The Edge
There used to be a busy port in Australia where all the fishing boat will unload the fishes that they caught at the pier. Fishes that do not fit certain quality are thrown at the sides where the pelicans at the shore will indulge in the sashimi feast every time the fishes were thrown there. After many years of free lunches, the pelicans start to be comfortable and do not fish for their meal but would rather rely on the constant supply of fish that is supplied by the fisherman.
The port would be a paradise for the pelicans if not for a change of government policy that reallocate the port to another area. Suddenly the supply of fishes stop but the pelicans are still eagerly waiting at the pier everyday for their “free” meal. As days go by, many pelicans start to starve to death, however the pelicans did not go out to the open sea to fish as they have lost their skill to fish and have forgotten that they can fish for food.
Australian government after noticing this phenomenon takes measure to import thousands of wild pelicans to the port and set them free. The wild pelicans after arriving start flying to the open sea to fish. The “port pelican” after seeing the wild pelicans going out to fish for their meal starts going out to the sea to fish for their meal as they are practically starving to death and would copy any skills that their fellow species are adopting to survive. In the end, the remaining “port pelican” survive as they have re-learnt their natural instinct to fish for food.
What is the morale of the story? Simply, it is trying to tell us that we shouldn’t rely on our current comfort zone to supplement our lifestyle. We should always learn to sharpen our competitive edge as a person who survives on his comfort zone will literally starve to death once the comfort zone does not exist. At this point of time, I would like to share my own experience on an event that happened on a particular Saturday afternoon.
One hot Saturday afternoon, a China lady came to my brother in law house to demonstrate the use of a bed vacumn cleaner. The equipment is heavy and she carried it up a 4 story high estate to make a sales pitch. She stays there for 4 hours and in the end not making the sale. My brother remark “She is really persistent and quite pushy in the way she does her pitch eh” After hearing this, I told him he is missing the point. The thing that we should focus on is the determination and deep survival instinct that this China lady has in order just to make a living. With 3 million graduates coming out from China every year, these China people have already developed a survival instinct that is so strong that we Singaporean are not even a match.
This story is analogous to the story of the pelican as Singapore government has imported these China country man to our country to teach us how to sharpen our edge as Singaporean at this era has learnt to be comfortable and we have lost the skill to “fish” and survive. These foreigners are indeed talents as they are here to show us the basic survival instinct that human instinctively possess and Singaporean has lost. Most Singaporean despise these China countryman considering them as inferior, however they have forgotten to look in the mirror and see how will they fare against them if Singaporean and China countryman are placed in a completely new area. I would say most likely, the China countryman will survive pretty well after a few years and the Singaporean might have already starved to death if they have the same qualifications.
Perhaps we don’t have to have such a hypothesis, do you realize people from backward country do score better academically wise and even in the commercial world as sales people. If we do not have a citizenship that gives us better privileges, are we really a match to them? Perhaps not.
However this does not mean that we have to go through what they have go through to revive that edge, after all we are humans and not pelicans. We should learn from these foreign talents on their survival instinct but not working laboriously like them as we do not after all grow up under harsh condition. The way to get ahead and revive our competitive edge is to start using our thought process more to think of better way to fish. Japanese did not win China during the Sino-Japanese war because they have bigger army, they won because of better equipment and technology.
Hence to sharpen our competitive edge, we should learn not to rely on our comfort zone and seek new equipment, technology and work process to ensure that we will still have the fishes we want. What better way to chop a tree than to sharpen the axe rather than using our bare hands, well how about something better, invent the chain saw =)
The competitive edge should always be sharpen, not with mere brawn, but rather with good tools and thought process
~ James Tan ~
The port would be a paradise for the pelicans if not for a change of government policy that reallocate the port to another area. Suddenly the supply of fishes stop but the pelicans are still eagerly waiting at the pier everyday for their “free” meal. As days go by, many pelicans start to starve to death, however the pelicans did not go out to the open sea to fish as they have lost their skill to fish and have forgotten that they can fish for food.
