One day an employee sends a letter to Her boss asking for an increase in her salary!!!
Dear Bo$$
In thi$ life, we all need $ome thing mo$t de$ perately. I think you $hould be under$ tanding of the need$ of u$ worker $ who have given $o much $upport including $ weat and $ervice to your company.
I am $ure you will gue $$ what I mean and re$pond $oon.
Your$ $incerely,
Marian $hih
The next day, the employee recieved this letter of reply:
Dear Marian
I kNOw you have been working very hard. NOwadays, NOthing much has changed. You must have NOticed that our company is NOt doing NOticeably well as yet .
NOw the newspaper are saying the world`s leading ecoNOmists are NOt sure if the United States may go into aNO ther recession. After the NOvember presidential elections things may turn bad .
I have NOthing more to add NOw. You kNOw what I mean .
Yours truly,
Manager
Thursday 31 January 2008
Sometimes We Just Need To Be Reminded!
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by: holding up a $20.00 bill In the room of 200, he asked, 'Who would like this $20 bill?' Hands started going up. He said, 'I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill . He then asked, 'Who still wants it?' Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, 'What if I do this?' And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. 'Now, who still wants it?' Still the hands went into the air. My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still
priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know,
but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE.
You are special - Don't EVER forget it.'
Count your blessings, not your problems. 'And remember: amateurs built the ark .... professionals built the Titanic.
If God brings you to it - He will bring you through it.
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still
priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know,
but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE.
You are special - Don't EVER forget it.'
Count your blessings, not your problems. 'And remember: amateurs built the ark .... professionals built the Titanic.
If God brings you to it - He will bring you through it.
New Malay Dilemma
The previous Malay Dilemma" written by Dr Mahathir in the late 60s/early 70s had caused him to be banned form the country by Tengku as it was considered too sensitive and racial. Dr M could not implement totally what had propagated in his book as he discovered the condition was different when he got into position. Now he observed the Malays are still lacking behind… WHY ?
Please read to find the answer :
The New Malay Dilemma By former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on
Malays remaining behind others despite privileges. The Malays are among the few people whose race is legally defined. Thus, the Malaysian Constitution states that a Malay is one who habitually speaks Malay, professes the religion of Islam and practises Malay customs. There is nothing said about the definitive culture of the Malays. It follows that changes in culture do not make a Malay person a non-Malay.
Culture is made up largely of the value systems accepted, even if not actually practiced by a people or a race. Observations have shown that the culture of a people determines whether they are successful or they fail...
Europeans, Asians, Africans and American Indians can all be successful and can all fail. It is, therefore, not the race or ethnicity which determines success. It is the culture.
When I wrote The Malay Dilemma in the late 60s, I had assumed that all the Malays lacked the opportunities to develop and become successful. They lacked opportunities for educating themselves, opportunities to earn enough to go into business, opportunities to train in the required vocation, opportunities to obtain the necessary funding, licences and premises. If these opportunities could be made available to them, then they would succeed...
But today, the attitude has changed. Getting scholarships and places in the universities at home and abroad is considered a matter of right and is not valued any more. Indeed, those who get these educational opportunities for some unknown reason seem to dislike the very people who created these opportunities. Worse still, they don't seem to appreciate the opportunities that they get.
They become more interested in other things, politics in particular, to the detriment of their studies. In business, the vast majority regarded the opportunities given them as something to be exploited for the quickest return...
They learn nothing about business and become even less capable at doing business and earning an income from their activities. They become mere sleeping partners and at times not even that. Having sold, they no longer have anything to do with the business. They would go to the government for more licences, permits, shares, etc...
Why has this thing happened? The answer lies in the culture of the Malays. They are laid-back and prone to take the easy way out. And the easy way out is to sell off whatever they get and ask for more. This is their culture.
Working hard, taking risks and being patient is not a part of their culture. It should be remembered that in the past the Malays were not prepared to take up the jobs created by the colonial powers in their effort to exploit the country. Because the Malays were not prepared to work in rubber estates and the mines, the Indians and Chinese were brought in. At one time, the migrants outnumbered the Malays. Had they continued to outnumber the Malays, independent Malaya would be like independent Singapore.
But the Malays have apparently learnt nothing from the near loss of their country in the past. Today, they are still unwilling to work and foreign workers are again flooding the country. And because they are not equipping themselves with the necessary education and skills, they have continued to depend on others.
Their political dominance will protect them for a time. But that dominance is fading very fast as they quarrel among themselves and breaks up into small ineffective groups. Their numerical superiority means less today than at the time of independence...
The Malays, together with the other Bumiputeras, make up 60 per cent of the country's population. But in terms of their political clout, it is now much less than 60 per cent. They are now more dependent on non-Malay support, both the government party and the opposition.
