The Latest News, Tips, and Trends of the HRD Communities Published by HRD Gateway  for the e-ASEAN Endorsed ATN Project www.hrdgateway.org/hub5 news@hrdgateway.org

CONTENTS

Editorial
Feature Article One: "Transforming HR For The One-World-Class Performance"
Feature Article Two: "The Coach's Mission Starts With Building of the Mind Bridge First"
Feature Article Three: "Successful Business Relationships"
Humor Resource
Book Review: "Love Them Or Lose Them"
Attitude Vitamins
Links of Interest
Organization News

Editorial

Welcome to the August 2003 issue of HRD Gateway Newsletter!

Part of my job as the Editor of this newsletter is to meet up with members who are working very hard to make HRD Gateway a success.  Of course, our coffers don’t permit me to fly all over the world to meet face-to-face with all of them.  At least, not for the moment.  Hopefully, I'll be able to do that in future.  For now, I will connect with local members.

Recently, I made an appointment for a meeting with Major Teoh, the moderator of malaysiaHRonline, the Malaysian Affiliate of HRD Gateway.  He's also responsible for founding other national HR Groups, such as those in the Philippines, Brunei, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, etc. You can read a report of my meeting with Major Teoh in this issue at the Organization News department.  

Dr. James Y. Lin, in his article, Transforming HR For The One-World-Class Performance: The 4 H's Clover System, says that the world has moved from HRD to HRM, and now is to HRW (Human Resource Wellness) driven by TQW (Total Quality Wellness), with the 4 H’s clover system: a Healthy corporate culture, Humor in the workforce, a Happy workplace, and a Holistic approach to HR for the one-world-class performance.  Confused?  Don’t worry.  Dr Lin is always one step ahead of current thoughts.  Read his article to get ready for what's coming in the area of current-millennium talent management.

If you are in a coaching function (and who isn't? -- a parent coaches a child, a manager coaches a subordinate, etc.) one important aspect of your function is building rapport with the coachee.  Rapport is closely associated with trust.  The coachee needs to have complete trust in you for the coaching to be successful.  See what Dr Michael Heah has to say about trust and rapport in a coach-coachee relationship in the article The Coach's Mission Starts With Building of the Mind Bridge First.  

What is an article on business building doing in a newsletter on HRD/HRM?  Well, we have readers who are marketing training and consulting services, and this article will be of direct benefit to them.  A more important reason, however, is that this article deals with value, competence, trust, and propriety -- all the characteristics closely related to Dr Michael Heah's article on coaching, and that are vital ingredients for a successful HRD/HRM career.  So there!  Go read Terence R Traut's Successful Business Relationships.  

As usual, our other departments give you lots of great ideas on how to enhance your career/profession as a HRD/HRM executive/manager/director.  

Enjoy this issue! (And do tell us what you think of it!).

G. K Lim
Editor
HRD Gateway Newsletter  

Feature Article One: Transforming HR For The One-World-Class Performance

by Dr James Y. Lin

Globalization, be it in economy, business, sports, religion, culture, healthcare, etc., is a contemporary challenge to HR performance. The rapid global economic changes with the WTO and FTA’s movements are shrinking the world while at the same time they are expanding the global market. The global market landscape is transforming into a borderless, culture free and multinational economic Olympiad.

I had the good fortune of attending the 1994 Olympic in Atlanta, USA. A few of the memorable images I still have in my mind are that all athletes from diversified countries and cultures appeared to be in their optimal health, happy, humorous and expressed their effervescent one-world-one-people spirit of human strength and talents for winning. The new economic HR could follow the Olympiad model and become the agent for unifying the multinational and multitalented global human resources for attaining the one-world-class HR performance.

