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    Interesting Non RC Encounters

    Please share your interesting non RC encounters here.

    #2
    Umpteen years ago, after I left the Army, I went for my first and last job interview with a private company. During the interview, the boss asked what would I do if a staff (say, a designer) withhold a product design and want money from the company. I had no experience in this sort of things. I didn't know what to say, so I just anyhow "humptum". I told him "I would pay the designer the money he asks for, and kick him out of the company once I get hold of the design". It turned out the boss like my answer and I was hired as R&D manager. LOL, like this also can. Little did I expect such thing could actually happen to me one day.

    Some years later, one of my engineers was developing a software for a customer. It was like a 6 months project. Two weeks before the release of the software to customer, the engineer came to see me. He said, "Mr Tan, this project is far too complex than we expect. I don't think I can complete it in time. Mr Tan, my heart is with the company, I will do everything for the good of the company. I have a proposal, I want to go all ways out to complete the project in time; I will only sleep for one or two hours a day if I have to". He continued, "But I need your understanding. Since I'm going to sacrifice so much for the company, I need you to give me some incentive in order for me to answer to my family". I asked, "how much we are talking about"? He said, "money is not the most important thing, I just want to complete the project for the company". I asked again, "how much"? He replied, "how about $10K"? I answered in one milli-second, "yes okay". One week later, he completed the project ahead of schedule. I believe he already completed the project before he frist came to see me. I took over the sofware, ensure the source codes could be complied correctly, paid him the $10K, and terminated him on the spot. Never seen him again, ever.

    Anyone has similar experience?

    Comment


      #3
      I got 5 guys to do a software project for a MNC company. For 6 months, they couldn't come out with anything. Took them off the team, I put one guy. he started fresh and completed the project in 2 weeks. The client bought him over.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by mave View Post
        I got 5 guys to do a software project for a MNC company. For 6 months, they couldn't come out with anything. Took them off the team, I put one guy. he started fresh and completed the project in 2 weeks. The client bought him over.
        Haha...this is a good one. Very interesting.
        One super good guy can do the job of 3 to 6 average guys.
        I have met such super good guy.

        Comment


          #5
          good sharing. i hv a query though: can just terminate without justification? would it contravene any MOM regulations on wrongful termination?
          Heli-ADDICTION:
          Mikado Logos, RaptorG4s, X7F, 600ESP...
          JUST one more Logo...for the month.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by feudallordcult View Post
            good sharing. i hv a query though: can just terminate without justification? would it contravene any MOM regulations on wrongful termination?
            Depending on the employment contract. You can terminate a person with notice, or payment in lieu of notice.
            The ransom amount I paid was considered as the payment in lieu of termination notice.

            Comment


              #7
              Get scolding for not doing, or get scolding for doing, that was the question.

              Each day, the boss would go around, department to department, to check and make sure staff were working, at least must "appeared" to. At R&D department, he liked to give direct instructions to engineers on product design. He was not technical. His instructions were always wrong from technical aspects. If an engineer didn't follow the instructions, he would get a good scolding form the boss for not taking his instructions. And if the engineer did following the instructions, he would get a scolding also (as the instructions normally ended up bad). If the engineers dared to rebut the boss by saying "boss, you were the one who gave me the instructions". Then, they will get the "next level" of scolding. The boss would say "are you stupid or what, I didn't hire you to do wrong things. Don't blame me for the wrong things you did".

              Engineers asked me if they should follow the boss instructions, "don't do it get scolding, do it also get scolding". I used to tell them "don't do it, at most you get scolding for not doing. But if you do it, you may cause more damages or project delay, you would be in a bigger trouble". Was I right? LOL.

              Comment


                #8
                Where ability to scold is a gauge of your capability and commitment.

                The boss used to tell me, as a good manager, I must be able and willing to scold people. This would also show my commitment to the company.

                One day, we were walking pass a lady manager room. The lady manager was on the phone, screaming (like a tigress) at the person on the other side of the line. Her one leg was on the floor and the other leg was on a chair, her other hand was moving all over. Boss looked at her and then looked at me, and proudly said to me "this is an example of a good manager". I was speechless.

                Later, I found out that the very senior guy showed the best example of such ability. He walked around on top of meeting table (yes, on the table) and shouting at people who attended the meeting.
                Last edited by nb8686; 04-05-2018, 09:40 AM.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by nb8686 View Post
                  Where ability to scold is a gauge of your capability and commitment.

                  The boss used to tell me, as a good manager, I must be able and willing to scold people. This would also show my commitment to the company.

