Why I love Doing Business

Why I love Doing Business
This article is a wonderful reminder to oneselves on the joy of doing business.
It is about touching lives in your own personal yet meaningful way. It is about about being human, being in touch with your senses, and interacting with another human being in a highly dehumanised automated world.

Bookstore Experience

Bookstore Experience

Yesterday I went book shopping. Got the book "The Psychology of Persuasion" by Kevin Hogan and "Speed Dating" by the original creator of speed dating. At the Kino.. bookstore, probably the biggest bookstore in South East Asia, I was overwhelmed. For every subject, there are shelves after shelves of books, probably from hundreds to thousands.

What's new under the sun? Is there anything that has not been written yet? Is there any thing that is original?

The Education Conspiracy
Hawking came out with the Black Hole theory 30 years and now he said this theory was wrong. Yes, maybe we need to unlearn what we had learnt in the past. For example, that a paper qualification is NOT the ONLY measure of competence, that academic ability is only ONE of the measure of a person's intelligence, that beauty is not measured by the size of your waist, nor the color of your hair.

You don't need an MBA to be an entrepreneur. You don't need a BSC in English to be a writer. Unfortunately, the rule of the game is that if you want to work in their turf, you got to play by their rule. And the rule is that Paper rules.

Consider this. A degree costs $13,000. For that money, you can either read 16 textbooks and get a paper certificate, or you can buy 162 books from the experts in the subject domain. Which would you learn more?

What My Kids Taught Me

What I learnt from My Kids

It's a role reversal. Kids love to imagine and role play. One day, my 4-year-old daughter played the role of a teacher and I was her student.
"Mr Daddy, you stand here", she addressed me.
"Yes, teacher", I replied obediently and stood in front of her.
Pointing to a plastic spoon, she asked: "What color is this?"
"It's Red! Miss Choo", I exclaimed.
She smiled. The answer must be right.
This old man felt like a happy child again.

Books for Rent

Business Model

The book rental business has now gone online. www.bookcraves.com started it. Now www.acisbooks.com follow suit.

Reading makes a man (or woman). What's $15 a month to read 3 books? It's a small investment to enrich the soul.

Forget about the library, esp when you have a particular book title in mind. You don't always get to find the book you want on the shelf. Reserve a book? Cost about $1.50. Takes a month before you get the book. The transport cost.

Food for entrepreneurs. What's next?
What can you rent online? Video tapes? Music Videos? Adult toys? People? Clowns? Magician? Babysitters? Equipment? Toys for birthdays?

Back to the Past

Recreating the Past with Glutton Square

Trying to bring back the crowd to Orchard Road, some bright ones attempt to re-create the old Orchard Road hawker centre. It was doomed to failure from the beginning. Here's why?
Poor hygiene, insufficent stalls, expensive food, poor taste, long queue.

Good publicity brought in the curious crowd. There were only 10 stalls compared to some 30 stalls in the good old days. The rent was expensive, so was the price. The queue was long. More than 20 minutes wait.

How to cook a good meal when you have to cook quickly? Tempers flared. Orders were mix-ups. Finally after a half an hour's waiting, you got your dish - cooked in a hurried. Queue again for a vacant table.

Finally the seat is empty, but the table is cluttered with plates. The cleaner used a filthy cloth to wipe the table. It was rinsed in a pail of murky brown water. Since it is in the open door, you pray it don't rain otherwise you will have to eat under your own umbrella. Shelters not provided.

Would you want to come back to the Glutton Square to eat in a crowded, filthy, noisy place, for an expensive lousy dish?






Can we ever resurrect the past?

Part-time Degree

What's the value of a Part Time Degree?

Some private schools offer a shortcut to a degree. "Complete in 15 months!",
"Complete in 1 year!". Graduates complaint that their part time degree were not recognised.

One reader said that if full time degree holders study for three years or more, while a part time degree takes 1 year, how much would the paper be worth? He called this "Mickey Mouse' part-time degrees.

Hard-Sell Tactics

Lux's Hard-Sell Tactics Draw Fire
(TODAY dated July 12, 2004)

CASE's executive director Seah Seng Choon said the company is "overly aggressive" in pressuring customers into buying products they do not need. He noted that Lux salesmen did not inform customers about the mandatory 10-day cooling-off period, in which customers are free to cancel their purchases without penalties.

