Nick Vujicic

Stay or Go?

On average, employees work between 3-5 years in a company.

I am already working in this company for 5 years..
Several offers are up for grab. Some offers are so good to be true.
Should I leave?


Statistically, potential employees above 35 years of age will start having difficulties changing careers/changing jobs.

I am already 28. Should I make my move now?

Malaysians Love "Trashses"?

I can't understand it....

1. Cheap things, price exorbitant = Malaysians buy (the government buys it too!! hahahaha..).
2. Really, really lousy things, cheap price = Malaysians buy.
3. Lousy things, good marketing = Malaysians buy
4. Lousy, low quality films = Malaysians watch.
5. Cheap telemovies, media buy = Malaysians glue eyes on tv.
6. Lousy policy makers = the Sultans keep them.
7. Lousy politicians = Malaysians "pangkah".
8. Lousy politicians in power = Malaysians keep them.
9. Lousy life hood, politicians blame the people itself = Malaysian still keep them.
10. Lousy economic/nation governance = Malaysian still keep lousy politicians.
11. Lousy artists, media gossip = Malaysians buy
12. Lousy singings, made albums, miming on stage = Malaysian invite for performance.
13. Imitation reality shows, lousy presentation, lousy comments = Malaysians spend for SMSes
14. Ugly and stupid chicks, big boobs = Malaysian men like
15. Cheater bomohs = Datins like
16. Ugly but rich Dato' = Stupid but pretty girls like
17. Cute guys, dumb blokes = Datins like
18. Lousy bloggers, "kutuk" politicians, "kutuk" MU, = Malaysians like
19. Porn sites, porn emails = Malaysian men like
20. High tax, lousy governance = Malaysian like (never complains!)
21. Being played around by politicians, being fooled = Malaysians keep THAT politician, even, he was chosen to be a minister!
22. Lousy footbal = Malaysian like?
23. ......
24. ....
25. ..
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..
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..
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I am tired making this list. Korang sambung sendiri...


p/s: Caza and Ney, aku tau korang ada banyak idea.. Hahahaha!

An Entry About Corporate Debt..

Geez! Another boring entry... I am sorry!!! But i can't help it. Having a recent, good "silence mode" really push my ideas into galaxies and beyond.

** silence mode is when I churned my experience, digesting my all theories and learnings. Assimilating it in mind. Often happen after several readings, or after big events that lead into it.


One book I have read recently is about corporate debt collection. From the book; they say that 1/3 of people pay because its the right thing to do. The next 1/3 pays only if they know that somebody is watching them. The other 1/3 pays because if they know that they will end up in lots of trouble by not paying. Hell, I don't know where the figure where people don't even bother of paying, or purposely don't care a shit about paying their debt.

However, the book advises;

1. Not to take good paymaster for granted.

Rewarding good behavior is the key. Therefore, a mutual win-win situation is created and kept for life.

2. Provide a clear and prompt billing process.

Often SMEs enterprises are not good at this, whilst others are juggling with this matter. Due to constraints (management, trainings and financial isues normally), many are destroyed by slow, misunderstanding and inaccurate billing process. Inaccuracy and confusing bills and statements will only hinder or creating delayed payments. In other words, QUALITY SERVICES!. Often, good customers turn into bad due to a bad billing error, or product dispute.
Avoid chain reactions that will hurt your organisation. Resolve any disputes quickly. Never ruin the relationship that your business partners are having with you.

3. Make it easy to pay.

How many of us grunted for a bad service? Same applies to your organization. Providing multiple payment options, or providing an easy access for payments will enable customers to be loyal, and creating more good paymasters.



Notably, many retailers are enjoying good cash flow as there are; only one payment terms = pay and leave, and multiple payment method = cash or credit card.

Hands On Tips for Small Businesses..

I stumbled this entry from my aunt's blog. Interesting, thou... Either way, there must be something that could be learnt, kan?

MOHD NASIR MUTALIP menulis kepada Tuan SAIFUDDIN AWANG pemilik kedai buku Pustaka Munirah di Kemaman:

Asalamualaikum. Saya Mohd Nasir yang tinggal di Perak. Saya ada membaca tentang kehebatan Pustaka Munirah dalam blog Universiti PTS sehingga tersenarai "Pelanggan Emas" PTS. Sebenarnya saya ada merancang untuk membuka sebuah kedai buku dan alat tulis didaerah tempat saya tinggal. Saya ingin meminta sedikit tips-tips dari tuan bagi memberi motivasi pada saya.

