Saturday 29 September 2012

YOUR ULTIMATE CAREER

& TALENT RESOURCE
mystarjob.com

Do what you love

T: 03 7966 8388

F: 03 7955 3355

Find your

blue oCean
how to make Competition
irrelevant in your Career
pageS 8-9

My First Job

We speak to boutique
developer Trinity
Group Sdn Bhd
managing director
Datuk Neoh Soo Keat
and find out how his
early years of poverty
instilled the values that
enabled him to become
who he is today
Page 3

Page 5

Page 7

Page 11

Be a Leader

Hard Talk

How To

explores the benefits

of continuous
learning

looks into how to identify and

manage your strengths and
weaknesses

gives insight on how to deal

with difficult and unexpected
interview questions

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

&

roshan says

BELIEVE many of us desire to reinvent our lives and our

careers. Some of us have lost our enthusiasm and zest
for the work we do. We spend countless hours feeling
disheartened and wishing for a better tomorrow. Many of
us seek work that brings fulfilment and reward. We seek
work where our personal aspirations are aligned to our career
goals. Many of our dreams, aspirations and wishes are very
different today than when we first started working. In fact, the
world has changed tremendously over the past decade. Job
security and staying loyal to the same employer has become a
thing of the past.
Yet, most of us feel stuck, not knowing where to start with
regards to reinventing oneself. Chan Kim, writer of the book
Blue Ocean Strategy describes in full detail how to reinvent
a business. Businesses like Nintendo, AirAsia and others
applied blue ocean thinking and reinvented their industries.
myStarjob, we believe the same blue ocean thinking can be
applied to your career. Reinventing your career really starts
with self-discovery. You need to have the aspiration to want to
change and reinvent yourself and your career. Once you have
the desire, then you can leverage some of the blue ocean
tools, including the Strategy Canvas (which we will rename the
Career Canvas) and the ERRC tool. You can read all about how
you can reinvent your career in our centrespread on pages 8 and
9 in this weeks edition.
Interestingly, most people only realise the importance of a
career make-over when they lose their job. They get a jarring
wake-up call when they receive their pink slips and react to
the situation. Some lose hope and go into a state of depression.
Others use this situation as an opportunity to reinvent
themselves. It forces them to think about themselves and their
long-term motivations. It forces them to make changes in their
lives. This entire issue provides you numerous useful tips and
guidance on how to re-look at your career with different lenses.
Reinventing your career can be both frightening and exciting.
So, dont wait until you get fired or lose your job before you
start to reinvent yourself. Andrea Jung, CEO of Avon, reinvents
herself every three years. She was the most-tenured female
CEO in the Fortune 500, having outlasted Carly Fiorina, Anne
Mulcahy and many other more prominent women at the top.
How does she keep reinventing herself to remain CEO for 12
years at Avon?
Andreas famous career reinvention advice: Fire yourself on
Friday and rehire yourself on Monday. Andrea would actually
sack herself as CEO and spend the weekend really thinking as
a new CEO, what her business needed to reinvent itself. She
would come in on Monday as the new Turnaround CEO ready to
make bold changes.
You dont need to fire yourself this weekend. But you can
reinvent yourself and your career. So, spend this Saturday with
your copy of myStarjob and contemplate with us and the advice
and tools we provide in this issue on how you can reinvent
your career. Blue may just be the colour for you.
Best wishes to you as you reinvent yourself and your career!
Warm regards,
Roshan Thiran
Editor, myStarjob &
CEO, Leaderonomics

Nadia Elena Nor Azlan writes

about the importance of
speaking up and expressing
ones opinions

Johan Merican & Ang Hui

Ming advise reader Jett who is
lacking motivation at work.

This weeks Top 10

gives invaluable
advice on how
to build good
relationships with
your colleagues

Anabelle Co-Martinent shares

how accepting change allows
her to move forward and take
her career to new heights

Blue ocean your career

By starting out with
mastering these skills:
communication skills

These include listening, verbal and written

communication. Employers are mostly looking for
individuals who can speak and write clearly and
accurately, demonstrated by the strength and clarity
of your words more than linguistic correctness alone.

teamwork and interpersonal skills

The majority of jobs rely on close interaction
between employees. You may have to work with
a team day-in, day-out, or you may be in a largely
independent role that only requires occasional
meetings with colleagues and management.
Either way, a willingness to co-operate with others
and work towards the greater good is essential.

EDITORIAL

Editor
RoshanThiRan

ContributingEditors
angieng
LeeKaRYean
LiLYCheah

Youre never too old to learn

Just look at highly revered leaders
like Jack Welch who never stop
learning

Shawn Ng demonstrates how

important it is to be prepared
and willing to answer those
awkward and first appearance
irrelevant interview
questions

evangeLiaChRisTodouLou
Layout,Art&Design
Tungenghwa
MohdizudinisMaiL

zuLhaiMi
hassanBahRi
adznaMsaBRi
MohdKhaiRuL

l Editorial | mystarjob@leaderonomics.com

KaLaiseLvi
Muhdhafeez
LisanneYeoh
shawnng

analytical and research skills

Blue ocean
reinvent your career

Writers&Contributors
shawnng
anghuiMing
deBBiePozzoBon

Every employer is seeking employees who can provide

assistance in problem solving. Your ability to assess
a situation, seek multiple perspectives, gather more
information and identify key issues that need to be
addressed is critically important.

initiative and self motivation

Can you work on your own? Can you take a step back
and see the big picture? Can you act on what you
see, using common sense and detailed knowledge as
guides? Initiative is largely about making and taking
opportunities to benefit your employer and to keep your
business at the forefront of the latest developments.

flexiBility and adaptaBility

In other words, multi-tasking! With the fast moving

business scene of today, proficiency in this area is
demanded by employers. Your ability to manage
multiple assignments and tasks, set priorities and
adapt to changing conditions and work assignments
is crucial.

JessiCaong
ReshanPiLLai
JaMesLee
RiCKngu

l Advertising | imran.hashim@leaderonomics.com

nadiaeLena
noRazLan
RoBeRTo
gaLeoTTi

RaJKuMaR
KoheaRnsoo&
TeaM

SalesManager
iMRanhashiM

myStarjob, Saturday 29 September 2012

By ANGIE NG
angie@thestar.com.my

OVERTY may not be a bad thing if one

learns the many life lessons that come
with it. On many occasions, it can be
a life changing impetus, or a blessing
in disguise that toughens people and
makes them stronger.
Boutique developer Trinity Group Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Neoh Soo Keat can attest
to this as he has come face to face with poverty
on many occasions in his life. He managed to
overcome these challenges each time on his lifes
journey to become who he is today.
When most boys and girls were still living sheltered lives at home, the young Neoh was already
working a series of jobs whilst at the same time,
trying to complete his primary school education.
At the tender age of 11, Neoh was selling vegetables at the Kuantan wet market to help with
the familys finances. He remembers having to
cycle in the wee hours of the morning to wait for
the trucks that transported the vegetables. He
would help to clean and stack the produce ready
for the days sales. He would then cycle back home
to prepare for school.
Neoh also tried to help the family make some
extra money by selling his mothers fried noodles
to his fellow school mates. This unfortunately
incurred the wrath of the canteen operator and
he was punished and sent to retention class by
the school principal. The authorities later relented
when they learned that he and his three siblings,
who all attended the same school, would have to
stop schooling. The family simply could not afford
to pay for their studies if he was not allowed to
make these small sales each day.
When the local authority
started promoting the
use of plastic bags
for waste disposal,
Neoh seized upon
this opportunity
to enter the small
scale business
arena by trading in
disposable plastic
bags.
However, all these
jobs eventually had
an adverse effect on
Neohs studies. In

LEARNING
FROM
POVERTY

COMING FROM POOR

BACKGROUND HAS HELPED NEOH
BECOME A BETTER DEVELOPER

1986, he failed his Bahasa Malaysia paper in the

Lower Certificate Examination (SRP). At that time
it meant that he flunked the whole examination,
and had to repeat Form 3. During that same year,
his paternal grandmother passed away, his father
lost his job and the family was evicted from their
rented house. These were tough times for the
young Neoh indeed!

