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Saturday 8 September 2012

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mystarjob.com

YOUR ULTIMATE CAREER& TALENT RESOURCE

Be A Leaderexpounds on theimportance of keepingrelevant to ensuregrowth

Page 5

Top 10 Waysto reduce stresslevels at work

Page 6

Image Mattersshares why imagedoes count inyour career

3

Brain Bulletinexplains how to carefor your brain

Page 14

JedIfrom theadvIcecareer

FORGING ACAREER ONYOUTUBEYouTube celebritytwins, Janice and SoniaLee, give us anexclusive insight intotheir lives as YouTubemusicians

Pages 8-9

read what Star warShaS to Say p10-11

mystarjob, saturday 8 september 2012�

May the ForceBe With you

IHAVE always loved watching Star Wars, especially the originaltrilogy which premiered in the 70s. I learnt numerous lessonsfrom watching Star Wars. I was always enamoured by Han Soloand his gang-busting ways of solving problems. But Han Soloalso reminded me that we need to take charge and not to be

a victim to circumstances. Han says in Star Wars Episode IV: A NewHope, “There’s no mystical energy field that controls my destiny.” Ithink the same would apply to your career. Many of us make excus-es about how we are stuck in a horrible situation or with a hopelessboss. But if we take Han Solo’s philosophy to heart, we can “fix” situ-ations we are stuck in. In fact, we have no reason to believe that wehave been genetically created inferior or less talented than others.

On top of Han Solo, there is much wisdom to be garnered fromthe wise Yoda. One of Yoda’s most famous quotes is “Do or do not…there is no try.” This again reinforces what Han Solo states. Yodaencourages people to believe in themselves and their talents. Gobeyond just “trying” to “doing”. There should be no doubt or hesita-tion. Yoda urges us not to doubt our abilities, talent, skills or giftsbut to go about believing and executing. Again, my take-away fromthis is that we should never allow our careers to be sidetracked byour doubt or disbelief.

More interesting for me was how Star Wars taught me numer-ous lessons on how companies should be run. My biggest lesson isthat companies that are run by fear, who don’t allow people to be attheir best, are bound to fail. The Rebels had the right people in place,and were working in a culture of optimism and hope whilst DarthVader led the Empire in fear. Just count the number of AdmiralsDarth Vader killed off in his career. The next few Admirals performedworst. Why? Fear cripples. They were so afraid of Vader none ofthem could focus on their jobs.

Alex Knapp echoes my sentiments by writing, “Ultimately, theGalactic Empire failed as an enduring organisation because ofincredibly flawed leadership at the very top. By building an organisa-tional culture based on fear, lack of independence, and an unwilling-ness to adapt to changing circumstances, the Emperor set the stagefor his own inevitable failure.”

I could go on and on about how much I have learnt from StarWars but Johan Merican, our new columnist for “Movie Wisdom”,shares some great insights on leadership and career developmentfrom Star Wars. Also, in this issue is a myStarjob exclusive by LilyCheah on Korean YouTube wonder-girls Jayesslee and how theydeveloped into celebrities. You will again have fun whilst learn-ing important lessons with our Top 10 column and don’t forget toaccess the videos for all the articles at www.leaderonomics.tv andjoin the discussions at facebook.com/Leaderonomics.

Have fun in this issue. We

l Editorial | [email protected] l Advertising | [email protected]

EDITORIALEditorRoshan ThiRan

Contributing Editorsangie ngLiLy CheahevangeLiaChRisTodouLou

Layout, Art & DesignTung eng hwaMohd izudin isMaiLzuLhaiMi bahaRuddin

hassan bahRiadznaM sabRiMohd KhaiRuLMuhd hafeez

Lisanne yeohshawn ng

Writers & ContributorsChLoe beaLeshyvonne LeeJohan MeRiCan

bani zainaLeLisa dassang hui MingJaMes Lee

RiCK nguSales ManageriMRan hashiM

roshan says

sure had fun pulling it togeth-sure had fun pulling it togeth-er. And we hope this issue will er. And we hope this issue will inspire you to take charge of inspire you to take charge of your career and continue to your career and continue to grow into the person you grow into the person you were meant to be!were meant to be!

May the Force Be With You!May the Force Be With You!

Warm regards,Warm regards,Roshan ThiranRoshan ThiranEditor, myStarjobEditor, myStarjob

Angie Ng rewinds Datuk Salim’s worklife and finds out how he becamewhat he is today after dropping outof college and taking to the skies as aflight attendant

Roshan Thiran reiterates the importance of beingaware of the incredible pace of change acrossthe globe. He advises readers to remain still for awhile, in order to grasp the forces of change andthen take action

This week, Terry Smallintroduces basic waysof slowing down thedeterioration of your brain

In our featurearticle, JohanMerican reviewsleadership andcareer lessonsStar Wars filmsoffer to us

In our featurearticle, JohanMerican reviewsleadership andcareer lessonsStar Wars filmsoffer to us

In this introductorycolumn, Lily Cheahencapsulates theimportance of image– the way we dress,or the way we behavecan shape our careers

Why aren’t youworking?

I didn’t seeyou coming

Ask your team to work harder.We need bigger profit. I am

planning on buying a new Ferrari

Lily Cheah takes us into thelife of Korean twins Jayessleeand a day in their lives asYouTube celebrities

all Work and no play

mystarjob, saturday 8 september 2012 �

CEO Salim uSES SEtbaCkSaS StEpping StOnEStO SuCCESS

By ANGIE [email protected]

DESPITE having to give up his studiesand ambition to be an accountantdue to financial constraints, DatukMohamad Salim Fateh Din madegood in his life after six years work-

ing as a flight attendant.The opportunity to serve as a Malaysia Airlines

air steward was an experience Salim would cher-ish for the rest of his life.

He believes that the challenges that camewith the job - the ups and downs, and the widejob scope and big responsibilities - had enrichedand groomed him to step into bigger shoes as abusinessman after he decided to call it a day in1985.

His first job came about rather “unplanned” ashe was looking around for something to do afterhe “dropped out” of a London accounting schooldue to poverty.

“On my own accord, I decided to halt my stud-ies and flew back to Malaysia. I came across anadvertisement looking for cabin crew staff tojoin the national airlines and managed to clinchthe job after three rounds of interviews,” Salimshares with myStarjob.

He says the first year into his job was quitetough given the high service standards, longhours and heavy responsibilities as a cabin crewstaff. “It was rather stressful,” Salim says of thosedays.

“After the tough first year, the job somehowbecame lighter, and it was easier to cope withthe stress. I got well acquainted with the jobscope and was promoted to the rank of seniorcrew,’’ Salim adds.

He has gained some unique values and les-sons from his first job. Top on the list is the virtueof punctuality. As he put it in a nutshell: ”Theplane would not wait for you if you were late,so the onus is on the crew to be on time at alltimes.”

Ready to seRveSalim says there is a general misconception

that cabin crew only serve drinks and food aboardflights, but they actually have multiple responsi-bilities.

“Very importantly, cabin crew are accountablefor the safety of all passengers. They have to gothrough very stringent safety training provided bythe various regulatory authorities.”

Those days in the absence of aerobridge, thecrew also had to double up as porters to carrydown physically challenged passengers from theplane.

“In any case, no matter how tired we are, wemust always wear a smile on our face when serv-ing passengers,” Salim notes.

He says it was also mandatory for the crew toremember the names of the first class passen-gers, how they liked their drinks, favourite food,and topics of conversation or discussion.

“After meal service, we were required to dolots of public relations with the passengers toput them at ease. On many occasions, the crewacted as the first and last frontier that passengerswould lash out at when they were unhappy witha flight issue such as a delay.

“It was not unusual to be saddled with all kindsof demands and complaints, and we were taughtto handle them professionally and to treat allpassengers with respect. Wherever possible, we’ll

need to try our level best to help resolve thoseissues and complaints,” Salim says.

The experiences dealing with passengers hashelped to build up his patience and ability to com-municate with people of all ranks and character.

There were also many opportunities that camewith the job; one of which was the opportunityto visit new places and learn about new cultures,and the chance to meet people of all walks of life,including business people.

Some of these encounters blossomed into busi-ness opportunities for Salim which prompted himto make his exit from the airline to venture intohis own business.

stRiking outThe lessons he had learned from his cabin crew

days came in handy in his new endeavours asa businessman. “Most importantly, I remainedtruthful to myself in facing challenges in life andto take things in my stride,” he says.

