensation, more direction on how to get promoted, and better managers.

They were fed up with the nickel-and-diming on creature comforts. How could a company headquartered near Seattle, home of all things barista, serve industrial-grade sludge in do-it-yourself makers that belonged in a mess hall? "The coffee was just really, really bad," says corporate Vice-President Chris Capossela.

I bet most companies in Singapore are like what I described in mid last year where HR practices archaic, HR managers has atrocious attitude and very self-righteous. They are "helping" you, the employee. Life would have been better without their "help".

Money

Money dominates the conversation during dinner. It probably occupy 80% of the time. I wonder if this is just a Singapore phenomenon. In Canada, the conversations always surround on what you do when you are not working like sports, fishing, long drive, home maintenance and kids school and kids activities. I notices here we are obsessed with money, properties, en-bloc, gold, jewellery, stock market, toto and 4Ds. Everything related to $$!

Money makes the world go round. Money changes everything. Money is the root of all evil. No money no talk. Money no enough. Money, money, money! it's a rich man's world.

Team Spirit

We spent lots of time working on team spirit. We keep plowing through the core values, behavours, and attitude. We discussed and work till 9pm at night and adjourned to for a Hakka dinner in Ying Ker Hakka Cuisine in The Curve. The soup was fabulous and the food delicious. The bill is RM238 for 7 heads.

The Curve is bohemia. It is like a mall in California. I love the feel of San Diego-like atmosphere..

Full Moon

Big and round,
Shiny and bright
Moon may and moon might
Make my wish come true tonight

I wish I may and I wish I might
The wish I wish be true at night

What do I wish
What do I like
Everyone is happy
Everyone is bright
Work is busy
And work is light
Reward is fair
Recognition is right.

Goodnite...may moon fairy make your wishes come true.

Toothache!

Had a toothache that is bothering me for a few weeks. I went to a dentist two weeks ago. He drained pus in my swollen gums and cleanse the wound and gave me antibiotics and painkillers. The problem was solved for a week. Now it flared up again. It was terrible to be travelling with a toothache. I am losing weight fast!

I went to see my regular dentist and he think the root is inflected and I will need a root canal. The problem it is another four weeks of pain and wait. Tough!

Lantern Fest Party

We have a Lantern Fest Party at the poolside. Lanterns were lit with candles and hang around the trees and under the giant umbrellas. The atmosphere was warm, romantic and festive. The moon although not full cast bright lights in the cloudless sky. All the kids have a lantern that is in the shape of the Chinese Zodiac animal in the year they are born. They played with sparkles and have fun doing the "kindergarden walk". This is a new term for the adults. Invented by NAFA or Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Kindergarden, kindergarden walk is all the kids lined up with their lantern lit and followed an adult to walk around a dark path. It was great fun as they adjorned to a game of tag and they were screaming their heads off.

The adults sat around and had conversations on business and gossips about whos who in the government. It was a great evening to celebrate the moon cake festival.

Giving Training

Training was in the menu for the morning. There were 6 participants plus their Boss. The previous session was on selling at premium price. We went through selling from high level, explain their roles and how they fit in the big picture. We also go through their company fit with the Customers' profiles that they should be pursuing to increase growth in sales and profit. The last subject is on our product vs competition as well the characteristics of the competitor company vs my company.

Now the participants have a good understanding their roles and how to service the different customer groups. They have happy to learn about my method of prioriting the customer groups for more effective results. Overall, I am glad they have enjoyed the session.

Chiang Mai

Going from Bangkok to ChiangMai and then back to Bangkok. A day trip just to meet an important Customer. It was a good meeting but the day is long and journey arduous. I am tired and exhausted but the trip was not in vain. We have the Customer's assurance we are still the prime supplier. Phew!

English as it is Broken

This book is the top seller for several weeks. It is produced by Speak Good English Movement in conjunction with Straits Times. The book is at a good price of $8 and PageOne has 20% discount. There are plenty of signs that bring a smile, even obscene as a sign in a MRT station says "Go inside Her". This is easy for me to remember. A letter "e" makes a huge difference.

