Ridzuan may think highly of himself - and that's perfectly fine. That means he is brimming with confidence, although I would say that it is of the disillusioned kind. Anyway, Ridzuan has always been the weakest member in Team Equity despite his tall testimonies of his very own self and his last 'interview' claiming that his going away was a 'sacrifice' for the team is so blatantly over the top. In fact, that nearly had me blowing my top.
Aside from the fact that he speaks English like a person who has just picked up the language (oh, but wow, he does know some big words like 'prejudiced'), the most he has volunteered to do (besides becoming the speaker for the Easy Pha-max task and the tour guide for the Spritzer task) is to buy balloons. Because he knows a really cheap place to get them.
That to me, does not count as 'contributing'.
Anyway, Ridzuan rarely comes up with ideas of his own. When he opens his mouth, it is either to agree or disagree, and the worst is when he does this whole recapping of the ideas which have been thrown about in the boardroom, executed ceramah style - it is boring and a waste of time. In one interview, he mentioned that he does not contribute ideas because they will be shot down by his team mates. Like this, OK. Never try, never know and anyway, if his ideas are lame, obviously they will be shot down whether he likes it or not. There's nothing personal about that. Most times, Ridzuan has to be told to do things. He is a follower through and through, and not a very good follower at that though he has managed to surprise us once or twice.
For example, it was extremely hard to get Ridzuan on the phone. His phone would be either on silent or apparently the calls never came through on his end. Same with texts. On one brainstorming day (off-camera), Ridzuan was totally uncontactable for more than twelve hours. Finally when I got him after midnight, he said he was at this place in Gombak, and he was there all that while waiting for this guy to show up so we could have this badge thing to give away on task day. It was a nice idea... and we had to pay for the badges... and why would it friggin' take a person more than twelve hours just to get a discussion on badges over and done with??? I just lost my temper and told him that he shouldn't have wasted his time when the time could have been spent to better use.
Well... whatever. Ridzuan was and still is such a pitiful creature so I let him off the hook after that. We proceeded to get the badges done. And on preparation day, he goes off again to Gombak to help the badge guy make the badges. It took four hours to get them done. I still have no idea if Ridzuan made those badges by hand. He must have, right? That's why his contribution matters so much.
He did surprise me by getting quite a lot of customers to sign up on task day though. I did tell him that he would need to redeem himself because he had let me down a few times all ready.
Anyway, Ridzuan, you suck. You are the typical stereotype of a man who tak sedar diri. You have to realise that you got kicked out first was not because the team has this whole agenda to gang up on you. It was more like, it was the most obvious choice as to who must be kicked out first!
And a person who lets himself be a doormat, but behind everybody's backs yaps like a kicked dog, shouldn't be boasting about having leadership skills. You know why? Because my dear friend, you have none.
Muahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PS: PMS is so divine, isn't it?
August 27, 2008
August 25, 2008
C.A. for Episode 4: Behind the scenes drama
In Episode 4 of The Firm Season II, both team Asset and Equity were charged to sell as many Tune Money prepaid Visa card to Lim Kok Wing University students. In my opinion, this task were the most objective compared to the previous 3 and I thought it was the most straightforward. I was very concerned when I discovered that Team Asset would commence their tasks first thus enjoying strategic first mover advantage.
Masami was appointed as the team leader and during brainstorming, ideas were popping up (it is a brainstorming session thus no ideas were shot down prematurely) until Anoop voiced out his suggestion about inviting celebrity to endorse to grace our function. I believe that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Masami because there was a verbal exchange of words between Masami and Anoop. That was shown on TV; what was not shown on TV was that Anoop proceeded to send SMS to all in Team Equity and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. I shared the following with Anoop:
Anoop, maturity is the art of living in peace with that which we cannot change, the courage to change that which should be changed and the wisdom to know the difference. None of us would have judged you if you didn't give us the reason to. Remember, there is no smoke without fire.C.A.
Due to prior work engagements, Dian has to travel to Jakarta and she was unable to attend any of team discussions after the brainstorming session. However, we kept her in the loop via emails of the progress. That was the reason why Dian volunteered to resign in the boardroom because she felt that she didn’t contribute enough.
Back to the brainstorming session, yours truly suggested the theme “Tune me on” as I felt that it tied back to the company’s name Tune Money and it was suitable for the target audience (university students). The strategy was customer delight by giving applicants more than just a Tune Money prepaid visa card. To support this strategy, the following tactics were carried out:
a) Sponsors
1) Masami’s employer, The Malay Mail, generously sponsored an advertisement for 2 consecutive days.
