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BIODATA - NIK ZAFRI


 



NIK ZAFRI BIN ABDUL MAJID,
CONSULTANT/TRAINER
Email: nikzafri@yahoo.com, nikzafri@gmail.com
https://nikzafri.wixsite.com/nikzafri

Kelantanese, Alumni of Sultan Ismail College Kelantan (SICA), IT Competency Cert, Certified Written English Professional US. Has participated in many seminars/conferences (local/ international) in the capacity of trainer/lecturer and participant.

Affiliations :- Network Member of Gerson Lehrman Group, Institute of Quality Malaysia, Auditor ISO 9000 IRCAUK, Auditor OHSMS (SIRIM and STS) /EMS ISO 14000 and Construction Quality Assessment System CONQUAS, CIDB (Now BCA) Singapore),

* Possesses almost 30 years of experience/hands-on in the multi-modern management & technical disciplines (systems & methodologies) such as Knowledge Management (Hi-Impact Management/ICT Solutions), Quality (TQM/ISO), Safety Health Environment, Civil & Building (Construction), Manufacturing, Motivation & Team Building, HR, Marketing/Branding, Business Process Reengineering, Economy/Stock Market, Contracts/Project Management, Finance & Banking, etc. He was employed to international bluechips involving in national/international megaprojects such as Balfour Beatty Construction/Knight Piesold & Partners UK, MMI Insurance Group Australia, Hazama Corporation (Hazamagumi) Japan (with Mitsubishi Corporation, JA Jones US, MMCE and Ho-Hup) and Sunway Construction Berhad (The Sunway Group of Companies). Among major projects undertaken : Pergau Hydro Electric Project, KLCC Petronas Twin Towers, LRT Tunnelling, KLIA, Petronas Refineries Melaka, Putrajaya Government Complex, Sistem Lingkaran Lebuhraya Kajang (SILK), Mex Highway, KLIA1, KLIA2 etc. Once serviced SMPD Management Consultants as Associate Consultant cum Lecturer for Diploma in Management, Institute of Supervisory Management UK/SMPD JV. Currently – Associate/Visiting Consultants/Facilitators, Advisors for leading consulting firms (local and international) including project management. To name a few – Noma SWO Consult, Amiosh Resources, Timur West Consultant Sdn. Bhd., TIJ Consultants Group (Malaysia and Singapore) and many others.

* Ex-Resident Weekly Columnist of Utusan Malaysia (1995-1998) and have produced more than 100 articles related to ISO-9000– Management System and Documentation Models, TQM Strategic Management, Occupational Safety and Health (now OHSAS 18000) and Environmental Management Systems ISO 14000. His write-ups/experience has assisted many students/researchers alike in module developments based on competency or academics and completion of many theses. Once commended by the then Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia for his diligence in promoting and training the civil services (government sector) based on “Total Quality Management and Quality Management System ISO-9000 in Malaysian Civil Service – Paradigm Shift Scalar for Assessment System”