Communication can be only effective with a strong command language skills.

Near Misses and Accidents

Incidents are high according to the news reports on the "budget airlines". Boh Tong blog has documented some of the incidents including nearly clipping the air control tower in Tokyo by the ill-fated airline in Thailand. This is really scary. Boh Tong link is on the right under "interesting blogs".

With air travel coming to a new age of quote AirAsia's "Anyone can fly" slogan, safety seems to be compromised in the interest of cost reduction. Will the fatality rates of air travel rise to the level of road travel? It will be terrible when this happen.

Influencing Skills Training

I was in Philippines with my Japanese colleague who is responsible for the business there. We had a meeting with our partners and customers. One of the partner has a new sales rep and I told them I love to train especially young reps since they have not acquire any bad habits yet. My Japanese colleague remark that my training is academic. I do not know how to take this feedback.

Did he think I am too theoretical? Was it not practical? Maybe he did not feel the value of my training? Was it mean to be an insult? Well, I am not sure. Knowing him, I am sure he will not be disrespectful.

I was preparing training on Influencing Skills and using Robert Cialdini's book Influence, Science and Practice for reference when the comment hits me. Robert is a Professor of Psychology. I realise I will be reinforcing his feedback that I am "academic". Using Cialdini, I will be training using logic and my anecdotes will be based on rigorous scientific study.

So I thought about it and know this is not going to go well with my audience as I do have a wide representation from other areas in my company. I rack my brains hard. Influencing skills are rarely taught. Since joining the workforce I had numerous trainings from skills enhancement like how to repair medical equipment, how to train service engineers to management and leadership skills and even English pronunciation to get rid of my Singapore accent. However, no Influencing Skill training which is in hot demand.

I had a brainwave! There is a classic book which I recommended to everyone in my team in every new assignment I have. The author is not a Professor. He trains working adults. He died in 1955 but his name is alive and well. There is an organisation carrying on the torch. The book he wrote is How to Win Friends and Influence People. Dale Carnegie courses are available in Singapore and most other countries. The tips are practical and works. The advice are pretty much commonsense although commonsense really is not so common.

This book helps me achieve success and I will pass the wisdom on to others.

Plane Crash in Phuket

Terrible tragedy with more than 110 dead! The model Boeing MD80 has several plane crashed in different locations. This plane belong to Thai budget airline. Budget airline seems to have higher incidents of plane crashes. Recently, Indonesia budget airline has several planes crashes that resulted in the airline being grounded. For a frequent air traveller like me, I am concern with the airplane disasters. With pressure to cut costs, companies are requiring their employees to travel on low cost carriers. The risks are increasing.

Working has become hazardous and risky especially in a large organisation.

Inspired to ....

Straighten up my book shelves. I have no idea why. I look at the my bookshelves and decided it is too messy. Books and files are mixed together. Cds and dvds are arranged neatly on the shelf but some are stack horizontally in the available space. The different shapes and sizes of the various format of cds, cassette tapes and dvd covers make shelf very uneven giving it a very untidy look.

Now I am admiring my own handiwork. All the cds of the same format are now arranged vertically and a straight row. Books of the same height are in the same shelf. Files are put together and loose papers and ring binded sets of papers are stacked in a separate. It is a pleasure to look at. I wonder how can I stand looking at the eyesore for so long?

Bedok Court

My wife's friend lives in Bedok Court, a fairly old condomium. The landscape is full of mature trees and the ferns on the ground floor units were gigantic. The swimming pool is a rectangle shape and is fairly small for a rather sizeable estate. The playground is archaic with sand rather than rubber tiles for flooring and the play sets are made of wood and rope instead of plastic and metal in today's construction.

The apartment is at 5th floor and the built-in area is between 6,000 to 7,000 sq ft. Incredible amount of live-in space for $800K last year. With the en-bloc fever, the unit is worth between $4m to $5m. This mean her friend is $3m to $4m richer in 12 months. Even after a lifetime of saving, I would not able to achieve this kind of net worth. Some are lucky and some are not. I guess I belong to the latter for now.

