In times like these, I look for inspiration from photos I have taken, but not too many recently. Theme for the day is ... Symmetry
Thought of the day : Symmetry completes the picture. Find your other half and let him / her complete the picture.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Its only Tuesday...
It felt like a whole week has passed ...
In times like these, I look for inspiration from photos I have taken, but not too many recently. Theme for the day is ... Symmetry
Thought of the day : Symmetry completes the picture. Find your other half and let him / her complete the picture.
In times like these, I look for inspiration from photos I have taken, but not too many recently. Theme for the day is ... Symmetry
Thought of the day : Symmetry completes the picture. Find your other half and let him / her complete the picture.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Solutions for a Small Planet
The processor took a break this weekend. I had a big workshop on Friday which was just completed and it drained every ounce of energy I had left. In the end, I hardly turned on my computer over the weekend, which turned out to be a good rest for me.
The phrase "Solutions for a Small Planet" I believe comes from IBM. I believe a long time ago, this was the catch phrase for the eCommerce revolution. If it is not the right party I am acknowledging, I apologise.
This phrase was in my head over and over again on Friday during the whole day workshop for my client. Everything we spoke about was to enable our client to develop a solution for the market and customer. The beauty about the telecommunications and IT industry is that both are areas where solutions developed are such an integral part of our lives now.
Wouldn't it be fun to develop solutions that are cheap and available to the public and benefit everyone?
+ Always on phones for the young child to mum and dad - press of a button to talk
+ Affordable computers to the entire nation, similar to the cheap computers in Africa
+ Broadband to everyone, mobility and broadband to every person, every where
+ Abolishing international phone rates which are ridiculously expensive
+ Abolishing roaming rates which are ridiculously expensive
+ Mobile TV for those who do not have time
+ No fixed line phones at home
+ Call conferencing for the family and friends
+ Two of you everywhere, anywhere, your virtual self
Solutions for a small planet.
Note : These were not the solutions we discussed in the workshop
The phrase "Solutions for a Small Planet" I believe comes from IBM. I believe a long time ago, this was the catch phrase for the eCommerce revolution. If it is not the right party I am acknowledging, I apologise.
This phrase was in my head over and over again on Friday during the whole day workshop for my client. Everything we spoke about was to enable our client to develop a solution for the market and customer. The beauty about the telecommunications and IT industry is that both are areas where solutions developed are such an integral part of our lives now.
Wouldn't it be fun to develop solutions that are cheap and available to the public and benefit everyone?
+ Always on phones for the young child to mum and dad - press of a button to talk
+ Affordable computers to the entire nation, similar to the cheap computers in Africa
+ Broadband to everyone, mobility and broadband to every person, every where
+ Abolishing international phone rates which are ridiculously expensive
+ Abolishing roaming rates which are ridiculously expensive
+ Mobile TV for those who do not have time
+ No fixed line phones at home
+ Call conferencing for the family and friends
+ Two of you everywhere, anywhere, your virtual self
Solutions for a small planet.
Note : These were not the solutions we discussed in the workshop
Monday, April 02, 2007
Mind Over Matter
A colleague of mine was expecting her first child due on April 12. She wanted to take leave only from this week onwards, ie. 1.5 weeks before her due date. She had a relatively comfortable pregnancy and we had planned for her transition and she also managed her workload well, and even up to last Friday, she was working late for a few nights to clear off her backlog. She was very relieved on Friday, and we commended her for meeting her KPI on target for the delivery. When I mentioned she will be so relieved off the load of expectations that she may give birth over the weekend. To that she mentioned, "...hope not on April Fool's day...".
She gave birth on April Fool's day. And still had the energy to SMS us all and responded to our messages! Congratulations!
My Rome trip has been cancelled due to unforseen circumstances. I am actually more relieved than annoyed with the cancellation and suddenly the whole of next week seems relatively free. As I said, it had to do with having the peace of mind to go.
It seems the mind does controls the outcome.
She gave birth on April Fool's day. And still had the energy to SMS us all and responded to our messages! Congratulations!
My Rome trip has been cancelled due to unforseen circumstances. I am actually more relieved than annoyed with the cancellation and suddenly the whole of next week seems relatively free. As I said, it had to do with having the peace of mind to go.
It seems the mind does controls the outcome.
Deconstructing The Glass Ceiling
The article below is excerpt from the edge about the same time I was reminded of the glass ceiling...
26 Mar 2007: Manager@Work: Deconstructing the glass ceiling
By Joyce Au-Yong Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com
Despite all the advances women have made in the workplace, a new study by Accenture titled The Anatomy of the Glass Ceiling: Barriers to Women's Professional Advancement provides evidence that there is a glass ceiling out there.
"In the survey, globally, women make up 45% to 50% of the workforce, but women at senior management levels make up only about 15%," Accenture's executive partner, Joan Hoi Lai Ping, told Manager@Work at a recent event held by the consulting firm to mark International Women's Day.
"That tells you that statistically, there is a glass ceiling." Just what constitutes this glass ceiling or invisible barrier that prevents women from getting ahead in business?
Accenture's study looked at three dimensions that would affect a woman's ability to move up the corporate ladder — individual (which includes career planning, assertiveness and ambition), society (equal rights, promotion programme, government support of parental leave), and company (having a fluid hierarchy, a supportive supervisor and transparent promotion processes).