Among Nik Zafri’s clients : Adabi Consumer Industries Sdn. Bhd, (MRP II, Accounts/Credit Control) The HQ of Royal Customs and Excise Malaysia (ISO 9000), Veterinary Services Dept. Negeri Sembilan (ISO 9000), The Institution of Engineers Malaysia (Aspects of Project Management – KLCC construction), Corporate HQ of RHB (Peter Drucker's MBO/KRA), NEC Semiconductor - Klang Selangor (Productivity Management), Prime Minister’s Department Malaysia (ISO 9000), State Secretarial Office Negeri Sembilan (ISO 9000), Hidrological Department KL (ISO 9000), Asahi Kluang Johor(System Audit, Management/Supervisory Development), Tunku Mahmood (2) Primary School Kluang Johor (ISO 9000), Consortium PANZANA (HSSE 3rd Party Audit), Lecturer for Information Technology Training Centre (ITTC) – Authorised Training Center (ATC) – University of Technology Malaysia (UTM) Kluang Branch Johor, Kluang General Hospital Johor (Management/Supervision Development, Office Technology/Administration, ISO 9000 & Construction Management), Kahang Timur Secondary School Johor (ISO 9000), Sultan Abdul Jalil Secondary School Kluang Johor (Islamic Motivation and Team Building), Guocera Tiles Industries Kluang Johor (EMS ISO 14000), MNE Construction (M) Sdn. Bhd. Kota Tinggi Johor (ISO 9000 – Construction), UITM Shah Alam Selangor (Knowledge Management/Knowledge Based Economy /TQM), Telesystem Electronics/Digico Cable(ODM/OEM for Astro – ISO 9000), Sungai Long Industries Sdn. Bhd. (Bina Puri Group) - ISO 9000 Construction), Secura Security Printing Sdn. Bhd,(ISO 9000 – Security Printing) ROTOL AMS Bumi Sdn. Bhd & ROTOL Architectural Services Sdn. Bhd. (ROTOL Group) – ISO 9000 –Architecture, Bond M & E (KL) Sdn. Bhd. (ISO 9000 – Construction/M & E), Skyline Telco (M) Sdn. Bhd. (Knowledge Management),Technochase Sdn. Bhd JB (ISO 9000 – Construction), Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (IKIM – ISO 9000 & Internal Audit Refresher), Shinryo/Steamline Consortium (Petronas/OGP Power Co-Generation Plant Melaka – Construction Management and Safety, Health, Environment), Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Negotiation Skills), Association for Retired Intelligence Operatives of Malaysia (Cyber Security – Arpa/NSFUsenet, Cobit, Till, ISO/IEC ISMS 27000 for Law/Enforcement/Military), T.Yamaichi Corp. (M) Sdn. Bhd. (EMS ISO 14000) LSB Manufacturing Solutions Sdn. Bhd., (Lean Scoreboard (including a full development of System-Software-Application - MSC Malaysia & Six Sigma) PJZ Marine Services Sdn. Bhd., (Safety Management Systems and Internal Audit based on International Marine Organization Standards) UNITAR/UNTEC (Degree in Accountacy – Career Path/Roadmap) Cobrain Holdings Sdn. Bhd.(Managing Construction Safety & Health), Speaker for International Finance & Management Strategy (Closed Conference), Pembinaan Jaya Zira Sdn. Bhd. (ISO 9001:2008-Internal Audit for Construction Industry & Overview of version 2015), Straits Consulting Engineers Sdn. Bhd. (Full Integrated Management System – ISO 9000, OHSAS 18000 (ISO 45000) and EMS ISO 14000 for Civil/Structural/Geotechnical Consulting), Malaysia Management & Science University (MSU – (Managing Business in an Organization), Innoseven Sdn. Bhd. (KVMRT Line 1 MSPR8 – Awareness and Internal Audit (Construction), ISO 9001:2008 and 2015 overview for the Construction Industry), Kemakmuran Sdn. Bhd. (KVMRT Line 1 - Signages/Wayfinding - Project Quality Plan and Construction Method Statement ), Lembaga Tabung Haji - Flood ERP, WNA Consultants - DID/JPS -Flood Risk Assessment and Management Plan - Prelim, Conceptual Design, Interim and Final Report etc., Tunnel Fire Safety - Fire Risk Assessment Report - Design Fire Scenario), Safety, Health and Environmental Management Plans leading construction/property companies/corporations in Malaysia, Timur West Consultant : Business Methodology and System, Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) ISO/IEC 27001:2013 for Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya ISMS/Audit/Risk/ITP Technical Team, MPDT Capital Berhad - ISO 9001: 2015 - Consultancy, Construction, Project Rehabilitation, Desalination (first one in Malaysia to receive certification on trades such as Reverse Osmosis Seawater Desalination and Project Recovery/Rehabilitation)

* Has appeared for 10 consecutive series in “Good Morning Malaysia RTM TV1’ Corporate Talk Segment discussing on ISO 9000/14000 in various industries. For ICT, his inputs garnered from his expertise have successfully led to development of work-process e-enabling systems in the environments of intranet, portal and interactive web design especially for the construction and manufacturing. Some of the end products have won various competitions of innovativeness, quality, continual-improvements and construction industry award at national level. He has also in advisory capacity – involved in development and moderation of websites, portals and e-profiles for mainly corporate and private sectors, public figures etc. He is also one of the recipients for MOSTE Innovation for RFID use in Electronic Toll Collection in Malaysia.

