Who Packs Your Parachute?
SCIENCE OF BUILDING LEADERS
By ROSHAN THIRAN
I RECENTLY read about the ordeal of US Navy jet pilot Charles Plumb, whose plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile on his 75th combat mission. He parachuted out but was captured and spent six years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He somehow survived the nightmare and now teaches leadership!
Years later, when Plumb was at a restaurant, a man came up and said: “You're Charles Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!
“How in the world did you know that?” questioned Plumb.
“I packed your parachute,” the man replied.
Plumb was taken aback by this man. The man looked at him and said smilingly: “I guess it worked!” Plumb quickly responded: “It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today.”
Plumb couldn't sleep that night as he thought about the man who possibly saved his life. He wondered if he had been nice to him when they were in the army. Plumb was a fighter pilot and the man was just an ordinary sailor so in most likelihood, he would not have thought much of the lowly sailor back then. Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor must have spent in the bowels of the ship, carefully entwining the shrouds and compacting the silks of each chute, holding in his hands the destiny of someone he didn't know. And he was thankful that he had someone in his team who packed his parachute so well that it worked.
This led me to ask myself, “who's packing my parachute?” Each day, there are numerous challenges in business and in life where we need the help and support of so many people to ensure that our “parachute” works when a pivotal moment arrives. It may be ensuring our powerpoint slides are perfect, or our proposals to a major customer is beautifully bound or just ensuring our products work each time.
Everyone is highly reliant on people in our teams to provide what we need to make it through the day. There is simply too much involved in running a business today to think you can do everything yourself. Yet, many of us never really think about our teams that support us or even show thankfulness to the different people that “pack our parachutes” daily.
Sir Richard Branson loves people and every part of his leadership is about people. He claims that “the people factor is the basis of many entrepreneurial successes and, because many business leaders discount it, innumerable failures results.”
Branson takes it a step further. The entire business model of his Virgin Group is centered on people.
Branson built Virgin to become one of the biggest brands in the world simply by listening and caring for people. Early in life, he started his Student magazine because he felt that the big newspapers didn't care for students.
He set up Virgin Records because he felt that big record labels didn't care for young people and their music as they charged exorbitant prices. He did the opposite and cared. He set up Virgin Atlantic because he was upset that people had such horrible service in flights and he cared enough to change it. He claims “having a personality of caring about people is important. You can't be a good leader unless you generally like people. That is how you bring out the best in them.”
In 1990, British Airways (BA) launched a secret campaign with a select number of employees they called “Helpliners” to hack into Virgin Atlantic's computer system in order to steal Virgin passengers. BA “Helpliners” went overboard calling Virgin's passengers telling them their flights were cancelled, which was a lie, and that they should re-book their flight on BA. This went on for months before Branson realised what was going on.
Branson sued BA, who settled the case, giving 500,000 to Branson, 110,000 to Virgin and a further 3mil in legal fees. What did Branson do with the money he won? He divided his compensation (calling it the “BA bonus”) among his staff and made sure everyone benefited from the “win” as a thank you for fighting hard for Virgin. How many leaders today are like Branson, sharing their “limelight” with the team?
Branson has developed a level of trust with his team by showing gratitude. Branson knows “who packs his parachutes” and makes time to acknowledge and recognise his employees. He shares that the secret to ensuring you continually show gratitude to your employees is by being a good listener, lavishing praise to your “parachute packers” for a job well done constantly and never openly criticising people.
He adds: “To be a good leader, you've got to concentrate on bringing out the best in your people. People are no different than flowers they need to be cared for and watered all the time if not they will shrivel and die. This is true whether it's a switchboard operator or the chairman.”
Do you really care about the people that “pack your parachute”? Or do you only care to the extent that they deliver on the workload entrusted to them. Employees aren't just resources working in the business; they are the business. An effective business is not the product, service, supply chain or its magnificent business plan. It ultimately boils down to the group of enthusiastic and passionate people called employees who carry out your well-designed business plan.
Jose Mourinho, one of the most successful football managers in the world, clearly believes that all jobs are important. When he was manager at Chelsea, he treated the cleaning lady with the same respect and gratitude as he did Didier Drogba, their star player. If one person was ineffective in his role, the whole team suffered and he would “lose”. He thus ensures everyone on his team showed gratitude to everyone in the “family” regardless of their rank or position.
As a leader, I am indebted and extremely grateful for the people I have the honour to work with daily. So how can I show my gratefulness? Simply say “thank you.” Treat your people with respect and acknowledge their commitment and contribution throughout the year.
Many of us say thanks once a year, probably at annual dinners. Research shows that for it to be effective, you need to say it often. “If you don't do it regularly you're not going to get the benefits,” says Prof Lyubomirsky. “It's like you went to the gym once a year. What would be the good of that?”
But as work piles up and deadlines loom, and it is easy to slip into barking mode. It is times like this when I remember a simple rule: Treat your people as if they were volunteers.
I know for a fact that the great people who work at Leaderonomics, the high-performers, can leave at any time. Their skills and expertise are in demand. So, it's not just about paying a competitive salary but also ensuring they know they are valued.
In our community work, the opposite holds true and you need to “treat your volunteers as if they are employees.” In many NGOs, volunteers are essential but are often overlooked when important decisions are made, causing feelings of being unappreciated and dissed.
The key lesson for us is to continually remind ourselves that everyone should be accorded respect and recognised for the contributions they make.
Research on gratitude indicates enormous benefits including health and happiness to the giver and optimism and energy to the receiver. Additionally, psychologist Dr. Robert Emmonsconcludes that those who offer gratitude are less envious and resentful, sleeping longer, exercise more and report a drop in blood pressure.
Psychologist David DeSteno found that “gratitude leads people to act in virtuous or more selfless ways.” This means that if you constantly show your gratefulness to the people that “pack your parachutes”, they in turn will be inspired to give more of themselves selflessly to your cause.
There are myriads of ways to show your thanks. The key is that you take the time to do so. It's easy to forget.
Henry Ford was named Fortune's “Businessman of the 20th century”. Ford was obsessed with helping people by ensuring that even the “poor” could afford cars. He ultimately succeeded by reducing the price of a car to an affordable US$950 per car (the cheapest in the world). While most people who sell “cheap” products will try to cut costs, especially wages, Henry Ford did the opposite he rewarded his employees by paying them the highest wages in the country. Everyone wanted to work at Ford. He went one step further. To truly thank his employees and show gratefulness, he cut their working hours from the typical 9- to 10-hour workday (back then) to 8 hours per day. So you got paid more and worked less.
When you thank employees, their confidence grows. Looking back, different leaders probably inspired and spurred you forward through encouragement and gratitude. You need to do likewise. Best of all, leaders who are grateful are never depressed. You can't be depressed and grateful at the same time.
Thankfulness is infectious. When you brighten someone else's day with a word of thanks, it puts a smile on their face. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz built his empire on this infectiousness. Starbucks was set up because Schultz's father was mistreated by his employer and he wanted to build a company that cared for every single employee, even part-timers that worked there. His philosophy was “Care more than others think wise.” His employees similarly got infected by his caring and positivity and either intentionally or unconsciously, started passing it back to their customers. Starbucks grew as a result.
Final thoughts
Is there someone in your team you owe a debt of gratitude to? Build an attitude of acknowledging and valuing the contribution of others.
People are the lifeblood of any company. They need to be thanked and celebrated every now and then. So, go say thank you to your troopers today. You would be surprised at what those two little words do for a person. Go on, be a thankful leader!
________________________________________
© 1995-2011 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The Cycle of Democracy - Economic Standpoint (?)
The Rise and Fall of American Democracy
- Robert Kiyosaki
Posted on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, 12:00AM
Alexander Tytler (1747-1813) was a Scottish-born English lawyer and historian. Reportedly, Tytler was critical of democracies, pointing to the history of democracies such as Athens and its flaws, cycles, and ultimate failures. Although the authenticity of his following quote is often disputed, the words have eerie relevance today:
A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.
A democracy will continue to exist up until the time voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by dictatorship.
The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
• From bondage to spiritual faith;
• From spiritual faith to great courage;
• From courage to liberty;
• From liberty to abundance;
• From abundance to complacency;
• From complacency to apathy;
• From apathy to dependence;
• From dependence back to bondage.
Tytler's Cycle and the U.S.
In looking at American history, we can see Tytler's sequence in action. In 1620, the Pilgrims sailed to America to escape the religious bondage imposed by the Church of England. Their spiritual faith carried them to the new world.
Because of their deep faith, the Pilgrims left England in spite of the high percentage of deaths incurred by earlier American settlements. For example, when Jamestown, Virginia, was founded in 1607, 70 of the 108 settlers died in the first year. The following winter only 60 of 500 new settlers lived. Between 1619 and 1622, the Virginia Company sent 3,600 more settlers to the colony, and over those three years 3,000 would die.
In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed. From spiritual faith the new Americans were garnering great courage. By crafting the Declaration of Independence, the colonists knew they were essentially declaring war on the most powerful country in the world -- England.
With the onset of the Revolutionary War, the colonists were moving from courage to liberty, following Tytler's sequence. By demanding their independence and being willing to fight for it, a new democracy was born. This new democracy grew rapidly for nearly 200 years.
Then, in 1933, the U.S. was thrown into the Great Depression and elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt as president. Facing total economic collapse, Roosevelt took the U.S. dollar off the gold standard. At the same time, Germany, also in financial crisis, elected Adolf Hitler as its leader. World War II soon followed.
In 1944, with WWII coming to an end, the Bretton Woods Agreement was signed by the world powers and the U.S. dollar, once again backed by gold, became the reserve currency of the world.
