Business Success

It's been a while.

I just recently heard that a friend of mine got bought out by Groupon, in essence replicating the idea of "group buying" here in Singapore. Given that Google tried to buy Groupon for $6 billion, the offer Groupon made to my friend was pretty sweet indeed. Plus they made him CEO for their South-East Asia region!

It's funny cause I remember talking to him about it in New York, when he was getting himself set up and making trips to Singapore. It's fantastic to see him do good and achieve the success that he has received.

Of course this makes me think about getting myself started with some business ideas here. What it also made me realise was that it's all in the execution, even if the idea is modelled after someone else. Whilst the internet has made certain things easily accessible across the globe, there are still many location-based services that just need to replicated to a new location.

No doubt there will be sacrifices along the way. My friend dropped out of an INSEAD programme in order to get his business off the ground. What sacrifices would I be willing to make? Am I still too wedded to my job? I told another friend that my heart is still in my current job. Perhaps I need to accept that this job is what I want to at the moment...if that's the case, then I need to make sure that I am achieving everything I want to in this job.

Shanghai

It's been 7 years since I went to Shanghai. The place has undergone a dramatic change, from all accounts. What made it good before still applies...the food (sheng jian bao, yum!), the view from the Bund, the French Concession. I remember vigorously partying the first time I was here. On that front, it seems like nothing has changed! Can't believe they opened up a Prive there. Fun to meet new friends, more places to visit around Asia.

Di and I went to an "art battle" event, where random artists are making artworks in front of you and you vote for the one your liked best. It's this kind of stuff that I don't think is available in Singapore, although perhaps I'm not looking hard enough.

Finally made it to the expo, on the second last week it was showing. I'm so glad I had connections to get into the Australia pavilion (our company built it) and the Taiwan pavilion (friend was VIP). Not sure if I would have lined up 4 hours to see these things, although if I had lined up for 4 hours for anything I'm sure I would have raved on about it just to validate that it wasn't a complete waste of time!

Spent time at the office as well. It always seems that hospitality is wonderful in these regional offices. I'm sure they get sick of random staff members coming in to visit, but they are so gracious about it. It's good to get some face time with these guys though, makes work easier when communicating or convincing them of a certain process.

Speaking of hospitality, thanks Di for taking me around! Hope you get your visa sorted out so you can visit me in Singapore!

Hips Don't Lie

My last 1.5 years in New York were filled with forays into nightclubs around the city. What always attracted me to a place was much less about the physical qualities of the people there but much more about the quality of the music that was played. So I would willingly go to places that my friends deemed questionable in order to dance to my "pop-RnB" tunes.

Friends who have known me for a while (which I assume is every person who can be bothered to read this blog) know that I am quite happy to boogey away by myself, as long as the music is good. Those last 1.5 years have, I believe, improved my dancing abilities to a point that it gets recognised as a value-add item!

I was never quite sure what made my dancing good, having not had any training (apart from many 21st birthday party performances). The Economist has now shown the way. Indeed, all it comes down to is a willingness to "drop it like it's hot"!

It has been a both pleasant and unpleasant to find out surprise to find that Singapore does not have many people who I would consider good dancers. Guys especially seem rooted to one spot. Pleasant in that it makes me at least be better than average, unpleasant in that there are girls here who can't dance (side note: drunk foreigners here still love to do that mosh pit thing in the middle of the dance floor...both a dangerous (for the people around them) and idiotic exercise).

Ah, memories of Circle come flooding back!

A Servant Life

One of the big pluses of being in Singapore is that I get to enjoy Jo's company. Whilst it can get silent sometimes, he does ask (or usually states) good questions, things worth thinking about.

He posed a question to me the other day, "I don't think you should stay in IT too long, as you are in a servant role, and it's not helpful in understanding how to grow a business".

I was initially a bit shocked. But it did get me thinking about it more.

He's quite right, internal IT is all about serving our business, and quite a reactive place. When the business grows, we grow. When the business shrinks, we shrink. It's a place of ideas, yes, but always of ideas to cut costs, not to increase revenues.
Granted, at my company, there is a small group of IT people with a focus on growing the "technology in property" part, but the focus is always on IT serving the business. And especially in construction, where the majority of people think that they can still build a building with just pen and paper.

