Singaporean Tai-tais

Dear ladies… we all know, under that demur exterior in the standard issue black suit and editorial glasses exists a “Tai-Tai” who is just waiting to break out. Here are some tips for you to unleash that inner “tigress” who is expected to be treated like a “goddess” that she is, who won’t take no for an answer, and who will walk her pointy boots all over those “unfortunate souls who dare to oppose her will.”

5) Buy a designer bag for all your essentials and more. Bigger the better, because, girlfriends, size does matter.

4) Put on Chanel or Sisley makeup, because we all just feel better when we look better

3) Switch out the skirt for your little black suit with one with an above the knee funky cut because we know that we can be powerful and be sexy at the same time

2) 3 hour head to toe, massage therapy/spa treatment because there’s nothing more satisfying than telling someone to press “harder”

1) Buy an a pair of killer heels preferably 3 inches or higher and has a “Blahnik” or “Louboutin” inscribed in the inner soles. Because ladies, we speak with force when we can look them in the eye or, preferably, down on them.

Here are mine. So what are some of yours?

The portion in which the young student talks about Singapore Math books is very brief, but its good to know that its not just the adults, but the students themselves who find our textbooks helpful. The state of Math ability in the US is at a crisis- with an entire generation of youngsters fed on “fuzzy math”- aka TERC investigations, supposedly a new way of teaching math where the kids learn to discover principles on their own. I hope we never go down that road with newer teachers pushing for more “creative” classes.

Some things just need to be drilled and then later understood.

Last night I watched yet another episode of CSI: Miami and couldn’t believe I sat through it. Don’t get me wrong, I love CSI but I can’t stand one character, the language and pose challenged David Caruso. And yet, this post is not even about that type of CSI.

This is a gripe about the other CSI: Continual Service Improvement. Right now, our business is overrun with people who want anything and everything to be hooked up to an IT system of some sort. I love technology and am all for improving efficiency and lowering costs. But I also believe, at the heart of the business, training and appreciating people is far more important than automating and handling everything with strict processes.

At the end of the day, its the people who actually do the work so whatever CSI is implemented, the staff don’t only need to get certification and MCSE training , as in our case, but also actually believe that the system benefits everyone, internal and external. Without the “buy in”, the organization just runs into a lot of resistance both in training and actual implementation. The talk around the proverbial water cooler also becomes one filled with complaints and jaded comments and just brings everyone’s morale down.

People always resist change unless they can clearly see how it benefits them or others.