Gong Xi Fat Chai!

The Gate for Singapore's Hong Bao

Friday night, I took a quick run to Singapore's Chinese New Year Celebration.

Despite the fact that this is my year - the year of the Tiger, I was disappointed in the 'new and improved' Hong Bao.

What used to be a funky, crowded, and intimate festival crammed into the corners of a riverside park is now a large, soulless cattle herd. They took the celebration out of a green park, and put it on a floating barge. It's basically a parking lot filled with decorations.

This is a clear example of a new plan being implemented that 'fixes' the old problems without stopping to ask what was working at the old location. And that's unfortunate.

Regardless, people were happy - largely because Chinese New Year isn't really about floats, lanterns, fireworks, or parade. It's about family.

So, Happy Chinese New Year to you and yours.

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 29 of 58

A Toast to the Halfway Point (Long Island Ice Tea at Clarke Quay)

February 05, 2010

Learning Moment: Singapore

Today, we reached the halfway point of our two-month journey through Asia. As great as the past four weeks have been (and they have been...), some of the best is yet to come.

• We'll be vacationing in Bali for the next seven days
• We'll get to see the first of on Hong Bao (the riverside Chinese New Year festival) in Singapore
• We'll eat a kaiseki dinner for Valentine's Day in Japan
• I'll hook up with Garr Reynolds for a presentation workshop in Yokohama - slide:ology + Presentation Zen
• And then, two weeks in Seoul, Korea

Today, I led another slide:ology session. There are two 'best known methods' that we've developed over the past 6 months of teaching slide:ology. They are not 'rules', but I practice them religiously. I'll share them with you, but - as always - your mileage may vary.

1. Never (ever) share slides with someone who isn't going to present them.
   If you're asked to share your slide deck, email it, or store it on a server - say no. What you should do is convert it to a pdf file and then send it.
   This method has three advantages. First, it shrinks the file size dramatically. Second, viewers cannot 'click' into your embedded files and read the data behind the data. Third, they cannot easily present your deck. Finally, they cannot cannibalize your slides to create a 'Frankendeck'.
2. Never (ever) use sub-bullets.
   A single layer of bullets is fine for creating a list. The next level of bullets, however, indicates one of two things. One - you're typing in words that you're going to say anyway. These can be pushed into notes view and you can just say them. Two - if you really have important text in the sub-bullets, I would argue that the bullet and sub-bullets have enough meaning for one new slide. The bullet becomes the title and the sub-bullets become the text (or are changed to an image).

The use of sub-bullets is mostly laziness. Since I imposed this rule on myself, I have not found a case where I needed to keep them. There is almost always a better way.

Give it a try!

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 28 of 58

With Maggie Lee at the KLA-Tencor Offices

February 04, 2010

Learning Moment: Singapore

What a great day...

Why?

Well let me list the reasons:

1. Today I led a slide:ology session that was great. The audience was totally engaged, we worked on some interesting issues, and I learned a lot (even though I'm the instructor, it isn't a good session unless I learn a lot).
2. I received great support from Maggie Lee. Maggie is a member of the Singapore HR team. I'm consistently pleased and humbled by the help I get from our Asia HR teams. Maggie is great. That's her photo above.
3. Angie and I had a good dinner at The Pump at Clarke Quay. There are few better people watching spots than Clarke Quay. The fact that dinner was good was a bonus.
4. We heard a great singer - Jai - at Murphy's bar. I stopped Angie and said, "Wow, that chick can sing." Turned out 'that chick' was a guy, and that the guy - Jai - really could sing. We stopped in to hear one or two songs and stayed until midnight.
5. I got to sing with Jai. Jai saw me singing along with the songs he was playing and asked me if I wanted to sing. No, I answered, until I saw that anyone could sing with him. "Do you know 'With or Without You', I asked?" Yes he did. And yes I did - sing, that is. It was my first time on a stage in about 5 years, and yes, it felt great. Jai and I had a good time, harmonizing and improvising a bit - we extended the ending and had a few laughs. That, my friends, is what I miss about music... the improvisation.
6. Angie and I got a tri-shaw ride back to the hotel. Despite all our years and visits to Singapore, we've never had a tri-shaw ride. Well, tonight, that streak ended.