2) Masami managed to get 200 copies of On The Road Magazine.
3) Masami sponsored YSL In Love Again and Thierry Mugler Angel miniature perfume sets
4) Boon Yew sponsored Jusco, Parkson vouchers and notepads.
5) Jack Jeganesan, Business Development Manager for Cochine Alfresco, sponsored VIP passes to their event.
6) Alex Choong, Marketing Director for Superstar Karaoke Box sponsored karaoke vouchers.
7) Langeswaran, Director for Planetunes Mobile sponsored 500 ringtones / logoes downloads.
8) Christine Chai, Marketing Manager for Bella Skin care sponsored Bella Skin care vouchers.
9) Irene Leong, Asst. Marketing Manager for Marie France sponsored Marie France vouchers.
10) Queenie Wong, Marketing Exec for Svenson Hair Care sponsored Svenson vouchers.
11) Ramesh Ganeson, Area Manager of Field Marketing for Starwoods Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts sponsored tickets to the award winning Beauty & The Beast on Ice play.
12) Chrissie Lim, Manager for Resorts World Berhad sponsored rooms at First World Hotel.
13) Ben Wong, Group Executive Director for Easy Pha-Max Marketing sponsored goodie bags and products.
14) Carol Yip, author of bestseller “Smart Money-Users” sponsored her books.
b) Lucky dip – Team Equity felt that the wheel of fortune was too common thus lucky dip was adopted.
c) Booth & PA System – Jennifer liaised with her contacts for the booth setup and PA system.
d) Referral Scheme – something I came up with to increase application signups by offering the tickets to the award winning Beauty and The Beast on Ice play away.
Ridzuan went AWOL during preparation day and was extremely difficult to reach; it took him a couple of hours to return our calls. The major disappointment was when he returned our calls to notify us that he was occupied with coming up with badges.
I thought with the above ‘bullets’, Team Equity would score another win. Of course I failed to factor in the following:
1) Team Equity was unceremoniously expelled from their initial location because someone from the university failed to communicate clearly on the university’s founder’s likes and dislikes; apparently he dislikes red colour. Perhaps that person neglected to mention to the founder that we were representing Tune Money, whose corporate colour happens to be red.
2) The relocation really drained us of our energy because we had to carry tables and chairs from elsewhere.
3) The relocation also meant that we started late.
4) The college students having a charity event but were unwilling to lower down the volume despite repeated requests to do so.
5) The first mover advantage that Team Asset had (many students mentioned that they had signed up a day earlier and we had quite a few students asking whether it is possible to cancel their initial application and sign up a fresh one with us).
6) Anoop would throw a tantrum and refuse to show up for task day behaving like a spoilt child.
On result announcement day, it was clear that Team Asset won with their 112 signups versus Team Equity’s 97 signups. I leave it up to you to decide which team had the advantage over the other.
Back in the boardroom, I thought that this was my opportunity to get off The Firm but I was caught with my pants down when Dian announced that she is volunteering herself to be terminated. She succeeded in disrupting my train of thoughts thus I had to say something; I wasn’t very proud of what I said but like the Chinese saying goes “Even the thousand mile horse is unable to stop words once it is uttered”. As I thought she would, Masami volunteered herself to be terminated. Ridzuan’s act of volunteering to be terminated fooled me because I had the impression that he reminds me of myself during my younger days. His final interview really disappointed me because I misjudged him; he no longer reminds me of myself during my younger days.
Peter Pek, corporate leader for Team Equity, was visibly upset and disappointed with Dian, Masami, Ridzuan and myself for volunteering to be terminated and verbally lashed out at us that we are no different from Anoop for voicing out our intentions to pull out. Besides Dian, I took offense at his remark as well because I felt that it was a careless and callous judgement of our characters simply because I believe that Anoop is from a completely different planet from the rest of Team Equity: probably from Jupiter judging from the large amount of hot air emanating from his mouth.
Conclusion: C.A. failed in his attempt to be terminated. Will he succeed in the next task?
Masami was appointed as the team leader and during brainstorming, ideas were popping up (it is a brainstorming session thus no ideas were shot down prematurely) until Anoop voiced out his suggestion about inviting celebrity to endorse to grace our function. I believe that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Masami because there was a verbal exchange of words between Masami and Anoop. That was shown on TV; what was not shown on TV was that Anoop proceeded to send SMS to all in Team Equity and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. I shared the following with Anoop:
Anoop, maturity is the art of living in peace with that which we cannot change, the courage to change that which should be changed and the wisdom to know the difference. None of us would have judged you if you didn't give us the reason to. Remember, there is no smoke without fire.C.A.
