Gangnam style craze

As of today 30 Sept, the Gangnam style video by singer, songwriter and choreographer PSY of Korea has been viewed by more than 300 million viewers in Youtube. With an average of 4 million views per day since its publication in Youtube on 15 July 2012, it is a very phenomenal video and is climbing the Youtube popularity chart for the most viewed video which is now being topped by Justin Bieber with 777 Million views. Gangnam style song has already penetrated the UK and US Charts with several localized copycats around the world such as KL style and Singapore style.

 

This phenomenon is rare worldwide as even K-Pop has not breached the world music scene except in east Asia. In the home front, this is not unusual as Malaysian music appreciation is very flexible. Hindi music has been a craze here since 1950s, especially Malays who adore the beauty and handsomeness of the Hindi movie stars. Ironically these movie stars are not singing the songs they purported to sing in the movies and the Malays do not even understand Hindi!

 

PSY is not only an international household name from Korea. Samsung is another. Samsung was founded in 1938 and ventured into Communication and Electronics market in 1977 and initiated its mobile communication business in 1983. It had several issues with its Korea domestic communication market until it gave an ultimatum to itself in 1993, to win the Korea market competition in one year or Samsung will close its communication business. Within a year Samsung improved its mobile device and started to capture the local market. In 1998, Samsung then ventured into international market and after several communication creations and well receipt innovations, Samsung is now among the world leader in electronics and communication industry. Its success had also made other market leaders trembled and did whatever they could to stop Samsung’s progress.

 

Going back further in history, Korea was mostly unknown except probably for the Korean War post World War II. Compared to China and Japan history, a lot more familiarity will be with Chinese Great Wall of China and Samurai from Japan than whatever else of Korea. Korea was just a country being fought over by these two regional giants.

 

What then made the difference with Korea today? We may find the answers by looking at PSY and Samsung traits for success.

 

PSY is an overweight and not good looking Korean star. He is not a common K-Pop star material. However PSY’s ingenuity in creating new dance steps with a mainstream popular music beat stole the fans heart in such a short time. So we can say that ingenuity is a lot more important than physical looks. PSY stands out from the rest with his ingenuity while K-Pop stars are just mere beauty and handsome looks.

 

Let us look at Samsung, it ventured into the Korea local mobile communication business 10 years behind the world market leader at that time, Motorola. In electronics, 10 years would probably be equivalent to a century! Samsung then was trailing behind Motorola for the next 10 years until it reviewed its position and made a tough decision, either made it work or they would stop. With a timeline of 1 year, Samsung’s technical staff scrambled and came up with a product that eventually captured the Korean market. It went further to create and innovate in order to venture into and capture the world market. So making assessment of one’s position with the ability to create and innovate pulled out Samsung from the pits and brought it to the top.

 

So let us recap. Ingenuity or creativity, assessment and innovation are the take ways from PSY and Samsung success. How then we convert this for our use

1. Ingenuity or creativity– this trait will differentiate us from the rest. Coming up with original and attractive ideas are tough. However it will bring us to the forefront and we will be known as the pioneer of the new invention. So making another copycat KL or Singapore style is not ingenuity or creativity. 
2. Assessment or review- this trait allows us to look back and work for the future. By looking back, we are able to look at the gaps and identify measures to close them. What had been our failures in the past should not be repeated and previous successes should be leveraged upon for more success in the future. We need to be tough during self assessment or review in order to progress. Some of the gaps maybe due to our own mistakes and making changes may be uncomfortable. So a lot more sacrifice is required to attain success if this is the case.  
3. Innovation- this trait allows us to be better than the next person who is bidding for the same position as us. Innovation is not creating a totally new idea however it is creating noticeable and acceptable differences which are perceived to be better from our previous position or from the competitor’s position. Innovation needs to be progressively done with the next innovation to be better than the previous one. This will ensure us to be always on the top of others.

FORMULA FOR SUCCESS: Responsibility + Accountability = Maturity (Success*n)

Once while driving back from lunch with my family, a few teenagers were blocking the road into the housing area where I live. They were talking and laughing while walking along the road. When I honked to signal my oncoming car, a few of them ignored the horn and continued with their laughter. After passing through them and approaching the gate of my house, we saw a flock of birds on my pathway were basking under the sun. Once they saw my approaching car, they flew away without any hassle.

