Manage Time

Psst... Want a useful tip on time management?

You can't.

Time, is by far, God's way of leveling the playing field for everyone. Obama, Osama, you and I all have 24 hours in a day. Now, how each of us make use of the time given to us is what makes the whole world of differences.

Time acts on us and there is nothing we can do about it. We can change time, go back in time, nor distort time. So, if we try to change, control, or manage time, then we'll end up being just unhappy. If you substitute the word "time" in this entire paragraph for "weather", you'll know what I mean.

Hence, if we try to manage time, while time is outside our circles of influence, we'll of course be stressed! As stress is an emotion we get when we want to control or do something that is outside our circles of influence.

Through the lens of PoEM, we can only do three things and that is; invest, use, and leverage on time.

First, if I can use the acronym AIR, which stands for alignment, indicators, and reflection; it sums up how we should be investing our time. Do we spent time doing things that matter to us or do we spent time to do things that can bring us huge returns? That question can be summed up in Covey's Quadrant II of "Important but not urgent".

In other words, if we invest our time in doing things that do not act on us, then sooner rather than later it will bring us huge returns. So what are the activities that we should engage in order to invest our time? The answer lies in AIR.

If the activities we engaged in are Aligned to our mission or purpose in life, and there are Indicators to tell us how we are progressing (or how are we truly living our lives in accordance to our mission), and finally if everyday we can invest time to Reflect on what we have done or did we act in such a way that is accordance to our mission, then those are good Quadrant II activities.

Say, exercise is something that doesn't act on us. Most of us, myself included, really need some serious nudging in order to get ourselves to exercise. But is that aligned to our mission? Well, yes, if you see that having a healthy body allows you to be more confident, more alert, and feel better (so as to fulfill your mission) then it is aligned.

We also need indicators, like how long you're going to be on the treadmill or how far you're gonna run, those become indicators to tell us if we have achieved. It could be also the number of times you'd run in a week.

Finally, only when you have indicators, like I will run three times weekly for at least 30 minutes, then at the end of the week you can say whether you are successful or not.

Secondly, how we use time. Time and tide wait for no man. So its how we use it that matters. Here, the focus is more on, given a particular situation how would you use your time? This is more reactive, where let's say you intend to do your Quadrant II activity today from 7pm to 9pm, but as you were settling down, you spouse ask for your time. How would you respond?

Honey, I really need to work on this? Or, well, let's talk? Which will you say? It all depends on whether you operate out of a perspective of "I" or "we". The answer is obvious which you will pick based on your perspective.

Hence, here is an issue of where if you think of "manage time", then you may give in but can't wait to get back to your task. So the generation of time management tools will tell you to adhere to your schedule. Or worse, you will face a dilemma. Life is full of surprises, so if you schedule your time so tightly to fulfill your Q2 activities, then you're just setting yourself up to fail.

Which brings us to our third and final point. If we are able to leverage on others' time, then we can certainly achieve more. But achieve more at who's expense? This is where, as an employee you are really selling your time to your employer so that the company can achieve its goals. Here, the offer in return is salary. So, the higher your salary, the more valuable you are to the organization.

Here's the thing. How do you leverage if you are not the one handing out the pay-check? The answer lies with how you can engage (not just involve) another person to work alongside you to fulfill the goal? The answer comes to two factors. Either you can motivate that person in an extrinsic manner (which we just discuss above) or in an intrinsic manner.

The second manner is more challenging. But the answer actually lies in, our ability to engage another person to AIR, that is what makes your leverage a success. Hence, engaged mastery skills and attributes will allow you to AIR another person so that together everyone achieve miracles (team)!

Respectfully yours,
Melvyn Tan
(Sent from my Blackberry Bold)

Test & Trust

I've recently started two journeys, one is my 99-Day journey towards one of the milestones for this year. It is a way to divide a year into three smaller periods, where it is long enough to give me flexibility, context, and challenge. This way, I will be able to judge if by the end of each 99-Day how I am doing and gauge that against my plan for the year.

The other journey is a more spiritual one. Led by Pastor Rick Warren, my 40-Day journey is guided through the 40 Chapters of the "Purpose-Driven Life". This is a book that aims to help me find my purpose in life. I thought I already had my purpose figured out but as I read each chapter, it has further shaped and sharpened my definition and meaning of life for me.

As a new Christian, it has guided me to see life not through my own lens but seeing it through God's view. In Chapter Five, Pastor Warren explains that life is a test, a trust, and also a temporary assignment. The third is detailed in Chapter Six, which I will read tomorrow.

What struck me was about the first two, test and trust. First, life is a test from God. The Lord will test me in every way, from big tasks to small, and sometimes not noticeable ones. Pastor Warren described that in every way that God tests me, He is seeing how I respond to each circumstance. In other words, how I respond to everything is a way for God to evaluate me. Hence, when things are going well, my responses will be noted. And usually that is aligned to my principled-centered values. But when times are tough, whether I adhere to those principled-centered values in the way I behave will be seen as a true test.

Because it is really easy to say, well, I will not raise my voice and listen empathetically, during times when I am not under trying circumstances. But during those difficult situations when I am under pressure, will I still speak normally and seek first to understand? I must admit I don't and I have good, or so I think, reasons for that! Having said that, that was through the lens of "me" previously. But now, through the lens of God, its a whole world of differences.