And the pitfall with the service attitude is that creativity is more difficult to achieve. When IT is in reactive mode, it's comforting to not have to think and just do, just fix the problem at hand. We become great problem solvers for the problems that we can see. But growing a business usually involves fixing problems that are not yet visible, tapping the untapped opportunity.

So I need to think more holistically, and understand how the business wants to grow here. As a start, I need to think of how we can position our IT offerings to enable this growth. Perhaps business ideas will grow from there.

Should I totally step away from this servant life? A part of me quite enjoys this role, so for the time being it's the right thing. I do like the managing people part, that is where I'm learning a lot. I'm sure that will come in handy in the future.

Singapore Update

Update:
1. Put a deposit down for an apartment, moving in end of the month. Funnily, I just found a video walkthrough of an apartment in that building that is the same as mine. However, mine doesn't have anywhere near that good a view (or come with that music!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDQh2wxKycs

2. Since I haven't moved in, not sure about quality of food in my new area. I'm currently close to a hawker food centre, so hitting that up quite often. I'm a cheap eats kinda guy :)

3. Meeting people all over the place. Obviously catching up regularly with Anton and Jo/Krystal, seeing Nic quite often as well. Making some new party friends, which is good for me not having to line up at parties. Will try to catch up with other people here...

4. Found myself a volleyball group, so playing on Sundays. Good players, and very friendly people, so getting some exercise.

5. Need to find more people to practice Mandarin with, not throwing it out there enough.

6. "Mini CIO" job is ok, reporting lines are a bit blurred, but I don't really care as long as I've still got some influence. I've settled into the job a bit more, got some runs on the board with a new initiative. Truth be told, I haven't heard much at all from my Asia CIO, so I should reach out to him more...

Overall, I'm feeling happy about this place. It's been very easy to settle in and get into the Singapore rhythm. Looking forward to traveling around Asia. Still missing friends in New York, but glad to have internet/BBM to keep in touch.

Farewell and Hello

Pic from Boston / Cape Cod trip here. Thoroughly recommended.

As I count out my last days here in NYC, a friend asked me what I will miss most about the city.
I remember telling another friend ages ago that the one thing New York has above all other cities is the opportunity to do what I want at whenever I wanted. Through sheer numbers of people in this city (and especially Manhattan) there is always something going on.

So I will miss that feeling of opportunity. The feeling that "hey, something random and special will happen tonight!". Most likely it involves alcohol.

Of course, I will miss the friends, both new and old. From Aussie mates, to friends from work, volleyball, Company of Heroes and clubbing, everyone has been so welcoming. I would like to think that it's more than just the fact that my American friends like to hear my accent that they hang out with me, but who knows? My Aussie friends are like family now. I will miss them the most.

I have a few New Yorkers that have lived in this city and cannot think of moving anywhere else. Whilst I feel that I have made New York home, I was fairly sure that I would not settle down here. With the significant distance to family, if was always going to be a "time-constrained" experience. Experiences like acting, MOMA, Broadway shows, and Circle all add up to a lifetime of memories,

It's special to live in NYC, it's even more special to live in the city both as part of a couple and as a single guy. There is definitely enough things to do to satisfy either lifestyle, but if I was to pick one, I would say that New York is THE place to be a single guy :)

I have learned a lot about myself in the last 3 years and for that I am thankful. New York has forced me to try new things, see different perspectives and perhaps reinvent myself. New York has made me believe in me. Really, that is all anyone can ask for.

I believe that the transition to Singapore life will be smooth. Having good friends that already makes it much easier to fit in. Of course there will be challenges (one of which is the new role) but I am looking forward to it.

So farewell New York, hello Singapore!

Self Reverence

As I celebrate another birthday (Boston and Cape Cod!), I read an article on the three pillars of a successful person: self reverence, self knowledge and self control.

The first one has always been a struggle. I did not notice it as much in my younger days, but similarly to when someone points out that you say "um" a lot, I see it in my writing and my actions. I use a lot of self deprecating humour, and whilst it is effective, sometimes I wonder if it means I don't value myself enough.

I wrote about this lack of self reverence a while back.

To take one light-hearted example, at clubs, I will quickly remove myself from pursuing a girl if other guys come in and have a shot at that girl that I like. Why?? Why do I rate myself so lowly against other (mostly Asian) guys that if I objectively assessed the situation I would consider myself an equal or possibly better?
I know that my personality is such that I do not like to make such judgments against people, plus I'm not too big on confrontations.

