Ultimate Career
Career Worth Living For!
10K in 5 minutes
Jan 4th
If you know the story of Fedex, they operate on a hub-and-spoke operations and their hub is located at Memphis. What this means is that all Fedex packages, large or small, in the US are shipped to this centre in Memphis first before going on to their destination location.
You can imagine the amount of packages that are handled on a daily basis at this distribution centre. And to handle such an amount, the technologies involved are also mind-boggling.
One morning, EVERYTHING stopped working.
There was electricity at the centre because the lights and computers in the office still worked. However, all the machinery that processed the packages simply refused to function.
The pressure is on and every minute that passed by implied ten of thousands of dollars lost.
The centre manager was almost in a state of panic and called the repairman again.
“I’m just 5 minutes away,” the repairman said.
Once the repairman arrived at the centre, he surveyed the conveyor belts and machinery.
Within a few moments, he walked over an electrical junction box in the middle of the centre, opened it, took out a screw driver from his toolbox, and turned a screw in the electrical junction box a quarter of an inch.
Immediately, everything started working again.
“Wow, you saved my life!” the centre manager said. “How much do I owe you?”
The repairman said, “Ten thousand dollars.” (US$, mind you)
“What??! You were barely here for 5 minutes and it costs US$10,000??”, the centre manager exclaimed.
“OK, please give me an itemized bill so that I know the breakdown of the US$10,000,” he continued.
“Sure,” the repairman said, took out a pen and a piece of paper, wrote on it and gave it to the centre manager.
The centre manager looked at the note, smiled, walked into his office and brought back US$10,000 in cash and paid the repairman.
In the note, it says:
“Turning screw: US$1″
“Knowing which screw to turn: US$9,999.”
A lot of times, we look at successful people and high achievers and think that they are just lucky. Sometimes, we even think that their jobs are so simple and easy that we can do them for just half their pay.
Just like the US$10,000 that the repairman charged, turning the screw is the act that most people see and, indeed, it is a simple thing to do and you don’t need a degree to do it.
However, to know which screw to turn within a short period of time that will solve the problem, the repairman would have taken years of discipline, training, practice, mistakes, errors and more importantly, learning and improving.These are the effort and experience that people cannot see. Yet, without them, the problem cannot never be solved.
We will be successful only if we learn all the time – when we do things well AND when we make mistakes.
In this new year, make a fresh start by always daring to try new things and learn from them. Never be afraid to make mistakes or be concerned with what other people may say or think.
They are not living your life. You are.
My Basil and me
Nov 23rd
While preparing for a personality assessment workshop 2 weeks ago, I was reminded of Basil plant I grew some 7 years ago.
You see, cooking is a hobby of mine and one of the key influences on my cooking style is my having lived in Thailand for 3 years.Of course, it also helps that I once owned and operated a cafe that served great food. ; )
Thai cooking uses a fair amount of Basil leaves and instead of buying them from the grocery store each time I want to cook, I decided to grow them in home.
Growing them was easy. I bought the seeds, got some soil in a pot and within a week or so, I saw the shoots emerging from the soil and before long, I got a full grown Basil plant from which I harvest the fragrant leaves for some of my favourite dishes.
The Basil plant was placed just inside my apartment next to a large ceiling-to-floor window with good exposure to sunlight and was given sufficient water each day.
However, all of a sudden, I noticed that the leaves started to wilt. And the Basil plant became rather frail although it wasn’t totally gone. I thought it might be lacking soil nutrients and began to supply it with fertilizers.
Still, the situation didn’t improve and I became increasing puzzled. My Basil plant had all the resources it needed (or so I thought). What else was the problem??
One day while shopping at IKEA, I noticed that some window hooks for potted plants were on sale and I bought a few with the intent of hanging the Basil plant outside of the window.
Guess what?
Within 3 days of putting the Basil plant out, its leaves grew plum and it blossomed into quite a bush!
It appeared that although the Basil was exposed to sunlight previously, it was indoors and the light was filtered by the window. It couldn’t thrive under that environment. Being outside the window, the Basil plant received direct, unfiltered sunlight and this made all the difference. It seemed like a small difference to me but it was a matter of life and death for the Basil.
The lesson I drew from this little episode is that the same principle applies to each of us.
We each have a preferred type of environment that is most conducive for us to grow and develop. Without such an environment that fits our personality, we can be given all the resources and motivation yet we will find ourselves struggling and wilting away, energy drained from us instead of being energized.
Before you jump into a job, it is vital for you to gain a keen awareness of who you are (passion, values, beliefs, skills) and what your dominant personality types might be.
With these, it is then possible to identify jobs and work environments that are most suitable for YOU which will enable you to thrive. It is with such a compatible match that you are more likely to be successful in your career.
There are several prominent personality assessment tools available which you should consider – examples are Myer-Briggs Type Indicators (MBTI), Holland’s Codes, and DiSC.
