Community

LEAVING SOMETHING ON THE TABLE

By Paul Yung

Heng Ah! Ong Ah! Huat Ah!

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone who’s part of the SJ Echo community who celebrate this auspicious festival!

In this season of good food and great celebration with friends and family, have you noticed a funny Asian food culture, how there is one “paiseh” piece of food left on a dish? And everyone pretends not to want it, and instead we offer the piece around the table in awkward courtesy? I’ve found myself in these situations before.

This got me thinking about partnerships. I have learnt that the key to establishing a successful partnership is to always leave something on the table. This means that we refrain from taking full advantage of the relationship. After all, how will a partnership be successful if both parties are not properly incentivised to make the partnership a success.

To me, a partnership is a symbiotic relationship between two parties that have something unique to bring to the table. This is true for all types of relationships between business partners, husband and wife or any other partnership really. In a business context, we should always start the partnership with proper terms of engagement. This process would typically have both sides annexing their territory, trying to “land grab” as much as possible.

Of course, it’s important to make sure what we do is worth our while, however, in the true spirit of partnering to building long term success, remember to leave enough on the table to incentivise the other party or leave it as neutral ground for future endeavors such as additional partners, staff share pools, growth budgets, etc.

When I know that my partner is being fair and flexible, I would be the same, and these are the buds for a long-term partnership.

I invite you to think about this the next time we engage with someone for any form of partnership. But in a food context, enjoy the last piece of makan and don’t waste any food-lah bro!

Here’s wishing every one of you an auspicious, healthy, and prosperous Chinese New Year!

Teoh

Recent Posts

USJ Neighbour Dispute Takes a Wild Turn: Elderly Man Allegedly Left Unconscious and Trousers Pulled Down

A senior citizen in USJ 3, Subang Jaya, has lodged a police report alleging that a dispute with a female… Read More

1 week ago

SUBANG JAYA: PUTTING PEOPLE BEFORE SELF-INTEREST

By Sarawakian In 2008, Subang Jaya discovered the power of the ballot box. For decades, residents had complained about traffic,… Read More

2 weeks ago

Getting Out of Our Own Way

By Paul Yung I have been playing quite a bit of pickleball recently, and I discovered something rather strange. The… Read More

2 weeks ago

Subang Jaya at 50: Rats, Rubbish, and Responsibility

By Teh Eng Hock With its first home completed in 1976, Subang Jaya is half a century in age. Like… Read More

2 weeks ago

EDITORIAL: Beyond the Bright Lights of Subang Jaya

We cannot keep cleaning the drains while ignoring who keeps dirtying them. Subang Jaya has much to be proud of.… Read More

3 weeks ago