reflection

Last month, I had a short conversation with my ex-boss and mentor,
"Herry, how are you?"
"I’m fine, thank you. It’s been an interesting and challenging year with expectancy of fruitful end Pak."

Yes, Year 2007 was a very interesting and challenging year.
Keep me running and running and running.

Actually, if I recalled, all my years were interesting and challenging years.
I am quite good in finding interesting challenges to keep me from getting bored and rusted.

As my other ex-boss and mentor said it,
"Never let go a day without some improvements."

That’s why I love my work environment.

As I’ve always said to my team,
"Here, you can be whatever you wanna be."

No BS, I’ve proved it.
I started my career as a lone-ranger programmer with difficulties to communicate and work as a team.
They even considered me an alien back then :).

Anyway, through years of learning and improvements with planned career assignments from my bosses and supports from my colleagues and my friends, right now I’m trusted to lead a team of some of the most talented resources in my company.
"Here, I can be whatever I wanna be."

Of course, there are rules, as my ex-HR Manager and mentor said it,
"Here are like in the dojo, you must respect your elder brothers."

Hehe, perhaps even back then he already detected my rebellion nature, the arrogance of never acknowledging the less-than-myself to be placed-above-myself.
Speaking of which, I remembered my boss and mentor said something very valuable to me,
"You must seek and learn from the strength of others, not their weaknesses."

The ability to do that enables me to be more positive to others and getting useful insights for my improvements.

And my work environment is full of talented people which made it a very interesting place for me to learn and develop myself.
Hence there are so many "mentor" words above; since I consider them my mentors, model of their strengths that I’ve studied to enrich mine.

Perhaps that’s why when my schoolmate asked me on why I’m staying in my work environment for more than 8 years, I answered quickly,
"I am learning so much here."

He laughed.
8 years ago he started his career from zero, as I did.
Right now he’s already got his Camry from his place of work and yearly company-paid-vacation.
Perhaps that’s why he laughed.

But, never mind, as my director and mentor said,
"Among the specials, you are special no more."

This is good, because only then the special can learn others’ strengths and develop itself to be more-than-special.

Merry Christmas 2007 and Happy New Year 2008 friend …

(previously posted in Friendster on December 18th, 2007)