Buyers were made to sign an agreement that if they cancel their order, they have to pay half the price of the vacuum cleaner.

The vacuum cleaner costs $2,520. 70 complaints have been lodged with CASE this year compared to 42 complaints last year.

The problem with this 'knock on your door' sales is that you are not given the chance to cool off and compare prices and make a rational decision. They claim that they won't be coming again.

Consumers are swayed by sales tactics such as, "if you don't order now, we will not be coming again". It's now or never. Later when you compare prices, you found that other similiar product cost less than $1,000. Then you wonder if it was worth the price. By then, it's too late to return the good cos of the penalty.


What' the Price of a HDB Unit
(Source:Straits Times, dated 12 July 2004)
It was revealed that the construction cost of a HDB housing unit is around $50,000. But the selling price is about $200,000. One reader ask the government how they account for the big difference in the cost.

Trust is an endangered word. It is as rare as virginity.

Problems in JB

Medical Help in Johore Bahru
If you have a medical emergency, you won't want to be in JB. A man was robbed and his hand was severed. Rushed to a hospital. An attendant ushered him to a ward instead of the A&E Dept. Four hours later, the doctor finally saw him and told him that the centre was not equipped to perform the ops of reattaching the hand. He then make an arrangment with another hospital. Rush to the second hospital to be told by a doctor that it was not equipped to do the ops.

Looks like the attendant and the doctor need a brain transplant. Finally they were rushed to a Singapore hospital and were attended within five minutes.

The lesson learnt: never assume that we can trust people to know what they are suppose to know. Even in Singapore. There are people who don't know their job.

Trust No-one
I have personally encountered a nurse who doesn't know how to put a sling properly, a radiologist who cannot x-ray clearly. She/he doesn't check the quality of the X-ray when it is send out to the doctor. I have seem a couple who brought his child to the A&E cos of fever. After waiting some 3-4 hours, the child's fever had subsided and the parent left without seeing the doctor. I have encountered doctors and nurses who are bloody rude. I can fill a book telling you the stupid things that people do cos they don't know their job.

The recent case of a priest who pocket the church money worth millions of dollar elsewhere. Not a word of "sorry" from his mouth. It's comforting to know that I can trust my mother and my father with my life. When I was young, my mother would give all the children the best portions of the food while she eat the leftover.

Family's Word of Wisdom
She said that "wives are plenty, but there's only one mother"
Grandma said that "food when shared, taste better"
Eldest brother said that "to study is difficult, but not to study is even more difficult"
Brother-in-law said that "tomorrow will be another brand new day. The sun will shine again".
Elder child said" Daddy, when I grow up, I want to marry you!"

Kiasu Schools

Kiasu
Some schools are locking up the field with fencing and padlocks. Gone are the days when students are free to play in the field during recess. The usual response from the school authorities is that they were concerned about the children's safety and that it was expensive to maintain the field. They are stopping the students from playing so that they would not injure themselves.

No wonder children lost their free spirit once they start schooling. Soon they will forget the meaning of play. No wonder we have to import 'foreign talent' to represent our country to win medals in international competition.

That's the price of kiasuism.

How Much for a Losted Life?

What's the Penalty for Causing Death?

"An American fighter pilot who mistakenly bombed Canadan soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002, killing four of them, was found guilty of dereliction of duty. He was reprimanded and docked a month's pay or nearly US$5,700".

What's the penalty for causing the death of four innocent victims? Only a fine of less than $10,000. And how long does it take to reach the verdict, while the victim's families waited for the verdict in order to put a closure to the case? - 2 years.

All Failed Exams

How Bad is Bad
If you think your school is bad, this is as bad as can be. In Bangladesh, there were 50 schools where not a single pupil passed the national leaving exam. The teachers ought to be sacked. Well, if you sack them, the school can't operate. The MOE wants to stop their salaries. Try doing that, and I'm sure the teachers would not be found in class. They might be conducting physical education with a baseball in the field.

