THE AWAKENING

Lunch in Bali, Dinner in KLIA, Supper in the Plane and Breakfast in Beijing…. I thought this is only something that is possible for the rich. Now I realized, it is also possible for a trainer to do so.

Recently, I was invited to speak and train in both Indonesia and China. In Indonesia, participants are generally well mannered and soft spoken. A respond that is similar to what we have here in Malaysia. On the other hand, in China, participants are participative, ask throught provoking questions and are very keen to learn. What a contrast!

Many people told me that people in China is very vocal but may not be open to new concepts or ideas. My own experience said otherwise. They are like sponge. Absorbing ideas, willing to raise their hand to answer, willing to volunteer and participate actively in activities.

I can’t help to compare my experience of the participants in Malaysia and now in China. Most participants in Malaysia treat training as half holiday, half learning. The key highlight of the day is ‘What are we eating for lunch’ or ‘Can we finish earlier today’. In China, training start from 9am, finish till 6pm. After that, participants still stay back for more briefing and in house activities. When I was first told that participants will be stretched beyond the official training hours, my first response was ‘this is not a good idea!’ However, again they surprised me! All participants are still actively participating in discussion and activities. It went on till 7:30pm…. Wow!

While they may be behind many of the developed countries, while they may still have some improvement areas, in many aspects they have shown strong potential and have grown rapidly over the years.

I began to feel concern for our people in Malaysia. Are you ready to compete? Are you willing to work hard and work long hours? And yet at a lower salary? Are you able to help your company to access the up and coming China market? What makes employers choose you?

The only way is when you are able to continue provides
VALUES
to your organization!

Equip yourself with the right skills and right attitude. Keep challenging yourself. Keep training yourself. Tap into others’ knowledge and experience.

Don’t learn the Hard Way
Learn the SMART Way!