Career Worth Living For!
Posts tagged goals
Who wants change?
Apr 21st
I just returned two weeks ago from a corporate training trip in mainland China covering 3 major cities in 3 days.
Hectic? Yes.
Tired? Yes.
I am just recovering from a fever and bad sore throat.
Anyway, the last time I was in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen was about 4 years ago. Stepping back into these cities 4 years on, I felt like they are new cities that I’ve never been in before. Of course, my trip was short and hurried and I felt this way only through the glimpses of the city-scape from the taxis I was traveling in.
They say that change is good. Beijing had a major makeover because of the Olympics in 2008. Shanghai is completing its makeover for the World Expo in 2010 May. And Shenzhen, perhaps keeping up with changes in Hong Kong.
While the many “externals” are constantly changing, I found one thing unchanged throughout my trip.
What I observed is that the changes seem to be happening only on the surface. The “hardware” has been upgraded but the “software” remains the old version.
Imagine running DOS or Windows 3.0 on a Supercomputer.
But the expectation is there. If you show the world that you have modern hardware, facilities, buildings, and infrastructure, then the world is going to expect that there is a corresponding “software” that goes with it. In this context, this software is the mindset and attitude of the people.
My mission conducting the training was two-fold: (1) Introduce the new online performance management system and process that the company is implementing, and (2) teach the managers how to set effective goals with their staff members.
Both these two items were new to the managers who attended the training.
New => Change
Change => Disruptions
Handling disruptions = (Extra) Work
(Extra) Work (Without Extra Pay) => Unhappiness
Who wants change?
From my experience, most people would rather stay in their comfort zones going through the same familiar routine day in and day out. Disruptions messes people’s brains up, give them a heightened level of stimuli, and consumes more energy and emotions than usual.
So, when I started the training, the participants had no problems with goal setting. Goal setting is not new per se and many people think they know goal setting but they really don’t. What I taught was simply a new method to make their goal setting process more effective and useful.
Next, when I touched on the new performance management system and process, I started to hear noises and mumbling from the participants. Now, this system is completely new. It is a system and standard upon which the performance of every employee in the company will be evaluated each year. It is also an online system which is completely different from the paper-based performance evaluation system currently used.
As the course went on, the mumbling became louder and louder. I stopped and asked what the matter was and got the following responses.
“Nobody asked for our feedback and opinion on this new system. Why were we not consulted?”
“The Americans [the company is an American public listed MNC] are trying to control the world again!”
“How can one standard to used across all departments to evaluate all staff?”
“This is going to introduce more work for us, not help us!”
“If I discuss career development opportunities with my staff, they will get the idea that they can switch to other roles in the company. If they are allowed to switch, that leaves me with problems!”
“Who’s going to read all these information that we generate? Are they simply going into a black hole as usual?”
By this time, lots of grumbling were aired. These were questions and issues I cannot address as it obviously wasn’t my job to do so. It was obvious to me that the change management process was not handled well by the company’s human resources department. So much for large companies with lots of resources…
Fundamentally, I have no doubt that the new system will push the organization into a more transparent and unified performance evaluation and career development system. This will introduce relative “fairness” into the company because the same standards are used on all employees. It also promotes talent management and job-fit, which will enable the right people at the right jobs. The company will certainly benefit from this change in the long term.
But the devil is always in the details and implementation process.
The problem is that this change was implemented too quickly (world-wide roll-out within 1 month) without the much needed support and buy-in process from the stakeholders. This means that not enough effort has been put into convincing the people who are supposed to make the system work. If they are not convinced, no matter how great the new system can be, it will not work.
It will be like running Windows 3.0 on a Supercomputer. Dead slow.
Indeed, nobody likes change. If the change is for a good purpose and cause, then it is worth investing the time and effort into making sure that most, if not all, parties concerned are supportive and agreeable; that their mindsets and attitudes are aligned to the direction of the change necessary.
Needless to say, my point really is that it is useless for elaborate external “improvements” when the inside (which is the heart of the matter) has never been changed at all. What good is form without substance?
How much time do you have?
May 3rd
How much time do you have each day?
Your answer may well be, “NOT ENOUGH!”
But if I’m guessing it right, you do not have more time than me and
you do not have less time than me.
In fact, you do not have less time than Li Ka Shing, Obama, or Andy
Lau. You do not have more time than them either.
The fact is that we all have 24 hours a day.
However, some of us obviously achieve a lot more with their 24
hours compared with others. And the trick is not time
management.Because time cannot be managed, you can only manage what
you want to do in it.
And so, instead of trying to manage time, try managing your life.
So, how do you accomplish more?
First of all, you must know what it is that you want in your life.
Look at it this way, if you do not know what you want to accomplish
in your life, why does it matter what you do everyday? If you don’t
know your purpose in life or your goals in life or what your ideal
life looks like, then it doesn’t matter what you do today or
tomorrow; it doesn’t matter whether you get your degree or not; it
doesn’t matter whether you get the job or not; it doesn’t matter
whether you earn little or much money…
After you have decided on what it is that you want in your life,
then look at what you are doing each day to see if your daily
activities help to move you closer to your goals.And I mean take a
long hard look at how you spend time and expend effort each day and
determine if they align with your goals.
If any of the daily activities do not bring you closer to your
goals or your ideal life, then it is time to stop doing it.
The fact is that in order to accomplish more, you have to do less.
Life doesn’t get better by doing more. It gets better only when you
are focused and are only doing those things that matter to you.
What is it that you will stop doing today?
A perfect world
Jan 4th
Wow, it is 2009 already! And this being a brand new year, what goals have you set for yourself?