After the war, America passed England, France, and Germany to become the new world power. Having entered the war late, the U.S. emerged as the creditor nation to the world. Our factories weren't bombed and the world owed us money. The U.S. grew rich financing the rebuilding of England, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan. The American democracy was transitioning from liberty to abundance -- maybe too much abundance.
In 1971 President Nixon violated the Bretton Woods Agreement by taking the U.S. dollar off the gold standard because America was spending more than it was producing and the U.S. gold reserves were being depleted.
In 1972 Nixon visited China to open the door for trade. What followed was the biggest economic boom in history -- a boom fueled by the U.S. borrowing money through the sale of bonds to China, one of the world's poorest countries at that time. The sale of these bonds financed a growing U.S. trade deficit. China produced low-cost goods, and we paid for them with money borrowed from the Chinese workers.
American factory production, which had fueled the American boom after WWII, was "shipped" overseas along with high-paying American jobs. America was shifting from abundance to complacency. Rather than produce, we borrowed and printed money to maintain our standard of living.
In 1976 America celebrated its 200th anniversary as a democracy. Rather than produce, we kept borrowing to finance social-welfare programs. Over the next three decades or so, America slid from complacency to apathy.
In 2007 the subprime crisis reared its ugly head. And by 2010, unemployment increased to double-digits, even as the rich got richer. Once-affluent people walked away from homes they could no longer afford. The U.S. moved from apathy to dependence.
Today we're dependent upon China to finance our debt as well as fill our stores with cheap products. At the same time, millions of Americans are becoming dependent upon the government to take care of them. If Tytler is correct, the American democracy is presently moving from dependence back to bondage.
History reminds us that dictators and despots arise during times of severe economic crisis. Some of the more infamous despots are Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Napoleon.
I find it interesting that the U.S. is now dependent upon Chairman Mao's creation, the People's Republic of China, for the things that we buy and the money that we borrow.
To me, this is spooky, foreboding, and ominous. While the Chinese people, as a rule, are good people, my business dealings with Communist Chinese officials have left me disturbed and concerned about the rise of the Chinese Empire. As you know, China doesn't plan on becoming a democracy. With money, factories, a billion people to feed, and a massive military, could they put the free world into bondage?
Although I don't like the way the Chinese do business, I continue to do business in China. I have to. They're the next world power. I cautiously believe that trade, business, and understanding offer better options for world peace and prosperity than isolationism.
Now the Western world must seek to grow stronger financially as China continues to gain power. To do this, our schools need to offer more sophisticated financial education to children of all ages.
This is not the time to be complacent or apathetic. This is the time to think globally. Putting up trade barriers would be disastrous. Instead, it's time our schools train students to be entrepreneurs who export to the world rather than employees looking for jobs that are being exported to low-wage countries.
Please be clear. I don't fear the Chinese. I fear our own growing weakness. Only a weak people can be oppressed. Today, America has too many people looking to the government for financial salvation.
In 1620 the Pilgrims fled the spiritual oppression of the Church of England. Today Americans may need to flee the financial oppression of our own government as our democracy dies. If we follow Tytler's cycle for democracy, our financial dependence will lead us to financial bondage.
Robert Kiyosaki is a world-renowned property investor and the author of best-seller Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of books.
****************
I read some of Kiyosaki's books from the "Rich Dad Poor Dad" series.
He had also wrirtten largely on the current 'pathetic' economic condition in the US.
He attributed this mainly to the the US Dollar (USD) being taken off the gold standards (in violation to the Bretton Woods Agreement after WW2).
This allowed the US government to print as much paper currencies as they need to sustain the economy as the Administration sees fit.
Coupled with all the recent unscrupulous businesses going on (sub-prime crisis etc.) that resulted in huge government bailouts (read : taxpayers money) of giant Corporations .... I postulate that Robert is very very concerned that the US economy is sitting on a timebomb waiting to explode anytime without warning.
His article above (posted on Yahoo! Finance), in my opinion, attempts to 'predict' the future of US economy & the direction it is heading. I surmised that the US has come full circle & about to go right back to the top of the Tytler's cycle above.
However, back in the 17th century, the bondage was to England and the difference this round would be, China replaces England.
So, coming back to the local scene.
Which stage are we right now (in accordance to Tytler's cycle) ?
I'm no economist nor a fortune teller but in my humble opinion, we're at the "From complacency to apathy" stage.
In all likelihood, we may be going down the same path as the US right now.
Therefore, we need to be careful & learnt from past lessons.
In Robert's own words ..... "This is not the time to be complacent or apathetic. This is the time to think globally .... it's time our schools train students to be entrepreneurs who export to the world rather than employees looking for jobs that are being exported to low-wage countries."
I can personally vouch that our current education system is inadequate in preparing our young ones to have the entrepreneurs mindset and also the instilling of the proper attitude.
Having said that, I really hope that the authorities has the vision & the courage to revamp our education system & curriculum for the benefits of our future generations.
After all, it's not only the US but almost the whole world would have to face & deal with the next superpower.
* The author is now trying to catch up on the progress of Guangzhou Asiad 2010 *
Saturday, October 30, 2010
It pays to have fun at work!
..... by Roshan Thiran (July 15, 2010)
IN the late 90s, I was invited to a debate between Herb Kelleher, CEO of Southwestern Airlines and Jack Welch.
I became impressed with Herb Kelleher and his usage of fun to drive productivity. No whips or initiatives, or forced compliance to the cause, but a simple but unorthodox philosophy of levity to drive productivity at his airline.
Southwest’s former CEO often rode to work on his Harley and once settled a legal suit with an arm–wrestling match. And on occasions, Kelleher was known to dress up as Elvis Presley or a Bunny, just to keep his employees smiling and happy.
And smile they did, as Southwest built for itself a reputation as the nation’s most profitable airline, posting in 2000 sales of nearly US$5.7bil and a profit of US$603mil.
A few months later, I was given the responsibility to be the functional leader of a business. When I began my assignment, I met my new team and spent the first few days getting to know them and understanding their working styles.
They were hard-working and a technically talented team but there was low morale and extremely poor productivity. Everyone worked late hours but had minimal results. And everyone disliked their work.
Kelleher’s words on leveraging levity and fun to drive productivity kept ringing in my mind and even though it seemed illogical, I decided to test out his philosophy with my new team.
Every quarter, we closed the department over the weekend and had a retreat where we just had fun and started bonding as friends. We started having team lunches together as often as we could.
We developed an after lunch “crazy hour” ritual, where the team would do crazy things – like have everyone wear a straw on their shirt, or exercise together, or just play practical jokes on each other.
We started weekly team activities like Latin dancing or playing volleyball. Just as Kelleher had done with Southwest, as we had more fun together, interestingly, productivity in my team increased and our accomplishments began to multiply exponentially.
While many of the other departments used to stare at our “crazy” department initially, they soon were craving to “hang-out’ with us and join our quarterly retreat rituals.
Fun, instead of making us less productive, actually had the opposite effect of increasing our effectiveness.
There are numerous reasons why fun is important in the workplace.
Levity boosts our ability to think outside the box and enables us to generate innovative solutions necessary to solve problems. Fun is a great creativity booster. Research also indicates that while having fun, we develop new neural cells in areas devoted to learning and memory. Fun is also good for teaching.
Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher wrote about how learning in the classroom is enhanced by fun: “… Humour also works in the classroom. In fact, college students are more likely to recall a lecture when it is sprinkled with jokes.
Psychologist Randy Gardner’s fascinating research showed that when levity about relevant topics was injected into lectures, students scored an amazing 15% higher on exams than their non-humoured, bored-to-drooling peers.”
Fun is a critical element in employee retention. Employee turnover can easily cost over RM60,000 per person if you include severance pay, exit interviews, hiring costs and lost productivity while training the new hire.
Then add the indirect costs like loss of intellectual capital, decreased morale, increased employee stress and negative reputation.
A fun workplace is a cure for employee turnover. I remember after my department became a fun workplace, most of my employees did not want to miss work.
Not only did they have friends at work, they did not want to miss any fun “action” at work and they definitely were not sending out their resumes. Google, with its fun workplace, retains about 95% of their employees.
People are naturally attracted to fun. A recent survey of employees showed that humour displayed by their manager increases their loyalty (retention) and productivity.
Another survey by Ipsos had employees rate their managers’ sense of humour, along with the likelihood of them working in their current job a year from the date of the survey. The results were striking! They found that managers with better sense of humour were more likely to retain employees.
So how do you make your workplace fun? Think it’s something that only the multinational corporations can afford? It really doesn’t have to cost you as much as building Google’s extravagant facilities, a fancy swimming pool or a rock climbing wall.
It can be something as simple as fortnightly charades championships, breakfast potlucks or making fun at KPI at all meetings. Just providing an environment where people can lighten up is all it requires.
Too often fun doesn’t see the light of day, because we sentence fun to the bottom of priorities list. “Business first, fun last,” is our mantra. Taking our jobs seriously and ourselves lightly is the key to making fun of work.
At my previous office, one person signs up each day to blast a song daily in the afternoon when everyone needs a break and people get up and dance.
The Lego company has scooters for workers to ride around its business park. At Southwest Airlines, the crew have fun with their passengers. At Hakia, employees express themselves on blank canvases that hang on the walls. At Leaderonomics, we unwind by having fun contests amongst ourselves.
But what happens then if you’re not a “fun” person by nature? Not to worry, like everything else, it can be learnt. We don’t need to suddenly become a fun person, because play is something that we enjoyed unconsciously as a child.
All we need to do is to learn to give ourselves and others permission to have fun.
As a leader, we need to build enablers for fun to thrive.
“You don’t have to have a team of comedy writers,” says David Summers of the American Management Association.
“Managers just need to give employees permission to be human, open to giving and receiving humour at work,” he says.
