Lesson on how a strategic project is affected by local community, cultural issues, NGO, turning to political unrest between Uruguay and Argentina.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
One Brick Entrepreneur 110913 #3
on Finance and Stocks
To become an entrepreneur who can see one step ahead, one must strife to build ability to analyze macro economic effect through Finance.
World's Financial weather are the immediate indication of what happening across the world. To stay ahead of competition, one must be able to see the financial weather, and and interpret the future.
It is especially true for those who manage and grow their wealth by FOREX (Foreign Exchange).
one tips is: don't use liquid cash to buy yourself a sport car.
Use the difference in foreign currency, over time, to buy yourself a car.
(this is my boss tips to buy luxury car -- of course you needs quite sum of money for this to work)
It take a lot of hard work and committed hour to study financial world, in order to be able to make wise financial decision on where to put your money, or in what currency you want to save your wealth.
To become an entrepreneur who can see one step ahead, one must strife to build ability to analyze macro economic effect through Finance.
World's Financial weather are the immediate indication of what happening across the world. To stay ahead of competition, one must be able to see the financial weather, and and interpret the future.
It is especially true for those who manage and grow their wealth by FOREX (Foreign Exchange).
one tips is: don't use liquid cash to buy yourself a sport car.
Use the difference in foreign currency, over time, to buy yourself a car.
(this is my boss tips to buy luxury car -- of course you needs quite sum of money for this to work)
It take a lot of hard work and committed hour to study financial world, in order to be able to make wise financial decision on where to put your money, or in what currency you want to save your wealth.
One Brick Entrepreneur 110913 #2
on Being Agile Startup
We have department leaders meeting today, led by our CEO.
He explained how at the early days of starting up, he use the "Buy In, Sell Out" strategy. I would refer to it as BISO, for simplicity.
In Chinese, it is termed as: 組合型產品 or 買進賣出 or 買空賣空
During 10 years of establishment, in fact, most of this period was built upon successful implementation of BISO.
How BISO differs from traditional Trading Company (TC)?
BISO company, usually has one or a handful of original products.
In our company case (later referred to as @), it was GPS antenna.
Starting from designing GPS antenna, @ get channels to international customers.
Then inquiry come in, looking for related products, like Bluetooth GPS logger, GPS module, GSM antenna, GSM module, etc.
@ original product is GPS antenna. But later, @ also sold other related products, acquired from other vendors. The profit then was what make @ grow to larger enterprise.
BISO needs to have excellence level of professionalism (at least as perceived by customer).
Like in the case of BT GPS. @ was in trade show, with booth beside the original manufacturer. When customer came, @ sales force can professionally elaborate the product to customer, while the original manufacturer's sales had no idea of the product. Customer said to @: " You must be the manufacturer", and "that company beside you is your reseller."
That's the level which must be achieved by BISO marketing team.
While TC, they usually do not have any original products. They are pure reseller.
TC advantage is in the art of finding the right sources/suppliers.
Consequently, TC is easily replaceable by competitor, once they found the same sources.
Why BISO is good for your health?
One risk of being manufacturer is frozen assets. Let's say a company has 3M USD revenue. the next question to ask are:
How much of this 3M is in the form of raw materials, ready stocks?
What is the real liquidity (liquid cash) that can be use in the business cycle?
BISO offers:
1. low risk --> due to large pool of vendor options to choose from
2. no need to freeze liquid money into stocks
3. no need to prepare big sum of money for initial investment
4. High profit
5. High liquidity
Successful BISO needs:
1. Elegant Vendor Management
Vendor-BISO relationship should not be a win-lose relation.
What is important is to have a responsible vendor.
Means although the product is not super perfect, at least vendor needs to be responsive to complain/input, and willing to make improvement.
Vendor-BISO relation is to be a comrade relation. Rub shoulder; means both should be supporting each another to grow business together.
If Vendor somehow make mistake, BISO should be able to use this opportunity, not to kick-out vendor, but to forgive vendor who are willing to improve. This way, vendor will follow BISO, and stay loyal in the long term. Killing Vendor is no use, thus should only be done when BISO wants no more long term relationship with lousy vendor.
2. Excellence Quality Control
any product sold by a company, will affect the company brand and image.
If the product is good, it will add to the good image of BISO.
If the product is lousy, even the original product from BISO will suffers the effect.
Always to thorough and comprehensive analysis when selecting products/vendors.
Avoid Bias.
Example: You want to get profit from stocks. Then you blindly only see the factors why that particular stocks value will go up. Somehow, you cannot see reason why it can go down. This Bias can affect your decision making process.
It is critical to stay NEUTRAL while you are making the study and analysis, to avoid bias.
3. Cost Sense
the Ultimate goal for going into BISO business model is to increase profit, with moderate risk.
That's why cost is important. If a product margin is small, thus not beneficial to put all effort of studying, packaging, and marketing, then no need to acquire it at first place.
How to Select the right product?
Start with Market --> Products --> timing
Define the segment of market you are targeting.
Understand the needs.
Source for right product, within a right timing.
Timing is critical.
Product which requires more than 1 month of feasibility study, is not a good sign for a good BISO product.
We need to put the right product at right place in right time.
We have department leaders meeting today, led by our CEO.
He explained how at the early days of starting up, he use the "Buy In, Sell Out" strategy. I would refer to it as BISO, for simplicity.
In Chinese, it is termed as: 組合型產品 or 買進賣出 or 買空賣空
During 10 years of establishment, in fact, most of this period was built upon successful implementation of BISO.
How BISO differs from traditional Trading Company (TC)?
BISO company, usually has one or a handful of original products.
In our company case (later referred to as @), it was GPS antenna.
Starting from designing GPS antenna, @ get channels to international customers.
Then inquiry come in, looking for related products, like Bluetooth GPS logger, GPS module, GSM antenna, GSM module, etc.
@ original product is GPS antenna. But later, @ also sold other related products, acquired from other vendors. The profit then was what make @ grow to larger enterprise.
BISO needs to have excellence level of professionalism (at least as perceived by customer).
Like in the case of BT GPS. @ was in trade show, with booth beside the original manufacturer. When customer came, @ sales force can professionally elaborate the product to customer, while the original manufacturer's sales had no idea of the product. Customer said to @: " You must be the manufacturer", and "that company beside you is your reseller."
That's the level which must be achieved by BISO marketing team.
While TC, they usually do not have any original products. They are pure reseller.
TC advantage is in the art of finding the right sources/suppliers.
Consequently, TC is easily replaceable by competitor, once they found the same sources.
Why BISO is good for your health?
One risk of being manufacturer is frozen assets. Let's say a company has 3M USD revenue. the next question to ask are:
How much of this 3M is in the form of raw materials, ready stocks?
What is the real liquidity (liquid cash) that can be use in the business cycle?
BISO offers:
1. low risk --> due to large pool of vendor options to choose from
2. no need to freeze liquid money into stocks
3. no need to prepare big sum of money for initial investment
4. High profit
5. High liquidity
Successful BISO needs:
1. Elegant Vendor Management
Vendor-BISO relationship should not be a win-lose relation.
What is important is to have a responsible vendor.
Means although the product is not super perfect, at least vendor needs to be responsive to complain/input, and willing to make improvement.
Vendor-BISO relation is to be a comrade relation. Rub shoulder; means both should be supporting each another to grow business together.
If Vendor somehow make mistake, BISO should be able to use this opportunity, not to kick-out vendor, but to forgive vendor who are willing to improve. This way, vendor will follow BISO, and stay loyal in the long term. Killing Vendor is no use, thus should only be done when BISO wants no more long term relationship with lousy vendor.
2. Excellence Quality Control
any product sold by a company, will affect the company brand and image.
If the product is good, it will add to the good image of BISO.
If the product is lousy, even the original product from BISO will suffers the effect.
Always to thorough and comprehensive analysis when selecting products/vendors.
Avoid Bias.
Example: You want to get profit from stocks. Then you blindly only see the factors why that particular stocks value will go up. Somehow, you cannot see reason why it can go down. This Bias can affect your decision making process.
It is critical to stay NEUTRAL while you are making the study and analysis, to avoid bias.
3. Cost Sense
the Ultimate goal for going into BISO business model is to increase profit, with moderate risk.
That's why cost is important. If a product margin is small, thus not beneficial to put all effort of studying, packaging, and marketing, then no need to acquire it at first place.
How to Select the right product?
Start with Market --> Products --> timing
Define the segment of market you are targeting.
Understand the needs.
Source for right product, within a right timing.
Timing is critical.
Product which requires more than 1 month of feasibility study, is not a good sign for a good BISO product.
We need to put the right product at right place in right time.
One Brick Entrepreneur 110913
on Project Management
Project Manager (PM) need to be known as annoying person.
Annoying in term of persistence for ultimate answer.
For each delay, he need to demand root cause from the team.
Only then will PM be able to identify the real problem, and get the resources together to fix it.
沒問題，就是有問題 (When all is fine, then it may be a time of trouble).
PM should not the one who always present projects running smoothly,without any issues.
He is to highlight the issues, escalate it to stakeholder, and lead the problem solving endeavor.
Every delay should be highlighted in details. He must demand explanation from them.
Be bold to face the real issues.
Answering though question.
Making difficult decision.
these are nutrients for a successful PM.
Project Manager (PM) need to be known as annoying person.
Annoying in term of persistence for ultimate answer.
For each delay, he need to demand root cause from the team.
Only then will PM be able to identify the real problem, and get the resources together to fix it.
沒問題，就是有問題 (When all is fine, then it may be a time of trouble).
PM should not the one who always present projects running smoothly,without any issues.
He is to highlight the issues, escalate it to stakeholder, and lead the problem solving endeavor.
Every delay should be highlighted in details. He must demand explanation from them.
Be bold to face the real issues.
Answering though question.
Making difficult decision.
these are nutrients for a successful PM.
Monday, September 5, 2011
One Brick Entrepreneur 110906
Follow Through
In the realm of Online International Business, it is crucial to maintain a decent follow through system.
Just now, I found a Project Application form opened by one of Sales, about 4 months ago. When i asked her, she mention that even she has forget to follow up. We were checking with customer, regarding the requirement. And somehow between the communication chains, the messages stop, without us noticing.
With the e-mail, MSN, Skype, technology, it's getting easier for customer, just to shoot an email. But for the supplier, it will receive lots of mails. Each sender of mail, expect Supplier to remember them and their needs.
Excel spreadsheet could be handy to track all communication with customers.
