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You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you ~ John Bunyan

Countless people could tell stories of how John extended himself in some way to help them along personally or professionally. Here’s one, related by Tim Elmore, a longtime friend and employee, to Les Parrott,

It’s hard for me to narrow it down. John has done so many things for me and I owe him so much.

Maybe something more personal will really show you John’s heart. John and I were in Bangalore, India, to teach leadership-a trip, I might add, that I would not have gotten to take if John hadn’t hired me at EQUIP. Before we left the country, my wife, Pam, asked John to keep an eye on me because I’m diabetic. If my blood sugar level drops suddenly, I get disoriented, I have no clue that I’m getting into trouble physically, and I usually need to go to a hospital for help. It can be scary-especially when you’re overseas.

When we got to India, John was received like a rock star! You wouldn’t believe the way people treated him. Overseas, people wait in lines literally for hours to meet him and have him sign his books. Anyway, John taught a session in Bangalore, and the crowd was going nuts, and the people were all crowding around him, and what does he do? He pushes his way through the crowd, grabs the kit with my diabetic supplies, and check up on me to make sure I’m not in trouble.

That probably sounds like a small thing but it’s hard to believe that anybody would not get caught up in that kind of moment and would instead focus on somebody else’s needs. It really reveals John’s heart and desire to do for others.

Tim got choked up as he told me(Les Parrott) the last part. I was touched by his story. But there’s something that made an even greater impression on me. All the people I talked to about this quality in John said that they desired to do for others what John did for them. Because they have been helped to do things they otherwise couldn’t do on their own, they’re inspired to give others a boost.

Ambassador and poet Henry Van Dyke observed, “There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher.” What a great perspective! Doing for others what they can’t do for themselves is really a matter of attitude. I believe that whatever I’ve been given is to be shared with others. And because I have an abundance mind-set, I never worry about running out myself. The more I give away, the more I seem to get to give away.

a. Introduce Others to People They Can’t Know On Their Own.

My dad, Melvin Maxwell, has done many incredible things for me during the course of my life. One of the things that impacted me most was his introducing me to great men. As a teenager, I met Norman Vincent Peale, E. Stanley Jones, and other exceptional men.

Today, I am often in a position to do for others what my father did for me. I love introducing young people to my heroes. I love helping people make business contacts. There are often times when I meet someone, and as we talk, it just hits me: I need to introduce this person to so-and-so. That can mean walking somebody across the room, making a phone call on his or her behalf, or arranging a meeting. Several years ago, I was talking to Anne Beiler, the founder of Auntie Anne’s, the pretzel company, and she mentioned in passing that Chick-fil-A’s founder, Truett Cathy, was one of her heroes. Since I knew Truett, I offered to introduce them to each other. I hosted a dinner party for them at my house, and it was a great night.

Please don’t get the impression that you have to know someone famous to help others in this area. Sometimes it’s as simple as introducing one friend to another or one business associate to another. Just make connections. Be the bridge in people’s relationships with others.

b. Take Others To Places Where They Can’t Go On Their Own.

Early in our marriage, Margaret and I were dirt poor. Right out of college, I put in long hours for my career, and Margaret worked three jobs for us to make ends meet. And we did manage to get by, but there was no money left over for luxuries, such as vacations. Fortunately, I had an older brother who loved us and took care of us. The first five or six years of my professional life, any vacation we took was at the invitation of Larry and his wife, Anita. A wonderful trip to Acapulco, Mexico, especially stands out in my mind.

You may have the power to give someone an experience that seems inaccessible to them. If you can’t help a friend or colleague, then start with your family. Take your children places they could not go on their own. There’s no telling what kind of positive impact it will make.

c. Offer Others Opportunities They Can’t Reach On Their Own.

Few things are of greater value to a prepared person than an opportunity. Why? Because opportunities increase our potential. Demosthenes, the great orator of ancient Greece, said, “Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” An opportunity seized is often a source of success. Help people win by giving them opportunities, and you will win with them.

d. Share Ideas with Others That They Don’t Posses on Their Own.

What is an idea worth? Every product begins with an idea. Every service begins with an idea. Every business, every book, every new invention begins with an idea. Ideas are what make the world move forward. So when you give people an idea, you give them a great gift.

One of the things I enjoy most about creative people is that they love ideas, and they always seem to have more coming. The more they give away, the more new ideas they seem to have. Creativity and generosity feed each other. That’s one of the reasons I’m never reluctant to share ideas with others. I’m convinced that I will run out of time long before I run out of ideas. It’s better to give some away and contribute to another person’s success than to have them lying dormant in me.

When you do something for others that they can’t do for themselves, you are fostering relationships with those individuals that are sure to be meaningful. Studies on what researchers call the “self-determination theory” have shown that supporting other people’s goal cements the relationship, since you are ultimately helping them a align their goals with themselves.

To apply, John’s teaching to your own life….

Forget about:

Focusing on what you can get from others and focus instead on what you can do for others.

Ask:

What opportunity, idea, or experience could I provide that someone might never be able to have without my help?

Do It:

Consider specific things you might be able to do for others by making a list of your unique skills, resources, and connections.