To count my blessings, I have a great family, plenty of love and fun, good job, good health, plenty of friends, respect in my community, ... a couple of millions will make it perfect!

Mouthing Watering Expectations...

Since this morning, activities and tasks are non-stop. Work and home require lots of attention after coming back from a trip. I am looking forward to trying out the Rack's bbq sauce. It is actually quite expensive...almost S$5 per bottle. Premium bbq sauce in Cold Storage is only $4 to $5. I am happy to bring back the taste of memories. Memories of my time in Megamall in Manila, indulgent in succulent ribs, my favourite dish. The sauce is sweet and tangy. I also manage to find a recipe for fall-of-the-bones ribs. Please click here http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Leisure&p=49&type=2&sec=42&aid=20070912100

Yes, the weekend is here. I will try out the sauce tomorrow. I will not be able to try out the recipe yet. However my wife marinate excellent tasting meat. Of course I think it is my skills in cooking that produces the best results and makes all the difference.

Falls off the Bones Ribs

Finally, I managed to go and eat Flame grilled falls off the bones ribs at Racks. Racks was my favourite resturant in Philippines when I was responsible for Philippines as a Country Manager. I travelled there every two months and lived in one of the two hotels beside SM Megamall. I know I always gained weight everytime because I will have dinner at Racks by myself.

Racks used to be a chain and had franchisee resturant as well. It has falled on hard times and currently there is only on resturant in St. Francis Square, Pasig City. I loved the food so much that I wanted to bring the resturant to Singapore. I called the owner and make an appointment to meet with him. He is a Chinese Philippino and is quite rich. He had a General Manager who was in the meeting as well. They want S$1 million for franchise fee and I have to set up the resturant by myself and do research for them on the price of port and cost of setting up a commissary. I was young and do not have the money. More importantly, I feel they are greedy and want me to do all the work and give money to them. At no time did they talk about how to help me set up the resturant. My wife reactions went I come home to tell her about my meeting was for a million dollars we can setup a few resturants ourselves and test out all the recipes ourselves. So I dropped the idea.

I have been back to Philippines a few times in the last few years and had no chance to find out about Racks. Finally, I met someone who know this resturant yesterday. The sad news is there is only one resturant now. I am not surprised as the owner was too greedy and the chain did not succeed. The food was good and I love it. Tony Romas, my other ribs resturant is still doing well.

Manila

It been a long time since I was last here. I love Manila. The food is good and girls are gorgeous and friendly. The traffic however leave much to be desired. I had gum infection was having headaches for more than a week. My usual dentist is not available. He is a professor in NUS and getting an appointment with him is worse than pulling teeth out! I have to wait for mroe than 3 months. I was talking to my mum and she told me the dentist my sister used is very good. So I called my sister and get her to book an appointment for me. I was lucky to get treatment on Monday before my trip to here. My gum was infected and the dentist cut my gum to release the pus and clean it up with antibiotics. The effect was immediate. Although painful from the treatment, the pain is much more bearable. The recovery was quick! I could eat normally again by yesterday night.

Dinner last night was at Dad's which has buffet with Japanese and Philippino food. Another team member was there for holiday and she and her boyfriend was there enjoying the sumptious meal.

We have a series of the meetings today culminating in a Japanese dinner with our key Customer. The food is high quality and the choice was wide. We had sushi, yakitori, sashimi, grilled beef, salad and finishing with excellent desserts. My weight is up again!

Crispy Prata at Thomson Road

The crispy prata at Thomson is good. Very good, very crispy. Of course teh halia was non-negotiable. The teh halia is average. Prata is very tasty and is deep-fried. It is probably artery-clogging with all the transfat. Sinfully delightful. The health-conscious devil in me prick my conscience and the devilish tastebuds sends me to heaven. I am glad this place is out of my way. Otherwise, I will be enriching a cardiac surgeon in no time.