The one who master the art of following up, will win Customer hearts
In the realm of Online International Business, it is crucial to maintain a decent follow through system.
Just now, I found a Project Application form opened by one of Sales, about 4 months ago. When i asked her, she mention that even she has forget to follow up. We were checking with customer, regarding the requirement. And somehow between the communication chains, the messages stop, without us noticing.
With the e-mail, MSN, Skype, technology, it's getting easier for customer, just to shoot an email. But for the supplier, it will receive lots of mails. Each sender of mail, expect Supplier to remember them and their needs.
Excel spreadsheet could be handy to track all communication with customers.
The one who master the art of following up, will win Customer hearts
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Be Authentic
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES
(Story by Hans Christian Andersen)
Many years ago, there was an Emperor, who was so excessively fond of new clothes, that he spent all his money in dress. He did not trouble himself in the least about his soldiers; nor did he care to go either to the theatre or the chase, except for the opportunities then afforded him for displaying his new clothes. He had a different suit for each hour of the day; and as of any other king or emperor, one is accustomed to say, "he is sitting in council," it was always said of him, "The Emperor is sitting in his wardrobe."
Time passed merrily in the large town which was his capital; strangers arrived every day at the court. One day, two rogues, calling themselves weavers, made their appearance. They gave out that they knew how to weave stuffs of the most beautiful colors and elaborate patterns, the clothes manufactured from which should have the wonderful property of remaining invisible to everyone who was unfit for the office he held, or who was extraordinarily simple in character.
"These must, indeed, be splendid clothes!" thought the Emperor. "Had I such a suit, I might at once find out what men in my realms are unfit for their office, and also be able to distinguish the wise from the foolish! This stuff must be woven for me immediately." And he caused large sums of money to be given to both the weavers in order that they might begin their work directly.
So the two pretended weavers set up two looms, and affected to work very busily, though in reality they did nothing at all. They asked for the most delicate silk and the purest gold thread; put both into their own knapsacks; and then continued their pretended work at the empty looms until late at night.
"I should like to know how the weavers are getting on with my cloth," said the Emperor to himself, after some little time had elapsed; he was, however, rather embarrassed, when he remembered that a simpleton, or one unfit for his office, would be unable to see the manufacture. To be sure, he thought he had nothing to risk in his own person; but yet, he would prefer sending somebody else, to bring him intelligence about the weavers, and their work, before he troubled himself in the affair. All the people throughout the city had heard of the wonderful property the cloth was to possess; and all were anxious to learn how wise, or how ignorant, their neighbors might prove to be.
"I will send my faithful old minister to the weavers," said the Emperor at last, after some deliberation, "he will be best able to see how the cloth looks; for he is a man of sense, and no one can be more suitable for his office than he is."
So the faithful old minister went into the hall, where the knaves were working with all their might, at their empty looms. "What can be the meaning of this?" thought the old man, opening his eyes very wide. "I cannot discover the least bit of thread on the looms." However, he did not express his thoughts aloud.
The impostors requested him very courteously to be so good as to come nearer their looms; and then asked him whether the design pleased him, and whether the colors were not very beautiful; at the same time pointing to the empty frames. The poor old minister looked and looked, he could not discover anything on the looms, for a very good reason, viz: there was nothing there. "What!" thought he again. "Is it possible that I am a simpleton? I have never thought so myself; and no one must know it now if I am so. Can it be, that I am unfit for my office? No, that must not be said either. I will never confess that I could not see the stuff."
"Well, Sir Minister!" said one of the knaves, still pretending to work. "You do not say whether the stuff pleases you."
"Oh, it is excellent!" replied the old minister, looking at the loom through his spectacles. "This pattern, and the colors, yes, I will tell the Emperor without delay, how very beautiful I think them."
"We shall be much obliged to you," said the impostors, and then they named the different colors and described the pattern of the pretended stuff. The old minister listened attentively to their words, in order that he might repeat them to the Emperor; and then the knaves asked for more silk and gold, saying that it was necessary to complete what they had begun. However, they put all that was given them into their knapsacks; and continued to work with as much apparent diligence as before at their empty looms.
The Emperor now sent another officer of his court to see how the men were getting on, and to ascertain whether the cloth would soon be ready. It was just the same with this gentleman as with the minister; he surveyed the looms on all sides, but could see nothing at all but the empty frames.
"Does not the stuff appear as beautiful to you, as it did to my lord the minister?" asked the impostors of the Emperor's second ambassador; at the same time making the same gestures as before, and talking of the design and colors which were not there.
"I certainly am not stupid!" thought the messenger. "It must be, that I am not fit for my good, profitable office! That is very odd; however, no one shall know anything about it." And accordingly he praised the stuff he could not see, and declared that he was delighted with both colors and patterns. "Indeed, please your Imperial Majesty," said he to his sovereign when he returned, "the cloth which the weavers are preparing is extraordinarily magnificent."
The whole city was talking of the splendid cloth which the Emperor had ordered to be woven at his own expense.
And now the Emperor himself wished to see the costly manufacture, while it was still in the loom. Accompanied by a select number of officers of the court, among whom were the two honest men who had already admired the cloth, he went to the crafty impostors, who, as soon as they were aware of the Emperor's approach, went on working more diligently than ever; although they still did not pass a single thread through the looms.
"Is not the work absolutely magnificent?" said the two officers of the crown, already mentioned. "If your Majesty will only be pleased to look at it! What a splendid design! What glorious colors!" and at the same time they pointed to the empty frames; for they imagined that everyone else could see this exquisite piece of workmanship.
"How is this?" said the Emperor to himself. "I can see nothing! This is indeed a terrible affair! Am I a simpleton, or am I unfit to be an Emperor? That would be the worst thing that could happen—Oh! the cloth is charming," said he, aloud. "It has my complete approbation." And he smiled most graciously, and looked closely at the empty looms; for on no account would he say that he could not see what two of the officers of his court had praised so much. All his retinue now strained their eyes, hoping to discover something on the looms, but they could see no more than the others; nevertheless, they all exclaimed, "Oh, how beautiful!" and advised his majesty to have some new clothes made from this splendid material, for the approaching procession. "Magnificent! Charming! Excellent!" resounded on all sides; and everyone was uncommonly gay. The Emperor shared in the general satisfaction; and presented the impostors with the riband of an order of knighthood, to be worn in their button-holes, and the title of "Gentlemen Weavers."
The rogues sat up the whole of the night before the day on which the procession was to take place, and had sixteen lights burning, so that everyone might see how anxious they were to finish the Emperor's new suit. They pretended to roll the cloth off the looms; cut the air with their scissors; and sewed with needles without any thread in them. "See!" cried they, at last. "The Emperor's new clothes are ready!"
And now the Emperor, with all the grandees of his court, came to the weavers; and the rogues raised their arms, as if in the act of holding something up, saying, "Here are your Majesty's trousers! Here is the scarf! Here is the mantle! The whole suit is as light as a cobweb; one might fancy one has nothing at all on, when dressed in it; that, however, is the great virtue of this delicate cloth."
"Yes indeed!" said all the courtiers, although not one of them could see anything of this exquisite manufacture.
"If your Imperial Majesty will be graciously pleased to take off your clothes, we will fit on the new suit, in front of the looking glass."
The Emperor was accordingly undressed, and the rogues pretended to array him in his new suit; the Emperor turning round, from side to side, before the looking glass.
"How splendid his Majesty looks in his new clothes, and how well they fit!" everyone cried out. "What a design! What colors! These are indeed royal robes!"
"The canopy which is to be borne over your Majesty, in the procession, is waiting," announced the chief master of the ceremonies.
"I am quite ready," answered the Emperor. "Do my new clothes fit well?" asked he, turning himself round again before the looking glass, in order that he might appear to be examining his handsome suit.
The lords of the bedchamber, who were to carry his Majesty's train felt about on the ground, as if they were lifting up the ends of the mantle; and pretended to be carrying something; for they would by no means betray anything like simplicity, or unfitness for their office.
So now the Emperor walked under his high canopy in the midst of the procession, through the streets of his capital; and all the people standing by, and those at the windows, cried out, "Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor's new clothes! What a magnificent train there is to the mantle; and how gracefully the scarf hangs!" in short, no one would allow that he could not see these much-admired clothes; because, in doing so, he would have declared himself either a simpleton or unfit for his office. Certainly, none of the Emperor's various suits, had ever made so great an impression, as these invisible ones.
"But the Emperor has nothing at all on!" said a little child.
"Listen to the voice of innocence!" exclaimed his father; and what the child had said was whispered from one to another.
"But he has nothing at all on!" at last cried out all the people. The Emperor was vexed, for he knew that the people were right; but he thought the procession must go on now! And the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to appear holding up a train, although, in reality, there was no train to hold.
(Story by Hans Christian Andersen)
Many years ago, there was an Emperor, who was so excessively fond of new clothes, that he spent all his money in dress. He did not trouble himself in the least about his soldiers; nor did he care to go either to the theatre or the chase, except for the opportunities then afforded him for displaying his new clothes. He had a different suit for each hour of the day; and as of any other king or emperor, one is accustomed to say, "he is sitting in council," it was always said of him, "The Emperor is sitting in his wardrobe."
Time passed merrily in the large town which was his capital; strangers arrived every day at the court. One day, two rogues, calling themselves weavers, made their appearance. They gave out that they knew how to weave stuffs of the most beautiful colors and elaborate patterns, the clothes manufactured from which should have the wonderful property of remaining invisible to everyone who was unfit for the office he held, or who was extraordinarily simple in character.
"These must, indeed, be splendid clothes!" thought the Emperor. "Had I such a suit, I might at once find out what men in my realms are unfit for their office, and also be able to distinguish the wise from the foolish! This stuff must be woven for me immediately." And he caused large sums of money to be given to both the weavers in order that they might begin their work directly.
So the two pretended weavers set up two looms, and affected to work very busily, though in reality they did nothing at all. They asked for the most delicate silk and the purest gold thread; put both into their own knapsacks; and then continued their pretended work at the empty looms until late at night.
"I should like to know how the weavers are getting on with my cloth," said the Emperor to himself, after some little time had elapsed; he was, however, rather embarrassed, when he remembered that a simpleton, or one unfit for his office, would be unable to see the manufacture. To be sure, he thought he had nothing to risk in his own person; but yet, he would prefer sending somebody else, to bring him intelligence about the weavers, and their work, before he troubled himself in the affair. All the people throughout the city had heard of the wonderful property the cloth was to possess; and all were anxious to learn how wise, or how ignorant, their neighbors might prove to be.
