Just recently, during a News Conference in Iraq, a correspondent by the name of Al-Zaidi from a TV station, created a shocking scene when he hurled 2 shoes at US President George Bush who was speaking at the podium.
It was a very near miss, and watching the video, I must say that the President reaction was very fast and nimble. Twice the shoes were going in the same direction at him, and it was a near miss twice, when he ducked. President Bush remained composed to continue but instead talk about the shoe incident.
In President Bush words, such act is to draw attention and he likened it to people back home showing displeasure as in any political rally.
View Video Clip on President Bush ducking in slow motion
How would one describe the incident? A near violent form of displaying unhappiness, anger, frustration. I do not know of what happened to the journalist, and will he still be a correspondent after the incident.
The Middle East Region has been embroiled in controversies and wars for many years and one cannot help but sympathise with the people who live there, must be very frustrated.
Looking at the frequent suicidal killings going on every now and then, one must be wondering how much of hatred and anger has been sown in the minds of the people. I am not sure whether much can be done to the adults and this generation to make much difference for peace in the region, but I do hope and pray that more can be done at the children and educational level to foster goodwill, love and compassions, so that the future generations will be able to lead a more peaceful and happier lives than is now.
But wherever we are right now, let us not underestimate the power of one, and let us begin with ourself, and work for peace within our own home, and from this hopefully, peace will manifest itself into our environment, our society, country and eventually the world at large.
Posted by
Ivan
Why He Disappeared ?
Friday, December 19, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
World Wide Weakening Economy causes diminshing wealth of everyone
The world's economy is now taking center stage in every government's agenda, and top on most people in managing the economy of their respective countries. The future looks bleak while everyone is praying for a quick recovery if at all they cannot be cushioned.
Over the last few months, I am sure we find the wealth that we have worked so hard over the last 20 - 30 years being eroded. At times of unstable environment, whatever instruments and hedging mechanism available out there is not helping either. In my case, I have learned that when the environment is unstable, the hedging mechanism may not work in favor. Take the case of exchange rate hedging, while we can buy and hedge the currency that we need for future, it can work the reverse when you are overbook into the position. In my case, I had bought into the Sterling Pound at the rate around MYR 6.49 to 1.0 Sterling Pound and looking back, now that the sterling pound has weaken to around MYR 5.50 to 1 Sterling Pound, it had actually resulted in me losing out about MYR 50,000 to hedge the initial fund required for my son's education in London.
Likewise, the Australian dollars has also weaken from about MYR 3.1 to 1.0 AUD to now about MYR2.3 to 1.0 AUD, it has also caused me to lose about MYR10,000.00 While frustrated on one hand, yet I find it hard to complain for over the longer term, it would be better for the MYR to strengthen as this will be beneficial for future exchanges. This of course is true only if the existing rate can sustain for some time.
While recession appears imminent all round, yet the cost of living has gone up. When the oil price was about USD 150 per barrel, it created chaos wordwide, with many suppliers raising prices of essential goods that drives up cost of living. Now that oil prices has dropped to around USD50 per barrel, and hardly 4 months ago only, no one would have imagined this to happen. Now that oil prices have gone by more than 50%, yet the suppliers are taking their time, if at all willing to reduce the prices. While suppliers are quick to raise prices, but they are very slow to react when it worked against them.
And what are the Authority and Government doing about this. Let's hope the people of authority are doing enough to bring about some action to address such injustice and restore equity to the people on the ground.
And let us all pray that the world economy will recover quick enough to bring relief to all the countries on this globe and that world economy stability returns.
Posted by
Ivan
Over the last few months, I am sure we find the wealth that we have worked so hard over the last 20 - 30 years being eroded. At times of unstable environment, whatever instruments and hedging mechanism available out there is not helping either. In my case, I have learned that when the environment is unstable, the hedging mechanism may not work in favor. Take the case of exchange rate hedging, while we can buy and hedge the currency that we need for future, it can work the reverse when you are overbook into the position. In my case, I had bought into the Sterling Pound at the rate around MYR 6.49 to 1.0 Sterling Pound and looking back, now that the sterling pound has weaken to around MYR 5.50 to 1 Sterling Pound, it had actually resulted in me losing out about MYR 50,000 to hedge the initial fund required for my son's education in London.
Likewise, the Australian dollars has also weaken from about MYR 3.1 to 1.0 AUD to now about MYR2.3 to 1.0 AUD, it has also caused me to lose about MYR10,000.00 While frustrated on one hand, yet I find it hard to complain for over the longer term, it would be better for the MYR to strengthen as this will be beneficial for future exchanges. This of course is true only if the existing rate can sustain for some time.