If you are studying, your university career centre may have some of these tools which you can take for free (mind you, some of these can be expensive!).
If you’d like to take a quick and accurate (and cheap too!) assessment online, here’s one on our website.
Are You Sure?
Aug 12th
I just got back to hot, hot Singapore for several days now and am
now writing this week’s Jobscope entry in the middle of the night.
I’m doing this because I have just ended a rather long day (days
seem so much longer when you are in the heat most of the time
sweating a way…) but wanted to capture and share with you two
conversations I had today.
I was catching up with two friends separately today and
interestingly, our conversations followed a very similar thread. To
give you a little background, both these two friends are
high-flying executives in large organizations and both have the
word “Director” in their job title. One of them is in her early 30s
and the other in her early 40s.
Over breakfast, the friend in her early 30s spoke about needing to
take time off to enjoy her life and do the things she loves,
emphasizing the importance of a balanced life and not to take her
work too seriously and risk her health doing so. She talked how she
is managing to reschedule her life so that she doesn’t work so hard
and long any longer but instead, she is spending time to pursue
hobbies and interests. She has also found herself healthier since
making the changes.
Over dinner, my other friend in her early 40s spoke of how life is
different now since changing her job a month ago. She is no longer
stressed-out and, in fact, finds life and work at a good pace now.
Her high-blood pressure has miraculously “disappeared” and she no
longer needs to take any medication. She now has time for her love
life and reckoned that even though she took a big pay-cut with the
job switch, it was well worth it.
Did you get the thread of the two conversations?
They were about the need to slow down and balance life; and that
life is meant to be lived and enjoyed and not to be “worked away.”
I must say that such conversations are rather common amongst
mid-career professionals. It is a phase that city executives go
through and some may even call in “mid-life crisis.”
For those of you who are still studying or are young professionals,
this is something that you might have heard or read about. But I
would think that it is something that is rather hard to really
understand at this point in your life.
Most of us are taught to study hard, earn a good degree, find a
good job, work hard, earn lots of money and that is when you are
successful and fulfilled. The problem is that when we finally get
to the level when we are working very hard and earning lots of
money, we actually do not have the time (and life, for some) to
enjoy our lives.
At the time, we begin to associate with our work and achievements.
Our work becomes us and we become our work. The pressure to
continue to hang on to the work, work harder and earn more gets
even greater at that time that stopping, or slowing down, is not an
option. We start to think that without the work, we are nobody and
so, we are afraid of losing that identity.
Is it necessary to go through all that trouble and years just to
realize that there is a big difference between success and
fulfillment? That life can be enjoyed NOW? That life needs to be
balanced? That it is possible to achieve without striving?
Let me say this straight: There are only two things we know for
sure in life - Death and Taxes. The rest of life is up to you to
choose.
In the long run, we are all going to be dead.
Question is “What are you going to do with your life between now
and then?”
Your Two Major Fears
Jul 24th
The fear of failure is the one greatest obstacle to success for
adults. In the extreme case, we become obsessed with not making a
mistake, with seeking approval above all other considerations. The
experience of the fear of failure is in the words of “I can’t”, “I
can’t.” We feel it in the front of the body, starting at the
abdomen and, then, to the rapid beating of the heart, quick and
shallow breathing and a tight throat. We may also experience this
fear in the bladder and in the irresistible need to run to the
toilet.
The second major fear that causes our performance to stumble and
inhibits our expression, is the fear of rejection. We learn this
when our parents make their love for us conditional upon our
behaviour. If we do what pleases them, they give us love and
approval. If we do something they don’t like, they withdraw their
love and approval-which we interpret as rejection.
As adults, people who grew up with conditional love become
preoccupied with the opinions of others. Many people develop the
Type A personality and behaviour which is characterized by
hostility, distrust and an obsession with performance to some vague
yet high standard. This is typically expressed in the attitude of
“I have to, I have to,” and is associated with the feeling that “I
have to work harder and accomplish more in order to please the
boss.” The boss or whoever it is we are trying to please and win
approval from has become our surrogate parent.
More than 99 percent of adults experience both these fears of
failure and rejection. These two traps cause the feeling of
insecurity arising from the self-talk, “I can’t, but “I have to,”
“I have to,” but “I can’t.”
In order to remove these fears, it is vital to develop character,
courage, and high self-esteem. The opposite of fear is actually
love, particularly self-love and self-respect. When you love and
accept yourself for who you are, you will start to feel the fear
melt away.
Throughout the ages, we have been taught that in order to conquer
fear, we have to do exactly that which we fear. Acting with courage
in a situation which we feel fear is a simple way that will boost
our regard for ourselves to such a point that our fears diminish
and lose their power to affect our behaviour and decisions.
Here are two things you can do to boost your self-esteem and
confidence to overcome your fears.