Salim says he is thankful to the GoodSamaritans for helping and providing him withthe opportunity to strike out in his own business.

“Opportunity only comes once. When it knocksat your door, grab it!” he advises.

He was initially involved in customising andbuilding petrol stations for leading oil companiessuch as Shell, Esso, BP and Caltex.

Salim says the deadline for the projects wasusually very tight and the stations had to be com-pleted within three months. These multinationaloil companies also observed very strict safety and

environment compliance standards.The knowledge came in most useful for Salim

when he ventured into property and constructionprojects under his outfit, Gapurna Sdn Bhd. Henow focuses on integrated and sustainable prop-erties and townships that adopt green develop-ment concepts.

Gapurna’s hallmark projects include PJ SentralGarden City and 348 Sentral at KL Sentral.

Salim says both developments are gearedtowards the highest standards of GreenBuilding Index as well as Leadership in Energy &Environmental Design (LEED).

The 55-year-old Salim is the current chairmanof British American Tobacco, and a non-executivechairman of retail group, GCH Retail (M) Sdn Bhd.He is also a commission member of MalaysiaCommunications and Multimedia Commission,and chairman of Malaysia-Pakistan BusinessCouncil.

Salim is grooming his son, Imran Salim to takeover the family’s business while he devotes moreof his time to do charity. A philanthropist at heart,Salim has stayed devoted at helping the needyand the underprivileged for decades now.

He has adopted five homes for needy and spe-cial children, sponsored countless charity estab-lishments, and is also a long-serving memberof the Board of Trustees of Yayasan PendidikanCheras.

To Salim, it is important to ensure balance inone’s life and what better way than extending ahelping hand to those in need.

FrOmair StEwardtO

Donning his Malaysia Airlines air steward uniform, a young Datuk Mohamad Salim Fateh Din(standing in the centre) among his other colleagues in this group photograph.

Gapurna Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk MohamadSalim Fateh Din with the model of PJ Sentral Garden City.

iSnap mefor a videohttp://thestar.com.my/isnap

A LeaderIs Born.

Or Is It?Are leaders born or made? Dr. K. Anders Ericsson’s30-year research proves that only 5% of leadershipis genetic.

It takes much more to become a great leader.

95% of leadership is learnt through deliberateleadership development. At Leaderonomics, we havemastered the science of developing world-classleaders through our custom-made action-learningand acceleration programmes.

Be A Leader.

We can help your organisation develop leaders. Write in to: [email protected] or call 6012.343.7716

www.leaderonomics.com

myStarjob, Saturday 8 September 20124

mystarjob, saturday 8 september 2012 �

OpenYOureYesKeeping relevant KeYtO Career grOwth

By ROSHAN [email protected]

THESE past few decades havewitnessed numerous com-panies at the top of theirindustry get dispatched byunknowns from nowhere.

Motorola, the ruler of cellular tele-phones, missed the shift to digital andwas displaced by Nokia, a Finnish com-pany producing snow tires and rubberboots a decade before they conqueredcellular wireless. IBM, king of thecomputing age, completely missedthe PC revolution and was overtakenby Microsoft, Dell and a host of smallstart-ups.

At the same time, innovative com-panies were replaced by others whojust copied them. Xerox invented thephotocopiers but Canon took it toa whole new level with the colourcopier. Ford and GM had automobileleadership for years until the Japanesecopycats came in with their highvalue economic cars and wiped themout. Why did all these companies getdethroned?

Why doorganisations fall?

Companies that close themselvesto the world and focus internally maymiss the boat when change occurs.Organisations that stop looking out-side and don’t see changes that arehappening around them soon losetheir way.

It’s the same with us personally.When we are so busy with our work,

our kids, our schedules and meet-ings, we sometimes miss importantchanges that are taking place aroundus. And these changes have a directimpact on our careers.

I recall a friend’s mother workingas a secretary in the 1970s who wasgreat on the typewriter. She couldreally type words fast. But when com-puters debuted in the 80s, she wasmade redundant and replaced by asavvier computer user, who couldn’ttype as fast as her. But she was sofocused on improving her ability totype fast, she completely missed thebigger picture—that typing fast on atypewriter would not be as importantas learning to use the computer.

Companies face the same dilemma.When they are so busy with theirinternal operations and processes,they lose sight of the world and aresoon replaced by new companies.

Just think of the products andservices you use today. How many ofthese products are from companiesthat existed 60 years ago? We fly onAirAsia, buy furniture from IKEA, buyour computers from Dell, drink coffeeat Starbucks, search for informationvia Google and get leadership trainingfrom Leaderonomics!

Having a company byline thatincludes “established 1850” is almost

a liability today. Reputation counts fornothing anymore. Shell, has a homebase in the UK and has a reputationas a producer of high quality petrol.Yet, in their UK home market, Tesco,a supermarket, is the biggest petrolretailer.

so, hoW do thesecompanies lose theirleadership positions?

One reason may be “social proof”,a theory developed by psychologistRobert Cialdini. The larger a crowdof people at the scene of an accident,the more likely no one will help thevictims. If everyone is passive, every-one thinks that there is no emergency.Cialdini’s theory claims, “If a lot ofpeople are doing the same thing, theymust know something we don’t.”

Companies foolishly adopt this“follow-the-leader” attitude. WangLaboratories, who established them-selves as a major computer force inthe 80s, decided to follow industryleader IBM and forgo the PC market.Today they do not exist.

Another reason, assert businessgurus Charan and Useem, is that “anumber of studies show that peopleare less likely to make optimal deci-sions after prolonged periods of suc-cess. Enron, Lucent, WorldCom--all hadreached the mountaintop before theyran into trouble. Someone should havetold them that most mountaineeringaccidents happen on the way down.”

Gary Hamel adds, “The seeds of fail-ure are usually sown at the heights ofgreatness.” Once a company becomes

an industry leader, defensive thinkingseeps in and no one challenges thestatus quo. Many become insular andmiss changes taking place, becomingirrelevant to their customers.

Great leaders are forward lookingand don’t bask in past glories or getcaught up with internal issues. BillGates constantly says, “Microsoft isalways two years away from failure.”Gates understands the need to beengaged with the world, its trendsand market changes.

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great,writes, “The key sign--the litmus test--is whether you begin to explain awaythe brutal facts rather than to con-front the brutal facts head-on.” Greatleaders force themselves to see fromthe outside, recognise the brutal factsfacing them and make the necessarychanges.

so What lessons canWe draW for ourcareers and lives?

Firstly, change happens all the time.It is not something to be paranoidabout. What we need to be vigilantabout is to always be observing whatis happening from the outside in. Andit’s not just about changes happeningin your industry but changes every-where as well. Book retailers neverquite understood how Amazon.comsuddenly appeared and wiped themout as they were not tracking theinternet revolution.

Secondly, we need to be warywhen we start becoming so internallyfocused and consumed by tasks and

to-do lists. Great leaders learn toreflect and take time off to notice the“little things” that are walking intotheir lives. There are small little signseverywhere telling us about the nextwave that will hit our careers andlives. Are we seeing those little signs?

Finally, watch out when youbecome defensive and reactionary.This is the starting point of your fallfrom the mountaintop. Great leadersthat stay at the top for long periodsare usually ones who have humbledthemselves to believe that learningand growth never ends.

So, what do we need to do? We canstart by taking short little breaks totake ourselves from the “busy-ness”of our lives to “observing the world”.Just spending 20 minutes a day toopen our eyes by taking some timeto be still and mindful of the changesthat are taking place, can significantlyenhance your career. There are manylittle “changes” walking into yourindustry and workplace and if youare too busy working hard to improveyour “typewriting skills” inside yourorganisation, the “changes” may justconsume you and make you an irrele-vant dinosaur. So, open your eyes andwhen needed, change your story!

n Roshan Thiran is CEO ofLeaderonomics, a social enterprisefocused on inspiring people to leader-ship greatness. To truly observe andlearn from great leaders, watch greatTV interviews with gurus and famousleaders at www.leaderonomics.tv/the-leaderonomicsshow

INTEL is a great example of a company reinventingitself through “opening their eyes”. Andrew Grovewrites in “Only the Paranoid Survive” about how Intelfaced competition from Korea and Japan, which turnedits memory chips into cheap commodities. Intel quicklydecided to exit the memory business entirely andbecame a maker of microprocessors. Grove came tothis insight when he looked outside Intel and askedhimself, “If I got kicked out and the board brought in anew CEO, what would the new CEO do?” The answerwas clear: Focus on our strengths – high tech, and getrid of memory chips.

