ENHANCE YOUR KNOWLEDGE

&

SUPERCHARGE YOUR CAREER

in Project Management

(Event Updates)

(Kindly share with your friends and bring them along)

Greetings from AsiaICTpm and Advanced Technology Studies Center!

If you have encountered any of the following challenges, you will find this email PRICELESS to your career in Project Management.

a) Having difficulties to accumulate enough PDU to maintain your PMP Certification

b) Have been stuck in the current position in Project Management and looking for ways to move UP to Program Management career

c) Having issues is dealing, leading or managing people in the project environment

1) 5 – 6 April 2011, Managing Large Scale High-Profile Multiple Projects and Programs

PDU: 14

Prof. Hubert Vaughan – Prof. Hubert who has more than 40 years of real life experience in complex program and project management will be facilitating a two-day EXCLUSIVE Program Management workshop using the Beijing Olympics 2008 and Shanghai Expo 2010. Prof Hubert is a member of PMI’s Certification Governance Council (CGC), Advisor to Shanghai Expo 2010 & Program Consultant to several multi-billion dollar technology programs in China

40% special discount to subscribers of MSCPMP Circle. Last few seats up for grabs!!

For more details, please download the PDF flier: http://www.asiaictpm.org/uploads/1300112225_pdf_atSC_ProgramMgmt_5April_final_a.pdf

Ms YY Kow,  Mobile: +6012 345 3829  yykow@atsc.org.my

2) 8 April 2011, MSCPMP Circle Quaterly Forum 2

People – ‘Make’ or ‘Break’ the Project!

PDU: 4

The MSCPMP Circle is honored to have Prof. Hubert Vaughan – member of PMI’s Certification Governance Council (CGC), Advisor to Shanghai Expo 2010 & Program Consultant to several multi-billion dollar technology programs in China – to zoom into the PEOPLE aspect of MEGA PROGRAMS: “Looking into the Critics and Politics played by the External Stakeholders” in these mega programs. He will share with you the skills to help your project sponsors and stakeholders enunciate not just what’s required, but also what’s most important to them, in his presentation ‘External Stakeholders: Critics and Politics’.

We will also be having Dominic Siow, an Australian-based International EQ Strategist & Coach to speak in our forum. Some of our MSCPMP Circle subscribers have seen Dominic Siow in action in our previous events, and in his comeback, he will share on How To Deliver The Results That Matter.

To register the Quarterly Forum, Select “2.Online Registration Form”

http://www.asiaictpm.org/mpc_event.php?id=109

and register using your email 1, email 2 or mobile phone registered with us.

- The event is FREE for all subscribers for 2011 MSCPMP Circle and RM200.00 for outsider.

- You are encouraged to post questions to our invited speakers prior to the event.

165 have already REGISTERED. What are you waiting for? Registration will be closed on 4 April 2011.

Click here to Join or renew your MSCPMP Circle subscription! http://www.asiaictpm.org/cms/2011MPC_NewRenewUpdateForm_a.ppt

Further Details: Email to mpc@AsiaICTpm.com

3) 25-26 May 2011, The High EQ Project Leader – Building a High Performance Project Team

PDU: 14

Dominic Siow, an Australian-based International EQ Strategist & Coach will be facilitating a two-day INTERACTIVE hands-on workshop to build a High Performance Team. The workshop will help participants create a structured plan to improve team culture and increase project staff engagement and commitment. The workshop will also provide a constructive structured methodology for measuring the organisational ‘climate’ and empowers project managers and aspiring managers with the tools, knowledge and skills to create the desired climate that is congruent with results that are to be achieved by the team.

40% special discount to subscriber of MSCPMP Circle

For more details, please download the PDF flier:

http://www.asiaictpm.org/uploads/1301324431_pdf_EQTeamBuilding_25May2011_final.pdf

Ms Lim Lay Kun, Mobile: +6017 9867666  laykun@atsc.org.my

p/s: Please do not click ‘reply’ to this email

Best Regards,

How Eng Keong

COO of Advanced Technology Studies Center

www.atsc.org.my

General Inquiry: mpc@AsiaICTpm.com

www.AsiaICTpm.com/mpc

From Email:

Mark Your Calendar
MSCPMP Circle 2011 Quarterly Forum #1
 26 February 2010 (Saturday 4.00pm to 8.00pm)
Venue: Glenmarie Golf & Country Club

 

Greetings from AsiaICTpm and Advanced Technology Studies Center! 

