Lets go Go-Kart - Air Keroh, Melaka

If you have a chance to go to Melaka for a holiday, make a quick stop at the Ayer Keroh Extreme Motor Sport Park.  The park is located near the Crocodile Farm.  The direction is that after you exit from PLUS highway, go straight up to 5 km, after you pass the McD on your right and the Melaka Zoo & Dataran Bersejarah Melaka are on your left, give a right signal and slowly turn to right, watch out cars from opposite road. 

Try this code (N 02.16.562 E 102.17.863) if you have navigator devices.

They provide a buggie tracking ride on the ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) through the tropical landscape of Ayer Keroh Recreational Forest.  The ride takes about 15 minutes and the cost around MYR150 per ride for 2 adults and 1 young child.

They also have a Go Kart circuit and you will be the next F1 driver, Alonso to enjoy the driving experience.  You will be charged around MYR30 for 3 laps.   If you considered yourself as a GP rider or “Mat Rempit”, test you skill with the mini sport bike.  You can make a dare-devil cornering but do not end your life like Marco Simoncelli who tragically died after he lost control with his Honda during the Sunday’s Malaysia Grand Prix. Marco Simoncelli (R.I.P)... 

After you had enjoyed the automotive ride, take a nice ride on the bullock ride to amaze the smelly odour from the bull.  The ride will cost you MYR10 for a small round at least less than a kilometre and you can fit 5-6 person inside the bullock cart.

Mind Mapping- effective method to streamline task

Mind Mapping is not a weird word among effective leaders which occasionally helps them to strategize their task effectively.  There are a lot of methods in doing the mind mapping and what I can share is the one that I always do to organise my work. No doubt that now, you may not do one task only but many tasks assigned to you with limited time.  Now, it is called ‘multi-tasking’ work syndrome that currently heavily applied by organisation.  The main factor is due to cost-savings and downsizing.

The mind mapping is good not only to organise your work but also can be used for your personal task, e.g. buying a house, a car, go for holiday and so on.

Based from my diagram below, there are 6 factors, i.e. 5W1H.  That is why I like number 6.

In any time during discussion, meeting, brainstorming or call up for quick updates by boss, you can apply the mind mapping to show what, why, who, where, when and how in your writing notes or Ipad if you have one.  The input is simple which you only take the key notes and information during your discussion and using a logical thinking to assess the connection points for each factor (5W1H).

Once you have sketched the mind mapping drawing with notes, you have the snap-shop of the key things.  Secondly, you will have the idea what to do first and prioritize your task.  From there you can organise your work more systematic.

Hope that this will be very helpful info to all.  It is not a rocket science thing and if you apply it every day, it will be very easy and increase your lateral thinking.  

GOOD LUCK if you plan to try the method and tell me if it success.

Managing your boss efficiently

There are 5 types of bosses which normally recognised by the management school.  They are more if you dig in available management books in the Library.  What I have in mind is that they are (1) Referent, (2) Legitimate, (3) Expertise (4) Autocratic and (5) Laissez Faire.  By knowing deeply these type of bosses, you can successfully manage what are their expectations and what things that can make your work being recognized and appreciated.

However, bear in mind that if you cannot  fulfil the dos and don’ts, you may end up by ending your career as well. Then, it is strongly to renew your CV in the jobs street. If you forget the password, take a deep breath and kill yourself with fork and spoon.  Anyway, ending your career doesn't ending your life, there are plenty of jobs outside and it only a few effort and luck to find a new job.

Back to the topic, for the Referent boss, it is easy to manage because you admire him/her because of his/her status, personality and charisma.  Whatever they ask you to do, you will do it without question.  The more you do the work for him/her, the more you please yourself because you feel full satisfaction to do it.  This relate to the Maslow’ hierarchy of needs, you consider yourself at the top level which is “Self Actualization”.   The rewards from referent boss are the top of the table, a lot of hanging fruits for you to pick if the boss likes you of your hardworking, dedication and performance.

For the Legitimate boss, they earn their respect from their authority given by the organisation.  Without hesitate and willingness, you must do work assigned by him//her because at the end of the day, he/she will appraise your year-end work performance.  The more work you done, the more recognition you will get.  So, do not play fool with the work assignment passed from the boss.  Anyway, some staff misuse their line of command to get what they want by using inappropriate approach such as taking credit from other people work or to be the informer to escalate all the craps of other staff in the department to the boss.  You may grow fast in the management ladder but you will drop easily if the boss does not like your approach.

Autocratic boss will only command thing to be done without you like it or not.  You must be a heartless person and the patient level must be very high.  Two ways communication is totally non-exist since you opinion and thought will not be taken in.  What you will do is to execute the works exactly what the boss wanted and to reduce all resistant, do not give feedback or outspoken during the meeting and discussion with the boss, you will get hammer for nothing.  Not only are that, to criticize the boss openly and directly not the right move.  It is only bring more petrol in the burning fire. 

Expertise boss will get their co-operative from the staff easily because the staff look forward to work with him/her.  On top of that, staff and boss relationship is more on task and project basis.  Beware of some negative personality, the knowledge and ‘know how’ boss tend to outsmart and show-off other staff and subordinates.  Some worst cases, the boss looks low on his/her staff capability.   If this happen, staff will feel reluctant to give full co-operation because he/she will be treated badly if something goes wrong or the target of the work is not achieved as planned.  Thus, you need to do some extra ‘homework’ or to prepare yourself in advance before communicate with the boss.  Put all your fact right and in systematic ways before presenting them to him/her.  This will give you an advantage and support because the boss likes to work with organised person.

The fifth one is the Laisser Faire boss, they are simply the boss you want if you know how to manage your work properly and effectively.  The boss may set a task or target to you and let you freely do the work at your pace.  He/she acknowledges your ability to do the work and may want you to develop your management skill.  The disadvantage is that you will lost your ground if you are not capable to the work, you may end up with non-productive work.  Thus, wasting your time and energy to do the work when non monitoring and supervision by the boss.

Since I got 6 fingers, I add one more, the additional no (6) is known as “What The F***” Boss.  I have experienced with this kind of boss for the last 4 years ago.  This type of boss you should not respect or admire at all because the shit from him will make you puke all the time.  The words from him like farting all the way to toilet under urgency basis.  The easy way to manage this boss is to give him the middle finger before his eyes and scream at him and told him that he can go F***ing himself.  But before do that, please make sure you got a new job else way because the next thing, he will charge you insubordination.

So, GOOD LUCK people.

Lahad Datu - Ops Daulat Success Factor

Army Day 2011 was held at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur for a week in March.  The exhibition showed all the war machines owned by Malaysia army force.  It is a good and informative events for public to know the standard of knowledge and skills that the army personnel must have.  Luckily our Captain Nordin, my brother in law was there to entertain us.  Both my kids enjoyed their moments in the event.  Try to grap all the machine guns .... Azeem always plays shooting games called "Blackshot" and now he has the real experience how to hold a machine gun.

The funny thing is that when Azeem and I tried the land mines.  Azeem escaped of stepping the land mines and finished without exploded.  I on the other hand was "Boooom" into pieces when I stepped a land mine and was exploded in the mid way to finish line.