Preview of EURO 2008

Here are some of the images of areas for Salzburg in Austria which is a venue for EURO 2008 games.

First up is the plate showing the birth place of great composer Mozart.

Next up is the bust of Mozart.

Enjoy the inner serenity of the Salzburg as below

Really even in a candy shop, one can find the potrait of Mozart

Action from World Cyber Games 2007

WHoa is the time of year where the finals of the World Cyber Games are held. This year in Seattle where a total of 700 contestants from 74 countries compete for honor and prizes up to $500,000. Really how far has playing computer games came from a recreational activities to a commerical activities. It is really something to do something one can enjoy and still make money from it.

Maybe it is time to take out the console to start training for the next games.

Victory is so sweet as one can see below.

How to be cool to be winning

What a crowd to see a cyber match

And here's is an article on the games.

UEFA Champions League News

Here are some news update of UEFA Champions League Matches played this morning.

1. First up, Wayne Rooney scored the crucial goal that allowed Man Utd to beat Roma 1-0 at Old Trafford. Sir Ferguson had commented that he hoped that this would open up the floodgates for the English International. Another tight game where Man Utd won by 1-0; this would be 6 win of the season with the 1-0 score line. A worrying sight for Sir Ferguson's defending EPL Champions.

2. Next up, Another win in Champion League for the young gunners. Mr Wenger is hoping for another repeat of the unbeaten run by the gunners 2 to 3 seasons back. Looking at his team, he might be able to do it again.

3. Following a 2-0 win at Stuttgart, Barcelona has taken a big step towards the next round of the Champions League. Barcelona heads up the table with Rangers on 6 points.

4. In the same group with Barcelona, Rangers served up a 3-0 win away to Lyon. This would inspire the Rangers to maybe greater heights in the competition with a place in the next round highly likely if they keep up their form.

5. Already mindgames have started for today's game of Liverpool vs Marseille with Manager Erik Gerets with the first salvo. This would also marks the return of Cisse and Zenden to Anfield.

6. In another of today's game, Chelsea may field Captain John Terry in a crucial game against Spainish Side Valencia. However Terry would be wearing a protective mask if he does play especially after having a operation on his checkbone 2 days ago.

RE: A case study on leadership

How Does Alexander The Great Measure Up To The 7 Points Of Leadership?

In my other Article, I have written about 7 points which a leader must take note of. Here I am using the example of Alexander the Great to see how many points he would score

1. Always have a vision
Good or Great Leaders have a vision that can be shared and appreciated by your staff would enable him to motivate the staff in getting the goal achieved. In the case of Alexander, his vision is that to right the wrongs done by the Persians on the Greeks and ultimately replace the Persian Empire with his own. At that time, his vision was thought to be bold, out of this world and basically impossible. His success in projecting this vision of his could be seen in history where he became king of an empire that was not exceeded by the Mongols.Hence we can draw a lesson from this is that via successful projection of a vision, nothing is impossible.

2. Do not focus on negative
A good leader basically should try to see and find the positive or good in the bad or negative and essentially take advantage of it. Again for Alexander, it is his sense of invincibility or good tactical sense that often bought his success against overwhelming odds in battles verses the Persian Empire or later in India. Here we got a leader where no matter how bad is the situation, he always or often turn it to his advantages.

3. Mood Management
A good leader should learn to keep one's feelings or moods to oneself and let nothing out if possible as to affect his staff. This is something which Alexander does not do very well as leader. Maybe in his case, the Greek Culture brings out emotions, feelings and moods more directly of men then. Hence we should not really fault Alexander as it should be said that being a Ancient King, he was entitled to his moods.

4. Core Values Communication
A good leader would make sure that his or her values are evident to all stakeholders involved while being able to align values or policies of the organization to those of the employees. Here is something which Alexander does very well. In history, he always managed to win the respect and loyalty of his men regardless of the situation. Proof of this can be seen is that he would not ask his men to do anything he would not do himself. And always before battles or after battles, he would go among his men to listen and encourage them.

5. Concentrate on the Big Picture
A good leader should always look at the big picture and think of it as the most important item. Alexander has never lost sight of his vision and the situation at hand during his short reign. One example is his destruction of Thebes after his accession to the Macedonian throne was a step in his vision where he hoped to cow any Greek opposition into submission before setting out to fight the Persians. Another example is that during the conquest of the Persian Empire, he often confirmed surrendered Persians in their posts. This allowed the governing of the regions to continue unbroken while reducing the need to garrison every province. He did make a precaution where only Macedonians are placed in charge of the garrison.

6. Crisis Management
Crisis Management is critical to being a good leader. If a crisis can be handled without losing control of the situation, a leader would be able to shine then. He or she should never be overwhelmed by the scope of the crisis. There was no bigger scope of the crisis or situation which Alexander faced. He was up against the largest Empire and its seemingly inexhaustible manpower. However through his calm and superior leadership, he managed to resolve most of the crisis to an advantageous ending.

