Finite Disappointments

A beaver’s skill in building a dam is only as good as the tree parts that are used to construct it. The flair that comes with its innate skill is only matched by the propensity flaunted to attain the finesse in which the twigs, the branches and the stems can offer.

This was how I perceived the interaction between the participants when I attended my company’s Regional Demand Summit held in Singapore a few days ago. The water embodies the market where we work in. The twigs personify our regional counterparts. The beaver exemplifies us, the demand planners.

It was my first business trip with the company and I was extremely excited and motivated, but not before skirting precariously on the edge of disenchantment. It was a huge step in strengthening our relations. I never would have imagined that meeting all these individuals could really augment our collaboration to new heights. The mere act of just setting the faces to the many names, e-mails and voices that I have been working with for the last year can truly propel our bond with each other by leaps and bounds.

Furthered by the fact that the last summit was held 7 years ago, it was high time the regional office thought it proper to assemble all the demand planners collectively under one roof to align on new regional objectives, leverage on best practices and devise innovative solutions to improve performance. With a new futurist avant-garde at the nexus of the regional vessel, it was inevitable this summit ensued.

Underlining all these, there were a few events which occurred that I will deem as sweet memories…

Suffice to say that I was privileged to have the acquaintance of someone of high import. The circumstances that we interacted in and the revelation I acquired of the nature to his query of me was truly a sycophantic adulation indeed.

In a separate incident, I learned that what goes around will eventually come around. It was folly of me to even consider losing hope and succumbing to the song of the sirens. No good work will go unnoticed or unrewarded. It was truly gratifying when I learned something sanguinely insightful of myself through the custodian of my providential fate from a provincial comrade.

Be that as it may, I am convinced now I have found the answer to the question of my verdict not so long ago when I exchanged my sword for a rapier.

Ultimately, as a human life in verity, we must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.

The Absence of Reality

I learned a lot about myself in the last week. I realized that somehow I may need to compromise my nature in order to better coalesce with my contiguous environment. Sometimes, it is these innocent adages expressed by sympathetic souls and their solicitous ideals that lend to my self-imposed reflection. It is not a path I wish to tread but it is also not a path I can afford to stride through. Sometimes we trample on the path we chose to walk, only to comprehend that the path now left behind is secreted from the next hiker.

At first I was contented in jubilant reverie. Later, I realized it was all ephemeral. The fleeting rickety of my familiar persona was nullified into oblivion. The void of my abysmal emptiness has left me with a smear. The blemish is now irrepressible. I can choose to let it steer my ship's course as that would seem the wiser choice or I can dictate the consequences of these imparted adages to affix a sense of worth into my moral fiber.

In another contemporaneous reality, I discovered a revelation. The Rays of perpetual brilliance has been glittered down to only a glancing glint. What was formerly a luminous and radiant beacon of latent amity is now only an ordinary flicker. The Rays have become the Ruins of a crumbling foundation of familiarity. I have seen what the long years will do to it and can only regret when I've trespassed this sanctuary. These Ruins will fade in time and become only a footnote in the annals of history for departed devotion.

I now look to the near horizon. Into the crashing waves from the Sea of infinite reaches of likelihood. The Sea will provide the breeze that I need to weather the searing heat predicted in the days ahead. This Sea will also bring forth the Sand that will become the foundation to my feet, to soften when I'm laden with burden, to harden when I dash for the victory lap, and to caress with its coarseness when I need my scars to be smoothed.

Most importantly, I look to my Cavalcade for the definitive answer. I am still learning how to lead this procession because as of late, the columns of dedication have been faltering but I stand resolute at the point. I will not yield in the face of expected impediment, like all other pilgrimages. For inside the lead caravan lies my only hope of Conscience that will lead me back to idyllic reality.

In the months ahead, I have to constantly remind myself that happiness is just an illusion caused by the temporary absence of reality.

Being Alive

It has been almost a week since I experienced one of the most enlivening and gripping trips with a bunch of people in a long time. It still feels like the escapade only ended yesterday. The Sales & Marketing Company Conference was truly a magnificent jaunt. It was held at a land which I've visited thrice in a short space of 12 months...none other than the land below the wind, Sabah.

It was gratifying. The Conference exemplifies the very quintessence of mind and body revitalization. The abstract was a good year where we achieved all our major company objectives and performed above expectations. All these thanks to the great aspirations held by all who were involved.

It was edifying. While taking in the pleasures of the surrounding, we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Johnson's Baby No More Tears formula and brand. I learned that the eyes of a baby are the last senses to develop after birth. They have delayed "blink" response and are less able to protect their eyes from splashes and products. An infant's vision is nearsighted and is most developed at the periphery.

