Farewell to Kangaroo Island and South Australia

October 3, 2009 • Blog • no comments

On our last day on Kangaroo Island, we made a trip to the Island Pure Sheep Dairy located at Gum Creek Road which is off Cygnet River. It was one of the farms which we haven’t explored yet during our three days visit and we thought it would be good to see how a sheep farm compares to a goat farm (which we often visited in Singapore). We also spent some time in the Northcote area having our lunch and strolling around, before departing from the island later on and from Adelaide the day after.

From a distance, the sheep farm and diary looked a little blurry. Was it the whole dreamlike quality of the vacation or a special setting on my camera? Unfortunately no. What happened was that I accidentally put too much water into the camera lens while trying to clean it!

The 6 Principles of Nudge: a Noble-Prize Winning Idea

September 30, 2009 • Book Reviews • 3 comments

Courtesy of Management Pocketbooks

Congratulations to Richard Thaler for winning the Nobel Prize for Economics!

I’m glad that his ideas in behavioural insights have shaped how governments operate – including ours here in Singapore.

Borrowing Your Watch to Tell You the Time

September 29, 2009 • Business and Management • 1 comment

Jack Trout (courtesy of Trout & Partners)

I am not sure if I have shared this before, but my ultimate career goal is to be a consultant one day.

It is my wish to be an advisor to businesses, companies and individuals, assisting them to improve their odds in the finicky arena of the marketplace. Of course, that may be many years in the future or even a retirement job.

The Beautiful Birds and Beasts of Parndana

September 27, 2009 • • 2 comments

On our last day on Kangaroo Island, my family and I decided that we should maximise our remaining hours there by visiting the real stars of the island. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about the kangaroos that are indigenous to this bucolic paradise. Our craving for comfortable creatures brought us to the Parndana Wildlife Park, an award winning sanctuary for South Australia’s macropods (kangaroos, wallabies), cockatoos, koalas, and other beautiful beasts. The animal attraction was charming and unpretentious, allowing us to venture up close and personal with God’s wonderful creatures.

These tall and shady Eucalyptus trees provided a nice natural look to the park. However, they are also…

6 Ways to Make it Worth Their Time

September 25, 2009 • Blog • 1 comment

Customers should feel as relaxed as spending a day at the beach

While browsing various blogs, websites and news feeds today, I was suddenly hit by a thought. What if we make it more enjoyable for our customers to transact and purchase from us? In other words, improve the quality of their time spent with us.

As many would have heard, time is often more precious than money. You can’t buy a day, an hour or even the second that has slipped by. As the saying goes “Carpe Diem!” or “Seize the Day!” goes, one doesn’t want to waste precious discretionary time doing something utterly boring, meaningless or frustrating. The best way to avoid the ravages of time – at least to your consumer – is to offer an experience that is so compelling and “magical” that they no longer remember that they are spending their precious days of leave spending hard earned cash on you.

Why Less is Often More – The Power of Focus

September 23, 2009 • Business and Management • 2 comments

Designed by Freepik

Should we strive to be all things to all men in marketing?

Or would it be better to focus on a few products and zoom in on specific areas of strengths?

The Fragility and Fury of Pompeii

September 22, 2009 • Blog • 2 comments

After waiting for the (non-volcanic) dust to settle from my assignments, readings and thesis writing, I took some time off today to visit the exhibition “A Day in Pompeii” that is now showing at the Melbourne Museum till the end of October. I have a personal interest to view this blockbuster exhibition as I have visited the site some 15 years ago in 1994 when I toured Europe as an undergraduate. If you wish, you can actually experience Pompeii online with this wonderful virtual walk through that allows you to see what is available in each gallery. Of course, nothing beats the real thing!

Nestled in what is now close to modern day Naples in Italy, the ancient city of Pompeii lived under the ominous shadow of the volcanic Mount Vesuvius. Citizens and residents of that town-city were used to the occasional rumblings of the dormant volcano, and took it quite matter of factly. It became a part and parcel of life, according to famed Roman lawyer and magistrate Pliny the Younger. Nobody could have suspected that a disaster of cataclysmic proportions was about to occur.

Which Comes First? The Picture or the Word?

September 21, 2009 • • 7 comments

On the world of advertising, three posts in particular hit me recently. All three looked at the various visual and verbal effects of advertisements and their relative impacts on a consumer’s response.

The first is by Vivienne of Versa Creations, who shared about Ikea’s latest advertisement which apparently confuses more than it convinces with poorly taken pictures. Have a look at the advertisement below to see what I mean:

Courtesy of Versa Creations

On a Cold, Dark and Still Night…

September 20, 2009 • • 3 comments

After a fun-filled day of climbing windy cliffs, gawking at gaping pelicans, and strolling amongst slippery sea lions, we made our way back to our resort at American River of Kangaroo Island. The night was cold, very dark (street lights are infrequent on Kangaroo Island) and extremely quiet. Not a soul was stirring as our rented car trundled past the dirt path nearing our residence at Casuarina Suites.

Until suddenly, I thought I spotted something with two bright shining eyes staring right at me beside the fence on the road.

How Market Leading Companies Do It

September 18, 2009 • Book Reviews • no comments

In the world of business, there are few winners and many losers. The merciless marketplace leaves little room for companies trying to be all things to all men, spreading their resources too thinly across many areas. Those who make it focus their energies and resources on focusing their energies on one of the three key value disciplines – operational excellence, product leadership or customer intimacy – and look at ways to continually improve superior value.

According to The Discipline of Market Leaders, the true formula for enduring strategic success is to be either operationally excellent, exceptional in leading the market in product development, or to have one’s entire business closely integrated with one’s customer’s processes. Authored by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema, the slim volume proposes that market leaders choose their customers carefully and find the best ways to meet their needs in a highly differentiated and focused manner while ensuring that quality standards are not compromised.