A company is a group of people coming together trying to achieve more than the sum of their parts. If a leader does not understand or develop organisation culture, the company will always struggle to work together effectively. How do we get good performance out of our team when they can't even collaborate well?
那如果我遇到一个完全不值得尊重的人呢？记得，你也要懂得尊重自己。面对不值得尊重的人就行为差，不是你不尊重他，而是你不尊重自己。
But what if you are dealing with a person who does not deserve respect? Well, remember, allowing your own poor behaviour is disrespecting yourself. Others' bad behaviour does not justify our own.
Success looks beautiful from the outside, but many don't appreciate the daily slogs and discipline required to achieve success.
When I shared photos of my Mount Kinabalu climb on social media, I realised that I had only picked the most amazing sceneries. When my group and I posed for photos, naturally we would be smiling and waving. After having conquered the peak and returned from our trip, we all remembered these views and moments fondly. A few weeks afterwards, one my of friends sent to us videos he had taken using his GoPro. These painted a very different picture. They recorded the hardships we went through - the endless upward steps, the unforgiving rain, the wet and muddy paths, the mercilessly cold wind, and our tired expressions, i.e. the 99% of our climb when we were not stopping to pose for photos.
Never take success for granted. It takes persistence, commitment and sacrifices.
You can't do it without the support of your friends.
At one point during the climb, I was furthest ahead among my group, and I was impatient to keep going. I imagined myself reaching the summit. And then a question struck me. Why am I doing this in the first place? I organised the trip as a gathering of friends. We were going to conquer the peak together. Had I only wanted to reach the summit, I could have planned a solo trip any time. I rejoined my group, and we had a great time talking rubbish (when we had the breath for it), bitching about whose idea it was to climb a bloody mountain (it was mine), and supporting one another in reaching the top. This was what the climb was about.
In business, we are sometimes so obsessed with one particular goal that we lose sight of our original why. We lose sight of what are most important to us. It is important to pause, think, realign, then resume with vigour.
There is a Chinese proverb - you become the company you keep. It was through a series of unexpected events that I became part of this community of entrepreneurs - BNI Lighthouse Chapter, the largest BNI chapter in Malaysia with 100+ members. Entrepreneurship for many may be a lonely journey. I am grateful to have a community of partners, collaborators, supporters, mentors, and also some jokers, who are always by my side.
We underestimate what our bodies can do when hardships break our spirit.
I am not the athletic type, and although I did do some training before the climb, in hindsight it wasn't enough. There were a few moments during the actual climb when I felt like giving up. I managed to push through, and I realised that my body could take it. Had I given up, it wouldn't have been because of my body. It would have been because of my (lack of) will power.
In business and in leadership, we go through difficult times and we question our own capabilities and resilience. We sometimes underestimate what we are capable of. Clear the useless doubts. Focus on the next step. And the next. And the next. You will find that you are stronger than you think.
I used to feel uncomfortable with the idea of business networking, because I felt I was meeting people with a selfish motive. I was greeti...