PATERNAL SUPPORT

Neoh was very upset and overwhelmed by the

turn of events. A heart-to-heart talk with his
father managed to help him see light at the end
of the tunnel. The senior Neoh was rightly concerned about his sons failure in his SRP examination. This situation seemed even more significant
when compared to the success of certain family
friends, whose children had managed to
excel in these exams.
Opening up to my father was a
soulsearching and humbling experience for me. My father offered me
our family savings of RM50,000.
This was a big sum at that time.
He asked whether I wanted to
use it for my studies or whether
I wanted to pursue a full time
business career.
That night, Neoh cycled to the
nearby beach and shouted at the
top of his voice seeking an answer
to his dilemma. By the time he got

home, he told his father that he wanted to continue with his studies.
I resolved to pay more attention to my studies
and prioritise my education over other endeavours. He repeated his SRP examination and made
it through on the second attempt. Neoh kept to
his word and emerged as one of the top students
in his school in Form 5. He went on to graduate
in urban and regional planning from Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia at the age of 27.
Despite graduating later than his peers, Neoh
persevered and worked hard to catch up. Before
starting out on his own in 2004, he worked for
three property companies, including Kumpulan
SPL. Two years into this job, saw him promoted to
a general manager position. He resigned from this
job to venture into property development with a
partner.
It was not a bed of roses for Neoh as there were
many hurdles to overcome. His business partner
left him in 2005. Instead of taking the easy way
out and selling his shares too, Neoh and his wife
decided to take over the running of the company. During those early days, there were many
sceptics who did not believe that we would be
able to succeed. The banks refused to extend
any financing to us, and we ended up borrowing about RM300,000 from our respective fathers as working capital, he recalls.
His first project, Heron Residency in
Bandar Bukit Puchong, which featured
high-rise serviced apartments, was met
with scepticism. To attract buyers, the
project had to be redesigned into smaller
units and priced more affordably.
It taught me about the need to
take risks and to tune in to market
trends in order to succeed in the
property arena. Neoh explains. Their
hard work and perseverance paid off.
Today Trinity Group has a reputation as a
developer of practical and modern property products offering living, working
and recreational spaces that enrich the
lives of communities.

BE OF SERVICE TO OTHERS

We see our role as that of a master planner

that offers both the hardware and software to

iSnap me
for a video

http://thestar.com.my/isnap

build developments for wholesome community

living. Trinity always emphasises the importance
of value creation to enhance the capital appreciation of all its property projects, Neoh says.
Given the many obstacles that he had to face
and overcome, Neoh believes having a recovery
plan helped to smooth out the path in many
ways. His wish was to become a millionaire by the
age of 30. This was a milestone that he was able
to achieve when he turned 32.
Although having a good tertiary degree is
important, ultimately having the right human
philosophy of integrity, honesty, fairness, sincerity,
and a compelling desire to do well, are the traits
that see us through the many challenges that
come our way.
Neoh, who turns 42 this year, believes that the
hardships he endured during those early years
have helped mould his character to become a
responsible and reliable individual. In addition,
they ensured that he is more appreciative and
empathetic towards other people.
Embracing those values have made me more
result-oriented and taught me not to take things
for granted. Life comes with both ups and downs,
and the onus is on the individual to address these
challenges, and make the best of any situation,
he reasons.
Neoh says his poverty-stricken childhood has
helped him understand and relate to other peoples needs. I can relate to the plight and needs of
property buyers and understand what it is that is
important to them. As developers, it is important
to step into the shoes of the buyers and do our
best to accommodate their needs, he says.
His advice to his fellow Malaysians is. Do not
just look at everything from a monetary perspective. Truly successful people are those who do well
in all aspects of their life. Be loving and caring to
your parents, spouse, children and colleagues. One
must also give back to society and help reach out
to others who are in need.

myStarjob, Saturday 29 September 2012

A Leader Is
Never Deterred
By Failure
We all fear failure. The best leaders in the
world fail all the time but instead of fearing
failure, they embrace it.
Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he
perfected the light bulb. He never let failure
wear him down. Walt Disney was fired from
his first job for not being creative. He went
on to creating the most creative company
in the world DISNEY. Michael Jordon failed
miserably in his first basketball trial and failed
to make his high-school basketball team. That
never stopped him from becoming the best.
Leaders are not born, they just learn from
their mistakes. The great leaders in the world
learn from their failure, and grow from it.
Everyone can be a leader. Its about digging
deep within us and never letting failure
discourage us.

Be A Leader.

We can help your organisation develop leaders. Write in to: people@leaderonomics.com or call 6012.343.7716

www.leaderonomics.com

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

Youre never
too old to learn
Just look at highlY revered leaders
like Jack Welch Who never stop learning

By ROSHAN THIRAN
roshan.thiran@leaderonomics.com

ALL it crazy, paranoia or kiasu but for

Toyota employees its a crisis if they
do not create improvement each
day. The kaizen mind means there
is only one way to move forward.
So everyday, whether youre a line worker or
management executive, you have to find ways
to change what youre doing so you do it better. In fact, some years back, Hiroshi Okuda,
the then chairman of Toyota Motor Corp proclaimed, Failure to change is a vice.
In less than two decades, Toyota has gone
from a laughing stock in America to the
worlds largest and most successful automobile manufacturer. It consistently outsells Ford
and General Motors thoroughbred American
brands that struggle to stem market share
losses. Lexus, its luxury brand, was the topselling luxury brand in America for six years
consecutively!
Its borderline obsession but given the
results, Im not about to knock it!
Kaizen is not a proprietary Toyota secret.
Change, growth, improvement, innovation these are just different monikers for essentially
the same thing: keep changing the game and
keep moving, improving and growing. Grow,
grow, grow. Every successful company is dedicated to this pursuit of continuous growth and
improvement, and the same can be said of
great leaders and great people as well.

In my experience working and observing

great leaders in the United States, Europe and
more recently in Asia, one key trait of great
leaders is their appetite for continuously learning and growing. Leaders never stop learning
and growing because when that happens, they
stop being leaders. Great leaders are always
listening and watching in the hope of learning
new ideas, new thoughts and discovering new
truths and realities for themselves. Great leaders, regardless of their age, always have a hunger for learning and this drives their growth
and that of their organisations.
The desire and ability to keep growing has
always been the hallmark of leadership. I saw
this first-hand from Jack Welchs initial rejection
of the internet to his total embracement of it.

Jack the consummate learner

Now, Jack never was a great fan of the world

wide web. He may have understood its strategic value and implications to the future but he
never really showed it vis-a-vis his numerous
initiatives and strategic directions. Of course,
this was back in the early nineties when
General Electric was very much a brick and
mortar business dealing with physical estates

like appliances, jet engines and

plastics, and providing services
like financing, credit cards and
media. Outside bits of NBC (the
media arm) and GE Capital (its
then financial services arm), GE at
large showed no appetite for the
internet or leveraging it.
Then in the late 90s, Jack made
a drastic turn-about and completely
changed GEs web game and strategy.
One day, he asks GE CIO Gary Reiner to provide
someone from the groups IT department to
be sent over to teach him about the internet. I think many of the IT folks in Fairfield
Connecticut (GEs HQ in the US) feared for
their lives! What if Jack asked them an IT question that they could not answer? Thankfully,
someone volunteered and started teaching
Jack about the internet.
For a few weeks, Jack lived and breathed the
internet. When Jack learns, he really learns. He
wasnt interested to just shop online or dabble in virtual reality; he wanted to know the
whole works. You have to remember that at
the time, Jack was just a few years away from
retirement. It was in the late 90s and he was
about to hand the reins of the company over
to a new guy named Jeff Immelt. He had just
transformed GE into the most admired company in the world and he himself was declared
the most respected CEO in the world. Yet, he
didnt think he was above learning something
new. He showed amazing appetite to learn

WhY do You need to keep learning?

Helps you live longer - The longer we learn, the longer we live results from a study of nuns
in Mankato showed that if you learn something new daily, you live longer. Another study from
the Swedish Institute for Social Research and the Centre of Health Equity Studies found that people
who had additional years of learning had lower risks of death from certain conditions that seem
linked with education.

Keeps your brain fit - Learning new things exercises

your brain, and brain fitness is an important part of
success.

Learning brings
happiness
- Learning brings
more happiness
than having sex,
playing or watching
sport or doing the
National Lottery,
according to a 1997
study by Gallup and
North Yorkshire TEC.

Learning boosts
confidence According
to the National Adult
Learning Survey DfEE 1988,
95% of people think that
learning boosts their selfworth and confidence.
Further research studies
indicate that confidence is
a key element to success
and learning does indeed
enhance confidence.

Helps you reinvent yourself

frequently The more you learn,
the more you are able to identify
opportunities to reinvent and improve
yourself.

Its never too late to learn

numerous successful individuals
started learning and becoming experts
of their trade at a late age.

