RuehYinn & Juleen @ blueepinkk.com

I’ve came across this post from one of my favorite blog, http://malaysiafinance.blogspot.com. The writer (never know who he is) is always very independent and critical in his view. I can’t help myself not to cut and paste this post because it is so real and in some way  it did happen to me! I never realized it was evil until I got a little older (like recently, haha). Luckily, it wasn’t too late for me. Ask Juleen, how much I “reminded” her not to spoil our kids in the future (psst: Somehow prophetically, I think Juleen will love the kids so much until they got spoiled).

Don’t be discourage by the length of his post. A lot of people give up reading when the write up is lengthy. But please don’t because you rarely come across such a good post. This is so “practically useful” reminder for everyone whether you are students, young graduates, parents, soon - to - be parents, grandparents and so on. I personally love his POINT 6!!

So read up!!

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“Some over protective parents do not allow their kids to join any society or clubs even. They get ferried to and from school and then to and from tuition.”

TC,

Your sure this is nothing to be ashamed of?

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Monday, December 15, 2008

Problem With Today’s Young Graduates

The headline may sound like an old man bitching about how tough it was during his younger days, I hope its not. Over the last few years I have had to hire at least 10-15 new graduates every year, and then get the unit managers to train them up. In highlighting their shortcomings, I have to generalise but I am sure that’s pretty much the same conclusion throughout the country in all industries.

1) Rich parents - Parents who are rich, please note, generally your children will be assholes if you do nothing right when they were young. That’s because the over mollycoddling, pandering to their whims and fancies, have shaped their character - which is pathetic. I have a few rich kids who have OK degrees, but decided to quit of a couple of months because they wanted to do something else. When asked further, they said they wanted to go further their studies. Geez, that is only an option if your parents are well off. After the years of investment into the child, there is no inclination of the need to be independent or self sufficient. They can have the option because the parents allow them to. What a wonderful bunch of kids.

Some even have the audacity to go for a long holiday after their graduation. You try to follow your Western fellow graduates… well for one, most of them work for at least a year to save up before they embark on their travels (I don’t think we do)… and when they study, they themselves take up student loans which they will pay back when they work (which we don’t).

2) Character - Linking onto the above, the same spoilt brats generally have poor character. When I say character, I meant ability to assume responsibility, respect for corporate culture, ability to apply themselves well, work at something, ability to learn and willingness to learn, and general people skills.

3) English - Now we go to quality of graduates. Most, whether they are local or foreign graduates, cannot speak coherent English. I am appalled that the Chinese schools are now clamouring for Science and Maths to be taught in Chinese for the first 6 years of schooling. Why? English is not a glorification of western culture, it is an essential tool for business and global communications. I am not dissing Chinese, Malay or Tamil language, but if you think you can compete in an increasingly globalised world with just your mother tongue, that is misplaced arrogance of culture. Study English together with whatever other languages you want, not at the expense of English. It is also not enough to just have a working knowledge of English, you need to master it. Education gives a person choices and options, and English broadens that scope even more. Can your child go and work in the US or UK financial firms, if he/she wanted to? If they had the tool, they would be sought after if they were good.

4) Communication skills - Linked to the mastering of English, it is not enough to learn how to do power point presentations or run up figures in excel spreadsheets. A person can greatly add value when they can present them well. Oratory skills are mightily lacking in Malaysian young graduates. The art of persuasion, the ability to project professionalism, and eventually the ability to lead. Just imagine Obama without his oratory skills. I always exhort my friends with kids to forget about the ballet classes, the extra tuition classes… make sure you enroll them in the drama and speech making skills classes, there are a few around.

5) Intellectually not strong - When I come across even those who scored fantastic results or graduated from top foreign universities, I find some of them unable to hold an intellectual argument. If presented with a common question such as why are we now in this global economic crisis. Most I will hear are one or two points: easy credit, excess leveraging… and nothing else. A decent answer would have to include examining the crux factors, there are at least 5, and then ascribing proper blame proportionately. You need to examine a complex issue from a few angles. Our education system is such that there is only one answer per question in the exam papers. Hence after giving one answer, they think they have answered the whole question.

