Business and management articles | Cooler Insights

Garrulous Gourmet Globetrotting with Ian Wright

April 21, 2010 • Blog • 2 comments

At the kind invitation of Belinda Ang of MS&L, I had the privilege of attending a Discovery Travel & Living event (co-sponsored by Starhub) featuring the hilarious Ian Wright. For those of you who don’t know Ian, he is well known for being one of the most travelled man in the world, exploring far flung places like Siberia, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and Okinawa of Japan. Here’s a preview of his misadventures in freezing cold Siberia:

Do check out his television show Ian Wright: Out of Bounds, which will be premiering every Thursday at 9 pm from 20th May onwards on Starhub’s Disovery Travel & Living.

The Four Greatest Emotions of the Heart

April 19, 2010 • Personal Branding • 4 comments

What emotion is she displaying here? (Designed by Freepik)

As a fairly prosaic person who thinks more than he feels, I am not naturally given to bursts of extreme joy, anger or sorrow.

Adopting a rather Zen-like philosophy in life, I try to stick to the middle path. If a particularly contentious issue comes my way, I normally try to resolve it in the most amicable and least conflicting manner.

Who Says Blogging Is Easy?

April 17, 2010 • Blog • 3 comments

If you think your job is hard, wait till you try theirs! (Courtesy of College Life)

One of the most misunderstood concepts in social media content generation is that it is easy.

All it takes is just a couple of minutes (or perhaps an hour or so) of your time each day, and voila! Another insightful/interesting/ingenious work of art is published or uploaded, ready to be savoured by the world.

The 5 Top Marketing Jobs In The Social Age

April 15, 2010 • Content Marketing • no comments

A good storyteller (like JK Rowling) makes a great marketer (Courtesy of tutor2u.net)

All this talk about conversational marketing, social media marketing, Word Of Mouth (WOM), and the spread of ideas can be boiled down to a few things.

One, the old ways of doing things are no longer relevant.

Beyond Buzz by Lois Kelly (A Book Review)

April 12, 2010 • Book Reviews • no comments

What is the best way to make conversational marketing work?

How does one embrace the lofty ideals espoused by the Cluetrain Manifesto?

Appointing Customer Champions

April 7, 2010 • Blog • no comments

Make customer advocacy the pinnacle of your business (courtesy of MIT Sloan Management Review)

Anybody who has been in the field of marketing would be familiar with the term customer champion. However, few have truly understood what it means in the context of today’s organisation.

Being an advocate for customers doesn’t merely mean spending all your days (and nights) at your client’s offices, or conducting an endless round of surveys, focus groups and tea sessions. It isn’t just about understanding what customers want and desperately trying to fit one’s products and services into that itty bitty space called “consumer desire”.

Who Says Museums and Families Don’t Mix?

April 4, 2010 • Blog • 2 comments

Yesterday, my family and I decided to check out the Circle Line Open House at NHB Museums after hearing about it from my colleagues. Held in anticipation of the opening of the highly publicised Circle Line on 17 April, the Line includes the Bras Basah MRT Station which is smack in the middle of the National Museum of Singapore and the Singapore Art Museum!

Despite the dreary rain and drizzle that morning, the crowds still thronged the museums. I saw queues in front of the National Museum, and many families popping into the Singapore Art Museum with kids totting their Circle Line balloons. As I’ve been to both museums recently, we decided to make a bee-line for the Peranakan Museum and the Singapore Philatelic Museum.

Feeding My Mind

April 4, 2010 • Blog • no comments

Following the tip-off of a friend, my family and I visited the wonderful MPH Warehouse sale at Singapore Expo and hauled back about 40 titles. Admittedly, most of the books were for my son as well as gifts.

I picked up a total of five titles covering digital culture, grassroots/evangelistic marketing, socio-psycho trends, social media marketing, and related topics. Beyond Buzz is actually a loaned copy from the wonderful National Library of Singapore’s public libraries.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I will spend more time reading and less time surfing…. Yeah right!

We are all Creatures of Habit

April 2, 2010 • Blog • no comments

Courtesy of cartoonstock.com

There is an age-old saying that you cannot make a leopard change its spots. Or teach an old dog new tricks.

Habits, especially deeply ingrained ones, die hard. Sometimes, they can be so addictive that they not only fail to perish, but linger on. Day after day. Week after week. Year after year.