Live Life With No Regrets!

A night out playing pool with Finnish colleagues.

Posted by Nico at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When the "Tammy NYP" incident happened, blogs which just barelly mentioned it had a huge increase in hits.

Now, there is a news article about Malaysia banning a magazine Easy Finder (by Next Finder) that has published photos of Gillian Chung changing backstage in Genting Highlands.

Obviously hard to find photos and banned items will just increase the amount of interest in them. People will be curious to know what are these photos that would cause Malaysia to ban them.

One of the ways in which you can really become a "hit whore" is by writing a blog article about some scandalous news items especially if there are photos or videos involved.

This article is a blatant attempt to get hits as well as an experiment to see how it works.

I normally get about 3-4 visitors a day.

Let's see how the terms "Gillian Chung", "Twins", "banned", "photos", and "Genting Highlands" can cause people to come and visit my website.

And no, if you are reading this article for the photos, there aren't any here. Thank you though for visiting and contributing to my experimental results.

We shall wait and see the results... stay tuned.

Posted by Nico at 5:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The first is the passive attitude, which tells you that there is nothing you can do except wait for luck and pray for the right talent and temperament.

The second is the positive attitude, which tells you that there are things that you can do that will make a difference.

Posted by Nico at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's cheap and really good.

Still haven't found any apam in Singapore that is this crispy.

Posted by Nico at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What happens when you are promised a dog but this happens?

You ask it to sit and roll over and it just walks away.

It lies in the sun.

It sleeps 16 hours a day.

It claws at your furniture.

It meows.

Do you still insist on treating it as a dog or should you realize you've got an animal called a cat?

Unfortunately, a lot of people are stuck in a mild form of denial (for lack of a better word), where they are upset with situations in life when things don't come out the way they expect and then keep in insisting on forcing their cat into behaving like a dog.

What can your cat be? It may be a software project, where people expect it to follow the waterfall model yet it follows the iterative model. It may be your husband or wife who isn't the perfect person you expect to be, or it could be your child whom you expected to be a brilliant scholar or sportsman but turns out into a musician.

Posted by Nico at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Seemingly insignificant things like a broken window, sends a message that it's okay to do other minor crimes which in the end lead to bigger crimes.

Rudy Giuliani and William Bratton cleaned up New York bit by bit by cleaning up one line of the subway line of graffiti and then attacking petty crimes like fare-beaters who created a climate of crime. Seemingly a minor infraction, yet this small thing is pointed out by former Mayor Giuliani and Bratton is the key to cleaning up New York. (I wonder then that squeaky clean Singapore though criticised as being a "fine" city, may very well have hit the right formula before it was discovered, no spitting, no chewing gum, no littering... Perhaps Malaysia should reconsider the consequences of a tidak-apa attitude. An "it's nothing much" attitude may very well have much consequences.)

Gladwell argues here that perhaps our characters are more of a function of our environment than we thought.

Another example of the power of context is when two Princeton psychologists, Darley and Batson tested seminary students to see who would play the role of Good Samaritan. They were asked to prepare a talk and some specifically on the parable of the Good Samaritan. On the way to give the talk they would encounter a man coughing and groaning, slumped. Now, who would stop to help him?

It wasn't the people who had just read the parable of the Good Samaritan, it was rather those who were told that they had a few more minutes to spare versus those who were told they were late.

Finally, in the second part of the power of context, he shares the magic number of social connections in a group that humans can have: 150. Groups work better in that number. Any larger, and you would have to split them. Gore-tex manufacturer builds plants to accomodate 150 people. Any larger, and another plant must be built. The reason is because our brains have a limiited capacity to handle more social connections.

Posted by Nico at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An epidemic must be sticky, it's no use infecting others unless they are can carry the virus for a long enough time to incubate.

The idea of Sesame Street and Blues Clues is to make education a social epidemic.

Sesame Street was not an immediate hit. In fact, it was because of psychological testing to see whether kids were distracted or not during certain segments that they learnt to decide which to scrap, which to rework or to edit. The Sesame Street producers had eye movement cameras and observers meticulously watching the behaviour of their target children and seeing what worked and what didn't. This led to the decision to incorporate puppets with live actors, that went against the advice of "experts" that warned against mixing fantasy and reality.

In his example of Blues Clues, which is considered a bigger success than Sesame Street, the keys were talking in terms of how pre-schoolers think (story-telling format) and getting them involved in learning, like asking them to repeat the host's gestures (the principle of involvement) and repeating the same show every day for 5 days (the principle of repetition). Another key to Blues Clues is progressive difficulty. Easier first, and then the difficulty increases as the show progresses.

It may be a simple thing to reorder the clues given so that the show has suspense but it has a dramatic impact.

The lesson is that simple things like structure and format of a show can go a long way in causing something to be sticky.

