"The truly effective executive is always aware of everything that goes on, but always has the beginnings, the middle or the end of a crisis to deal with.
 
I guess that's why they pay executives the biggest bucks in almost any organization. They don't earn it because they've been there the longest or they're the smartest, but rather, they know how to anticipate, deal with and put out managerial fires.
 
And the smart ones, the really smart ones, are the ones that learn from every crisis and make that information a chapter in their how-to book on management."

from Iron Rule # 5: A manager or entrepreneur who is not fighting a crisis is probably too insulated.:

Quote for the day:
"Don't worry about what anybody else is going to do. The best way to predict the future is to invent it."

- Alan Kay

congratulations to miss chand on her job offer.
 
welcome to the company :)

Hello Douglass North, it's good to read about you, and your new instutitional economic theory.
 
Congrats for the Nobel Prize.
 
:)
 
Douglass C. North's homepage at Hoover Institution
Douglass C. North's working papers (downloadable) at IDEAS, University of Connecticut

From Our Daily Bread (26 July 04): Happiness isn’t found by pursuing it. It’s a by-product of seeking an ever-closer walk with God. When we do, we will find a depth of happiness no person or thing can give. That’s what David referred to when he said,“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34:8).
 
From LeadershipJournal.Net: a recent article in Fast Company magazine, in which a corporate headhunter encouraged newly minted MBAs to start their careers with good, large, established companies, instead of taking the entrepreneurial route right away. The author argued that experience in these organizations provides unmatched learning opportunities that will transfer to future leadership roles.

resignations

Recently, I've been fortunate enough to have a friend asking me to assist him in writing a resignation letter. I've never resigned from any jobs before - you can say that this is not really my cup-of-tea, but I thought this can be fun.
 
So I came across several styles of resignation letters, from the extremely simple ones to the  casual yet elegant ones. These have been interesting finds - hey, there's even a company in the UK that provides resignation consultation services. I love their slogan: "where do you want to resign from today?"
 
Anyways, the key concepts behind resignation-letter-writing are:
 
1. to notify that you're resigning, when you're resigning, and what it is you're resigning
2. that's it.
 
Everything else that they need from you need not be explained in writing.
 
So in the end, I settled for this:

July 26, 2004

[the company]
[company address]

LETTER OF RESIGNATION

Dear [your superior's name],

This letter is to notify that I am resigning my position of [your position]  from [the company] effective [your last date]. I want to express my gratitude for a rewarding employment experience with [the company].

Sincerely,

[your name]

cc: Human Resource Department

 

Akiane Kramarik.
 
wow.
 
http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2004/004/7.24.html

True (and False) Transformation

"Spiritual transformation is a long-term endeavor. It involves both God and us. I liken it to crossing an ocean. Some people try, day after day, to be good, to become spiritually mature. That's like taking a rowboat across the ocean. It's exhausting and usually unsuccessful.

Others have given up trying and throw themselves entirely on 'relying on God's grace.' They're like drifters on a raft. They do nothing but hang on and hope God gets them there.

Neither trying nor drifting are very effective in bringing about spiritual transformation. A better image the sailboat, in which if it moves at all, it's a gift of the wind. We can't control the wind, but a good sailor discerns where the wind is blowing and adjusts the sails accordingly.

Working with the Holy Spirit, which Jesus likened to the wind in John 3, means we have a part in discerning the winds, in knowing the direction we need to go, and in training our sails to catch the breezes that God provides.

That's true transformation."

~ From True (and False) Transformation - Christian Bible Studies.

Matthew 9:36
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

1 Peter 5:2-4
Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Ezekiel 34:11-16
'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.  As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.  I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

Thessalonians 2:7–8, 11–12
As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.

For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Timing for today: 8:57

:)

Tattered, Bruised-and Used

"... God is not easy on the people who get used in the gospel drama. But we do receive the most wonderful blessing for our troubles, which is worn on our lives. It's called character.

Spiritual character is what's most needed in Christian leadership today, and yet we cannot learn or achieve it. There is no psychological test or spiritual gifts inventory that can adequately measure it. No seminary offers a degree program in it. Character only comes, a day at a time, as we allow ourselves to be over-handled by the story.

... the Holy Spirit is determined to complete our transformation into the image of Jesus Christ. Often it hurts to be in the hands of that sacred creativity. There is no easy way to receive the character of Christ.

... As anyone who learned faith .. knows, the worst thing isn't to be a tattered and bruised ... The worst thing is not to be used. "

~ from LeadershipJournal.net

woohoo!
 