Remember:

We all need others to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

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Treat a man as he appears to be and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.

- Goethe

One of the best ways to inspire others and make them feel good about themselves is to show them who they could be. Years ago, a manager for the New York Yankees wanted rookie players to know what a privilege it was to play for the team.  He used to tell them, “Boys, it’s an honor just to put on the New York pinstripes. So when you put them on, play like world champions. Play like Yankees. Play proud.”

When you give someone a reputation to uphold, you give him something good to shoot for.  It’s putting something that was beyond his reach within his grasp.  By speaking to their potential, you help the people around you to “play proud,” as the Yankees do.  Why is that important?  Because people will go farther than they thought they could when someone they respect tells them they can.

If you desire to give others a reputation to uphold, here are suggestions on how to get started:

a.  Have A High Opinion of People

The opinion you have of people in your life affect them profoundly.  Dr. J. Sterling Livingston, formerly of the Harvard Business School and founder of the Sterling Institute management consulting firm, observed, “People perform consistently as they perceive you expect them to perform.”

A reputation is something that many people spend their entire lives trying to live down or live up to.  So why not help others up instead of pushing them down?  All people possess both value and potential.  You can find those things if you try.

b.  Back Up Your High Opinion Of Others With Action

When you back up your belief in people with action, their self-doubt begins to evaporate.

If you want a new manager to rise to the high opinion you’ve expressed about her, then give her significant responsibility.  Nothing gives people confidence like seeing someone they respect put his money where his mouth is. Not only does it empower them emotionally, but it also resources their drive towards success.

c.  Look Past Their Pasts and Give Them Reputations For Their Futures

Old negative names, labels or nicknames can block a person’s growth and progress.  Perhaps that’s why the rites of passage in many cultures include giving a new title or name to the person being honored.  A new name gives someone a hope for a new future.

A fun example of this can be found in the movie and play The Man of La Mancha, based on Cervantee’s classic work Don Quixote.  The protagonist, Don Alonzo, pursues a life of chivalry and seeks to become a knight-errant long after that age of history has passed.  He sees giants where others see windmills and quests where others see rabbit trails. Comically, he “rescues” a common prostitute named Aldonza, whom he sees as a beautiful lady.  He calls her Dulcinea and makes her the object of his knightly exploits.

At first she resents him.  She thinks he is mocking her, because she hates herself and her life. But with time, his vision of her replaces her own and gives her hope.  And as the old man lies on his deathbed, she thanks him for seeing in her what she could not see in herself.

d.  Give People A New Name or Nickname That Speaks To Their Potential

Harry Hopman, one of the finest tennis captains and coaches in Australia’s history and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, at one time built the Australian team to the point that it dominated the tennis world. How did he do it?  By emphasizing what he called “coaching by affirmation.”  For example, he had a slow player whom he named “Rocket.”  Another player, who was not known for his strength or constitution, he called “Muscles.”  And it certainly gave them a boost.  “Rocket’ Rod Laver and Ken “Muscle” Rosewall become champions in the tennis world.

I sometimes encounter leaders who believe you shouldn’t stroke people’s egos by giving them reputations they haven’t quite earned. And I always point these folks to the “ten-year-rule”. It’s derived from research showing that elite performers, those whose reputations precede them, usually needed at least ten years of dedicated and consistent practice before they obtained any recognizable level of excellence. The research also shows that the process can be cut dramatically when individuals see signs that they are already beginning to achieve a recognizable reputation.

To apply John’s teaching to your own life …..

Forget about:

A person’s failures in the past and focus on his or her potential in the future.

Ask:

What is special, unique, and wonderful about this person?  How can I show it to others?

Do it:

Back up your high opinion of a person with action that reinforces that opinion.

Remember:

Many people go farther than they thought they could go because someone else believed they could and told them so.

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CREATE A MEMORY AND VISIT IT OFTEN

‘Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things’. – Cicero

Few things bond people together like a shared memory.  Soldiers who battled together, teammates who win a championship, and work teams that hit their goals share a connection that never goes away. Married couples who experience rough times can often look back on their earlier experiences together to keep them going.  Families bond when they rough it on camping trips or share adventures on vacation and then love recounting their experience years later.

Some memories come as the result of circumstance, but many can be proactively created.

The richest memories are often those we plan and intentionally created.  Here are some hints for creating memories that will help you win with people:

a. INITIATIVE – Make Something Happen

Memories don’t find us – we find them.  Even better, if we are intentional, we can make memories.

b. TIME – Set Aside Time To Make Something Happen

For years parents have debated the issue of quality time versus quantity of time.  As a father and grandfather, I have discovered that it takes quantity time to find quality time. If you don’t carve out the time, you can’t create the memory.

