inspired

i just attended a workshop on material supply planning, something that is somehow connected to my line of work. more than understanding what it was all about, i went there to network with people that i would eventually be working with on projects within asia. i probably suffered information overload starting from the first day where we had a four-hour session with the overview up to the next two days that tackled everything in detail. aside from that, i think i had a mild case of nerves since this was the first time i was presenting in front of a large group of people. thankfully, the presentation went well thanks in large part to a number of people who answered questions that i either don't know the answer to or have totally forgotten.

one of the highlights of that workshop was meeting tony. tony is the global msm leader for one of the business units and part of the project board connected to my work. i have been talking with him and attending his meetings for some time now and he has always imparted a lot of knowledge and good advice. so when he suggested to have a one-on-one session with me, i was both excited and nervous. what was he going to ask me? should i prepare anything? what if he thought i was incapable of handling the projects in asia? i shouldn't have dwelt so much on these thoughts because tony was very pleasant and accomodating, i actually had fun talking to him. and as always, i learned a lot in our conversation.

having a lot of years and experience in the business, tony knew the ins and outs of msm. as such, he has spent the a considerable amount of effort helping and coaching others in their role as msm leaders. you can see by the way he talks and through his ideas that he loves what he's doing. it's such a refreshing thing to see where a lot of people just try to get on with their day whereas tony actually looks forward going to work. he even said he preferred thinking about his work than watching tv!

i couldn't really describe how inspiring tony is to all of the people in that workshop. let me just say that he is one of the people i truly admire and i am hoping to have the same enthusiasm and love for my work as he does.