Business and management articles | Cooler Insights

Rework: A Book Review

January 30, 2013 • Book Reviews • 1 comment

“Policies are organisational scar tissue. They are codified overreactions to situations that are unlikely to happen again. They are collective punishment for the misdeeds of an individual”

With excerpts like that, you can be sure that Rework by founders of 37Signals Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson isn’t an ordinary book on entrepreneurship. Divided into 12 short chapters on various aspects of business – from progress to productivity and competitors to culture – Rework is a compelling read.

The 3 Cs of Convergence Marketing

January 28, 2013 • Content Marketing • disabled comments

What is the true essence of marketing?

I believe that it can be distilled into three basic questions:

How Pleasure Works – Book Review

January 25, 2013 • Book Reviews • disabled comments

Why does pain sometimes feel like pleasure? Why do we enjoy music and art even though there aren’t any adaptive advantages? When does “one man’s meat” become “another man’s poison”?

The answers to these human behavioural puzzles (and more) can be found in How Pleasure Works. Written by Yale’s evolutionary psychologist Paul Bloom, the book uncovers the “new science of why we like what we like”. By delving into the fields of anthropology, evolution, history, biology and psychology, the book investigates why we humans are so different compared to our fellow earthlings.

Samsung Launches 1st Pop-Up Shop in Asia

January 21, 2013 • Blog • 1 comment

K-pop group SKarf – celebrity ambassadors for Samsung (courtesy of Samsung)

Riding on growing consumer interest to experience their mobile devices first hand, Asia’s number one brand Samsung has opened its first Samsung Mobile PIN in Singapore. A premium consumer experience space, the sprawling pop-up store will be at Ngee Ann Civic Plaza for a two-month period till 12 March 2013.

Celebrate the Year of the Snake with Crystal Jade

January 19, 2013 • Blog • disabled comments

Vegetarian Pen Cai from Crystal Jade

Hungry for traditional Chinese fare this Chinese New Year?

Consider popping over to one of Crystal Jade’s many outlets.

The Rise of Creative Leaders

January 17, 2013 • Business and Management • 1 comment

John Maeda – creative leader par excellence (courtesy of Wired.com)

In the age of rapidly changing consumer tastes, ubiquitous digital connectivity and ever changing socio-cultural dynamics, the old ways of leadership will no longer work.

To survive and thrive in this tumultuous age, organisations need to be innovative, open, collaborative and flexible.

January 13, 2013 • Book Reviews, Public Relations • disabled comments

Have you wondered what works (and doesn’t) in Facebook?

Or how you can undo an ill conceived tweet let loose in a fit of anger?

Owning Your Customer’s Experience (Part 2)

January 11, 2013 • Business and Management • disabled comments

Airlines always make it a point to offer luxury (AI Image from Nano Banana)

Does your organisation hold a common view of the customer experience? Does everyone know what it looks like when it is done well? What are you willing to give up to get it?

These questions frame the development of a customer experience vision for any tourism business.

Owning Your Customer’s Experience (Part 1)

January 9, 2013 • Business and Management • disabled comments

Courtesy of HotelManagement.Net

The world has changed. Customers now have all the information they need to decide where they wish to visit, what they want to buy, and what services they require.

With an attention span of 90 seconds or less (at 140 characters each time), business as usual isn’t going to cut it for the Facebook and Twitter generation. The game has changed from word of mouth to world of mouse.