Memories of a Traveler

Found this article at nzherald.co.nz while doing some research on board’s role in strategic direction. Crisis comes and goes. There will always be financial crisis, fuel crisis, water crisis, commodity crisis, food crisis etc etc etc. Nothing we can do about it. We can only prepare for it. We can only hope it doesn’t happen, and if it does, we can mitigate it well. I believe Boards and senior management (executives) are becoming more adept and sensitive to the various crisis, issues and challenges that may come, and very well prepared. However, one thing we seem to not able to do well is in the area of Talent crisis. After years of building businesses, we somehow never quite have the hang of it with managing our people. Yes, we put on posters, banners and even in our corporate profiles, saying People is Our Biggest Asset. Yet, one of the biggest laments of Boards and Senior Management past few years is Talent Management and Leadership Development. And Malaysia is not alone in thi...

Some of you may realize I have a survey running on whether managers have the necessary knowledge, skills and mindset to be able to retain and develop their people. This survey question, brought upon a couple of interesting responses from a couple of people. Very legitimate questions, that I took for granted. Yes, I am still learning. First, Managers will be competent if retaining and developing people is part of their KPI. Second, Why would people develop themselves if there is no incentives to do so? What do you think about these two statements?

I take the LRT to work every day. And I am proud of it. I am less stressed. I know I can get there in a matter of minutes. It is comfortable and convenient. Alas, I digress from my main point. There is this badminton court located between the LRT tracks and the Datuk Keramat market. The owner has this huge sign by the court (sorry no picture. Difficult to take a picture of the sign with the LRT still moving and the doors are closed). What fascinates me is that it has these three words Speed, Skill, Stamina written big and bold on it. I guess the owner probably trains a few of the kids and youths there. I salute the owner for taking the kids off the streets and give them something healthy and meaningful to them. I bet these kids learn more than just badminton. What’s interesting is that these trainees are taught very early on, that to be a champion in badminton, you need these three things, Speed, Skill and Stamina (though I would add Strength to the list). Three simple words and...

Salaam and Greetings, If you have ever been an employee, I am sure you know what this is about. Another type of labeling is mislabeling your abilities, competencies, and interests. I have a degree in English Literature. I have met many people who couldn’t understand why I am not a teacher in some school somewhere. I have nothing against teachers. I know many great teachers. Learned a lot from them too. I was a teacher a life time away. I left because I don’t think I can be the great teachers I know. It will be unfair for the students. I’m not talking about me. I am talking about the idea of mislabeling. The preconceived idea because of where you come from, your education background, your experience etc. Somehow we lack the innocence a child’s eye of looking at a person as what they truly are. Sigh. Another Malaysian phenomenon. Awarding of scholarships and places in universities. They never ask your interest. They look at your SPM/MCE results and in their omniscience, decided what...

From HR practitioners' point of view, managing talent (people) starts from sourcing (recruitment); rewarding and recognition; performance management; and of course, retaining and developing talent/people . But the fact is that, how many recruitment as managers do you actually do? Definitely not on a monthly basis, unless you are on a rapid expansion program. Also, rewards and recognition, primarily means the actual giving of increments and bonuses. One - it is a once a year affair, though most purists will argue against me saying that, it is a continuous affair. I agree, but only if seen from a development and performance improvement point of view. Hence my contention for retaining and development. Two - how much liberty does a manager have in determining how much reward managers can give their people? Not much. Especially in tight economy and the every increasing need by companies to deliver more with less, managers must really have a strong justification for the additional ...

"I've got your back" We don’t hear these words anymore. And if we hear them, like the article below, you don’t know whether they mean it, or not. As a manager and leader of any level, our people need to know if we have their back. I have known many, and heard many more of how managers and leaders say these words, but don’t mean it. At the first sign of struggle or challenges, self-preservation takes precedence. Maybe my perspective on this is slanted, because I was from the Army. The belief that your life is in your buddies’ hands, is quite literal. The US Marines Corp’s motto, said it succinctly – Semper Fi (short for Fidelis), Always Faithful. They don’t think about it. It just is. If we want to retain our people, our good people, we need to develop camaraderie and loyalty, which can only come from honest and earnestly saying and meaning “I’ve got your back”. ----- "I've got your back" These are the words that entrepreneurs, painters, artists, statesmen, c...