Leveraging on the Business Ecosystem to achieve the results for my business

 

All of us live in an ecosystem, with nature, amongst people in our society and in business. This was so eloquently elaborated by Dr Lim Chor Peng during his lecture on Business Ecosystems and levereging on Platforms to reach out to customers. The key takeaway from this lecture was and is to network aggressively and with a purpose to get to the 'industry captains' or people who will ultimately help me steer my little ship into the right oceans and manage the upcoming storms with confidence.

To not do so, would be to imperil and through sheer ignorance, lead the little ship into seas of unrecoverable and the threat of sinking would be a real risk going forward.

To link up with the ecosystem, I need to make sure that my little business not only thrives in uncertainty, but lets people khow who we are, where we are from, what we stand for and how may we help them in doing their jobs better. That is the very crux of creating a platform to leverage on all of the players knowing and unknowingly thrust in this ecosystem and profit from it, with the profits delivered to all the stakeholders after a certain time. 

So, I have identified the Blue Ocean, have engaged a pathfinder or lead vessel and now I am charting the course ahead for a journey - hopefully a profitable one for me and my crew. 

Hermann's Whole Brain Thinking - Design Thinking

 As my course for Business and Digital Transformation is in full swing, here are some key takeaways from this amazing course with some world renowned lecturers who have been there done that :

There are 4 queadrants or  equal segments of the human brain ; How much of the time my brain is spent at each quadrant, I need to be cognizant, and not be goverened by the circumstances around me, or based on the job function which I perform most of the week or the year. This way, my decisions will be based on whole brained thinking rather than emotional or feelings based which many of us are wont to do. "To go with the flow" is simply a non thinking decision which is to the detriment and will pull down many people's aspirations.

Left Top                            Right Top 

Logical                                Holistic 

Analytical                            Intuitive

Fact Based                         Integrating

Quantitative                        Synthesizing

Left Bottom                        Right Bottom 

Organized                            Interpersonal

Sequential                            Feelings Based

Planned                                Kinasthesic                

Detailed                                Emotional 

As a small business leader, I must perform and do the following :

a) Ask catalytic questions

b) Collect data

c) Experiment

d) Embed innovation skills

e) WALK the TALK

f) Expect others to do the same ; and push them in that direction

To that ends, for Innovative Design Thinking, I need to do the following :

1. Learn from other people's mistakes and successes

2. Find patterns in the events unfolding before me

3. Design principle future proofed products

4. Make tangible these products into sales and revenue

5. Iterate relentlessless.

DEFINE -->    DISCOVER  -->   DEVELOP  -->   DESIGN

ASK BOLD     USER NEEDS    CONCEPT         PROTOTYPE  -->  DELIVER

QS                  & TRENDS         BENEFITS      < SECURE SPONSORS>

                                                                           < LAUNCH PLAN>

                                                                        <COMMERCIALISE> 

My Goal before 2022 ; return to do 1 more marathon below 5 hours !

 

The 2007 SC Marathon was the year I ran the fastest marathon of my life, or 4 hours 48 minutes ot so. 

I have set myself a Big and Audacious Goal (BAG) by aiming to return to that form some 15 years later !

If I succeed, I will have immense satisafaction of attaining the unattainable. If I fail, I will have rotten eggs on my face.

Do take a look at those days of a younger, and slimmer me above. My BIB No. is 4304 and I weighed almost 10 kg less ! 

COVID - 19 ; the great equalizer of our time.

We are into the final stretch of an unprecendented year. The whole world has been caught in the wake of the COVID 19, originating from Wuhan China. As the world enters the winter months, many of us are left without a job, many have lost loved ones, students cannot pursue or continue with their overseas educations, and livlihoods are destroyed all by a microorganism virus. It is a shattering blow and the world has yet to recover from its effects, from the first wave, to the second wave, from lockdowns to partial reopenings to life changes in our daily appearences (all have to wear a mask before going out). From the number of people we meet (5) to the preoccupation with washing our hands ever so often.

The world had only seen something where everyone was so similarly adversely affected was during the World War 2. And many of us have never experienced the horrors or the inconveniences it wrought, me included. 