Haven’t you found that most memories you have are with the people you spend the most time with?  I know that’s true for me.  If you want to make memories with your family, spend more time with them. If you want to create memories with your employees, you won’t do it behind the door of your office. You simply can’t make memories with people if you don’t take time to be with them.

c. PLANNING – Plan For Something To Happen

Most people don’t lead their lives – they accept their lives.  They wait for memorable experiences to happen, never giving a thought to planning an experience that will make a memory.

d. CREATIVITY – Find A Way To Make Something Happen

What do you do when you find yourself at an event where you expect to share a memory but nothing seems to happen?  You get creative.  I’ve been asked over and over to tell the story of the Holiday Bowl I attended at San Diego with friends about fifteen years ago.  The game was so dull that I ended up buying newspapers for everyone in my section so that we would have something to do.  Another guy nearby, not to be outdone, bought one hundred bags of peanuts and distributed them to everybody in the section.  The two of us got a standing ovation, and soon the news crews were more focused on us than the game.  I don’t remember the score or much about the game, but it’s a night I’ll never forget.  Neither will the buddies who went with me.

e. SHARED EXPERIENCES – Make Something Happen - Together

Memories compound when they are experienced with someone you love. J

f. MEMENTOS – Show That Something Happened

“Almost anything you do today will be forgotten in just a few weeks,” says author and research scientist John McCrone.  “The ability to retrieve a memory decreased exponentially unless boosted by artificial aids such as diaries and photographs.”

Don’t you find that to be true? Do you keep pictures or souvenirs on your desk where you can see them?  Do you carry photos of people you love in your wallet? Do you have a trophy, plaque, game ball, or other award on a shelf where you and others can see it?  We all have things we love – not because they have any material value but because they remind us of places we’ve been or things we’ve done.  When you help someone else create a memory, give that person something to remember it by.

g. RELIVE THE MEMORY – Talk About What Happened

The most important part of creating a memory is reliving it.  It’s the payoff!  Many times when I travel with others, at the end of our trip I ask them to share a favorite memory.  It often leads to rich conversations.  Or I write a note to someone soon afterward to share my own favorite memory.  It creates a connection that bonds us together and makes both of us feel great.

There isn’t a person in the world who doesn’t understand the value of positive memories.  They can sustain people during the worst of times and inspire them during the best of times.  And best of all, anyone can create a memory and visit it often!

To apply John’s teaching to your life ……..

Forget about:

Trying to have quality time to make a memory if you aren’t willing to invest the quantity of time it requires.

Ask:

What memories have I already created with people in my life that we need to relive together?

Do it:

Plan an experience that will commemorate an achievement or milestone that people will talk about years from now.  And don’t forget to create a memento of it.

Remember:

We shouldn’t wait for memories to happen to us. We need to make memories happen.

Being a subscriber of LinkedIn Learning & Development group couple of months back, I came across a discussion about S.M.A.R.T as a prehistoric method of goal setting process and should be replaced with V.I.S.T.A. Many chiped in their responses and shared their thoughts about S.M.A.R.T and V.I.S.T.A. Overall, there is a mix reaction but overall agreed S.M.A.R.T & V.I.S.T.A have their own advantages & disadvantages.

That triggered me to share my thoughts about S.M.A.R.T & V.I.S.T.A especially on their practical application in your job search. Throughout this article, I’ll be covering my personal perspective on how to leverage S.M.A.R.T and/or V.I.S.T.A to set your career goal, the fundamental thing to do before starting your job search. Don’t worry if you do not know what S.M.A.R.T and V.I.S.T.A mean, I’ll elaborate more in the next paragraph.

What is S.M.A.R.T and V.I.S.T.A? For those who are familiar with goal setting process, I’m sure you have heard about S.M.A.R.T. Basically S.M.A.R.T is an acronym of Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant & Timely. Maybe some of you will have a slightly different acronym but more or less many will agree with me. While V.I.S.T.A stands for Visual, Inspiration, Specific, Timely & Assessable. To be honest, after reading that discussion in LinkedIn, that was the first time I read about V.I.S.T.A and started to give some thoughts about it. For me S.M.A.R.T is still relevant in today’s goal setting scenario and V.I.S.T.A acts as a complimentary to S.M.A.R.T but covering more on the emotional part of the goal setting process. Both were created with the same objective and it all depends on us as a user to optimize our goal setting process using S.M.A.R.T and/or V.I.S.T.A. To learn more about S.M.A.R.T & V.I.S.T.A practical application in your career goal setting process, move on to the next paragraph.

Let me start on how to use S.M.A.R.T in our career goal setting process. Firstly, S stands for Specific. To achieve a goal, you will need to be Specific. As what Stephen R. Covey shared in his bestseller book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Habit #2 is “Start With the End in Mind”. You will need to start with the knowing of what you want to achieve specifically. In your career, maybe you want to grow your career. Having that as your career goal is not specific enough. A specific career goal for instance is to grow my career as a department manager. Next, M for Measurable. To achieve a specific career goal, it must be measurable. A measurable career goal should be “ To grow my career as a department manager in the next 3 years”. A for Achievable is a question you should ask yourself if your specific & measurable career goal is achievable or not? If your working experience is at entry level, then having this career goal is not achievable but if you are at a 1st level managerial role with several years experience than it is achievable. Moving on to R which is Relevant. This is to gauge if your career goal is relevant to what or where you are working. If the current company you are working do not have a department manager role then that career goal is not relevant. Maybe you will need to move out from that company and find a suitable company that can provide you that department manager role. Finally, T for Timely. For this example, Timely is the same as Measurable where you want to be a department manager in the next 3 years. Just to illustrate how you can use Timely in your career goal; if your measurable career goal is to increase your salary by 20%. Then for the Timely portion, you can add on “to increase your salary by 20% in the next 2 years”. I hope this simple illustration will give an idea how to use S.M.A.R.T to set your career goal.