Learners will always be hired if you

are a continuous learner, you will
never become irrelevant and be replaced
by a more modern talent.

about the internet and within a few months

could get away with talking like one of the
tech guys!
When news made its way through the GE
grapevine, most of us couldnt understand
why an old man would bother learning at
this stage of his life. He had after all made it
in life, so why bother? Jack could have easily
retired on a high note and let the next guy
figure out the internet and its implications.
But thats the thing about great leaders they
never know when to stop learning. They never
stop learning.
What precipitated this change of heart?
Online shopping, apparently. The story, as the
legend goes, was that Jack had gone home
one day and found his then wife, Jane, on the
computer. It was so uncharacteristic of her
that Jack had to find out what she was doing.
As it turns out, she was shopping. He could not
believe that you could shop online and so she
showed him how it worked by ordering a set
of golf clubs for him. That just blew him away.
Immediately Jack wanted to learn about
the power of the internet. And he then proceeded to set up new companies with the
sole purpose of destroying their bricks and
mortar equivalent by building new internet-based businesses. In fact, he named
them DestroyYourBusiness.com! This was
implemented across all GE business units like
DestroyYourBusiness.com Plastics and so on.
The new CEOs of these dot com entities were
tasked with converting the sales functions of
the traditional GE businesses from old methods to e-commerce.
More than five years on, GEs Aviation
business, its biggest brick and mortar business, now sells almost all its spare parts and
a number of other items online, thanks to
DestroyYourBusiness.com Aviation. Not many
people would have thought aircraft engines
sales could be done online but it happened
and they sell millions in a click! Functions like
parts ordering to customer service and even
dealings with vendors are done through GEs IT
infrastructure.
Jacks desire to learn was insatiable. A year
shy of retirement, he was still willing to shake
things up and push the company towards
new, untested waters. Is it any wonder that his
name is almost synonymous with leadership?
It all really begins with having a constant hunger to learn and be willing to learn from anyone even from your spouse! Jack did. There
is an English proverb that goes you are never
too old to learn. I tend to agree.
n Roshan Thiran is CEO of Leaderonomics.
He loves to learn and hopes that everyone
keeps learning forever. For great learning programmes for your organisation, email people@
leaderonomics.com

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

leaRn The aRT

of
small Talk
Ask your co-workers about their interests

show RespeCT To all

youR
Co-woRkeRs
Respect is the foundation of positive

favourite music, movies, books and

hobbies. Showing a genuine interest in
them will make them feel comfortable
around you. Once you know what excites
your colleagues, you will be able to come
up with great conversation starters and
develop your inter-office relationships.

relationships. When you show your

co-workers respect, you will begin to
understand the basis of their opinions,
work habits, and beliefs. Understanding
these differences helps prevent negative
discussion or offensive conversations that
can strain relationships.

9
10

paRTiCipaTe in
offiCe
ouTinGs
If your office doesnt have outings, it

and more diverse. Your colleagues

style of communication and work may
be different from your own. Always
embrace an opportunity to learn from
others. Respect and acknowledgement
are essential elements of healthy
relationships.

should! Getting to know your colleagues

outside the office is a great experience.
When you find out that your office
administrator is in a band, or that your
partner enjoys a good game of badminton,
it helps build camaraderie. You will soon
realise that you might have more in
common with your colleagues than just
working in the same organisation.

Top
10
ways
To Build a Good RelaTionship
wiTh youR Co-woRkeRs
with your eyes downcast;
shoulders slumped, and
immediately start your
work? If this is your
behaviour, you may find
that your co-workers will, at
best, ignore you, or at worst,
avoid you. Get into the habit
of smiling and greeting your
colleagues. Its amazing how
far a little courtesy can go!

1
display a
posiTive
aTTiTude
This contributes to a

good atmosphere in
the workplace. It also
enables you to become
approachable and will
attract conversations from
your co-workers. All great
relationships start with that
first conversation!

6
5

Did you know that our Top 10 lists are in video form too?
Check out www.leaderonomics.tv/top10

Give a happy
hello! in The
moRninG
Do you walk into the office

RespeCT CulTuRal
diffeRenCes and
diffeRenT woRk
sTyles
The work place is becoming more

Build
TRusT
Trust and honesty are fuel

for positive relationships.

In some cases, honesty
means admitting that you
dont know an answer
or that you have made a
mistake. Showing this side
of your character sends
the message about your
honesty and integrity.

help youR
Co-woRkeRs
wheneveR
possiBle
Providing your knowledge
and expertise in an
area outside your job
description is helpful to
your co-workers. It is also
a growth opportunity for
you. Your helpfulness
will likely be reciprocated
when you find yourself in
need of assistance.

ReTuRn Calls and

e-mails
pRompTly
To develop good relationships, dont

neglect good office etiquette. There are

few things more frustrating to a busy
co-worker than having their emails and
phone messages ignored. You want to
avoid being in a position where you
convey the unpleasant message that
You are unimportant to me.

4
aCCepT
Good-naTuRed TeasinG
A sign of a good relationship is being able to have good fun
iSnap me
for a video

http://thestar.com.my/isnap

together. Your co-workers might sometimes play jokes and

tease you just to test what kind of person you are. As long
as the teasing does not cross personal boundaries, dont get
angry. Show them you love a good joke even if it is at your
expense!

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

IdentIfyIng your

strengths and
weaknesses

Morita
played to
his strengths
throughout his
life, culminating
in the success
of Sony Corp.

MultIply our full potentIal

by playIng to our strength

Sony Corp
co-founders
Masaru Ibuka (right)
and Akio Morita are
shown at their Tokyo
office in 1960s. Moritas
strength was the
entrepreneur and
marketer whilst Ibuka
took care of areas
where Morita
was not as
competent in.

By ROBERTO GALEOTTI
roberto.galeotti@leaderonomics.com

E all have areas of

strength and weakness, or rather areas
of non-strength.
It is of great importance that we identify what they are,
and nurture our strengths rather than
wasting energy and resources trying
to fix our areas of non-strength. The
process of identifying and redefining
our areas of strength takes a lifetime;
beginning at the early stages of our
lives, and never really ending.
The initial signs of our strength and
non-strength areas show during our
early school days: our likes and dislikes, the activities and topics where
we do best and worst at school give us
an early an indication of our strengths
and non-strengths.
Several tools are available to help
us assess in a more scientific way
our aptitude and areas of strength.
They have various levels of depth and
complexity, according to the target
age group and learning environment.
Assessment tools to help young people understand their basic personality
traits and aptitude are commonly
used in secondary schools as a form
of career orientation. The combination of these tools and your personal
experience should give an accurate
assessment of the areas where you
would do better in studies and professional life.
Some of the best leaders I have
personally known and worked with
leverage their strengths more than
develop their areas of weakness. Jack
Welch, the former CEO of GE whom I
have had the pleasure of meeting, is
a clear example of a strength-based
leader. Jack is extremely self-aware

and clearly knows his strengths. In

non-strength areas, Jack will quickly
turn to his CFO or other business leaders for guidance and advice. He is not
afraid to let others lead in areas which
are not his strengths but fully leverages his strengths constantly.
In reality (lets be honest) how
many of you are really satisfied with
your job? I dont mean your boss, or
the office environment, or the salary
and perks package you have negotiated with your company, but rather with
your actual professional activity, your
specific function and area of expertise.
Have you ever asked yourself on the
way to work why you are doing what
you are doing, grumbling about doing
things you do not connect with or you
dont really think you have an interest
in? Do you feel that whatever you are
doing lacks a sense of purpose, has no
impact on your company or community? Do you feel that your inventiveness and creativity are wasted? Are
you struggling to develop a rewarding
career path and finding relevance in
your organisation? If you do, something is fundamentally wrong, and
you should start asking yourself hard
questions:
l Am I in the right line of business?
l Is my job the right job for me?
l Is my company letting me make
full use of my strengths?
l Am I excited about what I do and
cant wait to go to work daily?
If not, you may not be playing to
your strengths. Remember that when
your strengths are fully at work, you
are at your peak performance.
We are all different and we adapt
in different ways (according to our
strengths) to functions, roles and job
specifics. For some, managing people
or a business might not be an area of
strength, but they should not consider

this a failure. This same person might

be a top achiever in his area of specialisation, a well respected engineer,
or a future top label designer. You may
not be stellar at solving complicated
mathematical formulas or finding
solutions to difficult engineering
issues, but nothing stops you from
becoming a top business leader, or a
potential world famous chef.
I personally know of a very brilliant
sales executive, a top achiever who
was highly motivated, whom the company decided to promote to manage
the entire marketing and sales team.
They expected to see sales skyrocket
with him as the boss. Well, it did not
work. The young man, a top achiever
as an individual salesman, failed miserably as a manager. His team became
unhappy, and the sales numbers

The AmBank Group Markets

team led by Yvonne Phe
(centre), together with the
Treasury team is a fine example
of how AmBank Group has
strived to establish a connected
environment where everyone
grows together as a team.
Employees are encouraged to
be innovative and be daring to
break new grounds with a more
connected workplace to serve
customers better.

crumbled. Clearly, managing people

was not his strength he was a leader
in his own merit, but he could not be
a manager.
Great leaders manage from their
strength. Akio Morita, the founder of
Sony, realised early in life that he was
a great marketer and had great business sense. However, he did not fancy
a number of other areas of running
the business. So, he wisely brought in
Masaru Ibuka as his co-founder and
partner. Whilst Akio focused on his
core strengths, Masaru filled in the
gaps, focusing on areas where Akio
was less inclined. This way both Akio
and Masarus strengths came to the
fore and were leveraged fully. This
combination enabled Sony to become
one of the most amazing organisations ever to emerge from Japan.
I see the same partnership exists
in many successful organisations.
Today I am an executive coach at
Leaderonomics and I see a similar
partnership between the CEO and his

co-founder. Whilst the CEO focuses

on vision, strategy and execution, his
number 2 focuses on the other areas
needed to ensure the business grows
and is fully developed. This is critical
for leaders to surround themselves
with people different from themselves
to help them address their nonstrength areas.
In conclusion, our full potential is
multiplied the moment we play to our
strengths. When we do what we love
most, our performance is at its peak.
Fight for it, do not settle for anything
less, look for what really fits you. Keep
working on your strengths and you
will surely find success.
n Roberto Galeotti was a former business leader at General Electric (GE) for
numerous years. He is now retired and
now spends his time helping coach
young leaders fulfil their potential.
He hopes all Malaysians play to their
strengths and transform this nation.

