We hear such lines all the time in our working environment. Processes, processes, processes. They are there to assist us to be more productive. They are there…well….to calm down the bosses because if we follow processes, things won’t easily go out of control. Well, not THAT much anyway.

To be honest with you, processes are fine but sticking too much to the processes can be counter-productive. But most importantly, it dulls the creativity of your people because they are being given a pretty tight constraint to work within. After all, most processes exist in order to control the people so that they don’t stray too far away from what they are supposed to do.

The funny thing is, after introducing such limiting processes, the bosses will start questioning their employees why aren’t they using their creativity at work? Then they will try to come out with MORE processes to promote creativity among the employees.

I guess the bosses or whoever that wants to come out with processes, should remember that creativity is not something that can be calculated – unlike the results of following a process. And it is not something which should be restrained by the processes. If you want to promote creativity, then remove the processes. Those 2 can hardly work together – there are occasions where the 2 can work together, but companies have the thread carefully…because not everyone can do that successfully without screwing up or making the bosses angry.

So yes, processes do dull creativity. Tell me if you think otherwise. I cannot think of how someone can be creative when he/she has to follow step (1) to step (10) as per the process.

Last but not least, people should remember that nowadays, companies need to rely on creativity and innovation more than they need to rely on boring processes. Processes are there to help, but creativity and innovation are there to make them win in the competition. So which should you be focusing on? It’s your choice.

p/s….. having said that, I don’t deny that certain processes should always be to keep things under control. Imagine what is it like if your HR person or account person try to be too creative by ignoring the processes.

So what should you do then? What if you really want to get a promotion?

To begin with, you can refer to Damien’s “Idiot’s guide to getting a promotion“. It’s a good guide which teaches you how to manage a list of to-do and discuss it with your boss. This list can also be considered as the “requirements for getting promotion” list. Feel free to read through it.

After that, the conversation with your supervisor should have been completed. By then you should be able to know if the company has any plan to promote you, or if they think you are too good to be promoted. If it’s the first case, then congrats, you can stop reading here. If it’s the second case, please proceed

The next sensible thing for you to do is to ask yourself if you are indeed too good in what you do that you cannot be replaced. If yes, what is it that you are so good at? Is it something which can only be applied to your current job? Or is it a skill which you can still use once promoted? Identify the skills and see how you can apply them after you are promoted. If the skills cannot be ‘reused’, then is there a way to train up other people? How long do you think it will take to train someone up to be at your level? And do your bosses agree to such a transition?

Try to get the answers to those questions and hopefully it will be clearer to you whether it is possible to have a promotion in your current company, or not. If it’s not possible, then it is really your call to either stay or to find another job which allows you to have a promotion. Oh yeah, 1 more thing, always remember that a good company should never ever rely too much on a person. For a proper company, nobody is irreplaceable. It is just a question of whether they want to replace you (and the amount of time spent on the transition), or not.

Here’s the question I’ve asked the interviewer during the job interview.

Alvin : Mr XYZ, I understand that this company’s operation is pretty similar to Accenture.

XYZ : *looks surprised* You’re right. We’re trying to be like the big boys in consulting world and one of them is Accenture.

Alvin : Hmm, I’m a bit curious here. How do your company actually differentiate itself then? Because without differentiating itself, the company is actually competing with Accenture, isn’t it?

Maybe that’s the finishing blow I gave because the interviewer failed to answer my question after that. And he got rather pissed at that last remark.

Actually, there’s nothing wrong for a small company to try and be like Accenture or any big companies for that matter. But for me, setting a company as your final goal also means you will never reach there. Remember the old saying “aim for the stars, so that you can land on the moon”? It’s like you set something as your final goal, and you work and work towards it but never manages to achieve that target. And even if you are the lucky few who managed to achieve it, what’s next then? Aim for something bigger than Accenture?

To be honest, if I were the client, I will ask myself these questions.

• What is so special about this company if compared with Accenture?
• Are they providing cheaper solution? If yes, how much cheaper? Will the quality be compromised? If it’s not providing cheaper solution, what makes them think I won’t go for Accenture instead?

Let’s face it. Most people want the original stuff as long as they can afford it. So the only bargaining chip you have here is to be cheaper. But how much cheaper do you want to go? I believe the last thing any company wants is to end up in a price war – red ocean, anyone?

So the next time you help to set your company’s goal, try to set something which is independent of any other companies. Again, I must say that it’s not wrong to do so. It just does not seem like the best way for me. I rather set goals like “becoming the market leader in the web 2.0 consulting world” or “integrating the world of legacy systems” or a simpler “becoming the leader in the niche market which the company is involved in”.

Compare those 3 with something like “becoming just like Accenture”….I think I rather chose the former 3. But that’s just my personal opinion.

p/s… For your info, I failed the interview. Guess my curiosity didn’t serve me well

p/s… By the way, a goal can be a direction and not the destination.