Now, let me add on V.I.S.T.A into our career goal setting process. V stands for Visual, which is to leverage our imagination to come out our career goal. As I mentioned before, V.I.S.T.A covers the emotional part of goal setting process and that is why it starts with V for Visual and I for Inspiration. As we are aware, inspiration influence our motivation to take action and it is also a very powerful influence. Inspiration will only come if we can visualize our career goal. To illustrate an example, let me use the career goal example from S.M.A.R.T, which is to grow my career. You will need to visualize that you have grown your career to the next level; to whatever level it is i.e. from Entry Engineer to Senior Engineer, 1st Level Manager to Department Manager and etc. Once you visualize it and if you really want it, you will automatically get inspired to achieve it. To ease your visualization & inspiration process, you will need to be S for Specific. Similar to what you have gone thru in S.M.A.R.T; similarly in V.I.S.T.A, it will help so much to be specific in you career goal setting process. Then followed by T for Timely i.e, by when you want to achieve your career goal. Finally, followed by A which is Assessable. Again, similar to A: Achievable & R: Relevant in S.M.A.R.T, it will be effective to challenge your career goal setting process by assessing if it is achievable and relevant to your career. With that we have finished our career goal setting process using S.M.A.R.T and/or V.I.S.T.A.

There is a famous saying ” If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail”. It is very true in whatever you want to do especially in your career planning. S.M.A.R.T and/or V.I.S.T.A is just a tool which is totally useless if you do not know how to leverage that tool. Learning how to use it and actually practicing their application is the key to your success. If you have any questions or experience to share for discussion, please ask & share, that is one of the best way to learn. Good luck!!

By SUZIEANA UDA NAGU

As the labour market tightens, organizations worldwide are strengthening their employer value propositions to appeal to young talents, writes SUZIEANA UDA NAGU.

HUMAN resources director Cheryl Wong has more than her fair share of local and foreign graduates to assess when they apply to join British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT), a multinational corporation. “In the spirit of diversity, BAT prefers hiring a mix of foreign and locally trained Malaysians. We believe that diversity brings better solutions, which translate into better business sense. People with different experience will bring something unique to the table,” says Wong. She has come across impressive local graduates among the shortlisted candidates.

“But they are getting harder to find. We want well-rounded candidates who possess the leadership skills we look for, as well as good academic qualifications and effective communication skills. “Being a multinational company, we do need people who communicate well in English,” says Wong. She feels it is a shame when some local candidates show “impressive track record in academic and extra-curricular activities but cannot express themselves well”.

Wong is not the only employer faced with the challenge of finding suitable candidates. Despite the global recession and the weakest employment outlook in decades, employers worldwide are still finding it difficult to hire young people to fill positions which require critical skills such as leadership, teamwork and problem-solving. The United Nations states that “one of the top three socio-economic issues facing the planet is the lack of talent despite population increases”, underlining the worry that talent shortage is indeed a global concern.

In the United States, human resource experts predict a critical skills gap in organizations in the next five years. They believe that by 2014, there will be a 30 per cent decline in young workers entering the workforce and a 50 per cent growth in retirement of skilled knowledge workers. Their concern is that as the situation grows more serious, it could threaten “the engines of world economic growth and prosperity”. Governments globally are taking measures to mitigate the impending shortage such as improving educational and vocational training provisions, adopting strategic migration policies and encouraging experienced older workers to remain in employment.

Meanwhile, employers have shifted their focus on building their brands and formulating solid recruitment strategies — from simply waiting for the right individuals to come along — to attract young and talented workers. Wong believes that to lure Generation Y workers (those born between 1978 and 2000), organizations must be willing to present “market-competitive propositions”. This is open to interpretation.

NetApp, which creates innovative storage and data management solutions, offers enticing benefits — five paid days for volunteer work, on site gym and subsidized gym memberships — to woo potential staff and keep existing ones. After six years on FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list, it is now on the No. 1 spot. Google, which fell to No. 4 this year from No. 1 last year, had until recently, listed afternoon teas and an annual ski trip as perks. Despite cutting back on the frills, it still pulls in 770,000 applicants a year.

As for BAT, Wong believes that graduates are drawn to its two-year Global Management Trainee program. “We have become more focused in terms of recruiting people. The Global Management Trainee scheme has enabled us to train and develop managers of the highest calibre for years,” says Wong. The scheme is open to graduates aged 25 years or younger, who possess a minimum of second-class upper degree, a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or equivalent, effective communications skills in English and is active in extra-curricular activities and leadership positions. In the 24-month scheme, management trainees spend 1½ years in a particular department within the organization such as operations, marketing, human resources, corporate and regulatory affairs, legal, finance and information technology. Upon completing the training, they would have learned about the different roles within a specific unit.