There is no recipe for an outstanding day - but I can suggest strongly that if all of the above things happened to you, it would be a great day for you as well.

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 27 of 58

February 3, 2010

Learning Moment: Singapore

File this one under the title of "Artistic Bullsh*t"...

Tonight we checked out ION, a monumental mall on Orchard Road. In front of the mall is a sculpture of a nutmeg. I took this picture and walked over to read the artists statement.

This is what it said:

"Ion Orchards's signature sculpture connects the mall building site with its past as a nutmeg plantation - a reminder that present-day social spaces are enlivened and enriched with histories and collective memories."

Seriously? Is that what they think this sculpture does? Somehow a giant brass nutmeg spontaneously summons up collective memories of the plantations of the past? Do they think anyone is buying that line? Do they even believe it?

If they had stopped at the first sentence, it would have been okay. But the rest is laughably insincere. Oh well, at least there's that James Bond girl on the screen to distract us...

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 26 of 58

Watching People Watching People Watching

February 02, 2010

Learning Moment: Singapore

I love gatherings. Some of my favorite places in Asia are just gathering spots.

Yokohama Koen, The Bund in Shanghai, Orchard Road in Singapore, Shibuya Station, and Waikiki Beach are all locations where I love to hang out. In all of these places, you find older men who like to sit and watch the world move by in a flurry of color and sound.

These men just soak it all in - not needing to participate. They are happy just to watch.

I'll probably be one of those old guys some day.

I enjoy watching people, of course. But I also enjoy watching people watch other people.

This gentleman is sitting in Albert Mall, where Chinese New Year festivities are underway. He's witnessing thousands of people walk by: buying flowers, praying at the local temple, picking out fruit, and seeking a little prosperity from the gods of fortune.

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 24 of 58

Singaporean Chinese Beauty, thanks to plan B!

January 31st, 2010

Learning Moment: Singapore

Today, we strolled the streets of Singapore; though Little India, up Orchard Road, and down back alleys. Tonight, while I reviewed the photos I took, I (re)learned two lessons:

1. Always check your settings.
   Always. Check. Your settings.
   I was using my SLR camera in manual mode the other night and never changed it back to aperture priority. As a result, all 150 photos I took with that camera today were either under or over exposed.
2. Have a plan B.
   Redundant systems are our friend.
   Today, I was carrying my pocket camera. For no apparent reason, I took 250 photos with my pocket camera. I never do that when I'm carrying my SLR. Well, almost never. Because I did take those pictures, I captured the Singaporean beauty above, during a promotion for the upcoming Chingay parade.

It was an important - but relatively painless lesson.

And that, my friends, is the best kind of lesson.

Training is a place where we can experience important, but painless lessons.

My job as a facilitator is to make sure that:

A) The lessons are painless, and

B) You realize how important they are.

When I do that - you learn, I learn, and life is good for both of us.

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 8 of 58

Friday, January 15th

Learning Moment: Singapore

I probably do my best work when I'm traveling. Today, I finished teaching a Situational Leadership II workshop that went really well.

In addition, I finished seven more pages of a workshop I'm designing, gave feedback on two slide decks, and coached three different employees on issues that they are facing.

That's a good day.

To reward myself, I took Angie to Chijmes for dinner.

Oh, who am I kidding? I would have done that anyway.

It was a beautiful night - warm with a tropical breeze. The pizza and mojitos were tasty, and the surrounding architecture (it's a former convent) is interesting.

No wonder I do my best work on the road.

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 6 of 58

Storyboards Rock...

Wednesday, January 13th
Learning Moment: Singapore

I'm working with Ed Muzio (co-author of Four Secrets to Liking Your Work) on the instructional design of a workshop that will accompany his new book, tentatively titled "Make Work Great!".

I first used storyboarding while working on the slide:ology workshop, but that was done on my office wall. This project marks the first time that I have storyboarded a workshop in my notebook and then worked on it while traveling.

