The power of NOW – in that instant, loyalty is strengthened or broken
I like to think I am somewhat of a loyal person. I have friends for life. And I think most of them will show up at my funeral. I try and learn from my dogs everyday what true loyalty means.As a customer, I am also generally loyal. I am loyal not per se to the brands but to my friends working in thos [...]
Letter from Auckland: Looking good, old gal, and the future’s looking good too
Compared with Singapore, which turns 50 this year, Auckland’s an old gal at 175 but she sure looks good.Perhaps I saw her in the best light. It was a perfect summer’s weekend for Auckland’s 175th anniversary celebrations (Jan 23-25) – cloudless blue sky meets shimmering blue sea – and the [...]
Leaving home, but never really leaving it: The invisible web
It’s amazing how much has changed in the last five years and perhaps it’s because we live it everyday that we don’t notice how it’s crept up on us, so as to be almost a part of us.I am talking about technology, especially that part that moves with us, and why I believe (no brainer, really) t [...]
ADD be gone, write great letters and welcome back, long-form
Dear FriendsHappy new year. I know. I am late. But it took me a while to get my brain back into gear after I put it to sleep over the holidays.It wasn’t actually sleeping really, just wandered off. But now that it’s back in working order, I find myself thinking about attention span, letter writi [...]
If you want to be Guardians of the Start-Up Galaxy, here’s what you should heed
There is a scene in the opening sequence of the movie “Guardians of the Galaxy” that sticks with me. Our hero, Peter Quill, is walking into a cave. He’s wearing pretty fancy futuristic gear, having flown in his super duper futuristic craft. You are at the edge of your seat wondering what’s l [...]
Letter from Bangkok: Secrets of successful, happy people
I woke up this morning. Wondered where I was. But took a deep breath and stayed calm.This is after all the advice from what is apparently the most influential post on LinkedIn, which has unknowingly or knowingly to some of us become not only a job marketplace but a media platform.Dr Travis Bradberry [...]
We need to create “Interstellar” moments
Watched Interstellar, the movie, on IMAX last weekend and I left thinking, it’s film makers like Christopher Nolan who will keep people coming back to the big screen.Sure, the IMAX, which is being hailed as the future of cinema, makes the experience even more mind-blowing but what’s a fancy piec [...]
Letter from Taipei: Seeking “moments of secured happiness”
I leave a Taipei on the cusp of change. Yesterday I spent a day wandering the streets, popping into cafes, eating at roadside stalls, and exploring the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, the enclave for Taiwanese artists.While I was doing that, the people of Taipei were voting. Their decision, in [...]
Letter from Antwerp: Dear hotels, it should be about me, not you
Having completed a round-the-world trip in under 14 days – Singapore to LA, New York and ending in Antwerp, Brussels – I feel I have enough material to write a trilogy but I will confine myself to one column about something that really stood out for me during my travels – the difference be [...]
Two men, one wish: Time for their lives
As I listened to Groupon founder Andrew Mason talk at the Phocuswright conference in Los Angeles last week about the epiphany he had while on his break in South-east Asia – about how technology was making us, including him, shitty people and he wanted to do something different with his life [...]
