What Challenging Status Quo Should Deliver

LECTURE BY
YBHG TAN SRI SIDEK HASSAN
CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT

WHAT CHALLENGING STATUS QUO SHOULD DELIVER
8TH SEPTEMBER 2011 (THURSDAY)
9.00-11.00 AM
UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA
PENANG

Bismillaahir rahmaanir rahim

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuh, Salam Sejahtera dan Salam 1Malaysia.

Y.Bhg. Prof. Dato’ Rujhan Mustafa
Ketua Pengarah, Jabatan Pengajian Tinggi, Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi yang juga ahli Lembaga Gabernor Universiti Sains Malaysia

Y.Bhg. Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak Naib Canselor, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Y.Bhg. Prof. Dato’ Omar Osman
Timbalan Naib Canselor (Hal-Ehwal dan Pembangunan Pelajar) Universiti Sains Malaysia

Ahli-ahli Senat Universiti

Saudara Mohd. Idzuan Jamalludin
Yang Dipertua Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar, Universiti Sains Malaysia

Siswa-siswi baru USM,

Hadirin yang dihormati sekalian.

Marilah kita memanjatkan kesyukuran ke hadrat Allah SWT, atas limpah rahmat dan izin Nya jua kita dapat bersama-sama pada pagi ini, sempena Majlis Sambutan Siswa-Siswi USM Sidang Akademik 2011/2012.

2. Syabas dan tahniah diucapkan kepada saudara-saudari kerana berjaya terpilih menjadi Siswa-Siswi USM. Pastinya kejayaan tidak akan dicapai tanpa usaha yang gigih serta komitmen yang bersungguh-sungguh. Semoga kecemerlangan serta momentum tersebut akan dapat diteruskan sehingga saudara-saudari bergelar sebagai Graduan dalam tempoh 3 hingga 4 tahun kelak, Insya Allah.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

WHAT WILL OUR STORY BE?

Permit me to begin with this quote:

“And it seems to me you lived your life,
Like a candle in the wind,
Never knowing who to cling to,
When the rain set in,
And I would have liked to have known you,
But I was just a kid,
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did” ( end quote)

2. These are lyrics from “Candle In The Wind”, a song made popular by Elton John in the 1970s. He rewrote the lyrics later in 1997 for the funeral of Princess Diana. I quote these lyrics to lay the grounds to what we will all ultimately leave behind – – our story. That story is one which we can choose to be an author of, or have someone else author our lives.

3. Life starts long before we are ready, and proceeds even as we are figuring its purpose and ends long before most of us have worked out what is right and what really works. But still as we trudge through the terrains of this life, climbing the ladders of ambition, searching the many meanings of the unexplained, somewhere in our hearts we long for the “used to be” – that which is familiar. Why is that?

4. Is it because familiarity breeds security, cradles comfort and protects the status quo? Or is it that anything different to what is familiar is just too painful to fathom and accommodate? I would like to thank Universiti Sains Malaysia for inviting me here today. This invitation was received in 2008 and I was only able to have the honour now. I am indeed honoured and delighted to be here today to meet both the staff and students of USM.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

HOMETOWNS

5. Ever felt when walking down the lanes of your hometown, that the lanes seemed much larger then, much more prominent. The grocery stores seemed bigger. The houses colossal. The front yard of your neighbour seemed larger. Yet 20 to 30 years on even as our partisanship towards our hometowns grow, the scale of its presence seems to diminish. Ever wondered why? Have the buildings and rocky lanes shrunk, or are we simply seeing things differently 30, 20 or 10 years later?

6. The once towering trees in our hometown are now seen relative to the many we may have seen in Europe and Asia in our travels, or Penang even. The once domineering hill behind our house now looks like a bund. The once intimidating river that ran through the neighbourhood bears reflection of an oversized drain that simply needs cleaning. Though we love the place just the same, if not more, the place itself stops being as towering and commanding.

7. So much of our lives are determined by randomness, much of it too is controlled by our determination and our purpose. I spoke of hometowns to demonstrate the power of emotional connection and trust in the fabric of change.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

WHY SOME MAKE IT

8. Why do some people, some companies and institutions and countries do much better when compared to their peers with similar resources, strength and capabilities? Why was Mark Zuckerberg able to stand out with his Facebook? There are so many other individuals as good if not better than him in Silicon Valley. Why is Facebook worth USD 100 billion today versus its other social media competitors? What did he and Facebook do differently?

9. Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy just 13 years ago. Today it is said to have more cash than the Government of United States of America. What did Steve Jobs do differently? Apple, in the final analysis is just another computer company. It had the same access to ideas, people, resources, capital and opportunities as the other computer companies in the many Silicon Valleys of the world. But why is it that Apple is able to innovate year after year compared to its competition? Apple’s competitors are all equally qualified to make all of these products. But why Apple?

10. Why did Dr. Martin Luther King lead the Civil Rights Movement in America? Why was Gandhi able to inspire a following? Great leaders like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and Bill Gates, had no managerial experience at all when they assumed positions of leadership. But why were they successful?