"I will send my faithful old minister to the weavers," said the Emperor at last, after some deliberation, "he will be best able to see how the cloth looks; for he is a man of sense, and no one can be more suitable for his office than he is."
So the faithful old minister went into the hall, where the knaves were working with all their might, at their empty looms. "What can be the meaning of this?" thought the old man, opening his eyes very wide. "I cannot discover the least bit of thread on the looms." However, he did not express his thoughts aloud.
The impostors requested him very courteously to be so good as to come nearer their looms; and then asked him whether the design pleased him, and whether the colors were not very beautiful; at the same time pointing to the empty frames. The poor old minister looked and looked, he could not discover anything on the looms, for a very good reason, viz: there was nothing there. "What!" thought he again. "Is it possible that I am a simpleton? I have never thought so myself; and no one must know it now if I am so. Can it be, that I am unfit for my office? No, that must not be said either. I will never confess that I could not see the stuff."
"Well, Sir Minister!" said one of the knaves, still pretending to work. "You do not say whether the stuff pleases you."
"Oh, it is excellent!" replied the old minister, looking at the loom through his spectacles. "This pattern, and the colors, yes, I will tell the Emperor without delay, how very beautiful I think them."
"We shall be much obliged to you," said the impostors, and then they named the different colors and described the pattern of the pretended stuff. The old minister listened attentively to their words, in order that he might repeat them to the Emperor; and then the knaves asked for more silk and gold, saying that it was necessary to complete what they had begun. However, they put all that was given them into their knapsacks; and continued to work with as much apparent diligence as before at their empty looms.
The Emperor now sent another officer of his court to see how the men were getting on, and to ascertain whether the cloth would soon be ready. It was just the same with this gentleman as with the minister; he surveyed the looms on all sides, but could see nothing at all but the empty frames.
"Does not the stuff appear as beautiful to you, as it did to my lord the minister?" asked the impostors of the Emperor's second ambassador; at the same time making the same gestures as before, and talking of the design and colors which were not there.
"I certainly am not stupid!" thought the messenger. "It must be, that I am not fit for my good, profitable office! That is very odd; however, no one shall know anything about it." And accordingly he praised the stuff he could not see, and declared that he was delighted with both colors and patterns. "Indeed, please your Imperial Majesty," said he to his sovereign when he returned, "the cloth which the weavers are preparing is extraordinarily magnificent."
The whole city was talking of the splendid cloth which the Emperor had ordered to be woven at his own expense.
And now the Emperor himself wished to see the costly manufacture, while it was still in the loom. Accompanied by a select number of officers of the court, among whom were the two honest men who had already admired the cloth, he went to the crafty impostors, who, as soon as they were aware of the Emperor's approach, went on working more diligently than ever; although they still did not pass a single thread through the looms.
"Is not the work absolutely magnificent?" said the two officers of the crown, already mentioned. "If your Majesty will only be pleased to look at it! What a splendid design! What glorious colors!" and at the same time they pointed to the empty frames; for they imagined that everyone else could see this exquisite piece of workmanship.
"How is this?" said the Emperor to himself. "I can see nothing! This is indeed a terrible affair! Am I a simpleton, or am I unfit to be an Emperor? That would be the worst thing that could happen—Oh! the cloth is charming," said he, aloud. "It has my complete approbation." And he smiled most graciously, and looked closely at the empty looms; for on no account would he say that he could not see what two of the officers of his court had praised so much. All his retinue now strained their eyes, hoping to discover something on the looms, but they could see no more than the others; nevertheless, they all exclaimed, "Oh, how beautiful!" and advised his majesty to have some new clothes made from this splendid material, for the approaching procession. "Magnificent! Charming! Excellent!" resounded on all sides; and everyone was uncommonly gay. The Emperor shared in the general satisfaction; and presented the impostors with the riband of an order of knighthood, to be worn in their button-holes, and the title of "Gentlemen Weavers."
The rogues sat up the whole of the night before the day on which the procession was to take place, and had sixteen lights burning, so that everyone might see how anxious they were to finish the Emperor's new suit. They pretended to roll the cloth off the looms; cut the air with their scissors; and sewed with needles without any thread in them. "See!" cried they, at last. "The Emperor's new clothes are ready!"
And now the Emperor, with all the grandees of his court, came to the weavers; and the rogues raised their arms, as if in the act of holding something up, saying, "Here are your Majesty's trousers! Here is the scarf! Here is the mantle! The whole suit is as light as a cobweb; one might fancy one has nothing at all on, when dressed in it; that, however, is the great virtue of this delicate cloth."
"Yes indeed!" said all the courtiers, although not one of them could see anything of this exquisite manufacture.
"If your Imperial Majesty will be graciously pleased to take off your clothes, we will fit on the new suit, in front of the looking glass."
The Emperor was accordingly undressed, and the rogues pretended to array him in his new suit; the Emperor turning round, from side to side, before the looking glass.
"How splendid his Majesty looks in his new clothes, and how well they fit!" everyone cried out. "What a design! What colors! These are indeed royal robes!"
"The canopy which is to be borne over your Majesty, in the procession, is waiting," announced the chief master of the ceremonies.
"I am quite ready," answered the Emperor. "Do my new clothes fit well?" asked he, turning himself round again before the looking glass, in order that he might appear to be examining his handsome suit.
The lords of the bedchamber, who were to carry his Majesty's train felt about on the ground, as if they were lifting up the ends of the mantle; and pretended to be carrying something; for they would by no means betray anything like simplicity, or unfitness for their office.
So now the Emperor walked under his high canopy in the midst of the procession, through the streets of his capital; and all the people standing by, and those at the windows, cried out, "Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor's new clothes! What a magnificent train there is to the mantle; and how gracefully the scarf hangs!" in short, no one would allow that he could not see these much-admired clothes; because, in doing so, he would have declared himself either a simpleton or unfit for his office. Certainly, none of the Emperor's various suits, had ever made so great an impression, as these invisible ones.
"But the Emperor has nothing at all on!" said a little child.
"Listen to the voice of innocence!" exclaimed his father; and what the child had said was whispered from one to another.
"But he has nothing at all on!" at last cried out all the people. The Emperor was vexed, for he knew that the people were right; but he thought the procession must go on now! And the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to appear holding up a train, although, in reality, there was no train to hold.
The Swineherd (story by: Hans Christian Andersen)
THE SWINEHERD
There was once a poor Prince, who had a kingdom. His kingdom was very small, but still quite large enough to marry upon; and he wished to marry.
It was certainly rather cool of him to say to the Emperor's daughter, "Will you have me?" But so he did; for his name was renowned far and wide; and there were a hundred princesses who would have answered, "Yes!" and "Thank you kindly." We shall see what this princess said.
Listen!
It happened that where the Prince's father lay buried, there grew a rose tree—a most beautiful rose tree, which blossomed only once in every five years, and even then bore only one flower, but that was a rose! It smelt so sweet that all cares and sorrows were forgotten by him who inhaled its fragrance.
And furthermore, the Prince had a nightingale, who could sing in such a manner that it seemed as though all sweet melodies dwelt in her little throat. So the Princess was to have the rose, and the nightingale; and they were accordingly put into large silver caskets, and sent to her.
The Emperor had them brought into a large hall, where the Princess was playing at "Visiting," with the ladies of the court; and when she saw the caskets with the presents, she clapped her hands for joy.
"Ah, if it were but a little pussy-cat!" said she; but the rose tree, with its beautiful rose came to view.
"Oh, how prettily it is made!" said all the court ladies.
"It is more than pretty," said the Emperor, "it is charming!"
But the Princess touched it, and was almost ready to cry.
"Fie, papa!" said she. "It is not made at all, it is natural!"
"Let us see what is in the other casket, before we get into a bad humor," said the Emperor. So the nightingale came forth and sang so delightfully that at first no one could say anything ill-humored of her.
"Superbe! Charmant!" exclaimed the ladies; for they all used to chatter French, each one worse than her neighbor.
"How much the bird reminds me of the musical box that belonged to our blessed Empress," said an old knight. "Oh yes! These are the same tones, the same execution."
"Yes! yes!" said the Emperor, and he wept like a child at the remembrance.
"I will still hope that it is not a real bird," said the Princess.
"Yes, it is a real bird," said those who had brought it. "Well then let the bird fly," said the Princess; and she positively refused to see the Prince.
However, he was not to be discouraged; he daubed his face over brown and black; pulled his cap over his ears, and knocked at the door.
"Good day to my lord, the Emperor!" said he. "Can I have employment at the palace?"
"Why, yes," said the Emperor. "I want some one to take care of the pigs, for we have a great many of them."
So the Prince was appointed "Imperial Swineherd." He had a dirty little room close by the pigsty; and there he sat the whole day, and worked. By the evening he had made a pretty little kitchen-pot. Little bells were hung all round it; and when the pot was boiling, these bells tinkled in the most charming manner, and played the old melody,
"Ach! du lieber Augustin,
Alles ist weg, weg, weg!"*
* "Ah! dear Augustine!
All is gone, gone, gone!"
But what was still more curious, whoever held his finger in the smoke of the kitchen-pot, immediately smelt all the dishes that were cooking on every hearth in the city—this, you see, was something quite different from the rose.
Now the Princess happened to walk that way; and when she heard the tune, she stood quite still, and seemed pleased; for she could play "Lieber Augustine"; it was the only piece she knew; and she played it with one finger.
"Why there is my piece," said the Princess. "That swineherd must certainly have been well educated! Go in and ask him the price of the instrument."
So one of the court-ladies must run in; however, she drew on wooden slippers first.
"What will you take for the kitchen-pot?" said the lady.
"I will have ten kisses from the Princess," said the swineherd.
"Yes, indeed!" said the lady.
"I cannot sell it for less," rejoined the swineherd.
"He is an impudent fellow!" said the Princess, and she walked on; but when she had gone a little way, the bells tinkled so prettily
"Ach! du lieber Augustin,
Alles ist weg, weg, weg!"
"Stay," said the Princess. "Ask him if he will have ten kisses from the ladies of my court."
"No, thank you!" said the swineherd. "Ten kisses from the Princess, or I keep the kitchen-pot myself."
"That must not be, either!" said the Princess. "But do you all stand before me that no one may see us."