Note :


TO SEE ALL ARTICLES

ON THE"LABEL" SECTION BELOW (RIGHT SIDE COLUMN), YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY TAG - TO READ ALL ARTICLES ACCORDING TO ITS CATEGORY (E.G. LABEL : CONSTRUCTION) OR GO TO THE VERY END OF THIS BLOG AND CLICK "Older Posts"


 

Showing posts with label CUSTOMER. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CUSTOMER. Show all posts

Saturday, February 18, 2023

MENGENALI PSIKOLOGI PEMBELI - Nik Zafri

 (Artikel Asal ditulis pada hari Rabu, 28 Disember, 2016)

Dalam usaha untuk menjayakan pemasaran atau jualan produk/perkhidmatan kita, suka saya ingatkan agar kita perlu tahu sedikit sebanyak mengenai siapa prospek kita. Walaupun demikian, kita hanya dapat mengetahui 70% dari keperluan pembeli yang berpotensi - itupun pada saya, telah mencukupi. 30% lagi tu, kita kena pelajari dan alami sendiri semasa kita memasar mahupun menjual produk/perkhidmatan kita. Izinkan saya berkongsi beberapa perkara utama mengenai psikologi pembeli :

#1 - Manusia suka berbeli-belah

Ini tabiat utama manusia yang perlu dikenali. Siapapun mereka, apapun latarbelakang mereka, dari mana asal mereka, tidak kira jantina mereka mahupun usia mereka, mereka akan pasti membeli-belah.

Kali pertama kita berhadapan dengan prospek, kita hendaklah mengadakan suasana urusan jual beli yang selesa dan berilah layanan bertaraf VIP pada mereka walaupun mereka tidak membeli produk kita. Yang penting, mereka akan mengingati budi-bahasa kita dan dari 10 orang prospek, 5 prospek akan kembali.

Tetapi awas, prospek kita tidak suka dipaksa membeli malah ada yang tidak suka penerangan terlalu panjang.

Senario ini sama dengan perniagaan MLM yang bersikap terlalu memaksa menyebabkan ahli merasa tidak selesa akhirnya beralih kepada syarikat yang lain. Ada caranya untuk memikat hati ahli atau pembeli. Di negara barat, mereka menyimpan data-data prospek mereka untuk dihubungi jika ada promosi dan produk/perkhidmatan baru untuk dipasarkan.

#2 – Prospek Mempunyai Ego Mereka Sendiri

Sebagai pemasar atau penjual yang bijak, anda perlu membuat ramalan mengenai apakah perkara yang selalunya bermain-main di fikiran pembeli yang berpotensi. Izinkan saya berkongsi 3 daripada persoalan yang selalunya ada di fikiran mereka.

1) “Apakah yang mereka dapat jika membeli dengan kita?”

2) “Bagaimana pula dengan jaminan dan penyengaraan? atau servis selepas jualan”

3) “Terdapat tawaran hebat, hadiah atau diskaun?”

Kejayaan menerangkan ketiga perkara utama di atas boleh dianggap produk/perkhidmatan anda AKAN dibeli...

Elakkan sekali-kali bercerita tentang diri kita kepada prospek kerana ingin memujuk mereka untuk membeli kecuali jika ditanya. Ringkaskan kisah peribadi, senyum dan fokus kepada produk/perkhidmatan yang ingin dipasarkan/dijual.

Tetapi tidak salah jika kita cenderung ke arah mementingkan prospek - contohnya, “Tuan/Puan (akak/abang) ni dari mana?” Perbualan seperti ini kadangkala akan menarik hati prospek, jika mereka menjawabnya, bermakna mereka suka akan produk/perkhidmatan kita.

Selalu lazimkan ucapan “Selamat datang”, “Selamat Pagi/Petang”, “Boleh saya bantu?”

Saya pernah melihat peniaga-peniaga berbangsa Cina menyiapkan gula-gula untuk diberikan pada anak-anak pelanggan. Dengan hanya berbelanja RM5.00 sehari untuk gula-gula, mereka berjaya menawan hati pelanggan

Seperkara lagi, saya sering melihat kesalahan yang selalu dianggap kecil - dilakukan oleh kakitangan jurujual umpamanya :

a) Suka “mengekori” pelanggan - ini pasti akan menimbulkan rasa ketidakselesaan pelanggan. Adakan jarak yang selamat jika mengikuti pelanggan dan sentiasa tersenyum dan bersedia untuk membantu pelanggan.

atau Pasangkan cermin pada sudut yang sesuai atau terbaiknya pasangkan CCTV.

b) Suka memulakan perbualan seperti “Nak beli apa?”

