‘I have tended in my writings to highlight some of the messages and issues that I thought are the essentials, the basic and fundamentals which are important for us.’
THOSE who have been to London and taken the London Underground, as the subway system is affectionately called, are familiar with the phrase “Mind the Gap”. Except for those who, for whatever reason, are not paying attention to announcements that are being made, or do not speak the language, the words ‘Mind the Gap’ mentioned over the PA system would surely be heard by everyone travelling on the train and those at every station stop.
It certainly drew my attention the first time I heard it. That was way back in 1983, a year after I joined the national oil corporation, Petronas, as a rookie, at the very bottom of the pile or pecking order. By the way, Petronas has had a strong philosophy and policy on people development, capability building and technical mastery in all relevant areas of expertise needed for the highly technical, capital intensive and high-risk industry. I believe it is still the case.
This singular focus on people development and skills and competency building is one of the foundational elements of Petronas’ success that is not fully appreciated or studied. Good and visionary leadership at the outset and foundation years and following through from there on was also the key. So even in that very early part of my career, I was already selected to go for overseas courses and training, as were many others from all disciplines. I recall it was an immersion in commercial courses at St Mary’s College in London. The following year, in quick succession, I was sent to the University of Dundee, Scotland to be trained in oil and gas law, then a budding branch of the law that was being championed by a handful of UK in-house lawyers, especially those in BP (British Petroleum Plc) group who were practising that specialised area of mining law about the exploration of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).
So, minding the gap between experience and knowledge was a key strategic consideration for Petronas — a wise and strategic decision indeed to invest in manpower resources and development. To acquire the necessary means and intellectual capacity to compete at the highest level of the industry. My early immersion in the UK Oil and Gas Law then influenced me to adopt the Britoil Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) as the precedent for the prototype of the Malaysian Joint Operating Agreement which is now an established feature of the Malaysian Oil and Gas operating regime. The model JOA published in the list of recommended or standard JOA by the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), an industry association, is based on the Malaysian JOA.
But that first time I heard the ‘Mind the Gap’ announcement, I wasn’t quite sure what it meant or was referring to.
However, from the tone, I felt that it was something that is intended to be positive, something good. Later, I learned that it is an automated warning that is heard thousands of times each day at every stop of the subway system to warn travellers to watch out for the space between the platform and the train, reminding people to be careful.
Therefore, it is a safety reminder, a caution, and a voice of concern born of a sense of caring and emanating from a higher and inner plane. In other words, it is a manifestation of the humanity inherent in us. Above all, the phrase is a critical part of a well thought through and holistic safety system. All this information and insight confirmed my earlier inclination to assume that the phrase was grounded in good intent.
This post is therefore about the power of words, especially those being paired with something practical and necessary.
For instance, with just three words used in a very clever and positive way, the phrase ‘Mind the Gap’ demonstrates the importance of right communication in every aspect of our lives. Whether you’re establishing new relationships, be it in personal or business, managing your accounts or building a rapport with your customers at work, selling an idea, rallying people to a cause, and so on, good communication is important.
In particular, the way you express yourself impacts how others take or read you – and whether your approach comes across as positive or negative. “Mind the Gap” is neither positive nor negative. It’s a neutral phrase and in that sense rather cleverly crafted and well-chosen and therefore highly effective in the circumstances it is being used.
We’re all generally guilty of speaking or lapsing into communication that sets a negative tone – be it about ourselves, our achievements or our ability to do the jobs we know full well we’re more than competent at. Moreover, it can be so easy to focus on negative language when doing the job, you know like the back of your hand. Other times, we are incoherent and confusing. Worst we convey conflicting messages to our audience. It shows that we are not sure of what we are saying or the key message that we want to convey to the listeners or audience. We need to mind the gap in our verbal and written communication, or the level of understanding and appreciation by the audience that we are addressing.
