Misguided Roses

I have finally finished reading Jack Reacher’s adventures in ‘Killing Floor’. Tommy has been complaining that I am such a slow reader :) ‘Killing Floor’ is the best book ever – compare to ‘The Enemy’, ‘One Shot’ and ‘Without Fail’. I love the money counterfeiting plot – the system, the plates, the print, the ink, the paper, the distribution network, the Treasury Department – the story just draws you in. And it has Reacher going on a rampage to find out who murder his brother Joe and how he takes his revenge. He kills, he shoots and he drowns his enemies. Very action and macho packed :) Now Tommy has got me to read ‘The Traveller’ by John Twelve Hawks. Reviews say that it is the new Da Vinci Code – I am at page 76 now and the story is about The Harlequins who protects The Travellers & Pathfinders from the The Tabula. The Travellers are people who have been living off the grid – that is, invisible to the intrusive surveillance networks that monitor our modern lives. Why? I haven’t reached that part yet :)

This morning I accompany a friend of mine for her interview at this public-listed company in Jalan Kuching. Hope that she gets it. Working for an MNC is good for the resume and the package is deliciously attractive :) The first round of the interview was with the HR Manager and she have to sit for a test – maths; lots of calculation – for a Marketing position. If she passes this level, she may need to see the Executive Director. The HR Manager told her that those who are going to receive that amount will need to go that high up to be confirmed for that position. Wow, I told her it will be a good experience. She may be going to report directly to that Executive Director. Then we head for lunch at GIANT Taman Connaught in Cheras. Once the harmonization period is over, it will be very interesting to watch the Retail Industry. I am going to see who will shake and who will be shaken :) So far the feedbacks that we received were that M13 have the best team compare to The British. We emphasize on quality and not quantity. We are more knowledgeable in terms of product specifications and are more expose to various strategies and mechanics. We are aware of industry needs, we dare to experiment. They need to play catch-up :)

Wednesday morning went down to Oakland Park to take a closer look of the finished schematic. Almost done, need a bit of fine-tuning here and there. I have to respect all the Spaceman who did this layout. It takes so much of patient. You need to determine which racking to use, get the product dimension correct, how many shelves to put in, how many hooks, how to arrange the merchandise, left to right, small to big, arrange by range, cheap to expensive, how will the customers select and eventually pick up that product etc. It’s exhausting, it’s crappy and it’s soul-destroying. And I hate that SpaceWoman. We know our customers better. We know what is practical and that SpaceWoman will disagree and will lecture us on the ISO Standard. The scariest thing is this: it’s not the biggies who are making the decisions; it’s the smallies who think that they are biggies. We have been debating very hotly for the past week.

The Others receive their feedbacks on Thursday afternoon. The terms & conditions that are given to them are not in their favor. It should be a step upward not downward. Celtic was demoted. I truly felt for Celtic. We may not see each other eye-to-eye but in circumstances such as this…I have to say that Celtic was being treated unfairly. I may not like Celtic personal attributes; but that aside, I have always admired Celtic professional and working ethics. Juan was not matched and Nikolai has the same fate as Celtic :( I feel humble. I am thankful that my talent is being recognized and acknowledge. I am counting my blessings that I do not share the same fate as them. They got a demotion while I was given a promotion; albeit technically :)

“IF YOU EVER FIND A MAN WHO IS BETTER THAN YOU ARE – HIRE HIM”.
David Ogilvy who believes that’s the only way to build a company of giants.