These differences in reaction were observed by my children and I commented to them the differences of reaction showed the level of maturity by both the teenagers and the flock of birds. This is because the first sign of maturity is survival instinct. This can be seen in any of the scientific television series either in the Discovery, Animal Planet and National Geographic channels. Survival instinct provides us the ability to continue living by being alive and avoiding injury or death. The stronger a survival instinct the more chances for success in live.
A higher stage of maturity is formed by two essence, responsibility and accountability. Responsibility is knowing all the task and duties that one has and having the ability to prioritise these in order of importance for action. It is a manner of ensuring that all task and duties are taken care off completely. Responsibility can either be assigned or assumed but the importance remains the same. The other essence of maturity is being accountable. Accountability is ensuring that all task and duties are taken care off completely in a satisfactory manner without fail.

Once these essences are blended into complex maturity, we will be able to handle several and even multiple challenges. The sustainability of maturity will ensure further development of survival to generate a lot more success in live. Of course certain challenges may not be handled completely alone, maturity will also provide the ability to connect with other network to generate and leverage support. For further reading, please refer to my other article on "Friendship, its benefits to success" and "Diminishing accountability".

To articulate further this concept, I attach a graphic presentation below. 

(Amzzah Naseehah Resources provides Human Capital Management consultancy services in area of training, learning and development. For more details please email to : amzzah_naseehah@ymail.com or call: +6012-5103364)

Friendship, its benefits to success

Do we ever ponder how friend can influence our life and how we can influence our friend to improve our life? This morning while having a quick breakfast with my wife, I met two of my ex-High School schoolmates at a Mamak Restaurant. We had not met for more than 15 to 20 years. They were ex professional footballers, Subadron Aziz and Shaari. Subadron used to work with Petronas and then played for Federal Territory in the Semi-Pro league and represented Malaysia. He then married the pretty local singer, Salwa Abdul Rahman. Shaari in the other hand, was a Negeri Sembilan Semi-Pro player. We exhanged pleasantries and asked about each other before promising to contact each other and parted.

As a social human being, this situation is normal for everyone. Making friend, losing contact and meeting again are a cycle that we go in live. Some would just make friends to be social and regard it as a phase in one life, but those who are successful would make use of friendship to enhance their academic, career and business.

How can we emulate those who are successful by utilising their friendship connection? Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift, or you might buy some from him, or at least you might smell its fragrance. As for the blacksmith, he might singe your clothes, and at the very least you will breathe in the fumes of the furnace." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 314).

In life we will meet beneficial friends as well as friends who will harm us. As Prophet Muhammad had mentioned in his hadith, a beneficial and a harmful friend can be physically identified. The result of the friendship can also be physically identified. So we need to gauge benefits that we can derive from the friendship and allocate a lot more time with those who will be able to provide us with greater benefits. The hadith did not mention of severing friendship from the bad friends as certain benefit can be derived from having a cordial relation with them. Taking the example of the blacksmith, the blacksmith will be able to mold metals for us however we cannot be around them as it will be harmful to us in the long run.

If we look at the renowned Chinese philosopher Confucius guide to friendship, in one of his sayings he said: “There are three friends that do good, and three friends that do harm. The friends that do good are a straight friend, a sincere friend, and a friend who has heard much. The friends that do harm are a smooth friend, a fawning friend, and a friend with a glib tongue.” In his saying, Confucius described the traits of good and bad friends. Of course the traits are not restricted to these three sets, however the fundamental of friendship is to be truthful, sincere and able to safeguard the friend's personal matters. Friendship which we should be wary of will be friends who are untruthful, selfish or manipulative and tend to cheat us.

How then to be successful via deriving benefits from friendship? Firstly we need to identify those who we connect with. These people are not our relatives but those we will connect with in a classroom or an office or a business transaction. Then we identify what we can offer to others and what we need from others. The relationship should not only be one way, both parties to the relationship will derive benefit from each other. The chart below shows this principle and serves as a guide in our friendship.