While recession appears imminent all round, yet the cost of living has gone up. When the oil price was about USD 150 per barrel, it created chaos wordwide, with many suppliers raising prices of essential goods that drives up cost of living. Now that oil prices has dropped to around USD50 per barrel, and hardly 4 months ago only, no one would have imagined this to happen. Now that oil prices have gone by more than 50%, yet the suppliers are taking their time, if at all willing to reduce the prices. While suppliers are quick to raise prices, but they are very slow to react when it worked against them.
And what are the Authority and Government doing about this. Let's hope the people of authority are doing enough to bring about some action to address such injustice and restore equity to the people on the ground.
And let us all pray that the world economy will recover quick enough to bring relief to all the countries on this globe and that world economy stability returns.
Posted by
Ivan
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Moving into New House – All the frustrations of renovation
Getting a new house and getting it ready so that you can move in to stay, is something that everybody looks forward to. I have bought this house delivered almost 2 years ago. It was under renovation for the last 4 months as I intend to move into this new Semi-Detached unit after selling my present 2-storey linked house which I owned and stayed in the last 21 years. That’s a long time.
I had originally envisaged the renovation work to take about 2 months, for the small extension for the kitchen, new patio area with minor renovations. Renovating the house is time-consuming not to mention that a lot of money has to be thrown in and now 2 months delay. Since my last shift, it have never occur to me to bear with so many frustrations in renovating the house;
- Firstly, the quotation comparison and negotiation to finalize the award. At the end, you will still find misunderstanding, and at worst is that the contractor admitted that it is a mistake and omission. What can you do then, except to fork out the additional
- I can now safely say that the original budget that you plan for renovation work will never be enough, so my advice is that you have to plan for additional amount as buffer for variation work. There are again things that you never thought of, may cropped that you now realize requires it
- During renovation itself, a lot of things which are in good condition will now be spoilt and require replacement and rework. For example, the walls maybe perfectly all right, but at the end, may require some patching and a full new coat of paint
- Cost may creep up depending on the market condition. For small job this is no issue, but for bigger job, substantial changes in the market will result in changes as the contractor will keep asking for more money due to substantial increase in cost of material
- Delay arising from rainy days as well as conditions laid out by the developer to limit renovation work to restricted hours and non holidays days only. In my case this has seriously affected the timing without anticipating this during the planning stage
- Looking at those workers who carried out the renovation work will add further frustration. These people are just plain dumb, and only concentrate on their portion work, without regard and consideration to the others. An example is when you ask them to install a new door, they will focus on the door, but would not pay attention to scratching the new floors that you have done, by discriminately handling of their equipments. Or when you ask the electrician to put in new wiring, indiscriminate hacking which spoil the wall and ceiling..
In my case, I had been unfortunate to be hit with 2 incidents of the water pipe to the ceiling burst over a month. The incidents resulted in water flooding the entire ceiling board of the rooms upstairs, sipping down to affect all the walls and the laminated timber stripes floor. The second incident resulted in the water wetting all the bedroom and wardrobe set and damaging some of it.. As a result, the developer has to re-patch the plaster ceiling, repaint the ceiling and wall as well as re-grind the floor and repaint it. Till to-date, I am still waiting for the developer to rectify this before I start moving in.
If you are particular with the auspicious day to shift in, the delays would have frustrated you. Luckily, I am not those who will choose an auspicious date with all the pomp, hustles and bustles to shift in. So the next time you buy an new house and plan to shift in, be prepared with all the frustrations that comes with it.
Posted by
Ivan
I had originally envisaged the renovation work to take about 2 months, for the small extension for the kitchen, new patio area with minor renovations. Renovating the house is time-consuming not to mention that a lot of money has to be thrown in and now 2 months delay. Since my last shift, it have never occur to me to bear with so many frustrations in renovating the house;
- Firstly, the quotation comparison and negotiation to finalize the award. At the end, you will still find misunderstanding, and at worst is that the contractor admitted that it is a mistake and omission. What can you do then, except to fork out the additional
- I can now safely say that the original budget that you plan for renovation work will never be enough, so my advice is that you have to plan for additional amount as buffer for variation work. There are again things that you never thought of, may cropped that you now realize requires it
- During renovation itself, a lot of things which are in good condition will now be spoilt and require replacement and rework. For example, the walls maybe perfectly all right, but at the end, may require some patching and a full new coat of paint
- Cost may creep up depending on the market condition. For small job this is no issue, but for bigger job, substantial changes in the market will result in changes as the contractor will keep asking for more money due to substantial increase in cost of material
- Delay arising from rainy days as well as conditions laid out by the developer to limit renovation work to restricted hours and non holidays days only. In my case this has seriously affected the timing without anticipating this during the planning stage
- Looking at those workers who carried out the renovation work will add further frustration. These people are just plain dumb, and only concentrate on their portion work, without regard and consideration to the others. An example is when you ask them to install a new door, they will focus on the door, but would not pay attention to scratching the new floors that you have done, by discriminately handling of their equipments. Or when you ask the electrician to put in new wiring, indiscriminate hacking which spoil the wall and ceiling..
