Here comes the Heroes & Heroines

Beware of the Zurros!

It was a night of fun.

This is really what we call work hard and play hard. I must say the BD team is really serious in everything we do. Even for our D&D night, we have Meng Ger together with Anya and Eunice, bring the team the most professional outfit...for our Zurros image!

As if the outfit is not loud enough, our best actress, Eliza has to act so professionally and the team has to walk around to show off the $25 outfit. This is a true dynamic team that I am proud to be part of. I always believe that we can work hard and have fun at the same time. The laughters are the glue that gel us together and prevent us from shatering under the pressure of stress.

No matter what we do, how we do it and what we can achieve, don't forget to continue to smile and laugh. When you laugh, the world laughs with you.

Geok Chwee

FY0910 : Get Set, Ready, Go!

Dear all,

We are now at the start of FY0910. First of all, thank you all for a wonderful FY0809 where personally, I felt the team had achieved much.

Looking back...

We had our i.Luminate 2008 where our 4 key industries and mobility track form part of the core content for i.Luminate. Without the hard work by the team in pulling in our partners to form the showcase, getting the right content and speakers for our tracks, i.Luminate 2008 will not be as successful as it is. Not forgeting the sponsporship that the team had brought in to support our event.

We had a challenging target for Blue Ocean which we exceeded! Give yourselves a pat on your shoulder for turning ideas into reality and bringing in results!

We had some significant break through in getting value from our CACs, our PR in 2008 as well, propelling SingTel's thoughtleadership in the various industries.

Now, looking ahead..

FY0910 would be as challenging if not more than FY0809. We are at a different phase of growth, an increasing expectation from our bosses as we raise the bars for ourselves and facing a different market that no one is wiser to tell what's going to happen next.

Nevertheless, I am confident that we had a strong team that can band together to face the strong current in the Blue Ocean and we will continue to deliver break throughs. With the right strategies and visions set, we should continue our effort in pushing through our executions, perfecting every move till we get in the results that we are after. So, focus on our last "R" in our famous "IRR" -- RESULTS!

If you sit into enough strategy presentations , be it internal, external, from analysts, or from internal business managers, you would see that strategies rarely varies. Maybe all came from the same business schools...tought by the same teachers....What varies significantly is the people that can exceute vs people that can only produce slidewares.

We have been working closely together as a team to drive our break throughs and I trust the team can make a difference AGAIN in this new FY0910.

Let's ride on the waves that we had created in FY0809 and build on the momentum to reach the next height!

Geok Chwee
5th April 2009

Happy Birthday Nicole!

This posting is kinda late...sorry Nic! :)

It was Nicole's birthday on 8 Jan and a surprise mini celebration was organised by Meng Ger. We were in the midst of updating our BD activities to Kai Hock when Meng Ger came thro the door with a cake and candle. That really took all of us by surprise! :)

Cheese!! :D

I wish for....

Happy New Year!

Dear Team,

Wishing all a Happy 2009 and many good things ahead of us!

I had a good break over the last 2 weeks with my family in Europe. Great scenery, good education on Europe history and architecture, quality time with my two kids and having fun with snow and the freezing cold weather...

I always felt grateful after a long break, that I have a job to get back to and it is not just a "job" that I do to get paid, but one that I truely enjoy doing with a group of people that I love working with. It is always the people around us that matters and what always motivates me in my work are my team mates who are passionate in their work, who are eager to learn and make a difference alongside me; my bosses who are appreciative and supportive of me. Thank you, team for making this place a wonderful place to be in and a place where I love to come in every morning to work.

So, as usual, we need to make some "new" (or not so new) resolution for the New Year!

My personal resolution for 2009:

1. Health

This has been always the number 1 on the list (almost every year...don't ask me if I had achieved my resolution every year) . This year, my resolution is to increase number of time I exercise every week, minimially, 3 times per week.

2. Work Life Harmony

Yes, family is number 1 priority in my life. Many times, we get too engrossed in work and lost the balance. So, readjusting working hours to get more work life harmony is something that we have to constantly remind ourselves. I believe that having a happy family life is the foundation to all other things in life, without which, nothing will satisfy the heart.

3. Growing as a team

I believe in continuous learning and self development. Many people stop reading or learning once they leave school which is very sad. Some one ever said that some people maybe on the job for ten years which equates to ten repeated experience of the same one year work which is terrible. No matter what we do, we need to continuously improve ourselves. There is no one out there that can help us if we are not taking charge of our own personal growth. There are many ways that we learn. I love to read and get the wisdom from those great people out there and learn from their experiences. Self reflection is also another way of learning where we reflect upon what we had seen,done or experience and think about how we can do better next time. I also like to observe how other leaders behave in certain situations and learn from them.

