David Wee

I am an introvert. I like to be left alone so I can produce outstanding work. But I felt cheated when I found out rewards are given by factors aside from performance. That people less capable can get jobs I want because they

1. dress better for the role
2. interact well in group settings
3. present well, smile more and share jokes
4. engage decision-makers and leave positive impressions
5. and are confident.

I know I can get everything on the list done but I don't. Never saw the need to. But I do now. And getting it done begins with acquiring some new habits.

1. Do PIN - PIN stands for Performance, Image, and Network. Always strive to perform outstandingly. Be remembered for my passion and the value I offer. And grow relationships with credible people who'll speak up for me.

2. Say Hi. At all functions, I dressed smartly and engage at least three people. I will introduce self, then I listen, share my passion and speak on areas beyond my pay grade.

3. I speak. I accept speaking engagements. I am an excellent speaker because I am clear with what I want to say and say it clearly.

I learned that doing these wasn't easy. But it also wasn't hard. If you consistently do it you will get better although the energy it takes does exert a heavy toll - I am often exhausted and need a quiet time to recharge.

But for me it's worth doing - it helped me get noticed, get opportunities, and get supported by leaders that made a difference to my career. So although I have always been quietly confident and competent the difference is that more of the right people know that now.

Today I am retired. I get a smattering of invites to speak. But I almost always say no because I prefer the company of my wife, a glass of red and a book.

I earned the right to say No, because I said Yes first.

Some managers give work close to lunchtime and expect their staff to skip a meal to finish the job. And when they do, the managers don't say thank you for good work, for dedication, for getting things done.

I treat people the way my managers treated me.

When my payroll manager skipped lunch to get time-sensitive work done, I send her a nice box lunch with this message. “Thanks for doing what you do so well. We are lucky to have you on our team.“

Good people are hard to come by. They want to know their work matters. Thank them for making a difference, never take them for granted.

And if you had a manager that never showed you the appreciation your contribution deserved, know that you can be better than them.

You don't need a title to be appreciative and respectful. You just need to be a decent human being.

Agree?

I did not return a miss call from my boss, or answer an email while on vacation, or attend a corporate dinner as it was on my mom's birthday. Yet I still got the job done!

How? I focus only on important work that makes a difference in performance, productivity, and results.

There is a difference between doing everything and doing only the things that matter. One makes you very busy and the other makes you very productive.

Bosses like to look busy. This makes them feel important and think they are getting work done.

Busy bosses are also impressed by people who are busy- just like them! So they reward “busy“ employees regardless of whether they produce results or otherwise.

Productive leaders are clear and focused on outcomes. They recognise that the best results happen when teams know what they are doing, work collaboratively and are empowered.

Hence, leaders actively encourage and reward productive employees and teams who drive continuous improvements, work well with others and make innovative breakthroughs.

How to be Productive and not just Busy?

I used a simple tool- the Eisenhower Box, to help my team be productive, not busy.

We bucket all assignments into 4 categories.
1. Important/Urgent, (DO)
2. Important/Not Urgent, (Decide)
3. Not important/Urgent, (Delegate)
4. Not important/Not Urgent. (Delete)

We focused our energy on #1, prioritize items in #2 and then execute, delegate tasks in # 3 and ignore #4 until someone asked for it.

This allows us to FOCUS on Important Work and not allow Unimportant Work to distract us.

Staying focus is about saying NO to Unimportant Work so your energy is on the work that matters. The manager's ability to say NO to others is based on his/her credibility and ability. The more s/he and team deliver, the easier for others to accept a NO from him/her.

So are you Busy or Productive?

Answering this question can boost your career and quality of life.

It's the difference between fulfillment and getting burned out,

between doing overtime and getting home on time,

between getting the job done and wondering why work is never ending and quite meaningless.

When I was still working, I left the office at 4.30 pm so I beat the traffic and get back in time to have dinner with the kids. I don't work during weekends because weekends are for family and recharging. I also take all my vacation days every year.

I wasn't worried if this may impact my career or blemish my reputation because I get the work done!

I am up at 5 am and in the office by 6. No one waits for me to make a decision caused I finished those by 9 am. I don't take breaks in between and it's common for me to have working lunches. At home, I spend 30 minutes prepping up for tomorrow's work and am in bed by 10 pm so I am rested and sharp the moment I step into the office.

We often assume that we have to choose between personal priorities and career success. But you can have it all if you are great at what you do, set boundaries, and tell people what you will do and won't do.

I never refused work, shirked my responsibilities, or let my team down.

I just don't get work done the usual way.

I get work done my way.