Economically, of course, they have less than half the 30-per-cent share that has been allocated to them. If we discount the non-Malay contribution to the nation's economy, Malaysia would be not much better than some of the African developing countries.
To succeed, the Malays must change their culture. They must look towards work as a reward in itself. They must regard what they achieve through work as the true reward. There should be some financial reward but this must not outweigh the satisfaction obtained from the result of their work...
Changing culture is far more difficult than changing the policies of government. It is easy enough to propose affirmative action but it is not easy to implement it. The recipients must have the right attitude if the results are going to be obtained...
Unfortunately, their view is that their crutches are symbols of their superior status in the country. The sad thing is that they are not even using the crutches properly. As a result, they gain nothing or very little from the availability of these aids...
So what is the new Malay dilemma? Their old dilemma was whether they should distort the picture a little in order to help themselves.
The new dilemma is whether they should or should not do away with the crutches that they have got used to, which in fact they have become proud of.
There is a minority of Malays who are confident enough to think of doing away with the crutches, albeit gradually. But they are a very small minority. Their numbers are not going to increase any time soon. They are generally regarded as traitors to the Malay race...
There will be a host of protests over this generalisation about Malay attitudes. We read almost every day about blind Malay people and other handicapped Malays graduating with university degrees or driving cars or doing all kinds of work.
This does not prove that the generalisation that I make is wrong. These are exceptions. They only prove that if the right attitude or culture is adopted, even the handicapped can succeed.
The dilemma faced by those few who want to build a strong, resilient and independent Malay race without crutches is that they are most likely to end up becoming unpopular and losing the ability to influence the changes in the culture and the value system which are necessary.
It seems that they should not try and yet they know that without the cultural changes, the Malays are going to fail.
By Mahathir Mohamad
Please read to find the answer :
The New Malay Dilemma By former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on
Malays remaining behind others despite privileges. The Malays are among the few people whose race is legally defined. Thus, the Malaysian Constitution states that a Malay is one who habitually speaks Malay, professes the religion of Islam and practises Malay customs. There is nothing said about the definitive culture of the Malays. It follows that changes in culture do not make a Malay person a non-Malay.
Culture is made up largely of the value systems accepted, even if not actually practiced by a people or a race. Observations have shown that the culture of a people determines whether they are successful or they fail...
Europeans, Asians, Africans and American Indians can all be successful and can all fail. It is, therefore, not the race or ethnicity which determines success. It is the culture.
When I wrote The Malay Dilemma in the late 60s, I had assumed that all the Malays lacked the opportunities to develop and become successful. They lacked opportunities for educating themselves, opportunities to earn enough to go into business, opportunities to train in the required vocation, opportunities to obtain the necessary funding, licences and premises. If these opportunities could be made available to them, then they would succeed...
But today, the attitude has changed. Getting scholarships and places in the universities at home and abroad is considered a matter of right and is not valued any more. Indeed, those who get these educational opportunities for some unknown reason seem to dislike the very people who created these opportunities. Worse still, they don't seem to appreciate the opportunities that they get.
They become more interested in other things, politics in particular, to the detriment of their studies. In business, the vast majority regarded the opportunities given them as something to be exploited for the quickest return...
They learn nothing about business and become even less capable at doing business and earning an income from their activities. They become mere sleeping partners and at times not even that. Having sold, they no longer have anything to do with the business. They would go to the government for more licences, permits, shares, etc...
Why has this thing happened? The answer lies in the culture of the Malays. They are laid-back and prone to take the easy way out. And the easy way out is to sell off whatever they get and ask for more. This is their culture.
Working hard, taking risks and being patient is not a part of their culture. It should be remembered that in the past the Malays were not prepared to take up the jobs created by the colonial powers in their effort to exploit the country. Because the Malays were not prepared to work in rubber estates and the mines, the Indians and Chinese were brought in. At one time, the migrants outnumbered the Malays. Had they continued to outnumber the Malays, independent Malaya would be like independent Singapore.
But the Malays have apparently learnt nothing from the near loss of their country in the past. Today, they are still unwilling to work and foreign workers are again flooding the country. And because they are not equipping themselves with the necessary education and skills, they have continued to depend on others.
Their political dominance will protect them for a time. But that dominance is fading very fast as they quarrel among themselves and breaks up into small ineffective groups. Their numerical superiority means less today than at the time of independence...
The Malays, together with the other Bumiputeras, make up 60 per cent of the country's population. But in terms of their political clout, it is now much less than 60 per cent. They are now more dependent on non-Malay support, both the government party and the opposition.
Economically, of course, they have less than half the 30-per-cent share that has been allocated to them. If we discount the non-Malay contribution to the nation's economy, Malaysia would be not much better than some of the African developing countries.