In the old economic HR was EVOLUTIONARY and REACTIVE to situational changes. But the new economic HR is TRANSFORMATIONAL for fast RESPONSIVE and PROACTIVE changes towards the visionary future. The new HR is constantly and continuously transforming towards human capital initiative, knowledge management, talent development, workforce wellness promotion and workplace ergonomic enhancement, etc. Thus, the HR trend is moving from HRD to HRM and now it is into the HRW (Human Resource Wellness). The HRW is not a new concept but a growing new practice in the West. It is a two-edge sword system; while it is cutting away the HR abuse, it is sharpening the HR wellness. It is undisputable fact that there is a positive correlation between HR wellness and HR performance; healthy corporation and happy HR. The HRW is driven by the newly created TQW (Total Quality Wellness), which is based on the 4 H’s clover systems::

1. Healthy corporate culture
2. Humor in the workforce
3. Happy workplace
4. Holistic approach to HR

The first H is for HEALTHY corporate culture. To promote and practice a healthy corporate culture is to initiate the HRW and its new tools - TQW program which aims to transform the corporate culture from profit-priority to human talent appreciation; from policy-focused to people-concern; from corporate power to employees empowerment, etc. TQW is a holistic synergy of the 9 HR dimensions; consisting 3 personal attributes, 3 social responsibilities and 3 corporate systems. The practice of TQW is to prevent violations on human rights, child labor, gender discrimination, ethnic biases and old age abuse while restoring the basic human rights and preserving wellness for human resource. The World Health Organization (WHO) announces that the most deadly work hazard in the 21st century is called Karoshi – first discovered and named in Japan but it is a wide spread global epidemic now.  

‘Health is wealth! Keeping corporation healthy is the best investment’. Anonymous  

The second H is for HUMOR in the workforce. Mixing fun and work is not consonant with the traditional work ethic. Hard work and serious disposition are expected but fun-loving relationships in the workplace are frowned upon. Studies indicate that working people who enjoy humor cope better with their work stress and are more productive compared to their counterparts who dread their work. Humor is not only the best medicine as the saying goes, it is also a dynamic motivational force for stronger team bonding, eliminating work stress, promoting healthier people relations, minimizing turn over, sick leave, and life-threatening diseases. At the same time it maximizes job satisfaction in staff and optimizes the fun-work attitude. Humor is indeed the most affordable and priceless wellness enhancer.  

‘People who have fun together, work best together’ J. Lin  

The third H is for HAPPY workplace. The best ergonomic workplace is the combination of a healthy corporate culture and a workplace permeated with laughter – the lighter side of the hard work. The workplace is the extension of home. Many unhappy workplaces breed work stress and is often brought back to their homes - their work stress produces family stress, and visa versa. When the humorless workforce works in the unhappy work place they are subjected to life threatening health hazards and negative work attitude. The best way to recruit and retain good workforce is to make them feel at home. Fun, friendly and free are imperatives for work enjoyment that produces creative and innovative HR.  

Thomas Edison once said ‘I never did a day of work in my life. It was all fun’.  

The fourth H is for a HOLISTIC approach to HR practices and people management.  Because every worker is a multi-dimensional human being (of body, mind and spirit), his / her lifestyle is multi-faceted – family, work and leisure; and his / her work value system is multidisciplinary - survival, satisfaction and success, he / she deserves respect as a total person. In the old economy, more often than not, employers focused on the usable portion of human resource. For example, in the pre-mechanical age, workers’ brawn was the hirable asset; in the industrial era, their mechanical skills; in the information technology, their IT prowess; and now, in the knowledge-based economy, their knowledge procurement and application. So in each period of time there is a particular demand for a partial supply. Employers did and do not appreciate the holistic human resource in its entirety. Now that we are conscious of the multi-talented and multitasking potential of workers, HR must appreciate the holistic value of workers and implement relevant resource management systems accordingly. The ultimate concern is whether HR is able to see a worker as a total human being and to garnish his / her total talents and skills for best HR utilization and appreciation.  

‘Wholeness is greater than the sum of the parts’ unknown  

SUMMARY  

The New Economy is global market driven. Developing one-world-class HR performance is not an option in the highly competitive marketplace. Hence, HR has new roles and responsibilities to transform (incubate, develop and dispatch) human resource wellness. When HR is well, the corporation is well as well.  Now the HRW driven by the TQW with the 4 H’s clover system: a Healthy corporate culture; Humor in the workforce, a Happy workplace and a Holistic approach to HR for the one-world-class performance.

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Dr James Y. Lin is a Polynesian born and Western trained wellness psychologist from USA. He is a well sought after international convention speaker and humorist. As a creative and dynamic corporate trainer, he combines serious training and humorous entertainment, called ‘Traintertainment’ for a fun and optimal learning experience. Dr. Lin is the chairman and CEO of the Quality Lifeskills Quantum International (USA, Asia-Pacific).  

