Month: July 2018

The local train company’s staff is on strike again. Again is key.

The Uber driver thinks the company shouldn’t have let things get this far.

The radio comes on. The company offered 7.1% but the workers want 10%+ and other benefits.

The customers are stranded. I wonder how this will affect ridership. No riders. No train. No company. No workers. No pay.

Then he adds. People are selfish. They don’t want to consider anyone but themselves.

I add. You and I need each other. I needed someone to give me a ride. You needed a passenger.

We are all small but necessary part of this ecosystem we call family, company, city, society, country, world….and etc. We must all play our part. We must all sit out from time to time. Hold back a little. Push much harder.

And there is me. I am treading in this sea of selfishness, mine included. It is a good exercise to feel what I have never felt. How some people have had to deal with this feeling of being stuck for much longer than I. How I survive this phase of my life will define my future.

I once saw a four block cartoon in which a little girl got on the swing looking angry. By the time she hopped off the swing, she had a big smile on her little face. A literal mood swing.

What do you need to do from feeling down. What must you ride, to be lifted into lighter spirit?

Outside feels alive with people coming and going. I sit here, waiting for someone special to arrive. To have someone to wait for. To have someone to miss. To have someone I am willing to wait to see. It’s another gift of life I treasure on this slow Sunday afternoon.

The hair blows a little in the wind as the cars pass me by. The exhaust duct makes too much noise, but it’s only doing what it was made for.

I look for you but I don’t hear you. You must be near, yet too far for me to hold.

My feet swing on a metal chain in front of me.

You haven’t even left yet, but I still wait here and not there because here is nearer and here is lovely.

It’s just one of those simple and slow days. Happy to be alive. Grateful for having an able body. Proud to have rowed 10 kilometers after a week of over indulgence. Proving to my biggest critic that I am still strong. I can still do this.

Waiting. Observing. Staying still. Looking up and about. Locked in my own thoughts. Free from the digital cell. For how long, only time will tell.

I sit here and wait. Actively do nothing. Choosing to abstain from the world as I unleash this thought into the digital abyss, from whence I escaped from.

Four years ago, I weighed 10% more than I do now. The more the merrier does not apply to this situation. Clothes never looked good. I also didn’t feel so good myself. Don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating people to feel bad for carrying around few extra pounds. I am only speaking for myself, comparing how I used to feel back then, to the older me today.

Shopping is easier. I no longer have to figure out how to hide the pudge from wherever the flesh squeezed out of ill fitting clothes. Everything just looks better on. I feel so much better about myself. Going to the gym is easier. Managing stress is easier. Everything just feels better, generally speaking.

Of course, keeping it off takes discipline. I gym. When I pick up extra weight, consciously watch what and how much I eat. Maintain healthy lifestyle. It takes more effort after taking time off to recover from the flu. Recovering from a heartache. An accident. A bad year at work. A bad day at home. A bad time with life in general. I must spring back to what I have committed to do.

I am waiting for someone as I have this random thought. I am wearing a pair of jeans from Zaras that fit me so well. It makes me happy to feel great in my own skin, wearing something that makes me feel beautiful.

Are triggered like gremlins lurking in the background, unbeknownst to us, until they transport us to a time long forgotten.

They are painting the hallways. I am reminded of training cruises from 20 years ago. Upperclassmen used to make us clean the bulkheads with degreasers. It was middle of winter, and we had to wipe down every surface. Little did I know back then that what we were doing were busywork, to keep us occupied. No reason to work hard. No reason to wipe away until I got my very first cold sore from too much shock to my body from the stress and the cold.

Some kids probably figured this out back then. They either hid or goofed off until we were told to do something else equally stupid or useless.

It’s funny to be reminded of how naive I used to be. And now to some degree still naive. I like to be reminded of my past self from these moments.

I am also reminded to listen to my body. It’s always trying to keep me safe. Take care of the entire me. It is the vessel to carry my soul, so it doesn’t float away. It is the physical anchor that keeps me grounded to this life until it is ready to part ways. I am grateful to my body for all that it’s done, for all that it has endured. I often wonder why we are so cruel to our bodies, uttering “mind over pain”.

