After looking at the Nurturer and the Reformer, it’s probably good to look at another type of talent, known as the Achiever.

Nurturers thrive in relationship building and Reformers have their strengths in following and achieving their life goals. The Achievers, on the other hand, have their eyes on achievements. To the Achievers, achievements are their life. Every moment in their lives are dedicated to achieving something. These can be in the form of academic qualifications, sports achievements (it is interesting to note that trophies are especially important to them since it’s a physical symbol of their effort and achievements), positive job appraisals and compliments from friends or any form of contributions that they consider valuable.

While it’s true that some Achievers do well in life in terms of financial stability and/or wealth acquisition, most Achievers do not measure their worth in life in terms of monetary terms but rather, in their achievements. It can be a closing of a sales deal. It can be a contribution of an article to a magazine and seeing it in print. It can also be the completion of a 3.5km run. As can be observed, monetary acquisition is not a prerequisite in the lives of  the Achievers. But making positive contributions through their own effort is.

Achievers can be found in all walks of life and their entire lives are often purposeful. Once they have directed their focus on their life goals to contribute their abilities to make the world a better place, they will almost always achieve them with excellent results. Their existence is hence beneficial to society and their contributions immense.  

It is important to note that the Achievers are often independent workers. If they are invited to work in a team, it is important that the objectives of the team work be aligned with the objectives of the Achievers and that efforts be made to ensure that the achievers be placed within a specific job domain where they have full autonomy. For example, should Achievers be tasked to work with a team in an advertising company for a publicity campaign, it will be advisable for Achievers to be given full autonomy over a certain product line. Giving Achievers a sense of control over their work is vital to them doing their best.

It can be observed that Achievers often have a tendency to do their best and excel in what they do. This tendency of theirs actually reveals their primary weakness, which is their competitive nature. While competitive nature is good for solitary activities (such as writing and editing) and solitary sports (such as jogging and cycling), being competitive is detrimental to their effectiveness as team players. This is because they have a tendency to stand out from the rest. In another words, Achievers are more of an individualist than a conformist.  

But all is not lost. Achievements are often sought after by employers who need people to spearhead projects. This is because the Achievers’ passions for achievements are crucial to the success of any tasks. Hence, Achievers are often regarded as an asset to an organisation.  Nevertheless, care has to be taken to ensure that Achievers are given the flexibility and freedom in their work.

Achievers are at their best as independent workers and when empowered, they are almost unmatched in terms of work efficiency.

Some possible career options for Achievers will be:

• All professions where the Achievers have the expertise, flexibility and freedom to maximise their abilities to the fullest.

During our course of studies, we have learnt many things. While it is always good to be knowledgeable, not all the things that we came across are relevant to us in our lives. And what’s interesting is that we usually forget what we have learnt once we lose touch of them. For example, how many of you are able to remember every significant date from your history classes (for those of you who have taken history lessons)? Or how many of you are still able to remember all the equations in your chemistry classes? 

So, what is important in our learning process is not to gather as much information as possible in our lifetime, because we usually do not use most of them. Try reading today’s newspaper from front to back and see if you can remember the details of every news articles that you have read ten weeks down the road. You probably can’t, and you won’t need to.  So, what is important in our learning process then? It’s actually to convert what you have read (that is, data) to something that you understand (that is, information) before finding ways to make use of the information to your advantage. That is, turning information into insights.

But how do you turn information into insights? This is what the bulk of this article is about.  Well, you can do this by making the effort to relate everything that you have learnt to your lives. Of course, when it comes to the media, there are some knowledge that is either irrelevant (such as the announcement by the media on an upcoming conference for engineers. Why do you want to know that if you are not an engineer and have no use of such information for anyone? ), redundant (such as an article on the convergence of digital technology. Well, you have known this already, yes?) or short-term (such as a publicity on a car exhibition tomorrow. Such information is useless since the occurrence is not long-term, and this is especially so when you have absolutely no interest in the event). 