And the court-ladies placed themselves in front of her, and spread out their dresses—the swineherd got ten kisses, and the Princess—the kitchen-pot.
That was delightful! The pot was boiling the whole evening, and the whole of the following day. They knew perfectly well what was cooking at every fire throughout the city, from the chamberlain's to the cobbler's; the court-ladies danced and clapped their hands.
"We know who has soup, and who has pancakes for dinner to-day, who has cutlets, and who has eggs. How interesting!"
"Yes, but keep my secret, for I am an Emperor's daughter."
The swineherd—that is to say—the Prince, for no one knew that he was other than an ill-favored swineherd, let not a day pass without working at something; he at last constructed a rattle, which, when it was swung round, played all the waltzes and jig tunes, which have ever been heard since the creation of the world.
"Ah, that is superbe!" said the Princess when she passed by. "I have never heard prettier compositions! Go in and ask him the price of the instrument; but mind, he shall have no more kisses!"
"He will have a hundred kisses from the Princess!" said the lady who had been to ask.
"I think he is not in his right senses!" said the Princess, and walked on, but when she had gone a little way, she stopped again. "One must encourage art," said she, "I am the Emperor's daughter. Tell him he shall, as on yesterday, have ten kisses from me, and may take the rest from the ladies of the court."
"Oh—but we should not like that at all!" said they. "What are you muttering?" asked the Princess. "If I can kiss him, surely you can. Remember that you owe everything to me." So the ladies were obliged to go to him again.
"A hundred kisses from the Princess," said he, "or else let everyone keep his own!"
"Stand round!" said she; and all the ladies stood round her whilst the kissing was going on.
"What can be the reason for such a crowd close by the pigsty?" said the Emperor, who happened just then to step out on the balcony; he rubbed his eyes, and put on his spectacles. "They are the ladies of the court; I must go down and see what they are about!" So he pulled up his slippers at the heel, for he had trodden them down.
As soon as he had got into the court-yard, he moved very softly, and the ladies were so much engrossed with counting the kisses, that all might go on fairly, that they did not perceive the Emperor. He rose on his tiptoes.
"What is all this?" said he, when he saw what was going on, and he boxed the Princess's ears with his slipper, just as the swineherd was taking the eighty-sixth kiss.
"March out!" said the Emperor, for he was very angry; and both Princess and swineherd were thrust out of the city.
The Princess now stood and wept, the swineherd scolded, and the rain poured down.
"Alas! Unhappy creature that I am!" said the Princess. "If I had but married the handsome young Prince! Ah! how unfortunate I am!"
And the swineherd went behind a tree, washed the black and brown color from his face, threw off his dirty clothes, and stepped forth in his princely robes; he looked so noble that the Princess could not help bowing before him.
"I am come to despise thee," said he. "Thou would'st not have an honorable Prince! Thou could'st not prize the rose and the nightingale, but thou wast ready to kiss the swineherd for the sake of a trumpery plaything. Thou art rightly served."
He then went back to his own little kingdom, and shut the door of his palace in her face. Now she might well sing,
"Ach! du lieber Augustin,
Alles ist weg, weg, weg!"
There was once a poor Prince, who had a kingdom. His kingdom was very small, but still quite large enough to marry upon; and he wished to marry.
It was certainly rather cool of him to say to the Emperor's daughter, "Will you have me?" But so he did; for his name was renowned far and wide; and there were a hundred princesses who would have answered, "Yes!" and "Thank you kindly." We shall see what this princess said.
Listen!
It happened that where the Prince's father lay buried, there grew a rose tree—a most beautiful rose tree, which blossomed only once in every five years, and even then bore only one flower, but that was a rose! It smelt so sweet that all cares and sorrows were forgotten by him who inhaled its fragrance.
And furthermore, the Prince had a nightingale, who could sing in such a manner that it seemed as though all sweet melodies dwelt in her little throat. So the Princess was to have the rose, and the nightingale; and they were accordingly put into large silver caskets, and sent to her.
The Emperor had them brought into a large hall, where the Princess was playing at "Visiting," with the ladies of the court; and when she saw the caskets with the presents, she clapped her hands for joy.
"Ah, if it were but a little pussy-cat!" said she; but the rose tree, with its beautiful rose came to view.
"Oh, how prettily it is made!" said all the court ladies.
"It is more than pretty," said the Emperor, "it is charming!"
But the Princess touched it, and was almost ready to cry.
"Fie, papa!" said she. "It is not made at all, it is natural!"
"Let us see what is in the other casket, before we get into a bad humor," said the Emperor. So the nightingale came forth and sang so delightfully that at first no one could say anything ill-humored of her.
"Superbe! Charmant!" exclaimed the ladies; for they all used to chatter French, each one worse than her neighbor.
"How much the bird reminds me of the musical box that belonged to our blessed Empress," said an old knight. "Oh yes! These are the same tones, the same execution."
"Yes! yes!" said the Emperor, and he wept like a child at the remembrance.
"I will still hope that it is not a real bird," said the Princess.
"Yes, it is a real bird," said those who had brought it. "Well then let the bird fly," said the Princess; and she positively refused to see the Prince.
However, he was not to be discouraged; he daubed his face over brown and black; pulled his cap over his ears, and knocked at the door.
"Good day to my lord, the Emperor!" said he. "Can I have employment at the palace?"
"Why, yes," said the Emperor. "I want some one to take care of the pigs, for we have a great many of them."
So the Prince was appointed "Imperial Swineherd." He had a dirty little room close by the pigsty; and there he sat the whole day, and worked. By the evening he had made a pretty little kitchen-pot. Little bells were hung all round it; and when the pot was boiling, these bells tinkled in the most charming manner, and played the old melody,
"Ach! du lieber Augustin,
Alles ist weg, weg, weg!"*
* "Ah! dear Augustine!
All is gone, gone, gone!"
But what was still more curious, whoever held his finger in the smoke of the kitchen-pot, immediately smelt all the dishes that were cooking on every hearth in the city—this, you see, was something quite different from the rose.
Now the Princess happened to walk that way; and when she heard the tune, she stood quite still, and seemed pleased; for she could play "Lieber Augustine"; it was the only piece she knew; and she played it with one finger.
"Why there is my piece," said the Princess. "That swineherd must certainly have been well educated! Go in and ask him the price of the instrument."
So one of the court-ladies must run in; however, she drew on wooden slippers first.
"What will you take for the kitchen-pot?" said the lady.
"I will have ten kisses from the Princess," said the swineherd.
"Yes, indeed!" said the lady.
"I cannot sell it for less," rejoined the swineherd.
"He is an impudent fellow!" said the Princess, and she walked on; but when she had gone a little way, the bells tinkled so prettily
"Ach! du lieber Augustin,
Alles ist weg, weg, weg!"
"Stay," said the Princess. "Ask him if he will have ten kisses from the ladies of my court."
"No, thank you!" said the swineherd. "Ten kisses from the Princess, or I keep the kitchen-pot myself."
"That must not be, either!" said the Princess. "But do you all stand before me that no one may see us."
And the court-ladies placed themselves in front of her, and spread out their dresses—the swineherd got ten kisses, and the Princess—the kitchen-pot.
That was delightful! The pot was boiling the whole evening, and the whole of the following day. They knew perfectly well what was cooking at every fire throughout the city, from the chamberlain's to the cobbler's; the court-ladies danced and clapped their hands.
"We know who has soup, and who has pancakes for dinner to-day, who has cutlets, and who has eggs. How interesting!"
"Yes, but keep my secret, for I am an Emperor's daughter."
The swineherd—that is to say—the Prince, for no one knew that he was other than an ill-favored swineherd, let not a day pass without working at something; he at last constructed a rattle, which, when it was swung round, played all the waltzes and jig tunes, which have ever been heard since the creation of the world.
"Ah, that is superbe!" said the Princess when she passed by. "I have never heard prettier compositions! Go in and ask him the price of the instrument; but mind, he shall have no more kisses!"
"He will have a hundred kisses from the Princess!" said the lady who had been to ask.
"I think he is not in his right senses!" said the Princess, and walked on, but when she had gone a little way, she stopped again. "One must encourage art," said she, "I am the Emperor's daughter. Tell him he shall, as on yesterday, have ten kisses from me, and may take the rest from the ladies of the court."
"Oh—but we should not like that at all!" said they. "What are you muttering?" asked the Princess. "If I can kiss him, surely you can. Remember that you owe everything to me." So the ladies were obliged to go to him again.
"A hundred kisses from the Princess," said he, "or else let everyone keep his own!"
"Stand round!" said she; and all the ladies stood round her whilst the kissing was going on.
"What can be the reason for such a crowd close by the pigsty?" said the Emperor, who happened just then to step out on the balcony; he rubbed his eyes, and put on his spectacles. "They are the ladies of the court; I must go down and see what they are about!" So he pulled up his slippers at the heel, for he had trodden them down.
As soon as he had got into the court-yard, he moved very softly, and the ladies were so much engrossed with counting the kisses, that all might go on fairly, that they did not perceive the Emperor. He rose on his tiptoes.
"What is all this?" said he, when he saw what was going on, and he boxed the Princess's ears with his slipper, just as the swineherd was taking the eighty-sixth kiss.
"March out!" said the Emperor, for he was very angry; and both Princess and swineherd were thrust out of the city.
The Princess now stood and wept, the swineherd scolded, and the rain poured down.
"Alas! Unhappy creature that I am!" said the Princess. "If I had but married the handsome young Prince! Ah! how unfortunate I am!"
And the swineherd went behind a tree, washed the black and brown color from his face, threw off his dirty clothes, and stepped forth in his princely robes; he looked so noble that the Princess could not help bowing before him.
"I am come to despise thee," said he. "Thou would'st not have an honorable Prince! Thou could'st not prize the rose and the nightingale, but thou wast ready to kiss the swineherd for the sake of a trumpery plaything. Thou art rightly served."
He then went back to his own little kingdom, and shut the door of his palace in her face. Now she might well sing,
"Ach! du lieber Augustin,
Alles ist weg, weg, weg!"
Friday, July 15, 2011
The Law of Motivation
been reading a book called: " The One-Life solution" by Dr. Henry Cloud.
often, when we forget that we are in charge of our own life, we drift into complainer's world. We complain about weather, complain about our boss, complain about our job, complain about anything..you name it.
The fact is that we forgot, or choose to forget that we are responsible for our own life. We are here by our choice. We have options. Not to rule out that "Man plans in his heart, but God direct his way". Put these two arguments in balance perspective, is what redefine our thoughts.