And therein is the secret to enabling fun to thrive in your workplace – embracing fun yourself and opening up your organisation to elements of fun, even occasionally allowing yourself to be the object of fun at the workplace.
A final thought – fun is important as it attracts new customers. People are attracted to organisations that are cool and fun.
I recall a big customer who ended up signing an exclusive multi-million deal with the company I was at a few years ago.
When I questioned him on why he signed up even though our performance was not near world-class, he replied quickly: “Your organisation is fun and it’s contagious. All your employees love their work and I bet in a few years you will become world-class.” He wasn’t wrong.
All being said, fun is a key tool to leverage in these recessionary times.
It improves communication, enhances creativity, builds trust and friendships in the organisation, and even has health benefits.
When people are having fun, they’re working harder, focused on your organisation, and are able to maintain their composure in a crisis. If your organisation is ready to catapult into the next level of business success, fun may just be your catalyst.
•Roshan Thiran is CEO of Leaderonomics, a social enterprise focused on inspiring youth to leadership greatness. He hopes to bring more fun and joy to the workplace by inspiring folks to take fun seriously. Join his journey and become a fan of Leaderonomics and DIODE on Facebook.
I certainly hope I can find a "FUN" airline the next time I travel.
... Check out this airplane & the magazine they provide on board
Well, I definitely wouldn't mind boarding this airplane :)
IN the late 90s, I was invited to a debate between Herb Kelleher, CEO of Southwestern Airlines and Jack Welch.
I became impressed with Herb Kelleher and his usage of fun to drive productivity. No whips or initiatives, or forced compliance to the cause, but a simple but unorthodox philosophy of levity to drive productivity at his airline.
Southwest’s former CEO often rode to work on his Harley and once settled a legal suit with an arm–wrestling match. And on occasions, Kelleher was known to dress up as Elvis Presley or a Bunny, just to keep his employees smiling and happy.
And smile they did, as Southwest built for itself a reputation as the nation’s most profitable airline, posting in 2000 sales of nearly US$5.7bil and a profit of US$603mil.
A few months later, I was given the responsibility to be the functional leader of a business. When I began my assignment, I met my new team and spent the first few days getting to know them and understanding their working styles.
They were hard-working and a technically talented team but there was low morale and extremely poor productivity. Everyone worked late hours but had minimal results. And everyone disliked their work.
Kelleher’s words on leveraging levity and fun to drive productivity kept ringing in my mind and even though it seemed illogical, I decided to test out his philosophy with my new team.
Every quarter, we closed the department over the weekend and had a retreat where we just had fun and started bonding as friends. We started having team lunches together as often as we could.
We developed an after lunch “crazy hour” ritual, where the team would do crazy things – like have everyone wear a straw on their shirt, or exercise together, or just play practical jokes on each other.
We started weekly team activities like Latin dancing or playing volleyball. Just as Kelleher had done with Southwest, as we had more fun together, interestingly, productivity in my team increased and our accomplishments began to multiply exponentially.
While many of the other departments used to stare at our “crazy” department initially, they soon were craving to “hang-out’ with us and join our quarterly retreat rituals.
Fun, instead of making us less productive, actually had the opposite effect of increasing our effectiveness.
There are numerous reasons why fun is important in the workplace.
Levity boosts our ability to think outside the box and enables us to generate innovative solutions necessary to solve problems. Fun is a great creativity booster. Research also indicates that while having fun, we develop new neural cells in areas devoted to learning and memory. Fun is also good for teaching.
Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher wrote about how learning in the classroom is enhanced by fun: “… Humour also works in the classroom. In fact, college students are more likely to recall a lecture when it is sprinkled with jokes.
Psychologist Randy Gardner’s fascinating research showed that when levity about relevant topics was injected into lectures, students scored an amazing 15% higher on exams than their non-humoured, bored-to-drooling peers.”
Fun is a critical element in employee retention. Employee turnover can easily cost over RM60,000 per person if you include severance pay, exit interviews, hiring costs and lost productivity while training the new hire.
Then add the indirect costs like loss of intellectual capital, decreased morale, increased employee stress and negative reputation.
A fun workplace is a cure for employee turnover. I remember after my department became a fun workplace, most of my employees did not want to miss work.
Not only did they have friends at work, they did not want to miss any fun “action” at work and they definitely were not sending out their resumes. Google, with its fun workplace, retains about 95% of their employees.
People are naturally attracted to fun. A recent survey of employees showed that humour displayed by their manager increases their loyalty (retention) and productivity.
Another survey by Ipsos had employees rate their managers’ sense of humour, along with the likelihood of them working in their current job a year from the date of the survey. The results were striking! They found that managers with better sense of humour were more likely to retain employees.
So how do you make your workplace fun? Think it’s something that only the multinational corporations can afford? It really doesn’t have to cost you as much as building Google’s extravagant facilities, a fancy swimming pool or a rock climbing wall.
It can be something as simple as fortnightly charades championships, breakfast potlucks or making fun at KPI at all meetings. Just providing an environment where people can lighten up is all it requires.
Too often fun doesn’t see the light of day, because we sentence fun to the bottom of priorities list. “Business first, fun last,” is our mantra. Taking our jobs seriously and ourselves lightly is the key to making fun of work.
At my previous office, one person signs up each day to blast a song daily in the afternoon when everyone needs a break and people get up and dance.
The Lego company has scooters for workers to ride around its business park. At Southwest Airlines, the crew have fun with their passengers. At Hakia, employees express themselves on blank canvases that hang on the walls. At Leaderonomics, we unwind by having fun contests amongst ourselves.
But what happens then if you’re not a “fun” person by nature? Not to worry, like everything else, it can be learnt. We don’t need to suddenly become a fun person, because play is something that we enjoyed unconsciously as a child.
All we need to do is to learn to give ourselves and others permission to have fun.
As a leader, we need to build enablers for fun to thrive.
“You don’t have to have a team of comedy writers,” says David Summers of the American Management Association.
“Managers just need to give employees permission to be human, open to giving and receiving humour at work,” he says.
And therein is the secret to enabling fun to thrive in your workplace – embracing fun yourself and opening up your organisation to elements of fun, even occasionally allowing yourself to be the object of fun at the workplace.
A final thought – fun is important as it attracts new customers. People are attracted to organisations that are cool and fun.
I recall a big customer who ended up signing an exclusive multi-million deal with the company I was at a few years ago.
When I questioned him on why he signed up even though our performance was not near world-class, he replied quickly: “Your organisation is fun and it’s contagious. All your employees love their work and I bet in a few years you will become world-class.” He wasn’t wrong.
All being said, fun is a key tool to leverage in these recessionary times.
It improves communication, enhances creativity, builds trust and friendships in the organisation, and even has health benefits.
When people are having fun, they’re working harder, focused on your organisation, and are able to maintain their composure in a crisis. If your organisation is ready to catapult into the next level of business success, fun may just be your catalyst.
•Roshan Thiran is CEO of Leaderonomics, a social enterprise focused on inspiring youth to leadership greatness. He hopes to bring more fun and joy to the workplace by inspiring folks to take fun seriously. Join his journey and become a fan of Leaderonomics and DIODE on Facebook.
I certainly hope I can find a "FUN" airline the next time I travel.
... Check out this airplane & the magazine they provide on board
Well, I definitely wouldn't mind boarding this airplane :)
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sharpen your Axe
The Star Online > Business
Saturday May 15, 2010
SCIENCE OF BUILDING LEADERS
By ROSHAN THIRAN
A few years ago, while at Lawas in Sarawak, I was told this story of a very strong and skilled Kayan woodcutter who asked for a job with a timber merchant.
He got the job with a good salary and decent work conditions. And so, the woodcutter was determined to do his best for the boss. His boss gave him an axe and on his first day, the woodcutter cut down 15 trees. The boss was pleased and said: “Well done, good work!”
Highly motivated, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but could only fell 13 trees. The third day, he tried even harder, but only 11 trees were chopped down.
Day after day, he tried harder but he cut down fewer trees. “I must be losing my strength,” the Kayan woodcutter thought. He apologised to the boss, claiming he could not understand why.
“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss asked. “Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been too busy cutting down trees,” said the woodcutter.
He sharpened his axe and immediately was back to 15 trees a day. Since then, he begins the day by sharpening his axe.
Most leaders are too busy doing and trying to achieve, that they never take time to learn and grow. Most of us don’t have the time or patience to update skills, knowledge, and beliefs about an industry, or to take time to think and reflect.
Many assume that learning ends at school and so sharpening our axe is not a priority.
So, what exactly is sharpening the axe? Dr Steven Covey, who popularised the term, believes it means “increasing your personal production capacity by daily self care and self-maintenance.”
Most people fail to understand what it means and mistake it for taking a break or vacation. If you’re overworking yourself and your productivity drops off, take a break.
However, that isn’t sharpening the axe; that’s putting the axe down. When you put down a dull blade and rest, the blade will still be dull when you pick it up.
The woodcutter does need downtime to rest, but it is not “sharpening the axe.” The woodcutter only becomes more productive by sharpening his blade, analysing new woodcutting techniques, exercising to become stronger, and learning from other woodcutters.
Sharpening the axe is an activity. You too can sharpen the axe of your life. Here are 10 ways:
● Read a book every day
● Get out of your comfort zone by changing jobs. A new job forces you to learn
● Have a deep conversation with someone you find interesting. Sharpen your axe through that interaction
● Pick up a new hobby. Stretch yourself physically, mentally or emotionally
● Study something new
● Overcome a specific fear you have or quit a bad habit
● Have a daily exercise routine or take part in some competition
● Identify your blind spots. Understand, acknowledge, and address it
● Ask for feedback and get a mentor and
● Learn from people who inspire you.
