Everything I learned about leadership, I learned them hands-on.
In Venture, starting 11 years ago, until now, many things that I have learned, I learned hands-on throughout my time in Venture.
Of course, not everything is perfect. Benefits of hindsight, some decisions seem stupid too. As time goes on, I learned to grow, deal with mistakes, and always looking on the bright side on how I can use those blunders to improve. Reading a lot of books help me too.
Hands on learning is tough – You have to go through the heartaches and experience all sorts of difficulties (which, if I know how to deal with it earlier, probably would have made my life easier).
However, by learning through experience, it is much more ingrained in me instead of just learning theoretically. Insya Allah, I will remember the lessons better.
Now, we are working on developing leaders in Authentic Venture Sdn Bhd. I know how hard it is sometimes to make some tough decisions. And that is probably what other people are facing too.
We hope with more structured learning & leadership development, our team are able to do this – achieve results faster, and hopefully will help all of us in our leadership challenges. I too, am still learning, and will never stop.
Hari ini saya dikejutkan dengan berita salah seorang kenalan saya telah meninggal dunia. Saya kenal dia melalui seorang kawan sebelum ini, dan dia banyak telah membantu saya selama ini.
Dia telah dimasukkan ke Hospital Kajang pada hari Rabu yang lepas dan Doktor telah mengesahkan terdapat nanah dalam otaknya. Saya pun tidak berapa tahu bagaimana kondisinya, hanya dengan khabar dari anak saudaranya.
Saya sangka dapat dipulihkan, namun, mungkin sudah tiba ajalnya. Tak sempat saya jumpa dengannya buat kali terakhir. Saya berdoa agar rohnya dicucuri rahmat dan moga dia ditempatkan di kalangan orang-orang yang beriman.
Mari kita sama-sama sedeqahkan Al-Fatihah dan Surah Al-Ikhlas buat dia. Semoga dia ditempatkan di kalangan orang-orang yang beriman.
Berita ini adalah sebuah berita yang memang tidak disangka-sangka. Bila-bila masa akan sampai ajal kita. Adakah kita sudah bersedia untuk menemui dengan Allah, Maha Pencipta?
Gunakan masa yang kita ada utk beramal soleh. Baiki hubungan kita dengan ibu bapa, ahli keluarga, sahabat handai. Berikan bantuan kepada mereka yang memerlukan. Sedeqah amal jariah. Walaupun kita mungkin tiada apa-apa, kita bantu dengan apa yang kita ada.
Maksudnya: Dari Abi Huhairah RA, sesungguhnya Rasulullah SAW bersabda: Apabila seseorang anak Adam itu meninggal dunia,maka terputuslah amalannya kecuali tiga perkara: sedekah jariah, ilmu yang dimanfaatkan dengannya dan anak soleh yang mendoakan untuknya”. Muslim, Sahih Muslim bi sharh al-Imam Muhyiddin al-Nawawi, Kitab wasiyyah, jld. 11, hlm.87.
Saya salah seorang silent reader Ebit Lew di Facebooknya. Follow juga program amal dan sedeqah yang dijalankannya.
Namun saya bersedih bila ada beberapa pihak pertikaikan bantuan yang diberikan kepada sebuah keluarga di Kedah apabila ada pihak yang tidak berpuas hati seolah-olah tiada pihak lain membantu keluarga tersebut. Ebit Lew dan keluarga tersebut sendiri telah mengakui banyak juga pihak lain membantu. Namun, apa yang saya nampak ialah Ebit Lew membantu bukan sahaja dari segi fizikal seperti bantuan kewangan dan makanan, tetapi secara rohani iaitu memberikan motivasi dan menjentik hati keluarga tersebut untuk berubah dari cara yang sebelum ini.
Keluarga tersebut perlukan bantuan, bukan sahaja dari wang ringgit, tetapi sebanarnya secara emosi dan rohani. Mereka perlukan bantuan untuk mengubah mindset mereka dan mereka perlukan bantuan utk memberikan motivasi dann juga dari segi kerohanian. Apa yang saya nampak ialah Ebit Lew telah berjaya di bahagian ini yang berkemungkinan group bantuan lain belum berjaya.
