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🔍 This week’s edition:

• ✍️ From Timekeeper to 'Best Father Eva': An Apple Watch's Unexpected Parenting Lesson

• 🎧 Project Ironman: Saving 600 Jobs and Reshaping the Oil & Gas Industry

• 📲 Free alternative to Loom

✍️ From Timekeeper to 'Best Father Eva': An Apple Watch's Unexpected Parenting Lesson

In a recent podcast episode, I interviewed How Meng Hock, possibly the only real-life Management Buy-Out (MBO) professional I know.

While MBOs were briefly covered in university, the textbook content felt superficial due to a lack of case studies.

Towards the end of our conversation, I asked Meng Hock what advice he’d give his younger self. His response was poignant: focus more on family.

I sensed a tinge of regret in his tone, imagining how his laser focus on work might have affected his family time.

This story isn’t unique. I’ve encountered numerous professionals struggling to balance work and family life.

Two Korean colleagues once confided about their strained relationships with their children. I myself missed the birth of my third child due to a clash with a CNA interview recording.

Looking back, I keep asking myself: what’s the point? Why do so many professionals struggle to balance work and family?

It almost seems like having children (or a spouse) is incompatible with a high-powered career.

The root of this issue is understandable.

Work often feels more tangible, offering a greater sense of control. You manage your calendar, activities, and output.

Contrast this with family relationships, especially with children, where communication can be challenging and academic pressures often create tension.

It wasn’t always like this. In the 1980s, many families had one working parent while the other managed the household.

Children typically receive significant attention from at least one parent.

However, today’s cost of living often necessitates dual-income households and job insecurity pushes both parents to prioritize career stability.

Ironically, we work hard to provide a better life for our children, but this fulfils only one aspect of parenting.

Relationship-building isn’t purely monetary; otherwise, billionaires would have the closest family ties.

This realisation is a key reason why I’m pursuing self-employment.

Despite challenges like recent assignment cancellations affecting my income, I prefer controlling my calendar. This allows me to spend time with my kids every Friday after school.

However, self-employment isn’t for everyone, and it isn’t necessary to be a good parent. The key is dedicating quality time to your family, regardless of your work arrangement.

Eric Partaker’s book “3 Alarms” suggests setting daily reminders for important aspects of life, including parenting.

Inspired by this, I set a 7 PM alarm on my Apple Watch labelled “World’s Greatest Father.” It reminds me to shift focus to my role as a father, regardless of what I’m doing.

After this alarm, I check in with my kids, talk to them, or play with them. While I can’t always follow through due to other commitments, I strive to abide by this reminder most days.

Is it working? The true answer may only come at the end of my life.

However, I recently noticed that my youngest child saved my contact information on her phone as “Best father ever.” It nearly brought tears to my eyes.

I may not be perfect, but I’m doing something right.

And it all started with a simple alarm on my Apple Watch.

For all busy working professionals who also happen to be parents, all it needs might be a simple alarm to remind a shift in priority.

🎧 Project Ironman: Saving 600 Jobs and Reshaping the Oil & Gas Industry

In this episode, How Meng Hock from OMS shares insights into how Ironman inspired him during a crucial period when his organisation faced potential liquidation in 2019.

The discussion delves into his journey from initial exposure to Ironman through Marvel movies, leading to the initiation of 'Project Ironman'.

As the CEO of an upstream oil and gas company, he navigates the complexities of preserving jobs and steering the company through financial challenges and industry downturns.

He emphasises the balance between treating employees as social units rather than economic ones.

The conversation includes strategic takeaways from various business books and the practical application of management theories during a multi-year negotiation process.

📺 Watch it on YouTube

🎧 Listen on Spotify

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This makes Gan.ai an ideal choice for professionals who need to create and share personalised videos at scale without being constrained by video limits.

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