You have to do it as often as possible. But if you’re so focused on your task at hand with no time for discussion, introspection, or study, you’re not really moving forward. Just as a car needs to be refuelled to keep going, we too need refuelling through learning.
'The Management Mythbuster' author David Axson believes most organisations still rely on outdated management strategies. Unless we are sharpening our axe daily by observing the changing world and changing ourselves accordingly, we risk becoming irrelevant.
Andrew Grove reinvented Intel and oversaw a 4,500 times increase in market capitalisation by his daily habitual “axe-sharpening” ritual of understanding global changes and taking advantage of these to ensure Intel remained relevant.
Employees at Japanese organisations like Toyota believe it’s a crisis if they do not create improvement each day. The “Kaizen mindset” means that every day, whether you’re a line worker or executive, you find ways to learn something new and apply it to what you’re doing. This forces employees to be alert, mindful and constantly improving.
Great leaders like Steve Jobs, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela have a continuous appetite for learning and growth. They always listen and watch in the hope of learning new ideas and discovering new truths and realities.
Many of us do just the opposite. By staying in the same job for many years, although we become experts and our roles become easy, our learning flattens.
We don’t like changing jobs as there is pain and struggle in taking on new roles. But the more we struggle, the more we learn.
When a new boss with new expectations takes over, we sometimes find ourselves struggling even though we have been in the same role for years. We try harder but still fail to impress. Why does this happen?
Much like the woodcutter, trying harder will not yield results. This is because we did not upgrade ourselves nor grow in the “easy” years. Our years of experience count for nothing as we did not keep up with the world around us and were ignorant and mindless of things that were evolving daily around us.
Two weeks ago, I interviewed Harvard Prof Ellen Langer, who reminded me of our natural inclination to be mindless. Mindlessness is our human tendency to operate on autopilot, whether by stereotyping, performing mechanically or simply not paying attention.
We are all victims of being mindless at times. By sharpening our axe, we move from a mindless state to a mindful state; from “blindly going with the flow” to thinking and “breaking boundaries.”
Why then do so many people fail to sharpen their axe? Well, axe sharpening isn’t as fun as whacking away at the tree. And it is painful and tedious work.
Religious leader David O. McKay once said: “The greatest battles of life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the soul.”
Sharpening the axe is a daily inner battle. Research reveals that self-educated presidents like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln sharpened their axe daily by cultivating the discipline of reading.
In a number of Asian organisations, when there is a crisis or financial situation, the first thing that gets slashed is training programmes for employees. Yet, in a crisis, there is a greater need for employees to have sharpened axes to deal with issues.
Crises often helps companies to become great because they finally take time to sharpen their axe by re-looking at their current strategies and reinventing their industries, sometimes through painful reforms.
Before the 1998 Asian financial crisis, the Korean auto industry were "jaguh kampung" and known for low-quality cars with strong domestic car sales.
The crisis forced them to take a step back, sharpen their axe, become mindful to the world and move to sell the majority of their cars outside South Korea.
Of course, too much or aimless axe sharpening can become another form of procrastination. Many like to attend training courses and classes but end up never using the axe. After sharpening the axe, use it or all is in vain.
How are your various blades doing? Your skills, your knowledge, your mind, your physical body, your relationships, your motivation, your commitment to succeed, your capacity for growth, your emotions – are all of them still sharp? If not, which ones are dull, and what can you do to sharpen them?
Lincoln once said: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four sharpening my axe.” What are you doing to sharpen your axe? Take a step back this weekend and start sharpening your axe.
Saturday May 15, 2010
SCIENCE OF BUILDING LEADERS
By ROSHAN THIRAN
“Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have laboured hard for.” — Socrates
"7th Habit - Sharpen The Saw"
"You can't talk your way out of problems you behaved yourself into" -Stephen R. Covey
A few years ago, while at Lawas in Sarawak, I was told this story of a very strong and skilled Kayan woodcutter who asked for a job with a timber merchant.
He got the job with a good salary and decent work conditions. And so, the woodcutter was determined to do his best for the boss. His boss gave him an axe and on his first day, the woodcutter cut down 15 trees. The boss was pleased and said: “Well done, good work!”
Highly motivated, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but could only fell 13 trees. The third day, he tried even harder, but only 11 trees were chopped down.
Day after day, he tried harder but he cut down fewer trees. “I must be losing my strength,” the Kayan woodcutter thought. He apologised to the boss, claiming he could not understand why.
“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss asked. “Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been too busy cutting down trees,” said the woodcutter.
He sharpened his axe and immediately was back to 15 trees a day. Since then, he begins the day by sharpening his axe.
Most leaders are too busy doing and trying to achieve, that they never take time to learn and grow. Most of us don’t have the time or patience to update skills, knowledge, and beliefs about an industry, or to take time to think and reflect.
Many assume that learning ends at school and so sharpening our axe is not a priority.
So, what exactly is sharpening the axe? Dr Steven Covey, who popularised the term, believes it means “increasing your personal production capacity by daily self care and self-maintenance.”
Most people fail to understand what it means and mistake it for taking a break or vacation. If you’re overworking yourself and your productivity drops off, take a break.
However, that isn’t sharpening the axe; that’s putting the axe down. When you put down a dull blade and rest, the blade will still be dull when you pick it up.
The woodcutter does need downtime to rest, but it is not “sharpening the axe.” The woodcutter only becomes more productive by sharpening his blade, analysing new woodcutting techniques, exercising to become stronger, and learning from other woodcutters.
Sharpening the axe is an activity. You too can sharpen the axe of your life. Here are 10 ways:
● Read a book every day
● Get out of your comfort zone by changing jobs. A new job forces you to learn
● Have a deep conversation with someone you find interesting. Sharpen your axe through that interaction
● Pick up a new hobby. Stretch yourself physically, mentally or emotionally
● Study something new
● Overcome a specific fear you have or quit a bad habit
● Have a daily exercise routine or take part in some competition
● Identify your blind spots. Understand, acknowledge, and address it
● Ask for feedback and get a mentor and
● Learn from people who inspire you.
You have to do it as often as possible. But if you’re so focused on your task at hand with no time for discussion, introspection, or study, you’re not really moving forward. Just as a car needs to be refuelled to keep going, we too need refuelling through learning.
'The Management Mythbuster' author David Axson believes most organisations still rely on outdated management strategies. Unless we are sharpening our axe daily by observing the changing world and changing ourselves accordingly, we risk becoming irrelevant.
Andrew Grove reinvented Intel and oversaw a 4,500 times increase in market capitalisation by his daily habitual “axe-sharpening” ritual of understanding global changes and taking advantage of these to ensure Intel remained relevant.
Employees at Japanese organisations like Toyota believe it’s a crisis if they do not create improvement each day. The “Kaizen mindset” means that every day, whether you’re a line worker or executive, you find ways to learn something new and apply it to what you’re doing. This forces employees to be alert, mindful and constantly improving.
Great leaders like Steve Jobs, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela have a continuous appetite for learning and growth. They always listen and watch in the hope of learning new ideas and discovering new truths and realities.
Many of us do just the opposite. By staying in the same job for many years, although we become experts and our roles become easy, our learning flattens.
We don’t like changing jobs as there is pain and struggle in taking on new roles. But the more we struggle, the more we learn.
When a new boss with new expectations takes over, we sometimes find ourselves struggling even though we have been in the same role for years. We try harder but still fail to impress. Why does this happen?
Much like the woodcutter, trying harder will not yield results. This is because we did not upgrade ourselves nor grow in the “easy” years. Our years of experience count for nothing as we did not keep up with the world around us and were ignorant and mindless of things that were evolving daily around us.
Two weeks ago, I interviewed Harvard Prof Ellen Langer, who reminded me of our natural inclination to be mindless. Mindlessness is our human tendency to operate on autopilot, whether by stereotyping, performing mechanically or simply not paying attention.
We are all victims of being mindless at times. By sharpening our axe, we move from a mindless state to a mindful state; from “blindly going with the flow” to thinking and “breaking boundaries.”
Why then do so many people fail to sharpen their axe? Well, axe sharpening isn’t as fun as whacking away at the tree. And it is painful and tedious work.
Religious leader David O. McKay once said: “The greatest battles of life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the soul.”
Sharpening the axe is a daily inner battle. Research reveals that self-educated presidents like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln sharpened their axe daily by cultivating the discipline of reading.
In a number of Asian organisations, when there is a crisis or financial situation, the first thing that gets slashed is training programmes for employees. Yet, in a crisis, there is a greater need for employees to have sharpened axes to deal with issues.
Crises often helps companies to become great because they finally take time to sharpen their axe by re-looking at their current strategies and reinventing their industries, sometimes through painful reforms.
Before the 1998 Asian financial crisis, the Korean auto industry were "jaguh kampung" and known for low-quality cars with strong domestic car sales.
The crisis forced them to take a step back, sharpen their axe, become mindful to the world and move to sell the majority of their cars outside South Korea.
Of course, too much or aimless axe sharpening can become another form of procrastination. Many like to attend training courses and classes but end up never using the axe. After sharpening the axe, use it or all is in vain.
How are your various blades doing? Your skills, your knowledge, your mind, your physical body, your relationships, your motivation, your commitment to succeed, your capacity for growth, your emotions – are all of them still sharp? If not, which ones are dull, and what can you do to sharpen them?
Lincoln once said: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four sharpening my axe.” What are you doing to sharpen your axe? Take a step back this weekend and start sharpening your axe.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Thirty-Six Strategems (三十六计)
The Thirty-Six Stratagems (simplified Chinese: 三十六计; traditional Chinese: 三十六計) was a Chinese essay used to illustrate a series of stratagems used in politics, war, as well as in civil interaction, often through unorthodox or deceptive means. They were first published in the Western world[citation needed] by the Swiss scholar Harro von Senger after he heard the Chinese proverb "If all else fails, retreat" at Taipei University.
