Diversity in the Workplace: A Reality or a Pipe-dream? [Re-post]

[This is a re-post of an earlier blog]

With the influx of more foreigners into our small island nation, Singaporeans are often asked by government and community leaders to extend a warm welcome to them. To not just tolerate them but understand and appreciate their cultures and their traditions.

Singapore has always been a land of immigrants and multi-racialism and multiculturalism are not foreign concepts to most Singaporeans. They are part of our national ethos and value system. As such it would seem natural for our workplaces to embrace diversity in all forms as an extension of the national narrative that has been such an integral part of our history.

But I have my doubts. The nature of companies is to stick with the status quo – the prevailing organisational culture. And if the prevailing culture appears to promote uniformity in thought, communication and deeds where management teams are routinely filled with people who think and act in the same way, then organisational change to accommodate diversity is going to be a pipe dream.

Source: Quoteistan.com

The reason for this is the phenomenon called “shadow of the leader” (Senn, Larry E. and John R. Childress, The Secret of a Winning Culture: Building High Performance Teams. Leadership Press, Los Angeles, CA, 1999). Corporate culture is a direct reflection of the senior executives. Employees take their clues on how to behave and how to get ahead by watching the collective and individual behaviour of the senior executives (the principia project, John R. Childress). This is why effecting any organisational change has to come from the top.

Diversity comes in different forms –  gender, cultural, religious and, the one I am concerned with here, personality types.Diversity in personality types in the workplace refers to people who think, process information, communicate and act differently because of how they are hardwired.

Organisational experts are recognising the benefits of having diversity of personality types in the workplace. Diversity can be a strength if it is harnessed properly. Singapore’s umbilical connection with the rapidly changing global environment, makes diversity in management teams a valuable asset in tackling the accompanying challenges and managing in diversity an important skill to have.

But embracing diversity must be a key component of the organisational culture and if it isn’t, then strong leadership is going to be absolutely pivotal in ensuring that it is.

In a 2006 study by Towers Perrin, companies with high culture scores consistently outperformed those with low culture scores on a variety of business metrics (the principia project, John R. Childress).

Jack Welch was quoted as saying, “A negative or resistant culture can derail even the best strategy”.

So if diversity of personality types within a management team is an asset which deserves to be a key component of an organisation’s corporate culture, then it takes a bold and enlightened leadership to ensure that it does.

There are many personality type tests which career coaches and human resource experts use to inform employees of their personality types and hence their preferred way of communicating and getting work done.

Many bosses conduct training sessions for their staff where personality tests are done and the results shared and explained so that employees get to understand themselves and the colleagues they work with. All this in an effort to promote teamwork, cooperation and collaboration and a happier, more congenial work environment.

The commonly used personality tests – Myers Briggs Type Indicator, Gallup’s StrengthsFinder and DISC – typically require respondents (employees) to answer a number of questions, usually in a given amount of time. And usually the results of these tests would reveal strengths or certain signature or dominant personality types which may explain how one communicates or behaves in a work environment.

It must be remembered that the context is important when doing such tests – what role are you assuming when you take the test – for e.g. employee or at a workplace, as a spouse or parent at home, or as a player in a sports team. We all wear many hats in our lives and it is important to understand that personality tests are only relevant for the context that we set ourselves in and the results are not gospel but can change in a different context or over time.

While the time and resources put into training staff to understand and embrace their personality types are admirable and encouraging, I believe the follow-through is much more important. The end objectives of such training are always the organisational benefits of better teamwork and communication and a happier and more productive workplace.

How many organisations find themselves reverting to their old habits, unable to achieve the end objectives by incorporating diversity in their management team? How many management teams give in to the dominant voices within and remain reluctant to change, shying away from embracing the diversity of personality types, leveraging on the different skill sets and perspectives to overcome organisational challenges?

These are questions that leaders in organisations need to seriously ponder on and take decisive action if they are to effect lasting changes in their organisations. Leadership is key.

Source: http://www.unnatiunlimited.com

Effective organisational change can only happen with effective leadership (Deal, Terrence E. and Allan A. Kennedy, Corporate Cultures, Perseus, 2000).

Management teams may eschew diversity as it may cause disharmony if senior executives are uncomfortable with it and fear unwanted delay in forging consensus.

But Mr Peter Ong, Head of the Singapore Civil Service, said recently at the Public Service Leadership Dinner, that “the dramatic pace of strategic ruptures taking place all around the world”, may require senior executives to get used to managing in diversity even if it means there may not be clear solutions, requiring tough decisions and empathy to steer clear of one size fits all type of solutions.

Mr Peter Ong, Head of the Civil Service. Image Credit: Public Service Division

In conclusion, there needs to be a higher level of commitment from management teams to encourage diversity at the workplace not because it is the latest buzzword in management literature but for the organisational benefits it accrues to the department or company and for its more long term positive impact.

What Defines You (re-post)

[The following is a re-post from an earlier blog]

Early last month, before the new academic year began I received the sad news that one of my students, a petite 18 year old girl, had contracted cancer. She had just completed her 2nd Year and was looking forward to start her 6-month internship in the new semester.

I met her distraught father to help initiate the administrative process needed to defer her studies till she gets better. It is always heart-breaking to hear about people, especially people who are near and dear to you, who are stricken with the scourge of cancer. Recent medical and bio-technological advances have made huge strides in the fight against cancer, improving the survival rates significantly, but often this is still scant consolation for those stricken with the disease and to their loved ones.

This latest reminder of the fragility of life, that everyday is a gift which one should treasure and cherish was especially sobering for me. It made me think of my father and how he worked so hard all his life so much so that when he retired, he seemed to have lost his raison d’etre and appeared displaced and confused about post-retirement life.

It reminded me of a question a management trainer asked of me? “What defines you?” And one of the things I said was my work defines me.

But the critical question, especially after this latest news about my student, is, “Does your work define you solely as a person or a human being?”

I hope the answer is a negative and it should be a resounding negative. Men, especially, feel their self-worth and their standing in society is a function of their achievements and success at work. But it is indeed a very sad day when society uses this as the sole gauge of how good a human being someone is.

A person is still someone’s sister or brother, someone’s mother or father, someone’s spouse and someone’s friend and not just someone’s boss or colleague. And that’s how, I feel, we should all be remembered by those around us, as a whole person who has a life outside of work.

I also began to think about the causes of cancer and it is a well-known fact that stress is one of the chief contributing factors. This brings us back to our jobs and our workplace.

Is all the stress at work really worth it?

Let us first be upfront about one thing. I am not proposing that all workplaces should be stress-free zones. That would not be possible. Stress can be a good thing up to a certain point because it encourages us to push beyond the boundaries, to continually do better and improve.

Media professionals often talk about how the media and communications industry is one of the most stressful in the world today. Well, having spent 14 years in the media industry, I can vouch for that sentiment. But I’ll be quick to add that stress is not the sole preserve of media industry.

Just ask former Lehman Brothers CFO, Ms Erin Callan. She wrote a brutally honest opinion piece in The New York Times entitled, Is There Life After Work?

In the article she lamented not LIVING her life to the fullest and making work the centre of her life. This meant putting all else, including her family, friends, husband and marriage second to her work. Not surprisingly her marriage ended at about the time that the 2008 financial crisis struck U.S. markets causing the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Callan resigned just months before the collapse.

She wrote, “…when I left my job, it devastated me. I couldn’t just rally and move on. I did not know how to value who I was versus what I did. What I did was who I was.”

In Callan’s case, she left her job following financial collapse of the markets decimated her company. But how much worse is it if you are forced out due to an incurable disease like cancer? You see what terminal illnesses like cancer do to you is to strip you of all your worldly possessions and of all the things that are not of any importance to you and re-focuses your mind on the people and things that are truly important and which bring you genuine happiness.

Callan’s thoughts were echoed chillingly by the late Linds Redding, an art director at advertising companies BBDO and Saatchi & Saatchi. Redding died of esophageal cancer at the age of 52 in October 2012 after spending years as a successful advertising executive. Cancer was a wake-up call, a dark epiphany that suddenly put his life into proper perspective. It was an especially heart-wrenching moment when  he learnt that the cancer was inoperable from his doctor .