Posted by Nico at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Drawing an analogy with biological epidemics, he identifies the super-infectors in social trends.

The 3 types of people that are important to start a social trend are:

• The Connector.
• The Maven.
• The Salesman.

The connector is the person with a very wide extensive social network. Whereas, average people are pick and choose their friends and have social groups of around 400-500, the connector has around 1200 people in his telephone book. Not only does he have an extensive social network, the connector's world can extend over many different areas of socialization, from science, to the arts, to politics. The connectors role allows social trends, ideas, and fads to jump between social groups. While some people collect stamps, connectors collect friends. Out of 100 friends, they may be able to influence 50 about a new trend. They are like the network hubs or switches that connect people together.

The maven are the experts, not just very good experts, but experts who are evangelists, who want to tell, who are enthusiastic about their area of expertise, and from whom people go for advice. Mavens are not just people who read specialist magazines, they write in to correct them. They may have less friends than a connector, but out of 50 friends, they may be able to influence all 50. Mavens are like network servers, that susses out the best information, and stores them like databanks waiting to disseminate them.

Finally, the salesman is the person who have the innate capacity to influence people. They somehow have this social tone, that when others meet them, others resonate to their frequency and not the other way round. They are like the social tuning forks, the drummers whose beat others march to. They are the transmitters, the base stations from which people unknown to them receive signals.

Posted by Nico at 6:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We don't wear clothes, we wear costumes.

If we wore clothes just to protect ourselves from the environment, we could jolly well wear sackcloth.

The first clothes made were not to protect us from the environment. NO, the first clothes made were to cover our shame, our nakedness, our fallen identities, our projection of ourselves towards God and other people.

We want comfort, but our choices in clothing reflect ourselves. Our clothes project information, an aura if you will.

We send messages with costumes, it reflects our tastes, our self-image, our beliefs, our occupation, our hobbies, our likes, as well as dislikes.

In the Bible, people often tore their clothes to signify mourning.

Think of the role that you want to live in life. Consider what you want to be in life. Wear those clothes. Your costume doesn't send a message to others, it sends a message to yourself, about who you are, what your identity is.

You may choose to ignore the messages that your clothes send to you, but do others consciously do the same?

It does not mean that our clothes are to remain static. Actors and directors know when a wardrobe change is necessary to convey a different mood, setting, meaning, emotion, tone to the audience.

Again, in the Bible, during the great feast, we actually change clothes, we are given robes to cover ourselves.

Posted by Nico at 8:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I spoke for 1 minute 16 seconds during the table-topic session. It wasn't the best thing I could speak off the cuff, but I haven't been taking opportunities to do so.

Things learnt: I was more conscious of speaking the right things than in engaging the audience.

Points to improve: Stand more engagingly in the centre of the room. And tell better jokes.

I know I can speak. It's just building up confidence in doing it and not being self-conscious.

Posted by Nico at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The final part of Mohamad Rafi's book on pricing tells us to consider the final integration of pricing into the big picture.

Pricing is not just about value,

Reasons to push the price up: it is also about the marketer's message to the consumer, this Rolling Stones concert ticket is worth $XXX or this Ferrari is worth $XXX.

Reasons that pushes prices down:

1. to create marketing publicity, to create "sold out" consumer frenzy and keep hype and interest up, to be #1 on sales charts and thereby creating even more interest.
2. to keep your core fans interested. E.g. sports tickets. Man Utd fans are the lower wage earners, not the plush VIPs.
3. the market perception. E.g. a book above US$30 is considered "technical" and may not be bought by your target audience.
4. to break psychological barriers: E.g. the US$1000 computer price.
5. to maintain competitiveness: E.g. casinos offering freebies to whales, if you don't do it, they will move elsewhere.

What about fairness? When there is a shortage of water or fuel, do you engage in price gouging just because of economic forces?

Customer types and perceptions. Movie tickets hardly vary, even for blockbuster must-see films. Because the majority movie audience is accustomed to unvarying prices. However, prices for broadway show varies considerably because the musical and stage play audience has the capacity to handle large variations.

Consider the long-term ramifications, what about the damage to your reputation? Consider your relationships with your customers.

If you are offering discounts that are too transparent, those not getting discounts can be angered for not getting it.

1. 9 and 0 effect. $xx.99 denotes value. $x00.00 denotes quality.
2. Payment structure affects behaviour. People who pay upfront may use a lot initially but in the end taper out.
3. Prestige. Ferraris, Porsches price themselves to provide prestige.
4. Anchor Pricing. If you don't have brand, the rule of thumb is to price yourselves 15% below a branded one. Anything lower, and people perceive it to be of low quality and not a bargain.
5. Quantity and Phrasing of Prices. Buy 1 and get the next 1 at 50% off sounds better than get 1 at 13% off. Phrasing in terms of quantity sounds better and raises volume.
6. Mention the value of the instalment rather than the lump sum, it sounds better.
7. Bundle, and say you're throwing in lots of things free. E.g. Those sellavision late night commercials.
8. Everyone loves a bargain. This attracts people.