6) Bias - Some will say that local graduates are unfairly discriminated. I don’t buy that. I tend to not look at degrees as that only tells me you can read and write. What most employers are looking for is that one quality - I call it street-smartness or ability to think on his feet. Can you be taught that? I don’t know. It has to do will self assurance and inherent self confidence. These people are problem solvers, they are doers, they take the initiative, they will speak up at the right time, they get the job done by hook or crook. They rise above the crowd because they won’t be the first to say “cannot do”. They are achievers when they put their minds to it. They can be persuasive and they apply themselves diligently to master any new tasks. You have that, the degree is just a visa for you to travel further in your career.

We have too many followers, not enough street smart people. I don’t think you can teach that at MBAs. But one thing for sure, you may be able to cultivate “street smartness” when they are young. Always encourage and allow your kids to join the Scouts, Drama Clubs, Leos or Interact clubs. To me, these are breeding grounds for future corporate animals. The interaction, social politics, club politics, camaraderie, application to one’s objectives are all critical to encourage one to develop and establish his own identity and personality, and in many ways help them make sense of how the world operates. Most of the street smarts I know who now do well in corporate world, also did remarkably well in those movements and clubs when they were younger.

Parents nowadays have fewer children, so they can spend more resources on them. Don’t molly-coddle. Some over protective parents do not allow their kids to join any society or clubs even. They get ferried to and from school and then to and from tuition. When home, they do some homework and play computer games or do internet chats the whole time. Time to rethink our influence in our young.

Yesterday I was trying to explain some life principles to someone really close to me. I thought I might as well write it down, since I have spent so much time and effort to explain to that person. At least it will be a good reminder to me next time. You know… not every person that offer advice is perfect himself … (hehe)

1. If You Can’t Be the Best, at least Be Your Best

I can’t recall who told me this before but I remember it was from a teacher. She once told the class, this generation is different from her generation. Her generation was the generation that strive for success by working hard. Whereas this generation is the generation that strive for success using short cut. She called this generation the “instant noodle” generation.

While it is hard for me to agree fully with her statement, I have to admit though, there is an element of truth in her statement. Look around us, there are so many people whom will compromise on the ’standard’ to get what they want. They think many ’standards’ in life have been overrated and outdated. Therefore, they aren’t valid and as important anymore. No wonder, greeting elders become optional, getting into debt is normal or marriage is deemed as wasting resources.

In order to get what they want in the shortest time, many has sought to compromise on standard. Their attitude is “I will get what I want now, and I will think of the consequence later”. I may not have the right words to explain this but bear in mind, by compromising you can get to where you want but you have lowered the bar. I don’t know about you, I wouldn’t want to lower my standard to get what I want. You get a sense of achievement when you get what you want at the highest standard. How would you feel when you get a MBA from ABC University compared to a MBA from Harvard? They aren’t the same you know…

While acknowledging many never get to where they want even after giving their best, many of us simply compromise without giving our best. We simply love short cut. We love to do it in the most convenient so long we get the “thereabout” result. Stop that. My advice, is therefore, “if you can’t be the Best, at least Be Your Best” and stop compromising. Nobody like mediocre work, trust me!

2. Start With An End in Mind

My parents used to scold me for having a good start but never quite have an ending. I recalled of my Physical Education (PE) teacher who told us once that “don’t be a striker that do not have sting”. In another word, don’t be a striker that do not score. Well, those word doesn’t mean anything to me until I grow a little bit older (okay, much older). I believe one of the key to success is to Start With An End in Mind.The first time I heard of this was when I attended the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” in 2006. The seminar itself was a life changing one.

My parents were right when they scolded me. Probably because I met with some failures and I gave up or maybe I don’t have the spirit of keep going. Whatever the reasons are, I realized they aren’t important. What is important, however, is to finish what you have started. If there is anything or anyone to blame, it would be myself for giving in to the “reasons” or “excuses” to quit.

Why so many people started something but never quit have an ending? The reason is simple. People simply do not have determination and the commitment to finish thing. Period. Over time, I’ve learnt to succeed hard work is never a choice. Even failures are inevitable. Failures are part of the success equation. Criticisms are also part of the equation. Many people fail (apparently so, since so many people fail) because they “fail” to realized hard work, failures and criticism is part of the process to success.