There were many other internal issues plaguing Intelbut Grove knew if he continued to play the same game,he would soon be another fallen giant. He observedthat high tech microprocessors had a premium andthat he had a stable group of scientists which he coulddeploy into that space. His ability to “open his eyes”and have a different worldview enabled Intel to remaina giant, albeit in a different product line.

the intel stOrYThe same needs to be done in our lives. Theworld is constantly changing. Jobs that existed20 years ago do not exist today. We need toconstantly do the following:

Take time to stopeverything we aredoing and be still.

In our “stillness” lookaround and really “see”the world and what isbecoming of it. Reading,attending conferences,having discussions withgreat leaders and col-leagues, and listeningwill enable you to truly“observe”.

Draw insights from yourobservations.

Like Andrew Grove and Intel, youcan reinvent yourself, your careerand your future as you take stockof the insights you gain.1

2

3

4

Be still

OBservethe wOrld

gain insights

ChangeYOur stOrY

12

3

4

6

8

mystarjob, saturday 8 september 20126

to Reduce StReSSLeveLS at WoRk

Too much work should never bean excuse to not take a break!Humans were created withlimits, and reaching those limitscauses stress. Give yourself thetime, especially when you arestressed, to relax, even for 5minutes. Run to the bathroom,make a hot drink, go for a quickwalk, then get back to moreproductive work.

The source of many types of stress comesfrom a feeling of being out of control or beingoverwhelmed, and clutter causes distractionswhich add to stress. When you can’t find that

report you need, your stress level can sky rocket.By having an organised desk, you get a sense

that there is some order in all the chaos.

Keep a family photo, inspirationalquotes, or a reminder of your

next vacation somewhere visible.Motivational thoughts perk you up and

are great for revving up your spirits.

After long hours of staring at thecomputer screen or dealing withpaper work, your eyes and mindcould use a break with photos,artwork, or a plant. At regularintervals, remember to also stretchyour eyes by focusing on a distantobject. This creates some wellneeded visual relief.

Sometimes, all we needis a listening ear. Seekout the help of a goodfriend or close lovedone when you need tode-stress. Often, justgetting something offyour chest will help youcalm down and keepthings in perspective.And ultimately, the rightperspectives help keepyour stress levels incheck!

It has been scientifically proven that listening to calmingmusic has a positive effect on every aspect of your being, e.g.emotional, mental, spiritual. Classical music, especially Bachand Mozart, or any “lite” radio station, can be very relaxing.Just keep the volume down or use a headset.

Always ensure that you manage your time and havesufficient time for all your tasks. When facing apressing deadline, a quick trick is for you to come tothe office 30 minutes earlier, come back from lunch15 minutes earlier, and leave for home 30 minuteslater. This automatically adds 1 hour and 15 minutesto your work day!

top 10 WayS

9

keep youR deSkcLutteR fRee

decoRate youRWoRk Space With

encouRaging itemS

give youReyeS and minda bReak

caLL afRiend

Soothe youR SenSeS With muSic

pLanahead!

StRetch!For many of us, our work daysare literally spent with longperiods of sitting at a desk orbeing stuck in a restricted workarea. This lack of movementbuilds up tension in yourmuscles and can aggravate astressful situation. Stretchingis the best way of releasing anytension that has accumulated.Lift your legs up and stretchthem for 30 seconds or simplyjust reach for the sky.

10take a bReak!

7

5

Imagine how less stressful your work life would be ifyou were constantly on top of all your tasks, insteadof leaving it all until the last minute. Not only wouldthis reduce stress, but it could even create free timefor you. If you recognise that you are honestly pacingyourself and working as hard as you can but can’t seemto complete all your tasks, talk to your boss aboutlightening your load.

don’tpRocRaStinate!

As humans, we naturally tend to focus on thenegative when things go wrong, but don’t givethe same acknowledgement when things actuallygo our way. We need to recognise that thingsusually go right far more often than we realise.By keeping this mind set at work, your stresslevels are guaranteed to decrease.

RecogniSe hoW oftenthingS go Right

1

Always ensure that you manage your time and have

pLanahead!

levels are guaranteed to decrease.

poSitive


To view the full video, visit www.leaderonomics.tv/top10

mystarjob, saturday 8 september 2012 7

RM10kA DAy in the LifeCoMpetition is bACk!

intRoDuCingthe DAy in the LifeviDeo CoMpetition

A Day in the Life Video Competition isdesigned to do just that and you can bea part of it. It’s your chance to be a minidocumentary filmmaker and writer! All youneed is to put your creative juices togetherand create an exciting and educational videoabout A Day in the Life of a working personand do a short write-up on that occupation.The careers can range from a businessman,engineer, celebrity singer, rubber tapper,accountant or any other careers out there.To join the competition, just shoot a 3 to5 minute video that shows what a persondoes in the course of a day in their job.The video can be created using any form ofequipment including mobile phones. Youcan work on the video alone or with friends(up to 3 persons in a team). Together withthe video, write a short 800 word articleabout the occupation and person and sendyour entry to [email protected] competition period is 15 August, 2012until 15 January, 2013.

The Grand Prize will be a cash prize ofRM10,000 with goodies, RM5,000 cash forSecond Prize and 3 x RM1,000 cash prizesfor 3 third place winners. Last year’s winnerwas Clement Chiang with his video entry “ADay in the Life of a Number Plate Maker”.A Day in the Life competition is organisedby Leaderonomics in partnership withTalentCorp.

Head on over to www.leaderonomics.tv/adilor email [email protected] more details. Thecompetition is currentlyon and entries can be sentin already. Get startedand stand a chance to winRM10,000!

FINDING the right workor career is probably themost important deci-sion that a person has totake. Most people wishthat they could peek intothe future and see howit is like to work in theirdream job. Our column,A Day in the Life, givesyou a window into thelives of ordinary peopledoing extraordinary workin their career of choice.And each week, with thecolumn is a video whereyou can see these peoplein action. The videos canbe accessed at www.leaderonomics.tv/adil

How would you like toexplore a day in the life ofan occupation of some-one you admire? What ifyou can do that and winRM10,000 in the process?

Win

The percentage ofchildren under two

who are cared forat nurseries was

two thirds inDenmark, 29.5% in

the Netherlandsand as low as 13%

in Germany

Women generallygraduate withbetter grades andmake up over halfof all graduates at

Within Europe on average,women make up morethan half of the workingpopulation whereby in

are being forced to stay at homeor take a part time job due tothe lack of sufficient childcare6million women who arebetween ages 25 to 49

According to a Europe-widestudy, children who come froma background of workingparents have fewer problemsat school as they

usually get better gradesespecially in languages and in science

Gross DomesticProduct spent

on childcare

FRANCE

ITALY

DENMARK

1.3%

0.7%

2.7%

58.9%58.9%

A third of allwomen in Europehave a part timejob whereas only

of mentake up

%10part timeoccupations

Sweden andDenmark

over

Germanybelow

%70%60

The GrossDomestic Product

of a country increaseswhen more womenwork. The rise wascalculated at

in Italy 21%

DID YOU KNOWWomen, Kids & CareersSnapshot: Europe

mystarjob, saturday 8 september 2012� mystarjob, saturday 8 september 2012� mystarjob, saturday 8 september 2012 �

By CHLOE BEALE

YOUTUBE is an interactivedomain where people canupload and share videos, andwatch, comment, like andshare videos uploaded by oth-ers. Housed at www.youtube.com, YouTube not only providesa platform to showcase tal-ent, express an opinion andshare something humorous,but creators of popular videoscan potentially earn a decentincome too.

The YouTube PartnerProgramme, with a member-ship of about 30,000 YouTubers,incorporates advertisements inand around videos, and givesthe video creator a percentageof the profits.

YouTube does not officiallyrelease a guide of income forpartners beyond partners them-selves, but different websiteson the internet have estimatedthis rate to be approximately

US$2.50 (RM7.78) per 1000video views, though opinionsvary. There is a condition to thispartnership though; only chan-nels with solely original contentand a large viewership canapply to the programme.

Video views, also known as“hits”, are largely generated byviewers sharing videos withfriends. So viewers have controlover what becomes popular andwhat does not. Psy’s “GangnamStyle”, for instance, has beenshared globally and has reachedover 60 million hits in just overa month.

