Cindyuhsin

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September 2009
It's been a successful and tiring year since I embarked my MBA career in August 2008.
I accompolished many but learned that I should slow down to refocus on what's fundamental in my life. Lessons learned (after stressful breakdown): 

1. Do less than you can. &  Focus on what is relevant to you now and in the long run. Don't be distracted by non-essential tasks and stretching yourself too thin. By stretching yourself too thin to accomplish many outstanding tasks, you may get exceptional performances in the short run but run the huge risk of increased stress level and accelerate the decline of your well being & health after you reach a temporary success. Safety Margin. Do less than you can to allow yourself mental flexibility and agility to take advantage of uncertainty.
2. Before anything else, first, Take the best care of YOURSELF & Be Happy. It's your own wellbeing that takes care of  your personal life, your career and your everyday & ultimate success.

Progress to date in 1st Year MBA:

• obtain a job offer from Ernst & Young (New York City) in the audit practice to start in the summer 2010
• win the Team MBA Most Original Award   http://www.gmac.com/teammba/TeamMBAAward/2009AwardRecipients.htm
• win the Baruch Merrillynch Entrepreneurship Competition 2008-2009
• etc.

But - I realize, in the end of the summer when the school started - my vacation is missing! 



2007 ~ December Growth: http://blog.yam.com/cindyuhsin/article/11389191

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Continue: The Servant
Leadership Model:

• Leadership begins with the will, which is our unique ability as human beings to align our intentions with our actions and choose our behavior. With the proper will, we can choose to love, the verb, which is about identifying and meeting the legitimate needs, not wants, of those we lead. When we serve and sacrifice for others, we build authority and influence. And when we build authority with people, then we have earned the right to be called leader. Who then is the greatest leader? The one who has served the most....Leadership boils down to a simple four-word job description, "Identify and Meet Needs." (P.90)
• Vince Lombardi: I don't necessarily have to like my players and associates but as the leader I must LOVE them. Love is Loyalty. Love is Teamwork. Love respects the dignity of the individual. This is the strength of any organization. (P.91)
• "Relationships have to be carefully developed and nurtured if they are to grow and mature. Each of us must make our own choices about what we belive and what those belifs mean in our lives. Someone once said that everyone has to do their own believing, just like everyone will have to do their own dying."
• I cannot always control how I feel about other people, but I certainly am in control of how I behave towards other people. Feelings can come and go depending on what you ate for dinner last night.  My neighbor may be difficult and I may not like him very much, but I can still behave lovingly. I can be patient with him, honest, and respectful, even though he chooses to behave poorly. (P.98)
• LOVE and Leadership (P.99): Love is patience, kindness, humility, respectfulness, selflessness, forgiveness, honesty, commitment
• Authority & Leadership (P.100): honest, trustworthy + good role model + caring + committed + good listener + held people accountable + treated people with respect + gave people encouragement +  positive, enthusiastic attitude + appreciated people
• Patience = showing self-control = the leader must model good behavior for the players, kids, employees, or whomever they are leading. If the leader is screaming or otherwise out of control, you sure cannot expect the team to be under control or behave responsibly either.(P.101)
• Patience = It is also important that you create an environment that is safe for people to make mistakes without worrying about some crazy person going half-cocked. If you spank a baby who is listening to walk every time she falls, she won't thnk much about walking, will she? She will probably decide it's safer to just crawl around, keep her hed low, and not take risks. Just like a lot of browbeaten employees I know. (P. 102)
• The leader has a responsiblity to hold people accountable. However, there are several ways to point out deficiencies while allowing people to keep their dignity. (P.102)
• In our organizations, we are dealing with volunteers who also happen to be adults. They are NOT slaves, and they are not animals we are free to beat. Our job as a leader is to point out any gaps between the standard that has been set and their performance, but it does not have to be an emotional event. The word discipline comes from the same root as disciple, which means to teach or to train. The goal of any disciplinary action should be to correct or change the behavior, to train the person and not to punish the person. (P.102.)
• Discipline can be progressive = first warning, second warning, final warning, and finally you don't get to be on the team anymore. None of those steps needs to be an emotional event.  (P.102)
• Kindness = giving attention, appreciation, and encouragement (P.103) Kindness is about how we act, not about how we feel. Why would the work of giving attention to others be an important character qualiy for a leader? Hawthorne Effect = giving attention to workers increases productivity despite of background noises in the work environment
• We can all think roughly four times faster than others can speak. Consequently, there is generally a lot of noise, internal conversations, going on in our heads as we are listening. (P.105)
• Active listening requires a disciplined effort to silence all that internal conversation while we are attempting to listen to another human beings. It requires a sacrifice, an extension of ourselves, to block out the noise and truely enter another person's world -- even for a few minutes. Active listening is attempting to see things as the speaker sees them. This identification with the speaker is referred to as empathy and requires a great deal of efforts. (P.105)
• At the birth center (the nurse said), we refer to empathy as being fully present with the patient. And by being fully present with the patient, we don't just mean physically but mentally and emotionally as well. It's a gift of respect to be fully present with someone who is giving birth, to actively listen and anticipate her needs. (P.105) 
• OVer the years, I have learned that just listening and sharing the problem with the other person eases their burden. (P.106) 
• Paying attention to people is a legitimate human need and one we must not neglect as leaders. Remeber, the role of leaders is to identify and meet legitimate needs. One of the primary works of love is paying attention to people. (P.107.)
• At the core of the human personality is the need to be appreciated. ..The military was big on giving out medals and ribbons as a public demonstration of its appreciation for service and accomplishments. A man would never sell his life to you, but he will give it to you for a piece of colored ribbons. (P.108)
• A head nurse that I respected a lot once confided in me that she liked to picture in her minds that every employee was wearing one of those sandwich billboard signs. On the front side, the sign would read "Appreciate me," and on the back side, "Make me Feel Important." That woman had great authority with people. (P.108)
• About Kindness: Be kind to others. How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life, you will have been all of these. (P.109)
• Humility = being authentic and without pretense or arrogance. (P.111) What we want from our leaders is authenticity, the ability to be real with people -- we don't want them puffed up and stuck on themselves. Egos can really get in the way and become barriers with people. Know-it-alls and arrogant leaders are a real turn-off for most people. Such arrogance is also a dishonest pretense because nobody knows it all or has it all together. Humility to me is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less. (P.111)
• Humbleness is nothing more than a true knowing of yourself and your limitations. Those who see themselves as they truly are would surely be humble indeed. Humility is about being real and authentic with poeple and discarding the false masks. (P.112)
• Respectfulness = treating others as important people
• The leader has a vested interest in the success of those being led.
• God didn't create human rubbish, only people with behavior problems. Treat people like they are important because they are. (P.114)
• Selflessness = meeting the needs of others (P.116)
• Forgiveness = giving up resentment when wronged.
• Assertive behavor is being open, honest, and direct with others but is always done in a respectful manner. Forgiving behavior is dealing iwth situations as they arise in an assertive manner and then letting go of any lingering resentment. (P.117)
• Honesty = he9jg free from deception (P.118) Honesty is about clarifying expecations for people, holding people accountable, being willing to give the bad news as well as the good news, giving people feedback, being consistent, predictable and fair. In short, our behavior must be free from deception and dedicated to the truth at all costs. (P.119)
• Commitment = stick to your choices (P.119)
• Manipulation = influence others for personal gains; leadership = influence others for mutual benefits

Love and Leadership

Patience	Showing self-control
Kindness	Giving attention, Appreciation, and Encouragement
Humility	Being Authentic and Without Pretense or Arrogance
Respectfulness	Treating Others as Important People
Selflessness	Meeting the Needs of Others
Forgiveness	Giving up resentments when wronged
Honesty	Being free from deception
Commitment	Sticking to your choices
Results: Services and Sacrifice	Setting aside your own wnats and needs; seeking the greatest good for others.