#3 – Pembeli selalunya membeli mengikut emosi

Pada zahirnya, kita nampak seperti prospek kita membuat keputusan yang munasabah dalam membuat pembelian. Sebenarnya, kebanyakan yang selalu saya jumpa membeli mengikut emosi mereka. Anda jangan membiarkan perkara ini berlaku kerana prospek anda mungkin akan terbeli produk yang terlalu mahal dan tidak sesuai untuk mereka.

Jangan mengambil sikap mendiamkan diri, anda perlu “berkorban” sedikit memaklumkan kepada mereka, terdapat produk/perkhidmatan atau pakej yang lebih ekonomik. Ini antara cara yang paling efektif untuk menawan hati pelanggan kerana pelanggan hari ini sangat mementingkan kejujuran penjual/pemasar - dan mereka akan pasti datang kembali menjadi pelanggan tetap. Malah pelanggan seperti ini akan membantu kita memasarkan perniagaan kita.

Tetapi awas, jika pelanggan terasa tertipu, perniagaan anda juga akan berada dalam RISIKO yang besar.

#4 - Pembeli juga membeli berdasarkan fakta

Ini adalah pembeli yang bijak dan mempunyai pengetahuan kadang-kadang melebihi kita sebagai penjual/pemasar. Berhati-hatilah dengan pembeli seperti ini. Selalunya kita akan dapat mengenali mereka apabila mereka bertanya soalan-soalan yang teknikal (malah memberikan jawapan-jawapan yang penuh meyakinkan semasa bertanya)

Elakkan sekali-kali “bertengkar” atau “berhujjah” dengan pelanggan kategori ini. Sebaiknya ucapkan “terima kasih” di atas pengetahuan baru yang diberikan oleh mereka. Bayangkan hanya dengan ucapan terima kasih, mereka akan merasa sangat dihargai dan bangga. Sudah pasti barangan/produk/perkhidmatan anda akan dibeli!

Kadang-kadang, ada pelanggan yang salah memberikan fakta. Sebaiknya anda boleh memilih untuk mendiamkan diri, senyum, mengangguk-angguk dan menampakkan wajah kagum. Kecuali fakta yang diberikan itu ada berbaur fitnah - contohnya “produk ini saya dengar khabar - tidak halal”, maka anda perlu bersedia untuk menerangkan secara ringkas dan menunjukkan bukti seperti sijil halal dan seumpamanya.

Jangan memberikan maklumbalas dengan emosi - “Mana ada?? Dah dapat persijilan halal berzaman-zaman dah” atau “Encik/Cik/Puan ni tidak baca suratkhabar ke? Tidak tengok TV ke?”

Walaupun kita bersifat defensif di atas dasar yang betul dan ingin mempertahankan diri, tetapi kita telah SALAH kaedah penyampaian maklumat berkenaan.

#5 - Pembeli membeli secara mengikut trend

Ini memerlukan kebijaksanaan kita dalam merancang bagaimana nak menjadikan barangan/perkhidmatan kita sebagai “trend” hari ini. Biasanya, kita perlukan foto-foto atau testimoni pelanggan lain atau foto-foto produk berkenaan (yang mungkin telah diiklankan dalam media masa) dsb.

Tidaklah keterlaluan jika kita menggunakan frasa yang “catchy” - contohnya “AS SHOWN ON TV atau YouTube atau “SEBAGAIMANA IKLAN DALAM MEDIA MASA”. Kita kena berani menggunakan frasa-frasa yang boleh menarik perhatian pembeli.

Jika kita berhasrat untuk menarik perhatian semua pelanggan (bergantung di atas jenis produk/perkhidmatan kita), suka saya ingatkan frasa “UNTUK MELAYU ISLAM SAHAJA” atau “UNTUK MUSLIM SAHAJA”, “UNTUK BUMIPUTERA SAHAJA” kadangkala boleh membawa salahfaham di kalangan prospek bukan Melayu atau non-Muslim.

Ini juga satu kesilapan dalam periklanan dan penjualan produk-produk tertentu yang tertera perkataan-perkataan seperti ini pada labelnya menyebabkan produk/perkhidmatan berkenaan tidak disukai oleh mereka yang bukan Melayu dan bukan Islam. Walhal produk/perkhidmatan kita adalah untuk SEMUA orang.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

DON FERTMAN - CDO - SUBWAY


#Subway #DonFertman #EpicBosses


Subway listens to the sandwich artists (staff) who are directly dealing with the customers on a daily basis. This is the best way of knowing what the customers really want.

