As we start the new year of 2008, I have been thinking through a few things that have recently struck me in my interaction with people at various levels. Let me ramble on and feel free to exit at any point should you find yourself struggling to keep from dozing off as I plod along.
The Next Stage of Life
I just came back from a friend's (HW) wedding dinner tonight. Well...it could have been like any other wedding dinner but for the fact that it was the wedding dinner of my friend of 20 years. Long time huh?
As we said our goodbyes, my friend whispered into my ear, "Now to work on SC!".
For you see, the 3 of us grew up together for the past 20 years and we have all moved on in life, albeit different paths. If you really wanted to be particular about it, ok. So I was the first to get married and now have a kid. HW is now the second one to be married.
We are left with SC.
But really, even though we are of the same age, we have ended up doing different things. HW was trained as a lawyer and ended up (in addition to a law degree), a culinary arts diploma in baking! (By the way, HW directed the bakers to bake a cake at the exact specs that she wanted and it was served at the wedding banquet. Hands down, the BEST cake I have eaten in my life. Singapore is going to miss her. Lucky for Vancouver.
SC, dabbled in engineering and is currently serving a higher being.
Myself, business studies could only lead to one thing ----- business stuff lah! And so I pretty much have gone through the whole Marketing Mix cycle, and in between managed to get a Tennis coaching license and am currently working on my MBA...that is, in addition to being a part-time stay home dad looking after baby EK =)
OK, back to SC.
But really, it's not this race that we are competing against each other for.
And so, to SC, if you are reading this, no worries. You know that God has his time. But HW and myself, we have our plans for you *wicked grin*
Change or perish
At the wedding, I was chatting with this friend who deals with industrial parts. Upon asking how the market was, he replied that things are terribly different from when he first entered the industry. In the past, profit margins could be as high as 50%. Now, you would be lucky if you got 25%. And with increasing costs, it will drive all profits down. His words: Have to change with times or else surely fall behind.
Oil prices were at about US$22 to S$28 per barrel in 2003. It just went past the US$100 mark a couple of days ago.
The PC hard drive memory is said to double at a rate of 18 months. Can someone PLEASE explain to me how in the world is it possible for Toshiba to come out with a 200GB USB Thumb Drive??!! Crap! That is more than my PC memory!
Not long ago, a headhunter and I chatted that he was not looking for loyal employee candidates
that stayed up to 5 years in the same company.
"Not flexible and cannot adapt to change, perhaps," he proposed, "Need to show that you can hop to another company after 2 to 3 years and survive there. That is increasing your market value."
Can't really say much for my dad who has worked in only 3 companies for the past 40 years. Loyalty is dead!
My point? The world is really changing very fast in everything. For some of us, by the time we truly understand certain concepts, it could well be too late for us. New trends and opportunities would have popped up, passed us by and we would still be in a daze.
Will we change and move with the times? The choice is yours.
2008 Resolution
It is because of such fast moving changes in the world, that I have decided that it is time for me to try and strike out on my own. I've realised that working the companies that I've been before, gave me an insight into how the world works. However, one thing that all of them face is the need to change. I am afraid that most companies find it hard to change and they lag behind. Interestingly, taking time off to think through things and reading the news have shocked me into realising the amount of things I have not been exposed to as a result of being busy with work. You would think that holding down a good job is a great thing....not really.
I have had to unlearn many things that is seen as common wisdom and needed to take a step back and see the bigger picture of things. It is not always obvious but when you do step back and look, sometimes, it just hits you so hard.
I am glad that I have learnt some of these lessons fast, and it has helped in my decision making process. I will still have lots to learn and I am looking forward to learning and applying.
Baby, baby
Ah yes! This year was the year that I became a dad to EK. Along with it, the joys of fatherhood and the smell of poo. But really, I thank God for this child and I am so sure that this little fella is going to teach me lots of lessons, just as I am getting ready to teach him lessons *wink*
One thing though, this boy is a lady's man and The Wife and I are pretty certain that he will get married by the age of 5.
SC, you'd better not lose out to my boy!
Happy 2008 y'all!
