Some thoughts for the New Year

As we start the new year of 2008, I have been thinking through a few things that have recently struck me in my interaction with people at various levels. Let me ramble on and feel free to exit at any point should you find yourself struggling to keep from dozing off as I plod along.

The Next Stage of Life

I just came back from a friend's (HW) wedding dinner tonight. Well...it could have been like any other wedding dinner but for the fact that it was the wedding dinner of my friend of 20 years. Long time huh?

As we said our goodbyes, my friend whispered into my ear, "Now to work on SC!".

For you see, the 3 of us grew up together for the past 20 years and we have all moved on in life, albeit different paths. If you really wanted to be particular about it, ok. So I was the first to get married and now have a kid. HW is now the second one to be married.

We are left with SC.

But really, even though we are of the same age, we have ended up doing different things. HW was trained as a lawyer and ended up (in addition to a law degree), a culinary arts diploma in baking! (By the way, HW directed the bakers to bake a cake at the exact specs that she wanted and it was served at the wedding banquet. Hands down, the BEST cake I have eaten in my life. Singapore is going to miss her. Lucky for Vancouver.

SC, dabbled in engineering and is currently serving a higher being.

Myself, business studies could only lead to one thing ----- business stuff lah! And so I pretty much have gone through the whole Marketing Mix cycle, and in between managed to get a Tennis coaching license and am currently working on my MBA...that is, in addition to being a part-time stay home dad looking after baby EK =)

OK, back to SC.

But really, it's not this race that we are competing against each other for.

And so, to SC, if you are reading this, no worries. You know that God has his time. But HW and myself, we have our plans for you *wicked grin*

Change or perish

At the wedding, I was chatting with this friend who deals with industrial parts. Upon asking how the market was, he replied that things are terribly different from when he first entered the industry. In the past, profit margins could be as high as 50%. Now, you would be lucky if you got 25%. And with increasing costs, it will drive all profits down. His words: Have to change with times or else surely fall behind.

Oil prices were at about US$22 to S$28 per barrel in 2003. It just went past the US$100 mark a couple of days ago.

The PC hard drive memory is said to double at a rate of 18 months. Can someone PLEASE explain to me how in the world is it possible for Toshiba to come out with a 200GB USB Thumb Drive??!! Crap! That is more than my PC memory!

Not long ago, a headhunter and I chatted that he was not looking for loyal employee candidates

that stayed up to 5 years in the same company.

"Not flexible and cannot adapt to change, perhaps," he proposed, "Need to show that you can hop to another company after 2 to 3 years and survive there. That is increasing your market value."

Can't really say much for my dad who has worked in only 3 companies for the past 40 years. Loyalty is dead!

My point? The world is really changing very fast in everything. For some of us, by the time we truly understand certain concepts, it could well be too late for us. New trends and opportunities would have popped up, passed us by and we would still be in a daze.

Will we change and move with the times? The choice is yours.

2008 Resolution

It is because of such fast moving changes in the world, that I have decided that it is time for me to try and strike out on my own. I've realised that working the companies that I've been before, gave me an insight into how the world works. However, one thing that all of them face is the need to change. I am afraid that most companies find it hard to change and they lag behind. Interestingly, taking time off to think through things and reading the news have shocked me into realising the amount of things I have not been exposed to as a result of being busy with work. You would think that holding down a good job is a great thing....not really.

I have had to unlearn many things that is seen as common wisdom and needed to take a step back and see the bigger picture of things. It is not always obvious but when you do step back and look, sometimes, it just hits you so hard.

I am glad that I have learnt some of these lessons fast, and it has helped in my decision making process. I will still have lots to learn and I am looking forward to learning and applying.

Baby, baby

Ah yes! This year was the year that I became a dad to EK. Along with it, the joys of fatherhood and the smell of poo. But really, I thank God for this child and I am so sure that this little fella is going to teach me lots of lessons, just as I am getting ready to teach him lessons *wink*

One thing though, this boy is a lady's man and The Wife and I are pretty certain that he will get married by the age of 5.

SC, you'd better not lose out to my boy!

Happy 2008 y'all!

It has been a long time...

Ah yes...to all of you who have been faithfully stopping by my blog, many thanks to you!

Indeed, it has been a while since I updated this blog. Why? Well, lethargy is one reason. The new kid in the house can be another. And of course, there is work and church stuff....but of course there is also the part time studies I am involved in.

Am I mad, committing myself to so many things?

Well, let's just say that I kinda like a full life.