In my case, I had been unfortunate to be hit with 2 incidents of the water pipe to the ceiling burst over a month. The incidents resulted in water flooding the entire ceiling board of the rooms upstairs, sipping down to affect all the walls and the laminated timber stripes floor. The second incident resulted in the water wetting all the bedroom and wardrobe set and damaging some of it.. As a result, the developer has to re-patch the plaster ceiling, repaint the ceiling and wall as well as re-grind the floor and repaint it. Till to-date, I am still waiting for the developer to rectify this before I start moving in.
If you are particular with the auspicious day to shift in, the delays would have frustrated you. Luckily, I am not those who will choose an auspicious date with all the pomp, hustles and bustles to shift in. So the next time you buy an new house and plan to shift in, be prepared with all the frustrations that comes with it.
Posted by
Ivan
Friday, October 17, 2008
Economic Chaos - A new World Economic Order
Posted by Ivan
The financial meltdown of 2008 is being called the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. World economies is in a doldrums, brought on by the earlier subprime issues. Now, big and once called world class corporations, best in its own class that set the world best practices are falling apart and dragging down all others with it. We have seen the big big names - Bear Stearns Cos, Wsahington Mutual Inc, Wachovia Corp, Lehman Bros Holdings Inc, Goldman Sach Group Inc, Morgan Stanely AIG, Fannie and Freddie, and many more in Europe.
The US Government is pumping billions into the economy to boost back confident and bailout. The bailout is being felt around the world, Europe and Asia. UK and Europe Government has come out pumping billions to their banking systems. In the process, Government is now taking up stakes in financial institutions. Government in Asia have also come up to support and guarantee the banking system. What is happening here?
People all over are frustrated, in that their hard earned monies and savings have now been depleted. Stock Markets all over have also collapsed and wipe out billions. Against such backdrop, fuel prices have dropped to US72 per barrel which only recently saw it shot beyond US130 per barrel barely a month ago.
Quick and concerted action is required from all. Government in some countries have come out to guarantee the banking system and hopefully re-instill public confident that banking deposits are safe. Whatever action is required, it will be many many months before the world economy can regain its past glorious days.
I have just received this internet jokes that perhaps illustrate how greed can create chaos. I think the story has some resemblance to what the world is facing now. The story goes like this as follows;
If you have difficulty understanding the current world financial problem, the following should help;
Once upon a time in a village in India , a man announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10.
The villagers seeing there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.
The man bought thousands at $10, but, as the supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their efforts. The man further announced that he would now buy at $20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.
Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to $25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it!
The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now act as buyer, on his behalf.
In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: 'Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when he returns from the city, you can sell them back to him for $50.'
The villagers squeezed together their savings and bought all the monkeys.
Then they never saw the man or his assistant again, only monkeys
I hope this helps to illustrate the present situation well.
Yours truly,
Ivan
Feel free to provide your feedback by clicking the Comment below.
The financial meltdown of 2008 is being called the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. World economies is in a doldrums, brought on by the earlier subprime issues. Now, big and once called world class corporations, best in its own class that set the world best practices are falling apart and dragging down all others with it. We have seen the big big names - Bear Stearns Cos, Wsahington Mutual Inc, Wachovia Corp, Lehman Bros Holdings Inc, Goldman Sach Group Inc, Morgan Stanely AIG, Fannie and Freddie, and many more in Europe.
The US Government is pumping billions into the economy to boost back confident and bailout. The bailout is being felt around the world, Europe and Asia. UK and Europe Government has come out pumping billions to their banking systems. In the process, Government is now taking up stakes in financial institutions. Government in Asia have also come up to support and guarantee the banking system. What is happening here?
People all over are frustrated, in that their hard earned monies and savings have now been depleted. Stock Markets all over have also collapsed and wipe out billions. Against such backdrop, fuel prices have dropped to US72 per barrel which only recently saw it shot beyond US130 per barrel barely a month ago.
Quick and concerted action is required from all. Government in some countries have come out to guarantee the banking system and hopefully re-instill public confident that banking deposits are safe. Whatever action is required, it will be many many months before the world economy can regain its past glorious days.
I have just received this internet jokes that perhaps illustrate how greed can create chaos. I think the story has some resemblance to what the world is facing now. The story goes like this as follows;
If you have difficulty understanding the current world financial problem, the following should help;
Once upon a time in a village in India , a man announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10.
The villagers seeing there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.
The man bought thousands at $10, but, as the supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their efforts. The man further announced that he would now buy at $20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.
Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to $25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it!
The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now act as buyer, on his behalf.
In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: 'Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when he returns from the city, you can sell them back to him for $50.'
The villagers squeezed together their savings and bought all the monkeys.
