@the top:Most people aspire to be at the top,be it in politics,government or business.However,there are only a few seats available.Only the best and lucky can sit on the limited chairs.One has to be both the manager and the leader at the same time.If you are the number ONE,you can either do a lot of good or a lot of damage.However,there are a few who just sit there-so nothing happens.It is a position of high responsibilty and accountabilty.A lot of major decisions have to be made during one's tenure of office.A decision can go either way-right or wrong or some where in between.It is a very risky business.
Now,knowing the risk,do you still want to be number ONE?
Well,I used to be in number ONE position -the CEO of a public listed company.Sometimes,one can't sleep before a decision is made and worse after it was made and implemented.A lot of things can go wrong and my credibility is at stake.No wonder, a lot of CEO's have heart attacks.Business proposal/project is not like mathematic problem. There is no definite answer-the variables change with time.Most of the time,decision have to be made against inadequate facts and forecast.Intuition has to come in,plus some guts.Now,I knew why CEO has a big office (also a big salary;-),not only to accommodate a lot of people who visit me most of the time;but also to give you 'space' to do a lot of thinking!The management and the consultants can advise you,but finally it is YOU the CEO who is going to say yes or no.Most of the time you are alone to make this decision. Now only I really know the meaning of the saying:It is very lonely at the top.That is a price the number ONE has to pay.Sometimes,I love to be number two-because you can always refer to number ONE;-.
Actually,all of us are "at the top" during various times of our life as far as making decisions are concerned.To my understanding,when there is nobody else you can get to make a decision,it is YOU who is the number ONE who has to decide. It is the situation and not the position.As an example,when my youngest son was admitted to ICU for a serious illness-he was only 43 days old.Should I go with medication or surgical method for his treatment;even doctors are not sure which one will work?As you all know,there are pros and cons to the choice. Hopefully,I am right but I may be wrong.In those situations, after making my decision,I prayed a lot to Allah for his blessings.Thank God,he is now a normal 9 year old boy.
There was another example,on the 3rd Dec.,1980 when I was asked to decide whether to let my dying father(he was in a coma at the time) to continue receiving medication or to bring home so that he will die peacefully in our house.Here is the story..
(Double deaths at my house!!)Now put yourself in the shoes of a CEO of a big corporation.What would you do in the present economic situation?Thousand of your staff livelihood will depend on your decision.No matter what, a decision has to be made.And recently,I had to close one factory at Sungai Petani.
So what do you do when the situation make you the number ONE?One thing I can assure you:It is very lonely at the top...especially when a decision has to be made.There may be a few who have been at the top by virtue of their positions,but I believe everyone of us has a story to tell when we,at one time or other,have been 'at the top' because of our situation.I would be grateful if you could share with us to enrich our experience...
Please post your comment here for all of us to read @the:PERIGI