 

Cindyuhsin: It is 06/06/2009. Saturday.
Today's Goal is to Complete my study notes of
The Servant: A simple Story about the True Essence of Leadership         by James C. Hunter
http://www.amazon.com/Servant-Simple-Story-Essence-Leadership/dp/0761513698/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244301243&sr=8-1

• Being in power is like being a lady. If you have to remind people that you are, you aren't. (Margaret Thatcher, P. 15)
• It is important to treat other human beings exactly the way you would want them to treat you. (Len Hoffman, P. 19) --> even when Len Hoffman was order to make his enemy strip naked and lose face during the Second World War.
• Listening is one of the most important skills a leader can choose to develop. (P.25)
• The teacher (Brother Siemon = Len Hoffman) said, "I have only one rule this week while we are together. I want you to promite me that if you feel moved to speak that you speak...You will recognize the feelgin when it comes. It's often an anxious sensation that causes you to begin squirming in your seat, your heart to beat a little faster, or your palms to sweat. It is that feelings when you know you have a contribution to make. Do not deny and attempt to stuff that feelings this week, even when you think the group may not want to hear what you have to say, or you don't feel like saying it. If it moves you, speak it. The opposite rule also applies. If you are not moved to speak, it is probably that you refrain from speaking to allow room for others to speak." (P.26.)
• The teacher continued, "All of you are in leadership positions and have people entrusted to your care. I would like to challenge you this week to beging reflecting upon the awesome responsiblity you signed up for when you chose to be a leader. Nobody forced you into any of these roles and you are free to leave at any time. In the workplace, for example, employees will spend roughly half their waking hours working and living in the environment you create as the leader.I was amazed when I was in the working world at how nonchalantly and even flippantly people responded to that responsibility. There is a lot at state and poeple are counting on you. The role of the leader is a very high calling." P. 27.
• Management is not something you do to other people. You manage your inventory, your checkbook, your resources. You can even manage yourself. But you do not manage other human beings. You manage things. You lead people. P.28.
• Leadership: the skill of influencing people to work enthusiastically toward goals identified as being for the common good. (P.28.) A skill is simply a learned or acquired ability. I contend that leadership, influencing others, is a skill set that can be learned and developed by anyone with the appropriate actions. The second key word in our definition is influence.  If leadership is about influencing others, how do we go about developing that influence with people? How do we get people to do our will? How do we get their ideas, commitment, creativity, and excellence, which are by definition voluntary gifts? (P.29)
• Power vs. Authority  (paraphrase of Max Weber's idea): Power = the ability to force or coerce someone to do your will, even if they would choose not to, because of your position or your might. The world is filled with it. "Do it or I will fire you." = simply put, "Do it or else." Authority = the skill of getting people to willingly do your will because of your personal influence.
• Power is defined as an ability while authority is defined as a skill. It doesn't necessarily take any brains or courage to exercise power. There have been many evil and unwise rulers throughout the history. Building authority with people, however, requires a special skill set.
• People can be put into positions of power because they are somebody's brother-in-law, somebody's buddy, because they inherited money or power. This is never true with authority. Authority cannot be bought or sold, given, or taken away. Authority is about who you are as a person, your character, and the influence you've built with people. (P.31)
• Power erodes relationships. You can get a few seasons out of power, even accomplish some things, but over time power can be very damaging to relationships. The phenomenon that frequently occurs with teenagers, we can it rebellion, is often a response to being "powered around" their homes for too long. This same thing happens in business. Employee unrest is often "rebellion" in disguise. (P.32)
• Most reasonable people would agree that leading with authority is important in our homes. But what about a volunteer agency? If we tried to use power with volunteers, they sure wouldn't be around for long! They will only volunteer with an organization that is meeting their needs. So how about in the business world. Are we dealing with volunteers in the business world? Think about it. We can rent their hands, arms, legs, and backs, and the market will help us determine the rent we will pay. But are they not volunteers in even the strictest sense of the word? Are they free to leave? Can they go across the street to another employer for an extra fifty cents an hour? Or even fifty cents less if they really don't like us? Of course, they can. And what about their hearts, minds, commitment, creativity, and ideas? Are these not gifts that must be volunteered? Can you order or demand  commitment?  Excellence?  Creativity? ....... There are times when we must exercise power.  Whether that be in applying the old "board of education to the seat of learning" in our homes or in firing a bad employee, there are times when we need power. What I am suggesting to you is that when power must be exercised, the leader should reflect on why resorting to power was necessary. You see, we had to resort to our power because our authority had broken down. Or worse, perhaps, we didn't have any authority to begin with. (P.33)