And one of the reason I cannot fail is also due to accountability. I believe I am accountable for my family, my girlfriend, my employer, and etc who have invested so much money, time, effort and greatest of all HOPE in me. I called this people the stakeholders of my life. Let’s imagine this; your parents would not want to spend time nurturing you with good values and send you to expensive school and expecting you to end up as a lousy person. And no employer will want to hire you so that you will sit around without contributing effectively to the organization you are working for. Make sense? They have invested money, time, effort, and hope because they trusted you. So, if they have invested something in  your life…do you call them as your stakeholder? And can you fail them?

So if next time you feel like quitting, remind yourself that when you quit you aren’t only failing yourself but you are also failing your stakeholders. Start thinking who they are, if you have yet to find out yet.

….My Experience…

Just recently, my fund manager (FM) asked me to write a market outlook and strategy for a client in 1 hour. Seriously speaking, this is a daunting task for me because despite knowing what’s going on the local financial market… it is whole different story when you have to put it in words. When I was about to start, my FM shouted on, “On the second thought, you can also forward it to SL (my colleague)”. Since I was doing something else, I thought it will be cool to pass such “daunting” job to my colleague (I am trying to compromise here) but to cut the story short, the work came back to me and I have to complete it in 30 minutes. Yes, I managed to complete the strategy in 30 minutes and glad it was over. In fact, I felt I have done not a bad job. But the feedback was discouraging after my FM proof read it. I have to re - do. Still not good enough even after re-do. At the end, my FM had to edit my work and patiently taught me how to write a good strategy piece. Because of me, he had to let go of his original plan to go back early.

Truthfully, to be entrusted with a job is always an honor. And to have FM to teach is the MOST HONORED thing that can happen. I have learnt a great deal from him. At the end day, I felt I gain more than he gain form me. Many FM just don’t give a darn to their analysts. A couple of days ago, my analyst friend told me that his FM “just throw him in the water and let him swim on his own”, if you know what it means. Yes, I was a little discourage but it is also that “start with and end in my mind” that help me to keep trying. If I didn’t attempt the problem with the right attitude, I would have let go a good opportunity to learn new thing. At least now I feel much more confident.

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The next time you have a challenge, give your best and start with and end in mind. You never know how much you will gain from there!

“… Everyone is going to have to improve themselves and be able to compete… it is about competitiveness and it is about being a player. It is about staying sharp and being in the game… The world is a football field now and you’ve got to be sharp to be on the team which plays on that field. If you’re not good enough, you’re going to be sitting and watching the game.” (The World is Flat, pg.223)

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I was reading an interesting book and I came across these lines. Somehow, these lines are so powerful that it intrigued to write this post. If you are one of those that lazy to read long post, just read the red words on the top most and bottom of the post! You will get the whole point.

I think being passionate on top of working hard is the key to remain on the field rather than sitting and watching the game. Passion is most important. Work hard on your passion is second. I’ve learnt when you aren’t doing what you are passionate:-

1. You literary struggle to survive.

Please don’t get me wrong with the word “struggling to survive”. There is nothing wrong with that word. In fact, as a survivor being, we struggle to remain in existence. Let’s imagine this: - Struggling to be notice (to be at the top) in the arena of your passion is a good thing, however, struggling to stay afloat because you are drowning is different things. Many times, we choose to do things which we aren’t really passionate. As a result, instead of struggling to get to the top; we’re struggling to stay afloat. Others are competing to produce the best result, while we are competing to play catch up. Always struggle to stay afloat.

Why not instead of struggling to stay afloat you focus your energy doing what you like? When you do so, you will compete with others side by side rather than back to back! Trust me, when you struggle enough to stay afloat, you will eventually give up and drown. And nobody will care and notice you!

2. You won’t be a problem solver

In the world of capitalism, employers pay employees not only to get things done but also to solve problem. I’ve learnt that if you are not interested in what you are doing, you will simply get things done without going extra mile. A problem solver is the person of extra mile because solving problems involve great deal of efforts. They don’t let the clock dictate what time they should go back. They go back when the problem is solved. They don’t whine over the problem but they embrace the problem until it is solved. They don’t give up on solving the problem; they give up sleeping to solve the problem. To do that you need passion!

3. The world deprives of one talent

You never know what you can contribute to your society (in bigger scale) or to your circle of influence (in smaller scale). I am strong believer of “everyone is created for a purpose”. Therefore, you and I are here to make a positive difference. Oh, don’t laugh yet…you hear me right. You and I are here to make a positive difference. Imagine this world work as a gigantic machine and this machine is made up of many gears. Each one of us are like the teeth of the gear. If there is one broken tooth, the gear won’t be able to rotate smoothly. Though the machine can continue to work but the machine is not as efficient as it was designed. The world despite being a big “machine” and sometimes too big until we can’t relate, still need us. You never know, how much you can contribute.

