little b at camp

Little b is at the camp today and being a paranoid parent, I have to tag along (also to see what kind of fun I am missing). There is a briefing about rules and safety and the presenter was trying encourage all children not to be picky and finish all food that is served. Presenter: we serve you good food, so they are tasty. You must eat it all. If it is not good, then what must you do? The answer he was expecting was : "still must eat it all". But the children answered, "Complain!!!"

In Memory of Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

This is good. I copied it from Guy Kawasaki's blog as I didnt want to lose his lessons.

Guy Kawasaki - Yesterday 5:12 PM (edited) - Public


(Sat01) What I Learned From Steve Jobs

Many people have explained what one can learn from Steve Jobs. But few, if any, of these people have been inside the tent and experienced first h...and what it was like to work with him. I don’t want any lessons to be lost or forgotten, so here is my list of the top twelve lessons that I learned from Steve Jobs.

Experts are clueless.

Experts—journalists, analysts, consultants, bankers, and gurus can’t “do” so they “advise.” They can tell you what is wrong with your product, but they cannot make a great one. They can tell you how to sell something, but they cannot sell it themselves. They can tell you how to create great teams, but they only manage a secretary. For example, the experts told us that the two biggest shortcomings of Macintosh in the mid 1980s was the lack of a daisy-wheel printer driver and Lotus 1-2-3; another advice gem from the experts was to buy Compaq. Hear what experts say, but don’t always listen to them.

Customers cannot tell you what they need.

“Apple market research” is an oxymoron. The Apple focus group was the right hemisphere of Steve’s brain talking to the left one. If you ask customers what they want, they will tell you, “Better, faster, and cheaper”—that is, better sameness, not revolutionary change. They can only describe their desires in terms of what they are already using—around the time of the introduction of Macintosh, all people said they wanted was better, faster, and cheaper MS-DOS machines. The richest vein for tech startups is creating the product that you want to use—that’s what Steve and Woz did.

Jump to the next curve.

Big wins happen when you go beyond better sameness. The best daisy-wheel printer companies were introducing new fonts in more sizes. Apple introduced the next curve: laser printing. Think of ice harvesters, ice factories, and refrigerator companies. Ice 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. Are you still harvesting ice during the winter from a frozen pond?

The biggest challenges beget best work.

I lived in fear that Steve would tell me that I, or my work, was crap. In public. This fear was a big challenge. Competing with IBM and then Microsoft was a big challenge. Changing the world was a big challenge. I, and Apple employees before me and after me, did their best work because we had to do our best work to meet the big challenges.

Design counts.

Steve drove people nuts with his design demands—some shades of black weren’t black enough. Mere mortals think that black is black, and that a trash can is a trash can. Steve was such a perfectionist—a perfectionist Beyond: Thunderdome—and lo and behold he was right: some people care about design and many people at least sense it. Maybe not everyone, but the important ones.

You can’t go wrong with big graphics and big fonts.

Take a look at Steve’s slides. The font is sixty points. There’s usually one big screenshot or graphic. Look at other tech speaker’s slides—even the ones who have seen Steve in action. The font is eight points, and there are no graphics. So many people say that Steve was the world’s greatest product introduction guy..don’t you wonder why more people don’t copy his style?

Changing your mind is a sign of intelligence.

When Apple first shipped the iPhone there was no such thing as apps. Apps, Steve decreed, were a bad thing because you never know what they could be doing to your phone. Safari web apps were the way to go until six months later when Steve decided, or someone convinced Steve, that apps were the way to go—but of course. Duh! Apple came a long way in a short time from Safari web apps to “there’s an app for that.”

“Value” is different from “price.”

Woe unto you if you decide everything based on price. Even more woe unto you if you compete solely on price. Price is not all that matters—what is important, at least to some people, is value. And value takes into account training, support, and the intrinsic joy of using the best tool that’s made. It’s pretty safe to say that no one buys Apple products because of their low price.

A players hire A+ players.