Due to prior work engagements, Dian has to travel to Jakarta and she was unable to attend any of team discussions after the brainstorming session. However, we kept her in the loop via emails of the progress. That was the reason why Dian volunteered to resign in the boardroom because she felt that she didn’t contribute enough.
Back to the brainstorming session, yours truly suggested the theme “Tune me on” as I felt that it tied back to the company’s name Tune Money and it was suitable for the target audience (university students). The strategy was customer delight by giving applicants more than just a Tune Money prepaid visa card. To support this strategy, the following tactics were carried out:
a) Sponsors
1) Masami’s employer, The Malay Mail, generously sponsored an advertisement for 2 consecutive days.
2) Masami managed to get 200 copies of On The Road Magazine.
3) Masami sponsored YSL In Love Again and Thierry Mugler Angel miniature perfume sets
4) Boon Yew sponsored Jusco, Parkson vouchers and notepads.
5) Jack Jeganesan, Business Development Manager for Cochine Alfresco, sponsored VIP passes to their event.
6) Alex Choong, Marketing Director for Superstar Karaoke Box sponsored karaoke vouchers.
7) Langeswaran, Director for Planetunes Mobile sponsored 500 ringtones / logoes downloads.
8) Christine Chai, Marketing Manager for Bella Skin care sponsored Bella Skin care vouchers.
9) Irene Leong, Asst. Marketing Manager for Marie France sponsored Marie France vouchers.
10) Queenie Wong, Marketing Exec for Svenson Hair Care sponsored Svenson vouchers.
11) Ramesh Ganeson, Area Manager of Field Marketing for Starwoods Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts sponsored tickets to the award winning Beauty & The Beast on Ice play.
12) Chrissie Lim, Manager for Resorts World Berhad sponsored rooms at First World Hotel.
13) Ben Wong, Group Executive Director for Easy Pha-Max Marketing sponsored goodie bags and products.
14) Carol Yip, author of bestseller “Smart Money-Users” sponsored her books.
b) Lucky dip – Team Equity felt that the wheel of fortune was too common thus lucky dip was adopted.
c) Booth & PA System – Jennifer liaised with her contacts for the booth setup and PA system.
d) Referral Scheme – something I came up with to increase application signups by offering the tickets to the award winning Beauty and The Beast on Ice play away.
Ridzuan went AWOL during preparation day and was extremely difficult to reach; it took him a couple of hours to return our calls. The major disappointment was when he returned our calls to notify us that he was occupied with coming up with badges.
I thought with the above ‘bullets’, Team Equity would score another win. Of course I failed to factor in the following:
1) Team Equity was unceremoniously expelled from their initial location because someone from the university failed to communicate clearly on the university’s founder’s likes and dislikes; apparently he dislikes red colour. Perhaps that person neglected to mention to the founder that we were representing Tune Money, whose corporate colour happens to be red.
2) The relocation really drained us of our energy because we had to carry tables and chairs from elsewhere.
3) The relocation also meant that we started late.
4) The college students having a charity event but were unwilling to lower down the volume despite repeated requests to do so.
5) The first mover advantage that Team Asset had (many students mentioned that they had signed up a day earlier and we had quite a few students asking whether it is possible to cancel their initial application and sign up a fresh one with us).
6) Anoop would throw a tantrum and refuse to show up for task day behaving like a spoilt child.
On result announcement day, it was clear that Team Asset won with their 112 signups versus Team Equity’s 97 signups. I leave it up to you to decide which team had the advantage over the other.
Back in the boardroom, I thought that this was my opportunity to get off The Firm but I was caught with my pants down when Dian announced that she is volunteering herself to be terminated. She succeeded in disrupting my train of thoughts thus I had to say something; I wasn’t very proud of what I said but like the Chinese saying goes “Even the thousand mile horse is unable to stop words once it is uttered”. As I thought she would, Masami volunteered herself to be terminated. Ridzuan’s act of volunteering to be terminated fooled me because I had the impression that he reminds me of myself during my younger days. His final interview really disappointed me because I misjudged him; he no longer reminds me of myself during my younger days.
Peter Pek, corporate leader for Team Equity, was visibly upset and disappointed with Dian, Masami, Ridzuan and myself for volunteering to be terminated and verbally lashed out at us that we are no different from Anoop for voicing out our intentions to pull out. Besides Dian, I took offense at his remark as well because I felt that it was a careless and callous judgement of our characters simply because I believe that Anoop is from a completely different planet from the rest of Team Equity: probably from Jupiter judging from the large amount of hot air emanating from his mouth.