We can be more grateful, if we fully realize that we are here by our choice. We can be more motivated, when we fully aware that where we'll be tomorrow is also a vote where our voice matters.
Knowing that we choose our way, also give endurance to battle hardship, when it comes to pursuing our dream.
often, when we forget that we are in charge of our own life, we drift into complainer's world. We complain about weather, complain about our boss, complain about our job, complain about anything..you name it.
The fact is that we forgot, or choose to forget that we are responsible for our own life. We are here by our choice. We have options. Not to rule out that "Man plans in his heart, but God direct his way". Put these two arguments in balance perspective, is what redefine our thoughts.
We can be more grateful, if we fully realize that we are here by our choice. We can be more motivated, when we fully aware that where we'll be tomorrow is also a vote where our voice matters.
Knowing that we choose our way, also give endurance to battle hardship, when it comes to pursuing our dream.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Mengayomi
istilah keren buat mengayomi, mungkin bisa dipadankan dengan "Servant Leadership".
seorang pemimpin adalah orang yg mengayomi org2 yg dipimpinnya.
ingatlah bahwa ketika kita dipercaya untuk memimpin, org2 yg dipimpin akan menaruh ekspektasi pada diri kita. Kita diharapkan untuk mengayomi.
sy bukan ahli bahasa Jawa, namun sepengetahuan saya, memang inilah makna dari mengayomi.
mari kita tidak berhenti untuk belajar menjadi servant leader.
seorang pemimpin adalah orang yg mengayomi org2 yg dipimpinnya.
ingatlah bahwa ketika kita dipercaya untuk memimpin, org2 yg dipimpin akan menaruh ekspektasi pada diri kita. Kita diharapkan untuk mengayomi.
sy bukan ahli bahasa Jawa, namun sepengetahuan saya, memang inilah makna dari mengayomi.
mari kita tidak berhenti untuk belajar menjadi servant leader.
請你喝一杯咖啡
Qing Ni He Yi Bei Ka Fei
artinya:"gw traktir minum kopi"
seingat saya, kata-kata ini jarang kita temui di negri kita sendiri.
yg ada:"gw traktir makan", "gw traktir minum", dll
di Taiwan, ungkapan ini cukup sering kita temui.
Why?
Apakah berarti Kopi merupakan minuman elit di Taiwan?
sy ga bisa memberi jawaban objektif.
yg jelas, di toserba2 Taiwan, sering kita temui "Kopi Mandheling" dari Sumatra, di antara jajaran kopi2.
Sebenarnya, Indonesia dikenal sebagai penghasil Kopi papan atas, di kalangan masyarakat Internasional.
Boleh donk kita bangga.
Ada sekilas angan-angan untuk punya kebun kopi, disertai kolam ikan yg menggunakan pompa bertenaga surya. Kemarin kebetulan baru mengunjungi sebuah kolam percontohan di NTU (National Taiwan University). Di tengah kolam tersebut, terdapat pompa air yg digerakkan oleh panel tenaga matahari. Dengan demikian, ketika ada tenaga matahari yg cukup, maka pompa akan memompa air, menyemburkannya ke atas permukaan kolam, guna menambah kandungan oksigen pada perairan kolam. Solusi yg simple, namun cukup cerdas.
Otomasi dan Otoenergi pertanian, perikanan, peternakan, mungkin banyak peluang yg bisa kita gali.
artinya:"gw traktir minum kopi"
seingat saya, kata-kata ini jarang kita temui di negri kita sendiri.
yg ada:"gw traktir makan", "gw traktir minum", dll
di Taiwan, ungkapan ini cukup sering kita temui.
Why?
Apakah berarti Kopi merupakan minuman elit di Taiwan?
sy ga bisa memberi jawaban objektif.
yg jelas, di toserba2 Taiwan, sering kita temui "Kopi Mandheling" dari Sumatra, di antara jajaran kopi2.
Sebenarnya, Indonesia dikenal sebagai penghasil Kopi papan atas, di kalangan masyarakat Internasional.
Boleh donk kita bangga.
Ada sekilas angan-angan untuk punya kebun kopi, disertai kolam ikan yg menggunakan pompa bertenaga surya. Kemarin kebetulan baru mengunjungi sebuah kolam percontohan di NTU (National Taiwan University). Di tengah kolam tersebut, terdapat pompa air yg digerakkan oleh panel tenaga matahari. Dengan demikian, ketika ada tenaga matahari yg cukup, maka pompa akan memompa air, menyemburkannya ke atas permukaan kolam, guna menambah kandungan oksigen pada perairan kolam. Solusi yg simple, namun cukup cerdas.
Otomasi dan Otoenergi pertanian, perikanan, peternakan, mungkin banyak peluang yg bisa kita gali.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Awal dan Akhir
Setiap awal selalu ada akhir.
Hari ini ceritanya pindahan kantor. Bukan pindah kerja, tapi maksudnya gedung kantornya yg pindah.
jadilah hari ini kerja bakti, bersih2 kantor lama. Berhubung gedung kantor lama statusnya sewa. Ketika dikembalikan ke Penyewa, musti dalam keadaan rapi dan bersih.
Setelah semua OA (office accessories) dipindahkan. Tinggallah ruang-ruang kosong.
Saya baru 15 bulan bekerja di tempat ini. Namun sudah banyak kenangan terhadap tempat ini.
Di sela-sela bersih-bersih, saya sempat sekilah mendapati si Bos, duduk dan merenung. Tampaknya sedang "melow" mode on.
dari 2002, perusahaan ini dirintis, di gedung ini. Mulai dari satu petak, kemudian jadi 2 lantai, 3 lantai, sampai tahun kemarin menjadi 4 lantai. Tentu bagi beliau ini adalah tempat di mana ia telah berjuang banting tulang selama 8 tahun ini membangun perusahaan ini. Gimanapun, pasti ada suatu ikatan batin dengan gedung ini.
Kenyataan bahwa kami pindah ke kantor baru yg lebih luas, modern, dan bergengsi membuat momen ini menjadi momen untuk mengenang dan bersyukur, dan bukan mengenang dan menyesali.
Gedung kantor adalah sebuah benda fisik. Apa yg membuat kita akan rindu dengan gedung ini, sebenarnya adalah kehadiran rekan-rekan kerja kita.
Seringkali kita gunakan kata:
saya kangen rumah
saya kangen kampung halaman
saya kangen negri saya.
Walaupun secara linguistik, kalimat tersebut merujuk pada benda fisik, sebenarnya yg membuat tempat-tempat tersebut berartilah yg menggugah rasa kangen di hati kita.
Kebersamaan dengan teman-teman, suka dan duka, marahan dan baikan. It's all part of memory that make us misses that moment.
Sama halnya ketika kita ditinggalkan orang-orang yg kita kasihi. Kita besedih, menangis, karena walau secara fisik, tubuhnya masih di depan mata kita, secara kehadiran, dia tidak mungkin lagi bersama kita.
Di dunia religi, kehadiran ini identik dengan istilah roh. Kalo bahasa Inggrisnya: Spirit.
Kembali ke soal pindahan kantor tadi, Spirit dari gedung kantor lama, itulah yg akan membuat kita kangen.
Bayangkan kalo kita kangen, trus kembali ke gedung tersebut, sendiri.
Pasti kita akan merasa garing.
Ini bukti bahwa we miss the spirit, not the physical body.
Dulu saya sering menggunakan istilah Hadirat (English: Presence), tanpa mengerti makna yg terkandung di dalamnya.
Sekarang ketika menyebutkan istilah Hadirat, i know what it means.
Lalu apa hubungannya dengan Awal dan Akhir?
Ketika kita hidup sebagai makhluk sosial, ada waktu dimana kita mulai mengenal seseorang, dan mulai akrab. Lalu kita mulai merasakan hadirat teman kita tersebut.
Ketika kita berpisah karena satu dan lain hal, kita akan merasa kehilangan.
Ini adalah sesuatu yg wajar.
Bahwa segala sesuatu yg diawali, akhirnya akan berakhir.
Waktu sangat singkat. Kita tidak bisa membendung perubahan-perubahan yg dibawa oleh waktu. Namun, pastikan bahwa setiap waktu kita kelola menjadi momen-momen berharga.
Karena hadirat suatu saat pun akan berakhir. Kita hanya dapat mengelola sebaik-baiknya, dan bersyukur untuk setiap hadirat yg kita lalui bersama.
Dengan harapan, bahwa ketika akhirnya tiba, momen-momen itu menjadi kenangan manis dalam diri kita. Sama seperti hari ini menjadi momen yg manis bagi Bos saya, saya dan teman-teman kantor.
-Ajarilah kami menghitung hari-hari kami, agar kami beroleh hati bijaksana-
Hari ini ceritanya pindahan kantor. Bukan pindah kerja, tapi maksudnya gedung kantornya yg pindah.
jadilah hari ini kerja bakti, bersih2 kantor lama. Berhubung gedung kantor lama statusnya sewa. Ketika dikembalikan ke Penyewa, musti dalam keadaan rapi dan bersih.
Setelah semua OA (office accessories) dipindahkan. Tinggallah ruang-ruang kosong.
Saya baru 15 bulan bekerja di tempat ini. Namun sudah banyak kenangan terhadap tempat ini.
Di sela-sela bersih-bersih, saya sempat sekilah mendapati si Bos, duduk dan merenung. Tampaknya sedang "melow" mode on.
dari 2002, perusahaan ini dirintis, di gedung ini. Mulai dari satu petak, kemudian jadi 2 lantai, 3 lantai, sampai tahun kemarin menjadi 4 lantai. Tentu bagi beliau ini adalah tempat di mana ia telah berjuang banting tulang selama 8 tahun ini membangun perusahaan ini. Gimanapun, pasti ada suatu ikatan batin dengan gedung ini.
Kenyataan bahwa kami pindah ke kantor baru yg lebih luas, modern, dan bergengsi membuat momen ini menjadi momen untuk mengenang dan bersyukur, dan bukan mengenang dan menyesali.
Gedung kantor adalah sebuah benda fisik. Apa yg membuat kita akan rindu dengan gedung ini, sebenarnya adalah kehadiran rekan-rekan kerja kita.
Seringkali kita gunakan kata:
saya kangen rumah
saya kangen kampung halaman
saya kangen negri saya.
Walaupun secara linguistik, kalimat tersebut merujuk pada benda fisik, sebenarnya yg membuat tempat-tempat tersebut berartilah yg menggugah rasa kangen di hati kita.