Donations for Charity
There's a new word called 'social entrepreneurship'. If your charity needs money, it won't work to depend on donation alone. Some innovative organisations have started to run their business to fund their charity organisation. Businesses include house removal service, restaurants, and foodstalls.

I saw that in small scales already in Vietnam. Those who come to me with their bare-hands, I am reluctant to give. But those kids who come to me with chewing gums for sale, I'll buy from them cos there's no such thing as free lunch in the world, that it's for their self-esteem to consider themselves entrepreneurs and not beggars. It shows they are using their brain. That I respect.

Too much appeal for donation results in fatigue. Every Sat, one is accosted by students with donation cans. But I have no idea what the organisation is about. Neither the students.

I'm Sick

The Best Excuse - I'm Sick

The best excuse not to show your face is to say that you are sick.
Some people watched Euro 2004 Final between Portugal and Greece.
Don't feel like going to work? Report sick.

Even the political leaders know this trick.
President Suharto failed to show up for his trial.
Reason - he was too ill to attend.
But recently newspaper showed him walking to the booth, waving and smiling to the crowd while on his way to cast his election vote.
President Megawati, in his election promises, say she will bring Suharto to justice, if she is elected. So what has she been doing for the last few years while still a President?

Today's headline says: "Milosevic falls ill again - Former Yugoslav President fails to show up for war crimes trial". The same old trick.

The next time if I don't show up and I tell you I'm sick, you know what I mean.

Are Leaders Servants?

Are Leaders Servants?

The concept of servanthood is lost to the modern generation.
Jesus said let the chief among you be the servant of all.
A function of a leader is to serve. The needs of his people comes first before his own needs.

A ship captain is the last to abandon ship.
The leader of the troops leads by the front.
You don't see a Red Indian Chief rally from behind? Do you.
A mother makes sure her children gets the best food while she eats the leftover.
A parent ensures the children are fed first.

But I don't see servanthood in practice.
The red carpet are laid for the VIP
A separate toilet is meant for the executive. And it has the extras such as shower facilities.
The management has the best TV, best computer, and the best office space
The management get the best of everything. Their priority is always first.
What happen to servanthood?

It is difficult for a poor soul to give to the church which spends millions of dollars to build a grand church with a half-million fountain. It is difficult for a poor struggling soul to give the few precious dollars when the church leaders are driving in luxurious cars and eat in restaurants.

A whistle blower revealed the dirt on a certain budget airline. The board of directors had recently given themselves a pay rise of as much as 30 per cent - at a time when other employees took a paycut - and applied it retrospectively for the previous six months.

There is a thing called legalised corruption. That means you pay people enough money so that they don't have to resort to illegal corruption. If you ask them why they are paid so much, they will reply you: "We are not Mother Teresa. We don't run a charity".

Break the Rules

Career - Where to Break the Rules

In some jobs, we break the conventional rules.

Customers are always right? Wrong! Not in the Police Force, not in the Prison Force. Over there, the customers are always wrong. The judge is alway right.

If you work in a crematorium, you cannot smile. You cannot say "Good morning".
"What's so good about this morning? My mother just passed away!"

Can we Debate?

Debating in Singapore

"Singaporean were conspicuously absent from the First Asia-Pacific Chinese Debate Tournament yesterday", says the Straits Times. NUS and NTU field foreigners. The director of the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall was quoted as saying: "We don't have a culture of debating here in Singapore".

That's a very telling statement. Do you know why we don't have a culture of debating in Singapore? I think we do have a culture of complaining. We are a people of whiners and complainers. I suspected I'm one of them. It is so easy to whine. Just open your mouth, it comes out as naturally as saliva. Then you feel better after the vomit all the rubbish words.

I suspected we have a culture of debating, only in the kopitiam (coffees), not in public. You don't want people to knock on your door, or someone checking on your tax declaration, or pig head on your door, free paintwork on your door, or email saying "We know what you need last summer". "Why create trouble by opening your big CB mouth", the Chinese have this saying. "You think you are going the change the world with your mouth!", the skeptic says.

