The rebound
As I walked down the harbour one sunny morning this week, as usual I looked
at the glistening water, which is always very uniform looking as there is very
little harbour traffic at that time and therefore less movement in the water. I
stopped to absorb the sight for some time. I saw about midway between where I
was standing and Hong Kong Island, there was a relatively large wave in the
middle; perhaps a foot or two high. As I was facing the Sun, I first thought it
is unlikely to be a wave, especially when the waters were so still. So I looked
harder. It was definitely a wave, and was moving at a very steady pace, and not
reducing in size at all. I watched it continue to come towards where I was
standing. Underneath me was a very heavy duty barrier, like a wall. I was
anticipating what would happen when it came to the barrier. The barrier was at
a 90 degree angle to the wave, it was not like rocks, where the waves would
smash onto the rocks and that would be it. This would be a head on collision if
you like. As the wave approached the wall, it was as though it completely
rebounded off the barrier, which was like a wall. It hit the barrier at a
diagonal angle, and rebounded in the opposite diagonal direction. The barrier
had not broken the wave, merely redirected it in the opposite direction,
towards Hong Kong Island. The wave then continued to the Island, and was then dissipated
by the wooden posts that were at the ferry pier.
Red tape
Working in Hong Kong has been a fascinating experience. There are certainly
some aspects that are behind due to the lack of scale here, and it is sometimes
painful starting things up as there aren’t mature processes in place to help.
However, sometimes this lack of maturity works in your favour. With maturity
often times comes complacence. The longer a process is in place, the more
people become ‘sticky’, less efficient, more prone to politics, and guarding
their territory often comes into play. This is often referred to as the organisational
‘Red tape’ which can hinder progress, and can be quite simply irrational. At
times here, I’ve found it many times easier to get things done, and at these
times I’ve often been in shock thinking, Really? Can it be that easy? Indeed it
can be, and it is believable when you’re in the right place, at the right time,
with the right people. When you relieve yourself and those around you of
politics and red-tape, and have an environment that is progressive, you can
build some real momentum. This is the whole principle of ‘growth markets,’
their momentum is not checked by the conventional barriers that hinder growth
in a mature market. If handled in the right way, the momentum can be kept up.
And how do we handle it in the right way, so that it is sustainable? Through
strong values, through enforcing integrity, that the team is greater than any
individual, and that we work for a collective good. Through these values, the
momentum can be sustained. The values are like the strong barrier, that simply
handles the force of the wave, and retains all its momentum to move forward
again. If we lack values, we cripple the wave of momentum. All our effort will
be smashed into tiny pieces, like the wave smashing into the rocks, leaving
nothing to go back, but just to disperse tamely.
The result of discipline
So we have a choice; how do we respond to situations where we have favourable
circumstances around us? Do we continue to work hard, to build on the momentum,
or do we become lazy and complacent, and take it for granted. The more we work
hard, the better placed we will be for when times get tough. They may not get
tough, but chances are they will at some stage. At that stage, all of the
discipline we have been cultivating, will come into use, and we will be able to
use this to build our next base in the continual cycles that ensue in our
journeys to success.
No comments:
Post a Comment