It is important to note that the media caters to a large group of readers, which differs greatly in terms of demographic and psychographic profiles. Hence, not all the information that is provided by the media is related or even useful to us. We need to sift out the relevant content for ourselves, else it will be a matter of time before we suffer from information overload.

So relating the things that you have learnt to your lives is crucial, since these are often the things that you will remember for a long time. If you do not believe this, just think of the most memorable scene and/or character in a movie that you have watched. You will not be able to remember every single detail of it but rather, certain snippets will stand out. Examine these snippets and you will realise that the reason that you find these moments/person memorable is because you can relate to it in some way. Maybe it’s the humour, or maybe it’s the emotion(s) that you have experienced when watching the film that reflects how you feel in your real life, or maybe it’s the fact that you are able to relate to the characteristics of the lead character(s) in some ways that are similar to your own.

Therefore, it will be good if all of you are able to relate what you have learnt in class to your lives. Try to see if you are able to apply what you have learnt in the classroom to your own lives. This is because when to comes to acquiring knowledge, its application is equally if not more important.

Whatever you are able to relate to, you will remember it for a long time.

Dear class,

Through the times that I have been facilitating classes for the past semesters, I have observed the strengths of different teams from their presentation sessions and have noted the various qualities that make such teams strong. I wish to highlight the essence of these teams’ attributes through the description of a hypothetical class Team X as shown below:

When Team X is asked to present, its members are calm and composed. Their strong coordination skills can be observed as each members goes about setting up the presentation. While some set up the projector, the rest began to position themselves either at the front or the back of the class, readying themselves for the presentation.

When all are ready and the facilitator gives the signal to begin, the team members are at ease and one presents after another. During the course of the presentation, the members are confident of their content and – save for some technical details which they might refer to on their laptops or scripts, they present their points using their own words to the best of their abilities. They put in the effort to elaborate on the points that they are presenting and they provide relevant examples whenever it is applicable. Coordination skills between them are strong when the team present.  All the members are attentive and focused on what the other team members are talking. In the event that any of their team mates fumble in their presentation, they will immediately step in and assist.  This same phenomenon can be observed during the “Q & A” session as well.

During the course of the presentation, it can be observed that the team is formal in their presentation. They are serious but not to the extent of forgetting to use a dose of humour every now and then. The team members always stand while they are presenting (and this is so even while their team members are presenting) and they refrain from engaging in any form of distractions such as eating, drinking or even spinning in their chairs while presenting.  All the team members are focused during the presentation and none of the team member can be seen to be joking with members of other teams during the entire course of their presentation. They do not walk around the class chatting with members from other teams as well while their team mates are presenting, and they do not doodle on the white board should there be one behind them during the presentation.

To engage the class in their learning, the team also pose questions to the class during the course of their presentation, making sure that they have sustained the audience’s attention with their questions while not allowing their questions to be disruptive to the flow of their presentation.  When the team presents, each team member presents according to their prepared slides while at the same time, they are aware of what other team members are presenting. This is because they have discussed the content of their presentation before the actual presentation. This has enabled all the team members to understand the content of the entire presentation and how their presentation contributes to the team’s presentation on the whole. In fact, the team members are so familiar with the presentation content for the lesson that each of them are able to switch at will and present any of their team member’s slides should the situation calls for it. This is because every team member understands the presentation content and more importantly, the flow of the entire presentation.

The above illustrates the strong team dynamics of an excellent team. Although it is hypothetical and such a team does not exist yet, I hope that all of you are able to work towards being the great presenter that you already are. All of you are doing well, and have the potential to be the great presenters and team members in such a team as described above if you put in the effort to realise your potential. I do not expect you to work towards my ideals or expectations but I hope that you are able to improve yourself to the point where you can present with ease as a presenter while being a cohesive team member in your team as well such that you will be able to contribute to the team effort.

When all of you work together as a team, you can achieve great things. And some of these achievements are things that you may not consider possible before. 