If they were recruited to human resources, they are expected to be well versed in talent development, compensation and benefits, employee relations and business partnering. The exposure would enable them to be full-fledged executives of the section that they are attached to. Management trainees also spend the last three months of their training on a cross-functional attachment to another division. Most other schemes, Wong says, focus only on cross-functional attachments, in the hope of exposing management trainees to different roles in their businesses. “While they may be familiar with how various departments work, they may also lack specialist skills,” she says. Perhaps the scheme’s main selling point is the chance for management trainees to go overseas on a three-month cross-market attachment. This is meant to equip them with international experience which will essentially accelerate the company’s growth. To ensure sustainability of the talent pipeline for the management trainee scheme, BAT also conducts a talent-spotting contest called Bring Your Difference (BYD), the second one the company has held since 2007.

The competition, which ended recently received more than 400 applications from Malaysian undergraduates, which “speaks volumes about the prestige attached to the scheme”, says Wong. Winners of BYD stand a chance to be considered for Fast Passes to the graduate management scheme. The regular route to the management training program involves a few steps. First, candidates sit for a battery of reasoning tests. “If they clear this hurdle, they can go to the second round, which involves being a part of a team to solve a business case study — similar to what the BYD contestants go through.” Participating in the BYD means that contestants have gone through a bulk of the process. “They may get a different case study but they are evaluated using the same tools and method,” says Wong, adding that the final stage of the program is an interview with the director.

The recession is not likely to stop the organization from funding the scheme. “Otherwise we would have a lot of positions to fill two years down the line,” she says. If it were up to Wong, graduate recruitment and development would be part and parcel of the business strategy of all organizations. It benefits not only the business but also students, she says. By enhancing their appeal to talented workers, organizations can position themselves to win lasting competitive advantage in the talent marketplace. Employers would also be doing young people a service (by introducing similar schemes) as most fresh school-leavers or grads cannot decide on what to do with their future. “(That could be why) you have trained engineers who don’t want to work in a factory or accountants who don’t want to do auditing or practice at all,” she says. As far as BAT is concerned, it is committed to developing local talents “so that they will have the necessary skills, competence and confidence to succeed in today’s complex business environment”. “A sustainable talent pipeline is an integral part of our success and aspiration to be the Best Employer in Malaysia,” adds Wong.

A TRICKY business case study pushed them to the edge of their creativity but thinking laterally won college students Wynlyn Chia, Tan Su Zhen, Oliver Kau and Tan Yee Leng — who make up members of Team Beige — the first prize in the recent Bring Your Difference (BYD) 2009 competition. The group overcame several challenges during the two-day contest to defeat four teams and won RM12,000, a plaque and RM800 worth of book vouchers. Second place went to Team Red which took home RM8,000, a plaque and RM600 worth of book vouchers. Team White finished third and won RM4,000 as well as a plaque. Team Black and Blue won consolation prizes which are a plaque and participation certificates.

BYD is a talent-spotting contest organized by British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT) as part of its initiative to ensure sustainability of the talent pipeline for its Global Management Trainee scheme. Open to Malaysian undergraduates from local and foreign tertiary institutions, more than 400 applicants vied for the chance to win lucrative cash prizes, apart from the Fast Pass to join the company’s two-year Global Management Trainee program. Participating in the BYD gives contestants a taste of the management trainee scheme. “You could say that BYD contestants have gone through a bulk of the process to be eligible for the traineeship scheme. In a way, it is more grueling for BYD contestants as they had to go through it in just two days,” says BAT human resources director Cheryl Wong.

Of the more than 400 candidates who applied, only 80 were invited for an assessment interview. From there, 40 were shortlisted for a workshop aimed at familiarizing the contestants with the contest format. In Round One, shortlisted students were divided into 10 teams and given about four hours to crack a given business case study — on rebranding a well-known snack line by introducing a new one or a healthier variety — by using critical skills, such as analyzing, thinking creatively and working in teams, before presenting it to the judges. The five teams with the best presentations advanced to Round Two, in which they executed their business plans, ideas and strategies at a real business setting.

Team Beige found cracking the case study the most challenging task of all. “It was the hardest part because we had to understand the case study well before we could carry out a well-laid plan,” says Kau from INTI University College. Chia, a business student from University of Malaya, deems the case study the most difficult she had come across in her many years of competing in similar competitions. “Other contests feature straightforward case studies but this one had a lot of twists,” says the 22-year-old. “We were racing against time — trying to analyze the case study within four hours — and that made it even more stressful,” says Yee Leng, 21, from Taylor’s University College. On top of that, the foursome had to work as a team despite the fact that they had just met. “Except for Chia and Yee Leng who knew each other from a previous competition, the rest of us had only met the morning of the competition. But that didn’t stop us from working well together,” says Su Zhen from Taylor’s University College. “Everyone was cooperative. We had decided from the outset to stick to any decision which we had agreed on,” says Kau. “It was important that we got along because all groups were judged based on several criteria — and good teamwork was one of them,” says 19-year-old Su Zhen.