Conclusion: C.A. failed in his attempt to be terminated. Will he succeed in the next task?
August 24, 2008
Four episodes down...
The fourth episode has been aired and now The Firm: Season 2 is left with nine executives out of the original fourteen. The game is slowly picking up speed, adding more complexities to its tasks with fewer people to execute in both teams.
By this time, some of the personalities will have 'emerged' and created a resonance with the viewers while others are still relatively relegated to the sidelines, their occasional appearances and lines only available in behind-the-scenes moments.
Who do you connect with the most in The Firm: Season 2? Who is your favourite contestant? Who is the contestant that you love to hate the most? Who are you rooting for to win The Firm: Season 2? Can you guess all ready who will be making their way to the Top 5?
Stay tuned for more drama (and more bloopers) from ntv7's hit English reality show The Firm: Season 2 only on your Feel Good Channel.
The Firm: Season 2 - Episode 4
Client: TuneMoney.com
The task: To sell the TuneMoney.com Prepaid Visa Card to the community in LimKokWing University College in Cyberjaya. The team that makes the most sales wins the challenge.
Team Asset
Team leader: Yuen Wai
With only four people left on the team, Team Asset is nevertheless still hungry for a win. Problems occur between Chris and the rest of the team members though due to his lack of involvement throughout the entire episode. Coming from an events management background, Chris clearly has his own way of organising a promotional roadshow although his ideas and actions did not go down well with the team leader, Yuen Wai.
While there were a few organisation issues to contend with, sales were doing good for the team with the addition of three promoter girls to beef up the sales force. The team also incorporated the idea of combining forces with events going on in the campus to help promote their event to the community of LimKokWing University College.
Team Equity
Team leader: Masami
Continuing off from the previous episode, problems are still not resolved with Anoop. Amidst the raising doubts and suspicion, the team confronts him during the brainstorming session and gives him several pieces of their minds. Anoop becomes upset and makes a last minute ditch at saving his own ass but the damage is done: The trust is broken and Anoop finds himself in a very vulnerable position in Team Equity. Following his absence during preparation day, Anoop then goes on to become the second person to leave The Firm after Team Asset's Terence after in an SMS he replied to Masami that he will not be joining them on task day.
Just when they thought that the worry with Anoop was over and done with, task day starts out badly for Team Equity. A visit from VIPS to LimKokWing University College meant that they had to switch to a less than favourable location. The accumulated stress got to Masami who loses her temper, thus being unable to control the situation well.
Things slowly start to pick up though as the hours passed by but had the team done all it could to ensure that it will win over Team Asset?
Verdict: Team Asset wins, making 112 sales over Team Equity's 95. When they get into the boardroom, a surprising thing happens: Four people volunteers to get kicked out of The Firm! First was Dian, whose reasons included contributing the least and a worry of not being able to put in her full commitment into the task as well as future tasks. Ridzuan cited contributing the least as his reason for leaving The Firm while C.A. too, said that he has other commitments in his life. Masami meanwhile offered to take responsibility as team leader for the team's loss.
Finally, a verdict is made by the corporate leader. Ridzuan is to leave the team for being the weakest member in the team for every task. Ridzuan packs up his bags and leaves, telling the audience that his leaving was a 'sacrifice' made for the team as he does not believe that he is the weakest member in Team Equity.
Next episode spoiler hint: RUN FORREST RUN!!!
The task: To sell the TuneMoney.com Prepaid Visa Card to the community in LimKokWing University College in Cyberjaya. The team that makes the most sales wins the challenge.
Team Asset
Team leader: Yuen Wai
With only four people left on the team, Team Asset is nevertheless still hungry for a win. Problems occur between Chris and the rest of the team members though due to his lack of involvement throughout the entire episode. Coming from an events management background, Chris clearly has his own way of organising a promotional roadshow although his ideas and actions did not go down well with the team leader, Yuen Wai.
While there were a few organisation issues to contend with, sales were doing good for the team with the addition of three promoter girls to beef up the sales force. The team also incorporated the idea of combining forces with events going on in the campus to help promote their event to the community of LimKokWing University College.
Team Equity
Team leader: Masami
Continuing off from the previous episode, problems are still not resolved with Anoop. Amidst the raising doubts and suspicion, the team confronts him during the brainstorming session and gives him several pieces of their minds. Anoop becomes upset and makes a last minute ditch at saving his own ass but the damage is done: The trust is broken and Anoop finds himself in a very vulnerable position in Team Equity. Following his absence during preparation day, Anoop then goes on to become the second person to leave The Firm after Team Asset's Terence after in an SMS he replied to Masami that he will not be joining them on task day.