 

Celebrate Your Chinese New Year Dinner with Board of Director from Project Management Institute!

After concluding 2010 with a record breaking 266 subscribers, MSCPMP Circle will kick start the prosperous Year of the Rabbit, 2011 Quarterly Forum in a completely new innovative approach!  We will be celebrating the Chinese New Year with our invited Guest of Honor who is none other than Mr Frank Parth, Board Director of the Project Management Institute. He is also the co-author of ‘Introduction to IT Project Management, Project Manager’ for PMI’s Standard for Program Management (2nd Edition), as well as the contributing author of ‘The 77 Deadly Sins of Project Management’. 

Topic, abstract, speaker profile, agenda, registration details for 2011 Quarterly Forum #1 will be shared on 1 Feb 2011 at www.asiaictpm.com/mpc

MSCPMP Circle was founded in Jan 2008 using a cost subsidized model and we charged as little as RM380.00 per year. It entitles the subscriber to attend FOUR Quarterly Forums (total 16 PDUs) free at exclusive venues such as Royal Selangor Golf Club, Tropicana Golf Club plus attending workshops/conference at 40% discount, definitely a worthwhile investment. 

We have received feedback that many of you have difficulties getting the required 20 PDUs per year even as you attend all four Quarterly Forums, since the four Quarterly Forums will only earn you 16 PDUs. To solve this challenge and to constantly provide you with better solutions, you are now entitled to attend one (1) additional SPECIAL EVENT if you subscribe with us, earning you a total of 20 PDUs. Therefore, the MSCPMP Circle will now be your One-STOP, comprehensive solution to maintaining your PMP Certification.

PMP Trained by AsiaICTpm:

New subscriber – Registration Fee: RM100.00, 2011 Subscription Fee: RM480.00

Renewal: 2011 Subscription Fee: RM480.00

PMP Trained by Others:

New subscriber – Registration Fee: RM200.00, 2011 Subscription Fee: RM600.00

Renewal: 2011 Subscription Fee: RM600.00

Special Loyalty Promotion: PMP Trained by others whom had been subscribers of MSCPMP Circle two years consecutively (2009, 2010), will be entitled to renew his/her subscription at RM480.00.

The adjusted new rate will entitle you to enter four Quarterly Forums (16 PDUs) plus one special event (4 PDUs) FREE.

Please join or renew your subscription for 2011 MSCPMP Circle now and subscription details can be found at:

 http://www.asiaictpm.org/cms/2011MPC_NewRenewUpdateForm_a.ppt

Celebrating Year of Rabbit with your spouse:

Limited spouse’s ticket is available at RM150.00 per pax which allow you to treat your spouse with a excellent nine (9) courses Chinese New Year Cousine at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club ( www.glenmarie.com.my ). Please write to skhor@asiaictpm.com for details.

Please help us to circulate this message and you may write to mpc@AsiaICTpm.com for further question.

We look forward to enjoy our Chinese New Year Dinner with you and your friends at 2011 MSCPMP Circle Quarterly Forum 1 on 26 February 2011

Best Regards,
SK Khor PMP(r)
Founder of AsiaICTpm’s MSCPMP Circle
skhor@asiaictpm.com

General Inquiry: mpc@AsiaICTpm.com

www.AsiaICTpm.com/mpc

The Death of Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

• Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
• Why the early bird gets the worm;
• Life isn’t always fair; and
• Maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers:

• I Know My Rights
• I Want It Now
• Someone Else Is To Blame
• I’m A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Definition of ‘Leadership’ within Toastmasters

In my opinion, the kind of leadership in Toastmasters is ‘Servant-hood Leadership‘. Toastmasters being a non-profit & voluntary organization does not pay the Area Governors, Division Governors, and District Governors. In fact, these leaders not only have to invest their time but their own money as well. In the corporate or working environment, the leader/manager is in a position of authority and if the employers under that chain of command does not toll the line there will be repercussions. However, in Toastmasters these leaders are not granted such power or authority – it is just a title and the opportunity to serve.