While the first day was mentally exhausting for the teams, the second day tested their mental agility and physical endurance. Team Beige had to carefully plan how it was going to sell more products than its competitors at Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall. The teams were given Japanese products — as stated in their business plans — to sell. “Instead of just selling from our booth, we decided to take orders from shoppers and deliver our products to them. We found that we were able to convince people to buy the products without the samples. “The organisers confirmed that providing delivery services was not against the rules. That set us apart from the other teams,” says Chia. The contest was made more challenging when BYD organisers threw a spanner in the works such as asking the teams to auction their products or attract customers by having a lucky draw. The team believes that combining the strengths of its members helped it secure the top prize. “It’s natural to have differing opinions and it’s not wrong to take a little bit of everyone’s input and combine them into one great idea. Apart from that, everyone was focused on their roles and that helped us to advance in the competition,” she adds. Paying close attention during the workshop also helped. “The facilitators at the workshop emphasised thinking out of the box. So we kept that in mind throughout the contest,” says Yee Leng. The team encourages Malaysian undergraduates to compete in future BYD competitions. “It was a rewarding experience for us. It was challenging and it complemented what we have learned in university,” says Yee Leng.

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In my previous Vista Penang Toastmasters Club meeting, my Vice President of Education asked me if I’m interested to complete my 10th speech in another club rather then wait for our next meeting next week. I politely declined him since I’m just too lazy to complete my speech earlier. Well, today, I’m in Dell Toastmasters Club delivering my 10th speech a week earlier than plan.

So, what has made me changed?

Last weekend, I received a SMS from our Area Governor (AG), Jessica urgently need me to complete my 10th speech in this week. Well, at first I was a bit reluctant, but after thinking about it, I’m sure our AG really needs my contribution for the Distinguish Club Point so that’s why I’m standing here.

My fellow Toastmasters,

What I’m going to share in the next 8-9 minutes is my personal perspective in my CC journey on what I have learnt from my past 9 speeches. I hope my speech today will inspire all of us to continuously sharpen our communication skill to become a much better speaker.

Throughout my 9 speeches which I believed I have put some effort to prepare, deliver, learn and improve on how to become a better speaker. I know, my Toastmasters journey is still at the beginning but I felt I have done something right in my life. I’ve decided to be a Toastmaster because of 2 reasons. The first, I knew I need to improve my speaking skills and the second I need some accreditation to venture into my passion of becoming a public speaker. I wanted to start my consulting business helping anyone to effectively market their career to secure a job or for career progression. I know Toastmasters can help me and that makes me more determined to venture myself more into the world of Toastmasters.

Started in Apr 2009, I delivered my first speech about “Myself” in the Ice Breaker. Talking about myself to new friends at that time carried me away and I exceeded the allocated time given of 4-6 minutes. I’ve finished my speech at about 9 minutes and that was my first attempt without any practice. So the lesson I’ve learnt is to practice my speech within the time limit.

2 months later, I organized my speech on “How to Win in the Job Market?” The practice worked where I ended my speech at 6 minutes 30 seconds, within the allocated time of 5-7 minutes. Glad I’ve fixed that problem but I was too nervous. So another lesson learnt is practice to relax while delivering my speech.

Came Aug, it was my 3^rd speech of Get to the Point, where I talked about “Just Focus on Your Strength”. Well, I focused too much on my time, until I slightly finished my speech earlier of 5 mins and 25 secs and also forgotten my conclusion. I still need to keep practicing my speech especially on the time and end my speech with a conclusion.

In my fourth speech, How to say it, I’ve decided to talk about “Make Our Life Simple”. Overall it works with the time, 7 mins 45 secs. But the examples I’ve used according to my evaluator is irrelevant where I used the analogy of the evolution of PC to win a promotion. Anyway, lesson learnt is everyone has their own opinion, so respect it and move on.

Next, it was time to use my body language. I’ve decided to talk about “The Hidden Power of Body Language. It started fine but at the middle of my speech, my handphone rang. So, anther impotant lesson learnt is remember to put my handphone at silent or vibrate mode during a Toastmasters meeting.

I started the year 2010 with my 6^th speech about “Oh My God”. At that time, the issue of using the word Allah to reflect other religions’s God is a hot issue. As a Muslim, it is my obligation to explain the meaning of the word Allah and it is okay to use that name as long it will not mislead anyone. However, during that speech, I’ve not used much vocal variety hence another lesson learnt is continue practicing with vocal variety.

Research your topic was my next speech where I talked about a book written by a well known author, John C Maxwell; “Talent is Never Enough”. Shared some key highlights from the book but I’ve forgotten to call for action. Another lesson learnt is continue practicing to end with a call for action.

Then came the fun part, using Visual Aids. I used some visual aids to illustrate the acronym “SMART vs. VISTA” on how to set an effective goal. I was so excited during the speech until I’ve forgotten to use some pauses between the points. So, another lesson learnt is to practice with pauses between my points.

Last week, I’ve presented my 9^th speech to persuade with power. I talked about “Don’t Trust Your Amygdala” which attracted some attention with this title. Amygdala is an almond shape part of the brain which stores information from past experience. Trusting your amygdala will leads to making assumptions which may produce positive or negative results. Again, according to my evaluator, I’m not engaging my audience enough by asking questions. Another lesson learnt is practice to engage my audience.