We also need to manage our expectation. Not everyone can be a good friend. As long as we are comfortable with the friend or friends and we are able to evaluate the benefit we derive from them, the friendship would be good. However we should not shun anybody who wants to befriend us. However we can allocate our friendship according to the level that fit the relationship.

In one of William Shakespeare's quotes, he described a continuation of a long lasting friendship. He said: “A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” A good friend will be able to point to you your strength and weakness in a transparent and truthful manner and help you progress and gain success.

After SPM - what's next?

Once I brought my family to meet up close with Prof Dr Muhaya, an ophthalmologist by profession and an inspirational speaker by passion. Two of my children were with me together with my wife. During the meeting Prof Dr Muhaya asked my children what they were going to be, my son responded "Accountant" and my daughter "Lecturer". Prof Dr Muhaya then said, "Children, why don't you want to become a doctor? Be a doctor, it is a good profession".

The question of "What you want to be?" is very common to children. Most parents in Malaysia would stress on Science and would dream for their children to become an engineer or a doctor. They will also derive great satisfaction if their children are in this stream. The sense of pride will be expanded if their children are in boarding school and eventually will go abroad to further their study.

My experience on boarding school was not so rosy and nice. I had my eldest son in Sekolah Tunku Abdul Rahman, STAR Ipoh. After a year, I took him out and put him in a normal school after I noticed that the school was not providing learning and education but stressing and pressing on scoring As in exams. As a result, my son was still happy with this decision and he also managed to do well in his studies even though he was in a normal school. He had straight As in PMR and 5 As in SPM. He is now pursuing a law degree in UiTM.

My experience when I was small was more of an old school. When I was schooling I could not decide what I would want to be. Doctor and Engineer are the common answers I would give when I was asked. This was more following the concept that "anything Science is good".

However when I was in High School, I slowly had an ambition to become a businessman and a politician. The reason for this was because I believe in one of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad pbuh, which means: "9 out of 10 live provisions are from business". While my passion with politics started when I was in standard four. It came after one of my neighbours, Arwah Makcik Sawiyah came over to my house to campaign for PEKEMAS (Parti Keadilan Masyarakat) candidate, Cikgu Ishak Surin. The party was then led by the late Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon.

I eventually went to further my study in Engineering, then Mathematics, then Business and eventually HR. I am now neither in Engineering nor Mathematics, partly Business and remotely HR. Although I did not fully realised my ambition, the experience taught me that ambition and vocation may eventually differ. I still enjoy the work that I do and earn considerably sufficient to have a fulfilling life.

As parents, I think the fallacy that Science is better than others need to change. From my experience working in HR; Science, Arts, Vocational and any other denomination are equally good. Doctors and Engineers are not necessarily smarter than Lawyers and Accountants. The most important ingredient in success would be :
1. Interest in the subject and profession
2. Good attitude towards study and work
3. Willingness to study and work with others
4. Able to see through solutions rather than engrossed and became the problem
5. Balance between work and life; world and the hereafter

If you are in a cross road what to study or what you want to have as a profession, some pointers here to select your course and profession. Although it is not comprehensive but serves as a simple guidance

(Amzzah Naseehah Resources conduct "Tracking your Tertiary Education and Vocation" training and consultancy services. If you are interested, email to : amzzah_naseehah@ymail.com or call: +6012-5103364, terms and conditions are negotiable)

Capability analysis

The elements within human being and life can be from opposite ends. The Chinese has a principle of "yin and yang" that is the interaction of two energies, called "yin" (black) and "yang" (white). They are not completely black or white, just as things in life are not completely black or white, but they coexist with each other. While "yin" would be dark, passive, downward, cold, contracting, and weak, "yang" would be bright, active, upward, hot, expanding, and strong.

The shape of the yin and yang sections from the symbol, actually gives a sense of the continual movement of these two energies, yin to yang and yang to yin, causing a dynamic: just as things expand and contract, and temperature changes from hot to cold. Similarly human being and life are not always perfectly black or white, strong or weak, success or failure.

