Sin-Yaw @ Juniper

Few years ago, I read this book by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. Like most management books, they distilled common senses into operational principles and thought guidelines. This book has profound influence on my managerial style and even career choices. It is one of the books I kept on my shelf. (My standard practice is to donate them to friends or library.)

Over the years, I gradually developed my own execution skills, much of them based on Larry Bossidy’s book. I wrote two blog entries on this topic: Management 101 and Management 102.

Most worthy changes involve many people. As a general rule, people do not want to change themselves, they just want others to change. Almost all people will flatly deny their resistance to change, yet their behaviors betray them. The best, and sometime the only, way to change people is to convince them to change by themselves. Once people understand the needs and benefits, and they have accepted the stress, they change willingly.

The tricks are simple: after designing the change, allocate sufficient time to socialize and communicate. When doing so, put yourself in their positions. Focus on explanation. If things make sense, people embrace the change. Otherwise, they stonewall.

Socialization and communication is more effectively done in person. There are many modern ways of communication. Almost all of them remove personal contacts to certain degree. Supplement your socialization and communication with those tools. Avoid using them as primary channels.

What if you are in a hurry and there are too many people to visit? You will be surprised how much difference a voicemail would make. Rehearse and practice your voicemail. Keep it short, keep it personal, stay on point.

Give people time to internalize and express their thoughts. There are two benefits: being heard speeds up the acceptance, you may also learn something valuable.

Next topic? Managing time. (Not time management)

Last year, I reminisced on a summer BBQ, an impossibility in a highrise Beijing apartment. After moving back, among the first things we went shopping for is a grill. What we ended up is a free one donated by a close friend. Their Weber Round Grill is pristinely unused — cheap price for an invitation to the World-famous Wang family BBQ Ribs.

The secret ingredient, like many good things in life, is preparation and patience. It begins with a bag of Swift ribs from Costco. Rinse them clean, pat them dry, salt and pepper, soy-sauce lightly, and refrigerate over-night. Sides usually include a seafood item (Salmon for this weekend), sweet corns, yams, and some veggie. Soak a big handful of wood chips overnight.

The secret to good BBQ, like many good things in life, is preparation and meticulous process. BBQ refers to cooking meats slowly with indirect heat and the lid closed. The smoke is a critical part to the flavor. Smoke comes from heated moisture. The simplest source of smoke is the meat itself. The 2nd one is what people add to the heat, soaked wood chips are the cheapest and easiest way. The charcoals themselves provide mostly just heat.

The whole process takes about 90 minutes. Apply the sauce, if any, about 10 minutes before done. Splatter them on nice and thick, also quickly. Close the lid for about 10 minutes. Remove ribs into a serving pan. Cover with Aluminum sheet for about 10 minutes. Now devour. It is not cool to use utensil to eat ribs.

The smoky aroma rushes into your nostrils. The meat falls off the bones. Fingers are tasty. Cold beer goes down so cool. Everyone is in good mood.

Man! I am glad to be back.

It seems such a waste to run on treadmill today. After all, I don’t come all the way from Beijing to enjoy silicon valley’s indoor life. If you’ve been to Beijing, or read about the concerns for medal aspiring athletes, you know what I meant.

N. Mathilda, W. Java Drive, N. Borregas Ave., and W. Moffet Park Dr. form an almost 2-mile trail. Perfect for an office slacker like myself.