He wrote a visceral blog entitled “A Short Lesson In Perspective” which became viral in the aftermath of his death especially among creative executives in the advertising industry. In the blog, he lambasted his former colleagues for sacrificing precious times and occasions with family and friends for the sake of work by calling them “f*****g mad”, “Deranged” and “So disengaged from reality it’s not even funny.”

He further labelled the advertising industry a scam and a con; the con being that the industry forces you to believe that there is nothing more important than the client brief and the work involved whether it is a TV commercial or more elaborate ad campaign. That this work somehow gives more meaning to one’s life than anything else.

Of course readers of his blog say that his chilling rant is applicable to other industries and the problem of placing work above all else is something many of us are guilty of.

But it is up to us to recognize that life is not all about work and that having a good work-life balance is actually healthy for optimal work performance.

It is about coming to terms with the realities in the work-place concerning taking on additional work responsibilities, bonuses, promotions and weighing these against being a good spouse, a responsible and loving parent and a filial son or daughter.

In Singapore, we have our own Linds Redding in the late Dr Richard Teo, who gave up a promising career in the public sector as an ophthalmologist to become an aesthetic surgeon. He died of lung cancer at the relatively young age of 40. He gave his own account of the meaning of life and what it means to be successful and happy in a powerful and sobering Youtube video. (Note: video is a little grainy and has poor sound quality).

The Year’s Disruption Must Lead to Re-invigoration Without Destruction

Its been 4 + months since I last wrote anything on my blog and to be honest I was feeling a little guilty for not doing so even though I had good reason as my workload piled on incessantly during this time forcing me to set aside my writing. But I’m back with this last blog of 2016.

As with most people who approach the year end, I began to reflect on the past year and look back at what I have achieved and what the new year could have in store for me. But then I began to look beyond myself and at the world around me and what transpired in the past 12 months and searched agonisingly for a single word that would aptly describe how I felt about 2016.

The words that came to my mind were somewhat dark and sombre like “painful”, “tragic”, “melancholic”, “gloomy” and “desolate”. Maybe it wasn’t surprising because of the rash of celebrity deaths that had occured this year which made for some woeful reading. Just check out the list of celebrity deaths we’ve had this year which includes, politicians, actors, directors, singers, sports and fashion icons.

Alan Rickman, Alan Thicke, Anton Yelchin, Arnold Palmer, Carrie Fischer, Christina Grimmie, Craig Strickland, David Bowie, Debbie Reynolds, Fidel Castro, George Kennedy, George Michael, Gene Wilder, Glen Frey, John Glenn, Leonard Cohen, Maurice White, Michael Cimino, Muhammad Ali, Prince, Robert Vaughn, Sonia Rykiel, Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Maybe its because many of these celebrities were very familiar to me and I feel like I grew up with them listening and dancing to their songs or watching them on TV or the big screen, playing iconic characters which left an indelible print on the pop culture that has defined my generation.

But then looking past this and reflecting further on other world events just made me realise that the word I was looking for was DISRUPTION.

Perhaps a little overused and becoming more common in our vernacular, we are seeing DISRUPTION at a scale that is, quite frankly, a little scary, in virtually all segments of human life.

Systems, which in their very nature, are designed to be stable, are being destabilised by new players, new technology and a push to streamline processes, cutting away layers of hierarchy and bureaucracy and connecting consumers directly to producers and products through a process sometimes referred to as disintermediation.

The DISRUPTION that is currently seen in the finance and investment sector is one example where disintermediation is happening at a rapid pace leading to many financial advisors watching nervously for any signs that redundancy is taking root in the banks and financial institutions that they are employed at.

The taxi sector is another great example of DISRUPTION where the influx of 3rd party booking apps like Uber and Grab and private hire cars, have prompted the Singapore taxi companies (like Trans-Cab and SMRT) to lower their rental rates, offer incentives to attract more taxi drivers to join them and perhaps even consider removing the midnight surcharge which private hire cars do not charge.

In the higher education sector, polytechnics and universities are reviewing how they can re-focus more on competencies and skills rather than developing 3 or 4 year diploma and degree programmes which have a substantial concentration on academic knowledge. As part of the larger SkillsFuture movement in Singapore, a new skills certification framework which allows people to do short courses to learn new skills through remote learning is quickly being developed. This DISRUPTION would mean that educational institutions and the government have to part ways with a host of huge legacy systems and start looking at developing nationally accredited alternative certification of competencies and skills, see how public and private employers hire based on these certifications and if higher educational institutions will enrol and admit students based on these alternative certification programmes.

The media industry has been identified as the most disrupted industry out there and not surprisingly so. News organisations are looking for new ways of engaging their readers and are forced to reconsider and revise time-honoured premises and models on which they operated for decades. News can now be accessed on mobile phones on social sites rather than on traditional media sites. News can also be customised and packaged for each individual and accessed through the individual’s preferred social site on his mobile device at his own convenience.

An example of this collaboration between social sites and news publishers is the New York Times using Facebook’s Instant Articles (IA) application where NYT’s selected news articles will be shared on Facebook in the hope of better engagement with its readers.

Digital disruption of this nature where consumers are accessing products and services on their mobiles, disrupts other related industries and the audience measurement and advertising industry comes to mind. Where previously TV audience and newspaper readership were measured by methods that can best be described as educated guesses, now new metrics have emerged for internet-enabled media sites which can accurately determine actual engagement through various metrics like Click Through Rates, View Through Rates, Cost Per Click/View and Engagement Rate. All thanks to data analytics of consumer data captured digitally as more of them use digital screens facilitated by broadband internet connections.

Native advertising (or sponsored articles or videos that resemble genuine editorials) has also emerged as one of the main generators of revenue for an increasing number of digital publishers even though confidence and trust in verified news sources can be compromised if this is not done carefully.

DISRUPTION is happening on such a wide spectrum of services that this could be an unrelenting theme in our lives in the coming years and probably rising in its pace and intensity as well.

The crowdfunding phenomenon that took off by storm several years ago by Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, has now adapted itself in many various ways in other fields like welfare donations and philanthropy and widened its concept to embrace crowdsourcing. Almost anyone can use this concept to offer a range of services and products like disaster relief, logo design, information gathering and intelligence and more. This disrupts the traditional systems and organisational infrastructure set up to provide these services in the first place as they can now be provided more efficiently and cheaply.

But DISRUPTION is also being seen in the political front and the best example of that was Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidential elections held on 8 November 2016. An outsider who lacked political experience and who is more familiar with making business deals. Trump is willing to slaughter every sacred cow there is in order to pursue his goals. He was not a popular figure even within his own Republican party at the time of nomination. But it seems that the average American had bread and butter concerns which were not being adequately addressed by the incumbent Obama administration that was more preoccupied with the need to embrace technological advancement, globalisation and open and free trade which were the main drivers of disruption in the lives of the average American.

Crowdsourcing in the political/ideological field took on a more sinister complexion, with the terrorist group, ISIS, recruiting its jihadist members from all over the world to fight for its twisted and much maligned cause in Iraq and Syria. This has resulted in tragic loss of lives and DISRUPTION in the lives of innocent Syrians who are fleeing their country in a perilous journey as refugees to Turkey enroute to Europe. It has created one of the most trying and difficult human and political crises in recent history as Europe struggles to cope with the sheer numbers that are fleeing, not to mention the anger and disenchantment this has caused among ordinary Europeans and the ferocity of political debates in the continent raging over how to balance humanity with the needs of its own citizens.

Closer to home, China has re-exerted its claim over a large swathe of the South China Sea in what some political observers would describe as belligerent by building military bases on several artificial islands reclaimed from the sea. This has disrupted the stability in this region where several ASEAN countries are themselves locked in a dispute over territorial claims of several islands. The fact that peace and stability in the South China Sea was maintained for decades inspite of territorial disputes among the ASEAN countries is testament to the strength and unity of the regional economic and political grouping. But China’s entry into the equation has upset the balance somewhat and is now causing some discomfort among ASEAN members and testing the ties and bonds that have been nurtured for so long over the years.

All this led me to think about DISRUPTION and whether it is intrinsically bad for everyone when it upsets and brings distress and alarm to many people. And then I realised that just like the mythical phoenix that rose from the ashes, disruption happens for a reason; so that systems can get better, more robust and more efficient through a process of renewal, revival and re-ingoration.

