Blog | Cooler Insights

8 Leadership Lessons of Lee Kuan Yew

March 29, 2015 • Blog, Personal Branding • 12 comments

Photograph taken by Larry Burrows (1926 – 1971), a photojournalist from Life Magazine

This week must be one of the saddest for Singapore. Our first and longest serving former Prime Minister – Mr Lee Kuan Yew – passed away on 23 March 2015 at 3.18 am. He was 91 years of age.

Better known by his initials LKY or Minister Mentor (MM) Lee, Mr Lee’s political and public legacy was legendary. Considered by many to be Singapore’s founding father, his imprint is seen in virtually every square foot of our tiny island nation – from HDB flats, schools, hospitals, roads, air and sea ports, to parks and other public infrastructure.

My Memories of Mr Lee Kuan Yew

March 23, 2015 • Blog • no comments

Mr Lee Kuan Yew with his wife Mdm Kwa Geok Choo and son PM Lee Hsien Loong (courtesy of PM Lee’s Facebook)

At 3.18 am this morning – the stillest hour of the pre-dawn night – Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew slipped quietly away to join his beloved wife Kwa Geok Choo. 91 years of age, he was surrounded by his family and loved ones.

How NTUC Helps PMEs in Singapore [Budget 2015]

March 13, 2015 • Blog • no comments

Image courtesy of TODAY

Are you a Professional, Manager or Executive (PME) in a fix? Need help to get your last three months pay or assistance in finding a job?

Well, help is here with NTUC’s PME unit!

Thanks to active lobbying by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) – the parent body of over 60 trade unions and associations in Singapore – PMEs now have more things to smile at.

7 Ways to Start Your Day Right

February 22, 2015 • Blog, Personal Branding • 3 comments

Courtesy of Vector Marketing

Do you know the secret to having a great day?

It begins the moment you wake up. That’s right, first thing in the morning.

Homefarm – a Dream Green Home for Active Agers

January 30, 2015 • Blog, Business and Management • 1 comment

Imagine a beautiful and environmentally friendly complex where seniors can retire in communal bliss. One where they can stay active growing their own vegetables, make some money, and live in lush green comfort. In other words, a pristine development which looks like the visual above (courtesy of SPARK).

Sounds like a green paradise in land-locked Singapore? Not if SPARK architects can help it.

Unveiling their concept for Homefarm – an integrated vertical urban farming and retirement living facility – SPARK shared their dream design of such a property.

The Heart of Singapore’s Productivity Challenge

January 14, 2015 • Blog, Business and Management • no comments

Flying robot waiters are nifty, but are they enough? (courtesy of RT.com)

How can we raise Singapore’s productivity? That is the multi-billion dollar question.

A recent report in Business Times offered suggestions by economists to lower the steep productivity growth targets for Singapore from 2-3 percent per annum to 1-1.5 percent. Various suggestions such as supporting Research & Development for the PIC scheme (which IRAS already supports by the way), and offering discounts for not hitting the foreign worker hiring ratio were suggested.

MoolahSense Brings Crowdfinancing to Singapore

January 2, 2015 • Blog, Business and Management • 1 comment

Are you an entrepreneur seeking to raise funds but unable to secure a bank loan? Or perhaps an investor looking to diversify your portfolio?

If you belong to either category, you may wish to consider crowdfinancing. Unlike traditional means of securing funds through bank loans or equity investments, crowdfinancing (or crowd-lending) allows businesses to borrow money through an online peer-to-business platform from individual lenders.

December 24, 2014 • Blog, Personal Branding • no comments

Courtesy of Victoria Brain Injury Society

One of marketing maven Seth Godin’s recent post on what generosity truly is struck a deep chord with me. As we are celebrating Christmas tomorrow, I thought it would be good to highlight some of his ideas, peppered with my own perspectives.

In Godin’s own words:

“Generosity is not merely giving a discount, or giving what you make away or creating a race to the bottom. It’s far more complex than that. ”

The True Price of Excellent Service in Singapore

December 4, 2014 • Blog, Business and Management • no comments

Read in The Straits Times and Channel News Asia today that almost four-fifths of Singapore consumers are willing to pay more for excellent service. Internationally, we rank second only to India – and are on par with the United States – for consumers willing to pay more for good service.

Here are the key findings reported in mainstream media based on the study by American Express and Ebiquity:

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