Blog Post 4: What is your legacy?
The end of the semester is here.
It has been an enriching journey in interpersonal skills and communications for me. Besides learning in theory, how to interact with friends from other cultural backgrounds, I get to put what I have learnt into practice by being in a classroom with classmates from diverse nationalities. I have also learnt to look out for the different facets of communications and interpret subconscious non-verbal communications clues when dealing with other people so that I may understand them better. The research proposal project has given me a chance to take a look into a problem that Singapore faces but is overlooked everyday and know about the unsung heroes tackling the problem of food waste.
However, the most inspiring lesson that I took away from this module came at the end, when Madam Radhika talked about building the brand 'you' and communicating that brand to the public and we can build trust with the people we come into contact with. While many students may not see the need for doing that right now, but I do have aspirations to achieve more than just getting a degree during my time in NUS. I am aware of the full potential that human beings can achieve on one hand, and the multitude of challenges that humanity face on the other. More often than not, it takes great teamwork and tremendous fighting spirit of whole organisations to tackle the most pressing issues of our time, or to achieve the next breakthrough in technology. Such organised effort do not come by easily, and it does not come by naturally. If we examine the greatest civilisations in history and the greatest companies that are in existence today, it takes strong leadership to be able to set the direction and inspire action for thousands of people. For those who are being led, they must trust the leader to act in their best interests. Hence, it is important that we master the skills of communication, to be able to embody integrity, communicate intent, achieve credibility and deliver results. This goes towards building trust with our friends and partners. In the long term, being in a high trust network enables us to achieve more with less.
While communication is a very important skill set, it is useful to the extent that our intentions behind our words are well. It was highlighted in Stephen Covey's book, 7 habits of the highly effective person, that most of the literature on personal development today is on techniques, while much of the literature in the past was on character building. To draw an analogy, back in Socrates' time in Ancient Greece, there were two schools of thought. The sophists would deliver dramatic but empty speeches to manipulate the audience while Socrates would reason in cold but convincing logic. The students of the sophists wrangled power in Athenian politics while the students of Socrates blossomed to inspire Western thought and philosophy which we continue to benefit from till today. This reminds us that while having effective communication skills is important, we need to develop the strong character base in order to put these skills to good use.
I would like to leave readers with one thought. If you have the power to communicate effectively and persuade people to any cause, what would you stand up for? If you were to be lying on your deathbed many years from now, surrounded by your friends and family, what would you want to leave behind? What do you want to be remembered for?
Grab the chance to do something meaningful while there is still time.
Jerry Tan Si Kai
Tuesday, 22 April 2014
Sunday, 13 April 2014
Blog Post 3: Reflection on Research Proposal, Triumphs, Learning Points and how to move on...
We have finally submitted our written proposal and delivered the oral presentation. The end of the semester is drawing near and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
It has been an exhausting yet enriching experience as we embarked on the journey to find out about issues that concern not just NUS community, but also Singaporeans in general. In retrospect, there were areas we had done well, things we have learnt which will serve us well for the rest of our lives and definitely areas of improvement which could take our research to the next level for more serious consideration by the relevant authorities.
Firstly, it was amazing how we managed to pull together a well-researched and well thought out proposal on food wastage in Singapore even though there is a non-Singaporean in our group. Initially, there were difficulties in understanding due to cultural background differences. Yumeng came to Singapore just less than 2 years ago and it is not fair to expect her to be familiar with Singapore issues. However, Jia Jian and I took care to make sure she understood what we are working on and the background information relevant to the topic so that we can move forward as a team. For that, I am really thankful for the teamwork and would like to thank Jia Jian and Yumeng for their cooperation and initiative.
Next, we have gained valuable knowledge in terms of the situation of food waste in Singapore and the current measures being done to alleviate it. Prior to this project, I was not aware of the existence of Non-profit Organizations like Singapore Environmental Council (SEC) which is responsible for so many successful campaigns like Eco-food courts certification in Singapore. Furthermore, the more important thing that I have learnt is to understand your audience before any presentation and know how to appeal to their interests in order for them to be receptive to our call to action.
Lastly, certain solutions in our proposal held promise as they sparked many questions from the audience after our oral presentation. In particular, the idea of selling ugly fruits and vegetables in a separate section in supermarkets generated interest among the audience. In our interview with an official with National Environmental Agency (NEA), she also said that the idea sounds good if public perceptions can be changed. Customer surveys can be carried out to find out whether they would purchase deformed fruits and vegetables at a discount and we can proceed to propose to supermarkets to carry out pilot tests in certain outlets to gauge consumers' response. If consumers react positively to this initiative, it can be implemented in more outlets across Singapore. This would certainly help to reduce food waste dramatically in the long term.
In conclusion, I am glad to be given the chance to work on and contribute to a topic that is often overlooked by a developed economy. It has benefited me greatly in terms of knowledge and skill set. In future, when I am faced with a situation of presenting a proposal to resistant audiences, I would definitely remember what I had learnt in this module.
It has been an exhausting yet enriching experience as we embarked on the journey to find out about issues that concern not just NUS community, but also Singaporeans in general. In retrospect, there were areas we had done well, things we have learnt which will serve us well for the rest of our lives and definitely areas of improvement which could take our research to the next level for more serious consideration by the relevant authorities.
Firstly, it was amazing how we managed to pull together a well-researched and well thought out proposal on food wastage in Singapore even though there is a non-Singaporean in our group. Initially, there were difficulties in understanding due to cultural background differences. Yumeng came to Singapore just less than 2 years ago and it is not fair to expect her to be familiar with Singapore issues. However, Jia Jian and I took care to make sure she understood what we are working on and the background information relevant to the topic so that we can move forward as a team. For that, I am really thankful for the teamwork and would like to thank Jia Jian and Yumeng for their cooperation and initiative.
Next, we have gained valuable knowledge in terms of the situation of food waste in Singapore and the current measures being done to alleviate it. Prior to this project, I was not aware of the existence of Non-profit Organizations like Singapore Environmental Council (SEC) which is responsible for so many successful campaigns like Eco-food courts certification in Singapore. Furthermore, the more important thing that I have learnt is to understand your audience before any presentation and know how to appeal to their interests in order for them to be receptive to our call to action.
Lastly, certain solutions in our proposal held promise as they sparked many questions from the audience after our oral presentation. In particular, the idea of selling ugly fruits and vegetables in a separate section in supermarkets generated interest among the audience. In our interview with an official with National Environmental Agency (NEA), she also said that the idea sounds good if public perceptions can be changed. Customer surveys can be carried out to find out whether they would purchase deformed fruits and vegetables at a discount and we can proceed to propose to supermarkets to carry out pilot tests in certain outlets to gauge consumers' response. If consumers react positively to this initiative, it can be implemented in more outlets across Singapore. This would certainly help to reduce food waste dramatically in the long term.
In conclusion, I am glad to be given the chance to work on and contribute to a topic that is often overlooked by a developed economy. It has benefited me greatly in terms of knowledge and skill set. In future, when I am faced with a situation of presenting a proposal to resistant audiences, I would definitely remember what I had learnt in this module.
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