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	Tuesday, January 25, 2005

IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT  ( in business) You can normally classify your work into four different categories: a.) important AND urgent ( this is something you should always prioritize to do first! ) b.) urgent but not important  ( this is something somebody pushes you to do immediately but is not really that important in the order of things) c.) important but not urgent  ( this is something you should spend time on!  but because nobody is egging you, this is normally neglected.) d.) not important, not urgent -- (these are things that people without focus or clear goals will do. It is easy, it is habitual. It creates an illusion that you are working hard or doing something.  This is for people who don't have a clear goal but want to show that they are not idle). The thing is that it is up to us to get the discipline to do the IMPORTANT THINGS before they become urgent.  This discipline will give you the foundation or  preparation to prevent future situations  of constant rush and having to perpetually fighting fire.  10 years ago, when the business was new, everything was almost urgent.  For the last few years, I have been trying my best to spend my time in building up people and processes so that I don't have to be in perpetual urgency.  The business should not just put all its time in meeting this week or this month's number, but take care that resources are also focused in planting the seeds for next year's goals. I am also happy what I have done for the last 3 years for my personal life.  I have carefully laid down the foundation of my life so I have time to concentrate on important things, like: a.) finally go ahead to enroll and finish an MBA. b.) become a writer and start on this blog! c.) spend time with the family. Did you had that plan that you would bring your wife to a dinner, but have been postponing it for the nth time. because something always comes up. Does your spouse feel he/she is becoming last priority -- that your plans will only be possible if there are no more URGENT things, which may never happen? d.) lose weight. For 30 years, i knew I had to. There has never been any urgency -- except of course, in due time, I would get sick, I would be given a warning by the doctor, and I will finally do it -- but by then, damage is already done. This year, I am focusing on something else:  learn Japanese.  It will not help the business this year, but it will be fulfilling to learn, and it WILL help business in the future as we start to increase our contacts with Japan. In some way, spending time with family now, improving yourself sharpening the saw ( reading that book, learning that language, getting an advanced degree etc) are never urgent things, and some people take years to get around ( or never) , because they were busy with more urgent but less important things. SUCCESS is how much you spend and enjoy doing important things which are NOT URGENT or BEFORE they become urgent. Are you spending time for yourself which can be important?  Nobody will knock you on non -urgent things except yourself, or when it is too late.  Are you reactive or proactive?     8:22:32 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Monday, January 24, 2005

Do Something About It !   ( on Business) Everyday, i deal with dozens of issues which I feel that the person I am talking to is merely passing on information.  I have meant to write a blog that a person's worth in the company (and his stature in life) would be much more if instead of just relaying the facts, he does something about it, but an article in businessweek beat me to it. Liz Ryan has written a great article on it and I quote some passages: - Many managers think responsibility ends when they have tell someone else about a problem. Without action, talk is just a waste of breath . - How often do we see businesspeople passing on information as if their role is to be a postal carrier, when what's needed is not only information, but a commitment to action? - If you simply pass on information without inserting yourself -- here's what I heard, and here's how it affects us, and here's how I'm managing the situation -- you aren't adding any value. When large employers shed layers of management back in the '80s, this is what they were getting rid of: people whose chief responsibilities were to pass information to and fro, without having much other impact. - People who make a difference aren't merely letter carriers. They jump in to make things work better, move faster. And when they speak, they say what they mean and own it. I guess this would be trite already but information alone is not power. Information acted upon to good effect IS the REAL Power.  BUT THERE HAS TO BE ACTION!   1:37:26 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Saturday, January 15, 2005

