Back to Basics

How do we go back to basics if we don't have the basics to go back to.

3 Key Leadership Principles

There are at least 3 principles in leadership I have learned over the years:

1. Leadership is a journey. Take people to a whole new land. A new experience. Get them to
thinking that where they are right now is not good. Paint a bleak picture of today and a rosy picture of tomorrow, or what is out there. Of course your personality comes into play how you can do this, esp if obstacles are in the path. And in all of this, do it with all honesty and candor. People hate liars and phony characters.

2. Leadership is about movitation (the heart). Its not enough to give them a good reason (head), but even more important engage their emotions. Remember, people buy on emotion and justify on reason. Study the people you lead and understand what makes them tick, each one of them:)

3. Leadership is caring. People don't care what you say (or where you're taking them) if they don't see that you care. This is basic human interaction process. Be sincere. Don't care for the sake of caring, people can see it. Be genuine too. Voice out your emotion. If you're angry show it. If you like it praise. This way people see your vulnerability and will respect you for that.

Contract

My son and I had a deal. He promised that if he is on the top 5 of his class that I award him with 70 bucks for his effort (1H2011).

To reinforce the importance of this deal and mimic the real world, I had to assemble a quick contract and we both signed the agreement inside a moviehouse (while watching Rango::).

Hope that he learns his lesson and that I am setting a good example for him to follow one day.

Updates

I looked at my post and it read January 17! Wow, it felt like its been ages since I updated my blog. Lets 'look back' and find out what happened over the course of 2 months.

February saw my inlaws, parent and brother in law, coming to town. The whole mid week of Feb was spent picking them up, touring SGP and of course lots of fellowship! Before this time was church work monitoring the couples night out.

March saw me celebrating my birthday with my parents in law. One memorable event took place at the dinner party where we celebrated. Just my being a 'hero' in saving the day with my kids, I almost ruined the dinner with a brief spat with the owner/manager who stubbornly refuse to let us take photo. I told her its my birthday for Christ sake! Even then, she came away with funny stories about how a woman who barge into her resto and turning out the person was in fact from a competitor.

Can't ask for more...

vision

Create a vision so great that if God is not in it, it will doom to fail.

ambiguity

Leaders don't avoid ambiguity. They thrive on it! After all, if everything is so crystal clear, then we don't need to communicate.

Breakthrough

Looking back at my life/trail, what breakthrough contributions have I made to society? Is being a leader in my company or in my religious or adequate? The web defines breakthrough as follows. So the question is - have I contributed a breakthrough act/event?

Breakthrough. 1. an offensive thrust that penetrates and carries beyond a defensive line in warfare.2. an act or instance of breaking through an obstacle breakthrough agreement. 3. a sudden advance especially in knowledge or techniquebreakthrough. 4. a person's first notable success.

I remember the poem:

I am only one, but still I am one.

I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;

and because I cannot do everything,

I will not refuse to do something that I can do.

Tools for my Journey - HALFTIME

I am still clueless where I got this urge and bug for reading.

Maybe from my parents, who are both professionals in their own craft. Maybe from the lack of reading material when I was growing up. Inside of my heart and head, I simply could not recall the time this passion kicked in.

But, look at the books, journals that I have amassed so far in my 37 years of existence.

The questions are:

1. Have I become a better servant of a living God?

2. Have i contributed to society?

3. Have I made the lives of those around me better?

4. Have I become a good role model for my kids?

5. Have I become a better man?

6. Have I achieved what I dreamt of as a kid?

I dont know. I am still midway in my life. Like in any sporting event, there is a halftime huddle where the coach and the players re-examine their game strategy, the opponents, the adjustments to be made in order to win the battle.

Maybe its time for me to do the same? Thoughts!

2011 Goal

In order to streamline and make effective blogging process for 2011, I am classifying my thought process under 3 different areas, all of which can be summarized in the workinprogress blog.

1.God focused: pastoratwork - chronicle journey of a bivocational pastor.

2.Family focused: triathlete novice - chronicle health benefits of exercise. rex regis-chronical business thoughts. parenting pastors - chronical parental thoughts.

3.Work focused: quality engineering in logistics - chronical work related problems, solutions, trends and emerging processes.

Join me as I traverse life armed with only an line trail..

My son's letter to his friends. Deep thought, shallow grammar:)

Dear all P6 students,
 
When I first enter NVPS I had a hard time going through things. when I meet you guys I was saved from my loneliness:) each year our bond grew stronger and stronger but too bad some of us got separated. there were bad time  and good time, sometimes we play, sometimes fight, sometimes we work, sometimes rest, sometimes we smile, sometimes cry and all the time we stayed at the same school. new members came and became part of NVPS and sadly some had left. Their were changes of us which were both good and bad which was not pleasant but I was okay with it. I when through alot and I don't want you want to all of you to experience it. I wish I can see you guys forever but we all have to move on it the circle of life. so this will the last time I'm seeing you guys before I move on!. I hate goodbye but it natural!! and people need to moved on like we will!GOODBYE EVERYONE! of my P6s you have been great to me and I will be great to you!:'(:( Hope to see you again:)!!
P.S please like this I spent the whole day thinking what to say!

On a roll

There is no turning back. The rampant use of social networking is relentless. Consider this, in the last post I made in June, I have tried (without success) veering away from updating my blog. Instead here I am. Facebook, twitter, everywhere you go, seems everyone is on it.

So if you're not in, then you're out!