(a) Berapa modal yang diperlu untuk membuka sebuah kedai buku
(b) Dimanakah boleh saya mendapat bekalan buku-buku terutama buku sekolah
(c) Tentang mesin fotostat. Dimanakah boleh saya mendapatkannya terutama dengan harga murah.

Semoga saya mendapat tips dari saudara dan kita berkerjasama. Sekian. Terima kasih

Mohd Nasir bin Mutalip

Tuan SAIFUDDIN AWANG menjawab:

Waalaikumussalam. Terima kasih di atas minat dan pertanyaan saudara. Untuk kali ini, saya hanya menjawab secara ringkas kerana kesuntukan masa. Sebenarnya saya baru pulang dari fardu haji seminggu yang lalu, jadi banyak urusan kedai termasuk penempahan stok yang habis dan penghantaran barang yang mesti diselesaikan. Maklumlah awal tahun, banyak pejabat yang memerlukan "barangan baru". Saudara boleh email saya semula selepas ini.

(a) Saya memulakan perniagaan saya pada bulan Julai 2005 dengan modal sebanyak RM100,000 dengan menggunakan duit simpanan sendiri (saya dan isteri). Ini termasuklah peralatan kedai seperti rak, mesin fotostat, deposit sewa kedai dan sebagainya. Bagi saya, jumlah ini adalah memadai untuk sebuah kedai yang 'sederhana'. Kedai besar seperti Popular, MPH mungkin memerlukan modal sekitar RM 500,000. Bagi kedai kecil, mungkin sekitar RM50,000.

Apabila kedai kita berkembang baik dan akaun kita "cantik molek", bank mungkin mempertimbangkan untuk memberi kita sedikit facility. Alhamdulillah, sekarang Maybank Islamic ada memberi saya sedikit "Islamic cash facilities" (overdraf)... tetapi ambil masa juga untuk mendapatnya dan isteri saya yang bekerja sebagai pegawai kerajaan terpaksa menjadi penjaminnya. Tetapi OKlah... bolehlah guna jika terdesak.

(b) Saya tidak menjual buku-buku sekolah kerana persaingan yang sengit di sini terutamanya dari "salesman" dari Kuantan. Jadi kedai saya hanya memfokuskan buku-buku umum terbitan PTS, Alaf 21, Al Hidayah, Telaga Biru, Anbakri, Buku Prima dan beberapa syarikat kecil lagi. PTS dan Alaf21 adalah 'gergasi buku' di Malaysia. Apabila kita mempunyai akaun dengan mereka (dan yang penting, membayar hutang-hutang mereka dengan baik!!), kita seolah-olah sudah mempunyai buku-buku yang terbaik di Malaysia. Ini juga merupakan alat pemasaran (marketing tool) kita. Kita boleh dengan bangganya memberitahu pelanggan kita, "Tuan mahu order buku PTS? Boleh... sebab kita wakil pengedar PTS di sini...".

Selain dari itu, kedai saya juga menjual alat-alat tulis dan khidmat percetakan digital. Khidmat percetakan memerlukan pengalaman. Kebetulan saya ada pengalaman dalam bidang ini kerana saya pernah bekerja di syarikat percetakan sebelum ini selama 15 tahun.

Untuk mendapat bekalan buku sekolah, saya rasa saudara perlu menelefon mereka sendiri. Cari nombor telefon pada buku-buku terbitan mereka. Ini pun kena banyak 'berdoa' sebab kadang-kadang mereka tidak layan. Saya sendiri sebenarnya mengambil masa juga untuk mendapat kepercayaan penerbit.

Alaf 21 - saya dapat akaun dan kredit selepas menelefon mereka dan salesman mereka datang sendiri 'menjenguk' kedai saya.
PTS - saya dapat akaun dan kredit selepas setahun membeli secara 'cash'; maknanya tempah buku, bayar kemudian barulah mereka hantar buku.
Al Hidayah/ArRisalah - mereka datang ke kedai saya setelah mereka dicadangkan (recommend) oleh Badan Cemerlang Johor Bahru. Saya biasa "berbual-bual" dengan salah seorang pengurus Badan Cemerlang ketika saya bekerja di Johor Bahru dulu.

Ada juga beberapa pembekal alat tulis yang datang ke kedai saya setelah dicadangkan oleh rakan-rakan salesman mereka yang lain. Yang penting, kita jaga nama baik kita. Dan kita akan dianggap "pelanggan emas" apabila semua hutang dan bil dibayar mengikut jadual. Kalau ada masalah duit, jangan segan untuk telefon mereka dan berbincang dengan cara baik. Paling penting, jangan lari dari hutang dan kita mesti selalu sematkan dalam kepala bahawa hutang wajib dibayar.