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I tested positive for Covid a few days ago. Suffering only flu-like symptoms and as each day passes, I feel better and better. So no big hardship.

The only thing is I can't sleep.

In 37 years of marriage, Aleth and I have never slept in different rooms when we are in the same house. Not even once. So it felt really weird not to have her by my side. I fear she may get used to not having my snoring for company.

Who knew this would matter so much?

You only miss something that happens every day when it's taken away from you.

Don't wait to tell them how much they mean to you.

Don't wait.

Ten Observations about Life at Work
1. People who get promoted are not always the smartest, most competent and best leader. Poor selection happens.
2. Many want a big title but few want to make the big, tough decisions.
3. People shut up during meetings since the boss already knows what s/he wants.
4. Not everyone wants a seat in the front row. You can stand out even if you are 5 feet tall or get buried 6 feet under.
5. Leadership training doesn't work for many because their managers are not leaders.
6. If you tell your boss you are mentally ill, you may get treated differently and that is not always good.
7. Many want to work for the same manager, be in the same team, and do the same work. The fear of doing something brand new is killing their growth and they don't even know it.
8. Company loyalty is dying. So if you are having a baby or just about to hit 60, know that you are vulnerable.
9. Some managers justify scolding and bullying by calling these feedback sessions.
10. Passion without accomplishments is very much like like hot air.

Cynical or realistic?

What is the single most important factor for accepting a job offer?

For me, there is only one answer - the leader whom I will work with.

The values of the company, its culture, the job, the team, opportunities for growth and salary are all important factors. And without exception, these factors are shaped by the leader's decisions and behaviours.

So when people ask me how to find a great place to work,
I tell them to look for a great leader
because leadership makes the workplace great!

What is your single most important factor for accepting a job offer?

A long while back I presented this 4-box Matrix at the American Society for Training and Development Conference to explain the relationship between Ability and Passion and how it impacts performance and career. I recently made some updates.

Let's understand the 4 quadrants in the Matrix.

Quadrant 1 (Q1): High Passion + Low Ability. I am Passionate about basketball. But being short, and lacking athletic Ability, the chance of fulfilling my dream of being a professional basketball player is zero. Despite my finest endeavour I am stuck in Q1. It's frustrating.

Quadrant 2 (Q2): High Passion + High Ability. This is the Sweet Spot - You love what you do and are great at doing it. Life is pretty good in Q2!

Quadrant 3 (Q3): Low Passion + Low Ability. Avoid jobs in Q3 - this is a “Bad Place“. For those who stay in Q3 because they need the money or have no other option, going to work is like a prison sentence.

Quadrant 4 (Q4): Low Passion + High Ability. The job pays the rent but offers little to the soul. People in this Quadrant never realised their potential. But some who get incredibly good at the task may in time grow passion and move to Q2 - the Sweet Spot.

Yes, people will MOVE from quadrant to quadrant, sometimes by choice, often by circumstance beyond their control. When Andre Agassi first started tennis, he was in Q2. But constant pain from twisted vertebrae changed him. “I play tennis for a living even though I hate tennis...“ He moved from Q2 to Q4.

Another scenario. You are in Q3- the Bad Place- and decide to turn things around. You got a transfer and found a new manager who assigns work that plays to your skills and experiences. Your Ability rockets up and this allows you to move to Q4 (Low Passion-H Ability), or if you grow a passion for your work too, you may find yourself in Q2 (High Passion-High Ability).

People will move around the matrix at different stages of their job, at different stages in their careers. If you are in the Sweet Spot (Q2) Great! But don't stay too long because the Sweet Spot will change to the “Comfort Zone“ and a long overstay can kick you out to Q3 - the “Bad Place“. Even the “Bad Place“ is necessary when you have no choice but to take a job you don't know or like because you have to make ends meet.

An example. Mary is an excellent researcher, highly regarded, loves her job, and very loyal - she served the company for 30 years. And Yes she is in Q2 High Passion- High Ability. Then her company replaced its business model. Her job disappeared overnight and she was moved to HR to organise Employee Dialogue sessions, write reports etc. She hated the work and she sucked at it too, especially the organising part and mingling with people. She is a fighter and give her best but it's tough to be in the “Bad Place“.

What should Mary do?

Remember You are not a hostage! If you don't like the Quadrant you are in, do something about it.

If you want to know what Mary actually did, go to first comment.

When I was at GE, I received both internal and external job opportunities. A few offered more money, new responsibilities, and relocation to the US, Japan, and China. But I never accepted any of these offers.

As the years went by, the offers become fewer. It's because I stayed in the same role for too long, grew complacent, and lost ambition.