This environment is the best learning & testing ground for leaders. The reason is, if the people were to agree and follow your lead, then it is because they WANT TO and not because they HAVE TO. You lead by example and by influence. John Maxwell‘s  second  law in the ‘21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership‘ ; the Law of Influence says it best.  By continuing my advanced speeches also helped me as I recall the objectives of “Speeches by Management” project #3: Manage to Motivate are:

• Understand the concept and nature of motivational methods in management.
• Apply a four step motivational method with the objectives to persuade and inspire.
• Deliver a motivational speech to persuade an audience to agree with your management proposal.

There were other advanced manuals that helped me to relate to the members, such as ‘Speaking to Inform‘ and ‘Special Occasion Speeches‘ - who knew writing and presenting speeches would actually help develop my managerial skill.

The leadership challenges I faced during the journey;

(1) When you do not get the expected response - sometimes no matter how enthusiatic you are, or how encouraging you try to be, certain clubs or members just do not respond in kind or at all. All you can do is to try your best and be prepared to accept the actions or reactions of those individuals. Remember in Toastmasters, we are not giving people task or jobs to do, we are actually providing opportunities to learn and develop skills that would benefit themselves. If they do not receive it well, then it is still no lost to you. You need to recognize that you do not have the authority to order people to work for you, thus encourage and influence them to work with you instead.

(2) Learning quickly - unlike in the working environment/job, you have years to work at it, serving in Toastmasters is only for one term. So you either learn from your mistakes quickly or learn from others’ mistakes. This is where observation skills comes into play and sharing of ideas. After an event, the team normally does a post mortem and find out how we can do better. In the next event, we would have taking steps to improve our delivery.  

(3) Acknowledge you cannot do it all by yourself – Remember the saying, ‘If you want something done right, do it yourself‘, I used to believe that and if there are some task that I know I’m capable of handling, I would most probably do it myself. Unfortunately, by doing it myself, I’m depriving myself of doing more important task, and also depriving others of learning by doing. I had to learn the art of ‘delegation’ as well as ‘motivation’ to get things done in a team. There acronym that I remember, T.E.A.M. – “Together Everyone Archieves More“

Advices to those who wishes to take up leadership positions within Toastmasters.

(1) Serve WILLINGLY. In Toastmasters, nobody and I stress NOBODY can force you to do anything that you do not wish to do. There is no obligation. HOWEVER, there needs to be a SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY. Nobody can force a role upon you but do bear in mind that if you had volunteered to take up a leadership role, you have deprived another from that opportunity. If you serve well, you will also be remembered well for that. However, if you do not serve well, people will remember you for that as well. 

(2) Have FUN. Sometimes we are become to caught up with the work and the results that we forget to enjoy the journey. As I look back to my term and I talk about the ‘good old days’ with my previous Toastmasters colleagues, I can just smile or burst out laughing. Remember those moments, and pass it on to others. Share the fun.

(3) Be KNOWLEDGEABLE. Being a leader does not mean you need know everything but to acknowledge what you do not know and find out. Being an Area Governor is being the bridge between the Clubs and the Division, use the resources there are available and leverage on the experience of senior members and past officers. If all else fails, you can go direct to the source and contact Toastmasters International.

What’s next?

I took a year off from taking up any official position as I wanted to evaluate my feelings and personal commitment towards Toastmasters - I wanted to know that I am serving willingly instead of the sense of obligation. Some Toastmasters have encourage me to continue my service to higher levels, but before I do that, I need to evaluate myself and my current situation. To be a leader, organization skill is also crucial, and as such I wish to continue to develop and strike a balance between my personal life, career and Toastmasters. A good friend and mentor of mine has told me before, ‘for you to go higher, you need to develop others to take your current place‘.