(c) Mesin fotostat mesti dibeli dari syarikat yang berhampirang dengan kedai saudara kerana ia memerlukan servis. Jika beli dari KL walaupun harganya murah, siapa akan buat servis jika mesin rosak? Jadi mesti berhati-hati sebelum membeli mesin ini.

Sekianlah untuk kali ini. Harap ia memberi sedikit idea untuk saudara.

Saifuddin.
012-7822384
http://pustakamunirah.wordpress.com

Lets Learn Something Different... Today!

Life is fun..

Life is interesting..

Life has it's ups and downs..

That's whyI consider myself not older.. but very well marinated.



... hahahaha ...



************



Word of the day is... ventromedial prefrontal cortex

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is a part of the prefrontal cortex in the human brain. Its function has not been fully determined, but experiments suggest that it may have a role in the processing of risk and fear, and in decision making.

* source from wikipedia

Hahahaha! Aku dah cakap... I am too absorbed with "Grey's Anatomy"!!!...
(biology was my favorite subject back then.. still now!)

Midnight Ramblings

I have many ideas and theories on leadership... In fact, too many that puts me in a position I don't know where, how to start and what to write.


...



I noticed many bloggers wrote about Obama. Obama here... Obama there... Obama this... Obama that... If one would notice, there are two main topics on Obama. Either he is such an inspiration to one, or about his powerful speeches.

Alas! One of the stated in the Theory of Public Choice (which is based on economic principles) is that it is assumed that everyone is primarily motivated by self-interest. Self interest that may reflect on a certain executed behavior.

Why is Obama being accepted by many? Why is he seemed so aspiring? Why is he having large support worldwide? What consequences (short/medium/long period) will it do to the society, economy, and cultural in U.S?

People are putting such high hopes and trust on him.


I wish him luck!



......



Having the opportunity to travel gave me such an advantage. A privilege that I enjoyed and intend to keep. I had seen the best colors of life. But there are so much more to do. A lot more can be perfected and improvised.

But in a way a better could be served, one should remember... A rose can't be picked without having fingers pricked.


....


Why are there so many violence?
Why are there so many poverty?
Why are they greedy?

Who can you rely in making the world a better place? Your government? Your neighbours? or YOURSELF?

How long will you be good to yourself/others? One hour? Two hours? Four hours?
How long will you be a role model to others? One hour? Three hours? Five hours?
How long would you want to be as an aspiration to others? 4 years? 20 years? Forever?

...

A Quickie Sambil Shopping..

Haaa...

Apa korang fikir?...


Pasal inilah entri ni ditulis...:

"They're not going to shoot us; it's not Iraq. We might have to pay fine and serve a little time in jail" Ted Stevens, Alaskan Senator, caught red-handed on tape.

What was that all about?

Aku tak salahkan warna kulit, kenegaraan, dialek yang digunakan, atau agama apa yang dia anut. Aku salahkan sifat buruk dia... dan dirinya sahaja...

But, that life. Aku pernah berjalan-jalan (tanpa shopping... sungguh!) di OU that other day. A simple survey;


Bahan ujikaji: Makhluk berkaki dua, dan berakal = Homo Sapiens

Scenario: Korang jalan dan berselisih dgn orang yang dari arah bertentangan.

Test: Cuba kira;

1. Jumlah besar berapa kali korang berselisih,
2. Berapa ramai yang sama-sama memberi laluan/mengiring.
3. Berapa ramai yang secara penuh bangga dengan nilai ke-snobbish-an mereka berjalan terus macam korang tak wujud. W-T-F!


Now, tanpa prejudis, ambil kira warna kulit dan keturunan. Kenapa? Racist-pig?

Tak... bukan macam itu. Secara umum kita tahu yang setiap individu ada institusi kekeluargaan masing-masing, dan dkt Malaysia sendiri ada beberapa sekolah yang diasing-asing mengikut kaum (Ya! sistem pendidikan kita juga RACIST!). Jadi secara umum, kita tahu sistem kekeluargaan/pembelajaran yang mana (secara gambaran kasar) adalah tak efektif.

Tapi, kerosakan moral tak tertakluk pada kaum. Senario dalam LRT, macam yang biasa jadi. A) scene masa rush hour, b) scene LRT penuh, tak ada tempat duduk untuk makcik tua yang kendong cucu...

