Business and management articles | Cooler Insights

Whither Productivity?

March 1, 2013 • Blog, Business and Management • 1 comment

Din Tai Fung is a paragon of productivity (courtesy of Aroma Cookery)

Business as usual can no longer work in Singapore. We desperately need to change.

While we’ve enjoyed modest economic growth of 1.3% in 2012, and are estimated to experience 1% to 3% GDP growth this year, labour productivity declined by 2.6% last year. This wiped out productivity gains of 1.3% the year before, with the impact felt across manufacturing, construction and services sectors. Only the Info Comm sector experienced growth.

7 Management Lessons from Shackleton

February 26, 2013 • Business and Management • no comments

Shackleton’s ship Endurance (source of image)

Imagine being stranded on ice for 19 months in the world’s harshest climate, often without light for months on end.

Imagine being cut off from the outside world without any forms of communication. No smartphones, tablets, laptops, telephones or faxes. Heck, not even a telegraph machine or carrier pigeon!

February 24, 2013 • Content Marketing • 2 comments

Image courtesy of Lesgo LEGO Movie

Who are the rulers in the digital and social media age?

By now, you’ve probably heard that content is king. In the age of omnipresent 24/7 media served through ubiquitous smart devices, it is the currency which wins hearts, minds and wallets.

Explore Singapore on Two Wheels with Druthers

February 22, 2013 • Blog • no comments

Courtesy of Druthers Bicycle Rental

Cycling is fast becoming a popular way to tour a city.

I remembered how enjoyable it was cycling around Whistler back when my family visited Canada. There is something magical about the sensation of wind rushing through your body and blood coursing through your muscles as you soak in the sights, sounds and scents of your surroundings. Moreover, you can choose to stop anytime to take photo if you so fancy.

Leadership Lessons from Ah Boys to Men 2

February 20, 2013 • Blog, Business and Management • 1 comment

Following the box office success of Ah Boys to Men, local filmmaker Jack Neo’s Ah Boys to Men 2 has scaled new heights as the top grossing local film of all time. Based on the exploits of Recruit Ken Chow (Joshua Tan) and his platoon mates Wayang King (Maxi Lim), Lobang (Wang Weiliang) and I P Man (Noah Yap), the movie is filled with laugh-a-minute moments infused with patriotic messages about what it means to defend our country.

Transforming the Movies in Your Life

February 18, 2013 • Blog, Personal Branding • no comments

Are you a superhero in the movie of your life? (courtesy of Man of Steel movie)

Do you know that you play between 12,000 to 60,000 movies in your head in a single day?

Or that your subconscious occupies 90% of your mind?

Eat Play Shop at Johor Bahru

February 16, 2013 • Blog • 2 comments

What are Johor Bahru’s (JB) malls like? Do they really offer great value for shoppers?

Recently, my wife and I decided to revisit JB’s shopping malls after hearing positive things (mainly how cheap it was to buy books from Popular) about our closest neighbouring city from friends. As we’re pretty time-starved, we chose to focus on two malls – City Square and KSL City.

Which Comes First – the Product or the Market?

February 14, 2013 • Content Marketing • 1 comment

Too many toys to choose from! (Ethan in a shop in Shibuya, Tokyo)

Hit by a flash of inspiration, you decided one day to pursue your dream.

You are all fired up and raring to go. After slaving away for goodness knows how long, you have perfected your recipe for world domination.

Embracing the Elderly Worker

February 8, 2013 • Blog, Business and Management • no comments

Colonel Sanders opened his first KFC at the age of 65 (courtesy of the Bluegrass Historian)

Like it or not, we’re becoming a greying population.

With low fertility rates of 1.2, the ratio of young to elderly Singaporeans would decline in the decades to come. This has been highlighted as a critical problem in the much talked about White Paper on the Population, and a reason why we need to augment our population through immigration and to bolster our businesses through skilled foreign workers.