Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sigh..
I have not blogged for a while. Perhaps I have been busy, or perhaps, more likely, I have simply been devoid of thoughts. After 38years living on earth, one learns to accept certain realities, and learns to work around, work with and live with. There is little desire to change what is deemed un-changeable. I am sad about this. I see myself no longer growing up but rather growing old. My life is revolving around the pursuit of money, and also resolves around my children….the latter would have been very much desirable, if not for the fact that it resolves not so much around them per se but around their school work, tuition and enrichment classes.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Life Lessons
I met with a friend recently. It was an interesting and learning experience, which is ironic, because he had invited me to his office to learn from me something about handling legal and financial matters. David (not his real name) was retrenched from his job some years ago. He used his retrenchment benefits to become a minor shareholder/director in a logistics firm set up by his long-time friend. He encountered some legal issues along the way, and had sought me to give my personal advice.
When he briefed me of the situation that he was facing and showed me some of the documents, I was taken aback by the amateuristic manner in which the transaction, and indeed the company, was being run. For someone who has worked for most of my life in MNCs and GLCs, I am used to bureaucratic processes and corporate controls. So what I saw "brought me back to earth", because I also know that most small and medium enterprises lacked the resources and know-how to institutionalise even the most fundamental process for corporate governance, that in an MNC environment would constitute the minimum requirement to mitigate business risks. I started to suggest a number of solutions for him, but as I made my comments he responded with his own viewpoints. As an entrepreneur with a small business and limited resources, he had priorities and challenges that I could not imagine. Under such circumstances, administrative processes were the least of his concerns.
It became clearer as he spoke just who the teacher and who the student really was.
David revealed to me that in the immediate period after his retrenchment, he had gone into a number of business ventures, and he had many stories to tell about them. One particular story stuck in my mind. While having coffee with his friend in 2008, he commented that there was an increasing trend of properties going for en-bloc, and thus, there would be increased demand for house removal services. He toyed with the idea that his friend and him could go into that business. His friend was so convinced that on the next day he went and got some flyers printed and had distributed them to the nearby apartments. One week later, hDavid received a call from his friend. "We got about 10 orders for house removal services this week!" his friend exclaimed delightedly. David was stunned. He had only spoken what was on his mind, but did not expect that his friend would act on it so quickly. Renting a truck was the easy part. Where was he going to find the workers to fulfill the orders in such a short time?
David and his friend drove the truck to Little India. They stopped periodically along the roadside and asked anyone they saw who vaguely looked like they could be looking for work. "Twenty dollars? You want? Get in!" they would shout. After about 2 hours, they picked up enough workers and drove towards the apartments. The workers were given instructions to go to the apartment units to collect the boxes and load up on the truck. Then, after loading up, one of the workers asked nonchalantly, "so which box belongs to who?" David nearly fainted.
He told me this story (and others) to illustrate the many knocks that he had encountered since he entered the business world. These experiences taught him lessons that one could not learn elsewhere. And as I listened to the stories, I felt really humbled. Even though he was now earning less than before, he was gaining much more from his life now. And in years to come, if his business succeeds, then perhaps he could even offer me a job as his employee. Then, he can talk about institutionalising administrative processes and corporate governance. For now, for the kind of knocks that he is facing, I was of little value to him.
When he briefed me of the situation that he was facing and showed me some of the documents, I was taken aback by the amateuristic manner in which the transaction, and indeed the company, was being run. For someone who has worked for most of my life in MNCs and GLCs, I am used to bureaucratic processes and corporate controls. So what I saw "brought me back to earth", because I also know that most small and medium enterprises lacked the resources and know-how to institutionalise even the most fundamental process for corporate governance, that in an MNC environment would constitute the minimum requirement to mitigate business risks. I started to suggest a number of solutions for him, but as I made my comments he responded with his own viewpoints. As an entrepreneur with a small business and limited resources, he had priorities and challenges that I could not imagine. Under such circumstances, administrative processes were the least of his concerns.
It became clearer as he spoke just who the teacher and who the student really was.
David revealed to me that in the immediate period after his retrenchment, he had gone into a number of business ventures, and he had many stories to tell about them. One particular story stuck in my mind. While having coffee with his friend in 2008, he commented that there was an increasing trend of properties going for en-bloc, and thus, there would be increased demand for house removal services. He toyed with the idea that his friend and him could go into that business. His friend was so convinced that on the next day he went and got some flyers printed and had distributed them to the nearby apartments. One week later, hDavid received a call from his friend. "We got about 10 orders for house removal services this week!" his friend exclaimed delightedly. David was stunned. He had only spoken what was on his mind, but did not expect that his friend would act on it so quickly. Renting a truck was the easy part. Where was he going to find the workers to fulfill the orders in such a short time?
David and his friend drove the truck to Little India. They stopped periodically along the roadside and asked anyone they saw who vaguely looked like they could be looking for work. "Twenty dollars? You want? Get in!" they would shout. After about 2 hours, they picked up enough workers and drove towards the apartments. The workers were given instructions to go to the apartment units to collect the boxes and load up on the truck. Then, after loading up, one of the workers asked nonchalantly, "so which box belongs to who?" David nearly fainted.