Many households will be adversely affected and millions will be pushed down the economic stratum brought about by this perfect storm of weak Government will, and strong pushback for individual freedoms. The way to keep things under control is to do the following interchangebly which Singapore had done so (and several other countries such as New Zealand,Taiwan, Vietnam, Hong Kong) are listed below :

a) Test the front line personnel quickly (we use Polymerase Chain Reaction - with results within a day)

b) Test all the high risk people (we had a horrible run from the foreign workers all living closely together in dormitories)

c) Contact trace everyone (we now have the Trace Together App and use QR codes for everyone entering a public building)

d) Quarantine everyone for 14 days coming in from overseas. Test them upon arrival and  after 7 days.

e) Give all retrenched workers work opportunities and grants to stave off the worst of their economic malaise.

f) Keep up the good fight by coaxing the general population to seek help from depression, lost jobs, failed relationships and business failures. There must and will be an end to this. 

g) New Normal expectations for social events, work (work from home) and meetings via Zoom or Whatsapp will be the norm.

h) Finally, reward and acknowledge that the Health Care professionals who once again have saved many people's lives are indeed the true Heros and should be rewarded monetarily (bonuses) as well as given due recognition (such as discounted meals and free travel on MRT)

The death rate stands today at over 2 million, with many more expected to succumb to this horrible pandemic before the vaccine kicks in (expected early next year). Countless people needlessly have to die, so it is my singular wish that the Governments that be stop all that politicking and just work together for the common good of humanity - to save lives and end all the pain and suffering wrought on by this awful pandemic.

Holding countries accountable should not be the priority. There is enough time down the road for that. Opening up economies when there are literally thousands dying daily is the most risky yet painfully necessary thing to do. Either the quick death from the virus or the slow death from the knock on effects caused by the decimation of the  leisure and travel industry.

A Hobson's choice of which is the path to proceed.

There are plentiful opportunities, if one is careful and cognizant, there are plentiful opportunities awaiting enterpreneurs just around the corner. Risks will be high, and stakes will be higher. 

Look out and seize them, for they are aplenty as far as I can see from my little bumboat of a company floating in this small segment of the vast ocean which for many are experiencing vast storms, battering rains and sinking fast.

Courage to stand up and go forth. 

Bring on 2021. 

Marathoners are natural entrepreneurs.

This post is written more than 3 weeks since the last one. The reason for the long lay off is because I have been very busy with other projects at this point in time. But I am a scribe at heart, so here is my thought for the hot and balmy Sunday. 

Marathon runners make natural entrepreneurs. Some are successful ones at that (I am still struggling). Why ?  Here are some reasons which the rite of passage of marathoners (I have 10 under my belt) and entrepreneurs go through which are SO SIMILAR :

1. They set big goals (42.194km or longer) 

2. They have to strategise to break down the goals into smaller goals ; so for the marathoner, he will have to break down the goal into smaller bite size distances starting from 5 km and slowly 'raising the bar' to almost 40 km before he is confident to tackle the distance. It took me a whole of one and a half years (from 2002) for my actual dedication to the sport to feel confident of running the entire 42.194 km distance - that was the Penang Marathon in 2003.

The runs started with 2.4km, gradually I increased the distances (and set aside longer times) to 5km, 8km, 10km, 12km, 15km, 18km, 20km, 25km, 30km and so on. I kept myself motivated by referring to the Runners World (Print Edition) and then trying through this initial period of waking up early in the mornings, at 5 am to clock in 10km for weeks and months on end. Later on, through the guidance of the schedules set out in Runners World (this was in the early 2000s mind you), I managed to review the best kinds of shoes for my foot strike type - I am a natural pronator (meaning I land on the ball on my feet and not flat footed or a supinator where my feet lands and then rolls off to one side). 

There are numerous shoes types for various types of runners, and mine was regular biomechanically efficient - so I chose the Cushioned Shoes. After a few tryouts, I decided the best shoe for me was the ASICs Kayanos.

I have been a fan of this shoe for the last 18 years and have easily over 20 pairs (kept in the basement of my house !).

3.They are patient ; well I took 1 and a half years to get my body (and mind) conditioned to run a full marathon !

4. They are persistent. Who in their right mind would day in day out go and run in the early morning to greet the sun while their other halves (or partners) are still sound asleep ?  

5. They accept a) loneliness b) pain and c) injury (setbacks) as part of the process. This is so crucial to all marathoners and entrepreneurs. 

6. They accept failure as part of the process. This is the most painful part. There will be numerous critics, naysayers, people who talk bad about you behind your back and so called 'friends' who drink with you but add no value to you or your goals. Minimise the time with them. 