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

FOR decades, companies have

long engaged in head-to-head
competition in search of sustained, profitable growth. They
have fought for competitive
advantage, battled over market
share, and struggled for differentiation.
Yet in todays overcrowded
industries, competing head-on
results in nothing but a bloody
red ocean of rivals fighting over
a shrinking profit pool. In a book
that challenges everything you
think you know about the requirements for strategic success, W.
Chan Kim and Rene Mauborgne
contend that while most companies compete within such red
oceans, this strategy is increasingly unlikely to create profitable

growth in the future.

Based on a study of 150 strategic moves spanning more than a
hundred years and thirty industries, Kim and Mauborgne argue
that tomorrows leading companies will succeed not by battling
competitors, but by creating blue
oceans of uncontested market
space ripe for growth. Such strategic moves termed value innovation create powerful leaps
in value for both the firm and its
buyers, rendering rivals obsolete
whilst unleashing new demand.
Blue Ocean Strategy provides
a systematic approach to making the competition irrelevant. In
this frame-changing book, Kim
and Mauborgne present a proven
analytical framework and the

Which factors
should be raised
well above the
industry standard?

Candidate A
Candidate B
Candidate C

I Am Here To Give!

There are aspects of your profile that can be

improved or enhanced. One of these is your work
experience. I understand that as a fresh graduate, you may not have the necessary experience.
However, this is an opportunity to differentiate
yourself. You need to find creative ways to gain
this experience. Internships or apprenticeships are both great ways to achieve this goal.
Internship is the best time to learn so you should
capitalise on such opportunities. I have had
interns telling me that they are willing to work
for free just to be given the opportunity to work
and gain experience during the course of their
studies. Whilst most organisations pay interns an
allowance, this attitude and hunger to learn at all

High

Low
Multiple Skills

Which factors should be reduced well

below the industry standard?

RaisE

Domain Knowledge

Which factors that the industry takes for

granted should be eliminated?

Many fresh graduates, more often than not,

request for salaries above and beyond their current value in the market. In this instance, my
advice would be to reduce your salary expectations. I am not suggesting that you to reduce
your requested starting salary. Rather, I am
advising you to conduct market research and
align your salary expectations to standards in the
market and industry. One of the biggest disappointments for an employer is dealing with candidates who ask for a high salary because they
have achieved a high CGPA. Remember, the CGPA
may get you into the interview - but it does not
guarantee you the job.

n Raj Kumar is the director of Strategy

& Innovation for the UCSI Blue Ocean
Strategy Regional Centre and is a
certified Blue Ocean Strategy
Practitioner. For further comment
or information contact raj@
ucsiblueoceanstrategy.com

This is another key area where you can differentiate yourself. As mentioned earlier, I would create
a compelling tagline stating that you are here to
give! This will allow the employer to see that you
have a different mindset; that of wanting to contribute and add value to the organisation.
Secondly, work on polishing skills like problem solving, critical thinking, and content
and knowledge creation. This is not an
exhaustive list, but these are rare skills in
new candidates. By doing these things,
you will demonstrate your versatility and show that you are armed
with multiple capabilities. You
can acquire these skills by reading books on the various subjects.
Alternatively, you may seek a
capable mentor from the industry
who can impart these skills to you.
You can also look within your family
or circle of friends and ask someone
to become your mentor! You can offer
to do housework or chores for them
in return for their time and effort. Your
hunger will motivate your mentor.

Desire to Contribute

To reconstruct buyer value elements in crafting a new value curve, we use the Four Actions
Framework. The Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create
Grid (ERRC) is complementary to the four actions
framework. There are four key questions that
challenge an industrys strategic logic and business model:

REducE

There are many other elements that you can

create for yourself. You can research the specific
industry for further information, or add on to
those that are mentioned in the quadrant in this
article. Your new To Be strategy canvas could
look like the I Am Here To Give diagram, with
a value curve that sets you apart from the rest
(Candidate C).
I have used a hypothetical ERRC here, but
try it with your own scenario and create a Blue
Ocean for yourself. Start applying the ERRC
framework and stand out in a sea of candidates!

cREatE

Presentation Skills

cREatE
l Desire to contribute
(I am here to give!)
l Multiple Skills
( Problem-solving,
Content creation,
Critical thinking, ICT)

In my opinion, the learning factor is already

an industry given. Everyone is expected to have
a desire for learning. However, when a candidate
who is applying for a job, mentions that he is
there to learn, I begin to feel a little apprehensive.
The sentiment is that we are not hiring you to
learn but to contribute! Learning should be an
ongoing process irrespective of your position or
status in the company. Therefore my advice to
new candidates is to stop saying this. Instead you
can emphasise your willingness to contribute
with the little that you have. Obviously when
you want to contribute more, you will automatically acquire the knowledge and engage in onthe- job learning and training.

Atitude

Mannerism

Domain Knowledge

Communication Skills

Presentation Skills

Physical Appearance

Desire to Learn

Work Experience

Atitude

The Strategy Canvas is a visual tool in Blue Ocean

Strategy that captures the current state of play
in the known market space. This allows you to
understand where the competition is currently
investing as well as the individual components
on which competition is based in the industry in
question.
As we can see from the strategic profile of
these two candidates, they are very similar, sym-

REducE
l High
Expected Salary
(especially if
above market
rate)

RaisE
l Work Experience
l Domain Knowledge
l Presentation Skills
l Communication Skills
l Attitude (Humility)

EliminatE

Communication Skills

What iS Blue
ocean Strategy?

CGPA/ Result

Low

EliminatE
l Desire to
learn (Famous
phrase: I am
here to learn)

Which factors should be created that are

currently not part of the industry?

Work Experience

High

bolising stiff competition. The questions to be

answered are: Which of these two candidates
will actually land the job? What is the employer
looking for? And lastly: What makes a Blue
Ocean Candidate?
To help you analyse your individual strategy,
I would like to introduce a framework in Blue
Ocean Strategy titled the Eliminate - Reduce
- Raise and Create framework. The ERRC framework is best communicated using the ERRC grid
as seen below. Here, we ask ourselves what factors should be eliminated, reduced, raised and
created. As an employer, here are some of my
recommendations:

Mannerism

Candidate A
Candidate B

As Is strategy Canvas

Setting yourSelf apart in the market

Physical Appearance

If we were to sketch an existing As Is strategy canvas using

the key competing elements mentioned above, to visually describe
the two typical candidates, it will
probably resemble the chart below.

your career

CGPA/ Result

l Expected salary
l CGPA/Results
l Attitude
l Work experience
l Desire to learn
l Physical appearance
l Presentation skills
l Communication skills
l Domain knowledge
l Functional expertise

Blue ocean

Desire to learn

HE overall philosophy of Blue Ocean

Strategy is to make your competition
irrelevant by creating a new market
space for yourself. The question here is
whether this philosophy can be applied
to you as a fresh graduate. Can it help you make
your competition irrelevant? Each year thousands
of graduates are churned out of universities
creating a sea of bloody competition a Red
Ocean. How can you adopt Blue Ocean Strategy
thinking to land the career of your choice?
You should start by asking yourself: What
is my Blue Ocean? In todays competitive
environment there are always factors that
form the basis of competition. One such
example may be where two candidates
are contenders for a job at an interview.
The potential employer may draw
comparisons between the two based
on the following issues:

costs is truly an added advantage. Experience also

serves to enhance your domain knowledge especially if you are trained by the relevant organisation during your studies.
Other factors that you should focus on are your
presentation and communication skills. These
are industry imperatives. In a world where ICT
has overtaken verbal communication, I realise
that fresh graduates may not have the ability to
articulate their thoughts, let alone communicate
them. One way to improve these skills is to
make a video of yourself and critically evaluate
it. The video will help you to see and assess your
strengths and weakness. Once these are known,
you can start to work on improving the weak
areas, and practising to enhance your skills. Put
your smart phones to good uses.
Lastly, you should possess the very important
core value of humility. Always have the attitude
that you dont know everything! Learn to respect
people. Humility is the best policy. This will indicate to the employer that you are serious about
absorbing and wanting to serve in a greater
capacity.

Expected Salary

By RAJ KUMAR
raj@ucsiblueoceanstrategy.com

Expected Salary

Blue oceaning your career

tools for successfully creating and
capturing blue oceans. Examining
a wide range of strategic moves
across a host of industries, Blue
Ocean Strategy highlights the six
principles that every company can
use to successfully formulate and
execute blue ocean strategies. The
six principles show how to reconstruct market boundaries, focus
on the big picture, reach beyond
existing demand, get the strategic
sequence right, overcome organisational hurdles, and build execution into strategy. Surpassing traditional thinking about strategy,
Blue Ocean Strategy charts a bold
new path to winning the future.
n Source: http://www.ucsi-blueoceanstrategy.com

JAMIE Oliver is a renowned and successful international chef - with a difference.

