Finding your Self [Through the Art of Communication]

Yes, what a cliche title. But cliches are popular truths overused.

Today, we spent 9 hours in school going through the Art of Communication half credit elective. The course is aimed at improving your communication skills. But it surprised me that the instructor spoke more about self-improvement and self-awareness rather than communication techniques in public speaking.

Many of the techniques or tips he touched on resonated with the Buddhist principles (and the practice of yoga). Firstly, he talked about the 6 points of focus as we conduct our 'presentations,' and they are mostly centered around developing acute consciousness (of internal self - posture, voice, tone- and external audience reactions). Another was on self-awareness of one's movements (similar to the first point), and having a good control over these movements (think of yoga and perfecting the tiny misalignment of poses).

But the course also talked about the bigger picture/questions in life such as finding your SELF and bringing that with you to these public interactions. Sound easy since you would no longer need to put on a mask or inject a different layer of personality when you are interacting with others - but what if you have different selves?

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That dissonance between public and private selves, the adult and 'daughter' selves, the ambitious and caring selves, the conservative and open-minded selves has been bothering me for a while now. I am aware that it is not unique to me since many of us in our generation grew up across many different countries and geographies. But this is a problem I have put off dealing with for a long time.

I started noticing this and my changing Self when I was back in Myanmar having to be the 'Burmese woman' at work. I told myself it was okay to adapt my personality to get the work done (and given how exciting work was then, and the positive impact I was making it was an easy choice), but it did take a toll on me when I finally realize how much of my old self, I had given up in order to fulfill my ambitions when I was in Myanmar.

McKinsey's Green Campus Visit

We were off to an early start this morning. At 7.45am about 15 students gathered at the INSEAD lobby for a tour of McKinsey's Green Campus, a facility on the Jurong Islands where companies in the energy and continuous processing industries learn about making their operations more energy efficient. http://www.greencampus.mckinsey.com/

Having little exposure to the energy industry, I learned ab lot (of new terms and processes). A few ideas stuck with me:

Creating change in an industry-based organization requires a three-way approach.

1. Management process training

2. Technical training

3. Capabilities training (at all levels)

Learned about energy-usage in the following steps/stages

1. Furnace - energy generating

2. Fin Fan - cooling

3. Distiller - processing

4. Heat Exchanger 

Major energy saving methods:

1. Heat integration (designing ideal temperatures - hot and cold- at each stage to use min. energy for cooling and heating)

2. Heat coordiating? (can't remember the exact term) - channeling extra heat or energy from one process to another.

It was also fun to try out this new fashion item - factory overalls. 

Lived Knowledge

I wrote on another blog about lived knowledge.

Sometimes, you learn things by going through the motions (doing) which forms the core of your 'lived knowledge' pool. Some other times, you learn things through cognitive processes (by thinking) and this forms the 'learned knowledge' pool.

Working in a law firm places emphasis on cognitive reasoning. For this reason, the other aspect - learning by living - diminished. INSEAD makes sure it's students learn through doing and living by assigning group work where individuals from diverse backgrounds.

I have been lucky to have a good group of like-minded people in my P1,P2 core group. P3 groups have been are a bit more difficult to work with. People have tight schedules and have different priorities.

One concept I learned in M&A class this term, I think applies to working in groups too. That concept differentiates 'coordination error' from 'cooperation error.' Perhaps it is just a matter of coordination error (where individual behaviors different from the individual's true intentions), and not as a result of the motivation issues - cooperation error.  

10-month Goals | Conscious Living

It is easy to get distracted when there are so many events and issues unfolding around you. INSEAD is famous for keeping their students busy. Not only is the traditional 2-year MBA condensed into a 10-month program, the number of talks, and events organized each day (and each hour) in school is astounding - there is on average 3-4 'official' events on any given day, and that doesn't even include the informal events and socializing activities.

For that reason, I wanted to stay focused throughout the year, and really stay committed to achieving the goals I set out for myself at INSEAD.

My primary purpose of coming to the 10-month MBA program was to learn about the international business environment, in hopes to work in the private sector (immediately after the MBA, and eventually be a part of the economic development efforts in Myanmar a few years down. The 10-month long program ensures that I don't miss out too much on the worklife. As strange as it may sound, I enjoy working. It gives me a sense of purpose and self-worth. For this very reason, I felt unhappy and unsettled when took a break from work (March to August 2014).