It was exhilarating. The activities laid out were so full of fun and excitement that I could hardly pause. I would have never imagined myself doing some of the things I did. Somehow, certain things were fated and all the trepidation was unfounded in the end. I even surprised myself and when it was over, I couldn't be more spirited than I allowed myself. Many others surprised me too.

It was invigorating. I love beaches and relish at the opportunity of basking in one whenever I can. The physical activities that came with it was also to my liking. Everything that was planned fell right into my very own puzzle of contentment. The energy harnessed from all these will provide me with enough supply of zeal and ardour for a considerable length of time.

Most important of all was the fostering of absolute amity. I learned more about the people in that 3 days than all the last 10 months put together since joining the team. I met many acquaintances and am able to put faces to the many names now whom I've been communicating with via electronic means for the last 10 months. I made many friends whom I feel are all a great bunch of colourful characters. Most valuable of all is that in this sea of precious stones, I discovered a few gems. These gems personifies the people that I will hold dear in my heart for a very long time. My only regret is not finding these gems earlier.

When all was said and done, I could only look forward to the next trip with these bunch of great characters. This episode of my life has really made me feel alive and I know its verve has changed me. My outlook on certain things have expanded and encompasses a greater deal of points in my board of fate threads.

It has revealed another part of myself, another card unfolded from my deck of intrepid disposition. Several incidents will form snapshots of assiduous lassitude and precariousness. The inertial upshot of the consequential horizon and ensuing probabilities may have far-reaching corollary. This is my choice.

I don't believe we are all looking for the meaning of life as much as looking for the experience of being alive.

Dancing In The Rain

That's all, 2008...hello there, 2009! How diminutive this statement is, yet its nuance so profound. To abridge the last 12 months of living, endeavours, disappointments, attainment, discontent, realization, angst and triumph into two (3) words: that's all - is such an understatement in bringing forward these cultured mementos into the new year.

Be that as it may, 2009 will indeed be a tumultuous and volatile affair indeed. Its very capricious nature will be true tests to all individuals, families, companies, corporations, governments and nations alike.

As a person, a citizen or an individual, how much do we know of the global economy today? Some will claim to know it all and rightly so, but others couldn't care less and that's where the danger lies. You have to plan right to make things happen for yourself. The world will not be so merciful in the many months ahead.

The face of global economy as we see it is changing. It is morphing into an unstoppable and cruel entity. It is currently in its state of sub-prime crisis. Banking illiquidity is sprouting everywhere. Falling asset prices are their best friends. The market volatility is sweeping across the continents and the tide of recession is already hitting major economies worldwide. High food prices is one of the major symptom and shaken consumer confidence one of the main reaction. Then there is of course the mounting of unemployment or underemployment. Headcount chop or headcount freeze if you're fortunate. Growth in nucleic economies and its dependent subsets are slowing down.

When I try to make sense of our economy in the next 12 months, here is what I thought:
It could be worse.
It is a game of survival.
Cash is king.
Delayed consumer spending.

To manage the hard times ahead, you have to switch your thinking cap from a micro view to a macro outlook. You have to think big. Ask yourself this: if you were an Executive Committee, the crème de la crème in your company, what would your top 3 priorities in managing the business in the next 12 months be?

I think you have to understand the bottomline and protect it. 2009 is not the year to grow the business, it is the year to protect the business. Protect the MNI. With lower A&P for most companies in 2009, they have to manage the SG&A. It is just not affordable to throw away the GP and spend on A&P. Cost cutting is another infamous method but just for the sake of being politically correct, we will call it optimized spending here. Selective investment is another way but can only be accomplished with the utmost discipline. Increasing productivity, not just in the sense of output from a factory but also in terms of work contribution is a key strategy. Less for more. Finally, the acquisition of company is a sure bet. You will see in the months ahead there will be major takeovers or merges worldwide. Cash is king and don't be surprised that an unknown royal in Eastern Europe, a sheikh from the Middle East or a multi-billionaire businessman from China suddenly buys over Citibank. Let's not go down the list of possibilities.

I do want to highlight that the electronic and electrical industry will be the first indication to be hit. When you have less money, luxury wants are the first to go from your shopping list. 45% of an individual's wants consist of electronic/electrical items alone. That says a lot.

Many people among us still believe we are immune to this global threat. Our nation's leaders claim that we will not be affected. I am unconvinced. In Q3 2008, our country's net real export of goods and services declined by 14% (vs. 20% growth in Q2). The Consumer Price Index soared to 8.4% in Q3 (vs. 4.8% in Q2), with a backdrop of GDP slowing down to between 4.5% and 5.0% by 2008 closing. For your info, our country's GDP is valued at approximately USD200 billion.

According to FMM (Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers), 4 straight quarter year-on-year decline in orders are to be expected in 2009. Last October, exports slid for the first time in 15 months. The numbers have been dipping since.