7. Stop Gossip
A good leader should always avoid listening or believing in gossip unless one witness for himself or herself the event in question. Here is another fault of ancient times, where Kings are always suspicious of their powerful or successful subjects with deadly results. In the case of Alexander, gossip or rumors caused the death of Parmenion and Philotas. Hence he did not really manage to keep his actions clear of rumors or gossip.

Conclusion
Although Alexander does not score well for 2 of the 7 points, he can still be considered a good or even great leader as per his actions and achievements in history. Hopefully, this case study on Alexander would enable all to understand the importance of above seven points of leadership.

PS: Article has been posted on EzineArticles.

Some Business News around the world where Martel has apologized to China over toy recall. The reason is that the recall was caused by design flaws, rather than production problems.

Although that was cleared up, but more storm clouds are there for china since a recall of millions of baby crib after the death of two babies. What would be next?

19th Sep 2007 Entry Log

Logbook 19-07-07 Entry

Yeah...been very busy to write on my blog...

Getting around to do my work with regards to my business project. Running around the isle of Singapore to get things done up properly. Lots of regulation to read up in the past week.

Now trying very hard to solve and close out my first business deal. Tons of work left to be done before closing. Hopefully I can close it by end of next week. If successfully, a few thousand in profit. Wish me luck guys.

As for the domestic front, my bro is teaching tarrot card reading. Yes, something he has interest in doing. That's good for him. I wish him all the best.

Finally my girlfriend made up her mind to go back to Malaysia to celebrate the Moon cake festival with her family. I better go and collect her ticket before being scolded by her.

Some stuff I am reading:

Congratulations to Sopranos picking the emmy this year. Hence the end of a great drama series. In the end, HBO is the big winner this year.

Ah, opening of the Singapore Season into China. A great achievement of exporting our Singapore culture overseas. We should be proud of it.

What has the pop princess, Britney Spears turned into. It is very sad to see her end up now in drug rehab of all things. Is it the fame or money that cause?

14th September 2007

Logbook 14-09-07 Entry

Finally, a 100 visitors to my blogs. Maybe I should get a separate counter for each of my blogs.

Thanks to all those who have visited my blogs. Hope that you would come for more.

A topic that is raging in Singapore is whether a gay teacher should have come out in the open declaring he is gay or not.

There are a few issues at work here.

1) Singapore is still an Asian society where such things as homosexuality are still a taboo to some people. Hence in a sense, a very sensitive topic. I would admit that I admire his courage coming open or clean with his facts. But as many can see in the newspaper, he took down his blog entry after realizing that too many people are reading. Is it due to the culture or pressure? One would wonder.

2)Being a gay teacher in an all guys school, would it be a problem? Many parents would be shocked or worried about it. The major concern here is the influence of the teacher on the students. There are two school of thoughts on this. Being a gay teacher, should not means that he would or could influence the sexuality of his students in any sense by doing his job as a teacher. However, if he takes advantage of the situation, then that's different.

3) Would his career be affected? Being honest is not a bad thing, but in this case, I may worry for his career as school and ministry may not look kindly on his actions and the storm of upheavals caused. Another reason which I admire him for is that by coming out open, he would be mentally prepared for the possible results from it. The worst case is that he may lose his job.

Although I may admire his actions, but it may be not the most suitable situation to come clean yet. Yes, society has became more open to accepting the gay issue, but not to every extent it is tolerable for people. Asian would still take time to adapt to this sort of scenario. Hopefully the good of it is that people can learn to accept the reality of gays.

PS: I have nothing against gays, just stating what are my feelings on the matter.

Some news for those interesed, UN has passed a non-binding resolution to protect the human, land and resources rights of the estimated 370 Million Indigenous people over the protest of US, Australia and Canada. What a victory for the ordinary people over the interests of just a few nations.

RE: Will Liverpool be Champions this 2006-2007 season?

Being a supporter of Liverpool since young, it pains to see that unachievement of the team in the premiership for last few seasons. Granted, Liverpool had been excellent in the Champions League, making the final twice in three seasons. But it is the league that is important.

Read on to see whether you agree with me on the chances of Liverpool this season.

For the last 17 years, Liverpool and its fans have been living in the shadows of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea as the trio dominate the English Premiership (EPL). Without a League title to its name for the past 17 years since 1990, this season however may prove to be different.

With the support of new owners Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett, Rafa Benitez has spent wisely over the close season by bringing strength to each of the position. Thus making sure that Liverpool would have at least 2 players to choose from for each of the position. This is important as without strength and quality in depth, the team would be suffer in competitions if injuries started cooping up. Hence with the transfer of Ferando Torres, Andriy Voronin, Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun, Lucas Levia, Sebastian Leto and Charles Itandje into the squad for the 2007-2008 season, Liverpool looks well prepared for the new season.

Upfront, the transfer of Torres in especially is highly anticipated by the fans as the solution to the scoring woes that plague the team for the last few seasons. Thus far, this has proven to be true as all four strikers, Torres, Kuyt, Voronin and Crouch have opening their accounts for Liverpool.

