Learning: The Magic of Making Training FUN

I have been honoured with the appointment as a Director of the Human Reources Development Corporation by the Honourable Minister of HR, Government of Malaysia. It gives me an opportunity to contribute to the development of human capital. The Human Resources Development Council manages the Human Resources Development Fund and aims to support human capital development. For more details visit their web site.

I have been reading this book by Clive Chajet and Tom Shachtman. Dr. Venkata Majeti was kind enough to let me have it and I have been enjoying the book very much. There is always a question I am asked - if I am a FUN facilitator, will that not give me a rather different image. Some executives often want to be feared as they want that image. Images mean so many things to so many people. A company’s image is indeed a vital corporate asset and can make all the difference in a competitive marketplace. We live in a world full of business images. McDonalds, Apple, IBM, Dell, Singapore Airlines. A Company’s image is what is perceived by its various audiences. A Company’s identity is what it chooses to shape those perceptions. One learning point from the book – corporate images must reflect reality not distort reality, if they are to positively impact its audiences. A friend Ed Jackson always used to tell me – the product or service must do what it says it will do. Good image making marries ...

Time Management has always been a misnomer. We can never manage time, we can only manage ourselves with respect to time.That was a valid argument, I thought. Today, I read Tony Schwartz in this month's Harvard Business Review. He says most of us respond to rising demands in the workplace by working longer. This will inevitably lead to longer working hours and will take a toll on the physical, mental and emotional health. The core problem with time is that it is a finite resource.Energy is a different story. Defined in physics as the capacity to work, energy comes from four main wellsprings in human being: the body, emotions, mind and spirit. While the body is all about physical energy; the emotions about the quality of energy; the mind the focus of energy and the human spirit the energy of meaning and purpose. In each, the energy can be expanded by establishing specific rituals with the goal of making them habits. We can make it a ritual to exercise in the gym everyday as some of u...