Saya akui, sebenarnya nak berikan motivasi dan bantu dari segi kerohanian ni sebenarnya lagi susah dari wang riggit. Tahniah Ebit Lew kerana berjaya membantu mereka. Mungkin Allah ingin hantarkan hidayah dan bantuan kepada kerohanian mereka melalui Ebit Lew. Siapakah kita untuk mempertikaikan?
Sebenarnya banyak keluarga yang terperangkap dalam keadaan daif/homeless, sebenarnya sangat-sangat memerlukan motivasi dan bantuan kerohanian. Ini bagi membantu mereka untuk boleh bangun semula, di samping menerima bantuan kewangan dan lain-lain. Hal ini kerana pentingnya motivasi diri dan kerohanian bagi membolehkan mereka terus berusaha untuk improve dan seterusnya keluar dari keadaan mereka sekarang.
Selain dari itu juga, ada pihak yang mempertikaikan sedeqah secara terang-terangan. Ni saya ada jumpa dari perkongsian Whatsapp berkenaan dengan hal ini:
KEPADA SESIAPA YANG PERTIKAIKAN SEDEQAH SECARA ‘TERANG – TERANGAN’ JOM BACA DALIL DARI AL- QURAN & HADIS SAHIH.!!
Allah berfirman: “Jika kamu menampakkan sedekah(mu), maka itu adalah baik sekali. Dan jika kamu menyembunyikannya dan kamu berikan kepada orang-orang fakir, maka menyembunyikan itu lebih baik bagimu. Dan Allah akan menghapuskan dari kamu sebagian kesalahan-kesalahanmu; dan Allah mengetahui apa yang kamu kerjakan.” (QS. Al-Baqarah: 271)
Dari ayat di atas menyebutkan bahwa keduanya diperbolehkan, namun sedekah yang dilakukan sembunyi-sembunyi adalah lebih baik.
Namun ada kalanya orang bersedekah dengan maksud agar orang lain ada yang mengikuti apa yang dilakukannya itu. Jadi dia bersedekah untuk memotivasi orang lain agar mau bersedekah pula. Tentu saja hal ini diperbolehkan. Sebab mengajak orang untuk berbuat baik tidak hanya mendatangkan pahala bagi orang yang bersedekah, tetapi juga bagi orang yang memotivasinya.
Rasulullah bersabda: “Barangsiapa memulai suatu sunnah yang baik dalam Islam, maka ia mendapatkan pahalanya dan pahala orang-orang yang mengikutinya.” (HR. Muslim)
Moga Ebit Lew diberikan kekuatan dan kesabaran untuk mengharungi dugaan yang Allah berikan ini. Dan moga kita semua sentiasa istiqamah untuk berterusan bersedeqah, bukan sahaja dari segi kewangan/fizikal, malah juga secara rohani.
Pejam celik pejam celik, dah dekat sebulan dah Perintah Kawalan Gerakan (PKP) dijalankan di Malaysia. Kerajaan baru je umumkan hari jumaat minggu lepas yang PKP akan disambung lagi 2 minggu.
Perasaan? Saya pun tak tahulah nak cakap apa. Banyak yang terkesan dengan PKP dan masalah Covid-19 ni. Homestay saya pun kosong terus sepanjang PKP (dan besar kemungkinan akan terus berkurangan booking selagi masalah Covid-19 ni belum betul2 selesai). Bersyukur sangat kerajaan Malaysia bagi moratorium bayaran loan rumah, kalau tak, pengsan jugakla nak membayarnya 😭
Dari perkongsian Majlis Keselamatan Nasional, nampak gaya kes positif Covid-19 ni masih lebih kurang 100+.
Ni update terbaru hari ini:
Selepas PKP ni, banyak lagi nak kena replan semula. Bagaimana nak naikkan semula ekonomi negara. Bagaimana nak pastikan Covid-19 dapat dilenyapkan terus dari mukabumi ni.