But, mana tempatnya dysfunctioned areas/loopholes yang tepat yang boleh diambil tindakan pembetulan?. Is it a chicken n egg situation? Can we really ( I mean.. REALLY!) rely on our policy makers? (yg mana mereka ni juga politicians, they will do anything for their periuk nasi.. termasuk menjadi hipokrit yang korup).

To me, morality adalah prinsip hidup, with a little common sense dan keazaman untuk execute. It's not about kindness. It's MORAL!.

...



Kan?..

Quick Post: Lama dah tak update..

don't bother... it's merely just ramblings n imaginations.

My friends are thinking that I am too busy,
In fact they are too afraid to "disturb" me.

My parents are doing everything themselves,
They said: "you're a grown up already, dear. Take care of yourself."

I don't have time for soul searching anymore,
I haven't lie my back on grass, under the stars for quite some time.

My mobile phone kept ringing... even during weekends, dinner time, night time, and poo poo time.
They assumed I should be available 24/7?.

Holidays is never a privillege,
As for others, BAD NEWS!.

Hot chicks don't flock me anymore,
Am I turning into a walking wikipedia?

Who says Hussein Bolt is the greatest athlete?
Guess who had to run in office to get THAT extra second? 9-5 anyone?


Workaholism?
Buruh paksa-ism.

I adore Louis V. Gerstner!
He sack politicians!


I think I've lost a life I should have deserved...

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

-Shakespeare-

pssstt: ada ciri-ciri pemenang Bookers award, tak? Hahahaha.

Singaporean di atas itu tiada kena mengena!

Will This Solve The Issue? Lets discuss..

Dealing with Incompetent Leaders

By Carole Nicolaides

As a mid-level employee, you’ve been working for the ACME Company, a manufacturing firm, for the past two years. Your job performance has been solid, and on occasion, even praiseworthy. However due to the current economic conditions – poor profit earnings, massive layoffs and company restructuring, you now find yourself working for a new boss. Ordinarily reporting to a new leader would not pose a real problem but this time it feels different -- management practices have changed. The team environment has been transformed from one of true collaboration, honest dialogue and a commitment to problem solving to one where backstabbing, finger pointing and plain fear are the norms. Congratulations – you are now under the control of an “incompetent” leader!

An “incompetent” leader by definition is someone whose action destroys camaraderie, instill gossip, encourage dishonesty, and prevent people from speaking freely. “Incompetent” leaders tend to use their own weapons to get noticed and promoted. They usually lack vision, interpersonal communication skills and confidence to resolve conflict.

You might think the term “incompetent” leaders should only be reserved for those in the company’s upper echelon such as the Chief Executive Officer of Chief Financial Offer.

After all, aren’t they the ones entrusted with setting the direction for the entire organization? While this may be true to a certain extent – CEOs do serve as the “compass” for the company, but many CEOs are not directly involved in the daily operations of their organizations. Those responsibilities fall on the shoulders of senior and middle managers. And, it is the “collective leadership” of those managers -- their style of execution, their effective ability to communicate, manage and motivate their teams that keep companies on course. If a leader lacks the competency to manage his or her team, then team morale diminishes, productivity and performance drops, and companies ultimately fail. What’s worst is the fact that today we live in a heavy Information Economy where bad news about a company spreads instantly thereby allowing competitors to profit from your company’s incompetent leadership.

In the quest to attain “better and cheaper staff,” one would think that organizations had all the advantages needed to rid their companies of every single under-performing employee – managers included. However, nothing could be farthest from the truth. Unfortunately in many cases, it is the good, high-performing, mid-level employees who first are shown the door, while ineffective managers – the ones who really need to take a hike – remain.

For whatever reason these foul apples may have been left behind; the fact that they are present causes a lot of problems either through their actions or sometimes through their inactions. The truth is that “incompetent leaders” have always existed and will continue to exist despite the best efforts from HR and other performance improvement initiatives to detect and remove them before bringing irreparable harm to an organization.

So what can you do to protect yourself and survive working for an “incompetent” leader? Here are some quick tips:

1. Do not make it a personal matter. This is a hard one, simply because working for an incompetent boss is such a personal matter. Remember, that most of these leaders do not have a problem directly with you, but they too are frustrated and are shouting loud their own insecurities -- most likely mirroring to you things that they should be doing.

