Business and Management | Cooler Insights

The Rise of the New East: Book Review

Ben Simpfendorfer of Silk Road Associates

Are China and India still the “factory” and “outsourced service provider” of the world? How big is the market for Muslim-friendly products and services? What are the promises and perils of trading in the East?

In a sweeping expose on the dynamic forces shaping the “New East”, Ben Simpfendorfer’s The Rise of the New East provides an in-depth view of how the economic resurgence of Asia and the Middle East are changing global markets. Spanning halfway round the globe – from Turkey to the United Arab Emirates to India, South East Asia and China – the book brings one on a fascinating tour of the complex business characteristics governing our neck of the woods.

The Sales Bible: Book Review

July 9, 2014 • Business and Management • no comments

“Everyone wants to succeed at sales. Most people don’t. It’s not that they can’t. It’s just that they don’t know how.”

Filled with motivational quotes like the ones above, Jeffrey Gitomer’s The Sales Bible is a hard-hitting, no-holds-barred compendium of ideas and techniques to boost one’s success in sales.

How Asian Women Lead: Book Review

June 29, 2014 • Book Reviews, Business and Management • no comments

How do Asian women experience leadership? What challenges do they face?

More importantly, how can organisations recognise, nurture and celebrate Asian women leaders?

The Death of the Music Album

March 30, 2014 • Business and Management • 1 comment

Katy Perry’s Prism isn’t getting off to a colourful start (courtesy of The Katy Perry Wiki)

Katy Perry is a global mega-star.

Her music videos on YouTube generate hundreds of million views (over 201 million for “Roar”). Her Facebook fan page has almost 60 million “likes”. Over 47 million followers worship her on Twitter. Her hits (like “Fireworks” and “Teenage Dream”) are so well known that anybody from school kids to grandparents are humming along to their melodies.

The 8 Ds of Great Leaders

March 23, 2014 • Business and Management • 1 comment

Are you ready to be a Great Leader?Designed by Freepik

Leadership is something that many aspire to have but few truly achieve.

It is a long and winding road that requires special qualities which sets these extraordinary human beings from mere mortals. Often, being a leader requires courage, sacrifice and that extra “oomph”.

Pink prisons aren’t just fashionable – they work! (source: The Cairns Post)

Have you wondered why seeing red makes you mad? Or why Apple products are so popular with creative types?

Thanks to a fascinating podcast on Social Triggers Insider, I discovered the answers from social psychologist Adam Alter, author of Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave.

Sustainability and Longevity

March 9, 2014 • Business and Management • no comments

Can your business outlast you? (courtesy of Ignorance is Bliss)

Who are the poster children of business success these days?

More often than not, they are innovators and iconoclasts like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos. Companies like Google, Amazon, Apple and Starbucks are admired – and even worshipped – for their abilities to buck the trend and swim against conventional wisdom.

Are You Thinking in New Boxes?

February 23, 2014 • Business and Management • no comments

Courtesy of Applicant

We all know that the world is changing at a blinding pace. Yesteryear’s market leaders like Barnes & Noble, Kodak, Blockbuster and Tower Records fade away. Meanwhile, new business darlings like Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google take the stage.

Time and again, we’ve been told that if we don’t think “out-of-the-box” and reinvent our businesses, we will suffer the same untimely fate. The challenge, however, is how.