Something that is lacking in most businesses today. They only listen to their customers and ironically blame their own staff.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

The Star Global Malaysians Forum - Posted: 01 August 2005 at 8:47pm

Q

Dear Nik, how do you define 'Customer Communication' in the Construction Industry'? (Civil and Building)

A

It is unfair for me to say that what I am about to say here suffice! I'll try to make it brief (as usual) Basically 'customer communication' is EVERYWHERE in the core processes of the construction industry be it civil and building or mechanical/electrical. Customer communication is not limited to how you contact your client but vice versa

During the Tendering Stage - initial site visit (Q & A), pre-q, review/request for justification of certain tender requirements or conceptual drawings/schematics, initial review/or rather dipute on contractual requirements prior to award or prior to acceptance, tender adjudication and negotiations, finalizing Bill of Quantities etc.

In the contract commencement stage, usually prior to site mobilization, there will be a need for you to prepare a Project Quality Plan together with the lists of Method Statements, ITP, master schedule, drawings/proposals etc. You will definitely need transmittal notes to send all these (or to communicate) to your client

Pre-Construction Stage - Immediately after site office setup/mobilization, you will be doing some sort of a 'kick-off meeting' - usually attended by the client where probably they tend to do some induction and briefing.

Construction Process

During ops, when the client started to get 'a lil bit more serious', they will start issuing 'non-conformances' (also known as customer complaint) followed by your ascertaining of root-causes and correction/corrective actions also constitute customer communication. Same goes to when the customer send in specifications, it is not only limited to 'customer property' that you have to look after but also generically related to customer communication.

When there are some 'deviation in construction works', 'architect/engineer instructions', 'variation orders', 'Project Progress Meeting' (with the client) etc.

Post Construction Stage

CPC and CMGD are at your Client's 'mercy'. For you, during this stage,usually you will start sending/conducting 'Customer Satisfaction Survey'. Thus, CPC, CMGD and your CSS form - constitute 'customer communication'. The complaints/comments issued by the client after CPC and during DLP (defects liability period) prior to CMGD also constitute the same thing - customer communication.

In General - 'Confirmation of Verbal/Telephone Instruction' by the Client, all types of correspondences including telephone/handphone calls, faxes, internet enquiry, e-mails, Intranet etc. are the general elements of customer communication.

so much for the 'brief explanation'.

Monday, June 09, 2008

The Star Global Malaysians Forum - Posted: 06 August 2006 at 7:37pm

I read a report by OECD/Economic Intelligence Unit/Cisco Systems sent to me by a friend. The paper themed 'Foresight 2020' - Economic, Industry & Corporate trends' The principal findings from the research are (among others):

Globalisation - Asia - There will be a redistribution of economic power esp. China & India. Non-OECD markets will account for a higher share of revenue growth between now and 2020 than OECD economies.

Demographics - Population shifts will have a significant impact on economies, companies and customers. The favourable demographic profile of the US will help to spur growth; ageing populations in Europe will inhibit it. Industries will target more products and services at ageing populations, from investment advice to low-cost, functional cars.

Atomisation - Network technologies and globalisation will enable firms to better use the world as their supply base for talent and materials. Processes, firms, customers and supply chains will fragment as companies expand overseas. As a result, effective collaboration will become more important. The boundaries between different functions, organisations and even industries will blur.

The BEST part of all is a survey (1650 participants - analysts, policy makers, senior executives) determine the areas of activity that will likely to offer the greatest potential for productivity gains in 2020.

In accordance to priority...

Priority No. 1 - KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
" " 2. Customer Service & Support
" " 3. Operation & Production Process
" " 4. Strategy & Business Development
" " 5. Marketing & Sales
" " 6. HRM & Training
" " 7. Corporate Performance Management
" " 8. Product Development
" " 9. Financial Management & Reporting
" "10. Supply Chain Management
" "11. Risk Management & Compliance
" "12. Procurement

So guys...study hard and please contribute to this topic...KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT is gonna be your future.
------------------------------
Response by Almerica - Posted: 06 August 2006 at 10:01pm

Great reference points my friend. Truly spot on. Allow me to add something extra based on my own analysis of the market changes around us. The key towards progress or growth today no longer depends on just knowledge management on a particular subject / trade or skill.