BBC discovered him in 1997 through an
unscripted appearance in a restaurant
documentary. From these rather humble
beginnings, he went on to create his
own blue ocean. He totally revolutionised the philosophy and concept
of TV cooking shows. The concept of
The Naked Chef was both simple and
appealing. A down to earth lad with a
mock cockney accent in the kitchen, creating simple, tasty food, playing drums
and whizzing around on his Vespa with
groovy inner city Londoners, was a fresh
and unique approach to this industry.
It was an instant hit and his cookbook
rocketed to the number one bestseller
in the UK.
Jamie appealed to the non-customers of cooking shows. He created easy

to prepare meals that could be made

using simple and fresh ingredients.
A straightforward naked approach
appealed to the mass of everyday people, when compared to the complicated
fine dining cookbooks and cooking
shows that were the current order of the
day. Obviously this also set the trend
for other cooking shows to imitate and
follow. Jamie is consistently pushing
the boundaries of innovation by selling
more cookbooks than any other chef
both online and offline. He created a
blue ocean by creating Jamies kitchen
where he teaches a group of unemployed youngsters how to cook in a
restaurant. Apart from that, his passion
for fresh ingredients and healthy food
spurred him to take on school canteens
in the UK, US and Australia teaching
and encouraging them to create healthy

meals. This saw

the birth of Jamies
school dinners and
Jamies food revolution. This was a rather
controversial project, and
he drew some criticism. At the
same time it focused a great deal
of attention on the issue of fast or
unhealthy food for kids at school. It
enhanced his image as a leading international chef even further.
In conclusion, we can deduce that
Jamie created his Blue Ocean by understanding the needs, wants and pain
points of the mass of viewers. In addition his success is attributable to staying
true to his vision; that of advocating
simple, fresh, tasty and affordable meals
regardless of where you are in the world
or of your station in life.

10

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

AmAzIng cAreer
opporTunITIeS AT A
SocIAL enTerprISe

The

BY ANG HUI MING

EVERY week, we uncover hot jobs that you can apply for.
This week, we look at the HOT Jobs at Leaderonomics,
a social enterprise dedicated to transforming the
nation. To apply for any of these roles, email people@
leaderonomics.com
Leaderonomics is growing and expanding and are looking for awesome people to enable the organisation to
achieve its mission. Leaderonomics is looking for the following great people to join their ranks:

Videographers, producers and Video editors

- Yep, those cool dudes who carry around the impressive cameras and have tons of fun videoing famous people,
events, and helping to build up Leaderonomics new TV
division. Creativity, coupled with video editing skills are
key elements required and the ideal candidate will have
experience in scripting, storyboarding and conceptualising
short clips that are thought provoking and tells a strong
message. The videos are part of Leaderonomics TVs goal of
becoming the 1st global leadership TV network. For sample
videos produced, go to leaderonomics.tv

SecreT IngredIenT
for LIfeS Journey

AccepTIng
And
embrAcIng
chAnge
propeLS
your cAreer
To greAT
new heIghTS

Feature Writers - Those even funkier people who

have the gift of writing or conjuring up interesting
stories to be published for myStarjob, a career pullout and
other publications. Leaderonomics is looking for people
with a passion for writing and great flexibility in being able
to write on various topics including on leadership. Ideally
you are a person who likes to get out of the office and go
out to the streets to capture stories. You must be able to
flex your style as you could be interviewing a CEO or hanging out with students to get their stories.

relationship Managers This awesome role will

require you to go out and meet potential customers
and partners and provide them solutions for their organisations needs. You must possess the desire to want to help
our customers and build close partnerships with them
whilst ensuring we deliver the best service and product to
them.

learning and talent ManageMent Managers

Experienced individuals out there who are passionate
about developing people, who like building deep relationships with their participants, who have an eye to designing
out-of-the-world development programmes and are able
to guide people through challenging development activities. You must love execution and be able to manage the
expectations of multiple stakeholders. The ideal candidate
would be a business leader who wants to be part of a real
action learning and experiential learning execution team.

northern region leader (based in penang) This

passionate individual will help establish and grow
Leaderonomics presence in the northern region. If you can
plan, organise, implement and oversees all the activities of
the operations of the Penang office and help grow the various aspects of the Leaderonomics business in the north,
this role is for you. You will need build a team whilst developing authentic relationships with respective stakeholders
and customers.

Youth prograMMes executiVes (Klang ValleY &

northern region) Mature yet youthful individuals
who love to make a difference in the lives of youths and
help them in their leadership discovery journey. You will
help establish and grow Leaderonomics Youths presence
in the Klang Valley and Penang. Having a love for planning, organising and developing youth in schools, through
camps and via our community centres (Dropzone) is
required.

do good. Volunteer leader Do Good. Volunteer

is a portal that connects volunteers with NGOs.
Leaderonomics is looking for a leader who wants to impact
the community at large with the spirit of volunteerism. You
must have a heart big enough to want to connect, empower and support communities. A high focus on execution
and the ability to build infrastructure and work with our
partners is a key skill needed. Part of the role will require
you to support in the development of a DGV academy for
NGOs.

By ANABELLE CO-MARTINENT
anabelle.co@hotmail.com

OOK at yourself today. Whatever

it is you have achieved for yourself be it career, confidence or
family, it all came step by step.
Achievement means different
things to different people. With age, I
find that people define it differently.
Looking back at my own journey,
there is one common denominator
that pushed things forward: accepting
change. Yes, change. It is a commonly
used word in quotes, yet when it finally
looks us in the eye, we sometimes chicken out. Change often means re-learning
something, becoming humble once
again before we can be on our way to
greatness.
I used a PC when I started my career
12 years ago. When I switched over to my
very first MacBook back in 2006, I was
humbled (and oftentimes I was upset).
Why? Because everything that I knew and
felt I was good at seemed to have gone
down the drain. I felt like a novice computer user who needed help every now and
then. Perseverance pays and after using it

for a month, I have picked up both skills

PC and MAC.
Other personal experiences that forced
me out of my comfort zone: marrying
a Frenchman (I am Chinese), moving to
Malaysia (I was from Manila), driving on
the right side of the road, working for
a big software company at the Petronas
Twin Towers (immersing with Malaysians)
and quitting after four years, delivering
soft-skills training to AirAsia, DiGi and
Hong Leong via a friends company, then
venturing into media. All this took courage
because it was different from what I used
to know. All this meant change. It meant
taking a tough decision and choosing the
less travelled path. All this brought me to
TODAY.
Accepting change into your life is a scary
thing. People often choose the simpler
road, that is to stay the same. Whenever

you are at that point of decision making,

I urge you to only think of this: WE LIVE
ONCE. Life is short. Do you want to live
your life only knowing what you know,
or do you want to experience something
new?
So when the day comes that something
new is being offered whether its moving to a new country, volunteering for a
new project at work, sending yourself to
soft-skills training for self-improvement,
or even engaging with unfamiliar people
with an open mind, choose the path of
change. Only when you have taken that
journey and reflect back will you realize
how much it has enriched your life.
The key thing that you need to remember is that whatever that unfamiliar path
you are about to take, it is neither all that
impossible nor strange. Someone out
there has already done the same thing.
Reach out. Talk to people. Ask friends and
family because their network may point
you to someone who could give you
insight. Search online. read blogs and
articles. There is a wealth of knowledge
out there. All you need to do is make that
decision to change and make a move in
your life.

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

By SHAWN NG
mystarjob@leaderonomics.com

O, youve finally landed an interview

for a position for your dream job at
your dream place of employment! You
have spent weeks preparing for your
big interview. You believe that you
have done everything humanly possible to get
ready for this interview. You have updated your
resume, researched the company that you are
going to be interviewed at, dry cleaned your
lucky interview suit, and spent hours googleling interview tips online.
You are finally at the interview, sitting
confidently facing your interviewer. You have
exchanged pleasantries after a handshake and
the warmest, sincerest smile you can muster.
You are trying to answer all the questions
being thrown at you as confidently as you can.
And then it happens! You are asked what
you believe to be the strangest, off kilter question that could ever be put forth. It seems to
have no bearing whatsoever on the company
or the position you are applying for. Your
throat gets dry; your tongue seems to swell in
your mouth, preventing any words from escaping. Your mind is racing searching for a suitable answer. You start to wonder if you have
blown the interview and why in world you
were even asked that question?

What Kind of animal Best

descriBes You?

It can be difficult to recover your composure after being asked a question about what
kind of tree you would be, which sort of powers you would choose if you were a superhero; or what kind of animal would best
describe you. These seemingly silly, unusual,
or perhaps even borderline-inappropriate
queries may surprise you!
Jobseekers should walk into their interviews prepared to field even the most bizarre
or inane questions with professionalism and
a touch of good-natured humour.
There is really no excuse not to be prepared for the hiring managers strange questions. Many traditional interview questions
do little to uncover the interviewees hidden
strengths and weaknesses. This is why hiring
managers sometimes resort to asking crazy
questions. It is an attempt to learn more
about you. They want to understand how you
behave when put on the spot; how you react
and possibly how you approach uncertainty
and confusing situations. They may even be
trying to test your creativity.
This is why you need to be ready for unexpected questions that require you to react
with immediacy and creativity. A number of
my HR colleagues have told me that often,
how you respond in these tricky situations
becomes the differentiator between you and
other good candidates. You need to think
quickly and answer wisely.
If youre asked to name the kind of animal
youd like to be, dont panic! The question
may be designed just to provoke a response.
Here are some easy techniques that will help
you to remain calm, collected and poised.
They will enable you to deliver an answer
that will allow you to get you through your
predicament.