Then they never saw the man or his assistant again, only monkeys
I hope this helps to illustrate the present situation well.
Yours truly,
Ivan
Feel free to provide your feedback by clicking the Comment below.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Frustration with your partner - Secret to a happy marriage
Posted by Ivan
What makes a Happy Marriage? Occasionally, we can be asking ourselves, are we happy with our marriage? Not sure what the answer is with most, but I think the answer we get will probably be related more of whether we view a marriage as problematic. If we find less problem, we then say it is a happy marriage. If not, then perhaps, we think the marriage is unhappy. I have heard and come across married couples who have gone through lengthy years of marriage, seemingly happy, with no apparent discord, but eventually hit the rock at the later years. This normally happened when either party feels that there is no longer need to be dependent and tied to each other, arising from something external to them. In such situations, marriages are held on by some external factor, such as worrying for young children, financial dependent, parental objection etc. When such dependencies no longer holds true, such as when the children have all grown up, or the parents are no longer around, so is this tiny thread that binds the marriage together all these years.
So it is common for the individual to be frustrated with his partners at one time or another. What do we do then? And different people react and respond differently, depending on the value system in the society he is in, the culture, the up-bringing and his environment.
Reading an article in the NST recently, there was this poll being conducted on 4,000 married couples to find the secrets to a happy marriage. Or so it says, the secrets are;
- spending at least 22 periods of "quality time" together a month with at least seven cosy nights in and two proper dinner dates. The key seems to be spending a lot of quality time together cited by those who rated their marriage very happy
- Cuddle, it seems at least 4 times a day, holds the key
- Romantic gesture such as back massage every 10 days is necessary
The Survey also revealed that
- average happy couple enjoy two romantic walks every month
- one visit to the pub every month
- one trip to the cinema every month
- spend few romantic evenings in - eating dinner by candlelight 3 times a month
- Engaging in a proper conversation 6 times a month
- Curling up in front of the TV together 7 times a month
- Twice a month, shower each other with surprise gifts - such as flowers and chocolates, a soppy poem or a favorite piece of music
- A good marriage would also allow each partner to enjoy a night away from home without the other, in the compnay of their own friends
- Simple act such as cleaning the house without being asked or making breakfast show respect for the other spouse
- Go on two or more holidays every year
I do not know how one would be able to do those secrets revealed above. Or perhaps, these will add on more frustration to an already frustrated party. I wonder how one would be able to sustain all these. I have been married for 25 over years, and I can put my marriage on the happier side, although I would not venture to say a very happy one, at times perhaps. My personal view is that while one needs to work on the marriage, it must not sound like a chore, for when it requires such effort, it already defeats the very purpose of the union. The few things that I have learned through my years of marriage has helped to tide the rough ride that at times surfaced. And I would say that with each hump that I crossed, it had made the marriage more solid than before. So here lies my key;
- Taking the ups and downs of the marriage - one cannot view the marriage as something smooth sailing without the downs and problems. The important thing is what one can and should do quickly to overcome it. For without the rough ride, what then is a happy one and how then does the couple share and feel the need for a solid marriage.
- Communicate and sharing - there must be communication, as in personal matters that relate to both parties. I know of a case where both the party does not even talk, sharing the same bed. In no time, the couple separated. At times, one may have to be frank to the other, rather than harbouring uneasy thoughts and suspicions.
- Have physical contact - I believe that physical contact is very important for the marriage to last. I do not think the need to say how frequent, except that there must be periodical contact, be it simple gesture of holding hands, or rubbing the shoulders to rekindle the feeling and bond.
- Give and Take attitude - I have often heard about the share of responsibility and equality. This happen more so when the baby takes center stage of the family. My take on this relationship is that there is no such thing as equal share of work or responsibility, but there must be an exercise of care and responsibility to the utmost of both. After all, people are known for what he can sacrifice for love, so there should not be any bound on this. Remember reading somewhere that aptly puts it that the women is the sunshine for the family, and the man is the pillar.
- Have some time reserved for the family - finding time to do what I have mentioned above is important. So much was said about quality of time, and I think this means different thing to different people. Just cuddling up with the partner in front of the TV set may appeal and sound so good to many, while to some other, may require costly outing to a posh restaurant
For what one does, we are talking about human. And human being is an extremely complex creature that the more research is done on him, the more we find unknown. We can only try our best, and in so trying, pray and hope for the best.
Yours truly,
Ivan
Feel free to share your feedback on this topic by clicking the Comment below
What makes a Happy Marriage? Occasionally, we can be asking ourselves, are we happy with our marriage? Not sure what the answer is with most, but I think the answer we get will probably be related more of whether we view a marriage as problematic. If we find less problem, we then say it is a happy marriage. If not, then perhaps, we think the marriage is unhappy. I have heard and come across married couples who have gone through lengthy years of marriage, seemingly happy, with no apparent discord, but eventually hit the rock at the later years. This normally happened when either party feels that there is no longer need to be dependent and tied to each other, arising from something external to them. In such situations, marriages are held on by some external factor, such as worrying for young children, financial dependent, parental objection etc. When such dependencies no longer holds true, such as when the children have all grown up, or the parents are no longer around, so is this tiny thread that binds the marriage together all these years.