A total of 1,200 male and female executives from eight countries in North America, Europe and Asia were asked to score these factors in terms of their importance in career success. The differences between the male and female scores were used to calculate the thickness of the glass ceiling — the higher the score, the thicker it is.
Three key trends emerged from the survey. First, 31% of females said internal support mechanisms such as mentoring and coaching within their organisations play a vital role in female advancement.
"A woman who joins the firm in her 20s is different from those in their 30s, 40s and 50s. In their 20s, they're just starting out, but in their 30s, motherhood affects the way they work," says Hoi.
"They have different requirements and commitments, and an organisation needs to be supportive of that." Supportive companies should allow mothers the flexibility to work from home, and to take time off from their career to be with their family, she adds. However, 60% of the female executives surveyed believe that companies are doing a better job than society in general to promote equality as a core value.
"Organisations, as they mature and become more competitive globally, will realise that retention of talent is important — including their women talent," says Hoi.
"Market forces will make it imperative for corporations to have diversity and inclusiveness." Surprisingly, gender is no longer seen as a career-limiting factor. Only 20% of men and women surveyed said gender limited their career advancement, while 35% of female respondents said gender had no effect on their career opportunities.
Interestingly, women in Australia and the Philippines were more likely than those in other countries to see their gender as a career advantage. The survey did not cover Malaysia or Singapore. Australia and the Philippines were the only two Asia-Pacific countries surveyed.
What advice does Hoi have for women to crack the glass ceiling? "... not to lose the support structure and your own determination to want to do something. There is a glass ceiling, statistically, and it's not easy for a woman to progress," she says. "But we should not take no for an answer — the glass ceiling is a minor inconvenience for us!"
26 Mar 2007: Manager@Work: Deconstructing the glass ceiling
By Joyce Au-Yong Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com
Despite all the advances women have made in the workplace, a new study by Accenture titled The Anatomy of the Glass Ceiling: Barriers to Women's Professional Advancement provides evidence that there is a glass ceiling out there.
"In the survey, globally, women make up 45% to 50% of the workforce, but women at senior management levels make up only about 15%," Accenture's executive partner, Joan Hoi Lai Ping, told Manager@Work at a recent event held by the consulting firm to mark International Women's Day.
"That tells you that statistically, there is a glass ceiling." Just what constitutes this glass ceiling or invisible barrier that prevents women from getting ahead in business?
Accenture's study looked at three dimensions that would affect a woman's ability to move up the corporate ladder — individual (which includes career planning, assertiveness and ambition), society (equal rights, promotion programme, government support of parental leave), and company (having a fluid hierarchy, a supportive supervisor and transparent promotion processes).
A total of 1,200 male and female executives from eight countries in North America, Europe and Asia were asked to score these factors in terms of their importance in career success. The differences between the male and female scores were used to calculate the thickness of the glass ceiling — the higher the score, the thicker it is.
Three key trends emerged from the survey. First, 31% of females said internal support mechanisms such as mentoring and coaching within their organisations play a vital role in female advancement.
"A woman who joins the firm in her 20s is different from those in their 30s, 40s and 50s. In their 20s, they're just starting out, but in their 30s, motherhood affects the way they work," says Hoi.
"They have different requirements and commitments, and an organisation needs to be supportive of that." Supportive companies should allow mothers the flexibility to work from home, and to take time off from their career to be with their family, she adds. However, 60% of the female executives surveyed believe that companies are doing a better job than society in general to promote equality as a core value.
"Organisations, as they mature and become more competitive globally, will realise that retention of talent is important — including their women talent," says Hoi.
"Market forces will make it imperative for corporations to have diversity and inclusiveness." Surprisingly, gender is no longer seen as a career-limiting factor. Only 20% of men and women surveyed said gender limited their career advancement, while 35% of female respondents said gender had no effect on their career opportunities.
Interestingly, women in Australia and the Philippines were more likely than those in other countries to see their gender as a career advantage. The survey did not cover Malaysia or Singapore. Australia and the Philippines were the only two Asia-Pacific countries surveyed.
What advice does Hoi have for women to crack the glass ceiling? "... not to lose the support structure and your own determination to want to do something. There is a glass ceiling, statistically, and it's not easy for a woman to progress," she says. "But we should not take no for an answer — the glass ceiling is a minor inconvenience for us!"
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Heading for Rome - Can I find my peace of mind?
Two and a half years ago, I was here, on this corridor leading to the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican in Rome. This was one of the most breathtaking corridors leading to the famous holy chambers.
In that business trip, my first and one of the far more stressful site visits for a client, I threw a coin over my shoulder at the Trevi Fountain, and my wish was to come back to the fountain with someone special.
Fast forward, this is where I will be heading to in the next one week - albeit different not too different circumstances, and definitely not a personal trip to the fountain with someone special.
This job has taken me to many places for both business and pleasure, and I have cleverly managed to mixed both together. Whilst many fancy such seemingly fancy lifestyle, let me inform those I know that every job carries it stress limits and responsibilities. Where I once looked forward to these "rewards" of the job, I now dread these trips as I find myself more and more unable to have the peace of mind to enjoy.
I am headed for Rome, but I am not sure if I can find my peace of mind.
A long forgotten friend in US pinged me a couple of days ago, and I am reminded of his words once, "this too shall pass".... what next then?
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