"My new boss used that technique in our meeting yesterday!"

Yesterday, I met up a gentleman from my DIEB (Develop Initiative & Enterprise Behavior) class which ended last week. He works in a logistic company and is already in the early 50s.

One the last few sessions, he asked me about the practicality of those techniques learned during the Employability Skills Module. He said that while techniques are useful, he felt that it is of little use at work. He also brought to my attention that as ground staffs, the opportunities to use those new-found skills can be limited.

I explained to him by using the following phrase "It Is Better To Be Prepared and Not Have An Opportunity, than Having an Opportunity and Not Being Prepared". The thing is we can never know what lies ahead of us. We can never know when an opportunity will come knocking on our door. And if it does knock, what do you want to do?

That phrase is close to my heart because I was at the receiving end. In the early 2000s, the first business that I started was a freelance draftsman, drawing single line diagrams and getting endorsement from an electrical Professional Engineer (PE). I learned how to use AutoCad in Singapore Polytechnic in the late 90s. I got hands-on practice during my first job. When I discovered that demand, I took it up. I was paid $50 for every drawing. With the energy and time I have in my hands, I could easily complete 100 single line drawings in a month. However, I was under the illusion that that opportunity will last. I refused to upgrade my skills simply because I was already too busy. Weeks passed and the demand for my services dropped. One day, I was given an opportunity to do a more complex drawing. I had to give it away because their requirements were beyond me.. That drawing itself could have fetch me a cool $5,000 in a week. That is also the cost of my lesson.

Learning is part of life. The value of knowledge is not in the certificates. It is in how we apply it. When that happens, that knowledge will have greater value to self and organization.

So back to my meeting with this gentlemen; he shared that he has a new boss to report to. In his 15 years of service in the company, he has never had a conversation on career path. This new manager spoke to all his colleagues for 30minutes each to find out their goals and aspirations.

So I asked him,"So what was your response?". He said, "If only there is a manager like you in the earlier years of my career, I would be somewhere better now. Since I'm in the 50s, I've lost some drive." He told his manager to give those opportunities to the younger ones.

I told him that with his wealth of experience, he can consider mentoring the new entrees into the industry. He pondered for a while.

In the later part of the conversation, he shared that his new boss used a few techniques which he learnt in the ES modules; such as goal setting, divergent and convergent thinking, etc. He was surprised to see someone in management level applying those techniques. Now that he has a better idea of what is going on, he became more appreciative of the changes implemented by the management.

That feedback were music to my ears. It has been a week since we completed the module and he was able to change his perception of things.

My advise to everyone; keep learning, keep growing, find ways to apply your new found skills. If door to opportunity does not open, make our own door. Things always happen for a reason.