So now I’m at the end of my 10^th speech. Overall I can summarized what I have learnt into 3 important points. The 1^st point is to deliver a good speech requires lots of practice, the 2^nd point is never ever have anything that can interfere my speech especially handphone and finally the 3^rd point is use body language, vocal variety and visual aids to engage your audience.

My fellow Toastmasters,

Ask yourself this question. What have you learn throughout your Toastamasters journey? For myself, I will never learnt those 3 important points if I have never pushed and urged myself to continue my CC journey. What really inspired me to continue this journey is the potential knowledge, experience and exposure I will gain from this program as what I have share just now. Believe me, you will learn something new every time you delivered a speech or attended a Toastmasters meeting.

I would like to end by saying this: Everyone has the ability to be successful but not everyone has the courage to be successful. Build that courage to conquer and success is just waiting for you.

With that, thank you.

“Papa, let us follow the short cut road home”. My 5 years old daughter asked me to follow the short cut road going back to our apartment. I looked at her and stopped my car at the road side and pointed to a road sign and started to spell “ J A … Ja, L A N… lan, Jalan, M A… Ma, T I… Ti, Mati…. Jalan Mati (in Malay) which means Dead End. I explained that to her. Obviously, it clearly shows that the road has been blocked and there is no need for me to drive down that road to check if it is really blocked or not. I assumed that the road is blocked based on the road sign. At that time, I believed I’ve made a fair judgement.

But after what happened last week has changed my perspective in my decision making. My 5 years old daughter still insisted me to drive down that road to see if it is really blocked or not. Since I have some time to spend, I’ve decided to follow what she wants. I drove down the road, passed the “Jalan Mati” sign and at the end of the road, I was shocked to see there is nothing blocking the road. With my mouth opened and looked at my the daughter who was smiling along the way, I’m totally speechless at that time. At that moment, it triggered me a very important lesson learnt from my 5 years old daughter; never ever assume.

I’m sure you might have gone through a similar experience back at home, in the office and maybe anywhere. Making assumption has been part of our life especially for me who studied engineering. Back in the university and also at work, I’ve been trained to make engineering judgement based on assumption. How the process works is with some engineering data, I have to make decision even though I’m not sure if the decision will be correct or not. But as an engineer, I have to make that engineering decision. Many of us have to do the same regardless in whatever field you are working. Obviously, decision making based on assumption do save time and also some are successful but there are also many catastrophic disasters happened because of poor assumption.

The focus of this article is to persuade all of us to improve our decision making based on a better assumption making process. Inside our brain, we have a almond shape part which is called amygdala. The function of the amygdala is to store information based on your experience. Your emotion and behaviour will be controlled by the information available in your amygdala. Taking myself as an example, my amygdala told me the road sign written as “Jalan Mati” means it is a dead end. But the experience I went through with my daughter that day, my amygdala is not giving me the right information. Well, my daughter’s amygdala is still empty and that is why she still insisted me to drive down that road or maybe she don’t trust me . Anyway, my first point is never trust your amygdala. Your past experience does not guarantee you in making a good assumption.

So now we know we can’t trust our amygdala. Then, what should we do? We should confirm our assumption. If you happened to encounter an experience you are familiar with, do take some precaution to think through it carefully. Stop your amygdala to influence your decision making. Bear in mind that the same experience you have gone through previously might not be the same for this round. Explore all possibilities and collect information as much as possible than only make that decision.

Finally, thank god our amygdala is rewritable. With some courage and determination, the information in our amygdala can be erased, modified and also add on. Whatever your have learnt while you are confirming your assumption must be stored into your amygdala. Based on that new experience, it will help you be more effective in making assumption for your decision making in the future.

Before I end this article, obviously you can’t escape from making assumption in your daily life. But now you know that there is an almond shape part in your brain called amygdala which can help you make a better assumption. But remember, start by not trusting it, confirm your assumption and restore what you have learnt in your amygdala.

Believe me this works and I learnt it from my 5 years old daughter.

John C. Maxwell wrote a book titled “Talent is Never Enough”. For those who are wondering who John is, he is one of the leading international leadership guru who has sold more than 12 million copies of his book such as The 360 Degree Leader, Developing The Leader Within You & many more.

My fellow Toastmasters & Guest,

I’m not going to talk about the biography of John C. Maxwell in my speech today. What I plan to do for the next 6 minutes is to talk about the misconception about talent. Is talent enough to be successful in our life? I would like to share based on my research from John’s book, Talent is Never Enough and also from my personal observation.

I would like to start with what is talent? Based on our most trusted source, Wikipedia, talent is the natural ability or a gift in a person to do something without a need to learn how to do it. Obviously talent is already there in each of us since the day we are in our mother’s womb, just waiting for the right time to show it off. To name some of these famous talented people, Pablo Picasso & Leonardo da Vinci for their talent in art, Michael Jackson & The Beatles for their talent in singing, Steve Job and Bill Gates for their talent in technology leadership, Zinadeen Zidane & Maradona for their talent in football and not to forget Tiger Woods in his world of golf. All of these people have special talents that have somehow changed the way we live today.