Actually, Steve believed that A players hire A players—that is people who are as good as they are. I refined this slightly—my theory is that A players hire people even better than themselves. It’s clear, though, that B players hire C players so they can feel superior to them, and C players hire D players. If you start hiring B players, expect what Steve called “the bozo explosion” to happen in your organization.

Real CEOs demo.

Steve Jobs could demo a pod, pad, phone, and Mac two to three times a year with millions of people watching, why is it that many CEOs call upon their vice-president of engineering to do a product demo? Maybe it’s to show that there’s a team effort in play. Maybe. It’s more likely that the CEO doesn’t understand what his/her company is making well enough to explain it. How pathetic is that?

Real CEOs ship.

For all his perfectionism, Steve could ship. Maybe the product wasn’t perfect every time, but it was almost always great enough to go. The lesson is that Steve wasn’t tinkering for the sake of tinkering—he had a goal: shipping and achieving worldwide domination of existing markets or creation of new markets. Apple is an engineering-centric company, not a research-centric one. Which would you rather be: Apple or Xerox PARC?

Marketing boils down to providing unique value.

Think of a 2 x 2 matrix. The vertical axis measures how your product differs from the competition. The horizontal axis measures the value of your product. Bottom right: valuable but not unique—you’ll have to compete on price. Top left: unique but not valuable—you’ll own a market that doesn’t exist. Bottom left: not unique and not value—you’re a bozo. Top right: unique and valuable—this is where you make margin, money, and history. For example, the iPod was unique and valuable because it was the only way to legally, inexpensively, and easily download music from the six biggest record labels.

Bonus: Some things need to be believed to be seen. When you are jumping curves, defying/ignoring the experts, facing off against big challenges, obsessing about design, and focusing on unique value, you will need to convince people to believe in what you are doing in order to see your efforts come to fruition. People needed to believe in Macintosh to see it become real. Ditto for iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Not everyone will believe—that’s okay. But the starting point of changing the world is changing a few minds. This is the greatest lesson of all that I learned from Steve.

Fat + Me = Gym

Yes... these past one year has seen me becoming a couch potato ....but not watching TV though... Watch the computer screen .... I had been busy catching up on everything that there never seemed to be enough time....

Oh well, with everything getting more convenient like mobile payment and all kinds of apps, there should be more time in our hands to rest. But hell no.... they are advertisting more and more new ways to steal away your time.... (not to mention money too). And the worse thing is, we willingly let them ....

Your truly recently indulged in a pain-inflicting and self torturing activity and is starting to like it....Before you start thinking that I have taken up S&M as my new hobby, let me clarify. I have joined the Gym!!! It's been a few weeks now since my first class in August and I still can proudly say I have deligently gone every week at least once. And I am quite happy with myself. And before you comment that you dont see any difference in me, let me just tell you that I am taking this slow and easy. I mean, I have not exercised for what seems like billions of years. I think the last I went to a Gym was back in Uni days. And those who knows me will say, "Now that's a VERY long time ago..." So let's not risk being knock out and burnt out.

Anyway, the whole point I am writing this is to remind myself why I sign up for the gym. I hope it motivates me back to the right track each time i read this.

A lot of people go to the gym to lose something that they found in abundance....
Ironically, the purpose I go to the gym is to find something that I have lost.

I will leave this hanging here for a while for you to ponder upon... mainly because this author here is tired and aching all over.... and needs to get her beauty sleep. Cheers to a healthier and fitter lifestyle.

Quotable Quotes

"Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be." (Charles "Tremendous" Jones)

This quote came just in time... Was a bit bitter these 2 days over some trivial incidents at work, and it caused quite a bit of unproductivity. As I think back now, I was a fool to lose focus of the bigger picture and felt slightly embarassed to have throw tantrums (even though subtly within the four walls of my room).

Alright, no time to lose....Hurry back to the drawing board to strategise and catch up on lost time.

