Virtually everything our modern culture believes about the type of leadership required to transform our institutions is wrong. It is also dangerous. There is perhaps no more corrosive trend to the health of our organizations than the rise of the celebrity CEO, the rock-star leader whose deepest ambition is first and foremost self-centric.
- Jim Collins (author of Good to Great)

In this day and age of instant coffee, fast food and DIY blogs, we tend to look for quick fixes, including celebrity leaders, whom we believe can lead our organisations into the sunset. And more often than not, when we talk about leadership, we look to statesmen, generals, politicians and the like, to find good examples of great leaders. It is true that there have been many great leaders in the political field, including people like Mohandas K. Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln. However, we should also look to business leaders to learn certain principles of leadership.
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Another “glimpse” from Sogyal Rinpoche’s book:

Wrong views and wrong convictions can be the most devastating of all our delusions. Surely Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot must have been convinced that they were right, too? And yet each and every one of us has that same dangerous tendency as they had: to form convictions, believe them without question, and act on them, so bringing down suffering not only on ourselves but on all those around us.

On the other hand, the heart of Buddha’s teaching is to see “the actual state of things, as they are,” and this is called the true View. It is a view that is all embracing, as the role of spiritual teachings is precisely to give us a complete perspective on the nature of mind and reality.

* See previous “glimpse” here.

Before you get the wrong idea, this post is not about the “political tsunami” that hit Malaysia on 8 March 2008. It is an extract from the book Glimpse After Glimpse – Daily Reflections on Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche, which happens to fall on March 8.

I find some of the “glimpses” particularly insightful and simply would like to share them here. Here’s the first:

In his very first teaching, Buddha explained that the root cause of suffering is ignorance. But where exactly is this ignorance? And how does it display itself? Let’s take an everyday example. Think about those people—we all know some—who are gifted with a remarkably powerful and sophisticated intelligence. Isn’t it puzzling how, instead of helping them, as you might expect, it seems only to make them suffer more? It is almost as if their brilliance is directly responsible for their pain.

What is happening is quite clear: This intelligence of ours is captured and held hostage by ignorance, which then makes use of it freely for its own ends. This is how we can be extraordinarily intelligent and yet absolutely wrong, at one and the same time.

Some of my friends often joke about me taking over the Ministry of Education. I don’t know if I am a good candidate for the job; however, I do know that there’s something terribly wrong with our education system.

The issue of education is quite dear to me as I believe that it will determine the future of our nation. Even pop songs like Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All” talks about how important it is to teach our children well.

I am proud to share that I am a product of Methodist Boys’ School, Kuala Lumpur. I attended both the primary and secondary schools there, and I am now in my second term as the President of my school’s alumni association. Apart from my loyalty and love for my alma mater, I must say that there is something different about our school that moulded many of us into not only successful but also quite decent people.
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I think the initial reactions to the recent general election results would sound something like this:

“Wow! Holy s*@#!”
“Wahliao-eh!”
“Adoi!”

Whatever the language, the exclamations of shock or surprise are not negative – they are just expressions of amazement. Most people that I have spoke to are actually quite happy with the way the election has gone. However, with the favourable winds of change, the Barisan Rakyat will now have to manage it well for the next four or five years. Otherwise, we would have lost a golden opportunity to institutionalise good governance in this rich and beautiful country.

To follow up on my previous posting, I think a course in Change Management is necessary for all new elected representatives. I certainly do not presume to be an expert in the subject. However, I know enough of the subject to know that not only the politicians need to learn it, but the public servants and the rakyat also need to be aware of it.
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Last night, after a meeting where I made a presentation on strategy, I left with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was relieved that I managed to do my job and make the presentation according to plan. On the other hand, though, I was a bit disappointed with the reaction of certain individuals in the meeting.

My presentation, basically, looked at the current situation of the organisation, the hopes of the organisation, the strategies available and, last but not least, urgent areas for focus.

No doubt, there will always be supporters and detractors in whatever we do. And, I’ve attended enough meetings to know that some people just talk for the sake of talking.
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Here are a couple of prayers that I feel are quite timely for humanity.

The first one was apparently recited by a pastor in Kansas state, at the opening session of their senate:

“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good’, but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!”

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Considering it’s August – the Merdeka month – I’d like to start with a more positive and inspirational posting… Click on the image on the left for the message.

Check out pravsworld. The pics and words can sometimes give us a different and better perspective on things…

Happy Merdeka! (whatever it means to you…)

Someone shared these lessons with me…

I’ve learned that I like my teacher because she cries when we sing “Silent Night”.
Age 5

I’ve learned that our dog doesn’t want to eat my broccoli either.
Age 7

I’ve learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back.
Age 9

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