Lenovo Ups the Ante in Brand Marketing

September 11, 2011 • Business and Management • 3 comments

Courtesy of Lenovo

Anybody following the global technology market would know how brutal it is. Battles for distribution channels, platform acceptance, supply chain efficiencies, and brand leadership have led to the spilling of blood on both Wall Street and Main Street. This has led to companies merging, being acquired, ousting their CEOs, or stopping their product lines altogether in desperate bids to survive and thrive.

Against such a backdrop, PC companies can ill afford to focus purely on features and benefits when marketing their electronic wares. They need to connect more deeply and resonate emotionally with their target audiences. Cool designs, functional specifications, and state-of-the-art features can be so easily copied that PC makers need to dig deeper.

The Truth About Ikea: Insights from an Insider

September 9, 2011 • Book Reviews • disabled comments

RIP Mr Ingvar Kamprad (courtesy of Ikea website)

{UPDATED 29 JANUARY 2018} The world is moaning the passing of Mr Ingvar Kamprad, founder of Ikea and IKANO. According to the Ikea Group website, he passed away at the ripe old age of 91 years after a short illness.

A pioneer and entrepreneur who could make the traditional and staid world of furniture retailing sexy, Kamprad was one of the world’s best known retailer. His methods in furniture retailing have been emulated by numerous competitors around the world.

How to Effectively Manage Business Costs

September 6, 2011 • Business and Management • disabled comments

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There is an old management adage which says that “you cannot manage what you cannot measure”.

While this saying may be true in all parts of a company, it is especially critical when it comes to managing how money flows in and out of your firm.

Marketing to Misers

September 4, 2011 • Blog • 4 comments

Ebenezer Scrooge may have more company this Christmas (image source)

Penny pinchers. Value-for-money shoppers. Bargain bin hunters.

Call them what you may, thrifty consumers have been around since time immemorial. The recent economic onslaught and accompanying rise in inflation will likely increase this group of discount shoppers. In a cash and job strapped situation, everybody – rich and poor alike – will pay more attention to their wallets.

Bangkok – Haven of Hedonism, Holiness and Health

September 2, 2011 • Blog • 1 comment

There is nothing quite like a trip to Bangkok to revive, refresh and rejuvenate one’s jaded senses. From ultra-modern shopping malls, colourful street markets, health giving spas, larger-than-life shows to fabulous culinary delights, one is never spoilt for choice. Indulgence became our middle names as we soaked in the Sun – and rain – splashed pleasures of Asia’s “Sin City” during a short 3 Day 2 Night trip there.

What can one do in this city that never sleeps? Plenty of course! Let me count the ways…

Creating a Better Future for Our Cities

August 31, 2011 • Blog • 3 comments

Courtesy of Alex Steffen

Is there hope for our planet as the world population continues to explode? What measures can cities do to reduce their resource and energy use, narrow their carbon footprints, and give our planet a fighting chance for survival?

In a recent TED video, Journalist and sustainable activist Alex Steffen unveiled some surprisingly effective solutions to the climate change problem. Founder of the online magazine Worldchanging.com, Steffen proposed a couple of “cool” solutions and ideas that urban planners can consider:

How to be Extremely Productive

August 29, 2011 • Blog • 2 comments

Unfortunately, most of us do not have 8 arms (Source of image)

From organisational speed, let’s move on next to individual productivity. Once again, Harvard Business Review’s Ideacast features good ideas worth considering.

In “Productivity Secrets of a Very Busy Man“, Bob Posen, a senior lecturer at Harvard and executive chairman of a major investment firm, offers some great tips. Other than holding down two jobs, Posen sits on a few boards and manages to write a couple of articles a year.

Executing with Strategic Speed

August 24, 2011 • Business and Management • disabled comments

Achieving speed doesn’t just mean being fast (image source)

You’ve heard of the saying “more haste less speed”. Apparently, this is true not just in life but in management.

Ed Boswell, former CEO of the Forum Corporation, shares in this clip from Harvard Business Review (HBR) that the most efficient firms pay attention to speed, pace themselves well, and take care of the people factor. By doing so, they can achieve up to 52% higher profit and 40% higher sales than the rest.

The Virtues of Writing Good Notes

August 22, 2011 • Business and Management • 1 comment

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One of the most important yet neglected skills in today’s workplace is note taking.

In an age of instant communication, smart phones and ever smarter social technologies, the discipline of writing good minutes still has its place.

Book Review: What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

August 20, 2011 • Book Reviews • disabled comments

Malcolm Gladwell has an uncanny talent. Like a detective, he weaves compelling yarns, spinning together sources of information from psychologists, food testers, doctors, animal trainers, criminologists, and other experts to challenge common notions.

With journalistic brilliance honed by his years in the New Yorker, Gladwell proffered radical answers to challenge age-old notions in his latest bestselling volume What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures. A compilation of 19 essays on a wide range of topics – espionage, war, hair colour, kitchen appliances, homelessness and more – the volume blended pop psychology, sociology, management and current affairs in a highly readable prose.