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LAST Wednesday, the same day The Straits Times carried a 'thumbs-up rating' for good service in Singapore, cable television ran a cooking programme featuring celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Mr Oliver had travelled to an Italian town especially to cook Italian food for fastidious Italian gourmets.
Unknown to Mr Oliver, his Italian host, Giovanni, had asked the diners to rate the meal and award points. Giovanni then collected and studied the result slips. He promptly crushed half the slips and tossed them in the bin. The remainder he shoved into Mr Oliver's pocket.
The viewer's immediate assumption might be that Giovanni handed Mr Oliver the praiseworthy comments, but the opposite was to unfold. He had discarded the praise and saddled Mr Oliver with only critical scores. 'The praise you can forget,' he advised, adding that dwelling on and learning from criticism would elevate Mr Oliver to greater heights.
We have a tendency in Singapore to pat ourselves on the back and then float on Cloud Nine. Overdone, it could lead to our detriment. We need a Giovanni.
Errol Goodenough
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