But in this constant quest for change to do things better, let’s remember that change needs to be explained and people need to be convinced that the change is for their own good. Let’s not forget that people are at the centre of everything we do and we need to facilitate Change with Compassion. But change we must, if we are to survive.

I would like to end with a song sung by the most gifted poet, lyricist and singer who influenced political thought with his songs and won a Nobel Peace prize for it, Robert Allen Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan.

THE TIMES THEY ARE A’CHANGIN

Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside
And it is ragin’.
It’ll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin’.
Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin’.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’.

Songwriters: BOB DYLAN

Happy New Year everyone!

Schooling Races To Capture Olympic Record And Singaporean Hearts

I have been thinking of a couple of things that have given Singaporeans reason for joy and celebration as well as some serious introspection.

The 13 of August 2016 would be forever etched in the minds of Singaporeans. The mood among Singaporeans from all walks of life, has been rather celebratory and for good reason. Our golden boy of the swimming pool, Joseph Schooling, has penned his name firmly into the annals of Singapore’s sporting history with a breathtaking win in the 100 m butterfly event in a new Olympic record of 50.39 seconds at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Photo Credits: MediaCorp okto Channel

Many Singaporeans got up early on the fateful Saturday morning to catch the race “live” on TV and rejoiced with him and his elated parents, May and Colin Schooling, as they witnessed years of strenuous, unforgiving training, sacrifice and unshakeable self-belief pay off in Joseph achieving Singapore’s 1st ever gold medal in the Olympics.

What made this win significant as well was Joseph beat his childhood idol, Michael Phelps of the U.S. into second place by almost a second. Two other world class swimmers, Chad Le Clos of South Africa and Lazslo Cseh of Hungary tied with Phelps in second place which in itself was very unusual.

Photo credit: MediaCorp okto Channel

The welcome home party at Singapore’s Changi Airport was raucous and overwhelming. A special motion was moved in Parliament to recognise Schooling’s achievement, culminating in an open top bus parade which started off from his home neighbourhood at Marine Parade.

Source: Channel News Asia: Joseph Schooling is Singapore’s First Olympic Champion

Singaporeans of all races, religions and backgrounds took pride in Schooling’s amazing achievement and were unabashed in their joy and gushing with praise for their champion. The fact that Schooling is of Eurasian descent and therefore his Olympic feat finding less of an emotional connection with Singaporeans of a certain race was never an issue. Singaporeans, no matter the race – Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian or any other race – were equal in their expression of joy that a fellow homegrown Singaporean was able to achieve Olympic glory.

So you can understand my uneasiness when I read the media reports this past week on the findings of the Channel News Asia-Institute of Policy Studies survey on race and relations in Singapore.

Among the main findings were some that I found personally disconcerting. Some of these are the fact that the majority of Singaporeans are still uncomfortable talking about racial issues which has led to some unanswered questions about religious and cultural practices among the various races in Singapore.

One in three among the minority races in Singapore felt discriminated against. More than half of minority respondents in the survey agreed with statements such as “people have acted as if they are better than you”. About 60 per cent of all respondents had heard racist comments. Under half of the respondents noting that such comments were made by workplace colleagues and friends. [Source: CNA 2nd Report – Racism Still A Problem for Some Singaporeans]

And in the last of the CNA-IPS reports, the survey concluded that most Singaporeans would still prefer a President or Prime Minister of the same race as themselves. [Source: CNA 3rd Report – Most Singaporeans Want Someone of the Same Race As Prime Minister, President] 

However, the majority still supported multi-culturalism in Singapore and that all races should be treated fairly and with respect. The majority still felt that success did not depend on your ethnicity.

While race relations in Singapore is still a work-in-progress (and will always be in my view), it is good to note that the government is acutely aware of this and continues to seek ways to bridge gaps between the races here.

In any multi-ethnic, multi-religious country, the natural sway is for the majority group to exert its influence in the country’s political, social and economic sectors. It may even be argued that the minority groups have to make the effort to fit into these sectoral constructs as best they can so that they do not become irrelevant or marginalised.

However, the Singapore government has so far, not taken this for granted and has deliberately taken steps to ensure the minority groups are engaged and their concerns are heard and inter-ethnic bonds are continually strengthened.

But I sense there is a renewed urgency among the political elite to up the ante where improving race relations here is concerned. There is a new Channel News Asia documentary called Regardless of Race presented by none other than PAP MP, Minister of State, Communications and Information & Education and Chairman of OnePeople.SG, Dr Janil Puthucheary

The documentary featured a social experiment that was carried out which though simple in its aim and logic, turned out to be rather impactful in its revelation to the participants. You can check it out in the video link below:

REGARDLESS OF RACE – SOCIAL EXPERIMENT

What was revealing was that members of the minority races were surprised to find how much they underestimated their own feelings of being undervalued because of their ethnicity and how the majority race (Chinese) have never viewed themselves as being privileged just because of their race even if that is the reality in Singapore. A simple but stark illustration of this is to hear how Chinese Singaporeans felt discriminated or slighted while being in a foreign country either as a tourist or for work purposes, where they are not the majority race. The incidents they experienced are not very different from what minorities in Singapore may face.

I personally believe our Singapore youths can do much more to learn about the various ethnic groups in Singapore and to differentiate race from religion, ethnicity, language and nationality. So an Indian man may not necessarily be of the Hindu faith, may not necessarily have a beef restricted diet, neither does he necessarily have to speak Tamil, nor does he have to be born in India. And yes, he need not necessarily be dark-skinned, even though the majority are.

Perhaps the best illustration of understanding the nuances of race, ethnicity, language and nationality was the recent Olympics. In table tennis, China showcased its dominance in the event in a startling manner, not just because it swept the gold in the men’s, women’s and doubles events. China-born players represented 21 other countries, including France, Luxembourg, Canada, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Congo, Qatar and Singapore, in the event.

Being Chinese meant little to them compared to the flag they represented. They fought hard to win and to represent their country with pride. And their countrymen cheered and supported them whole-heartedly. There are just some things that transcend race, religion and ethnicity. Joseph Schooling showed us all what that was. And that is being Singaporean.

Netflix Disrupts Singapore Pay TV Market – Change In Small Bytes

Last month, the condominium that I live in had its Annual General Meeting (AGM) which turned out to be a lively and momentous occasion, a far cry from the yawn that it was over the last few years.

The main talking point, even days after the AGM, was the ousting of several supposedly “key” members of the Management Committee (MC), voted out by residents who felt that they acted in a manner that did not prioritise their interests and fully represent their concerns.

The former MC members who were not re-elected were unhappy and red-faced, to say the least. It certainly did not feel good being displaced like that. What really took them by surprise was the boldness of the newly elected MC members and their supporters and the readiness of residents to speak their minds and lock horns with the MC old guards in a frank debate over how the estate should be run.

But what really shocked me was how this feeling of being displaced was so hurtful and so deep-seated that it prompted someone (possibly a resident and/or supporter of the MC old guards who were ousted) to write a poison letter, sent to the mailboxes of each and every resident in the condo, disparaging the newly elected MC members, arguing that the election results are null and void and that an extraordinary general meeting be called for another election!

It sure sucks to be displaced and to be rendered unimportant or inconsequential, isn’t it?

DISRUPTION – Can’t Be That Bad, Can It?

But this is exactly what the 21st century economy will do to a lot of people if we are not prepared for it. Disruption is the new buzzword that underlies the strategy of many new internet enabled start-ups. The impact they are having on the economy is significant enough to be singled out as the main THREAT by executives doing a SWOT analysis of their businesses, anxious to come up with strategies that will ensure they stay relevant in the foreseeable future. Thanks, in no small part, to the Internet and the advances made in mobile broadband technology.

Credit: Televisione Streaming – https://www.flickr.com/photos/televisione/

Take for example, what is going on in the media landscape, specifically the free-to-air TV (FTA) and pay TV markets, both of which, for a long time, defined very much by the linear programming model.

We all know that FTA TV and even cable TV networks around the world, not just in Singapore, are casting a wary eye over the emergence of Netflix and similar non-linear, a la cart TV content and movie service providers like iflix and Hooq. Will our own FTA channels be displaced by these up and coming service providers?

To really answer this question, we need to understand what Netflix really is about and what it is not.

NETFLIX – What Is It Exactly?

Netflix started its Singapore service on 7 January 2016, increasing its footprint to 190 countries, becoming a truly global internet TV network.

