PGE (3)

The office is eventually undergoing some renovation to have more meeting rooms assigning it to all the standing committees ie building a home base for the committees. At the same time, the 17 Officers will no longer having a table space of their own. In replacement, they will be using the hot-desking space to work when they are back to office and a cubicle to store their own stuff in office. There were a few sharing and discussion sessions before the arrangement is made.

Is the arrangement necessary ?

Giving each standing committee a meeting room is likely to be underutilized. The members are all volunteers and are working in different professions. It has been a great challenge to involve all to attend meetings due to individuals' different busy work schedules. At times, some of these meetings are scheduled out of office to better facilitate the members. I am wondering by assigning each committee a meeting room and naming it after the committee will help in addressing the challenge or making them feel more comfortable as part of the family.

On the other hand, by removing an individual's table space, I feel that it is less about removing a physical space but  more about reducing one's sense of belonging to the organization or being part of the family. It may work against the effort to building a stronger and functional team. On top of the core duty to perform, these 17 Officers have the important role in connecting and facilitating various tasks at the community level, the arrangement may make some feel the disillusion or confusion over their identity and the "real" important per said.

There are positive value in rolling out PGE. In fact, it has been given much hype at different levels. The 17 Officers were also chosen to lead in fulfilling the PGE and defining its success. We have been wondering the reason(s) over the lacking of enthusiasm among the 17 Officers.

Maybe we have overlooked the importance of the psychological aspect of these individuals and collectively their identity as staff of the organization. Maybe there is also a missing delivery to better match the shared message and actual experience of the 17 Officers in the office. The 2nd phase of promoting some of the better performance among the 17 Officers may work against rather than enhancing the spirit of the 17 Officers.

Maybe ...... maybe they just need more time to adjust and adapt to the new role and arrangements, I see faces of unhappiness, no choice but just do it and lost when they enter into the office.

"Where is my table and where do I go now ?"

North East Run 2010

Finally, the event was over, at least for 2010.
I would like to share two things about the Run.

First, it is one of the most eventful projects the moment we started to work on the details.

We quickly realized that we have to give the Run a new name instead of using the name that was organized in 2009. We did not have much ready information from the initial Run done to give us a better understanding of the running business. Basically, starting pretty afresh. Learning to craft a detailed yet a different tender specifications for it. Designing a different relationship with the service providers. The need to plan a running route that would cut across three estates from Pasir Ris, Tampines and Aljunied areas. Mature estates give much challenges to the road closure. Deciding on the categories and the registration fees for each and the discounts to give for participants.

One of the greatest challenges was the available budget for the event. At one point, we were actually talking about canceling the whole project. It was, indeed, a quick fix to relief ourselves then. Funny requests from various sources along the way. Slow registration rate in the first 1.5 months. It started to rain a few days before the actual run when we had a few weeks of hot weather prior to it. And many others ......

Some of these challenges are operational in nature and could be deal with easily but some are not. It is the later that the team has to carry on with it and managing the variables until its full implementation.

Secondly and finally, it is properly the only project that we charge participants and at the same time, able to convince over 5,000 individuals to register for it. We must be proud of it as the number did not come easily. All runners, thank you for your support :-)

Though we are not a profit making organization, I feel that we should try to work on the principle of breaking even in organizing an event whenever possible. Having a price will help us to appreciate what works, the type of activities the community would prefer and how much the community is willing to pay for it. It is a good and simple guiding indicator to supply what is demanded at the right time, right place and right price. Else, we maybe talking about having wastage. The Run demonstrated that we could design an event and possibly charging it to offset part of the organizing cost.

You may think that we have a sizable team working on it. The main and original organizing team has only two persons though supported by a couple more nearer to the actual day of the event. It is not easy but the team made it happen at the Pasir Ris Park on 14 March 2010 and witnessing the 16km category to flag off at 6.45am.

Zhen Yi and Pi Kuang,
Thanks for all the effort :-)

Also appreciated the support from the rest and being part of the team, contributing to the North East Run 2010 :-)

Planning a trip to Cambodia as a team

The idea of going to Cambodia came along while we were lunching a few days ago.

Going to Cambodia for team building and having some relaxing moment away from work using own expenses. Very quickly, we zoomed into the possible dates and budget that we are comfortable with. Date is identified and planning kick off. Perfect :-)

It is a short trip with a simple itinerary - to travel on a budget airplane to Siam Reap to visit the Angkor Wat, to explore nearby areas and the city. Any official agenda/expectations ? Nope. It will fail if we have one. Hope all can make it though it is optional.