To be able to continually pass each and every test, one principled-centered value is "self-discipline", the virtue of being able to subordinate all of my ego, emotions, and need to feel that I am right to the virtue of working from the inside out. In other words, going one step deeper than "identity" or life's mission as a "leader", the spiritual dimension clearly specify that through God's tests, every action must be aligned to that.

The second view of life from God's perspective is trust. Only when someone passes your "test", then you'd trust him. Even then, you might still continue to subject the person to various test along the way. Let's say, this person made a commitment to you that he will meet you on Thursday at 5pm. And on Thursday, 5pm, this person not only didn't turn up, he didn't even call to say he cannot make it. Would you trust this person?

So, have we ever made a commitment to ourselves and failed to keep it? Say, you said to yourself that you'd accomplish a task by a certain date and you didn't do it. How do you feel about that? What does that make you? So, overtime, you either stop making commitments to yourself or worse still, beat yourself up. How's that for trusting oneself?

I think in my lives, it is all about relationships. Relationship with yourself, relationships with your friends, relationships with your loved ones, relationships in the work-place, relationships with your clients, your boss, etc. And what about your relationship with God? Live's about relationships anyways!

So, what is one of the most critical element that must be there before you can have a good relationship with that someone? What is the one thing, if you lack of, will ruin this relationship?

I believe that word is "trust". With trust. Everything becomes possible. You'd assign yourself a task and know that you will carry it out. You would entrust another person with something dear to you, and you'd won't lose sleep over it. You empower your reports with certain assignments and know for sure it would be performed to the best of their abilities. Or when you trust God, you will always have your eyes fixated on Him, knowing that He will be there for you!

Hence, live is about relationships, but before you can start having a wonderful and fulfilling relationship with anyone including yourself; you will need to know that the two-levels that needs to be at work. In order for you to trust yourself (personal), you must have self-mastery. In order for you to trust others (people) and have them trust you, you need engaged-mastery. And finally, for you to trust the people you work with (professional), you'll need professional-mastery. Of course, DO NOT TEST GOD!
Respectfully yours,
Melvyn Tan
(Sent from my Blackberry Bold)

IDEAS Abundance

In my training as an economist, the main underlying assumption is this: the efficient allocation of scarce resources. If you examine that assumption, you will see two parts; efficient allocation and scarce resources.

Efficient Allocation
To find the most optimal manner in which resources are being allocated, the main premise is this: As long as we are able to find the best return for the resources that we own, that would be the most efficient way. So, if you can offer eight hours of productive time a day, then you would offer that time to an employer who would pay you the most.

Of course whether you are always able to find the highest offer is the case of the "market" at work. You could know the best offer, but maybe the employer doesn't have a need for your services. Or worse, the employer is not convinced you are worth that much. Whatever the case is, we learn that the best returns can only be achieved when there is a double coincidence of wants.

Scarce Resources
The next part of the assumption has a presupposed assumption, scarce. Which tells us that there is only so much land, labor, capital for firms to utilize. As such, the more a resource is in demand, the higher return you can seek. All else being equal, if only you have the skills and/or tools that everyone else needs then you would be able to get the highest return for it.

In other words, going by these two parts you can already tell what kind of mentality most, if not all, economists have. Certainly it is not one of abundance. Meaning to say if you start a conversation with an economist, he will always be looking at the world through the lens of "not enough".

That said, a new group of economist who study "network economics" come to understand that there are resources that can never be depleted. In fact, the more people use that resource, the more valuable it becomes. An example is that of a fax machine. Now imagine if you are the only person on this planet that has a fax machine, who would you fax to and who can fax to you? Answer is zilt.

Now imagine you start making fax machines and give it away for free but charge for each fax sent and received, you can start expecting some revenue to roll in. But imagine now everyone wants a fax machine and not only do you charge them for using it, you now charge them for the machine itself, your revenue would increase astronomically!

Of course to enjoy such returns you must be the only one who either has the skills or the tools, or better still, both. So, unless you are Alexandra Graham Bell, you ain't gonna cut it. Or is it?

One thing that everyone has that is not only unlimited but also just because you have it doesn't mean I can't have it is "ideas". Everyone has ideas. Especially children. Just listen to them and you'd be amazed by the kind of ideas they have. Silly ideas? You think so?

Well, ideas are in abundance and ideas are also subjected to the laws stipulated by network economics. Therefore once you have asked your 5 WHYS about your goal and have used the 9 elements to define your goal, the next step is to tap into the source of unlimited ideas to work towards that goal.

What might be the best way to generate ideas, wacky ones and creative ones? One of the best ways, to me is to look at that goal from various perspectives. Let's say your goal is to "increase market share by 25 percent"; just by looking at your marketing channels, back-end, expansion, going to foreign markets, etc are already something you know.

Now, if you know that, do you think your competitors are any less dumb? I'd like to think not. Hence, one of the best ways to create ideas is to take these three steps.

First, set yourself a time limit to write as many ideas as you have (better still set a target of, say, I will have 50 ideas within 5 minutes). Reason is because then your critical mind is suspended. You don't have time to censor. Just write.

