yeah....Things will only get better

Was reading this article writen by the Commanding Officer of Pasir Ris NPC, ASP Tan Wern Yuan.

"Experience, however, is a double-edged sword. One of the most challenging tasks in the world is to change the way an adult sees and responds to things. The more we accumulate of life's experiences, the less able we are to view something without prejudice. We acquire perceptions over time that urge us to compartmentalise fresh ideas rather than evaluate them as if we were seeing them for the first time. "

Yes indeed. This is indeed refreshing coming from an uniformed organization like the SPF that values experience.

As an Officer of the National Police Cadet Corps, I have come across a fair group of people who have been through the so call "baptism of fire", having risen through the ranks from Cadets to CI to that of an Officer. They defintely have that wealth of experience that we are looking for, if that experience that we are indeed searching for is that of what we can loosely term as " hard skills". That would be things like the ability to instruct how to tie knots and lashings, pitch a tent, execute perfect drills and so on.

BUT are we really looking for such people to become officers? We may only be a corps for the kids, but by no means, it is any simple thing. We need to improve; we need to move on. We need fresh perspective.

I don't deny the importance of basic ground knowledge. However, just like what was described above, the more we acquire, the less able we are to view something without prejudice. This itself is a huge barrier that prevents one from moving forward. It is evident in the SPF. Ooi Kar Keat told me that the best Senior Officers that he had ever met were the direct entry ones, not the rank and file fellows. This is definitely surprising; after all we are often of the opinion that one having gone through the various ranks can actually have a better knowledge of the situation and is in a better position to execute his responsibilities better. Perhaps old habits die hard.

The greatest challenge for us, or for that matter for any organization, would be to balance and manage existing ground knowledge and at the same time, be able to "view things with fresh eyes, as if we are seeing them for the very first time."

Reference:
TAN Wern Yuen, First Impressions,
OneLife , Police Life Monthly, Volume 30, (pp31-32) Dec 04 Special