Monday, August 27, 2012

Think Big Dream High, E 19- A person with no ambition


Ambition


1. Try stretching your arms. Obviously there is a limit to what you can do.

2. When it comes to ambition, there is no limit at all. All of us have ambitions, sometimes we have more then just one ambition. We also regularly improve our ambitions from time to time.

3. However, there are those in our community with no meaningful ambition in life. Not having a realistic ambition. Not realizing the fact that having an ambition does affect one’s life.

4. When we have an ambition, we must strive hard to achieve it. Ambition will continuously motivate us to do the best we can to ensure what we want in life will be achieved.

5. Most of the time we do not place much importance on our ambition and its impact on our lives. We fail to have a meaningful ambition. We fail to understand that having an ambition will be the push factor to improve our well being and those of our family as well.

Reality in life

1.The fact is we do not have any meaningful ambition at all. More like the delusions of a Walter Mitty. Ambitions that do not hold us down to achieve it.

2. By our own definitions and assumptions, our present lifestyle is adequate and comfortable enough hence less attention given to ambition.

3. What we have in mind is only to comfort and entertain our desires. We exist but only as a living skeleton. Day in day out, life is a straight line, nothing changes. It follows the same routine from the moment we got out of bed and going to bed again.

Tips

1.Ambitions are the driving force and guidelines behind our daily live’s routine. It adds excitement and create challenges to our lives.

2.We actually exists and not as skeletons only. We need to appreciate that we are living. We have roles and responsibilities.

3. Be action oriented. Always hoping, expecting and looking forward to live for the next day and days to come.

4.Ambitions have to be specific and achievable (like I want to be a millionaire). Ambitions have to be clear as to the timing and period to achieve it (like on my 30th birthday). Ambitions have to be clear on the means and methods to achieve it(like be involved in real estate business as soon as I graduate). Ambitions must have the processes and standards of achievements (like the balance in my banking account increases 50% more than the previous three months balance). Ambitions must have room for improvements until fully attainable (like my business need to expand beyond the Klang Valley, to Johor Baru in the next month and early next year to be in Mecca. I need an Arabian to be my partner from June this year).

5.The minds of those with ambitions is like a spinning top. Always thinking, planning and looking for opportunities wherever it may be. Not thinking in single dimension but multi dimension. A glass half filled is viewed as a glass half full. Those with ambition will never stop praying as though he will die the next day and work as though he will live a thousand more years. Life full of activities. Living for a reason, with rationale and justification. We need to think big and dream high at all time in order for us to be able to achieve what we want in life.






Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Think Big Dream-E18- Those Who Do Not Want To Change


Change Towards Betterment


1.The positive and continuous changes towards betterment in our attitude will bring us closer to our goals, dreams and ambition in life.

2.Our attitude and action play a big role in determining our level of success. It is acknowledged that each person has an advantage over the other but most of us cannot accept and concede our weaknesses.

3.We do not want to change. We are stubborn and strong headed. We assume that we are the best with no faults and defects. The others are in the wrong and not as smart as us. We cannot accept other people’s opinion, advice and criticism.

4.We know that in the present environment, we need to listen more than be heard more. However, we still assume that we need not listen due to the fact that we are smarter and wiser. We are everything. We stick to our contention of not changing.

Reality in Life


1.In reality, we are only human beings. We need to face the facts whether we like it or not. Indeed we do have weaknesses. As the proverb says, “No matter how smart the acorn jumps, it will one day fall to the ground”. The acorn will not fall once but many more times in its lifetime.

2.Why does it fall? All of us knew that the acorn was created by Allah SWT as a creature good at jumping. However like all of Allah SWT’s creations it does have weaknesses and it will eventually fall to the ground. As human beings, we may feel that we are smarter in our field in fact much more than the acorn who is good at jumping.

3.The fact that the acorn who is good at jumping can still fall, what more we as human beings despite the sophisticated technologies that can assist us, we still fail due to our own weaknesses. If we are able to accept this fact, then there is a good chance we can accept any changes that comes our way.

Tips

1.As Allah SWT’s creation living in this millennium, we should have an open mind. We should be closer to our environment. We should have access to various up to date information. If we need to change eventhough we do not want to do so, we should consider the necessity of such acts with the latest information available.

2.Maybe our previous experience, made it difficult for us to change but we need to consider those around us. If a strong rationale and justification requires us to change then we need to change. Only by changing, can we understand the new and alien environment around us.

3.All this while we thought, the good things can be felt and found in our world only. Only after changing did we realise that the world out there which was new and alien to us before is actually much better than our own world.

4.After fixing two mirrors to our brains , we realised that the world out there is much much better. We just found out the advantages of having the front and back mirror. The feeling of regret deep inside us the change should have been made a long time ago.



Monday, August 13, 2012

Think Big Dream High-E 17 – Those Who Are Confused and Disorganized


Behaviour of people


1.As a professional manager I do made some analysis into the various eccentricities and characteristics of the people I associated , observed and communicated with.

2.In my future articles, I will share my views with the readers on the various management issues relating to eccentricities, behaviour and actions of the people especially in working or office environment.

