I stumbled upon this site by David Hudd while looking up some of Bridget Riley’s excellent art today.

It is a site for disgruntled users of Apple PowerBooks with faulty screens to post their grievances in spite of Apple’s efforts at censoring these complaints on their official sites.

“Apple constantly close down, lock or delete any threads containing manufactoring[sic] information, photographs or links …

Reflecting on my post and the ensuing in-depth discussion
Fostering involvement and buy-in – what the cat taught me

The very act of us discussing the very topic of transparency is transparency at work! Isn’t it ironic.

If I were a more conventional business, I would not be engaging in this discussion. And certainly not in public and with someone who could become a potential customer (ie someone I have …

“The future is not something hidden in a corner. The future is something we build in the present.” - Paulo Freire.

So what can you change today? Right now?

I came across this great site by Signature Strategies with succinct information and pointers on how to write positioning, vision and mission statements for your business.

Well worth a look, especially if you are a small business.

In a long conversation with Anita Kapoor yesterday about creativity and innovation in Singapore, we touched on the topic of the government’s interest in encouraging businesses to get involved with the arts.

One idea that appeared was this: artist in residence programmes within corporations.

Businesses do buy art. So why not buy an artist?

The really interesting, meaty part of this is: how can a business leverage the …

For those who have worked with me, you will know that I usually carry two notebooks with me: a quarto sized paper notebook, and a Thinkpad. They are about the same width-length dimensions.

The paper notebook is my default interactive meeting pad. It lets me scribble freeform notes and draw diagrams during meetings as part of the process of the meeting. I find conversation-enabled doodling to be an effective …

I blogged about being annoyed by Freedom Escapes’ telemarketing calls a while ago.

I recently had a look at the comments. Talk about a mountain growing out of an ant hill (we don’t have moles in Australia). They are obviously still cold calling people. And those who are annoyed enough to go online to vent have subsequently found my site via Google. I also occasionally get personal emails …

Should pedestrians keep left or right. Which is it? It depends on where you are. Maybe.

In melting pot societies (fondue societies?) like Sydney and Singapore, with residents from different parts of the world, it is useful to post explicit signs instead or relying on the unspoken rules.

Singapore is somewhat better in this respect, given their history as a more explicitly “managed” society. Heavy traffic areas often do have …

A business’ CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) values, like its culture, is an Across, not an Up-down vertical silo. CSR is part of a business’ culture – whether it is present or not.

The ideal for CSR is to have CSR practices – and I am not just referring to the donate money to charity part – integrated Across a business’ vision, goals, everyday practices and brand promises.

Some businesses are …

See this article on the Sydney Morning Herald: Nudie’s labels bare-faced cheek.

As I see it, Nudie HAD two key differentiators going for it:
1. A personable brand that projected realness.
2. A product that is made from real fruit as opposed to reconstituted or filler juices.

It is common for fruit juice or fruit drink* manufacturers to pad out their products with apple or pear juice as these …