                  One day, we were walking pass a lady manager room. The lady manager was on the phone, screaming (like a tigress) at the person on the other side of the line. Her one leg was on the floor and the other leg was on a chair, her other hand was moving all over. Boss looked at her and then looked at me, and proudly said to me "this is an example of a good manager". I was speechless.

                  Later, I found out that the very senior guy showed the best example of such ability. He walked around on top of meeting table (yes, on the table) and shouting at people who attended the meeting.
                  I have seen both extreme. One, the Plant manager gave the senior manager a loud scolding and I thought the building was going to collapse. On the other, the most senior in the meeting, scold/kills with a stare!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    He is incapable of saying thank you.

                    One day, my boos called me to see him at his office. He passed me a small piece of paper with a name and a phone number on it. He said "my secretary received a call from a local office of this foreign MNC, wanted to see if we can design and manufacture some products for them. I don't think we can. Anyway, return him a call as a matter of courtesy on my behalf".

                    To him it was just a return call (he never dreamed that we could do business with such a big company), for me I kept my mind open.

                    I called that guy, and it turned out to be a big project. I did all I could in the following 3 months with many hours of hard work well beyond office hours to win the deal. It wasn't my job to handle sale but I never complained. The "bad thing" was I kind of enjoyed the whole process (silly me). Finally we beat the other suppliers from local and overseas, and won the project. I was very happy (like I owned the company, 有病呀我). I went to inform the boss about the outcome, thought he would give me a hug or raise my pay. He just looked at me and said "okay". That was it. He looked at me and asked "anything else"?
                    That conversation was the shortest between us.

                    That night I went celebration.......with my wife. This deal turned out to be more than 10m in the first year and well more then 100m (pa) some years later. But most importantly, it drastically raised the reputation of the company.

                    Months later, one fine day, when I was at the production floor, the boss came from behind and tapped my shoulder. He said "Tan, you know me, I am a person who don't know how to say thank you" in Mandarin. The exact words were "你知道我这个人,我是不懂得说谢谢的". I looked at him, I really didn't know what to say (I can't remember if I said something) as I was caught off guard. I wondered was he trying to say thank you or was he trying to tell me why he never say thank you. LOL. Who cares.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      When a promotion is not a promotion.

                      After I closed a big deal from a MNC, the boss was thinking (my guess), as a good businessman, this fellow (me) seemed capable to do sale. Why not get him to do more sale. He requested me to set up a sale department. Being a good manager, I complied. I set it up, while maintaining my old portfolio and appointment, i.e. R&D manager.

                      Some months later, the service manager left for some reason. The boss used his businessman's head again, why not save some money (just my guess, no proof whatsoever), get Tan to take over the service department. He released the order, "Tan, no one is running the service department, you go run it". There you go, one more baby for me.

                      After a few months, one unhappy production manager left. You can guess what happened already. LOL. I inherited another department.

                      They said, "once come, many come". Long story short. Within two years or less, R&D, product engineering, production, QA, purchasing, service, sale, production planning, project management, all came to my purview. The one department they left out was finance, hmm..., I wondered why, haha. My destination was still R&D manager. 像样吗你说。
                      One day, a very important customer came to see me, he said "you need to talk to your boss to either promote you to a GM, or something, it just doesn't look right for all the managers to report to a R&D manager".

                      Armed with "customer request", I went to see the boss. I told him about the comments from this very important customer. The boss took a minute or two, presumably did some deep thinking, while I waited for his answer. He asked "what do you think is the right appointment for you"? I said "I think it should be a GM". He said with a more serious tone "okay, all right, we shall put you as GM then". Before I even had a chance to react, he continued to say "but...but, this is just a change of appointment, as there is no change to your responsibility, this is not a promotion". Before I could say a word, the boss made the vital point (to him), he stressed (with tone) "since this is not a promotion, it means no salary increment". See, when you are a boss/owner of a company, you need to think fast and forward, get it? If not, you really shouldn't be there. LOL.

                      Frankly speaking, I didn't care so much about the appointment and salary. I continued to work there because I loved my job, I worked more than 12 hours a day. I enjoyed very much the respect and trust from the customers. I thought I could (and planned to) work there for the rest of my life, until one fine day...of course that's another story by itself.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Towkay, time to rename this thread as My Life Story...
                        Heli-ADDICTION:
                        Mikado Logos, RaptorG4s, X7F, 600ESP...
                        JUST one more Logo...for the month.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by feudallordcult View Post
                          Towkay, time to rename this thread as My Life Story...
                          Why I never thought of that.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            If you can do so many roles might as well start your own company already.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by raidor88 View Post
                              If you can do so many roles might as well start your own company already.
                              I should have known you then and get this advice. I might have saved a few years.
                              It never come across my mind until I was forced to.

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