According to the study done by Professor Paul James Davis at the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, here are the top six complaints of mid-level managers from private companies across S.E. Asia about the learning and development opportunities offered by their companies: 1. Does not relate to my current job/work…I can’t actually use what I have learned….
Category: Personal Development
Successful Managers Don’t Do What Effective Managers Do?
According to the study conducted by F. Luthans, R.M. Hodgetts and S. A. Rosenkrantz (1988), successful managers and effective managers seem to be spending their time on quite different activities. Their investigation on 450 managers revealed that successful managers spent 48% of their time Networking (socialising, politicking and interacting with outsiders), 28% on Communication (exchanging…
Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Cannot Do Today
Thomas Jefferson once said “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today”. That is a great principle to keep to in general. But once a a while i find myself getting better results when i put off till tomorrow what i cannot do today. Here are three reasons why i put off some…
10 Powerful Coaching Questions
I’ve found that the right questions asked at the right time brings about breakthrough that no answers could bring. Questions introduce new perspectives, shifts paradigms, explores the unknown and somehow empowers the individual. Here are some of my favorite ones: 1. What is the reality here? 2. What is the one regret you do not…
What Losing My Job Taught Me About Leading – Douglas R. Conant – Harvard Business Review
It was the spring of 1984. I remember the day as if it were yesterday. It was a beautiful morning on Boston’s North Shore and I could smell the sea air as I drove to my job as the Director of Marketing for The Parker Brothers Toy and Game Company. When I arrived, I was…
8 Mistakes You Should Never Make On LinkedIn – Forbes
8 Mistakes You Should Never Make On LinkedIn – Forbes. By Libby Kane What do you do with your LinkedIn profile? Do you check it only every once in a while when a connection request comes through? Have you linked it to your Twitter account? Did you never quite remember to sign up in the first…
The Test of Sun Tzu’s Art of War On Concubines
The following is a short biography of Sun Tzu written by Sima Qian, one of the famous historians of China. While it’s authenticity has been debated, it serves as a great story on leadership. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Sun Tzu Wu was a native of the Ch`i State. His ART OF WAR brought him to the notice of He Lu,…
Leadership and Punctuality: Must Leaders Always Be Late?
I can’t remember the last CEO, Managing Director or General Manager i met that was actually punctual to our meeting. Senior managers are sometimes on time, but usually only when their boss is attending the meeting. Must leaders always be late? Their lateness stretch from 15 minutes to sometimes an hour. I’m intrigue by many…
Then What?
This is one of my favorite stories. Apparently there are slightly different variations out there, and i chose to use this from Courtney Carver. An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin…
When I Graduate: How Would I Know If This Job Is For Me?
In a recent talk i gave to students of NUS Engineering I was deeply encouraged by the eagerness by the students in wanting to know more about their career options and future. Some students even seem bent on finding the “right” job from the start, with the same determination and single-mindedness associated with finding the…
Ask and You’re Likely to Get Help
STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS—For many of us, the thought of asking someone for help or a favor—be it a colleague, friend, or stranger—is fraught with discomfort. We figure we’re imposing or tend to assume the person will say no, which could leave us embarrassed or humiliated. But new research verifies the old adage, “Ask…
How to Champion an Idea: Tips from the Invention of the Post-It Note
This month marks the 30th anniversary of the Post-It note. The story of this great invention is a classic. A Brit, Geoff Nicholson, came to the U.S., where he joined 3M in 1963. Working in the commercial tape division, he ran into Spencer Silver, who had invented a pressure-sensitive adhesive that no one else took…
Everyone A Leader 