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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The best leadership advice

Not sure if i have every posted this.... before by Ps Jeff... really great insight. One of the best leadership advice i have read so far. But this is a great lesson i will learn to put into practice in hopefully all areas of my life. Hopefully this piece of advice can radically transform your life as it does mine

Promoting Constructive "Insubordination"

I had been scrolling through a leadership book recently. One of the sections was quite refreshing to me.

It began with the well said statement that “if both of us are always agreeing, then one of us is redundant.” When everyone agrees, especially just for the sake of getting along, we’re unlikely to achieve the best outcomes.

Researchers asked fifty groups of students to solve a murder mystery. They found that groups of people who had the most diverse social backgrounds and experiences were the most likely to solve the case. Not only were the homogenous groups more likely to be wrong, they were also more likely to express greater confidence in their answers despite being wrong!

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin tells the story of how Abraham Lincoln consciously and willfully assembled a cabinet made up of the very men that he had defeated in the election. She stated that it spoke of Lincoln’s political genius revealed through his extraordinary array of personal qualities that enabled him to form friendships with men who had previously opposed him.

If Abraham Lincoln could manage to lead a team of rivals (former rivals) under the challenges of the Civil War, we should certainly find it within ourselves to manage the conflicts we face, modest as they are by comparison to his.

The section concluded that leaders have to make it possible for people to argue with each other – up, down, in, out and sideways – if we are to realize the best from our very diverse and talented team!

I hope that this would help all of us to be even better leaders in every arena of our lives.
posted by Jeff Chong


The above blog really opened up my eyes.The truth is great leaders are not those who only surround themselves with the people who agrees with them but they are able to surround themselves with people both friend and foes.

Actually when i was pondering about this... I just realise... the current President Obama of the USA is actualy practicing the same principle. He is appointing people into his cabinet who not only once ran against him in his nomination like Hillary Clinton but also those who support the republican. His motto is to have a more bi-partisan cabinet so that he will be able to get the best of both worlds


I believe in all organisations, foundations and groups, a more well rounded team allows a better decision as it provides not only accountability but also effciency. The key i realise to many failures both for companies and individual is they become afraid of "criticism" per say and surround themselves with people who would agree with them on every level. Not that its not good..but a great leader is one who can make their "worst critic" their best advisor.

I really hope in 2009, people who are assuming leadership either i companies, foundations or organisations can take this and use it to their advantage

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New year to all.... 2009 is just around the corner...

Looking back in 2008, i had a few interesting things happening in my life

1. I bought a house in South lake
2. I am going to be a father
3. My house became a village..
4. Bought airticket for the first time using Qantas frequent flyer points
5. Flew to Karratha
6. And kept my blog running for at least 1 full year... i tried once long time back but gave up...


My goal next yr...

1. Start improving my food blog... ( prob will do a parallel food blog... for foodies.... only - i want to do a Food video about food)

2. Finish CPA

3. Improve my guitar skills and start writing songs

4. Finish the bible once in the yr

5. Buy another house

I think i will keep this 5 ... if i can i will be really happy.. dont want to be too ambitious. Maybe tom, I will review it... after praying

Other Photos.






This is where we buy the Yahava coffee.. its just around the corner from our chalet. Nice place. In fact they have resort there too. I bought some interesting coffee beans.. one called X-rated and one called romeo no.5.

Prob give the X-rated beans for Kris and Romeo No.5 to Vic... hahahah....... Well this Romeo... will find his juliet soon.



House on Gracetown



Their only restaurant and shop



As you can see Vivien is the most excited. Maybe she likes the seaside beach house. I can see her retire with her Dogs and Kah Sang. Two old folks waking to the sunrise and enjoying the sunset along the beach.


I dont know why i took this picture.. but... Vivian was really excited about the place.. Hope Gracetown.,... here we come... Ps KS.



This one was driftwood winery... nice wine ... recommended



Bird and her man.... " PEP" .. short for Pepsi



We visited Knee deep winery... not the best in my opinion



Gralyn was an interesting discovery. Along cave apart from Woodland and Cullen, this will be one of the must visit winery

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Margaret river - Day 2

Boxing Day - Activity

Boxing Day morning was filled with Porridge, steam bun, siew mai, and bread... I think we were all too tired to take photo.. so sorry no photo on breakfast.

Then we rested awhile before we proceed to ahve early lunch at FLUTEs... this was one restaurant, i had always wanted to try but never had the chance to because it was always fully booked




I had to walk across the lake to get this shot which i believe Chong Yee would not have as you have to walk a distance to get this shot.




Flutes also known as Brookland Valley.....




Here is the group photo ....waiting for our food...








Above are the food we ate, and yes... that reminds me i need to seek reimbursements... better do it tonight.. have to pay my credit card...

But the food overall was pretty nice... mine however begs to differ... the spring roll.. was quite ordinary. I had better spring roll.. it was suppose to be Peking duck spring roll. I had expected something really different. And was quite disappointed with my dish.. i ate 3 gave the rest to my wife.

