Asia-ready Exposure Programme (AEP)

Who and why?

How can we ready ourselves for a new normal of work in Asia?

By NYC & GIC, Delivered by The Thought Collective (by Shiao-yin Kuik, Cultural Change Strategist and Co-founding Director of TTC)

Introduction:

A 5 part fully funded online programme aimed at those who want to prepare themselves to take on the long haul challenges and opportunities in Asia. The content delivered has been prepared collaboratively between GIC and TTC based on GIC's 5 principles of long term strategies, enfused with TTC's socio-emotional and leadership distinctions.

What?

The 1st 2-hours session (of 5 monday evening sessions) on zoom had some technical hiccups. This could possibly be because the programme had about 500 participants (possibly affecting bandwidth adversely).

Only less than 10% of the participants

Sharing about 'taking the long-term perspective', Ms Kuik emphasised on the first mover advantage for those who are the first to realise the current crisis and thus are able to take action despite risks.

"Awareness helps one create new choices for oneself." This year of crisis is also my first year of marriage and it brings into perspectives the 'what ifs' for my life (work and family). My life has not been disrupted much although there is a substantial change to how I work with Work-From-Home (WFH) arrangements. Three words that come to mind about how I want myself to be in 2021 is more future-ready, enterprising and innovative. (after 5 minutes of self-reflection)

Putting on the Context lenses

Long-term thinking helps one navigate pain with more wisom and less suffering. One should not just think in months, weeks or days instead one should think by decades. Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. Pain is a fact but suffering is our story. All of us have our own stories of how we commit and dedicate our lives to specific things in our lives so if we hink long-term we would be able to determine how much less suffering we can have.

Life is not a race. (more like a marathon)

The metaphor of a marathon helps to point out the need for discipline (to not get caught up in the moment - Jay Z). For GIC, taking the long view (20 - 25 years) is fundamental. 

The session provided protected reflection time for me to think about the short term pains I am willing to withstand or put up with for the long term gains and goals that I have. Talking about (business) moats, there was a comparison between Coca Cola vs Anything and Whatever. That brought me to this epic old-school video which is worth a watch.

The 'moat' metaphor is applicable to individuals too. I am honestly loving this LT thinking with all the metaphors shared to illustrate the ideas.

We need to be consistently not stupid (Charlie Munger) and move on from sunk costs. We would also need to set up structures to reach our LT endpoints. Goals are good for setting a direction but systems are best for making progress. (Goals are not LT enough)

The last part of the session included a sharing by GIC School's Head, Lee Fong Teng, as well as a Q&A segment. We have to thrive and not just survive in the new future of buiness, work and life.