Hikmah

Diluar tulang belulang, daging & darah, individu manusia adalah sekumpulan hikmah yg terbentuk sejak kita dihidupkan sampai saat dimatikan.

Hikmah tersebut tersimpan di ingatan & dikonsumsi kalbu, mempengaruhi perilaku individu, dari pikiran, keyakinan, niat sampai amal perbuatan.

Hikmah memiliki korelasi dengan fakta & peristiwa, baik korelasi positif atau negatif. Korelasi positif adalah sebuah kejujuran & kesempurnaan, sebaliknya adalah sebuah kebohongan & kerusakan.

Korelasi hikmah dengan fakta melewati suatu proses yang saling terkait membentuk rantai. Fakta terbaca & terekam menjadi data. Data diformat & disajikan menjadi informasi. Informasi diserap & dipahami menjadi pengetahuan. Akhirnya pengetahuan yang terproyeksikan dalam niat & amal menjadi hikmah. Amalan kita kembali menjadi fakta tentang perilaku kita sebagai individu, baik fakta bagi diri kita sendiri maupun fakta bagi sosial lingkungan dan alam semesta. Demikian rantai ini berulang.

Namun, tidak semua fakta dapat menjadi hikmah. Karena jika fakta tidak terbaca & terekam, maka tidak ada data. Jika data tidak tersajikan, maka tidak ada informasi. Jika informasi tidak terserap & terpahami, maka tidak ada pengetahuan. Akhirnya jika pengetahuan tidak terproyeksikan dalam niat & amal, maka hikmah tidak akan pernah ada.

Kita tersusun dari kumpulan hikmah sejak lahir sampai liang lahat. Ketika rantai hikmah ini terputus, maka hikmah akan tersimpan di ingatan sebatas pengetahuan yang dapat saja terlupakan.

Kita hidup dengan kumpulan hikmah ini. Lingkungan seputar kita berkontribusi terhadap hikmah di ingatan kita masing-masing. Dari orang-tua, keluarga, anak-anak kita, sahabat & teman, sampai hewan peliharaan & kepemilikan kita. Semua memberikan hikmah di ingatan kita. Tatkala rantai hikmah tersebut putus, maka kita akan merasakan kehilangan, sesuai dengan derajat nilai penghargaan kita terhadap hikmah tersebut. Contoh adalah ketika kita kehilangan orang yang kita cintai, maka kalbu kita mendeteksi suatu rasa kehilangan akibat putusnya rantai hikmah. Atau sekedar pergi merantau ke negeri yang jauh, maka kalbu kita merasakan kerinduan disebabkan terpisahnya hikmah dengan fakta oleh jarak.

Demikianlah hikmah membentuk kita sebagai individu. Semoga kita memiliki hikmah yang positif untuk rantai yang positif.

Wallahu'alam bishowab.

Salam,

(a Lesson learned from the passed away story of Ibrahim, son of Rasulullah Muhammad SholallahuAlaihiWassalam from his mother Maria Al-Qibtiyya while still infant)

Strategic performance measurement

The performance is depended on the fundamental mission and the associated strategy. Different mission may reveal different strategy and different actions. Different action may dictate different critical factors and different indicators to monitor.

The mission statement should answer question: "What does entity want to accomplish?" or in simple words, mission is simply "Want to do" statements.

It is quite often that the strategy is expressed in abstract terms. Because of this, the strategic objectives need to be defined to make it clear and tangible. Once it is clear and tangible, the activities to implement the organization’s strategy can be defined. If the organization’s strategy is already expressed in specific, measurable terms, the strategy and the strategic objective will be virtually the same.

These objectives could be cascaded down further into more detailed variables that construct or form the variable in above level. These cascaded variables are usually process indicators that describe the mechanic of the organization operation in the unit or even more, individual level. The highest level would be the summary of these detail indicators which should be meeting the mission along with value for all of people at stake most.

./Salam,

Strategy

The word “strategy” derives from the Greek work stratogos; which is formed by two words:

• “stratos” – meaning army.
• “ago” – meaning leading/guiding/moving to
  

Strategy is then projected in tactic which is a conceptual action. A conceptual action should aim for one or more meaningful outcomes. A meaningful outcome should be meeting a set of objectives. At the end, the objective should have value to designated people at stake for the specified action.

In business, strategy relates to the competition, differentiation, positioning, sustainability and future orientation. In short, strategy is how to beat the battle.

./Salam,

Portfolio, Program & Project Management (P3M)

The individual terms above could have many contextual meanings. This exposition will limit the focus to the area of strategy and management.

Portfolio is a collection of whatever prioritized items that will turn into whatever designated objectives. Those item(s) may or may not be having interdependency.

Program is a collection of groups of interrelated activities which have special targeted outcomes. The outcome should be meeting a set of objectives which ultimately be dedicated to the people at stake.

Project by word derives from Latin word projectum, meaning “to throw something forwards”. In project management, project is defined as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.

The terms of portfolio, program and project have atmosphere of specific target. The target is coordinated in a structured arrangement. The arrangement of portfolio, program and project in a given structured layout above aims to align multiple activities, from project into program into portfolio then into ultimate set of objectives.