Kebersamaan dengan teman-teman, suka dan duka, marahan dan baikan. It's all part of memory that make us misses that moment.
Sama halnya ketika kita ditinggalkan orang-orang yg kita kasihi. Kita besedih, menangis, karena walau secara fisik, tubuhnya masih di depan mata kita, secara kehadiran, dia tidak mungkin lagi bersama kita.
Di dunia religi, kehadiran ini identik dengan istilah roh. Kalo bahasa Inggrisnya: Spirit.
Kembali ke soal pindahan kantor tadi, Spirit dari gedung kantor lama, itulah yg akan membuat kita kangen.
Bayangkan kalo kita kangen, trus kembali ke gedung tersebut, sendiri.
Pasti kita akan merasa garing.
Ini bukti bahwa we miss the spirit, not the physical body.
Dulu saya sering menggunakan istilah Hadirat (English: Presence), tanpa mengerti makna yg terkandung di dalamnya.
Sekarang ketika menyebutkan istilah Hadirat, i know what it means.
Lalu apa hubungannya dengan Awal dan Akhir?
Ketika kita hidup sebagai makhluk sosial, ada waktu dimana kita mulai mengenal seseorang, dan mulai akrab. Lalu kita mulai merasakan hadirat teman kita tersebut.
Ketika kita berpisah karena satu dan lain hal, kita akan merasa kehilangan.
Ini adalah sesuatu yg wajar.
Bahwa segala sesuatu yg diawali, akhirnya akan berakhir.
Waktu sangat singkat. Kita tidak bisa membendung perubahan-perubahan yg dibawa oleh waktu. Namun, pastikan bahwa setiap waktu kita kelola menjadi momen-momen berharga.
Karena hadirat suatu saat pun akan berakhir. Kita hanya dapat mengelola sebaik-baiknya, dan bersyukur untuk setiap hadirat yg kita lalui bersama.
Dengan harapan, bahwa ketika akhirnya tiba, momen-momen itu menjadi kenangan manis dalam diri kita. Sama seperti hari ini menjadi momen yg manis bagi Bos saya, saya dan teman-teman kantor.
-Ajarilah kami menghitung hari-hari kami, agar kami beroleh hati bijaksana-
Friday, November 5, 2010
ke pasar
hari ini bangun jam 5 pagi. setelah menenangkan pikiran, sy memutuskan untuk jogging.
lari pagi keliling-keliling. Hal yg sudah berbulan-bulan tidak saya lakukan.
segar sekali rasanya bisa menghirup udara jam 6 pagi, dan melihat sisi lain dari pemukiman sekitar. Biasanya cuman lihat dijam 8 pagi, atau malam hari. Jam 6 pagi, memberikan kesan tersendiri.
seusai jogging, sy berkeliling ke pasar tradisional.
Pasar tradisional ini penuh dengan pedagang2 yg memulai hari mereka, di kala mentari masih belum menyingsing.
satu hal yg saya suka dari pasar tradisional adalah energinya. Setiap orang aktif bergerak. Ada yg datang dari jauh, membawa hasil kebunnya. Aroma sayur-mayur segar yg baru saja dipetik juga semerbak. Tentu tidak ketinggalan amis dari ikan dan daging yg dijual. Melihat giatnya para pedagang di pasar, membuat saya bersyukur dan juga bersemangat memulai hari.
Selama ini sarapan biasanya menu 7-11. Pagi ini sy coba-coba sarapan klasik ala pasar tradisional. Bubur+Ubi jalar, dan dua potong tahu, sambil menyimak berita BBC.
Olahraga, mengamati lingkungan sekitar, mencermati kehidupan di sekitar kita, sarapan tradisional, menyimak berita. Ketika kita produktif di pagi hari, semangat tersebut akan terus terbawa sepanjang hari. Beda halnya jika sy bangun kesiangan. Hiruk-pikuk motor dan mobil sudah meraung sana-sini, membuat sy merasa tergesa-gesa. Hari ini, saya merasa lebih produktif di kantor, bisa berpikir lebih jernih dan tenang, di tengah2 kesibukan dan tekanan pekerjaan. Dan mengakhiri hari dengan sebuah kepuasan tersendiri.
Buat saya, pergi ke pasar di subuh, merupakan salah satu bentuk refreshing tersendiri. Baik juga untuk melepaskan kepenatan di kantoran sehari-hari.
See the life from other perspective.
ada pepatah Cina kuno yg mengatakan:
satu jam di pagi hari, lebih bernilai daripada dua jam di malam hari.
sy merasa paling produktif di pagi hari. Artikel ini sy tulis untuk mengingatkan diri sy sendiri akan betapa berbedanya kita melihat dunia, jika saja kita mau bangun 1-2 jam lebih awal.
Perbedaan kecil-kecil dalam bagaimana kita memulai dan menjalani hari-hari kita, akan menbawa dampak signifikan seiring berjalannya waktu.
lari pagi keliling-keliling. Hal yg sudah berbulan-bulan tidak saya lakukan.
segar sekali rasanya bisa menghirup udara jam 6 pagi, dan melihat sisi lain dari pemukiman sekitar. Biasanya cuman lihat dijam 8 pagi, atau malam hari. Jam 6 pagi, memberikan kesan tersendiri.
seusai jogging, sy berkeliling ke pasar tradisional.
Pasar tradisional ini penuh dengan pedagang2 yg memulai hari mereka, di kala mentari masih belum menyingsing.
satu hal yg saya suka dari pasar tradisional adalah energinya. Setiap orang aktif bergerak. Ada yg datang dari jauh, membawa hasil kebunnya. Aroma sayur-mayur segar yg baru saja dipetik juga semerbak. Tentu tidak ketinggalan amis dari ikan dan daging yg dijual. Melihat giatnya para pedagang di pasar, membuat saya bersyukur dan juga bersemangat memulai hari.
Selama ini sarapan biasanya menu 7-11. Pagi ini sy coba-coba sarapan klasik ala pasar tradisional. Bubur+Ubi jalar, dan dua potong tahu, sambil menyimak berita BBC.
Olahraga, mengamati lingkungan sekitar, mencermati kehidupan di sekitar kita, sarapan tradisional, menyimak berita. Ketika kita produktif di pagi hari, semangat tersebut akan terus terbawa sepanjang hari. Beda halnya jika sy bangun kesiangan. Hiruk-pikuk motor dan mobil sudah meraung sana-sini, membuat sy merasa tergesa-gesa. Hari ini, saya merasa lebih produktif di kantor, bisa berpikir lebih jernih dan tenang, di tengah2 kesibukan dan tekanan pekerjaan. Dan mengakhiri hari dengan sebuah kepuasan tersendiri.
Buat saya, pergi ke pasar di subuh, merupakan salah satu bentuk refreshing tersendiri. Baik juga untuk melepaskan kepenatan di kantoran sehari-hari.
See the life from other perspective.
ada pepatah Cina kuno yg mengatakan:
satu jam di pagi hari, lebih bernilai daripada dua jam di malam hari.
sy merasa paling produktif di pagi hari. Artikel ini sy tulis untuk mengingatkan diri sy sendiri akan betapa berbedanya kita melihat dunia, jika saja kita mau bangun 1-2 jam lebih awal.
Perbedaan kecil-kecil dalam bagaimana kita memulai dan menjalani hari-hari kita, akan menbawa dampak signifikan seiring berjalannya waktu.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
mendengarkan
jadi ceritanya gini:
baru-baru ini kita menemukan bug (isu) di produk salah satu vendor kita.
Vendor ini adalah perusahaan multinasional yg cukup terkenal di bidang modul GPS.
Sebut saja vendor X.
Application Engineer di Vendor X ini, entah karena terlalu sibuk atau karena sikap yg tidak baik, bertindak seolah-olah tidak ada isu tersebut.
Setelah kami kirim balik modul itu, beliau bersikeras tidak ada masalah. Kemudian kami tantang metode troubleshootingnya. sangat tidak memuaskan. bahkan saya rasa testing di tempat kami jauh melebihi testing di tempat vendor X, padahal mereka adalah sang manufaktur.
Saya masih bisa maklum, karena mungkin si doi terlalu banyak case, jadi ga sempet bikin analisis mendalam. Beberapa hari kemudian, datanglah si doi, bersama, sebut saja Mr. R, yg mengaku bagian Business DEvelopment.
Dalam diskusi tersebut, Mr. R selalu mencekoki kami dengan dokumen2 yg mengkonfirmasi performance modul mereka. Sikap ini sangat arogan. Tim kami bertanya, bukan karena kami awam, atau tidak mengerti sama sekali teknologi GPS. Kami ingin berdiskusi dengan mereka. Namun dari Vendor X, sikap yg diberikan adalah "We know better than You. Just sit there and listen".
mereka mencekoki kami dengan fakta2 dari dokumen2. Dalam dunia engineering, dokumen adalah satu hal, performance dalam real case adalah hal lain. Akhirnya kami mengmabil sikap pasif, malas berdebat. Bug tersebut pun terbukti adalah Design Fault dari Vendor X. Namun mereka berusaha menghindar, dan tidak mau mengakui hal tersebut.
Hasilnya adalah, kami memblack-list vendor ini dari supplier list untuk produk-produk ke depan kami.
Moral of the story adalah: LIsten to your customer.
ini berlaku juga dalam hubungan antar sesama. Seringkali kita merasa hebat, dan tau segalanya. Sehingga ketika ada rekan bertanya, kita mencekoki mereka dengan fakta-fakta yg kita hafal dalam pemikiran kita. Seringkali mereka bertanya untuk berdiskusi. Namun jika kita mengambil sikap menguliahi, maka lawan bicara akan diam, pasif. Kita merasa makin hebat, karena mereka seperti terpesona oleh kepintaran kita, makin berkobar2 kita kuliahi mereka. Saya pun pernah bersikap seperti ini, dan mungkin juga tidak luput dari cacat ini.
