Leadership
8 years working together. Still largely an enigma. 14 hours spent together. What have you learnt about the person?
Being bombarded by information over lunch, 2 jugs, 2 baskets of chips, 2 bottles of wine, 2 glasses of soursop, I think I understand. Not immediately, but gradually. Pondering over it for 2 days, mostly in a concussed state, this is what I can derive.
Before going into that, let me make a few general observations.
#1. I was not alone with him. We actullay double dated. :)
#2. I realise that to be top notched journalist, one must not only have in depth knowledge about the subject, the person but more importantly, have deeo understaning about general knowledge. Lacking any of the above would radiate through like the sunshine in a cloudless sky. It is blindingly obvious.
#3. Hearing is not tantamount to listening. Hearing is the activation of one of the sense. Listening is the ability to make sense of the information. Be it if you were the cleaning lady, the waiter, and especially if you are in a leadership position.
Well, I manage to hear a lot of stuff, but I did listen to was vague and sometimes border on the insane. The man as a person is without a doubt a decent guy. He, like me, is generally from the confused lot, ie, we are usually misunderstood for what we stand for. Generous and a man with a heart. He is also a typical rags to riches story, start from a humble background, and through sweat and tears and sheer grit, carves out a world for himself. To say he was lucky, perhaps not.
He was unlucky in the sense that he did not have a hero to worship. A true believer that hard work derives success means that he doensn't quite have the strategic acumen and savvy. That is perhaps why he may not be a great man after the dust settles.
Successful, indeed. Afterall, the company is a respectable one in many context. In the army context, he probably has the calibre of being a great captain, much like achilles was, taking his troops out and winning every battle. He is surely not a general, who must have the vision and brash to commit and withdraw resources, to have a clear view of the bigger picture to win the war, sometimes at the expense of a certain group. I strongly believe that a general cannot micro manage, and if he believes he really needs to do so, then let others be the general.
Another huge thorn in his little toe is that he is hesitant to stamp his authority. Collective agreement is good. But someone must come forward to stamp his authority. Someone must set the direction. Someone must put his vision forward. Someone must give the troops something to achieve and strive for. It is easy to say "go and win a war for me". What war sir? which war sir? Who do you want to win sir? The captains, have they asked? Did they bother to find out? Do they know what war was it that they need to fight? A silly general with silly captains fighting a silly war would only result in a lot of wounded and dead soldiers. Is it happening? Yes, it is. Don't believe? Ask me!
See, as a sales guy, I must know what is the industry I need to focus on kind of jobs the management wants. What kind of jobs should I bring back? Any job? Any good paying job? A job that needs me to invest in new technolgy? What? As a puchasing guy, I need to know the budget, and I need to know the objective of what I am purcahsing and fit it into the company's entire nuts and bolts. To blidnly purchase based on a PO, I will never be able to manage to the best of my ability. And, as a communicator, what do I communicate? Just make noise? Just let others know that I want to keep silent? I mean, I must know what the company wants, and based on that knowldege, and only then will I be able to decide on the strategy and tactics. That is perhaps why I feel so much angst. I mean, to cut cost just for the sake of it, "to show the other departments that I am also watching my cost" without weighing the objective is tentamount to not showering at all because I need to save water.If there was a sharper vision about what I am able to achieve, I would be in a better position.
Can I produce a credible yet entertaining article, I think I may be able. But at the same time, I am under no illusion that I will be able to make a successful man into a great man. That is not within my pay scale.
Being bombarded by information over lunch, 2 jugs, 2 baskets of chips, 2 bottles of wine, 2 glasses of soursop, I think I understand. Not immediately, but gradually. Pondering over it for 2 days, mostly in a concussed state, this is what I can derive.
Before going into that, let me make a few general observations.
#1. I was not alone with him. We actullay double dated. :)
#2. I realise that to be top notched journalist, one must not only have in depth knowledge about the subject, the person but more importantly, have deeo understaning about general knowledge. Lacking any of the above would radiate through like the sunshine in a cloudless sky. It is blindingly obvious.
#3. Hearing is not tantamount to listening. Hearing is the activation of one of the sense. Listening is the ability to make sense of the information. Be it if you were the cleaning lady, the waiter, and especially if you are in a leadership position.
Well, I manage to hear a lot of stuff, but I did listen to was vague and sometimes border on the insane. The man as a person is without a doubt a decent guy. He, like me, is generally from the confused lot, ie, we are usually misunderstood for what we stand for. Generous and a man with a heart. He is also a typical rags to riches story, start from a humble background, and through sweat and tears and sheer grit, carves out a world for himself. To say he was lucky, perhaps not.
He was unlucky in the sense that he did not have a hero to worship. A true believer that hard work derives success means that he doensn't quite have the strategic acumen and savvy. That is perhaps why he may not be a great man after the dust settles.
Successful, indeed. Afterall, the company is a respectable one in many context. In the army context, he probably has the calibre of being a great captain, much like achilles was, taking his troops out and winning every battle. He is surely not a general, who must have the vision and brash to commit and withdraw resources, to have a clear view of the bigger picture to win the war, sometimes at the expense of a certain group. I strongly believe that a general cannot micro manage, and if he believes he really needs to do so, then let others be the general.
Another huge thorn in his little toe is that he is hesitant to stamp his authority. Collective agreement is good. But someone must come forward to stamp his authority. Someone must set the direction. Someone must put his vision forward. Someone must give the troops something to achieve and strive for. It is easy to say "go and win a war for me". What war sir? which war sir? Who do you want to win sir? The captains, have they asked? Did they bother to find out? Do they know what war was it that they need to fight? A silly general with silly captains fighting a silly war would only result in a lot of wounded and dead soldiers. Is it happening? Yes, it is. Don't believe? Ask me!
See, as a sales guy, I must know what is the industry I need to focus on kind of jobs the management wants. What kind of jobs should I bring back? Any job? Any good paying job? A job that needs me to invest in new technolgy? What? As a puchasing guy, I need to know the budget, and I need to know the objective of what I am purcahsing and fit it into the company's entire nuts and bolts. To blidnly purchase based on a PO, I will never be able to manage to the best of my ability. And, as a communicator, what do I communicate? Just make noise? Just let others know that I want to keep silent? I mean, I must know what the company wants, and based on that knowldege, and only then will I be able to decide on the strategy and tactics. That is perhaps why I feel so much angst. I mean, to cut cost just for the sake of it, "to show the other departments that I am also watching my cost" without weighing the objective is tentamount to not showering at all because I need to save water.If there was a sharper vision about what I am able to achieve, I would be in a better position.
Can I produce a credible yet entertaining article, I think I may be able. But at the same time, I am under no illusion that I will be able to make a successful man into a great man. That is not within my pay scale.
posted by Brother John at 11:45 AM
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