Ed and I brainstormed ideas for the workshop over the course of a couple of months. On my flight to Singapore, I sketched those ideas onto post-it notes with a sharpie and placed them into my notebook. Then, I went through the draft of Ed's book and created more post-its (this second round of notes is in blue pen). Finally, I combined the two sets of notes, moving them into a working order.

You can see that module headers are pink, learning content is yellow, and exercises are blue. At a glance, I can see what the mix of content to exercise is. I've been working on this project by the pool at the Intercontinental Hotel, in our room, at breakfast, and in taxis to the office.

Only now am I constructing the workbook for the course. This storyboarding has made it very easy for me to think visually and see the book before I construct it.

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 5 of 58

Tuesday, January 12th

Learning Moment: Singapore

Timeliness obviously varies by culture.

I was reminded of this fact yesterday, as I led the slide:ology workshop in Singapore.

The workshop was scheduled to start at 9:00 am.

At 9:15, I had just over half of the attendees present, so I started.

The room was full around 9:30.

When I gave a 10-minute break in the morning, most of the attendees took 20-25 minutes.

For lunch, I gave a 70-minute break, saying "be back by 1:30".

We didn't get started until 2:00.

Finally, I got smart. I gave a 7-minute break in the afternoon - just enough time to reach the coffee machine and restroom. Then I didn't give the last break that I usually provide.

Sure, I could get angry and threaten, but that doesn't support a learning atmosphere.

I just observe the behavior, comment on it, and let them know that any chance to end early is decreased by their tardiness.

If that doesn't work, I just adjust the material a little, trimming time for exercises, and keep on teaching...

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 4 of 58

proof that you shouldn't drink and drive powerpoint

Monday, January 11

Learning Moment: Singapore

Yeah, I admit it. This is bad. But I couldn't help myself.

Angie and I were eating dinner at Prego, a favorite Italian restaurant of ours in Singapore.

At the table next to us, a woman was sipping a glass of wine while creating an awful PowerPoint presentation.

I had to sneak my camera out and take a shot of it.

Just about everything is wrong with this slide:

• It's got a terrible, noisy background
• The title is meaningless
• Baaaad clip art
• Red lines that are hard to see against the dark blue background
• And you can't see it, but don't get me started about the animation (everything flew in from somewhere)

The worst part of it?

She spend two hours of her life making small adjustments to this, as if the small adjustments would improve the presentation! That doesn't count the hours she spent before I saw her.

There really isn't any excuse for this. I wanted to shake her by the shoulders and command her to buy "slide:ology" or "Presentation Zen".

On the other hand, ever crappy presentation out there makes me look better.

So, let others keep making bad presentation, I say.

As long as I don't have to watch them...

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 3 of 58

a quiet Chinese temple

Sunday, January 10

Learning Moment: Singapore

Wandering the streets behind Boat Quay, we found this small, but active Chinese temple.

I took some pictures of the grounds and then took this one inside the temple, before the woman here approached me and nicely told me that no pictures were allowed.

I've never been stopped from taking photos in a Chinese temple before.

It just goes to show that one should always ask, I guess...

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 2 of 58

Island in Time

Saturday, January 9

Learning Moment: Singapore

One of the reasons I travel is - like John Dunbar in Dances with Wolves - to "see it before it's gone", whatever 'it' is.

I was reminded of this yesterday at Orchard Central, a new 12-story mall in downtown Singapore. From the rooftop garden, I was able to look down on Peranakan Place: a collection of historic Chinese shophouses that now serve as residences or trendy bar/restaurants.

We've walked Peranakan Place many times, photographing the colors and details of the graceful colonial architecture.

I knew the area was shrinking under the pressure of expensive high-rise housing.

I didn't know that it was basically a three-block stream running through a desert of characterless condos.

Sometimes it just takes a different view of the world for us to 'get it'.

That's one value that travel provides (as well as books, art, or teachers).

Asia Tour 2010 - On the road again...

For the next eight weeks, I'll be leading KLA-Tencor workshops in Asia.

My buddy Martin once called me the "Indiana Jones of Training", so you know that this is the stuff I love - 5 countries, 29 workshops, more than 500 attendees.