Origin
The name of the collection comes from the Book of Qi, in its seventh biographical volume, Biography of Wáng Jìngzé (王敬則傳).[1] Wáng was a general who had served Southern Qi since the first Emperor Gao of the dynasty. When Emperor Ming came to power and executed many members of the court and royal family for fear that they would threaten his reign, Wáng believed that he would be targeted next and rebelled. As Wáng received news that Xiao Baojuan, son and crown prince of Emperor Ming, had escaped in haste after learning of the rebellion, he commented that "檀公三十六策，走是上計，汝父子唯應急走耳", which can be translated literally as "of the thirty-six stratagems of Lord Tán, retreat was his best, you father and son should run for sure". Lord Tán here refers to general Tan Daoji of the Liu Song Dynasty, who was forced to retreat after his failed attack on Northern Wei, and Wáng mentioned his name in contempt as an example of cowardice.[2]
It should be noted that the number thirty-six was used by Wáng as a figure of speech in this context, and is meant to denote numerous stratagems instead of any specific number. Wáng's choice of this term was in reference to the I Ching, where six is the number of Yin that shared many characteristics with the dark schemes involved in military strategy. As thirty-six is the square of six, it therefore acted as a metaphor for numerous strategies.[2] Since Wáng was not referring to any thirty-six specific stratagems however, the thirty-six proverbs and their connection to military strategies and tactics are likely to have been created after the fact, with the collection only borrowing its name from Wáng's saying.[3]
The original hand-copied paperback that is the basis of the current version was believed to have been discovered in China's Shaanxi province, of an unknown date and author, and put into print by a local publisher in 1941. The Thirty-Six Stratagems only came to the public's attention after a review of it was published in the Chinese Communist Party's Guangming Daily (光明日报) newspaper on September 16, 1961. It was subsequently reprinted and distributed with growing popularity.[3]
The Thirty-Six Stratagems
The Thirty-Six Stratagems are divided into a preface, six chapters containing six stratagems each, and an afterword that was incomplete with missing text. The first three chapters generally describe tactics for use in advantageous situations, whereas the last three chapters contain stratagems that are more suitable for disadvantageous situations. The original text of the Thirty-Six Stratagems has a laconic style that is common to Classical Chinese. Each proverb is accompanied by a short comment, no longer than a sentence or two, that explains how said proverb is applicable to military tactics. These 36 Chinese proverbs are related to 36 battle scenarios in Chinese history and folklore, predominantly of the Warring States Period and the Three Kingdoms Period.
Preface
"六六三十六，數中有術，術中有數。陰陽變理，機在其中。機不可設，設則不中。"
Chapter 1: Winning Stratagems
1.Deceive the heavens to cross the ocean (simplified Chinese: 瞒天过海; traditional Chinese: 瞞天過海; pinyin: Mán tiān guò hǎi)
This stratagem references an episode in 643 AD, when Tang emperor Tang Gaozong Li Simin, balked from crossing the sea to a campaign against Koguryo. His General Xue Rengui thought of a stratagem to get the Emperor across and allay his fear of seasickness: on a clear day, the Emperor was invited to meet a wise man. They entered through a dark tunnel into a hall where they feasted. After feasting several days, the Emperor heard the sound of waves and realized that he had been lured onto a ship! General Xue drew aside the curtains to reveal the ocean and confessed that they had already crossed the sea: Upon discovering this, the emperor decided to carry on and later completed the successful campaign.
This stratagem means that you can mask your real goals, by using the ruse of a fake goal that everyone takes for granted, until the real goal is achieved. Tactically, this is known as an 'open feint'; in front of everyone, you point west, when your goal is actually in the east. By the time everyone realized it, you have already achieved your goal. Harro von Senger notes in the German-Language "Die Liste" that to grasp the full meaning, it would be something like "to deceive the holy virgin Mary" in the West.
Usage
This stratagem makes use of the human failing to become unaware of common everyday activities, or events that appear normal. The best secrets are carried out in broad daylight. The best hoax is to repeat it so often that people are convinced that the next move is also a hoax. When this happens, it is the best moment to carry out one's previously hidden true objective.
In the Second World War, Hitler spread misinformation about a planned date for the Invasion of France, but later delayed the date. This was repeated many times, and eventually France and England grew used to the false information, and regarded all Germany planned invasions as hoaxes. Eventually, Germany invaded France with lightning speed, conquering France.
In the Second World War, the Allies' Operation Quicksilver created a phantom army in Kent complete with faked radio chatter which divided German attentions regarding the actual Allied armies and their intended objective of the Normandy landings.
2.Besiege Wèi to rescue Zhào (simplified Chinese: 围魏救赵; traditional Chinese: 圍魏救趙; pinyin: Wéi Wèi jiù Zhào)
When the enemy is too strong to be attacked directly, then attack something he holds dear. Know that he cannot be superior in all things. Somewhere there is a gap in the armour, a weakness that can be attacked instead.
The origin of this proverb is from the Warring States Period. The state of Wèi attacked Zhao and laid siege to its capital Handan. Zhào turned to Qí for help, but the Qí general Sun Bin determined it would be unwise to meet the army of Wèi head on, so he instead attacked their capital at Daliang. The army of Wèi retreated in haste, and the tired troops were ambushed and defeated at the Battle of Guiling, with the Wèi general Pang Juan slain on the field. Note that this campaign is also described explicitly in the Art of War of Master Sun Bin the younger.
Usage
The idea here is to avoid a head on battle with a strong enemy, and instead strike at his weakness elsewhere. This will force the strong enemy to retreat in order to support his weakness. Battling against the now tired and low-morale enemy will give a much higher chance of success.
In the Second Punic War at the Battle of Zama, Scipio Africanus was able to defeat Hannibal's army in Italy not by facing him in the field but by destroying his power base in Spain and menacing his home city of Carthage
3.Kill with a borrowed knife (simplified Chinese: 借刀杀人; traditional Chinese: 借刀殺人; pinyin: Jiè dāo shā rén)
Attack using the strength of another (in a situation where using one's own strength is not favourable). Trick an ally into attacking him, bribe an official to turn traitor, or use the enemy's own strength against him.
Usage
The idea here is to cause damage to the enemy by getting a 3rd party to do the deed.
During the Three Kingdoms era, Guan Yu, one of the head generals of the Kingdom of Shu, was engaged in the Battle of Fancheng against Cao Cao. Cao Cao sent an advisor to Sun Quan to encourage him to attack and capture Jing Province. Cao Cao promised that all lands south of Yangtze River will be Sun Quan's after this act. Several weeks thereafter, the Kingdom of Wu (Sun Quan), which had secretly allied itself with the Kingdom Wei (Cao Cao), attacked Guan Yu's army at Jiangling. Sun Quan, a previous ally of the Kingdom of Shu, surprised and defeated the Shu forces there, forcing Guan Yu to lift the siege on Fancheng and retreat. During his retreat, Guan Yu was captured by Sun Quan's forces and was executed. This caused great hatred between Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and eventually the hatred led to many battles between the two states. Although Cao Cao did not live to see it, these conflicts eventually allowed the Kingdom of Wei (Cao Cao) to conquer the Kingdom of Shu/Liu Bei and the Kingdom of Wu/Sun Quan, allowing the Kingdom of Wei (Cao Cao) under the leadership of general Sima Yan who later on would overthrow Cao Huan's throne to conquer China and unify it under the rule of the Kingdom of Jin (Sima Yan).
In 1936, Stalin began to second guess his most trusted advisors and generals. Hitler made a list of the most dangerous generals within Russia, and created an underground report regarding them selling Russian information to Germany. Many false mails between them were also made. Russian spies got hold of this detailed list of the Russian generals and the mails they had allegedly sent to Germany. 8 generals were immediately imprisoned. After a 30 minute trial, all of the generals were judged guilty of treason, and all were executed within 12 hours. When Germany and Russia engaged in combat later on, Russia had to fight without some of its best generals.
4.Leisurely await for the laboured (simplified Chinese: 以逸待劳; traditional Chinese: 以逸待勞; pinyin: Yǐ yì dài láo)
It is an advantage to choose the time and place for battle. In this way you know when and where the battle will take place, while your enemy does not. Encourage your enemy to expend his energy in futile quests while you conserve your strength. When he is exhausted and confused, you attack with energy and purpose.
Usage
The idea is to have your troops well-prepared for battle, in the same time that the enemy is rushing to fight against you. This will give your troops a huge advantage in the upcoming battle, of which you will get to select the time and place.
In the Battle of Maling, Wei had both the number and morale advantage over the Qi troops. Sun Bin ordered his Qi troops to retreat, while encouraging the Wei troops to pursue them with haste. The end result was that the Qi forces were well prepared and well located for an ambush, while the Wei forces were tired from the speedy march. The battle was really one sided due to this difference.
5.Loot a burning house (Chinese: 趁火打劫; pinyin: Chèn huǒ dǎ jié)
When a country is beset by internal conflicts, when disease and famine ravage the population, when corruption and crime are rampant, then it will be unable to deal with an outside threat. This is the time to attack.
Usage
Keep gathering internal information about an enemy. If the enemy is currently in its weakest state ever, attack it without mercy and totally destroy it to prevent future troubles.
Before the Battle of Gaixia, both Chu and Han forces were tired from a long lasting siege. After a peace treaty, the tired Chu troops began retreating out of Han territory. Han Xin and Zhang Liang both advised to Liu Bang :"We already control half of the empire. Even within Chu, many governors favour us being the ruler, and will not give Xiang Yu support unless forced to. The Chu troops are currently tired and face serious food stortages. The heavens have decided to end Xiang Yu's power. If we let Xiang Yu escape, it will be like keeping a tiger alive only to kill its owner later. We must strike now and end this threat." After some thinking, Liu Bang gave the order to attack Xiang Yu, and eventually ended Chu.