So, keep up the good work and enthusiasm!

The Lake of Ceranest is a beautiful place.

And Ceranest is the quiet and remote town to the east of France. It has been said that people living in this town never grow old. Of course, this is merely a legend. But even some legends have their basis based on facts. And this is one of them. Stories on the origins of how Ceranest comes about have been passed through the folks residing in the town for years. Ceranest has a culture of cohesiveness, and the people in Ceranest often comes together to celebrate any happy occasions.  Doors are left open at night since theft and burglars are almost unheard of.  Smiles are often seen on the faces of the Ceranestians (as the residents like to call themselves), a sign of contentment and joy.

The name of the town Ceranest does not come by accident. Rather, it is based on a folklore. There once was a hero named Ceracrest who braved the storm to claim the land of Ceranest as his own. The land is known as Coldfrost then, as the place was covered in snow and what was left living are the scavengers and reptiles that fought for survival against the temperamental weather and the intense cold. It was a dreadful place where no humans will ever hope to live in.  But Ceracrest believed in the impossible and so set about setting up a hut for shelter and slaughtering the nearby wolves for food. Over time, the predatory animals began to learn to respect this man whom they have initially regarded as a prey but have turned out to be a formidable foe.

With his skills as a hunter, Ceracrest set about setting fire to the trees in the woods. Strange as it may sound, the fire spread through the land and warmth soon replaces the cold.  Merchant ships soon anchored near the land and explorers began to arrive. People began to settle on ColdFrost, a land who has long lost the significance of its name. As Coldfrost warmed up to its occupants, the residents decided to name the land after its founder and called it Ceranest, adding the term “nest” to the founder’s name to signify the cohesiveness of the community.

Although the land of Ceranest has lost its cold climate, the snow that has melted has formed a lake that surrounds it. This lake is the legendary Lake of Ceranest, and it’s considered by many to be the most beautiful lake in the world. It is also the testimony of one man’s sheer will and determination to turn a forsaken land into one of vibrancy. Lake Ceranest is also the place where The Fisherman seeks solace for the most of his life. Evenings have always been beautiful at the lake, where the water reflects the starry night sky.

And it was on one of these fateful evenings when The Fisherman met Sam.

The sun was sinking into the horizon when The Fisherman was in the midst of packing up his catch for the day and securing the fishing net to his bicycle. The bicycle has been The Fisherman’s mode of transport for years. He has not bought the bicycle but has received it as a gift from one of his neighbours. Gift-giving is a common tradition practised by Ceranestians. Several kids soon ran towards him, and a few of them can be seen to be hugging Peace, a Golden Retriever that belongs to The Fisherman. Peace and The Fisherman has been friends for years now. Come to think of it, Peace is now nearing his prime.

Suddenly, a man ran up the road towards the Fisherman. He was dressed in a blue long-sleeved shirt with a yellow tie and black pants, an attire seldom seen in Ceranest. Upon seeing him, the children began to scramble and hide behind The Fisherman, stealing a peek at the man from behind The Fisherman once in a while.

“Hi,” The man greeted The Fisherman. “Name’s Sam. I am from an advertising firm Lockart & Harter. I am here on business. My car has broken down further down this road, and I wonder if I can get some help. I can offer cash upfront if you need them.”

The fisherman took one long look at Sam.

“Cash don’t work here.” The Fisherman muttered.

“I’m sorry?” Sam was straining his ears. He believed that he has heard it right the first time, but he just needs to confirm it. In the same way that he always confirms a client’s request before every deal.

“I said cash don’t work here. Cash is not the currency in Ceranest.”

“Well, I can use credit. Which card do you accept? I have a few here.”

Sam began to open his wallet and began pulling out the numerous credit cards that he has on hand.  To Sam, credit cards are a necessary possession for any advertising executive.  They facilitate smooth business transactions when he dines with clients since he’s always the guy who gives the treat.