Here's the plan:

• Jan 11 - 15 Singapore:
  Situational Leadership II, Maximizing Customer Relationships, slide:ology
• Jan 18 - 29 Chennai, India:
  5 Dysfunctions of a Team, Presentation Skills, Managing at KT, Working Globally
• Feb 1 - 5 Singapore:
  Situational Leadership II, slide:ology
• Feb 8 - 12 Bali, Indonesia
  cultural anthropology (ie: vacation)
• Feb 15 - 19 Yokohama, Japan:
  Managing at KT, Hire at KT, slide:ology
• Feb 22 - Mar 5 Seoul, South Korea
  (Presentation Skills, Managing at KT, slideology)

I'll be sharing highlights in the form of stories, photos, and maybe even videos.

Range of Vision - The World Through My Lens

This is a continuing series of slideshows from my travels. Enjoy!


Range of Vision 2.o - Wildlife

Here are some of my favorite wildlife photos that I've taken.

Range of Vision 1.o - Images of Asia I meet a lot of people as I travel throughout Asia and the world, and I take a lot of photos of them. Here are 125 of my favorite people photos .





Technical/design note:
I've been struggling for years with how best to present my photos.
I don't like just hanging them up on the web where anyone can download and use them.
On the other hand, I want friends, family and colleagues to be able to see the images.

My compromises has been:

• to post small photos, like I did at rangeofvision (too small)
• to watermark the images, like I do at hues.smugmug.com and deviantart.com (too distracting)
• to use a password-protected gallery and send out invite (too restrictive)

None of these were satisfactory, so I'm trying a different option - photos presented as video, assembled using Picasa software..

Let me know what you think!

My Singapore Reading List in a nutshell...

One of my favorite things (okay, maybe the only thing I like) about long flights is that I get uninterrupted time to devour books.
During the 18 hour flight to Singapore and back, I read a lot of books.

Here's a recap of the books. Instead of reviewing each one, I'll just write one thing that I learned from each one, with a rating on a 5 point scale.

The Leaders Guide to Storytelling by Stephen Denning - 5/5
I learned about the power and structure of using a 'springboard' story to drive change in a business.

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp - 5/5
Twyla Tharp is one smart, practical artist.
I read this once. I'm about to start reading it again.
I learned that I have a lot to learn from a dancer, even though I don't dance.
I also learned that I should probably dance more...

The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain De Botton - 5/5
(A great, great introduction to Philosophy)
I learned that I'm an Epicurean at heart - needing only Friendship, Freedom, and Thought to be happy.

The Charisma Effect by Desmond Guilfoyle - 5/5
I learned that Guilfoyle has something to add to the general knowledge on speaking. I also learned about the power of the 'yes not' - using phrases like 'isn't it?' or 'doesn't it?'.
I'll be trying those soon...

The Power of Personal Storytelling by Jack Maguire - 4/5
I learned Elizabeth Ellis' summary of Story Types ('Ha-ha' for funny stories, 'Aha' for stories that surprise, 'Ahhh...' for stories that touch deep emotions, and 'Amen' for stories that move the spirt).

Aha! by Jordon Ayan - 4/5
Ayer says that the creative spirit is made up of four compenents - Curiosity, Openness, Risk Tolerance, and Energy - that he calls CORE.

Public Speaking for Success by Dale Carnegie - 4/5
I learned that Dale Carnegie had this speaking thing nailed back in the 1930's.There hasn't been too much new added...

Unstuck by Keith Yamashita & Sandra Spataro - 3/5
I like the explanation of the two types of reaction to change - "Blue Sky Mode" for folks who want to clear the plate and start over; and "Tuning Mode" for folks who want to make incremental changes; and the description of the conflicts between the two.
I'm a 'bue-skyer', by the way.

Ideaspotting by Sam Harrison - 3/5
Looking at the graphic for 360-degree exploring, I realized that I don't spend much time in stores. That's a conscious choice, but it means I'm missing out on some opportunities to explore new spaces for ideas.
My plan? I'm going to enter one new store every week and explore it for 30 minutes.