In midfield, finally Benitez has realized the impact of playing Steven Gerrard in the middle of the park and would play the Captain there. And with the additional of Benayoun, Levia, Leto and Babel in, there are many more choices or options for Benitez to choose from. This is also essential as Benitez has set out a team in a match that in his opinion is the best against the opponents.

As for defense, not much changes have been made to the first choice back four of Arbeloa-Agger-Carragher-Finnan and goalkeeper being Reina. So far this season in the league, Liverpool has only conceded 2 goals from penalties. Thus the defense seen sound as always in a Benitez's team. However only a small concern on the centre backs as if Carragher, Agger or Hypia is out, then there may be a problem as there are no other recognized centre back in the 1st team.

Back to league, another problem for Liverpool over the season is the slow start it had made in the August or September. Reviewing 2006-2007 season, if Liverpool has managed to win more games in the opening two months, then the league race would be much closer. However so far, Liverpool has made an excellent start to season, winning 3 games, drawing 1 and have a game in hand verses West Ham.

The pick of the wins is the 6-0 demolition of Derby County with Torres scoring a brace. What makes it more impressive is that both Carragher and Gerrard were out injured. With that win Liverpool is first in the league for the moment. Next up is Pompey, then Spurs.

If Liverpool can continue this rich vein in form and have no major injury problems, this could well be the year that Liverpool add the EPL title to the 18 it has previously won.

PS: Article has been published on Ezinearticles too.

Some news from the premiership where Benitez has joined the chorus of Man Utd and Chelsea in critizing the league for scheduling games post International; leaving him with less time to prepare for the upcoming clash with Pompey. Now the question is that would it really have an effect this sat?

RE: Article on Being a Sucessful Sales Person

In the past, I have always faced problems of conducting sales to people. However as I grew older, I have learnt many things. Hence the below, can be summarized as my experience which I would like to share you.

In order to be a successful sales person, it is not that difficult. By applying or following the following five key points, one can be one.

1. Direct Selling Approach

Most of the time, people would not want to hear excuses or being forwarded from department to department on their problems or concerns. What is critical to them is that they are able to have their issues, problems or concerns solved directly.

Hence this applies to selling too. Being direct and honest, would be a better way of selling instead of covering up facts which would be found out eventually. Do not beat around the bush. Selling of the core benefits of the products and services is the key point here in sales.

2. Setting Goals (or Targets)

Never forget that by setting goals or targets, one gives direction to whatever he or she would hope to achieve. This is important as then he or she would know what would be needed to be done to achieve the goal. And furthermore, the prospects of self satisfaction from achieving goals and targets are highly tempting or provide motivation to a person.

3. Sales Pitch

With experience, one would be able to analyse his or her arsenal of sales pitch where those that do work would be focused on. Hence by focusing on those sales pitch that works, the selling skills can be honed and sharpened. With each selling experience, confidence and belief in one's selling skill would be built up to the level of being able to cope with any sorts of customers.

4. Taking positive from negative

In sales, it is not always possible to conduct a sales. Be it the wrong sales pitch or unsuitability of the product or service, it should be not disheartening to the sales person. The reason is that as above under point 3, take it as a learning experience where by analysing what went wrong with the pitch or method. Thus by remembering the mistake, one should or would not make in the future.

5. Mistakes

No is prefect where he or she does not make any mistakes where starting a sales job. There is no need to dwell or linger on mistakes, but take them as learning experiences to reduce or prevent them from happening again. Slowly, the number of mistakes would be reduced or prevented.

And do not be afraid to apologize for any mistakes made. Always be prepared to make amends to them.

Lastly, always reflect on the set goals or targets and update them if necessary.

Hopefully the above can help you in overcoming your sales problems and to be on your way to be a more successful sales person.

PS: Article has also been posted on EzineArticles.com

Also read on for some business news where the Bank of England agreed to emergency funding to Northern Rock after it had fallen prey to the liquidility squeeze in the banking sector.

RE: Lottery in Singapore and China

Oh dear me! Another exciting draw in Singapore today. The totto or lottery is now up to S$5.5 Million already, how many more new millionaires would there be today.

Now compare with China or US, the lottery is a representation of size of population. The larger the size, the higher the pay out could be if the amount is rolled to the next draw. Whom wouldn't want to be an instant millionaire overnight, but how many would succeed?

Good luck to all for tonite's draw.

RE: Another Millionarie in US from lottery

It is always amazing that people in the US can win millions up to in this case of USD82 million from lottery. Truly, with a huge population, the windfall can be rolled up to these amount. In Singapore, I believe the highest amount is around S$10-S$12 Million.

And how they celebrate in the West as compared to the East are ways of different where in the east, everything is done in secret in hopes of not getting robbed while the west, press conference are the norm

RE: News Summary for 2nd September 2007

My personal favorite is that finally Iran has agreed to co-operate with the international atomic agencies.

RE: Latest US Entertainment News