It is no secret that we as people tend to trend. We want to be with the “In” crowd. We want to be “Hip”, “Cool”, “Happening” and I don’t know what else. I don’t think it only happens to teenagers, meaning that […]

It has often been said that business relationships ought to be nurtured based on a “farming” approach instead of a “hunting” approach. I was wondering how much our environment influences our decisions in that […]

The number of books, articles and related scholarly, business and entertainment paraphernalia regarding the subject of warfare and business is indeed plethoric. Many, if not most, of these seem to hold Sun Tzu in […]

It’s amazing, the number of people who can get their priorities straight. Amazingly few, that is. People seem to need a lot of help understanding what their purpose in life really is. This lack of clarity as to […]

These are a few thoughts following a read of “More meetings, so more pay for OCBC directors” in the Business Times of 26 Apr 2012.
Do you know what a Board of Directors does? Why is it there in the first place? […]

An article in the Business Times’ Editorial & Opinion column of 25 Apr 2012 talked about developing global leaders with an Asian focus. I thought it was well-written and it discussed issues facing many leaders […]

No options? Who says? We always have options. One of the biggest leadership cop-outs I know is when leaders take the stand that we have no choice. You always have a choice. You can choose to exercise leadership, […]

What is the purpose of implementing a minimum wage? Minimizing exploitation of low-cost labour, even foreign labour, by employers. Is that the only way to minimize such exploitation? Certainly not! The only reason […]

The headline “AirAsia’s decade of unbroken success and expansion ends” in the Aviation Section of Business Times on 8 Mar 2012 came as no surprise. Long-haul flights and budget carriers don’t mix very well. At […]

There have been many calls to tax the rich in order to feed the poor, in order to help reduce the span of the rich-poor divide. This is a dangerous perpetuation of the Robin Hood myth and we should be aware of it. […]

I came across an excellent INSEAD article in the BT-Citibank Young Investors’ Forum on 27 Feb 2012, “Changing business behaviour”. Professor Jean-François Manzoni of INSEAD believes that it is possible to get org […]

I used to sell for a couple of retail investment establishments, and I was always told to “under-promise and over-deliver”. That sounded logical at the time, but in hindsight, seems a little […]

Many, if not most of us, would remember the story of two basketball teams that were quite evenly matched participating in a tournament. Two days before a big match, one of the teams was at its […]

I’ve used the JOHARI window many times in the sessions that I deliver. It’s also known as the “Trust Model”. Developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, for those who don’t know yet.
Listened to a recorded webinar […]

I’ve had this on my mind for a very long time, and I am recording it here. For several years, I have had this impression that a nation is only really viable as a nation in the long term if it has water, food and […]

The 25 July 2011 issue of Business Times carried an article “Change of guard comes at a crucial time for SATS”, with the subtitle “Outgoing CEO cut reliance on aviation, transformed SATS” on page 9.
I read the […]

How concerned are you with making right choices? What do you base your decisions on? How do you decide which career to embark on, what hobby to pursue, what financial instruments to invest in, where to go for your […]

I last wrote about this on the Lifeskills Enrichment blog (now defunct) on 7 Apr 2010. Since then, a lot has taken place and I’d like to add one or two more thoughts to what I’d already recorded.
On 20 Apr 2011, I […]

To lead the people, walk behind them.
~ Lao Tzu
I thought, “This can only be done when a true leader has fully developed and equipped his people to be true leaders themselves!”. I sent this to the person who had […]

A few days ago, while waiting for the feeder bus, I happened to notice a student reading what appeared to be some sort of in-house newspaper. The heading of the article was “Does Democracy Make a Nation Strong?” […]