Let me take this time to share with you some insights I have truly learnt through the course of this year. These insights were probably head knowledge to me in the past, but I can truly share these thoughts from first hand experience. You may not agree with them, and that is fine. But if you find them useful or interesting, would be glad to hear from you:

1) Work hard 20% of the time. But work smarter 80% of the time

2) Efficiency should be used wisely

3) Paper qualifications are quite useless, really

4) Try hard as you may, work and human emotions cannot be separated from each other

5) In life, its all about people

6) Determination usually gets you what or where you want. If your dream is worth pursuing, just be ready for the long haul

7) Try not to know too much. Just know enough

8) It's ok not to know what your next step or plan is

9) The highest form of manipulation is when your opposition thinks that he has manipulated you, but in actual fact, you are manipulating him

10) Many times, we need our enemies more than we need our friends

Disclaimer: Do take the above with a pinch of salt. The above do not always apply to all situations.

cheers!

And then there were 3...

OK, I must admit I have succumbed to popular demand...I am updating my blog!

Yes, it has been some time since I wrote my last entry. Was it writer's block or something else? I dunno. It could have been attributed to pregnancy...of my wife, silly!

Anyways, on the fateful day of Sept 11th, I became a dad! There is now absolutely no excuse for me to forget my dear son's birthday.

I am sure you all want the lowdown on the birth of this beautiful creature, so here are the statistics of my son's birth:

No. of hrs wife in labour: 10 hours

Administration of Epidural (pain relief): At first, no. Wife very brave. Then we had to give it to her

Time from start of pushing to delivery: 29mins

No. of days spent in hospital post delivery: 2 nights (check out time 12pm...like hotel like that)

Number of times poo-ed in 1st day: Lost count

Weight after Hospital checkout: 2.4kg (normal for baby to lose weight after delivery)

Weight after 3 days from hospital checkout: 2.7kg (100g weight gain per day!)

Cost of hospital stay: S$2,000+

Cost of seeing your baby burp at you: Priceless

Looking at the picture above, I must assure you I am not trying to kill my kid through strangulation. Rather, I am trying to burp him. But one thing though, check out his really big bright eyes and his really Lao Been (old looking face). Picture above was taken when he was 3 days old!

I am so blessed.

Branding...more than just stamping on a cow

Branding.

Definitely one of the most misunderstood words in the English language.

Ask almost anyone about the definition of Branding, and most will refer in some way to a logo; a typeface (font); an advertising campaign; or a packaging design.

Key in 'Definition of Branding' into Google and what you get is a slew of definitions that (believe it or not) differ one from the other as if it were night and day.

One definition I pulled out from the web is this:

"The process by which both a brand and brand identity are developed"

Another states:

"...the process of building a favorable image for a product or company that differentiates it, in the minds of prospects and end users, from other competitors"

Another guru proposes:

"...is the assignment of value to products through naming, packaging, marketing, and advertising"

My favourite is this:

"The use of a hot metal object to scar the body. Sometimes seen as the "ultimate" act of submission"

Indeed, the shrewd brand owner knows how to make consumers yield themselves towards a certain brand, 'submitting' to the brand's perceived value and associations!

May I then propose the definition of Branding, in my humble opinion?

"The building and protection of a Branded product or service, towards achieving the aim of financial profits"

There we go!

Wasn't too difficult to swallow, was it?

I can almost recall a friend of mine saying this when I lamented to her on the lack of true marketers, "Stop being such a bl***y purist!"

(swear word sensored to protect young readers out there. Honestly, I truly think that the expletive vocabulary of my 12 year old friends truly surpass me in every aspect. I am just being civil for appearance sake)

But yeah, back to branding.

A study was done by the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health where 63 preschoolers were asked to sample two meals, each consisting of a chicken nugget, a quarter of a hamburger, french fries, two baby carrots and a small cup of milk.

Although both meals came from a local McDonalds, only one of them appeared in its original packaging. Researchers presented items from the other meal in plain wrappers, which lacked the company's distinctive logo.

In most cases children said they tasted a difference between the two meals, and they overwhelmingly preferred the McDonalds-branded foods. (New Scientist.com News Service, Roxanne Khamsi, Fast Food branding makes children prefer happy meals, 6th August 2007)

It was a pretty amazing study. The children actually preferred carrots wrapped in 'McDonalds' branded packaging ---- even though it does not exist on McDonald's menu!

Yes, the art of branding is that of attracting people to buy your brand so that you can earn profits. Not just recognizing your brand only, but converting that recognition into a sale...hopefully many times over.

In the case of Budweiser and the talking frogs campaign is a great example of people recognizing the Budweiser Beer brand and campaign, but resulted in lower sales. And while the brand recall was high, it only fulfilled the first part of my definition, it did not fulfill the latter part sufficiently.

http://www.mycustomer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=133055&d=2043 ("Frog in the Throat" section)

As a Brand Manager, I can only say that I am still learning and have much more to learn.

And so, if you ever hear of anyone claiming that Branding is easy peasy, please excuse him for he is not of a sound mind. Otherwise, please refer him to me --- I can put him in touch with a farmer who requires farm help to stamp marks on his cows.

