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.

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.

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.

Knee Problem

Since falling down a couple of weeks ago the knee is giving problems which I cannot control.Have to see a doctor for dressing the wound every day and even he is baffled as to why the healing process is taking so long.When I first saw him he confidently said " Just three days " and you will be ok. Its more than 3 days now and the wound is not healed yet.Finally he admitted that it could be because of my sugar level which is worrying as it may ultimately lead to amputation.Scary but has to be faced. Fortunately its not giving much pain and one wound seems to be getting better and I tell myself " Well if one wound on the same leg is healing there is no reason why the other should not heal.Anyway its a lesson learned ... that if you have cuts and bruises get treatment straight away as you may not know the seriousness of the condition.Procrastination can lead to complications and we should not realize how important health is till its too late to do anything .then will come the sighings like " I should have checked up, I should have been more careful ,should have been more careful , should not have been so stubborn etc".There is a lot of wisdom in the saying " prevention is better than cure" and prevention means putting a premium value on your health and make sure you maintain it.

The Push !

It has happened....we signed an agreement with a listed company to manage the students staying at their service residence and it will be for a contract period of 4 years to start with ( by which time I will be 78 omg ).It means starting all over again and facing new challenges which I relish .I have built my team and am confident that after all the guidance and training they will be able to handle the project. Somehow I cant help but feel excited over the new project.We have our vision and working towards the realization of the vision is going to be our strongest motivational factor.Also the fact that they have come to us makes us proud that we have established our reputation in the student accommodation market and this gives us perhaps the best incentive. Apparently our resident centered approach is well accepted by people in business and its good that we are able to convince them that sometimes its not just about making money but also making valuable social contributions. Now that this has happened I have to work on my fitness level as some running about is required.To be able to cope with all this good health is a must and actually its up to us to ensure that we stay healthy by living a life of moderation and doing the things necessary for good health like exercise , rest and eating moderately but regularly.God willing I shall have the will and strength to see this project through.

The final push ?

Lately two offers came our way.One hotel which is being turned into a hostel looked us up for help.They wanted us to run the hostel for them and the terms are fairly attractive.Its not going to pay big bucks but I like the challenge of having to start something from scratch.Then there is a group of investors from China who have bought a piece of land in Sunway near the education hub of Subang jaya and they have approached us for the role of adviser from start to operation level. The offers are exciting because it means running about and being on the go for another few years down the road.Admittedly I am not as gung ho as I was a few years ago but I believe that there is still some " gung " left but am not so sure of the "ho".It is something to think about .On the one hand I should be calling it a day soon as I believe I have worked long enough but then the thought of sitting home doing nothing is quite something too. Of corse there will be things to do like writing, golfing and maybe travelling ( by road )and of course being with the grandchildren. Knowing mum she would want me to go on working as she knows me better than I do perhaps and she does not want to see me waste away.My working life has been interesting and fruitful I must say.Along the career path I have learned that one must be humble and work closely with the team and to never grumble when told to do the little bit extra.Going the extra mile will always make one stand out in an organization until you work with bosses who are totally blind. Years of involvement in human resource management has taught me how to differentiate between the worker with potential as against the deadwood.Also working as a team player and to do things without fear or favor.Dealing with people is perhaps one of the most interesting and challenging aspect of working life.Sometimes I cannot help but remember an old saying " To soar like an eagle when you are working with turkeys".It just show that we should have the correct attitude and subscribe to the notion that there will always be people who are " turkeys" , just as there will always be " eagles" in any organization and we should be able to identify them and this should encourage us to strive for the "eagle : status. I have always believed that one should be the best and I had my day a couple of weeks ago when a golfing partner told me " Hey. Uncle you have improved !". a good one at 74 but it was sheer determination and hard work.Age should not be barrier.Its all in our mind set .If we think there is no age limit to work then we can continue .The only thing which is difficult to overcome is the protest from your body.

Something to think about !

Being disciplined is never easy but if we look at what discipline brings maybe we will strive that much harder to acquire discipline as one of our traits.Too often we see young people indulging in many bad habits, oversleeping , overeating and under exercising or under controlling themselves. Our health is the main ingredient in our lives but sadly its often neglected until the day we fall sick. That is the time when statements like " I should have been more careful about my diet. I should have done this and that ".Unfortunately its too late for we cannot turn back the clock .Health is God given but we must learn how to take care of it and let it not be abused.To be disciplined requires will power and a strong belief in what you are doing. Nobody likes to stretch himself working out a sweat or having to go for long walks when watching the TV or playing with gadgets is a more attractive proposition .It is only if we are sensible enough to think of the consequences if we should lose our health that perhaps we may have the motivation to want to take better care of ourselves.We eat too much , we laze too much and we also abuse our bodies too much. Bodies which are not kept in order will deteriorate , firstly becoming out of shape and then gradually breaking down. If we look at the farmers , fishermen and people who have to work hard physically we realize that many of them do not suffer from common ailments that the sedentary people do.This is because they are on the go all the time and this is what probably keeps them fit. To be disciplined enough to lead a good life style is not easy.It means eating moderately , exercising regularly and sleeping early.keeping awake till late at night makes you overstretch your body and mind and lack of sleep and rest will make it difficult for you to face the challenges of the new day.One may say all this is common sense and common knowledge.We know it yet we never do it and I just cant help but wonder why , why are we like that ? Not doing the things we know are good for us >The key here is its a matter of discipline. Some wise man defined discipline as " doing something which you do not like to do " but if we know that certain things have to be done for our own good then we should try to do it.It requires an awareness that we need to ensure that we are disciplined enough to take the necessary steps to ensure that our well being is maintained throughout and thinking about it should make us realize that after all being disciplined is not really that difficult !