Just when they thought that the worry with Anoop was over and done with, task day starts out badly for Team Equity. A visit from VIPS to LimKokWing University College meant that they had to switch to a less than favourable location. The accumulated stress got to Masami who loses her temper, thus being unable to control the situation well.
Things slowly start to pick up though as the hours passed by but had the team done all it could to ensure that it will win over Team Asset?
Verdict: Team Asset wins, making 112 sales over Team Equity's 95. When they get into the boardroom, a surprising thing happens: Four people volunteers to get kicked out of The Firm! First was Dian, whose reasons included contributing the least and a worry of not being able to put in her full commitment into the task as well as future tasks. Ridzuan cited contributing the least as his reason for leaving The Firm while C.A. too, said that he has other commitments in his life. Masami meanwhile offered to take responsibility as team leader for the team's loss.
Finally, a verdict is made by the corporate leader. Ridzuan is to leave the team for being the weakest member in the team for every task. Ridzuan packs up his bags and leaves, telling the audience that his leaving was a 'sacrifice' made for the team as he does not believe that he is the weakest member in Team Equity.
Next episode spoiler hint: RUN FORREST RUN!!!
August 19, 2008
Masami for Episode 3: My quote's on Wikipedia!
Allow me a moment to self-gloat. Like the above title says, my quote's on Wikipedia!
Unfortunately though, Episode 3 wasn't quite as dramatic as I had hoped it to be. The 'debate' we had when Anoop made his surprise appearance during our task preparation was cut short. You would have thought it hilarious had you been there to observe (I'm sure the production crew thought the whole drama was brilliant) but for us, well, it was not a happy stroll down some flower path.
Why did we not buy Anoop's sad story? Now before somebody comes up to accuse us of ganging up on the only Indian contestant in the show, let me share with you a story Anoop had shared with us. It is a poignant story of him, his bag, an attempted assassination and the President of Pakistan.
How it goes is like this. One day, Anoop was complaining about the sponsored wardrobe with something along the lines of how they are not worthy for someone used to shopping for clothes from Raoul. Wow, expensive taste. So now, the brown bad that Anoop carries with him in the show? It has a broken magnetic latch which Anoop pries open each time by sticking the point of a pen into this little hole below the latch. Naturally, we got curious because the normal thing to do will be to get the bag replaced. After all, he has the money for Raoul shirts so why not a new bag?
Anoop then told us that the bag comes with memories. This is when the story becomes incredible: The bag saved his life from a bullet. The bag also saved the President of Pakistan's life from the same bullet.
I don't know why Anoop was standing on the same stage as the President as he was giving a speech (maybe Anoop used to be like those KGB blokes) but that was when some assassin guy shot a bullet, which wasn't very accurate because instead of going straight for the intended guy's head, it went straight for Anoop's bag and bounced off the metal latch, thus breaking it in the process! And that was how Anoop and the President of Pakistan lived to see another day (and many more days).
I kid you not. You can ask the other contestants and they will share with you this same story - as well as other stories which are also quite incredible to listen to.
So, going back to that scene in Episode 3, do you now understand why we will not buy his story?
The reason why the 'debate' went off was that I opined that it wasn't fair for Anoop to remain in the show if he is not able to contribute as a team member. I firmly told him that he must make a decision as to which was more important: His health or a prize he is not sure of attaining. Furthermore, if the team were to lose, he would be able to escape the chopping block as he had a valid 'excuse' and this wouldn't be fair to all the other team members.
Our dear gentleman made a statement that all companies provide sick leave for employees. True, but how fair is that to apply to a competition where it's all about the survival of the fittest? The Firm may not be The Amazing Race: Asia but we all realise that efficiency, in terms of mental and emotional capacities, cannot be achieved when the body is weak.
So he had to make the jibe about 'what if your relative died'. For me, it's simple. If the death of a relative is more important to me, the competition has to be put aside. You can't run a marathon and leave half way for a funeral and to return, resuming from the last point where you left.
That was where I challenged him with, "So what are you trying to say? Are you dying tomorrow?", and to which he replied, "Who knows?"
The next thing he said but wasn't shown on TV would be something along the lines of what I would do if that happened.
Simple. Had he died, the team will no longer have to think about what tasks to assign him in the condition he was in and coming up with a backup plan in case he was unable to perform on task day. That would be one less problem for us.
Naturally, he got offended. Hahaha... well, that's Anoop for you and more drama will be in store in Episode 4!
