Memories of a Traveler

I learrd this when I was in this military high school at 16 years old. For the next two years and eight months, I learned, among my officers and NCO instructors, who among them are tough, and who are just mean. And you can tell. Sometimes not right away. But as you get to know them, it is very apparent. I carried that lesson with me till today. I have had bosses who tells me they are just being tough, but actually they are downright mean. And I have had bosses who are just like some of my instructors, tough and loud on the outside but soft and gooey on the inside. It is the mean ones that really get to you. Worse, they think they are doing justice to you. They think they are helping you. They think they are toughening you up. I liken them to abusive parents, or abusive spouses. And these bosses couldn't understand why I don't like them. I think somewhere along the way they lost the meaning of tough and mean. But I also learned that these mean people lacked the compassion and lo...

I am in the LRT. Standing next to me are three Form 1/2 kids. One chinese boy. One indian boy. And I think, one malay boy. Sharing ice cream. Using the same one spoon. Sharing drinks, from the same one bottle. I think they are color blind. I don't think they know they are from different races. Better yet. I don't think they care. To them, what is important is, they are friends. Why is there so many adults tainting their friendship? I do hope, their friendship will outlast any form of prejudice. Kudos kids. Well done.

Got this picture from a local newspaper reporting on the hundreds of thousands of 17 year old taking the Malaysian high school exam, SPM, which started on Monday, 3 Nov. Looking at this picture, I am humbled and even ashamed at myself. I think I am only one tenth of this boy. His courage, his determination, sets him apart from many of us. Me included. For you, young man, I pray for your success. And I am sure you will. And better than most of us.

Watching this view from the Ampang Line Masjid Jamek LRT station at 0715 hours, Nov 5, 2014. Some quesy warm nostalgic thingy feeling came over me as I watched the street below me. Maybe because for almost 6 years I walked that street to go to work at KLSE, from 1998 till 2004. Or that my late father used to work at a legal firm down the road till the day he died. Or I last saw him, he was having breakfast at this kedai mamak, also at the end of this road, as I walked to work. I sat with him for a few minutes as he finished his breakfast. I didn't see him anymore after that. Or is it the smell of breakfast that envelopes the air. Cakes and nasi lemak and what have you. Or the twilight time between waking up and bustling of the day. Or I am just being nostalgic and emotional. Whatever, I thank God for the opportunity for me to savor that moment. I managed to stop and smell the "roses".

Just searched the Net. Nothing on this. So, I call dips on this term. The idea is building your leadership with a purpose. Not a general type. Specific based on who and what you are, and what kibd of a leader you want to be. To do that, there is a need to build a strong foundation. Like constructing a building, the foundation is built based on the purpose. Same thing with leadership. Will write more. I have to trademarked this term, Purpose Built Leadership for my leadership program.

Salaam and Greetings All,   I have been in involved in some form of leadership development either formally, informally or by self-reflection (usually after you fall flat on your face), or being developed or developing others, since I was 16 years old. Back in this school called Royal Military College. Had more when I joined the Malaysian Army. And it continues in the corporate life till today. More so as I move into Independent Consulting for Leadership and Learning Development.   The thing that struck me most is that, despite the long hours, sometimes harsh, sometimes loud, including some expensive development programs, we still somehow get people who missed the idea, or concept, or the basic fundamentals (yes I am being redundant), to what it means to be a leader.  Added to that, what is leadership development that makes sense.   " Modern organizations with good strategic plans include very prescriptive language about how they differentiate themselves i...

Salaam and Greetings All,   I forward this message from my brother in law. He owns and runs Noripharma. Sad to say, he has been targeted for a smear campaign tactic. Not sure who does it. And why.   But, I feel sad this actually happens.   Yes, there are a small fraction of people who are so fixated in wanting to look good, by making others look bad. However, this small group of people, can do a lot of damage.   If you guys can keep a look out on this, I do appreciate it.     From:  Reza Ismail Sent:  ‎Friday‎, ‎22‎ ‎August‎, ‎2014 ‎06‎:‎22   Guys, There was a product complaint on one of my products (UTIX). I need your help to generate positive comments in favour of Noripharma and the product in question. If you read the article accessible via the attached link you will notice that no formal complaint has been made through any of the many formal channels available. This leads me to believe that the previous contract holder with the product U-...

Salaam and Greetings All,   We are already two weeks into the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri celebration. One would think, the excitement has dwindled. Unfortunately, I was proven wrong. The traffic over the weekend was really bad. And the “Open Houses” was probably the cause of people travelling to go to these open houses. CHeckingmy Twitter account for traffic updates tells me, there are still pockets of traffic congestion here and there. I am truly sorry if you are caught in it, when you read this email in the morning.   Personally, the term “Open Houses” in itself is an oxymoron. You have to be invited to go. So, what does the “open” actually mean?   As for Bad Leadership. I have always have problems with it. I ended explaining it in paragraphs, when one word would do, OXYMORON.   To think I studied literature, and read Shakespeare, I would be familiar with that term. Unfortunately, the Law of Diminishing Effect, or “Half Life” does affect knowledge and memory. Especially...

Salaam and Greetings All, Hope this message gets to you well. Covey believes, the speed of the business is in tandem with the speed of trust is developed. My previous article talks about Walking the Talk, or better yet, just Walk the Walk. I truly believe, Walk the Walk, or Walk the Walk is a major step towars building trust. A friend highlighted that if we walk too much, our employees tend to be too dependent on us. I agree with him. Especially if we are talking about walking to help them do their jobs. Or worse, actually do their jobs. I am not talking about this. I am talking about providing support. Being there for them. Giving a word or two, to motivate them. To inspire them. To guide them back if they have gone astray. To set an example for them to emulate, like punctuality, honesty, transparency, integrity, well groomed, clean, "do as I do", you get the idea. I am sure you have experienced the type of bosses who reprimands you for being late. Yet, she comes in late pra...

