1. The man is very, very short and can only reach halfway up the elevator buttons. However, if it is raining then he will have his umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it.
2. The surgeon was his mother.
3. It was day time.
4. A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonal of the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.
5. The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man drank the punch, the ice was fully frozen. Gradually it melted, poisoning the punch.
6. The man had hiccups. The barman recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the hiccups-so the man no longer needed the water. This is a simple puzzle to state but a difficult one to solve. It is a perfect example of a seemingly irrational and incongruous situation having a simple and complete explanation. Amazingly this classic puzzle seems to work in different cultures and languages.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Can you solve these puzzles?
1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building. Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only travel half way up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless it's raining! Why?
This is probably the best known and most celebrated of all lateral thinking puzzles. It is a true classic. Although there are many possible solutions which fit the initial conditions, only the canonical answer is truly satisfying.
2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives the surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son! " How can this be?
3. A man is wearing black. Black shoes, socks, trousers, lumper, gloves and balaclava. He is walking down a black street with all the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with its lights off but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
4. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?
This is logical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle that can be solved by lateral thinking techniques. It is supposedly used by a very well-known software company as an interview question for prospective employees.
5. A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the punch subsequently died of poisoning. Why did the man not die?
6. A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says 'Thank you' and walks out.
This puzzle claims to be the best of the genre. It is simple in its statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve this one yet they like the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it out.
This is probably the best known and most celebrated of all lateral thinking puzzles. It is a true classic. Although there are many possible solutions which fit the initial conditions, only the canonical answer is truly satisfying.
2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives the surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son! " How can this be?
3. A man is wearing black. Black shoes, socks, trousers, lumper, gloves and balaclava. He is walking down a black street with all the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with its lights off but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
4. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?
This is logical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle that can be solved by lateral thinking techniques. It is supposedly used by a very well-known software company as an interview question for prospective employees.
5. A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the punch subsequently died of poisoning. Why did the man not die?
6. A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says 'Thank you' and walks out.
This puzzle claims to be the best of the genre. It is simple in its statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve this one yet they like the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it out.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
People Attrition and Talent Retention - Part 2/2
We have no choice but to admit the fact that retaining an employee is getting harder by the day. Information or recommendations can now be easily obtained. Fanned by the advancement of information technology – humans are separated by just a phone call or an email away. Social networks like Facebook, Friendster, Plurk, Twitter etc. spread information like wild fire with just a few strokes of the keyboard and clicks of mouse. Creative ways have to be thought of in order to maintain good employees and ensuring business sustainability. How?
Hire the right person – all potential candidates have to be well informed about the real situation at work. Slogans like “Enjoyable workplace”, “Fun at work” etc. might backfire if the gist of it is not well communicated. Hence, it is utmost important for a company to communicate clearly the working condition, reality at work and the company expectation on the employee to prevent any wrong perception and also to hire only those who think they suit the job.
Having a clear vision – communicate the company’s vision clearly to all employees and create visibility on how every employees’ action can contribute in achieving the vision. Vision must be able to be put into action or else it will remain only as words on the wall. Great company vision enables a company to build long term employees commitment. Committed employees will perform better and will give up life and limb to ensure a company’s success and stay loyal to a company. Engaged employees stay because of what they can give while disengaged employees stay because of what they can get.
Having a creative / competitive reward package – Creativity is a must in designing a reward package to seek a balance and create a win-win situation for both the company and the employees. Performance Based Remuneration System (PBRS) is now widely discussed and applied. It was discussed earlier there should be a clear linkage between the employees’ action and the company vision. It is best that employees’ action or contribution towards achieving the company vision can be measured and be rewarded accordingly. This will create a sense of satisfaction and ownership towards the company and hence ensuring a long term commitment. Employees need to feel recognized for their achievements and it is not necessarily to be in the form of money. As the Chinese saying goes, “Punishment and Rewards need to be in time”. A word of encouragement or token of appreciation that comes fast enough following a job well done will have a greater positive impact compared to something that comes months later or only during the year end. The value of an award or token given is not that important, what is more important is the recognition given to the employee and the suitability of the reward. In example, a family meal voucher can do wonders for a culture that treasures family bonding. An employee gets the recognition from the company and get to share the reward together with his or her family. The support from the family can even encourage an employee to strive together with the company.
