One of the most difficult and perplexing challenge facing leaders and managers today is the trade-off between using one’s head and one’s heart. Should decisions be made purely on a bottom-line basis, or should they be done in the interests of all stakeholders?
As you would have guessed, there are no easy solutions to this, considering the dynamics of the modern organisation and its multiple demands.
7 Habits of Highly Effective People for Ah Bengs (Courtesy of Wayangtimes.com)
One of the oldest lessons from the incomparable 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey is to be proactive.
Now what does being proactive mean?
Supermarket shelves should always be full stocked (source)
While grocery shopping recently, my wife Tina experienced an inexplicable service failures at one of the largest supermarket chains in Singapore.
The story went like this.
There are two modes of cognitive reasoning that are universally defined: convergent and divergent thinking.
Convergent thinking is the one that is more frequently employed at work, in schools, and often at home. It is a form of thinking employing deductive reasoning, which looks at bringing together information that is focussed on solving a problem. Often, convergent thinking is useful for situations where a single correct solution exists. Such modes of thinking are commonly employed in scientific, engineering, financial and other analytical fields (like much of Police work).
Don’t eat the marshmallow and get two later! (source)
In an age of utmost convenience, instant replies, and quick fixes, one may be lulled into thinking that whatever’s fast to cook is good to eat. The inconvenient truth, however, is that many of the best things in life do not arrive merely at the snap of one’s fingers.
Rome (Disney or Microsoft) wasn’t built in a day. Similarly, major endeavours take months and years of blood, sweat and tears before arriving at the dizzying heights of success.
Source of image
One of the most critical skills I’ve learned working in large organisations is this:
Strategy, like charity, begins at home.
Written in a style reminiscent of Malcolm Gladwell, “Sway – The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behaviour” by Ori and Rom Brafman explores how seemingly irrelevant psychological influences impact human decisions. Peppered with anecdotes and experiments from social psychology, behavioural economics and organisational behaviour, Sway tells us why much of our decision making is more often subjective than objective.
Citing fascinating examples from the Israeli Army, US’s Supreme Court, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, and the anthropological fraud known as the “Piltdown Man“, the Brafman brothers’ weave a compelling narrative in the slim volume. Backed by scientific research, the case studies help to illustrate various psychological phenomena throughout the book. They include:
Courtesy of STOMP
Are we Singaporeans too straight-laced to stomach marketing gags? Do we like our advertisements to be plain, direct, and in-your-face?
More importantly, are guerrilla marketing campaigns doomed to a hairy end?
Over the past few weeks, my colleagues and I have been pretty busy with the National Art Gallery Open House. An open invitation to all Singaporeans and visitors to explore our future home – the regal and sprawling City Hall and Former Supreme Court buildings – the event drew tens of thousands of visitors over two days. I was heartened to note the warm and enthusiastic public responses, especially in exploring the two buildings (which is why we’re opening a second weekend for guided and self-guided tours on 16 and 17 October).
As is usual for large-scale events of this nature, temperatures did run high for some of us (both literally and metaphorically) but we’re happy to be able to resolve most of the teething issues over time. There were tonnes of people who swarmed the buildings, and its heartening to see such a wide spectrum of Singaporeans and visitors – grandpas and grandmas, families of all ages, kids, teens, young adults and tourists. It was also great to see how art and heritage could be celebrated in so many different forms.
