Be detailed!

Steven Covey wrote in his book, 7 Habits of highly Effective People, to "start with the end in the mind". Steven argued that this is one of the principle for personal success. Surprisingly, this was concluded by Napoleon Hill in his book, Think and Grow Rich, too.

I am not refering to the abstract nature of Law of Attraction, though I never denied the possible existance of such law. In project, being able to think of the end point in detail is crucial. The more detailed, the project manager/engineer is the more issues can be highlighted at the beginning of the project.

Issues that is identified earlier is not a problem. On the other hand, problem is an un-identified and un-controllable issue.

Put the detail in your mind. Scrutinize the proposal, contract, plan or schedule!

Responsibility on Change

A senior is used to tell me that as a project engineer, we are here to manage changes. It is further affirmed by Rob Kennaugh in his book "Project Management 101 Tips and Tools for Success". The author argues that Project manager is a change agent and he added that change is not usually welcomed in our "regular" world.

I agree with such notion, as I have previously written that

"REGULARITY = COMFORTABLENESS"

However that is not What I would like to highlight today. Instead, I have learned this very day, that as a project engineer, we are not only responsible of what we are changing. The concern is not only on the modification of the regular things. However a good project engineer will also take precaution on the impact of the changes on the existing object.

For example, In changing a tyre of a car, we should not be merely concern on the quality of the new tyre. Instead we have to ensure that the new tyre will perform according to the intention and will not introduce bad effect on the main object.

The Know All Guy

One characteristic of good project manager is able to answer all questions about his/her project. It does not necessarily to have the complete answer but being able to take the responsibility and direct the questionnaire to the right guy.

Wednesday with Peter

My wednesday was ended with an insightful conversation with the founder of Wellsprings, Peter, a formally trained engineer that decided to pursue his passion in religious books. He was in the religious book ministry for decades. He was also the pioneer batch of NTU (formerly known as NTI).

Followings are his advice to us:
1. Start a business with product that you are passionate about. Without interest and personal passion in the product, the fire will not last long

2. Focus! Think of one product and push it through. Take the niche and expand the network.

3. Be personal. Based on his experience in selling religious books in Singapore, personal assistance is preferred by most customer.

The first two advices are what I have been hearing from most of the motivational speaker but I do not really believe in it. However it seems that God want me to believe in those points.

As I opened my daily reading, I found this phrase:

And he said to them "Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" - Lk 24:25

And today conversation flashed out in my mind, as if the higher power tried to communicate to me.

Happy [Birth]day

I am quite surprise for getting such a number of email from facebook today. I am not a loyal member of facebook though. Thank you to all that have send me bdae wishes. It is great to have you all as my friends.

Thanks God for giving me such an understanding and caring friends like you all..


and especially for this one...

Life Insurance

I have decided to sign up for a life insurance. I have yet to get complete information on the coverage and possible return. However here are some analysis and consideration that I have made prior to my action:

1. Will the money I put in worth the coverage that I'll got?

The coverage will pay me SGD100K for death, SGD100K for Critical Illness and SGD100K for Permanent disability. In brief, Touch wooD!!! If I was damned unlucky, I would earned SGD300K in lump sum. The premium will be SGD1,800/year.

Using my limited knowledge in finance, I used the power of internet to calculate the annuity value of my yearly premium payment. Annual payment of SGD1800, with annual interest of 1% (FYI, time deposit in SGD for 36mths = 0.8% p.a.), for 43 years resulted in SGD97K++.

Hence the coverage is worth the money I spent since keeping the money in bank will give me lower interest. Annuity calculator website: here

On top of that, I will be getting extra money from the scheme since part of the premium will be kept as unit trust that can be liquidated anytime as per my request.

2. Is the coverage comprehensive enough?

The coverage includes any kind of death (including suicide) except death due to terrorist attack, permanent disability involving at least lost of two limbs, 31 Critical Illness.

Frankly speaking, SGD 100K will not be enough to cover critical illness however SGD100k will help me pay the minimum contribution of my medical insurance.

3. Will I be covered if I am not a PR anymore?

This is important as I have no plan staying in SG for good. It covers world wide.

4. Will the company go bankrupt during this credit crunch?

I am not a fartune teller. But the mother company seems strong and it is considered as one of the prominent bank in Asia.

The little imperfection that make them perfect for you...

taken from: http://thinkfamily.sg/