EntErprisE is
in your blood

takE on tough

intErviEw QuEstions
1

first - remain calm

Interviewers often ask unusual questions to rattle you. They do this to see
how you will respond to an inherently stressful
situation. They want to understand how you
react to being pushed outside your comfort
zone and forced to think on your feet.
No matter what kind of question is asked,
do not fall into the trap of answering without
thinking. Try not to let on that you are struggling with an answer. Maintain your resolve
and try to keep your pose or poker face intact!
If you react badly, appear to be visibly
shaken or suddenly lose your train of thought,
it could reflect poorly on your ability to react to
unplanned situations. It may also be an indication of how well you are able to think on your
feet. You do not want the interviewer to reach
such negative conclusions.

Keep smiling and plaY

along With humour

Most interviewers think that their offthe-wall questions are humorous, and as such,
they often pose them with a touch of fun. Its
alright to chuckle a bit as you struggle internally to maintain your inner sense of calm. Its
also okay to state that you didnt prepare an
answer to that sort of question. By acknowledging the humour in the situation, you will be
able to deflect the tension, as well as buy yourself a few precious moments to collect your
thoughts and prepare an appropriate answer.
Smiling also shows that you are a person
who can react positively in tough situations.
This will bode well for you as it demonstrates
to the interviewer your ability to remain cool
and calm. It says a great deal about someone
if they can smile through an awkward or
uncomfortable moment.

appears, it was probably deliberately formulated to compel you to reveal some hidden aspect
of your personality.
Take note of this while you are being questioned and try to figure out what the question
is actually trying to reveal. Endeavour to tailor
your answer to the underlying reason. If the
question is trying to see how creative you are,
try to answer it with creativity. If you believe
the question is attempting to establish your
ability to think on your feet, try to allow your
answer to showcase that you have this skill.

ansWer creativelY

Avoid obvious clichs and expected

answers. Dont go off on a tangent
with an equally off the cuff response though.
Remember, it is okay for them to ask startling
questions. It is, though, definitely not appropriate for you to respond with answers that
would catch them off guard. Remember that
you are the one being interviewed.

Just politelY not ansWer

the question

If you get asked a question by the

interviewer that leaves you speechless, or
more poignantly, makes you feel
uncomfortable in any way,
state respectfully how you
feel. Mention that you
would prefer not
to answer at

this stage and request politely to move on to

the next topic of discussion.
This option may not appear to carry the
most favour with your prospective employer.
It does, however help to display your threshold of what you believe to be appropriate or
acceptable. It is a viable last resort if you find
yourself truly stumped or uncomfortable.
Polite redirection also helps to demonstrate
your stand or view on a particular subject and
can be a key indicator that illustrates your level
of integrity.
At the end of the day, try not to let any
unusual interview question throw you off your
game. Instead, take them all in your stride and
formulate informative but interesting answers
that will contribute to achieving that dream
job. Always try to understand the underlying
reason for the interviewers question and try to
respond accordingly. Have a great interview!

Jobseekers should walk into their

interviews prepared to field even the
most bizarre or inane questions with
professionalism and a touch of goodnatured humour.

find out What

the question
is Behind
the question

The majority of interviewers arent trying

to amuse themselves or
to embarrass you. Rather,
they are trying to see how
well you think outside the box.
Additionally, they hope to learn a
little more about you and your character in the process.
No matter how bizarre the question

By EVA CHRISTODOULOU
eva.christodoulou@leaderonomics.com
STARTING young has many benefits. Firstly,
you have all the time in the world to invest
in an idea. Secondly, the younger you are, the
higher your imagination and energy levels.
Why not channel this energy and imagination into something that could eventually
turn out to be rewarding for yourself, as
well as to those around you? You do not
need much to start up a small enterprise.

Whether you work from recycled materials

and manufacture something small, or offer
some service to your neighbours and peers,
an idea can grow before you even blink your
eyes. Be creative. Work by yourself or with a
small group of friends. Take an idea and turn
it into a small business!
The satisfaction of creating something,
sharing money and offering a product or
service to your community is immense! It
is so easy to start! You can look online for
advice, or skim through a rich depository

of books that are available to guide you on

your quest to start a small business. And of
course, your parents will be happier that you
are using their porch for something meaningful and productive! Not to mention the
great advantage and rich experiences you
will gain that will prepare you for the future.
n Eva believes that those that begin early in
life are the most successful ones. She hopes to
see many more Malaysian children and teenagers take that path.

11

12

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

By NADIA ELENA NOR AZLAN

mystarjob@leaderonomics.com

HE book What I Wish I Knew

When I Was 20 by Tina
Seelig depicts a number of
entrepreneurial efforts by
students from the Stanford
Technology Ventures Programme.
Among them is the Five Dollar
Challenge.
The aim of the challenge is simple
generate as much money as possible
in a span of two hours given only five
dollars as seed funding. Teams of
students were given from Wednesday
afternoon until Sunday evening to plan
and execute their projects. Then - on
Monday afternoon - they had to give
a three-minute presentation about
their project and its outcome. The two
hour time limit started as soon as the
money envelope was opened.
The projects varied in creativity.
There were safe ideas such as lemonade stands and car washes whereas
the more adventurous teams opted
for ventures like selling maps that
highlighted local restaurants during
Parents Week. However, there was
one that stood out.
This particular team did not choose
to see either the five dollars or the two
hours as their most valuable asset.
Instead, they identified it to be the
three-minute presentation. So they
(sold) those minutes to a company by
creating a commercial that informed
their classmates about a student
recruitment programme that the company was conducting. Brilliant, right?
The big question: Would Malaysian
students be able to think of something like that? Answer: Probably.
But would most Malaysians be able
to express and clearly communicate
and execute their ideas? Therein lies
the issue. Even when we have the
greatest ideas, we have a hard time
communicating them. And worst still
is getting buy-in to our ideas.

The Malaysian
scenario

Lets change scenes and jump into

another all too familiar scenario in
Malaysia: a speaker (not the electric
kind), standing in front of an audience,
eagerly asks for questions or comments
but is only met with silence because
the previously attentive audience suddenly finds the floor interesting.
This scenario is the norm for most
classrooms, lecture theaters and convention halls but it is definitely not
something to be proud of. Its frustrating for many parties especially for

ThaT deafening
silence

sowhere
should i sTarT?

caT goT your Tongue?

or is iT someThing else?

Speaking up is an im
portant element of
suceess and somethi
should actively try
to do more of from
ng that Malaysians
young.
lecturers, guest speakers and the more
eager students. Malaysia has many
brilliant minds, but why arent many
of them engaging in discussions when
the time calls for it? (Discussions at
the kopitiam do not count!)

so how did
iT sTarT?

There is a multitude of possibilities

as to why this happens. For one thing,
we are taught to be correct and only
that. The attention that our society
puts on examination results leads
students to thinking that mistakes are
the worst thing that they can make. Its
rather ironic that we learn by stopping ourselves from actually learning.
Simultaneously, our Asian roots
may have played a part too. It is more
natural for us to want to be a part
of a group rather than to emerge as
an individual. So its no surprise that

a group will somehow conform to

silence even if those among the group
do have their own opinions.
Also, the emphasis on route learning in the education system can result
in the assumption that thinking skills
are only relevant for education and
nothing else. This perception is, of
course, misleading; they are going to
be proved wrong rather painfully once
they step out of their classroom phase.

confidence
and creaTiviTy

Having, and, more importantly,

expressing your thoughts allows the
growth of two things: confidence and
creativity (the two Cs).
Confidence does not directly translate into having the courage to deliver
speeches to a crowd. In fact, it is actually a belief in oneself and ones abilities. Also, the assumption that creativ-

ity is only related to the arts is absolutely false. Being creative means you
are able to transcend traditional ideas
and create meaningful new ones.
So why should one bother with
these two things? Apparently (but not
surprisingly), confidence and creativity
are valuable ingredients for progress
and innovation.
Although many people would
associate progress and innovation
with science and technology, it does
not necessarily have to mean so. An
example would be the development
of microcredit by Muhammad Yunus
of Grameen Bank. His simple idea of
providing small loans to the poor sans
the collateral has alleviated 65% of
the banks 7.5 million borrowers out
of extreme poverty. The Five Dollar
Challenge is also a clear representation of what self-assurance and a bit
of creativity can do for the team.

