Sunday, September 28, 2014

Human resource

Every management should realize that the success or failure of an organisation depends a lot on the people who work with you.How true the saying " no man is an island".We need good people to work with us , people who are loyal , dedicated and above all happy to be working with us.Management should understand that in the final analysis people work for money and job security .Management which can provide this for their staff will be successful . People make mistakes and my staff do make a lot of mistakes and when this happens the right approach must be taken . There should be no shouting and screaming and lots of rebuke. Instead a wise manager will talk to the staff and point out the mistake and the consequences of such mistakes and guide them as to how the assignment should have been done.Management with the right attitude will say " Never mind if you have made a mistake , the important thing.is to know why the mistake was made and how to avoid it in future and that it is all part of the learning process.Any organization that does not allow it people to make mistakes cannot go very far as its human resource will be scared to be creative and make decisions. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased when my Warden came to see me this morning .She talked to me last week about wanting to leave as she had a better offer and I did tell her then that if that is the case then she should go and go with my blessing and I certainly would not want to stand in her way if she got a better offer.When she came this morning she said after considering everything she decided to stay on because she agreed with me that in life money is not everything. I did tell her that she should also consider her work environment and whether she gets along well with her colleagues.Apparently she values the things I talked about and hence decided to stay. I am happy with that as wardens are not easy to come by.Take good care of your staff and tthey will reciprocate with loyalty and commitment.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Life's frailties

Recently the wife of a former colleague of mine passed away,We were all teachers in the same school a long time ago. I saw them in their courting days , their marriage and their life together.They were a very close couple and shared many common interests.Both were highly educated, stables and I must say good teachers. Suddenly one of them ,(the stronger of the two ) had to go and looking at my friend i could not help but wonder how he is going to get on with his life without his wife.He is always in a world of his own , dreamy and quite oblivious to his surrounding whilst the wife is the more down to earth of the two and she was the one who decided on the daily requirements of life. I am wondering what will be going through my friend's mind.That he will be lost initially is beyond a doubt and I hope he will be able to cope with his life after this.Its strange but much too often we hear of how one person will find life difficult without a spouse.We often take each other for granted and seldom will think of what the impact on us will be like when we lose the other.Even the great Lee Kwan Yew found life difficult when his wife left him. When you are so used to being a part of each other there will definitely be something missing in your life when one has to go away.That is why when we have each other we must never forget to value , appreciate and cherish each other .Life is uncertain and its important that while we have it to treasure it and to value the people we have around us. I cannot help but think back with a bit of regrets of the people who have left me .Regrets because I could have perhaps been kinder or more caring towards them, regrets because I did not do enough for them and regrets because I did not think well of them.These are lessons learned and it has made me want to always look at the better side of a person rather than to find faults. Being positive and look at others more openly will definitely make us better persons. Looking at somebody's positively will definitely make us happier and not feel any sense of regret when the person is no longer with us.

Friday, September 12, 2014

What we have and what we dont have

Its an interesting observation , studying people and trying to figure them out.As I have been around for some time I cant help but notice the peculiar ways of living their lives.First , the question of wealth.I am not rich in terms of money in the bank , properties etc, but I have seen people with loads of money who hoard it and never tend to want to part with a little of it for whatever reasons. They are rich but I would consider them poor as they are too money minded to really know how to put their money to good use.They live like paupers and deprive themselves of so many things.I know of some people who love to eat but at other people's expenses and it has never occurred to them to buy others a meal once in a way just to reciprocate .I wonder if these kind of people ever think if they can bring their money along with them when they step into the after world? Thinking of wealth in terms of dollars and cents will make you dissatisfied as there is never enough.Think of wealth in terms of what you have like good health, a happy family , love and kindness whom the people around you show and you will realize then how rich you are.Think also of how you can make others happy in so many ways. People must have certain standards in life , how you treat others and how considerate you can be.Mum is super considerate .I have always been amazed by the way she considers her siblings and friends, always thinking of them and caring so much for them. Sad to say I have also noticed that the reciprocal she gets is very little .This does not bother her as she has always believed in giving and never think of receiving.But watching from the outside I cant help but feel that there is something seriously lacking in some people. As I have said my wealth is not measured in dollars and cents.To me money is meant to be spent and money spent on making others happy is money well spent.My wealth comes from good health, a happy family , my kids, my in laws and of course my grandchildren.These are my wealth and I feel blessed to have so much of them and this makes me so rich.