Which Character Stands Out?

A colleague of mine describes her online profile as the ‘ENFP’ type; which gives away a lot of information if you appreciate the relevance behind the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) profiling instrument. There is much to glean from a person’s operative manual if you appreciate ‘Personality Types’, preferences, motivations and styles.

A current online poll urges readers to vote for their favourite character in the current Marvel Studios (formerly Marvel Comics) film ‘The Avengers’. It stands, at this point in time, that the leaders are Ironman and ‘The Incredible’ Hulk. Hawk and Black Widow who are not superheroes rank at the bottom, whereas Loki (Thor’s adopted brother, Loki who possesses extra-terrestrial powers is also companion to the former two).

What defines a character? Which inventory of indicators or measurements fleshes out a fictitious or real character? I personally enjoyed Stark/Ironman who is human, excessively intelligence and artfully narcissistic. Here is a ‘superhero’ that is living on borrowed time (shrapnel near his heart that can move and kill him), who has experienced an epiphany, and is determined to pit his annoying intelligence, humongous wealth, and cutting-edge technology against the Bad Guys. Each superhero has his/her demons with a personal point to prove, while attempting to exorcise their demons through good deeds. Dr Banner/Hulk clearly has anger management issues and has utilized a plethora of strategies to prevent another ‘incident’ that can be punitive for the taxpayer and town council.

Leadership Lesson: When selecting and recruiting staff, what are your criteria of choice? How much of a person’s initial character matters to you? Which values of theirs are you attracted to? Can you clearly discern between confidence and arrogance? 

Is Your Company A Learning Organisation?

Really? Is it for real, or all PR talking? Spinning is a skill, and it’s okay to admit that your company puts in a healthy budget toward developing its people, or not. Training and people development investments may be a luxury during hard, economic periods and these amounts get diverted to more important areas that are bleeding.

Peter Senge coined this term in his landmark 1990 book, ‘The Fifth Discipline’ now embraced as a textbook for human resources practitioners, trainers and OD practitioners. Senge clearly explains that in the long run the only sustainable competitive advantage is your organization’s ability to learn faster than the competition. Better, stronger and faster. Move from survive to strive to thrive.

Here is a report on how accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP applies the learning organization through its successful leadership development program.

Today’s paying audience is discerning, knowing their consumer rights from their individual rights. The paying audience has learnt quickly from experiencing disappointments and buyer’s remorse to become more demanding. Today, the concept of rights has extended beyond consumers to humans to animals. We have learnt how to apply what we have learnt, ensuring that we continue to get quality and value for money.

Consumers can express their concerns yet there are sensible and reasonable ways to exact their demands, as requests. When we shift from face-to-face communication to the hidden-panels of Facebook, we can rear our ugly side. Freedom of speech becomes mired with emotional impulsiveness that reflect us as lowly members of the lynch mob. The mob gathers membership, steam, and momentum and allows others to ‘suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortunes’. Fools suffer gladly. Let us learn from other people’s mistakes and not repeat them in creative ways. Learn, live and let live.

*****

I was surprised with the results of Sunday’s half-marathon. I expected to place in the top-five, a mild improvement from last year’s sixth in the Masters’ category. I learnt that I was first, with the faster runners disqualified because of technical issues; even Poon, who I paced with for the first half of the race, was disqualified due to missing a timing-mat. After Sunday’s race organization falling short of expectations, I was glad there was no mention of an awards ceremony. I would have found it awkward to collect a prize. I earned two personal best times: one for the course, and another for my best 21K finish. I considered it a great training day, where I did not exceed the prescribed distance due to poor marshaling and ignorance of the course. The organizers did apologise immediately after the race, and subsequently provided a solution that was an attempt to right their wrong. We cannot change the past, but ensure the future does not include reckless repetition.

My plantar fasciitis condition is stable after two days of rest, and I hope to recover soon with rehabilitation and strength-training to prepare for my next local long-distance triathlon. I have withdrawn from Ironman Canada, and am focused on marathons for the rest of the year until next year’s IM New Zealand. [Update: I learnt from the emcee, Ros that there was a prize presentation and I was absent during the callout. My mistake for glossing over my performance. Anyway, nice to know that my dry spell may be over.]


Photo-credit: Franxis Yong

Cyclists Who Give Us a Bad Name

This morning, I relented and allowed my circadian rhythm to dictate my time to awake. I was scheduled to meet a rag-tag team of riders at 7.00am. I would then follow the lead for a 60-90K ride. After much preamble and preparation, I found myself at the start-line after 9.30am. I did a 15K loop around the Changi International Airport before I bumped into the trio of enthusiastic riders comprising Clifford, Tee and Matthew. I caught up with them, had a mild chat, mostly being teased by Clifford (mostly because he and Matthew were riding on their spanking new Specialised Transition frame and aero-helmets: very Macca-esque!). We parted ways shortly as the three of them were headed for some emergency breakfast after their near, century-ride.

I continued for another two loops; tough going in because of the strong headwind, and easier on the return leg because of the noticeable tailwind. At the end of my second loop, I emerged damp after a few rogue rain clouds, and merged into a pack of roadies (including furious-pedaling mountain-bikers). This large and motley pack of about 25-30 riders, traveling at moderate pace, was enjoying the sail effect afforded by a tailwind.

One rider – playing shepherd from the back - decided that he would move from the rear, of the left-most lane, to grab a pinch of the right lane. The original, one self-designated, lane for riding became a dictatorial domination of two lanes. I could have overtaken the whole pack if I accelerated for a short distance, but I intuitively chose not to. A fast approaching convertible, realizing how futile it was to patiently and optimistically wait for the relinquishing of this outer lane, decided to go around the pack. This meant that he had to borrow a piece of the opposite lane across the road. In effect, it was not a smart move of the devil-may-care antics of these roadies.

I was shocked by their irresponsible behavior, which demonstrated little regard for motorists and fellow riders. Earlier this week, a lorry hit two military officers; one cyclist died, and another suffered serious injuries; Matthew knew the deceased rider and so did Robson Phan (who I raced the Annual Beer Run with). The irony was, they were both wearing jerseys that promoted safe cycling. It was a sad and tragic start to this year; seems like the verdict is out for cyclist-motorist harmony. This afternoon, my friend, Hui Koon blogged about how errant motorists irk him.

Leaders need to learn how to be diligent, discerning and decisive (proposed by Gary Yardley & Jan Kelly); certainly, as cyclists on the road we have to exercise these options instead of succumbing to group pressure and behaving inappropriately. Do the right thing! Exercise caution, patience, alertness, concentration and carefulness. I never trust the motorist to give me way – I hope that he/she does – yet, I will make way for their safe passage, in return of my safer return. After being knocked down by a taxi last February, I have become paranoid about oncoming traffic behind me. It is just as well, for I am mindful still that I am sharing/borrowing the road for my recreational needs.

Riders – do share the roads, and please spare yourself from careless and silly behaviors. Be proactive. Take the initiative. Be smart. Be a leader of your own journey.