Management Minute: Don't rush your decisions, but be decisive!

Not so long ago, I observed a situation in which inexperience and haste created a situation akin to one where, as the saying goes, the horse has bolted.

The manager undervalued the services of an employee and tried to nullify his employment contract. He offered a new remuneration package that was so humiliating that the employee felt offended and announced his decision to quit the job.

Meanwhile the manager started making inquiries of other staff to see if someone could take over the duties of the staff who was quitting. Unfortunately, it didn't appear that anyone could, or was willing to, do so.

If the inexperienced manager had reversed the order in which he executed the intended changes, and had been a bit calmer, he may not have to face the resulting chaos.

Indecision and haste often are buddy friends. They wreck organizations and relationships. By all means, be decisive, but never be hasty.

One Hour's Zip Through Life

Pastor Keo Joseph asked me to  speak to his students. He rents a house to accommodate 20 students from the provinces so they can study in the big city and belong to one family. I feel honored to be asked. I met them last week and everyone wanted me to advise them

Posing with some of Pastor Joe's Charges

what university course to take. Naturally, they should figure that out themselves. But, no, they genuinely wanted someone, like me, who had gone through nearly the whole 'life process', as it were, to tell them.

This bird's eye view, from the restaurant where I ate breakfast this morning, lent me the imagination I needed to think up materials for my talk today. Looking towards the horizon, you make out three prominent features: the green patch, the stately buildings, and the soon-to-be tallest city building. These, to me, represent power and wealth. And their opposites.

The green patch was once a lake. It was filled up, residents around its shores driven away with or without compensation (depending on how connected they were). It's now divided up and pieces are sold to large foreign companies. It is multi-billion dollar business and a quantum leap to riches.

Moving your eyes to the right, you can just about see two large buildings, reminiscent

Monivong Boulevard, the high street, is on the right

of grey government buildings in communist-block countries, or even in Tokyo. The prime minister works in the one on the right. Apparently, the Chinese built for free the one on the left.

Then, you can't miss the new city landmark, the Vattanak building, next to the Canadia Bank Building. The owner must be very rich.

The gist of my hour-long talk will run like this:

One's life is divided into a few distinct stages. 

Until you can think and decide for yourself, you're like a sponge, absorbing anything and everything. Parents always leave a legacy behind. Children are almost always mirror images of their parents. And, that is why parenting is such a heavy responsibility. As a parent, the biggest gift to your children will last forever. In my case, I've only begun to understand why I behave the way I am. A gift I always treasure from my parents: the belief that education is the key to succeeding in life, and the beauty of kindness. 

When you reach the mid teens, you realise there are decisions to be made. Or, life decisions are made for you. You begin to influence what happens. You sit for exams. You begin to dream. Do you wish to grow up to be a teacher? What about becoming a doctor? Of course, some dreams drop off on the way. There was no way I could become a space astronaut, a nuclear scientist, a smooth-talking lawyer. It became natural for me to want to be an engineer, and, by the time I was 20, I was pushed to become a mechanical engineer. I've only just realized that I had been observing my father when he operated and repaired machinery. I grew up admiring his skills. Subconsciously, I wanted to be able to repair machines. (Today, I firmly believe that if I had not been watching my father at work, I would not study mechanical engineering. What conclusion does that lead one to make? Life's choices are often made without a reason. It might as well be luck, or accident, that determines your future. If your parents are well known lawyers, you may not even have a choice of what course to study. Your career would be made for you.)

If one's parents are poor, you'll hardly likely be allowed to choose which school or university to enroll in. Having wealthy relatives could change that. But that is again luck. One thing though that is not quite derived from luck is the degree of one's motivation. How is one motivated? Here, I must introduce the building blocks of a person's character. (I purposely leave out religion. Religion is not my forte.) We all have a character. It's like a potter moulding a beautiful jar. Components of our character, whether good r bad, are formed. I've mentioned the role of parents leaving a legacy. A huge chunk of our character s already formed. But now, as we increasingly spend time with friends, another form of moulding happens. This can even wipe out the original shape of our character. This is a vital stage. It helps that that character you're forming includes attributes of patience, curiosity, energy and passion, and wisdom. What do we wish, if we can have a wish now? I say: develop sterling values. Develop integrity. Earn a reputation. This must be the starting point of a person's adult life and what he will become.

Does it matter what course you choose? Of course it does! But, as you walk through the rooms of life, you realize that in each room, you need to change your clothes. You realize that a degree is like a key to a doorway. Life becomes what you make of it. What do you do in that room?nOften, I wonder if my engineering degree is a hindrance and not quite the passport to success we think it is. 

One of the best advice I took was this: Do the right thing! It wasn't about doing things right. What's the difference? Lets spend some time discussing this as knowing this can make or break one's career, or worse, wreak a life.

The prime of one's life approaches. You've now spend many years working. You don't feel you can slow down. You've a good pay. You're valued at work. 

I've learnt that nothing is permanent. I mean it. The best thing you can do when you're at the peak of your career is to leave your comfort zone. No dramas. Just go. I've had my regrets not doing so. I'm happy to share life episodes when that happened. 

Learning point? At the peak, a fall is next. 

Its corollary? Never leave a job when you're in the doldrums. 

Ah, retirement. That's beckoning me. It came without warning. The end of the mining boom in Australia killed jobs. I was one of those early birds who were made redundant. I was determined not to be upset. I spent a year walking the Bibbulmun Track, a 1,000 km walking track connecting Perth to Albany in Western Australia. I was glad I did it. I spent many hours in the cumulative six weeks of walking to reflect on life and its next phase. I realized I wanted to live in Asia, perhaps not permanently, but at least for a while to relearn what being an Asian meant. What have I found out? I've lots to share.

Throughout this hour, zipping through the stages in life, changes were inevitable. Yet, it is against our nature to change. Change has been the biggest challenge. My advice is to thrive on change. Occasionally, take a reality check. Am I resisting change? Am I using tradition or even culture to boost my ego and say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it?

I consider myself lucky, going through life like riding a breeze. (Okay, I know that's an exaggeration.) I can't assume this will go on. Perhaps, two thirds of life remain. A fulfilling one, I hope.