...lecturing

...as a dean, i am not required to teach...so i didn't teach for 2 semesters but decided to teach one postgraduate class this semester...my favorite subject seminar in accounting information systems...as an academician you just miss the lecture...lecturer and lecture cannot be separated haha...but as a dean i am too busy with my administrative works...so most of the times i do not have sufficient time to prepare for the lecture...when that happens i start questioning my decision to teach this semester...but again as a lecturer giving 3 hours lecture without a full preparation is not much a problem...we can talk for an hour just using one slide haha...but the problem is today i have to give another 2 hours talk immediately after my 3 hours class...again without proper preparation haha...only last nite i remember that i have to give the talk today...but God is Great...always there to help you...i was actually asked by my colleague from a state owned university college to share my experience in writing and publishing articles in academic journals...so i am just trying to help...of course there's a small token haha...alhamdulillah successfully delivered the talk and good to hear (with a big relief) participants say they enjoy the talk...

...capricon

arrived home from auckland sunday midnight...started working the next day though yet to recover from the jetlag...worst have to fly to kuala lumpur for a meeting on thursday...took wednesday night flight to kl...after a short nap i grabbed a newspaper and somehow noticed the zodiac star signs...never interested in this horoscope prediction thingy but ok lets try figure out what it says...i am a capricon...it read "if you have not had much time to yourself of late (hmm that's true), today is a fabulous day to retreat from the world in order to spend quality time with yourself (hahah i am alone and on a trip to kl cool). make an effort to read a few pages in that book that keeps popping up (yes i brought a book with me)"...hmmm interesting right...but when i arrived the hotel it was already midnight felt too tired to have some fun so go to sleep early for tomorrow's meeting...it was a full day meeting 8am-5pm...feeling exhausted before taking the flight back to alor setar...only to wake up when the plane landed at the alor setar airport, even missed the sandwiches and my regular teh tarik...no time to relax and no time to read the book i brought...haha so it wasn't a retreat like what was predicted...but did have a fun day in penang with my family on saturday...looking at the kids smiling and laughing while swimming at the pool and then playing at the beach was the real retreat...

...entrepreneur

one of the topics discussed during the conference was...transformational change across the university when faced with an economic imperative to build national wealth...3 speakers were invited to share their experience...Vinny Lohan CEO of OneBeep and Fady Mishriki CEO of PowerbyProxi...both were the product of University of Auckland SPARK program...and of course an entrepreneurship professor from UOA...SPARK is a very interesting entrepreneurship program created by UOA that encourages students to be innovative...and has so far produced a number of successful entrepreneurs...but what really interest me is the answer given by one of the speakers...to a question "what is the success rate of the program in nurturing entrepreneurs?"...while the entrepreneurship professor was a bit hesitatant to answer the question but the real entrepreneur (the speaker) confidently said 100%...(what? i said to myself silently) as an entrepeneur he said that he does not look failure as a failure but more of a learning process...entrepreneurs learn from their mistakes, so they keep on learning and become more innovative...hence he said the program is actually a 100% success...really like the answer...google OneBeep or PowerbyProxi to learn how innovative these guys really are...remember reading "the boy who harnessed the wind"...the story is so inspiring...the boy never gave up...when asked how he made the windmill, he simply answered "i try and i made it"...

...auckland

attended Association of Asia Pacific Business Schools annual meeting and conference in Auckland last week. My first time in New Zealand, the 2011 champion of Rugby World Cup. Arrived Auckland about 12.30am, took another hour to pass through the immigration and custom checkpoints and finally check in the Quadrant hotel around 2am. The hotel is located near the University of Auckland just about 5 minutes walk where the meeting and conference were held. Time difference is about 5 hours so feeling a bit of a jet lag. Fell asleep probably around 6am. Took the chance to wander around the town the next day to finally settled at a turkish kebab restaurant and fill my hungry stomach. Just window shopping as everyhting seems to be expensive. Auckland is a nice moderate town and the weather is a bit chilly and windy. The road is also a bit hilly. Though it seems normal to the local people but if you are not used to it then you'll need quite a good stamina to walk up and down the hilly roads. The pace is a bit slow compared to other big cities i have visitied. People here take things easy. Shops closed at 5pm and an hour late around 6pm during weekend.

...a boy or a girl

went for a late supper yesterday and chatted with my good friend, haven't met him for quite sometimes...as usual whenever we met our topics of discussions would cover everything from a small to kinda like world issues but only one that's really interesting which i would like to share...my friend told me that he met someone in Mecca when he performed the Hajj few years ago...he told me that the guy has 10 children, 5 handsome boys and 5 beautiful girls...nice but not really unusual...my friend has 3 boys at that time and he and his wife desperately need a baby girl...so he told the guy of his intention to have a baby girl...what's interesting about that guy was that his 10 children, 5 boys and 5 girls were born alternately starting with a boy then a girl then a boy again followed by a girl, a boy and end with a girl...that's really amazing right...so my friend asked curiously how did he do that...there's a secret...that guy told him the secret is if you wanna a boy then read the Holy Quran surah Yusof during the early stage of pregnancy but if you wanna a girl then read surah Maryam...then you will get what you wish insyaAllah...

...reward for good work is...

had a meeting with Prof Gary from Keuka College today...Keuka is a small private college in New York but famous for its focused, practical and integrated approach in teaching and learning...we discussed about the potential collaboration between Keuka and UUM...it was a very good meeting, we agreed to look into the possibility of having joint degree for both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes...which means more works...we need to do a market survey, get an approval from the senate, ministry etc etc...during lunch time Gary jokingly apologized for giving us more work and  shared what his mentor told him a long time ago...'the reward for good work is always more work'...yes i definitely agree with him...so be careful bro don't work too hard...no wonder why some people choose to stay quiet and avoid giving opinions in a meeting...they wanna avoid getting the 'reward' hahaha...good nite

...think like a champion part II

4. pacing skills...ability to know, via experience, when to cruise and when to turn it on
5. control factor awareness...know what one can control, what one can only influence and what is out of control (ability to prioritize and focus only on things within one's control/influence and importantly to let go of the rest)
6. self-awareness...ability to know oneself well...hence the ability to listen and thus judge one's bodies, minds and emotions
7. ability to learn (quickly)...willingness to seek feedback from others and to consider all sides to infuse new techniques and methods
8. coachability...appreciate the art and science of coaching (ability to form collaborative partnerships with those who can help)
9. strong work ethic...hard work leads to confidence...it is not just about practice makes perfect but importantly 'practice that is perfect makes perfect'
10. commitment...always dream BIG and makes a commitment to reach the goals, no matter what...

...think like a champion

sometimes i wonder what made great atheletes like roger federer, rafael nadal, tiger woods so good...i just admire their laser focus, high energy and great determination lead to such high performance...i guess they all share common characters...their commitment to excellence, their dedication, their robust work ethic and their strong resistance to difficulties...read an interesting article by Bill Cole, about the attributes and qualities of great atheletes in a local newspaper The Star recently, below is the summary:
1. composure, poise and presence...ability to focus, stay relaxed and continue to walk the walk...never panic but stay positive and act confidently.
2. self-confidence...ability to maintain the sense of self confidence even under great pressure or when things are not going well (great people keep on reminding themselves that they have succeeded in tougher times)
3. eternal hope...never give up attitude and fight to the end...and a belief that there is always a way to win/succeed...what we need to do is just have to discover it...

...to be continued