Feature Article Two: The Coach's Mission Starts With Building of the Mind Bridge First

by Dr Michael Heah

Good lasting partnership is founded on an intimate relationship that has been successfully nurtured over a period of time between two or more people.  This formula is no different when it comes to developing a coaching relationship, for in fact coaches have no choice but to ensure that this happens otherwise theirs will be a mission in futility.  

A truly meaningful and beneficial coaching relationship between the coach and coachee is a non-negotiable precondition before any real transformation can take place.  Be it parents to their children, managers to their subordinates, professional coaches to clients, they all must focus on building an intimate relationship based on trust and credibility which is the most vital task at the beginning of their assignment.  The coach must start off well to powerfully create the first impression that he or she is more than a real friend.   

"You’d never be given a second chance," a common warning on the importance of creating first impression and all coaches must not lose this one and only opportunity to anchor themselves in a very favorable light to their coachees.  

Creating a ‘safe environment’ for the coachees is important, for they are the ones who are always at the receiving end of the coaching relationship.  Imagine the great number of challenges they have to face; confiding their deep feelings, accepting honest and often painful feedbacks, getting out of their comfort zones and committing themselves to a regime of challenging action plans and activities throughout the relationship.  For all these to succeed, a coach must work very hard on building a powerful relationship, one that allows for genuine trust and openness so that results can be achieved with the greatest speed and effectiveness.  

WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS IN A POWERFUL COACHING RELATIONSHIP?  

Deep inside, the coachee expects the coaching relationship to be filled with respect, support, truthfulness, honesty, growth and fulfillment.  This might sound unrealistic to some, but they are essential elements demanded in any effective coaching relationship situations.   

This explains why coaches are plentiful, including self-claimed ones, but truly great coaches have a ‘relationship oriented mindset’ in them.  When they have this quality, their coachees will intuitively feel and perceive the many gifts they bring along to the coaching relationship, motivating and inspiring them to go beyond their ordinary level of accomplishments.  

Relationship oriented coaches first set the mood for close collaboration where coachees are comfortable to articulate their deep seated passions, goals, aspirations, fears and challenges to them.  Not only these, they succumb themselves by doing the more difficult part in agreeing to move out of their comfort zone to do more than what they will do for themselves.    

Each time they have to do it, great coaches stay connected by always giving 100% support behind them; maintaining interests in all their feelings, keeping them informed on their progress, endorsing their actions, empathizing with them when they fall short of a mark, and celebrating with them when they achieve a milestone.  They can journey through their triumphs and sorrows because good coaches genuinely commit themselves to adopt and share their commitments and aspirations when they take on a coaching relationship.  

WHAT MUST COACHES DO?  

Coaches with strong relationship oriented mindsets cultivate and possess a range of powerful rapport building skills when they engage with their coachees.  

Coaches acknowledge the presence of natural doubts and suspicions in the coachee’s mind.  ‘Can I rely on you?’  ‘Will I like working with you?’  Can I trust what you tell me?’  ‘Can I truly learn from you?’   They know that coachees will never be comfortable with them if they do not plan and strategize to dispel all these fears and doubts from their minds.  

To enable them to do this, they have to cultivate mastering the number one skill: listening.  Good coaches adhere to a simple philosophy, ‘When you speak, I listen’ to build the much needed rapport with their coachees right at the beginning.  

Good listening skills bring along some other ‘miracles’ with it.  One of them is the power of good questioning techniques. They skillfully combine listening and questioning to zero in on finding out what exactly do the coachees aspire in life.  They further combine these two with deep observation skills to pick out the non-verbal signs to confirm their findings.   

The arts of listening, questioning and observing are tactics used to help coaches do their ‘due diligence’ on their clients.   

‘What will you think of a doctor who impatiently prescribes doses of medicine without bothering to find out more about your illness?’  ‘How will you like a sales person who rush into offering his products without really knowing your actual needs?’  Without identifying your needs, they all know, they will end up being part of the problem, not the solution!  

Doing the ‘due diligence’ on their clients achieves another result; they create confidence and trust for themselves, which are so important in rapport building!  

