doubted that I was indeed a sound choice. I was wondering if Graduating Class 2010 could get done better with one of our nubile MediaCorp celebrities. I am certain that would have guaranteed rapt attention. Alas, that wasn't Brian's choice and here I am. Those who are truly disappointed may wish to do something drastic, like un-friend Brian from Facebook, or beginning an online petition on "Let's get more interesting speakers at future convocations".Or you could do the following best thing. Imagine I am Fann Wong or Dai Yang Tian on this rostrum, and you should be capable to remain alive for the following 15 minutes. This way, your sanity and my dignity will be intact. Seriously, I was hesitant accepting the very kind invitation as I love most of you graduating today are working adults. Many of you get taken up to 5 days to finish the degree, thanks to this very forward looking university allowing students to pursue studies at their own pace.So my predicament was and remains: What to say to warhorses among you with ample work experience? You surely don't want a starter kit on how to bring your first job or handle your boss from hell. Bereft of new wisdom, I have decided to clean on a report that I am certain will vibrate with you: The demand to reinvent. Many of you are here in the interview because you get done just that. You've come to these hallowed university halls to promote yourself. I say: Very good, keep it up. Then, take what I give to say as vindication if you will. And let me to get on my master and personal experiences to differentiate the level of how we get to keep staying relevant in life. MEDIACORP: EMBRACING THE 'PRETTY YOUNG THING'Professionally, I should be capable to talk with some authority, as few organisations appreciate change better than MediaCorp. Until recently, we were mostly focused on traditional media. Radio is over 74 years old and TV slightly younger, at 47 years. The two have ruled the airwaves for decades, capturing the vision and exclusive attention of Singaporeans in their living rooms. Then, with the digital wave, a Fairly Young Thing called "new media" arrived at our doorstep. So besotted is the earth with it, clicking and surfing away, that predictions of the death of "old media" like TV and newspapers, came quicker than the nativity of new websites.To those of a certain vintage, a sensation of deja vu, perhaps? Cassandras have in the past foretold Radio's demise when the goggle box came along. They thinking that television would defeat the radio star. But they were wrong. In fact, our MediaCorp radio stations have hardly seen their best year yet in terms of financial performance. The cause is that the Grand Ole Dame has been botox-ing and yoga-ing herself to stay attractive. In the '80s, there were few radio stations and each was all things to all men. But when we perceived the market changing, we started narrow-casting; we started having radio stations catering to different segments, like youths and adult contemporary. The '90s was also when radio started putting on a "face". It's a paradigm shift for us. Our DJs became recognizable as we took our shows outdoors. That was also when we elicited more call-ins, bringing listeners closer. Fast advancing to the present day, and you can now be our radio stations even on your phones, with mobile apps that boast features like song titles and social networking. Television hasn't been standing idle. There are now TV events like Singapore Idol, where viewing becomes a shared experience. You are capable to vote on live television to touch the outcomes. And as you watch, you are capable to chat online, raving and rant about this or that contestant with other like-minded viewers. We acknowledge the marketplace is shifting and if we do nothing, we will perish.Also, TV isn't what you see on a TV set only. It is available online too. If you visit xinmsn.com, a lifestyle portal jointly developed by MediaCorp and Microsoft, you will find "catch-up TV", which allows you to see shows you have missed. Free of charge. At your own time. Some of our online offerings even come with enhancements, such as can the scenes footage and interviews with cast.Far from beholding the online worldwide as stealing audiences from our telecast, we get do to adopt the Pretty Young Thing as friend, not enemy. This shift in mindset has enabled us to make people who would never have sampled our programmes. Suffice to say that in the universe of business, never say never. We believe we have refreshed the morning reading habit too. The free MediaCorp publication Today may be tabloid-sized but it is not wish the tabloids you see in other metropolises associated with lurid, vulgar sensationalism. We have offered readers a serious alternative, gaining popularity when most broadsheets are stagnating or declining. That's