My Giants

 9 February 2021

Sir Isaac Newton once said “If I have seen more than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”

A pleasant evening to my fellow Toastmasters and guests.

Tonight I am honoured to share with you stories about The Giants in my life. Sheldon was my boss and mentor when I was a consultant for Shell. He was a man of very few words, so few that on the first day that I was seconded to work with him, he gave me a piece of blank paper and walked away. I was a rookie in the Oil & Gas industry and wasn’t sure what that signified. So, I walked to his office and asked “Is this a mistake?”

Sheldon then said to me: “If you want to be successful in this business, you need to shift from the belief system, the mindset and the heartset of the majority. You need to think differently, feel differently

and do things differently.”

But when we pitched our fresh new ideas to Shell management, we were faced with vehement opposition because it was a departure from their norm. Their shareholders however, understood our value proposition. They realised that for Shell to be the leader in the industry, they needed to shift from the herd and

rise to the rare air. 

When we first undertook the Shell Program, we were only consulting for Shell Malaysia. Within 7 years, we were consulting for Shell in 13 countries around the world – from Russia to Canada. All because Sheldon was forward looking and inspired us all to be different in order to make a difference.

I finally understood the significance of this blank paper. Whilst Sheldon had the vision of my destination, he never once gave me a map to get there. He expected me to chart my own course, as a great mentor would do.

When I joined Toastmasters in May this year, DTM Nurhayati texted to tell me that she had requested Kaarthi to be my mentor. Having known me for 38 years, I think Nurhayati knows a thing or two about me, so I gave her two thumbs up even though I barely knew Kaarthi at a time! Kaarthi was the Toastmasters of the Evening when I first hear him speak. I was awestruck because he seemed so reserved yet he spoke off the cuff, with so much confidence and eloquence.

Being someone who steadfastly believe in preparation, I was blown away by his improvisation and later I was told, that was not even his best performance! Despite being a great extemporaneous speaker, never once did Kaarthi tell me to do things his way. Whilst he shares his knowledge and experience, instils confidence in me, transforms my speeches from good to great, he respects and embraces our differences and encourages me to flourish in my own style.

As Stephen Spielberg once said “the delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves!”

Kaarthi strikes this delicate balance between making things happen and letting things happen beautifully, as a great mentor would do.

Ladies and Gentlemen, these are the stories of My Giants. Despite them hailing from different parts of the world, both of them are inspiring, known for their open handed generosity, and while they share their riches, they allow me to reveal my own.

If you don’t already have a giant in your life, go out there and get one because we are who we surround ourselves with.

Back to you, Toastmasters of the Evening.