In this new year, I hope that we can grow as a team. Learning how we can communicate with each other better, how we can bond together and break barriers ahead to make the impact that we want in the marketplace. I am very grateful to have a great team but there's always room for improvement. So, there's work to do in ensuring tight team work among the BD & SMM, ensuring we all share the same vision and commitement to make things work. We need everyone of us to be proactive in putting forth more good ideas and push our initiatives through together to make a big wave in our Blue Ocean!

Let's work together and grow together as a team. Next year this time, I believe the team would emerge even stronger and Better!

Best Wishes,

Geok Chwee

BD Folks gone wild - Xmas Eve Lunch

It was delightful coming back to the office on Xmas Eve and finding so many presents sitting on my desk, and as usual, a couple of ants greet me by running amok on my desk.. Thanks to all who made the effort to prepare xmas gifts.. i got chocs, facial masks, photo frame (never read e-xmas tree list right?) and more chocs!

Back to our xmas lunch. Firstly, the restaurant: a quaint little pizza place with shiok-adoo-dadoo food. They had the foresight to seat us in a private room. You'll see why.....

Some highlights of the lunch and thanks to....

Lynette "the classy babe" who introduced us to classy dishes like portobello mushrooms and beef carpaccio (cured raw meat..... i think) and who gave her thumbs up to the quattro formaggi pizza (whom EVERYONE liked in the end!)

David who cheered us up with his "dirty jokes" about blondes and planes and cassette tapes.. I never saw this side of David, and i must say, i am still trying hard to "think dirty" so as to better understand him...

MG and Eliza, for their totally outrageous re-enactment of James' wedding march-in and Ronnie's overzealous yum seng toast.. You gals are the true "drama-mamas"!



Ronnie, for choosing the black squid ink pasta. Eliza and David certainly enjoyed the ink stains on their teeth and mouth... Oh, and your "virgin" experience in using a wine opener.

James for being a true "beer lovin' guzzler". We got to try out different types of beer and lager.. i know eliza and David certainly did.

Mei Yi, who graciously became our Xmas DJ and played all our xmas song requests from youtube. Hope you found your way to JB that day.. your face was lobster red from the beer and wine!

Nicole, Anya & Wee Yong for tolerating with us on the far end shoving plates at them and screaming for pizza.. We were a hungry lot!

Wine, beer, Mega pizzas, yummy appetizers, and old granny BINGO.. 'Nuff said.

Look forward to more of these "intoxicated" celebrations and gatherings with the BD Folks! I saw a totally different side of all of you :) Merry Blessed Christmas to the team, and a Happy New Year! May 2009 be filled with peace, joy, love, prosperity and good health!

drama

Hi,
We run the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2008 last Sunday, 7th Dec 2008. We have run a great race and most important was we finished the race at our time.(Half Marathon) What we achieved in this race was feeling healthy and stronger. Only disappointing was that the day I collected my “Bit number 40614” and investing on number “4061”,”0614” and “4014” still no luck.

Jimmy

Crab-e-licious!!! (@ Eng Seng)

Thanks to i.luminate & Amos, we were treated to a sumptuous meal of juicy black pepper crabs last Friday!!! Venue is none other than the ever popular Eng Seng restaurant along Still Road. This rather run-down eatery serves one of the best black pepper crab which is finger-licking good. :p

Anyway the whole group was all psyched up, with "carefully" planned logistics of reaching there by 4.30pm to "chope" seats & crabs.

Amos gave us the go-ahead to order 12 crabs (plus other sides such as mee goreng, fried hor fun, fried you-tiao, rojak etc)! While ordering with the infamous auntie, I could hardly contain the drool that was spilling out of my mouth. *slurp*

We all had a hearty meal, no small parts of the crab was left uneaten (or unexplored?? - quote David). Our table which had more "macho" eaters (James, David, Jimmy, Wee Yong & Amos) were casting furtive glances at the opp table (predominantly female except Ronnie) so that we can help "clean up" their crabs! All that was left on our plate was traces of black pepper sauce cos we had David who was busy lapping up most of it.

I vote David as the NEATEST crab eater! He piled all that's left of the crustacean in a shell which looks good enough to be reconstructed (see pix as proof). The rest of us had crab shells littered all over our plates & table. :p

What a great way to relieve stress!! Thanks Amos!! :D

PaintBall : Our Teambonding!

Dear Colleagues,

This was one of the greatest and very Challenging Team Bonding that i had went through since i had joined SingTel.

