Commentary

Uncertain markets force big decisions on businesses. When there’s pressure to maintain cashflow and customers, firms often have to take bold steps to achieve greater efficiency or competitiveness. However, with the changes wrought by technology and globalisation, many traditional strategies for weathering storms no longer work. Some of the common beliefs held by companies about the best way forward may instead damage their prospects. Here are five common mistakes to avoid: 1. “I will concentrate on what I know, and focus on existing markets” When times are hard, there’s a temptation to stick to tried and tested basics. However, one lesson of successful companies like Google is that businesses must continuously innovate and iterate. The fact that something worked last month does not guarantee future success. Innovation can mean developing new products or services, but also new markets. Recent research found that in most countries of the world, companies with international markets are performing better, in terms of revenue and profit growth, than those that only operate domestically.[1]

Think of great leaders and we often think of strong people who are highly visible or great orators or action figures. Some might recall Russell Crowe in the opening scene of Gladiator… “On my command, unleash hell! ”

According to the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum, 95% of businesses in the Asia-Pacific region are SMBs. The percentage varies by country.

Any Singaporean organisation seeking to improve the effectiveness of its planning processes will quickly discover that feedback is a vital element of any planning system.

In today’s sometimes chaotic business reality, leaders in Singapore are consistently caught in a squeeze. They are responsible for creating and driving performance and at the same time they are measured on just how lean an organization they can run. A great majority of leaders and managers are well-intentioned, smart and accomplished, but fail to live up to their potential. This could be because they stop working on themselves. For some, they stop making progress because they simply do not think that they need it in the first place.

When it comes to business, success is often measured by top line and bottom line performance.

There were a record number of marriages in Singapore in 2011, yet a similar record decline in the UK. Why? Singaporeans get married as if it was going out of fashion and this might be their last chance! There are many reasons for this. If people got married in 2011 they may well have a Dragon baby. Yes as daft as that may sound, having a baby born in the Chinese Lunar Year of the Dragon, especially Water Dragon, the most powerful of the Zodiac signs means a lot to Chinese Singaporeans. The other major reason why Singaporeans get married and got married in record numbers is housing. In Singapore the vast majority of housing is provided by the government, called HDB’s (Housing Development Board).

So you're a young Singaporean professional. Go out there. Travel. It’s the best thing you can give yourself after finishing that final report you’ve spent grueling nights typing in your office cubicle.

(Or how they can create greater value by focusing on experience rather than price.)

Mention Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and most small to medium business sized business owners in Singapore would likely dismiss it as something that only the big companies and big multinational companies need.

As the 21st century dawned on us, it unceremoniously enmeshed us into this cyber era. As the tectonic clash continues to rapidly grow in the Silicon Valley region, the evidence of this cataclysm can be felt miles away in South East Asia.

Singapore is becoming one of the world’s premier hub for quality printing presses, even our national newspaper boasts quality color printing bringing about more vibrant colors and smoother fonts.

It's no secret that the advent of social media and Internet technologies has caused a massive shift in the way that business is done around the world. While opening up vast opportunities, the plethora of options out there today makes it very easy for marketing to lose control over messages.

A good business meeting can leave you feeling energised, enthused and five years younger. A bad one can leave you wanting an immediate change of job or even career. We all complain about having too many meetings, but when they work, they generate new ideas, revenues, energy or goodwill. How can we make sure this happens? The three elements of meetings A meeting has three parts: before, during and after. There’s lots of advice given about the ‘during’ part. Time-keeping and staying on topic are crucial. So too is ensuring that verbose participants don’t drown out diffident ones. There’s also lots of advice available about the ‘after’ – such as the importance of being clear about agreed outcomes, follow-up actions and deadlines. Least attention is paid to the ‘before’ stage. But in my experience the planning stage can make or break a meeting. Define the purpose of the meeting: Meetings are so much a part of corporate life that people often hold them as a ‘default’ option. Too many meetings have vague intentions: a weekly team meeting or progress update, for example. The best meetings are action-orientated, with clear aims or desired outcomes. Limit the numbers: Generally, the greater the number of participants, the greater the risk of them losing energy. Think about whether people really need to be there, or whether they could be updated about the outcomes. Handle this diplomatically: make people feel that non-attendance liberates time in their schedule, and not that they’re being sidelined. Agendas are not just a formality: Agendas are crucial to good planning. They should be distributed in time for participants to read them, and act on them. All participants should know exactly what preparations they need to do beforehand. Set the stage: I think of this like a play or film. No matter the quality of the script and the actors, plays or films don’t really work unless they also have the right venue, set, lighting and sound. There are a range of ‘staging’ elements you need to consider.

In Singapore the acceptance of failure is close to non-existent. No matter how unrealistic zero failure may seem, failure is not an option.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore take up 99%[1] of all enterprises on this island. This is indeed an overwhelming figure, coming to think of it. They employ 7 out of every 10 workers, and contribute over 50% towards the National GDP[2].