I believe it is a great attempt, in fact one that should be encouraged, to unwind and having more time to enjoy and knowing a bit more of each other freely/leisurely. The shared experience is likely to keep a functional working relationship and something for all .... yup yup, u know, I had a short overseas trip with my team once .... and the story unfolds.

I believe we are going to enjoy it and less than 2 months to go :-)
Ha...ha...ha...

Flexi working hours

We have been practicing flexi working hours for awhile though not too long.

The first thing about flexi working hours is that the responsibility falls heavily on the individuals to manage the time, job priority and accountability of his/her work area.

The worst of it is to mis-use the flexi working hours ie using less time on work as needed. It is not an issue to use the morning 1 to 2 hours to exercise or as family time with kids and then devote more focus and efforts on work at the appropriate time shortly. The purpose of the flexi working hours is to make individuals more productive at work. Hence, you can properly feel how individuals are coping with the flexibility by assessing one's quality of work. Of course, individuals will need to be given a bit of time to adapt to the new arrangements but should not take too long for it. One's quality/character/commitment could judge/assess would appear in the process.

The next observation to make is how much your supervisor and management believe or trust the individuals in the flexi working hours. It is definitely easy to preach by mouth and can fail pretty badly by actions. A new working arrangements with the supervisor or management has to be established along the way to make the system robust and effective. Some understanding is needed as well to support both parties in the a new working space/place.

The last challenge is how to build a flexible and effective team with excellent communication, co-ordination to meet organizations' objectives ? Flexi working hours mean properly less physical time/space with the team members and likely more time on air and the use of technology such as email, sms, conference call, facebook, twitter, intranet etc. Technology cannot replace the needed human presence to build trust, relationship and team. It can only facilitate it. Hence, all have to find more creative ways to build an effective team. All must also willing to make time to build a team. Individuals who dun feel part of the team or organization or no longer motivated will likely to drift further and further away from the team / organization.

The end result of the last challenge would be the mis-use of flexi working hours as shared earlier.

Busy month

I dun have any event this month and yet it is a very busy month for me.

Many meetings, many changes, many fundamental issues to discuss and to make a stand on it. Adjusting, learning, sharing, co-ordinating and adapting. At times, i feel that things seem to be out of control and heading no way. Busy apart, the ability to continue spending quality time on non-office stuff does help to balance life and giving one's vision in check.

I dun quite like the busy days. At least, I dun feel it fulfilling. It's just a job to meet my ends. Need a change ? Maybe .....

Skype

We finally installed and started to use Skype to communicate as part of our work.

The technology is definitely not new and the company has been in business for some years. Besides talking, users can also send instant messages and organize a conference call session with the team. All these services are free and properly give Skype the edge over other public instant messaging solutions and paid conference call service. At S$9 a month, user can also use the skype to make local calls to landlines and mobiles (almost unlimited calls capped at 10,000 minutes per month or 6 hours a day). Some of the smartphones also comes with skype function. Pretty attractive and exciting.

The challenge remains when using Skype: the internet traffic condition and individual's connection speed to the internet.

PGE (2)

While the office is busy preparing to implement the PGE and training the PGEs, I hope that the rest of the office is not feeling totally dis-engaged from the PGE or feeling that they are not so good after all since they are not being identified. I am sure a lot of attention will still be on these 17 Officers in the next few weeks and months.

Emm..., technically and practically, the whole office is involved in the PGE. If you are not one of the 17 Officers, you will be supporting them at the ground as well as in office. It is just like your left and right hand. If you have a choice, is right or left hand more important to you ? I am sure u know pretty well that both hands are equally important.

The only different is that there is a master hand that will be "used" more regularly and comfortably. In this case, the "master hand" is the 17 Officers. They are expected to work harder to lead in the task. They can only survive as long as the left hand is support them and supporting them well.

When both hands come together, that's when we can hear applaud, knowing that we have delivered our services to the people who are in need of help.

PGE

PGE becomes a new and hot term these days. Instead of saying what PGE is about, maybe I would share with you what PGE means to me ie the value of PGE:

(1) PGE means gaining a real good understanding of the people we are trying to help and to work closely with the relevant individuals / agencies to extend a real good help as fast as possible.

(2) PGE means making an effort to keep the organization relevant rather than being conveniently forgotten or staying out of tune with the ground.