Perfection is only reserved for God. Knowing that we can be both be strong and weak, achieve success and experience failure does not mean a complete acceptance to it. It is mentioned in the holy Quran 13:11; “Truly, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” The onus to ensure that we are always strong and able to achieve success will depend on the effort we have put out for it.

In putting our effort for success, we first need to set our target. Then we need to analyse our capability to plan and organise our resources efficiently to achive the target. One of the methods to analyse this is via SWOT analysis.

The first step of SWOT analysis is to accept that we have all the four elements i.e. Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat. Then we need to identify and list out the four elements within ourselves. SWOT can be understood as follows:

1. Strength: our ability to plan and organise our resources efficiently e.g. strong memory, wide connection and network
2. Weakness: our inability to plan and organise our resources efficiently e.g. forgetfulness, fear of speaking in public,
3. Opportunity: external factors that would help us to achieve our objective and goal e.g. connection and network with players from other college or industry, sufficient money, enough time 4. Threat: external factors that would hinder us from achieving our objective and goal e.g. stiff competition

From the SWOT list that we had come out with, we then lay out our plan to leverage on our Strengths and Opportunities while overcoming our Weaknesses and sizing our Threats. The plan can be short, mid or long term with measurable milestone and timeline. Every plans should still focus on achieving our eventual target.

As an example, a student wants to improve his result. He then needs to set a target what result he wants to achieve, say to achieve a GPA of 3.5. Then he needs to analyse his SWOT. Let say the analysis comes up with the following list

From the above, the students then can

• leverage on his ability to analyse and his strong command of language during his classes, course work and exams


• be friendly with his smart friends and professional relative to learn and exchange information on his study and general knowledge


• improve on his discipline by not being sloppy consciously and unconsciously


• write down notes at all times to help strengthen his memory


• avoid lazy friends and distraction during study time but keep maintaining cordial relationship with them


• leverage on the family for emotional and financial support

Out of the six points mentioned above, the student can classify which will be something that he can achieve in a short, mid or long term. He should also review his plan and continuously ammend or adjust the plan accordingly in order to achieve the target.

(Amzzah Naseehah Resources conduct SWOT analysis consultancy services. If you are interested, email to : amzzah_naseehah@ymail.com or call: +6012-5103364, terms and conditions are negotiable)

Diminishing accountability

Most people would take great care of their wallets and handbags. However some would take these things unassumingly until it is lost and they have to scramble to secure their identity from fraud and theft. The common content of everyone's wallet or handbag would be identity card, driving license, credit or debit cards, currency notes, coins, medical insurance card and loyalty programme cards. It is also quite common to find ATM transaction slips, sales receipts, business/calling card in wallets and handbags. As handbags are much bigger than wallets, you may also find lipsticks, small mirror, comb, scissors, mobile phones, medicine, PC tablets and pens in it.

However have you ever been held accountable for something that is not directly connected to your personal matters? This accountability comes with most of the job we do. Postmen or post women are held accountable to deliver mails every day. Courier, trucker, bus driver, taxi driver and pilots are similar. There are also numerous other examples at the office. An office or factory worker is accountable to deliver results from their work.

Accountability does not stop from us when we delegate it to someone else. For example, we are supposed to deliver an envelope from the club secretary to the club president. However due to our tight schedule, we requested a friend to deliver it instead. The accountability does not stop after we passed the envelope to the friend and expect our friend would deliver it to the president. The degree of accountability would be reducing as it passes from the secretary to us and then to the friend. However the accountability would not be zerorised when it goes through the chain as every sender would still be accountable to the envelope. He or she must ensure that the envelop arrives with the club president eventually.

The diagram here shows the diminishing accountability as it passes from one to another but it would not zerorised even after the handing over..

Hence, the originator of the task and the receivers of the envelope (us and our friend) should do the following as to ensure everyone fulfill their accountability:

1. Pass on the envelope to someone who can be trusted to deliver and safeguard the envelope.



2. Follow up and determine the status of the delivery of the envelope until it ends up with the club president. This can be done via email and phone call.