Namun, saya menemukan bahwa ketika kita belajar mendengarkan, sebelum menyemburkan fakta2, kita akan lebih bijaksana. Seringkali saya menemukan bahwa penanya bukannya tidak tahu fakta2 tersebut, mereka hanya ingin bertukar pikiran. Jika kita sibuk menyemprot mereka, jadilah kita seperti katak dalam tempurung, rasa diri makin hebat, padahal pikiran kita makin sempit, dan terbatas.
besi menajamkan besi, manusia menajamkan sesamanya
Mari kita belajar menemukan kebenaran, lewat proses mengupas bawang. Satu per satu dipikirkan dan didiskusikan. Kebenaran yg sejati tidak pernah takut untuk dipertanyakan. Ia akan dengan rendah hati, membawa kita selangkah demi selangkah, makin menyadari betapa dalamnya Kebenaran itu. Ia tidak mencekoki dengan teori2, fakta2. Ia senang akan pertanyaan, karena melalui pertanyaan, akan ada proses berpikir yg menuntun pada Kebenaran itu sendiri.
inilah hikmah dari ilmu padi, makin berisi makin menunduk
makin berisi, makin tidak takut dipertanyakan
makin berisi, makin Ia terbuka untuk diskusi dan proses berpikir yang sehat.
baru-baru ini kita menemukan bug (isu) di produk salah satu vendor kita.
Vendor ini adalah perusahaan multinasional yg cukup terkenal di bidang modul GPS.
Sebut saja vendor X.
Application Engineer di Vendor X ini, entah karena terlalu sibuk atau karena sikap yg tidak baik, bertindak seolah-olah tidak ada isu tersebut.
Setelah kami kirim balik modul itu, beliau bersikeras tidak ada masalah. Kemudian kami tantang metode troubleshootingnya. sangat tidak memuaskan. bahkan saya rasa testing di tempat kami jauh melebihi testing di tempat vendor X, padahal mereka adalah sang manufaktur.
Saya masih bisa maklum, karena mungkin si doi terlalu banyak case, jadi ga sempet bikin analisis mendalam. Beberapa hari kemudian, datanglah si doi, bersama, sebut saja Mr. R, yg mengaku bagian Business DEvelopment.
Dalam diskusi tersebut, Mr. R selalu mencekoki kami dengan dokumen2 yg mengkonfirmasi performance modul mereka. Sikap ini sangat arogan. Tim kami bertanya, bukan karena kami awam, atau tidak mengerti sama sekali teknologi GPS. Kami ingin berdiskusi dengan mereka. Namun dari Vendor X, sikap yg diberikan adalah "We know better than You. Just sit there and listen".
mereka mencekoki kami dengan fakta2 dari dokumen2. Dalam dunia engineering, dokumen adalah satu hal, performance dalam real case adalah hal lain. Akhirnya kami mengmabil sikap pasif, malas berdebat. Bug tersebut pun terbukti adalah Design Fault dari Vendor X. Namun mereka berusaha menghindar, dan tidak mau mengakui hal tersebut.
Hasilnya adalah, kami memblack-list vendor ini dari supplier list untuk produk-produk ke depan kami.
Moral of the story adalah: LIsten to your customer.
ini berlaku juga dalam hubungan antar sesama. Seringkali kita merasa hebat, dan tau segalanya. Sehingga ketika ada rekan bertanya, kita mencekoki mereka dengan fakta-fakta yg kita hafal dalam pemikiran kita. Seringkali mereka bertanya untuk berdiskusi. Namun jika kita mengambil sikap menguliahi, maka lawan bicara akan diam, pasif. Kita merasa makin hebat, karena mereka seperti terpesona oleh kepintaran kita, makin berkobar2 kita kuliahi mereka. Saya pun pernah bersikap seperti ini, dan mungkin juga tidak luput dari cacat ini.
Namun, saya menemukan bahwa ketika kita belajar mendengarkan, sebelum menyemburkan fakta2, kita akan lebih bijaksana. Seringkali saya menemukan bahwa penanya bukannya tidak tahu fakta2 tersebut, mereka hanya ingin bertukar pikiran. Jika kita sibuk menyemprot mereka, jadilah kita seperti katak dalam tempurung, rasa diri makin hebat, padahal pikiran kita makin sempit, dan terbatas.
besi menajamkan besi, manusia menajamkan sesamanya
Mari kita belajar menemukan kebenaran, lewat proses mengupas bawang. Satu per satu dipikirkan dan didiskusikan. Kebenaran yg sejati tidak pernah takut untuk dipertanyakan. Ia akan dengan rendah hati, membawa kita selangkah demi selangkah, makin menyadari betapa dalamnya Kebenaran itu. Ia tidak mencekoki dengan teori2, fakta2. Ia senang akan pertanyaan, karena melalui pertanyaan, akan ada proses berpikir yg menuntun pada Kebenaran itu sendiri.
inilah hikmah dari ilmu padi, makin berisi makin menunduk
makin berisi, makin tidak takut dipertanyakan
makin berisi, makin Ia terbuka untuk diskusi dan proses berpikir yang sehat.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Konser Paduan Suara
Usai kerja, CEO, CTO, Kepala Admin, dan staf senior bagian produksi, kami berlima menghadiri konser paduan suara.
Harga tiket 240NTD (sekitar 75ribu IDR). Vicky, istri dari CEO kami, Andy, tampil dalam konser tersebut.
Ini pengalaman pertama saya nonton konser paduan suara. Konser ini digelar oleh perhimpunan guru musik, khususnya guru wanita. Ada sekitar 40 orang guru yg berpartisipasi. Di Taiwan, ketika seorang disapa sebagai guru, berarti dia punya keahlian teknik dan pengalaman yg mendalam di bidang tersebut. Sebagian besar mereka yg tampil malam ini lulusan jurusan musik luar negeri. Hadir pula konduktor nomer wahid seTaiwan yg adalah kakek guru dari Vicky.
Sebagaimana di negara-negara lain, sebagian besar ahli musik yg sampai belajar musik secara mendalam (red: ke luar negeri), datang dari kalangan menengah ke atas. Konser ini lebih merupakan konser yg dihadiri oleh kalangan keluarga, kerabat, dan komunitas dari guru-guru tersebut. Penonton yg hadir malam ini termasuk sangat berkelas. Namun, hal yg patut kita pelajari adalah, kesehajaan masyarakat Taiwan. Mereka tidak tampil dengan pernak-pernik mewah, tp dengan dandanan yg formal dan cukup good-looking saja. tidak berlebih-lebihan, walaupun dibalik semua itu, tersimpan "kesaktian" dan tidak jarang kekayaan material mereka masing-masing. CEO, CTO pun mengenakan seragam kantor yg sama dgn yg saya kenakan.
Selain momen berharga ini, ketika pulang dari konser, saya satu kereta dengan staf senior produksi. Usia beliau sama dengan usia ibu saya. 54 tahun tepatnya usia si tante. Beliau juga merupakan staff yg bergabung dari awal berdirinya perusahaan kami, 8 tahun silam. Beliau mengisahkan bahwa sebelum bekerja di tempat ini, beliau dan suami mengembangkan usaha di bidang plastik. Bekerja belasan jam sehari. Selain tidur, hanya bekerja. Beliau mengisahkan bahwa pada masa-masa awal berdirinya perusahaan kami, Andy pun bekerja belasan jam per hari. Usia Andy saat itu 24 tahun. Melihat perjuangan Andy, beliau kagum kepada anak muda yg satu ini. Banting tulang mengembangkan usahanya. Beliau sendiri sebenarnya bekerja di perusahaan kami, hanya untuk mengisi waktu senggang, daripada bengong di rumah. Perusahaan mereka sendiri beroperasi hingga 2 tahun yang lalu.
Melihat etos kerja masyarakat Taiwan, tidaklah heran jika mereka berevolusi dari bangsa nelayan menjadi bangsa hi-tech dalam kurun waktu 30 tahunan saja.
Beliau sempat nyeletuk, satu hal yg cukup menonjok buat saya jg. "Anak muda sekarang, begitu ada prestasi sedikit langsung kendor."
Ini juga mengingatkan saya akan semboyan "Raise your bar" yg menjadi slogan di GE.
Berapakah usia saya sekarang? Apakah saya sudah mengerahkan segenap tenaga saya untuk melangkah ke arah perwujudan cita-cita?
Harga tiket 240NTD (sekitar 75ribu IDR). Vicky, istri dari CEO kami, Andy, tampil dalam konser tersebut.
Ini pengalaman pertama saya nonton konser paduan suara. Konser ini digelar oleh perhimpunan guru musik, khususnya guru wanita. Ada sekitar 40 orang guru yg berpartisipasi. Di Taiwan, ketika seorang disapa sebagai guru, berarti dia punya keahlian teknik dan pengalaman yg mendalam di bidang tersebut. Sebagian besar mereka yg tampil malam ini lulusan jurusan musik luar negeri. Hadir pula konduktor nomer wahid seTaiwan yg adalah kakek guru dari Vicky.
Sebagaimana di negara-negara lain, sebagian besar ahli musik yg sampai belajar musik secara mendalam (red: ke luar negeri), datang dari kalangan menengah ke atas. Konser ini lebih merupakan konser yg dihadiri oleh kalangan keluarga, kerabat, dan komunitas dari guru-guru tersebut. Penonton yg hadir malam ini termasuk sangat berkelas. Namun, hal yg patut kita pelajari adalah, kesehajaan masyarakat Taiwan. Mereka tidak tampil dengan pernak-pernik mewah, tp dengan dandanan yg formal dan cukup good-looking saja. tidak berlebih-lebihan, walaupun dibalik semua itu, tersimpan "kesaktian" dan tidak jarang kekayaan material mereka masing-masing. CEO, CTO pun mengenakan seragam kantor yg sama dgn yg saya kenakan.
Selain momen berharga ini, ketika pulang dari konser, saya satu kereta dengan staf senior produksi. Usia beliau sama dengan usia ibu saya. 54 tahun tepatnya usia si tante. Beliau juga merupakan staff yg bergabung dari awal berdirinya perusahaan kami, 8 tahun silam. Beliau mengisahkan bahwa sebelum bekerja di tempat ini, beliau dan suami mengembangkan usaha di bidang plastik. Bekerja belasan jam sehari. Selain tidur, hanya bekerja. Beliau mengisahkan bahwa pada masa-masa awal berdirinya perusahaan kami, Andy pun bekerja belasan jam per hari. Usia Andy saat itu 24 tahun. Melihat perjuangan Andy, beliau kagum kepada anak muda yg satu ini. Banting tulang mengembangkan usahanya. Beliau sendiri sebenarnya bekerja di perusahaan kami, hanya untuk mengisi waktu senggang, daripada bengong di rumah. Perusahaan mereka sendiri beroperasi hingga 2 tahun yang lalu.