./Salam,

Strategic asset

The Strategic Assets is defined as the collection of valuable, rare, hard to imitate, hard to substitute resources and capabilities owned by an entity that are considered as the enabler factors in driving the successful path of that entity in the given constraints of competition realm.

The Strategic Asset explains the portfolio that the organization should have to gain the sustainable competitive advantage.

./Salam,

The Heart of Strategy Measurement

Strategy is the recipe to achieve the targeted outcome. The information that is critical to figure out the outcome along with the information that is also critical to track down the progress activity should correctly be defined. The difficulty is not a matter of knowing how to measure. The difficulty, rather, is knowing what requires attention and what does not (Meyer, 1999). The challenge is to make sure the critical information is properly captured; put correct priority on the abundant information and not to get buried with too much details.

./Salam,

Why I move ...

I still can't really answer the question easily and consistently to people even one month after. My answer to that same single question could be vary from one people to another and from one time to another.

Let's make it short: I move because ... I beat myself!

./Salam,

What do you work for?

Some people work for survival.

They can be a burglar in the street or can be an employee in the office.

Some people work for glory.

They can be an investor in the penthouse or can be a celebrity in the show.

Some people work for belief.

They can be a politician in the congress or can be a Greenpeace warrior in the arctic.

What do you work for? Or do you have some other else?

./Salam,

Off-the-box seputar pro-kontra emas sbg instrumen investasi

Banyak pro dan kontra seputar diskusi emas sebagai instrument investasi. Sempat dulu berpikir mengapa emas dikaitkan dgn investasi. Padahal emas adalah logam yg orang sebut logam mulia dan tidak memberikan manfaat apapun dalam sektor real. Baru abad2 akhir ini emas digunakan di industri mikroelektronika.

Namun ternyata banyak hal yg layak u/ dikupas dari fakta ttg emas sbg logam mulia yg memiliki daya tarik yang luar biasa ini. Pemikiran tsb adalah sbb:

1) Emas sebagai unsur di alam dgn symbol kimia “Au” (latin aurum) memiliki keistimewaan utama dgn tingkat ketahanannya thd oksidasi sehingga sukar u/ berkarat. Di alam, lebih sering ditemukan dlm bentuk native dan sedikit ditemukan bersenyawa dgn perak dan bbrp unsur lainnya. Oleh krn itu disebut logam mulia krn sifatnya yg sangat stabil dan sulit u/ bereaksi kimia dgn unsur lainnya.

2) Krn sifatnya yg stabil tsb, emas menjadi lambang suatu keabadian dan kepastian. Suka atau tidak suka, sifat absolute ternyata sangat dibutuhkan dalam peradaban manusia. Salah satunya adalah dalam aspek hubungan antar manusia. Contoh implementasi realnya adalah dlm transaksi ekonomi/dagang/barter memerlukan aspek kepastian yg jelas agar kesepakatan antar pihak dapat dicapai i.e. takaran vs harga. Transaksi yg tidak pasti, vague adalah bentuk transaksi yg beresiko dan lebih baik dihindari krn dapat menimbulkan sengketa dan perselisihan.

3) Emas seringkali dijadikan penengah transaksi dmana nilai suatu transaksi disandarkan kepadanya agar dicapai kesepakatan yg netral. Sebagai penengah/mediator, emas melambangkan peran dan fungsi penjamin yg terbukti sangat terpercaya dan handal dlm hal keabadian dan kepastian dalam waktu yg relative lama (krn sifat kimia di-atas red). Lebih lama dibanding umur hidup manusia sebagai pelaku transaksi itu sendiri. Oleh krn itu, transaksi dgn penjaminan emas, atau sekedar menakar dgn bersandarkan kepada emas akan lebih menjamin aspek kepastian secara intrinsic di dalam transaksi tsb.

Nah, dgn 3 pemikiran di-atas, mudah2an kita bisa lebih memahami fungsi dan peran emas dalam hubungan antar manusia, terutama dalam bidang ekonomi. Kita bisa lebih jernih dalam menilai misalnya apakah pokok2 pikiran agreement Bretton Woods tsb bijak atau tidak, apakah emas layak dijadikan sbg instrument investasi atau tidak, dsb.

./Salam,

Wisdom Road Map

It is started out by the fact. Fact is realm of reality, existence, truth, evidence and so on. The universe and all of its contents are the fact.

Fact has attributes, e.g. name of the fact, name of the event, location, timing, etc. When it is recorded or documented as it is at its given characteristics then it is called data.

Facts that are recorded and documented (hence called data) should be useful and giving benefit for human life. Useful data that are take place in the human processes are called information.

Information describes something; specific subject area or topic of interest. Understanding of that specific subject area or topic of interest is called knowledge. Knowledge is interpretative based on the available information and in most cases, experience as well. Objective knowledge is known as science, while people usually call subjective knowledge as perception. It is knowledge that drives and leads human into specific actions and decisions.

Accumulated knowledge in advance influence human behaviour and attitude which is called wisdom. Wisdom consist of ideals and principles that govern human personality and perspective.
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Salam,
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