Diary of a CEO

People are stranger when you are

Getting to know expatraite more, then you will learn more, let me try to describe one subject and lead you to the story of " knowing your expatraite ":
K. was sent to Taiwan on April 1th, his assignment was mainly to help me and accomplish his missions ( I quote what he emphesised " Mission " ) in Taiwan; until 2 weeks ago, I discovered his personal goals ( in my terms -- this is personal agenda ) - to be " Deeply Involved " in top management ( my intepretation is to escalate to highest position in the company if chance is there ); his helping me without informing me create problems - when insturcted people who's not reporting to him ( acturally in pararell - horizental position ), they feels harrasment and feels the territory of realm being attacted; well, this is fine, the temporary mission assignment won't be a big obstacle, the real problem for me is to deploy additional amount of time and energy to make sure his aggrestive and initative won't create too much trouble for me; especially in the critical moment of management turn over.

When he got this assignment , we provide the language training ( or he requested for such a training ), the duration for such a Mandarin training is 3 months ( compare with Expatraite's Language Trainging Guildline , which provide 60 hours of training ), we triple the hours ( 3 hours per day in office hours for 3 months ); when it come to the end, he asked to extend his training course -- of course, he is asking company to pay for the tuition as well, this is againt the company policy but in a blur area which the executive have the descreption to decided whether to extend such a training for expatraite. His reason:
1. Better commend of local language will improve the communication skill with local staff and ultimately contribute to the efficiency of operation to the company ( The turth is : Work place communcation is totally different from language institution's text book, the best way to pick up local language is to dive into the enviromement )
2. T. the other expatrate who join our company 3 months before him enjoy a 6 months program. he should be entitled to match this benefit . ( The truth is T. came for language training for a full-day 3 months schedule, but we asked him to come to work in the afternoon and slice his training program into 2 parts, the extented 3 months wasn't extend, but to break down to 6 months / half day program )
3.T. training allowance was fully covered by company. ( The truth is : yes, but the fund was came from Tokyo , not born by local subsiderary, and we put the language training progree a performance apprisail factor in his development sheet. )
4. Training in office hours, K. insist that he work 8 more hours even after the language training ( The truth is : Expatraite is asked to perform his / her duty 24 hours around the clock )

As I don't want to suffer his feeling too much, when discussed with COO, I decided to provide addition one month of training the same condition as before - expense born by company , course take place 6 days a week in the moring time. but when inform his my decision in person, he is not happy , I can tell that some of his mission wasn't achieved. he would like to have additional months - explained to me that the middle level requried 3 months of training; then I came up with a half-way solution - company bear the first month ( Time and Money ) for second and third month, company will pick up either Time or Money ( for example if K. pay for the tiution himself, he can attend the training in office hour; or we pay the allowance, but he can only do it off hour ); maybe my suggetion need to be analised by him, so he told me not to release the second conditon to HR, but go with the first month extendtion first, then he have one month to think how to response to my suggestion.

Again, when I double check with COO, I found he swallow the second conditon and only disclose the one month extention conclusion to COO, This is his habit of hiding something which is not beneficial to him , then digest how to counter it before send the message he favored.

And I invited his idea of how to make a more transparent communiction between me and divisions - I didn't specify which division, I told him my idea and he response with go or bad and even improved some of my ideas such as " Change the format of weekly managers' meeting " - a brilliant discovery; then I told him that how I apprecaite his value in this topic and will launch it across all divisions -- include his division, then he stucked there; 「smart people provide solution and they have to follow the smart solution they provide」

Again, I encounter the power of listening :「ONLY LISTENING ENGAGED.」

I had a coffee with another Japanese expatraite in the afternoon, his character is totally different, maybe their position is different, age is different and scope of experience is different, but how different they approach thing and get things done. T. show his apprecation so sincere and so itimacy, this is what I can't find in K.'s reaction.

I am telling a story and my encounted with expatrate; the time is value and the experience is valued also.

Had lunch with key Kororo management member. knowing the investment is real and the sturcture of company may change, J is exciting about the change - they hope and see only the bright side. and they do raise their voice and asking resource now - move the office, hire more people... it will come to a negociation table. it will happen as I predict. I can't place myself in the old days and act as their General Manager in the office, I am investor, they should perform their duty. the relationship is different. and the respone is different also.

Watching Amodorwa's new film " Bad Education " at home, I falling asleep in the middle of the showing, I may missed some important parts, but I don't really enjoy this film, as my wife afraid of lacking time of watch it next week -- she had a presumed headache of kid summer - 2 daughty kids keep her busy all day and we can't really do what we want to do. so we sit with her for the DVD, with a very egtostic and tired body.

Leaving of new hired leagle representative cause a commotion of her manger, as the resigned one walked into my office complained about why she leave and told me the true reason of leaving wan't the reason she delivered to her mangers -- a game offen performed in Rock Record Group, she addicted to this bad habit, although I encourge her to express her true feeling to her superior and not to limited herself to the world she will never escape forever........ I know M. - our manager is upset about this true feeling as well; when convery message to both HR Manger and M. I advised them the book " Story Factor " I am reading and share with them how " Fact " hurts and why we should wrap the fact with a story - then the influence will last longer and the straigh foreward trauma will not be such painful.

posted by Roger @ 6/22/2005 08:22:00 上午