Salaam and Greetings All,   Hope this message gets to you well. Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir dan Batin. It was a good Raya for me. Not to hectic. Enough to keep things going and interesting. Interesting because managed to visit and have a lively chat with a few of my late in-laws' friends. Retired Army officers. Retired Police officers. Retired civil servants. Retired corporate senior management. Somehow in the course of our conversation, we ended up talking about the state of leadership, especially in organizations. Maybe due my profession in Leadership Development that the conversations invariably ended there.  Of the half a dozen or so I talked to, they all had something in common. Leaders of today are not the same as the leaders of yester-years. Leaders of today, yes, they are more eloquent, and they know a lot more than their  predecessors . Yet, one thing these retired people agreed upon, the leaders of yester-years speak from the heart, and they walk the talk. ...

Salaam and Greetings Ladies & Gentlemen,   This is an article that was shared by a friend via his Facebook. I am biased. My training and experience in the Malaysian Army, probably made me understood what he was talking about. What I went through in the Army to be trained as an Infantry officer, pales in comparison what he went through as Navy SEALS, or any Special Forces entity of any nation, including Malaysia. I have much respect for them. What I went through was probably on-tenth or worse one-one hundredth of what they went through.   But the lessons, as mentioned by Admiral McRaven, still rings true and the same for any professional soldier, in any uniform in any country.   Better yet, lessons you can learn without having to be smothered in mud sweat and tears.   I have heard many “old soldiers” tried to share their experiences and lessons. Very very few managed to do it very well, and Admiral McRaven does it excellently well.   If you are not into readi...

Salaam and Greetings All,   It is a beautiful Monday. Traffic seems kind today. Hope the week has started well so far for you.   I am quite curious to this idea. It is about writing a “letter” to your younger self. Assuming we can warp time and bend it slightly so that you can send this letter to yourself, say, when you were 18 years old, just before you embark to the world of University, or just before you left home to venture on your own. Many years has passed since that day. Now that you are older, more experienced, hopefully wiser, what would you actually tell yourself? What advice, or cautions would you share, or would you say nothing, and let history repeat itself?   I have given this some thought. And I have no definitive answer. Sounds like I am indecisive. I guess I am more ambivalent than indecisive.   There are days, I would tell him to learn from my mistakes and not be like me. I want him to lead a life, where he can be better than me. Avoid all the misst...

Salaam and Greetings,   Between 1976 till 1982, there was a TV documentary series called “In Search Of…”. It was hosted by Leonard Nimoy. It was devoted primarily to the search of the mysterious phenomena like Loch Ness, Yeti and the like. I love that show. It allows me to delve into the mysteries of the world.   I find many similarities between the TV series and searching for a leader. They seemed to be out there. People have seen them. There are witness accounts. But somehow we can’t seem to gather scientific proof and evidence of its existence. Just like Loch Ness, Yeti, Big Foot, and the Abominable Snowman. Theories are abound, though.   The difference between those mysterious animals, is that, there exist some good leaders. Some of them, extremely exemplary. We have seen them. Touched them. And even recorded them. Despite the many good ones, we seem to have a lack of them in almost all organizations, large or small. For decades, one challenge remained constant for CE...

Salaam and Greetings All,   It looks like a great day for Monday morning. It rained for a couple of days. That got the haze away, albeit probably temporarily. And hopefully the water catchment areas are doing better.   Last week I wrote about reading. A former colleague commented, the writing was laborious. She didn’t used that word, but, I knew where she was coming from. In my defense, it was about reading, not writing.   Now, we shall write about writing.   What is KISS the ABCs?   KISS ·          Keep It Simple Stupid. ·          This is not to say the reader is stupid. The idea is to keep things simple, avoid jargons. ·          The main objective of writing, is to express, not impress. ·          Zig Ziglar recommends 8 th grade English. I guess in Malaysia’s ...

Salaam and Greetings All,   When I graduated with English Literature some 28 years ago and coming back to Malaysia from US, I had lots of mixed feelings. When people asked me what I studied in US, and I told them that, I can see from the look of their faces, they don’t know what to make of me.   Now, I have fun telling people because, they have this awe on their faces. Like I am special. Maybe because we (those that studied Literature), are an endangered species.   So, what is so special about studying English Literature?   <! 1.     You get to read books about people and places and things you can’t even possibly imagine, let alone do. Go 20,000 leagues under the sea with Captain Nemo. The frustration of a determined woman at the turned off the 20 th Century New York, oppressed by the family in the Bread Giver. You get to read what Self – Reliance is from Ralph Waldo Emerson. <! 2.     You get to learn from them. Smart people lear...

Salaam and Greetings All,   There are no words, and no easy way to say them, if you find the words.   For more than 24 hours, we have been bombarded with messages and news on the fate of MH370. The more we get them, the more difficult it gets, to sift through what is worth keeping and what needs to be deleted.   For me, maybe it is easier to “read and delete”. I am a distant onlooker. For me, the names are names without faces. Yes, there are a few, who are friends’ friends, or somebody, somebody knows.   But, that doesn’t mean, I cannot be sympathetic. I cannot imagine and fathom their pains, losses and sufferings. One moment they are hurt, and the next angry.   What can we do?   Stop the rumour mongering. Stop the speculating. Don’t just forward or share “news”, just because somebody sends them to you.   Mourning is not about spreading rumours. Mourning is about keeping vigil. Saying a prayer or two.   As much as we sympathize with the families o...