• Leadership is about getting things done through people. When working with and getting things done through people, there will always be two dynamics involved -- the task and the relationship. It is easy for leaders to lose their balance by focusing on only one of these dynamics at the expense of the other. (P.40)
• If the leader is not accomplishing the tasks at hand but is only concerned with the relationship, that may be good baby-sitting but certainly not effective leadership. The key then to leadership is accomplishing the tasks at hand while building relationships.
• The truly great leaders are skilled at building healthy relationships. (P.41) 
• To have a healthy and thriving businesses, there must be healthy relationships with C.E.O.S. in the organization and I am NOT referring to the Chief Executive Officers. I am talking about the Customers, the Employees, the Owners (or stockholders), and the Suppliers. For example, if our customers are leaving and going to the competition, we have a relationship problem. We are not identifying and meeting their legitimate needs. And rule number one in business is that if we do not meet the needs of our customers, someone else will. The old days about wining and dining the customer and getting the order are over. Now it's about quality, service, and pricing. (P.42)
• Meeting the customers' legitimate needs...the same principle is true with employees. Labor unrest, turnover, strikes, low morale, low trust, and low commitment are merely symptoms of a relationship problem. The legitimate needs of the employees are not being met. (P.42)
• A healty symbiotic relationship between suppliers and customers is necessary for the long-term health of any organization. Healthy relationships with the customers, employees, owners, and suppliers (the C.E.O.S.) ensure healthy businesses.  (P.43.)
• For decades surveys done in this country on what people want most from their organizations have consistently shown money down at number four or five on the list. Being treated with dignity and respect, being able to contribute to the success of the organization, feeling in on things, always rank higher than money. (P.44.)
• Money is what everyone points to when there are problems (in a marriage) because it is tangible and we can grasp it. But a poor relationship is always at the root of things. During a recent union drive at our plant, everyone kept telling me that the main issue was money until I became convinced that it was. But the union-buster consultant we hired to help us get through the union campaign kept telling me that the issue was NOT money. He insisted it was a relationship problem.  (P.44.)
• What do you believe is the most important ingredient in a successful relationship? Trust. Without trust, it is difficult if not impossible to maintain a good relationship. Trust is the glue that holds relationships together. (P.45.)
• If you do NOt change your direction, you will end up exactly where you are headed. (P.47.)
• Watch out Cindy! Listen carefully without interrupting people!! !!!  When you cut people off in mid-sentence like that, it sends some bad messages. Number One, by cutting me off you obviously have not been listening to me very well if you've already formulated your response in your head. Two, you do not value me or my opinion because you refuse to take the time to hear me out, and finally, you must believe that what you've got to say is much more important than what I've got to say. These are disrespectful messages you cannot afford to send as a leader.
• The people putting the glasses out in our factory floor are the ones closest to the customers. (P.57.)
• The head nurse said "I always tell my department supervisors that their job is to remove all obstacles, all the roadblocks in their people's way in getting the patients served."
• What it menat to be the servant? Leaders should identify and meet the needs of their people, serve them. I didn't say that they should identify and meet the wants of their people. Slaves do what other peoples want. Servants do what others need. (P.66.)
• They (people you lead or children @ home) may not want boundaries and accountability but they need boundaries and accountability.  The leader should never settle for mediocrity or second best -- people have a need to be pushed to be the best they can. It may not be what they want, but the leader should always be more concerned with needs than wants. (P.66.) 
• A want is simply a wish or desire without any regard for the physical or psychological consequences. A need, on the other hand, is a legitimate physical or psychological requirement for the well-being of a human being. (P.67)
• If the role of the leader is to identify and meet the legitimate needs of the people, then we should be constantly asking ourselves. What are the needs of the people I lead? What needs do I have? (P.67.)
• The model: Anyone wanting to be the leader must first be the servant. If you want to lead, you must serve. Jesus Christ (P.71)
• We build authority anytime we serve and sacrifice for others. The role of leadership is to serve, that is, to identify and meet legitimate needs. In the process of meeting needs, we will often be called upon to make sacrifices for those we serve. (P.85)
• Intentions - Actions = Squat (P.88)
• Intentions + Actions = Will (P.89)
• Intentions plus actions equal the will. It is only when our actions are aligned with our intentions that we become congruent people and congruent leaders.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY check it out! 