Free access, convenience andthe sheer variety of content arethe elements drawing moreviewers to YouTube, and contentproviders and creators are wellaware of this. For the first time,the Olympics streamed livecoverage of the London Gamesthis year on its YouTube channel“olympic” with more than 231million people tuning in.

by LILY [email protected]

JUNE 22 at 11.58am at the KualaLumpur International Airport’sarrival area. The sliding doorsopened and out strolled Soniaand Janice Lee, 25-year old

Korean-Australian twins and YouTubestars. The best way to tell them apartwas by their hair colour: Sonia wasspotting brown coloured hair, andJanice’s was black. They were pushinga trolley with just a few luggages, andwere accompanied by their manager,drummer and husband to Sonia, AndyLee.

Fresh from a concert in Manila thenight before, Malaysia was their sixthstop on their Asia-Pacific tour. Theirprevious stops included Singapore,Melbourne and their hometownSydney where they were born andraised. The next day would be theirconcert at Menara PGRM in Cheras,and they had come a day earlier toprepare.

The duo was warmly greeted byCreative Central, organiser of theMalaysian leg of their tour. Then Janiceand Sonia proceeded to do whatseemed to be second nature to them:they recorded a video for their YouTubefans. “Hi! This is Janice, and I’m Sonia,

and we’re Jayesslee,” they exudedin front of the airport’s informationbooth. Curiously, they seemed to knowexactly who should say what and not“talk over” each other.

No straNgersto the camera

Perhaps it is a “twin connection”,or maybe after 35 videos on YouTube,they’ve developed a “good workingsystem”. What began in 2008 as ad-hoc video recordings made at homeand posted on YouTube, has nowbecome a full-time vocation for theLee sisters. They make music, post iton YouTube, sell it on iTunes, and occa-sionally, travel the world playing livefor their adoring fans. Their YouTubechannel Jayesslee (a combination ofthe first letters of both their namesand their family name) boasts almost500,000 subscribers and their 35 vide-os have a combined total of more than85 million video views. Seven digitviewerships for each of their video is anorm for this duo. Their latest video, acover of Taylor Swift’s Safe and Sound,surpassed 1,000,000 views in lessthan two weeks. That works out to anaverage of 71,428 views a day for thatvideo alone.

Their families are supportive oftheir career choice, although initiallythey were quite apprehensive. “Dadhad very traditional views on careers,”Sonia explained later, “but when ourvideos hit 1,000,000 views, he knewsomething was up.” Even their grand-father now watches their videos onhis phone and shares them with hisfriends.

In their message to their Malaysianfans, the Lee sisters proclaimed, “Wecan’t wait to see you guys, we’vemissed you. See you soon!” Their warmpersona has earned them many loyalfans and the number is growing bythe day. They get more than 1000 newsubscribers everyday.

Practice makes PerfectAfter a quick freshening up and

lunch, they headed for arehearsal with their band.

Sonia’s husband, Andy,played the drums. As

in all their YouTubevideos, Sonia was onthe acoustic guitar,which she learnedto play in 2007 bywatching YouTubevideos. Janice, theolder twin by 10minutes, was on thetambourine andalso did some niftybeatboxing, whichwas also pickedup from YouTube.They were joinedby Malaysian locals,Andrew Lau andJoy Anthony, on theelectric guitar andbass, for their Kuala

Lumpur concert.The rehearsal

stretched fora whole twoand halfhours. They

rehearsed the entire concert’s routineand only stopped when they weresatisfied that everything was in place.Vocally, they are strong and their har-monies carefully pre-planned. After therehearsal was over, they called it a dayand returned to their hotel for somemuch-welcomed rest.

crowd PullerWe joined them again the next

afternoon just after 3pm. A crowd offans had already gathered outside thehall. As Janice and Sonia arrived at theconcert venue, they were chaperonedpast screaming excited fans to thebackstage. The twins have taken theirrapid rise to fame with a humble anddown to earth disposition, preferringto say they have made many friendsaround the world through their suc-cess.

Three hours to the concert and it’stime for sound check on stage. Theyapproached it just as they would theactual concert; running through theentire set thoroughly. For the duo, theobjective was clear - they just wantedto make sure all went right. Anhour later, they were back intheir dressing room backstage, fixing their hair andmake-up. When asked howthey picked their outfits,they said they like shop-ping and matchingclothes for their shows,but “there is no realstructure” as to whatthey chose to wear.Ultimately, they wantto look good because“we just want to givethe best to our fans”,they said. To keep theirvoice in tip top condi-tion, their standard warmup routine is an exercisewhere they blow air and let

their lips flap. “Apparently, that’s sup-posed to make you sound awesome,”confided Sonia. They also make surethey drink lots of liquids and rest theirvoices to sound fresh during shows.

As soon as they were ready, theyheaded to a press conference, andthereafter to a radio interview withRedFM. Janice and Sonia are nostrangers to the media, having beenfeatured on various programmes whileon their tours such as “E! News Asia”,“8TV Quickie” and the “MTV show”.

As I followed them around, I noticedthat Janice was always on the left sideand Sonia on the right. When asked,they confirmed that these are theirfavourite sides.

it’s show-time!An hour to the concert, the sisters

began to settle down. During theopening acts, the girls remained in

their dressing rooms. Then, it was timefor them to perform. The 1300 ador-ing fans, anticipating their entrance,began chanting “Jayesslee, Jayesslee”.Perhaps one of the uniqueness ofmusic careers forged on YouTube isthat the artists become known bythe name of their YouTube channel -something to bear in mind for aspiringmusicians on YouTube. The chantingfans demonstrate an added dimen-sion that YouTube does not offer: thegathering of fans as well as directinteraction with the artist. Janice andSonia however gave the thumbs up toYouTube “for changing the music scenefor the better,” noting that it givesmusicians direct access to the public.Now, it’s possible to disseminate musicwithout a record label!

The hall was packed with indulgentfans who knew almost everythingabout the girls. “Hi Andy!” the crowdshouted as Andy came on stage. Thenagain, even Sonia and Andy’s wedding

video on YouTube has reached over700,000 hits.

The girls shared storiesabout each other can-

didly, explaining theorigins of their songs

before they sang,and talked about

the things theyenjoyed aboutMalaysia - roticanai andpasar malam

- to the delight of their fans. Theypoked fun at each other: “She’s not mysister, we’re not related,” chirped Soniawhen Janice referred to movie HungerGames as Hungry Games. It was likean intimate night out with friends,only that these “friends” were stylish,very good musicians, singers and ontop of that, did most of the talking.

Being YouTube musicians they areaware of their responsibility not onlyto the “physical world” but also to the“cyber world”. Inevitably, they have tomake time in between songs to takean Instagram photo on stage and torecord a video for YouTube. For thevideo, Andy joined them using a CanonEOS 7D.

And what is their secret for a suc-cessful YouTube channel? Without hes-itation, the Lee twins answered, ”Goodcontent, location, writing, editing, andmost of all, a personality that peoplecan relate to. People must feel like theywant to come back,” was their advice.

it is theN timeto meet the faNs

The concert ended at close to 10pm.The beaming duo went backstageand met up with concert-goers whohad purchased VVIP tickets and wereentitled to a post-concert meet up.After answering some of their ques-tions, it was time for autographs andeveryone in the room got their chance.Jayesslee’s advice to aspiring musiciansand YouTubers is to “keep it real and

genuine”. With such warmth anddedication to their fans, it

is no wonder that theirpopularity and sub-

scriber base willcontinue to soar.

A DAy in the Life of

youtubeMusiciAns

PRofiLeyoutube MusiciAns:

soniA & JAnice LeechAnneL:

JAyessLeetotAL viDeos:

35totAL viDeo views:

86,167,570subscRibeRs:

484,946

whAt isyoutube?

Twin sistersSonia (left) and

Janice (right) at theirKuala Lumpur concert

in Menara PGRM,Cheras.

twins stAy gRounDeDAnD huMbLe DesPite theiRsensAtionAL success

“A Day in the Life” is a special series dedicated toexploring different occupations out there. Each week,we will jump into the lives of different people at workand get a glimpse of what their roles are. This week,we explore YouTube musicians, Jayesslee.