I will continue to offer myself to be a mentor to members. I was entrusted to mentor some members in the club and I was especially proud when I was there to witness the ‘graduation’ of one of my mentee when she completed her tenth speech to be a Competent Communicator (CC). I had made an impact on that mentee’s life. I will continue to offer my assistance and advice if and when they are sort (as I do now wish to impose). Before I end, I wish to extend my appreciation and thanks to a few groups and individuals (in no particular order) that had made an impression and contributed to my growth in Toastmasters;

• Division B Council term 2008/09 lead by DTM Zaharah Ibrahim,
• D’Utama Past Presidents; Sharon Ng DTM, Nancy Liew ACS ALB, Lee Wei Seong ACG CL, and Allen Kam ACS CL,
• DTM Soh Fong Wai, DTM Francis Ng, DTM Sharmini Helen, and DTM Sue Ding,
• (honestly, there are so many Toastmasters that touched my life and helped me … thank you all)

My closing statement;

“I continue to help & serve because there were those in the past that helped me. This is the ‘circle of life‘ of Toastmasters”

MC at work

Yesterday (3 August 2010) I’ve attended the MSCPMP Circle Quarterly Forum #3 and it was held at the beautiful Bukit Jalil Golf and Country Resort (map). The sun was shining brightly and the greens were singing their tempting tune to the golfers to play a few rounds. However, golfing was not the purpose for the large turn out of people there. The turnout for that morning was the largest for MSCPMP Circle with a total of 254 participants. It was truly fun to be able to meet my fellow project managers again – getting updates on which organization they are with now since the last quarterly forum, and to meet people who are new to the MSCPMP forums. I was the volunteer Master of Ceremony (MC) for the morning.

In the usual fashion, the founder of the MSCPMP Circle, SK Khor PMP CSM gave the welcoming address, acknowledging the first time participants to the forum, and the latest person (453rd) to obtained PMP certification that was trained by AsiaICTPM. He went in great detail to recap the Circle’s direction on how the last few forum topics has been to ‘Power Up Your Careers‘ and to bring project managers to the next level of success.

The topic of the morning was ‘Accounting and Finance for Project Manager‘. This was a real treat  because most IT Project Managers I know usually are not involved in establishing or creating the budget for a project. I’d remember in one of my previous employment the company Financial Controller loudly stated, ‘Why do project managers need to know the budget? just manage the project !‘, however when we are carrying out our projects we are usually expected to complete the project with Scope, Time and Cost.

Speaker: LEE Hooi Seng

The esteemed speaker of the day was a Chartered Accountant, Mr. LEE Hooi Seng, AMN, CA(M), FTII, FCA, CFP, RFP, MA. Extracted from AsiaICTpm website;

Lee Hooi Seng and his team from LLTC Chartered Accountants (www.lltc.com.my) will help you to understand the Accounting and Financial aspects of Project Management, including how to apply proper accounting principles to a project. He will cover Project Financing, Taxation, Cost Accounting and Budgeting as well.

Mr Lee was an eloquent, entertaining and established speaker. He established the basic understanding and fundamentals of accounting and finance first; by explaining the basis accounting and financial terms, and by showing to us two financial statements and reports of two public listed companies. During his presentation, he had constantly injected funny jokes and witty one liners that tickled our funny bone, and more importantly kept us focus on his talk. Sharing from his vast personal experience and knowledge, he was able to draw the relevancy of the topic to projects. He also shared some tips on how a company can go about obtaining project financing from different avenues, and how to keep the money legally.

Quotes:

“The basis principle of finance is to how maximise inflow of cash into the company, while minimising the outflow of cash out of the company.”

“When you have a vast amount of relevant information, you can decide on the appropriate actions“

The session ended approximately 11:50AM, allowing 20 minutes for Questions & Answers. The group then proceeded to capture a group photo and to a scrumptious buffet lunch.