Specialization in a specific skill or area of expertise will only be applicable for those professionals like medical surgeons, etc... Today, I personally feel that should one be able to move forward, knowledge management in only one or two areas will not ensure that the person or the company will do well. Gone were the days where people used to mock the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none", today the more you know the more rounded you become, the wider your scope the higher your chances are of survival.

What I feel is going to be the decisive factor for success in the days ahead will be the ability of one to be a human sponge and absorb as much info as possible from all trades. The winners will be those that could tweak the age old phrase into a new one "Jack of all trades and master of all".

Robert Kiyosaki based his teachings on Paradigm Shifts but I believe that it is not completely correct. I have coined myself the tagline "Expanding Paradigms" (and also used it as my corporate tagline, hehe) because shifting means leaving something that you have been doing to do something else. I feel that we should expand our paradigm and not merely shift to another because from what we are currently doing or have done in the past, there will always be good things to learn from it and of course bad stuffs too for us to learn from and not to repeat them.

I feel that what we have to do is extend our reach for knowledge into many other areas and include them into our existing paradigm. Worried about mental overload? Well what we should do is to filter away whatever negatives we encountered from our current or old paradigm and maintain the good positive ones. Now imagine if we add on or fill the space of our mental capacity with more positive knowledge from other so called paradigms into our own existing one? What we have done is expanded our own paradigm by including positives from other paradigms to make us more formidable market players. Hmmm hope Koyasaki won't take offence of this but this is basically what I have been constantly instilling into our team.

Specialization into just one thing is very very risky today as a valuable know how may be reduced to shreads if it is suddenly easily replaced (technology does that with the blink of an eye sometimes). Knowledge Management in Multiple Areas actually does these :

- helps one to be quick to react to certain situations as many trades are interdependent with one another (even though on the surface it does not look so). Solid knowledge on another industry besides your own will act like the beacon or alarm button for you to decide on the direction that you would want to take if some indicators beep in that other industry. It will be a real pity if you know so much about your own thing only and then try to react when a "wave" hits your shores. Yes it would also be good to know something about the wind and not just the tides because they are interdependent
- helps you become flexible. With the market conditions being so violatile, ups and downs of a certain commodity or service are getting harder to predict. What may constitute to be a huge booming potential may just fade away with the market demands swaying its attention to other areas of focus. You need flexibility to survive in such scenarios and to be flexible you need to be well rounded. In short, a great swimmer needs to learn how to crawl, or fly pretty well too as you will never know when you need to do it. We just got to crawl when we are put in the desert, swim when placed in water and fly when dropped from the sky.
- allows you to adopt applications or solutions from other industries and apply them to yours. You'd be surprise how well that works sometimes because what is commonly carried out in one industry has frequently never been done in others before. Why reinvent the shape of the wheel when we can put it to good use in other aspects and yet be seen as a great idea that works in your own industry?
- gives you the competitive edge. You could also gain more as you are able to provide packaged services that covers various scopes of requirement from the client if you are a "Master of All". Clients prefer to deal with one who can solve or handle various scopes effectively for them as they would be able to have a better service support when needed. They need not have to encounter the hassle of having multiple vendor sources to track the root of any problems.
- opens your door to your future product / service lines. You could easily introduce new products or services to your existing client when you are ready as the barrier of having to undergo the "get to know" session no longer applies as you already have an existing business relationship with your client from a previous product or service that you have provided.

A closing phrase which I believe everyone would agree. Inspite of all efforts to gain knowledge and manage it well, knowledge only works best when it is applied.
--------------------------------
Nik Zafri's Response - Posted: 07 August 2006 at 1:38pm

Yes of course…exactly what we're doing now…’unleashing all the potentials’ in this forum – all the competencies – all the knowledge – all the experience – all the data and learn & learn & learn new things - networking. You see..I can’t be running around doing the usual things that I’m doing…I got to ‘diversify’ (my version of your expanding paradigms – by the way…Mr. Kiyosaki is a good author but he tends to make us ‘guessing’ what he means in every line of his book…thus, I read Kiyosaki for fun…)