So it is common for the individual to be frustrated with his partners at one time or another. What do we do then? And different people react and respond differently, depending on the value system in the society he is in, the culture, the up-bringing and his environment.
Reading an article in the NST recently, there was this poll being conducted on 4,000 married couples to find the secrets to a happy marriage. Or so it says, the secrets are;
- spending at least 22 periods of "quality time" together a month with at least seven cosy nights in and two proper dinner dates. The key seems to be spending a lot of quality time together cited by those who rated their marriage very happy
- Cuddle, it seems at least 4 times a day, holds the key
- Romantic gesture such as back massage every 10 days is necessary
The Survey also revealed that
- average happy couple enjoy two romantic walks every month
- one visit to the pub every month
- one trip to the cinema every month
- spend few romantic evenings in - eating dinner by candlelight 3 times a month
- Engaging in a proper conversation 6 times a month
- Curling up in front of the TV together 7 times a month
- Twice a month, shower each other with surprise gifts - such as flowers and chocolates, a soppy poem or a favorite piece of music
- A good marriage would also allow each partner to enjoy a night away from home without the other, in the compnay of their own friends
- Simple act such as cleaning the house without being asked or making breakfast show respect for the other spouse
- Go on two or more holidays every year
I do not know how one would be able to do those secrets revealed above. Or perhaps, these will add on more frustration to an already frustrated party. I wonder how one would be able to sustain all these. I have been married for 25 over years, and I can put my marriage on the happier side, although I would not venture to say a very happy one, at times perhaps. My personal view is that while one needs to work on the marriage, it must not sound like a chore, for when it requires such effort, it already defeats the very purpose of the union. The few things that I have learned through my years of marriage has helped to tide the rough ride that at times surfaced. And I would say that with each hump that I crossed, it had made the marriage more solid than before. So here lies my key;
- Taking the ups and downs of the marriage - one cannot view the marriage as something smooth sailing without the downs and problems. The important thing is what one can and should do quickly to overcome it. For without the rough ride, what then is a happy one and how then does the couple share and feel the need for a solid marriage.
- Communicate and sharing - there must be communication, as in personal matters that relate to both parties. I know of a case where both the party does not even talk, sharing the same bed. In no time, the couple separated. At times, one may have to be frank to the other, rather than harbouring uneasy thoughts and suspicions.
- Have physical contact - I believe that physical contact is very important for the marriage to last. I do not think the need to say how frequent, except that there must be periodical contact, be it simple gesture of holding hands, or rubbing the shoulders to rekindle the feeling and bond.
- Give and Take attitude - I have often heard about the share of responsibility and equality. This happen more so when the baby takes center stage of the family. My take on this relationship is that there is no such thing as equal share of work or responsibility, but there must be an exercise of care and responsibility to the utmost of both. After all, people are known for what he can sacrifice for love, so there should not be any bound on this. Remember reading somewhere that aptly puts it that the women is the sunshine for the family, and the man is the pillar.
- Have some time reserved for the family - finding time to do what I have mentioned above is important. So much was said about quality of time, and I think this means different thing to different people. Just cuddling up with the partner in front of the TV set may appeal and sound so good to many, while to some other, may require costly outing to a posh restaurant
For what one does, we are talking about human. And human being is an extremely complex creature that the more research is done on him, the more we find unknown. We can only try our best, and in so trying, pray and hope for the best.
Yours truly,
Ivan
Feel free to share your feedback on this topic by clicking the Comment below
Monday, October 6, 2008
Meetings - A waste of time. Making meeting matters
Posted by Ivan
How often one condemns and make jokes about the meetings and how they are conducted. Comments such as that we always have to many meetings, nothing gets discussed and done, people always come late for meetings.. How frequent one label such meetings as unproductive, waste of time and inefficient. It is not new that meetings have been said to be so, and as leader, it is important how he conducts himself. Frequently, attendees have to sit around, doing small talk and gossiping to wait for the senior to arrive.
Common pitfalls have led to various meetings being labeled as
- unproductive, usually arising from non preparedness
- irritation from a lot of unnecessary chatter and side talk and disturbances
- inefficient and without focus
- the meeting drags on too long
- often discussions focus on irrelevant topic and at worst wonders off to chit-
chatting and gossiping
- poorly conducted without results
- inadequately represented by all stakeholders
- discussion and meeting centered on few members
Over the years of working, I have come across various bosses that exhibited different traits and habits, ranging from those that are extremely particular about punctuality to one that is totally oblivious to timing, and thinks that as the head and will always be late, leaving the entire team waiting. At one extreme, I came across an instance where there was a shouting match among the very senior management team because a couple of the members were late.