Saya pun tak tahu berapa lama lagi masa yang diperlukan untuk selesaikan masalah ini. Harap-harap ekonomi Malaysia dapat melonjak balik naik semula dengan segera selepas ini.
Marilah kita berdoa agar Allah menghapuskan Covid-19 ni dari mukabumi dengan kadar segera, dan semoga ekonomi Malaysia dan dunia dapat naik semula insya Allah. Amin…
It has been a while since I last shared my stories here. Attending the SME Graduates Program @ UKM has inspired me to start writing (or in this case, typing) again. Hope to be more consistent after this!
Anyway, you must be wondering, what is this SME Graduates program?
Previously this program is known as SME@University. Now rebranded and taken over by HRDF. HRDF works with universities, (I joined the UKM session since it is soooo near to my house), and the universities organize the program with speakers based on modules developed previously. The program was inspired by Tokyo SME Training Institute.
This program is about 9-10 weeks long (and mind you, this time, they make it almost every weekend). It is a bit tiring since you have to work Monday-Friday, and then attend trainings on Saturday and Sunday. But the good thing is, all of the participants are very excited and always full of energy. Most of them did not even take a break in the middle of the week! Salute guys!
Besides learning and getting more knowledge, skills and motivation in growing your business, you can nurture your relationship with other business owners and top management from the other companies. The program really provides us with a lot of opportunities that we may not find elsewhere.
We have just completed the third weekend. And always more and more excited for the upcoming classes. Will share more in the next posts!
Have you been to MyTown Shopping Center? It is located right next to Ikea Cheras (It’s actually connected to Ikea).
There are hundreds of shopping centers in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor and I have been to some of them (not all yet 😅) but what I can share is, MyTown is one of the most kids friendly mall we’ve been to.
Why did I say kids friendly?
Because at almost every floor, there will be a mini playground for kids. So they won’t get bored!
Here is an example of a playground available in the mall. They have a few similar playgrounds available, so you can take a break and rest at every floor while your kids play.
This one is located right in front of Toys R Us. They have another one with bigger structure and higher slide on the ground floor, right in front of Ikea entrance, but unfortunately I totally forgot to take a picture. The first time we went to MyTown, my kids spent almost an hour playing with the slides.
They also have a Molly Fantasy and an indoor park (I don’t remember the name, but it is not Kidzoona. I think Wau wau park maybe?) at a really reasonable price. RM10 for 30 minutes and RM20 for 2 hours of entertainment. Your kids are gonna love it.
They put some nicely designed “treehouse” with balls pool. There is also an area that they design to imitate outdoor playground.
They also provide some costumes for kids who like to play pretend (look at the picture above). Although at the time I take this picture, not much can be seen as few kids already wear those costumes merrily!
This is my daugther, Ameena, posing as a pirate of the day!
Have not yet been to MyTown? Try it out. You will not be dissappointed. =)
Taman Tasik Cempaka is the main outdoor recreational center in Bandar Baru Bangi. Usually there are many people including grandpas, parents and kids exercising, jogging and play at the playgrounds available at Taman Tasik Cempaka.
The above picture shows one of the large play structure available at one of the playgrounds at Taman Tasik Cempaka, Bandar Baru Bangi.
If you like, you can also rent bicycles and electric cars and motors for your entertainment. The price range is usually between RM10-20 for 20-30 minutes. There are many vendors to choose from. Your kids will be very happy.
Or you can also jog around the lake which many of the people love to do as well to get good exercises needed.
On Saturdays and Sundays morning, there are also carboot sale in which you can shop for various items. Sometimes you might even find a gem or two! Last time I scored beautiful blazers and jackets for just RM2.50 a piece. Absolute gems!
Besides getting good exercises and outdoor family time, it’s gentle on your pocket as there are lots of activities you can do without having to fork out money. Love it!
If you are looking for a new playground with different sets of play structures for your explorer kids, you can go ahead to Semenyih Ecohill Outdoor Playground.
It is quite new, well-maintained and complete with different and creative play structures when compared to normal playgrounds.
This is tons of fun. They can climb and slide all day long.
This one is for the younger kids.
