Patience Practice and Talent Retention

 Hello everyone! I listened to Eighthalf podcast episodes 1765-1766 which are drawn from the book, ‘Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals’ by Oliver Burkeman.

Several things made me feel like sharing ka!

First, patience is very much needed in the social media era. So the author gives these two approaches ka:

·        Develop capabilities to deal with problems instead of running away…..we need to accept that our lives have to confront a variety of  issues!

·        Embrace radical incrementalism it’ll be better after repeating the tasks as our physical adaptation

Harvard University teaches a course on ‘Art Appreciation’, asking students to go to a museum to select any piece of work that he/she prefers and take time to look carefully at the art piece. This helps them become more focused with no distractions. Obviously, quite a few could be quite restless and this is a real good exercise to appreciate art and learn how we react to our restlessness too na ka.  

Second: Attract the talented by AMP+S to retain them with the organizations

·        Autonomy – give the talented specific targets/ goals and let them discover how on their own because they basically enjoy freedom!

·        Mastery – intelligent workers know they will excel from being assigned challenging projects or being surrounded by a team with smart members for them to learn from ka.

·        Purpose – know ‘why’ especially about their projects to do good of the society….feeling proud of being contributive…and the last one is added by Khun Tong Kaweewut –the podcaster himself ka,

·        Support – free to think and act, yet get support when needed, physically and emotionally

For these 4 bullets, which is most important to you or your organization or the Thai context ka?

One nice day's out to Suphanburi

I was busy the past week, going out of town with my ship friends and then with an EdPEx mission ka.

I enjoyed my little trip to Suphanburi with my Japanese ship friend who heads a UN office in Kazakhstan and wish to share some little things ka.

- Serendipity: we happened to find a new café (opened only two months ago) on our way to Supanburi. It’s called, ‘NunNaan Café’ (นันนานคาเฟ่ Nun is from her name and Naan to add that it’ll be a long-term business)…..an ambient place to sit and sip well-blended coffee and freshly baked muffins by the young owner. . In early mornings and later in the afternoon, the café will be perfect to sip some cool drinks by the vast rice fields nearby. They also grow lots of orchids for visitors to appreciate their beauty and could decide to own them😊!

How I wish it could be open until later ka…for now it’s open until 4 pm!

From our brief chat, she graduated from Thammasat’s College of Innovation. With her mother’s help, both take care of the café and the whole area.

I asked her if it was her dream job. She didn’t think so but a little later came to say she loved to be an entrepreneur so this could answer part of her dream.  

Listening to a podcast while writing, one ‘How Leaders Lead’ guest (Dr. John Noseworthy, CEO Emeritus of Mayo Clinic) was saying that the best for the young on their careers was to know themselves and if they aren’t on the right lane, they could change to their plan B which could turn out to be better ka.

Happy for her to know herself and at least, she seemed to enjoy doing it for now though it’s too early to tell ka.

- Reviews to be trusted: I’ve been quite skeptical with overloaded reviews that don’t seem to be close to what’s offered ka. As my Japanese friend craves for fish and prawns (from living in a landlocked country with only frozen seafood), we chose one called, ‘Kui Mong’ in Bangplama (บางปลาม้า) with river prawns and ‘plama’ fish. Lots talked about it and the place was quite crowded even after 1.30 pm (closed at 3 pm). We ordered their signature dishes which were wow’s for us, especially from our visiting friend!

- Feeding buffaloes: the buffalo conservation center exposed us to be up close (and personal), feeding the buffaloes with ripe bananas….hard to lure the ones who were taking it easy resting to get up for the bananas and it was interesting to see their reactions ka. Even we missed the morning buffalo show, it was a nice visit we three enjoyed a lot.

- Dragon Paradise Park: a good place to be on our list to learn about the Chinese history within an hour from the museum! 5555! A bit too dark and too fast at some point for an aging person like me but ok kaa! 

Have you been there?

AI discussions from WEF

Hello all.

I’ve read key issues from a World Economic Forum (WEF) email and so I wish to share with you today ka.

Serious conversations discussed were obviously around artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technology. The issues also included: the digital divide, the coming quantum economy, space technology and climate change, and the development of sector-specific regulation around AI governance.

One keyword was from the theme of this event highlighting ‘trust’ which has these important implications to me at least na ka: How could we trust AI as well as humans who create/use it for the good and the destructive? Would it be another chapter/form of colonialism from countries with AI power? What could be the roles of governments as regulatory bodies for the world use of AI?

I also heard what conscious approaches to AI, especially across sectors and its interface with other technologies. Most importantly, it must be people first!

It was kind of shocking to hear that one well-known journalist never used ChatGPT. Some mentioned that quite a number of leaders didn’t have that much awareness of the role of AI in work and life even when AI today has been quite common in one form or another in finance, healthcare, aviation etc.

Let me share the five takeaways from WEF na ka:

1. Much of the world is still analogue and disconnected.

2. We need to prepare for the coming quantum economy.

3. Space technology is critical for planet earth.

4. AI will help us to prioritize our humanity.

5. Continuous dialogue will deliver the benefits.

AI influences are around and will generate many more pluses along with minuses! We need to follow closely, think seriously, and act wisely na ka.

Healthy Aging

 Hello all. Last week I met up with Aim, an alum from the Fulbright family, and it was so interesting that I wish to share with you ka!

Aim is a scientist and management professional. Currently she serves as Program Manager at the NUS Academy for Healthy Longevity. Her work not only is relevant to my aging self but also is what I feel so excited about ka.

From talking with her and checking the website, her organization is under the School of Medicine and committed to offering top-quality education in the field of health and longevity. Through courses and programs, participants will be a part of and lead the GeroScience and Healthy Longevity Medicine field to enable healthy and fulfilling lives.

What I’m excited about is the courses the Academy offers. One we talked about is held annually and it runs for only two and a half days for startups, C-suite, and entrepreneurs. It provides recent trends and the latest developments in the field of healthy longevity and the changing perspectives of medicine. Visits are also included for participants to see how this area can be grown into business and other related fields. A few Thais mainly from the private sector have signed up ka.

This Academy also stresses how its conference helps participants meet with ‘multiple world experts and build long-lasting friendship with great minds of various specializations and cultural backgrounds.’

They also have a longer duration of training for younger ones, entitled, ‘Healthy Longevity Talent Incubator’, which is a 10-day Summer School. I asked if it’s possible to be an observer. She said it isn’t allowed for the participants to fully focus on the activities.

I also learned about ‘repurposed drugs’. Research has been conducted to go into drugs being in use and add/drop some substances, which could potentially contribute to longevity while reducing experiment time.

This healthy aging area has so much potential. Again, I’m amazed with how advanced and fast Singapore has been, how it well-covers the ecosystem for the healthy aging area from experts to business and younger generations, and how the progress has been contributive to the delivery of education and research while reaching out to offer its expertise and experiences beyond the university and nation’s boundaries ka.

Thailand’s healthcare sector is very strong and I hope to see our visions stretch into this area prominently ka.

Any comments mai ka?