Good coaches are tactful and skillful, both in words and in actions. Primarily, they have great interests in people, no matter who they are.  For as long as they take on a coaching relationship they practise unconditional regards by liking the people they have to interact with. Generally, when we adopt a positive attitude in people, we will subconsciously influence our behaviors and actions which will somehow be perceived as positive by the coachees.  

One danger zone of coaching is when feedbacks have to be delivered.  Careless ways of doing this can antagonize, offend and demotivate the person.  Good coaches are skilful in the use of language to deliver their feedbacks in palatable packages that do not expose people’s deficiencies in an embarrassing manner.  Instead their feedbacks are positive which will motivate them to try again till the completion of the task.   

They also pick and choose their words carefully and not fall in the category of ‘loose tongue’ people who see nothing wrong when they say silly things like telling a mother that her baby is ugly!  

Rapport building is also achieved through a show of deep respect for people.  Good coaches refrain from telling people what to do; for by doing this, they can end up giving the impression that people are like kids incapable of effective thoughts and actions.  Instead they should show lots of faith and confidence in them, believing in their wisdom to be able to come up with answers for their lives.  

In their dealings, coaches rely on lots of face-to-face interactions and dialogues which are inevitably a central part to everything they do together.  While the more they come into close contact is good, it also brings about greater likelihood of mistakes and plunders occurring.  Unless coaches are well prepared for this, such contacts can have more disadvantages than advantages.  

Coaches take great care and devise proactive measures to handle as much details as possible.  They keep their enthusiasm and excitement high on everything about their coachees say or do.  Nothing about them is of low priority or low key.  Their eyes and faces brighten up each time they are with them.  They look attentively into their eyes and faces to understand them, each time they talk about their feelings.  They give compliments each time when they succeed.  They show empathy each time they fall.  They show gratitude and thank them each time they share their deep feelings with them.  

The ultimate key for a powerful coaching relationship to happen is not having the thoughts and actions to make us interesting, but those that make us interested.  Respect, trust and confidence will flow out from this to seal the relationship between them.  

‘Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.’ --  Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Dr Michael Heah; is a professional coach and President of the International Coach Federation Malaysia Chapter.  He holds a Doctorate and Masters Degree as well as a Postgraduate University Diploma in Organizational Psychology and Labor Management from UK. He can be contacted at 6-03-77267316, 6-019-2317618.  

Feature Article Three: Successful Business Relationships  

by Terence R Traut

Successful business relationships are based on Value, Competence, Trust, and Propriety.

Value:  The customer’s perception of your worth, excellence, usefulness, or importance.  Value addresses the customer’s question, “What can this person or company do for me?”  

Value can be articulated by explicitly answering these questions throughout the sales cycle:  

• How much? (what the customer can expect to gain by doing business with you — in increased sales, lower costs, etc.)
• How soon? (when the customer will be able to receive the value)
• How sure? (proof that the customer will in fact attain the value stated)  

Provide norms for the customer so that there is little question of what the customer can expect from you: “We have a track record of providing a 15% cost savings and 90% product availability within 2 days of order.”  

What are norms that your customers can expect you to live up to?  

Remember, it is YOUR job to tell your customers what value they can expect — customers shouldn’t have to work to figure out the value themselves.  If you don’t explicitly quantify the value your customer can expect to receive — and your competition may be doing this work for your customer — who is going to win the sale?  

Competence:  The customer’s perception of your skill, knowledge, and experience with respect to them or their business.  Competence addresses the customer’s question, “Can this person or company do what they say they can do?”  

Competence is demonstrated by the following:  

• Completing and implementing an organized and logical sales approach
• Conveying an understanding of the customer and their business
• Demonstrating research and knowledge
• Substantiating your capabilities
• Involving team members appropriately and on a timely basis

The perception of competence is gained over time.  As you work these guidelines into your approach to your customers, you will gain credibility and enhance your business relationships.

Trust:  The customer’s confidence in your integrity, ability, and intent.  Trust addresses the customer’s question, “Do I trust this person?”  