In my many years of work experience, my personal experiences (at least the ones that I am in control) are that meetings can be very effective and efficient means of communication and seeking consensus quickly to move forward. There must be clear objectives, action items at hand for decision, and most importantly , is adequate preparation if major decisions are expected. I found the following tips are useful to control and manage meetings to ensure that they are productive and useful.
TIP 1 – Set clear Term of Reference – terms and scope of the committee/workgroup must be clear
TIP 2 - Appoint a permanent respectable Chairperson – preferable a senior personnel that command respect and carry some authority
TIP 3 - Set an Agenda for every meeting and send it out before hand – a full time secretariat to administer the Discussion topics/issues
TIP 4 - Appoint a permanent member as Secretariat to take minutes of meeting – Clear and actionable minutes of meeting is essential
TIP 5 – Set aside adequate time-frame for matters to be discussed – allow everyone to have a say
TIP 6 – Start meeting on time, and not wait for late-comers – proceed with adequate quorum rather than waiting for senior to arrive
TIP 7 – Be specific on each matter discussed. Control and allow everyone to speak when meeting becomes rowdy – exercise Chairperson’s role
TIP 8 - Go round to allow every member to voice anything before close-out – allow those without opportunity to voice out
TIP 9 – Write minutes and circulate them within 1 week of meeting – for individual verification and actions while issues are still clear.
With the above, the meeting will proceed a lot more smoother and faster.
Find out More >> MISAsiaJuly2008”MakemeetingmattersbyTomKrattenaker”
Yours truly,
Ivan
Feel free to share your feedback on the topic by clicking the Comment below.
How often one condemns and make jokes about the meetings and how they are conducted. Comments such as that we always have to many meetings, nothing gets discussed and done, people always come late for meetings.. How frequent one label such meetings as unproductive, waste of time and inefficient. It is not new that meetings have been said to be so, and as leader, it is important how he conducts himself. Frequently, attendees have to sit around, doing small talk and gossiping to wait for the senior to arrive.
Common pitfalls have led to various meetings being labeled as
- unproductive, usually arising from non preparedness
- irritation from a lot of unnecessary chatter and side talk and disturbances
- inefficient and without focus
- the meeting drags on too long
- often discussions focus on irrelevant topic and at worst wonders off to chit-
chatting and gossiping
- poorly conducted without results
- inadequately represented by all stakeholders
- discussion and meeting centered on few members
Over the years of working, I have come across various bosses that exhibited different traits and habits, ranging from those that are extremely particular about punctuality to one that is totally oblivious to timing, and thinks that as the head and will always be late, leaving the entire team waiting. At one extreme, I came across an instance where there was a shouting match among the very senior management team because a couple of the members were late.
In my many years of work experience, my personal experiences (at least the ones that I am in control) are that meetings can be very effective and efficient means of communication and seeking consensus quickly to move forward. There must be clear objectives, action items at hand for decision, and most importantly , is adequate preparation if major decisions are expected. I found the following tips are useful to control and manage meetings to ensure that they are productive and useful.
TIP 1 – Set clear Term of Reference – terms and scope of the committee/workgroup must be clear
TIP 2 - Appoint a permanent respectable Chairperson – preferable a senior personnel that command respect and carry some authority
TIP 3 - Set an Agenda for every meeting and send it out before hand – a full time secretariat to administer the Discussion topics/issues
TIP 4 - Appoint a permanent member as Secretariat to take minutes of meeting – Clear and actionable minutes of meeting is essential
TIP 5 – Set aside adequate time-frame for matters to be discussed – allow everyone to have a say
TIP 6 – Start meeting on time, and not wait for late-comers – proceed with adequate quorum rather than waiting for senior to arrive
TIP 7 – Be specific on each matter discussed. Control and allow everyone to speak when meeting becomes rowdy – exercise Chairperson’s role
TIP 8 - Go round to allow every member to voice anything before close-out – allow those without opportunity to voice out
TIP 9 – Write minutes and circulate them within 1 week of meeting – for individual verification and actions while issues are still clear.
With the above, the meeting will proceed a lot more smoother and faster.
Find out More >> MISAsiaJuly2008”MakemeetingmattersbyTomKrattenaker”
Yours truly,
Ivan
Feel free to share your feedback on the topic by clicking the Comment below.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Money Matters - frustration in managing Credit Card
Posted by Ivan
Today, I want to write about the frustration in the choosing, handling and managing the financial aspect of handling our credit card. Most people would agree that the advent of credit card has done much good and convenience to us as consumer, especially so for those who travel a lot. But with it, comes the problem of managing its usage and finance. For those who have the urge to spend, credit card could be a night-mare, after all one must exercise control and responsibility. Over the years, bankruptcy cases arising from inability to pay have risen, and these go up in tandem with the economy of the environment.