 ”Credit cards are not heard of here as well.” Turning to Peace with the intention of feeding him, The Fisherman smiled. “Advertising guys like you makes credit cards magical and global on TV, showing that credit cards are portals to a good life since it’s acceptable by everyone. Well, young man, credit cards are unheard of in some places, and Ceranest happens to be one of them.”

“So, what’s the currency in Ceranest?” Sam enquired.

“Sincerity and gratitude.”

The reply took Sam by surprise. Firstly, he has never heard of Ceranest. It’s a strange town to begin with, where every resident smiles at you when you walk past them. There seems to be a bouncing stride when they walk, as if the residents are always happy when they go about their daily lives.  And now, he’s being told that reciprocity is a form of currency in this town? This is just plain weird.  Back in his hometown, ”transactions” is the word of the day. Not ”sincerity”. And definitely not “gratitude”.

 ”So…” Sam began to close his wallet and put it back into his pants. “How do I pay with ’sincerity’ or ‘gratitude’?”

“Well, let’s see…” The Fisherman looks upwards, pondering deeply as if Sam has just asked a very abstract question, one that requires much thought.  After a long pause, The Fisherman turned to Sam. “A smile……. or a nod of your head?”

 ”Serious? How do all the people survive without cash or any form of credit?”

“All of us have our own strengths. We just use them to help one another. And as you can see with your eyes, we are not only surviving, we are doing very well. We are a group of close-knitted and self-sustaining communities. We plant crops, keep some for ourselves and exchange the rest with our friends who will offer us some form of aid in return. Maybe it’s educating their children? I provide these. Or maybe, it’s elderly care? Darley over the other end of the town provides those. ”

“All the residents in Ceranest are still bartering?” Sam wondered aloud.

“I wouldn’t exactly put it that way.” The Fisherman stole a glance at Sam before returning to the task of transferring his catch from a pail to several large plastic bags filled with seawater. The Fisherman intends to bring these bags back to his family to show his children. It’s not often that he was able to capture such big salmons and eels.  ” ‘Exchanging of goodwill’ will be a better phrase, don’t you think?”

Sam was amazed at the way things work around Ceranest. It’s true that the entire town is self-sustaining.  He has never seen anything quite like it before. The people have all the basic necessities and they seem to be satisfied with their possession. There are  no big cars and there’s no private housing.

How is advertising ever going to even survive here? 

This thought flashed through Sam’s head.

As if reading Sam’s thoughts, The Fisherman turned to Sam and offered him a packet of water with a red salmon swimming inside.

“This is how we advertise. We offer our friends some of our catch and have them coming back for more. No TV, no radio and no internet.”

“You know about the existence of the internet?”

“Well, yes. I know Phil Collins and Kenny G too.”

“How?”‘

“Word of mouth. We have international friends here as well, you know. There’s tons of information being circulated in the world right now. But somehow, only good things come through here, you know? Isn’t this how it works? The good things always stand out from the rest. Someone will eventually recognise them and through word of mouth, they became popular culture. Word of mouth is cheaper and often more effective than advertising, yes?”

Sam has nothing to say to that, as it seems to be true. It’s almost taboo for an advertising guy to even acknowledge this fact but still, this seems to be so.

“I am heading to Janley’s garage to see if he’s able to help you” The Fisherman began to ride his bicycle eastwards, the empty pails bouncing on one side of the bicycle and the several plastic bags of fishes on the other, swinging around with water splashing out of the bags due to the impact of the bicycle on the uneven ground.  

“Hey, I am going with you!” Sam shouted.

Without turning his head, The Fisherman pointed to his right.

“Head to the house on my right. Within two hundred metres, you will come to a hut with a signboard “Fish’s best friend” above the entrance. That is my place. Knock on the door and when my son Joseph opens the door, tell him that you are The Fisherman’s friend and pass him the packet of fish I have handed you. He will let you in.”

Fish’s best friend? What an irony!