Trust is demonstrated by the following:  

• Using third party introductions
• Providing a letter of recommendation (objective references help build credibility)
• Displaying honesty, candor, empathy, and respect (show that you’ve done your homework, show a concern for their time and issues)
• Conveying win / win intent (concern for positive outcome / success for both parties)
• Above all, substantiate with action:
  • Establish a track record of follow-through
  • Set new norms (guidelines for expected behavior that are agreed to and that can be counted on)

Propriety:  The customer’s perception of the appropriateness or properness of your actions with respect to them or their business.  Propriety addresses the customer’s question, “Is this person behaving properly or appropriately?”  

Part of exhibiting propriety is in the way you present yourself.  Over half of others’ perceptions of you is based — at least initially — on your appearance.  Therefore, take care in your physical appearance, mannerisms, vocabulary, and business etiquette.  If your first “appearances” occur on the phone, pay special attention to your tone, enthusiasm, and vocabulary.  

A second, critical part of demonstrating propriety involves your adaptability to other people.  In business, the Golden Rule — “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” — is usually inappropriate.  In fact, if you treat others as you want to be treated, you may end up ignoring their needs, wants, and expectations, which may be completely different from your own.  

You must be astute enough to recognize others’ needs, wants, and expectations AND you must be flexible enough to treat people the way they want to be treated.  

Relate to your customers in a way that makes them feel most comfortable.  This decreases “relationship tension” and increases trust, credibility, cooperation, and the commitment to work with you.  

Build your business relationships — and your future — by focusing on these critical elements of Value, Competence, Trust, and Propriety.  

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Quoted from Forming Business Relationships, a module in Entelechy’s High Performance Sales program.  Check out this module as well as our 40 other modules, training tools, and eGuides at www.unlockit.com.  Terence R Traut is the president of Entelechy, Inc., a company that helps organizations unlock the potential of their people through customized training programs in the areas of sales, management, customer service, and training.  Terence can be reached at 603-424-1237.  

Humor Resource

Managed by Dr James Y Lin

Did you know that……..
-- University of Chicago studies show a great sense of humor can add an additional 8 years to your life?

-- Stanford University studies show a good belly laugh can give you health boosting benefits equal to 10 minutes on a rowing machine?

-- Pre-school children laugh or smile 400 times a day, however, that number drops to only 15 times a day by the time people reach age 35?

-- People smile only 35% as much as they think they do?

-- Laughter releases endorphins into the body with the same exhilarating effect as doing strenuous exercise?

-- Every time you have a good hearty laugh you burn up 3-1/2 calories?

-- Laughing increases oxygen intake, thereby replenishing and invigorating cells. It also increases the pain threshold, boosts immunity and relieves stress?

-- United States workers consume 15 tons of aspirin per day?

-- Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, AT&T, Lockheed Aircraft, Kodak, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, Southwest Airlines, Bank of America and many others have adopted "humor" into their workplaces as a tool to increase morale and improve the bottom line?

Source: JBreitmeyer

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The Harvard MBA 

An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellow fin tuna.

The American complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, "Only a little while."

The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and can help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the profits from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling to a middleman, you would sell directly to a processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually New York City where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "Fifteen to twenty years."

"But what then, senor?" asked the fisherman.

The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich - you would make millions."

"Millions, senor? And then what?" the fisherman asked.

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos."

Source- unknown  

Book Review: "Love Them Or Lose Them"

by Raghav

The format and style make this book a must-read for all managers. It stresses the fact that employees really want meaningful work, opportunities for growth, excellent bosses, and a sense of belongingness.  

The book Love Them Or Lose Them by Beverly L. Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans, throws insight on how to deal with the twin issues of attracting and retaining top performers.  What needs to be done by the Management / HR managers is the crux of the book.  This can only be achieved by designing policies / framework.  This is a practical hands-on book for managers. It uses proven retention techniques from some of the best companies in North America and real world case studies. The book's structure and easy-to-read style will make it a popular desktop reference book for managers to find ready-to-use strategies that can be implemented immediately.  

The books start with a former employee, A.J. He has something to say at the beginning of each chapter about why they have quit the company. Beginning with an exit memo written by employees, A.J. finds out the reasons for the unhappiness of people who are resigning. The 26 chapters are arranged alphabetically with titles, such as "Ask," "Jerk," and "Passion."