My experiences in this area have shown that frustration can come from a few aspects.
a) Choosing the Right Credit Card - A lot of factors comes into determining the right card for you. If you are looking for prestige and world-wide acceptability, there use to be a few choices only. But today, practically the card be it VISA, Mastercard or AMEX has become an acceptable generic product everywhere, by many outlets. Next comes the cost to acquiring a new credit card, but looking at today's competitive environment, banks are practically giving away credit card at no cost, and to top it all, offering various types of gifts to entice the potential customer.
So, it does not really matter whichever brand that we are talking about, mostly driven by the promotion campaign that is available. One has to be cautious of the terms, as a lot of the freebies are only valid for a specific duration, and unknowingly, one may find that you have to pay if you do not meet the conditions. I have personally encountered a couple of such nasty incidences and
have to go through the hassle to deal with the bank to resolve it.
b) Key Features of the Credit Card - Banks are today packing in various features with the card that appeals to a wide segment of the market. Extended Payment Plan, a form of instalment plan now comes standard with many card. Affiliate programs to offer special discount, entrance to specific event such as Sales, Concerts etc are becoming the norm. Balance transfer that allows cardholders to extend credit period by moving around their debts has been around for some time, and for those undisciplined may lead them deeper into debts.
c) Loyalty Programs - Cash back, loyalty points in exchange for goods/gifts are also another feature and offers some form of rebate to the cardholders.
d) Cash Advance - One great convenience of the Credit Card is the cash advance feature , that allows those short of cash to cash out a certain sum. Financing cost for cash advance is however relatively high and cash advance feee varying from 1% to 3% can apply depending on the brand and issuer. So, cash advance should not be used at all, unless as a last resort.
e) Settlement - Perhaps, an extremely good feature of the Credit Card is the credit period for one can enjoy that comes with every card. The credit period again varies from bank to bank, but it makes good sense to settle fully upon receipt of the credit card statement. From what I understand, the industry average of roll-over is high, in the region of 60 to 70 % depending on location. By this I mean, people who cannot afford to settle the full amount, but only the minimum payment amount, which means they have to pay the interest element. Perhaps, this is where the Bank earns its profit, to be able to offer the free credit period and all those perks that are thrown in. So for those who can afford to settle in full, they get to enjoy these at no cost. One has to be mindful to settle in time, as delay will result in a penalty. I have personally gone through a few round of frustration of dealing with the Bank to get such charges waived for reasons beyond control.
f) Keep your CreditCard safe and secure. Most important of all is that you must take extra care to keep your card in place and to report it immediately when you lose it. I have not encountered this personally, but many have come to me about losing their card, and being coered by the bank to settle the charges incurred after the card was lost or stolen. All these people are very frustrated and partly attributed to their ingnorance. It is a tendency that we do not realise when our card is lost, and usually, come to realise it when the bank calls up or when we need to use the credit card the next time. By then, the credit card would probably have been used a few rounds. There are however guidelines limiting the lost and liability , and it makes good sense for one to know what these are and how they protect the cardholders. The Bank will not likely to let the cardholders know about this, but instead try to recoup whatever it can from the cardholders.
So, for all you credit cardholders out there, beware and guard your credit card safely and securely.
Yours truly,
Ivan
Today, I want to write about the frustration in the choosing, handling and managing the financial aspect of handling our credit card. Most people would agree that the advent of credit card has done much good and convenience to us as consumer, especially so for those who travel a lot. But with it, comes the problem of managing its usage and finance. For those who have the urge to spend, credit card could be a night-mare, after all one must exercise control and responsibility. Over the years, bankruptcy cases arising from inability to pay have risen, and these go up in tandem with the economy of the environment.
My experiences in this area have shown that frustration can come from a few aspects.
a) Choosing the Right Credit Card - A lot of factors comes into determining the right card for you. If you are looking for prestige and world-wide acceptability, there use to be a few choices only. But today, practically the card be it VISA, Mastercard or AMEX has become an acceptable generic product everywhere, by many outlets. Next comes the cost to acquiring a new credit card, but looking at today's competitive environment, banks are practically giving away credit card at no cost, and to top it all, offering various types of gifts to entice the potential customer.