Impression~Perception~Deception in interaction and communication

South Koreans take business mannerism seriously. Everyone over there is smartly dressed going to the office everyday. Even the kind of company car someone drives there shows certain status and they even dictate where the boss shall seat at the back of the car. So a South Korean company CEO should be driven on the latest model of Hyundai Equus (the 2012 model shown below) and be seated at the back right side of the car.

Indeed, first impression is important especially for business function. A classical business mannerism is to wear a smart formal suit at all times. A lot of other details are also given emphasis such as hairstyle, perfume, brand of wrist watch, tie, tie pin, pair of shoes and writing pen. A more modern business mannerism normally in IT industry has also evolved where informal attire are also acceptable. However the classical business mannerism would still be the default in an important business function.

Why are all these important? Human being socially interacts with each other in their activities from the time of Adam and Eve creation. Socia interaction may pose little challenge as compared to communication that has a lot more importance in life. Communication will take place when there are a need to influence, disseminate information and negotiate.

As time progresses, communication becomes a lot more easier but not less complex. Communication becomes a lot more easier with the advent of information technologies when communication can happen regardless of space and time. Internet either email, facebook, twitter or skype: telecommunication either mobile, fix, smart phones or videoconferencing are some examples of modern communication tools that human being currently uses.

With a lot more sophisticated communication tools, complexity of communication remains and will not be possible to be eliminated entirely. As communication is a two-way sending and receiving process, a lot more intangible factors and elements influence the communication activities success. These factors and elements include emotion, feelings, language, social background, past experience, prejudice, physical conditions and many others.

Both the sender and the receiver of communication would either be aware or unaware to some of these factors and elements. It would be a lot easier if they can be aware of the factors and elements to enhance communication effectiveness. However if they are unaware of these factors and elements, they would easily be sucked into them and form certain barriers to effective communication.

There will be several layers of communication results in an interaction: impression, perception and deception. Impression is important to gauge another party in communication and is a very basic defense mechanism for survival and can be used by both the sender and receiver of communication. This happen in a first instant of a meeting such as a smiling face, a frowning face, an imposing posture, a tender or rough mannerism and smart clothing. It will provide a signal to be at ease or alert. However it should not be the main criteria to form during communication.

Progressing into the layer will be perception. Perception is normally forms after several interaction and communication. Attributes such a firm person, a cooperative person, a difficult person are examples of perception. Perception can be true, and likewise false. It is important that perception is tested and validated.

Have you ever had the experience that the flight cabin crew were extremely friendly during the flight and by the time the plane landed and you bumped into one of them at the airport lanes, they would not even smile at you. So deception can only be discovered once the act is not consistent. This is the other layer of communication in an interaction that is deception. Deception is an attempt to potray something that is not the reality. It can be used to get the communication recipient to form a favourable impression and perception of the communication sender.

"Do not judge a book by its cover" and "do not jump into conclusion" are most famous communication quotes. Continuous testing and validating will help in getting a smooth and efficient communication process with others especially when there is a need to repeat the communication and maintain a harmonious relationship.

Service and commitment.

We can recall how many times we had to wait and wait for someone to deliver our LCD, AC unit, furtniture and anything we had purchased from the store. Waiting is always enduring and not endearing and it will test our patience to the maximum as practically we feel helpless and out of control. In this manner, Domino Pizza's had been successful. It's service delivery concept is plain and simple. 30 minutes free delivery or you will get a coupon to redeem for a free pizza. It is important to set expectation of service delivery and this was done exceptionaly well by Domino Pizza.

Two weeks ago on Monday I received a call from my broadband service provider offering me to upgrade my house modem. The offer was attractive to me and my family as it provides a higher bandwidth with a lower price. I accepted the offer and as part of the set up, the service provider dispatcher will collect my house modem and replace it with a 3G modem. Although I have to pay them RM100, I will receive a rebate of the same amount in my first bill. So we agreed for the dispatcher to come over to my house in Gombak before 11 am on Saturday and I specifically informed the sales person that is the period I will be at home. The sales person agreed.

