Transformational Change

It is certainly true in Helen Keller’s times. It is truer in our times.

With the wonder of technologies, individuals as freelancers or solopreneurs can achieve what used to be done by a group of people.

That said, working alone is never something I strive to do, which is why I’ve also seek out collaboration with others.

•  Business beyond profits: Starting Dream Catalyst has rewarded me not only financially but also about making a positive impact in the world.

•  Clients as partners: Looking at clients this way has given me the opportunity to see this client grow during their 10-year period.

•  Working with others: Collaborating with others isn’t just about achieving more; but it’s about creating synergistic value for our clients.

•  Energy for energy: Collaboration goes beyond just working together.

•  Neighbours to Collaborators: Moving to Sentosa has allowed me to meet and now the opportunity to collaborate with wonderful people in the neighbourhood.

•  Jazz and Collaboration: From a chanced meeting to connecting and conversing to collaborating with a Jazz singer!

•  Showcasing Others: Another one of my favorite thing to do, showcasing a client who help a very special group of customers, parents!

•  Helping Others Collaborate: A post of mine resonated with many because it was helping others connect and seek out collaborations.

What kind of collaboration are you looking for?

A successful business rarely succeed alone. It has a network of collaborating partners, from suppliers, customers, community, and beyond.

Clients that have a culture of collaboration are also more likely to succeed than those that venture solely on their own. And in the words of Helen Keller, we cannot not collaborate in our times.

Let’s find out how we can collaborate to help your business define the right culture, establish optimal systems, and achieve revenue growth.

Learning has been an activity I pursue relentlessly ever since I started my own business. It has proved to serve me well not only in business, but also being recognised as a Mentor of Future Talents.

I firmly believe in keeping my mind sharp as I guide business leaders and clients in creating the business culture that lead their companies to greatness.

The last 8 months, I have not only learned, but also shared consistently on LinkedIn to value create for my network.

Here are a recap of the three categories of topics on learning.

1. Everyone of us learn differently. In these three posts, I share how I learn.

·      Sharpen the Saw: As a SkillsFuture Fellowship Awardee, I lead by example through lifelong learning.

·      Learning: Beyond just reading books.

·      Mentors: Getting a mentor is probably the best investment for me.

2. Here are my three key learnings from sharing more consistently on LinkedIn.

·      Learning #1: It’s not about you; focus on the audience instead.

·      Learning #2: You do not need inspiration to post often. You need more than inspiration.

·      Learning #3: No work, even if it’s something you’re passionate about is 100% fun.

3. Learning through experience is probably the most valuable.

·      Misunderstood: I learned there is no need to be understood all the time.

·      Think differently: How you can learn to change your perspectives.

·      Magical words: How this company learned these magical words to transform their culture.

How has learning helped transformed the way you lead your organisation?

The first step in transforming the culture of your business is by learning. Learning must go beyond reading, which is largely at the cognitive level. It also involves training which can help change the way your team perform. Even more effective would be to provide coaching or mentoring because this is where it helps in supporting contributory behaviours.

We can further reinforce your team’s learning through our consultancy on Systems and Processes. Contact us to find out more.

In a Harvard Business Review article, Michael Porter said this:

“the essence of strategy is choosing a unique and valuable position rooted in systems of activities that are much more difficult to match.”

While strategies in most aspects of business might be easy to copy; one that is particularly difficult to match is culture.

Which is why some of the businesses I share in my posts on business culture strategies have not only a culture that is difficult to copy, they also have superior performance compared to their peers.

Here are some of the best examples of business culture strategies:

Business Culture goes beyond staff training: in this post, I share how one difference in attitude between two staff makes a whole lot of difference in customer experience.

How can your business attract the best possible team: in this post, I share how having a positive work culture can help you in attracting the best employees.

Invest in professional development of your managers: In the UK, they have a standard for the development of people called Investors In People. I share why investing in the professional development of your managers, if done properly, will help your business reap benefits manifold.

Does having happier workers lead to better performance: Arguably, having happier workers does lead to better performance. In this post, I share some evidences from my working with clients.

The single most common challenge faced by business leaders when creating the company’s desired culture: I get many enquiries from business leaders about creating their company’s desired culture. In this post, I share the number 1 challenge faced by them.

“Only complaints; not compliments”: It is very much a “Singaporean” thing, where we complain more than we compliment. In this post, I share a case study on how that affects the staff morale of your staff in real life.