Australian government after noticing this phenomenon takes measure to import thousands of wild pelicans to the port and set them free. The wild pelicans after arriving start flying to the open sea to fish. The “port pelican” after seeing the wild pelicans going out to fish for their meal starts going out to the sea to fish for their meal as they are practically starving to death and would copy any skills that their fellow species are adopting to survive. In the end, the remaining “port pelican” survive as they have re-learnt their natural instinct to fish for food.
What is the morale of the story? Simply, it is trying to tell us that we shouldn’t rely on our current comfort zone to supplement our lifestyle. We should always learn to sharpen our competitive edge as a person who survives on his comfort zone will literally starve to death once the comfort zone does not exist. At this point of time, I would like to share my own experience on an event that happened on a particular Saturday afternoon.
One hot Saturday afternoon, a China lady came to my brother in law house to demonstrate the use of a bed vacumn cleaner. The equipment is heavy and she carried it up a 4 story high estate to make a sales pitch. She stays there for 4 hours and in the end not making the sale. My brother remark “She is really persistent and quite pushy in the way she does her pitch eh” After hearing this, I told him he is missing the point. The thing that we should focus on is the determination and deep survival instinct that this China lady has in order just to make a living. With 3 million graduates coming out from China every year, these China people have already developed a survival instinct that is so strong that we Singaporean are not even a match.
This story is analogous to the story of the pelican as Singapore government has imported these China country man to our country to teach us how to sharpen our edge as Singaporean at this era has learnt to be comfortable and we have lost the skill to “fish” and survive. These foreigners are indeed talents as they are here to show us the basic survival instinct that human instinctively possess and Singaporean has lost. Most Singaporean despise these China countryman considering them as inferior, however they have forgotten to look in the mirror and see how will they fare against them if Singaporean and China countryman are placed in a completely new area. I would say most likely, the China countryman will survive pretty well after a few years and the Singaporean might have already starved to death if they have the same qualifications.
Perhaps we don’t have to have such a hypothesis, do you realize people from backward country do score better academically wise and even in the commercial world as sales people. If we do not have a citizenship that gives us better privileges, are we really a match to them? Perhaps not.
However this does not mean that we have to go through what they have go through to revive that edge, after all we are humans and not pelicans. We should learn from these foreign talents on their survival instinct but not working laboriously like them as we do not after all grow up under harsh condition. The way to get ahead and revive our competitive edge is to start using our thought process more to think of better way to fish. Japanese did not win China during the Sino-Japanese war because they have bigger army, they won because of better equipment and technology.
Hence to sharpen our competitive edge, we should learn not to rely on our comfort zone and seek new equipment, technology and work process to ensure that we will still have the fishes we want. What better way to chop a tree than to sharpen the axe rather than using our bare hands, well how about something better, invent the chain saw =)
The competitive edge should always be sharpen, not with mere brawn, but rather with good tools and thought process
~ James Tan ~
posted by James at 12:21 AM
2 Comments:
I agree.
However sometimes, its hard to move out of your comfort zone. As a girl, I see the world as a giant candy store filled with sweet candy and such. But one day I look around and see a prison and I'm on death row. I want to run or scream or cry but something's locking me up. Are the other people around me hanging around until the hour comes when their heads roll? Or are they just keeping quiet like me, planning their escape?
A little irrelevant here...but just some ramblings inspired by your entry...
Not completely irrelevant =)
Perhaps your analogy of the candy store and the prison was drawn from the comfort zone and the harsh reality that confront us when the comfort zone is removed.
Far from being irrelevant, I think you have realized that life is just filled with uncertainties. One moment you are enjoying what life is bringing you and the other, all things start to collapse around you.
By then, what will save you is your will power and your confidence in your edge that will pull you out on this challenges. What comes next is increased confidence and will power that makes smaller obstacles seem insignificant.
It all boils down to what your thought is, do you see yourself in prison waiting for death row, or you see yourself coming out from the prison of your mind, opening your arms to receive a new improved life ahead =D
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