Author: Michael Yung

Once every year, people talk about the year’s top 10 news, top 10 songs, top 10 movies etc. etc. I read a few “Year in Review” articles and found the following one from CNET matches us pretty close:

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The opening lines of that CNET report are …

“If one word could serve as a prevailing theme for 2003, it would be survival. As the technology economy continued to suffer, companies searched for creative ways to cut costs and experiment in new areas without losing their competitive edge or abandoning their core businesses. The result was a partial roadmap that began to show what a recovery would look like in coming years….”

The bottom line – do a good job in your position, reach out and help the others.

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Trees are interesting, but every now and then we have to step back and see the forest, too, in all its glory.

In year 2003, many good and great HK people left us. So, no matter how busy you are, spend more time with your family and love ones … … and like my favorite Beatles’ song – In My Life … http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/beatles/14823.html

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I am sure you have a good time in the X’mas holiday. I did kill some of my time in building a few web pages for not-for-profit organizations as well as watching some movies in the holiday. Have you seen the movie “Love Actually…” ? May be many of you are too young for that kind of movie, but when the scene of Emma Thompson looked back to her bedroom and the song (Both sides now) of Joni Mitchell plays in the background, it’s soooooo touching – A life, and the experience of a lifetime, all poured into music, in one song. What an emotionally moving scene … gotta buy the original soundtrack.

And not sure whether you have watched the movie “Space Jam” (a movie by Michael Jordan …. back in 1996) before or not – I did not. But you likely heard one of the songs in the original soundtrack as this song was broadcasted heavily on TV this year in Hong Kong to promote a bank’s service. The song is called “I believe I can fly”, sang by R. Kelly.

Would like to wrap up this boring newsletter with one of the lines in the song.

If I can see it, then I can do it

If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it

I believe I can fly

I believe I can touch the sky

I believe I can touch the sky one day, do you ? Never stop dreaming, for they will, one day come true.

Lastly, have a great New Year holiday and a rewarding 2004 !!

Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it. – Winston Churchill

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2003 is a very tough year, isn’t it ? But as the quote above, we can fly high only against the wind. We have encountered, resolved or lived with many difficulties this year but at the same time we have achieved many things as well.

As I mentioned one year ago … Every little thing you do today, actually can make a big difference tomorrow …

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Everyone of us will grow old, but not everyone of us want to grow up – Anonymous

Think about it, we are not young anymore, but are we acting like children in something what we are doing ? Can we be more mature in what we are doing and delivering. Yes, it’s no harm to be “young-at-heart” to dream wild, but in a business world, we really need to be more aggressive, competitive to survive.

We need your input, passion and hard work such that we can transform a “hot idea to a hot site” – http://www.webtechniques.com/archives/2001/05/hong/

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Have you ever wonder how to deliver the best customer services to our clients ? By delivering an exceptional good products, or provide an exceptional good services when the customer filed a complaint ? Or both ? In other words, can we convert an angry customer to a loyal customer ? What about learn it from a pro – how to provide “knock your socks off” services ?

http://global.yesasia.com/b5/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1002134273/section-books/code-w/version-all/

The other day I found this quote up in the blackboard of the coffee shop when I was sipping the tasty caramel latte –

The only way to discover the limits of possible is to go beyond them into impossible – Arthur C. Clarke

Indeed, there is no limit of possibility.

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Earlier this month, many of us were in a satelite city for a wedding banquet. With the invitation card (which had a map imprinted), I went to that small city and got lost in one hour later. I could apply the same lesson to a web site, you will easily get lost even your web site has a site map. What matters is how to make your web site with a sense of orientation, users know how to go back and forth with your navigation design, visual cues, content group etc.

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Same to launching a new product, have you ever wonder whether someone really understand the requirements, and also how to design, test and operate ? Check out the attached picture and you know what I mean. Don’t under-estimate the effort you need to understand what the customer needs, often times customers just tell you what they want, not what they need. But again, it is our responsibility to make things crystal clear, develop a good product, test it, maintain it, and support it.

Someone’s Going To Do It, Why Not You ?

I saw that Guinness TV advertisement the other night and thought, “yes, why not you ?”. Of course, some one will run a successful online business / web-site / operations, but I know that we all can be part of it. Why not you ?

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Reading a couple of books concurrently, but all of them are very dry. However, looking forward to a book just ordered – “Mysterious Stranger” by David Blaine. I bought (on-line) his DVD as well. If you have ever seen his “Street Magic” on TV, you simply wouldn’t believe your eyes. He is simply the most talented magician right now.

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My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose — somehow we win out. ~ Ronald Reagan ~