The chart above shows our GDP growth in 2007. Take a look at our 2008 GDP growth below:

This is a great example where two pictures paint a thousand words. The steep decline in our GDP within the last few months is staggering. Our government's GDP projection of 2009 closing is only at a 3.5% growth, mainly coming from their RM7 billion spending on infrastructure for 2009.

For the last 5 years, our nation has been experiencing a double digit spending growth vs. year-on-year until last October. For the first time in 5 years, our spending growth was flat and in November, it was negative. These are all signs of things to come. You may still see families flocking to shopping malls as though the global economic crisis never happened. That is because it is festive season now with Chinese New Year coming. Once that has passed, I will be very curious indeed to see what the latest numbers are.

We cannot continue to live our life thinking this nation is protected. We are the Top 30 trading countries in the world. Therefore, we cannot make stupid statements saying that although other key world economies are declaring recession, we will make it through the year without one.

In short, 2009 will not be business as usual. We have to make focused choices to maintain a healthy business and a sustainable livelihood.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Standing Still

It's been awhile since a movie can surprise me and watching how The Earth Stood Still today did just that tonight. The irony of watching an environmental themed movie at The Gardens? Priceless.

For starters, almost everybody in the world who's seen this movie are giving it a bad review. Rightly so:

1) Bad writing

2) Poor acting from the stars

3) Choppy flow

4) Weak continuity

5) Weak chemistry between actors

6) The final scene depiction of the "standing still" time lacked impact

Do I really care? No. There're too many movies being made lately for the sake of cashflow, publicity to launch an actor's career, bad propaganda, politics, and the list just goes on. But I had a good feeling about this movie tonight. I think Scott Derrickson and his team did a good job to deliver the theme to the world that is too arrogant to care.

If the Earth dies, you die. If the human race dies, the Earth survives.

Can you dispute this statement? I can't. If you've seen An Inconvenient Truth, you'd get my meaning. We are just too complacent. We are just too ignorant. We will not care until we feel the threat itself.

I think the movie is about a message to the audience. When David Scarpa wrote the screenplay, he didn't have any Oscar in mind. I think he's a believer of Earth, and Derrickson his disciple. Both wanted to remind the human race that we are very fragile and if we don't stand still and start realizing, we will never change. So what better way to get the message through than using the most powerful tool in the world? Media. Movie. The Silver Screen.

The scene that captivated me the most was the one at Professor Barnhardt's house. I will try my best to re-construct the conversation that took place to the best of my memory:

Barnhardt: You have to give us a chance, we will change.

Klaatu: The decision is made. It is too late.

Helen: You gotta give us a chance.

Klaatu: We have, for a very long time now.

Barnhardt: You just have to give us more time. At the brink of destruction, at the edge of existence, only will we change...tell me, how did you get to where you are?

Klaatu: Our circumstances were different. Our sun was dying. We had to evolve.

Barnhardt: Exactly. You were at the precipice. Therefore, you changed. We are at ours now, do not take that chance away from us. We will change. Give us the time.

Klaatu: [stares at Helen] Your professor is right. At the precipice, we change.

There is your revelation. I realized that in almost everything we do daily, we tend to stick to our norms. Rarely do we really sit back, sit still and reflect on our actions and consequences. We simply do not have the will, as a human race. But when pushed to the edge and tested, we will overcome. When taunted, we will rise. When we reach our "precipice", we change.

Klaatu: I will try to stop it. But it will change things around here forever.

Klaatu's words just before he activated The Sphere and disabled the mechanical bugs and just about everything that is machine or electronic on Earth. That's when you get your the world stood still climax scene. I thought it was beautifully done. I was beginning to wonder how does the title relate to the movie. Well, save the best for last.

I'm not saying this is a really good movie. I'm just saying that this movie isn't that bad until it deserves getting criticized by almost everybody who's seen it. You're missing the point. Then again, who really cares?

By the way, this movie is a remake of Edmund H. North's 1951 screenplay. It was based on a nuclear destruction theme. During that time, nuclear threat was the world's most visible threat. As you can see 5 decades on, we have changed. WE are the biggest and most visible threat to the world now. Hence, the environmental theme. Isn't that relevant? But no, movie critiques had to shoot Derrickson and his team down for changing the theme. Please see the irony he's trying to communicate to us.

I believe we have to start asking ourselves serious questions about our way of life. It may be hard. It may be over-reaction. But isn't it inevitable? Will we allow ourselves to be the fore-fathers of our children and children's childrens' sufferings? Have we been standing still and idling? What's stopping us from acting now, little by little? When will we reach our respective precipices? When I do, will I act?

I challange you all to act. Most of you will fail.