3.A person who is confused and disorganized will never know what they want in life. They do not have any ambition and clear direction in their daily lives.

4.This situation is experienced by all levels of communities right from the student, worker, boss, housewife or entrepreneur. Being in a state of confusion made them unsuccessful. Although they can be regarded as successful, it will be just mediocre only.

5.The state of confusion began with a feeling of non-confidence in oneself. Non-confidence in oneself is a sickness that started with inferiority complex i.e. a feeling of insecurity of not measuring up and having a low self esteem. Without realising it, we always raise the white flag before even trying. We are afraid to compete. We are afraid to take the risk. We are afraid to take the first step. We become followers. When we are confused and disorganized , we do not know how to began and take the first step.

Reality in Life


1.Being in a state of confusion and disorganized is a reality in our daily lives. As an example, a student will be confused and disorganized when he is uncertain of his priorities as a student. He mixes the issue on love and ambition. In the end he failed in both areas and ended in a misery.

2.As a worker in the office, we contributed and be involved in endless non productive meetings. Meetings wasted a lot of time, resources and financial well being of the government or companies. Most meetings come prepared with various facilities including food which are sometimes not consumed by those who attended them.

3.Most meetings do take a long time to debate on issues which are of no importance. This happens when most of the issues are either unclear or not focused. In actual fact, the meeting can be completed within 30 minutes with just a bottle of mineral water in hand. In case the water is not consumed it can be kept for other meetings as it will not turn bad.

4.Since most of the participants are confused, the meeting only ended 3 hours later. Breakfast or lunch had to be prepared. It comes with “teh tarik” and dessert as well. There’s food everywhere resulting in my countrymen’s communities 70% more obese than the other communities.

5.When a person is obese, they get tired easily, slow in responding and low in productivity. As the meetings took too long, most participants ended up exhausted and tired and cannot focus on their work for the rest of the day. All this happens because we are confused and disorganised.

Tips


1.Everyone of us are the same. The one thing that separated us from the others is our level of confidence and maturity. We are confident if we are equipped with all kinds of knowledge. Knowledge relating to our studies, work, social life, our religion or those relating to our business which must all the time be acquired.

2.We need to increase our knowledge by reading blogs, books, the Al Quran translation, kitab tafsir, kitab Al Hadith, by attending courses, seminars, discourse, discussion or any talks on all kind of intellectual interaction with anybody.

3.Knowledge will not make us look stupid or proud but it will always make us be prepared, confident, matured and skillful. A knowledgeable person will be brave and smart in handling any issues related to his area of expertise. He will be respected by all parties that he dealt with.

4.We need to change our attitude and realized that we too can be smart and successful. We are no different compared with the others. What others can do, we can do even better. We need to be prepared to face any issues confronting us all the time. This will make us steadfast in solving the various issues confronting us. This will resolve all forms of confusion and disorganization. InsyaAllah.





Monday, August 06, 2012

Think Big Dream High E-16-The Follow Through Strategy, Part 2

The follow through strategy that I wish to share covers a complete cycle starting from the educational phase, nurturing phase, development or growth phase until expansionary to the international level. As an example, the construction companies from China or Korea although not owned by the their respective government, continued to receive the support from their government eventhough they have reached the MNC (Multi National Corporation) status and the business have gone International. During negotiation for projects, their government representative will also be on hand to lobby for the company.

The Government Commitment


This is the kind of the Chinese or Korean government commitment that ensures and contributed towards their local companies actually succeeding and reaching the MNC status. There is a sense of belonging, responsibility and pride attached to the companies owned by their nationalities. This is the kind of full government commitment needed by our entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs will be proud of this kind of government commitment. The entrepreneurs will be thankful to the government forever and ever. This is actually the main concept behind the Malaysian Inc policy introduced by the former Prime Minister YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at one time. Now this concept can no longer be heard. This is another example of not following through strategy by our government. It is actually a good government policy which is very friendly, supportive and facilitating towards the corporate sector, entrepreneurs and businessmen.

The Continuous Government Support


Each of the phases requires support from the government not necessary in the form of financial contribution. Support can be in the form of policy, training, trade missions, international or local trade expo, lobbying, advisory services, government guarantee, government commitment, repair and renewal, ICT support, promotion, a tax friendly structure etc. At the nurturing phase for example, there should be close monitoring and support for the entrepreneurs and their businesses by the government. The entrepreneurs require capital, packaging advice, market expansion, training, advisory and most important the graduation programme. The graduation programme is important to ensure that the entrepreneurs exit from the nurturing phase and continue to expand until the last phase i.e. to become an MNC that is able to penetrate the international market.

The Entrepreneurs Care For The Government


When this happens, as I mentioned earlier, this company will repay the kind deeds extended by the government, by training and having vendorship programmes for new entrepreneurs under its umbrella. This is an act of gratitude that must be passed on by the successful entrepreneurs to the new entrepreneurs. When the entrepreneurs felt that the government care for them, the entrepreneurs will forever care for the government. When this happens , it will be the starting point of the multiple effects that will expedite the country’s economic growth process to achieve a developed nation status.