By TERRY SMALL
terry@terrysmall.com
WHAT is it that you do every week
that literally makes you stupid? You
get stressed! When you stress, you
release cortisol into your brain. This
diminishes your brain power during
the period of stress. Researchers say
that too much of this is bad for your
brain.
We all know that stress can
make you anxious, uncomfortable,
depressed, and tired. However, recent
neurological studies reveal that too
much stress can change the very
structure and functioning of your
brain cells. The bottom line is that
stress can cause brain damage!
On the other hand - some short
term stress may actually be good for
you. It may help you outrun a bear
or improve athletic performance.
However, the long term stress that
is so common today can wear your

It must be acknowledged that the

two Cs wont grow overnight in fact
it involves a long and quite arduous
process.
Firstly, you will need to actually
start speaking up. It may be a daunting task, but what you say might just
provide a new perspective to the discussion. You may be representing others who have the same opinion as you.
You will probably gain feedback after
that but dont just ignore them!
Accommodate other peoples opinions and choose to learn from them.
If you do that, you will definitely gain
a wider perspective. Hence, you have
the chance to become more creative.
Consequently, you will find that
coming up with ideas is a much easier
task. Also, if you keep up the habit,
your peers will start recognising your
voice. Your voice defines your
identity and although people might
not agree with your opinions, they will
respect you for sticking up for yourself.
Undoubtedly, your confidence will
slowly grow.
However, many people make the
mistake of staying comfortable with
familiar engagements. Choose to be
adventurous instead and interact with
people of different backgrounds. You
dont have to go search for someone
in Timbuktu, the cleaning lady at your
university or school will do just fine.
When you take this step, you open
up your chances to meet more likeminded people. If the new relationships are reinforced, who knows what
impossibilities can be achieved? Who
knows, maybe something like the
Five Dollar Challenge will be a piece
of cake for us?
So dont let the cat get hold of your
tongue any longer. Youve got nothing to lose and everything to gain by
doing so. The younger you start to
learn how to be proactively vocal, the
better your chances are of really making a difference in this world.
n Nadia has just returned to her university in the UK. She was an intern
at Leaderonomics recently and learnt
the importance of speaking up and
being proactive. Her wish is for more
Malaysians to learn the art of being
vocal.

brain down. Stress hormones can

erode important neuronal connections which can lead to forgetfulness.
Recent research has demonstrated
that stress can actually shrink the
hippocampus (the memory center of
your brain). This shrinkage actually
looks a lot like stroke damage!
And one more thing! Stress creates free radicals that kills brain
cells. This is one more reason to eat
that prune a day. Remember how
good antioxidants are for your brain.
Great! you say. Now Im stressed
about my stress! In the next Brain
Bulletin I will share an amazing idea
to reduce your stress. It really works!
Remember: You are a genius.
n Terry Small is a brain expert who
resides in Canada and believes that
Anyone can learn how to learn easier,
better, faster, and that learning to
learn is the most important skill a person can acquire.

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

by KOH EARN SOO & TEAM

bestbooksummary@gmail.com

OHN C. Maxwell promised himself that

he would write this book when he turned
60. In February 2007, he reached that
milestone and began writing. Having had
a remarkable and rewarding journey as
a leader from the young age of 22, he is convinced that everything hinges on leadership.
Good leadership always makes a difference. It can turn organisations around
and positively impact the lives of thousands of individuals. With much experience in training and developing
potential leaders since the late 70s,
Maxwell discovered to his delight
that leaders can be developed.
Leaders are not necessarily only
born, they can be developed
through learning.
Maxwell believes in the
quote by poet Archibald
MacLeish, Theres only one
thing more painful than learning from experience, and that
is not learning from experience. In his book, Maxwell
shares 26 gold nuggets that
he learned during the 40
years of living in a leadership
environment. This was where
he learned what it meant to
be a leader through trial and
error. He established that he
is still discovering leadership
nuggets each day, and much of
the leadership gold he is sharing
is a result of leadership mistakes
he has made. Maxwell believes
that ones ability to become a better
leader depends on ones responses.
Leadership Gold is relevant to us
whether we are in the business world,
part of any kind of organisation social circle
or even family. It begins with a powerful and
meaningful introductory chapter titled, If its
lonely at the top, youre not doing something
right. It concludes with the challenge of thinking of the legacy that we would like to leave behind.
In the closing chapter is a poignant phrase: People
will summarise your life in one sentence pick it now.
Throughout the book, Maxwell emphasises the relational role
of a leader, the importance of working with your followers and
that the ultimate desire of a leader should be to develop others beyond oneself.

golden
nuggeTs of
leadership
a look aT The Book
on leadership gold lessons learned from
a lifeTime of leading
By John c. maxWell

gold
nugget

#1

Our ability to become better

leaders depends on our
responses, says Maxwell.

If Its lonely at the top,

youre not doIng somethIng rIght

Maxwell began his leadership journey with the phrase

Keep a distance. It was a phrase he had often heard.
Good leaders are supposed to be a little set apart from those
they are leading. However, Maxwell discovered that although
it meant that people could not hurt him, it also meant that
people could not help him. So, at the age of 25, Maxwell
made a decision that as a leader, he would walk slowly
through the crowd. He would allow himself to be
vulnerable and be willing to take the risk of getting close to the people he led. He also allowed
people to get close to him. Maxwell realised
that he needed to love people before he
could even begin trying to lead them.
Leaders never get to the top alone.
They always need the support of people.
To reach those goals, it is necessary
to take others with you. A leaders
personal success must always end
with helping others achieve their
aspirations. Leaders need to relate
to their people in order to reach out
to them.
Loneliness does not have to be
a positional consequence related
to a leadership role. Rather, it is
a personality issue. Leadership is
relational as much as positional.
If you are a leader and you are
currently feeling lonely, then you
need to check yourself. There is
probably something you are not
doing correctly. Maxwell puts it in a
very interesting way when he says,
Think about it. If you are all alone,
that means nobody is following you.
And if nobody is following you, you are
not really leading!

the toughest person

to lead Is often oneself

gold
nugget

The toughest person to lead is often oneself. We are

often our own worst enemies. Why is this? The answer
lies in two primary reasons. Firstly we usually do not see
ourselves as we see others. Secondly we tend to be harder on
others than ourselves. In order to be successful, we often need
to face the brutal truth that we may need to get out of our own
way.

#2

Maxwell shares four prerequisites to leading others:

1. A leader needs to learn followership. Unless you learn
to follow well, you will not know how to lead.
2. Develop self-discipline.
3. Practise patience. Do not be impatient about focusing
on the future and wanting to move ahead all the time.
The point of leadership is not to cross the finish line first. The
essence of being a good leader is to ensure that you take people
with you.
4. Seek accountability. Power can be seductive. Be careful not to trust and believe only in yourself. Be willing to
make yourself accountable to another.

Thomas J. WaTson, The former

chairman of iBm, said, noThing so
conclusively proves a mans aBiliTy
To lead oThers, as WhaT he does from
day To day To lead himself. maxWell
adds, When The leader doesnT
inspecT himself, The people donT
respecT him.
defInIng moments
defIne your leadershIp

gold
nugget

Maxwell believes that how a leader handles certain critical moments in life determines his ability to successfully
meet other life challenges that he will face. Decisions made
during crucial moments shape us and tell others who we really
are. A defining moment is not the time to mould your
character. This is the time that your character is
actually on display for all to see!
What are defining moments?
Maxwell defines them as intersections
in our lives that give us an opportunity to turn, change direction, and
seek a new destination. When
a leader experiences a defining
moment and is able to respond
appropriately, he becomes a
better leader.
However, the challenge is
that you do not get to plan
your defining moment. It
is not something you can
plan and block off in your
calendar. One thing you can
choose is how you will handle these moments when
you encounter them.
Maxwell shares the following
steps that you can take to
prepare for defining moments:
1. Reflect on defining
moments from the past.
2. Prepare for defining
moments in the future. Make major
choices before times of crisis. This will enable
you to simply manage those decisions in critical
moments.
3. Make the most of defining moments in the present.
n Koh Earn Soo and his team take the best books and summarise them into shorter, readable content in the hope of inspiring
people to read more and learn more. To read the rest of this
summary and summaries of other bestsellers, subscribe to www.
thebest-booksummary.com

#3

13

14

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

A CAR FOR YOUR RESUME

Get that job you love and drive home a free car!
( Contest period: 20 September - 14 November 2012 )

reSume
and reap the
rewardS
myStarjob is giving jobseekers the chance to not only get a new job, but also
a car to go with it! Enter the A Car for Your Resume contest by registering
yourself as a myStarjob member and uploading your current resume. After
that, a tie-breaker question and a final challenge is all that lies between you
and the envious looks youll get as you cruise to your dream job in a gleaming
Proton Persona! If you are an existing member, skip the registration and head
straight to the question!
Just answer a simple question related to myStarjob, and you will stand a
chance to be selected as one of the 20 finalists for the Online Q&A Challenge
to win a car and other consolation prizes. Not only that, weekly prizes in the
form of shopping vouchers worth RM100 each are up for grabs!

For more information, please refer to our FAQ and TERMS & CONDIZTIONS!

Submit your

grand prize: 1 x car

drive your own SucceSS Story!

Just submit your resume online and youll

automatically be in the running to win a Proton Persona 1.6!
There will also be 7 shopping vouchers worth RM100
to be won every week!
Visit mystarjob.com now!

conSolation prize: 19 x rm100

Shopping voucherS

weekly prizeS: 7 x rm100

Shopping voucherS

The objective of this contest is to create

more awareness amongst jobseekers that
our portal that is offering a myriad of job
opportunities.
We are committed to helping people
find the jobs they love, said Serm Teck
Choon, head of MyStarJob Network Sdn
Bhd. By depositing resumes, they (the
jobseekers) will be exposed to various jobs
in various industries, available through the
myStarjobs job listings which are available
in print and online, as well as get rewarded with prizes.
He added that registered members can
also look forward a brand-new product:

regiSter now!
Contest rules and regulations apply.