To succeed, the Malays must change their culture. They must look towards work as a reward in itself. They must regard what they achieve through work as the true reward. There should be some financial reward but this must not outweigh the satisfaction obtained from the result of their work...
Changing culture is far more difficult than changing the policies of government. It is easy enough to propose affirmative action but it is not easy to implement it. The recipients must have the right attitude if the results are going to be obtained...
Unfortunately, their view is that their crutches are symbols of their superior status in the country. The sad thing is that they are not even using the crutches properly. As a result, they gain nothing or very little from the availability of these aids...
So what is the new Malay dilemma? Their old dilemma was whether they should distort the picture a little in order to help themselves.
The new dilemma is whether they should or should not do away with the crutches that they have got used to, which in fact they have become proud of.
There is a minority of Malays who are confident enough to think of doing away with the crutches, albeit gradually. But they are a very small minority. Their numbers are not going to increase any time soon. They are generally regarded as traitors to the Malay race...
There will be a host of protests over this generalisation about Malay attitudes. We read almost every day about blind Malay people and other handicapped Malays graduating with university degrees or driving cars or doing all kinds of work.
This does not prove that the generalisation that I make is wrong. These are exceptions. They only prove that if the right attitude or culture is adopted, even the handicapped can succeed.
The dilemma faced by those few who want to build a strong, resilient and independent Malay race without crutches is that they are most likely to end up becoming unpopular and losing the ability to influence the changes in the culture and the value system which are necessary.
It seems that they should not try and yet they know that without the cultural changes, the Malays are going to fail.
By Mahathir Mohamad
Wednesday 16 January 2008
Develop High Performance Leadership
Saturday January 12, 2008
Develop high-performance leadership
1.MANY organisations today are undergoing a rapid transition in leadership styles. Coupled with the reality that modern organisational life is about achieving more with less, there is a demand for a new form of managerial leadership -high-performance leadership.
2.High-performance leaders
2.1empower others to venture into unknown territories,
2.2inspire colleagues and staff to make difficult decisions, and
2.3are able to move their organisations forward in new ways to achieve better results.
3.Managerial leadership
The term "managerial leadership" recognises the subtle switch over the past decade from the role of a manager to that of a leader.This is not to decry the traditional management activities such as planning,organising and controlling. Rather, it is to acknowledge the transition from control to empowerment that has taken place.
4.Managerial leadership is a way to encompass both sets of activities. And high-performance leadership is a way of recognising the leadership attributes needed to achieve long-term organisational success. One of the key distinguishing features of this type of leadership is the ability to initiate, drive and constantly encourage change.
5.High-performance leaders are pioneers,
5.1willing to step out into the unknown to achieve innovation.
5.2These leaders search out opportunities, experimentand take risks.
5.3They lead by example and
5.4act as a role model for others to follow, acting inways that are consistent with their beliefs.
6.High-performance leaders acknowledge
6.1the power of working collaborativelyand
6.2concentrate their efforts on building peak-performance teams.
6.3This involves developing vision and values,
6.4establishing direction, and
6.5persuading others to see, understand and believe in their vision through developing shared goals and plans of action.
7. Change to match
As the team develops and matures,
7.1the leader must change his leadership style to suit the stages of development of the team.
7.2 He must also be able todiagnose and troubleshoot at every stage.
7.3This ability to change leadership style - not only during the stages of team development, but also when leading and managing staff at every level - is the hallmark of high-performance leadership.
7.4By analysing the "maturity" of the subordinate and the varying levels of support and direction needed in any given situation, the leadership style can be varied.
7.5Choose the most appropriate style - direction, coaching,support or delegation - to match the circumstances.
8.Desirable qualities
8.1Sharing vision and setting goals lie at the heart of managing performance,which is the natural domain of a high-performance leader.
8.2Involving others in creating smart goals and setting performance standards and expectations lead to a clear understanding of what is needed from the team.
8.3Being able to spot performance problems early and developing the ability to coach and counsel are now an integral part of the leadership role.
9.High-performance leaders develop
9.1the key interpersonal skills to lead others.
9.2They understand their strengths and weaknesses as a leader,
9.3acknowledge their preferred behavioural style when dealing with other people, and
9.4develop the ability to change style if necessary.
9.5They understand the power of effective communication,
9.6encourage others to give constructive feedback and praise when appropriate.
9.7They have learnt to empower and delegate.
9.8Above all, they are honest.
9.9 In the majority of surveys about the most admired qualities of leaders, respondents said they admire leaders who are(in rank order): honest, competent, forward-looking and inspiring.
10.In a nutshell
10.1To summarise, one can refer to Warren Bennis's now-classic book, Leaders.
10.2He describes leadership as "heading into the wind with such knowledge of oneself and such collaborative energy as to move others to follow".