I asked myself why I had not accepted any of the offers. The answer - I was too comfortable and too scared to move.

Before I knew it I became a blocker - a person who stayed in the same role for too long and thus deprive others of taking on the position that I should have vacated. I was slowly becoming more concerned about keeping my job rather than being great at doing it.

That realisation lit a fire in my belly. I knew I had value and I can make a difference. But it will be better if I get a fresh start and leave GE. It was a hard choice but it was also the right choice. So that's what I did.

The day I handed in my resignation was one of the saddest. I got a great send-off and my colleagues send me flowers and best wishes on the first day at my new job in J&J. You can't leave a place that gave you 10 great years without shedding a tear or two.

Nonetheless, moving out of the place I loved got my mojo back. I worked with great people at J&J, got promoted to become its first Chief Learning Officer, and later got retrenched as the entire HR organisation was reorganised!

But even retrenchment turned out to be a good thing because I seized new career opportunities that gave me the chance to live overseas and operate at the c-suite level!

With the benefit of hindsight, the decision to leave GE was the 3rd best career decision I ever made. The 2nd was joining GE.

But after scaling new career heights, I had to face my greatest career challenge - is there life without work?

It's a scary question and it would have been easy to keep on working and stay in that comfort zone rather than look for the answer.

But this time I did not put off looking for the answer. And when I found it, I embraced it and made the toughest and best career decision of my life - retiring at 56 so we can begin life 2.0.

I found the conviction to do this because I learned from my past. I grasped why I must overcome my biggest enemies - my fears, my complacency, and my inability to face reality.

I vowed to never make that mistake again.

So far so good!

I am 63. Here is what I learned so far.

1. It's more fulfilling to love my loved ones than I.
2. Even if I know the answer, I still cannot solve the problems of others until they ask me.
3. I have learned not to correct people over small things. Peace is better than being right!
4. I have learned not to get flustered when I am late. After all, there is little I can do about it and the other party may be later than I am.
5. I stay away from people I don't trust even if this will hurt their feelings.
6. I try not to always have the last word because I will end up being the biggest loser.
7. It's not about living each day as if it's my last. I rather savor the joys of every single day.
8. It's easier to write down what I should do, than actually do it. But I am already winning when I keep trying.
9. I don't need to be perfect to be fulfilled.

Useful?

I am an introvert. I like to be left alone so I can produce outstanding work. But I felt cheated when I found out rewards are given by factors aside from performance. That people less capable can get jobs I want because they

1. dress better for the role,
2. interact well in group settings,
3. present well, smile more and share jokes,
4. engage decision-makers and leave positive impressions,
5. radiate confidence.

I can get everything on the list done but I don't. Never saw the need to and didn't like to do it.

But I do now. And getting it done begins with acquiring some new habits.

1. Do PIN - PIN stands for Performance, Image, and Network. Always strive to perform outstandingly. Be remembered for my passion and the value I offer. And grow relationships with credible people who'll speak up for me.

2. Say Hi. At all functions, I dressed smartly and engage at least three people. I will introduce self, then I listen, share my passion and speak on areas beyond my pay grade.

3. I speak. I accept speaking engagements. I am an excellent speaker because I am clear with what I want to say and say it clearly.

I learned that doing these well wasn't easy. But it also wasn't that hard. If you consistently do it you will get better although doing it exerts a heavy toll - I am often exhausted and need a quiet time to recharge.

But for me it's worth doing - it helped me get noticed, get opportunities, and get supported by leaders that made a difference to my career.

So although I have always been quietly confident and competent the difference is that more of the right people know that now.

Perhaps the two biggest lessons I took away is never letting my introverted nature be an excuse for not doing the right things, and that I can leverage the gifts of being an introvert to get the right things done.

Today I am retired. I still get a smattering of invites to consult or speak. But I almost always say no because I prefer the company of my wife, a glass of red and browsing through Linkedin.

I earned the right to say No, because I said Yes first.

When I turned 50, I got retrenched. It was the first time I ever lost my job.

I was scared that at my age, I would struggle to find another job. But when you are pressed against the wall and have nowhere else to go, one has to face fear and find your finest self.

I moved out of my corporate roles and became a leadership consultant. I joined Iclif where my colleagues include the previous Chief Learning Officer of Coke, Morgan Stanly and Professors from IMD and Harvard.

I did something I never even thought of doing - reinvented my career and myself.

I learn that change has nothing to do with age and everything to do with the mind.

That you are never too old to change, and also never too old to underestimate yourself.

That is one mistake I will never make again.

Would you hire an older person?

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