Of Saucers, Pencils and Shots

This year's Operations Annual Conference was a totally different experience for me. I did not have to organize it. I did not have to worry about everything and prepare for all possible scenarios and come up with BCPs. I did not have to work harder than I should be playing. I did not miss out all the fun team-building and bonding activities. I did not have to worry if someone is missing or the agenda is off-track. I did not have to ensure everybody is happy, as long as I am. I did not have to be the last to leave and made sure the place we left behind was in order. I did not have to worry if I could wake up the next day as long as I enjoyed the night before and went crazy.

The business portion of the trip was absolutely cracking. The involvement was twice much more than last year. The time-keeping was impeccably spot on. The senior leaders worked very hard on the workshop pre-work. They were flawless in executing the Conference's agenda and for that, the meeting ended on time and earlier than last year. We had more fun and time enjoying and playing this year than last year. Maybe it is just me feeling the huge difference.

There were great learnings. There were interesting observations. Plans went awry but nothing that is ever planned is perfect. We just have to pat ourselves in the back, close one eye if others didn't realize and rectify it internally. I was caught off-guard and given a surprise and I'm glad I managed to overcome the occasion and expectation and for that, I've learned and become wiser. I'm thankful for the opportunity given, the trust bestowed and the experience gained.

I saw some things that I knew would come sooner or later but didn't expect it to be so soon. But at the same time, I learned more about them all than I ever did in the last 12 months put together. I discovered what it takes to be there, to walk that path and to sustain the route taken.

Summary:

I learned that wisdom is earned, not given.

I realized that wise men speak because they have something to say and fools speak because they have to say something.

I recognized that I never worry about the height of things to come, only the width.

And finally...

I discerned that if age imparted wisdom, then there wouldn't be any old fools.

Sayings

Yesterday I learned that:

When life knocks you down to your knees, it is the perfect position to pray

Thank you for showing me the way and asking me questions that made me see clearer.

Stead of Virtue

God gave us friends for a reason.

It is not something seasonal, it is tangible.

They are the siblings I never have.

Among the reasons I treasure most is the fact how these special people in my life will often guide me back onto the true path when I go astray in actions, words, thoughts and spirit.

They act as a funnel to my improbabilities.

They become the filter to my naivete.

They are my life buoy when I drown in the ocean of self disparagements.

It's their honesty that captivates me.

It's their loyalty that enthralls me.

It's their candor that reminds me.

It's their sincerity that ensnares me.

I am adjudicator to nothing save my own ineptness. The stead of virtue is the inaction of denunciation itself. For this I am grateful to God that I was humbled.

Embers of Faith

It feels like nothing as you are ingenuously unimportant.

It feels like empowerment.

You share with them your point of view and tell them it is for them to decide.

It feels like perfidy, forsaken on a derelict starship in the coldness of the cosmos.

You start to envisage what would have been expressed; the possible and alternate ending.

When all your hopes and dreams are shattered with a double-edged word.

You start by realizing that your reality is very much discernible from truth than it is distorted.

By first writing the lyrics of compassion.

By trumping the temptation card.

It is like having penitence for breakfast, knowing you will not get atonement for dinner later.

Up above where I know the Lord will hear all my prayers.

It feels like lying to my soul.

When you feel the subtle sharp prod in your heart.

It feels like mocking the other in a satirically jesting demeanor.

Belief, religion, upbringing and a proving ground.

When hypocrisy dictates the better part of you.

It feels like tranquility...it takes everything you're made of...you look to yourself...when the candlewick of devotion is all but burnt...

I realized that having only the conclusion to my questions in trial did not suffice enough to placate my anxious soul. It did not garner me the intended closure I wished to seek. Thus, I forced myself to think deep these last few nights. Now, these answers harvested from my forced reflection has endowed me with greater clarity on how best to tread next. In time, I will learn how to flame the embers of faith from the ashes of departed devotion...

An Inconvenient Apology

How does it feel when you are indifferent?
How does it feel when you are callous?
What do you do when someone is ignorant?
How does it feel when you are left out cold?
What do you see when all you see is an empty screen?
How do you know when you are being stood up?
How can you learn if you can’t realize?
How must we sing the songs of forgiveness?
What other ways can you play the friendship card?
How does it feel when guilt has been served?
Where do you look when all you want to see is forward?
How does it feel when you look the other way in denial?
How do you know you have wronged someone?
How does it feel to patronize a friend?
What does it take to seek acknowledgement and responsibility?
When do you decide to play along in silent mockery?

How does it feel…what does it take…where do you look…when do you decide…?

Questions that kept flashing through my mind these last few days in snapshots of perpetuity and anonymity. I had no answers for these questions in trial. I searched deep within the recesses of my heart, I found no conclusion…till last night. Closure is what I seek to reminisce, to be at peace. When all was said and done, I could finally see that it was an inconvenient apology served…