1. Accept the fact that you can do anything you put your mind to.
You can learn and grow. Tell yourself, “Anything anyone has done
before, I can do it!”, “I can do it! ” when you feel afraid for any
reason.
2. Continually think of yourself as a worthy and important person.
Remember that temporary “failure” is the way you learn how to
succeed.
Have or Not?
Apr 11th
Two Tuesdays ago, I had two separate conversations with two persons
on the same day which I thought were quite interesting. Here’s how
each one went:
1. A student of mine who is in her early 20s
Over lunch, she was relating to me how the current market situation
sounds very daunting and that coming from a not-so-well-known
university will post certain challenges in her job-hunt in the near
future.
She spoke of how most of her graduating friends in the university
are planning to avoid the current downturn by opting to sign up for
a Master’s degree program once they get their undergraduate degree.
Even so, she feels a calling in her heart that she should start her
professional career upon graduation instead of continuing to study.
She knows the exact field she wishes to be in and is focused on
uncovering all the opportunities in the field wherever they may be.
At the same time, she understands the challenges ahead and instead
of finding ways to avoid them, she is making plans to prepare to
overcome them.
She’s scheduling time to build her network, attend recruitment
talks, job-fairs, keep fit, eat well, craft and refine her resume
and cover-letter.
I was particularly impressed with her enthusiasm and passion.
Throughout our conversation, I could feel that she already has the
job and career that she wants very clearly in her mind. And she’s
taking steps each day to move towards her goals.
2. A good friend of mine who is in his late 30s
While catching up over the phone, he spoke about how the people
around have achieved the level of “success” that he aspires to
achieve. Yet, although having tried very hard and strived for many
years now, he is disappointed that his goals have eluded him.
He also found that while he tries to be happy for the people and
friends around him who have “succeeded,” such news only brings
further disappointment to him and reminds him that he “does not
have.”
And when I suggested that keeping such an attitude will only
continue to bring him disappointment, he argued that “it is only
human” for him to be unhappy with his current situation.
When I suggested options which he can take, he presented the
challenges and difficulties of those options. He sounded very
convinced that it is simply impossible to achieve what he wants,
especially after having tried “every avenue.” He sounded resigned
to his “fate.”
There is an interesting chapter in the Bible that says that those
who have will be given more, and those who do not have, even what
he has will be taken away [Matthew 2:29]. What it means to say is
that that those who make use of the talents that they have fully
will be rewarded with abundance while those who do not will lose
even those talents they have.
If your starting point is lack (i.e. I don’t have happiness, I
don’t have wealth, I don’t have success, etc.), then you are
focused on lack (“have-not”). Guess what? You will receive what you
focus on.
On the other hand, if you starting point is abundance and act AS IF
you already possess what you wish to achieve, then you are focused
on abundance (“have”). And guess what? The law of the universe is
neutral and you will receive what you focus on.
The rudder of your life
Jan 12th
Have you ever wondered why some people are substantially more successful within the same job title as another? While some would believe this due to greater intelligence or job skill, studies prove that individuals who achieve great levels of success in life have greater ability to manage their own emotions. This skill is referred to as emotional competence. And, in its simplest terms, emotional competence refers to the ability to manage one’s own emotions.
While emotional competence is important within any job title or career path, it is more noticeable within others. Sales professionals or leaders of others require a greater degree of emotional competence than other professions. How do you know what your personal level of emotional competence is?
To do a quick self assessment of your own emotional competence, consider how long you take to regain focus after a distraction, a tragedy, a disappointment or a failure. Are you able to continue at the task at hand quickly after a harsh rejection or does a rejection ruin your entire workday? If you are having challenges outside of the workplace, are you able to remain focused while at work? Take a moment to think about the biggest disappointments or challenges that you have faced and how you handled or overcame them.
Emotionally competent individuals are able to resume focus within a matter of minutes or days, while an individual who lacks emotional competence may require days or even years to fully recover after a major disappointment or tragedy. Typically, those individuals who possess strong emotional competence experience greater business, personal and financial success within their life than those who do not possess the skill set.
The good news is that you can strengthen your emotional competence levels. To increase this skill set, you must begin to master your thoughts and emotions. Every time that you have a negative or self limiting belief enter your mind, you must be aware of it and then you must proactively replace the negative thought with a positive one. Sound easy? It can be if you stop to become more self aware of how you feel and what you think about on a daily basis. At first this will seem like a quite a task, but over time it will become a habit for you. You will also start to realise how “filthy†your mind really is and how easily it focuses on negative things.
Another step to take when working to increase your emotional competence is to work on things even when you don’t feel like it. For example, the successful salesperson makes outgoing sales calls even when they are down, frustrated and feel like quitting as they believe that if they keep going they will experience success. Next time you feel like quitting, stop, re-focus your energy and persist to complete the task at hand. (And remember: We are all doing the work of selling everyday!)
By working to improve your emotional competence, you are increasing your chances of experiencing success in every aspect of your life.