Eric, you're right about not sticking to one thing only. When you close your mind to something new, it means you are heading for BIG pitfalls. I know that most of them wanna keep/maintain their ‘branding’ (perhaps influenced by some ‘success stories’ of some billionaires) but being a fanatic in the ‘branding’ won’t bring you anywhere. I am still sticking to my 'branding' but I still do other things. Those billionaires out there, they also adopted similar approaches…they really love what they are good at, but for the sake of sustainability, they will resort to other things first and having succeeded, they will make a comeback to the things that they really like. (look at Donald Trump - even Bill Gates)

Knowledge Application - Yeap, do what you say, say what you do
-------------------------------
Response from Almerica - Posted: 09 August 2006 at 1:07am

Yeah, my friend, in one of the episodes of The Apprentice, Trump hit the nail on the head. Quote "Most people have great ideas and knowledge which could make millions but if they fail to apply them or use them, they are still labelled as failures!" - how true.

Of course many people talk about needing huge capital to kick start something (not surprisingly I was one of them) but sometimes if we expand from our ideas and we are hungry enough, you'd be surprise how another idea may pop up to help you get what you need to start the engines running. So we just gotta crack our brains and make it work overtime to find the perfect solution rather than wallow in desperation reminiscing over how close we were with the brilliant idea that couldn't take off. Ah and the funny thing is that I am sure many of us shared the idea with others but since we couldnt take it off, others did with great results and impact. (Boy, did I have loads of those.)

Some of the "what could have been" stories of mine were ideas that were thought of with great self satisfaction and pride then, complimenting myself for coming up with such brilliant ideas (only to be brought down to earth when I didnt pursue it hard enough and let it just slowly slip away AND to find out that they have been thought out much later and carried out with extremely great successes by companies like Citibank, Std Chartered, and public listed development companies - mind you, they were 3 totally different ideas that were adopted by 3 giants!)hahaha but those were great lessons in life.

So for those with "know hows" and great ideas PUT IT TO GOOD USE! Find a way, there is always some funny "unthought of" solution hiding in the back of your mind.
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Nik Zafri's Response :Posted: 09 August 2006 at 3:49pm

Thanks Eric (that's why I like this guy - they didn't make him the CEO for nothing..heheheh)

Here's some related excerpts from my 'old' collection of comments here in GMN and elsewhere. You will notice my 'consistency' in encouraging people on how to run business by 'going back to basics', the 'branding', 'diversification' and 'networking'. My only hope that our readers here can benefit from our experience...

No. 1 - Robert T. Kiyosaki - Rich Dad Poor Dad

I can say a little bit on Robert T. Kiyosaki Rich Dad/Poor Dad Series. If you read carefully Robert's view on 'let the money work for you', you will discover that he is also talking about another phrase that goes something like 'a business is something that do not require my presence and if I have to work there, it's not a business anymore, it becomes my job'. Many have been said about these two popular phrases - some relate them to Multi-Level-Marketing, Insurance, Stock/Shares, Properties etc. Some even lead to the famous Donald Trump of Trump International.

While these assumptions maybe true, but I think Robert is also talking about how you can spend and budget your money effectively. (At least I felt this is how it applies to me but to others it may apply differently)

In the Malaysian environment point of view, I may have not reached 100% on 'a business that do not require my presence' but I think I have achieved 'let the money work for you' by both working hard and smart.

e.g. I have 3 consultancy assignments to complete in a manyear. I've 'sub-contracted' the first 2 jobs to another 2 guys as I am not a superman to take all 3. Although I will eventually be paid for all 3 jobs, I still have to 'sacrifice' one job payment to cover my overheads (house, car, others) which leaves me with another 2 jobs. The 2nd job, I have to again 'sacrifice' for my 'capital' to run future jobs including to cover my office overheads and perhaps for marketing/training etc. The last job is the one that solely belong to me after taxation. In a way, I do not have to worry about my overheads, it has been 'paid'. I have to assume my 3rd job is my take home pay (nett). If I found out that one of the jobs is coming towards an end (contract completion), a month ahead, I will either reconvince the same client for reorder or start to find new prospects.

The simple scenarios above are something quite common to most of us but require only one thing in mind - Discipline! In my case, I think Robert is talking about Discipline and Proper Planning.

