Miss Norjan was my form teacher in Form 1. She continued teaching us in Form 2 and Form 3.

An honour it was for me today to give a speech in appreciation of Miss Norjan, at the MEXSA (Methodist [Parit Buntar] Ex-Students Association) high tea with Miss Norjan and Deepavali celebrations.

I opened my speech by saying that unlike last time when I gave a speech in honour of Principals Mr. Subramaniam and Mr. Ling, this time I do not need to read from a script, because it is easy to speak from my heart… because, “Miss Norjan, I feel close to you.”

I reminisced the fond memories that my classmates and I had with her.

Azizah Mahmud who came all the way from Parit Buntar today, remembers Miss Norjan teaching Home Science, and Azizah learned how to make kuih sagu dalam bungkus daun pisang.

Teoh Kheng Huat remembers that after our Industrial Arts class, we boys got invited by Miss Norjan to the Home Science class to eat the beehun goreng the girls cooked.

Katie remembers Miss Norjan down on the field, during sports day, Katie doing folk dancing under Miss Norjan’s teaching.

I remember Miss Norjan’s pronunciation and diction in English.

She was indeed a versatile teacher.

Read More “The Teacher and Her Student, 45 Years On”

“Getting Things Done (GTD®) – Mastering Workflow” workshops

 

 

To register or enquire, please email to:
enquiries(AT)rhyminpartners(DOT)com

 

 

Dates:

12 November 2015 (Thursday), 8:30am – 5:00pm
22 December 2015 (Tuesday), 8:30am – 5:00pm
21 January 2016 (Thursday), 8:30am – 5:00pm

Venue: neOOne Center for Accelerated Learning, 2nd. Floor (above Celcom), 40 Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur

Learning Objectives: What you will learn in the 1-day GTD® workshop

• Capture anything and everything that has your attention and concern
• Define actionable things into concrete next steps and successful outcomes
• Organize information in the most streamlined way, in appropriate categories, based on how and when you need to access it
• Keep current and “ahead of the game” with appropriately frequent reviews
• Keep track of the bigger picture while managing the small details
• Make trusted choices about what to do in any given moment

Guaranteed Results: In a recent Productivity Scan research study conducted by Life Architect, David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology shows a minimum of 20% improvement in personal productivity and effectiveness.

The GTD Concept: Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them. That’s why David Allen created Getting Things Done®. GTD is the work-life management system that has helped countless individuals and organizations bring order to chaos with stress-free productivity.

After decades of in-the-field research and practice of his productivity methods, David wrote the international best-seller Getting Things Done. Published in over 28 languages, TIME magazine heralded it as “the defining self-help business book of its time.” GTD enables greater performance, capacity, and innovation. It alleviates the feeling of overwhelm—instilling focus, clarity, and confidence.

Popular GTD Endorsements:

• “GTD is in every corner of the corporate globe” – Business Week
• “The GTD system is a revelation” – Fortune Magazine
• “Getting Things Done – the defining book of its time” – Time Magazine
• “Getting Things Done offers help building the new mental skills needed in an age of multitasking and overload” – Sue Shellenbarger, The Wall Street Journal

To register or enquire, please email to: enquiries(AT)ryminpartners(DOT)com

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Photo: GTD workshop on 15 October 2015

An a-ha moment for one participant at a recent GTD (Getting Things Done) workshop was when she realized, "Use your inventory to negotiate, when your boss gives you another project/task. Ask your boss which project/task he/she wants you to postpone or drop."

Another participant responded that we are expected to keep taking more work, anyway! (That "…additional duties as assigned" clause in job descriptions.)

So that we do not become a refuser of additional assignments, my response went something like the following. "I am committed to my work and all the current tasks and assignments on my 'plate.'  I am rigorous with these exhaustive (GTD) lists of the things I am focusing on. This approach has helped me become productive and committed. I know that this additional assignment will affect some thing(s) on my plate. So I'd like to discuss what current tasks and projects we can agree on to have reduced focus…"

Well, I didn't exactly say those words in the workshop, but that's the message I wanted to give!