7. There is grit in their mental and physical attitude.

8. Loneliness is tough but the focus is on the goal and nothing else. 

9. Entrepreneurs and Marathoners are solitary creatures. Like Eagles. They do things quietly but with razer sharp vision on getting what they want out of that meeting or discussion.

10. Marathoners and Entrepreneurs know their goals are lofty. They share a camaderie of knowing that they are, like Eagles' are born and not made. So they savor every meeting to cast and thrash ideas and running plans to get to their goal in better shape. 

There are no short cuts. 

11. When the Goal is Reached the Satisfaction is Temporary, but Real. Then it is time to Exit Graciously.

CARPE DIEM

  

  

3rd October 2020 ; 8.02 km run at East Coast Parkway. 53 minutes 12 seconds. Average speed : 6 mins 37 secs

 

Today's run was unique for me for several reasons :

I am nearing my 58th birthday and having seen a number of my friends succumb to illness, I am determined to make the most of my life as meaningfully as possible to me. As such, I need to invest in my health, so that I can achieve my Ikigai within the next 5 to 10 years.

6 weeks ago I embarked on a slimming programme, and I am happy to report that the results are starting to show. To date, I have lost and kept it at the new weight level of 3 kg, thus far.

My goal is to lose 5 - 6 kg and keep it there. So my end weight and maintained, will be 70 to 71 kg. At the current level, my weight is hovering around 73 kg nett. 

For my height of 1.71 m, that would translate to a Body Mass Index of 24.2 which is still in the Overweight range but I am happy with that long term weight.

The food and drinks which would have to be taken very sparingly would be 

a) Alcohol (beer in particular)

b) Carbohydrates (bread, rice, all kinds of chips, pasta)

c) Chocolates

d) Ice cream

e) Most delicacies of the respective seasons : (bak kwa, lap cheong, log cakes, rice dumplings, mooncakes, kueh kuehs so on and so forth).

The health supplement program has me feeling more refreshed, much better sleep, good skin tone, good muscle tone, memory alertness and muscle recovery.

It has indeed given me a good 10 years of life rewinding ; I am a sceptic when it comes to supplements but I am the first to say, I was wrong on this one.

Testament to the results of 6 weeks of supplements, my running has taken me to a new level altogether and for the first time in a long while I am logging very fast speeds and longer distances. 

Curious ?

Perhaps in another post.  

What's My Ikigai ? What's your Ikigai ?

Ikigai is the Japanese term referring to the raison d"etre. It is the reason for a person's existence. It is coined from a Japanese term which basically means the reason a person gets up in the morning. "What drives me ?" or "Why am I alive today ?" "Why am I in this world today ? ",

"Is there a reason for my existence ?"

The question of my existence in this earth for all of its complications, challenges, struggles, pain, suffering, happiness, joy, satisfaction, adrenalin rush surge of optimism and ennui (lack of enthusiasm) has always been the most difficult question I have had to answer. It is the same for many people who have the cognizant awakening one day to find out - hey, is that it ? 

Do I make a difference ? If not, then what is my life worth if it does not enrich anybody except myself and my partner ? That would be utterly selfish, though many people either never give it a second thought and pursue self satisfaction in terms of monetary accumulation. There are those who are unfortunate in the hand of life, or have some health affliction and have different paths to go. Logically, people seek to question the unfairness of life. Why is life so unfair ? 

The reality as far as I am concerned, is that it is not fair. So, this means that there is no logic to life some of the time, though we utilise logic and adopt rules in our lives, our society and respect and adhere to these rules.

We attach logical patterns to create formulas to decipher the forces, and directions of the physical. Science has and always will be a self correcting and self improving subject. One day the entire planet will be ruled by logic, artificial intelligence, and it would be a sad day when that comes, for human beings for all their frailities, and failings will be then relegated to mere disposable entities.

Man is never born equal. It is a harsh reality of life, in times past, present and in the future. We have to make the best with whatever shortcomings (its all in our perception) that our life throws at us (yes sometimes shit hits me in the face) and face up to it.

To deny my situation is a choice sometimes I never made. So I cannot change the past but the future whatever is left of it, I need to look at it squarely in the eye and make something good out of it. I may never achieve some of my lofty goals, but I will give it my 110 % and at the end of life, I will say, 

" I did my very best in everything I undertook and I seized the day. "

Regrets ? Probably there will be.

Satisfaction : absolutely as I would make my path to be a life well lived.

Legacy : It is still a work in progress.I am not dead yet. 

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.. "  

Robert Herrick