reinvention for you, even for the oldest media form! Therein lies hope for those of you in a small job or planning one. If you regain your niche, you will thrive, no matter how crowded the market, no matter how powerful the incumbents.PERSONAL LESSONS: KEEP ASKING, THICKEN YOUR SKIN, KEEP AN OPEN MINDReinvention was at a personal level too, for me. I had morphed from a civil servant to journalist. Within journalism, I had crossed the Rubicon - from mark to broadcast. From journalism, I went into business, which was my first passion and remains so. Then just ended a twelvemonth ago, I was granted the extra tax of growing my company's interactive media business, which takes charge of such popular websites as www.channelnewsasia.com, xinmsn.com, and mobile applications. None of these changes was easy, as there were new skills to be learned. I remember vividly the butterflies in my bear as I made my TV debut in the 1990s. The mark to business should have been a breeze, since I am trained in economics and accounting. But applying them to real business situations was easier said than done. Often too, new colleagues bombarded me with unfamiliar technical terms, which on hindsight, were not always essential to get the job done. I guess some people do resort to erecting jargonistic walls to hold their turf. But I promptly learned that no matter how technical a subject, I can ever go to a dear friend who is tireless and never complains about the most everyday of questions. His name? Google. I believe you love him too.Now that I have let the cat out of the bag on how I sit through meetings with engineers and appear intelligent, what other tips can I part with you from my Poseidon-like shape-shifting? I can conceive of three. First, be extremely inquisitive. Keep asking. Second, be very thick-skinned, for you will be laughed at, or have doors slammed in your face. The third tip is holding an open mind. I see it's a virtue that's worked for me, encapsulated in Max Ehrmann's Desiderata: "_ and mind to others, even to the dim and ignorant; they too have their story."THINK MADONNAIf there's a soul who best embodies reinvention in this world, I would say it's Madonna, the singer. Remember her from the 1980s, writhing on the floor singing Like a Virgin?We recently saw her as a very fit 50-year-old singing 4 minutes with Justin Timberlake. He, for the record, was only 3 days old when she had her first No 1 single. She's still on top of her game three decades on and numerous reincarnations later.So, think Madonna, and you'll see the road to realising your goals a lot smoother. You'd notice I have avoided referring to "the route to success". The accuracy is nothing can ensure success. And no matter what you do, failure will find you now and again. But don't despair. In failure, I ever think we see things that success doesn't teach. If I had a cent for everything that hasn't worked out in my life, I would have been a very fat man of Bill Gates' proportion. But I do feel enriched for having lived through adversities, and bounced back - wiser, braver and stronger.While you've been listening to me over the last few minutes, with rapt attention I hope, you've only been a viewer to a small demonstration of a bounce-back. A rebound not from a job or professional set back, but of a more personal nature.I make simply lost my mother a week ago, and was contemplating cancelling this engagement. Speaking to over 300 people today while grieving isn't just on my favourites list. But a small voice inside my head says: Get back on your feet and do what you give to do. And here I am . wiser for having learned much about myself and people about me through this dark patch. Amid the weeping and sadness, I now better appreciate the substance of family bonds. I am also affected by how far some friends will go for you. I am truly blessed to give such angels watching over me. Concluding, besides wishing you a fruitful journey reinventing yourself, I trust you would share my good luck to take angels guide you by the fall of their halos. These angels could already be in your midst - people you've slogged through term projects with . who've shared your joy and pain . who've made you a better person. Give them a hug, a pat on the shoulder .But you must think a couple of angels has been watching over your shoulders since you were born. Never mind if they make a propensity to nag, or had you grounded when you were younger. I consider many are in the audience today. They are immensely proud of you and justly so. Do think that if not for them, you wouldn't be here. I'll wish you to please give the parents in the interview a stave of applause. And do think to render them an extra big hug after this. On that note, thank you and think to think Madonna.
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