Aha! – Ellery's Essays

Scolding My Subordinate Was Wrong

I scolded my subordinate manager the other day. Yelled at him, in fact. It was wrong. I should not scold, much more yell, at a person whether he works for me or not. When I scolded my manager, I negated the value of pointing out his mistake. The manager ended up not realising his errorContinue reading “Scolding My Subordinate Was Wrong”

Goals Lead to Tangible Benefits

In one scene from the movie, Rocky, the title character played by Sylvester Stallone, is seen waking up at 4:00am, helping himself to a glassful of raw eggs, and then starting a jog. Rocky’s jog is the start of his preparation for his boxing fight with Apollo Creed, the current heavyweight champion in the movie. Continue reading “Goals Lead to Tangible Benefits”

A Toast to the Ordinary Day

An ordinary day starts with me waking up, feeding the pets, exercising, and having breakfast. I then go to work and come home by 6:30pm. It’s a routine I do daily, even on Sundays (except I’m home by 3pm). We take for granted ordinary days. Ordinary days lie in between the extraordinary ones, which areContinue reading “A Toast to the Ordinary Day”

Dedicate, Not Commit

Commitment is placing the highest priority to another. When people marry, they commit; they promise to put their partners above everything else. Enterprises try to enrol employees to do the same. Managers expect subordinates to place first-priority to their jobs. I don’t commit to employers; I dedicate. Dedication is compliance to mutually agreed contracts. FocusContinue reading “Dedicate, Not Commit”

There is No Such Thing as a Benevolent God

How long did the dinosaurs live on Earth? 165 to 180 million years, according to Britannica. That’s a really long time. Humans and ancestors have been on Earth for 6 million years. Homo sapiens, for about 300,000 years. Civilisation as we know it has existed for a mere 8,000 years. The universe began 13.8Continue reading “There is No Such Thing as a Benevolent God”

Ambitions & Fears Help Make Our Dreams Come True

Ambition drives us to work for our dreams. Fear makes us hesitate. Both are important in motivating us. Fear motivates? Yes. While ambition gives us impetus to wake up and work, fear moves us to sense risk and hesitate. We know the sayings and how they seem to contradict each other. “He who hesitates isContinue reading “Ambitions & Fears Help Make Our Dreams Come True”

Banks Have Supply Chains, Too

I went to the bank to cash a check. The teller said there was no cash available. She also said the automatic teller machine (ATM) also had no cash and was off-line. The teller, however, told me to wait. She then left the bank, went next door to a rival bank, and withdrew cash fromContinue reading “Banks Have Supply Chains, Too”

‘Who You Gonna Call?’

There is no such thing as ghosts. But there is such a thing as unexpected problems. And when unexpected problems do arise, whom do you call to solve them? The 1984 hit film, Ghostbusters had the hilarious premise of ghosts haunting New York City. But it also was about wacky scientists inventing devices to captureContinue reading “‘Who You Gonna Call?’”

All in the Mind

My dad would tell us that any difficulty was “all in the mind.” When I and my siblings were kids and we found anything hard, he’d tell us it was “all in the mind.” It could be whenever we’re sick, we’re stuck in homework, or we’re just not feeling like eating or drinking. He’d justContinue reading “All in the Mind”