Want a strategy that is difficult to match?

Your business culture is one aspect that is truly difficult to copy by your competitors. Having the right business culture will certainly help your business perform better than the competition.

If training and branding exercises haven’t given your business the lasting results it deserves, then it is time to examine how we can help your team formulate strategies for your business culture.

It’s been shown.

Happy workers have:

📈 Higher levels of productivity
💰 Produced higher sales
👍 Performed better at leadership positions
🤒 Taken less sick days
😊 Less tendency to quit

Having the right initiatives to build a happier workplace isn’t only smart.

It’s also great for business growth in the long run.

The company then decided.

To give him another opportunity.

But he would have to accept a lower position.

Sure, it wasn’t easy for him to go back to an environment where he used to hold a higher position.

But he was determined to succeed at this second opportunity.

When his bosses recognised his determination, they were willing to invest in coaching sessions for his professional development.

Now, he’ been promoted and doing well.

All because he embraced a growth mindset by:

👍 Handing feedback positively
👈 Understanding the past doesn’t determine the future
✌ Turning a crisis into an opportunity

This afternoon was the perfect way to end the week.

Sharing with a group of human resources representatives from the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

That culture building isn’t expensive.

But if done wrongly will be very expensive.

What are your thoughts about the cost of culture building in your organization?

You usually don’t use both terms in the same sentence.

The good people at Reef showed us otherwise.

They understand the user experience by going deep into their demographics, psychographics, preferences, and interests.

What came out of it is TQT: Thirst Quenching Technology.

“There’s no need to get up to open that ice cold beverage when you wear Reef Footwear with T.Q.T. So sit back, relax and quench that thirst.”

How often do we learn from our users, customers, clients so we can create a better experience, a better product, a better service?

Together with Candid Creation Publishing, we are delighted to present the Kaleidoscope Series – a Published Authors Series which features the richness of different perspectives and lens from diverse speakers.

Join us for the first session at the upcoming SkillsFuture Festival 2018. In this session, the speakers will share on tested-and-proven methodologies you need to extend your influence and multiply your worth to give you the boost you are looking for either in your career or in your business.

It’s a wrap! Thank you Lifelong Learning Institute for the opportunity to partner you for this year’s #lifelonglearningfestival2017. Thank you Learn SG for supporting our Growth Series of 8 different sessions for personal development and professional growth.

As a consultant and learning facilitator, it gives me awesome joy when others embrace learning. There’s lots of other things one could be doing after a working day. Yet the participants made time to learn and some of them have been consistently attending all the sessions in the series.

Facilitating 8 evening sessions within 4 weeks was at times a stretch for us because some workdays started at 5am. Yet when evening time arrives, the #smiles and #enthusiasm of the participants energises us!

Participants also took the time to write us emails to share their thoughts on the sessions. These made our day as their sharing helps us to continuously value create in what we do. Here are some insights received:

• On behalf of my friends whom I asked to join me in these workshops, I would like to thank you & your team of various speakers/facilitators/co-ordinators/cameraman, for all your efforts in making the workshops possible.  You and your team have truly been amazing! I must say that throughout my career with various MNCs, I have been sent to various corporate trainings both abroad and here locally, and none, I must say, can surpass the way your workshop is conducted.  There was never a moment I felt bored in class!  You truly have outshined all other Speakers/Facilitators that I know!
• Appreciate all you efforts in making these events a successful and fulfilling ones. Your events are the most beneficial and wow to me..short but useful. Thank you very much.
• You leave a very good impression on us with your welcoming big smiles at the entrance and throughout the classes. It’s not easy especially after a long day work. So thank you for this.  =) I have been very blessed by the teaching & sharing of Bernadette’s knowledge,
  Hopefully we will have opportunity to meet again or work together in future soon. She remind me of “Oprah” somehow.

Thank you to our 5 co-faciliators who are experts in their respective fields Phoon Kok Hwa, Michelle Ow, Terence Chiew, Lyn Wong and Yeo Xi-Wei, #awesometeam who supported tirelessly the administrative & logistical requirements Yvonne Chua, Jasmine Chang and and TS.

And of course, thank you to the 8 groups of #awesomelearners who participated actively and shared joyfully with each other. Collective #wisdom, #synergy and #lifelonglearning rocks! Much love!