So, it does not really matter whichever brand that we are talking about, mostly driven by the promotion campaign that is available. One has to be cautious of the terms, as a lot of the freebies are only valid for a specific duration, and unknowingly, one may find that you have to pay if you do not meet the conditions. I have personally encountered a couple of such nasty incidences and
have to go through the hassle to deal with the bank to resolve it.
b) Key Features of the Credit Card - Banks are today packing in various features with the card that appeals to a wide segment of the market. Extended Payment Plan, a form of instalment plan now comes standard with many card. Affiliate programs to offer special discount, entrance to specific event such as Sales, Concerts etc are becoming the norm. Balance transfer that allows cardholders to extend credit period by moving around their debts has been around for some time, and for those undisciplined may lead them deeper into debts.
c) Loyalty Programs - Cash back, loyalty points in exchange for goods/gifts are also another feature and offers some form of rebate to the cardholders.
d) Cash Advance - One great convenience of the Credit Card is the cash advance feature , that allows those short of cash to cash out a certain sum. Financing cost for cash advance is however relatively high and cash advance feee varying from 1% to 3% can apply depending on the brand and issuer. So, cash advance should not be used at all, unless as a last resort.
e) Settlement - Perhaps, an extremely good feature of the Credit Card is the credit period for one can enjoy that comes with every card. The credit period again varies from bank to bank, but it makes good sense to settle fully upon receipt of the credit card statement. From what I understand, the industry average of roll-over is high, in the region of 60 to 70 % depending on location. By this I mean, people who cannot afford to settle the full amount, but only the minimum payment amount, which means they have to pay the interest element. Perhaps, this is where the Bank earns its profit, to be able to offer the free credit period and all those perks that are thrown in. So for those who can afford to settle in full, they get to enjoy these at no cost. One has to be mindful to settle in time, as delay will result in a penalty. I have personally gone through a few round of frustration of dealing with the Bank to get such charges waived for reasons beyond control.
f) Keep your CreditCard safe and secure. Most important of all is that you must take extra care to keep your card in place and to report it immediately when you lose it. I have not encountered this personally, but many have come to me about losing their card, and being coered by the bank to settle the charges incurred after the card was lost or stolen. All these people are very frustrated and partly attributed to their ingnorance. It is a tendency that we do not realise when our card is lost, and usually, come to realise it when the bank calls up or when we need to use the credit card the next time. By then, the credit card would probably have been used a few rounds. There are however guidelines limiting the lost and liability , and it makes good sense for one to know what these are and how they protect the cardholders. The Bank will not likely to let the cardholders know about this, but instead try to recoup whatever it can from the cardholders.
So, for all you credit cardholders out there, beware and guard your credit card safely and securely.
Yours truly,
Ivan
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Rejuvenating - New Found Energy ....A new Beginning
It's been some time back since my last and 1st Post, the start of this Ventyourfurstration.blogspot. And I have neglected this. There's been too much energy wasted . Over this period, I have come to term that it is no longer worthwhile fighting and challenging the system. All such energies could be put to better use, to work for the future, to creating new value but to myself and my family.
I remember years back, when I first went to join a new organisation, I came across this poster hanging on the wall that says , "If better is possible, then good is never enough" Anonymous.
This was of course taken in the context of office productivity. Today, I can think of aptly applying this to one's own life, family, environment. And so, I have finally gotten to terms that after all these years of creating value for the people you work for, It is now time to create value for myself. So whoever you people out there, let not your frustration steps you back in life. But instead, let it be the awakening call and be the strength that drives you towards rejuvenating yourself, to pick up from where you are now and really do something of value to yourself and your family.
A wise one once said "Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself"
That's all for now and Happy Blogging.
Yours truly,
Ivan
I remember years back, when I first went to join a new organisation, I came across this poster hanging on the wall that says , "If better is possible, then good is never enough" Anonymous.
This was of course taken in the context of office productivity. Today, I can think of aptly applying this to one's own life, family, environment. And so, I have finally gotten to terms that after all these years of creating value for the people you work for, It is now time to create value for myself. So whoever you people out there, let not your frustration steps you back in life. But instead, let it be the awakening call and be the strength that drives you towards rejuvenating yourself, to pick up from where you are now and really do something of value to yourself and your family.
A wise one once said "Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself"
That's all for now and Happy Blogging.
Yours truly,
Ivan
Friday, July 11, 2008
Welcome to this Inaugural Site
Hello you fellas out there !!
Just came back from the office today, never really felt this bad that I feel like sharing with the world... the amount of frustration after years of hard work for the company to be treated like shit... Makes me realize that they must be thousands of you folks out there that share the same feeling..
This is a newbie, so please pardon me for breaking all the rules..... Why don't you drop a line or two... perhaps to cheer me up and others that may come along too..... Maybe that's too much already now...............that's all for now..........signing off, Ivan
Just came back from the office today, never really felt this bad that I feel like sharing with the world... the amount of frustration after years of hard work for the company to be treated like shit... Makes me realize that they must be thousands of you folks out there that share the same feeling..
This is a newbie, so please pardon me for breaking all the rules..... Why don't you drop a line or two... perhaps to cheer me up and others that may come along too..... Maybe that's too much already now...............that's all for now..........signing off, Ivan
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