The prestigious Dale Carnegie Course Highest Award for Achievement is awarded based on peer-voting. Peers elect the individual who best exemplifies the standards, qualities and consistent practice of the Human Relations Principles on which the program is based.
Meet Denniz Kee, Dale Carnegie Course Highest Award for Achievement Winner (Feb ’22):
Dale Carnegie Singapore has interviewed Denniz Kee, the Highest Achievement Award Winner for the Dale Carnegie Course. He is a the co-founder of PanelPlace International Pte. Ltd., his start-up related to online marketplace.
How do you feel about winning this award?
I was pleasantly surprised by winning this award! I’m so grateful for the support and love from my fellow classmates and I feel that many others have performed much better than me in the class. I think everybody attended the class has won an award for themselves for putting themselves in such learning environment openly and getting out of their comfort zone. This is not an easy things to do for many people.
Can you share with our followers a little about yourself and the work that you do?
I’m just a normal guy. I came from Malaysia, did my university here and since then have been living in Singapore for my adult life. I have been working in e-commerce industry in the past 20 years and currently I’m working on my start-up related to online marketplace. When I’m not working, I enjoy doing self-improvement such as reading. I also enjoy playing competitive squash to stay fit and alert.
Can you share with our followers what was your initial vision and desired breakthroughs when you started the 12-week program?
A little bit of background story. Before enrolling in Dale Carnegie course, I was considering taking up an MBA course to further developing my business skills and capabilities. However, a mentor who I consulted advised me that an MBA may not suit my current stage of life and age.
While looking for potential upgrading, I recognize that regardless what work or industry that I’m in, human relationship and interpersonal skill are very crucial, and I’m suck at that, according to my ex-employees. I decided to check out Dale Carnegie course as I’ve heard about the “How to win friends and influence people” book before.
So, my initial vision was to develop myself to be a happy, confident and approachable person in my personal and professional life.
And the desired breakthroughs that I hoped to achieve was to develop the confidence in dealing with people from all walks of life, regardless of their status, power, attitude and presence, and being able to express myself in a skillful, agreeable way.
What progress did you make towards your desired breakthroughs?
I’ve learned certain techniques and methods in communication, but it is a permanent continuous process even though the class has ended. I’m still trying to apply and practice whenever I can and be mindful of how to deal with people.
What are some challenges that you encountered along the way?
I think the challenges I encountered sometimes was internalizing certain concept and found suitable situations to apply or practise it in real life. Since I was working alone most of the time, I’d need to find ways to create certain scenarios because certain techniques required us to apply it in a work environment setting.
What helped you make progress towards / achieve your breakthroughs? What is your renewed vision?
I think reading the books provided in the course and preparing for the class help a lot. Reading the books allow me to understand better why and how to apply the concepts. Preparing for the class such as reading the related materials in advance and practicing the presentation helped to learn better in the practical activities in class.
Of course, regularly applying what we’ve learned in real life scenarios, such as remember names, listen more and be interested in other people, help me remember the learning better.
My renewed vision is pretty much the same as my original vision, but I hope to be more empathetic and encouraging towards others.
What were some of your biggest takeaways from the program?
I think the biggest takeaways from the program is not just the learnings that my fellow classmates and I have gained during the 12-weeks, but also the mindset that regardless where were we at the starting point, everyone can improve and become better than our old self when we put in the effort. I’ve seen it on myself and my fellow classmates.
Many of our followers aspire to improve their relationships at work and personal lives. What advice would you give them?
I still have much to learn. I think firstly it’s very helpful to recognize that human have certain behaviors, be it sense of importance, the tendency to complain etc.. Understanding them will help us to become a better communicator and learn how to stop worrying and start living!