Mischief in the Museum

6 Lessons in Japanese Resilience

March 27, 2011 Personal Branding disabled 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 disabled 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


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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):


How to be an Indispensable Linchpin

March 18, 2011 Book Reviews disabled comments

“You are not a faceless cog in the machinery of capitalism…” In fact, according to Seth Godin’s latest book Linchpin, you are an “artist who can give good gifts”. Best of all, you don’t need a canvas, a stage, nor a musical instrument to create art.

Beginning with such a delightful premise, Linchpin tackles the age-old issue of career motivation. What’s interesting is that Godin doesn’t just promote entrepreneurialism but rather, a form of intrapreneurialism – one where you as a worker in any circumstance or situation can “make magic”.


Contrarian Competitive Strategies

March 15, 2011 Blog disabled comments


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Have you noticed how businesses, like humans, tend to adopt a herd mentality? Some examples:

– Opening and closing hours of retail shops (normally 10 am to 10 pm, with extended hours only during festive breaks)


Giving and Getting the Right Signals

March 11, 2011 Personal Branding disabled comments

Giving and Getting the Right Signals

Reading the right diving signals can save your life (courtesy of A Nice Gesture)

What’s the similarity between body language, hour of the day, voice level, “weather”, and tone of email? Give up?

Well, they provide perceptual cues on how somebody is feeling and are useful in determining whether you should “go for the kill”, wait for another opportune moment, or adopt a different strategy altogether.


Marketing with a Social Message

March 8, 2011 Blog disabled comments

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As I was walking back to work this afternoon, I saw the above bus stop poster by NTUC Income. What’s interesting about the advertisement was that it sought to imbue a social element to an otherwise commercial marketing platform. I suppose its also topical since the opening of the two Integrated Resorts in Singapore last year, and I like how it fused clever copywriting with the main visual.

This isn’t the first time that NTUC Income has rode on the wave of public interest, if you can recall their opportunistic flooding advertisement last June.

What do you think of the above strategy? Would such social messages work for a financial services company?