Lady Gaga’s channel wasthe first to reach a total of

1 billion views in 20101,000,000,000

72 hours

70%

Created in February 2005 – 7 years ago

of videos are uploaded every minute onto YouTube

Milestones:

Viewership:

of those 4 billion hitsare from mobile devices

400million

70%

USA

of viewership onYouTube come fromcountries outsideof USA

Last year, YouTube hit the

1trillionmark of total video views

Top 3 Subscribed Channels:

1,000,000,000

72 hours

years ago


1. RayWilliamJohnsonSubscribers: 5,740,185Total video views:1,944,911,588 1,286,415,688

3. SmoshSubscribers: 5,267,295Total video views:1,675,543,526


2. NigaHigaSubscribers: 5,540,310Total video views:

3. SmoshSubscribers:Total video views:

‘youtube fActs’



Yes, Yoda is cool. However, he’snot the popular hero of theseries. Instead, he is the drivingforce behind the heroes, LukeSkywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.Similarly, great leaders focus onbuilding the future. They buildtheir experience, knowledge andwisdom into others. It bringscomfort to the best leaders tosee their padawan (mentees)succeed.

LeadershipYoda7Lessons

from

By BENJAM

IN LICHTENWALNE

R

PerHaPS the most iconic mentoring

leader on the silver screen, Yoda

is an excellent example of great

leadership. Not only is Yoda humble

in character and speech, he typifies

what a great servant leader is. Here

are 7 leadership lessons from the

great servant leader, Yoda:

When he first meets Yoda, LukeSkywalker underestimates him:

Yoda: Help you I can. Yes, mmmm.Luke: I don’t think so. I’m looking

for a great warrior.Yoda: Ohhh. Great warrior… Wars

not make one great.To further the misunderstanding,

Yoda’s way of talking is strange. Greatleaders are often misunderstood byothers. The servant leader’s emphasison service over power and humilityover vanity goes against the popularnotion. You may not be tiny, green,and ancient and speak funny, butyou will be misunderstood. But thatshould never derail you from yourvision and mission.

Yoda expresses concern aboutyoung anakin Skywalker. Sureenough, the worst fears cometrue and anakin becomes theevil Darth Vader. Great leadershave a great deal of account-ability when mentoring andraising the future generationsof their organisation. Use carewhen hiring, mentoring andpromoting.

Yoda: Twisted by the DarkSide, young Skywalker hasbecome. The boy you trained,gone he is… Consumed byDarth Vader.

Yoda lived on the Dagobah System when LukeSkywalker finds him. This swamp world is full of mud,muck, grime and filth. The home of Yoda is a tiny mudhut. Like Yoda’s home, great leaders do not live in anivory tower. To the contrary, they invest a lot of time inthe thick of things. In serving their stakeholders, greatleaders are not afraid to get their hands dirty.

Luke: I want my lamp back. I’m gonna need it to getout of this slimy mudhole.

Yoda: Mudhole? Slimy? My home this is!

Yoda was more than 900years old when he met hislast student (Luke). In fact,even after he died, Yoda con-tinued to coach and mentorthe younger Skywalker. Greatleaders understand that workis never done. Work-life align-ment is important, but thework is unending.

ancient by human terms, but still spirited and full of Force,Yoda knows when he must pick up the light saber and dobattle himself. Great leaders focus on building others toextend the culture of service and the positive influence oftheir organisations. However, when necessary, leaders whoserve are not afraid to join in the hand-to-hand combat oftheir organisation.

Darth Sidious: I have waited a long time for thismoment, my little green friend. at last, the Jedi are no more.

Yoda: Not if anything to say about it I have!

Like Yoda, great leaders understand thefuture is up to them. If Yoda had not goneinto exile on Dagobah, patiently waiting forthe right opportunity, all could have beenlost. Yoda was the last hope for the peopleagainst the Dark Force. He had to train Luketo conquer the emperor and Darth Vader.Similarly, it’s up to you, as a great leader, toconquer the toxic leadership that so manyorganisations are fraught with today.

1

n Ben Lichtenwalner is the founder of ModernServantLeader.com, where he promotes Servant Leadership awareness, adoption and action.

You are not thehero, but Yourpadawan maY be

2You maY bemisunderstood

5Your work isnever done

if You’re not carefuL,Your organisationmaY producea darth vader

3

Yoda expresses concern aboutyoung anakin Skywalker. Sureenough, the worst fears come

evil Darth Vader. Great leaders

raising the future generationsof their organisation. Use care

if You’re not carefuL,Your organisation

4You Live inthe muck 6

sometimes, You have tokick eviL’s butt YourseLf

from are 7 leadership lessons from the

great servant leader, Yoda:

When he first meets Yoda, LukeSkywalker underestimates him:

Help you I can. Yes, mmmm.I don’t think so. I’m looking

Ohhh. Great warrior… Wars

To further the misunderstanding,Yoda’s way of talking is strange. Greatleaders are often misunderstood byothers. The servant leader’s emphasison service over power and humilityover vanity goes against the popularnotion. You may not be tiny, green,and ancient and speak funny, butyou will be misunderstood. But thatshould never derail you from your

misunderstood

5Your work is

3

6sometimes, You have to

Yes, Yoda is cool. However, he’s

series. Instead, he is the driving

Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.Similarly, great leaders focus onbuilding the future. They buildtheir experience, knowledge and

comfort to the best leaders to

You are not the

padawan maY be

7it’s upto You

These are the HOT jobs that we have uncoveredfor this week in our special column on hot ‘power’jobs. To apply for any of these roles, [email protected] or send yourpostal application to Malakoff offices.

MALAKOFF, a premier global power and water com-pany, has numerous new projects at hand. With thisexplosion of growth through their diversified rangeof activities, Malakoff is looking for highly talentedindividuals to take the company forward and to continueto play a pivotal role in supporting the nation’s drivetowards industrialisation. According to the company,they are now “surging ahead to strengthen ourpresence and to realise our vision, with courage anddetermination. We seek capable individuals who havewhat it takes to grow with us and be part of a companythat’s powered by people, driven by performance andcommitted to excellence.”

Malakoff is also noted as a company who constantlydevelops the skills and expertise of their employees.Malakoff invests deeply in talents that join theirorganisation, and offers above market benefits.

02%$- 72,+ .) 02%$- !8.4)$#$*1 ($&$6205$4)0-2!-.55$A special entry level managementtraining programme for fresh gradu-ates with Honors degree (min CGPA3.00 or Second Upper) in Engineering(Mechanical / Electrical / Electronic),HR, Accounting/Finance or Law/Legal Studies. This special programmeexposes candidates to the range ofMalakoff’s businesses and subsidiarieswith structured training modules infunctional, technical and on-the-job learning. Leadership skills,demonstrating positivity, effectivecommunication and result orientationare pre-requisites. Having a goodcommand of English/languages willbe advantageous.

+-1 $#$*')8&$/5.4.!$-36$!.6This role supports the Head of Legaland the legal team in structuring,

drafting and negotiating legaldocumentation (including com-mercial agreements) and liaisingwith external lawyers to ensure legaldocumentation is of high quality andaccurate. This role also enables youto advise management on all legalmatters, ensuring compliance withall applicable contractual, statutoryand other legal requirements. If youhave a degree in Law or equivalentwith at least 3-5 years of workingexperience in handling corporatelegal matters and are a team playerwith high integrity, this may be therole for you.

0-2*'-$5$4)5.4.!$-This is a team leadership role forthe Procurement and warehouseteams, supporting the Operations &Maintenance activities of the powerplants in Tg. Bin, Pontian, Johor.You will control the procurement of

materials and services obtainingcompetitive commercial terms, whilstexecuting, supervising and monitor-ing all purchasing and warehouseactivities, policy & procedures. Youwill play a leading role, by exampleand encouragement, in promotinga high integrity environment whendealing with internal & externalparties and solve recurring and out-standing problems. If you possess aDiploma or Degree in Engineeringor equivalent from an accrediteduniversity with a min of 8 years ofrelevant working experience andcan work independently, this wouldbe a great role for you. Knowledgein MRP or SAP or qualifications inSupply Chain/logistics would be anadded advantage.

"84.4*8.6 52($6$-This role requires you to assist withthe preparations of all financial mod-els and projections whilst working

closely with the project team andlegal department in reviewing projectinformation and financing documents.You will provide interpretation ofmodeling results, make new andchallenge existing business assump-tions and reflect these in financialmodels. If you possess a Bachelor’sDegree in Finance or Accounting orequivalent with 2 years of relevantworking experience, with excellentorganisational, communications,interpersonal and analytical skillswith advanced proficiency in MicrosoftExcel, you will love this role.

Application closing date:14 September, 2012.