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You see, without goals, you are going nowhere in life. It’s just like boarding an airplane and telling the pilot, “Oh, I don’t know… just fly anywhere…” I’m quite sure the pilot’s response to that will be, “Well, why did you board the plane in the first place?”
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The plane can, indeed, bring you to a destination of your choice but you have to make that choice. Your life and career are very much the same – You have to choose your destination in order for them to work the way you want it to work.
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Look at it this way: If you don’t make that choice, you can be sure that someone else will make it for you and you may not like it.
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So, how do you set goals?
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Some people will teach you to set SMART goals – i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Yes, I agree that goals need to have these components. However, having SMART goals doesn’t mean that you are motivated to achieve them. You must want them for them to be of use! You also need a plan to work out your goals!
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This is the reason why most so-called new year resolutions don’t work! People who “resolve” to change on new year’s day usually are not motivated to do so – i.e. they have no big need to change. And even after setting the goal, they don’t have a plan to make it work.
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Now here are some tips and questions for goal-setting to make it work for you:
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Imagine the world is perfect and that you simply cannot fail; Whatever you do succeeds. In 5 years’ time (i.e. setting 5-year goals):
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1. Where will you be?
2. What will you be doing?
3. Who will you be with?
4. How much control over your own time will you have?
5. What will your health and fitness be?
6. What is your financial status?
7. How are your relationships?
8. How do you contribute to the community?
9. How will your life be different compared to now?
10. How will your be spoken of?
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Now, after answering the 10 questions above in detail, you would have given yourself a destination in 5 years.
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Next, ask yourself this: If I continued to live my life as I am doing so now, how will my life be like in 5 years’ time? How about 10 years? 20 years? Is this what I want?
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If you have found enough motivation to change the way you live your life immediately, then start designing a plan to achieve your 5-year goals.
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Then, make sure you do something from that plan immediately. Do it now. Don’t leave this till tomorrow.Â
I knew my direction but…
Oct 27th
I remember that I always knew what I wanted to do in life.
When I was in primary school, I wanted very much to be a doctor, to save lives. Much of this desire was influenced by my favourite aunt who was, then, studying in medical school. I remember playing with and being intrigued by the human skeleton model and the needles and syringes that she used in her studies. My grandmother, with whom I spent a lot of my childhood with, also constantly talked about how important it is to have a doctor at home.
By secondary school, I had set my sights on being a top surgeon in the medical profession and the subjects I chose to study were in line with this goal – pure sciences. This was also the time when my aunt graduated from university with her medical degree and started working in the public hospital system. I told her very proudly of my ambition and how I’d like to be like her.
However, the respond I received was somewhat shocking, “Don’t be a doctor. You’ll work like a dog.”
What??!!!
By the time I joined junior college for my A-levels, I had given up the dream of becoming a doctor. Instead, I decided that I should study and work in something that I enjoyed very much, as a hobby, which was computing and computers.
I then spent the next 5 years studying computers and obtained my first degree in Computer Engineering.
And guess what? By the time I graduated from university, I have decided that IT is not the type of work I want to do for the rest of my life (largely due to my internship experience and the boring classes in university). And I chose my life direction, yet again although vaguely, to be an educator and a life changer. But this time, I found this direction from deep within my heart and had it confirmed through experience, mentors, coaches, personality tests and inventories throughout the years since.
As many of you already know, I am today an educator and a businessman and enjoying every bit of it! I am not working in the IT industry per se and have never done so directly. I am doing what I am doing because I have discovered my purpose through lots of hard knocks and running around in circles not getting anywhere.
I may not be saving physical lives today, like what a doctor does, but I am changing lives and saving souls one at a time through education which I consider my calling in life.
Looking back, I realised that while I had direction at the various stages of my life, they were influenced very much by the people around me. During those times, I had never searched and discovered within myself the questions, “What difference do I want to make in this world?”, “What am I here for?” and “What is the purpose of my life?”
If your life choices were made by people other than yourself, it is time to rethink and re-choose. You have one life and it is yours to live to the full. Nobody can live it for you and nobody can be responsible for you.
It may take some time to discover and confirm your own direction but the time spent is well worth it. What is important is that you start looking out for it and it will find its way to you.
Are you going to live forever?
Aug 17th
I mean, of course, living forever physically.
If your answer to this question is anything other than “NO”, I’d suggest that you make an appointment with a psychiatrist soon. : )
In the long run, we are all dead. What matters is what you are going to do between now and then. And you only have the time between now and the time you end up in the ground. So, what are you going to do about it?
Some of us are afraid of trying new things. Some are afraid of not being accepted by others. Some are afraid of failure. Some constantly need approval from people around them. Yet others are not willing to take risks being afraid of losing out.
What about you?
Is there something that should be done today that you are putting off till tomorrow? Something like asking someone you like out for a date, like going on an adventure, like starting a new business, like changing your course of study, like telling someone dear to you that you love him/her, like taking on a new job that you’ve always wanted to do…
Would you rather have regrets just before you are gone?
You see, all that we have is NOW. It is what you choose to do NOW that will make a difference in your life. The past is gone and you cannot do anything about it. The future is not here and nobody knows about it, and so, there’s nothing you can do about it either, much less worrying about it. What we have within our control is our decisions and actions this very moment.
So, the next time you are worried, nervous about something or are procrastinating about a decision or an action, ask yourself these question:
1. Am I going to live forever?
2. If I have just 3 months more to live, will this matter and what will I decide to do?
3. What really matters to me here?
4. What are my goals?
5. Can I control what other people think? If not, should I then be bothered by what they think?
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