Saturday came and by 11.30 am the dispatcher still did not turn up. As my wife and I had to attend to an engagement at 1 pm, we then made our move. At about 1.00 pm I received a call by the dispatcher. He asked me whether he could come over to my house to deliver the modem. I informed the dispatcher that he was late as he was suppose to come at 11 am. He retorted that he did not promise as such. Hearing this, I pointed out to him that the sales person I spoke on Monday agreed to this and I would expect this as it would inconvenient me otherwise. He then apologised to me and we then agreed to another delivery date and time, this time on Monday at my office in Cyberjaya.

Later that evening I received a call from the sales person asking why did I requested for another delivery on Monday and at Cyberjaya. This really dismayed me terribly. Over a period of a week I had to speak thrice for a simple service of collecting and delivering a modem. I expressed my dissatisfaction and threaten to cancel the order. The sales person quickly apologised for the misunderstanding and confirmed that the delivery date and time.

Service is easy if the target and focus is to please the customer. How would we please the customer? There are many aspect of service delivery such as quality of product, timeliness of delivery, responsiveness, providing attention and assurance. However the most important one is commitment to serve.

In the case I related earlier, the commitment is in the form of a promise to deliver the product at a specific period of time. Though the promise was made by the sales person, the sales person need then to inform and direct the dispatcher accordingly. They need to act together behind the scene to deliver the product according to the promise. This is because, from my view point as a customer, the promise was made by the company and not by the sales person alone. As both the sales person and the dispatcher are working and representing the company, I as a customer expect that the promise to be delivered by both of them.

The biggest mistake both the sales person and the dispatcher did was reacting as if the promise the other made was not a commitment the other will take. The dispatcher did this when he said that he did not promise to come by 11 am on Saturday while the sales person did this when he questioned me why I need the delivery on Monday at Cyberjaya.

Probably there was a work relationship strain between them but to approach the customer and showed that they mistrust another was a great risk as I almost cancel the order out of anger and disappointment. Indeed I was and I started to doubt the service I would receive from the company. What saved both of them was the manner both quickly offered an apology when I informed them of my displeasure

In conclusion, in a service orientated encounter with the customer, it is important to be aware of the promise made to the customer as this is a commitment made on behalf of the company. This is especially important when there were more than one who had engaged with the customer. It would be most efficient to put a remark of the promise made on the service or sales form when handing over the order from the order taker to the service delivery unit. This can be made manually on the order form or in a system that the company uses for sales activities. Fulfilling the promise will provide confidence and delight to the customer and avoid a recovery effort in order to regain the customer's confidence.

Communication and the importance of it in live, work and business

All live creatures communicate, that is a fact. Although plants do not have speech capability but they have beautiful flowers to attract insects to help them pollinate. Animals communicate and though to our ear their sounds are incomprehensible, but among them they would understand each other. As long as we and the other creatures socialise in our community and environment, communication is an important tool of interaction.

The need for communication is not only one way. It can be an internal and external need. An internal need means our own need while an external need will be for others. It is not sufficient that we always prioritise our own need, we also have to consider the need of others. If we are able to provide a balance consideration of everyone's need plus ours, everyone will derive the right benefit from the communication.

Take for example a customer who requires service from a technician to repair a computer. The customer's need will be to resolve his or her problem or issue with the computer in a timely and affordable manner. The technician's need is to be paid adequately for the service. In the process of servicing the computer, the customer will like the technician to inform him or her what is the problem or issue with the computer. Then provide options based on pricing, durability and other alternatives. All these will require communication.

Recently I had engaged a property agent to let out my condominium. He was a young chap and seems to be eager to impress me. He got two prospective tenants for viewing. The second viewing landed him with intent to rent from the customer. We discussed on rental and I provided a RM100 discount. A few days after, that he asked me how many parking lots I have at the condominium. I told him the parking lot was not discussed during the viewing and if the tenant requires it then I will charge RM100 per month. So I got back my asking rental.

Before I was paid the booking fee, I asked him to see the tenancy agreement draft that he would be using as I want to check the terms. Initially he was reluctant to provide it to me and seem to take for granted that the tenancy agreement will not be a problem. After I threaten him that I would not go ahead with the deal, he emailed me the document.

I read through the document and found serious legal and sentence structure flaws in the draft. I told him but he did not believe me. He asked me what the flaws were. I told him that as a professional property agent, he should be asking his legal officer. If I were to show all the flaws, then he needs to pay me RM1, 000 for professional legal advice. He disagreed.