2. Observe Your Boss. It might sound funny, but notice what is going on around your boss. In case you’ve known or worked with your boss before and you observe a sudden change, then your next step should be to take action right away. The problem could be as simple as someone asking him something way out of his league, or someone talking to him about you and your team. Whatever the reason might be you need to act and confront your boss as soon as possible. If you do this at the beginning, you might be able to stop a snowball effect -- not only for you but also for the entire team. Confrontation does not come easy for most people, yet if you seek a constructive conversation, have an open mind, avoid turning it into a personal attack, you might be able to ease tensions with your boss and also improve his position.

3. Accumulate Facts. Nothing is irrelevant if you work in an unhealthy environment. You need to make sure that you accumulate all the things that matter for your career -- the good as well as the bad stuff. Good things that you’ve done, bad things that have happened to you, and things that you could have done better. The key here is to have nothing against you, nothing that will give people permission to talk about you and question your character.

4. Know Your Value. You might feel beaten down, overworked, under appreciated and doubtless about your true value. Grow up! Things happen and your value does not diminish simply because one cannot see your true value. If you are a professional, do a good job, and the people that work with you will see a direct contribution to the team’s success. Then be sure that you have created your own evangelists – people who will tell others about your true value.

5. Expand Your Network. Now, more than ever, you need to think that working for a large company is not very different than working on your own. You need to learn to promote yourself. People need to know who you are, within your company and outside your company. Successful business owners never stop networking. There are so many things you can learn simply by networking. The key here is to find 2 or 3 networking initiatives that you feel comfortable doing and commit to them.

6. Seek For Comfort Outside Your Office. Many people often make this mistake. They work for an incompetent boss and they start complaining about her or him to a “good friend” who also works for the company. For whatever reason this might happen because you are seeking comfort or love. Sometimes you simply need a sounding board in order to release the pinned-up stress. Do it outside the office and avoid discussing your problems with others with whom you work.

Times have changed and even though it might seem hard to work for someone that you know is not suitable for his or her position, remember things and people appear to us to teach something. The sad reality is most “incompetent” leaders do not get fired; they just move on and reinvent themselves in new companies. The chance that you will either work with the same leaders or someone like them again before your career ends is great. However if you manage to stay calm and think about the lessons you’ve learned and how to counteract incompetent behavior, you will have all the wisdom needed in order to become a better leader yourself in future jobs.

An artikel from: careerknowhow.com

Will This Solution Do Work? Lets Discuss This Though Logic...

Dealing with the Negative Employee

---

Do you have an employee who is frequently disgruntled with their job duties, with the organization, or with management? For example, does the employee go out of his or her way looking for something to complain about? Does the employee attempt to stir up discontent in his or her coworkers just for their own enjoyment? Does the employee take pleasure in being able to spot all the flaws in any new initiative the organization undertakes? Is the employee resistant to any proposed organizational change? Is the employee making you angry, frustrated, and helpless?

Let's face it! The negative employee is the type of employee that most managers would love to have call in sick, take an extended vacation, and then utilize all 12-weeks of their FMLA time. Unfortunately, for you as the manager, the negative employee comes to work everyday. Not only does the negative employee come to work everyday, he or she is usually never late to work, completes his or her job duties, and does not break any company policies. The negative employee does not provide you, the manager, with any easy to evaluate objective work performance deficits. Thus, you must deal with his or her negative behavior versus any easier to measure work performance deficits.

Have you ever wondered why the negative employee comes to work everyday if he or she is so unhappy with their job duties, the organization, or with management? Why doesn't the negative employee simply find another job where he or she will be happier?

There are two simple answers to these questions:

One, the main goal of a negative employee is to undermine and contaminate the workplace environment; thus, becoming toxic to the organization's ability to effectively function. In other words, why miss work when there is so much toxic work to do. In plain English, the negative employee's goal is to undermine either the organization or people within the organization for any number of reasons. (Note: It is more important to identify patterns versus causes of negative behaviors in the early stages of dealing with a negative employee.)

Two, the negatively employee is rewarded for their negativity inadvertently by their organization, e.g., pay increases, seniority, and good benefits etc...etc... So, why not come to work if you get paid to complete your goal of undermining others.

Note: If the negative employee's behavior has not been addressed in the past, it is quite possible that the negative employee has, for many years, received positive work performance evaluations with pay increases. After all, in terms of objective work performance measures, the negative employee has good attendance, is on time to work, does his or her job duties, and follows all company policies.

If you believe that you are a manager of a negative employee, the following steps will help you to successfully deal with his or her negativity.

1.) Observe and quantify the negative employee's behavior: Before you approach the negative employee, you need both observational data, i.e., examples of negative behavior, and an accurate quantifiable account of the number of negative behaviors observed. For example, "I have observed you telling four employees last week that they should resist using the new accounting methods."