Melihat etos kerja masyarakat Taiwan, tidaklah heran jika mereka berevolusi dari bangsa nelayan menjadi bangsa hi-tech dalam kurun waktu 30 tahunan saja.
Beliau sempat nyeletuk, satu hal yg cukup menonjok buat saya jg. "Anak muda sekarang, begitu ada prestasi sedikit langsung kendor."
Ini juga mengingatkan saya akan semboyan "Raise your bar" yg menjadi slogan di GE.
Berapakah usia saya sekarang? Apakah saya sudah mengerahkan segenap tenaga saya untuk melangkah ke arah perwujudan cita-cita?
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
PMP under my Belt
Hari ini jerih lelah selama tahun 2005 - 2010, akhirnya divalidasi dengan sertifikasi PMP.
Banyak pengorbanan yg sudah dijalani, dari belajar buat ujian semester dalam angkot, begadang mengkoordinir pelaksanaan dilapangan, sementara pagi besok ujian, menghadapi kepala preman stasiun Hall, Bandung, ketiduran pas kuliah, banyak lagi kisah yg tak terlupakan lainnya. Semua itu mengukuhkan pengalaman dan kompetensi dalam dunia manajemen proyek.
Mulai dari proyek instalasi peralatan medis di rumah sakit tanah air, sampai proyek pengembangan devais pelacak di Taiwan. Setiap momen punya ceritanya sendiri.
Hari ini saya menjalani ujian online Prometric, untuk mendapatkan sertifikasi Project Management Professional (PMP) dari Project Management Institute.
Sertifikasi ini diakui secara internasional. Terlebih lagi di dunia hi-tech, di mana perusahaan hidup dari proyek-proyek bersama kliennya.
Ini adalah sebuah langkah awal. CEO dan Vice President tempat saya bekerja, keduanya pernah mendalami PMP. Dan saya melihat bahwa PMP memberikan fondasi yg tidak kalah kuatnya dibanding dengan program MBA. MBA dalam industri HI-tech seringkali tidak dapat beradaptasi dengan tuntutan inovasi dan kecepatan perubahan di dunia Hi-tech.
Hal ini dikukuhkan dengan komentar dari profesor manajemen salah satu universitas di Taiwan (teman satu angkatan PMP saya).
mungkin tidak lah berlebihan jika PMP dinobatkan sebagai Master in Hi-Tech Business Administration. Mungkin tahun-tahun mendatang, akan ada gelar MHBA sejajar dengan gelar MBA)
Banyak pengorbanan yg sudah dijalani, dari belajar buat ujian semester dalam angkot, begadang mengkoordinir pelaksanaan dilapangan, sementara pagi besok ujian, menghadapi kepala preman stasiun Hall, Bandung, ketiduran pas kuliah, banyak lagi kisah yg tak terlupakan lainnya. Semua itu mengukuhkan pengalaman dan kompetensi dalam dunia manajemen proyek.
Mulai dari proyek instalasi peralatan medis di rumah sakit tanah air, sampai proyek pengembangan devais pelacak di Taiwan. Setiap momen punya ceritanya sendiri.
Hari ini saya menjalani ujian online Prometric, untuk mendapatkan sertifikasi Project Management Professional (PMP) dari Project Management Institute.
Sertifikasi ini diakui secara internasional. Terlebih lagi di dunia hi-tech, di mana perusahaan hidup dari proyek-proyek bersama kliennya.
Ini adalah sebuah langkah awal. CEO dan Vice President tempat saya bekerja, keduanya pernah mendalami PMP. Dan saya melihat bahwa PMP memberikan fondasi yg tidak kalah kuatnya dibanding dengan program MBA. MBA dalam industri HI-tech seringkali tidak dapat beradaptasi dengan tuntutan inovasi dan kecepatan perubahan di dunia Hi-tech.
Hal ini dikukuhkan dengan komentar dari profesor manajemen salah satu universitas di Taiwan (teman satu angkatan PMP saya).
mungkin tidak lah berlebihan jika PMP dinobatkan sebagai Master in Hi-Tech Business Administration. Mungkin tahun-tahun mendatang, akan ada gelar MHBA sejajar dengan gelar MBA)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
5 lagi
Pagi ini bangun jam 5 lagi.
Dalam 1 jam mereview materi PMP, merencanakan strategi, menulis perencanaan pemanfaatan waktu hari ini. Push-up 1 set.
6.30.
It's awesome so much things we get done, if only we wakes up 1-2 hours earlier.
Dalam 1 jam mereview materi PMP, merencanakan strategi, menulis perencanaan pemanfaatan waktu hari ini. Push-up 1 set.
6.30.
It's awesome so much things we get done, if only we wakes up 1-2 hours earlier.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
One Brick Entrepreneurs 101006
Orang adalah milik perusahaan yg paling penting.
Perusahaan yg berbesar hati dalam meningkatkan daya kerja, keterampilan dan moral pekerjanya, niscaya tidak akan kekurangan orang-orang terbaik yg bekerja baginya dan menghebatkannya.
Perusahaan yg berbesar hati dalam meningkatkan daya kerja, keterampilan dan moral pekerjanya, niscaya tidak akan kekurangan orang-orang terbaik yg bekerja baginya dan menghebatkannya.
ICE 2008 a draft
Ceritanya diminta untuk bikin artikel, membagikan pengalaman ICE (Indonesian Culture Exhibition) 2008 di kampus NTUST.
ada beberapa ide, jadi sy tuangkan di sini aja, sekalian jadi kanvas buat scribbl-ing ide2...
langsung aja...ga pake lama...
A door to the heart of NTUST. That's what comes to my mind when i think of ICE 2008. I was part of the ICE committee, in charged of Equipments team(stage, sound system, chairs, tables, billboard, anything that can be categorized as one). It means I need to contact many people, find resources, negotiate, and put them all together in time, and on spot. I and my teammate went to library basement to find loudspeaker, rushed to student affairs to book class room for rehearsing, negotiate with banner publisher at Post office basement cafeteria, juggling through campus buildings and offices. From all of these encounters, I met with NTUST front-line workers, up to leading authorities. I was amazed by the attitude of NTUST employees, which gives such warmth welcome and support to our needs, despite our lack of Chinese proficiency. There were lots of 比手劃腳 moments that make me smile now, as i ponder those days. The front-line employees attitude reflects morale of the entire organization, I believe. It is indeed true, when i met authorities at OIA, Student Affairs, and Faculty members.
Along with these awesome support from NTUST as an organization, ICE 2008 gave us chances to interact with NTUST students. NTUST becomes our home away from home with their warmth friendship. I and my friend Sandy were asked to anchor ICE, a couple weeks before d-day. Me and Sandy met with Ann, a warm and friendly NTUST fellow. She introduces us to local daily life and custom, growing our appreciation on Taiwanese culture and way of life. I am astonished by NTUST vision on internationalization. We met as students, learnt and aspired each other culture and uniqueness, enhancing global perspective. After graduating from NTUST, as today's students metamorphose into tomorrow's leaders, these precious moments treasured on NTUST village, will surely bridge the two great nation: Indonesian and Taiwanese for mutual understanding, as the citizen of the world. Amigos Para Siempre.
-wes ngono wae. matur nuwun-
ada beberapa ide, jadi sy tuangkan di sini aja, sekalian jadi kanvas buat scribbl-ing ide2...
langsung aja...ga pake lama...
A door to the heart of NTUST. That's what comes to my mind when i think of ICE 2008. I was part of the ICE committee, in charged of Equipments team(stage, sound system, chairs, tables, billboard, anything that can be categorized as one). It means I need to contact many people, find resources, negotiate, and put them all together in time, and on spot. I and my teammate went to library basement to find loudspeaker, rushed to student affairs to book class room for rehearsing, negotiate with banner publisher at Post office basement cafeteria, juggling through campus buildings and offices. From all of these encounters, I met with NTUST front-line workers, up to leading authorities. I was amazed by the attitude of NTUST employees, which gives such warmth welcome and support to our needs, despite our lack of Chinese proficiency. There were lots of 比手劃腳 moments that make me smile now, as i ponder those days. The front-line employees attitude reflects morale of the entire organization, I believe. It is indeed true, when i met authorities at OIA, Student Affairs, and Faculty members.
Along with these awesome support from NTUST as an organization, ICE 2008 gave us chances to interact with NTUST students. NTUST becomes our home away from home with their warmth friendship. I and my friend Sandy were asked to anchor ICE, a couple weeks before d-day. Me and Sandy met with Ann, a warm and friendly NTUST fellow. She introduces us to local daily life and custom, growing our appreciation on Taiwanese culture and way of life. I am astonished by NTUST vision on internationalization. We met as students, learnt and aspired each other culture and uniqueness, enhancing global perspective. After graduating from NTUST, as today's students metamorphose into tomorrow's leaders, these precious moments treasured on NTUST village, will surely bridge the two great nation: Indonesian and Taiwanese for mutual understanding, as the citizen of the world. Amigos Para Siempre.
-wes ngono wae. matur nuwun-
Monday, September 20, 2010
5 pagi pada 20 Sep
Jump out of Bed
ignore the clock itself.
indeed i did my iron, and finish a chapter of Crosswind, before going to office.
good start. keep going on.
ignore the clock itself.
indeed i did my iron, and finish a chapter of Crosswind, before going to office.
good start. keep going on.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Early Birds get the Worms
Tantangan untuk bangun jam 5 pagi,selama seminggu.
Bangun lebih pagi, telah sy buktikan sendiri menambah produktivitas dan dapat meningkatkan kualitas hidup.
Kebiasaan tersebut telah hilang, semenjak sy bekerja.
Resolusi hari ini adalah: kembali ke kebiasaan bangun jam 5.
Saya mengganti Music di Alarm,
Tidur lebih awal,
Tugas pertama di pagi hari, untuk bisa mengukur produktivitas:
PushUp 3 set x 12
Crosswind 3500 online, 1 sesi.
ITTO satu process Group, rewrite.
Bangun lebih pagi, telah sy buktikan sendiri menambah produktivitas dan dapat meningkatkan kualitas hidup.
Kebiasaan tersebut telah hilang, semenjak sy bekerja.
Resolusi hari ini adalah: kembali ke kebiasaan bangun jam 5.
Saya mengganti Music di Alarm,
Tidur lebih awal,
Tugas pertama di pagi hari, untuk bisa mengukur produktivitas:
PushUp 3 set x 12
Crosswind 3500 online, 1 sesi.
ITTO satu process Group, rewrite.
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