LEADers

Freezin'!

Been raining everyday for the past couple of days that I'm shiverring my pants off. Every night I cover myself with blankets before I tuck myself in to bed and I didnt even needed to switch on the fan for the past 4 nights!

It kinda reminded me when I was back in China. Though it wasnt as cold as China, but I remember the numb feelings I had with my hands and feet in this cold weather. Everyday I come home, I look forward to the hot bath.....geez, how I wish I had a bath tub.

Was talking to a friend the other day, we asked ourselves, what made great men, great? Are leaders born or made? (ok lar....we very bohliau...but we're bored out of our minds at work)

Anyway, throughout the conversation, I have always thought that great men, successful leaders and influential men; all had one thing in common. The ability to talk.

Just look at a few examples, Winston Churchill. It was said that he practically won the war with his words. On the eve of every Allied offensive against Hitler, normally Winston Churchill will give a pep-talk to his soldiers to get their blood going. You can say, he's a olden day motivational speaker.

And on another hand, the CEO of Microsoft, Steve Balmer. This fella is one of the most aggresive and commanding yet inspiring speaker I have known. When I saw him giving a speech on television, I was awed. Immediately when you hear him speak, all you want to do is salute this man. There was one politician who quoted, "If Steve Balmer was born in the 40's, he would definately be an Army General".

And lastly, lets look at the people closer to home. For instance, ex-Malaysian PM Mahathir and ex-Singapore PM Lee Kuan Yew. These 2 people has an amazing way of capturing the hearts and attention of the audience they are speaking to. Their ability to talk makes them the few most influential people in Asia.

I remember there was once, I saw LKY on the TV giving a National Day speech. Normally, during these speeches, within the first 5 minutes I would already have switched channels. But what do y'know......I was glued to the TV for 1 friggin hour listening to him!!!

Back to my point, great men can really talk. Its the simplest form of communication. It doesnt really matter what you talk about. You can talk cock, talk rubbish, or talk about something totally mind-boggling, but its the way you do it. Do it in a manner that people want to listen. Remember what we always say about college lecturers? Some lecturer can make the most dry and boring subject into something really interesting.

So, in the end, are leaders made or born? Well, some might argue they are born with it. Though, I feel that if what makes a leader great is his ability to talk, then in a small way, they can be made. The ability to talk and the flair while giving a speech are traits that can be cultivated.

Hahhaahahahah...come to think of it, maybe I'm not too far off myself. So far I do have the ability to "smoke" my customers. And I know I'm good at it.

My testament?

Well, there was this time where a customer called in to enquire about his bill. When I saw the bill, trust me....there was a BIG questionmark on my forehead. I had no idea why certain items has been charged that way.

Never the less, I was too lazy to have it checked with the relavant departments....I just smoked my way thru and tried to give a valid explanation to the customer. And you know what the customer said?

"Oh! I see! Very clear explaination. Thank you very much!"

!?!

So, then boys and girls. At that time, I knew I have achieved "Smoking" nirvana. I have reached the highest level of "smoking".

So, if ever I'm a leader of anything.....I'm the Leader of "Smoking"!!!!!!!

Update: From the latest reports, another 3 in my cluster has resigned and 1 more is still unconfirmed.