Happy Father's Day

Sis is wondering what toy to buy for little b, coz she's trying to find a toy that's both "child-approve" and educational at the same time. Incidentally, Carmen got him a toy that I totally approve (2 thumbs up for being educational), but given a big "Nah..." by little b... You see, Carmen got him a "Human body" science set that comes with a real sethoscope and a human figurine with all the organs detachable for examination. Plus it comes with flash cards of question and answers about each body part, eg, "What creates the "lub-dub" sound that the heart makes?", "Apart from helping digestion, what is the other main function of the liver?, "How long does food stays in the stomach?", etc...I betcha didn't know those answers off hand, eh?

When I brought little b to choose his birthday gifts, did you know where I found him hanging around? The Bop-It shelf...!!! For those who have never seen a "Bop-It", it looks like this:

The Bob-It is meant for toddlers, to hone their motor skills, even though it is stated on the toy that it's for children aged 8 and above. Little b loves it because he has played with it before at a McDonald's party. And each time he plays with it at the toy store, I tell him that it’s kid’s stuff, to which he will cleverly retort, “I know, Mom, I just want to play here… not buy it!!!” He says it loudly, with all sincerity and innocence, and in front of other customers and shopkeepers… making it quite embarrassing because everyone will think that I taught the kid to play there and not buy....*^v^*

Talking about teaching, we went for a movie yesterday . And there was this kid, (umm, about 4-5 years old), sitting right behind little b. This little kid was a bit sick as we can hear him coughing away throughout the movie. And then, all of a sudden, he sneezed and coughed very hard (probably choked on his popcorn which he inserted through his nose)..... And with that sneeze, thousands and millions of his saliva droplets (probably with pheglm and do I need to mention germs) flew out from his sick mouth and nose, and conveniently dropping onto little b and myself!!!! It was so gross. It felt gross. Even thinking of it now makes me get goosebumps and my reflex automatically signals me to wipe my hair and arm again now.....

Bryan shouted “Yuks” and rub the back of his short hair in a vain attempt to clean himself of "cooties". My eyes took a quick dart to the back to catch a glimpse of the kid and his dad, and I noticed the parents just didn’t care and continued watching movie. So I took the cue from little b and fussed loudly, “Yer, so dirty! So much germs!!!” and started wiping little b and myself vigorously and frantically (on purpose). But the parents still didn’t care, especially the father.… just “buat tak tahu”. So I turned my head around to look at the parents, and the father pretended to be so engrossed in the movie that he did not to see me. I turned my body around to stare at the mother and I see her poking the husband to do something. I was aghast that the obnoxious father still didn’t care and continued watching the movie, without even caring to teach their son about hygiene and closing their mouth when coughing or sneezing. And one wonders how H1N1 spreads so fast in this country.

Only after I turn around to look at the mother again, did she manage a feeble “Sorry...” But still she didn’t reprimand the child and reinforce about hygiene. By that time, it was already too late, as the elapse time was already too long and the kid wouldn’t understand what he did wrong even if you scold him.

And best part is…the father still didn’t budge and was totally glued to the big screen, probably oogling at Mystic's figure. I guess he was just too engrossed in his Father’s day present (to watch X-men uninterrupted) to bother about anything else in the world. I wanted to shout at him “Happy Father’s day, I hope your son grows up to be a better father” …. But of course I didn’t…. coz I know better to care about other people's life.

Instead, I just turn around and told little b about the importance of hygiene and how yucky it would be if he was to sneeze like that kid… and just at that moment, a sneeze crept up into little b's nostrils.... and he covered it with 2 hands before he let go of a soft sneeze.

Bless you little b. Atta boy.... you made your Father's day happy just by being a good kid. :)

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there.

Everybody gets a little lost sometimes...

Hmmm.... recently I got pleasant surprise call from my long time friend... A brilliant doctor, with a big heart. We were catching up and he was happy to learnt that i have move on to another company after being there for so long .... which led on to his curiousity to compare notes on how he is fairing among his peers. When I told him that I am earning only a little lesser than he does and he joked about how good it was to be in my position, where we dont need to spend so many years "studying" and still earn just as much...

Well, I reminded him that I don't get over time for all the hours I put in... (docs like him get to charge by the hours and earn quite a bit on overtime especially when on-calls).... And also reminded that he gave up being a specialist surgeon (the dough-generating profession) because chose life over money.... And also told him that we all are proud of him being a doctor because he's so self-less and is making the world a better place daily by just doing his daily job.

