Reading them right

Last Tuesday, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) invited me to speak for their Annual EPF Brokers Dinner 2012.

Featuring some 180 brokers who are on EPF’s broking panel, the evening saw big players in the Malaysian financial and broking sector such as Maybank Investment Bank Bhd and its CEO Tengku Datuk Zafrul, CIMB Investment Bank Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Charon Wardini Mokhzani, K&N Kenanga Holdings Bhd group MD Chay Wai Leong and Hong Leong Investment Bank CEO Lee Jim Leng

 

 In action: Tee delivering her talk with host Anthony Lee of JLPW Communications during EPF’s Broking Dinner.

 

The EPF had tasked me to read the faces of its head honchos — its chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, CEO Tan Sri Azlan Zainol and its deputy CEO Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan.

The evening went well, with the brokers breaking into fits of laughter, especially when I read the faces of the three EPF bosses. The interactive session was equally fun, as we tested the brokers on how well they knew the bosses. Many of the brokers were witty in their answers, and this got the crowd continuously roaring with laughter.

I started off the evening by telling the crowd how to identify the features of a good broker. Were these brokers who serviced the EPF really good or were they merely buying boring blue chips for their portfolios? Or were some of them too aggressive and buying stocks that ended up in the Practise Note 17 category?

What a good broker looks like.

A good broker definitely needs to generate strong indirect income, as he is supposed to be making money from the stockmarket. Furthermore, he needs to be able to do sales and bring in client accounts. Thirdly, he needs to have strong connections. He needs to know what is happening in the market, and who the key players are.

Lastly, he needs to be creative. This is so that he can identify sweet spots in the market, undervalued stocks and the next big thing in investment opportunities.

In face reading, the nose is the Wealth Palace. While the centre of the nose bulb is the main wealth palace, it is the nose wings that shows one’s ability to generate indirect income. The wider the better. If the width is not equal, where one side is wider than the other, then this indicates inconsistent flow of income.

Tan Sri Samsudin Osman: EPF chairman

 

In terms of doing sales, a nice and big mouth is extremely inportant. This is because the mouth signifies one’s ability for wealth and to influence others — bigger mouth, bigger say. A broker with a small mouth will never be able to sell his ideas. His verbal prowess is also seen in the shape of the mouth. We like a mouth that is flagged and has nice borders.

As for connections, which are of paramout importance, we see that in the eyebrows, also known as the Siblings Palace. The longer and thicker one’s eyebrows, the better the persons connections. The higher one’s eyebrows, the higher one’s success in life.

Sparse eyerbrows tell of a character that is relatively laidback. If the eyebrows are sparse only towards the end, then this indicates outflow of money, which means this broker is losing more money than he makes!

Meanwhile, creativity is seen in the Life Palace, which is the space between the eyebrows. We like a space that is broad and fleshy, one where you can at least put two fingers. This shows character, one who is open minded, optimistic and ready to take on new ideas in the market.

During the interactive session at the dinner, we tested how well the brokers knew the EPF bosses. Subsequently, I gave my own answers based on face reading. Below are some of the questions we asked the brokers that evening.

Off the faces of the three EPF bosses, who is the most flamboyant and suave? Who is the most charming with the ladies?

Answer: Tan Sri Samsudin

Look at those “peach blossoms” extending from his eyes! They are long and he has three of them! He definitely has charm and a way with the ladies.

Furthermore, Samsuddin has ears that protrude, which also indicate an extroverted character. This is an adventourous man who adores the limelight and loves being told he is awesome.

You will notice the plumpness of his earlobes and how they point towards the mouth. This is known as the “double pearl facing the sea ears”.

Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan: EPF deputy CEO

 

People with this type of ear always have supportive people to help them achieve their life goals or what they want to do. Interestingly, success always comes through women. Whether it is by doing women’s business or being helped by women to get a deal done.

Who can generate the most indirect income?

Answer: Datuk Shahril

This is easily seen from his Wealth Palace, the nose. It is long, broad and thick. And more importantly, the nose wings are extremely wide. His wings are almost doing a split! Furthermore, from the front, you cannot see his nostrils, which indicates no leakage to the Wealth Palace. The EPF definitely did the right thing hiring Shahril. 

Who is most public-service oriented? Who cares more about altruism, and when he sees unfairness, is more compelled to do something?

Answer: Tan Sri Azlan

First of all, he has a long face. In Mian Xiang, an oblong face is of the metal element, which represents righteousness and high principles.

Tan Sri Azlan Zainol: EPF CEO

 

He has also what you call the “four character mouth”, where the thickness of the upper and lower lip are almost the same. While the upper represents emotion, the bottom represents material gratification. Most men do not have thick upper lips.

This shows that Azlan is very strong on sentiment and empathetic towards others. Among the three, he is the one who is most sentimental. He can soften and be kinder. You also see this in his eyes. Of the three, the qi from his eyes is the kindest. This is a comradeship sort of guy.

 

Who is the most conservative?