If there is no body, there would be no pain. If there is no body, there would be no mind. If there is no mind, there would be no soul. If there is none of these, there would be none of us. Perhaps that’s why we are prone to physical pain. The mind can take a lot more than the body because thoughts, especially painful ones can subside into the subconscious for future retrieval. But the body cannot do the same. The heart must continue to beat. The lungs must keep us breathing. The legs must keep moving is forward. The arms must flail to get the world’s attention. The body must go on, and it must get daily rest. Its regimen is unique from the mind’s.

All these thoughts sparked by a stroke of a paint brush.

Life. It’s a gift to be savored and enjoyed.

The gym is nearly empty aside from fitness enthusiasts. A man in a wheelchair is working out his arms.

He’s been here for over an hour. He looks strong.

Seeing this determined man doing what is normal for him, I realize I create too many excuses citing inconveniences, ignoring infinite possibilities, and not recognizing obstacles as opportunities for growth.

Earlier today, a co-worker showed me what she’s built from scratch. She did it herself. It took her 2 months. The same thing I had given to someone else who failed to meet his deliverables. Instead of dealing with the same dilemma, she decided to learn how to use powerBI to build her own dashboard. She smiled as she showcased her excellent work.

I ask myself. What obstacles do I create? What is my biggest obstacle. Self doubt and giving up too soon.

Why is it important to retain existing workforce? To upskill? To motivate?

Do we really think our employees are our biggest asset and not liabilities?

So why are they considered to be fixed cost, when customers are on top?

They say it’s cheaper to keep existing customers because of the high cost of acquiring new ones.

So why are we quick to demote, fire, and outsource the people behind our products and services?

Do we hold top leaders accountable for not taking the employees along the change journey?

Top management drives change, but they are terrible with execution. Employees must continue with the old while trying to implement the new. They run out of hours and motivation. There is no clear cut over plan. Top management must make tough decisions to cut away the past before embarking on the future. No wonder corporates sit with too many and too expensive legacy people, processes, and technologies.

I have worked for great companies with awesome people. I have seen excellent strategies that cost millions to develop turn into total waste. Without execution, all changes become sunk costs. Because execution cannot be outsourced to management consultants and smart algorithms. Because they aren’t built to drive change. That’s why they chose to work for management consulting companies. Codes work on a set of predefined logic.

Change is messy! People are even messier. Change must stem from within. Operations must come for the change ride while not dropping any glass balls.

Who drives internal change? Existing employees. Especially the people at the lowest level facing our customers everyday. Do they have the skills, knowledge and motivation to execute on the change? Do they have the support and air time with top management? Do they understand where and how they fit in? Do they know what they are supposed to do? And stop doing?

The answer is a fat no!

I agree with Ben Horowitz on the need to make effective and relevant in-house training mandatory. To cease hiring the new until existing employees have been given a chance.

Why? The cost of retrenchment is too high. It takes the best of the best at least one month to learn their new job. And probably six months to understand the new business. Time is not to be wasted. Customers will not wait for us. They will simply choose another product or service provider.

Because it we are not making sense, we are not making money. No customer, no company.

Article link below.

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-its-crucial-to-train-your-employees-2010-5?IR=T

It takes about 5 years to roll out a new system in an established organization.

1 year to understand business requirements and scan tht market for available solutions.

1 year to pull together a business case, get internal alignment and appoint a supplier.

6 months to translate business requirements into the technology.

6 months to build and test.

1 year to roll out to business and manage conflicts arising from changes.

1 year to stabilize.

Everything takes time despite us wanting to get to the finish line as soon as possible.

Do we have the appetite, commitment, leadership and patience to change the way we work?

If the answer is no, the system roll out will fail and we will be left with sunk cost and lots of frustration.

Can you read and write?

Can you get things done?

Can you teach yourself a new skill?

Can you figure out how to access a new app?

There is illiteracy with finance. With technology. With relationships.

How do we improve?

How do we help those around us?

How do we improve the entire ecosystem with too many competing priorities?

Doing one thing at a time.

I choose to spend time with those that tell me the honest truth. Those that push and pull to get action out of me. Those that kick my butt to get back to doing the things that matter to me.

If I am on track, that person is usually me. Time with self without distractions, instead of staring at the small screen and wasting time. But I fell into this addiction once again for about a month.

I know I am better because I am here. I can confirm this because I read a real book last night.

Outside of myself, I have friends who push and pull me. But they are also there to catch me when I stumble. Pick me up when I fall. Take me to the hospital when I can barely move.

I am wealthy because I have so many amazing friends in my life. I grow grateful once again.