6.Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west (simplified Chinese: 声东击西; traditional Chinese: 聲東擊西; pinyin: Shēng dōng jí xī)
In any battle the element of surprise can provide an overwhelming advantage. Even when face to face with an enemy, surprise can still be employed by attacking where he least expects it. To do this you must create an expectation in the enemy's mind through the use of a feint.
Usage
The idea here is to get the enemy to focus his forces in a location, and then attack elsewhere which would be weakly defended.
In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte had planned an invasion of Egypt, but in order for his ground troops to be transported into Egypt, he would have to get through, at the time, a superior British Navy. Napoleon decided to avoid a direct confrontation during the transportation, since a defeat here would cost many lives. Napoleon informed his Mediterranean fleet that they were to join up with the fleet in the north, and attack Ireland. As a result of this news, Horatio Nelson stationed his fleet in the west of the Mediterranean, in order to block the French fleet from moving up north. Napoleon then quickly ordered his Mediterranean fleet to transport ground troops into Egypt. By the time Horatio discovered Napoleon's plans, about three weeks had passed and a large French army had gathered in Egypt. Although the French Mediterranean fleet was eventually destroyed in the Battle of the Nile, Napoleon was able to conquer Egypt with his ground troops.
In the 1991 Gulf War the coalition, through deception, was able to convince the Iraqis that the coalition intended an amphibious attack into Kuwait and was able to fix Iraqi forces in positions that could play no effective part when the real attack came.
Chapter 2: Enemy Dealing Stratagems
7.Create something from nothing (simplified Chinese: 无中生有; traditional Chinese: 無中生有; pinyin: Wú zhōng shēng yǒu)
A plain lie. Make somebody believe there was something when there is in fact nothing.
Usage
One method of using this strategy is to create an illusion of something's existence, while it does not exist. Another method is to create an illusion that something does not exist, while it does.
During the Battle of Fei River, Former Qin had an overwhelming manpower over Jin. But instead of backing down to defend, Jin attacked Former Qin forces early and formed wide formations, giving an illusion that Jin had the manpower to match Former Qin's forces. Fu Jiān began planning his moves in fear, and later on ordered his vast forces to back out from the river banks. The low morale Former Qin troops went into chaos, and Jin came out of the battle victorious.
During the Battles of Yongqiu and Suiyang, the Tang soldiers in Yongqiu were running out of arrows. Zhang Xun ordered about 1,000 scarecrows to be made. At night, soldiers put their own armor onto the scarecrows, and hung them down from the Castle walls. Yan forces saw this and shot many arrows at the scarecrows, since they thought they were Tang soldiers. By the time the Yan forces found out what happened, the Tang troops had already received about 200,000 arrows. When this happened again later, Yan soldiers did not shoot one single arrow at them. But these dark figures were real Tang soldiers, who quickly attacked the sleeping Yan ranks. The vast Yan forces were forced to retreat from their position.
During the Battle of Chi Bi, when Liu Bei retreated his army and left Wu to fight Wei, Shu took most of the allied army's arrows. When Zhuge Liang stayed with Wu to help defeat Cao Cao, he and Lu Su rallied boats with scarecrows that wore Wu armor therefore looked like Wu soldiers. Cai Mao's fleet fired arrows at them and they got more than a hundred thousand arrows.
In advance fee frauds, victims are lured by making them believe there was a large amount of money waiting for them ("Something") while there is in fact "Nothing".
8.Openly repair the gallery roads, but sneak through the passage of Chencang (simplified Chinese: 暗渡陈仓; traditional Chinese: 暗渡陳倉; pinyin: Àn dù chén cāng)
Deceive the enemy with an obvious approach that will take a very long time, while surprising him by taking a shortcut and sneak up to him. As the enemy concentrates on the decoy, he will miss you sneaking up to him.
The phrase originated from the Chu-Han contention, where Liu Bang retreated to the lands of Sichuan to prepare for a confrontation with Xiang Yu. Once he was fully prepared, Liu Bang sent men to openly repair the gallery roads he had destroyed earlier, while secretly moving his troops towards Guanzhong through the small town of Chencang instead. When Xiang Yu received news of Liu Bang repairing the gallery roads, he dismissed the threat since he knew the repairs would take years to complete. This allowed Liu Bang to retake Guanzhong by surprise, and eventually led to his victory over Xiang Yu and the birth of the Han Dynasty.
Usage
This tactic is an extension of the "Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west" tactic. But instead of simply spreading misinformation to draw the enemy's attention, physical baits are used to increase the enemy's certainty on the misinformation. These baits must be easily seen by the enemy, to ensure that they draw the enemy's attention. At the same time, the baits must act as if what they meant to do what they were falsely doing, to avoid drawing the enemy's suspicion.
In 263 during the Three Kingdoms era, Deng Ai was facing off against Jiang Wei in one of the many battles between the two. Jiang Wei's goal was to take one of the Wei fortresses. Deng Ai engaged Jiang Wei's forces and was able to win a few early battles, and Jiang Wei retreated for a short distance before making camp. Deng Ai order his troops to set up defences along a river, since the nearby Jiang Wei forces would certainly return. After 3 days, Jiang Wei's forces did indeed return. But they simply camped and did not prepare to cross the river. Deng Ai sensed that Jiang Wei's main forces had gone around the river to take the fortress directly, so he ordered all forces to retreat back to the fortress to defend. Everything was just as Deng Ai had predicted, and due to his prior preparations, Jiang Wei's siege at the fortress ended in a failure. Jiang Wei had used the tactic wrongly, because his forces at the river did not draw enough enemy attention to cause them to stay at the river.
Prior to the Battle of Normandy, the Allies wanted to draw the Axis attention away from Normandy. An entirely fictitious First U.S. Army Group ("FUSAG"), was created for this purpose. Dummy tanks, trucks, planes and camps were made. They were placed in an area which led Germany to believe that the actual large scale invasion would take place in Pas de Calais. The air defense in this area was at a minimum, to allow Luftwaffe to photograph them easily. Allied naval bombardment was focused on Pas de Calais instead of Normandy. Dummy paratroopers were also used to create further uncertainty on the Germany side regarding the actual location of the invasion. This led the German defense forces into disorder, and allowed the Normandy operation to be carried out with "relative" ease.
9.Watch the fires burning across the river (simplified Chinese: 隔岸观火; traditional Chinese: 隔岸觀火; pinyin: Gé àn guān huǒ)
Delay entering the field of battle until all the other players have become exhausted fighting amongst themselves. Then go in at full strength and pick up the pieces. This has been US foreign policy when it comes to dealing with complex international conflicts, since at least the First World War, and onwards.
10.Hide a knife behind a smile (simplified Chinese: 笑里藏刀; traditional Chinese: 笑裏藏刀; pinyin: Xiào lǐ cáng dāo)
Charm and ingratiate yourself to your enemy. When you have gained his trust, move against him in secret.
Usage Before Jing Ke's attempt to assassinate Qin Shi Huang, he did many things to gain Qin Shi Huang's trust. These included killing Fan Yu Qi.
11.Sacrifice the plum tree to preserve the peach tree (Chinese: 李代桃僵; pinyin: Lǐ dài táo jiāng)
There are circumstances in which you must sacrifice short-term objectives in order to gain the long-term goal. This is the scapegoat strategy whereby someone else suffers the consequences so that the rest do not.
Cao Cao of the Three Kingdoms Period demonstrated this strategy. During a siege, Cao's supplies ran low so he called in the supply captain and told him to dilute the rice with water to save grains. When the soldiers started to complain, Cao ordered for the captain to be killed. He would explain to his troops that the captain had been selling supplies to the enemy. This raised the army's morale and they were victorious in a few more days.
12.Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat (simplified Chinese: 顺手牵羊; traditional Chinese: 順手牽羊; pinyin: Shùn shǒu qiān yáng)
While carrying out your plans be flexible enough to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself, however small, and avail yourself of any profit, however slight.
Chapter 3: Attacking Stratagems
13.Stomp the grass to scare the snake (simplified Chinese: 打草惊蛇; traditional Chinese: 打草驚蛇; pinyin: Dá cǎo jīng shé)
Do something unaimed, but spectacular ("hitting the grass") to provoke a response of the enemy ("startle the snake"), thereby giving away his plans or position, or just taunt him. Do something unusual, strange, and unexpected as this will arouse the enemy's suspicion and disrupt his thinking. More widely used as "[Do not] startle the snake by hitting the grass". An imprudent act will give your position or intentions away to the enemy.
14.Borrow a corpse to resurrect the soul (simplified Chinese: 借尸还魂; traditional Chinese: 借屍還魂; pinyin: Jiè shī huán hún)
Take an institution, a technology, a method, or even an ideology that has been forgotten or discarded and appropriate it for your own purpose. Revive something from the past by giving it a new purpose or bring to life old ideas, customs, or traditions and reinterpret them to fit your purposes.
At the end of the Medieval period when nation-states would field conscripted armies armed with firearms, personal body armour fell out of fashion for field infantry. The 1800s saw the early development of the ballistic vest but it did not become standard issue for modern armies until the 1990s.
15.Entice the tiger to leave its mountain lair (simplified Chinese: 调虎离山; traditional Chinese: 調虎離山; pinyin: Diào hǔ lí shān)
Never directly attack an opponent whose advantage is derived from its position. Instead lure him away from his position thus separating him from his source of strength.
At the Battle of Hastings, the Normans were initially unable to break the Saxon shield wall placed at the top of a hill, however by feigning retreat they were able to entice some of the Saxons to break ranks and opened a gap that allowed them to scatter the Saxon army.
