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REFLECT, REMEMBER, HOPE, AND HONOUR

I visited the 9/11 Memorial, officially called the National September 11 Memorial, in New York City last week. The Memorial commemorates the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. by way of three hijacked commercial airplanes, plus a fourth hijacked plane which crashed in Pennsylvania, all of which happened on 11 September 2001. The attacks on the World Trade Centre resulted in the total collapse of both the Twin Towers, the burning upper floors simply falling one on the other all the down to "Ground Zero", a frightening, unbelievable event.  The…
Honour Singapore
October 31, 2014
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Honour at the Singapore Art Museum

I visited the Singapore Art Museum last week. The exhibits were wonderfully interesting, an experience not just for the eye but for all the senses, although I did need the stories and explanations of the guides (the docents) to understand and appreciate many of the exhibits. I am certainly not an art person myself, but in life all new experiences add up. The Singapore Art Museum was previously Saint Joseph's Institution (SJI), a well-known school for boys with a clear tradition for producing leaders, people with heart. One docent recalled the beautiful story of an SJI staff member who was…
Honour Singapore
October 24, 2014
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Like. Love. Honour.

It is good that there be criticism of what we do from time to time, as that makes us think of how we can express our ideas better, correct our mistakes, and improve as we go. In this regard we acknowledge the comments that have been made against our last blog, where we shared our thought on how we can honour others in a simple practice of keeping to the left when we use escalators so that those who wish to move faster could freely move on the right.  The comments basically make the point that this is a matter…
Honour Singapore
October 16, 2014
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KEEP TO THE LEFT FOR HONOUR!

A friend told me about his recent experience climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the iconic symbol of Sydney. Climbers have to be led in groups with experienced guides. My friend told me that after the climbers got back to the ground, the guide handed them wet towels that all the climbers were grateful for to wipe off their sweat. But, amazingly, the Japanese who had joined their group began to wipe the equipment they were given to help in the climb – they were cleaning the equipment in consideration of the next group of climbers who would use the equipment. This…
Honour Singapore
October 10, 2014
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How to get your dream job

Someone was thinking of switching jobs to an appointment that he reckoned would be more enjoyable and motivating. As he imagined how much he would enjoy the new job, he was giving little attention to his current job. The effort and attention was not there. He decided that since he did not like his current job, he need not put his effort into it. Fortunately for him, a wise mentor came along his way and remarked, “If you are not giving your all to your current job, you would not succeed in your dream job.” Basically the mentor was saying…
Honour Singapore
October 3, 2014
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How do Expensive Cities Survive?

I had the opportunity to speak at the stars Symposium for Leaders of the Next Generation at Stein am Rhein, a little medieval city in Switzerland, on challenges and choices for future leaders. Before getting to Stein am Rhein, I had the opportunity to walk through "old Zurich" - the older, historic part of the city of Zurich, where there are many narrow, cobblestoned passageways lined with small, exclusive, specialized shops that sell items that are not cheap - certainly not cheap by Singapore standards. How could these shops possibly succeed and survive? The answer is not hard to find.…
Honour Singapore
September 19, 2014
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Honour on the Train

Following the Susan Long interview published in the Sunday Times on 31 August 2014 which included the point that I ride the MRT every day to work, and also that I stop one station away from my office to walk to work as part of my daily exercise, several people have commended me for setting a good example in taking the MRT.  But others have remarked that since I have a car, I should not take the MRT as I am adding to the crowdedness.  What this shows simply is that there is no way to please everyone, no matter…
Honour Singapore
September 11, 2014
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PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILD CHEATS TAXI DRIVER!

  My taxi driver friend was lamenting about passengers cheating taxi drivers. He shared of passengers reaching their destination, saying they did not have enough money to pay the fare, and asking the taxi driver to wait while they went on to get the money to pay, but never returning.He was especially grieved about being cheated by a primary school kid - he grieved for the boy, not for himself.  The boy had hopped into his taxi and asked, so politely: "Uncle, do you take payment by cash card?" as meaning, whether he could accept payment for the fare by use…
Honour Singapore
September 5, 2014
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SWEETS AND MARBLES

There was this boy who had a wonderful collection of marbles, and a girl with an attractive collection of sweets. Each saw the other's collection and wished they had it. One day they decided on an exchange. The boy would pass all his marbles to the girl, and the girl would give the boy all her sweets. That night, the boy began to pack his marbles for the exchange.  He looked at them one by one and put them in a bag.  He held a particularly beautiful marble in his hand, and decided to put it under his pillow instead of into…
Honour Singapore
August 29, 2014
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HONOUR?

Some people have commented that the word “honour” appears somewhat abstract and could therefore mean different things to different people. So they asked why we do not use a simpler word like “trust” or “respect”, which will be easier to understand and has less ambiguity. While we agree this would have been simpler, it would have lost a very important point about “honour”. Let us explain it this way. “Honour” is something we offer someone, whereas “trust” or “respect” is our reaction to someone.  Thus if someone behaves in a way which makes us believe in him or her, we respond with…
Honour Singapore
August 22, 2014
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