Deep Waters (Love Casts Out Fear)

I was twelve when my auntie nearly drowned. One minute, we were side by side lying on inflated tubes, bobbing gently above the calm waters, the seashore just a few feet away. The next minute, I saw her fall out, arms flailing, then quickly disappearing beneath the waters. Her tube had drifted farther out. I […]

Go, Tell!

John George “Jack” Phillips sat in the “wireless” room of the Titanic, busily sending telegraphic messages from the ship’s passengers. Trying to claw back what might have seemed a mountain of backlog after the “wireless” equipment broke down the day before. Then at 9.30pm came an iceberg warning from the steamship Mesaba. He quickly scribbled […]

At The Speed Of Business: Strategy To Execution Through Business Architecture

New processes and systems are in place. But it is still difficult to get a key business report! The Chief Customer Officer is waiting for one and is becoming impatient. It looks like the whole business operations department has been marshalled to deliver it. He heard they needed to validate and reconcile masses of data! A new strategic […]

All Things New (We Get Sharper With Age)

“How do you stay so positive in the middle of all these #*^&* Joyce?” said Joseph* who sat across from me. It baffles my colleagues when I turn up each morning and greet them with a cheerful “Good morning”, a brilliant smile, and an upbeat attitude. We worked in a very tough environment, with challenging goals, in […]

Making New Memories

“All these pieces Broken and scattered In mercy gathered Mended and whole … Amazing grace!” It was the end of winter, but the house and yard still looked bleak from the street.It was empty, of course. Which made it look more lonely, dejected.The shrubs were overgrown. The garden looked tired. I turned off the key in […]

What Is Simple?

Guest Post by Miriam Harkness It has been three weeks since my first (and hopefully last) major operation. Those twenty-one days have been some of the best and the worst of my entire life. It was remarkable how a situation can completely flip around in just a little over three hours. I am now only […]

What Is Your ‘Bowl Of Lentils’?

When her time to give birth came, sure enough, there were twins in her womb. The first came out reddish, as if snugly wrapped in a hairy blanket; they named him Esau (Hairy). His brother followed, his fist clutched tight to Esau’s heel; they named him Jacob (Heel). Isaac was sixty years old when they […]

It’s Just Another Chapter, Not The End Of My Story

Guest Post by Miriam Harkness “Completely horrible.” “Heartbreaking!” I can almost hear what others think about the major surgery I will go through this week. That is not how I see it. This marks a new chapter in my life, but not the end of my story. A chapter has ups and downs, sudden plot twists, […]

Crucible Moment

“Tell me of the time you experienced a crisis and how did you handle it?” Phil, the interviewer, asked me. “Do I tell you of the worst personal crisis I ever faced or do I just mention one of many I have handled well at work?” I thought. “The worst crisis I ever faced was not at work, Phil. Would you like […]

Soar Like The Eagle … It’s A Brand New Year!

“Our dream was to demonstrate that you could run a business in India without corruption and create wealth, legally and ethically.” ~ Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys Technologies, as quoted by Bill George in ‘True North’ “One of our major customers conducted a comprehensive review of their purchasing activities, on the heels of allegations of fraud. After more […]

Sometimes I Just Have To Twirl

A late evening at work. Heading down to the ground floor lobby. Walking towards the front door, absent-mindedly. Ooops. Almost crashed on the glass doors. They didn’t open automatically! I forgot. It’s after-office hours. Where’s the button to open the doors? Oh, there you are. The bright green button. How could I miss you, dear bright green […]

Don’t Forget To Breathe

When I was in high school, I travelled by jeepney to my school. There were no jeepney stops then, so one waits by the roadside and hail the jeepney as it approaches. If it’s full, then it speeds by. So you wait for the next one. During the wait, I would entertain myself by guessing the […]