16.In order to capture, one must let loose (simplified Chinese: 欲擒故纵; traditional Chinese: 欲擒故縱; pinyin: Yù qín gū zòng)
Cornered prey will often mount a final desperate attack. To prevent this you let the enemy believe he still has a chance for freedom. His will to fight is thus dampened by his desire to escape. When in the end the freedom is proven a falsehood the enemy's morale will be defeated and he will surrender without a fight.
17.Tossing out a brick to get a jade gem (simplified Chinese: 抛砖引玉; traditional Chinese: 拋磚引玉; pinyin: Pāo zhuān yǐn yù)
Bait someone by making him believe he gains something or just make him react to it ("toss out a brick") and obtain something valuable from him in return ("get a jade gem").
This proverb is based on a story involving two famous poets of the Tang Dynasty. There was a great poet named Zhao Gu (趙嘏) and another lesser poet by the name of Chang Jian (常建). While Chang Jian was traveling in Suzhou, he heard news that Zhao Gu would be visiting a temple in the area. Chang Jian wished to learn from the master poet, so he devised a plan and went to the temple in advance, then wrote a poem on the temple walls with only two of the four lines completed, hoping Zhao Gu would see it and finish the poem. Zhao Gu acted as Chang Jian foresaw, and from this story came the proverb.
Casino operators use such schemes to attract potential gamblers into their casinos, by offering little rewards such as free buffet or a complimentary hotel room. In the end, the casinos usually gain back much more than what they initially gave away, in the forms of gambling losses by the gamblers during their stays.
18.Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief (simplified Chinese: 擒贼擒王; traditional Chinese: 擒賊擒王; pinyin: Qín zéi qín wáng)
If the enemy's army is strong but is allied to the commander only by money or threats, then take aim at the leader. If the commander falls the rest of the army will disperse or come over to your side. If, however, they are allied to the leader through loyalty then beware, the army can continue to fight on after his death out of vengeance.
Usage
During the Battle of Gaugamela, Alexander the Great focused his attack against Darius III of Persia's location. Darius fled out of fear and the Persian army fell into chaos.
Chapter 4: Chaos Stratagems
19.Remove the firewood from under the pot (Chinese: 釜底抽薪; pinyin: Fǔ dǐ chōu xīn)
Take out the leading argument or asset of someone; "steal someone's thunder".
20.Catch a fish while the water is disturbed (simplified Chinese: 混水摸鱼; traditional Chinese: 混水摸魚; pinyin: Hún shuǐ mō yú)
Create confusion and use this confusion to further your own goals.
21.Slough off the cicada's golden shell (simplified Chinese: 金蝉脱壳; traditional Chinese: 金蟬脱殼; pinyin: Jīn chán tuō qiào)
It's a strategy mainly used to escape from enemy of a more superior force. One use this strategy by slough off one's shell, which tricked the enemy to believe to have grasped one's essential. Mask yourself. Either leave flamboyant traits behind, thus going incognito; or just masquerade yourself and create an illusion to fit your goals and distract others.
With the Battle of Gallipoli evacuation the British and Anzac forces were able to retreat without being routed by creating the illusion that their trenches remained occupied.
In the Biblical story of the judge, Gideon in the Book of Judges, the smaller Israelite army, led by Gideon, was able to defeat the larger Midianite army by first carrying torches and trumpets, thus appearing as the torch bearers of a much larger force that had surrounded the Midianite encampment.
22.Shut the door to catch the thief (simplified Chinese: 关门捉贼; traditional Chinese: 關門捉賊; pinyin: Guān mén zhōu zéi)
To capture your enemy, or more generally in fighting wars, to deliver the final blow to your enemy, you must plan prudently if you want to succeed. Do not rush into action. Before you "move in for the kill", first cut off your enemy's escape routes, and cut off any routes through which outside help can reach them.
23.Befriend a distant state while attacking a neighbour (simplified Chinese: 远交近攻; traditional Chinese: 遠交近攻; pinyin: Yuǎn jiāo jìn gōng)
It is known that nations that border each other become enemies while nations separated by distance and obstacles make better allies. When you are the strongest in one field, your greatest threat is from the second strongest in your field, not the strongest from another field.
Otto von Bismarck made the League of the Three Emperors and treaties with the British Empire and Italy in order to isolate France, from which he feared an attack.
24.Obtain safe passage to conquer the State of Guo (Chinese: 假道伐虢; pinyin: Jiǎ dào fá Guó)
Borrow the resources of an ally to attack a common enemy. Once the enemy is defeated, use those resources to turn on the ally that lent you them in the first place.
The Peninsular War started when Napoleon attempted to conquer Spain by stealth, under the guise of friendship and forming an alliance against Britain and Portugal.
Chapter 5: Proximate Stratagems
25.Replace the beams with rotten timbers (simplified Chinese: 偷梁换柱; traditional Chinese: 偷梁換柱; pinyin: Tōu liáng huàn zhù)
Disrupt the enemy's formations, interfere with their methods of operations, change the rules in which they are used to follow, go contrary to their standard training. In this way you remove the supporting pillar, the common link that makes a group of men an effective fighting force.
26.Point at the mulberry tree while cursing the locust tree (simplified Chinese: 指桑骂槐; traditional Chinese: 指桑罵槐; pinyin: Zhǐ sāng mà huái)
To discipline, control, or warn others whose status or position excludes them from direct confrontation; use analogy and innuendo. Without directly naming names, those accused cannot retaliate without revealing their complicity.
27.Feign madness but keep your balance (simplified Chinese: 假痴不癫; traditional Chinese: 假痴不癲; pinyin: Jiǎ chī bù diān)
Hide behind the mask of a fool, a drunk, or a madman to create confusion about your intentions and motivations. Lure your opponent into underestimating your ability until, overconfident, he drops his guard. Then you may attack.
Lucius Junius Brutus feigned idiocy for many years while he secretly prepared to depose Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last King of Rome.
The Forty-seven Ronin used this strategy to take revenge for their master. They waited over a year and when the opponent let his guard down, they took their revenge.
28.Remove the ladder when the enemy has ascended to the roof (Chinese: 上屋抽梯; pinyin: Shàng wū chōu tī)
With baits and deceptions, lure your enemy into treacherous terrain. Then cut off his lines of communication and avenue of escape. To save himself, he must fight both your own forces and the elements of nature.
The Grande Armee was destroyed in the 1812 invasion of Russia by a combination of the Russian winter, a scorched earth strategy, and the Russian army. Napoleon had been spurred on by the prize of capturing Moscow and with it the defeat of Russia; however, all he found was a burnt out and empty city and his forces cut off in hostile terrain and weather with no supplies.
29.Deck the tree with false blossoms (simplified Chinese: 树上开花; traditional Chinese: 樹上開花; pinyin: Shù shàng kāi huā)
Tying silk blossoms on a dead tree gives the illusion that the tree is healthy. ThCéi zhǔ)
Usurp leadership in a situation where you are normally subordinate. Infiltrate your target. Initially, pretend to be a guest to be accepted, but develop from inside and become the owner later.
Chapter 6: Defeat Stratagems
31.The beauty trap (honey trap) (simplified Chinese: 美人计; traditional Chinese: 美人計; pinyin: Měi rén jì)
Send your enemy beautiful women to cause discord within his camp. This strategy can work on three levels. First, the ruler becomes so enamoured with the beauty that he neglects his duties and allows his vigilance to wane. Second, other males at court will begin to display aggressive behaviour that inflames minor differences hindering co-operation and destroying morale. Third, other females at court, motivated by jealousy and envy, begin to plot intrigues further exacerbating the situation.
Even though this has been done many times, perhaps the most famous historical example is Xi Shi who was sent to the State of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period.
32.The empty fort strategy (simplified Chinese: 空城计; traditional Chinese: 空城計; pinyin: Kōng chéng jì)
When the enemy is superior in numbers and your situation is such that you expect to be overrun at any moment, then drop all presence of military preparedness, act calmly and appear disrespect of the enemy, so that the enemy will think you have hidden huge power and you want to trap them into the fort with your calm and easiness. This has to be used when in most of the cases, you do have huge power hidden under the disguise and you only play the real empty rarely. Use this against people who are really smart[4].
33.Let the enemy's own spy sow discord in the enemy camp (simplified Chinese: 反间计; traditional Chinese: 反間計; pinyin: Fǎn jiàn jì)
Undermine your enemy's ability to fight by secretly causing discord between him and his friends, allies, advisors, family, commanders, soldiers, and population. While he is preoccupied settling internal disputes, his ability to attack or defend, is compromised.
During the Second World War the German intelligence agency the Abwehr under Wilhelm Canaris actively colluded with the Allies to undermine the Nazi regime.
34.Inflict injury on one's self to win the enemy's trust (simplified Chinese: 苦肉计; traditional Chinese: 苦肉計; pinyin: Kǔ ròu jì)
Pretending to be injured has two possible applications. In the first, the enemy is lulled into relaxing his guard since he no longer considers you to be an immediate threat. The second is a way of ingratiating yourself to your enemy by pretending the injury was caused by a mutual enemy.
This strategy was perhaps best demonstrated during the Spring and Autumn Period. After his defeat by King Fuchai of Wu, King Goujian of Yue pretended to go to Wu to become a servant of Fuchai. After gaining Fuchai's trust, Guo Jian was allowed back to Yue. There he strengthened his military and in 482 BC while Fuchai was trying to gain hegemony, he attacked and conquered the capital. Some years later in 478 BC, he annexed Wu and forced Fuchai to commit suicide.
