11-11-11

This is a significant moment and this post aims to capture this rare occurence 11-11-11 11.11pm. It is also the launch of PD4B.

Thimbles

Leadership

Successful organizations produce successful people who are sort after by aspiring organizations.

Successful organizations have processes & systems that leverage the strengths of people they attracted. People made these organizations stronger & more competitive. These processes were ideally designed to produce the targeted results under the worse case scenario based on the known controllable variables. People improve the efficiency of the system with their knowledge, skills & drive. Good people will bring more yield to the system. Good yield enhanced targeted result making both the organization & their employees successful.

People, in such cases, felt that their involvement contributed to the results & will strive harder to improve. They felt they have collectively made the difference. When they were successful, so were their leaders who had designed & implemented the system.

Thus, "the best of leaders when the job is done, when the task is accomplished, the people will say we have done it ourselves." (Lao Tse)

Fine Sustainability

Encouraging cycling to reduce road congestion, reducing pollution & carbon footprint without compromising pedestrian safety - The Singapore Way.

Sustainability of an Organization

The typical measures of organization sustainability are usually the measures of the organization's revenue, presence, financial health, reporting transparency, supply chain management and CSR among others.

Most established companies who have been doing well will hire sustainability experts to develop & implement their strategy and public relations. They were first class in their various activities and managing the expectation and influence of their stakeholders.

However, It struck me during an event opening address that the Managing Director mentioned that the true sustainability of an organization should be the measure of her customers' aspiration to work with the organization (or buy their services), work with the organization, repeatedly continue to want to work with the organization and influence their contacts to use the services. How right was she! The trust places on the organization from her various stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, regulators, communities and the extended society, is what would keep the organization relevant. Afterall, the objective of any organization is to serve her customers and help them to be successful.

Its just so straightforward & simple and, yet, it was so surprising that many billion dollar corporation could not get this fundamental right.

The Weaknesses of the Strong

Global organizations (MNC), as compared to small-medium enterprise (SME) counterparts, have depth in resources, both financially and talents. However, many innovations from the SME were beyond the imaginations of these global MNCs. SME were also more nimble and responsive to the needs of their target market while they, however, lacked the resources to pursue perfection. This may be a blessing in disguise for the smaller ventures. Then, were the Strong truly strong?

Here are my lists of frustration which may give hints to why the Strong sometimes fails to act on opportunities.

1. MNCs were usually run by professional managers where they strategies were strongly in place to grow their businesses. These were also the same set of strategies that made them successful and, thus, managers defended them with their “power” ignoring the flaws of the strategies in the changing environment and dismissing potential opportunity (but could be industry game changer) as “not their priority”.

2. Most MNCs adopted matrix management that required clearance from multiple managers of as many functions to clear before an investment can be made. Many of these managers had varying agenda and priorities. In many cases, an immediate opportunity to one may not be important to another. The “due diligence” process on many occasions killed good opportunities or made a good innovation mediocre.

3. Depending on the DNA of the organization, it was common that matrix managers maintain neutral stance on the presented case. They questioned to delay a decision for fear of making a decision contrary to their supervisor or the management. Many opportunities and/or innovation died on its vine.

4. MNCs, unlike SMEs, found many opportunities, especially those strategic in nature, not attractive in their Return on Investment compared to their tried and tested opportunities. These resulted in many MNCs losing market share that they never were able to regain.

5. As most MNCs employed the best strategists and statisticians, the best laid plans were mainly based on historical data. Many were caught in today pace of change where projection from historical data could not provide the long term vision that they used to be able. In addition, with the global nature of these organizations, they failed to listen and translate quickly the “noises” from the ground.

6. The inflexibility and lack of urgency of major organizations, as a result of the multiple hierarchical structure and decision matrix, to response to the changing needs of the customers and operating environments had cause many to be irritated by “fleas” rather then their traditional competitions or the big elephants.