How a typical meeting usually ends

Rate this comic: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

This is the first time I used the template. So the art is more ‘standardized’ but somehow, it took me a longer time to finish this comic. I guess it’s tidier. I just need to train myself more and get used to this. My templates are not very efficient yet.

By the way, I’m in the midst of coming out with a comic blog. Figure it’s better to separate the writing part with the drawing part.

Situation in company where turnover rate is high

A very simple comic I drew right before my flu medicine started to take effect. Really a simple one. It’s been a while since I last came out with a comic. I actually had to clean the dust off my drawing tablet before using it.

I’ll try my best to come out with more decent comics after this. Hope you guys will like it.

If you were me, what kind of answer do you think you will give?

Gossip mongers just want to network with other people? Hmmm

1. Will you confront the gossip monger and tell him you’re not happy?
2. Confront the gossip monger and tell him the gossip is not true at all?
3. Stay quiet?
4. Spread another gossip to counter that gossip?
5. Or start telling each and everyone you know in the office that the gossip is not true?

I know this is kind of touching human psychology but based on my personal experience, it’s not uncommon in our office life. Every now and then, there will be this group of people who have nothing to do but to spread rumors and gossip about other people. They can be quite notorious at times too, to the stage that whatever they said might actually affect your working experience. So it’s perfectly normal if you feel like confronting them and tell them off.

But is that how it should be done?

Based on my personal experience, it’s actually best to do item (3) which is to keep quiet. I understand that sometimes, the fire might get too hot and burn yourselves in the process but I also believe that if you retaliate to something which is not true, it will only make the fire stronger. So in my opinion, it’s better to make it as boring for them as possible, and they will slowly get tired of it and move on to the next target.

And I told this to the job interviewer and he was quite happy with my answer.

What about you? What would you do if you were in this kind of situation?

p/s….I’ve experienced it on 1 or 2 occasions. If it’s ruining my reputation and a colleague told me about it, I will just tell that colleague the real story. That’s all. As long as there are few good colleagues who know about the real story, I won’t really care what others think.

Yes if

• You are being tied under an employment contract which does not allow you to leave. I was in such a contract during my fresh graduate time – a 6 month contract which would require me to pay the money back (6 months salary) to the company if I were to leave.
• You have a bond with the company. This is usually activated if the company sends you for trainings. Be careful of such bonds because some of them can be ridiculously unfair.
• Or there is/are clauses in your employment contract which does not allow you to leave the company. Always read the employment letter properly before signing.

Otherwise, it’s a big NO. Companies do not have any right to stop you from resigning as long as you

• Serve the notice period.
• Pay back any money which you owe the company – bonds, notice periods, etc.

The reason I’m writing this post is because there are people who actually asked me what should they do if their bosses do not allow them to resign. Fact is, your bosses cannot stop you from resigning under normal circumstances. The labor law is on your side this time.

So for those inexperienced people, don’t worry. You should serve your notice period on the day you submit your resignation letter. Again, this is under normal circumstances and assuming you don’t have any debts/loans/bonds with the company.

If you are not sure, feel free to contact the labor department.

Contact number for local labour offices in Malaysia

or simply go to the official web site.

Labour Department Peninsular Malaysia

p/s… if you’re dealing with recruiters/headhunters, consult them because they know the labor law pretty well and they know how to deal with such situations.

But those signs are already very drastic signs…..and by the time you know it, sorry to say, it’s already too late. You’ll most likely be caught in it.

Not a very good sign either...why must they cut the cubicle?

Well, there is still hope. I do believe that there are other less significant signs that one can observe to know whether one’s company is doing well or not. And these less significant signs normally appear before the obvious signs.

And here they are, some of the not-so-good signs if you notice them occurring in your office.

• Everyone is watching Youtube.
• The list of online people in Facebook, most of them are your colleagues.
• Your colleagues are playing games during office hour. Some are watching movies. Their excuse? Nothing to do.
• Your office space is getting a bit crowded. Many people who are supposed to be in client’s site, are back in the office.
• Or, your office space is becoming less crowded because people are being laid off or forced to go on unpaid leave.
• You always see a group of people going into a meeting with the bosses, and after the meeting everyone looks gloomy, with a letter/envelope each in their hands.
• Your office network is getting slower everyday. Someone is busy streaming or downloading.
• The biscuits in the pantry have not been refilled for a couple of weeks.
• The supply of tissue paper has been replaced by toilet paper.
• Your bosses start to monitor everyone’s behavior and what online activities they are doing in the office.
• Your sales guys are having extended tea breaks……..far too often.
• Your office is getting darker – in terms of lighting and also aura.
• There’s no more weekly or monthly updates from the bosses. They just don’t care anymore.
• Most of your management people left.
• Your management is arguing with you over a claim which is worth RM 5.
• Removal of some of the employees’ benefits.
• The plants in your office are dying. Nobody is taking care of them.
• The lunch breaks are getting longer, from 1 hour to maybe 3 hours.
• Your company starts to take in any kind of projects….including those that are completely out of scope or not within the industry.
• etc….

