Revisiting Ethan’s Gift of a Lifetime

Revisiting Ethan’s Gift of a Lifetime

April 10, 2011 5 comments

Slightly more than three years (or 40 months) ago, my wife Tina and I gave our son Ethan a Christmas gift of a Marang tree as part of NParks’ Plant a Tree Programme. Over the months, we’ve always made it a point to revisit our tree every now and then, just to see how healthy it has grown. Occasionally, I will also jog to the trail area where the tree grows just to see how well the sapling is doing.

On a recent trip to the Marang Trail at the foot of Mount Faber, we’re glad to see that our tree is still doing well and growing both tall and lush. To me, this tree is especially meaningful when I make the connection between how my son Ethan grows and how the tree increases in size and girth. Let’s hope that it will continue to spring forth and grow, just as my son Ethan continues to mature and grow as a young boy every day of his life.

Marang Tree - 30 Mar 11
Ethan gazing at the map of Mount Faber park at the foot of the hill.


Touring and Learning from the Tate Modern

April 8, 2011 Blog 1 comment

Tate Modern

Occupying a disused power station in the heart of London beside the River Thames, Tate Modern is one of the world’s leading modern art museum. With an impressive display of art from 1900 to the present, Tate Modern attracts some five million visitors annually, and is one of a family of four Tate galleries in the UK (which includes Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives).

Collectively, the Tates cover the national collection of British art from the year 1500 to the present day, and of international modern art. All their collections are accessible online, and the Tate Group embraces an extensive social media engagement strategy encompassing Facebook, Twitter, Youtube videos, photos on Flickr, a Video Channel, and a Blog.


The Power of Visualisation

April 6, 2011 Personal Branding 1 comment

The Power of Visualisation

Courtesy of About Health

“Begin with the End in Mind”

That’s one of the immortal “7 Habits” created by the late motivational guru Stephen Covey as one of his cardinal 7 Habits of Successful People.

However, what happens if you keep imagining all the possible things that can go wrong in your minds? What sort of end would you have?


How We Plan Our Travel These Days

April 1, 2011 Blog 5 comments

Mount Cook and Tasman
Well planned holidays are restful and not stressful (breakfast at Lake Tekapo, New Zealand)

We love going on overseas vacations. There is a certain buzz in the air when one is planning and arranging for a trip abroad, regardless of the duration, distance or destination.

In the age of omnipresent online options, choreographing your own holidays is entirely possible. However, one may still want to weigh the pros and cons of DIY versus having a travel agent or travel planner do it for you.


6 Lessons in Japanese Resilience

March 27, 2011 Personal Branding no comments

Japanese Resilience Tsunami 2011
Against the cataclysmic forces of Nature, few have responded as well as the Japanese (courtesy of Joseph Friedman)

Have you wondered what made the Japanese such a resilient and robust group of people? How do they overcome the challenges of living in one of the most disaster prone areas of the world?

Often, it is in the worst of times that you see the best in people. Nothing is more true than how the Japanese faced the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on the Northeast coast of Japan.


Zooming in on Zappos

March 25, 2011 Business and Management 1 comment

Zooming in on Zappos Tony Hsieh
Tony Hsieh, CEO and Chief Happiness Officer of Zappos.com (courtesy of Sunni Brown)

UPDATE: 28 November 2020 — Tony Hsieh has tragically passed away in a house fire at the age of 46. May he rest in peace.

Few companies are as zealous as Zappos in ensuring that excellence is ingrained into every single process, person and policy of the organisation.

Radical and almost ruthless in their quest for the holy customer grail, Zappos is famous for legendary strategies which few of their competitors dare to take up.


KLM’s Highest Party in the World

March 22, 2011 Blog no comments

Every once in a while, you come across a marketing idea so radical that you simply have to talk about it. That honour today belongs to airline company KLM and its effort in creating the highest party in the world where a DJ gets to spin music 35,000 feet in the air.

What’s cool about this effort is that it came about from a bet between KLM and two DJs/creative producers – Sied van Riel and Wilco Jung – to organise a party on board a plane for the very first time. I like how it weaves in online channels (like a blog, website, and online radio station) with a grand idea of a party for those who have the time, money and energy.


Montages, Mashups and Morality in Music

March 20, 2011 Blog 3 comments


Source of image

In an attempt to understand what’s hot in today’s music scene (and chill out after a tough day’s work), I’ve been viewing music videos on Youtube, checked out Billboard’s Hot 100, and listened to the most popular hits on MySpace. What I discovered was pretty fascinating – and perhaps a little shocking – for a mountain tortoise cum geek like me.

Several trends seem to be prevalent in contemporary pop music culture (at least in the US):