Netflix is a global internet streaming service that provides TV and movie content to audiences in an on-demand basis over internet enabled devices, like SMART TVs, laptops, iPads and smart phones. It comes under a category of internet services called OTT or Over-The-Top which refers to services offered over the open internet (wifi) or on top of a customer’s broadband service provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

It is non-linear – it embraces a very millennial trait – “I want it now, when I am free to watch it and not when it is programmed by someone who dictates the time when I SHOULD watch it”.

In fact, so confident is Netflix about its non-linear model that it predicts that non-linear, internet TV will one day replace linear TV, just like mobile phone has replaced fixed line telephone.

Personally, I am not as optimistic as Netflix on this as I feel that there will always be a place for linear TV as there is a segment of the population of viewers who like watching TV shows on a regular programmed schedule. It is part of who they are and more importantly, it is what characterises their viewing habits.

The Millennial TV Viewer                                                                                                Credit: Laurence Simon (Crap Mariner)

Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, has gone to extraordinary lengths to clearly specify what his company is NOT. And it is very interesting and I feel that its worth reviewing it here again.

Netflix is not a pay-per-view service neither is it a service that shows ad-supported content. It is a monthly subscription service with unlimited viewing, commercial free.

Netflix is about flexibility, freedom, fun, fuss-free (simplicity) and choice. You are not tied to a long term contract and you can quit anytime and come back on again anytime.

A CATALYST For Change In The Market

This is a far cry from the complex, mind boggling and stress inducing contracts that multi-channel video programming distributors (MVPDs) subject their subscribers to. You only have to look at the many bundles/packages that cable TV service providers, StarHub and Singtel Mio, have available to see how local MVPDs effectively limit choice for their customers according to content types and price.

We are already seeing how Netflix’s entry into the Singapore market has hastened the tightening of regulatory framework here to better protect customer interests. Just recently the Media Development Authority (MDA) introduced changes to the Media Market Conduct Code allowing customers to exit from fixed term contracts without payment of early termination charges where there is:

• Increase in subscription fee
• Removal of material channel(s)
• Removal of material sports content within a channel
• Removal of at least 20 per cent of total number of channels in entire pay-TV service since the point of subscription

But rather than see it as a threat from a malevolent competitor, both the 2 big pay TV service providers, StarHub and Singtel’s Mio, have included Netflix as a channel that subscribers can have as an option on their set-up boxes. This is, in no small way, due to the Netflix’s deep rooted belief in network neutrality which essentially means a quid pro quo scenario whereby internet service providers (ISPs) do not charge Netflix costs of interconnection and Netflix, likewise, does not charge a percentage of the broadband revenue earned by ISPs  whenever consumers switch onto Netflix to stream content which, according Netflix, is a significant portion of a consumer’s broadband usage.

But to me, the clincher in this battle for eyeballs among the media giants of the world is that Netflix delivers content that people WANT to watch because it is entertaining. CONTENT is still king and it is the overarching glue that holds all other factors of its business model together, delivering a compelling service with a strong USP.

Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/televisione

Netflix has essentially listened to customers’ needs and wants and met them in a starkly simple and effective manner.

MEDIACORP’s Response To Shifts In The Pay TV Market

So how have our local FTA channels responded?

Well, MediaCorp is under no illusions about what it is up against. It knows that it has to do better to meet its viewer’s preferences. Linear programming is the first bugbear it has to deal with. And it has attempted to do so by introducing an OTT service called Toggle, where all its FTA channels together with selected Channel 5 and Channel 8’s older series, are available for viewers.

The services, which are free, are branded as Catch-up TV (catch up on TV shows that you have missed on MediaCorp ) and The MediaCorp Collection (older series and dramas from the MediaCorp library).

For paid content, the service is called Toggle Prime, where you have to pay a subscription fee depending on the duration of the contract – monthly, 6 months or 12 months.

Toggle is available on any internet-enabled device and with its Catch-Up TV and on-demand paid content, it has effectively answered the question of linear programming by making use of technology to offer some flexibility to viewers in terms of watching shows at their own time. However, once you start comparing features like ad free content, short-term contracts with fuss free termination and pricing, then it becomes difficult to compete against the likes of Netflix.

Credit: http://www.toggle.sg/en

But there is one other important factor – content. Are viewers drawn to the content on offer on Toggle? What is the differentiating factor that will urge audiences to watch content on Toggle? To be sure, this is not a zero sum game, whereby the choice between Toggle and Netflix or between Toggle and StarHub or Singtel Mio, is one which is mutually exclusive. Content and the ease of accessibility of that content will decide who watches what on which service.

BUILDING A Content Library That Is Original Versus Licensing Content

Going by estimates from industry watchers, there are around 300-350 thousand unique visitors to the Toggle site each month and about 30-35 thousand visitors each day as of the end of 2015.

Toggle’s content library is less impressive and nowhere near the breadth of variety that Netflix offers, especially when we consider English language content from the U.S., including the latest Hollywood TV series and movies. However, if we were to consider local content and especially Chinese language content and drama series, then Toggle becomes a slightly more compelling proposition.

This constant battle to manage content so that viewers stay engaged and perceive that they are getting value for their money, is what sustains the business model.

Just to underline how important content is to Netflix, Hastings announced that US$5 billion will be spent just this year alone on original content. That is a massive amount of money and Netflix is doing it because it realises that having a strong content library that is your own is a long term asset that can generate revenues for a long time in the foreseeable future with little acquisition and licensing costs.

Netflix already has the experience of producing award-winning original content which has whet its appetite to do more of the same. Just look at these titles – Orange Is The New Black, House of Cards, Arrested Development and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the last 2 being previously cancelled series) and the award winning documentary, The Square (2013).

Interestingly, Toggle is also paying heed to this strategy and planning to release a slate of 11 original programmes targeting younger viewers within the next 2 years.

Aside from the original content strategy, Netflix uses the advances made in big data analytics to personalise the offerings for its customers. Crucial data collected from their customers will be translated into interesting and relevant recommendations and content offerings on their customers’ homepage.

Personalisation Of Content Is No More A Pipe Dream
Credit: Victorio Marasigan
https://www.flickr.com/photos/scrufidog/

Consequently, advertisers who want to reach out to customers on their homepage, will be able to do so in a more targetted manner. So offering ad-free content and depending solely on subscriptions for revenue is not as much a negative factor for Netflix as it may have been years ago, due mainly to the advances made by data analytics.

To sum up, the disruption phenomenon will always be with us. It acts as a catalyst for greater innovation in the marketplace. The winners in the marketplace of today will always be the players who are sensitive to the needs of customers and willing to design products and services which make use of technology to offer a value added proposition. Netflix has done it in a refreshingly direct and simple manner. Fuss-free, flexible and freedom of choice with a clear idea of which market segment it is servicing. Clarity in service identity, compelling content,  simple and unfettered access and exit to content on multiple devices. Seems like a winner to me alright. What do you think?

Embracing Diversity In The WorkPlace: A Pipe Dream Or Reality?

With the influx of more foreigners into our small island nation, Singaporeans are often asked by government and community leaders to extend a warm welcome to them. To not just tolerate them but understand and appreciate their cultures and their traditions.

Singapore has always been a land of immigrants and multi-racialism and multiculturalism are not foreign concepts to most Singaporeans. They are part of our national ethos and value system. As such it would seem natural for our workplaces to embrace diversity in all forms as an extension of the national narrative that has been such an integral part of our history.

But I have my doubts. The nature of companies is to stick with the status quo – the prevailing organisational culture. And if the prevailing culture appears to promote uniformity in thought, communication and deeds where management teams are routinely filled with people who think and act in the same way, then organisational change to accommodate diversity is going to be a pipe dream.

Source: Quoteistan.com

The reason for this is the phenomenon called “shadow of the leader” (Senn, Larry E. and John R. Childress, The Secret of a Winning Culture: Building High Performance Teams. Leadership Press, Los Angeles, CA, 1999). Corporate culture is a direct reflection of the senior executives. Employees take their clues on how to behave and how to get ahead by watching the collective and individual behaviour of the senior executives (the principia project, John R. Childress). This is why effecting any organisational change has to come from the top.

