Ms Lim Sinni and Ms Penny Low of Social Innovation Park
Have you heard of social innovation?
According to Wikipedia, social innovation refers to “new strategies, concepts, ideas and organizations that meet social needs of all kinds… and that extend and strengthen civil society.” Those that are well planned and orchestrated could trigger social movements that address critical gaps in our world today.
Teamy the Bee (courtesy of Singapore Visual Archive)
Teamy the Bee should be worried.
Labour productivity in Singapore has dropped by 1.9% in the last quarter, making it the 3rd quarter by quarter decline. With the manufacturing sector showing a 3% growth in productivity, it is clear that the service sector is the main culprit for productivity drops.
A perennial favourite amongst my family members, Kipling has carved a niche for itself with its selection of well designed handbags, haversacks, satchels, wallets and suitcases. Arrayed in an attractive range of colours, designs and styles, Kipling offers something for everybody.
What I find unique about Kipling is that furry little simian dangling from the zipper. My son goes ape over those little critters. He has amassed a tidy little collection of different gorillas in shades of orange, green, red, brown, and black.
Great food, environment and service made Banff’s Wild Flour our favourite dining place
Finally, its Friday night! After a stressful work week, you can now let down your hair and party the weekend away.
The first item on the agenda? A slow dinner at the latest fine dining restaurant.
Sprawled over 1.4 million square feet along Singapore’s most scenic waterfront at Marina Bay, The Fullerton Heritage is an integrated dining, hotel and retail development comprising seven heritage and new buildings – The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Waterboat House, One Fullerton, The Fullerton Pavilion, Clifford Pier and Customs House.
Beginning with the retrofitting of the iconic Fullerton Building in 2001 to become the Fullerton Hotel, the group has given a new lease of life to heritage icons Clifford Pier (built in 1933) and Customs House (built in the 1960s), transforming them into swanky F&B destinations. Collectively, these developments have added vibrancy to the waterfront area and attracted guests both foreign and local.
IDA’s CTO Leong Mun Yuen shares Singapore’s IT Roadmap
As one of the world’s most IT savvy and digitally-connected economies, Singapore places a premium on developments in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Almost every aspect of our lives – work, education, socialisation, recreation and increasingly even religion – are dependent on ICT. Just look around you, wherever you are, and you’ll see somebody tethered to either a smartphone, tablet, laptop or related device.
To forecast future trends and chart a path for the future, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has shared its Infocomm Technology Roadmap (ITR) 2012. Aiming to be as comprehensive as possible, ITR 2012 proposes nine key themes in which technology will develop over the next 5 to 6 years. A summary of these themes and their components can be seen in the chart below (click for larger version).
How do you find out what truly makes your customers tick? Can you understand what your customer REALLY wants through surveys, focus groups, and structured interviews?
The answer, according to Linda Goodman and Michelle Helin, is “No”. Debunking traditional research predicated on the above yardsticks, the authors of “Why Customers Really Buy – Uncovering the Emotional Triggers that Drive Sales” claim that true insight can only be achieved through conducting emotional-trigger research.
The Internet of Things is a Mega Trend for the next Decade (courtesy of Take Me To Your Leader)
If we can gaze into the crystal ball, what would the future behold? How would the next 10 years be like in terms of business, society and culture?
Thanks to an invitation from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), I discovered these answers in a talk given by Manoj Menon, Managing Director APAC of Frost & Sullivan at the recent PATA Hub City Forum 2012.
Courtesy of Bright Hub
There are two ways to look at one’s business: “inside-out” or “outside-in”. Let me go through each in turn.
The first approach starts with what one first possesses before looking at anything else. It raises questions such as what one’s organisation has in terms of capital, equipment, core competencies, human resources, customer relationships and distribution networks and how these could be leveraged upon.
Let your customers “own” your brand (courtesy of Thaeger)
In a world overflowing with “me-too” goods and services, consumers are seeking ways to assert their individuality. In an overcrowded marketplace teaming with repetition and homogeneity, they crave personalised products and experiences that reflect their individual identities.
This phenomenon of personal expression is catalysed by the rise of social technologies and networks such as blogs, forums, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and other community channels.