The Data Bank

In implementing the follow through strategy, a concerted effort by all related parties must exist. We do not want our players to always OB, always entering the bunkle or into the pool of water since there is no one driving them to always be on the right track. A database need to be developed so that all information on interested parties can be kept and updated all the time so that it will always remain relevant. The database should contain information on the players, government agencies responsible for making and implementing the policies, related institutions and the specialist reference group. The specialist reference group should include the Islamic Scholars, Prominent Pensioners, Academicians, Historians and Politicians. These group of people has a lot of good and practical ideas that can be implemented for the benefit of our countrymen.

The Reference Group


This reference group is important and they should continue to play their role in organizing seminars, congress, discourse so that all the time there are resolutions, suggestions and new ideas on a continuous basis that can renew, upgrade, enhance and increase the performances of the players. All seminars, congress and discourse as I mentioned earlier should be carried out in a more dynamic approach. All resolutions, proposals and ideas as far as possible should be implemented quickly and not kept as confidential by the organizers any more.

Should Not Have A Feeling Of Frustration In Nurturing Entrepreneurs


We cannot afford to be frustrated and giving up hope easily in helping our countrymen. The follow through strategy must be out in the open and transparent. We cannot be apologetic. We need not worry that other communities will make the same demand. This is about rights and realities. Everybody knows that our countrymen have all the rights to be assisted. Other communities should not envy, should not have any ill feelings as they know jolly well that they are more successful. We have to remind them that they are more successful in all economic activities in the country compared to our countrymen. Therefore, all the government bodies that are involved in developing entrepreneurship should not have a feeling of frustration in nurturing our countrymen’s entrepreneurs. Eventhough in many cases, the percentage of those failing is more than the percentage of those successful.

The Big Tycoon Never Stop Receiving Government Favors


In actual fact and in reality, the government is assisting the “towkeys” from the other communities in a far more greater manner. Before government assistance, these ‘Big Big Tycoon’ are just normal businessmen. Just look at how Ir Dr Cheong Thiam Fook, Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan, Tan Sri Jeffrey Chia, Tan Sri Lim Kim Yew, Tan Sri Tony Fernandez, Tan Sri Yeo Tiong Lay, Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong and hundreds more of the same caliber or slightly below started. Before government assistance, they were just normal people like most of us. As soon as they received the government favors and support they became super rich. They received a variety of licenses or contracts or assets from the government for various businesses such as telecommunications, private TV stations, IPP,LRT track, airlines, gambling licenses, and many more. There are also those who received land not a few but in thousands of acres in strategic locations in the Klang Valley.

Wealthy But Worthless


If we just add up the assets of the people I mentioned earlier not including the hundreds of other wealthy people, my rough estimate being, the value of their assets can easily be more than the assets owned by the millions of Bumiputra villagers and other communities like myself. If we average the per capita assets of the Malaysian population, it will not be surprising that we will also be categorized as wealthy. Wealthy but worthless. This is because the assets of the super rich “towkeys” are the ones that increases our average per capita. They should be the ones feeling apologetic and not my countrymen. I do not think they feel guilty and apologetic, in fact their reply would be the wealth was acquired through sheer hard work and effort. I do not question their wisdom. My only argument is that the assistance and support received from the government far exceeded the amount received by my countrymen. Many a times the politicians and NGOs from the other communities, writers, International critics are still stating and accusing the government of giving special treatment, providing too many assistance, benefits and subsidies to my countrymen.

Shoulder Collective Responsibility


Why do we need to feel and act cautiously, humbly, apologetically and discreetly to implement all the agendas to help our countrymen? Don’t do this to our community. Don’t wait until our community have to resort to staying at the hillside and deep in the jungle, only then we offer our assistance? It will be too late by then. By that time, our community will be the indigenous people to the immigrants. Before it is too late, let us shoulder collectively the responsibility to rake our brains to organize various strategies and programmes to assist and to continue to assist our community. We have a lot of strength but we are not wise enough to use all our strength. Why is it that we are not wise in utilizing all the resources that we owned? Needless to say, politically, my countrymen are divided and not united and therefore cannot agree among ourselves. No doubt we cannot be united because of our different ideologies and understanding. However, this does not mean that we cannot cooperate with each other for the sake of our own common causes and goals.

Cooperate, Cooperate And Cooperate

We need to find ways to cooperate, cooperate and cooperate. We need to have an open mind to find ways to work together. When we are seen to cooperate and work together as promulgated in the Islamic religion, other communities will not dare to push for unnecessary and illogical demand. The other communities will not dare to openly criticized our community as in now. They will not have the room to question our rights. Now, even the constitution and the ruling monarchs power are being criticized and commented upon. Not that we do not want to entertain them, but let the demands be logical. We do not intend to illtreat or victimize any communities. We are just pushing for a fair treatment for our community. We need to have our own agenda. We also want to have many super rich amongst our countrymen just like the other communities. I am fully confident that when we cooperate and work together all the agendas either openly or discreetly can be implemented comfortably without doubt and hesitation. The follow through strategy and programmes for our community will be more successful and effective. We need to think big dream high and have a strong heart.