11. Have you heard of Samuel Pierpont Langley? NOPE! In the early 20th century (1903) the development of “flying machines” was akin to our craze of “dot com” today. Everyone was at it so to speak. Samuel Pierpont Langley was said to have all that it would take to succeed. The capital, the material, the people, the access. Samuel Pierpont Langley was given 50,000 US Dollars by the War Department to figure out this flying machine. Money was no problem. He had a seat at Harvard and was extremely well-connected. He knew many great minds and thinkers of the day. With what he was given, he hired the best minds money could buy. Market was on his side and the press (New York Times in particular) tailed him like a hog. But we never heard of Samuel Pierpont Langley?

12. At the same period (1903), in Dayton Ohio, Orville and Wilbur Wright had none of the ingredients for success. No money. No resources. No access. No press tailing them definitely. They only had some proceeds from their bicycle shop. Not a single person on the Wright brothers’ team had a college education, not even Orville or Wilbur. The press took no notice of them. But we have all heard of them. How come?

WHY WE DO IT

13. Apple, Facebook, Gandhi, Bill Gates, Wright Brothers, Martin Luther King and the many who have shaped our world and markets have a common cutting value when decodified. They act, think and communicate similarly. Simon Sinek, best known for his theory of the “Golden Triangle” explains this idea in the simple form of the Why? How? What? Sinek explains why some organisations and some leaders are able to inspire where others aren’t. In essence – he argues – people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.

14. Most computer companies will advertise their products as great, simple, accessible, friendly etc etc. It is usually marketed around them and their products. Much like any consultancy firms. They would claim to be the best with umpteen world class partners and a zillion relevant experiences to show. Again it is about them.

15. Apple does it as follows - “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?” This message no longer becomes about them, but it provides the buyers a brand statement of themselves. Being different, being the first, leading trademarks. This is why people queue for hours on first day of IPad and IPod launches, when they could have just walked into the store a week later and have gotten it for the same price. Why do they queue? Because buying a brand like Apple says something about themselves.

16. Leaders who inspire, companies that prosper where most don’t, and individuals who succeed where many falter align their vision to the WHY we do what we do. This is how status quo is challenged, new frontiers are broken. Dr. King was not the only American who suffered in a pre-civil rights America. But he inspired thousands and is remembered to this day. Many have said his ideas weren’t all that great even as he was a great orator. His speeches were not about what Americans needed to do. His speeches were all about “I believe. I believe”. As Simon Sinek puts it, he gave the “I have a dream” speech, not the “I have a plan” speech.

17. Inspiring change takes effect when the purpose of an action is clear. Status quos are challenged, outcomes stand out when we work for a purpose and not simply for a pay cheque. Orville and Wilbur Wright were driven by a purpose, by a belief. They believed that if they figured out how to fly machines, this would change the world. Samuel Pierpont Langley wanted to be rich. He wanted to be famous. He thus focused his efforts on these outcomes. As a result his efforts never made to the books of memorable history.

18. Isaac Merritt Singer invented the first commercially successful sewing machine in 1851. The innovation he brought to the market was not the sewing machine – rather he was the first person to sell to women because at that time it was assumed that women couldn’t operate machinery. He ensured instalment plans for his buyers. He brought to the market something that changed lives. Many decades on when we are asked about sewing machine, the first that comes to mind is Singer.

IN SEARCH OF THAT LAND
19. In these times of much abundance and severe competing forces doing things differently alone doesn’t guarantee success. It’s about knowing why exactly we do what we do and how it serves our customers. The thinking and doing cannot simply be limited to bottom-line concerns, market share and return on investment alone. These are outcomes of our actions but they are not guaranteed when we bring a product or service to market.

20. Organisations often get trapped in how they operate. Managers and decision makers are trapped by status quo and the tiers and lines of silos. Innovation cannot survive in these environments. What will survive in these environments is the same old, same old doings and outcome. What will prevail in the long run in these limiting environments is simply mediocrity.

21. An Indian Parliamentarian once asked the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, “Why is it that Indians seem to succeed everywhere except in their own country?” Why do people leave? Why do countries experience brain drain? Is it that the people who choose to leave can no longer see the best in themselves in the prevailing environment? Why some companies, some bosses, some institutions attract the best, yet others with the same resources are not able to? The wit and wisdom of a place and environment can enable one to be open to absorb what one doesn’t know. Hence why some find the solace and comfort in hometowns. Not so much for its familiarity, but rather for an environment that invigorates the very best in them. The best in a person emerges when there is trust in an environment.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

THE NEW SET UP

22. Thomas Friedman, an author and columnist of the New York Times wrote in his recent writing that Facebook is now valued near $100 billion, Twitter at $8 billion, Groupon at $30 billion, Zynga at $20 billion and LinkedIn at $8 billion. These are the fastest-growing Internet/social networking companies in the world. He wrote and I quote “You could easily fit all their employees together into the 20,000 seats in Madison Square Garden, and still have room for grandma. They just don’t employ a lot of people, relative to their valuations. They are all looking for the same kind of people – – people who not only have the critical thinking skills to do the value adding jobs that technology can’t, but also people who can invent, adapt and reinvent their jobs every day, in a market that changes faster than ever.” End quote

