Commentary

Are your Executives working below their pay grade?

Over 29,000 new companies were formed in Singapore in 2010, the highest number in the past 10 years. It is perhaps a sign Singapore entrepreneurs are confident about local and regionaleconomic prospects, despite uncertainty in international markets. At the recent G20 meeting in Cannes, France, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted Asia’s emergence as a growth region while the Euro-zone and United Statescontinue to work through their economic challenges. The PM however, was clear to highlight Singapore’s significant trade and investment reliance on developed markets, despite their uncertainties. So are there opportunities for Singapore startups and SME’s in developed economies, despite the downturn? The good news amidst this gloom is thatone developed economy has remainedeconomicallyresilientwhile experiencing a renaissance in its entrepreneurial environment– and Singaporean firms could benefit immensely. The Canadian Opportunity for Singapore Entrepreneurs Despite the economic difficulties of its largest trading partner, the United, States, Canada was named the top entrepreneurial hotbed amongst all G20 countries in a McKinsey & Company study released for the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Summit,which commenced November 1st in Nice. The report cited Canada’s protective and fluid environment for entrepreneurs, high quality of education, lack of taxes and regulatory burdens, and opportunities for collaboration as the main reasons. The United States were ranked 2nd in the study. The study also cited Canada’s strong culture of entrepreneurship, which respondents ranked third behind only India and China, as being particularly welcoming to developing ideas and concepts. This, combined with the stable business and regulatory environment Singapore entrepreneurs find familiar, could make Canada an excellent partner for new venture expansion. Canada also emerged from the global financial crisis relatively unscathed compared to most Western economies. There were three major reasons: its strongbanking institutions, commitment to free trade and open markets, and generally successful federal and provincial economic stimulus programs. Examples of Emerging Opportunities The economic stimulus programs helped spur Canada’s already thriving research environment, resulting in increased technological developments and startup foundations. These startups have proven technology and are hungry for international partnerships to further commercialize their knowledge. At the recently concluded Singapore International Energy Week, clean technologies from numerous Canadian companies were on display. Many Canadian firms are still in the early stages of exploring the Asian market with technologies that have succeeded in other economies. Many are actively seeking regional partnerships – partnerships that could easily be taken by Singaporean firms looking to expand internationally. In partnering with Canadian researchers, Singaporean entrepreneurs in technology can also open new avenues for the continued development of Singapore’s top notch tech and innovation infrastructure. With Canada’s world leading research,Singaporean firms could also be supporting national development through the inflow of high quality technology transfer. For example, the Southwest Ontario region of Canada, traditionally Canada’s Manufacturing Heartland, is being increasingly recognized as a hub of world leading research. Known for bordering the world’s busiest trade frontier with the United States (the Windsor-Detroit crossing), the region is also home to a large number of world class research Universities, include the University of Western Ontario and University of Waterloo. Involved in research around healthcare, ICT’s and clean energy technologies, there are numerous opportunities for technology transfer from this, and other, Canadian regions. The world famous BlackBerry is one example of research at the University of Waterloo that was commercialized for success. Leveraging the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Finally, Singaporean business owners are now used to being on the doorstep to Asia and leveraging growth opportunities in the region. Likewise, Canada, in addition to its own strengths as anindependent economy, is on the doorstep of the world’s largest economy, the United States. Despite the downturn, the American bilateral trade relationship with Canada’s remains the world’s largest.NAFTA links 450 million people producing over US$17 trillion in goods and services. Singaporean startups can easily be a part of this economic model. A company can, for example, create a headquarters in entrepreneur-friendly Canada,while leveraging NAFTA to access American and Mexican markets. So while Asia provides great opportunities for Singapore’s growing entrepreneurial sector, and continues to be a light amidst the darkness of international economic uncertainty, there are still opportunities available in the developed economies of the West. A bit of research intoCanada may yield some greatopportunities for Singaporean firms and investors. 

Nothing beats than having a place to call your own, this has been an entrenched Asian mindset, especially in the context of land scarce cities like Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo, where having a place is a luxury but ironically, also an essential. Additionally, having a home is very much desirable in these cities as the society’s pace have been fairly fast in these places, adding on to the stress where working professionals are very much hopeful of having a place to connect with oneself at the end of the day and to re-charge for the following day’s requirements.

Business is all about growth. If you don’t believe me, read any of the great economists, from Karl Marx to J.M Keynes, Joseph Schumpeter or Milton Friedman. Whether they are monetarists or political theorists, whether they concentrate on demand or supply, they all end up believing in some kind of business cycle.

In our global community, talented people are making more connections and career moves than ever before. Technology advancements are removing barriers to working across borders, and those with transferable skills can choose from multiple avenues of work. More than ever, people view their skills as a tradable asset, as their prime competitive advantage and the key to unlocking their future potential.

Many CEOs and CFOs have told me that the return-on-investment (ROI) of branding can’t be measured. I don’t blame them because the consulting industry has come up with complicated measures of branding success or nothing at all. Branding ROI can actually be measured but that requires you to first understand what a brand is.

Innovation is about finding better ways of doing - What?

What do you look for in an airport? Speed in and out, relaxation, convenience, F&B and shopping outlets, wi-fi….butterflies, forests, cinemas, massage oh sorry the last few are just in Singapore.

I confess…I am an Angry Birds addict. For the benefit of readers who have not experienced this phenomenon, Angry Birds is a puzzle video game, in which players have to throw angry birds on pigs that have stolen the birds’ eggs. Since its launch in December 2009, over 12 million copies have been downloaded from the Apple App Store, making it the number one paid app in over 50 stores from Moldova to Singapore. More compelling is the fact that the total number of hours consumed by Angry Birds players worldwide is roughly 200 million minutes a day, which translates into 1.2 billion hours a year.