Unfortunately though, Episode 3 wasn't quite as dramatic as I had hoped it to be. The 'debate' we had when Anoop made his surprise appearance during our task preparation was cut short. You would have thought it hilarious had you been there to observe (I'm sure the production crew thought the whole drama was brilliant) but for us, well, it was not a happy stroll down some flower path.
Why did we not buy Anoop's sad story? Now before somebody comes up to accuse us of ganging up on the only Indian contestant in the show, let me share with you a story Anoop had shared with us. It is a poignant story of him, his bag, an attempted assassination and the President of Pakistan.
How it goes is like this. One day, Anoop was complaining about the sponsored wardrobe with something along the lines of how they are not worthy for someone used to shopping for clothes from Raoul. Wow, expensive taste. So now, the brown bad that Anoop carries with him in the show? It has a broken magnetic latch which Anoop pries open each time by sticking the point of a pen into this little hole below the latch. Naturally, we got curious because the normal thing to do will be to get the bag replaced. After all, he has the money for Raoul shirts so why not a new bag?
Anoop then told us that the bag comes with memories. This is when the story becomes incredible: The bag saved his life from a bullet. The bag also saved the President of Pakistan's life from the same bullet.
I don't know why Anoop was standing on the same stage as the President as he was giving a speech (maybe Anoop used to be like those KGB blokes) but that was when some assassin guy shot a bullet, which wasn't very accurate because instead of going straight for the intended guy's head, it went straight for Anoop's bag and bounced off the metal latch, thus breaking it in the process! And that was how Anoop and the President of Pakistan lived to see another day (and many more days).
I kid you not. You can ask the other contestants and they will share with you this same story - as well as other stories which are also quite incredible to listen to.
So, going back to that scene in Episode 3, do you now understand why we will not buy his story?
The reason why the 'debate' went off was that I opined that it wasn't fair for Anoop to remain in the show if he is not able to contribute as a team member. I firmly told him that he must make a decision as to which was more important: His health or a prize he is not sure of attaining. Furthermore, if the team were to lose, he would be able to escape the chopping block as he had a valid 'excuse' and this wouldn't be fair to all the other team members.
Our dear gentleman made a statement that all companies provide sick leave for employees. True, but how fair is that to apply to a competition where it's all about the survival of the fittest? The Firm may not be The Amazing Race: Asia but we all realise that efficiency, in terms of mental and emotional capacities, cannot be achieved when the body is weak.
So he had to make the jibe about 'what if your relative died'. For me, it's simple. If the death of a relative is more important to me, the competition has to be put aside. You can't run a marathon and leave half way for a funeral and to return, resuming from the last point where you left.
That was where I challenged him with, "So what are you trying to say? Are you dying tomorrow?", and to which he replied, "Who knows?"
The next thing he said but wasn't shown on TV would be something along the lines of what I would do if that happened.
Simple. Had he died, the team will no longer have to think about what tasks to assign him in the condition he was in and coming up with a backup plan in case he was unable to perform on task day. That would be one less problem for us.
Naturally, he got offended. Hahaha... well, that's Anoop for you and more drama will be in store in Episode 4!
August 18, 2008
C.A. for Episode 3: Group dynamics
Dian was appointed as the Team Leader for Team Equity for the Spritzer task and was open to ideas thrown by team members. Based on the brainstorming session, Team Equity decided that the most suitable strategy for this task was back to nature strategy. To support this strategy, the following activities were planned and executed based on the limited allocated budget:
* Dian’s potted plants and bird chirping background sound effects to create the natural garden ambience to tie in with the theme “Nothing is as green as Spritzer”.
* Masami’s quiz – to add interactivity for the factory visitors; answers can be obtained from the boards that were put up in the factory.
* Masami’s idea for a sketch – as an ice breaker and to elicit smiles from the visitors.
* Jennifer’s bean sprouts analogy – instead of deciding for the visitors, Jennifer left the decision, whether Spritzer natural mineral water is more beneficial compared to RO water, to the visitors as “seeing is believing”. Jennifer was the team’s liaison person with Spritzer.
* C.A.’s coloured stones analogy – explaining the benefits of the minerals contained in Spritzer natural mineral water. Coloured stones belongs to Dian.
* Boon Yew’s idea to arrange the tree trunks in the water bar for the visitors to sit (lots of moving to be done and those tree trunks were not light) to tie in with the theme.
* Ridzuan volunteered to be the tour guide.
