Walter | Cooler Insights

Should You Hire the Generalist or the Specialist?

December 13, 2011 • Blog • 1 comment

Should you hire a General (like Cao Cao) or a highly specialised Sniper? (courtesy of Rongwen’s blog)

In the Human Resource function of any organisation, an age-old dilemma commonly exists.

Should a company hire somebody with years of vertical expertise with deep and specialised knowledge in a niche area? Should it instead recruit somebody with horizontal expertise (ie a generalist) who may even hail from an entirely different profession or industry altogether? How about a candidate with a mixture of both horizontal and vertical areas of specialisation?

Celebritize Yourself: A Book Review

December 11, 2011 • Book Reviews, Personal Branding, Public Relations • 1 comment

Images courtesy of Celebritize Yourself

Are you keen to be better known and respected in your field of expertise?

Have you wondered how seemingly ordinary folks – policeman, plumbers, teachers and housewives – have risen to become well known household names?

Why Leaders Should Embrace a Higher Calling

December 9, 2011 • Blog • disabled comments

Michael Beer (courtesy of Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute)

To rise above the vagaries of the uncertain economy, what should companies do? How can they manage the wrath of Wall Street and the severe backlash of a liquidity crunch?

Well according to Michael Beer from Harvard Business School, the answer is that companies should embrace a higher purpose. In an excellent podcast from HBR Ideacast, Beer shares some of the characteristics of these firms and the leadership styles that they embody.

December 7, 2011 • Book Reviews • 2 comments

Gary Vaynerchuk has been “crushing” it ever since he was a teenager helping out in his family’s wine business. And his latest book shows how he does it.

Written by the straight-talking serial entrepreneur and founder of Winelibrary.com, The Thank You Economy presents a no-holds-barred approach to how businesses can leverage on the power of social media.

How Tightly Should You Manage Your Team?

December 5, 2011 • Blog • disabled comments

Should you control your subordinate’s every move? (courtesy of River Empowerment)

There are two major schools of thought in leadership and management.

The first approach is the older “Command and Control” style. Here, an authoritative leader uses a clearly domineering way of getting things done. Charging ahead like a bull, he/she will steamroll over anything – or anybody – who gets in his or her way. Instructions given are clear, specific and often unidirectional. Its “my way or the highway”.

World’s First Transformers Ride Opens in Singapore

December 3, 2011 • Blog • 1 comment

EVAC, a new autobot created specially for the attraction

It’s a night of 3D thrills and spills as Transformers The Ride made its global premiere at Universal Studios Singapore.

Rumoured to cost more than S$100 million and to take more than four years to plan and build, Transformers The Ride is probably one of the world’s most expensive theme park attraction. It is also the world’s first theme park based on the popular robot franchise from Hasbro, with the next opening in Universal Studios Hollywood in 2012.

Society 2.0, Social Tools and Gamification

December 1, 2011 • Blog • 1 comment

Preetam Rai of Global Voices Online (courtesy of GovCamp Singapore)

In an ideal Web 2.0 enabled world populated by active and engaged citizens, the public would be engaged, empowered and encouraged to use social technologies and digital tools to build a better society. As the government does not have a monopoly on ideas, it would be critical for citizens to help themselves so to speak.

What then are some of the developments in this area, and how can one take that tentative first step forward? Well, there are lots of food for thought from three sessions which I recently attended at the second Govcamp Singapore.

November 29, 2011 • Book Reviews, Social Influence • disabled comments

By now, many of you would have heard of buzz and viral marketing, experiential marketing, and the art of conversational marketing.

Some of you may have also learned about three of the most important marketing ideas in the 2010s (and 2020s): creating a Purple Cow, pushing an idea over the Tipping Point, and the almost religious need to use social media in marketing.

Imagine Wearing Your Customer’s Shoes

November 24, 2011 • Blog • disabled comments

Consider what your customers will look, smell, touch and feel – from the start to end of your experience

Let’s try this thought exercise for a few minutes.

Imagine that you’re a customer of your own company’s business. This could be anything of course, depending on what your company do. During this time, you should don the hat of your prospective customer, be he or she a swinging single, working parent, active ager, awkward teen, or urban professional.

Author: coolerinsights