Answer: Tan Sri Azlan

Of the three, the length of the eyebrows is the longest. Apart from being the Siblings Palace, the eyebrows also indicate stamina and perseverance. The shorter the eyebrows, the more one reacts to their gut feel.

Interestingly, Azlan also has the Visionary Line on the Life Palace — the lines look like a triangle between the eyes

It’s called the visionary line because it reflects people with a strong connection between the left and right sides of the brain. Although sentimental, he thinks logically and see two sides of the argument.

Who is the deepest thinker and the most secretive?

Answer: Datuk Shahril.

Look at those small and long eyes. He’s definitely goal oriented, very resolute and focused. The smaller one’s eyes, the more they do not reveal. They keep their cards very close to their chest.

The long eyes shows a person who is very capable, determined and can handle anything you put on their plate

This is the sort of person who is far sighted with solid plans for the future. He probably mapped out his life goals when he was 20.

Whose temper is slowest to rise? 

Answer: Tan Sri Samsudin

He has “Eight Character eyebrows”, which are eyebrows are that curve downwards. This is the opposite of the Warrior’s eyebrows which curve upwards and immediately gives a person an aggressive look. Samsudin tries to be nice to people. He makes peace and not war.

A story to tell

AS children, we relished listening to bedtime stories told by our parents. As we grow into adulthood, this supposedly childish longing does not disappear with age. The draw towards stories is just as strong, but is outwardly masked by maturity and politeness.

Daniel Comar ... ‘Too much information should not be given to the audience.’

However, it is only human nature to be drawn to stories, and story-telling is increasingly becoming an important tool in the world of advertising and marketing.

In positioning a brand, advertisers are beginning to realise that people react more to stories than the products. This was the main theme that resonated during the Effie Effectiveness Bootcamp 2011 last week. Star Publications (M) Bhd was the knowledge partner, while Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) was the sponsor.

Since its introduction in 1968, Effie has become recognised by agencies and advertisers as the pre-eminent award in the communications industry.

The Effie Awards is the only global award that honours achievement in meeting and exceeding marketing communications objectives, with a focus on effective campaigns.

Argonauten G2 and G2 Germany executive of planning director Judd Labarthe says for story-telling to be effective, it has to be appealing to people's right side of the brain.

“The right side of the brain is related to artistry, empathy, inventiveness and big picture thinking. This is the conceptual age. Human beings naturally want to work through stories. Stories are how we remember things,” said Labarthe.

That is why Labarthe says that story-telling and managing brands make a natural fit. People do not buy products. They buy stories.

“Too many marketeers still believe that they can argue their customers into buying a product. This thinking is only on an intellectual basis. People are not inspired by reason alone. It is emotions that inspire,” he said.

He added that for story-telling to be more effective, marketeers should first pose the “wrong” questions. For instance, who may hate my brand? Who is my brand not for?

OgilvyAction Asia Pacific executive creative director Daniel Comar says marketeers must ask themselves what is their main storyline.

“Establish a clear and bold challenge. Raise the stakes. Prioritise, simplify and make sure the results link back to the main challenge. Then write the script,” he says.

He also reminds participants of some deadly sins to avoid in story-telling.

“The idea cannot be boring and lacking in drama. The plot cannot be confusing, and too much information should not be given to the audience,” says Comar.

AirAsia X Bhd chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani says ultimately, no great marketing campaign will ever compensate for an average product.

“The most important thing is your product. It has to stand out and be different. No matter how exciting your story is, it will not sell if your product is not exciting or unique.”

In AirAsia X's case, how was its product unique?

The destinations are the same, the pilots were the same and so were the planes. The difference was the ability to fly at a much lower rate. The breakthrough came through a key customer insight.

“All airlines were flying at a low utilisation rates. Airlines were flying only 12 out of 24 hours a day. They were serving the premium customers. So the airlines had to fly their premium customers at their convenience,”

“However, most people fly not because of convenience, but because of price! People make decisions differently ... When everyone is moving one way, that is a sign there is an opportunity to stand out and do something else,” says Azran.

He adds that normal airlines wait for people to come to them.

“Don't ever wait for customers to come to you. Forget market share. Find that space,” he says.
Azran adds that the difference is not in the idea, but in the execution. “A great ad cannot sell a mediocre product, especially if the execution is bad. You must win people over and over again. If you make mistake, react quickly. Don't waste time finger pointing.”

Star executive director and chief operating officer Ho Kay Tat says print remains a very effective media to reach out to the audience. The newspaper remains a very effective mode of communicating with our customers.

“Nonetheless we must learn to play with all the new instruments,” Ho said during his speech.
He added that the industry was revolutionising fast, mainly due to the technology.

“A journalist today has to be a multi-tasker. The journalist has to sometimes write and file his story from his Blackberry or laptop. It's not easy but we have to do it. Due to the changes in technology, there are tremendous challenges for the media industry. Here in The Star, we have been adapting and adopting,” says Ho.

The Malaysian Effie Award 2011 season has begun and the call for entries are underway, with the closing deadline in July 8.