My performance for last year was in the top 15% of the company :)
 
Got the raise. Got the bonus.
 
Thanks God :)
 

 
 

Timing for today: 8:62 
 
:)

i've booked the flights.
i'm going to spend christmas and new year's with you.
 
i've already asked the ppl here to get the documents ready for the visa app.
they're calling me nuts, and paranoid. typically visa applications will only take 10 days max.
 
but i don't care. i want to be sure i'll be there.
 
 

Don't worry, be crappy! -- Guy Kawasaki, Rules for Revolutionaries.
 
I often get what I call the "artist's complex". That's when I look into something, spend countless hours at it, gain insight, wisdom, whudever, only to dump what it is that I'm working on because working on it is no longer 'amusing' and 'entertaining' ...
 
My problem is that being an artist, I like to work solo. I like to work in a box. I'd say to people: "give me time, yah? I'll come up with something.. ". Like a painter who won't share his canvas with another, or that gourmet chef who won't let anyone touch his tomatoes, or that overly-talented soccer player who won't pass the ball to his team-mates because he's having too much fun dribbling around..
 
But you see, when you work solo, refuse the help of others, and decide to pull the plugs in the end, you won't be very popular among the bosses. They give you resources so you can produce results, not so that you can ponder upon the beauties and philosophies behind enterprise systems design and architecture.
 
So here's something that I've discovered, that might just help like-minded artists out there - whether you're a software developer, a teacher, a mechanic, whudever..
 
Learn to be crappy systematically and gracefully.
 
Yes, that's right.  Be crappy. But do that systematically. When you're building something, us artists tend to dwell too much on one part of a problem that we have so much affinity for. But we still have to do the rest too don't we ? So always always have a system for tackling any problem. I do wonders with a mindmap and a checklist. I usually start by cutting up a problem into major pieces.. and cut them up into smaller pieces.. and even smaller pieces.. until I can pin down an estimate of how much time/effort I'd need to bite, chew, and digest that piece. I like to keep status on the things too. I need these status tracking because I get bored easily. I tend to jump from one task to another. If I don't know which task I have 'analyzed', which I have started 'designing solutions for', and which I have generated sub-TODO-lists for, I'd go bonkers.
 
Doing things systematically will help you not waste time. There's no show stopper like the realization that you don't have much time left yet you have so much to do... that's a big demoralizer... so keep it systematica yeah ? Keeping a checklist may also help motivate you .. it gives you a sense of 'accomplishment' .. Heck ya.. two down and thirty more to go!!!
 
But hold on a sec, did you hear me say be crappy ? Well I did. And by this I meant don't fuss too much about not producing excellent top-notch results.. Just do it, have fun in doing it, and throw at people whatever you have regardless of what you think the quality is.  Regardless of whether it's good or crap, you need feedback. Remember that they say 2 brains are better than one ? Imagine utilizing the brain of every single person that you come across because you've thrown what you've been working on. You need that feedback - this is what will keep your brain in touch with real expectations, real needs, and the real problem.
 
This will also keep you excited and entertained .. Sometimes talking to yourself and hearing your own voices in your head just bore you to death. i know there are jokers out there who'd laugh at whatever you're doing, and there are those who'd give you *that look*.. but don't care about them.. remember what you're doing this for.. you're doing this to get feedback from them.. and believe me there are those who'd earnestly love to help you think ... giving you constructive and positive feedback that will help you a looooong way.
 
And by jolly, do all this gracefully. because you don't want to go around looking like a crazy dude carrying a checklist, talking in greek about a problem that only he understands..
 

"Romantic love is one of those rare human endeavours that succeeds best when require the least effort", James Dobson - Life on the Edge.

Indonesia shock Qatar

Indonesia shock Qatar ..

2-1 !!! :)

Interesting tip untuk nurunin berat badan..

eat more often...  but eat less each time :) the idea is to always keep your blood sugar up.. so you can maitain that metabolism.. but instead of having 3 huge chunks of meals each day, we take them in little portions every time.. that way our body has more time in 'absorbing' the food and won't decide to stash all those excess food as fat before we actually need them..
 
tapi yah juga harus olah raga juga..  what about that run ? :)
 

Running Tips :)

From http://www.time-to-run.com/beginners/easytips.htm :)

1. Get a good pair of running shoes
>> going to get a pair on Monday. I only have cross-trainers.

2. Walk before you run!
>> Yep. been doing that :)

3. Make sure you run/walk at least 3 times a week
>> roger. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays

4. Don't run two days in a row for the first 2 months, your body needs to adapt!
>> Like I can actually run two days in a row.. ha ha 8)

5. Run for time, your running time should be designed to increase
the time you spend on your feet, not your distance!
>> 0 minutes jogging and 90 minutes walking for now.
>> I'm planning to do a 5:85 next week to see if my body
>> can take it after being 'dormant' for such a long time.
>> If I can do a 5:85 without rest in the 5, then I'll do
>> a 10:80, and so on until i can do a 30:60..