Be a Learning Organization – One very important factor in employee motivation and retention is the opportunity for an employee to continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire. A lot of time, an employee left because a job has provide no room for growth. Provide a platform for employees to continually enhance their capabilities and grow their potential. With this, new and expansive patterns of thinking can be nurtured, collective aspiration set free and employees continually learning to see the whole together.
Be Employee Oriented – Focus on interactions between all levels of employees in the company. Let the employees feel that they are part of the company as a whole and with this, trust and loyalty can be built up. Encourage open communications – share problems and communicate success. Constant communication sessions between the management and staffs can promote mutual understanding. Private talk or coffee talk as some companies call it, are good for more introvert employees to voice some of their concerns that are normally not voiced during open session. Effective team building is a good way to nurture employees communication outside the workplace and provide a chance for employees to know their coworkers more.
You have more ideas? Voice it out to make your company a better place to work for!
Hire the right person – all potential candidates have to be well informed about the real situation at work. Slogans like “Enjoyable workplace”, “Fun at work” etc. might backfire if the gist of it is not well communicated. Hence, it is utmost important for a company to communicate clearly the working condition, reality at work and the company expectation on the employee to prevent any wrong perception and also to hire only those who think they suit the job.
Having a clear vision – communicate the company’s vision clearly to all employees and create visibility on how every employees’ action can contribute in achieving the vision. Vision must be able to be put into action or else it will remain only as words on the wall. Great company vision enables a company to build long term employees commitment. Committed employees will perform better and will give up life and limb to ensure a company’s success and stay loyal to a company. Engaged employees stay because of what they can give while disengaged employees stay because of what they can get.
Having a creative / competitive reward package – Creativity is a must in designing a reward package to seek a balance and create a win-win situation for both the company and the employees. Performance Based Remuneration System (PBRS) is now widely discussed and applied. It was discussed earlier there should be a clear linkage between the employees’ action and the company vision. It is best that employees’ action or contribution towards achieving the company vision can be measured and be rewarded accordingly. This will create a sense of satisfaction and ownership towards the company and hence ensuring a long term commitment. Employees need to feel recognized for their achievements and it is not necessarily to be in the form of money. As the Chinese saying goes, “Punishment and Rewards need to be in time”. A word of encouragement or token of appreciation that comes fast enough following a job well done will have a greater positive impact compared to something that comes months later or only during the year end. The value of an award or token given is not that important, what is more important is the recognition given to the employee and the suitability of the reward. In example, a family meal voucher can do wonders for a culture that treasures family bonding. An employee gets the recognition from the company and get to share the reward together with his or her family. The support from the family can even encourage an employee to strive together with the company.
Be a Learning Organization – One very important factor in employee motivation and retention is the opportunity for an employee to continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire. A lot of time, an employee left because a job has provide no room for growth. Provide a platform for employees to continually enhance their capabilities and grow their potential. With this, new and expansive patterns of thinking can be nurtured, collective aspiration set free and employees continually learning to see the whole together.
Be Employee Oriented – Focus on interactions between all levels of employees in the company. Let the employees feel that they are part of the company as a whole and with this, trust and loyalty can be built up. Encourage open communications – share problems and communicate success. Constant communication sessions between the management and staffs can promote mutual understanding. Private talk or coffee talk as some companies call it, are good for more introvert employees to voice some of their concerns that are normally not voiced during open session. Effective team building is a good way to nurture employees communication outside the workplace and provide a chance for employees to know their coworkers more.
You have more ideas? Voice it out to make your company a better place to work for!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
People Attrition & Talent Retention - Part 1/2
Sometime ago, I watched a short video clip shared by a friend through Facebook. Here are some of the figures extracted from the video clip:
Let’s not argue about the trustworthiness of what was being portrayed in the video but let’s face it, people attrition is becoming a major problem affecting the industry and many companies are finding it increasingly difficult to retain employees. Encouraged by the advancement of information and communication technology development, the employment culture is also changing and it is now relatively common to change jobs every few years rather than staying with one company throughout one’s employment life.