The Visume. Visume is a big leap forward

in terms of recruiting, Serm shared.
Supplementing the traditional text-based
resumes, video resumes help to give jobseekers that edge they need in their job
hunts by allowing them to express their
unique personalities.

me
Your Rneressiudents
r
o
f
r
a
C
A to all Malaysia s for

is open
and run
v
nd above
aged 18 a s, ending on 14 No b.
k
rjo
eight wee n to http://mysta
o
2012. Log r!
te
com to en

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

WE have four experts on career management, HR

and office issues who will address your questions
weekly. We refer to them as Careernomers - experts
in career matters who will help you in your career
journey. So if you have any burning questions to ask,
send it to dearcareernomers@leaderonomics.com
and we will get the panel to answer your questions.

I AM a recent graduate with a Bachelor Degree of

Commerce Accounting (Hons), and currently I am
working in Singapore with one of the audit firms for
about 5 months. Frankly speaking, I am not happy
with my job, and I find no motivation and passion. I
followed the trend of my friends and neighbours in
Johor, and even though I decided after an internship
that this line of work is not good for me, I decided to
join, not wanting to waste time looking for a more
appropriate job.
I am not sure whether or not I fully understand
myself. Talkative, outgoing, outspoken, confident
and active can best describe my personality and I like
politics too. Right now I am really not interested, I am
so troubled and not confident with my current job, I
find it so difficult to spend a day. I know I should not
think as such, but I feel like I am already a liability to
my firm. I have received several compliments from my
manager saying that I am quite smart, but she complains that I am really not interested with my current
job (low productivity, no passion etc) even though she
and a senior have been trying to motivate me by telling me about their hardship and stories.
Resignation is one solution, but I know as a young
graduate, I should not change jobs frequently. I can tell
you that adaptability and corporate culture are not the
issue, but the lack of interest and job passion are!
Could you advise me of what I should do next for
my future? Thank you so much for reading my email.

Jett
DEAR JETT,

I can truly sympathise with your predicament from my own personal experience.
I had graduated from Cambridge with an
economics degree and was to some extent
expected to pursue a high flying career in
England, such as in banking. However, I proved
to be very poor at interviews and really it was
through a lot of luck and help that I started
work as an auditor at PwC, London.
I was academically strong and hence had
little trouble with my ICAEW professional
accounting examinations. Unfortunately, I
proved woeful at work as an auditor and if I
remember correctly, in my second year, I was
appraised and rated worst in my year.
I could not find passion in my work and that
perhaps affected my motivation and ability
to really perform to my best. Nevertheless, I
still worked hard for four years as an auditor,
mainly to complete my qualification as a chartered accountant. Although I did start to enjoy
myself a bit more towards the end, as I was
able to specialise in areas closer to my interest.
After that I returned to Malaysia. I moved on to
corporate finance, for another 4 years, which I
found more exciting, though perhaps not my
passion.
It was only after that I had the opportunity
to join the Finance Ministry, where I finally
found my passion. I have spent now almost
nine years in the public sector and I remain
motivated to do a few more years yet.
So how does this relate to you? Interestingly,
I was recently asked by a student given where
I am now whether I regretted my time as an
auditor. Without a moments hesitation, I said
no.
I am grateful to PwC for the time I was there
and I remain convinced it was an important
stage in my development as a professional.
Further, my training as an accountant certainly
provided a good foundation for my later work
in corporate finance and also helped in the
Finance Ministry.
I may perhaps, be a little old fashioned but
I still view the early part of ones career as an
important extension of learning (it sure doesnt
stop at university). I dare say for the first three
years, a professional is not that productive and

Quit,
or not
to quit...

Low Motivation at work

is really still building his or her foundation.

Whilst I fully subscribe to the myStarjobs
motto of Do what you love, I would advise
you to practise pragmatic idealism, i.e. pursue
your passion but you still need to build yourself
as a professional and find an area that you are
interested in and have the skillsets to succeed
in.

In TERms of moRE
spEcIfIc ADvIcE,

1. Do you really want to go into banking?

If youre pretty sure, then by all means work
in Malaysia if you cant get a job in banking
in Singapore. We have in Malaysia, financial
institutions like CIMB and Maybank that are
transforming into regional champions. Hence, a
good environment to learn and start a career.
2. If, as you say, you do not yet fully understand yourself, I wouldnt be too hasty resigning from your current job. You are right in
realising it is not in your interest to become
a serial job hopper, which is quite probable if
youre moving jobs without being clear what
you want or what youre looking for.
3. It is said that one should remain in a job as
long as one continues to learn. May I suggest,
for now tha you find a means to motivate yourself to work hard despite not necessarily being
passionate about audit. You seem to have a
manager and senior interested in your welfare.
Work with them to perhaps gain exposure to a
diversity of clients as part of learning and also
to help you gain better insight into what industries you may want to pursue later on.
Ones career, like life, is a journey. Do not
expect to reach your destination immediately.
Be willing to take time to explore. I am a big
believer that there is something to be gained
from every experience. All the best!

Johan merican
HI JETT,

15

First of all.... SMILE... wake up each day

and give yourself a big smile because it helps
lift your spirit immediately and helps you get

through the day in your situation.

I dont know if there is any comfort to you
to know that there are many young graduates
out there in a similar situation as you. In fact, I
was in your shoes before. I started my first job
as an auditor with one of the big five accounting firms in those days because that was the
path everyone advised me to follow. I loved my
colleagues and friends in the firm but didnt
find passion in the nature of my job. Im saying
this with no disrespect to the audit profession;
in fact, I have a lot of respect for people in the
audit profession as I believe it takes a lot of
technical expertise and perseverance to do
what they do. However, it wasnt my cup of tea
and I know the feeling of being miserable in
this line, dragging your feet to work each day.
To help you get through your day-to-day for
now, try looking for areas in the job that you
can enjoy. For example, you mentioned that
you are an outgoing, active, talkative person.
Perhaps talk to your seniors or managers to
assign you jobs that are in places that are challenging (instead of just offices) so you can also
explore new places while at work. Have more
engaging conversations with your clients to
learn about their business and gain exposure
to various industries in that manner (which is
the biggest benefit of being an auditor). That
was what I did to help me get through my
audit days, and also because I started to have
conversations with the various clients I met,
I managed to figure out where I had interest
in and where I was going to make my next
move to. However, I only managed to stay on
for almost two years before I made a move.
Like you, I had concerns of whether my next
employer would judge me as a job hopper for
leaving only after a short stint in audit, but I
still made the choice to leave after considering
a few things below which might help you make
your decision as well.
i) Are you aiming to become a Chartered
Accountant or a Partner who can sign off
accounts? If you are, then by all means, persevere and stay on for the required time, finish
your exams and get the certification. If not,
then you are free to explore new options.
ii) Are you still learning in your role? I believe

there is a lot to learn as a fresh grad and as

long as there is room to learn and grow professionally, there is a reason to continue. However,
if you find that your lack of passion is hindering
you from learning, then do consider moving on
or you would waste your youth and the endless
energy you have now.
iii) Do you know where you want to go to
next? I would be careful to move on from
where you are unless you have a degree of
awareness of what you really want to do, or
else, you might just end up being a job hopper as you feared. If you still dont know what
you love to do, stay on in your role first and do
your research. If you are sure banking is the line
you want to be in, find out more about the various jobs in banking. And if you still dont know
what you want to do or are good at; consider a
management trainee role in a reputable organisation. Well structured management trainee
programmes will give you the opportunity to
try different roles and see where you fit best
given your capability, personality and potential. And dear Jett, dont just limit yourself
with the narrow mindset of having to work in
Singapore. There are tons of opportunities out
there in Malaysia and in this region. Sometimes
it helps to be near family and friends if you are
unhappy in your job. Being away from home,
family and friends will also add to the stress
and burden. Do consider that and dont be in
such a hurry to build your wealth. Learning and
establishing yourself in an area of expertise is
more important for a fresh grad.
One piece of very good news is, you have a
supportive manager and senior. Be very, very
grateful and thankful for that. If you decide to
stay, look to them as your pillar of support and
mentor and do your very best. It is our choice to
bring excellence into our work everywhere we
go... make that your choice as well regardless of
the situation.
Regards,

Ang Hui ming

The opinions expressed are those of the authors
and not necessarily those of myStarjob

mystarjob, saturday 29 september 2012

Coming up in next Saturdays issue . . .

Who are better bosses:

Men or Women?

Also next week

Elisabeth Lee,
senior executive
director of Sunway
Education Group
shares her
in My
First Job

career
journey

Azim Khamisa forgave

the boy who
. We
explore the power of
in
Be a Leader

killed

his son
forgiveness

How do we

Roshan Thiran
tells his

coach Zaid Mohamad

tackles the issue

perseverance in
Whats After SPM

balance work
and life? Parent

postschool
journey of