6. Take it slow, don't increase your time too much too fast!
>> But I only have till december!!

7. Enjoy your running!
>> I already am. I need to get some earphones to plug into my iPAQ
>> and I can start listening to mp3s while walking/jogging/running
>> but then again.. the  Nokia 6600 has a RealAudio player built in..
>> now *that* will be cool... ;-)

There's a 2km long canal that stretches from Clementi Rd to CommonWealth West Ave. Pine Grove is built on one side of the canal. A jogging track lies on the other side. The track is often used by families living in the neighbourhood for late afternoon jogs, bicycle rides, walks and the likes.
 
Today, I got a bad headache and I decided to go for a walk in the jogging track. I spent about one and a half hour there and it was beautiful. There were birds in the trees going *tweet tweet*, the smell of grass and trees was in the air. You could also hear the sound of water from the canal. All this combined with the brilliant orange silhouette of the setting sun made was soo awesome. I couldn't believe this is the first time I actually took a walk there.
 
The only thing that stopped me from going any further were the bruises on my feet. 
 
Reminder to self: next time wear shoes. Don't wear sandals :-)

If this is Your way
of telling me to get back to where You want me to be.
then please send me one more message.

Please give me the sign.

***

i love teaching... why did I leave it again ? because I thought I know what it's all about and i'm eager to explore other talents that I have ? ...

As a seminarian, I was asked to write and deliver a paper to a special forum of students and faculty. Typically, I put off writing the paper until the deadline loomed and then cut two days of classes to complete the assignment. When I had finished reading the paper and the audience had responded with applause and left the auditorium, a professor whose classes I'd dodged in order to write the paper found me and said, "Gordon, that was a good paper, but it lacked the possibility of greatness. Do you want to know why?"

I could hardly say no, and so he continued.

"You sacrificed your routine responsibilities to write it," he said. "Your ministry will not be successful if you make this sort of a thing a habit."

You listen carefully to an insight like that because it comes from a man forty years your senior whom you respect. He was less interested in the content of my presentation than he was the character pattern that framed its writing. The paper would soon be forgotten (I can't remember anything about it now), but the work habits it revealed would continue the rest of my life if I didn't alter them.

He saw this; I did not. His rebuke caused me to reform my work ethic.

--

I love this article. I've learned a lot from Gordon Macdonald's writings, and this article is somewhat relevant to a problem that I'm facing right now. I know God has given me enough for me to produce good results. But He has made it a point that I still have to work hard to produce great results.

And I'm struggling.

There are so many things that I can do - opportunities that I see that comes my way. And I find myself so tempted to score at every single one of these opportunities that I sacrifice the quality of the routine stuff that I am responsible for.

I don't think what I'm doing is right, and this problem has been on my mind for the past few days. I guess God had helped me in zeroing in on the problem by linking me up with Gordon Macdonald's article.

I think I know what He is saying. He wants me to clearly understand what is important in my life and where I am going. Make sure that nothing compromises that. And with the spare resources that I have, only go for other opportunities and other gigs. He is saying I should have a system for following leads, for connecting with people and managing relationships. I cannot do this the old way anymore.

Gordon Macdonald said, "Listen carefully ... Your whole future may be marching before your eyes.... someone has put a finger on a character quality that stands between you and your dreams."

For me, that someone is God himself through Gordon's words.

Thank You God.

TPB (Transpulmonary Biopsy) .. or Lung biopsy.. or .. CT Scan guided biopsy costs 300 bucks in the John Hopkins Hospital in Singapore. *mission accomplished*.

Interesting website: Indonesia First Aid and Emergency Care Resources

hmmm... this is not accurate at all...

Wackiness: 70/100
Rationality: 106/100
Constructiveness: 136/100
Leadership: 96/100


You are a WRCL--Wacky Rational Constructive Leader. This makes you a golden god. People gravitate to you, and you make them feel good. You are smart, charismatic, and interesting. You may be too sensitive to others reactions, especially criticism. Your self-opinion and mood depends greatly on those around you.

You think fast and have a smart mouth, is a hoot to your friends and razorwire to your enemies. You hold a grudge like a brass ring. You crackle.

