On Rules of Engagement
(by: Nick NG)
( DC practitioner )
Let’s go back 10 -12 years in time to about 1993 to 1996. You will remember that it was a time of great growth for SE Asia. Stock markets were hot. Businesses were expanding. There were more job vacancies than potential employees. People were busy.
My previous company makes chemicals for the pulp and paper industry. Our customers were in expansion mode all over Asia . I was busy in Malaysia and Thailand , maintaining existing customers, growing the business and hiring new people to handle the increasing size of our business. My co-workers in the other countries were doing the same thing.
There was a new machine start-up in Sabah and I needed someone with experience to help my new guy there. I couldn't be in Sabah during that time because I had to be away for three weeks in Jacksonville , Florida for regional meetings. I requested assistance from my co-worker Andrew in Indonesia and he sent his right-hand man to Sabah to assist my guy. The start-up went smoothly anhd we were all happy and I was grateful for the help.
When my co-worker in China , Felix, needed my help in Suzhou , I was happy to go help him myself because I was the expert in that area, microbiology. I figured since Indonesia helped me, I should help China since we were all reporting to the same V-P (and the V-P was happy to see such teamwork). A request came for manpower assistance from Indonesia and I sent two of my guys from Malaysia to help out. This was payback time from the earlier help I received from Andrew. Fair is fair.
Then there was a great opportunity in Singapore with a potential customer. A few of the key players were mainland Chinese so I needed Felix's help because he had one guy working for him who had a very good reputation in the pulp and paper industry. Felix had about 20 people working under him so I figured he could spare this guy for three days. He kept telling me CP was busy every time I asked and there was no time in CP's schedule to go over to Singapore to help me. I was not happy because I expected the favor I extended to Felix in Suzhou to be returned. I was not asking Felix to go to Singapore , only one of this men.
Now 1997 came along and you all know things went bad for SE Asia . But China continued to do well. Here we are still feeling the effects of the currency crisis of 1997 but China is still experiencing continuous growth. Naturally, Felix needs expert help and where better to make his request than from SE Asia . So what do you think I did ? He hadn't returned the favor I did for him (after I asked several times) & now he wants another favor.
On the Circle of Tolerance
(Background note: The Circle of Tolerance relates to dealing intelligently with any given situation. When we expand our circle of tolerance, we expand our ability to act intelligently in any given situation instead of reacting like a lizard.)
There is a tendency for me to behave in unreasonable and silly ways when I am tired, for example, after a long day or after a long flight. I remember well a time 10 years ago when I was booked into a recently opened boutique hotel in Singapore , Elizabeth Hotel . I had already stayed there a few times. This time, I informed the hotel that I would check-in late about 11 pm so they needed to hold my room for me. When I arrived at 11 pm , reception informed me that my room was not ready. I would have to wait one hour for my room to be made ready. I made a fuss about how it had been confirmed that I would check-in late and it was not acceptable to make we wait until midnight since I was tired, had a long day to travel to Singapore and wanted to sleep. I didn't shout or scold the receptionist. That's not my style. I decided I would just flop on the counter to show I was tired. When that didn't work, I sat on the sofa for a while. Then I went back to the counter and jumped onto the counter and sat on it then laid down, in the attempt to get the receptionist to hurry the cleaners. Guests coming back to the hotel would walk in and look at me. The receptionists weren't bothered by my antics. My silly actions didn't work because the receptionists were not embarrassed enough to expedite matters for me.
From the above lizard-like behavior, I figured this wasn't going to benefit me much. I decided another approach ie to be pleasant to the receptionist. Three years ago, after an overnight flight to Australia , I checked-in to the Rydges Hotel in North Sydney at 7.30 in the morning. Hotels frequently have a policy for check-in to be after 12 pm , some as early as 11 am , some at 2 pm even 3 pm . So I was way too early. I explained to the receptionist that I just arrived after traveling eight hours, was really tired and that it would be great if she could find me the first available room. She said I could wait in the dining room, have breakfast while she worked on it. Since I hadn't eaten, I did what she suggested. While I was eating, one of the staff came to inform me that my room was ready and I could move in anytime and gave me my keys. Now that I had room number, I was going to settle my breakfast bill. The staff said it was alright.
So that was my lesson in expanding my circle of tolerance.
And it is repeatable. Last year, after my overnight flight to Korea , I arrived in Seoul at 8am . Took the bus into the city, checked-in to Seoul Hilton at 10 am . My room was not ready. I was tired and sweating because I was wearing a winter jacket. It was cold outside in February and the heating was on full blast inside the hotel. I was going to blow a fuse. I thought I should behave myself. I did and they gave me a corner room with two views and an adjacent room.
On the Colored Brain
Purple Brain vs Red Brain
In my previous company, there was a Business Unit Manager who is Purple Brain. Lai Hok and I worked very well together and on many projects. In conversations, he has this habit of asking a lot of questions, one after another. Have you ever come across such a person ? It feels like you are under interrogation. This is the Purple Brain Processor collecting information (maybe relevant information, maybe not relevant, but still hungry for data). Since I have known Lai Hok since 1996, I have gotten used to his character so it doesn't bother me. I had learned to tolerate this habit.
Now you know I am Red Brain. Because of the nature of my previous company's business (supplying specialty chemicals to heavy industry with lots of technical service), I hired and trained mostly Red Brain Processors. This scenario was true for Malaysia . In Thailand and Indonesia , I hired a variety of other color brain processors (for different reasons). In Malaysia , I needed Red Brain Processors because our customers also ran on the same processors. I needed my guys to collect data, analyze the problem and get back to the customers as soon as possible with a solution. Our customers expected this as well. Otherwise, our customers turn to our competitors. So, accuracy and speed were essential. And facts only, please.
We had a customer who gave us US$1 MM recurring business every year and the product came under Lai Hok's business unit. You know that with an annual recurring business of USD1 MM, competitors are always calling on your customer. Our 3-year contract with the customer was expiring and there was a RFQ (request for quotation). We knew our competitors were going to go down on their price to make it unattractive to keep the business. So I got my Red Brain guys to collect the relevant data and we passed it on to Lai Hok to come up with his alternative product or products. As expected, Lai Hok asked for confirmation questions. Asked more questions. No problem, we expected it already. Then he asked for more. And more. To the point when we got annoyed. We felt we had given him enough information. I remember my phone conversation with Lai Hok when I told him that we cannot do any more for him. We had nothing else to give him. He replied that it that was my attitude, then in future he would focus his efforts on other countries. I said fine, go ahead. Emotions spill over when two processors cannot or will not try to understand each other.
To me, we already had enough data to move to the next phase. My guys also need to do other things, not only one Purple Brain's project (his individual identity, not the group's identity). He wanted to be 100% sure (meticulous attention to detail). Data, data, data, data, data, forever. I am the 80/20 person. Data, data, analyze, analyze, analyze, action.
You have heard of the term an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. In this case, we have a Purple Brain vs a Red Brain at the most extreme. Insensitive vs Inflexible & emotionless.
Contributed by Nick NG
( DC Trainer )
