What I am leading to is taking stock of learning from time to time. Humbly share my experience and not preaching "how to suck eggs". Each has our own unique experience.
My first job in private sector was with a US multi-national company. Week 1 was honeymoon - a bunch of young recruits grouped together on an orientation program. I came out with 2 key concepts stuck in head ever since.
1) Towards the end we were each given a "3-D" jig-saw puzzle with a time limit to solve. It was not to test individual ability (else should be prior to hiring), then we were split into small groups and attempt again. It was a demonstration when solving a complex problem - it is more effective with lateral thinking, each member contributes a different perspective. A nice jargon is "Synergy".
I learned this many times over .. "Output of a group > sum of (output of individuals)"
Saw the light beyond arithmetic logic.
2) Productive performance can be increased by 3 ways -
i) Via improve/simplify work flow/process etc, -> incremental results limited by human efficiency.
ii) Through capital investments i.e. mechanization, automation etc. -> more significant improvements driven with technology.
iii) Through innovation "thinking out of the box" -> leads to quantum leap in performance improvement. That's the key point implanting into heads of the new hires.
What's the relevance to swiftlet farm endeavor? Take your own pick from above.
Just as any new venture, we all start from zero base. Good that we can Google search nowadays, join forums and pick ideas from blogs - a good way to kick start. Pick up the art at bottom of learning curve.
I saw that as my stage 1. Novice - "Monkey see, monkey do" like a kid.
Next you learn from your own mistakes as well as from others.
Then came to realize those who really "in-the-know" are having multiple BHs, busy reaping gains quietly and never seen in cyberspace. Why should they?
There are many smart people out there too.. picking others brains and went further through self discovery. Some after a year or 2, promote themselves on blog space as "self-graduated" consultants. Only to tell more if you engage their services/products. Nothing wrong, just business as usual.
Stage 2. The next step up the learning is steep, to increase bird population & yields.. there is "no free lunch" here. Seminars to attend. More expensive book costing US$200+! Birds calls CD & aromas of all sorts of fancy names in the marketplace to check out.
Some may take a shorter path by engaging a consultant to start off. Will they tell you all even as claimed? As I've witnessed several cases, after payments made and a bit of hand holding, you are on your own again.
Many would form informal groups, certainly helpful but may not propel to the next level.
Somewhere I read, to be an expert in any subject - one has to put in 10,000 hrs typically! That works out to 4.8 years; on 8hr/day, 5 days/wk basis.
Is there a faster path to cross the barrier ? Through innovation perhaps.
Still it is no short cut, one still need to put in the efforts & hours. This also entail taking risks and learn from mistakes on the way.
To innovate, foundation of knowledge has to be at fundamental level. That's the analytical tool to sieve through new ideas and foster its development.
To have synergy, it is nice to have a core group. With or without, I have been chucking along.. slowly.
Knowledge boundaries are still abound to push. The road ahead may be bumpy but still exciting.
4 comments:
I, too , used to work for MNC. In one of the firm, HR realised that you can't promote everyone to manager bcos not all technical specialist make good managers. Managers managed, even though they may not be an expert at everything. However, they are able to get results out of ppl. And their bosses recognised their unique capability. However, u can't ignore the gd technical guys ie boffins as they r also productive in their own sort of ways. So they also hv their own career paths. So, recognise what type u r and do what u r best in. Of course the ideal guy is the one who are gd in both and these guys if they are politically savvy, will go far. So for BH, educate urself as much as u can, leverage off the community and be a nice guy in the process of doing so. In case of doubt of personal ability,ie if u know nothing, admit it,engage consultants to get u out of the hole. And like any other engagements, choose the wrong consultant, u r doubly screwed. Only u can't fire urself.
Thanks for adding your perspective, Eric. Continual learning is key, an attitude to cultivate. What we already know will appear clearer with more insights.
Value of fundamental & clear understanding is to see through problems at root level.
BH expertise are spread out and people held close to their chests, even consultants keep 'trade secrets' to themselves - that's life.
Within a closed network there are more info sharing. I meet a small informal group in Singapore regularly. Personal contacts is essential to know people well.
I am fascinated by these birds and see the key to understand them as an intelectual challenge. My BH is going to be built soon and I will squat nearby to observe their behaviour and response to external stimuli. The dough of course is an added incentive to finance your learning! We can muck around with the sound, temperature, aroma, humidity etc. But design is something you gotta get it right up front. Undoing/redoing is 3X the cost plus lost time. Was in S'pore 89-09. Now in JB and soon to be Sarawak.Perhaps one day we could meet if opportunity presents itself.
BH Design is the key more so than the factors in micro-environment.
I suppose you have done enough homework for your new BH.
As for bird behavior, surely many people studied & observed long before. Old hands are decades into this, we may not be privilege enough to associate & learn from them.
I shall be back in Singapore around mid May, see if there is opportunity to catch up. PM me if available.
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