MSCPMP Quarterly Forum #3 participants - photo courtesy of Angelia Ooi, PMP

As I was calling it a day I was thinking, there are not many project managers with the entrepreneur’s spirit, and being a project manager may not be something they had aspired to be but rather have been told to be – SK coined the term, ‘accidental project manager‘. I was thankful to the organizers of the MSCPMP Circle for bringing to the project managers relevant topics with the purpose of upgrading our career. I had posed a simple yet somewhat challenging question to the organizers, ‘What’s Next?‘. The organizer has the challenge to keep bringing exciting new topics while finding a way to provide the previous useful forum information to the new comers.

I am looking forward to the next MSCPMP Quarterly Forum #4 on 14th October 2010.

Organizers / Supporters:

• Advanced Technology Studies Centre (atSC): www.atsc.org.my
• Asia ICT Project Management: www.asiaictpm.com
• Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC): www.mdec.my

Mark Your Calendar

The Inaugural

IT Open Space Malaysia

Theme: Bringing Project Management to My IT Project

3 August 2010

(2.00pm – 5.00pm)

Dear Subscribers of 2010 MSCPMP Circle,

Greetings from AsiaICTpm and Advanced Technology Studies Center!

You are cordially invited to join us in the first ever Open Space Meeting in Malaysia, based on the Open Space Technology (www.openspaceworld.org), a unique approach for hosting meetings, conferences and events, focused on a specific purpose – but beginning without any formal agenda. In this event, you will learn from and together with your peers, some of the best minds of our generation. When great minds meet, exponential innovation is inevitable. In such an event, the total is greater than the sum of the parts. It is estimated that more than 100,000 different “open space” meetings have taken place in more than 160 countries, with various corporations and communities benefiting from the experience.

The theme for this conference is ‘Bringing Project Management to My IT Project’. The way the conference works will be explained at the start of the event.

Details as per below:

Date                : 3 August 2010

Time               : 1.30pm – 5.00pm

Venue             : Bukit Jalil Golf and Country Club

Fee                 : RM100 per participant

Registration   : Online at AsiaICTpm Website

Promotion – If you are a subscriber of the 2010 MSCPMP Circle, you are allocated three (3) complimentary seats for your friends or team members from your company. This is great opportunity for you to share Values of Project Management with your team members or your senior management. atSC will conduct a FREE PMP Certification Briefing and Assessment for the first 20 non PMP registered for the event.

What to bring:

1. A laptop / smartphone with a good web browser and Internet connectivity

2. An open heart & mind

3. An adventurous spirit

The discussions and learning experience extends beyond this conference. A website is expected to draw global attention as well as global talents, who will be adding value to your learning experience. This changes everything.

And the winner is …….. “……….”.

Fabulous ! Marvelous !! Stupendous !!! “I wish I could be like you” … that ladies and gentlemen are fabulous encouragement and praise that uplifts THE WINNER to a new high. Everything’s justified, all the hard work; saturated with sweat, tears and sometimes blood … make everything worth while. At the edge of this glorious light, a few shadowry figures slowly walking away from the light … what/who are these shadowry figures?

Here is where I need your help ladies & gentlemen. When I pull up this ‘L’ symbol on my forehead I want you to say that word, ‘LOOOOOOseeeeeeerrrrrr‘ ….. . All more vocals variety into it , one more time, ‘LOOOOOOseeeeeeerrrrrr‘. In the immortal words by Jim Carey in Ace Ventura.

Merriam-Webster defines a ‘loser‘ as …

1 : a person or thing that loses especially consistently
2 : a person who is incompetent or unable to succeed; also : something doomed to fail or disappoint

Is it easier being the winner? No? OF COURSE IT IS !!!! The Winners have all the praise, all the encouragement, the prize (and the girls) … what does the losers get? The ridicule, the-high-&-mighty-know-it-all justifiers, ‘oh … he just didn’t try hard enough‘, ‘she didn’t want it badly enough‘, and the ultimate branding of being a ‘LOOOOOOseeeeeeerrrrrr‘. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I dare say it’s easy to be a winner but it takes more to be a loser. Today I wish to share about how to be a gracious loser.

