Power

reading a book on Power. So far, it's a very enjoyable read. The theories, examples, tips are easy to follow and accept. Of course, to really use the tips in the book to attain power, you'd have to practice, practice and practice.

Power is an over-studied topic in China, but not so much in the US. Partially because the benefits of having power are accenturated in China than those in the US. Reflected in my personal life, I stopped paying attention to the "discipline" of power acqusition right after I came to the US in my mid-20s. After all, the belief is your professional skills would help you succeed, not power in this democratic country.

The theories offered in this book bear some surprising resemblence to the things I used to hear my Mom talk about, when I was growing up. The main difference is the author talks about it in a fact of matter way and as something anybody aspiiring to succeed should pay attention and ultimately attain; whereas when Mom used to talk about it it was more in a cynical "i know the game, but i don't want to play the game" type of way.

So in that light, it may not be a bad thing that for 13+ years, I didn't get to learn much on Power. 13+ years is enough years for me to unlearn the negative connotations associated with Power, as influenced by my Mom.

This is in no way a criticism on my Mom. Given the social environment and the few select ways to attain power in her times and in her environment, one should be able to understand where her sarcasm may be coming from.

I'm in the thick of reading it. Will share some key takeaways next time.

Power to me. Power to those who want to make a difference.

New New Life

Really not happy about Microsoft discontinuing its Live Spaces offering. It was my platform to blog, and keep in touch with a few friends. I appreciated the self-reflective nature of blogging there. Plus it was a place for me to store my pictures and it was integrated with Live IM etc.

Oh, well.

I'm back here.

It's been at least 1.5 months since I last wrote something.

A lot has happened inbetween. I spent 1 week in HK and 1.5 weeks in Beijing. I enjoy being able to explore different cities/locations, sans the tiring flying aspect of travels. However, on my way back from Beijing, I sat next to a somewhat intriguing character. He's "invented" some drug in China and in an odd way I had a somewhat engaging conversation with him. So I didn't get much sleep at all on the 11-hour flight back to SFO.

Something happened in Beijing. I finally came to the realization about my relative position in the organization and I approached my boss to validate my observation. It was a shocker to him to some degree. I guess things all had been evolving so fast and he probably didn't realize what he had intended to focus on could have such an un-intended byproduct in terms of team dynamics and folks' feelings. At least we put things on the table.

Note to self. Always be clear with what I want.

I had some notions in my mind and I'm questioning if this all is worth a potential major cross-continent relocation. I guess naturally pepole saw that I appeared pre-occupied.

Note to self. Be discreet with showing my emotions.

Thanks to Ms. King who helped me sort out my thoughts and provided invaluable advice.

Another person at work, though a friend, ended up doing some damage to my situation. She brought up what I shared with her in confidence to my VP, who in turn made the comment that I'm smart but don't know what I want.

I know what I want. I am just frustrated with not being to get what I want.

Note to self. Share my thoughts strategically with people. Anticipate what they may do with my thoughts.

Quite frankly, I'm both a bit upset at her and a bit upset at myself for having told her my situation.

Need to watch what I say to people. I can't seem to keep a secret. Yuck.