To which he agreed that he's one of the few good guys left out there... hahaha...

I hope I have somewhat helped to motivate him to reinforce that he has made the right decision to be a doctor all these while. Everybody gets a little lost or doubtful once in a while...on whether you have made a good decision, esp a decision that can impact your whole life or a good part of it..... and it's okay to discuss about it and find some supportive hands to nudge you back to your course of direction and push you along to reach your intented goal.

Just remember, that whether the decision is right or wrong, it was the best choice you made at the time of your decision. And whatever happens after that, is your effort to make that choice the best one that works for you. That itself will ensure the decision is always right... :)

Reflections

As I reflect on the past one year and my achievements, I find that I have indeed grown quite a plenty in such a short time. In just 6 months I manage to launch an innovative product to sell through the web, and I have 3 more products in the pipeline, with 1 already ready for launching. I have learnt to manage upwards, downwards, sideways, horizontally, vertically, diagonally,.... you name it, I've almost done it all. Perhaps I need 3D glasses to demonstrate the dimensions I've been thru ahahah... but I wont confuse you that much. To put it simpler, I have to manage up to the CEO level, and down to even the tea lady and guards, and have to deal with so many different types of customers, which spans from the highest level to the lowest level..., and also learnt to leverage on my peers strength and weaknesses... all these while taking care of and growing my own team. And then there's insource, outsource, hybrids of staff and equipment, thus rendering experience and decisions that can impact from just my notebook up to the nationwide WAN with our unique Active-Active data centre model. Of course, I have my shares of ups and downs, from lavish welcome lunches, appreciation dinners and team building karaoke session, to unwilling farewell buffets (our company culture dont encourage farewell celebrations so it's kept to a minimum). I also have the opportunity to tap into the purview of senior management and how they work especially on the running of a department, a division, a company and how an AGM is prepared and conducted. Also on how deals are negotiated, best practices incorporated into each process and how change management is implemented and controlled. While it may seem to many that we're a "one-leg kick" or master of all trades, but since most of us are handpicked from the best in the industry, many from multi national conglomerates, we came along with our best-practises and compliant processes to ensure the correct proceduce and processes are implemented and followed thru. We have seen the many pitfalls of processes not followed thru and how a simple breach or mistake of "convenience over procedure" can lead to huge financial lost and massive reworks and even lost of jobs. With our experience and background, we understand the meaning of "with great powers, comes great responsibilities". There's plenty of stories that I can tell, from just one year stint here, mainly because I clock in double the normal working hours. The culture have redefine the meaning of "working from home". I see a lot of "advertisement" in Facebook to encourage ppl to work from home and if you think "working from home" means less stress and less work, please re-examine your priorities and goals before you jump onto the bandwagon. People have asked me if all these are worthy since I am not paid a hell lot more for the time spent, but I tell them that it's not all about money when we work. It's about the passion to achieve your goal that will sustain your lifespan in the company. To have an inquisitive mind and the passion to learn to do things better and easier for all, to elevate others in order to elevate yourself, and to grow together with your company and career, .... that's some of the things that I have achieved or this company have given me the opportunity to achieve, which makes it all worthwile.... Of course, (in case my boss is reading this), having good (and higher) pay is definitely a bonus motivating factor... hahaha I hope with all my stories, I am able to inspire others, especially my family to be able to achieve a sense of passion in everything they do, to be able to sustain their morale to boost them to achieve thier goals.

Losing my touch

Hardly have the time to write these days.. .

And when I look back at my recent frail attempts to blog.....OMG!!! They sux big time...

It was like....I was just trying to write something... anything, just to write something... and it turns out to be a really really bad,crazy attempt. I am telling myself, "Don't ever do that again...."

I haven't been blogging for, like 1000 years... I am losing touch with flowery words and catchy phrases and witty one liners... Can't think of any... and bummer, it's already bed time.... I am losing touch... England is leaving me... :*(

Good nite...