Tag: human resource management

The Heart of Singapore’s Productivity Challenge

January 14, 2015 Blog, Business and Management no comments

Flying Robots Singapore

Flying robot waiters are nifty, but are they enough? (courtesy of RT.com)

How can we raise Singapore’s productivity? That is the multi-billion dollar question.

A recent report in Business Times offered suggestions by economists to lower the steep productivity growth targets for Singapore from 2-3 percent per annum to 1-1.5 percent. Various suggestions such as supporting Research & Development for the PIC scheme (which IRAS already supports by the way), and offering discounts for not hitting the foreign worker hiring ratio were suggested.


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.


Execution – How Top CEOs Lead World Class Companies

September 17, 2012 Book Reviews, Business and Management 1 comment

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How do companies like GE, Wal-Mart and Honeywell succeed? What is the secret of Jack Welch, one of the most legendary CEO in the business world today?

The answer, according to Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, is Execution. Subtitled The Discipline of Getting Things Done, the New York Times bestseller emphasises the importance of execution in business, how companies with an execution culture conduct their business affairs, and its three core processes: people, strategy and operations.


Talent is Overrated: Book Review

August 10, 2012 Book Reviews 1 comment

Bruce Lee Quote Deliberate Practice

Bruce Lee obviously knows the value of deliberate practice.

How does one become a world class performer in any field? Can we improve our chances of success despite being born to adverse conditions?

With an eye-catching title and an alluring subtitle – “What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else” – Fortune editor-at-large Geoff Colvin’s book “Talent is Overrated” provides excellent food for thought in today’s knowledge economy.


The Science of Great Teams

June 26, 2012 Blog no comments


Courtesy of Blaze Institute

Why do some teams produce outstanding results while others lag behind given similar resources?

The secret, according to “The New Science of Building Great Teams” in Harvard Business Review, is that successful teams have higher energy, are more engaged, and spend more time exploring outside the group. These patterns of communication and interaction are strongly correlated with performance metrics such as the average handling time in a bank’s call centre.