Perspectives

No financial talent in asia? The economist misses the mark

The Economist has come out with one of their more churlish articles, (it does happen) “Go east, young moneyman”, the latest edition, pp 67-68. It is both elliptical and alarmist, almost enough to make one actually believe there is an epic talent crisis in Asia, adding to the metronomic “no talent in Asia” chant. The…
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The good coach

The actor David Duchovny wrote a widely read op-ed in the Wall St Journal the other week. Titled, “What A Good Coach Does”, he recalls his high school basketball days in New York. Long hair, cursing on the court, jumping up and down every time he scored. “I was concerned with how many points I…
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Stop, listen, and wise up

There are those who revel in being contrarians, doing the opposite of what others expect. On occasion it can be advantageous, catching an opponent off-guard and using it to bolster ones position, and knowing when to do so is a strength. But usually it is the domain of those who think they know more than…
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Tiger moms, talmud and talent

All the talk on Tiger Moms and Asian versus Western parenting has opened new channels of dialogue, but one thing that has interested me is the use of language, and in the case of Amy Chua, verbally abusive language. Calling one’s child lazy, stupid, garbage, dumb ugly, etc is-in Chua’s eyes- to toughen them up,…
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HR: value-add or vapour

[framed_box]A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced his altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted: “Excuse me, can you help? I promised a friend I’d meet him an hour ago, but I have no idea where I am.” The woman below yelled back…
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Sideline savvy skills

On the sidelines of the soccer pitch, speaking to another soccer dad I have not seen in a while; “How’s business?” “Not bad, travelling a lot, company’s going through some restructuring, looks like the boss here (a S. African) is now reporting to Sydney instead of the US [and the dad I’m speaking to is…
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Talent, where art thou? A tale of two leaders

Some organisations–and leaders–seldom have a problem attracting good talent(and not just huge branded MNCs). If asked, these people would likely say that if you want strong talent, spend time knowing the market–who is where, a lot of effort meeting and interviewing people, hire only on strength, and when ready to get them on board, act…
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The mechanics of manners; 10 points

My children were on school break last week, doing the things teens do; hanging with friends, sleeping late, Facebook, Skype, videos, and sleepovers. My son had two of his friends sleep over, and were up until 2 AM or so. When they finally headed out the following afternoon, one of the boys said to me,…
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The tao of affability

A couple of short stories on behaviour, troglodytes and affability.. First Story (about me): [framed_box]Sitting around with other parents last weekend, we discussed an article about high school behaviour: principals, students, cliques, and political correctness. Of the parents that spoke, many disagreed with much of the content and premise of the article. I eventually piped…
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The interview addict

I wrote this last year for the Straits Times, and have gotten a number of requests for it, so here it is again.. [framed_box]Use your time to search for the right job, don’t squander it on attending as many interviews as possible. People panic when looking for a new job. This creates a mindset of…
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