New York has taught me that there are some arrogant people here, super confident in themselves, perhaps to the extent that it isn't even true.
However, being an Asian Australian living in America bumps my "perceived quality" quotient up a few levels, due to a) the accent, b) the attitude and c) yes the accent. As my friend says, "get it whilst the getting is good!". I'm following her advice :)

I need to understand that the combination of my personality, career, outlook and looks all add up to a decent package. I don't think that enough, and given my new life in Singapore, it's worth a shot. Believe, and Aim High!

Strategic Thinking

I recently attended a "management strategy and communications" course. I was initially drawn to the communications part, of learning how to properly structure the words to senior executives so that they understand the message and know what actions need to be undertaken.

I obviously did not read the course in much detail, or really the title of the course, as there was a whole day (it's a two day course) spent on defining management strategy.

I'm starting to understand how "tactical" my job really is, focusing on deliverables and milestones. As part of the course, defining a strategy is always about understanding the market differentiators, what makes "us" better than the competition. From the market differentiators, this should (hopefully) lead to some insights that will determine the strategy and hence strategic objectives.
What was an even more shocking realisation is how little I understand or appreciate the ways that the company makes money. It was a revelation to see the breakdown of the profits (via our annual reports), and see the trends of where money can be made.

To me, "strategic thinking" is quite an foreign concept, but one that I should grasp and master if I am to do my next job properly. There's even a line "develop a vision for the region" which is causing all sorts of anxieties.

My boss defined "strategic thinking" as "testing a certain theory against as many scenarios as you can, and the one that gives the best outcome is the one you go with". Thinking about that a bit more, is it really the flip side risk analysis, when you think of everything that can go wrong by taking a certain course?

I'm glad I did this course. Perhaps I could become a strategic thinker in the future!

San Fran / Yosemite / Vegas / Grand Canyon

Top ten things about San Fran / Yosemite / Vegas / Grand Canyon:
1. I got some new hiking shoes. Now whenever people invite me to hikes or places with ankle deep water trails, I'm all over it. Oh and a headlamp, those things rock.
2. I saw a bear! It ddin't look massive, so assuming young bear. Glad that the momma bear wasn't around to chase us.
3. It's infinitely more rewarding to have hiked a trail in order to get to some nice lookouts. Probably due to the fact that I slaved 6 hours with a massive backpack on to get there.
4. Camping overnight, seeing stars, cooking around a campfire. Not sure if I would do it again, but glad that I did it this time.
5. Winning at the craps table. I was up from the start and never looked back. Lesson for next time: when the hot roll finishes, immediately leave.
6. Setting up shots inspired by Sydney Dance Company pictures. Way less classy, but way more hilarious. With double SLRs, tons of happy snaps (check the pictures here)
7. Partying in Vegas is 100% dependent on the crew that you go with. This time, everyone was committed, which made for two great nights (see pictures here)
8. My first spa facial! I now know what extractions mean. I never knew that there existed a thing to cleanse your face using ultrasonic sound waves...
9. Cruising the highways from Vegas to Grand Canyon in a convertible Mustang. Even other tourists took photos of us!
10. Catching up with Waz. Good friends will always be good friends.

Bonus: Hearing that I might be going to Vegas again in June :)

Acceptance

I've been reading a book recently called "Mojo: Hot to Get It, How To Keep It, How to Get It Back". It's (yes) another self help book, recommended to me by a person I met on the plane. Whilst it has the usually "how to achieve happiness and meaning in your life" stuff, there was some good advice on being aware of reputation and how it affects the choices you get in life.

What was more interesting was the concept of acceptance, and that if you can or are not willing to change either the circumstance or yourself, to "move onwards and upwards".
I like to think of myself as a fairly pragmatic guy, and so this resonated with me quite a lot. One of the pieces of advice from the book was the concept of a "lifetime pass". The question to always ask is: "is my life better off or worse off because this person is in it?"

Friends have asked me recently why I would still hang out with my exes. I struggled to answer the question, but now I know. I shared a very significant part of my life with them, and I know that my life would be worse off if she wasn't in it. And though I may wonder "why?" once in a while, whatever happened before is water under the bridge. She continues to make my life better, so I hope we stay friends.

Who is on your "lifetime pass"?

Photos: Uploaded photos from Aives and Pete's wedding. Love Opera Bar!
Photos: General Sydney trip. Good to see family again.