Just recently, a friend of mine wrote a post called “Are you an opiniophobe?“. In this post, he talks about people who have this phobia towards opinions from other people.

Let’s face it. Not many people like opinions and even more people don’t like criticisms. Some even reject them without thinking much about them. Their brain will just keep telling them “What do they know about this? They know nothing!” or “What rights do they have to comment me like that!?” etc etc.

So they will just shut themselves out from everything be it positive or negative.

I’ll be honest with you. I used to be like that and will just shut myself out from all forms of opinions. It does sting and it’s not pleasant at all when someone just comes to you and say “whoa, your work sux big time, just give it up!” I’ve experienced it before and it can be very very demotivating. But those kind of opinions are pretty rare (they are out there somewhere, but there are rare).

What we need to do is to continue with our work (and work harder to improve ourselves). Ignore all these destructive opinions which are trying to bring you down instead of helping you. Get more constructive ones. There are still a lot of helpful people out there and they want to help you by telling you what is wrong. They have good intention.

So if you really want to be successful in the things you are doing, you must be willing to accept other people’s opinions. Learn to filter them properly but not shut them out altogether. Believe it or not, your willingness to accept other people’s opinions will dictate how far you go in your life.

Greetings readers,

I’ve finally decided to stick to a fixed posting schedule. I’ll be posting on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. This is due to my slightly hectic schedule and also I plan to use some of the free time to do few things such as:

• Do my own personal projects
• Start a new blog which is related to technology
• Redesign this blog’s outlook
• Draw some comics
• Maybe come out with ebooks – content compiled from the comics and articles of this blog
• Provide more helpful articles here

Last but not least, I would like to thank you all once again for all the support throughout the years. It’s really been a long time since I first started blogging. Thanks!

By the way, you can follow me at Twitter – @alvinlzg

Today I drove pass the WD building in PJ (next to LDP) and couldn’t help but noticed that the sign “Best Employer of 2001″ is still there after all these years. Back then (2003-2005), that sign was quite a big talking point since there weren’t many best employers around this area and that sign alone has made many of my friends interested in joining the company.

Hmm, i think this is an award a lot of people can win

But that was many years back. Since then, there’s no sign of new “Best employer” award for the company anymore and I do wonder…has their standards dropped? If they’re still a good company to join, they should be able to win the awards after that. Why didn’t they?

Same thing goes for those companies who love to show off their awards. It’s fine if you’re showing off your new awards – those in the last few years. But if the awards are too old……well….just take them away since they’re no longer useful and by placing them as “decorations”, it might actually backfire. Unless you are getting those awards every year……from 2001 until 2009, and not just 2001 alone.

Because in my opinion, if you are really that good, you should be able to get those awards including the latest ones. If you only have the 2001 award…..it means that you’re not really doing that well for the past 8 years.

Or maybe you’re just not interested in those awards anymore – which I doubt.

Last year, before the recession hits the States, I met up with some friends and we started talking about small company vs large company. Most of them say that large companies will be better since they’re more stable, consistent and productive. The small ones, to them, are too risky since these companies might suffer from cashflow problem, headcount problem, etc.

The small guy will be able to outrun the big guy and make him tired

I told them, that mentality is true and applicable for 2008 but not in the future. Why? Because there will be more and more changes ahead, more so that the large companies might not be able to handle them. Most of us know that large companies are very process-oriented and they have a certain set of procedures you need to follow for every action. I used to work for a Fortune 500 company, and at 1 point, I requested to upgrade my laptop memory to 2GB. The whole process took 3 weeks since it needs the approval from some IT managers in the States. 3 weeks…for something worth RM 200-300.

Anyway, as I’ve predicted, many so-called large companies are falling and falling fast. Retrenchments are not being made by small companies only….but also big companies (some are formerly known for being the best employers in their respective industry). In fact, most of my friends from large companies are suffering job losses or pay cuts but those in smaller companies are only suffering from pay cuts (they only lose their jobs if the company get closed down ).

The thing here is that large companies tend to spend too much time handling their processes and procedures, while the small companies (the good ones) are spending their time changing and adapting to the new environment. In this ever-changing world, whoever can adapt the fastest will win. This is something important and everyone should remember…..but sadly…not many believe in it.

So if you’re still thinking that large companies are better than smaller companies…….think again. In my opinion, it’s better to keep it small or medium for now since changes will be inevitable in 2009 onwards. You wouldn’t want to be the last in the queue to make the changes.

Today, my company informed my team that a change is needed. The management folks intend to move us from one department to another department – from Java technology to Microsoft technology. This is because there’s no project in the pipeline for the Java team but there are few big projects for the Microsoft team. Thus the management team asked us if we are willing to switch over.

This kind of situation is pretty n

Anyone wants to change to this job?

ormal nowadays since most companies no longer hire you for a specific skill ONLY. They want you to be as flexible as possible or in other words, provide as much value as possible to the company. So if you are willing to switch and remain flexible, the management team aka bosses can be sure that they can rely on you whenever there’s a shortage of headcount in other projects. This way, the company can reduce the expenses needed to hire someone new – and of course, get the most out of the people they’ve hired.

But let’s forget about the company for now…let’s talk about the individuals. What kind of answer do you think you will give, if you were in such a situation? Is it a good or bad thing if you are in such a situation?

Well, just like everything else, there are pros and cons. In my opinion, asking you to change department is much better than a salary cut or a retrenchment. Also, you get to learn something new (most of the case, trainings will be provided) and this new skill might become more valuable than your previous skills.

But that’s just how I think. At the end of the day, it really depends on what you want to achieve from the current job. Here are few factors to consider.

• Do you love your current company and are planning to stay longer in the company?
• Will there be a pay cut if you switch? If yes, how significant is it?
• Will trainings be provided?
• Are there any other projects in the pipeline for your current role?
• Can you find a better job out there?
• What’s your goal and objectives for doing whatever you are doing now? Start your own business? Be a consultant?
• Do you prefer to be a specialist (harder to find job but with higher pay) or a generalist (easier to find job but with lower pay)?
• If you choose not to switch and prefer to sit idling around….is your boss okay with that?

In fact, there are a lot to consider but all of the questions drill down to 2 main things – will your financial condition get affected and what is your plan for the future?

For example, people like myself would not mind switching since what I want to learn is the domain knowledge/operation and not just the technical side of things. I am the type of people who don’t like to get tied down or limited by a single thing. It’s just too risky that way….and too boring. Furthermore, my ultimate dream is to start my own business which does not really require me to know that specific skill. Because…well…an entrepreneur (a poor one especially) has to know EVERYTHING, not just a singe skill.

But enough about myself. What about you? If you were in such a situation, will you be willing to change? Do you mind letting go the years of experience you’ve obtained previously?

p/s… most bosses love employees who are worth more than they have been hired for. For example, it would be better if an employee knows multiple skills since the bosses can easily place him/her in any project to “fill in the gap”. Such employee is a valuable asset to the company (and they are not as expensive as the specialist).