Now, step two is to see the goal from as many perspectives as possible, preferably nine. Reason? The human bring (or your conscious mind) can only process five plus minus two pieces of information at any point in time. Of course unless you are a pilot, otherwise nine would be a great stretch. Next time you are driving, count the number of things you have to take note of. It won't be more than seven. So, this is to tap into your subconscious mind, which is able to handle more information at any one point in time, then you can ever imagine.

Lastly, the third step is to look at your goal through the lens of someone from another industry totally not related to yours. For instance, in our work as consultants, we were looking for an innovative way to reach our client. After some brainstorming, we used the idea of a "trial" software as the solution for our innovative practice. And, like they say, the rest is history. As we become colored by our own assumptions about what can and cannot be done in our industry, we sometimes fail to explore new and creative ways that companies in other industries are doing. Much like how Dell has used the "pay-what-you-need" concept for their computers at the consumers front and the "just-in-time" concept for their back-end.

It is also interesting to note that once you have all these ideas, you will need to evaluate them and trim down to a few good ideas that you need to follow-through and then convert them into actionable tasks so that these ideas can be realized.

Respectfully yours,
Melvyn Tan
(Sent from my Blackberry Bold)

Goals

Goals are so important in life. Without a goal, one could be just living life according to the wimps and fancies of others. Some people set goals and achieve them, many don't. Yet, there are some who cannot even begin to think how can another don't have any goals in life.

Well, setting goals gives us clarity, it gives us purpose, and most importantly, it sets us along a path where there is hope, future, and better livelihood.

Setting goals is simple. It's working on those goals despite that's difficult. Previously we talked about the 5 WHYS one must establish in order for goals to even stand a chance of being accomplished.

Today, we'll talk about goals, and how to set them. You most probably have heard of SMART goals. Previously we talked about the 9 areas; it must be BIG, it must be aligned to your PURPOSE (quick, if you don't have one, check FranklinCovey's site for a tool to help you draft one), it must be WORTHWHILE (else, why bother), it must be MEASUREABLE (or you wouldn't know even if you've achieved it), you need to know WHEN when you want to achieve it (not someday, maybe), it must be within your CONTROL, what about ECOLOGICAL (not at the cost of your family), what RESOURCES you'd need, and what are the ACTIONS you'd take.

That said, if we have a goal set in that manner, it again increases our chances of achieving it.

Our follow-up discussions from here will center around the ideas of how we can achieve that goal, then identify the follow-through plans to work on those ideas, then break down these plans into workable, next-actionable tasks we can do on a day-to-day basis.

Sounds fun? Then, let's rock and roll!

Respectfully yours,
Melvyn Tan
(Sent from my Blackberry Bold)

Why Gift?

Before we discuss about "GIFT", let us first examine the "why" part.

It is important that after you have decided on your goal (G), that you examine your intentions, motives, and purposes.

Many a times, we want to achieve a certain goal, be it to do well in school, to capture 30 percent of market share, to own that SUV, to have a million bucks; but we may not know or search deep enough on our reasons why we want it.

With regards to that, there could be only two reasons why we want to achieve that goal. To move towards (pleasure) or to move away (pain) from a certain outcome.

Let's say your goal is to own that SUV, you could be moving towards outcomes such as to get around in a safe and reliable car, to own that dream car, or simply just to arrive in style. These are all pleasures. Our mind would visualise how it would be like if we drive that SUV and the kind of positive emotions.

Or perhaps you want to be debt-free, as you are sick and tired of having your debtors calling you and reminding you in making payments, or you know if you do not find a way to rid yourself of these debts, you could be made a bankrupt. These are all negative emotions and you want to move away from them.

To examine a deeper level of moving towards or away, we can further divide them into two dimensions, internal and external. Internally towards can be that you want to be able to live up to those values and principles you hold so dear. You want to be able to walk-the-talk.

Or to move away internally could be, you wanting to disassociate yourself from the labels that others have branded you. "Oh, he is a loser, he can never trust him." Or "he is a ex-convict, we must be careful when dealing with him". You get the point. Here, one wants to achieve a goal because he was to shake off that label.

Of course there are externally towards and away factors, these you're probably familiar with, such as having a million bucks (could be external towards) while living hand-to-mouth (could be external away).

There are some people who believes that "towards" are more sustainable than "away". Reason being, you can be moving away from being debt-free but as you are working on that goal and now having some level of debt is bearable instead of previously. Hence because of that you might slack.

I don't disagree with that argument but for most of us, each goal may have several "towards" and "aways"; and both "internal" and "external". So unless we identify all these factors, when it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve that goal (like wanting that market share but unwilling to clock that extra hours) or when it becomes soft (like I used to owe $30k but now am owing $10k, with my current salary I can survive now, no need to be so thrifty) we will fall by the side.

Hence, with each goal, we gotta ask ourselves WHY, at least five times, so that we can really examine which of our reasons are "internal or external" and which of these are "towards or away".

Better yet, if you have a personal mission statement, have identified your core values and principles, then it is critical to link your WHY to your mission, values, and principles.

