It is Christmas tomorrow. Here is wishing everyone a very Blessed Christmas. May we remember the reason for the season and give thanks for all the blessings we have received. And have a great 2006.

Chaos

Ever wondered why sometimes chaos is left to thrive? Or that new processes or requirements are implemented without first walking through to see if it will be smooth for the affected people?

Sometime last year, I was in a neighbouring country. In between my arrival and departure, the airport authorities decided to implement new security procedures and passengers were advised to be at the airport 3 hours before departure. On the day of my departure, I was at the airport just under 3 hours from my ETD and I was stunned at the crowd that was there. The queue that has formed outside the terminal building was like 5 abreast, crowded and chaotic.
After joining the queue for 30 mins, it has probably moved like 5 metres and the door is still some 20 metres away. At this rate, by my calculation, I won't make it to the departure on time. I then informed an airport security person who was standing around (not really directing the crowd) that I have a plane to catch is about 2 hours and I might miss the flight as the queue is moving too slowly, and are they going to allow people who have departure in the next hour or so to move into the terminal building first. He answered in the negative. Then he added that he can bring me into the terminal building via a faster route but I'll have to pay him a fee. When I asked him how much, it was the equivalent of RM700. I ignored him and slowly inched my way forward, finally checking in with 45 mins to spare before hitting another long queue at immigration. By then, the airline officials were calling and escorting us to the front of the queue to be cleared by immigration.

Looking back at how some of our public departments operated previously, they were a hotbed for "guides" to thrive. Owing to the way the complex processes were set up, the only way one could get through the process is to pay someone to guide you through them. Thus, those departments who have simplified their processes and made it easy for the public to navigate, these "guides" have disappeared.

Thus, in my opinion, if any administration were to eliminate corruption, the first order of the day is to simplify the processes and eliminate the chaos.

Excellence vs Perfection

Some years ago, I came across calendar of quotations and vividly remember a qoute attributed to Michael J. Fox that I thought was quite meaningful. Unfortunately, I could not remember the words until a few days ago, when someone sent me a collection of meaningful words in powerpoint and and it contained this quotation.

"I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection.
Excellence, I can reach for;
Perfection is God's business"

Very often, we use the word perfection in our execution but what we really mean is excellence or a repeatable execution. As example, a hole in one in golf can be viewed as a perfect shot. It is also a lucky shot as one is unable to reproduce that shot all the time. What one can do is to practise consistently such that one can repeat the swing and improves one's odd of scoring that hole in one. As one professional golfer has said, "the more I practise, the luckier I get."

The poem below by Jill Wolf hangs in my office.

Excellence is dedication to a job that's hard to do,
Going the extra mile and always trying to follow through.

Excellence is communication, sharing everything you know,
And learning how to listen your expertise will grow.

Excellence is appreciation of the talent that you see,
Acknowledging a job well done inspires success and loyalty.

Excellence is aspiration with a higher goal in mind,
To trust in God and reach for things of a more rewarding kind.

Nicol - World Squash Champion

Nicol David is the new World Open Champion. BBC Sports reported that she beat Rachael Grinham 8-10 9-2 9-6 9-6. She will also be the new world No. 1 come January. No prize for guessing who will be the Sportwoman of the year 2005. Congratulations to Nicol.