Sam let out a laugh as he walks towards the hut as directed by The Fisherman. As he trekked along the worn pavement, he turned to look at the disappearing view of The Fisherman as he took a left turn and disappeared around a street corner. Peace followed closely behind. With nobody else to protect them, the kids scrambled in all directions, seeking the safely of the bushes and trees from the stranger that they considered strange. 

Suddenly, Sam came to a realisation that he did not know The Fisherman’s name. 

Letting out another laugh, Sam continued walking.

To be Continued…….

*All characters in this story are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Some issues worth exploring:

• Farmers used to produce their own crops and barter (defined as ”
  to trade goods or services without the exchange of money” by the freedictionary.com) them for goods that they need. Why is bartering replaced with currency and what are their differences?
• Is the usage of currency more efficient than bartering? Why is the use of currency favoured over bartering?  
• What is the effectiveness of advertising as compared to word of mouth (defined as “spoken communication” by thefreedictionary.com)?
• How can advertising be more effective?
• In a world of consumerism, is the value of cash more valuable than an expression of sincerity or gratitude?

Dear class,

I will be starting another series on this blog, and will be naming it “The Fisherman and Sam” series. While the “Talent” series provides a factual description of the various talents in us through our personalities, “The Fisherman and Sam” series will take on a narrative style in the form of a story. From the stories in this series, I hope that we are all able to draw some lessons of life through the interactions of the primary characters, which in this case revolves around The Fisherman and Sam. So, do keep a lookout for it.

Below are the character introduction of The Fisherman and Sam:

Sam: Sam is a typical corporate employee working in a multinational company (MNC).  He is academically-inclined and regards life as a journey to achieve his goals.  Hence, he has always put in his best effort in everything he does. This probably explains his quick climb up the corporate ladder, and being promoted to be the Director of Advertising within a year. Few among his friends ever made it made it that far within such a short time. And this is something that Sam has always took pride in. That is, his achievements.

Nevertheless, Sam always feels that something is missing in his life. He is always looking, always searching. Initially, Sam thinks that he can find the missing puzzle of his life in his work. Thus, he has spent long hours in the office, wrapping up every last piece of documentation that requires attention and closing every sales deal that is possible. “Super-achiever” is a term that is associated with Sam in the office, a mark of recognition given to him by his colleagues and peers who often held Sam in high regard.

However, over time, Sam realises that fulfillment cannot be found in his work.  So, he looks for it outside the office, in the company of friends. Still, Sam feels that his life is empty. So, he went for romance. After several attempts, Sam finds himself in a daze, as romance gives him a different type of happiness but a different kind of pain as well.

Feeling disappointed, Sam decided to stop looking. And just when he’s just wandering along the pier going nowhere, Sam met The Fisherman. Through the interactions that he made with The Fisherman, Sam’s life begins to change for the better. And finally, he found happiness.

This is often the case, isn’t it? Just when we are so exhausted in looking for something and are on the verge of giving up, the thing that we are searching for all this while appears right before our eyes.

The Fisherman:   The Fisherman has no name. Or maybe, he once has a name. It just does not matter to him anymore. People now know him only as The Fisherman. The Fisherman probably likes to be called this way. As the name implies, The Fisherman loves to fish. In fact, he often spends an entire day fishing. In good weather, of course. He lives in a hut just by the side of the lake with his wife and two children, a son and a daughter. And the other children playing by the lake like The Fisherman for his good-natured disposition and humour.

Throughout his life, he has never worked in an urban city before. Not even when people tell him that riches can be found in the faraway cities. The Fisherman delves in simplicity and is never one who succumbs to consumerism. And urban cities have an allure that attracts the unaware and the uninitiated.  The cities have a way of stuffing one with irrelevant information and commodifying things and people. And these are things that The Fisherman is aware and steer clears of.

But life has a way of bringing people from different walks of life together. This is probably the reason why The Fisherman chances upon Sam one fateful early evening, along the lake of Ceranest while fishing.  This chance encounter will change both their lives forever.