In doing so, you are identifying your "internal" whys. Once that is done, you will increase your chances of achieving your goals by at least five-folds (if you had ask yourself at least five times). Reason is because with each why, you then give yourself the reason why you embark on this goal in the first place.

And hence the next challenge that shows up (and trust me, challenge always shows up uninvited), you'd be able to go back to your 5-WHYS and see which of these whys can counter Mr Challenge. And Mr Challenge is like those obstacles in video games, if you use the right weapon (why) against Mr Challenge, you will subdue it and move on to the next stage.

If of course you sit and scratch no whys, or if they are too lame (like arriving in style) then that goal is probably not worth it. And also, if one of your whys is, so I can show-off to so-and-so, then its probably not worth it too. Because, why would anyone want to buy something, with money that they don't have, to impress people that they don't like?

Respectfully yours,
Melvyn Tan
(Sent from my Blackberry Bold)

Follower-Leader

To be a leader, one must have followers. One good quote I read in the past was if you think you're leading but when turn around and see no one following you, you're merely taking a walk.

That said, it is also my firm believe that in order to lead, one must be a good follower. There's nothing wrong with being a follower but unless we can first learn to take instructions from others, follow those instructions, execute it well, there is no chance we can become a leader.

Why is that so?

Let's first look at the definition of "follower", it means, to me, that it is someone who is able to follow the instructions, paths, ideals, and even rules in a precise manner. Of course I trust you are discerning enough to distinguish the difference between good leaders and the rest. Good in terms of moral, in terms of values, in terms of character, in terms of principles.

As we become a great student of others only then can we fully understand the behaviors, strategies, beliefs, values, and most importantly their mindset. Once we can understand all of that, and able to execute it like the masters, then we can start exploring other, better, faster, more effective, more efficient ways to reach a goal.

When we do not first even understand all of that, how can we then test the limits, explore other options, examine (re-examine) the mindsets in which the leaders held so dear.

Granted they must have experienced or understand the success formulas or they won't be able to lead others. Besides, we are not just talking about being able to achieve goals some of the time or only when certain conditions exist. We're talking about individuals who are able to engage (read skills) others with integrity (read principles) to consistently (read, almost always) achieve a common goal (read, not for one-self alone).

Such individuals (I certainly hope you are one, I work hard to be one each day and know that I am succeeding each day with God's grace) are continually on this journey to become better both internally (live by those principles each day and do the best to live it despite whatever is being thrown at her) and externally (engage others with integrity - not for one-self alone and to achieve a greater goal together because succeeding alone is lonely) each day.

And with each day, if we align to the our purpose in life, whatever that might be (as long as it's good - for definition of good, see above), we are following those principles so that we can lead.

Respectfully yours,
Melvyn Tan
(Sent via Blackberry Bold)

Valentine's Day Gift

Happy Belated Valentine's Day.

I'd like to also present a gift for all my readers wishing them Happy Valentine's Day. And my gift is something really special to me.

Valentine's Day is about relationships and it is a day where we can show our love for those whom we hold so dear. Why the special day? Well, for some of us sometimes we get so caught up with life's demand that we somehow overlook our relationships.

For me and my wife, we recognize that during the week we may not spend enough time with each other, so we've set aside every Friday evenings to spend time together. It can be going to the mall, catching a movie, or perhaps just a simple meal together but most importantly is to be with each other. We call this "family time".

Just like our relationship with other people, our relationship with ourselves is just as, if not more important. As each week, before the week get started, I will set aside sometime to be with myself, to invest this time so that when the week starts, I'll be in a better position to seize any opportunities, stay focused, and most importantly, get things done.

Each week, I'll give myself a GIFT, and this is the same gift I'm presenting to you. GIFT is actually an acronym for Goals, Ideas, Follow-through, and Tasks. Let's discuss them in turn.
Respectfully yours,
Melvyn Tan
(Sent via Blackberry Bold)

TEAM Works!

It's my fourth day today of my 99-Day journey.

Sure, it was modeled after President Obama 100-Day in office. Two reasons I chose 99, first as I have always been fascinated with the number '9' (try this, take a calculator and punch in any random number, it could be 3 digits or 8 digits; it really doesn't matter. Thing is, subtract the last digit of that random number and you would always end up with the number '9') and second, because I believe we should always reflect on our actions as with each reflection, it will allow us to assess and review if and how our goals were achieved (or not) and how we can do better in the future.

Of course reflections can be superficial if one choose to just scratch the surface of it. Or it could become a "blame-game", where we start blaming everything and anything for why we failed to achieve a goal. We believe that when reflecting, we should go deeper within ourselves and examine issues using the acronym TEAM.

TEAM stands for targets, efforts, architecture, and mindset. For instance, if we set a target like, to have $1 million by the end of 2008, and we did not achieve it, the natural next step is to examine our efforts. Did we draw up a plan to acquire the $1 million? Did we adhere to the plan? What exactly did we do but yet didn't help us achieve that goal?

Certainly, we should not stop at this and say, well, I am just going to try harder and work faster using the same methods. Einstein said insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect different results. Hence, we may need to draw up a new plan. Or should we? I mean, its fine to redraw your plans the next time round, but if you're going to keep drawing up new plans and yet it didn't work, how long more can you draw up new plans before you give up?

