Author andrewong2024

Vision and Purpose in the Marketplace

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Being in the marketplace, I’ve observed one prevailing breakdown among organisations that hinders true sustainable growth or success- the lack of vision and purpose.

Having a vision and purpose

In the marketplace, growth or success is generally defined in terms of power, position, recognition, material possessions and wealth.

However, if we truly put things in the right (godly) perspective, all these are merely short-term achievements or temporal.

Though I do not play down their pragmatic importance of survival in the marketplace, but there’s more to life than just surviving.

That’s why I believe a vision and purpose (ideally God-inspired) is of fundamental importance in differentiating an organisation from the rest.

More importantly, having a vision and purpose will expand an organisation’s definition of growth or success to significance; from making money to making difference.

Therefore, when rightly prioritised, these (power, recognition, material possessions and wealth) are, should be and will be the “by-products” of a compelling vision and purpose.

Transforming the marketplace

Albeit most organisations may have their “vision and purpose or mission statement” proudly emblazoned on walls or on their websites, but in reality they’re at most serving as decorative or cosmetic measures.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish…”

Proverbs 29:18

At present, there is a pressing need for leadership in organisations to have depth and foresight in their vision and purpose. Especially during this slowdown of the economy, this poses as good opportunity to reflect, re-visit or even re-align focus and priorities.

As leadership determines the rise or fall of an organisation, so leaders have to be clear about their vision and purpose as that would determine the business sustainability.

Leaders have to communicate it constantly and consistently. And not just communicating with nice superficial words, but also with action through their exemplenary leadership.

As an employee, besides earning an income, I believe people are looking for more meaning and purpose in their work. This is most natural and expected as we spend the most time of our days at work.

But unfortunately, the reality remains for bottom-line pressure for profitability taking precedence over meaning and purpose in the marketplace.

As a result, it also remains a challenge for us to either choose to conform to this pressure or to be strong and choose to transform the marketplace towards true sustainable growth that makes a difference.

Performance-related Pay doesn’t encourage Performance

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The clue ought to be in the name. Performance-related pay is pay for performance, and the better performance you turn in and the harder you work the more you will get to take home. Except, academics are now suggesting, more often than not the opposite may be the case.

New research by the London School of Economics has argued that, far from encouraging people to strive to reach the heights, performance-related pay often does the opposite and encourages people to work less hard.

The findings are, of course, deeply controversial, given the depths of anger still felt by many over the role of performance-related pay in causing or contributing to the current economic crisis.

“We find that financial incentives may indeed reduce intrinsic motivation and diminish ethical or other reasons for complying with workplace social norms such as fairness,” argued Dr Bernd Irlenbusch, from the LSE’s Department of Management.

“As a consequence, the provision of incentives can result in a negative impact on overall performance,” he added.

Companies therefore needed to be aware that the provision of performance-related pay could result in a net reduction of motivation across a team or organisation, he suggested.

Read the full article here>>>

The Acceleration of God’s Redemptive Purpose

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Since the beginning of this year, almost every fortnightly I’ve been meeting with a bunch of awesome and faithful fellow-Christians.  

The two unique things that I enjoy about this fellowship are: (1) we are from different local churches, and (2) we share the same passion on new media  in order to serve the purpose of God.

Through this, I’m given a wider viewpoint on what God is doing around us and I’m also able to learn from the different parts of the Body.

God’s acceleration

Lately, we shared a similar observation that God was accelerating the pace of His work which reminded me of a prophecy made through Phil Pringle early this year.

“Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign LORD.’ “

Ezekiel 12:27

Just to elaborate what this means is that God is releasing His blessings and favour to His Children of faith in an exceptional measure than before in this season (and YES! Even in a recession).

In other words, God is going to bless us profusely; in abundance or more than we can contain.

God”s vision to be fulfilled

God is accelerating His work towards a tipping point of His redemptive plans for the world in this 21st century.

For instance, what would take 10-30 years will now take a fraction of the time. 

There will be breakthroughs after breakthroughs in every aspect and every frontier. Expect salvation for the lost to stream into His kingdom in throngs, rather than in trickles.

He will allow us to meet the right people suddenly; linking us with connections that will shed years in fulfilling our dreams.

And in this greater scheme of things, it is obvious that the phenomenal growth of technology and the emergence of new media is playing a big role in accelerating His purpose.

Now is the time for us to position ourselves in faith and to be ready to sow big time in order to receive big time!

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My Read of the Month:

Title: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Published: 2000
Genre: Business/Marketing
Ratings: 3.6 out of 5 stars

I’m glad I finally got to read this book. The thrust of the book explains how three things  can converge to bring about dramatic ripple effect that sets of an epidemic in our society- tipping point.

It can be a societal issue or a fashion trend. Malcolm explains that the three things- the law of the few, the stickiness factor and the power of context are what tips something over that it spills and spreads contagiously.

In his book, he presents many interesting case studies to support each of the elements such as the Sesame Street craze among kids, the smoking habit among teens and Hush Puppies resurging popularity in the 90’s.

Though interesting, the case studies can be a bit technical or dry at most parts which can be puzzling in understanding how some of the information is relevant.

Besides cutting down on the technical information, I think the book could have been much better if it was updated with more latest cases that is related with technology or the internet. That would have greatly enhanced the appeal and usefulness of this book.