Lessons from the World's Richest Man  ( on business) One of the great things I have always thank for being in the technology industry has been our company's close partnership with companies like Microsoft, IBM, HP, Oracle, Symantec, Cisco, Veritas and the like.  Dealing with them and knowing their employees ( even how they were selected, and what they think of their companies! ) , their way of management, their way of setting goals, and all those little things for the last few years have been almost an MBA course by itself!  You also get to attend conventions in which you meet their top honchoes in the region, and also worldwide like Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Carly Fiorina, John Chambers and the like.  Of course, many of these conventions also featured speakers on the leading edge of technology and management. I would not exchange all the lessons I've learned for anything else.  It was almost like being on a front seat and learning from some of the most innovative companies in the world, in what is probably the world's most competitive industry.   In fact, many of the principles I used to manage my own companies were practices I "borrowed" from these companies -- from the way they shape organizational behavior and corporate culture, the way they implement their corporate structure, or reward systems etc. In particular, it can give you also ideas on how the CEO personalities affect the culture and management of the organization.  For a while in the early 90s, you meet Microsoft people who were dressed in slacks and T shirts.  Then when Microsoft decided to tackle the enterprise, they start to change and it is not uncommon to see now Microsoft people in suits.  In particular, we also start to understand Microsoft's policy of hiring only super smart people, and not caring much for public relations, who become Gates' army of super smart, but not necessarily friendly geeks.  While this was cited by many as the reason for Microsoft's rise in the late 80s, these hyper aggressiveness was seen as a Microsoft liability during the dot com era. While the dot com spawned technopreneurs and heroes, Bill Gates was portrayed as a monopolist on top of an evil empire.  Even to this day, Microsoft, which have contributed much to the industry, is still portrayed as an enemy of innovation. Trust Microsoft to respond, and based on recent news, Bill Gates is undergoing a makeover -- from somebody seen as an aloof, arrogant and introverted geek to somebody who is a philanthropist more at ease with life, and with fatherhood,  and who has lightened up and more friendly. There is nothing new on this, except to stress the importance that as a top exec or  CEO, it is very important that you are correctly perceived by the press, and your people, and you are able to inject the proper values and image that you would like your company to be known for. Foremost I believe is courtesy and friendliness.  This trait would not rank high in any CEO list, but I would think this is important.   Especially in Asia, some amount of humility is still seen as a virtue. This morning, I passed by the TV while my kids was watching a cartoon.  A fighter pilot was reminding the team that he was the best pilot there is.  In which he was reprimanded by the leader who said, " There is a difference between confidence and cockiness.  When you think you are better than the rest, you will be in trouble".   Look about learning from an anime show and from the world's richest man about the basics of being friendly and amiable. No big message here, except smile more often, and be more considerate.  I close with a Chinese saying, "He who cannot smile, should not open shop."   4:53:25 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Tuesday, January 04, 2005

CEO's First Job is NOT to Grow The Company (on business) For the last few years I have been managing my private business just like a public one -- meaning I have been subjecting myself to the same rigors as a CEO of a public corporation, which is to analyze the numbers every quarter, and to set aggressive growth targets year on year, and quarter on quarter. Sometimes, the quest for top line growth can grow crazy -- witness the focus to increase sales by cutting prices, or even worse, buying up companies. There are simply too many stories of companies buying itself unto growth, and allowing themselves into mergers, ventures,  and acquisitions even if your gut feel knew it would not work. That has become the holy grail of management, and we are made to believe that there is no other way. Companies that missed last years numbers even by one percentage point is punished severely by analyst downgrading ratings, and subsequently, a big sell off of company stocks. Beating analysts' short term expectations, whether they are good for long term growth or not, has become almost the sole objective of the CEO.  What happened to good old organic growing? Why does a business have to grow bigger and bigger? Is it healthier to be big, or simply is it to feed the managers' ego or analyst expectations? The term too big to fail has started to become almost like a monster devouring itself. I saw this quote, and being schooled with the all out growth strategy at first could not believe it, but more and more, it has started to make sense --- Like many companies, I have made the business suffered by trying to grow too aggressively, or going for some markets even if we were not prepared, and instead of making the company better, it has introduced problems instead. The quote, and I hope people start to believe it more simply like this, " the CEO 's goal should not be to grow the company. It should be to keep the company healthy. When it is healthy, it will grow." It is a simple message, and a powerful one. Which is to say that our first objective is really to make sure that we have good quality products, healthy cash flow, happy customers, and motivated employees. Too often, we are too blinded by growth to miss the basic precepts which are so important in building the corporation. Which makes me go back again to the 3 goals in life that I feel is necessary for me to have a happy, fulfilled life -- take care of the health of your business ( or your finances), spend time and enjoy your family, and don't stop learning-- and sharing. 10:18:44 AM     comment []   trackback []