A survey done by CompData has shown that in Year 2008, the voluntary turnover rate in the US averaged at about 12.5% with Hospitality sector topping the list (27.2%) followed by Technology sector (17.2%). The problem of people attrition has to be taken seriously and it is not surprising that keeping the people attrition rate low has been on the KPI list of many companies and will continue to be. Recruitment cost, training cost, lost of productivity / sales cost, etc. will definitely affect a company bottom line if not managed correctly. This is especially true for service oriented company where a people leaving might means losing a critical skill set that is key for the company growth. Imagine a capable doctor leaving a hospital, a system architect leaving the design team, a competent professor leaving a university, a signature chef leaving a restaurant, and the list goes on. Imagine the havoc!
Today's youth may have different work styles, or look for different perks. What will attract the top talent? With these questions in mind, Jobstreet (Asia’s largest online job portal) has recently conducted a survey across Malaysia together with YouthSays (Malaysia’s largest youth opinion community) entitled “Understanding the Young Malaysian Jobseeker” with the hindsight that both employers and jobseekers can no longer rely on conventions from the past to shape the workforce. 3,217 youths aged between 15 to 35 have participated in this survey. I have extracted some of the results and you might find the following interesting :
1. When do you think you can make your first RM 1,000,000? 36.4% of the youths believe that they can achieve this between 30 – 40 years of age (Good to be confident! :))
2. What perks do you look forward to get from a company? 50% of youths picked flexible working hours as their preferred benefit
3. 90.27% of youth believe in work loyalty to the company
4. 56% of youths are willing to put up longer hours for higher pay
5. 75% of youths think that they are someone who will dedicate their life to their career
What are your thoughts?
I will write about some of my thoughts regarding talent retention in my next post. Till then, take care and enjoy your current employment!
It was estimated that today’s learner will have 10-14 jobs by the age of 38This video, some incidents, together with some materials that I have came across lately has inspired me to write and a share a bit about my thoughts on people attrition and talent retention.
1 in 4 workers has been with their current employer for less than a year
1 in 2 has been with their current employer less than 5 years
Let’s not argue about the trustworthiness of what was being portrayed in the video but let’s face it, people attrition is becoming a major problem affecting the industry and many companies are finding it increasingly difficult to retain employees. Encouraged by the advancement of information and communication technology development, the employment culture is also changing and it is now relatively common to change jobs every few years rather than staying with one company throughout one’s employment life.
A survey done by CompData has shown that in Year 2008, the voluntary turnover rate in the US averaged at about 12.5% with Hospitality sector topping the list (27.2%) followed by Technology sector (17.2%). The problem of people attrition has to be taken seriously and it is not surprising that keeping the people attrition rate low has been on the KPI list of many companies and will continue to be. Recruitment cost, training cost, lost of productivity / sales cost, etc. will definitely affect a company bottom line if not managed correctly. This is especially true for service oriented company where a people leaving might means losing a critical skill set that is key for the company growth. Imagine a capable doctor leaving a hospital, a system architect leaving the design team, a competent professor leaving a university, a signature chef leaving a restaurant, and the list goes on. Imagine the havoc!
Today's youth may have different work styles, or look for different perks. What will attract the top talent? With these questions in mind, Jobstreet (Asia’s largest online job portal) has recently conducted a survey across Malaysia together with YouthSays (Malaysia’s largest youth opinion community) entitled “Understanding the Young Malaysian Jobseeker” with the hindsight that both employers and jobseekers can no longer rely on conventions from the past to shape the workforce. 3,217 youths aged between 15 to 35 have participated in this survey. I have extracted some of the results and you might find the following interesting :
1. When do you think you can make your first RM 1,000,000? 36.4% of the youths believe that they can achieve this between 30 – 40 years of age (Good to be confident! :))
2. What perks do you look forward to get from a company? 50% of youths picked flexible working hours as their preferred benefit
3. 90.27% of youth believe in work loyalty to the company4. 56% of youths are willing to put up longer hours for higher pay
5. 75% of youths think that they are someone who will dedicate their life to their career
What are your thoughts?
I will write about some of my thoughts regarding talent retention in my next post. Till then, take care and enjoy your current employment!
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Welcoming Jie Qi
My mother in law was hoping that Jie Qi will have the same birthday as her (22nd August). My brother was hoping that Jie Qi will have the same birthday as him (25th August). ST was hoping that Jie Qi 's birthday will fall on Merdeka Day (31st August). But a few days passed her due date of 29th August, Jie Qi still did not show any sign of wanting to come out and meet us and my sister in law was hoping that she will have the same birthday as her (9th September).
