Posts Under: Business and Management

Four Tools to Improve Productivity

March 7, 2013 • Business and Management • 3 comments

You need the right tool for the job (Swiss Army knife courtesy of Victorinox)

Productivity is one of the main prerogatives for Singapore’s service-based and export-driven economy.

Unfortunately, it is also one of the toughest challenges to surmount.

As I’ve blogged previously, addressing our productivity challenge entails understanding what it means. This involves studying how man, method, machine, material and other means are combined to generate wealth for the enterprise in the most effective and efficient manner. Through the careful analysis and diagnosis of problem areas, organisational productivity issues can be resolved.

The E-Myth Revisited – Book Review

March 5, 2013 • Business and Management • no comments

Are you a struggling entrepreneur trying to juggle it all, but find it a tremendous challenge?

Well, perhaps it’s time for you to stop, take a step back, critically evaluate where your business is going, and read The E-Myth Revisited.

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!

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.

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.

The Rise of Creative Leaders

January 17, 2013 • Business and Management • 1 comment

John Maeda – creative leader par excellence (courtesy of Wired.com)

In the age of rapidly changing consumer tastes, ubiquitous digital connectivity and ever changing socio-cultural dynamics, the old ways of leadership will no longer work.

To survive and thrive in this tumultuous age, organisations need to be innovative, open, collaborative and flexible.

Owning Your Customer’s Experience (Part 2)

January 11, 2013 • Business and Management • no comments

Singapore Airlines cabin crew are trained to own the customer experience (image from Singapore Airlines)

Does your organisation hold a common view of the customer experience? Does everyone know what it looks like when it is done well? What are you willing to give up to get it?

These questions frame the development of a customer experience vision for any tourism business.

Owning Your Customer’s Experience (Part 1)

January 9, 2013 • Business and Management • no comments

Courtesy of HotelManagement.Net

The world has changed. Customers now have all the information they need to decide where they wish to visit, what they want to buy, and what services they require.

With an attention span of 90 seconds or less (at 140 characters each time), business as usual isn’t going to cut it for the Facebook and Twitter generation. The game has changed from word of mouth to world of mouse.

Great Service = Great Marketing

January 2, 2013 • Blog, Business and Management • no comments

Robinsons is an icon of service in Singapore (image courtesy of goodcitydeals)

What is the best way to trigger positive and enduring word of mouth?

Is it…