Later we went to some winery - Grayln Estate....

Yes.. this is another one of those cellar door... it was a good find.. hopefully my brother will get to try the $100 bottle wine i bought.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Devotion for today

Devotional - 97-12-16 - Integrity

Titus 1:7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain.

So who leads? Who are those who are leaders in the Christian Church? As a Presbyterian, I will say, men of integrity are to lead the church. That is my opinion, but I understand that many who might be reading this think that women should be leaders as well. I do not see that in the Scripture. But to appease some I will simply say a leader needs integrity, eliminating gender.

What is integrity? Well, I Think it starts at home. Do you want to be a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ? I would ask you how your home life is. First, do you love your wife?, do you have devotions with your family, how about your kids, do they honor the lord? These questions only scratch the surface, but they are the first questions for a leader. What is going on with your family?

Family is the big cover up in the Christian faith. Why? Because it is the most obvious. If there are struggles in this place, it becomes really obvious, and really public. This is true if you are a leader already. If you are a leader now, your family problems will be the talk of the church, even if they like your problems: must be hidden. If you are not a leader in the church, well, family problems, no matter what your status, will kill any leadership opportunities in the church, or the church blows it and you get in. To serve Christ is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour. We must serve him selflessly. There are too many who win positions of authority, who then abuse this privilege, and the church must unite and say, “you may be important, but I will stand for truth, and you have violated the cause of Christ, your office demands you must repent, truth..” The church must reject those who have used their office to sin. This is really hard to do, but sin is hard to deal with also. What Honors our Lord Jesus Christ must be our question. Anything else must be eliminated and condemned.

I have come to realise that nothing is more important in a christian leader than integrity. I suppose taken from the words of spiderman, " With great power comes, great responsiblity." As christian we must always follow God and not people. People will fail you, but God never will. Something i learned that even though we always teach people to follow God, i come to realise most people in reality will follow the leader regardless. The truth is we need to learn how to apply God's principle practically.




The beautiful Beach









Photos from the beach we visited.... absolutely... beautiful...I think the place is called Peverly Beach.

Margaret river Trip

Below are the photos of the place when we first came in.... we were really happy with the setting very tastefully done up.








Beautiful SPA.... mmmmm


Nice TV too... the surround sound was great

Our SUPPER when we arrive ... i had prepare the curry chicken before hand all i had to do was to heat the curry and cook the prata... Teh tarik was also on the menu



What we found out was that... we were going to have a big big feast for the next 3 days.... Breakfast next morning...




We had breakfast by the lake... american style... with bacons, eggs, sausage, coffee... and bread... we also had... uninvited guests... the flies... I will now remember to bring fly repellant the next round we go in Summer.

The flies just came out of nowhere and swarmed our table.. we had a short lazy afternoon... of games and relaxation...



Lunch was Scotch fillet served with my specialty Spiced Mash with garden salad...



Dinner was of course as scrumptious as ever. I prepared steamboat galore as i thought it will be lesser work.. I can only say we gorge ourselves silly. I had scotch fillet grilled on hotpan, steamboat with all variety of "balls" no pun intended. I also made chicken rice and MY NEW DISH

My new Ginger Beer Chicken... it was a Stirling success. The taste was really delectable. The funny thing is many times I create all the recipe on the fly and sometimes cannot remember them....

Ingredient : Giner wine, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, pepper, fish sauce and a little sweet sauce. YuM....


The first day we almost died trying to eat all these food... i must remember to next time do less and cook less... but one thing i foud out... beed and chicken rice with suki sauce... is a fabulous mix.. i could stop eating that...

Stay tuned for day 2..... ( Next year i will organise one more of these food retreat...) be sure to book early...

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Margaret river trip

This couple of days have been a time of relaxing and catch up with friends. We managed to book this resort which is called Willy Bay resort. I must say, the interior was absolutely stunning. I think it was beautifully decorated and the place had everything we could imagine.

Will show some photos soon...

Most of us probably put on some weight, eating all the scotch fillet, steam boat and breakfast

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Happy Christmas and a Merry New year

In case i dont get to email you or send you a letter... ( I am not a letter and card person...so hope my friends won't mind too much....)


Here's wishing you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year....

Due to economic crisis... santa.... has to eat his reindeer... and walk for most part of his trip.... But at least he lost KGs....

So... may next year... be a more bountiful year for all...

Monday, December 22, 2008

Baby Stuff so expensive

Now i finally understand... why people are often so poor when they have kids... those manufacturers sure know how to suck money from the parents. Unless of course, you are one of those parents who wont buy stuff for the kids.

If you do want to get the best for your kids, it really cost a bomb. Baby car chair - $ 200, cot = $300, pampers, bottles, milk.. pump...

Baby = poor...

Baby x 2 = v.poor

Baby x 3 = trust in God

I have to find way to minimize cost... maybe design an expandable clothes for baby, so can use for longer period...

I thought of using cloth diapers like the old days... but.... maybe not..


We shall see...

