December 2011
1 post
It's been 5 months...
… and I’m back. A lot of things have changed since I last put something up here. I’ll try to be less ambitious this time around. Let’s start with snippets of thoughts and opinions, and we see how far we get from here eh?
Dec 8th
July 2011
2 posts
Jul 1st
June 2011
3 posts
Jun 30th
Jun 30th
Jun 16th
1 note
2 tags
Dialogue - The Basic Unit of Management
I learnt something very useful while reading Bossidy and Charan’s classic book on management, “Execution”. Rephrased, the idea is that dialogue is the very essence of management; that through rigorous, fact-based questions and answers, managers can dig into issues to unearth reality and hence make decisions based on that reality. It is only through honest and open dialogue,...
Jun 13th
May 2011
7 posts
1 tag
Arab Spring coming soon to Saudi Arabia?
I just read about how a Saudi woman was arrested after posting a video of herself driving a car on YouTube. I must say that banning women from driving, in my mind, has no real basis whatsoever in Islam, and that the arrest of this woman puts us Muslims to shame.  A friend of mine is trying to organise a campaign for Malaysian women to drive by the Saudi embassy in KL and honk as they drive past....
May 22nd
1 tag
“Step 1. Be you. Step 2. Be OK with you. Step 3. Be the BEST of you. Step 4....”
– Rhett Laubach (via melwoe)
May 6th
3 notes
1 tag
May 5th
3 notes
1 tag
May 4th
1,030 notes
2 tags
May 3rd
2,691 notes
1 tag
All the Dazzle...
وَلا تُعجِبكَ أَموٰلُهُم وَأَولٰدُهُم ۚ إِنَّما يُريدُ اللَّهُ أَن يُعَذِّبَهُم بِها فِى الدُّنيا وَتَزهَقَ أَنفُسُهُم وَهُم كٰفِرونَ English-YusufAli translation ______________________________ Nor let their wealth nor their (following in) sons dazzle thee: Allah's plan is to punish them with these things in this world, and that their souls may perish in their (very) denial of Allah.
May 2nd
1 tag
May 1st
17,162 notes
April 2011
32 posts
2 tags
Apr 30th
716 notes
1 tag
Apr 29th
2,451 notes
3 tags
“Most of the biosphere cannot see the infosphere; it is invisible, a parallel...”
– What Defines a Meme? | Arts & Culture | Smithsonian Magazine by James Gleick (via futuramb)
Apr 28th
1 tag
The Best of Us (PBUH)
politicaldove: One day Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it. He asked the Bedouin, “Why don’t you tie down your camel?” The Bedouin answered, “I put my trust in Allah.” The Prophet then said, “Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah” (Tirmidhi). It is all good and well trusting God, but we have to do our bit too.
Apr 27th
1 tag
Apr 26th
2 tags
Beaten Down
gregtunnell: Sometimes when you feel like you have been beaten down so much, all you need is for someone to show that they believe in you. - Drew Brees
Apr 25th
2 tags
“There is no worse mistake in public leadership than to hold out false hopes soon...”
– Winston Churchill (via jessekquotebook)
Apr 24th
2 tags
“Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise.”
– Woodrow Wilson (via blessed-quotes)
Apr 23rd
1 tag
Distilling the Wisdom of C.E.O.’s →
deniscollins: If you were on a search committee looking for someone to hire as your new CEO, what key attributes would you look for among the candidates? Interviews I conducted with more than 70 chief executives and other leaders for Corner Office in The New York Times point to five essentials for success — qualities that most of those C.E.O.’s share and look for in people they hire. The good...
Apr 22nd
5 notes
3 tags
Apr 21st
4 notes
1 tag
“Remember the difference between a boss and a leader; a boss says “Go!” - a...”
– E.M. Kelly (via philosophisdom)
Apr 20th
2 tags
Apr 19th
1 tag
Apr 18th
1 tag
Apr 17th
32 notes
4 tags
Discipline of Action #1 - Interning at El Bulli
I read an interesting article in the FT yesterday.  In a new book recounting her experience as an intern at El Bulli, a bleeding-edge 3-Michelin-star restaurant described as “the most imaginative generator of haute cuisine on the planet”, Lisa Abend wrote about the 6 months of repetitive labour which marked her time as an El Bulli intern. I’m struck enough by the article to...