Later someone called me. Apparently he was the supervisor at the property agency. He confided to me that the tenancy was taken from a property website and they did not check the wordings. I then asked them how much are they charging for the tenancy and stamping fee. It was a whopping RM280. With stamping of only 20%, the rest will be pocketed. He said that prior to this no one had ever asked this question and thought that I was a lawyer. I told him I am not but I manage contracts. Eventually he agreed to let me handle the tenancy and I will be paid the RM280.

As the time for the tenant to move in comes nearer, the property agent did not provide me any update. I was only paid the half month rental for booking fee but there was no meeting set for tenancy signing and payment of all dues before I can surrender the key. A day before the move in date, he frantically set up a meeting but the tenant did not have enough cash to pay all the money dues as it was a long weekend and they were only told about the meeting that day itself. I was very furious. How can I surrender the keys when I am not paid and how come the tenant was not informed earlier. The property agent failed miserably in his job. He showed a lack of commitment and failed to communicate timey to all parties.

What are the learning points from this? These will be as follows:

1. Understanding is important in any communication. When he was asked for a copy of the tenancy agreement, he did not try to understand why did I need it.


2. Confrontation is a BIG NO. All feedback and complaint needs to be heard. If it is a fact then remedy, if it is based on perception, correct it or change the way we communicate.


3. Assurance will provide confidence. When he was confronted of the tenancy agreement flaws, he should have said that he would ask his supervisor or company instead of asking me as I know he himself would not know it unless he has experience in tenancy.


4. Update is important even if there are no news. Updating all parties to the deal is important. This will enhance confidence and follow up sales. He did not provide any update after getting the half month rental booking and only arranged a meeting in a hasty manner.

Over and under promise

Promise is a commitment to act. However it is quite common in all societies that promise is something which is uncertain until we have an English saying: "Promises are meant to be broken" and a German Proverb: "Nothing weights lighter than a promise". That is the reason why there is a requirement for a written contract to bind promise legally. If the contract is broken, then there will be legal and monetary consequences.

However a written contract would normally be for business and it involves lengthy process and cost with high value and great commitment for those who sign it off. Then what about a simple promise to deliver a service or assistance? Surely this is normally verbal and the uncertainty will then exist.

Promises that were kept by a person will win him or her other people's trust. With trust and consistency, the person will be able to build his or her integrity and reputation. It would be a lot easier to get acceptance from others once a person has high integrity and good reputation. A German Proverb aptly says "Promises are like the full moon, if they are not kept at once they diminish day by day."

So what can we do? A more pragmatic approach to this is to promise only what you can deliver. This would be the basic of promise. To then deliver more than you promise would be a delight for the recipient. So this is my business theory and methodology on promise and the reason I have placed the two prepositions before the word "promise" in my title i.e. "over" and "under" promise.

If you refer to the chart below, the basis of my business theory and method will be a degree of control of the resources (i.e. capability) and knowing intimately what would be the likely outcome of each endeavour to fulfil a promise. The barriers to reaching the highest peak of the chart will be time, cost and manpower. However the prize of delivering the customer's delight will be loyalty and sustainable business.

What would be an example of reaching to the peak of Customer's delight? Let me share a service industry example, say the customer's requisition is to be served within 15 minutes with 100% accuracy of delivery. Depending on your promise capability, the various timeline and customer's reaction will be as follows.
For a delivery of 5 minutes, your capability to serve with 100% accuracy is when orders are low. However in a thriving business, this is something you would not want but the customer is hoping for. For a delivery of 15 minutes, your capability to serve with 100% accuracy is a standard operation that you will deliver to each order. If this is not possible, then there is obviously something wrong with your service operation as this will be below market practice. In the third scenario, with high operation efficiency that surpasses market practice, you will be able to deliver your service within 10 minutes and the customer will be delighted.

Hence with this information, you may provide promise you would know you can deliver. As time passes and a lot more efficiency is gained, the timeline may be further reduced so that your high integrity is established and your good reputation is known as a world class business.