7. Many MNC also adopted the 20-80 rules where they focus on the top 20% of their existing markets which gave them their 80% of the business. Many had neglected the fast emergence of the smaller markets which by demographics and potential will overtake the incumbent markets.

8. Most successful and cash-rich organization forgot how to fight in critical markets where they did not have a huge lead. The hunger and that extra bit of winning mentality were usually found missing as the organization expanded. Some resorted to acquiring their smaller competitions but, even such, failed to integrate and win. SMEs had to fight as they need to win to survive.

9. As an organization grew and expanded beyond their originating shores, the ego became big and the organization became focus on serving the needs of their ego rather than that of their customers. Organization defined their success measurement and remained successful as long as they meet what they had defined and, many occasion, delivered shareholders values.

10. Last, but not least, these global giants, maybe due to their physical and cost structure, did not have the ability to execute small initiative and/or markets.

Many successful organizations would not agree to the above points claiming that they were known facts and had been addressed. Many also claimed that they organizations remained successful remained as market leader and those would not applied to them. Well, maybe they were right until their business performance proved them wrong.

Technology Shifts Power

Changes happens everyday. The cause of change varies. The magnitude and speed varies. So are the impacts. Actually, every individual, organization or group perceived the impact differently. While leaders were focusing at the big picture, the minority can creep unnoticingly and overturn the sight.

"One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change." - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The emergence of internet have brought about applications that brought people around the world closer through allowing information to share at a faster speed and in more than bi-directional at a single instant. Such has increased the quantum of information flow and also reached out to more individual from more than one channels and in greater frequencies. The source and credibility of such information were usually difficult to trace or validate. This is, however, not the point of discussion in this article.

Technology, or the rapid advancement of it, have somehow intensified, expedited and magnified the changes through engaging a wider audience and, as such, hit on more individuals. The awareness to the masses created through today’s technology is exponential and difficult to regulate or control. Another factor for the viral is the speed of transmission. The speed of dissemination and spread kept response time so short that they became difficult to contain and mitigate.

The conduits facilitating the dissemination such information enable reach to people of differing culture, educational background and experiences. As such, they enlarged the group of people accessing to the transmitted messages as well as opinions to the messages. These people may or may not have any relation of stake to the content but may do so to for a variety of reasons. However, their opinions may directly or indirectly influence the decision of others especially when a majority of the respondents leaned towards a general direction. They can be contagious.

“Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world."


Howard Zinn, "The Optimism of Uncertainty," in The Impossible Will Take a Little While, edited by Paul Rogat Loeb

Anyone with an intention to disseminate messages to the masses can easily do it with the help of technology and several good nodal connections that can “help fan the fire”. It is certainly necessary that the messages be scripted carefully to leverage on the strengths of the conduits. The messages should provoke emotions among some groups of people and in the direction with the mega-trends of the targeted communities. How dangerous technology can be? Technology can shift power and is a double edge sword when linked with power. Leave that personal agenda and ego behind and technology can be leveraged for the good of mankind.

Best In Class

"You must believe you are the best and then make sure you are"

Bill Shankly

Happy 46th Birthday Singapore!

Happy 46th Birthday, Singapore!

Control

The one thing that many people fear is to lose control. Control is, however, not something that one can hold on tightly or grap with one pair of hands. On the contrary, the harder one try to control, the more it is likely to slip through one's finger.

The perceived feeling of lack of control provokes uncertainties. The feeling of uncertainties create an internal sense of uneasiness. On many occasion, fustration and fear also creep in. The fear of not being in control of the process and consequences and the challenge to one's ego as well as the needs and wants for control can lead one to bend the usual beliefs that behold them so dearly. Such situation tests one's resolves and confidence. Such situations are also litmus test to one's leadership and values.