I know, Edison tried more than 10,000 times till he found the way to make the light bulb. But then, how many of us might have given up on the 9,999 time? Or maybe some of us might even give up at the 3rd attempt?

The difference between people who succeed and people who don't is this. They look beyond their efforts to search for the ways to achieve their goals. Back to our example of the $1 million, perhaps we need also to look at the architecture to see if these structures, platforms, or systems that we were leveraging on; were they suitable for us to achieve our goals? Maybe the structures that we depended upon were sweepstakes or stock prices of companies; those that we have little or no influence over.

If that was the case, its as good as leaving it to chance! And what are the chances of winning the sweepstake? Odds were, we are more likely to be struck by lightning then winning the sweepstake. Or apart from attending the shareholders meeting of the company whose shares we've bought and demanding an answer for a soured investment made by the company, we have little recourse when things turned out badly.

Of course, then it is to look at architectures that we have influence over. Note, we say influence and not control because there is only one thing you have complete control over and that's your own self. Even then, some people will say, "but he made me angry!", or "she caused me to be upset". No one can do that, only ourselves. (This is in fact, still a constant struggle for me.)

So what are the architecture we have influence over? It could be our own business, our little project, or even our decision to leverage on the property market. Whatever the case is, the reason why we chose these platforms, structures, or systems is because we believed that these architecture are the ones we can depend on or we have influence over or it could be due to the certain assumptions that we have.

This lead us to the mindset. If our mindset in the past was, let's leverage on some trustworthy companies, like Lehman Brothers, our assumptions could be that a bank with that kind of history will stand the test of time. Those that have invested in the minibond series will tell you otherwise now. Hence, if we question the assumptions, we may rule our investing in companies as an option.

As a trained Economist, we have been working with models (not the type with long legs though, unfortunately) and the assumptions that come with it. For instance, one of the most studied model was that of "perfect competition". As students, we usually laugh at this model for its lack of reality. Some of the assumptions are; for every seller there is a buyer, everyone knows the best price for the product hence there are no super normal profits to be made, the market is always in equilibrium. Laughable model isn't it? Or is it really?

Isn't the stock market a close resemblance of the perfect competition model? Didn't the Internet make some of these assumptions possible?

Then, as we progress from 101 to slightly more intermediate economic theory, we learn of the "imperfect competition" to the "monopoly" and the "monopsony" models. With the introduction of each model, more sophisticated than the last, we learn to relax some assumptions of the previous models. And then, re-examine the ways in which buyer(s) and seller(s) will interact so as to understand how the real world works.

Of course during our course of study, not many of us could see the correlation between these models and the real world, if not for our professors (thank you Dr Ashish Lall). But now, we need to be our own professors and ask ourselves; what were some of these assumptions that we've had when we decided on the platforms that we were going to expend our efforts so as to achieve our targets?

Hence, we need to ask if we were foolish to have assumptions like those of the "perfect competition", where those rules didn't apply to our current situation. Or did we have too strict an assumption, like that of an "oligopoly" and use it in an "imperfect competition" situation?

Or, even more radical, were any of these assumptions even valid at all?

In these times, especially when conventional wisdom is now folly. Where having a black leading the US of A was once unthinkable, we need to seriously ask ourselves, what assumptions did we use that help (or hinder) our efforts towards achieving our goals?

Once we have critically examined those assumptions, we can now start relaxing some of these assumptions or even bring in new ones so that our "models" or mindset could more accurately reflect the world in which we live in. And the more accurate our "models" or mindsets are, the more likely are we in achieving our goals.

Remember, the definition of assume is, "it could make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'!"

Respectfully yours,
Melvyn Tan
(Sent from Blackberry Bold)

Year of Ox-ymoron

Hi my friends.

We just celebrated the Lunar New Year welcoming the Year of the Ox.

I will like to start the Year of the Ox, with a bunch of ideas that are, well, OX-ymoron.

We've all heard about the characteristics of the Ox that those born in the year of the Ox are known to be pragmatic and down-to-earth.

It is also known that Ox people (like someone who is close to my heart) are self-motivated and really hard working.

Also they rather independent though they sometimes place too much trust in others; just like others find it easy to trust them too. They also tend to establish strong bonds with their partners, families, and friends.

They can also be quite open-minded, but once they have decided about something, they rarely change their minds. This can sometimes be seen as being obstinate.

Taking the cue from some of these characteristics, let's see what we can learn from and also to chart our moo-ves (pun intended) onwards in today's environment.

Given the current economic situation, most are being fearful and uncertainties abound. Hence, it is even more important to be pragmatic in our approach. Having said that, we still need to trust in our hopes, dreams, and vision. Someone said to me that vision is a dream from God. Therefore, to me, believing in my vision is putting faith in that through God I will fulfill my dreams.

Also, we need to be independent as it has shown that while we can depend on others or institutions (or even government) we need to be independent in that we need to account to ourselves (and not blame others when banks go bust) and take responsibilities for our actions. To this end it is still critical that we establish strong bonds with our families and friends. Doesn't mean that being independent will see us being distanced from others.