Dear class, 

We are all talents in this world. Nobody is less than that.

Knowing this is important. But what’s more important is that we are able to identify our talents and realise our true potential. There are many of us who live our entire lives without fully utilising our talents. I hope that you will be one of them who will realise your talents. Hence, I have started this “Talent” series to help you explore the talents that you have.

There are many ways to identify talents. The fact that we tend to excel in the things that we love to do has shown the possibility of identifying talents through our interests.  We are also able to identify our talents in something that we do best as well. However, for this “Talents” series, I have chosen to look at the various types of talents through our personalities as I feel that our personalities – albeit some minor changes due to our life experiences – usually stay the same over a lifetime. More importantly, our personalities usually give a more accurate gauge of the career options that we are able to explore. Many research tests in recent years that are personality-based seem to reinforce this perception. Do note that the term “The Nurturer” as used in this article is different from what is reflected on the materials you may find online. This is because I am defining this term based on the experiences of my interactions with such talents. The same can be said of the subsequent talents that I will be writing on.   

So, let’s begin with the first type of talent, known by many as “The Nurturer“.

Individuals who are considered as Nurturers are often overlooked by many in society, precisely because they often do not take up prominent positions such as a company’s CEO or even members of senior management in the corporate workplace.  The primary focus of the Nurturers in their lifetime is not in creating a vision for companies but rather, developing a vision for individuals and to develop the fullest potential of every single individual under their care.  And these may include mentees, students, a fellow colleagues or even their loved one.

They have a knack of identifying other’s strength and encouraging them to further develop them. And they usually have the ability to do this to such an extent that others are able to carve out a career path that are meant for them over a lifetime. It is therefore not surprising that people often gave great thanks to the Nurturer for helping them identify the paths in their lives that they are taking.  Hence, gratitude is often given to the Nurturers, who often accept them in humility.  To the Nurturers, to help is not a favour or an obligation. It is a calling.

However, the Nurturer’s greatest strength is also their greatest weakness. I believe this speaks true of all if not most personalities. The Nurturer’s tendency to be caring is sometimes taken advantage of. It has often been said that Nurturers may be among the individuals who are often bullied. From personal experiences, I beg to differ. In most instances that I came across, Nurturers are often respected instead. Personally, I feel that deep down in the hearts of all of us, we respect individuals who care about us, who notice us and who give us a helping hand. And in return – be it in a conscious or subconscious manner - we have a tendency to want to return the kindness rendered. And this should always be the case. As the saying goes: kindness begets kindness.

While most of us recognise talents that is aligned and in tune with our own, Nurturers are usually able to identify talents in others that are different from their own. This is what makes the Nurturers so powerful and charismatic as it has often been said that a person is powerful not because of his or her strengths and abilities but rather,  it’s his or her ability to appreciate talents while employing and nurturing them in the endeavours where they can be at their best.  Such is the charismatic prowess of a Nurturer.

The nurturers often have the unique ability to blend into any environment.  It’s this precise skill that enables Nurturers to be skilled mediators when it comes to conflict resolution as they are able to get on good terms with the various personality types. An aura of amicability seems to revolve around nurturers and people find them to be pleasant and caring. Nurturers are also often among the first few individuals that come to someone’s mind should they require any form of assistance, assurance or advice.

Nurturers are the gems in this world. They provide the light at the end of the tunnel. Or rather, they are the light at the end of the tunnel. They enable us to reach an equilibrium when it comes to our emotional level.  Some of us have even associate the Nurturers with the term “Births” and “Rebirths”, for the Nurturers have the unique ability of seeing the talents in any individual and making them shine in life.

So, are you a Nurturer?

If so, the following are some career paths that you might like to consider:

•  Teacher (at all levels)
•  Counsellor
•  Social Worker
•  Career Coach
•  Career Consultant
•  Writer (of relevant genres and publications)