草根的 蘇珊‧波伊兒(Susan Boyle)參加英國星光大道歌唱比賽 
 
剛開始裁判和觀眾都不肖一顧…最後一舉成名

粗眉不鑷，捲髮蓬鬆，身材略胖，蘇珊就是典型的歐巴桑。這位大嬸參加第三屆英國直播選秀節目《Britains Got Talent》，當毒舌評審賽門‧克威爾聽到她稱自己四十七歲，仍夢想成為音樂劇演員時，不屑地翻了翻白眼。蘇珊繼續說自己以英國音樂劇女神伊蓮‧佩姬為目標時，台下觀眾發出陣陣竊笑。
她表示要唱舞台劇《悲慘世界》的〈I dreamed a dream〉，評審似乎預期會是一場災難，觀眾則等著她出糗。沒想到蘇珊一開口，竟是婉轉優美兼具力量，第一句尚未結束，觀眾已爆出如雷喝采，評審頓時坐直了身子，目瞪口呆。雖然蘇珊小有失誤，但瑕不掩瑜。曲終全場激動起立鼓掌，攝影鏡頭還帶到有觀眾拭淚。
蘇珊羞澀地給全場一個飛吻，轉身就要走向後台，評審連忙叫她回來受訪。評審的評價是：「毋庸置疑，這是我主持這節目三年以來最大的驚喜，令人震撼的演出。」「我只能說，能聽到這種歌聲，完全是恩典。」
一如該節目第一屆冠軍保羅‧帕茲的際遇，蘇珊一夜成名，從十一日演出至今，網路上有關她的演唱片段已有超過兩千萬人次點閱，美國影星黛咪‧摩爾也是她的粉絲。
大家熱切地想了解蘇珊的一切，不過在參賽之前，她的人生可說乏善可陳。蘇珊來自蘇格蘭中南部小鎮，從小喜歡唱歌，但好歌喉只在教會和卡拉OK發揮。她從來沒約會過，母親兩年前病故後，她獨居至今，僅有一隻貓為伴。蘇珊無業，加上強烈的寂寞感，她最愛上教堂和當義工。
蘇珊接受媒體訪問時自曝參賽除了圓夢，她還想藉此找到伴侶，因為她不想終身孤獨。不管未來的伴侶有沒有著落，已有唱片公司找她洽談。蘇珊自嘲大眾總是以貌取人，她想以才藝樹立典範。
「喪親之痛曾讓我放棄唱歌。媽媽是我的一切，她曾鼓勵我上這個節目，她說我有神奇的歌聲，所以今年我來參賽，我沒想過會發生這一切。我希望爸爸媽媽會為我驕傲，在天上看顧我。」

第四十五首　張良受書圯上老人 
溫柔自是勝強剛　行善于門大吉昌 
若是有人占此卦　宛如正渴遇瓊漿 

靈籤之曰： 
本籤為積福門庭之象。凡事謀則吉者也。靈籤曰。溫柔自是勝強剛。積善于門大吉昌。為使己之事務。求財。時運吉昌者。必須積善。修德。布施。方能亨之。久而彌堅。易言之。天地有感應驗非常佛神保持得福壽長之籤。 

As the competition comes to the last stage, I fould the following "accounting" concepts helpful in designing the management structure.

Segregation of Duties
Source: http://www.insidesarbanesoxley.com/soxlife/2007/05/explaining-segregation-of-duties.asp

• "No single individual should have control over two or more phases of a transaction operation. Management should assign responsibilities to ensure a crosscheck of duties."
• A simple challenge question to evaluating segregation of duties is this: If I make an error in my work, will someone downstream of me detect it before it becomes a major issue for management and shareholders to read about?
• By breaking apart tasks (approvals, recording, processing, reconciling results), companies increase the likelihood that they can detect unintentional errors in their results before it's too late.
  

Fare hikes the MTA board has approved:

-- Single subway or bus ride: From $2 to $2.50

-- 1-day unlimited MetroCard: From $7.50 to $9.50

-- 7-day unlimited MetroCard: From $25 to $31

-- 14-day unlimited MetroCard: From $47 to $59

-- 30-day unlimited MetroCard: From $81 to $103

December: Cram in 18 more people per subway car
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03242009/news/regionalnews/new_mta_fare_hikes_161114.htm

Cindy: Right now, I care barely breath in the subway car in the morning on my way to school. I would also need to be very careful not to accidentally "kiss" someone you never would want to kiss in your life. And - they still want to cram in 18 more people per subway car ..... WOW....This is the dark side of New York that you would rarely see on TV!