In 2009, there will be a lot of people with negative thinking. Morale will be at record low. People will begin to feel hopeless as their world comes crumbling down due to retrenchments and bankruptcy.

But is it really that hopeless? Maybe it is, but we shouldn’t let that bring us down and ruin our 2009.

Very meaningful quote from Henry Ford

In my opinion, now is already too late for any ‘fixes’. If anyone tells you they are trying to implement some fixes to improve their business, it’s a lie. I would say that it’s not a fix to improve their business, but a fix to survive. Retrenchments, pay cuts or any cost cutting measures are not meant for ‘improving business’. Quite the contrary. These things are done so that a business can still survive.

That is why I think there are 2 things which every person and every business should do in 2009.

• Survive
• Prepare

The first point is to survive. If we’re not able to survive this cruel 2009 (and probably 2010), then any preparations or improvements will mean nothing. For example, you will need a job and the salary to survive. If you’re jobless now, your priority should not be to improve yourselves or to go for trainings….it should be how you can survive for the next few months. It’s either you get a full time job, or you get a part time job or earn some side income. The objective here is the only and only “to survive”.

The second point comes after you’ve ensured you can survive. It is to prepare yourselves in terms of finance and knowledge. Lead a frugal life and keep as much money as you possible can, and put it as a reserve somewhere. Invest them if you want but never spend it on your WANTs even though there are plenty of promotions and sales this year. You will need that fund to push you to another level once the economy recovers. As for the knowledge, try to improve your skills and exposures by attending trainings, self-studying, doing freelance, networking, etc. The people you know and the skills you’ve acquired now will be very important when the economy recovers. In fact, these might actually be the deciding factor to see whether you are prepared for the next level, or not.

To be honest, most people will spend their time in 2009 and 2010 doing the first thing. These people are actually those who are slightly motivated. Those who are less motivated will just sit there complaining and do nothing. So by doing the first and then the second, you are actually putting yourselves or your business in a very good position to challenge for the top spot when the economy recovers (when companies are hiring again, and when people are willing to spend their money again).

Those are the 2 things that I would advise people to do, and also the things which I myself will do. Because the last thing I want is to miss out on this golden opportunity to make myself known to other people. I don’t think I want to enter the newly recovered economy as a nobody.

Hope it helps.

P/S…….Feel free to check out this useful article from Seth Godin – Slack.

As some of you know, my salary will be reduced by 30% 2 weeks from now – beginning from 23rd of March….which means it’s a pretty big birthday present for me. :T

To be honest, I’ve been expecting this salary cut but I never expect it to be so much and in such a short notice.

But well, let’s face the fact. No matter how much I rant and complain here, nothing will change.

I think I'm much better than this guy

One thing do change is my mindset and my thinking thanks to 2 important lessons which I’ve learnt.

• Never sell your soul to your company.
• Don’t depend too much on your company.

I’ve realized that no matter how hard you work for your company or your employer, it’s useless when the time is bad and the company itself is trying to survive. Who cares if you are hardworking and who cares about the efforts you’ve put in? What the company cares about is the amount of money you are bringing in. If the amount is the least among the employees, then sorry to say that if there’s a need to find a victim to cut cost, you will be the one.

And when that happens, nobody will come and save you except maybe your family and few close friends. The best person that you can depend will still be yourselves. Make sure you have enough money to survive and to pay off your debts. Also, always have enough backup plans before the ‘disaster’ happens. Think about what other things you can do to earn extra income or what other things you don’t need and should sell them off.

As long as you have made sufficient backup plans, you can stop depending too much on the job and the company, and also be prepared for any major changes to your job.

As for me, I’m just glad that I didn’t sell my soul to the company. And I didn’t rely too much on the company too. I’ve made some preparations months before…but might not be sufficient now since the ‘reduction’ is too big. Still, it’s better than relying 100% on the company.