Looks fun, right?
I brought my kids there the weekend before Ramadhan this year and they enjoyed their playtime for few hours and did not want to go home!
Hours of play and exercises is good for the kids. Mamas and Papas can do a little jogging around the playground while watching the kids.
Moreover, it’s free!
They’ll love climbing this.
It’s located just about 5 minutes away from Tesco Semenyih. Just drive through the Semenyih Ecohill neighborhood road and you will see this playground on your left (if you are coming from the Tesco Semenyih direction).
Your kids will be very happy and have plenty of exercises here.
And here is Adam, enjoying his drink before going off to play – again. When we were there, there were a few stalls (or more accurately, carboot style stalls) opened that sells drinks should you and your kids become thirsty.
If you’re living somewhere near to Semenyih, I suggest you checkout the playground. Your kids will love it while being kind to your pocket! 😊
Today, 17 November 2018, marks a historical day for our family. All three of my children received awards from their respective schools:
Adam – 2nd in class for KAFA
Ameena – 2nd in class for Prasekolah Tadika Vonad
Azmi – Anugerah Pelajar Lonjakan Tadika Vonas
These past 2-3 weeks when I received the good news, I feel very proud. My happy tears keep coming out these past weeks, and this is probably one of the proudest moment in my 32 years of life. Finally I understand why people keep saying “Make your parents proud”.
Adam, Ameena, Azmi, should you read this in the future, I want you to know that I am very proud of you and I love you all very much. I hope you will always be very successful and become among the best in the world, dunia and akhirat.
Today I spent time with my team, watching Linkedin Learning on “Solution Selling” together. My teammates are quite young, some of them are first timer in sales.
In #solutionselling , we focus on customer’s objectives and goals. This is the most important thing in solution selling – understand our customer’s objectives and goals, and help provide the solution. We do not sell based on features or price.
How to do this? By having conversations with the client, and ask questions to focus the conversation.
After each segment of videos, we discuss what do we understand from the video, and also share about related areas.
One of the things we learned is about peer-level relationship. When we discuss with our clients, we need to establish peer-level relationship, which means we are at the same level with them. We cannot put ourselves as too big compared to them, or too small. This is so that the discussion on both sides can flow better, and we do not tend to just agree to everything the customer said just to gain the sales.
As a young sales team members, my teammates often feels small when they enter a room with a big organization to discuss how OfficeCentral can help them. So, we discuss why this happen and how to improve them.
Picture: Sometimes we feel so small, like the cat ^_^
Why? Some of the items that my teammates shared include:
– Low confidence
– Feel not on the same level (usually the bosses are the ones who join the meeting)
– Feel not enough knowledge
Next, we discuss how to overcome these.
Some of the brainstorm ideas we got included the following:
– Mindset. First and foremost, we need to correct our mindset. Sometimes we probably meet the prospect with a wrong mindset – we want to sell them something. When we meet with a prospect, we are actually bringing value to them. We want to help them possibly identify their known or even unknown problems, and help to provide solution to them. We have something that they want – value.
– Grooming. The way we present ourselves will give impression to our clients. And also to our own confidence. By ensuring that we groom ourselves to the higher level, it will help to boost confidence, and give good impression to our prospect. One of the easiest way to do this is by wearing blazer when attending meeting with prospects.
– Knowledge development. Apart from the trainings provided by the company, the sales team should regularly explore the system to increase their product knowledge, read, and keep their knowledge up to date by reading the market trend. Even if some people don’t like to read, they can still watch thousands of videos available online. Time investment is required. Money investment? Not so much. But if you would like to invest your money for knowledge – that’s great! At Authentic Venture Sdn Bhd, we even provide mini library full of books that will help the team increase knowledge. So they should take advantage of that.
– Preparation. Preparation before the meeting such as looking up about the organization, understand their business, prepare the questions we would like to ask during the meeting, all of these will help us to feel more confident when entering a meeting with a prospect.
All of the above may sound simple, you likely know about those too. So, now you already know about it, you need to do it.
Do you have ideas to overcome these issues? Share with us by commenting below!