If we have the first value then the second value will follow.

There are confusions and worries over the PGE especially the 17 PGEs who are appointed to be the champions in the initiative.Why me ? What is there for me ? Do I have a choice ? I may not be happy, how ? Where is the support ? More meetings and late nights ? etc. I do share these concerns.

Though there are support in rolling out the programme, I think one of the best values for the 17 PGEs is to understand if you are in to build a career in the organization. The core business of the organization is in the field and the 17 PGEs are going to deal with the field. Give it a try. If you dun enjoy it, you are not likely to shine fast in the organization. It's time to consider an alternative whereby u can shine better and faster.

For those who like it, it is, indeed, a great career progression and to be easily noticed / spotted by the mgt. I have requested to be one of the PGEs because of the first value and also to "test test" the "water" in the field. No such arrangement at the moment.

For some who prefer to stay low and just wanting to do a decent job, it is important to realize that the organization is going through a journey of changes happening at different levels. To stay relevant at all times, the organization wun have many options but to change and to adapt accordingly.

There is a wisdom in a Chinese saying "不进则退“.

Mid Year Review

It's time to do a brief review in the mid of the year.

In the past 6 months, changes take place one after another and i initiated nope. First, I change team, then DGM changed followed by a change in the chairmanship of the District. Ironically, the project team merged. I join the original team again. Very soon, some of the team members will also be shouldering a new challenge. There will be another round of adjusting to and balancing both responsibilities with a new work arrangements.

I feel like a leave floating in a water and flowing the current moving ups and downs without much choice. Ended ? Nobody knows. Best guess ? Changes will continue.....

What have not changed is my outlook of life, things that I would like to explore and to give it a try. What I value most should also remain and to cater enough time for it.

No changes can also be quite boring. Changes create opportunity as well. Change or No change, the key is to lead a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Maintain a calm and peaceful mind, keep young at heart and to learn to live with the happy and not so happy happenings.

Eat when u are hungry, sleep when u feel tired. Life can just be so simple.
In fact, life is so simple. Agreed ? Ha...ha...ha...

忙里偷闲

As it was an urgent matters, i helped to courier some documents a few days ago so that the documents could be signed asap. To solve time and to minimize the trouble of finding parking space, PK followed me in the running of the errand.

No rain and pretty smooth traffic condition driving from point to point. When we finally finished the task, we were nearby Dempsey and we explored the area a bit. Dempsey has became a famous makan place that offers different cuisine and cafe such as Jumbo Seafood Restaurant, Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, PS Cafe, Chang's Korean BBQ, The Wine Company, Harry's Bar, Ben & Jerry's etc. It is pretty exciting at night especially on Fridays and Saturdays. :-)

When we were about to leave the area, we drove past a public carpark and i decided to stop for a short break. There was a durain stall at the carpark. I guess the stall owner just started business for the day and it was a peaceful late afternoon with not many cars and people. Perfect timing, fruitful moment.



We ordered one to share. Though it was not a D24 or XO durain grade, it tasted nice and we enjoyed much. The uncle shared that the stall will be closed for business for the day at 12 midnight sharp. It must be also pretty cooling to savour durain at night as long as there isn't many mosqitos and not too noisy. Will visit the stall again in near future.

Though a bit rush initally in getting the documents signed but we had a relaxing moment unexpectedly. Life can be very fulfilling if we know when to capture the right moment as it appears

忙里偷闲可以是一种很高尚的享受。境由心生嘛。Ha...ha...ha...

Site recce

Doing projects will usually need to do a site recce of the event ground. The extra knowledge from the site recce would be useful in helping us to better plan for the event as well as giving us some prior information of possible challenges that we may face on the day of the event.

I had an enjoyable site recce recently by physically walking through a suggested brisk walking route somewhere near the National Stadium. Though I was working then, the walk provided me an opportunity to exercise along the way. I also discovered that the authority had built a new road linking the Tanjong Rhu area to the Stadium road area. It was, indeed, a peaceful happy walk.

It's not so healthy to be in office working whole day. It's more productive to have some time to exercise during the day to refresh, recharge and reflect. It's all about work life balance.

休息一下也是为了可以走长一点的路。不是吗？

Leaders and Indian Chiefs

Come to think about it, there seem to be not much leadership but merely a bunch of Indian Chiefs dancing around randomly, at times very fast and at times very slowly here.

Ha....