Sarawak Economic Development Corporation

KUCHING: Brain drain can be prevented if leaders make the effort to understand the expectations of the younger generation, said Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.

Taib warned that the state would lose young Sarawakians to other countries if their talents were not harnessed and put to economic use at home.

“We must work hard and work smart to counter the brain drain we are facing this very moment. We need to harness everyone to develop their ability with the net result of capacity building,” he said in his talking points delivered by Land Development Minister Dato Sri Dr James Masing at the opening of a management talk here yesterday.

According to Taib, the younger generations are generally more educated, well-equipped for work in the high-tech world, care little but for the bottom line, have little interest in their employers’ needs and they have the powerful urge to do things their own way.

Taib also talked of them as having a broader political interest and expecting greater accountability and transparency in business and government besides being less racially-biased.

“This aspect was reflected in the March 2008 general election. They reflect less loyalty to our nation and many have no hesitation to move to other countries,” he said.

As such, he said, the new generation of Malaysians would expect their leaders to have no less than versatile behaviour traits.

These traits, according to him, include the ability to communicate a global vision, being technologically savvy and open-minded. They champion diversity, are flexible and have respect for employees. They are also promoters of teamwork and leaders of ethic.

Earlier on, Taib said leaders should use ‘appreciative inquiry’ as a means of engaging people in beneficial involvement.

He said this would enhance a climate of acknowledgement of contributions and successes.

He reminded that transparency was not simply about being open but rather about communicating ideas and getting the trust of people.

He said leaders must never consider themselves to have already arrived but seek new perspective, find out what make people successful and use this as their guide.

Taib said the future promises to be increasingly less predictable despite the great progress made in almost every field of endeavour.

He said leaders needed to be bold, learn to expect the unexpected and be more ready to deal with the unexpected.

“In fact, future management should be everyone’s ‘second’ profession’. It is difficult to imagine anyone who would not benefit from learning or mastering the tools of future management.

“The basic question we have to ask ourselves is whether we are managing the future or is the future managing us,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) chairman Datuk Talib Zulpilip said that the talk was relevant to all.

“We have no crystal ball with us but we need to be proactive in recognising the trend, events and opportunities to make concrete strategies,” he said.

He said future managers were people who developed options and strategies and knew how to execute them.

The talk, entitled ‘Can We Really Manage The Future?’ was conducted by chairman of Future Management Group AG, Dr Pedro Micic. He is a consultant to management teams and an expert to many of the world’s leading companies. He helps to systematically elaborate and analyse future scenarios to perceive and seize future opportunities at a very early point and turn this knowledge into strategic and financial success.

In his talk, Micic introduced Future Management by looking at the Eltville model which involved looking at the five different views of the future.

These views are the blue future glasses (the probable future), green future glasses (the possible future), yellow future glasses (the desired future), red future glasses (the unexpected future) and violet future glasses (the planned future).

The half-day talk was jointly organised by SEDC and the state government.

Taken From:

The Borneo Post Online
29/08/2008