Category: Journal

The Sun Tze art of war mentions: Know your enemy and know thyself, a thousand battle, a thousand victory. Knowing oneself will allow one to understand their limitations and blind spots and take countermeasures to eliminate them. I have worked with the Johari window for a long time since I was an OBS instructor. Hence… Continue reading Johari Window by Benjamin Alexander Chua

Basics Turn off background applications – Whatsapp, Telegram, other file synchronising apps like Google Drive Desktop App, etc. (Technical user can use Netstat command to find out active channels) Be in direct line of sight of your router. Use LAN cable if possible. Reduce the resolution of your webcam. Change to 360 instead of 720.… Continue reading Optimising your bandwidth before an important virtual event/meeting

This is something that I have been advocating for years – We need to expose ourselves to differing views in order not to be a “closed-loop”. Birds of the same feather flock together. It is a known fact that humans tend to assimilate with individuals who are similar to them. To prevent social disintegration, Singapore… Continue reading How algorithm is making us a “closed-loop” (or even towards extremism)

Intention VS Action A friend and I had a debate recently about intention vs action. I think that it is more important for one to pay attention to their intention and ensure that it is pure and not malicious. However, my friend feels that intention is inside, which no one can see. Hence it is… Continue reading Intentions VS Action

Politics is not a dirty word. Many times when we hear the word “politics”, some immediately have a negative connotation. During a meeting, I mentioned this word, and I noticed a few expressions changed. Politics is not inherently a dirty word. It highlights one of the critical elements that determine if a project can be… Continue reading Politics

What is interesting about this video is that it mentions that someone being dominant does not mean that the person has to be aggressive. I remember that I was one of the two Ds in the group when I did the DISC test many years back. Immediately, I felt that it created a certain impression… Continue reading Dominance does not equate to aggression

In an adult world, if you are given a task, you are expected to do it. And when someone doesn’t do it, they should be coached and managed accordingly. Micromanaging should not be used as much as possible, although it can get things done well in the short term. We should not assume that individuals… Continue reading Why we should not micromanage

I believe that when a team makes a mistake, the leader always has responsibility for it. However, I may not always readily admit my mistakes in front of my team because I want them to take ownership. In front of my boss, I will say that the fault is mine. But this is a side… Continue reading Owning up to mistakes

I recently reached out to a few friends as I wanted to write them a recommendation on LinkedIn. But I discovered that they do not have one. Having some experience in headhunting, I cannot emphasise how important this is. I have realised that people who do good work sometimes do not put themselves out there… Continue reading Personal Branding

Some always tout leadership by example as the model to follow, stating that if you want someone to follow your lead, the best way is to lead by example. I remember this quote:  “The world is changed by your example. Not your opinion.” I generally also agree with that. Indeed, I think leadership by example… Continue reading Why sometimes leadership by example doesn’t work

大学之道，在明明德，在亲民，在止于至善。知止而后有定，定而后能静，静而后能安，安而后能虑，虑而后能得。物有本末，事有终始，知所先后，则近道矣。古之欲明明德于天下者，先治其国；欲治其国者，先齐其家；欲齐其家者，先修其身；欲修其身者，先正其心；欲正其心者，先诚其意；欲诚其意者，先致其知，致知在格物。物格而后知至，知至而后意诚，意诚而后心正，心正而后身修，身修而后家齐，家齐而后国治，国治而后天下平。自天子以至于庶人，壹是皆以修身为本。其本乱而末治者，否矣，其所厚者薄，而其所薄者厚，未之有也！

Today I got to know that one of my friends have passed on. He was age 32.  I met Jez in polytechnic. He was one of the brighter ones in class. He first went to ITE, then to polytechnic and finally to NTU. During NS, he also became an officer. Post-graduation, he signed on. We… Continue reading In loving memory of Peter Jezreel

Yesterday, my mother’s dog passed away. The dog has accompanied us for many years, and I think it has lived over a hundred years if we were to convert it in human terms. My mother was crying still this morning and we were trying to comfort her. I later went to my room and my… Continue reading 16 November 2021

Today, one of my colleagues asked me about the most challenging part for me in the University and how I overcame it. This is what I have shared: I am not sure what do others think about this. Throughout most of my career, a large part of it has been being an educator. I believe… Continue reading 15 November 2021

Some time back, I tried to share this with someone in their first career: Try not to disturb someone during their rest day. Honestly, there is nothing with being a first careerist. Everyone has to start somewhere. I remember being in my first job and I also hate being discounted just because it is my… Continue reading Why we should refrain from disturbing our colleagues on their rest day

We often thought that things are one dimensional until we learn how to see in different perspectives. For a child, things are always absolute. It is either right or wrong, black or white, higher or lower. But often, things in real life are multidimensional. Until someone is willing to open up their mind, it is… Continue reading 14 November 2021

I am at home today due to reoccurring chest pain. I wanted to try out TikTok since it is the latest thing, but I decided not to. I am still not very used to seeing myself on camera, and I think people come to the platform for entertainment, not thoughts. That said, I realised that… Continue reading 11 November 2021

Sometimes when I meet someone, I tend to share a lot. And this can seem strange to others. Why am I sharing so much? Why are my views seemingly so strong? Why do I seem so sure of myself? Am I lecturing? I share my thoughts excessively because I am not sure how long I… Continue reading 10 November 2021

I have always struggled with feedbacks. Sometimes, it seems to be that people are only doing it for the sake of doing it and has no genuine interest to know exactly how they are faring. Then there are some who always gives five stars regardless who they are rating. It is nice, but what we… Continue reading Feedbacks

I have shared earlier that I am going to stop writing. But I realised that by doing that, I lost a tool to reflect and a means to communicate with whoever wants to communicate. Sometimes, I am not so good with words, and writing remains an excellent tool to externalise my thoughts. Hence, I have… Continue reading 09 November 2021