Business and management articles | Cooler Insights

Eye Power versus i-Power

June 6, 2010 • Blog • no comments

In the age of digital dominance and wicked widgets, one tends to lose the use of one’s primary senses. Lulled by the comforts of computers, one can become oblivious to one’s immediate surroundings and end up relying more on secondary rather than primary data.

By inadvertently shutting ourselves to the real world and gluing our eyes (and fingers) on our mobile computing devices, we may then rely on third party “gurus” and “experts”. We put our trust on the charts, trends, data, and analytics churned out by researchers who are often located half a world away.

Singapore’s Pavilion @ Shanghai World Expo

June 5, 2010 • Blog • 1 comment

At the Shanghai World Expo 2010, the country pavilions are especially significant as they are iconic representations of what each country has to offer. After visiting those from Europe and the Americas, as well as those closer to home in China, Australia and Southeast Asia, how does Singapore’s Pavilion compare?

Join me for an in-depth tour of the Singapore Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.

Designed by architect Tan Kay Ngee, the Singapore Pavilion’s theme is Urban Symphony. Evoking images of a music box, it “forms an orchestra of elements and a symphony for the senses – from the choreography of the plaza’s water fountain, the rhythm of fenestrations on the façade, the interplay of sounds and visuals, to the mélange of flora on the roof garden.”

Your Most Important Customers

June 2, 2010 • Blog • no comments

With courtesy from Starfleetyachts.com

Who should you pay the most attention to in your organisation?

A) The guy or girl who makes a purchase of your product or service.

The Promise and Peril of Starbucks

May 31, 2010 • Book Reviews • 2 comments

Taylor Clark doesn’t like Starbucks. However, he does patronise its outlets. Apparently he is not alone, as there are many who publicly profess their distaste for Starbucks’ “almost burnt” brew while still swarming towards their outlet.

That in a nutshell is the premise behind the book “Starbucked” authored by Clark, a Portland-based journalist who appears to have more than a little caffeinated chip on his shoulder while appearing to be balanced in his authorship. Unlike the more glowing titles featuring the world’s most famous purveyor of coffee as experience, Clark squarely places both the pros and the cons of the cafe behemoth in his book.

Touring Asia & Australia at the Shanghai World Expo

May 30, 2010 • Blog • no comments

After visiting the various country pavillions in the European and American zones of the Shanghai World Expo, we focused our attention on the regions closer to home. Due to the shortage of time, we could only enter the Singapore pavillion as the queues to most of the Asian pavillions were rather formidable. However, I did manage to take some quick external shots of the various Asian pavillions which captured my interest.

Here’s a brief photographic journey of some of the pavillions which we saw.

Indonesia’s pavillion looked pretty impressive in terms of size, albeit a little like a typical conference building with the flags and pillars and all.

The Importance of Imagineering

May 28, 2010 • Blog • no comments

Widely popularised by Disney, the concept of “imagineering” comes from its two words of origin:

Imagination, which is the act of dreaming and visualising a desired end-state;

Intelligent, Innovative and Integrated Cities

May 25, 2010 • Blog • 2 comments

Like any other geek, I love glimpses into the future that technology can bring. Social technologies and mobile devices like smart phones have now evolved to the stage of bringing networked information, intelligence and interactivity to the masses.

Against such a backdrop, it was a treat to listen to Piers Fawkes, CEO of PSFK and creator of the Good Ideas Salon. Speaking on “Intelligent Cities, Innovation and Sustainability”, Piers shared about the multiple ways that urban jurisdictions can embrace leveraging on the social and mobile web.

A Visual Tour of Shanghai World Expo

May 23, 2010 • Blog • 3 comments

Targeting to be the most visited World Expo event in history with an ambitious 70 to 100 million visitors, the Shanghai World Expo, is also the most expensive ever held in the history of the world’s fairs. Considered to also be the largest (yes, they do love superlatives there!) at 5.28 square km, the World Expo is themed “Better City – Better Life”, signifying Shanghai’s new status in the 21st century at the “next great world city“. More than 190 countries and more than 50 international organisations have participated in the Shanghai World Expo.

Located at downtown Shanghai covering either side of the Huangpu River, the pavilions of the official corporate partners of World Expo (like Coca-Cola) are on the northern bank of the river, along with the Urban Best Practice Area while the south bank of the river are the national pavilions, Chinese pavilion, and the World Expo Park.

Join me for a pictorial journey of the World Expo, beginning with the European pavillions.