Apr 16th
2 tags
Apr 15th
103,856 notes
2 tags
Seminal interview on the 6 Principles of...
Turning around a struggling airline: An interview with the CEO of Malaysia Airlines. Idris Jala led the state-controlled carrier from the brink of bankruptcy to record-breaking profits. Now he wants it to become what he calls a “five-star value carrier.” NOVEMBER 2008 • Alex Dichter, Fredrik Lind, and Seelan Singham When Idris Jala became CEO at Malaysia Airlines, his goal was to...
Apr 14th
2 tags
Apr 14th
3 tags
"Ready, Fire, Aim!" (and Fire again...)
In life, most of the time we get paralysed by doubts of whether we are doing the right thing. Very often, however, it is that very paralysis that hinders us from achieving the results that we should be getting.  So I say Ready, Fire, Aim, then Fire again. Then Aim, and Fire again. You’re usually never going to get it right the first time, but the very act of firing takes you closer to your...
Apr 13th
5 notes
1 tag
Reading is so underrated
Reading. It’s the fuel of champions.  I remember sometime back in the 80s or 90s, someone came up with the hazy statistic that Malaysians only read, on average, one page a year.  That’s scary. If Malaysia expects to play the game of globalised economies, and play it well, we need Malaysians who are well read, up-to-date, and ready to beat up competitors with the knowledge that comes...
Apr 12th
2 tags
Apr 11th
Apr 10th
1,804 notes
Apr 9th
104 notes
Apr 8th
1,905 notes
29 Statistics Reveal How The Apple’s iPad Is... →
iPad’s Time Usage This has implications on how publishers should be developing content so it is optimized for the appropriate device Use of  desktop computers is down for 35% iPad owners since they bought the device Use of laptops is also down since they bought an iPad at 39% 87% of owners are using it every day of the week 26% for half an hour to an hour per day 32% for 1-2 hours per...
Apr 7th
36 notes
an american revert: The example of a believer who... →
americanrevert: Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (Radi-Allahu ‘anhu): The Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, “The example of him (a believer) who recites the Qur’an is like that of a citron which tastes good and smells good. And he (a believer) who does not recite the Qur’an is like a date which is…
Apr 6th
1 tag
Apr 5th
2,775 notes
3 tags
The End
After 6 grueling and challenging weeks, I came to the end of the road for my current Lab assignment. (Well it’s not really the end of the road; there is still the work of preparing for the post-Lab cabinet workshop, and other ancillary work, but apart from these necessary final things, most of the work is done). Labs are a funny thing. Lately there has been a minor craze in government for Labs...
Apr 4th
3 tags
Apr 4th
3 tags
Apr 3rd
2,515 notes
2 tags
Chill Pill
This is a very good reminder for us to be a bit more chill and stop comparing ourselves with others too much… 
Apr 2nd
2 tags
Three of the worst major sins: polytheism,...
americanrevert: Narrated Abdur-Rahman b. Abu Bakra that his father said: We were with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and he said: “Shall I not tell you about the biggest enormities (major sins)? They are three: Idolatry against Allah, disobedience to parents, and false witness (lies).” The Messenger of Allah was reclining and then he sat up and continued saying it until we wished...
Apr 1st
30 notes
March 2011
4 posts
1 tag
Mar 31st
522 notes
2 tags
Mar 8th
470 notes
1 tag
Mar 7th
2 tags
Mar 6th
February 2011
27 posts
The Power Couple
Kat: Sayang.
Ziad: Yes?
Kat: You don't mind the idea that one day when I'm sixty-five, I'll look like Rafidah Aziz?
Ziad: So? I'll look like Jabba the Hutt.
Kat: Rafidah Aziz and Jabba the Hutt. TOGETHER. WE SHALL RULE THE WORLD. EVIL LAUGH.
Ziad and Kat: MUAHAHAHAHA.
Feb 21st