10.3His book offers four major strategies that seem to form the essence of high-performance leadership:
10.3.1Attention through vision:
"I have a dream" (Martin Luther King). Theleader must set a vision for others to follow.
10.3.2Meaning through communication:
"If you can dream it, you can do it"(Walt Disney). The leader's vision must be communicated to the people who can make it happen.
10.3.3Trust through positioning:
The accumulation of trust is a measure of the legitimacy of leadership. Trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together.
10.3.4 Deployment of self through positive self-regard:
Leaders must have persistence and self-knowledge, be willing to take risks and accept losses, make and honour commitments, and be consistent and willing to learn constantly.
10.4To paraphrase a quote from Colin Powell: "High-performance leadership is about achieving more than the science of management says is possible."-
Source: Straits Times/Asia News NetworkArticle contributed by Chris Fenney, who has more than 30 years' experience in training and management development.
Develop high-performance leadership
1.MANY organisations today are undergoing a rapid transition in leadership styles. Coupled with the reality that modern organisational life is about achieving more with less, there is a demand for a new form of managerial leadership -high-performance leadership.
2.High-performance leaders
2.1empower others to venture into unknown territories,
2.2inspire colleagues and staff to make difficult decisions, and
2.3are able to move their organisations forward in new ways to achieve better results.
3.Managerial leadership
The term "managerial leadership" recognises the subtle switch over the past decade from the role of a manager to that of a leader.This is not to decry the traditional management activities such as planning,organising and controlling. Rather, it is to acknowledge the transition from control to empowerment that has taken place.
4.Managerial leadership is a way to encompass both sets of activities. And high-performance leadership is a way of recognising the leadership attributes needed to achieve long-term organisational success. One of the key distinguishing features of this type of leadership is the ability to initiate, drive and constantly encourage change.
5.High-performance leaders are pioneers,
5.1willing to step out into the unknown to achieve innovation.
5.2These leaders search out opportunities, experimentand take risks.
5.3They lead by example and
5.4act as a role model for others to follow, acting inways that are consistent with their beliefs.
6.High-performance leaders acknowledge
6.1the power of working collaborativelyand
6.2concentrate their efforts on building peak-performance teams.
6.3This involves developing vision and values,
6.4establishing direction, and
6.5persuading others to see, understand and believe in their vision through developing shared goals and plans of action.
7. Change to match
As the team develops and matures,
7.1the leader must change his leadership style to suit the stages of development of the team.
7.2 He must also be able todiagnose and troubleshoot at every stage.
7.3This ability to change leadership style - not only during the stages of team development, but also when leading and managing staff at every level - is the hallmark of high-performance leadership.
7.4By analysing the "maturity" of the subordinate and the varying levels of support and direction needed in any given situation, the leadership style can be varied.
7.5Choose the most appropriate style - direction, coaching,support or delegation - to match the circumstances.
8.Desirable qualities
8.1Sharing vision and setting goals lie at the heart of managing performance,which is the natural domain of a high-performance leader.
8.2Involving others in creating smart goals and setting performance standards and expectations lead to a clear understanding of what is needed from the team.
8.3Being able to spot performance problems early and developing the ability to coach and counsel are now an integral part of the leadership role.
9.High-performance leaders develop
9.1the key interpersonal skills to lead others.
9.2They understand their strengths and weaknesses as a leader,
9.3acknowledge their preferred behavioural style when dealing with other people, and
9.4develop the ability to change style if necessary.
9.5They understand the power of effective communication,
9.6encourage others to give constructive feedback and praise when appropriate.
9.7They have learnt to empower and delegate.
9.8Above all, they are honest.
9.9 In the majority of surveys about the most admired qualities of leaders, respondents said they admire leaders who are(in rank order): honest, competent, forward-looking and inspiring.
10.In a nutshell
10.1To summarise, one can refer to Warren Bennis's now-classic book, Leaders.
10.2He describes leadership as "heading into the wind with such knowledge of oneself and such collaborative energy as to move others to follow".
10.3His book offers four major strategies that seem to form the essence of high-performance leadership:
10.3.1Attention through vision:
"I have a dream" (Martin Luther King). Theleader must set a vision for others to follow.
10.3.2Meaning through communication:
"If you can dream it, you can do it"(Walt Disney). The leader's vision must be communicated to the people who can make it happen.
10.3.3Trust through positioning:
The accumulation of trust is a measure of the legitimacy of leadership. Trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together.
10.3.4 Deployment of self through positive self-regard:
Leaders must have persistence and self-knowledge, be willing to take risks and accept losses, make and honour commitments, and be consistent and willing to learn constantly.
10.4To paraphrase a quote from Colin Powell: "High-performance leadership is about achieving more than the science of management says is possible."-
Source: Straits Times/Asia News NetworkArticle contributed by Chris Fenney, who has more than 30 years' experience in training and management development.
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