Although you have a leader's personality, you often choose not to lead, as leaders stray too far from their audience. You probably weren't very popular in high school--the joke's on them!

You may be a rock star.

http://hokev.brinkster.net/quiz/default.asp?quiz=Better+Personality&page=1

Reflection: I don't get it. I just cannot give up on people. I believe they are just misguided and confused somehow. No matter how much they have hurt me - no matter how hard I have cried for them, I will always be the one to take the intiative to patch things up. I always want to make it easier for them to see the light.

Reflection: A dream becomes a passion only when you consciously and willingly sacrifice for it, when people cannot talk you out of doing it, when mountains of diamonds and gold cannot entice you away from it. A dream becomes a passion only when it becomes a part of who you are, when giving it up means giving up your soul - the core of your being.

hmm...

it's 4.10pm now. and in 20 minutes time, i'm going to be in the board room, explaining to the management committee what we've been doing with our product and what plans we have for it.

to be frank with you, i can feel the chill running through my arms.

but this is not the first time i'm doing this. it's just the first time i'm presenting to the CEO and all the VPs.. *this is like waaaay cool* 8)

***

hmm... postponed to 5pm.


***

done. 6.01pm. The CEO was very critical, straight to the point, but it was waaay fun. I never thought that the 'debate training' I had 5 years ago paid off this well :)

In our debate trainings, we're trained to both defend and attack any idea regardless of whether it's good or bad. This training enables us to think from the other party's perspective and use his way of thinking to agree to your way of thinking.. hmm.. or even counter-argue the other party's attempt to attack our ideas.

ps. thank Him and thank you.

Reflections

I read something interesting today: 'One of the saddest experiences which can come to human beings is to awaken, gray haired and wrinkled, near the close of an unproductive career, to the fact that all through the years he has been using only a small part of himself.' -V.W. Burrows.

Reflection on Life: I've changed a lot since I was young - I've made mistakes and I've learned from some of them. but I've always believed that there is one part of me that remains the same: the part of me God created to serve and worship Him. He is the little kid that finds joy in hearing laughter, in seeing smiles, in seeing eyes light up with warmth.

So despite all the things that I do to improve myself to explore "all parts of me" to see whether God has given me something that I have yet to see (nevertheless know how to best utilize), and all the improvements that I've experienced that have changed me, and all the things that I do that overwhelms me and nearly drives me crazy, I find solace in knowing that there is still a link between everything that I do and that kid that God brought to life 24 years ago.

Reflection from Work: In soccer, we have attacking minded players and we have defense minded players. I observe that in work, I'm more of an attacker. I constantly look for opportunities to score. But this comes at a cost of possibily leaving my team vulnerable to conceding a goal. As much as I don't like to be "called off" from a all-out-attack, I know that this is what's best for the team.

Reflection on Love: They say with great power comes great responsibility. I say with great love also comes great responsibility. Love is power entrusted into our hands for the service and betterment of another - whether it is your girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse, children, parents, even friends. When they say that God is love, they also mean that our God is has taken up responsibility for serving and bettering us - at whatever cost. So what do we really mean when we say we love? What responsibility have we consciously decided to take?

Hidden treasure

But God didn't forget, not for one patient minute.

He nudged me year after year—just as he may be tugging at your heart right now—whispering, "What are you waiting for, child? Open it. Open your gift." Since "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights" (James 1:17), then you can be sure whatever gifts were tucked in your young heart came from the hand of God.

Last summer, my husband came strolling into my office, a grin stretched across his face. "Your brother called. Says he found something of yours in the attic."

When the crate from Pennsylvania arrived, I paged through The Mountain Cabin Mystery, teary-eyed and overwhelmed. I'd forgotten the story, but I remembered well the girl who wrote it—curled up on her bedroom chair, pouring her heart out on those lined pages, dreaming of the day she might write a real novel.

The Lord knew, long before I knew him, that I would become a storyteller someday. Just as I'd hidden that box in the attic for safekeeping, God had stored that dream deep inside a corner of my heart and waited for me to find it again.

"Someday" took a long while. From my first pretend novel to my first published one took—gulp!—35 years. By our measure, a lifetime. By God's reckoning, right on time.

My kids looked over my shoulder, wide-eyed, as I paged through my notebooks. "Wow, Mom. If you were an author when you were ten, why'd you wait so long to start writing stories again?"

You and I know the truth: The question isn't "Why did I wait so long?" The question is, "Why wait another minute?"

Open your gift, beloved. It's never too late for a child's dream to see the light of day.

