A rather fortuitous Day to remember - 15.7.15

Today, 15 July 2015 is a good day to remember. It has a nice number ring to it too, 15-7-15 ! I love numbers with a special ring as it is so easy to remember. It is a rather fortuitous day for me to achieve the breakthrough that I have been waiting to have. Not the actual breakthrough in my research path but something clicked in my mental realm, which I think is so much more important. It came suddenly like with a pure luck.

I had three meetings that day and to my great delight, all three were super productive and learning opportunities for me in my work, my research, my learning journey. I am very thankful for a day like this, it makes all the other days which I feel that I am a worm, a thing of the past. I long to dwell longer on a day like this. I called it fortuitous because I feel fortunate and blessed to have things gone so well, discussions went smoothly and planning was done in great details with dates and goals assigned and my mental mind has been tickled not once but twice by academics who are willing to teach and mentor.

On the days that I feel that I am a worm, which there are many such days, I could be sitting before a computer, Google searching, reading but its too random or wasting time reading Facebook status and articles recommended by Facebook. At the end of those days, I felt tired and I missed the exercise due to attempting to read one more article from Facebook. I could say that my days were defined by what Google and Facebook able to offer.

On this day, it was special and planned out well, I did not expect that. I expected more resistance to my path, more struggles along the day. Here was how my days went :-

I started the day by chairing the Project Technical Committee meeting for LaDESS 2.0, it was making progress and I managed to fix up all the dates of training, implementation to districts, furthre training and even launching in October or November this year ! Great milestone achievements with a single meeting.

Then I headed off to UMS to meet with my Supervisor, Dr Gaim Lunkapis, a personal friend cum my mentor for my research. We had a pleasant chat over my progress and we managed to chart out my upcoming progress to be. The papers that I need to work on, he gave me some handles to think through and it is all like doable ! Great milestone for my research !

I rushed off to pick my son and on the way I ordered Satay for tonight's special dinner, I have invited Dr Jane Chang and both me and Catherine were hosting her family and some friends for dinner. The highlight was on fellowship renewal and a talk by her on a very new concept of entrepreneurship that according to her, took her six years to convince her University (Westminster) to start a course syllabus on this concept. That is the students are required to do an entrepreneur project without capital start up.

A great day like this must be celebrated, we had Red Velvet Cake with Ice Cream for supper ! Good Job ! I could live another such day again and again ! Lord, make my jobs light, my days fortuitous  !

Date : 15 July 2015
Original Words No : 574

Below is an abstract from internet coach on how not to miss performance targets, good for my project management !


http://fromthedeskofbobmoore.com/three-reasons-for-missing-performance-targets-how-to-prevent-a-derailment/

1. CommitmentHow compelling was your WHY? What was the reason for the task or project? Do all of the participants share the same level of commitment to the results in order for the results to be achieved?  How many times are people told what to do and not, why? Making assumptions that everyone required for success is on board and has bought-in is a major mistake. For decades, those companies that follow best practices, take a team approach to most projects and seek high levels of participation and involvement from all members. Consider discussing the reasons for the task/project and the realism of the targets established. Sometimes a simple question, “What is it you are willing for me to hold you accountable to?” gets the commitment you need. Then let the team figure out how to make it happen. 
2. Capacity
   Next, be sure everyone involved, particularly those who consistently miss the target, actually have the capacity to perform. Everyone today is experiencing some type of stress from economic uncertainly, market forces and constant change, which can cause anxiety. Any perceived stressful condition will tend to reduce our capacity to perform.  Remember, conditions require adjustments rather than solutions. 
3. Competency
   Here, I am referring to skills and talents for which there may be a more objective solution.  It is possible to measure the skills and talent required for particular roles and jobs. We hear a lot about the “skills-gap” that employers are complaining about in searching for new workers.  There will always be a skills gap for most jobs. The majority of jobs today didn’t even exist five years ago and no preparation or training was possible. Also, be mindful that education and experience do not necessarily translate into competency.  I always recommend taking a development approach to close any real or perceived skills gaps, particularly those that have been objectively measured.