Part 2 - Memoirs of a producer
I once again saw another perspective of life in leaving over my past days in Marcus Evans, and it’s really all about whom we are and how we make differences in peoples’ lives, in both small & big ways.
Just a few days ago, my ex boss mentioned that if I have something similar to him, it would be the aura of flamboyancy I bring and I wonder if it’s true. But deep down, people have often mentioned that when I walk into a room or area, people tend to notice more, some people say it’s my steps, some say it’s my voice, some say that it’s the whole package all the way from walk to clothes. I dare not think it goes that far, but I would like to think that it hopefully brings some good aura.
Just me
Looking back a few years ago, some old friend advised me against putting up my trait of being overconfident, opinionate & loud, lest perceived as arrogance and coming across as not humble. But old habits die hard, so that was luckily transformed into using that as a strength and not weakness. Since then, I have been a model of confidence, leader, passion, motivation and voice of the ‘rebels’ and that has been a guiding star for my career until now. Perhaps the trick was always to moderate a balance with times of listening, taking a humble stand and the openness to admit mistakes.
Teacher & inspiration
Anyway, over the past days, many people dropped by to say their goodbyes and I was surprised that one even said that I was her inspiration and she draw that just by learning from the way I do things. But funnily, I operate on a simple model of being solution oriented, being not emotional and focus on compromises. JW just joined a few days ago, and my task before leaving, was to train her as much as possible for her new role and yesterday, she dropped me a mail to thank me for teaching her and she learnt a lot in a few days compared to the few previous months. While being flattered, I could not imagine that small things I do can create impact, because I thought of it was really insignificant. And the same goes for a few people who attended my earlier trainings 6 months ago, who drew a lot of thought & direction after my training, saying that my content was compact & practical compared to others. Is it? I don’t know. Perhaps the key of teaching & learning should be effectiveness, it should be all about how easily people can absorb and pick things immediately after the training.
When I watched my previous boss leave Marcus Evans, I greatly admired that many people took on his departure sadly and even people who did not wok with him, grieved his loss. The farewells, the words exchanged are amazing for someone who was here for barely a year. I did briefly wonder back then on how would mine be when my turn came.
It did, I had my share of long, wistful, funny farewells with people I loved at Marcus Evans. And I enjoyed & remembered every one of them and I shall write about them all over the next few days.
The bad guy
As I glance backwards, there has been many times when I made unpopular decisions, which were reacted with objections and disputes, but I guess these are all part & parcel of work, which I accept because I have been paid & entrusted by my company to deliver the best work & in their best interests. Sometimes, also for the best interests of my team as well. In a job, you cannot count too much to make everyone happy, companies are not charitable organizations & compassion is not always an option.
And yet amazingly, the same people that I battle with, left me with their best wishes, believe it or not, they understood now why I did these and were thankful that I made these tough decisions & stood my ground when others rejected or baulked at it. My favorite motto since young is that, someone has to be the bad guy, and it has been me or rather, I am willing to take that up. Perhaps this is my lucky star.
Lessons for life
I think the best & most naïve question I faced in this entire week would be … why leave? While it’s not that I hate people, it’s also not that I am not happy … people tend to forget that the only constant in life is change. People do come & go in different phase of our lives. Good people dwell in our hearts forever.
And opportunities do not flash twice, so when a better offer comes along, I believe that it’s crucial we just grab it and worry about the rest as life goes along.
Be sincere, give our best, do things with the best of intentions and let god worry about the rest.
Just a few days ago, my ex boss mentioned that if I have something similar to him, it would be the aura of flamboyancy I bring and I wonder if it’s true. But deep down, people have often mentioned that when I walk into a room or area, people tend to notice more, some people say it’s my steps, some say it’s my voice, some say that it’s the whole package all the way from walk to clothes. I dare not think it goes that far, but I would like to think that it hopefully brings some good aura.
Just me
Looking back a few years ago, some old friend advised me against putting up my trait of being overconfident, opinionate & loud, lest perceived as arrogance and coming across as not humble. But old habits die hard, so that was luckily transformed into using that as a strength and not weakness. Since then, I have been a model of confidence, leader, passion, motivation and voice of the ‘rebels’ and that has been a guiding star for my career until now. Perhaps the trick was always to moderate a balance with times of listening, taking a humble stand and the openness to admit mistakes.
Teacher & inspiration
Anyway, over the past days, many people dropped by to say their goodbyes and I was surprised that one even said that I was her inspiration and she draw that just by learning from the way I do things. But funnily, I operate on a simple model of being solution oriented, being not emotional and focus on compromises. JW just joined a few days ago, and my task before leaving, was to train her as much as possible for her new role and yesterday, she dropped me a mail to thank me for teaching her and she learnt a lot in a few days compared to the few previous months. While being flattered, I could not imagine that small things I do can create impact, because I thought of it was really insignificant. And the same goes for a few people who attended my earlier trainings 6 months ago, who drew a lot of thought & direction after my training, saying that my content was compact & practical compared to others. Is it? I don’t know. Perhaps the key of teaching & learning should be effectiveness, it should be all about how easily people can absorb and pick things immediately after the training.
When I watched my previous boss leave Marcus Evans, I greatly admired that many people took on his departure sadly and even people who did not wok with him, grieved his loss. The farewells, the words exchanged are amazing for someone who was here for barely a year. I did briefly wonder back then on how would mine be when my turn came.
It did, I had my share of long, wistful, funny farewells with people I loved at Marcus Evans. And I enjoyed & remembered every one of them and I shall write about them all over the next few days.
The bad guy
As I glance backwards, there has been many times when I made unpopular decisions, which were reacted with objections and disputes, but I guess these are all part & parcel of work, which I accept because I have been paid & entrusted by my company to deliver the best work & in their best interests. Sometimes, also for the best interests of my team as well. In a job, you cannot count too much to make everyone happy, companies are not charitable organizations & compassion is not always an option.
And yet amazingly, the same people that I battle with, left me with their best wishes, believe it or not, they understood now why I did these and were thankful that I made these tough decisions & stood my ground when others rejected or baulked at it. My favorite motto since young is that, someone has to be the bad guy, and it has been me or rather, I am willing to take that up. Perhaps this is my lucky star.
Lessons for life
I think the best & most naïve question I faced in this entire week would be … why leave? While it’s not that I hate people, it’s also not that I am not happy … people tend to forget that the only constant in life is change. People do come & go in different phase of our lives. Good people dwell in our hearts forever.
And opportunities do not flash twice, so when a better offer comes along, I believe that it’s crucial we just grab it and worry about the rest as life goes along.
Be sincere, give our best, do things with the best of intentions and let god worry about the rest.
posted by Jay @ 8.12.05
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