Moreover, the government has been doing a fine job managing our lives in every aspect. Don't worry. If there's anything we missed out, they will remind us. At the MRT station, they remind us every 15 seconds to stand behind the yellow line. We are reminded how to be romantic with a Romancing Singapore campaign. Don't worry. With campaigns after campaigns, we will know what to do.

What the point of debating? The management are the creme-la-de-creme (whatever). Their one year pay is more than your lifetime pay. Obviously they know something you don't know. So do you think they want your opinion? Sorry, here I am whining like a pig again. I think I like to go for an extreme makeover, if there is one here, so that I would utter only the good things.

Childrens are the Best Teachers

Marie, my 4-year old daughter, is pretty sensitive about criticism. She says, "Don't say bad things about me". Marie, Sarah and myself were having dinner together one day. Both love to talk while eating. They take such a long time (half to one hour) to eat that the food go cold. They hate to hear the truth that they were slow eaters.

So I rephrased the verdict, "You are fast, she is faster, and daddy is the fastest".
"Hey I didn't say any thing bad about you. I say good things about daddy. Daddy is the fastest!".

My children are my greatest teachers.
I'm their student.
My heart is humbled in their presence.

Sex Sells

Sex Sells

A blogger shared a very interesting experiment. He offered some files for download but there were few takers. Then he change the titles of the files to some sexy titles. Suddenly, the sharks smelt blood and 100-200 downloads were recorded. Of course downloaders were disappointed. It's not what they expected.

But it does prove one point. Sex sells. It's in-built in our body. The urge is as naturally as our desire for food. Yet the culture in some societies prohibits women to show their face. They have to covered from head to toes including their face. The reason - so that men will not be tempted.

I think the men should covered their eyes, rather than have women cover their face. It's a man's problem if they lust.

In some 'modern' society, we are taught that nudity is bad. "Shame shame", we tell the kids when they walk around the house naked. Don't we know that in some islands, aborigines walk around naked, and there's no shame to it. No wonder that we have lost the knowledge of seeing a nude human body as God's work of art. Cos it has now been associated with pornography. What a shame.

Parenting
As a parent, I'm privileged to see how a baby grows, and the beauty of the human body. Every hour she wants to eat, she wants to shit, she wants to pee, then she wants to bath. If you cast your eyes off a few seconds, you don't know what she will touch, pull or tear apart, or put in her mouth. Got to taste every thing. Got to touch everything. No means yes. The forbidden fruit must be good. It takes better. Just like Eve tasted the forbidden fruit. Parenting is a full-time job. I love every moment of it.

My kids amazed me. Sarah, at age 3, has an unusual talent of writing her alphabet in a mirror form, ie. backwards. Marie, at age 4, can say profound words like "I swallowed my lies". The other day, she pretend to be the teacher and I role play as her student. So I called her "Mrs Choo". She was delighted. She said that "when I grow up, I'm going to marry Daddy". Kids say the darnest thing.

Don't You Smile Here

Don't Smile
Do you know where's the only workplace where employees are not allowed to smile?
The answer - the crematorium. The staff cannot smile. They have to be sensitve to other people's feeling.

Marketing Gimmicks
Here's a simple way to draw curious customers to a your foodstall. I learnt that from my office canteen. In front of the stall is a notice board. On it was written: "Talking Point". It contains either a quiz, puzzle, or a joke. The content are fresh every day. It is funny and draw a curious crowd who would come everyday to see what's new and get a laugh.

A gas supply company send its workers to deliver mobile gas to the homes. It came out with a simple branding effort that brings lots of business. The workers wear the Spideman suit. Everywhere they go, they draw curious children who would follow them. Novelty. They become the talking point in the neighbourhood.

A house was built in the shape of a beetle car. It draws curious tourists to view such an unusual house.

Here's what I meant by Think out of the box. Branding does not have to be expensive. Be different from the rest.

Vietnamese Brides

Business in Vietnam brides is such a roaring business that you can literally see the classified advertisement growing by the week, thanks to such publicity in the press. One innovative company came up with a new idea to beat the competition. It brings the Vietnamese girls to Singapore. Now customers can view them face to face without the inconvenience of travelling all the way to Vietnam.