I am happy to share that Team Equity had very positive energy as soon as we finished our tasks and were confident of winning this task. However, a couple of hours prior to results announcement, your truly and Ridzuan was shown a video clip of the infomercial done by Team Asset. They were very proud of it and were gloating that they will be winning. In fact, Ridzuan was very concerned because he thought that the infomercial was very presentable. I disagreed with him because in my opinion, the informercial neglected to focus on the winning criteria that is to highlight the benefits of Spritzer’s natural mineral water over RO water.
During the results announcement, the outcome was no surprise to me. I have a confession to make: in line with keeping a positive attitude, I was the team member who kept on saying “safety shot”, episode 2 onwards, to the rest of Team Equity. In ALL of my interviews for all of the episodes that I was in, which was never shown on TV, I mentioned that I was the member who contributed the least because I thought by doing so I would have higher chances to be booted off the show. Sounds crazy eh? Yes, I confess that I am a nut.
Bruce Tuckman proposed the four-stage model known as the Tuckman’s Stages for a group:
* Forming (pretending to get on or get along with others);
* Storming (letting down the politeness barrier and trying to get down to the issues even if tempers flare up );
* Norming (getting used to each other and developing trust and productivity);
* Performing (working in a group to a common goal on a highly efficient and cooperative basis).
The stages may not come in the above sequence; but I would like to believe that Team Equity stormed it out in Episode 1. Watching how Team Asset go through the different stages of group dynamics on TV made me think: ‘is that how the nation’s top executives behaves?’.
* Dian’s potted plants and bird chirping background sound effects to create the natural garden ambience to tie in with the theme “Nothing is as green as Spritzer”.
* Masami’s quiz – to add interactivity for the factory visitors; answers can be obtained from the boards that were put up in the factory.
* Masami’s idea for a sketch – as an ice breaker and to elicit smiles from the visitors.
* Jennifer’s bean sprouts analogy – instead of deciding for the visitors, Jennifer left the decision, whether Spritzer natural mineral water is more beneficial compared to RO water, to the visitors as “seeing is believing”. Jennifer was the team’s liaison person with Spritzer.
* C.A.’s coloured stones analogy – explaining the benefits of the minerals contained in Spritzer natural mineral water. Coloured stones belongs to Dian.
* Boon Yew’s idea to arrange the tree trunks in the water bar for the visitors to sit (lots of moving to be done and those tree trunks were not light) to tie in with the theme.
* Ridzuan volunteered to be the tour guide.
I am happy to share that Team Equity had very positive energy as soon as we finished our tasks and were confident of winning this task. However, a couple of hours prior to results announcement, your truly and Ridzuan was shown a video clip of the infomercial done by Team Asset. They were very proud of it and were gloating that they will be winning. In fact, Ridzuan was very concerned because he thought that the infomercial was very presentable. I disagreed with him because in my opinion, the informercial neglected to focus on the winning criteria that is to highlight the benefits of Spritzer’s natural mineral water over RO water.
During the results announcement, the outcome was no surprise to me. I have a confession to make: in line with keeping a positive attitude, I was the team member who kept on saying “safety shot”, episode 2 onwards, to the rest of Team Equity. In ALL of my interviews for all of the episodes that I was in, which was never shown on TV, I mentioned that I was the member who contributed the least because I thought by doing so I would have higher chances to be booted off the show. Sounds crazy eh? Yes, I confess that I am a nut.
Bruce Tuckman proposed the four-stage model known as the Tuckman’s Stages for a group:
* Forming (pretending to get on or get along with others);
* Storming (letting down the politeness barrier and trying to get down to the issues even if tempers flare up );
* Norming (getting used to each other and developing trust and productivity);
* Performing (working in a group to a common goal on a highly efficient and cooperative basis).
The stages may not come in the above sequence; but I would like to believe that Team Equity stormed it out in Episode 1. Watching how Team Asset go through the different stages of group dynamics on TV made me think: ‘is that how the nation’s top executives behaves?’.
The Firm: Season 2 - Episode 3
Client: Spritzer
The task: To create an informative and effective corporate tour of the Spritzer plant in Taiping, Perak, which clearly highlights the benefits of Spritzer's natural mineral water over RO water.
Team Asset
Team leader: Ain
With Chan Boon Yong away on business, a new corporate leader in the form of Emily Kok, director of Rentwise Sdn Bhd, comes on board temporarily to lead Team Asset. Ain is burdened with the task of leading the team to victory while at the same time trying to prove that she can be a likeable leader. Two people are not happy with the new Ain - Chris and Ain herself, as both feel that she is compromising too much to satisfy the rest of the team mates.