Body

The first trial of a loser is facing the winner. You will need to put up a strong ‘I’m still OK‘ face   after the lost. This task is extremely difficult to the 2nd and 3rd place winner because they would still have to stand at the podium with the champion. Pull up the biggest smile you can even though in actual fact you feel like .  Extend your right hand out to convey your congratulatory note to the winner, though you may wish to right hand & your left going around the winners neck . (This is a warning to my competitors … kindly note you have been forewarned) Pretty much like how the World Cup Champions (………) did. Right ?!?!? RIGHT ?!?!?! well I didn’t watch a single game so I know jack (….. ).

The second trial of a loser is facing your family and friends. Criticism from strangers can easily be brushed, ‘Get bent, go to hell or you want a piece of me?!?!?!?‘ but when you heard those worlds from family and dear close friends … it cuts straight to the heart. ‘So darling … if I lose later, suuuuuuuuuuuuu … just get me ice cream, OK ….??‘

The third trial of a loser is facing yourself  It is easier to blame other people, situations, and conditions for your lost. ‘Oh he has a better support team with better financing …‘, ‘Oh she’s sleeping with the judges … slut !‘, or you’ll even blame genetics, ‘White man can’t jump … Chinese can’t run … ‘. As condescending it may tip may sound, you can only change yourself, so we need to look at what we have been doing and if it has not yielded the intended results, then perhaps it’s time to change the approach. Prior to 2002, the Tiger (Tiger Woods) was on a winning streak, winning major tournaments after another earning him the world’s top-ranked golfer of 264 weeks. However, in 2003 to 2004 … all that seems to have changed, he was losing matches. He was on a slow steady decline and eventually lost his world title. There was something wrong with his swing (action: swing the hips provocatively) … ‘no, not his mojo or his libido‘ but his golf swing … ‘what nonsense? he was winning … wasn’t he?‘ … what was working for him then, was shorting his winning career, his knee was giving wearing down & he had to change his swing to prevent further injury. In April 2005, the Tiger regained his #1 World Ranking.

Point: When some thing is not working (or even if it seems to be working), only you know yourself best. Keep trying to find that skill, that trait or that swing that will bring you at the top.

Conclusion

Here on this platform and on your ‘world stage’ … many has came and went.

I have my fair share of being called a ‘LOOOOOOseeeeeeerrrrrr‘ but at least I can proudly declare that I’m a loser on the top, and one day as we keep trying we shall be a ‘LOOOOOOseeeeeeerrrrrr‘, no more. ‘YES?‘ No?

Well then be the best world class loser you can be!

This purpose of this posting is to provide some simple ‘How To‘s to help Toastmasters Club Officers to make full use of on-line tools that are made available by Toastmasters International on the official website (www.toastmasters.org). Click on the respective links below to download a visual Step-by-Step guide on;

If you are a Club Officer

1. How to submit Toastmasters Club Officers List ?

2. How to submit Toastmasters Education Awards ?

If you are an Area Governor / Division Governor

1. How to Monitor Club / Area / Division Performance ?

2. Club Training Material

Additional Useful Resources from Toastmasters International

1. Club Officer Roles: http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/OfficerResources/ClubOfficerResources/ClubOfficerRoles.aspx

2. District Officer Roles: http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/OfficerResources/DistrictOfficerResources/DistrictOfficerRoles.aspx

3. When You are the President: http://www.toastmasters.org/whenpres2010

4. When You are the Vice President of Education (VPE): http://www.toastmasters.org/whenvpe2010

5. When You are the Vice President of Membership (VPM): http://www.toastmasters.org/whenvpm2010

6. When You are the Vice President of Public Relation (VPPR): http://www.toastmasters.org/whenvppr2010

7. When You are the Secretary: http://www.toastmasters.org/whensec2010

8. When You are the Treasure: http://www.toastmasters.org/whentre2010

9. When You are the Sergeant-at-Arms: http://www.toastmasters.org/whensaa2010

* The guides are in Adobe PDF format. You may download the Adobe Reader from the Adobe website: http://www.adobe.com/.
* I shall be updating this article from time to time to add more guides, so stay tune.