Liz Curtis Higgs, author of 19 books, is releasing her third novel, Thorn in My Heart (WaterBrook Press), in the spring of 2003.

from ChristianityToday.com ~ hidden treasure

Taking the plunge

Kimiko Soldati's original passion was gymnastics, but a serious knee injury in the ninth grade ended that dream. ... Three years after her life-changing injury, she lost her mom to breast cancer. In college, she developed an eating disorder. And since then, she's been plagued by serious shoulder injuries.

But it wasn't any of these tough situations that drove her to faith in Christ. Rather, it was the peace she saw in her fellow divers, believers who didn't wrestle with the extreme anxiety she felt trying to achieve perfection in a sport where mere millimeters separate medal winners from those who go home from competitions empty-handed.

Kimiko tells her story:

The main question I had was what it meant to give God control of my life. About three months after I became a Christian, I found my answer through what I can only describe as a vision. I was on an airplane traveling to the Nationals, silently praying, and I got a vision that I was underground frantically trying to dig a tunnel with my hands. Suddenly I realized there was someone standing next to me; it was Jesus. I thought, That's nice, but let me get back to work. After digging a while longer, I got tired and noticed Jesus was holding a shovel. So I said, "OK, I'll take your shovel. Thanks. Now, get out of my way; I need to get back to work."

Things were definitely easier after accepting his help, but eventually I got tired again. I turned to Jesus, and he was holding his hands out to me. His eyes communicated, Give me the shovel. I cried and told him I was scared. What if he changed the direction of my tunnel? I threw a lot of "what ifs" at him, and he just stood there smiling as if to say, It's OK to be scared. But you can trust me. Eventually I let go of my shovel and said, "You take it and forge this tunnel; I'll follow you."

By then I was bawling. The guy next to me on the plane thought I was a lunatic. Finally, I had a picture of what it means to let God be in control of your life. It's not me leading my life and seeking God's blessing, it's me letting him lead, trusting his direction, and obediently following him.

from ChristianityToday.com ~ Taking The Plunge

That perfect mile

... all three runners endured thousands of hours of training to shape their bodies and minds. They ran more miles in a year than many of us walk in a lifetime. They spent a large part of their youth struggling for breath. They trained week after week to the point of collapse, all to shave off a second, maybe two, during a mile race -- the time it takes to snap one's fingers and register the sound. There were sleepless nights and training sessions in rain, sleet, snow, and scorching heat.

There were times when they wanted to go out for a beer or a date yet knew they couldn't. They understood that life was somehow different for them, that idle happiness eluded them. If they weren't training or racing or gathering the will required for these efforts, they were trying not to think about training and racing at all.

The men said a lot of "no's" in order to reach one huge "yes": that perfect mile.

... the top 5 percent of people in the arts and sciences, athletics, business, and scholarship are disciplined people with [similar] intensities ... So also the biblical heroes for the most part. Joseph, Daniel, and Paul come to mind as remarkably disciplined people.

~ Gordon Macdonald in The discipline of success

In the darkest moments,
a quiet voice inside me said,
"You're going to be all right."

"How can you put up with me when no one else wants anything to do with me?" I asked Dave one evening. "You're there, all the time. You listen to me. How do you do it?"

Dave began talking about Jesus, God's son who became human. Deserted by his closest friends ("like me," I thought), Jesus endured unbearable suffering (something else I could relate to).

The more Dave explained, the more it made sense: Jesus could identify with all I was going through. More importantly, I faced the truth: Jesus could save and heal me.

Dave discipled me, helping me understand that true friendship stems from the unfailing love Christ has for us. It revolutionized how I related to everyone.

from Escape from Torment by Lou Carlozo

Inspiring others ..

'I'm no orator,' Theodore Roosevelt once said, 'and in writing I'm afraid I'm not gifted at all. ... If I have anything at all resembling genius it is the gift for leadership.'

There was nothing attractive about Roosevelt. He stood no taller than five feet, nine inches, and was built like a barrel. His blue eyes squinted out nearsightedly through pince-nez, and his brown mustache framed teeth so large and white they sometimes frightened friends as well as enemies. His voice was high-pitched, even squeaky.

Yet, the vivid force of his character and personality, his unabashed, contagious joy in taking charge made the difference. He was a leader of monumental proportions. A political foe called him 'a steam-engine in trousers.' A British visitor thought him comparable only to Niagara Falls among the natural wonders of the New World. His ability to lead-- and the rugged, restless, constitution that went along with it -- was not really a gift at all, but a hard-won achievement. To an extraordinary degree, Teddy Roosevelt was his own creation.

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