More than that, while being independent we need to establish strong bonds with others so that we can create, add, and maximise value for (or with) them. That way they won't see us as a free-rider but more of someone they can count on. They can trust.

Finally, while remaining down-to-earth and not being boastful or become complacent with our achievements, we need to keep an open-mind, as you may have noticed that the world has shifted tremendously (will be blogging on how we must seriously re-examine our mindset and challenge certain assumptions we've held onto for so long) and hence keeping an open-mind will allow us to seize opportunities where others see gloom.

Of course it is good to re-examine those assumptions, we still need to learn from the Ox and embrace obstinacy in a different light. I believe we should stubbornly adhere to our visions and dreams and be obstinate and not give up no matter how bleak the situation seems. Remember the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Now, how's that for OX-ymoron?

(By the way, President Obama was born in the Year of the Ox. Is he, in any way, being oxymoron by selecting old-guards in his team of "Change-Agents"?)
Respectfully yours,
Melvyn Tan
(Sent from Blackberry Bold)

Blog Block

Do you ever suffer from blog block? I have. Right now.

Ever since I started using "posterous", I have been having blog block. And the fact that I have given up my E71 (I sold it recently over the net, but what's more amazing was the SPEED in which I sold it - I post the ad at around 9pm, interested party emailed me at 11pm, and by 11.40pm the transaction [actual face-to-face] was completed) just adds to the stoppage.

So, there are many reflections and thoughts about whether it is the platform, where I am more comfortable with blogger compared to posterous?  Or was it because the momentum was lost.

Both are possibilities.  To be honest, when I was publishing my blogs to blogger, I usually did it either before I sleep or while riding the train to go for my appointments.  Now, using posterous, I have to send it via an email.  Which seems kinda odd.  Of course its in the mind, but I suppose the difference in environment do makes a difference.  Another reason could be that, with posterous, I kinda know who's reading (through their subscription) but through blogger (and auto-import to facebook) I wasn't sure who could be reading.  Were these people my friends or could they be anyone who happens to land on my page?

Then of course I thought of using blogger for my usual discussion about issues pertaining to business in general, while using posterous more for discussion of "engaged mastery".

Am still trying to figure that one out.  Partially it was also because of the momentum, as we were on vacation for 14 days and there was little or no access to internet.  So, that 14 days did in fact breaks a habit.  But then again, if 14 days could have caused this habit to change, there is another habit that I kinda very quickly got back on.

Same issue with Obama.  Smoking.  Yes, of course there have been attempts (sincere) to quit.  And I thought, well, if I can do it for 14 days, I figured I got that one straighten out!  Could it again be environment because the people I chill out with smokes too?  Then of course it comes back to the Personal Mastery 101.  Do you shape the environment or do you let the environment shapes you?  Of course if you let the environment shapes you, then you will have little control over what happens.  As it is foolish to think you have 'everything under control'.  And if you have little or no control over what happens, then you'll be faced with lots of uncertainty, which then leads to stress.  And when you get stressed up, of course you are not able to think with a calm mind.

So, ok.  I know all these intellectually, but why did I let the 'environment' shape me?  Didn't I talked about personal mastery and to work from inside-out?  And that if you think the problem is out there, that very thought is the problem?  Well, several explanations.  One is that, hey!, I am human after all!  And like you, and everyone else, we have struggles, we get put to test.  We do all sometime acknowledge that common sense does not equate common practice!  Another explanation could be, well, when it comes to smoking, it is not all that simple as there is that chemical equation when it comes to quitting smoking.  So even when you want to quit, there are chemical reactions that will cause the withdrawal effects to pull you back.  Then of course one could argue that there are individuals like J. Paul Getty (in his autobiography "As I See It") where he related an incident where he got up in the middle of the night while on the road and found he's out of cigarettes.  Instinctively, he put on his jacket and was about to brave the weather to get a pack.  At that point, he laughed and said he could control hundreds or even thousands of people and yet he couldn't control himself (letting cigarettes control him)?!  And from that point onwards, he's never touched another cigarette again!

I suppose, it works differently for different people.  Having said that, in applying my success process - I call it TEAM - (to my NLP course mates, you probably recall hearing me talk about developing my own success process? Well, here it is!) to this situation, here is how it works.  While working from inside-out is indeed a fabulous idea, in real life, we must also acknowledge that we also need to be 'systems thinker' to get this to work.  How so?  The success process goes like this: with a particular MINDSET, we will have certain ATTITUDES.  For instance, if my MINDSET is "I am an educator", then my ATTITUDES towards the child could be "every child learns differently" or "every child WANTS to learn".  Given these set of ATTITUDES, how much EFFORTS we will put in will also differ.  For instance, if those were our ATTITUDES, then we would make the EFFORT to treat every child with respect and find ways to engage the child!  And as a result of our MINDSET, ATTITUDES, and EFFORTS, we will see whether our TARGETS will be met or not.  So, if our TARGETS are not met, then we will have to work backwards, checking on our EFFORTS, ATTITUDES, and MINDSET to see what can we do so that our TARGETS can be met.

Hence, in a way, the process is just like bootstrapping, where we can borrow the term as a metaphor for a series of self-sustaining processes, without external help, that continue until the TARGET is met.  Therefore, what's key here is that our TARGET must be clear, precise, specific.  Else, this process can possibly go on forever!