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Okay, so I quoted Carol Dweck, David Allen and Chalmers Brothers at last week's event, plus I played the YouTube video of A Tale of Two Frogs. However, there was an original piece of work that I brought into the presentation: I had put together a "word-cloud" of all words I could think of related to "Mindset." Not that I explained why I chose ALL the words when I presented; I will explain them in a future post. In the meantime in this post, let me summarize my presentation.

Early in the presentation, I asked the audience for words related to mindset. Two of the words they said out loud were viewpoint and paradigm. Then I revealed my word-cloud:

Read More “A Tale of Two Frogs, Part 2”

“Getting Things Done (GTD®) – Mastering Workflow” workshop

Click/tap here to register.

Start: 15 October 2015, 8:30am
End: 15 October 2015, 5:00pm
Venue: neOOne Center for Accelerated Learning, 2nd. Floor (above Celcom), 40 Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur

Learning Objectives: What you will learn in the 1-day GTD® workshop

• Capture anything and everything that has your attention and concern
• Define actionable things into concrete next steps and successful outcomes
• Organize information in the most streamlined way, in appropriate categories, based on how and when you need to access it
• Keep current and “ahead of the game” with appropriately frequent reviews
• Keep track of the bigger picture while managing the small details
• Make trusted choices about what to do in any given moment

Guaranteed Results: In a recent Productivity Scan research study conducted by Life Architect, David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology shows a minimum of 20% improvement in personal productivity and effectiveness.

The GTD Concept: Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them. That’s why David Allen created Getting Things Done®. GTD is the work-life management system that has helped countless individuals and organizations bring order to chaos with stress-free productivity.

After decades of in-the-field research and practice of his productivity methods, David wrote the international best-seller Getting Things Done. Published in over 28 languages, TIME magazine heralded it as “the defining self-help business book of its time.”  GTD enables greater performance, capacity, and innovation. It alleviates the feeling of overwhelm—instilling focus, clarity, and confidence.

Popular GTD Endorsements:

• “GTD is in every corner of the corporate globe” – Business Week
• “The GTD system is a revelation” – Fortune Magazine
• “Getting Things Done – the defining book of its time” – Time Magazine
• “Getting Things Done offers help building the new mental skills needed in an age of multitasking and overload” – Sue Shellenbarger, The Wall Street Journal

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I can't think on top of my head what local folklore is similar to A Tale of Two Frogs (the Russian fable), but I'm sure someone will suggest to me.

I played the video at an event for some 40 entrepreneurs on 30 September 2015, organized by MyIPO. Thanks to Nur Hidayah Mohd Seni (an enlightening and artful name!) for having suggested this tale to illustrate the two mindsets (fixed mindset and growth mindset) coined by Carol Dweck. The tale is such a fitting metaphor.

The most powerful message I got from the story is that the growth mindset is that of learning and discovery. Get out of the building (swim away from the lily pad) and out there are abundant with opportunities (more flies for food) and wonders to learn and receive from. Learning and discovery, seeing wonder and awe in new things and keeping a "beginner's mind" is central to the growth mindset.

By the way, I told the audience that I have a problem with the tale portraying the old as having fixed mindset and the young having growth mindset. So don't take the metaphor too far; the two mindsets are found at any age!

"Don't give up" may be the conclusion the young frog gave to the elder sister, but more than that, I saw the unpredictability of the turn of events to be the fitful happy ending. Effort (and I also used the Bahasa Malaysia word "ikhtiar" during my presentation) often brings surprising successful results.

It's a good tale to share with kids, but sharing it with adult entrepreneurs meant that it is a great reminder to all of us that we require the growth mindset.

What else do you get from the tale? What similar folklore and stories can you suggest to me?

Enjoy the video!

 

Related post: A Tale of Two Frogs, Part 2

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