By Shyvonne Lee

[email protected]


By JOHAN MAHMOODMERICAN

WHILE many turnto books by busi-ness leaders suchas Jack Welch, Iwould contend

there are insights on leadershipto be gained from Star Wars. Yes,you can learn a ton about leader-ship watching Star Wars movies.Maybe its high time to throw awaythose thick, boringleadership booksand go watchmovies. Havingspent hours onthis exhaustive research,allow me to share some of theinsights in “using the force” forleadership. It starts by recognisingthat Jedi are an advanced organisa-tion, particularly in the space ofleadership development and leader-ship selection.

Jedi leverage ONexperieNtial learNiNg

In line with current thinking onleadership development in the HRfraternity, Jedi are very much intothe ratio of 70:20:10 for experientiallearning, mentorship and formaltraining. The emphasis on expe-riential learning is epitomised byYoda’s wise words “Do or do not,there is no try”. It is reinforced bythe Jedi Council, being the highestbody in the Jedi organisation, tak-ing the responsibility for identifyingdevelopmental missions for youngJedi padawans (high potential train-ees). Such as in Episode 1: PhantomMenace when the Jedi Councilsends young Obi-Wan Kenobi on adiplomatic mission to Naboo, withJedi Master Qui Gon. Developmentof high potential leaders was con-ducted by providing a diversity ofexperiential learning opportunities,whether diplomatic, combat orexploration missions.

However, to support the youngJedi through difficult and stretchedexperiential learnings, the Jedi insti-tutionalised mentorships. Successfulmentorship was made a key pre-req-uisite for career advancement. A JediKnight would not be able to becomea Jedi Master until his padawanor trainee successfully graduatedto become a Jedi Knight. The StarWars saga reflects many close men-tor-mentee relationships, such asbetween Obi Wan Kenobi and LukeSkywalker. This was the case for boththe good guys and the dark side. AsYoda explains of the Sith (bad guys!),“Always two there are, no more, noless; a master and an apprentice.”

The Jedi also conducted formaltraining, especially by mentors formentees, whether in the ways ofthe force, lightsaber training anddiplomacy. Such training was typi-cally linked to the mission at handand thus, provided a strong linkageto planning training to coincidewith relevant experiential learn-

consequences. Successfulleadership development thereforerequires a holistic and coordinatedcombination of experiential learn-ing, mentorship and training.

leadership selectiONIn the course of the Star Wars

movies, leaders are not only devel-oped but are ultimately chosen. Inthe area of leadership selection, StarWars offers 4 lessons, namely insuccession planning, open sourcing,assessment of potential, and resto-ration of potential.

Interestingly, it is the Dark Sidethat is pretty structured in suc-cession planning. They even havemotivational recruitment pitches,such as when Darth Vader invitesLuke Skywalker to be his understudy,

“Join me and together we will rulethe galaxy.” Sith lords identify theirheir apparent, for example, earlieron Chancellor Palpatine had identi-fied Count Dooku. However, identi-fied successors cannot rest on theirlaurels and are subject to contest, asis the case when Anakin Skywalkerdisplaces (kills) Count Dooku thusreplacing him as the identified suc-cessor.

The idea of competition to besuccessor helps ensure the fittestemerge. Beyond that, to optimise onleadership selection, a key part is toadopt open sourcing, i.e. being opento recruit beyond one’s organisation.This approach also helps uncoverhidden gems. In Star Wars, Han Solois a good example, being introducedas a mercenary and rogue, he is

recruited in and eventually emergesa key leader for the Rebel Alliance.

In line with the practice of someleading global organisations likeShell, a talent is not solely assessedon actual past performance but alsoon future potential. In the PhantomMenace, a young Anakin Skywalkeris brought before the Jedi Counciland they conclude “the force isstrong with this one”, as an indica-tor of his future potential strength.Where emerging talents are judgedto not have the potential to emergeas Jedi leaders, there are career tran-sition mechanisms to transfer suchtalents for service in the agricultural,medical or exploration corps.

At the end of the day, developingand managing high potential talentsand selecting leaders is not easy

and cannotbe expected

to be a smoothjourney. The six

Star Wars filmstaken as a whole

can be viewed as thestory of the life of Anakin

Skywalker / Darth Vader. Itis the story of a very highpotential talent (the force

is strong with this one), whomakes a mistake (is seducedby the Dark Side and becomesDarth Vader) but eventuallyfinds redemption (ultimately

kills the evil emperor). The moralof the story is therefore, havingidentified high potential talent andstretched them through challeng-ing assignments, we must be pre-pared for mistakes and failures. Wemust ensure that there are meansto restore potential and achieveredemption, as opposed to neces-sarily permanent cold storage for

applyiNg iNsightsThere are clearly insights on

leadership from Star Wars. However,I am very confident that no onereading this will write an officememo to their bosses to implementinitiatives based on the experienceof Star Wars. Unfortunately, thereis no shortage of those who wouldrecommend adopting somethingdirectly from the Jack Welch or GEplaybook for their respective compa-nies. But is Star Wars any more alienthan say a large global multinationalwhen compared to your respectivecompany? By all means learn fromthe best, and gain insights fromthe experience of others or fromfiction. The key is how to distil thesubstance of such insights and applyit in a way relevant and applicable toyour organisational context. How?Well, begin by searching withinyourself and be guided by the force.

n Johan Merican is CEO ofTalentCorp. He hopes TalentCorp canbe as successful as the Jedi Councilin developing and growing talent inMalaysia. To send feedback to Johanon his article, email [email protected]

By EVA [email protected]

IT takes much strength and courage toexit a known situation and dive intothe unknown. However, only those thatare courageous enough to risk a bit arethe ones that succeed in life. Whetherit is about relocating, whether it isabout leaving a well-paying job to startsomething on your own, or whether itis changing a career path mid-career,these all require a substantial level of

risk to be taken, and they are all deci-sions accompanied by much anxious-ness. Sometimes in life it is worth divinginto the unknown and risking to lose abit, perhaps in the short term, in orderto gain something much bigger andrewarding in the longer term. All thebig leaders of the world that succeededwent against the current, against soci-ety’s expectations, and they managedto achieve something ground breaking,something that changed the world’sviewpoint and fundamentals. Just make

sure that you plan your moves carefullyand calculate all potential development,and go ahead with what you alwayswanted to do, or what you are thinkingmight be a brilliant idea. If not, you willalways be kept wondering what couldhave happened if you had actually takenthat leap.

n Eva has learnt to leap many times inher life and has reaped the rewards ofher risk taking. She hopes to see manymore “leapers” in Malaysia.

TakeTheleap

Maybe its high time to throw away

this exhaustive research,allow me to share some of theinsights in “using the force” forleadership. It starts by recognisingthat Jedi are an advanced organisa-tion, particularly in the space ofleadership development and leader-

Jedi leverage ONexperieNtial learNiNg

In line with current thinking onleadership development in the HRfraternity, Jedi are very much intothe ratio of 70:20:10 for experientiallearning, mentorship and formaltraining. The emphasis on expe-riential learning is epitomised byYoda’s wise words “Do or do not,there is no try”. It is reinforced bythe Jedi Council, being the highestbody in the Jedi organisation, tak-ing the responsibility for identifyingdevelopmental missions for youngJedi padawans (high potential train-ees). Such as in Episode 1: PhantomMenace when the Jedi Councilsends young Obi-Wan Kenobi on adiplomatic mission to Naboo, withJedi Master Qui Gon. Developmentof high potential leaders was con-ducted by providing a diversity ofexperiential learning opportunities,whether diplomatic, combat orexploration missions.

However, to support the youngJedi through difficult and stretchedexperiential learnings, the Jedi insti-tutionalised mentorships. Successfulmentorship was made a key pre-req-uisite for career advancement. A Jedi

ing missions. Training isnevertheless importantas shown in EmpireStrikes Back when LukeSkywalker rushed to savehis friends and facedDarth Vader prema-turely before hehad completed histraining with Yodaand suffered the

and cannotbe expected

to be a smoothjourney. The six

Star Wars filmstaken as a whole

can be viewed as thestory of the life of Anakin

Skywalker / Darth Vader. Itis the story of a very highpotential talent (the force

is strong with this one), whomakes a mistake (is seducedby the Dark Side and becomesDarth Vader) but eventuallyfinds redemption (ultimately

kills the evil emperor). The moralof the story is therefore, havingidentified high potential talent andstretched them through challeng-ing assignments, we must be pre-pared for mistakes and failures. Wemust ensure that there are meansto restore potential and achieveredemption, as opposed to neces-sarily permanent cold storage formistakes made.

applyiNg iNsightsThere are clearly insights on

leadership from Star Wars. However,I am very confident that no onereading this will write an officememo to their bosses to implementinitiatives based on the experienceof Star Wars. Unfortunately, thereis no shortage of those who wouldrecommend adopting somethingdirectly from the Jack Welch or GE

STar WarS provideSgreaT inSighTS onleaderShip

USe The

Force



By LILY [email protected]

SUSAN Boyle stepped onto thestage of Britain’s Got Talentin a pretty but dull colouredfrock that did nothing for herimage. Her hair was rather

dishevelled in colour and shape, andshe struggled to articulate herself,then swung her hips defiantly, insist-ing “and that’s just one side of me!”

