A Roman Catholic church at San Mateo, California had one parish priest who not only said the Masses but also cleaned the premises, drove the car to buy groceries & supplies, and pay the bills. Volunteers would come to help on Sundays but the parish priest was practically on his own on weekdays. Contrast thisContinue reading “Do-It-Yourself Hands-On Experience versus Delegating”
Category Archives: Aha!
What to Keep in Mind When We’d Rather Be Somewhere Else Doing Something Else
There are times when we wish we were somewhere else doing something else. We may think this while we are running around in the middle of a busy day doing so many tasks which we wonder if they’re worth doing in the first place. Many of us started out our careers aspiring to be artists,Continue reading “What to Keep in Mind When We’d Rather Be Somewhere Else Doing Something Else”
‘Who Cares’ Were the Best Words I Ever Used
Those two words, ‘Who Cares?’, ended my mid-life crisis and I never looked back. But wait, is there such thing as a mid-life crisis? Some experts say it’s not real: ‘Occurrence of the midlife crisis has turned out to be myth; research shows 10–20% of people actually experience it.’ ‘Research suggests the mid-life crisis isContinue reading “‘Who Cares’ Were the Best Words I Ever Used”
The Power of Building on Ideas
We get ideas all the time. Many we quickly forget or shelve and most don’t prosper beyond the fleeting thoughts they had been. Many ideas are originally not ours. Many ideas we notice while interacting with other people. We see some that seems worth the trouble to invest time and resources in such that weContinue reading “The Power of Building on Ideas”
One-Way Conversations Are Never Good
A salesman boasted that his meeting with customers went well. He did all the talking and pushed his customers to agree to whatever he suggested. “Dominating the meeting is important,” the salesman said, “it avoids the meeting turning into a gripe session and at the same time, focuses on getting what we want.” Many executivesContinue reading “One-Way Conversations Are Never Good”
Basic Needs Come First
A parish church conducted a field census of an impoverished neighbourhood. The purpose of the census was to gather demographics, that is, how much households were earning, how many family members, if parents were married in a church, etc. When the census takers asked about what were their most important priorities, every household replied: money. Continue reading “Basic Needs Come First”
We Get More Via Mutually Beneficial Relationships
The parish priest wanted to construct a building beside the church. The new building would be a venue to host church gatherings and organisational meetings. He asked his parishioners for help. A construction contractor approached the priest and offered to build the church at what he said would be half his standard price. The 50%Continue reading “We Get More Via Mutually Beneficial Relationships”
Find Ellery
Hi, I’m Ellery Lim. I like to work with people to make their operations, particularly supply chains, more productive. I’ve been immersed in supply chains since 1984. I did industrial engineering at a West Virginia flat glass facility, managed production & logistics for P&G, and ran a trucking business. Presently, I’m an administrator forContinue reading “Find Ellery”
A Reminder to Walk Around
I finalised a contract to lease an office unit to a new tenant in February 2022. I obliged to give the tenant two (2) free months of rent or up to the end of March 2022 to allow him to make improvements and buy & move in his furniture & equipment. I didn’t see theContinue reading “A Reminder to Walk Around”
Our Waiting Nation
This blog was written on May 19, 2013 and was re-published a few weeks after the 2022 elections. -Editor 12 noon, Election Day, May 13, 2013. I’ve been in line for almost two (2) hours waiting with about 40 other people to vote at our election precinct at the elementary school at Mandaluyong City, Manila,Continue reading “Our Waiting Nation”
Ellery's Essays 