This first step does require a degree of preparation because without observing and quantifying instances of negative behaviors, the negative employee will simply discount your observations. For example, the negative employee might tell you he or she was simply joking, or that you misunderstood their true intentions.

Note: One instance of negative behavior is not enough evidence to label an employee as negative. Secondly, do not tell the employee he or she has a bad or negative attitude. Instead, describe the negative behavior and its negative impact on the organization and coworkers.

2.) Get organizational support: It is a good idea to run your data of negative behavior observations past another manager or your HR department, in order to get validation that the behaviors you have observed do indeed undermine the organization's goals or creates a toxic environment for other employees. It is also a good idea to work with another manager, who can act as a witness to your behavior, during any closed-door meeting you have with the negative employee. Remember, you are dealing with an employee who is already acting out their discontent; therefore, you need to have organizational support and a witness, to your interactions, when dealing with the negative employee.

3.) Forget the confession of wrongdoing: It is not necessary for the negative employee to admit to or apologize for his or her negative behavior. It is only your aim to bring to the negative employee's attention that you are aware of their toxic behavior.

4.) Affirm the organization's core beliefs: Inform the negative employee of the organization's mission, values, and goals. Succinctly tell the negative employee the mission of the organization, the values the organization espouses, and the goals the organization is attempting to achieve. Next, clearly articulate to the negative employee how his or her behavior undermines the organization's core beliefs, and how a change is necessary for both their individual success and the organization's success.

5.) Offer to help the negative employee: Ask the negative employee what would help him or her turn their negative behavior into positive behavior. In this step, you may get an explanation of what is motivating his or her negative behavior. The explanation may assist you in understanding what type of help to offer the negative employee to become more positive.

Consider a referral to an employee assistance counselor if the negative employee brings up personal, family, or mental health problems. If the employee is stubborn and refuses assistance, do not force professional assistance upon the negative employee (see step 7).

If the employee brings up work related issues, e.g., lack of advancement, stress, or job insecurity; consider providing the negative employee with supportive listening, coaching, and mentoring.

6.) Inform the negative employee that future work performance reviews will include both objective and subjective measures: One subjective measure may include an assessment of how the employee is either increasing or decreasing his or her negative behaviors, by asking colleagues and other managers for feedback. Don't forget to utilize a positive tone when discussing future work performance reviews; for instance, predict what a future passing work performance review will look like for the employee.

7.) Do not make the negative employee more negative: The goal is not to make a negative employee more negative, which is easy to do since the employee is already negative. Thus, you need to be very careful not to throw gas on a fire!

Remember these three rules:

Rule 1: You cannot change a negative employee with negativity. Hence, you must reframe from acting negative yourself. Keep your cool and be positive when talking with the negative employee.

Rule 2: Keep your overall expectations low. Do not expect an apology and do not expect the negative employee to admit to their negative behavior.

Rule 3: Employees want to be believed-in by their manager, even when they are being disciplined. Therefore, end your talk with a positive "you can do it" statement.

Happy Working,


An article from: Employer-Employee.com

Innovation forecasting,,

John Naisbitt's 11 mindsets of forecasting

1. While many things change, most things remain constant.
2. The future is embedded in the present.
3. Focus on the score of the game.
4. Understanding how powerfull it is not to be right.
5. See the future as a picture puzzle.
6. Don’t get so far ahead of the parade that people don’t know you’re in it.
7. Resistance to change falls if benefits are real.
8. Things that we expect to happen always happen more slowly.
9. You don’t get results by solving problems but by exploiting opportunities.
10. Don’t add unless you subtract.
11. Don’t forget the ecology of technology.

Number 6 has been kinda cliche. Funny enough, my horoscope last Friday told me to lower my expectation in others. Ahaks!..

Restoran di Malaysia (ini adalah mengenai pelayan-pelayannya..)

Berjalan masuk ke dalam restoran, sentiasa seronok dan menggelikan hati melihatkan pelayan-pelayannya melayan pelanggan. Lazimnya mereka akan;

1. Beranggapan semua pelanggan dah tahu semua menu (yang mampu) dimasak oleh tukang masak di dapur.

2. Memandang tinggi kebolehan tukang masak memasak apa-apa saja yang diminta/pesan oleh pelanggan.

3. Tidak kira berapa ramai yang duduk semeja, mereka akan tetap memberikan satu menu sahaja. Ini adalah kerana mereka adalah pembela alam sekitar yang cuba sedaya upaya meneruskan operasi restoran dengan meminimumkan penggunaan kertas dengan cara mencetak 1 senarai menu sahaja untuk semua.