Just hope that all of you will have a better luck than me.

p/s…. I don’t blame the company or the management team because if I’m in their shoes, I’ll most probably do the same thing as well (but maybe also help them to find jobs outside).

I’ve been saying this for a long long time now and I feel the need to say it again since the people around me are becoming more and more negative each day.

I understand that people are afraid of getting pay cuts (some of my friends are suffering from pay cuts already…some 20%), retrenchments, etc. If I tell you I’m not afraid, then I’m lying. I AM afraid of all those things because like everyone else, I need money to survive and to pay off my bills.

But the thing is, even if we’re worried and being negative about it, will that actually change anything? I doubt. That’s why rather than worrying and doing nothing, it’s better to focus our energy on something more positive. Find alternatives or solutions to our problems. Or it’s something yet to happen, then make some precautionary steps. For example, if you’re being forced to only work 4 days a week, then maybe you can fully utilize the Fridays to do something which gives you some income.

Seriously, the possibilities are endless because whenever we’re faced with such problems, most people will move away or tremble with fear……..leaving a lot of opportunities for us to grab. It’s really up to us whether we can see it and whether we’re willing to grab those opportunities.

And let me tell you something. If you’re always feeling negative, there is absolutely no way you can see those opportunities because you are not thinking on the bright side. Whatever opportunity presented to you will be regarded as too risky and useless. In fact, everything will appear to be negative if you are thinking negative. So change the state of your mind before it drains your energy too much.

I know whatever I say here will be useless because in the end, the only person who can change yourselves is you. If you don’t want to think positively, nobody can help you to change that.

Last but not least, remember 2 things – things happen for a reason and there is no problem in this world which is without a solution.

p/s……… for those with stable jobs, you’re more fortunate than those with pay cuts.

p/s……… for those with pay cuts, you’re better off than those without jobs and have family to feed.

p/s……… for those who are without jobs, you’re better off than people in Africa where food and clean water are rare.

p/s……… and finally…..most of us are better off than those who are suffering from chronic diseases. I was told that one of my friend’s sister is actually counting her time in this world. The last time I met my friend, she was very tired but still able to put on a smile. I don’t know how to help esp since I donno her well…and all I can do is to pray that miracle will happen and her sister will be fine.

A friend of mine was in Jakarta for an IT project which was for a Japanese client (different client from the one I was ‘serving’). From what he told me, the entire project was a total mess…maybe worse than the one I was involved in.

Told you common sense is very rare nowadays!

First, the client didn’t know what he wanted and kept on changing the requirements. Second, when the project has been ‘completed’, the client scolded my friend and his team for being useless because they have no common sense and kept giving him things that he didn’t want. According to him, my friend and the team should just use their ‘common sense’ in order to know what kind of business processes the system should cater for. Hmm…no information….so they have to use their common sense to get those information……..does that mean he’s asking them to GUESS what the system should have?

Now now now…don’t you think this kind of situation sounds pretty familiar? A lot of clients actually expect the consultants/programmers or anyone they’re paying their money for, to have the right common sense and to come out with whatever they want WITHOUT asking them. This is possible, if there’s someone in the team who can do mind-reading. Otherwise, it’s impossible.

This is because each company has its own unique business processes and no matter how much we try to use our common sense, it’ll be very hard to ‘predict’ or ‘guess’ which is actually the correct one. The best solution here is to suggest to them your ‘best practices’ if they don’t have one….and if they do have one, get it from them without making any wild guesses. That’s the best we can do.

Because at the end of the day, you will be surprised that some companies have really weird business processes…..processes which don’t make sense at all and processes which make your wild guesses look childish.

So now you tell me, do you still want me (or my friend, or anyone you’re paying to work on a project) to use my common sense ……..or do you want to minimize the time I spend on guessing, and tell me right away what are your business processes? Remember that your common sense might not be the same with my common sense.

Decide now, and don’t blame me if your decision makes you lose money though I’m pretty sure you will. Hahah. Because the ‘blaming’ and ‘flaming’ are part of the deal after all

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.