The team come up with a brilliant idea to execute a TV commercial which will highlight the benefits of Spritzer's natural mineral water over RO water but on shooting day, chaos ensues when it is apparent that everybody wants to play director! Chris is very against the whole going-on, due to a lack of storyboard or even a physical script, which Joo Lee says it's not necessary as it is all in her head! Despite his complaints, Chris doesn't seem to be too helpful either as he is clearly just voicing out his concerns without giving any solutions.
Team Equity
Team leader: Dian
First it was gout, next it is arthritis - and our good man Anoop makes his debut at the Spritzer plant in Taiping, Perak in a wheelchair! Things instantly become heated on preparation day when Anoop approaches the team with a proposal to go on 'sick leave'. Team Equity is clearly not happy with this as it spells unfairness for the team in the case if they lost and Anoop escapes the guillotine because he has an excuse.
Ridzuan, who still harbours much grudges against his team members for not letting him shine under the limelight in the previous task brings forth his diva attitude once again to demand that he lead the corporate tour. This time, he gets his wish.
Going forth with the theme 'Nothing is as Green as Spritzer', the team incorporates a nature 'feel' in their presentation with props such as a mini fountain and log-shaped seats. They also conducted several experiments and a humorous sketch to highlight the benefits of Spritzer's natural mineral water over RO water.
Verdict: While the video hit a nerve with the clients, unfortunately it wasn't strong enough in conveying the message and Team Asset makes a return to the boardroom.
Two names come up: Ain and Yuen Wai. Yuen Wai has been pinpointed as being the member with the least experience, a fact disputed by Yuen Wai himself as Joo Lee is also a student and Kian You is merely a recently graduated person. However, when it came to who had to be kicked out, Emily decides that Ain should leave as she had sacrificed too much of her original personality in leading the team, thus resulting in the team's defeat.
Ain makes a teary exit, with a lesson that a good leader is not one who is able to please anyone but someone who holds her own ground.
Next episode spoiler hint: Sexy promoter girls! And... will Anoop still remain in The Firm?
The task: To create an informative and effective corporate tour of the Spritzer plant in Taiping, Perak, which clearly highlights the benefits of Spritzer's natural mineral water over RO water.
Team Asset
Team leader: Ain
With Chan Boon Yong away on business, a new corporate leader in the form of Emily Kok, director of Rentwise Sdn Bhd, comes on board temporarily to lead Team Asset. Ain is burdened with the task of leading the team to victory while at the same time trying to prove that she can be a likeable leader. Two people are not happy with the new Ain - Chris and Ain herself, as both feel that she is compromising too much to satisfy the rest of the team mates.
The team come up with a brilliant idea to execute a TV commercial which will highlight the benefits of Spritzer's natural mineral water over RO water but on shooting day, chaos ensues when it is apparent that everybody wants to play director! Chris is very against the whole going-on, due to a lack of storyboard or even a physical script, which Joo Lee says it's not necessary as it is all in her head! Despite his complaints, Chris doesn't seem to be too helpful either as he is clearly just voicing out his concerns without giving any solutions.
Team Equity
Team leader: Dian
First it was gout, next it is arthritis - and our good man Anoop makes his debut at the Spritzer plant in Taiping, Perak in a wheelchair! Things instantly become heated on preparation day when Anoop approaches the team with a proposal to go on 'sick leave'. Team Equity is clearly not happy with this as it spells unfairness for the team in the case if they lost and Anoop escapes the guillotine because he has an excuse.
Ridzuan, who still harbours much grudges against his team members for not letting him shine under the limelight in the previous task brings forth his diva attitude once again to demand that he lead the corporate tour. This time, he gets his wish.
Going forth with the theme 'Nothing is as Green as Spritzer', the team incorporates a nature 'feel' in their presentation with props such as a mini fountain and log-shaped seats. They also conducted several experiments and a humorous sketch to highlight the benefits of Spritzer's natural mineral water over RO water.
Verdict: While the video hit a nerve with the clients, unfortunately it wasn't strong enough in conveying the message and Team Asset makes a return to the boardroom.
Two names come up: Ain and Yuen Wai. Yuen Wai has been pinpointed as being the member with the least experience, a fact disputed by Yuen Wai himself as Joo Lee is also a student and Kian You is merely a recently graduated person. However, when it came to who had to be kicked out, Emily decides that Ain should leave as she had sacrificed too much of her original personality in leading the team, thus resulting in the team's defeat.
Ain makes a teary exit, with a lesson that a good leader is not one who is able to please anyone but someone who holds her own ground.
Next episode spoiler hint: Sexy promoter girls! And... will Anoop still remain in The Firm?
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