Ah, they didn't know there's only a handful to see. But if they go to Vietnam, there are hundreds and hundreds to choose from. Much more than the Bachelor in the reality TV show. Oh I don't understand how men can choose their Vietnamese bride in just one-two dates in one-two days. There's no compatibility test. Of course, on initial impression, everyone put on their best behaviour and make up.

How deep is your love? 0.5 cm skin deep. Wait till she sleeps and snores. Wait till you see the pimples on close range. Wait till you smell her bad breath.

The Singaporean complaint that his new Vietnamese bride does not sweep the floor. In Singapore, we sweep our floor every day cos of the dust. In Vietnam, some people lives in houses with mud floor. "What dust?" asked the new Vietnamese bride. "I don't see any dust on the floor!".

Malfeasance

Word of the Day
Malfeasance - Misconduct or wrongdoing, especially by a public official.
E.g. politicians were not focused on corporate malfeasance.

Every Undedog has his Day

Every Underdog has his Day
I'm happy to hear that Greece defeated Portugal in the Euro 2004 Soccer Final. I always root for underdogs. Greece? Which punters would have bet on them to win? They were unknowns. There's no big name of the likes of Figo or Beckam. One thing they had - they work closely as a team. They have a defence that's as tight as a fortress. Hard to penetrate.

I'm happy to hear that some coffee-shop owners gave ex-convicts a second chance in life by employing only ex-convicts in their coffee shops. I heard that there's one in Changi and another in Tampines Changkat Community Club. It was featured in the news media yesterday. I hope that more organisations with a heart for a good cause (like Body Shop) would put aside some earnings to charity and employ disadvantage people. These people are willing to work hard and prove themselves. All they need is a second chance at life.

www.yellowribbon.org.sg

Instant Cash

A New World
If you don't keep abreast of the news, the world passes you by.
I just discovered a new name for pawnshop. It's now called SPEEDCASH.
Yea, instant cash. Forget about what you give away. Think about what you get.

That comes from the Post Office. Now, not only can you put in your letters, you can even put in your valuables.

Blotted Govt
Cambodia is forming a coalition govt. According to a senior diplomat, the new administration will have around 3000 posts. You won't believe the kind of tasks these policy makers will do. He said, "They will not be assigned work - they'll just be addressing and opening seminars, cutting ribbons, welcoming foreign guests..."

On the surface, we uneducated citizens had the impression that's what politicians do and they get paid very well. Because everytime we see them, they are either cutting ribbons, kissing babies and making boring speeches. Nobody appreciates what they do behind closed doors.

The other day, I went to the weekly Meet-the-MP session. My MP was not in. Maybe he is busy attending an official function or another cake-cutting ceremony. Or maybe he is sitting in on one of the board meeting. Nowadays a number of MPs are sitting on the board of directors. MP are very busy people, you know.

Stupidity

Stupidity

The more I read the news, the more I believe that the most abundant human resource is stupidity. Anyone can claim himself to be a guru with a manifesto of strange doctrines and still you can find followers. There are suckers for all sorts of religions, scams and diets.

Here's a Briton called Caroline Mackinder. Twice she had no idea she was pregnant. She said she had put on a bit of weight, and that she stil have her periods. Went to the hospital for her stomach pain and out came a baby. She's 36-year old.

Career Counselling
By the way, if you ask my 4-year old daughter what she want to be when she grow up, she will say, "I want to marry Daddy. I want to be a cook, then a nurse, then a doctor".
She's a smart girl. When I was 18 years of age, I didn't know what I want to be cos I didn't have any skill. I do know about the history of the British Empire. Career counselling was unheard of. I told her that since she looks to eat and eat and eat, she might as well be a cook and get to cook their favourite dishes.

I think cooks are the happiest people on earth. For one of the greatest pleasure of life is a good meal. Food, like love and sex, is a universal language.



Four is an Unlucky Number
When I went to ballot for a house, my name was the last in the list. Of course, all the good houses were snapped. But strangely there was one unit that was not taken. It was on a good floor with a good view. I thought God must have blessed me and keep that for me. Now I know the reason why. The unit number ended with '4'. In the Chinese language, 'four' sounds like death and it's unlucky. I took a look at all the units in my flat that ends with four. True enough, most of them were owned by non-Chinese. So friends, if you want to know how superstitous the chinese can be, look at the flat units ending with four . See how many of them are owned by Chinese.