So, back to blog block again.  It does look like the block has been cleared.  Later today, I will be getting my Blackberry Bold, so perhaps with that tool, I will be blogging away again soon!

Posted via email from Leadership

Increase our ability to act with integrity

Integrity, by our definition, is "moral capital".

We see it that way because having integrity is where we are able to

1. Pause
2. ASK with good intentions
3. LISTEN with empathy
4. ACT with courage

In fact, over the next few days we will be taking about the various forms on "capital" in this New Economy.

Before the recent financial crisis, everyone knows about financial capital and how with financial capital we are able to do wonderful things, or so it seems.

However, in this New Economy, there are essentially four types of new capital, chiefly,

1. Intellectual Capital,
2. Moral Capital,
3. Social Capital, and
4. "Me" Capital.

Never fear the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so. -- Belva Davis

 

Posted via email from Leadership

The first is the last and the last is the first

Leadership,
–noun
1. the position or function of a leader: He managed to maintain his
leadership of the party despite heavy opposition.
2. ability to lead: She displayed leadership potential.
3. an act or instance of leading; guidance; direction: They prospered
under his leadership.
4. the leaders of a group: The union leadership agreed to arbitrate.
 
Sources:
American Psychological Association (APA):
leadership. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved
January 07, 2009, from Dictionary.com website:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/leadership
 
Chicago Manual Style (CMS):
leadership. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random
House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/leadership
(accessed: January 07, 2009).
 
Modern Language Association (MLA):
"leadership." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 07
Jan. 2009. .
 
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE):
Dictionary.com, "leadership," in Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1).
Source location: Random House, Inc.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/leadership. Available:
http://dictionary.reference.com. Accessed: January 07, 2009.
 
Our definition of leadership is someone who is able to live each day
according to the 9 principled-centered values of being a leader who is
able to influence with integrity. To unpack this further, when we say
"live each day" we are looking at it through the three major roles
that almost all of us play daily; i.e. personal, people, and
professional. Briefly, "personal" means our relationship with self;
"people" is our relationship with others; and "professional" is our
relationship with our colleagues, partners, clients, and the like.
The "9 principled-centered" values are SERVES ALL (self-discipline,
empathy, rectitude, vision, engage, synergy, abundance, leverage, and
legacy). "Leader" is someone who works on the T.E.A.M. approach,
meaning s/he will examine issues in this order; Mindset, Attitude,
Effort, and Targets. "Influence" can happen easily only when we have
gained the trust of others; and for that to happen, we will need to
have both Competency & Character (c.f. Stephen M.R. Covey). And
finally, "integrity" is guided by our compass or our conscious, which
is aligned to rectitude.
 
Hence, when we talk about leadership is not about being served, but to serve.

Posted via email from Leadership

Self-discipline forms the core of our character

Character has always been the one thing that is much talked about but
very very difficult to teach and measure.
 
As we work with the Schools, many a times they struggle with the
issues on character education and how they can have programmes that
will drive the right characters and also measure its effectiveness.
 
I suppose within the realm of "engaged mastery"; first, we need to
exercise self-discipline. It could mean really difficult situation
for some people as it calls from abstaining from certain activities or
breaking of certain habits.
 
Then again, once we are able to discipline ourselves and hence win the
battle with ourselves, the activities or habits will give us the
momentum to not only surge ahead, but also to face the world with
strength and purpose.
 
Hence, bringing us back to our personal mission, where it will be
linked to our "spirit" domain of engaged mastery.

Posted via email from Leadership

Where there is no vision, the people perish

It's into the 5th day of the New Year and already there is so much to do... I must admit that although it is just the second working day of the New Year, it is already feeling like work is taking over me. Spent some time today translating my reflections of 2008 into goals that I would like to achieve this year. Firstly, my reflections were sub-divided into nine areas namely; body, mind, spirit, personal, people, professional, time, emotion, and economics. No specific order were they arranged but for me, I found it useful to think of it as a three-tiered.
 
Now that the reflections are being done, it is time to then think of what my vision will be for 2009. Given the overall vision for 2009 is defined, it is now time to translate it into goals. After the goals are being identified, the next step would be to break it down into smaller sub-goals that can be done progressively at a daily, weekly, or monthly level.
 
Some examples include a daily reflection, weekly write-ups on materials that are relevant to me professionally, weekly family time, monthly review of financial position, quarterly spa retreat (I like this one very much), 6-monthly visit to the dentist (not a pleasant thought though, LOL).
 
Of course after this it calls for self-discipline to see things through and/or leverage to get things done.
 
[I'd be glad to walk anyone through these steps, if you'd drop me an email.]

Posted via email from Leadership

Engaged, not managed

We manage resources, finances, and things; but we engage people. People, unlike things/objects, have self-awareness and intelligence.

Posted via email from Leadership

Engaged Leadership

The next level is Engaged Leadership, which is to say how we can engaged another person or group of people to embark on their journeys towards Personal Leadership. There are also 4 areas, like Personal Leadership and they are (i) empathy, (ii) synergy, (iii) abundance, and (iv) leverage.
 
