Back from a 10-day trip in Japan

I do apologise for not writing as I was away and had no access to this blog and email. I left Singapore on the 14th April on a 9pm flight to Osaka, Japan, transiting at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

On the 15th of April at 6am, we arrived at Kansai Airport. The cool weather was such a change from the hot and humid Singapore weather.

During the 5 days in Osaka, I managed to drop by;
1. Osaka Castle
2. Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium
3. Nara Deer Park
4. The newly opened Sakura Park at Japan Mint
5. Kyoto Rose Cafe
6. The Golden Pavillion Kinkakuji Temple
7. Tsurumi-Ryokuchi Expo Park

Nara Deer Park

Nara Deer Park

                                                                                     

Nara Deer Park

Sakura Park at Japan MINT

Golden Pavillion Kinkakuji Temple 

Kyoto Rose Cafe

Tsurumi-Ryokuchi Expo Park

Osaka Castle

Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium 

On the 19th, we moved to Tokyo and until the last day on the 25th April, we visited;

1. Halal Japanese Beef BBQ Restaurant 'Gyumon'.
2. Disneyland Tokyo.
3. Gala Yuzawa
4. Ameyoko Street
5. Mount Fuji(base)

Halal Japanese Beef BBQ Restaurant 'Gyumon'

Disneyland Tokyo

Disneyland Tokyo

Gala Yuzawa 

Ameyoko Street 

Mount Fuji(base)

Mount Fuji

What have I gained from this trip?

These 10 days helped me to bond with my daughter. Seeing how she touches any object to fill her curiosity has helped me remember how fun it is to learn. I got her to touch the snow, the rock, the flowers and those deer at the Park.

From the Japanese cleaners to train operators, I noticed a unique Japanese culture that differ them greatly from the local workers in Singapore. It seemed to me that they took great pride in their work. The movement and gestures which they put in as part of their processes really amazed me. For example, which I was waiting for the shinkansen, I noticed the platform operators, pointing their hands from one side to the other and then speaking to themselves. I reckon that they were saying out the checks that they needed to make. And when one train operator hands over the train to another operator, the one handing over will bow and said something to the one taking over. There is really a unique culture at work here. Something that they have taken generations to nurture. I have never seen such dedication.

I left Japan with happy memories of the nature, structure and its people.

I'm doing some research on the local training infrastructure.

Attended 1st Annual Business Restructuring for Productivity Forum 2013 by Vector Scorecard

I attended the 1st Annual Business Restructuring for Productivity Forum organized by Vector Scorecard. I was very glad that I attended that event. If you are an SME(Small Medium Enterprise) owner, you should attend this forum. The speakers include; His Excellency Mr Teng Theng Dar, Director for Business Compass Consultancy and former CEO of Singapore Business Federation, Mr Mohamad Damshal Awang, CEO of ACA Amanie, Mr Lawrence Kong, Managing Director for NexMU Pte Ltd, Mr M Nazri Muhd, Group CEO of VSC Group. The Guest of Honour was His Excellency, Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Former Senior Minister of State and Special Envoy to the Middle East.

Based on Spring Singapore's performance indicators, in 2012, 99% of all enterprises in Singapore are SMEs  and they provide about 70% of the employment locally, and contribute over 50% of national GDP (http://www.spring.gov.sg/aboutus/pi/pages/performance-indicators.aspx#.UV8AqKJHKSo). SMEs will get a lot of support from Singapore government in various forms. I am very impressed by the support given. Mr Damshal shared with us on the different forms of funding available in other countries and their different conditions such as in the United States with the JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act). He also explained the functions of chaebols in the Korean business scene and how it can be a two-edged sword.

Mr Nazri shared about the different industry trends between the retail, manufacturing and property. Here are some of my takeaways from his segment;
1. Strategic Investors are important. Even when the value of their investment is about a dollar(for eg), their network and knowledge will be able to help create channels for SMEs
2. Pricing expectation of customers must be assessed from time to time. The price that a customer might be willing to pay 5 years ago may not be an acceptable price today for the same product/service.
3. Relationships with existing customers must be strengthened.
4. Control cost of marketing and sales operations relative to the sales growth.

His Excellency, Mr Teng, was the keynote speaker and he shared his deep insights on the needs of a growing SME. He made a strong point that SMEs must not depend on the government on their growth. If they are, then they are in the wrong trade.

