Work often gets bearable when you are over at the Corporate HQ. It's akin to a home-coming where the colleagues are like family to you. Besides catching up on the usual gossip work issues, you are able to gain insights into HHQ's thinking and strategic considerations.

Notwithstanding this, you were humbled by their recognition of your limited abilities by requesting for your participation in a talent development project team. By seeking one's voluntary participation instead of coercing, you have further learnt the art of human resource from the experts; the importance of making someone feel valued in order to commit their best.

After having survived the organisation for a year plus and comparing to the HQ, you have come to realise the antiquated mindset of your own business unit; a lack of ownership within the people and a lack of big picture mindset amongst the select members of the management. While you hope that the restructuring and business process review will lead to a more efficient organisation and removal of deadwood , you are already hearing feedback that some power-hungry HODs requesting for additional headcount due to the increasing workload.

Sometimes you can never understand the mindset of these group of people. With the perception of your industry and an ageing workforce, you are already facing an uphill task of recruitment, retention and increasing productivity. In order to do more with less, one has to utilise the power of technology to automate the work processes and create capacity for high-value tasks. Unfortunately, the use of technology literally comes with a hefty price; the high initial Capital Expenditure or CAPEX tends to put off the leadership despite the high productivity gains. 

Indeed, flying is much more easier than doing what you do these days.

Well, enough of the complaining. Perhaps you are in need of a holiday or a stay-cation to de-stress and decompress. But, what is these little stresses compared to those who are working their guts out and mugging for exams on top of managing the family commitments? Your thoughts drift to J as you wondered how she is coping given that her exams are just around the corner. But you know that everything is going to turn out fine for her as you always have had full confidence in her abilities. 

Such wondering and worrying is longer under your purview for there's a better person fulfilling this role. Sometimes you do wonder if she thinks of you along these lines too. Better not as her processing and emotional capacity can be better utilised for more important matters.

It has been a hectic 50-hour plus work week as you and the composite team of young executives re-worked the concept paper through its variations. If you include the hours spent working on it during your business trip, the time spent would had been pretty substantial. Despite being unreasonable and demanding to the team, the big boss acknowledged the hard work put in and expressed his appreciation by buying lunch for the team.

At least you can afford to rest over the weekend, exercising to get rid of the pent-up stress (and fats), catch up on work reading and do some plane-spotting. But making the hectic week more bearable had been the official news from the school that you have completed the graduate diploma successfully. While you are gloating over the successful completion of your graduate diploma program, you are humbled by the fact that there are many others who are still in the midst of preparing for their exams. 

Just as you wished to be in the shoes of your seniors when they graduated 2 semesters ago, you are cognisant that there are people who wished to be in your shoes as they mugged for their exams. For the part-time students who are juggling their hectic work, family commitments and studies, there would be times where self-doubt over the choice made back then was feasible. 

No matter how difficult it may be, they would be heartened to know that many have walked this journey before them. With the support of the fellow classmates and loved ones plus grit in the teeth, one would be able to complete this journey. You know it, because you completed this tough journey, despite wishing for the support of the one.

To you, good luck for exams!

Despite the heavy workload that demanded your attention after a hiatus of one week, there's still a reason to cheer about; You have managed to link up with 2 flight schools which allows you to fly without having to make long flight to US to get checked out.

The mere thought of being able to slip the surly bonds of Earth and dance in the skies on laughter-silvered wings is the motivation for you to keep you going through that tons of work. But that motivation won't keep you safe in the air. With the compliance of rules and laws of the air necessary for safe flight, the need to refresh yourself on the flight theories cannot be neglected. Break the rules of the air, you get into trouble with the authorities. Break the laws of mother nature, you lose your life.

Interestingly, someone asked you whether you would quit your job if given the opportunity to be a career pilot. You told the person to ask any pilot whether they enjoy being chained to the ground and flying a desk while looking at the wild blue yonder. 100% of the pilots would rather climb sun-ward and join the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds to touch the face of God rather than be stuck on Earth. 

That's what flying does to you. 

You had an epiphany while watching a movie titled 紀念日 on the long flight back from a recent business trip. While its not unusual for you to have epiphanies, this particular one had been a cause of self-reflection.

The movie followed the 10th anniversary of a married couple whom have gone through a number of ups and downs in their marriage. After trying to develop his career in the mainland, the husband returned to work in Hong Kong (not before having a short romance with his intern) while the wife stayed in Hong Kong to run a wedding consultancy firm. The wife firmly believed that love is forever and has witnessed over the years numerous sweet stories of love bearing fruits. However, the love between the couple has long turned bland. Despite the husband's yearning to have children, the wife couldn't care less. Once again, the couple is plunged into emotional ebb. Meanwhile, the betrayals years back begin to emerge again…

The movie highlighted that relationships are often aren't like what it seems to be on the surface.As the scenes alternated between the couple's loving moments and heated arguments, you could easily resonate with it as your relationship was the same. While its not naive to hope that a person or relationship can take a turn for the better, you were reminded that one has to actively work at a relationship in order to increase its chances of enduring. 

As you looked back, you knew that you did not do enough to make the relationship more enduring. You didn't communicate well enough and assumed, postulated what she had wanted in the relationship. It caused a change and altered everything. While you have wrote previously on the need to let go, this movie really brought many tears of regrets and memories to you.