Of course the link between Personal Leadership and Engaged Leadership is Engaged Mastery.

Posted via email from Leadership

Personal Leadership

Leadership has several levels. We first start with Personal Leadership; which focuses on 4 areas namely, (i) self-discipline, (ii) vision, (iii) rectitude, and (iv) leave a legacy.

Posted via email from Leadership

Leadership Quote

"Life is full of risks, but until you turn them into opportunities, they will always remain uncertain."

Posted via email from Leadership

Faith is the substance of hope (Part II)

The four areas that we talked about, self-discipline, vision, rectitude, and leave a legacy are essentially the body-mind-heart-spirit respectively.

Every human being has to have their needs fulfilled in at least one of these four areas. So,e when your bodily needs call to replenish food, it is how you exercise self-discipline to accept some food and reject others.

You get the point.

Having said that, very often these needs are also closely linked in such a way that we sometimes don't even notice it. For instance, when we are bombarded with ads about a certain brand, it creates a visual image that goes into our subconscious mind, where it evokes certain feelings in the heart, so that we will want (bodily) it.

In a corporate context, it could be that because the work you do (body) is purposeful (spirit) and hence it creates a good feeling (heart) that you want to apply your intellect (mind) wholly.

Therefore, these are the four areas where when they coalesce together form the substance of hope, and that is faith.

Faith is the substance of hope (Part I)

Have you ever been in a situation, where you were given a certain task that you have no previous experience in?

How did you overcome that? Did you give up and said you've done it before and hence don't even attempt it? Or did you find a way to accomplish the task despite the odds?

My personal experience was when I was task to make a presentation to a Chinese company, which is publicly listed in Singapore, about why they will need to engage a team of professionals who are trained in the management of relations with the investment community in the region. (We got the contract.)

My first immediate reaction was, "but I can't do it as I have never done it before!" The reply to my response was, "if you were hungry and there is a bowl of rice in front of you, the only thing is you can only eat it with a pair of chopsticks; and let's say you don't know how to use chopsticks, would you learn or walk away from the food?"

I believe we all have been in situations like this before, so do we find a way to get it done or do we walk away from it?

There could be times when we did get it done and there are also instances that we walk away from it all; for better or worse.

Some people may find it really absurd that if you have never had the experience, then how would you know what to do? There will also be some who says, when you believe it, you will see it.

Let's not get spiritual about it but look at it not based on intellect, logic, or reasoning but look at it from the marvels that the human brain can do. At least this way, we know that everyone can do it, provided they put their mind into it and not just merely dream about it.

Let's look at some examples that we can all relate to. For instance, sales people face situations where, either they are selling services or products, they will often have to deal with questions like what are their track record, success stories, if they are selling services.

When it comes to products, they will often need to leverage on the products' brand name. Simply because people trust brands that they are familiar with. Brands that deliver on their promises. Same with services, people want to trust that you, the sales person, can deliver on your promise.

I think, for most people, the toughest is for them to have confidence or trust themselves. We sometimes are not sure if we are up to the task, if we might screw up, if we might look like a fool. And that's why for some of us we gave up on a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, a singer, a veterinarian.

Hence, for situations like this, how do we have confidence in ourselves, even for tasks that we have no apparent previous experience in? How do we rise up to the occasion?

I believe that, if we want something so badly, whether it is to challenge ourselves or just to force ourselves out of our comfort zone, to achieve our dreams, to hope that we can do something worthwhile for ourselves and our family (or even mankind), we can do it. And at the cognitive level, we just need to have our brains see it. It may even defy logic and reasoning.

Did the Wright brothers defy logic and reasoning that man can fly? Did Edison defy logic and reasoning about light bulbs? They probably have one thing in common and that is imagination. As Einstein said, imagination is more important than knowledge. And he would know best, as if he didn't day-dream in class about how light travelled, we would not have E=MC2.

So, while we can imagine, visualize, day-dream; whatever you call it, we still need an element of hope that our dreams and vision can come true. And it is important to have a vision, for when there is no vision; the people perish.

And to be able to have hope and hold it in our minds till it becomes a reality, we need to know what is hope (positive) made up. I believe that faith is the substance of hope.

For when we have faith, our hopes and dreams can stay alive, and if our hopes and dreams can stay alive, then we can do something to work towards it and make it a reality. But how do you teach someone to have faith if they have never seen "faith" or does not have any idea how to "have faith"?

Faith can mean, in a context, having faith in your doctor, having faith in marriage, having faith in a friend, having faith in a product, having faith in the plan, having faith in a situation. But how can one have faith in themselves? Or how do you have others have faith in you, even when you do not have a track record or experience or a degree to your name?

I believe that faith comes from trustworthiness. In order words, before you can convince another to have faith in you, you must have faith in yourselves. You must, prove to yourself, that you can trust yourself, that you have confidence in yourself, that you believe in your own self that you can accomplish the task.

And in order to do that, you must have personal mastery, or mastery over oneself. The greatest enemy is within. You are your own client. You are your fiercest critic. Therefore, the four most important areas to work on are; self-discipline, vision, rectitude, and leave a legacy.

We will explore these four areas in our next discussion.