The list can go on and on and on. For some of the companies, it can be quite different since different industries have their own share of problems and issues. Mine is looking more from the IT industry (I gather the information from various sources).

So if you happen to see some of those signs in your company, perhaps it’s best for you to plan your way out. Things might get better or worse from there…….and most of the time is worse.

And by the time you get things like pay cut, retrenchments, etc ……it’s already too late.

By the way, if you have any other signs that you want to list out here or share with us, do feel free to contribute in the comment box.

I came from a consulting firm and my company encourages people to be flexible and able to adapt to a situation FAST. Due to the nature of our business, we cannot really focus on specific technologies since at any given point, we will just have to take whatever that comes. That’s why in this field, we need people with very good working attitude and also people who are very flexible. In other words, a generalist.

But what proves to be our selling point, happens to be our biggest weakness when we go out for job interviews. Most companies are looking for specialists and not jack-of-all-trades-but-master-of-none. This is a reality that I’ve faced.

However, when you come to think of it, do you think a company should hire someone who is a generalist or only pick someone who is a specialist? Here’s a brief overview about the pros and cons of each.

Generalist

• Flexible, has good attitude and willing to learn.
• Dedicated to serve and contribute to the company no matter what has been asked from him.
• Has good technical exposure and knows what kind of technologies (or skills, if you’re not talking about IT) to use based on requirements and needs.
• Salary will not be high but easier to find a ‘normal’ job since he can just move into any role. Most companies will hire such people as junior or medium level roles.
• Is not expert in the technical side of things. Will not know the very low level kind of stuff.

Specialist

• Is expert in his field or even in a particular technology/skill/product. Can be the lead for that knowledge.
• Only certain companies can offer positions for these individuals because the skillset requirements might not match. But if there’s a position, it is usually medium to senior level.
• The salary is normally pretty high but not as easy to find a job since certain companies might not require his specialty.
• Might have good technical exposure to other technologies but his priority is to focus on his specialty. Anything too far away from that, will be ignored.
• Can be quite not-so-flexible and not willing to pick up new technologies as the project requires. This is because picking up something different will make his existing skill to become rusty. He will become a generalist if this continues.

I’m a generalist, and I’ve met some specialists who would just refuse to do anything outside their scope. If you try to force it to them, they will quit. Simple as that.

This is quite similar to the football world. If the manager asked you, a striker, to play as a midfielder……will you do that? If yes, it proves you are loyal to the club but your overall value will drop. If no, it just shows you are not flexible enough and does not want to commit to the club. They will just try to sell you off.

So pros and cons actually. It really depends on what you want and who you are.

As for me, I still prefer to be a generalist even if I’ve failed 2 interviews in a row. In my opinion, if a company really wants me, then I should be fully committed and do whatever they need me to do. It can be my biggest weakness, but it can also be my strength.

So for now…just wish me luck. LOL.

P/S….. I’m actively looking for freelance projects. Do let me know if anyone of you have any. Thanks in advance.

Better to check what's on the other side first, Mr Fishy

And all the signs are pointing to one thing  – get the hell out of there and find yourselves a better job!

But how true is that? How much “better” do you want your new job to be?

The thing is, when changing job, there’s always the risk of leaving a not-so-good company for a super-duper-bad company. Or in other words, jumping into a deeper shit.

But how can you do that? Here are few things you need to pay attention to.

• Research the company. Check the company web site, information, history and also Google around for any information related to the company. It’s not difficult to actually know more about the company by using Google.
• The outlook of the company web site. This is quite important. If a company does not pay close attention something as simple as web site, which is the first thing clients see (and clients here mean $$$), what makes you think they care about something more complicated like their own employees?
• Try to search Facebook and LinkedIn for contacts within the company. Most likely you will have some friends who have worked in that company before…or their friends. Try to dig some information about the company and its working culture.
• Study the office and its atmosphere. If you are not comfortable with the office and the environment, or some of the employees there look pretty much like zombies, then maybe it’s better for you not to put too much hope in that company.
• Be yourselves during the job interviews. If the interviewer is trying to find faults with you, or is not being polite and friendly, then most likely he will be the same after you’ve joined. If you think you can work with such person, fine. Otherwise, it’s better not to torture yourselves by joining them.

So make sure you do all these homework before you actually make the decision whether to join a company or not. And if you’ve done all those stuff listed above, and you personally feel it’s safe to join the company, then by all means go ahead. The last remaining element is your luck, which is completely out of your control.

But if you’re afraid that you have pretty bad luck and thus might end up jumping into a deeper shit…then take some time to think of what you really want. Grass is not always greener on the other side but if you don’t have the courage to go to the other side……..how would you know?