Indeed, learning to let go has been tough. The friends have been supportive and tried to set you up on dates with their single female friends. But something is still missing; that mental connection or wavelength. Try as you might, its not easy to find someone who you can connect with in a comfortable manner.

But she will appear. As she has before.

A mixture of relief and disappointment filled you when you saw your exam results.

 

While you are relieved to have completed the program, you are disappointed with your results. For these last 2 modules (Organisational Change, Employment Relations), you have gotten a C and D+, which was disappointing. But yet you are a case of paradox. While you have new knowledge and made new friends from the community, your grades have not been indicative of the knowledge gained.

 

For an ambitious person who have always strived for good grades, the attainment of such grades have been a blow to your confidence. But you have learnt late in your life that one shouldn't compare for it can be detrimental. In this world, everyone is running their own race and fighting their own battles. as long as one has done their best, its good enough.

 

For this time, you knew that you haven't done your best to balance the heavy workload and yet spend enough time for your studies. So you can't bitch about the grades. Too bad.. 

It's always interesting when you are able to engage and pick the minds of some of the leading senior executives of your competitors. Through them, you have gained insights into their management philosophy and how they stay ahead of the competition. In addition, you have learnt much about the prevailing German culture and mindset. 

 

And it was with that context when your big boss sent you to Germany to attend a technical exhibition with one of your senior projects manager. Even though you are not a Civil Engineer, you are amazed at the advance engineering technologies available in the market to build infrastructures in a faster, efficient and safer way. Unfortunately, given that large amounts of capital expenditure are required upfront to utilise such technologies, not many companies have the deep pockets to exploit these technologies.

 

After last night's working dinner at the invitation of one of your vendors, you asked yourself why the top managements of the competitor companies are adopting European instead of Chinese technologies given the large price differentials. But one thing is certain, companies have to evolve in order to stay ahead of the competition and while they have made leaps and bounds through the adoption of technologies, this industry needs to work together and lobby the authorities for more support in terms of helping them grow capabilities instead of bringing foreign competition.



It seems like you haven't been able to get a proper rest ever since you got back to work after fighting the Mother of All Battles (aka final exams). 

Within a week, your list of action items have grown longer, ranging from organisation restructuring of the entire group of companies, implementation of Total Work Safety and Health (TWSH) initiatives to submitting a strategy cum concept paper for the Corporate HQ meeting. Sometimes you can't help but wonder why your immediate superior is not leading some of the strategic manpower initiatives and you are.

After a year in the organisation, you can see the tremendous growth potential of the organisation. However, the senior management's lack of strategic perspective and their concerns over their ever-growing responsibilities has left you frustrated.  You can't bring yourself to even call them leaders or managers for they can't even lead their people and develop their individual department strategic plans to fit the greater organisational strategy. In fact, the "larger pay for lesser responsibilities" permeates these group of people and the "cruising the way to retirement" culture is prevalent throughout the entire organisation. To some of the younger lot of employees, the place is akin to Jurassic Park. 

In fact, it's just the right time to conduct an organisational restructuring and process review exercise in order to optimise all the various processes. Based on the virtue of this review, your immediate superior should be the one leading this effort. Unfortunately, looking at the way things are going, it's highly likely that you would be driving this effort..like the rest of the initiatives..Again.

But there's a way out. You have been offered an option to be transferred to Corporate HQ to be the point-man in setting up overseas offices and processes. Apparently someone thinks too highly of your abilities. Despite the ability to work among the brotherhood of the ex-Air Force buddies (which the organisation is trying recruit more because of their can-do attitude), your goals are clear. You will stay in the current organisation and be the PPS to the CEO and do your best to contribute your expertise in the organisational restructuring and strategy. While you may not be able to convince the old-timers, but perhaps by preparing the plans in place, someone will take it and execute it when you are no longer around.

So, despite all the bitching, one still has to bite the bullet and do all the work. Life's a bitch..

The completion of the last paper on Thursday marked the end of another chapter in your pursuit of life-long learning. While your grades are pretty mediocre compared to the rest of your classmates, the experiences you have gained from both the lecturers and sharing sessions have aid you tremendously in your work.

Despite the modular nature of the program with new intakes every semester, the friends you have made during the course of your study has solidify what the wise men have said on networking. Through the power of networks, you have managed to better understand the practices of other organizations and also seek advice on certain manpower issues.

Having said that, the end of the exams means that your week nights and weekends have suddenly been freed up. Gone are the days where you would have to leave the office half an hour early in order to reach school in time for the twice-weekly night classes. You can now afford to re-prioritise your life goals until the knowledge bug itches you again. Given your rather inquisitive nature, it's just a matter of time before you decide to pursue another academic program.

Meanwhile, it's time to go back to running, gym and swimming to get yourself back in good shape. Somehow, when you wrote "back in good shape", you are reminded by someone who once mentioned that "Round is also a shape", which bring a smile back to your face. But run, you must, for your ill discipline has cost you in the recently concluded 2XU run. 

Even though you can still manage a 10km run, your timing has been atrocious and harks to a lack of a proper training which you need to put in place to work on the cardio. Well, at least, that's the plan if you can wake up early in the mornings to execute it.