Installation of Clothes Dryer

My wife bought a clothes dryer from Best. A simple purchase and addition of a machine is actually a major installation. We have to move the washer to another location so that the dryer can be stack on top of the washer. In order to facilitate the machine to work in the new location, we have to install new water pipe and water tap outlet as well as drainage for the washer. By the way, I forgot the electric socket need to be at the new location as well. The new machine called for a fairly extensive renovation. It is messy and an all day affair with all the drilling and fixing up the electrical outlets and water piping.

After that it is cleaning up the mess. Putting back all the cleaning paraphernalia and reorganising the space is a huge time consumer. It is almost 9pm before we go for dinner. By the way, we did not have lunch....a good way to diet! All the shifting, cleaning and organising are back breaking. The Wife is exhausted but have the satisfaction of accomplishment and a job well done. Our backyard is spick and span now:)

First Job

B1, the eldest completed two days of work. He is very happy to earn his own pocket money. I am very pleased he is learning to earn. I can sense his euphoria when he is very nice to his younger brother and enjoys playing tricks without really scaring them and grinning his head off as he try to surprise them.

It is nice to see him over the moon.

Another Beautiful Day

It is great to wake up without the boys calling daddy. Sending the boys to school is one of the little things I do to bond with my older boys. I wake up early to send them to school and then go for breakfast before starting work. As I usually work at night till about eleven, I do not get my full quota of sleep when schools are in operation.

School break is my sleep break too.

Intense Pace

The pace of work has intensify dramatically this week. No time for my favorite activity - cradling my books and learning. I missed reading my books:(

The bright spot is it should be over soon and I can be worming around the learned pages. B2 is studying for his PSLE. It seems like mothers are godsend when it come to "encouraging" kids to study. Boys need their mummies to sit beside them before they can work. My son and my nephew both requires their mum sitting beside them before they can study or do the test papers. I rather give up on their study or cane them into submission. For this, my hat off to all mothers. Hence Mother's Love is the Greatest.

School Holidays

This week is school holidays. The two older boys are playing computers and attending extra classes in school. School does not stop during holiday. It is very different in Canada. In Canada, holiday is "real". No homework or assignments. Plans for trips usually do not get disrupted. Holiday is time for family, part-time employment, sports, working around the house(maintenance) and vegetating(do nothing:)).

We are in a non-stop rat race. Any one falling by the wayside will have to dropout. We celebrate success, wealth, power and all visible signs of material accumulation. Rare do we publicize acts of compassion, charity and kindness. Straits Times Interactive should have a Act of Kindness site like Toronto Star.

Heat is On

Busy time of the year with budget, contract renewals and making sure the business is in good shape and team in tip top condition. I am giving our team the heat and making everyone on their toes. We are doing everything we can to keep our business growing and growing under challenging conditions.

So it is work and work and work... and I am loving it (tra la la la LA!)

Friendly Neighbours

We had a bbq dinner with a couple of our neighbours and they enjoyed our food and we all enjoyed the company. Man! This is bad for weight. Just tonight alone I gain a kg. Hope this will pass through my GIT or gastrointestinal tract in medical terminology without converting the calories into fat.

We had a wonderful evening. Man is a social animal and eating and talking is the best way to socialise.

Uneventful Day

Another ordinary day. Breakfast and papers. Sending boys to their tuition and piano classes. Routine life in Singapore. No adventure, no excitement. An ordinary existence. B1 playing computer games, B2 with his gameboy and B3 with neighbours' kids. Mummy is busy with her housework and shopping. A weekend day's life of a typical Singaporean family - boring, usual, no excitement or adventure. Food and shopping malls dominates our life. No nature - too hot, no sports - golf is too expensive, no exploring upcountry - too small, no cottages - Malaysia is another country. Variety is the spice of life. We do have variety - resturants, foodcourts and hawker centres or Takashimaya, Vivo City, Plaza Singapura or Centrepoint.

Life in a Sin city - best place in the world to raise a family.