the subtle lessons

  "The illiterate of the twenty first century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn." - Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock. Just a couple of centuries back, education was limited to those with privilege.  Today, we have access to information literally at the tips of our finger tips.  That was an obscenely short summary on the evolution of education, here's a fun read of its detailed history . In fact, we're being bombarded by too much information, most of the time today.  Jonathan Levi leverages on Dr Malcolm Knowles' work in Adult Learning and presents the key tools that adult learners can use to learn better and more efficiently in today's fast paced world. 5 Conditions to learning Although we tend to envy children for being 'better' learners, Levi suggests that adults bring their own advantages to the table when it comes to learning.  In fact, these conditions make us better learners. 1 - Exp...

In investing, when someone is confident of the underlying equity, they'll "buy the f'-ing dip" (BTFD) when prices come down temporarily.  I'm not a good investor (in fact, whatever I buy dips, I've contemplated on coming up with reversed trade calls before😓).  Anyway, the BTFD concept is very apt for today's world.  BTFD in the real world Life likes to send challenges in our way.  Covid was one major challenge. How one reacts to such challenges (or 'dips') can make a huge difference, for example: Businesses which managed to pivot quickly during the lockdowns are now thriving. Folks who have made career switches that allow them to serve more clients remotely instead remain working for 'the man' have seen their income skyrocket. Others have launched side hustles and now can maximise the time spent at home.  These are just some success cases of BTFD-ing, in the real world.  Don't stay down, BTFD! When shit happens, if you have the confid...

Chinese New Year was a short affair this year. Hence, I managed to get through this: To get our way in life, we often have to come in contact with other humans. Some are pleasant, others less so, a handful may leave us feeling as though we've been shouting into the ocean with zero chance of getting a response.  ' Surrounded by idiots ' attempts to give us a way to categorise people into 4 main colors, based on general characteristics: On a closer look, this color system feels like a simpler version of the popular Myers Briggs system which has 16 personalities.  My pet peeve with the Myers Briggs system is that it's great for understanding yourself, but less effective in trying to understand others because of the details it goes into - great if you're a scholar but not as friendly if you're trying to navigate the world.  Trying to phenotype people on the fly is especially tough when you're an ISTJ or INTJ. Erikson's system seems way easier to implement in...

Ulysses (aka Odysseus) is a Greek hero and King in Homer's Odyssey  which describes his journey home after a long, drawn out war. Along the way, his ship had to pass by the Sirens, whose songs were said entice sailors to change course and suffer a shipwreck.  Like any of us, he was curious about the Sirens' songs and he wanted to hear them for himself.  But he also wanted to make it back home without a shipwreck.  What did he do?  Source: Wikipedia As the captain of his ship, he ordered all his men to cover their ears with wax so that they do not get seduced by the Sirens' songs. Next, he made a pact with his men to bind him up on the mast, to ignore his demands of changing the course of the ship while they passed the Sirens and to have their swords on hand in case he breaks free from the mast.  They survived the journey passed the Sirens without a shipwreck.  This became known as Ulysses Pact or Ulysses Contract - a decision made in free-will today,...

There are many causes of midlife crisis.  But if the workplace is the main trigger, it could very well the fault of the manager.  At least that's what Lencioni suggests in his book:  3 Signs of a Miserable Job Using a long fable to illustrate his triangle of job misery, Lencioni has kept me on edge for a good 2+ hours as I followed the journey of Brian and his adventures to revitalize a small single owner restaurant and a chain of sports stores using: The Triangle of Job Misery Lencioni busts the myth about the role of a manager, which is often assumed to be to strategize and push profitability or pushing papers and reporting on financials.  Rather than the above, a manager should...manage.  And the Triangle of Job Misery gives managers a simple framework to manage their team. They should aim to reduce the following. Irrelevance: This is when a member feels as though their work isn't important or relevant. People need to be needed, and they need to be told so of...

I ended 2020 with "The Midnight Library", a fiction book about a girl in despair who finds herself in a library filled with infinite possibilities to how her life could be, after an attempted suicide. The plot was predictable, but the journey was memorable. A good reminder that we already have everything we need to become who we want to be. We just need to commit to the goal and have the guts to take on the process. I started 2021 with the docu-film, "Dick Johnson is dead" (available on Netflix), a lighthearted take on the impact of dementia and pending death. "He's a psychiatrist. I'm a cameraperson. I suggested we make a movie about him dying. He said yes." - Kristen Johnson Kirsten Johnson comes up with comical ways her dad would die, in an attempt to help them and their loved ones cope with his pending death. It was funny, intimate and surprisingly intimate.  "She kills me. Multiple times. And I come back to life. I...

 Should ‘Free’ consumers be treated as customers? If you have been in the business scene / entrepreneur scene for some time, you’d have noticed a common advice from the veterans. “Don’t give your products/services away for free”; simply because ‘free’ customers are the most difficult to deal with. I’ve had the same experience myself. I think this stems from 2 issues; Internal ‘Struggle’ When you give your time/product/service for free, there’ll always be a internal debate of  “how much time/effort should I be spending on this project”.  This struggle will always be present, whether conscious or not. I find myself holding back for free projects at time, especially when coupled with the 2nd issue. (generally) Demands from the free consumer It could be a general bias that stems from the previous point. But I’ve found that free consumers tend to ask for more. Or try to get more than what was originally promised. Since its all ‘free’, the additional requests cost nothing to th...

On days when dealing with a difficult customer, ask 3 questions: Is the customer always right? And… Should you insist your way or be flexible in your service? Is there a balance to be achieved?

It’s easy to see the big picture, really. Read some relevant books, read some articles posted online, read some forum reviews or experience sharing by people in the industry. And almost everyone can become a consultant. Just look at the big picture, spot the obvious gaps, and…yak. Talk is cheap. Execution is what brings in the money. But Execution is messy. There are legacy issues. There are stubborn mindsets. There are cemented SOPs. There are undecipherable data. What makes you special today is the ability to convert your big picture, empty talk into executable actions that bring the results you talk about. But few can do that. Can I?