23. Just because you have a degree or going to have a degree won’t cut it anymore. Just because you hold a qualification from an Ivy League School or the only Apex University doesn’t guarantee a good employment. We live in a world where employers are not looking at your degree simply, rather your future potential. Can this person add value every hour, every day more than a worker in India, or China, or a computer? We can no longer say “I have a college degree, I have a right to a job, and someone should figure out how to train me and sort my career path.” This world no longer owes any of us that. We should each learn the workings of the market and industries and find ways to add value where no one else can.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

PRESERVING STATUS QUO

24. I come from the public sector, a sector of the market often credited, alas, maybe discredited, for preserving status quo. Walk through our corridors and you would have heard any one of these statements uttered –

• “That will never work.”
• “Can you show me some working paper that demonstrates that this will work?”
• “There are government regulations and this won’t be permitted.”
• “This might work for other people, but I think we’ll stick with what we have”
• “We’ll let someone else prove it works… it won’t take long to catch up.”
• “It’s been done before.”
• “It’s never been done before.”
• “We’ll get back to you on this.”
• “We’re already doing it.”

I call these statements “sanctifying the status quo outreach plan”. People will do whatever it takes to preserve that which is familiar. For that which is familiar feels safe, albeit false safety sometimes, oftentimes maybe.

25. Post World War II we saw Germany, Japan, the USA rise. The British Empire which in effect won World War II did not prosper like the rest. Why? Great powers become divas! We learn this from the decline of the Ottoman and Hapsburg empires. Once at the pinnacles of success, divas often believe they own success. Complacency sets in. Rot presides. Decline begins. This model can be applied to great leaders, nations, civilisations and organisations that have in the recent past been cradled by failure and downfalls.

26. The British Empire once ruled a quarter of this earth and its population. Britain led the first industrial revolution in the 18th century in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology. It saw great success and power as a result. But it was this very success that is said to have made Britain rigid. It was not as agile to responding to the second industrial revolution also known as the technology revolution in the late 19th century.

27. Whilst many theories have been debated on the decline of the British Empire, most concur decline of British capitalism came when it remained old and rigid. Wealthier British were losing focus on practical education. When Germany, Japan and the United States were investing in engineering education, the elite of Britain who had access to education sent their children to read history and decline of civilisations at Oxbridge. Talent pool to build growth seemed more accessible in the USA, Germany and Japan than Britain.

28. The writs of history show that when organisations and nations become fat and lazy on the gains of success, they slip. What naturally happens is those leaner and hungrier will rise to take that space called OPPORTUNITY and GROWTH.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

CHALLENGING STATUS QUO

29. In the years that I have spent in the public service and the years where I have interacted with people from various walks of life, I have learned that challenging a status quo lies in our mindset. It does not in being obtuse for the sake of being obtuse. It does not in being aggressive for the sake of scoring points. It does not lie in bringing someone or something down just so that we can replace them or it.

30. Change often comes from a sense of anxiety. A sense where we can do more than stick to the knitting. Change must especially happen when we are at the top of our game, for it is here when we see two paths of choice. The road to being a diva. And the path to new standard setting.

31. The many headlines that grace our papers today tell a pattern. The changes in the Middle East, the attack in Norway, the downgrade of US credit rating, the riots in London. All these events have unique reasons to its trigger and occurrences. But cutting across them is a denominator that echoes a common language.

32. Human beings are made to grow to experience balance – physically, mentally and emotionally. Growing demands that we move away from our comfort zones. We cannot grow otherwise. We each grow when we see hope in our future. When we do not see sight of hope and a future the music in us stops. We feel inconsequential. These emotions manifest in various outcomes.

33. I have put many of these examples and stories to you today to demonstrate that challenging any form of status quo must be done with clarity of purpose. We must know why we do what we do. Else we may fall prey to doing for the sake of doing. Change requires following. Requires convincing. Change is not about the “ME”, rather it is about the “US”.

34. Whatever projects and activities we undertake, the goal cannot be to be the first of its kind to score points. Rather the goal must first and foremost embrace “how will this make tomorrow a better place than today”. I understand the setting up of the Center of Chemical Biology in USM brought together many local and international talents. The first of its kind which could place Malaysia in the world map of sciences, I am pleased to note that the Centre leads the template for how Science Infrastructure can be built and maintained to help the less fortunate billion population in the world through life sciences. I look forward to learning about this Centre today.

Ladies and Gentlemen

A ONE SENTENCE LIFE

35. We each have a place in our lives we call home. Hometowns strike at our heart strings not because they are signs of all that is familiar. Rather they epitomise all that brought the best in us because they imbued trust. Where there is trust in an environment, the best in us will always manifest in growth. We can choose to remain the same and simply say we are the way we are, much like Lady Gaga’s song “Born This Way”. Or we can each do the Bob Dylan, a singer from the 60s who made many great songs including one titled “I Feel A Change Comin’ On”. We each define the writs of our lives. In the final analysis our lives will one day be remembered in one sentence. It will be remembered long after our candles stop burning. It is up to us to decide what that sentence will be!

I thank you for your patience.