The Little Red Dot

It is interesting how something initially seen as deragatory can be turned around and used as something positive.

The term "red dot", was first used in 1998 by the former president of Indonesia, B.J. Habibie, when he made this quote, pointing at a map on a wall to the interviewer, "It’s OK with me, but there are 211 million people (in Indonesia). Look at that map. All the green (area) is Indonesia. And that red dot is Singapore. Look at that.”

Reaction to that term was swift and furious from all corners of ASEAN. Interestingly, our country's leaders picked up on this term and used it to their advantage. Rather than associating the "Little Red Dot" term negatively, they used it to reiterate how vulnerable Singapore is. Similarly, while we are small, we are also 'Red' ---- a fiery chilli padi that can make things happen.

Thank God for wise leaders.

This same term has been immortalised in a title of a book about Singapore's foreign service --- 'The Little Red Dot. Reflections by Singapore's Diplomats'.

I am currently reading this compilation of short essay pieces from Singapore's diplomatic corp, relating the tough times they faced protecting and lobbying for Singapore's interests in the nasty world of global politics. Indeed, all Singaporeans owe a debt to these men and women who worked most of their lives overseas so that we can have a better life.

If you are into current affairs, politics, international relations and economics, this book would interest you. Otherwise, I would just simply direct you to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Wife has been hogging the Harry Potter book for the past week now.

And then there are the more learned ones...

Keeping it Simple

The article above is written by Phillip Kotler, a renown marketing guru of our age.
I feel that he wisely narrows down the requirements to be a great marketer at the top of your game:

1) Differentiate - Always have a selling point
2) Creative - Think outside the box
3) Leadership - All marketers should be leaders, not administrators

I wonder then, why the degree is known as Master of Business Administration (MBA). On saying that, I do agree with Kotler. We sometimes just cannot let go and tend to micromanage.

Agree?

Of course, the slackers among us are giving me back slaps.

Balance, folks...that's what I am aiming to get.

But of course, if you happen to be selling courses on 'teaching' you to be a great marketer or chief executive, you would have to say that the position requires you to be the following (as what a management school advertised in the media):

A Visionary

A Motivator

A Negotiator

An Architect of Organisation Structure and Systems

A Sensor of Market Opportunities

A Creator of Shareholder Value

A Strategist and Policy Maker

A Strategist for Acquisition

An Agent of Change

So complicated...I'd rather go work on a farm.

Anyone hiring farm hands? Will work for food!

My own church

Yes, many people do want to be pastors of their own church.

Me? Nah. I'll pass.

And there will be others who will pounce upon the very opportunity to pastor a church. Some, will resort to underhand tactics and manoeuvres that will put seasoned corporate man to shame. I know. I have seen it happen.

But why?

Short lesson #2156: People desire to have Money and Power.

And the age old question is put forward to you: Would you rather have Money or Power?

Some prefer power, for they rationalise that they can control the rich.

Others say they prefer riches, for they can buy power.

So what better way than to have both --- money and power ---- by being a pastor, or let's broaden it, a religious leader.

"Oh come on now (as you naysayers and hypocrites declare), these people are always honest and after all, they are 'God's people'."

That is exactly the point, NOT!

In the real world, head honchos are constantly being constantly bombarded internally and externally, for the decisions and non-decisions that they make. Your political rival is doing his or her job well, when he or she manages to dig some dirt onto you and cause you to fumble and 'lose face'. Sometimes, it can be so bad, you will have to leave office without a pair of pants to your name --- just like that Bill Clinton guy (except that I think he deliberately left office without his pants).

Back to my point.

Would you ever dare 'question' your religious leader on the decisions that he makes? Some of us would. Most of us wouldn't.

Why?

'cos he will get god to strike you down with a lightning rod! And the more dominant and charismatic you are as a religious leader, it is very likely that your job is a relatively cushy one. After all, if someone comes and creates trouble, you could immediately choose to go into a trance and declare that the trouble maker is possessed by an evil spirit causing disharmony in the organization. That will be enough to have your faithful followers pick the trouble maker by his collar and drag him into the nearest dump.

Not to mention the gratitude your followers will have after you have 'positively' identified and cleansed the 'holy place' of the trouble maker, thereby maintaining harmony in the religious body. They will show their gratitude by heaping their riches onto you --- all in the name of giving to god, of course. And you being the godly person, would not reject riches for 'your god'...except that you happen to be spending all of god's money on yourself.

Of course, I am sweeping in my statements. But we do not have to look far for such examples.

In fact, our local Voluntary Welfare Organizations (VWO) are currently seeing some of their top guys scoot off with donors' monies, some quietly, others in broad daylight.

I am thankful for our country's leaders and for my church leaders, who are human nonetheless, but are focused on where they stand...

....'cos if they're not, I will be one of the first to drag them by the collar and throw them into the nearest dump.