4. You will live an unexciting life

When you do what you don’t like you will live an unexciting life. Your life becomes mundane when you have no passion. You’ll lack of desire to create, explore and to influence. That is not the kind of life anyone of us wants to live. Let’s do a quick check. If your life only includes work, eat and sleep on weekday and extend it to weekend then it simply means you need to re - think of your passion. Doing what you are passionate at will energize you. Energized individuals are active individuals.

I used to let go of my passions for the wrong reason. But I am thankful for favor of men and God to allow me to revert back to my passions. Here are some of my suggestions of what you can do to regain your passion:-

1. Do not give in to any pressure especially from those you love and have influence on your life.
Bear in mind, you’re the captain of your own life. No one is more qualified to decide what you should do and where you should go. Dream and passions normally dissipated once you allow others to dictate how you should live. No doubt there will be conflict when you insisted but trust me, no wave nor ripple last forever. Everything will be smoothen out eventually. Your results and achievement will be that catalyst. Start to be responsible for your life.

2. Learn to fight and work hard for your passion

Oh yeah, you hear me right! You gotta fight and work hard for what you like. Just because you think you are passionate and talented in one area does not mean you automatically have success. You gotta put in effort to see result. I have seen people, in fact I still see people, people who claimed doing what they like but don’t live like one. These are few tests which allow you to indentify whether you are really as passionate as claimed:-

- Do you talk, sleep and eat your passion? (if you don’t, then you have to question whether you really like it?)
- Do you embrace the culture of your passion? (every passion has its own lifestyle, trust me!)
- Do you enhance your current skill with books, courses and networking? (knowledge is lifelong…)
- How soon you overcome challenges/struggle when you meet one? (if you take like 6 months to solve a problem, it either means you do not have sense of urgency or simply you are just not interested. Passionate people wanna see result FAST!!)

3. Take risk

I think the only “allowed” unwarranted risk is risking everything in pursuit of what you like. Do not be fear filled but be faith filled. Please realized, fear is the result of learned experiences. From those experiences we learn to come out with few potential negative outcomes if we fail. Nothing wrong with that but if it is going to cripple you from pursuing your dream then that is BAD. As much as learning from experience is important, we have to rely to see beyond what we can see now. Learn to see in imagination. If you can imagine, you can have it. While F.E.A.R is an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real which is BAD. Why not embrace F.A.I.T.H which simply means Fear Ain’t In This Heart which is GOOD!

4. Stop now

I also know sometimes, it is hard to quit what we’re doing now for few reasons. Here are few of them:-

a) Too much sunken cost - This is the common one. We spent so much money, effort and time in doing some thing and we realized, we don’t really like what we are doing. Because of the size of the sunken cost, we feel reluctant to quit and resistance to change. My advice is when you do what you like you’ll accelerate and very soon you will catch up. It will be faster than you thought. Trust me!!
b) You don’t know what your interest is - Simple!! If you don’t like what you doing now, then stop and change. People are normally left out because they refused to change. The rule of thumb, however, is never choose a short cut and realized there are always choices. Then work on your choice and be patient. Other than that, keep in mind that life is supposed to be adventurous.

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To sum it all: Being passionate in what you are doing on top of hard work is the key to remain on the field. Passion is most important. Work hard on your passion is second!

So what is my passion?

My passion now is to be a good photographer and analyst. I hope one day I will become a fund manager!

I came home late today due to some work at office. Then I realized something wrong with my left passenger seat car handle. After taking a closer look, I realized someone had tried to break into my car…

Obviously they failed to break into my car, since my car is still locked and everything inside my car are still intact. Most importantly, my car is still around. Else, I will be mourning for my car rather than blogging now…

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Look, what they have done to my car. Apparently, they ripped open the door handle and removed the lock hoping that they can open the door. Looking at their work, I am sure they are amateur. Sighhhhh x’( …

From another angle…

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The Proton Waja’s car handle obviously has major flaw. Due to its simple assembly, almost anyone can rip open the car handle, remove the lock then get into the car. If the car thief has ample time, I am sure my car will be gone by now. Proton Waja should have handle like this…

Even unsophisticated design like this is better than Waja’s…

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Next time…

1. Lock your steering wheel and the gear. They might not save your car but definitely will slow the car thief.

2. Never leave anything that will attract attention inside your car like coins, bags and etc. You might not have anything precious in the bag but the car thief won’t know until they break into your car. I just don’t understand why those thieves were interested with my car when I have nothing than a bible.