PaintBall Team Bonding by BD & SM

The morning started with all of us conducting briefing and warming up.
Excited like a boy and girl going through a new game.

The Instructor saw our excitement, hence he had given us a small lecture on Safety and the Game Rules.

Excited initially, but once we heard the "Safety" briefing especially on danger of close fire and incidents where some participants taking out the "mask"....... ripped lips and etc. The cold went down our spine!

I noticed some of us started to cover the head with cap and many start to use scarf to protect their neck.

Once the game started, it was nothing but full of fun, firing and shouting. There was some cheer leaders by the side (if i could remember)

Some lost some win......but the best thing that we achieved was as follows

Team spirit
Lots of running (exercise)
Souvenirs ("Blue black", i had one too)
Stress Relieved

For those who had short memories, pls refer to the attach photo.
The main bulk with be at the X drive.......

X:\Business Marketing Group\Business development\Pix\TmBdg-Paint

Sign off
David & Ronnie




Why Paintball?
Paintball is great for relieving stress while promoting team work in a fun and interactive atmosphere.
Leaders will emerge through practical application of strategic planning. Team spirit and friendships build as the season progresses .
The tension and pressure of everyday life is forgotten as the participants slip into their fantasy world

What is Paintball?
Paintballs Flying Wild Over Singapore Skies! T.A.G (Tactical Action Games) Paintball has brought the electrifying sport of paintball to Singapore. Trained marshals are constantly on site to guide you through an exceedingly exhilarating day and the different game scenarios, like capture the ammo box and zombie. Their presence ensure that the game is played fair, and more importantly, make sure everyone's safety is looked after.

THE GAME Paintball is a combination of "Hide & Seek" and "Tag".
Two (est 5 pax each) teams are pitted against each other with each game having specific objectives.
Players eliminate the opposition with a paintball splat from a CO2 powered paintgun.
Paintballs are small spherical balls made of a thin gelatin case filled with biodegradable, water-soluble dye, which is environmentally friendly. When the paintball breaks on an opponent, he or she is then eliminated

How to truly enjoy a deserved break?

In today's super well connected world, you are contactable via phone or email no matter where you are with the exception of the more remote places. In all my previous working years, I did not had a enjoyable breakaway at all coz companies love to issue you a super productive tool called the blackberry which cultivates a habit in us to take a look at it to check for any new emails or sms even if you put on silent mode.

However, I had an exception this year in my Japan trip. Not because I did not bring along a bb, I brought along the iPhone along which is err...great for entertainment and also accessing emails :(.
The blessing in disguise came when I was happily eating away the delicious ramen and I received a sms from SingTel to tell me that my data roaming charges had exceeded $300 on my 2nd night in Tokyo!!! I got a bill shock! Super amazing how push emails can be so expensive in Japan...

Anyways, I turned off the data roaming settings and this is where my fun and enjoyment extrapolated on the scale. The best thing is that all the missed calls appeared with unknown caller ID and hence, I can't call them back!

From then onwards, I 'bo chap' all the emails and happily eating and touring away in Japan.
All in all, Japan has been very very good to me (my stomach)!!! Awesome country!!!

Check out my online Japan albums. I strongly recommend Nikko and Hakone for romance during autumn.

Day01>> http://travel.webshots.com/album/568266513lcNwjY?vhost=travel

Day02>> http://travel.webshots.com/album/568270574JFBJgb?vhost=travel

Day03>> http://good-times.webshots.com/album/568273957aTUtwG?vhost=good-times

Day 04>> http://travel.webshots.com/album/568278983MNkCNc?vhost=travel

Day05>> http://good-times.webshots.com/album/568275050ybKyeM?vhost=good-times

Day 06 http://good-times.webshots.com/album/568408377VBCDDv?vhost=good-times

Day07>> http://good-times.webshots.com/album/568286688ReBwWn?vhost=good-times

Day 08 http://family.webshots.com/album/568326681xUaUck?vhost=family

Day 09 http://travel.webshots.com/album/568343827mmdsFq?vhost=travel

Day 10 http://good-times.webshots.com/album/568366106iKbVPI?vhost=good-times

Day 11 http://travel.webshots.com/album/568406282jeHads?vhost=travel

Day 12 http://travel.webshots.com/album/568424279qUNbbd?vhost=travel

Carrots, Eggs & Coffee

I just read this which I found it thought provoking...here's sharing it with everyone...

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee... You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again. A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled 3 pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.' 'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean , mother?' Her mother explained that! each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. 'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain & adversity do I wilt & become soft & lose my strength Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened & stiff ? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter & tough with a stiff spirit & hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean?

The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

MAYBE WE CAN ALL BE COFFEE.... :D