To really learn about businesses (and in a condensed program such as INSEAD) requires extra attention to the course work. I paid attention in the first two periods where they taught core classes (or the fundamentals of a business education). These classes span from accounting, to finance, to strategy to name a few. Looking back (now in P3), I think I reached this goal - I am now more educated about businesses (and did relatively well in my core subjects).

Another reason I came to INSEAD was to take a break from the very compressed and stifling work (and personal) life back in the small town Yangon. Perhaps due to the nature of my work (that requires networking), I knew a lot of people in the small (but growing) Yangon. Everytime I am out, I felt like I am in the public eyes and craved for privacy and anonymity. This anonymity goal is a bit more difficult to attain at INSEAD because we spend so much time on the small campuses (both in France and Singapore).

Thirdly, I saw INSEAD as a door towards independence. Ever since I returned from Shanghai to Singapore, when my post-college NGO gig didn't work out, I have been waiting for a time to stand on my own two feet and be independent (financially and logistically/administratively). This is why getting a relatively good job after INSEAD is important to me.

Now, in the middle of P3, I am inching closer to the recruitment process and a step towards independence.

And now, being settled into the [hectic] routine of INSEAD, I am now finding more mental space (and time) to write and reflect on my experiences here and towards the fourth goal I have for myself this year: that is to live consciously and with awareness in order to enjoy the moments that pass me by in this 'transformative' year.

Attrition Rate - In an HR Sense

We just hosted our 7th seminar at the Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and the topic this round was on employment contracts and Human Resource management. Many businesses that have ventured into Myanmar (as well as the ones that are already in Myanmar) will agree that scarcity of human capital in Myanmar pose of the greatest operation challenges.

Talent is hard to find, but it's even harder to keep. That's true of talent-retention anywhere but this phenomenon is even more acute in Myanmar.

With the exploding choices of employment opportunities (resulting from a high influx of foreign investments) and increasing salaries (owing to the high competition for a small talent pool), the turnover figures has been high. Ironically/strangely, HR is one of the job functions with the highest attrition rates (the rate of people leaving an organization over a fixed period of time, generally over a year).

How are organizations to develop and implement staff-retention strategies when the very caretakers of this function are not being retained?

Surprisingly, however, the survey results highlighted by one of the presenters show that Myanmar has one of the lowest attrition rates in the region. This, I believe is because organizations in Myanmar are undergoing rapid growth. When an organization is constantly increasing its headcount, the number of people leaving becomes less significant in comparison.

Yet, a lower attrition does not necessarily mean higher productivity. In the scenario highlighted above where resignations are surpassed by sign-ons, it creates a larger strain on the organization in terms of HRM, because new people need time and resources to get onboard, be orientated and the more new hires there are, the higher the cost on the organization.

On the level of organizations, high turnovers are counterproductive. On the national level? Perhaps such competition in the employment market will increase the earning power of Myanmar residents, and raise to a higher level --to one that people deserve --when the salaries finally reach an equilibrium/stabilization.










 

Hong Kong Bankers Club

Set atop the Gloucestor Tower of the Landmark building in Central district, the Hong Kong Bankers' Club exudes an air of... exclusivity and privilege. It was established in 1977 and grew to accommodate over 2000 industry professionals (probably high-flying, fat-paycheck earning individuals who can afford the probably not-so-cheap membership fees).

http://hkbankersclub.com

Start Thinking | Really?

Really?

I didn't notice my habit to respond in conversations with this 'thoughtless deflective question' as a friend has labeled it. Apparently, I stopped thinking analytically. But in my defense, I was avoiding the formulation of thoughts in a specific language or framework for the duration of the 'cultural readjustment' period in coming back to Yangon.

It was a lot easier to organize and articulate my thoughts when I was abroad because I didn't have to transgress between two languages. But returning to Myanmar to live and work after 15 years of occasional short visits, I felt like I had to take in everything I can; learn all that I am able in order to be a proper Burmese woman I am supposed to be. In the process, I may have ridded my ability to form judgments which in turn affected my ability to articulate opinion and assess issues.

Now, after about 1.5 years of "readjustment" I finally feel confident enough of my cultural perceptivity and am ready to start thinking analytically again.

This blog is my attempt at processing my thoughts and everyday encounters in a linear, word-strung format (not a 3/4/5 dimensional headspace). The transition may not be all that smooth but I am pretty excited to see how my analytical writing ability will (re)develop over time.