My husband and I had never rewarded our son for good exam results since he started school. We feel the reward should come from within him, as external rewards do not build internal motivation. Once, when he was 14, he asked me if he could have a pair of Nike Air Force 1 shoes. “Buying […]
Articles & Posts
After 40 years, it’s time to relook Gifted programme for primary schools
It has become another test to be bested with extra tuition and classes, rather than a way to find the truly gifted. Back in 1983, I was the first batch of students to be asked to sit for something called the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) selection tests straight after when our PSLE results came out. We […]
Travel beats tuition in doing your child a world of good
How shifting the budget from extra lessons to trips of discovery makes more sense for children in the 21st century. With schools heading into the June holidays, are you planning to get your child to sign for extra tuition classes – either for better grades or for personal enrichment? Well, there is a better way to […]
An Open Letter to the Transport Minister: Is Having a Car a Luxury or a Necessity in Singapore?
It is a no brainer that cars are often considered a luxury in land scarce Singapore. This is the very reason why the COE system was first implemented 33 years ago on 1 May 1990. It was to curb car ownership as the car population grew with increasing affluence of Singaporeans. Understandably, with our tiny […]
Learn How to Encourage Your Kids to Live a Low Maintenance Life
Have you ever wondered why we often joke that we need to find a ‘low maintenance’ better half? We usually do this when we seek suitable partners to date or marry. However, we hardly consider the importance of raising our children to live a low-maintenance life when we become parents. Married couples often quite fear […]
A quick recovery after retrenchment shock. Gaining financial independence helped me get over losing my job and with my mental well-being.
My retrenchment letter was handed to me on Nov 25, 2019. I still remember that day vividly as I was scheduled to meet my immediate boss for my annual performance appraisal. Instead of seeing him in the meeting room, I saw my managing director and the human resource director. My managing director was looking visibly […]
‘I got my son into MIT’: Singaporean Mum Shares How ‘Less Is More’ Parenting Works
Throughout my career, I often helped companies strategise and market their products and services. Hence, when I became a mother, I wished that my son was born with a customised “playbook”, containing precise strategies and steps that I could follow so that he would grow up to be successful. Alas, it was wishful thinking on […]
Why is it so difficult for established companies to tackle disruptive innovations?
A renowned Harvard University Professor – Clayton Christensen, who first coined the term “Disruptive Innovation”, wrote in his book “The Innovator’s Dilemma” identified the 5 key reasons as follow: 1. Lack of the right culture within the company 2. Too focussed on their current mainstream customers’ needs 3. Lack of urgency to pursue disruptive innovative business model 4. Fear […]
The importance of knowing what motivates people, especially in this COVID-19 world.
A mismatch of what Science knows and what Business does. Companies often use extrinsic motivators such as a big fat pay cheque and huge bonus to retain an employee’s loyalty. This might work in the 20th century and pre-COVID-19 world, where companies have fixed operational processes with clear outcomes. However, in this 21st Century and […]
Why should everyone embrace their inner sloth, especially in this COVID-19 world?
This applies not only to individuals, but businesses too. Less is more and it is best to be strategic about things. Or risk wasting precious resources. Idleness is often seen as wasteful and self-indulgent. The world’s undisputed champion of indolence – the sloth is often the perfect mascot for the antithesis of the hyperactive 24/7 […]