I also welcome those who feels that R.T.Kiyosaki has a different effect on them cos' as I said earlier, it's the way you see it and how you apply/customize it according to your nature of competency or industry.
Q : Dear Nik, is there a possibility of integrating ISO 9000 and TQM

Thank your for such an interesting query. FYI, there have been endless debates by the 'so-called knowledgable people' but to tell the truth..I'm really BORED seeing the debates.


I can do a long dissertation on the answer but I won't be doing that as it will create further massive boredom among the readers.

I just go quickly by touching only on the 2 'typical' core principles of TQM (without touching too much on 6 Sigma or other quality-oriented programs) that matches the ISO 9000.

First of all, you must understand that the actual standard of ISO 9001:2000 (note the no. "1") touches too much on the compliance issues but never touched on HOW to comply according to YOUR company's requirements. (a customized and usable system)

Thus, it is an 'irony' that I have to adopt the good old TQM principles and approaches in order to make all my clients' ISO 9001:2000 system to work - otherwise I'll be lost. (Personally my tendency and support are towards TQM rather than the 'rigid' ISO 9001:2000 - which makes me 'personally' a TQM man rather than ISO man)

Principle 1 - Customer or Client or Interested Parties related to your organization (general public, end-user/consumer, shareholder, authorities etc) - This issue will be supported and communicated effectively by means of Contract/Tender (Client's requirements), Meetings with Clients, Customer Comments/Complaints Handling, Customer Satisfaction Survey, documentation/forms/checklists, data analysis so on and so forth.

Historically speaking, TQM has been focussing and talking about the significance of having a 'Customer' long before ISO 9000 was born. (Nowadays TQM has evolutionized in theory to Knowledge Management - see my other views in this thread KM - which goes deeper into business and marketing/branding)

The ISO 9001:2000 (again note the no. "1") also touched on this matter (Customer) as well but not much in terms of approach or how to do it - not only a matter of complying but also can be effectively implemented in your organization. Thus, without realizing that the companies already 'having' a system (which is based mostly on TQM before ISO came in) have 'recreated' or 'reinvented' the wheel just to comply to ISO 9001:2000 - it's such a waste!

I told many companies having TQM based system that; with proper application; they can use TQM as '2 steps ahead' to get ISO 9001:2000 but they must know how to interface or marry the 'two'.

Another core principle is Continuous Improvement - which simply means the journey must go on (this phrase is mentioned both ISO and TQM) - how? -Susceptible to the surroundings and where applicable - latest trends (the latter phrase is mentioned only and originally by TQM).

This 'Continuous' 'thing' or is again also part and parcel of TQM when "ISO 9000 was still in diapers". ISO 9001:2000 calls this phrase as Continual Improvement and very surprisingly, I was told that Continuous means in the context of quality (not English) e.g. - a series of process say..manufacturing, put to a halt and resume later while Continual is about the overall system need to be improved from time to time (what a joke!)

The irony about ISO 9001:2000 is that the mentioning of Continual Improvement is merely based on Client's Complaint on defects and poor/shoddy workmanship. It is NOT clear HOW an organization could improve internally (by its' own initiative) except when Customer started to complain.

Yes, you might say to me that "No! Nik I think you're wrong, cos I've seen companies with ISO 9000 improved their internal management or business strategy by having 'Branding'"

My answer to you is simple - "Does ISO 9001:2000 mention anything/anywhere in teh standard about 'Branding'...thus it is again related to TQM and NOT ISO - thus the approach of improving an organization is unconsciously related to TQM as TQM also touches on the significance of Advertising and Promotion. Even the interpretation of the whole elements and clauses of ISO 9001:2000 are derived from TQM without the 'interpreter' knowing that he/she is doing it!

There are more where this two 'elements' come from...suffice it to quote on 'Two' of them. You see, many have been so confused and in the end they have to make 'TWO separate quality systems'...

In Malaysia, although the TQM and ISO 9001:2000 have been given the possibility of merging, unfortunately the fact is 'it is easier said than done' - this is due to failure in the 'buzzwords' been coined a very looong time a go - "paradigm shift".

I hope that I've given you some enlightening on this matter. But this reply of mine is of personal nature...my answer is YES but the reality says NO (NO because ISO 9001:2000 is still considered 'independent' - look at the cert - thus, 'there is no rooms and allocation for TQM to be intergrated in ISO' which is not made by myself but by 'some parties' which I think is ridiculous!)