In addition, the quest for control make one focus on the macro and lose sight of the bigger picture. Energy is driven towards urgent matters but usually not the most important ones. Plan is inflexible. Actions are usually ad-hoc focusing on what are needed to steer activities within control comfort. It promotes individualism among members of a team. There is usually little tolerance to diversity.
The contradicting facts about control is that it requires diversity and variability to become successful. Control is a mindset and not an action. The amount of control one has is not about how intimately one can manipulate the situation. It comes from the throroughness of the planning. The indepth understanding of details, anticipation of the various possibilities and contingencies as well as the detail of organization during execution. Thoroughness offers certainity and awareness and, thus, control.

Dare to Fail

"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure."

Bill Gates

2011: Year of Change

People who followed me on my other social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter knew that I labelled 2011 as the Year of Change.

1. Estonia adopted the Euro currency on Jan 1.
2. Tsunami and earthquakes hit Japan on Mar 11 killing more than 15,000 and another 8,000 missing.
3. Government around the world reconsidered their policies on nuclear power after the Fukushima crisis.
4. Japan earthquake prompted many global manufacturers to review and change their supply chain strategies to improve supply chain resiliency.
5. US devaluation of their currency causing inflation to many Asian countries including China and Vietnam.
6. China's intent to move away from the "Producer of the World" tag to "Consumer of the World" tag.
7. The turnaround of Indonesian economy and the rise of Mekong 3 in ASEAN.
8. Civil war in Libia - life will never be the same again for many Libiyan.
9. Cybersecurity became a focus with the cyber attack on Sony and Citibank.
10. Singapore 2011 election was a watershed election resulting in radical change to the cabinet and ministerial portfolio.
11. The rise of social media plaforms in politics - The Voices of Gen Y, especially in Singapore.
12. Increase in the number free trade agreement and non-tariff barriers resulting in changes to conventional trade and trade governing policies.

The list goes on ...

This "Year of Change" was actually meant for me. The first change will be to this blog. Not the layout but the frequency. The intent is to have more more posting but shorter ones on day-to-day subjects making them more spontaneous. The major change will be a change of environment leaving my comfort zone built over the past decade to seek new challenges and pursue new interests.

It was not that I did not like what I was doing anymore but the need to seek greater & more worthy challenges and excitement were more tempting. The need for change and injection of uncertainties excited me more than day-to-day mundane. More importantly, to follow my heart desire. Passion drove me. Challenges made me more creative. Uncertainties made me more productivity. Together, they made me look forward to the day.

I have done my part and paid my dues. Taking a famous brand unknown in this small island from obscurity to prominence. Time to move on ..... While I do not know what will be my next project but I seek the opportunity to take a local brand global. While I began the journey to explore ...more detail coming up...

Lost

Empty again. Just when everything seems to have gone well. Just when there was something to look forward to everyday. I lost .......................

Gesture of Appreciation

The deepest craving in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.

William James

The currency of appreciation - word of thanks, especially when shown in public view among peers or in the presence of any person of significant importance to the recipient, can be extremely powerful and motivational. It can break down barriers and drive towards greater achievement. On the other hand, it costs nothing but just sincerity.

The Power of Simplifying Complexity

The older I get the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking first things first. A process which often reduces the most complex human problem to a managable proportion.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

There were times when we overlooked and let small detail slipped past us while focusing on the routine. There were occasion when we complicated matters allowing personal agenda and thoughts driven by past experiences to cloud our vision. We made simple task complicated by creating barriers subconciously. We made assumptions that may not necessarily be applicable to the situation. We overthink the situation, overcomplicated the problem and overworked the solution. Failing to expect the unexpected, failing to be flexible and failing to see the obvious. Thus, simplicity at its most homogeneous brought about clarity and direct action.

The Measure of Man

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" Martin Luther King, Jr.

How true is this quote in today's environment? Patience and preservance may not necessarily be virtue of the 21st century corporate environment where progression at the speed of technology is sorted. In the mind of many Gen-X and Gen-Y colleagues, challenges are fine as long as they are achievable and does not result in too much uncomfort during the process. The returns are comparable to their peers. However, controversies may not be welcome. Am I wrong or the world has changed?