While keeping everybody in suspense on her grand arrival, she was developing well in mummy's womb and according to the last ultrasound scan, she was estimated to be 3.55 kg (3.5kg the week before and 3.2 kg two weeks before).
ST checked in to Pantai Mutiara Hospital on 2nd September based on doctor's advice for inducement, worrying that the labour will be hard if the baby grows too big. Labour was "smooth" (aside to ST : "I understand that the process was painful" :p) and we got to meet our 2nd princess in the afternoon. Both mummy and baby are safe.
Thanks for all your gifts, congratulatory sms, calls and emails!
p/s : The ultrasound estimation was kind of accurate. She came out at 3.6 kg, and a height of 54cm.
Day 1
Day 1
Day 2
Day 2
Day 3 - Preparing to go home
Day 3 - At Home
Day 3
Day 4
Day 4
Day 4
While keeping everybody in suspense on her grand arrival, she was developing well in mummy's womb and according to the last ultrasound scan, she was estimated to be 3.55 kg (3.5kg the week before and 3.2 kg two weeks before).
ST checked in to Pantai Mutiara Hospital on 2nd September based on doctor's advice for inducement, worrying that the labour will be hard if the baby grows too big. Labour was "smooth" (aside to ST : "I understand that the process was painful" :p) and we got to meet our 2nd princess in the afternoon. Both mummy and baby are safe.
Thanks for all your gifts, congratulatory sms, calls and emails!
p/s : The ultrasound estimation was kind of accurate. She came out at 3.6 kg, and a height of 54cm.
Day 1
Day 1
Day 2
Day 2
Day 3 - Preparing to go home
Day 3 - At Home
Day 3
Day 4
Day 4
Day 4Friday, August 21, 2009
没有人替你买单
最近从一篇转发的电邮读到这篇文章，应人深思。愿和大家分享！
***
有朋友從美國回來。大概有十多年，他沒有吃過正宗的家鄉菜。于是找飯店為他接風，相談甚洽，賓主盡興。但是到了結賬的時候，鬧得卻有些不愉快。他拿出了錢，非要AA制(自己付自己)，當著他妻子和孩子的面。我感覺他是給了我一個狠狠的耳光，當然無論如 何也不能接受。但是一向隨和的他卻執意要如此。
回賓館的路上，我很是不悅。他問我：「是不是覺得我AA制(自己付自己)，是沒有給你面子。」因為關系實在太好，沒什麼可以隱瞞的，我點了點頭。他說，那我講個故事給你聽。
在威斯康星一所中學里。有兩個孩子出去爬山，一個中國孩子，一個美國孩子。他們選擇的山比較危險，因為風化，時常有岩石坍塌。這兩個孩子很不幸的在要下山的 時候遇到了坍塌。結果，兩個孩子分別被困在了巨大的岩石與碎石的兩邊，那個美國孩子被碎石砸傷了腿，一動就疼徹心肺，他判斷，自己是骨折了。
天氣很快就要黑了下來，黑暗像個巨獸一樣要吞噬掉整個世界。 如 果到了夜里，寒冷和饑餓，也許會讓他們眩暈，甚至奪去他們的生命。于是，那個美國孩子開始嘗試著，用手支撐著自己的身體，慢慢的向岩石堆上爬去，他受傷的 腿上的血跡染紅了整個岩石。快要爬上最大的那塊岩石的時候，他的傷腿踫到了岩石的稜角，劇痛讓他無法雙手繼續用力抓住岩石，他重新掉落下來，在岩石上滾來 滾去，像個皮球一樣。傷上加傷的美國孩子幾乎絕望了，躺在岩石堆里，大口大口地喘氣。但是十幾分鐘後，他因為寒冷而開始感覺到麻木的身體提醒他，必須要出 去。
這 一次，這個美國孩子取得了成功，他爬上了岩石，但是岩石距離地面還有兩 三米 的高度，這個孩子的腿無法讓他平穩落地，他干脆閉上眼楮，選擇了全身滾落下去。沒有人能想象，這個孩子是如何堅持爬回小鎮的。他向別人冷靜地講述了自己遇 到危險的地點，時間，而且說有一個中國孩子很可能還在那里。
經過檢查，這個美國孩子左腿脛骨骨折，在滾落岩石的時候，肋骨受到撞擊，也折斷了兩根，身上踫撞出來的傷口和淤青不計其數。大人們把他送到了醫院，然後去救援那個中國孩子。那個中國孩子被找到的時候，寒冷和恐懼已經讓他奄奄一息，再晚來一會兒，很可能就會失去生命。
朋友說到這裡，我忽然發現他的孩子已經羞得滿面通紅。突然，孩子像是下定了什麼決心，對我說：「叔叔，那個中國孩子就是我。」
「那個美國孩子為什麼比他堅強，你知道嗎？」朋友忽然問我。我搖搖頭。
朋友說：「其實說起來，原因簡單得讓人無法置信，只因為美國人從孩子很小的時候，出去吃飯都是AA制，他們每個人都會告訴孩子一個必須AA制的理由，那就是無論什麼事情，人生中沒有人替你買單，就算你的父母，摯愛，也不會。」所以，這個美國孩子知道，要活下去必須靠自己，無論有多麼危險。而中國孩子則受到過太多的幫助，遇到危險，哪怕是不行動就會喪失生命，他也習慣性地等待著別人的救助。
「沒有人替你買單」，這麼簡單的一句話。AA制吃飯的一件小事，就塑造了美國人現在獨立拼搏的特性，我忽然想回去把這個故事告訴我的孩子聽，我要告訴他，雖然有些時候，錢不是問題，幫助他也不是問題，但是，沒有人會替他買單！我希望，更多的人能夠告訴更多的孩子，沒有人會替你買單這個道理。
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Nikkon AF-S 35mm F1.8G DX