4. Jika mahu mereka senyum, tambahan surcaj akan dikenakan dalam bil anda.

5. Harga minyak naik.. (atau) harga bahan besi dan komoditi naik.. (atau) harga tiket bas naik.. (atau) tarif utiliti naik.. (atau) PBT nak jalankan operasi.. (atau) ada desas desus mana-mana tempat ada kenaikan gaji dan bonus (esp kaki tangan kerah-jaan).. HARGA MAKAN PUN MESTILAH NAIK!! -itu aku belum bercakap lagi pasal harga tepung, susu, gula, telur, tauge, senduk naik-

6. I don't like you!.. (therefore you must pay more!)



Seorang blogger menyatakan berdasarkan pemerhatiannya tentang layanan pelanggan yang baik (staf-staf(ground crews) di Lapangan Terbang Orlando); "By reaching out and providing guidance to nearly everyone, they catch most people who need help before the guests even know what to ask for and maintain a really high throughput. High volume and high touch customer support at the same time."

Hmmm.....

My Next Source of Ideas..

Dan Ariely's book titled Predictably Irrational, provides evidence that our decisions are influenced by the structure of choices made available to us.


Source: casseylee.blogspot.com (I haven't read that book. Sounds interesting!. Gonna find that at Kino's)

Paranoid Politicians...

Has our government being overly paranoid? I wonder.

In his speech today, our beloved DPM had calls for action against bloggers for their wild and baseless allegations raised in blogs. Read this.

Or, read this on being paranoid after the humilating PRU12 defeat and being trashed out from the Penang CMs office.

Nonetheless, the ban of Clarinase drug (for express flu relief) from the pharmacy's shelves. I am aware the danger of taking drugs and medications without consulting a physician, but I am no stupid!. Many out there aren't one either. Than why with this definite punitive decision?.

If the government is being too protective, than this type of comment cannot, ah?. Shame on you!.


My conclusion: Overly paranoid.

Adakah kita mempunyai sebuah kerajaan yang benar-benar menjuarakan demokrasi?.

Adakah kita benar-benar menyokong kebebasan media dan kebebasan bersuara?.

Adakah kita contoh kerajaan demokrasi yang paling ideal?.

Disebalik halangan kebebasan bersuara, adakah ahli-ahli politik yang diundi ini benar-benar menjalankan tugas mereka dengan sepenuh rasa tanggungjawab dan amanah? Kenapa takut bila tsunami budaya mem-blog ini melanda Malaysia?. Kenapa berselindung di sebalik Akta?


Adakah saya seorang yang tidak patriotik?.
- Oleh kerana sayangkan negara inilah saya menulis entri ini.

Tidakkah saya bersyukur?
- Kerana bersyukur harus saya terima keadaan ini seadanya?. Berdiam diri dan menerima prestasi kerajaan yang kurang memuaskan ini?. Logik akalkah itu?. Apa sebenarnya definasi syukur yang hakiki itu?.

Simple consumer behavior..

Konsep mudah: Pengguna akan mengubah tabiat dan kelakuan kepada sesuatu yang dirasakannya sesuai dan terbaik bagi dirinya sekiranya ada pilihan.

Simple plan I would suggest to ease traffic congestion in KL: MORE PUBLIC TRANSPORT!! and make sure it is cheap!


It is not a rocket science by the way!


Less car, less petrol consumption, less subsidy.. Why are you guy making fool of yourself, mengeluh pasal subsidi minyak RM4 billlion? Most S.O.V (Single Occupancy Vehicles) cars entering KL are office workers. Let them have extra money to save/spend rather on petrol by using public transport.

Please DO NOT PUT PRESSURE on businesses as they would easily pass the burden to end-consumers/users hence resulting higher inflation.


Tot u guyz r smart enuf to stand for election. I m enrolling for PUNDAK!. Too many d*ckh**ds in the parliament already.

Retailers Optimal Merchandise Mix Constraints

From my primitive observation, some retail shops do have limitation factors that may restrict their growth. However, I should stress that these are form genuine cases (not from dumb/ar**h*l*/idiocratic human limitation/s!);

1. Dollar Merchandise Constraint
- It is a result from a small paid up capital by owner, or board of directors.

2. Space Constraints
- I noticed that if the rental is getting gradually high, some retailers just have to shrink down the size. Or, everybody is rushing and pushing to get the chunck of pie (red sea strategy). Resulting slow death for everyone (vendors, the retailer itself, the shopping complex/area).