He told me this story (and others) to illustrate the many knocks that he had encountered since he entered the business world. These experiences taught him lessons that one could not learn elsewhere. And as I listened to the stories, I felt really humbled. Even though he was now earning less than before, he was gaining much more from his life now. And in years to come, if his business succeeds, then perhaps he could even offer me a job as his employee. Then, he can talk about institutionalising administrative processes and corporate governance. For now, for the kind of knocks that he is facing, I was of little value to him.
"Whatever"理想
在我记忆中的童年和少年是在80年代过的。那个年代的我们，唱的是新謠，说的是理想。
那是一个很有理想主义的时代。
记得那个时候，人们都把2000年作为一个目标。很多人就在80年代买下第一台个人型电脑摆在家里，有些甚至不知道买来了要做什么。只知道随着科技的迅速发展，大家都认为，地球到了2000年将变成像科幻影片描述的世界一样，车子能在天空飞翔，人类可以随时搭太空船往别的星球探索，还有机器人将会变成每一个家户都少不了的工具在家里帮你做一些最基本的家务。
即使有些人认为那个时候美国和苏联的争议有可能引起第三次世界大战，大多数的人还是认为2000年的世界将会是一个更美好的世界。
理想归理想。
从1980年走到2000年的路途中，我们经历了不少挫折。在新加坡，虽然没有什么大灾祸，却有好几次经济危机的现象 - 有些孩子眼睁睁看见父亲或母亲被裁员，结果要把房子卖掉，突然之间，理想的现实一下子垮在眼前。
从1980年走到2000年的路途中，我们也走过一段90年代的醒悟道路。人们在那个年代第一次买下手提电话。科技仍然与日俱增，但是我们已经没有往日的天真了。大家都知道面临的2000年，并不是什么神奇时标。除了世纪虫之外，21世纪的到来也没有那么特别美妙或可怕了。
理想归理想。
John Lennon 唱过，”Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” 当你在忙着为自己的未来作计划的时候，人生就这样发生了。有时候一个人的成功与失败都要靠天时，人和，地理。尽管你怎样去计划，有时候就是设计不了每一个生命中的细节。
成长以后，学会了冷静，学会了塌实。理想归理想。跟着现实社会走，虽然可以往一个你要的方向走，但是始终有些事情不是你可以控制的。甚至，有些你原本想走的路，你会发觉原来根本不是好路。
现在到了2010年年尾。又是另外一个时代的开始。想法也会随着时光改变。现在比以前脚踏实地。因为当你发觉很多理想都没有实现，甚至没有机会能够实现，你就会领悟到，‘现实’和‘理想’打的战，‘现实’打胜的可能性较高。所以，我的人生观也就改变了。能够接受现实就是我现在的理想。不能控制的，就随它便。顺其自然。不用特意地去追求完美，也不要不择手段去夺取不属于你的，更不要为你所没有的和得不到的感到特别悲哀。最近年轻人有一个口头禅，我觉得还蛮适用的，就是：“whatever”。
杨智育
2010年9月24日
那是一个很有理想主义的时代。
记得那个时候，人们都把2000年作为一个目标。很多人就在80年代买下第一台个人型电脑摆在家里，有些甚至不知道买来了要做什么。只知道随着科技的迅速发展，大家都认为，地球到了2000年将变成像科幻影片描述的世界一样，车子能在天空飞翔，人类可以随时搭太空船往别的星球探索，还有机器人将会变成每一个家户都少不了的工具在家里帮你做一些最基本的家务。
即使有些人认为那个时候美国和苏联的争议有可能引起第三次世界大战，大多数的人还是认为2000年的世界将会是一个更美好的世界。
理想归理想。
从1980年走到2000年的路途中，我们经历了不少挫折。在新加坡，虽然没有什么大灾祸，却有好几次经济危机的现象 - 有些孩子眼睁睁看见父亲或母亲被裁员，结果要把房子卖掉，突然之间，理想的现实一下子垮在眼前。
从1980年走到2000年的路途中，我们也走过一段90年代的醒悟道路。人们在那个年代第一次买下手提电话。科技仍然与日俱增，但是我们已经没有往日的天真了。大家都知道面临的2000年，并不是什么神奇时标。除了世纪虫之外，21世纪的到来也没有那么特别美妙或可怕了。
理想归理想。
John Lennon 唱过，”Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” 当你在忙着为自己的未来作计划的时候，人生就这样发生了。有时候一个人的成功与失败都要靠天时，人和，地理。尽管你怎样去计划，有时候就是设计不了每一个生命中的细节。
成长以后，学会了冷静，学会了塌实。理想归理想。跟着现实社会走，虽然可以往一个你要的方向走，但是始终有些事情不是你可以控制的。甚至，有些你原本想走的路，你会发觉原来根本不是好路。
现在到了2010年年尾。又是另外一个时代的开始。想法也会随着时光改变。现在比以前脚踏实地。因为当你发觉很多理想都没有实现，甚至没有机会能够实现，你就会领悟到，‘现实’和‘理想’打的战，‘现实’打胜的可能性较高。所以，我的人生观也就改变了。能够接受现实就是我现在的理想。不能控制的，就随它便。顺其自然。不用特意地去追求完美，也不要不择手段去夺取不属于你的，更不要为你所没有的和得不到的感到特别悲哀。最近年轻人有一个口头禅，我觉得还蛮适用的，就是：“whatever”。
杨智育
2010年9月24日
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