Cloud computing is here and SMEs in Singapore need to embrace it. The transition to public or private clouds is gaining pace as companies in Singapore realize the potential for transforming business capabilities and driving new innovative services. Cloud computing in Singapore is expected to grow 43 per cent over the next five years, exceeding the forecast of 29 per cent in the region.

Since 2010, South-East Asia has consolidated its position as an important contributor to the global downstream market with Petronas’ recent announcement of its plan to build the new RAPID facility in Malaysia one further example of the region’s growing importance.

Despite global uncertainty our latest Hays Quarterly Report for the October-December quarter shows there are still a number of areas actively hiring as companies pursue aggressive growth and expansion plans. The market continues to remain active following ongoing investment by the government and private investors in a number of key sectors including oil and gas, pharmaceutical, R&D, banking and financial services and tourism.

During one of my career counselling sessions to a group of MBA students, almost every one of them would like to become a manager straight after their graduation. Knowing better that people management skills is something you pick up through years of working experience, i put it back that it may not be that realistic.

Branding is vital for the success of every business, no matter how big or small. A strong corporate image is the foundation for your company's success, and it determines who you are. In today's competitive business environment, companies spend millions of dollars every year on branding exercises to update and enhance their image and reputation. A large percentage of this expenditure includes advertising on traditional and online medium, corporate branding, events, product packaging, and association with worthy causes through corporate social responsibility projects and sponsorship programmes, and so on. Getting associated with the right brands, philosophy or presenting your company in a good light can enhance your company's image. But, what sort of image or impression does your client get at his first contact with your employees? Front-line Impressions Employees are often one of the most undermined and under-developed aspects of a company's foundation. Not only are they the face of your company and living representatives of your brand, they also differentiate your brand from your competitors, and deliver the ultimate brand experience you want your company to be known for. While you are setting aside a large budget for this year's branding exercise, consider this: The proof of the pudding is in the eating -- are your living, breathing brand ambassadors projecting the right corporate image to the outside world? Are your employees walking and breathing your brand according to your company philosophy? Consistency is Key Your employees and your corporate image are every successful organisation's two greatest assets. As long as your employees' appearance and behaviour are not in tandem with your corporate image, the repercussions can be detrimental to your business. I share a personal experience: A luxurious, internationally-acclaimed hotel located in town recently opened for business. Impressed by their claims to provide guests with a high-level of attentive and personalised service by a team of professional, impeccable staff, I thought the hotel could be a wonderful event venue and decided to visit. It being my first visit, I could not find my way around. Only after looking around for assistance that I noticed three service staff chatting and laughing among themselves away from the hotel entry, oblivious to guests entering the new hotel. Within a short time of its opening, the hotel had already stopped living up to its widely-publicised brand promise. On my second visit to the same hotel one week later, I encountered a very helpful staff who readily offered his assistance when I first entered the main hallway. Although he was very attentive and helpful, I saw a jarring inconsistency in the service level and found it difficult to erase my first not-so-nice encounter on my last visit. Needless to say, my first impression of the hotel did not match up to its brand promise, and I decided not to shortlist the hotel as a possible venue for my upcoming event. Employees -- the Face of the Company Fortunately or unfortunately, the buck does not end at your front-line employees. No doubt, employees working behind-the-scenes have less face-to-face meetings with potential clients and end-consumers, but they are no less important! They offer your brand experience to the outside world too. From security guards and accounts assistants, to IT managers and human resource directors, every employee has direct or indirect contact with your clients, shareholders, business counterparts, partners and suppliers, potential employees, etc. Showing up late for a meeting, dressing inappropriately or sloppily, using bad grammar in writing or speech, a limp handshake, poor dining etiquette, and not being clued-in on cross-cultural protocol and business practices are some of the bad and lasting impressions one can create. Only when your employees are united and aligned towards the same company philosophy, can your organisation begin operating at its full potential. Catherine Chan, Managing Consultant, Iconiq Image

According to one of the world’s leading military strategist – Karl von Clausewitz – in war, the big army will beat the small army. This is known as the principle of force. The army that can concentrate the most amount of force in the battlefield will prevail. It is not that much different in the business world. The big fish eats the small fish because the big fish is stronger than the small fish. And the bad news is: You Are The Small Fish. You can’t fight the big fish head on. You can’t outswim the big fish. You can try to hide and pray that the big fish doesn’t come into your playground and muscle you out. But there is something else that you can do. Instead of trying to hide or shield that weakness that you have, you can turn it into a weapon and use it to attack your bigger competitors. It may sound incredulous but it can be done and it has been done before. Here are some of the things that you can learn from companies that have done it. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Who’s No. 1 in rental cars? Most people will think of Hertz. Who’s No. 2? Most people will say Avis. Avis has a famous tagline that goes, “We Are No. 2 So We Try Harder”. So, if Hertz is No. 1 and Avis is No. 2, why would you buy from anyone else. That was Enterprise’s problem. It was the small fish in this battle – relatively speaking. What Enterprise did was brilliant. It turned its weakness – its relatively small size - into an advantage. It created the perception that it is more customer-oriented by offering delivery and pick-up service to its customers. When you rent a car from Enterprise, they will deliver it to your home or office. Once you are done with the car, they will pick it up again. Enterprise used the tagline “Pick Enterprise. We’ll Pick You Up.” to communicate this differentiating idea and it soon overtook the giants. Use your smaller size to do the things that your larger competitors cannot do. Danovel

Two out of every five new CEOs fail in the first 18 months (HBR, January 2005).