Who should read it: People who are in the field of business, marketing and communications or anyone who loves gaining general knowledge.

Sharing of a Lesson Learned

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Without much of a warning, six months of 2009 has gone by like sand in an hour glass.

I won’t be writing much about my reflections or my thoughts in going forward for the rest of this year for now.

But I just want to share a lesson I’d learned from some stuff that I had gone through for the past week.

A week of positioning

The entire of last week, I was fasting and seeking His face as prompted. The focus was on “positioning”- getting myself ready spiritually for things that He might be doing ahead.

Interestingly, almost immediately along the week many things happened in particularly in the aspect of my work and career (again!).

In any case, I’m do not think I’m in the liberty to divulge anything as yet. Not at least until the path ahead is more certain and clearer.

A life lesson learned

However, back to my lesson learned. From what I have gone through from the past 1-2 weeks, I’ve learned that God enjoys springing surprises when you least expect.

He always has a way (especially through circumstances) to give new meaning or revelation to things that we might have a certain opinion or perception about.

For instance, it can be like how we may interpret as His plans or His will. Hence, along our journey of faith, things happen and may add more clarity that will astound us and shift our paradigm.

Ultimately with the purpose to draw us closer towards Him in how we relate with Him and also how we may align our will with His will; our plans with His plans.

“We live by faith, not by sight”

2 Corinthians 5:7

Well, this is such a scenario that I am going through again, but it is expected. Life with God is after all one big adventure!

 

Pressing On For His Life to Shine

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“We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us.

We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up.

In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again. We face death every day because of Jesus.

Our bodies show what his death was like, so that his life can also be seen in us.This means that death is working in us, but life is working in you.”

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (Contemporary English Version)

Getting Ahead in a Downturn

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For the past eight months, the global recession has driven Singapore’s export-dependent economy to its knees. Unemployment has reached one of the highest levels.

Everyday we hear of more retrenchments looming around the globe that has caused the general sentiments of Singaporeans to be cautious and pessimistic.

Nonetheless, if we understand history, this downturn of an economic cycle is something that we’re all susceptible to.

Seeing the downturn as our big break 

Our outlook towards a recession should not be one of denial or fear. It should be one where we aim to minimise the negative impact of the downturn.

In fact, with the correct mindset and attitude, we might even capitalise on the opportunities that are present in a downturn.

Personally, I view the downturn as a moment of reset where God hits the ‘RESET’ button of the economy. When that happens, almost everything drops to a new low and leveling the competitive field.

Think Lehman Brothers, General Motors, Citibank and AIG to name a few, and you get the picture. Now the smaller players with the right financial fundamentals and attitude can catch up on these big players, if not overtake them in the market.

Getting a break in getting ahead

For employees like you and I, the same rules apply. If we are to keep our positions or desire to see new opportunities opening up, then this is the time that we need to raise up our game.

During this pressing circumstances, it will not be unusual to find people around us who will be doing as little as they can at work or doing just enough to get by just to save their own skin.  They simply go to work to pick up a pay check.

Hence, I believe this downturn presents a great platform for those of us who have high aspirations or ambitions to stand out and get ahead.

Please do not misunderstand that I’m implying that we become solely competitive. I’m only encouraging us to simply be the best that we should be with our god-given potential and talents that we have.

In that way, with a positive attitude and the right skills set, we can become an invaluable individual and employee that is able to contribute proactively to our organisation towards the upturn of the economy.

Who knows, some of us might even find new avenues to start our own businesses. In fact, I already know one of my friends who has done just that after being retrenched.

Getting motivated in getting ahead

In reality,  I acknowledge that we cannot disregard the temptation for us to sink to the norm level of the mediocrity displayed ubiquitously around us is exceptionaly high too.

However, I believe we have the will and responsibility to choose where we want to be when the upturn begins. So I’m certain that most of us if not all, would like to choose to be a cut above the rest and excel in our field.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Colossians 3:23-24

We need to motivate ourselves by adopting an attitude and a biblical mindset that we are working for our God first and foremost. And when we do our best and excel at work, God gets the glory. 

Even if one is not a believer in God, we can still be motivated to strive in being a person of dignity and integrity which can only work to our benefit for our career and profession.

Some Personal Updates

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For quite awhile, I’ve been pretty tied up with work and some other stuff that explains my erratic absence of entries in this site.

Furthermore, Facebook and Twitter have also become my other favourite online channels.

This aptly illustrates why man should only have one woman in his life, cos one is all that he can really handle. LOL…

In regards to what I had mentioned as other stuff, part of it is my involvement with City News and another big part is my marriage preparation.

Yes… you read correctly. I’m getting married, but I will save that part for next time. Ha ha…

Back to the part of City News. Last week, my debut news report was finally released. It was an interview with not just one, but two Miss Earth Singapore beauties!

Since then, I have done two more assignments. I must say that I truly enjoyed the entire journalistic process.

I’m equally grateful for the opportunity to meet and interview some of the nicest people from celebrities to one of our founding leaders, Mr S.Dhanabalan.

Pertaining to work, let’s just say that I’m going through a steep learning now.

Though its tough and rough, but I know that my God has given me everything I need to succeed since it is He who led me to where I am in the first place.

Because I know that where my God leads, He also anoints and provides.