Suicide

It's Money
My friend's cousin committed suicide by jumping from a block of high-rise flat. He was only 22 years old - in the prime of life with many potential years ahead. The local soccer league was at 7pm. He jumped at 9 pm. The reason - he gambled and lost.

I asked if that's what his life is worth? If I work a lifetime, I would accumulated half a million, enough to pay the debt. I asked, what's the social cost to gambling? How many life are lost, how many families are broken, because of gambling.

Now the people with vested interested are sweetening the sin by giving it a sweet name. Call it gaming, not gambling. Soon you won't find the word SIN in the dictionary of many lives. They call it addiction, or weakness. It's not my fault. Blame it on whatever.

Someone asked, if smoking is so bad, why not ban it? The reality, my friend is that there's BIG BIG money from the sales of cigarettes. Don't you know that vices are BIG BIG business. What's BAD is good for business. Name it. Prostitution, drugs, wine, women, gambling, viagra. The addiction industry is good for the suppliers.

I can't help thinking about Michael Jackson singing, "I'm bad, I'm bad". Why does he sing a song like that, as if he is preaching that it's good to be bad? I suppose it's the bad people that makes the news. The good stuff are boring for the MTV generation.

Am I an Alien?

Am I an Alien?
Life is a journey between the home and the office. At night I warm the bed, in the day I warm the seat in the cubicle and then in the evening I warm the coach. In the morning I can't wait to go to work, so that I can top up my fuel tank with free breakfast and then catch the news. The newspaper is a window to the world from the confine of my cubicle. And the happenings of the world is sometime out of this world.

"London subway workers go on strike", the headline screams. Why? They are asking for a 4-day workweek. In Singapore the civil service is working on 5 1/2 workweek. People have been asking for a 5-day workweek. But Big Boss say, it's not productive. It must be the Asian mindset to think that the more hours you put in, the more productive you are. But you and I know that the mind doesn't work 8 hours a day. It comes in short burst between play.

I read that prisoners in USA possess handphone and it reported that it is increasing a growing problem. I didn't know that prisoners in USA are such a privilege lot. I'm sure many refugees and poor folks in the 3rd world countries would be happy to stay in their prisons. Free shelter, free uniform, free food, no work, free guardian, and you get to talk on your handphone. What can be better than begging in the street, sleeping in the cold and scavanging for food in the dustbin?

The History of Regulation
Once upon a time, there were freedom in my forum. Anyone is free to join my club and post a message. But one or two idiots would scam my forum with debt-free advertisement and promise of health-wealth-happiness. Add to the insult, the email says if they do not want to receive the advertisement, they can unsubscribe to the club.

So I have to set my configuration such that new members must be authorised by me before they can pose messages. That's the beginning of regulation. When the minority makes trouble for the majority, a new law is born. Everytime someone makes trouble, another law is made. Until it becomes so regulated, that for everytime you do, there's a law; for every step you made, you could potential step onto a minefield of violation. Until, the people become slave to the law. That's what a regulated society is. People are obedient out of fear, people are no longer able to think for themselves cos the govt has made all the decisions for its citizen.

Donation
Every Saturday, if you walk in the street, you will be accosted by students, who rattle their donation tin and asking for a donation. If you don't donate, you will face another student, and then another. There's no escape. They are all over the place. Make a donation and you get to put the sticker on your shirt. That's your passport for a hassle free passage through the maze of students.

Ask them what the donation is all about, what's the charity organisation does. "Don't know". I don't know what the school is teaching them. How to beg, I suppose. No thinking required. Just shoved your tin in their face, put on your best smile and mumble a few words. Schools are given a task to raise so much. So they send their army of students to the streets and just do it. The measure of their success? How much have they collected?

Ask me. I think they miss the point of education. If they walk the talk on education, they ought to send their students to the charity home for a day to observe what they do, and what they do with the money, and adopt the charity. So when the students are out in the streets, they can do it with passion and understanding, knowing that every cents go to a good cause, that their kindness make a difference to the people that matters. That's what education is all about.