3. Merchandise Turnover Constraints
- Usual mistake for everybody especially when they have been there for so long and at the same time trying so hard coping with consumer behavorial and pattern changes. This type of shop usually having the pattern to lose out retail identity. Slow but definite suicidal.

4. Market Constraint
- It is impossible and risky when making decision on variety, breadth and depth of merchandise mix. Bad science project I would say. Especially for big, big retailers when they delegate staffs to perform tasks.
* this is when branding, good marketing, and super good product really helps!
** Ringgit $en$e -> High profit and big retailers usually accept the fact that it is almost impossibble to get an optimum/the perfect merchandise mix. So, they adjust their own merchandise mix formula to statisfy the most profitable domestic market segment.

Kenapa Saya Tulis Blog Ini?..

The Nine Types of Intelligence


1. Naturalist Intelligence

Designates the human ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) as well as sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations)


2. Musical Intelligence

Musical intelligence is the capacity to discern pitch, rhythm, timbre, and tone.


3. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to calculate, quantify, consider propositions and hypotheses, and carry out complete mathematical operations.


4. Existential Intelligence

Sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why do we die, and how did we get here.



5. Interpersonal Intelligence

Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand and interact effectively with others.


6. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

Bodily kinesthetic intelligence is the capacity to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills.


7. Linguistic Intelligence

Linguistic intelligence is the ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings.


8. Intra-personal Intelligence

Intra-personal intelligence is the capacity to understand oneself and one’s thoughts and feelings, and to use such knowledge in planning and directioning one’s life.


9. Spatial Intelligence

Spatial intelligence is the ability to think in three dimensions.


From: Overview of the Multiple Intelligences Theory. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and Thomas Armstrong.com




...owh, did I answer that?...

TDM Quitting UMNO

I know I wrote in my previous entry that I hate politics, but..

I can't stop thinking;

a.) What happen to the people that once cried, shook and kissed TDMs hands. Rafidah was criticized when she hugged TDM. But what did she said today? Nazri Aziz said today?

Hypocracy? Maybe.


Ahli UMNO perlu taat kepada pucuk pimpinan? Terutamanya kepada pucuk pimpinan yang mempunyai kuasa memerintah dan tangan mampu menyuap nasi briyani ke mulut mereka-mereka yang mengampu manakala rakyat jelata makan nasi basi?


b.) Mukhriz stayed!

(Dikemas kini) KUALA LUMPUR: "Saya akan tetap setia sebagai ahli Umno dan akan menjadi suara yang lantang menegur kepincangan kepimpinan parti". -excerpts from The Star Online.

Bro, you have my support and my respect. You are so consistent in what you have done. And you have your track records to support you. And by the way, thats bold!


c.) Will Pak Lah do something to regain his popularity?

Will it benefit market driven businesses? Will it benefit Malaysians? Will it bring back the confidence needed for the next PRU?

Will it be another blunder made by him? (he did a few already.. too bad!)


d.) "-" for TDM (my opinion, pardon me). A big/huge/enormous advantage for some.

Nothing much to say except: POLITICS STINK!

The Devil In Us- Shopaholicism

How many of us that really can control ourselves during shopping. As for me, there are times I can and can't (Oh, forgive me god as I have sinned!).

I might being over analytical about this, but I have been watching too much of National Geographic, ret Discovery Science and Discovery Channel lately. And lately quite a lot of DNAs and brainy stuffs that made me think about businesses, marketing, retailing and stuffs.

As in my previous post about psychographic, it merely happened to many of us. From my observation in Bukit Bintang retail area (another mall-ing effect like I wrote previously) last week;

1. A good window display plays quite a significant role in attracting window shoppers to enter premise.

2. By increasing visitors, they can increase chances of getting things sold better. By increasing traffic too will increase curiosity from passer-bys.

3. A good merchandising will increase the overall sale of a retail business.

4. A good display of which good to be highlighted will definitely increase the possibility of impulse buying/psychographic effect.

5. A good premise layout will definitely optimize the retail area. Definitely.

Qs;
1. Apa yang mencetuskan belian impuls? Ego? Rasa berkuasa? Coolness? Trendy? But I do believe that I can put the blame entirely on the psychological factors.

* The summarization above is in general focusing on middle-to lower income retailing in malls in urban areas.

I think next time I am gonna go for another trip to;
+ Secondary/small township area/s
+ Pasar malams