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Food at 4 seasons

Here are some food and photos from the wedding my cousin had at 4 seasons. The food was reasonably tasty. But one difference though was that each food was served to you. It does make the wedding a little special. Overall, the dinner was memorable, but the wedding was really interesting as all the ACS boys went up to sing out School Anthem. This is probably a first though. Well what can i say, we are all loyal ACSians.









Change of direction

Its absolutely amazing how easily decades of hard work can be destroyed. By small trivial matters. I think things will never be the same every again.

For those that will be affected i wish the vision will still go on, but with such a split, you can only wonder if ever will we be the same.

I know many people are trying to resolve the matter, but I do sincerely do not think things will go back to where it once was. That leaves me to wonder how it will affect us internationally.

I saw the videos, heard the comments. Hopefully, when things are more settled, i will be able to say more... but for now at least.... i shall remain silent.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Pastor Rick in Political Spotlight

Rev. Rick Warren is discovering that it's hard to be both America's Pastor and a Leader of Religious Conservatives.

Barack Obama's selection of Mr. Warren to deliver the invocation at the inauguration has infuriated many Obama supporters -- especially advocates of gay marriage -- in part because of comments Mr. Warren made in a recent interview with me for Beliefnet and The Wall Street Journal.

The most controversial exchange was this:

Mr. Warren: I'm opposed to redefinition of a 5,000 year definition of marriage. I'm opposed to having a brother and sister being together and calling that marriage. I'm opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that marriage. I'm opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.

Beliefnet/WSJ: Do you think those are equivalent to gays getting married?

Mr. Warren: Oh, I do

About the Author

Steven Waldman is president and editor-in-chief of Beliefnet.com, and author of "Founding Faith." Previously the national editor of U.S. News & World Report, he is a recognized expert on religion, social issues and politics. Click here for Mr. Waldman's full bio.

So on the one hand you have Mr. Warren, in effect, equating gay marriage to marriages based on incest, pedophilia and polygamy. But if you look at the whole exchange on gay issues -- and, indeed, the entire interview -- you see Mr. Warren trying in other ways to chart a moderate path.

He started by acknowledging that divorce is a much bigger threat to the American family than gay marriage -- and chiding fellow conservatives for focusing on gay marriage more. He also said he supported civil partnership laws, a position which just got a top official fired from the National Association of Evangelicals. And later in the interview he said that Christianity has been harmed by religious conservatives focusing too much on politics.

At one point, Mr. Warren tried to describe an apolitical role for himself. I had asked him why, since he opposed torture, he hadn't tried to convince President Bush to change his posture. At first he said he "never got the chance" -- a somewhat implausible claim. Then he argued that he really intended to play more of a pastoral role, advising politicians on stress and family and their spiritual lives.

Associated Press

Barack Obama shakes hands with Rev. Rick Warren at the Saddleback Forum in August during the presidential campaign.

Pastor Rick Warren on Gay Marriage, Abortion, Torture

3:45

The cleric picked to deliver Barack Obama's invocation speaks with Beliefnet.com founder Steve Waldman on his views about hot-button issues.

"They don't need me to be a political advisor. I'm not a pundit. I'm not a politician and that's why I don't take sides," Mr. Warren said. This is the Rev. Billy Graham model (at least later in Mr. Graham's life).

Mr. Warren does have legitimate claim to being a powerfully influential spiritual leader. His "The Purpose Driven Life" is the best-selling non-fiction book in history. His decision to reverse-tithe -- he keeps 10% and gives away 90% -- is inspiring to many, forcing all of us to ask: Am I doing enough?

He spends much of his time cradling the most destitute children in the world and trying to convince American Christians -- especially conservatives -- to do more. He speaks about his faith with a sense of joy that is infectious and he acknowledges his own spiritual doubts in a way that gives permission to followers to cultivate an intellectually-honest spiritual journey.

But the problem is he also takes political positions with gusto. He's vocally pro-life, supported the Proposition 8 ballot initiative in California, which outlawed gay marriage, and he's made all sorts of other political statements, some insensitive. Just because he doesn't formally endorse a candidate doesn't mean he's not political.

Because he's friendly, wears Hawaiian shirts (or used to) and talks about poverty, some mistakenly thought he was a "moderate evangelical." Politically, he's conservative. So if he gets involved in politics, most of the time he'll be on the side of the religious right -- and he'll inevitably be polarizing.

It's not an easy position. If Mr. Warren decides to avoid political issues, he can achieve an extraordinary status as a disciple of Christ who is beloved and respected by a wide variety of Americans. If the goal is to bring people to Christianity, he would then be in an unparalleled position. But it would require him biting his tongue on some of the great moral issues of the day. Can a real moral leader do that?

If he lets it all hang out, he will continue to alienate millions of Americans and come to be perceived as the sort of creature he himself has criticized, one whose political views blot out his faith message. Mr. Warren has tried to finesse this by saying he's mostly about Christ, and that when he does talk about politics he'll do so with civility.

Easier said than done.