The audience cringed and there waselectricity in the air: it was judgementtime. Simon Cowell’s face

Here was a lady who could easilyblend into a crowd, but aspired to belike multi-award winning singer ElainePaige. Really? But, Boyle went on toprove everyone wrong, putting toshame people’s common tendency tojudge a person’s ability by her or hisappearance.

But, does that mean that imagedoesn’t matter and “it’s what’s on theinside that count?”

First impressionsWell done to Boyle for wooing the

crowd over, but her case demon-

made once. Image is the

will be etched into people’sminds. It forms the default

success story. Her rendition

all negative notionsthe public formed

first moments;

was simply in

However, in the working world wedon’t always have the luxury of time(nor mercy) to start off on the wrongfooting, then rely on something to“save and redeem” us later. A meetingwith a prospective client could only last10 minutes. Every moment should beused to project an image of credibilityand to build trust. Job seekers mayhave great things to say in an interview,but they must also say it well. When arecruiter has to choose between twopeople with the same skillset, but oneprojects a more polished image thanthe other, the choice is easy.

personal brandingThe aim is this: our image should

project our values, attributes andabilities from the get go, and thisrequires care and attention. It’s notabout being pedantic, but strate-gic. According to research at EmoryUniversity in Atlanta, image can makeor break careers. That promotion iswaiting not just for someone who cando the job, but someone who alsolook the part.

Naturally it includes dressing andgrooming. Someone involved in cor-porate negotiations for instance maywant to resort to a well-cut suit andsmart grooming to project power.Business titan and Chairman of Indianmultinational conglomerate TataGroup Sir Ratan Tata does this well.Always slickly suited up, British GQranked the charismatic leader one ofthe top dressed businessmen of 2012.Margaret Thatcher, longest servingand only female Prime Minister of theUnited Kingdom, carried through herassertive leadership in her appear-ance. Perfectly waved hair, solid

coloured suits and elegant accesso-ries, she projected resoluteness andconfidence. Of course, dressing mustbe appropriate for the circumstancestoo. Jeff Staple, urban design icon andCreative Director of Staple Design, isin a collared long sleeved shirt mostly.Other times, he is in a T-shirt, sweateror hoodie. For the sphere of work he isin, it works.

But as important as dressing is, so ishow one communicates non-verbally.UCLA Professor Albert Mehrabianreminds us that 55% of messagesreceived and processed by our brainare based on body language. If I wantto appear friendly, there are differentthings to consider. How open are myshoulders? Do I lunge too forwardwhen I speak? Where are my kneespointing? Even a handshake says a lotabout someone.

Credibility & HarmonyAn image that is consistent with

one’s values and abilities also projectscredibility. If I say I am meticulous butcome to work in an creased shirt, thecontradiction between my words andimage creates confusion and distrust.

There is also an unconscious relief inobserving an internal-external har-mony. Susan Boyle wasn’t left to her“own devices” after her appearanceon Britain’s Got Talent. After wowingthe world with her voice, she receivedan image makeover. Interestinglyenough, the public embraced her newappearance, one that is as polished asher voice.

At the end of the day, it is aboutbelieving that you have somethinggreat to say, then positioning yourimage to effectively communicate tothe target audience . It’s not aboutcreating an artificial image, but bear-ing in mind that people’s perception ofyou has crucial connections as to howmuch they would believe in what yousay. We say “don’t judge a book by itscover”, but the cover does determinewhether we bother opening the bookor not in the first place!

n Lily Cheah and the Image Mattersteam will be exploring all image relat-ed matters, including body language,dressing and grooming, in the hope ofhelping you be more effective in yourinteractions with others.

It does weIgh Income crunch tIme!

ImAge does

mAtter

time. Simon Cowell’s facesaid it all.

crowd over, but her case demon-strated a point. First impres-

sions are indeed powerful,and they can only bemade once. Image is the

general impression thatwe give to the public,

and the image we projectin the first 20-30 secondswill be etched into people’sminds. It forms the default

perception of us, unlessa subsequent compelling

impression can replace it.Boyle’s case is a resoundingsuccess story. Her renditionof “I Dreamed a Dream”was so flawless that it

managed to vanquishall negative notions

the public formedof her in the

first moments;the audiencewas simply inawe.

Boyle during her Britain’s GotTalent audition in 2009

Boyle remains a treasured success story of triumph over prejudgment, but we shouldn’t risk starting on the wrong footing inour work environments.

First impressions counts. Just ask Simonn Cowell.


By LOUIS YAP JUN [email protected]

THE easiest way to start thisarticle would be by introduc-ing myself. So that I shalldo! My name is Louis Yap,and I was born and bred in

Petaling Jaya. I took the Foundation inArts course at HELP University College,and pursued Psychology at the sameinstitution. Although I studied inSekolah Sri Cempaka from preschoolto Form Five, I can assure you that myfamily is not as well off as you mightimagine. Growing up among peerswho seemed to be fed with goldencornflakes (pun intended), it seemedas if being rich was what got you eve-rything, and that education was thekey to getting rich. My paradigm hassince changed; education is important,no matter what you do.

My dad had chosen an IT courseat the Asian Pacific Institute ofInformation Technology (APIIT) for me.Having already respected his wisheswhen it came to choosing my streamin Form Four, it was time I made myown decision. Instead of starting col-lege in January like most of my peers,I chose to take three months off toweigh up my options.

I took up a part-time job, and itwas a very worthwhile experience;it taught me responsibility, account-ability, and most importantly, peopleskills. I met all kinds of people – fromtypical, nonchalant locals to the mosteccentric foreigners – and adaptedto each one differently. In retrospect,those interpersonal skills served mewell when I finally began college, for Imet a myriad of personalities.

My interests ranged from eventmanagement and mass communi-cations to Psychology, which hadrecently caught my attention. I alsoremember attending the FACON edu-cation fair in Putra World Trade Centre,where I collected brochures fromvarious universities regarding theirpre-university programmes. The onethat finally caught my attention wasthe Foundation in Arts course at HELPUniversity College. After speaking totheir counsellor and much thought, Idecided that it was the most suitable

course for me. The foundation courseseemed just right, as marks were allo-cated for assignments and presenta-tions, which meant that non-academicskills were taken seriously as well. Thepros included the acquisition of crucialwork ethics, team coordination skills,and the ability to speak in public withconfidence. The cons were that youhad to take all your work seriously,and procrastination was Public Enemynumber one. After all, even if you doreally well during your examinations, astrong final grade cannot be achievedwithout a similar performance in one’sassignments.

The main reason I settled on

Foundation in Arts at HELP was thevariety of subjects offered. From theusual business subjects like Economicsand Accounts and Marketing, to sub-jects such as Public Relations and CProgramming, it was comforting toknow that I could try out these sub-jects as electives, as I did not knowwhat I wanted to do just yet.

What I liked best about my pro-gramme was how easy it was to meetpeople. It really surprised me howeveryone was so easy going, and easyto get along with. The Foundationprogramme also organised interest-ing activities – as a student in thiscourse, it is compulsory to attend a

fun Leadership Camp! I would tellthose considering this course to thinkit through carefully. If you are morefamiliar with the secondary schoolsystem, this will take some gettingused to. Another thing to consideris its international reputation – as alocal course, it is not as internation-ally recognised as A-Levels or theInternational Baccalaureate pro-gramme. So if you plan on furtheringyour studies overseas after your pre-university, those two would be moreappropriate. Another pre-universityoption would be Monash UniversityFoundation Year, which equates toautomatic entry should you decide toenter Monash University.

Another thing I would tell SPM-leavers or soon-to-be SPM-takers, isto keep in touch with your friends,and more importantly, value the timeyou have left with them, as you willbe parting ways very soon, and timeand distance takes their toll on anyrelationship. With that, I bid you adieu,and hope my writing has benefitedyou in some way or another.

n Louis Yap Jun Hao pursuedPsychology at HELP University Collegeand is currently working at The Star asa graduate trainee.