He shared 4 components that an SME will need in order to succeed in business in new economy. They are;
1. Business Model.
Different business will need different model and these models may influence the customer's expectation. He gmade a comparison between MacDonalds and Tung Lok. I remembered sharing this point to my former business partners when we set up our first venture. We need to make a choice whether to adopt a differentiated business or a cost leadership model.

2. Business Process Flow.
Is the organization static or dynamic? Are the processes looked into? Some organization depends on a process flow that was set up years ago.

3. Technology and Innovation.
Are we using the right technology correctly? Are we problem solvers or whiners? Can the spirit of innovation be instilled into the team.

4. People.
Are people an asset or a commodity? Are they trained to do the right things? Human capital must not be taken for granted. Especially in a small country like Singapore, how you treat your employees may be a factor for some talents whether or not to work for you.

After the session, I went out for some snacks and spoke to a few entrepreneurs. Among those that I met are Mr Nazzim, Senior VP(VSC) and Abang Abu(Nowasia) and they shared some experience and provided some suggestions of how I can move forward. The beauty of networking is that I can get free advise from experienced people on what works and what doesn't. I got a few very useful advise which will require me to change my strategy. I'm always after knowledge of those more experienced and I am blessed that those I met are very willing to share.

To the team at VSC, thank you for organizing this event. And to those whom I've met at the event, from the bottom my my heart and with deepest gratitude, thank you for your sharing. I've learned more practical business lessons in that short sharing than any business workshop I've attended.

Personal Performance Monitoring - Taking Responsibility For My Own Performance As An Independent Trainer

In the end of the year 2010, I stepped into the training industry as an independent trainer. I did not have my full ACTA(Advanced Certificate in Training & Assessment) yet. What I have was my own drive and desire to make it work, with or without ACTA. I educated myself and upgrade myself through voracious reading. It seemed so hard to get training assignments. Fortunately, I had a mentor who took me in and through her, I had opportunities in conducting and facilitating training programs within the Republic Singapore Air Force(RSAF) and the Republic Singapore Navy (RSN). I had my share of knocks and hits. Everytime I hit the ground, I had to get up and keep on going.

Today, I am an independent trainer and training program developer. I completed my ACTA and now able to help companies as a training consultant. I see training as an opportunity. An opportunity for me to craft a respectable career, and an opportunity to help companies achieve certain skillsets. 

As independent trainers, I've learnt one very important thing. We do not represent any organization or brands, but ourselves. Our own name is our brand name. Companies can be closed down and a new name can be used but the name that we have been given since birth is tagged to this face that hangs on our head. Hence all the more important that we guard it, protect it and market it wisely. As such, we need to track our own performance. WE are responsible for our own performance.

So how do we track our own performance?

For me, the company that I represent have their own feedback form. So I used that as my own personal performance monitoring and KPI management.

My KPI over the recent 6 training programs conducted

Each student will fill in a feedback form. The feedback forms has 4 questions and each question carries a score of 100 points. I converted the scores into percentage and so far, I've an average of 81% from the 6 classes that I took recently.

What do we do with this data?

I use these data for my own reflection and monitoring. What have I done right? What can I improve on? How can I improve on it? I will keep on going until I hit an average of 90%. Is that an unreasonable goal? Nope I don't think so. I think it is important that we monitor our own performance in order to maintain certain quality in terms of delivery.

27th March 2013, The day I conducted 3 training workshops in a single day

Training has always been my passion. Besides having that as my bread and butter, training is my way to give back to the community, in this case, the youth. I think when we are passionate about something, we tend to add value to it. For me, I prepared some real case studies and activities that may interest the students. However, this has to be done subtly, without disrupting the training plan and objectives. I feel that it is imperative for trainers to have a few standby activities in their pocket, just in case.

On 27th March, I was blessed with 3 workshops. From 7.45am to 10.45am and 11.10am to 2.10pm, I conducted Innovation workshop for a secondary school in the east. Then I rushed down to primary school in the east to take a Financial Literacy Program from 2.30pm to 4pm. I was exhausted by the end of the day and used the following day to recuperate and continue some other training administrations. I ended my afternoon with a late lunch consisting of bowl of cheng t'ng and a plate of carrot cake.

Going through the lessons

Group Work

Trainers ought to have fun nurturing. Students should have fun learning and applying

Self-practice

Group Work

Practise

My third day with this class.

I had fun taking this class. My only hope is that they will keep on applying what they have learned from this workshop.