We are hiring: Driven 'automotive' marketing specialists.

It's going to be tough.  Automotive is a multi-billion industry in Malaysia.  Our GDP relies on this.  One screw up isn't one car sale down.  It sends a repercussion to hundreds or maybe even thousands of jobs being cut.  It's serious business because it involves 8.3 million lives (excluding motorcyclists and pedestrians).  So if you think we are anal about how this business is run and communicated, you are absolutely right. It only looks repetitive if you don't know how to hack it.  The game?  Is to keep repositioning your competitors with what you do.  One step if you're good.  Ten if you're great.

You'll be wanted for accountability - of everything that comes out from your kitchen.  Your pole position is meeting targets, the title on your card is secondary - let us make that clear.  You drive the brand and it drives you.  You are partners, like in any race - man and machine is one.  And let us repeat one more time, in case you missed the first line.  It's going to be tough.  On top of a challenging industry, is another.  We believe in innovating how brands are built by way of integration and collaboration.  We put scientific measures behind our intuitions and have extremely stringent expectations on our fellow brand builders whether from a creative, media or comms specialist aspect.  And most of all, we take pride in providing world-class service to our clients.  They win, we win.  If you can't agree to that equation, you may exit right now.

So if you have what it takes - the desire to not just race but win in the automotive business and you can demonstrate to us why you can do that, we want to meet you.  We're looking for automotive specialists, no longer an account management person or a strategic planning person or a whatever person who can do many things.  We don't care where you come from as long as you can deliver what's to come in the future.  You can be Jack of however many trades you like, there's only ONE thing that we care for you to master - the car business.

In terms of personality requirements, you will need resilience and energy to excel.  A strong character with an inclusive leadership to take the reign is not absolute but from our experience, is a trait will take you very far.

So if you know anything about races, you'd also know second place is the first loser.  Reach out to us now.

Milking the future.

My latest research expedition brought me to far flung, long forgotten places that are resting in the dusty recesses of the economy - dairy farming.

Nutshell, we are only 12% self-sufficient when it comes to milk production.  What does that mean?  It means, if we were 100% self-sufficient, milk prices will come down and more people can drink more milk because it's more affordable.

It's quite scary to know that Malaysia lacks a strategy when it comes to food security.  We are too reliant on food imports which is why we're all hurting over our grocery bills today when the Ringgit plummeted.  Sometimes I wonder.  I really really wonder.  I wonder what else can the ministry do.  This is not a bashing post, and I don't doubt some people are really good at what they do.  But the question is what's next?  What's our best game plan in feeding 30 million mouths and counting? While Najib has moved on to the 11th Malaysia Plan, a quick search on the internet seems to me that the Ministry of Agriculture and Department of Veterinary Services are still stuck in the 9th!

Looks like all the attention is focused on building a knowledge-based economy that we have left our fundamental needs behind.  Many are quick to jump into an obvious conclusion - use agriculture to lift up the bottom 40 economy.  This is where we make a grave mistake of assuming poor people are meant to be farmers and urban folks are not.  That's a very strong social prejudice in this day and age, mind you.  In my books, it's equivalent to asking women to stay home.  Agricultural and farming technologies have evolved past mere livelihood to increase efficiency for better yield for better revenues for bigger markets for new economies.  You need someone who is savvy and trained and to a very large extent, passionate about about the job.  And no young urbanite today, likes a dirty job.

So perhaps, it would be wise for the government to consider attracting knowledge-based young entrepreneurs back into the agriculture sector to catapult it to its much needed and deserved growth.  Instead of just flogging dead horses, shoving expired KPIs into the shed and trying to attract those who have no will power to succeed nor excel to be part of their program.  It will bode well when we start with education, to inspire young minds to find success in farming. That this field deserves as much pride as your Silicon Valley-ish start-ups.  We need to look and scrutinize short, mid and long-term plans instead and it seems that there're A LOT to catch up.  Such bright future for us, if only the people at high places are more accounted for.

Got a related project or an idea?  Call me and let's discuss over a mug of milk.

Nine gloomy nine.

Today is Nine Nine.  September Nine.  And boy so much things have happened since October 20th.  This was almost going to be an anniversary post of my last piece.

These days have been gloomy.  Not just physically because of the dark haze blanketing the entire nation region but also of the world and of our country.

My heart goes out to those who are running away from their beloved homes and pleading for help in neighbouring countries.  They didn't have to suffer because it was never their choice for such ill-fated situation in Syria.  Some European and South American countries opened their doors to welcome the worse migrant exodus since WWII really gave me some hope.  Whilst the hardening of hearts of Syria's rich neighbours say so much about their priority.  More and more I realised that civilization isn't about technology development nor economic wealth.  A civilized society is one that learns from its past and put steps into place to ensure it's civilians are and will be much better off than where they were yesterday.  Germany is probably the first nation that stood up and declared assistance and I can't think of a more apt country that one that has been ridden with a supremely bad past.  Nations are not deadwood, they're like brands and if they're like brands, they're like people.  They can have a soul and they can learn to respond to and with humanity.  That's civilization.

Coming back closer to home, whatever happened in Shah Alam stadium is a sports disaster that we wished had never happened.  Yes, what exactly happened?  Fans got unruly?  Fans couldn't contain their frustration?  Frustration to who?  Surely not to our Arab opponents for scoring?  Buried and building frustration towards the management of football in our country perhaps?  When will Malaysia learn the civilized way of showing displease?  Or care enough to stand up for the change or difference when the right time posed itself?  When?  Instead of internalizing everything and lashing it out on our sports friends.  Is education the root of this problem?  Is it work ethics?  Family values?  What is it?  I know what it isn't.  It isn't about football.  It's a hell lot of deeper underlying currents that have somehow weaved itself together and brought about such ill harvest.  So I tweeted to Khairy and asked that he does not give up.  I asked that he will continue to use sports to unite the nation.  And I would have loved to ask him to open his doors to people who are able, disregarding race, gender and religion.  Those who are objective and strategic.  Nation building, ministry building, company building, brand building - the fundamentals are the same.  Rubbish in, rubbish out.  Will he reply?  I don't know.  I guess it doesn't matter because frankly, who am I?  Am no Tan Sri nor Datuk.  Just a little spark.

So there you go.  Darkness looms as we desperately scramble for some hope.  I hope the clouds, haze and smog go away soon and return us some deep blue skies.  Sigh.