How Koreans Talk by Choe & Torchia - 3/5
I learned a bunch of Korean proverbs, my favorite of which is "It has a dragon's head, but a snake's tail". It means having a great start, but a weak ending.

Wisdom in Chinese Proverbs by Chen & Li - 3/5
I learned that 'you cannot keep something that must go'
or 'qu xhi zhong xu qu zai san liu bu zhu'!

Popular Chinese Proverbs - 3/5
'The gift of gab will put you in good stead'
or 'san cun bu lan zhi she'.
I think I'm living proof of that one!

Speak Easy by Barry Gibbons - 3/5
I picked up a great line, 'the recipe for a good speech always includes shortening'.
I'll be stealing that for class!

10 Simple Secrets of the World's Greatest Business Communicators by Carmine Gallo - 1/5
Ummm... I learned that there are more words in the title than there are new ideas in the book.What I did like was his assertion that dynamic speakers speak faster - 190 or so words per minute versus the 150 words per minute that most people average.

Radical Careering by Sally Hogshead - 1/5 (for the nice design)
I learned that you can get a book published by collecting one hundred cliches ("Fear Causes Paralysis" and "You Are a Work in Progress", for example) and calling them "Radical Truths"!

Well, I said that I read a lot of books during this trip...
The other big thing I learned on this trip is that I love shopping for books in Singapore.
Borders and Kinokuniya carry all the US best-sellers, but they also carry many UK and Australian books, as well as those published in Singapore.
It's a big world, and all the ideas don't just come from America. What a surprise!

Singaporean Food

Well, I'm back in Santa Clara.
I would have updated the blog sooner, but I was too distracted by all the great food in Singapore.
I've often said that you can see all of Singapore in a week, but it would take 2 years to eat all of it. Trust me, I've tried...

Martin is modeling my favorite Singaporean special - Jumbo Seafood's Sri Lankan Pepper Crab - but that's only the tip of the tropical iceberg.

My second favorite is Hainanese Chicken rice. This plate was served by room service at the Intercontinental Hotel, but the $2.50 versions in any food court are just as good (if not as pretty).

Third on my list of favorites is Nasi Padang, a specialty from Indonesia. You get to pick from a slew of spicy foods to scatter over rice. This one is spicy chicken coconut curry, with spicy potatoes, and spicy tofu. Yummmm!

I got this at the Bugis Junction Food Court for $4 (Singaporean currency).

Finally, if you like Thai food, well, we can do that too.
Here's an fresh plate of Paad Thai, from Patara.

Hungry yet?

Checking in with an old friend...

Angie and I had dinner tonight with our good friend Jodi Chia, and her kids.

We ate at California Bistro, in the Esplanade.

Chicken sandwiches - good
Fish and chips - very good
Weather - hot
Air - humid

Seeing an old friend - priceless

Exploring Singaporean Music

The sun is rising in Singapore... Stephanie Sun Yan-Zi, that is.

As part of my continuing world music series, today I will introduce you to Stephanie Sun.
Here's her profile. And a fan site.

Singapore's most famous performer, she is a singer/pianist with an excellent voice, singing in both English and Mandarin. She's been a huge success throughout the Chinese world since 2000.
She performs a wide range of songs, but sweeping piano ballads are her specialty.

Here's one of her hits - 'Kite'.

Good late night music.

Singapore Fashion

It's fashion week in Singapore.

As we were passing through Raffles City Shopping Center (designed by none other than I.M. Pei - it isn't one of his most inspired works, but it's interesting), a show was about to start, so we stuck around to take a few photos.

I'm not a huge fan of runway models - too skinny, too tall, too pale.
But hey, I always keep an open mind...

This statuesque creature must have heard my comment, because she appears to be staring a hole through me.

Singapore has the Best Food in the World

I firmly believe that...

You can see all of Singapore in a week, it's true.
But it would take you a good five years to eat your way through the Lion City.

Last night (my birthday, by the way) we had dinner at the Cafe Lotus, at Clarke Quay.

Here's a close-up of my Beef Rendang, a beef (obviously) dish cooked in a spicy coconut (anything's better with coconut, is my belief) gravy.

As Montgomery Burns would say, "Excellent...."