Diversity comes in different forms –  gender, cultural, religious and, the one I am concerned with here, personality types. Diversity in personality types in the workplace refers to people who think, process information, communicate and act differently because of how they are hardwired.

Organisational experts are recognising the benefits of having diversity of personality types in the workplace. Diversity can be a strength if it is harnessed properly. Singapore’s umbilical connection with the rapidly changing global environment, makes diversity in management teams a valuable asset in tackling the accompanying challenges and managing in diversity an important skill to have.

But embracing diversity must be a key component of the organisational culture and if it isn’t, then strong leadership is going to be absolutely pivotal in ensuring that it is.

In a 2006 study by Towers Perrin, companies with high culture scores consistently outperformed those with low culture scores on a variety of business metrics (the principia project, John R. Childress).

Jack Welch was quoted as saying, “A negative or resistant culture can derail even the best strategy”.

So if diversity of personality types within a management team is an asset which deserves to be a key component of an organisation’s corporate culture, then it takes a bold and enlightened leadership to ensure that it does.

There are many personality type tests which career coaches and human resource experts use to inform employees of their personality types and hence their preferred way of communicating and getting work done.

Many bosses conduct training sessions for their staff where personality tests are done and the results shared and explained so that employees get to understand themselves and the colleagues they work with. All this in an effort to promote teamwork, cooperation and collaboration and a happier, more congenial work environment.

The commonly used personality tests – Myers Briggs Type Indicator, Gallup’s StrengthsFinder and DISC – typically require respondents (employees) to answer a number of questions, usually in a given amount of time. And usually the results of these tests would reveal strengths or certain signature or dominant personality types which may explain how one communicates or behaves in a work environment.

It must be remembered that the context is important when doing such tests – what role are you assuming when you take the test – for e.g. employee or at a workplace, as a spouse or parent at home, or as a player in a sports team. We all wear many hats in our lives and it is important to understand that personality tests are only relevant for the context that we set ourselves in and the results are not gospel but can change in a different context or over time.

While the time and resources put into training staff to understand and embrace their personality types are admirable and encouraging, I believe the follow-through is much more important. The end objectives of such training are always the organisational benefits of better teamwork and communication and a happier and more productive workplace.

How many organisations find themselves reverting to their old habits, unable to achieve the end objectives by incorporating diversity in their management team? How many management teams give in to the dominant voices within and remain reluctant to change, shying away from embracing the diversity of personality types, leveraging on the different skill sets and perspectives to overcome organisational challenges?

These are questions that leaders in organisations need to seriously ponder on and take decisive action if they are to effect lasting changes in their organisations. Leadership is key.

Source: http://www.unnatiunlimited.com

Effective organisational change can only happen with effective leadership (Deal, Terrence E. and Allan A. Kennedy, Corporate Cultures, Perseus, 2000).

Management teams may eschew diversity as it may cause disharmony if senior executives are uncomfortable with it and fear unwanted delay in forging consensus.

But Mr Peter Ong, Head of the Singapore Civil Service, said recently at the Public Service Leadership Dinner, that “the dramatic pace of strategic ruptures taking place all around the world”, may require senior executives to get used to managing in diversity even if it means there may not be clear solutions, requiring tough decisions and empathy to steer clear of one size fits all type of solutions.

Mr Peter Ong, Head of the Civil Service. Image Credit: Public Service Division

In conclusion, there needs to be a higher level of commitment from management teams to encourage diversity at the workplace not because it is the latest buzzword in management literature but for the organisational benefits it accrues to the department or company and for its more long term positive impact.

What Do We, The Electorate, Really Want After GE2015?

As polling day draws near, I pondered my duty as a citizen and although I had a fairly good idea which party I would be voting for, I felt a need to give myself a chance to hear out the incumbent PAP candidates one more time before going to the ballot box. It would also give me a chance to get a sense of the ground at my constituency (not that this has a bearing on how I will vote but more out of curiosity), the newly formed electoral division of Marsiling-Yew Tee.

So on Saturday, 5 September 2015, after dinner, I headed to the PAP rally at Choa Chu Kang Secondary School with my wife and two sons. A fairly decent crowd gathered with several rows of chairs set up right at the front of the stage all already occupied by the early birds.

Mr Alex Yam addressing the crowd at the PAP Rally at Choa Chu Kang Secondary School on 5 Sept 2015

As I listened to the rousing speeches of the PAP candidates, in particular Mr Alex Yam and Mr Lawrence Wong, my thoughts drifted back to my personal encounters with them. Mr Alex Yam is the MP for my ward, Yew Tee. He has a calm demeanour, his face always wearing a warm, welcoming smile. He has a kind heart and a willingness to listen and help the sick and the disadvantaged in his ward. He always has a warm greeting for my wife and son whenever he meets them at community functions, calling them by their names. Under his leadership, Yew Tee is being slowly transformed into a humane and compassionate community.

Just citing 2 examples of this, which he recounted during his rally speech – The first, about how his grassroots people tried to help a girl, suffering from kidney failure, to get a kidney transplant was especially heart-warming. When a kidney with a right match was finally found, the hospital said that it required a kidney to be donated in return which the girl’s mother readily agreed to. Unfortunately, her mother grew very ill and was not able to donate her kidney, thus scuppering the girl’s hopes of a kidney transplant. Mr Yam went on to state that he will be launching a scholarship under the girl’s name (I assume she has passed on), to be given to 30 students with no bonds to serve other than to commit to 30 hours of community service.

The other example Mr Yam cited was that of a girl who is suffering from a disease, which results in severe fits, bone fragility, anaemia and enlargement of the liver and spleen. She requires a special milk powder which is very expensive and once again Mr Yam went to his constituents for help (see video below).

Video credit: People’s Action Party Facebook

Besides his compassion for the unfortunate, Mr Yam showed courage in 2013 when he spoke about his conviction to flush out loans sharks and runners from his constituency. Then he had posted on his Facebook page, “You threaten my residents, means you threaten me and my 500 volunteers. I don’t like threats and we certainly don’t take them lying down.”

My encounter with Mr Lawrence Wong was a very brief one, during a youth film awards event by SCAPE, last month. However, even in that brief time, he struck me as a friendly, sensible, open man who showed a genuine interest in the people he was speaking to and what they had to say.

Mr Lawrence Wong speaking at the PAP Rally at Choa Chu Kang Secondary School on 5 Sept 2015

Before the skeptics reading this post conclude that I am just another feeble minded voter with an irrational fear of supporting the opposition even if they are responsible and have the heart to serve the people, let me just say this. I do have a lot of empathy for what some opposition party candidates say they want for the people of Singapore. Several members of the Workers Party, SDP and DPP, have put forth some very compelling ideas on how to improve our health, transport, social, immigration and foreign labour policies even if they may lack the financial wherewithal of implementing those policies.

Mdm Halimah Yacob speaking at the rally at Woodlands Stadium on 9 Sept 2015

Nonetheless, these are policy ideas that, I believe, will make even the PAP sit up and take notice. But isn’t that what the elections are about and should be? Political gladiators battling each other in the arena of ideas seeking to outwit their opponents by exercising their art of persuasion and thereby drawing the greatest applause from the spectators (the people). This is one election, where I can say we Singaporeans can be proud of because our country has matured enough to have a system that allows such a contest of ideas with both the PAP and opposition candidates not taking each other for granted but engaging each other on substantive issues.

Mr Lawrence Wong addressing the crowd at Woodlands Stadium Rally on 9 Sept 2015

But besides the core, substantive issues being debated during this elections, we also see several opposition candidates calling for a more humane and compassionate society where we look out for each other, where we seek to progress together. One example of this is SDP’s Dr Chee Soon Juan when he highlighted the collective pursuit of happiness in our society is possible through a story about African children involved in an anthropological study.

And then there is SPP’s Mr Benjamin Pwee (DPP Sec-Gen running under the SPP banner), who said that in the final analysis what people yearn for is to have an MP who will listen, who has empathy and with whom they can connect with.

Video credit: Inconvenient Questions – http://inconvenientquestions.sg

So then I pondered again – isn’t it interesting that when we strip away all the political posturing, loud theatrics of animated speeches at rallies and the colourful use of allegorical language to represent ideas and/or to denounce opponents – when we strip all that away – what people deep down, really want is to connect with their MP in a way that they feel they are being listened to and that their MP possesses compassion and values of humanity that they hope to get comfort from not just individually but as a society. And if you managed to experience that with The Worker’s Party candidate or a Singapore Democratic Party candidate and after much thought you want to vote for him or her, then I say so be it and I trust that you have done right by yourself and your dependents.