Talking about phrasing and the power of words, I have been asked about the title of my column “Take a Step Back” used in this paper and the rationale behind the choice of the phrase. The story behind that was like this. When I was first offered the opportunity to write the column, I was also given the privilege of naming it. Obviously, to my mind, I deduced that the name chosen must conform to a certain standard of propriety and decency whilst giving an insight as to the governing thought, perspective or approach behind the column. After some reflection, I came up with the phrase “Take a Step Back”.
When asked about the rationale for the choice of name, I said that when I coined the phrase, the governing thought that came to mind was to come up with a phrase which helps to remind us to reflect, observe, and be mindful of what is happening around us, or even within us – and to take an interest in our environment, community, society, humanity in general, and of course even our planet. Yes, about the blue bubble spaceship racing around the sun in the known universe carrying us the human species and a horde of others too. Yes, in particular, about us the human inhabitants on this sometimes-lonely planet of ours. The only human-inhabited planet that we have, but one that is not well taken care of, based on our track record of late.
So just like “Mind the Gap”, the phrase “Take a Step Back” was intended as a kind of rallying cry and a reminder to pay attention to messages coming our way, that allude to what we should pay attention to or be mindful of. The messages can be in the form of signs, anecdotes or stories and accounts of people or things that help reminds us of, say, some potential threat or danger or generally of the need to be mindful and conscientious all the time. Or indirectly reminding us of whom we are. Some may want to put that differently by saying that we must always pay attention to doing the right things, to listen to that small voice within, to pay heed to our conscience.
I believe that messages and lessons learnt can come from many sources, and possibly coming from everywhere to remind us of right and wrong, or of the fundamental things that happened matter. But such messages are only heard if we care to listen, see and observe, converse, discuss and undertake deep reflections – and to let our inner conscience guide us to the right path or take the right decision. Some say, to make the moral and ethical decision.
We have to be mindful of the exhortations and reminders contained in our religions that we are not just mere physical and animalistic being but spiritual ones too. Humans were created as something rather unique when compared to the other creatures we share this earth with or other created beings. Failing to appreciate this important fact, would blind us to the reason for this earthly existence and its higher purpose and intent.
By way of illustration, the reminder to be mindful of the deeper meaning and purpose behind this life on Earth is stated in a verse in the Koran in the following words: “And what is the life of this world except for the enjoyment of delusion.”
[Ali Imran: 185]. In other words, to ignore the higher purpose and spiritual aspects is akin to living a life of delusion. And that higher purpose is alluded to in another passage, thus: “Then did you think we created you uselessly and that to us you would not be returned?” [Mukminoon:115]. This verse emphasises that the essence of the earthly existence is the preparation for that ‘return’.
Coming back to my column, ‘Take a Step Back’, in one form or another, I have tended in my writings to highlight some of the messages and issues that I thought are the essentials, the basic and fundamentals which are important for us.
The stories or narrations are like parables and told with some kind of moral lessons or insights similar to the stories that we grew up with while we were kids in school or from stories narrated by our parents or the elders in our community.
Thus, I have been drawn to the state of our natural environment, something that is sadly under a massive threat of being altered forever and even worst, being destroyed due to human-induced causes. History is replete with stories and tales of civilisations coming and going, rising and falling and how the lessons are never actually learnt. Human beings are bad learners if taken from that perspective. Take for example his warring nature and his destruction of his living environment. The consequences have been disastrous and show no sign of abating. It brings to mind another verse which says: “And whatever strikes you of disaster – it is for what your hands have earned, but He pardons much.” – [Shura: 30]
So from the London Underground, where the caution to “mind the gap” seeks to warn travellers to watch out for the space between the platform and train, instructing people to be careful each time a train stops, to the need to “take a step back” and reflect, we have gone full circle with a set of rallying cries for us to explore what’s missing, what is not there, and what could be. Recited together with a kind of rhythmic consistency like a mantra, we’ll have a rallying cry that can open new doors of opportunity, or at least provide a new perspective which could open the door of common insights.
To nurture a mindset of understanding where the gaps between what we aspire to be and where we are today is an asset. To do that, it may be necessary to step back from time to time, so that we could have a better perspective of where we are at the moment in question. Perchance, the insights we get will guide us towards the right path.