However for all these talented people, talent alone is never enough to make them successful. Even though their talent does help but there are still many other factors that make them achieved their fame. As I’ve mentioned earlier, talent is just an ability hidden in all of us just waiting for the right time to reveal itself.

To make this happen there must be some internal & external factors that need to be synchronized with their hidden talent.

So what are these factors? In this book John has listed down 13 factors (11 internal & 2 external). I don’t think I have the time to share all these 13 factors, so I’ll just cover only 4 factors ( 3 internal & 1 external)

Let me start with the internal factors. Internally, for a talented person to be successful, that person must have the passion, take the initiative & maintain good character or “PIC” (passion, initiative & character). To illustrate how “PIC” works, let us look at Tiger Woods. He is the first African American to reach the top of the golf world with his talent. He was introduced to golf at a very tender age of 2 years old by his father and from that day onwards he built his passion in golf. Well obviously his talent is not enough because he has to work hard perfecting his swing every single day before any tournament. His passion & hard work has resulted in many victories for him to become world # 1. On top of that, he has portrayed a positive character in his career until recently everything good he gone because of his disloyalty in his marriage. For sure talent for Tiger Woods is never enough for him to sustain his success.

What about the external factor?

Your reputation in eyes of the public is one of the external factors. There is no way a talented person is regards as successful if the public is not acknowledging that. Again taking Tiger Woods as an example, he glamorous & wealthy life is not just because of his talent. The sponsorship & publicity that he received from his success i.e. his reputation have brought his family & himself to fame. Unfortunately immediately after his scandal was revealed throughout the world, many of his sponsors started to pull out their sponsorship because of his bad reputation to the public especially to ladies. That was really a big blow to him because majority of his wealth depends on these sponsorship. Again talent is never enough for Tiger Woods’s reputation.

This example I’ve shared with you today is an eye opener to many of us who thought to be successful in our life we will just need some sort of talent. That is why many of us started to blame our failures because we are lack of that talent. Unfortunately, there are many internal & external factors that will bring us to success. I hope my speech today is wake up call that talent alone is never enough and with that I end my speech.

Thank you

Oh my God!!! This is a very popular phrase used by many throughout the world. But lately in Malaysia, new phrases are getting more popular such as “ Don’t use my God’s name” and “I want to use your God’s name”.

My fellow Toastmasters & Guest,

In my speech today, I don’t have any intention to criticize or offend anyone about this issue of using the name Allah by the Roman Catholic in their publications, The Herald. My sole intention is to share with all of you the standpoint of a Muslim like myself since the name of Allah is commonly known as the God in Islam. I felt it is my religious obligation to share with all of you today.

I would like to start with the meaning of the name Allah which is an Arabic word which consist of the word Al which means “The” and Ilah means God. Hence Allah means The God. Whatever religion which uses Arabic as their main language tends to use the word Allah to represent their God because that is the meaning in their language. However in Islam, Allah is the only God that we worship and it is a hugh sin if we worship others than Allah.

In the teaching of Islam, fundamentally a Muslim has to acknowledged that Allah is the only God and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is His messenger and also practice the basic 4 activities such as 5 times prayers every single day, fasting in the holy month of Ramadhan, pay Zakat similar to paying tax and perform Haj if affordable. All this activities entirely done because of Allah not because of anything or anyone else.

However in the context of Malaysia, there is too much hidden political agenda which may be taking advantage with the situation we are facing now. The usage of the word Allah is already been used in the Bible translation in Arabic & Bahasa Indonesia. For me it is not a big deal if the Bible translation or any Christian publications in Bahasa Malaysia or English also want to use the name Allah as long the intention is just to represent God and nothing else. It will also be a positive thing to do since Islam & Christianity will be sharing the same God by His name.

So if that is the case why many of us making a big fuss about it. Putting political reason aside, the basic knowledge of religions among Malaysian is in a very poor situation. Obviously, many do not know much about other religions and worst even their own religion. Sadly even some of our leaders also have the same deficiency. Something has to be done in our education system to introduce basic knowledge of multiple religions in schools, colleges & universities. At the same time, for those who have left school, intellectual & matured dialogues and sharing sessions should be encouraged to close the knowledge gap about comparative study on religions in Malaysia.

On top of that, we as Malaysian has been living in a very harmonious country for the past 52 years. We should bear in mind that this misunderstanding in our community is an opportunity for us to learn more about ourselves and also compromise with each other needs. The 13-May 1969 tragedy is something that we do want to happen again but unfortunately there are some crazy and (my apologies to use this word) idiotic people taken actions out of norm as a civilized human being. There are some attempts to burn down churches & suraus and most recently putting pig heads in several mosques in Selangor. Well I do not know what stupidity going to happen next but stent actions have to be taken to those responsible to stop any unwanted tragedy to happen.

Regardless whatever religion we believed in, I’m sure all religions teach us to do good deeds and avoid bad deeds. On top of that, our Gods also do not want us to fight with each other just because of what name we should call our Gods. The most important is we should strive to be a better follower of the teaching of our Gods rather than wasting time arguing with each other.

I hope what I’ve shared with be beneficial to all of us. Just remember that, God created us with a reason to worship Him not to fight over His name.

Thank you.

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