Latest update: 19 June 2010: Added 'Club Officer manuals' links from Toastmasters International
Update #2, 18 June 2010: Added 'Additional Useful Resources from Toastmasters International
Update #1, 17 June 2010: Added 'How to Monitor Club / Area / Division Performance?'
Created on: 16 June 2010

As you think you finally managed to drag yourself through a tough day at work and heading to a ‘Home sweet Home’, the moment you stepped into the house, you saw your children screaming at each other, your living room is like a battlefield, and in your head you still have your ‘To Do List’ to check; No.#1 Prepare Dinner, No. #2 Laundry Day, No. #3 Prepare your 1^st child for his spelling tomorrow and the list went on and on …. Life is never like a bed of roses, your life is like living in a devious, deep and dark cave that you only hope your life could just end right there, right now. The word to describe your life is only STRESS, STRESS and STRESS!!!

Facing stressful situations in life is not uncommon; in order to find relieve, some people choose to go for a long vacation, pamper themselves with a nice session at the Spa and some choose more destructive ways like using drugs to numb themselves of the situation they are facing. All of these which I have just shared are some temporary relieve methods. Today I am glad to have this opportunity to share with you a longer lasting method to handle stress, and that is The Power of Positive Thinking. What is the definition of Positive Thinking? From the research that I obtained, the writer Remez Sasson defined Positive Thinking as a ‘mental attitude that admits into the mind, thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success‘. It is a mental attitude that expects good and favorable results. Today, allowed me to share with you three common methods of using ‘The Power of Positive Thinking‘ to help us face the stress, handle the stress and manage the stress.

Number one! Always visualize only favorable and beneficial situation! Use positive words in your inner dialogue and when talking to others, smile a little bit more. I used to experience this myself, I wake up in the morning telling myself and others that ‘today is going to be a good day’. I tuned my mood that day to a ‘Smiley face mode’ and I felt the whole day sailing through so smoothly. In contrary, I also experienced myself waking up with a heavy heart and had negative thoughts of those messy task that I will be facing at work, and true enough I had to drag myself through the day and turned into an emotional animal that hold a lot of grudges towards my superior, coworker and my work place. Therefore, it is important to be aware of our negative thoughts and immediately replace it with a positive constructive one. It does not matter what your circumstances at present moment are, just think positively and eventually you will see the situation turning into a more favorable one.

The second method, the repetition of affirmations. What you repeatedly think and say, is what you get, Your inner conversations, words, thoughts and feelings determine the kind of life and reality you experience. If you occupy your mind with negative thoughts, and expect difficulties and problems, you will draw them into your life. If you repeatedly think you are not going to succeed in managing the project in hand, you are bound to fail. If you think you child is too naughty and it is impossible to educate them into an obedient child, you are bound to be a parent of failure, because all these results are what you programmed into you subconscious mind. Therefore, when you are facing challenges, apply a positive twist and tell you mind that you are going to resolve every challenge with flying colors and you will find yourself receiving a good result.

Last but not least, the third method, and the easiest method. Associate yourself with people who think positively, because positive and negative thinking are both contagious, all of us influence, in one way or another of the people we meet. This happens instinctively on our subconscious mind, through our thoughts, feeling and body language. A person who has positive thinking sends positive aura that influence people surrounding them and people are more willing to assist us if we are positive. And on the other hand, a person with negative thinking only brings up the negative attitude, unhappy moods and actions.

The Power of Positive Thinking is able to help us face the stress, handle the stress and manage the stress. Moreover, it can also pave our life towards a more optimistic path, less bumpy road to travel; more self-acceptance and less self-criticism; more challenges that lead to success and less difficulty that leads to failure. Do not expect you can become optimistic overnight; but with practice, all of us can turn from a negative thinker to a positive thinker.

PowerPoint:  click to download here
Project Matrix: click to download here 

For the benefit of those who missed that club meeting and those would are interested on the presentation, it was recorded and available in below in three parts.

The other (forgotten) track: Leadership (Part 1/3)

The other (forgotten) track: Leadership (Part 2/3)

The other (forgotten) track: Leadership (Part 3/3)

I hope you enjoy presentation.