3. Do not park your car at dark and deserted places!

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Now, I have to fork out money again! I hate unplanned expenses.

WHY MY CAR???

My car broke down a week ago (August 23) after my cell group at church. The first thing I thought of everytime my car broke down is $$$$ (money). The second thing I will do is to pray so hard that the repair bill won’t kill me. Coincidently, on that day I was preaching about “Stepping Out” in the cell group, i.e; have faith in God and step out. At that moment, I knew God was challenging me to practice what I’ve just preached.

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Many people came to offer their advice and help. After all of them fail, I decided to do it on my own…

After all the effort, I gave up and picked up the phone to call AAM MAA Assurance. Everyone was very skeptical the kind of service I will receive. However, within 35 minutes MAA Assurance sent their technician over. The technician was so helpful and my problem was fixed in just few minutes. Apparently, my battery was too weak. Even jump starting it won’t revive the battery…

At the end I only spent RM280 for a new 12 cell battery. To cut the story short, I have learn a few things which I consider as precious during my car breakdown experience…

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1. On technical side of car

Whenever your car’s battery goes flat when it is relatively new, consider to diagnose the car’s alternator. In layman term, alternator is the charger for your car’s battery. When you car is on the move, alternator will produce Alternating Current (AC) to charge your car’s battery. Then the battery will produce Direct Current (DC) to power up electrical device on your car. Therefore when you alternator is malfunction, the battery will not be charged. After a while, your car’s battery will die. So if you suspect your battery should function properly but it didn’t, then do a quick diagnose on your alternator. Alternator looks like this…

It’s very easy to diagnose your alternator. If you are able to jump start you car’s battery, remove the positive and negative terminal cable on your car’s battery. Now, if you car continue to work after you have done that, then you the alternator is fine. However, if your car die after you’ve done that… then your alternator is not functioning properly anymore.

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Remember, don’t blindly change the car battery without figuring out what went wrong with your battery.

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2. AAM versus MAA

and

I always got confused with AAM and MAA. Allow me to show to you the difference between AAM and MAA. AAM is Automobile Association of Malaysia, where they provide 24 hours breakdown services to their members. On the another hand, MAA is an insurance company. My car is insured by MAA Assurance and I was also AAM member previously (just expire not too long ago).

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Through this experience I learned that if you’ve bought your car insurance through MAA, you automatically enjoys the free 24 hours breakdown service. In fact, I think many insurance company now provides the same service. In another word, don’t waste your money subscribing to AAM. If I have not mistaken, annual subscription fee for AAM is RM90. That is a lot of money. Why waste RM90/year when you already have a free 24 hours breakdown service from your car insurance provider…

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The service is so good that I decided to take picture with the MAA technician. We became good friend :-). To know more about MAA - Motor Insurance Policy, click here.

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3. Friendship is forged after midnight

Pastor Kevin, Senior Pastor of CHC, once said true friendship is developed when one work together with others until past midnight. I have to say this is true. Going through hardship together will always produce quality friendship…

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I am thankful to all my friends (Daniel, Jolene and Jessica) who stay along with me when they have the choice to go back. They are all tired and hungry but still decided to stay together. Thank you guys, else I will be bored to death

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4. Malaysian needs to speak Bahasa Malaysia

When I was asked to describe the exact location of my car, I have no better landmark to point to other than the sewage pond which located exactly opposite my church. Do you know what is sewage pond in Malay? I called it “Tasik Cuci Tahi“… hehehe. The real malay word for it is “Loji Pengumbahan Najis”. We found out, eventually via the church caretaker, Mr. Morgan. We all have a good laugh…

I realized I need to brush up my Bahasa Melayu especially when I am a Malaysian. Challenges always point out your weakness, don’t you think so?

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I am happy I went through it!!

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Moral of the story:- All of us have seen good come out of disaster . . . the blessing in disguise. When you expect good to come from negativity, it will. What you think about, you bring about. - Joyce Duco