35.Chain stratagems (simplified Chinese: 连环计; traditional Chinese: 連環計; pinyin: Lián huán jì)
In important matters, one should use several stratagems applied simultaneously after another as in a chain of stratagems. Keep different plans operating in an overall scheme; however, in this manner if any one strategy fails, then the chain breaks and the whole scheme fails.
36.If everything else fails, retreat (simplified Chinese: 走为上; traditional Chinese: 走為上; pinyin: Zǒu wéi shàng)
If it becomes obvious that your current course of action will lead to defeat, then retreat and regroup. When your side is losing, there are only three choices remaining: surrender, compromise, or escape. Surrender is complete defeat, compromise is half defeat, but escape is not defeat. As long as you are not defeated, you still have a chance.
This is the most famous of the stratagems, immortalized in the form of a Chinese idiom: "Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing is best." (三十六計，走為上策)
References
1.^ "Original Text of the Biography of Wáng Jìngzé, Book of Qi (Traditional Chinese)". http://www.hoolulu.com/zh/25shi/07nanqishu/t-026.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-27.
2.^ a b "Introduction to the Thirty-Six Strategies (Traditional Chinese)". http://www.millionbook.net/xd/m/mananchun/ysyh/145.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-27.
3.^ a b c "Exploring the Thirty-Six Strategies (Simplified Chinese)". Chinese Strategic Science Network. 2006-07-11. http://www.szbf.net/Article_Show.asp?ArticleID=1490.
4.^ "Empty City Stratagem" (in English). BeijingTouree.com. http://www.beijingtouree.com/index.php/chinese-culture/history-beijing/40-history/303-the-empty-city-stratagem. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Lack Of Sleep Can Kill
I received an article with the above subject title.
My first reaction was ... "Of course ! ... lack of sleep can lead to tiredness & if you're not careful while driving, chances are you'll end up with a fatal accident.
But when I really read through the article ... it's from a different angle altogether. Below is the excerpt (in Italics) :
A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India. He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road. Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.
It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India. However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid marathoner ( in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away ), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.
Was it the stress?
A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.
The Real Reason
However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out': Boss' Day Out: Ranjan Das of SAP India.
Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep ( and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled ).
The Evidence
Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of ‘Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep’. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.
Some Excerpts:
· Short sleep duration ( <5 or 5-6 hours ) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009. As you know, high BP kills.
· Young people ( 25-49 years of age ) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.
· Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.
· Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!
· Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Paper published in 2004.
· Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.
Ideal Sleep
For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.
The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.
For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep ), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down ( I’ve been there, done that ).
Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.
If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test below.
Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don’t like to drive (maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that line).
In conclusion:
Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising ( marathoning! ), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him.
If you are not getting enough sleep ( 7 hours ), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.
I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep.
Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance. Please forward this mail/article to as many of your colleagues/friends as possible, especially those who might be short-changing their sleep. If we can save even one young life because of this email, I would be the happiest person on earth.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Sprechen sie Engrish ?
Date : July 8th, 2009
Speaking English ... anyone ?
I knew all along that the standard of English in the country has deteriorated somewhat since the late 70s.
But I was really "shocked & awed" by its level, after reading this article below (which I "copied" from Malaysia Today's homepage).
Why English should not be taught in Bahasa Malaysia
There is currently a brouhaha going on about the proposed teaching of Science and Maths in English. Some would like these two subjects to be taught in Bahasa Malaysia. I am not too concerned about Science and Maths. I am more worried about English. I feel English should no longer be taught in Bahasa Malaysia.
NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
And why do I think that English should not be taught in Bahasa Malaysia? Well, maybe this circular from one of Malaysia’s leading universities would explain everything.
*************************************************
4th UiTM INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FIESTA19 – 23 November 2009 FUTSAL-RUGBY 7- TENPIN BOWLING-BADMINTON
Dear Sport Friends,
Regarding about the global issue H1N1 happens around the world, sadly to be informing that our UiTM International Sports Fiesta will be postponing to 19-23 November 2009.
For all teams which have been confirm to participate in our events, we have to say sorry for this announcements and our Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Health also advise to us to change the date for this current situation.
By the date have been confirm incoming this November hopefully your teams still can participate in our event and don’t hesitate to contact us for further information.And again, we would like to say sorry about the date change for the sake of our health among us.
See you in this November at UiTM Malaysia!!
Regards,
Mr. Mustaza Ahmad
DirectorSports Centre
Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia (UiTM)
=============================================================
Well, I was laughing out loud initially but on 2nd thought, this is really sad. And to think that my children will go through all this crap ... (sigh) .... it's really sickening. Guess I really need to plan out for their education.
Anyway, on the lighter side, below is another "joke" from a commentor to the article above.
Hope you have a good laugh but on the flip side, think about your children's education too.
=========================================================
Hilarious, allow me to share a joke I received by email (author unknown) that also illustrates the point "Why English should not be taught in Bahasa Malaysia" or for that matter "Why Bahasa Malaysia should not be taught in English"
Breaking up letter.
Timah wanted to break up with her Caucasian boyfriend so she wrote him a letter
Hi, My motive write dis letter to giv know u something. I want to CUT CONNECTION us. I saw u PLAY WOOD THREE in front my eyes. So, I break connection to PULL MY BODY from dis luv. I hav think about dis very COOK-COOK. I know I CLAP 1 HAND only. I don trust u again! U are really CROCDILE LAND! I don want u to PLAY-PLAY with my LIVER. I hav been crying until no more eye water. I don want BANANA TO FRUIT 2 TIMES. SAFE WALK!
The true,
Timah
Translation of CAPS / Underlined texts :
CUT CONNECTION - PUTUS HUBUNGAN
PLAY WOOD THREE - MAIN KAYU TIGA
PULL MY BODY - TARIK DIRI
COOK-COOK - MASAK-MASAK
CLAP 1 HAND - TEPUK SEBELAH TANGAN
CROCDILE LAND - BUAYA DARAT
BANANA TO FRUIT 2 TIMES - PISANG MASAK 2 KALI
SAFE WALK - SELAMAT JALAN
The True - Yang Benar
We all can forgive Timah I suppose, but I am shocked at the way Mustaza Ahmad (a sports center Director) writes, and he signs of the letter as Mr.Mustaza Ahmad, who the heck signs of as "Mr" ? I wonder if he goes around introducing himself " Hello , I am Mister Ahmad".
Vijay Kumar Murugavell
Have a good weekend ahead.
Cheers.
Speaking English ... anyone ?
I knew all along that the standard of English in the country has deteriorated somewhat since the late 70s.
But I was really "shocked & awed" by its level, after reading this article below (which I "copied" from Malaysia Today's homepage).
Why English should not be taught in Bahasa Malaysia
There is currently a brouhaha going on about the proposed teaching of Science and Maths in English. Some would like these two subjects to be taught in Bahasa Malaysia. I am not too concerned about Science and Maths. I am more worried about English. I feel English should no longer be taught in Bahasa Malaysia.
NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
And why do I think that English should not be taught in Bahasa Malaysia? Well, maybe this circular from one of Malaysia’s leading universities would explain everything.
*************************************************
4th UiTM INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FIESTA19 – 23 November 2009 FUTSAL-RUGBY 7- TENPIN BOWLING-BADMINTON
Dear Sport Friends,
Regarding about the global issue H1N1 happens around the world, sadly to be informing that our UiTM International Sports Fiesta will be postponing to 19-23 November 2009.
For all teams which have been confirm to participate in our events, we have to say sorry for this announcements and our Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Health also advise to us to change the date for this current situation.
By the date have been confirm incoming this November hopefully your teams still can participate in our event and don’t hesitate to contact us for further information.And again, we would like to say sorry about the date change for the sake of our health among us.
See you in this November at UiTM Malaysia!!
Regards,
Mr. Mustaza Ahmad
DirectorSports Centre
Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia (UiTM)
=============================================================
Well, I was laughing out loud initially but on 2nd thought, this is really sad. And to think that my children will go through all this crap ... (sigh) .... it's really sickening. Guess I really need to plan out for their education.
Anyway, on the lighter side, below is another "joke" from a commentor to the article above.
Hope you have a good laugh but on the flip side, think about your children's education too.
=========================================================
Hilarious, allow me to share a joke I received by email (author unknown) that also illustrates the point "Why English should not be taught in Bahasa Malaysia" or for that matter "Why Bahasa Malaysia should not be taught in English"
Breaking up letter.
Timah wanted to break up with her Caucasian boyfriend so she wrote him a letter
Hi, My motive write dis letter to giv know u something. I want to CUT CONNECTION us. I saw u PLAY WOOD THREE in front my eyes. So, I break connection to PULL MY BODY from dis luv. I hav think about dis very COOK-COOK. I know I CLAP 1 HAND only. I don trust u again! U are really CROCDILE LAND! I don want u to PLAY-PLAY with my LIVER. I hav been crying until no more eye water. I don want BANANA TO FRUIT 2 TIMES. SAFE WALK!
The true,
Timah
Translation of CAPS / Underlined texts :
CUT CONNECTION - PUTUS HUBUNGAN
PLAY WOOD THREE - MAIN KAYU TIGA
PULL MY BODY - TARIK DIRI
COOK-COOK - MASAK-MASAK
CLAP 1 HAND - TEPUK SEBELAH TANGAN
CROCDILE LAND - BUAYA DARAT
BANANA TO FRUIT 2 TIMES - PISANG MASAK 2 KALI
SAFE WALK - SELAMAT JALAN
The True - Yang Benar
We all can forgive Timah I suppose, but I am shocked at the way Mustaza Ahmad (a sports center Director) writes, and he signs of the letter as Mr.Mustaza Ahmad, who the heck signs of as "Mr" ? I wonder if he goes around introducing himself " Hello , I am Mister Ahmad".
Vijay Kumar Murugavell
Have a good weekend ahead.
Cheers.
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