The crowd at the PAP rally at Choa Chu Kang Secondary School

Well, there is one more day of electioneering to go and more chances for us all to get a measure of the PAP and all the other opposition parties. Even if that maybe the case, based on my personal experiences with the incumbent MP in my GRC, Mr Alex Yam, I see very little reason for a change in who I want representing me in Parliament. You see, like most people, I sense a connection with my MP and I know that he has the people’s welfare at heart. No prizes for guessing which party I will be voting for come 11 September 2015.

3 +1 Things To Note For SG GE 2015

1 September 2015 was Nomination Day and what a day to kick off the hustings in Singapore Elections 2015. After all nominations papers were filed MediaCorp’s Channel News Asia then aired a “live” telecast of a forum featuring 7 candidates from 6 political parties – 2 from PAP (Ms Denise Phua & Mr Lawrence Wong) and 1 each from the Reform Party (Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam),  National Solidarity Party (Mr Lim Tean), Singapore Democratic Party (Dr Chee Soon Juan), Singaporeans First Party (Mr Tan Jee Say) and  the Workers’ Party (Mr Perera Leon Anil).

There are at least a couple of firsts in this elections. For the first time, all 29 electoral divisions will be contested. This is also the first elections in the post-Lee Kuan Yew era and it does seem a little odd not having him around either at the rallies or on TV giving his assessments of PAP candidates and how he thinks PAP will fare against the opposition.

But viewing the “live” telecast of the forum on Tuesday (1 Sept 15), it soon became apparent to me that 3 main issues could most likely define this elections and possibly how the electorate could vote. 

• 1. Immigration and its attendant challenges 

It became quite clear after the opening statements from the 6 opposition party reps that immigration is THE issue which will get more than its fair share of airing in this elections. The influx of foreigners has been linked, if not directly blamed, for a host of other heartaches – lack of job opportunities, low wages, over-crowded MRT trains, high housing prices, inadequate essential infrastructure to deal with increase in foreigners, higher stress levels, etc. The PAP representatives did their best to explain the need for foreigners but it was met with firm riposte from opposition party reps.

The Marsiling-Yew Tee contest between PAP and SDP

• 2. Track Record vs Policies For The Future

The PAP wants voters to judge them by their track record or what it terms, the report card, detailing all that they have achieved for the people of Singapore on things like health insurance (MediShield Life), wages for lower income and older workers (Workfare Income Supplement), housing (the various policies to increase supply and cap rising prices), securing jobs and being industry ready (SkillsFuture, a national initiative to encourage tertiary students to acquire industry skills through apprenticeships and Earn & Learn programmes), etc. The WP rep questioned if this is really the best way to judge how worthy a party is of the electorate’s vote as a report card is by its very nature, retrospective. The WP would prefer looking at future policies and initiatives which the party wants to implement as more effective in garnering support and votes as they give a glimpse of how lives of people will be affected.

• 3. Local Municipal Matters vs Representing People’s Views In Parliament 

The PAP wants voters to judge them both on how the MPs have run the town councils as well as their performance in parliament, in being the voice of the people. The opposition parties appear to place more importance in the latter, in better representing the people’s concerns and establishing more debate before bills are being passed in parliament. In these aspects, the PAP is the very antithesis of the opposition parties, maintaining that greater opposition numbers in parliament is no guarantee for better policies. The PAP holds that most people are more concerned about municipal issues and how well their townships are run because these issues directly impact on their everyday lives.

SDP Rally at Choa Chu Kang Stadium on 3 Sep 2015

And finally, the character of the candidate especially where it concerns honesty and integrity. While I feel this is not a key election issue, I do acknowledge that it will hover like a fog over the entire duration of this elections. The SDP has called for clean electioneering and for all parties to steer away from name-calling and gutter politics. The PAP, on the other hand, while supporting the call for clean electioneering, has reserved its rights on calling out on any candidate it feels has fallen short of its high standards of integrity – something that it obviously feels all Singaporeans have the right to know before they vote.

About a week to go before the people go to the polls and a truly exciting hustings can be expected over the weekend.

And to end off this post, I chanced upon this website where you can find out details of the schedule of all the rallies and view videos of the rallies if you were unable to attend them personally. Alternatively you can check out Toggle.

Happy Golden Jubilee Singapore!

What a wonderful SG50 celebration culminating in the National Day Parade at the Padang.

Truly a wonderful spectacle of light, sound, video, with cheerful and energetic songs and dances.

The items throughout the NDP Parade had a good mix of nostalgia with references to our past history as well as the contemporary and with glimpses of what is possible in the future.

And in the spirit of remembering our history, I would like to share this video shared by Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Mr Lawrence Wong.

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And here are some of the pictures of the NDP. Happy Birthday Singapore!

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Seeking Solace in Humanity’s Bounteous Bosom

I do believe that June 2015 will be a month that will be etched in my memory for a very long time. Most of it has to do with what happened in Singapore or to Singaporeans but epoch-making world events also helped to mark this month as a special time that would not be forgotten so easily.

Firstly, Singapore hosted the 28th SEA Games from the 5-16 June 2015. The successful hosting of the Games was a testimony to Singapore’s well known strengths in management and organisation. Our athletes did splendidly and managed 2nd place in the overall medal tally with 84 gold, 73 silver and 102 bronze to emerge as the nation with the most bemedaled athletes.

My most favourite moment of the Games was when Veronica Shanti Pereira took the gold in the 200 metre sprint in track and field, clocking a new National record of 23.6 seconds. Being a runner myself in my school days, I can appreciate that Veronica’s success came on the back of real hard work, sacrifice and a lot of sweat and tears. But winning the way she did, beating pre-race favourite and 100 metre champion, Kayla Richardson from the Philippines, in front of the home crowd at the new National Stadium, must have felt special, not just for Veronica, but for hordes of Singaporeans who have been starved of seeing a home grown talent win a track gold for a long time. Glory Barnabas last won the gold in track, incidentally in the same event, in 1973.

The spirit of the Games, the way the athletes performed and how Singaporeans from all walks of life came together to support the athletes and each other as spectators and volunteers, made this a special SG50 event, very aptly reflected in the songs of the Games, 2 of which caught my fancy – “Unbreakable” and “Greatest”, the latter sung by Daphne Khoo, who is a Mass Comm, alumna from the School of Film & Media, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

The celebratory and upbeat mood was dampened perceptibly early in the Games when tragic news emerged of the loss of lives following the 6.0 magnitude Sabah earthquake on the morning of 5 June 2015. 10 Singaporeans – 7 school children, 2 teachers from Tanjong Katong Primary School and 1 adventure guide, perished as boulders and rocks descended upon them at Mount Kinabalu while on a trekking expedition. Monday, 8 June 2015 was declared a Day of National Remembrance, with all state flags flown at half mast and 1-minute of silence as a mark of respect observed at all venues of the SEA Games.

What was truly remarkable of these 2 events – one evoking joyous celebration and the other infusing grief and melancholy – was that they served to rally Singaporeans of all races, religions and backgrounds, new citizens and born and bred Singaporeans, to come together and support each in a way that members of a close knit family support each other. The warmth of Humanity lifted the spirits of our athletes and soothed the anguish from the loss of fellow Singaporeans. Humanity triumphed wonderfully.

But then a few world events made me question just for how long can Humanity sustain the warmth emanating from its bounteous bosom.

A 21-year old white male from South Carolina, USA, Dylann Roof, shot dead 9 people in an African Methodist Episcopal Church in a racially motivated attack. One of the victims was the church minister Reverend Clementa Pinckney, a long serving South Carolina senator and civil rights leader. We are well into the 21st century, nearly 150 years after the end of slavery in the U.S. and it makes me wonder what made a young man like Dylann commit this heinous hate crime.

More recently, series of coordinated terrorist attacks across 3 continents, purportedly bearing the indelible mark of the militant group, the Islamic State (ISIS), shocked the world.

