Craftsmanship or Survival ?

I was driving along the busy Jalan Bukit Bintang yesterday when I saw a truck delivering the New BMW 7 Series : obviously it looked like the truck was going to turn into the Auto Bavaria showroom along the road.

I decided to put my indicator and follow the truck. The intention : to gawk at the new edition of the Ultimate Driving Machine !

The 7 series looked sensational ! Boy ! Lucky is the man or woman who gets to drive or ride in it !

But that car is another matter altogether.

There was another sight that totally impressed me: This kid, merely 12 jumped out of the lorry, gave instructions to everyone to move whilst the driver was lowering the lever to drive the RM800k plus beast out.

Apparently he was the driver's son who helps out during the weekends.

The boy removed some safety valves that kept the car intact on the truck whilst his dad jumped into the driver's seat to slowly reverse the stunning beauty out. The boy then gave the instructions to his dad until the car was resting safely on the tarmac.

The boy was a pro. Quiet, concentrated and confident. No unnecessary dramas : just like the way an able nurse helps a doctor in the surgery room.

Suddenly, his mobile phone rang - the boy took it out of his pocket whilst holding some lever, answered it briefly and slid it back in his pocket :oblivious to all the people who were watching this entire process. I think he told the caller, the mission was accomplished.

The boy must be regularly helping his dad during the weekends. He had the confidence, and the self-assurance. More importantly his dad had confidence in his son who was not even a teenager.

I am sure the kid must be ahead of many kids of his age in the area of confidence and survival techniques.

Though this is not the first time I have seen kids helping their parent's in their work, it does always impress me when I see one.

I personally believe engaging kids and also helping them understand what we do in our working lives helps them understand the world better.

Perhaps, this is one way to sow the seeds of entrepreneurship? Something to think about.

What happens if we had a "kids day" at the office every quarter where parents will share and explain to the children what it is they do.

Remember, Connecting with Young Minds Program during GEW 2008? Its recorded in this blog somewhere earlier...

Cheers.