"Ask" explains that one of the reasons companies don't know why they're losing employees is that they don't ask the employees themselves. It is very important that HR function must conduct a detailed Exit Interview.  It is suggested that a Member of the Management should sit out these interviews and capture the information. Practical to-do lists, case studies are given for each chapter. The information flow follows a similar pattern for each chapter.  It includes a new manager's troubleshooting guide with strategies that can be used at every level and a chapter on saying thank-you in the workplace. These strategies are simple and easy to implement and, based on thorough research. The authors have done thorough research on some of the best practices, how these strategies worked in some of the best companies in America.  

Other chapters -- such as "Information: Share It," "Mentor: Be One," and "Space: Give It" — focus attention on the most relevant benefits and responsibilities associated with employee retention. All are bolstered with hands-on exercises and stories of others' failures and successes. The section on family-friendly conduct, for example, suggests uncovering specifics by directly asking employees what would make their lives easier. The ideas like allowing employees to bring children to the office on occasion, assisting anyone who must line up for any medical exigency, giving weekday comp time to those who travel on weekends, etc. It also explains how Deloitte & Touche and DuPont addressed these issues.

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Reviewer Raghav is Moderator of HrinIndia, the Biggest Online Network of HR practitioners in India with more than 3000 HR managers. He is currently the Head of HR for Raffles Software in Bangalore, India.

Attitude Vitamins  

Compiled by G. K Lim

People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be. -- Harvey Mackay

Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. -- Anthony Robbins

Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value. -- Jim Rohn

When you want something badly enough, you will develop the confidence and the ability to overcome any obstacle in your way. -- Brian Tracy

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will. -- Vincent T. Lombardi

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination. -- Tommy Lasorda

The only competition you will ever have is the competition between your disciplined and undisciplined mind. -- James A. Ray

The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it. -- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

One man has enthusiasm for 30 minutes, another for 30 days, but it is the man who has it for 30 years who makes a success of his life. -- Edward B. Butler

Goals are a preview of future events and experiences in your life. -- Mark Victor Hansen

Links of Interest

Check out the August 2003 issue of HRinIndia's Hrudaya web-based ezine….

www.geocities.com/hrinindia/HRudaya5.htm

It features an interview with Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Naukri.com CEO.  The editorial piece is entitled Success By Design by Ranjan Acharya.  Other departments include a download area where you can download PowerPoint files on competency modeling, HR competencies, and competency framework and tools.

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Interview: Marshall Goldsmith On When Coaching Fails,  by David Creelman

Coach Marshall Goldsmith mentions that coaching ONLY works when the coach has leverage, meaning, when the person being coached WANTS TO change.  Read all about it in....

www.hr.com/HRcom/index.cfm/WeeklyMag/4768F81A-BECC-49C5-96002532524CF4FC?ost=wmFeature

(Link is long; if broken, cut and past)

----------------------------------------------------   

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- No Constraining Licences
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On the top of that, if a HRD Gateway member (or a member of any of its national affiliates) buys a training program from Oak Training, he/she qualifies for a further 20% discount on the current price.  BUT you need to inform us first through oaktraining@hrdgateway.org to qualify for the 20% discount on the current price.

Organization News

1. Editor GK Lim (left) Visited Major Teoh in Taiping, Malaysia on 4 August 2003

Taiping is definitely one of the most beautiful towns in Malaysia.  The moment you get out of the highway and hit the trunk road that leads to Taiping town, you are greeted with a lush canvas of trees and shrubs that line both sides of the road that gloriously exude their greenery with gay abandonment, their richly moist leaves dancing with chlorophylled joy. 

That's not all -- to enter the area where Major Teoh's house is, you have to drive through Taiping's Lake Garden. Again, my wife and I ooh-and-aahed our way through such a magnificent feast of lavish foliage.  The water on the lake is a sheet of glass.  The trees that line the road through Lake Garden are so old and so majestic that their branches spread out across the road and end up on the other side, creating a living arch under which your car passes.  

Apart from that, we discussed the need for F2F (face-to-face) meetings.  At the moment, one active member, TG Lee, is doing just that with HR executives and managers in Penang. His latest efforts can be found at www.mykaizen.com/hr/hrreport6.html.  

2. HRD Masters Series Debut

Readers, please email comments, news items, and article contributions to the editor, G. K Lim. 
HRD Gateway reserves the right to use your contribution.