Scores of people were killed – 37 tourists, mainly Britons and Germans, killed on the beachfront of a hotel resort in Tunisia, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a Shite mosque in Kuwait after Friday prayers and the beheading of man, a manager who worked in a factory of a U.S. gas company near Lyon, a city in south-east France and whose decapitated body was found as police arrested a man, believed to be a worker at the factory, for trying to blow it up.

Such attacks, allegedly perpetrated by militants fighting for what they believe is a divine cause to right the perceived wrongs done unto Muslims and their God, represent Islam in a very bad light, especially since we all agree that Islam is, essentially, a religion of peace. By planning and executing these attacks during the sacred month of Ramadan, these militants sought to exact maximum damage and publicity for their twisted and misguided cause, attempting to write a narrative that runs counter to the basic tenets of Islam.

Has the warmth of Humanity’s bosom dissipated quickly, never to return?

As I pondered this question, agonising to comprehend the tragedies unfolding before me, in greater numbers and frequencies, I realised that, alas, Humanity is the net sum of all actions by every single human being on this Earth.

As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “You must not lose faith in Humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty”. As long as the number of good acts outnumber the number of bad acts, Humanity has a chance of surviving and spreading its warmth to all.

Another development that could very well re-define our societal norms and they way we look at the institution of marriage and the traditional family structure is the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to allow same sex marriage in all 50 states of the country. The 5-to-4 Supreme Court decision to legalise same sex marriage was met with thunderous applause from gay rights groups and sparked immediate queues at the registry of marriages at local government offices.

President Obama said the decision “arrived like a thunderbolt” and called it “a victory for America”, obviously delighted that he’s come good on one of his earlier campaign promises to bring dignity and equal status to all same sex couples, even as he laments the embarrassing lack of progress on race issues.

I feel that this development in the U.S. is sure to test the unity and harmony of our largely conservative society in Singapore with a more active and vocal gay rights movement which is growing increasingly confident of pushing through its agenda.

My hope is that Humanity plays her part in calming our senses and giving all of us a chance to think through not so much of what divides us but seeking to accentuate that which unites us. And if this requires us to live and let live, then let us appreciate that there are just some battles we can never win and be prepared to take the losses as long as those who sit in the opposing ideological camps, do not launch missiles into the other camp, destroying their opponent’s right of abode in their own sanctuaries.

As long as Humanity endures, we have a chance to live harmoniously as one. I will like to end by taking heart from with this quote by Nelson Mandela from his book, Long Walk to Freedom: Autobiography of Nelson Mandela,

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in Humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”

Singapore Lions XII Wins Malaysian FA Cup Final

A historic moment in sport achieved by the Lions XII team in the Malaysian Super League’s FA Cup final against Kelantan yesterday, winning 3-1 for first time in the Cup’s 25 year history. All the more meaningful as this SG50 Year. Well done Lions!

What’s telling for me was the Kelantan team had its full complement of foreign players deployed – I believe there were 2 Brazilians and 1 Nigerian. But our Lions XII players stood tall. were up for the challenge and persevered.

Singaporeans are proud of you. 🙂 Here are the highlights.

Remembering Lee Kuan Yew 1923 – 2015

No matter what we may say about him, one cannot doubt his commitment, dedication and loyalty to Singapore and her well-being.

Rest in peace, LKY.

SGBudget 2015 – SkillsFuture: A Perspective

The recent budget announcement in Parliament by DPM and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was probably one of the better budgets I have personally witnessed in terms of its goals, the clarity of its purpose, the breadth of its impact on the various sectors of society and economy and its boldness in tackling the challenges that Singapore will be facing (or is already facing)  in the future.

Strengthening social security, boosting retirement savings for seniors, enhancing financial support for the lower tier of the aged, building a skills-based meritocracy and supporting and enhancing innovation and internationalisation efforts of Singapore companies – these are the main areas of Budget 2015. Providing financial support for these key areas will go some way into assuaging people’s concerns raised in numerous feedback and meet-the-people sessions over the last few years.

However, for this post I would like to focus on just one area which has drawn probably the most attention and discussion among Singaporeans thus far – building a skills-based meritocracy via the SkillsFuture initiatives.

The Budget 2015 unveiled a slew of incentives to:

a) encourage life long learning so that it does not remain a buzzword but it actually takes hold across the majority of our resident population through the SkillsFuture credit of $500 for each Singaporean above 24 years of age from 2016 onwards. Top-ups will be made at regular intervals thereafter

b) provide students with more assistance in discovering their strengths and interests by providing them access to specially trained Education and Career Guidance Counsellors from MOE and Polytechnics

c) support fresh graduates from polytechnics and ITE through the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme. Graduates will be matched to companies in a 12-18 month programme with graduates getting a sign on bonus of $5000 and companies, grants of up to $15,000

d) support the aspirations of mid-career Singaporeans and executives through generous educational and training subsidies as well as SkillsFuture Study Awards and Fellowships

These incentives and support schemes look encouraging and I feel they go directly into tackling the wider systemic issues of the mismatch between the labour market and industry demands. Also the issue of the aspirations of an increasingly more educated workforce is being addressed albeit by requiring individuals to scale up in terms of their skills to match industry demands.

It is interesting that the SkillsFuture initiatives try to cover not just younger workers and professionals but older, mid-career ones as well.

But how effective these measures will be in actually producing tangible results on the ground is still left to be seen.

Acknowledging that no amount of grants and financial incentives can bring about a mindset shift, DPM Tharman called for a change in our economic and social culture as we are still very much a society that is ordered by academic results.

And this echoes what was pointed out in my previous blog, “ASPIRE-ring For A Brave New World” where I cautioned that a fundamental change in the way we approach education, work, career and ultimately, life, is needed if we want our society to be a skills-based meritocracy where every individual will have a chance to fullfil his/her potential by continually improving his/her  skills and knowledge.

Lifelong learning is one aspect of the cultural change that is slowly taking shape but has yet to take hold like it has in other first world countries. Budget 2015 cited the example of Senthilnathan Manickam, aged 41.

“He graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Film Sound and VIDEO COURSE. After some years of working on corporate videos and TV programmes, he felt he needed to specialise, to differentiate himself from the field. He chose to specialise in high-speed cinematography, and is making a name for himself in the field in Singapore and abroad. As Senthil puts it: “There isn’t one path but many paths to achieve your dreams and be successful. Don’t give up. You always learn something new every day.”” (Source: http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget_2015/bib_pc.aspx)

Next, the issue of the industry and job market pricing university graduates higher than ITE and Polytechnic graduates. I can understand if its for entry level executive appointments. But for mid-level and higher executive appointments I feel that employers have to start looking at experience, skills attainted and character traits that fit with the job specifications.

DPM Tharman also conceded that ageism is a concern and said “I think we have to tackle ageism in Singapore. There is sort of a quiet, unstated discrimination among the mid-careers and those who are in their 50s. Mid-40s and 50s, it’s usually not so easy for them to get back in,”

We have to start building a job market based on skills and knowledge irrespective of age, gender, social, ethnic and religious background and less on purely academic standards.

But will employers make the mindset change? And will ITE and polytechnic graduates sign up for the much vaunted SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme to gain the skills that will be valued by industry?

While several ITE and polytechnic students have expressed interest in signing up for the programme several others have also voiced concerns that if employers’ fixation with academic qualifications remains, it would deter them from applying for the programme, according to a report from TODAY by Amanda Lee.

So if ITE and polytechnic graduates don’t bite at the Earn and Learn apple and employers become reluctant to invest in employees for fear that they will not stay, we have the makings of a vicious cycle where the stakeholders of SkillsFuture will remain unengaged, making little progress towards the stated goals.

This is where I hope employers will seize the initiative to break this cycle by taking a chance and a leap of faith that SkillsFuture will be effective in the long term. It basically necessitates a commitment by employers to invest in people; a commitment to develop, nurture and mentor their employees to show them that they have a stake in the company and that they are valued for their skills and contributions. I believe this commitment by employers will earn them a reciprocation of equal measure from the beneficiaries of their investment.

DPM Tharman summed it up nicely in this video clip taken from MediaCorp Channel 5’s Budget 2015 show, Ask The Finance Minister, where he coaxed employers to invest in people. I hope employers will take heed.

ASPIRE-ing For A Brave New World

In August this year, the Singapore government accepted the list of 10 recommendations put forward in a report by the ASPIRE (Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review) committee led by Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Law & Education.

