Business and management articles | Cooler Insights

October 6, 2013 • Content Marketing, Social Influence • 1 comment

Kay Wong and Adeline Yeo at the launch of their collection

What do you get when you mix women’s fashion, finger painting art and motherhood? The answer is Something Beautiful.

Hatched in far away Prague during a Spotlight Singapore business trip led by my friend art administrator Colin Goh, this collaborative effort came about when Singapore fashion designer Kay Wong of online fashion retailer Milky Way teamed up with finger-painting artist Adeline Yeo. Through the partnership, Kay and Adeline combined their creative and entrepreneurial talents in a business venture that infuses the beauty of art into ladies wear targeted at mothers.

The 5 Levels of Leadership: Book Review

October 2, 2013 • Business and Management • 3 comments

How are peak leaders developed? What differentiates a superstar CEO like Jack Welch from other less extraordinary leaders?

The answer, according to bestselling author John C. Maxwell, lies in The 5 Levels of Leadership.

September 19, 2013 • Content Marketing • 1 comment

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What will the future of your business be like? More importantly, what will your life be like then?

Armed with a digital crystal ball, renowned marketing podcaster and president of global digital marketing agency Mirum Mitch Joel shared his thoughts on this in his book Ctrl Alt Delete.

Are You a Promoter or a Preventer?

September 15, 2013 • Business and Management • no comments

How much risk are you willing to take? (courtesy of Condominium Insurance Review)

In life and at work, there are two kinds of people. That is, if you believe psychologists Heidi Grant Halvorson and E. Tory Higgins in their fascinating article in HBR.

The first, promotion-focused people, see their goals as a way to advance forward. They zoom in on the rewards that can be realised when goals are achieved. Eager to “play to win”, they like to dream big and stretch their imaginations in whatever they do.

Buyology – Truth and Lies About Why We Buy

September 11, 2013 • Book Reviews • 3 comments

Imagine that you are a smoker. You pick up a pack of cigarettes.

On the front of the pack are gory images – a hemorrhaged brain, blackened lungs, deformed baby, ugly cancerous growth – coupled with stern admonitions like “SMOKING KILLS”.

How would you react to these gruesome warnings?

Marketing – and branding – is all about the little things (courtesy of Allographics)

Since time immemorial, marketers are obsessed with the “Big Idea”.

Ruled by “out-of-this-world” campaigns that win Golden Lions or Creative Circle awards, we were transfixed by the notion that bigger and bolder is usually better.

Reflections from The Alchemist

September 4, 2013 • Book Reviews • 3 comments

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:21

As a business blogger, I don’t often read fiction. However, I couldn’t resist picking up Paulo Coelho’s mega-bestseller The Alchemist after hearing so much about it from friends.

Why No Service (Or Self-Service) May Be The Best Service

September 1, 2013 • Business and Management • no comments

What is fabulous service? How do you define a “delightful experience”?

To many, an exceptional encounter is a heroic one, epitomised by a smiling human being who jumps through flaming hoops to provide memorable encounters.

Image courtesy of Fedobe

In the age of social media, life becomes a spectator sport. The only difference is that we’re both the athlete and the audience in this arena.

Meals, shopping trips, holidays, and events become Instagram, Flickr or YouTube moments. Daily murmurs are framed on Facebook while fleeting thoughts (in 140 characters or less) are immortalised on Twitter. The more verbose (like yours truly) would seek the solace of blogs, documenting their thoughts in detail.

Something Beautiful – A Marriage of Art with Fashion