What is the secret sauce to enduring corporate innovation?
Is it the ability to introduce disruptive technologies? Are smaller companies – also known as emergents – more able to shake the market? What about religion, climate, geography, education, patents or even (gasp) luck?
Jacqueline Tan, founder and general manager of Nothing But Green
Founded by three mummies with a passion for sustainable living, Nothing But Green is an eco friendly retail cum F&B outlet located in the heart of the city. Stocking a wide range of organic/green/eco friendly products – baby care, personal care, household, clothing, accessories, food and more – it offers both onsite and online shopping to cater to environmentally conscious consumers.
Guided by the philosophy that “every small thing we do can save the world”, the outlet’s deli uses fresh organic ingredients in all its dishes and serves meals that suit most dietary requirements. Items on its menu include sandwiches, salads, wraps, soups as well as Asian favourites like sliced fish soup, chicken rice, and Thai green chicken curry.
Can you guess the name of this actor? (courtesy of Lawson Stone)
In the social era, everybody’s becoming an activist.
Don’t believe me? Just look at the feeds on your Facebook or Twitter accounts.
Huge pumpkins don’t happen by accident (courtesy of Media 4 News)
Everybody loves a colossal pumpkin.
The darlings of farmer markets and fairs, gargantuan pumpkins stand out from the crowd. They attract a tremendous amount of attention, win prizes, and reap fame and glory for their farmers.
Creators of new products in environments of extreme uncertainty, startups face enormous risks.
In the US, about 50% of small businesses fail in the first five years. Insufficient capital, over investment, and low sales are just some of the reasons leading to this sobering statistic.
As a startup owner, what can you do to “growth hack” your business and improve your chances of success?
Image courtesy of MD Journey
Writing is an art and a science. Often, it involves the right alchemy of formula, focus and flow.
Effective writing of internal “pitch” documents is an important managerial skill. Through well articulated plans, proposals and submissions, one can lobby for much needed budgets, manpower or other resources to support one’s work.
Ahh the wonders of 3D. If only we can get rid of those ugly 3D glasses…
Well, apparently, now we can. In a world’s first for Singapore, A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), together with Temasek Polytechnic (TP), has developed a new plastic film which empowers your handheld device to display 3D images and videos. This nano-engineered screen protector allows you to view 3D movies and photos using your smartphones and tablets without needing to wear those pesky red and green spectacles!
Oh the woes of the SME retail sector in Singapore. I’m sure you’ve read or heard about them.
Demanding consumers. Price competition. Sky high rentals. Relentless staff turnover (up to 300% a year in extreme cases). Difficulty in hiring. Competition from big chains. Rising utility costs. Increasing costs of goods. Growing transportation costs.
The list of problems faced by SME retailers is seemingly endless.
Courtesy of Kingford Hillview Peak
To buy or not to buy a condo? That is the question for many Singaporeans looking for new homes.
Riding on one of the most buoyant property markets in the region, private apartments has become one of the most discussed topics here. To slow down white hot demand, the government announced a seventh round of cooling measures on 12 January. More recently, Minister Khaw Boon Wan has also spoken about bringing government-built HDB flats back to their original purpose as homes rather than investments.
Was Borders a victim of Disruptive Innovation? (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Tower Records. Borders. Kodak. Maybe even Research In Motion (RIM)?
The list of casualties to disruptive innovations grow longer each day. By clinging to the status quo and failing to recognise the threats of disruptive consumer behaviours, technologies, or business models, these companies have sounded their own death knell.