After looonnnngggg contemplation, as a preparation to take photos of our 2nd baby which is expected to arrive anytime soon, to stimulate the economy, and partly encouraged by Yeong Jie :p (we bought this together), i finally parted with my hard earned money and added this cutie to my collection. :D
These are some of the test shots taken with the lens :
These are some of the test shots taken with the lens :
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Territory...
Ning: Daddy, why dogs simply wee wee everywhere?
Me : Ohh, because they want to mark their territories...
Ning : Oic...
Few days later, we were having our dinner at a restaurant and Ning quietly wetted her pants without letting us know.
Me : Ning!! How come you didn't ask Daddy to bring you to the toilet?
Ning : I wanted to mark my territory mah...
Me : !!!
Me : Ohh, because they want to mark their territories...
Ning : Oic...
Few days later, we were having our dinner at a restaurant and Ning quietly wetted her pants without letting us know.
Me : Ning!! How come you didn't ask Daddy to bring you to the toilet?
Ning : I wanted to mark my territory mah...
Me : !!!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Little Penang Street Market (June 2009)
Little Penang Street Market is a monthly market taking place on the last Sunday of each month in Upper Penang Road. It's a platform to showcase the cultural diversity and creativity of the Penangites.
It has been nearly 3 years since its first inception but this is the first time i got to visit the street market. Thanks to Sunny for organizing his first Photography Workshop which utilized the street market as a platform for us to practice what we have learnt. Also, not forgetting to thank ST for taking care of Jie Ning so that i can sneaked out during the weekend to attend the workshop :p I promise to bring you there sometime after you deliver ;)
It has been nearly 3 years since its first inception but this is the first time i got to visit the street market. Thanks to Sunny for organizing his first Photography Workshop which utilized the street market as a platform for us to practice what we have learnt. Also, not forgetting to thank ST for taking care of Jie Ning so that i can sneaked out during the weekend to attend the workshop :p I promise to bring you there sometime after you deliver ;)
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Penang Floral Fest 2009
Mum, Dad and Sis were here during the weekend which the Penang Floral Fest was held. We took the opportunity to visit the fest but didn't stay for too long as Jie Ning just recovered from flu and the weather was real hot!
Took the chance to take some photos but due to the short duration, just got a few shots and here to share!
Orchid
Bee in a flower
Cactus
Orchid made from clay
Jie Ning with Gu Gu...
Took the chance to take some photos but due to the short duration, just got a few shots and here to share!
Orchid
Bee in a flower
Cactus
Orchid made from clay
Jie Ning with Gu Gu...
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