Is Your BraIn DYIng?

By TERRY SMALL

IT’S never too early to saveyour brain! Many neuro-scientists believe that age-related damage in yourbrain begins the day youare born. So when shouldyou start worrying aboutloss of brainpower withage? Right now! Thinkabout it. If your braingoes... what’s left? Youhave a lot depending uponand invested in your men-tal performance and yourmemories. If you haven’tbeen caring for your brainbefore - it’s time to start!

Brain disease, such asAlzheimer’s, doesn’t begin

the day it is diagnosed. Itstarts much, much earlier.Research seems to point afinger at free radical dam-age: damage which startsearly with small undetect-able hits on brain cells.Your brain is very fattywhich makes it vulnerableto free radical attack. Suchattacks can lead to neuro-nal death and faulty braincircuitry.

Antioxidants can help.Lots of research showsthat animals fed anti-oxidants are healthier,mentally sharper and livelonger. One study showedthat pregnant mice fedantioxidants gave birth to

offspring that aged moreslowly. Sounds good tome!

So, what are the bestbrain-saving fruits andvegetables? Number 1is a virtual powerhouseof antioxidants for yourbrain! It’s cheap. It tastesgood. It’s in every super-market. And it’s probablynot part of your daily diet(add it fast!). What is it?

One single prune has an antioxidantcapacity (ORAC) of 5770. Double #2on the list! In our house, we nowhave a container of prunes (besidethe fruit bowl) in plain view. One a

the earlier you care foryour brain the better it will perform

n Terry Small is a brainresearcher who believesthat everyone is a genius

Be WIse,ThInk TWIceconsIDeraTIons In PosT-sPM sTuDIes

Whilst working at The Star, Yap still makes time for other activities includingplaying ultimate frisbee and surfing.

Prunes

Is Your BraIn DYIng?

is a virtual powerhouseof antioxidants for yourbrain! It’s cheap. It tastesgood. It’s in every super-market. And it’s probablynot part of your daily diet(add it fast!). What is it?

day. What could be easier?Remember: the earlier you care for

your brain the better it will performat any age.

We have four experts on career management, HR and office issues, whowill address your questions weekly. We refer to them as Careernomers- experts in career matters who will help you in your career journey.The questions can range from issues you are facing in the workplaceto career advice and questions that you need help on. Anything goesin this exciting new column. each week, different panelists will taketurns answering your questions on careers. This week, Johan and elisaanswer Sonia’s question. If you have a burning question to ask, send itto [email protected] and we will get the panel toanswer your questions.

Bani has worked in HR roles with SimeDarby, Motorola both in Malaysia and theUS, AC Nielson and is currently the SeniorVice-President leading the Corporate Servicesdivision at Malakoff. He brings a wealth of HRbest practices both locally and globally.

Hui Ming was part of Ge’s elite group of hi-potentialtalent. She was a business leader to Ge’s GlobalBusiness Service division and later led the HRfunctions for Ge at the Asean level before beingmade Asia HR leader for Ge’s Oil and Gas division.She is a co-founder of Leaderonomics and aprominent HR leader in Malaysia.

Johan is currently CeO of TalentCorp Malaysia. Hepreviously served as Principal Private Secretary to theMinister in the Prime Minister’s Department. He wasinstrumental in the development of human capital relatedinitiatives such as the GLC Blue Book on Performance-linked Compensation policy, PINTAR and Trust Schools.

AngH

uiMi

ng

JoHA

nMe

ricA

n

BAni

ZAin

Al

elisa currently heads the Assessment and CareerGrowth at Leaderonomics. She grew from the roleof an FeS counsellor to an identified Young HighPotential in Sunway Group, where she also led theCareer Services Team. She was later recruited as aSenior Talent Assessment Consultant prior to leadingInspired Minds.

elisA

DAss

Avin

tHe cAreernoMersmystarjob, saturday 8 september 2012 15

A DisAppointeDsoul elisA DAss AnD JoHAn MericAn

ADvise soniA to look At tHeBrigHt siDe of tHings

Dear Sonia,Life isn’t fair. Learning to accept this is

the first step towards true happiness. Fortunecookie advice aside, don’t get hung up with avictim complex, get over it and get on with life!Academic qualifications naturally affect entrylevel hence starting pay. However, even if youmay start off at a lower level, there are manycareer paths where your progress will not beimpeded by not having a degree. You need to beless preoccupied with starting salaries but focuson how far a career can progress and grow. Asimplistic example is how a toll booth operatorearns more than a bricklayer starting out butover time, the bricklayer will progress and accu-mulate skills for construction and will probablyovertake the toll booth operator in having moreincome over time. Do look out for opportunitiesfor lifelong learning and there are also areas forprofessional certification which do not requirea degree, such as in ICT or accounting. Thisprovides another avenue to leapfrog those withdegrees. I have met a good number of peoplewho have climbed the corporate ladder withouta degree. Maintain your big ambitions but bewilling to invest the time and effort in buildingyour career.

Johan

Dear Sonia,The unfortunate truth in this part of the

world that we live in is that many traditionalemployers still find security in certificates andscroll. That said, it is not the end of your career.Many people are doing great even without adegree, and some without even completinghigh school. Yes, you may have to take a slightlydifferent path than most graduates, but it’s nocul-de-sac as long as you are willing to workhard. I believe there are two key options youcan consider. But more important than theoptions you have, is a fundamental questionthat you should answer first. “What am I goodat?” As simple as a question it may sound, itsometimes can be one of the hardest questionsto answer!

Having asked that question myself, here area few questions that can aid you in discoveringyour gifts:

1) What do I think I’m good at?2) What do my friends think I am

good in?3) What have I done previously and

often received praises for?4) What do my friends often come to

me for help for?

You may or may not have won awards forthis strength of yours, but it’s what’s unique toyou. And working in your areas of strengths canbe very advantageous to you.

Once you have discovered that, there aremany options for you, but I would like to sharemore on two of them.

1) Don’t give up on climbing the career ladder,if that’s your dream.

If you know your strengths and where youare heading, try to get a foot into a companythat you can potentially stay and work your wayup. Whatever position you may be hired into,work ReALLY hard and show that you are a classabove the rest of your peers. Get noticed – forgood things, of course. Once you are noticed, itwill make it easier for you to ask for promotionsand transfers into areas of your preference. Butif you find that your boss is holding back yourcareer growth due to lack of paper qualification,then you know, this is not the right company.(Sometimes, the boss may not be right for you).Alternatively, you can work and save up enoughto complete the degree.

2) Be your own boss!entrepreneurship is no longer a stranger to

many young people now. Most of us are lookingfor ways to earn more and be in control of ourown career. As for you, if you know what youare good at, consider the possibility of startinga business. It’s not easy work, but at least youcan put your best traits to play and do not haveto rely on others to decide how much you canearn based on a degree. If being an entrepreneurscares you, read up or speak to young peoplewho have started and grown their own busi-nesses. Learn from them. There are many willing“teachers” out there in our caring community.

Whichever road you may choose to travel,bear in mind always that you are not definedby your educational background. Know whoyou are, where you are going, and worktowards it! And if you get discouraged, read upon degree-less people like Abraham Lincoln,Frederick Henry Royce, James Cameron, MiltonHershey, and so many more! Remember also,as your friends have already considered you tobe a class above the rest, it is OK to start smallbefore you hit your big break! Don’t make themistake of wanting to hit jackpot the minuteyou start. There are many precious lessons tolearn along the way that can be pivotal to yoursuccess!

All the best!

elisa

IDID not complete my degree due to financial reasons. Basedon what my friends say, I think I am above average in manyways compared to some graduates these days. But I amfinding it so difficult to secure a good job that pays me suf-ficiently and provides me a challenging job at the same time

because employers always fall back to the fact that I don’t havea degree. Does this mean my career has ended even before itbegun? I have big dreams and don’t think this is fair! - Sonia

The opinions expressedare those of the authorsand not necessarilythose of myStarjob


Coming up in next Saturday’s issue . . .

Also next week

Learn what a career insports actually entails,through our specialfeature on Malaysia’sOlympic heroes.

Is it possible to findbalance betweenwork and life? Read morein our “Work-LifeBalance” columnby inspiring book authorZaid Mohamad

See whatAllianceBank offersits high-potentialemployees in“Company& Talent”

Getadviceand tips onhow to writea resume in“How To”

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