Among the recommendations –  to help students make informed choices about their educational pathways and careers, development of more online learning resources in the polys and ITEs, development of programmes focused on life skills aimed at strengthening student’s leadership, character and resilience, introduction of work-and-study programmes a.k.a. place-and-train programmes as well as Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes to deepen skills after graduation.

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ASPIRE’s fundamental objective could be summarised as follows:

It is to ensure every Singaporean is able to contribute to Singapore’s overall development and progress by fulfilling his/her potential according to his/her talent and interest.

While the ASPIRE recommendations are all logical and sound given this objective, the ASPIRE committee was under no illusions regarding the enormity of the challenge that lies ahead in implementing these recommendations.

The challenge does not lie in the nuts and bolts of the government-post-secondary institutions-industry machinery implementing the recommendations but in the hearts and minds of our people. This is where ASPIRE has to work its magic and changing mindsets is not something that can be done overnight. This is a long term project – perhaps even stretching over a generation or so. But what makes this project so monumental and more importantly, why is it so important that Singapore achieves the objective?

Firstly, Singaporeans have long been weaned on the work hard-do well in school-get a good job ethos which has worked well for us as a nation until now. Children have been advised (and lectured :-() time and again that the only way to success in life is to get good grades in school, go to university and get a high salaried job in the government service or MNC.

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In the past decade, the Ministry of Education has worked hard both to correct this misguided notion of success by way of policies and programmes in schools and post-secondary institutions, to create multiple pathways to success. One example is the lining up of educational pathways like the 6-year IB diploma programme and the setting up of specialised schools like the School of the Arts and the Sports School.

But old habits die hard indeed, especially those that are so entrenched in our society that they are widely recognised to be an integral part of our culture,

We are, after all, the nation of “kiasu” people (“kiasu” means “afraid to lose” in Chinese). This character trait is so ingrained in our collective psyche that we have even created a comic character called Mr Kiasu which evolved into a TV series later.

The good grades, being exam smart, the insane hours and money spent on extra tuition, the paper chase – these are all perceived to be pre-requisites for a better life and being “kiasu” we do not want, for one minute, entertain the possibility that this idea, in and of itself, could be flawed and that the reality could be very different, if only we have the courage to choose a different pathway to find success and happiness.

The problem is that many people are discouraged from taking the risk of choosing a different path. Why? Because they perceive that there are not enough decision-makers out there in industry and even in schools and educational institutions, who believe that taking a different pathway can and should lead to success. Some of these same people may even offer an excuse that the current HR policies or government incentive schemes are overwhelmingly in favour of the status quo – i.e. people who have taken the traditional paper-ridden pathway.

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So how do we then resolve this problem? We have to make that cultural change as a nation. At the risk of sounding repetitive ad nauseum – this is a huge change, a tidal wave, not a surfing wave.  We have to start singing the same tune. We have to start celebrating people finding success on different pathways. Scholarship schemes have to make the playing field more level for these “mavericks”. HR managers have to start giving more weight to achievements and character traits rather than paper qualifications when assessing candidates for jobs.

So one may ask, why are we even embarking on this endeavour when we know that there are risks involved (political and social) and the rewards forthcoming only years, if not decades, from now?

The reason is simple. Its because we risk even more if we don’t. The majority of us who are not academically gifted enough to enrol in the “A” grade universities, will not have our aspirations met. We will stop believing in the dream that Singapore is a land of opportunity and if you are hungry enough and are willing to work hard, you can also succeed. And once that dream is broken, people will start to look elsewhere to fulfil their dreams.

But there is also another phenomenon that is occurring which is forcing our hand in this great shift. The paper chase, fuelled by our “kiasuism”, has spawned a new generation of job-seekers armed with university degrees who feel entitled to good jobs, paying good salaries. And when these jobs become elusive, they become disenchanted and feel let down by the government.

Graduate unemployment is beginning to be a concern for Singapore. Even though the numbers are not as high as in other East Asian economies like South Korea or Japan,  something needs to be done before the numbers soar incurring a heavy social cost.

The other thing that has emerged is that inspite of the increasing cohort university participation rate, Singapore continues to face a talent and skills mismatch in the job market which forces it to look for more foreign talent.

This then begs the question as to whether our overall educational infrastructure is geared properly to support the needs of our industry. Are we producing too many university graduates and too few polytechnic and ITE graduates with the relevant technical knowledge and skills to be gainfully employed in the job market? Are employers willing to recognise and reward these skills in the market such that students are willing to consider switching to non-traditional, non-degree pathways to fulfil their career ambitions?

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These are some of the questions and challenges that we will face as ASPIRE tries to move its recommendations on the ground. Expect resistance from all parties – students, parents and employers. But pushing ahead undaunted and keeping the faith will soon become the treacly mantras that the government, as the party taking the lead in effecting this cultural change, will be chanting. Expect the chants to grow louder and more frequent in the years to come.

Robin Williams – Actor, Comedian, Father, Friend & Humanitarian

I will remember 11 Aug 2014 forever but for a less than joyous or celebratory reason. It is the day one of my most favourite actors and comedians, Robin Williams, took his own life in his home in the San Francisco Bay area. Robin took his own life hanging himself using his belt. Robin was 63.

I still remember the shock and disbelief I felt upon hearing the news from my colleague when I reached the office. I found myself desperately searching the newswires for more updates, all the while hoping that it was untrue. Images of Robin and his quirky, zany antics and exploits on camera and the uncontrollable laughter he drew from his mesmerised audience, kept running through my mind. How was it possible for a man who gave us so much joy and laughter and who seemed so happy doing so, suffer so much pain and anguish in his private life, driving him to commit suicide? Why did a man who brought so much joy to so many people, feel so alone and desperate, fighting his own demons that he was not able to find reassurance, comfort and solace in someone, anyone close to him?

Initial reports suggest that Robin suffered from depression. But his wife, Susan Schneider, was quick to say that Robin was in full control of his mental faculties in the time leading to his death. Robin had fought several bouts of depression and alcoholism before. There were some reports that also suggested that he had been diagnosed with early stages of Parkinson’s Disease, just before his untimely death.

Source: The Reel Life Wisdom

Robin Williams got his first shot at stardom in the 1970s TV comedy series Mork & Mindy, where he played the alien, Mork from the planet Ork. The series gave me the first glimpse of his improv genius that has become his trademark and acknowledged by most people in the industry as being unparalleled. Robin took improvisation to new heights probably never to be surpassed. Thoughts and ideas generated at lightning speed and strung together in unimaginable fashion. They maybe seemingly unrelated but Robin gives them new life and meaning in both hilariously funny lines and sometimes poetic lithesome prose. He was an unbridled explosion of visual, physical and verbal comedy bringing together all his previous skill and experience in theatre and as a stand-up and mime artist.

Robin used to say, “You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” Not only did Robin not lose this spark, he lived it.

Check out the video clip below which highlights this improv maestro at his dizzying best.

Robin Williams, The Improv Genius – Source – Time.com

Some of his performances in comedy that stood out for me were Popeye (1980), Good Morning Vietnam (1987) and Mrs Doubtfire (1993).

But there was more to his irrepressible comedic talent. He was also a dramatic actor who could speak to the inner depths of your soul. Some of my favourite Robin William movies were the ones where he played dramatic characters.  Dead Poets Society (1989) is one where he plays the protagonist, an English teacher who inspires his students through poetry and the other is Good Will Hunting (1997) where he plays a therapist to a troubled youth on parole who is also an unrecognised genius. Robin won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for this role.

Robin not only inspired people with his acting and comedy but also his philanthrophy.  He volunteered a lot of his time to many charities often bringing cheer to the poor, homeless, sick and U.S. troops stationed in bases abroad.

His words or the lines he spoke in movies are legendary and are truly inspirational to people from all walks of life – students, teachers, politicians, managers, captains of industry.

One of my favourite quotes is “No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change this world.” Those words certainly ring true for Robin who found fame and fortune in the entertainment industry which showcased his acting prowess and verbal dexterity.

Here are some more memorable quotes from Robin, courtesy of Entrepreneur.com.

Source: Entrepreneur.Com

 

 

U.S. President Barack Obama’s touching tribute to Robin probably encapsulates so sweetly what Robin Williams means to all of us. “Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien – but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit.”

 

Robin Williams  – rest in peace…