Attitude...

This week i had a major in-camp training, this unit called 327 SCE, a battalion size unit came in. I wonder if it was fate or luck, i get to meet two person, that i believe was fruitful to me. One is Edward Tan, a Regional Director for a MNC, another one is Mr Gerald Singham, a lawyer. These two person offered me a few advice that i believe triggered thoughts on me.

Edward currently holds an appointment of a Regional Director in a Italy Based MNC, dealing with furniture related engineering industry. What i see him as a role model is, when he was in CJC, he flopped his Chinese F9, which took away the chance of him getting into local university. He then took up a Dist learning Bachelor, which took him 3 years to complete. He was realistic with his choices, and went ahead with his believes. As my plans coincides with what he was going through, i talked with him, asked for his advice and opinion. He told me, This route that you have chosen, is not going to be easy. These 2 years of studying and working concurrently will be the worst times of your life. Hold on and persevere, the future would be yours to hold. I too knew that, success stories do not belong to everybody, but i would like to believe that i can be one of them. He to me is somehow a source of motivation, a example of a person who went through what i think i will go through and made it. One day when i fell awfully low, i will think of what he went through, that would be my thrusting power forward.

Mr Gerald Singham, hhmmm, perhaps if you flip the paper couple of months ago. The case of the journalist sexually harassing a lady at the pub, and got charge at court. Well, he was the defending lawyer for that Journalist. http://www.theworldlawgroup.com/ He is the President of The World Law Group. Although i am not into the Law thing, well pershaps by seeing the size of his group, i do believe that he is of the higher echelon.

How do i get acquainted with this man, someone who in my life might never get a chance to talk to. I was having lunch with my boss, then he sat down and joined us. He is a friend of my boss. My boss introduced me to him, he was easy to talk to, maybe by virtue that he is a lawyer, he talk politically =) My Boss asked him to give me some piece of advice. (well, at normal times, you need to pay him for advices =p)

He presented to me a challenge that our country is facing, foreign talent. The fact is many of our people are not very bothered by it. We believe that we belong to the higher echelon to Indians and Chinese etc. He qouted an example was, he had a lawyer attached to him from india, very hardworking, effective chap. At the end of the attachment, he asked Mr Singham, do you have a place in your firm that i can place myself in?? Why was the reply, he then replied by saying that in Singapore, life is so easy, we enjoy the comfort of 2 things. Scenario one, A lawyer in Singapore is handed a case, he delegated the research work to his assistant, and him do the paper work and probaby done in 5 to 10 mins time. This India lawyer, who was handed the case, have to walk all the way down to the library by himself and probably use 5 hours of his time to flip that dusty old book for his resources. The lesson here is we enjoy the resources that we have, it acts as a force multiplier to our work, we are extremely efficient in our work. And because of our resources, we get to rest early and wake up later. The poor india lawyer has to wake up at 5am in the morning to beat the traffic and goes back about 10pm at night. WHat a horrible mismatch!!! SO if you are a employer, who would you choose?? He finished the topic by saying that when the government says the threat of foreign talents is coming, they really mean it.

He proceeded on to another topic, he mentioned that he often says inside the interview forum, to listen to what the interviewees got to say. There was this guy, who after the interview was posed this question to the board, What's the working hours? After the reply from the board, he then said, hhmm then wouldnt this job affect my golf games?? Well Mr Singham told him to go to hell, and of course he was not employed, afterall that guy was rich. Enter this guy, fresh grad from school, humble background, after the interview he was offered a pay that was not the desired amount that they can afford to offer him, his reply was "Thank you Sir!!!" Mr Singham was very shocked to hear that answer thought that he was being sarcastic, posed him this question, "Don't you think that you are paid a little too much??" He replied, "No Sir, i thank you for giving me the job, as for the pay, i am sure that after my one year of hardwork, next year you would increase my pay to a respectable amount" that sentence shocked him, and of course he got the job.

Mr Singham with that second guy as a reference, introduced a term so important yet so forgotten by many, Attitude. the first guy definitely has a less preferred attitude. The second guy, who is humble and bears a positive attitude, is well liked and preferred by all. He pointed out to me that all employers would like a worker that bear a positive attitude, who is then able to contribute to the company at all times. To him, if you compare Attitude vis-a-vis Intelligence, he would employ the less smarter but good attitude guy, for he would be the one who will be able to influence the outcome of work thats tasked to him, and definitely in a very positive note. To me, what he is telling me acts as a reminder, at anytime any place, this positive would be the thing to bring places.

These terms are so often heard, yet it is so easily forgotten. How many would be able to keep their mind clean from all the poison surrounding him. Many a times, the intelligence and education of a person would place him on a complacent ground, denying himself the chance to grow in both career and mental. This is a social poison, which can be seen everywhere, how many people would be able to deter it. I read about a Magnate today in the papers who make it with just 6 Bumboats in the 1967, now he is a tycoon with hotels at aust and a shipping company in singapore. He too had people who was trying to "poison" with the why you going overseas, risky etc. SHould he have placed his bets all in singapore, with the recession in place, he might not have made it now.

Before my lunch with him ended, he taught me a line, One day if there is a employer during the interview posed you this question of "Why should i employ you?" He told me to say that, I am a 24/7 worker, to me, my work don't end after 6pm, it would just be shifted to another place, which is my home. Well to me, that would be more of a advice rather than a line to use for interviews. When there are times, you feel like giving up at home, reflect at that time when you claimed this line yours. Perhaps you will be able to achieve higher grounds.

its 2056hrs now, signing off

Regards
dreamwaters