Networking on the Internet or rather, Inter-net-working

Facebook and LinkedIn. These are two of my big finds in 2008.

Karen introduced me to FB in January 2008 - the start of this year. I found LinkedIn not too long after that. A lot of people are hopping on the bandwagon now.

The internet is a big world but the networking parallel between its cyber world and the real world is true.

oh crystal ball, oh crystal ball

"Rooney anticipated the pass," the commentator said excitedly this morning, "got to the ball first and shoots."


"The decision was strategic and right at that time," Yanaka defended. "Who could have foretold that the market conditions would change so drastically."


Who wouldn't love to be able to see the future? That would be money in the bank. We'd all know what stocks to buy and where to purchase real estate. Everything we anticipated would come true.


There was an article in the Straits Times yesterday about a fortune teller reading the palms and predicting the fortunes of some TV celebrities.


There's a difference between anticipation and fortune telling.


Being able to anticipate what is likely to occur in the next few months and the next few years is enough to give you an edge over the 99% others who simply go along with whatever happens.


My sifu once taught me that to hone anticipatory skills, accept nothing. Question everything.


The "what ifs" should be endless. What if my current products doesn't sell? What if my top performer is recruited by the competition? What is the sales leads dry up? I constantly ask "what if" questions.

Don't just think outside the box...there is NO box

"I went for an interview at dell just before Christmas," Fabian told me.

While he was still in university, Michael Dell told his father: "I want to compete with IBM." His father didn't think that was very funny.

I have often found that if I wanted to break from the pack and stand out from the crowd, sometimes I have to risk being perceived to be as eccentric as Michael Dell, Richard Branson, and all these people.

I make a good living building and motivating high performing sales and marketing teams, but I myself have to get busy deciding what lens to look through each day. Talent and training alone may tee-up high performance but they are not sufficient.

What my Christmas prezzies taught me about brand building

I got a bottle of Absolut Vodka from my Secret Santa. My wife got a body shop item. These were amongst some of the prezzies we got.

Absolut and Body shop were great at marketing and brand building. Other great success stories I admire are Nike and Cirque de Soleil. In my line of work, I continually ask myself, "how do I make a stay or meeting at my two hotels I am managing as fun and unpredictable as a contemporary circus.

I learned many years back when I was appointed Brand Champion for Pan Pacific that asking this kind of question allows me to see what business I am really in, or could really be in.

Season Greetings

Here's wishing everyone a smashing Christmas and a great 2009!

Out of balance

My good friend David was diagnosed with a heart condition.

It was a wake-up call for him as it was for me. Lack of balance can kill.

Some of these factors can cause someone to be out of balance and place additional stress.

At work it could mean a new job, lack of support, politics and turf wars, a problem staff, bad boss, not getting results.

On the personal front, it could be marital problems, loss of a loved one, financial difficulties, health problems, parent problems.

These factors can truly cause feelings of being overwhelmed. I realised this: it's time to change and regain the balance necessary for real success both at work and home.

Difference between David and Goliath

"Polaroid has filed for bankruptcy," Albert told me last night.

One of the case studies which I undertook whilst studying was about how Polaroid enjoyed 28 years of monopoly control of the instant photography market until Kodak came along in 1976.

After years with giants like AMEX, Aetna, Hilton, Pan Pacific, Starwood, Meritus, I now work for a relatively small, but fast growing company. After over 1 1/2 years, I realise a major advantage of working in a so-called small company.

A small company can mobilise quickly, change directions in turbulent waters on short notice. That's why the big Titanic sank - because it can't change course quick enough.