Create a profit culture in your company, provide information to your sales staff on which is the most profitable, review your pricing policies, are the right customers getting the right prices, are there any holes in your promotions that enable people to tap loopholes, create a multi-price mindset, does the price reflect the value? consider strategic objectives, psychological tactics and the like.

Posted by Nico at 6:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mohamad Rafi in this book provides an easy to read book about pricing strategies. There aren't complicated economic demand and supply curves here, just basic principles on what factors affect pricing and tactics on how to maximize your profit.

In the book, he often refers "hidden profit", ways in which you can get more bang for your product/service.

He gives an example from Lloynd Hansen's of Ford who calculated that an additional of 1% of net profit margin increased Ford's net income by 33% and cash flow by 45%.

• Some customers but not everyone can get a price that is below average price.
• But to stay in business, your average price needs to be greater than your average cost.
• Prices should not drop below the production.
• Price cuts should be targeted and discrete.
• Make sure that discounted sales do not block purchases from those willing to pay full price.

It's all about value. Everything is about how much a customer values your product or service.

There is no such thing as loyalty. No one buys an inferior product at a higher price.

• Price and availability of substitutes. Compare your pricing and that of competitors and substitutes.
• Characteristics relative to competitors. Consider brand name, convenience, quality, features, attributes, service, style.
• Income. As income increases for a customer so are they willing to spend more. If you just get an inheritance so will you value more things or are willing to spend more.
• Price/Strength of demand for related products. Related products also affect demand. For example, high oil prices affecting sales of SUV's. Or COE's in Singapore affecting demand.
• Market environment. A fad can affect sales demand. For example, the airing of a documentary on 60 minutes extolling the benefits of red wine. Or the enhanced status of Hush Puppy shoes creating a demand.

The amazing observation about the 5 factors is this: 3.5 out of the 5 are beyond your control! Only your features and your own prices are within your ability to manipulate.

Different people value things differently. You will be amazed that asked the price of an item 2 persons can come up with wildly divergent valuations.

1. Customer Characteristics. Age, gender, organization affiliations, proximity affect value in the minds of customers.
2. Hurdles. Coupons, sales, memberships, size, and conscious actions are hurdles that help you identify and sell products at different valuations. For example, some people with lower valutions of shoes will wait for warehouse sales or the like to buy goods.
3. Time. Some people are willing to pay more to get certain items first, others are happy to wait till the price drops.
4. Quantity. Lower prices but at increased volumes.
5. Distribution. Different prices depending on where they buy it. A drink from a mini bar costs far more than one from the Walmart.
6. Mixed Bundling. Sell it individually or in promo packages enables you to charge different prices. A good example is Amazon's 1 + 1 bundling whenever you check out their online catalogue.
7. Negotiation. Each individual negotiates and you assess the eagerness and the value he places on your product.

Examples: You don't just have coke, you have diet-coke, vanilla-coke, lime-coke, cheery-coke, etc. You have leaded, unleaded, 95 octane, 98 octane.

7 Techniques provided:

1. A La Carte.
2. More is Better.
3. Less Can Be Profitable.
4. Add or Subtract Features.
5. Expedited Service.
6. Avoid the Wait.
7. Uncertainty.

1. Interval Ownership. E.g. Time-share for houses, private jet aircraft. Benefits are less maintenance and convenience.
2. Bundling. Bundle slow-moving items with popular items. Or bundle the product and maintenance services together. Or consider Extra-Value Meals. Or Happy Meals that sell toys only with the meal.
3. Leasing. Allows customers who have cash-crunch to use your product. Also allows trade-ups to better products later.
4. Prepaid. Can make it easier for some people to purchase and open up new markets. E.g. kids with prepaid phones. Also allows expiry of unused balance. Cash upfront.
5. Rental. Allows short-term usage. (Leasing is long-term).
6. Two-Part Pricing. Pay upfront a high membership fee, but a low usage fee. Or pay a certain amount and additional above free allotment. E.g. post-pay mobile phone packages.
7. Hurdles. Differentiate customers who are different needs.
8. Payment Plans. No interest charged. Interesting note: Make them pay in person, build rapport in each visit to prevent delinquency.
9. Customized. Use formulas to determine price. Higher for risky customers, lower prices for low-risk ones and to steal them away from competitors.
10. All-You-Can-Eat. It may kill you or it may attract people who don't want to be burdened watching the cost meter.

Posted by Nico at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you think that money isn't important or that it is the root of all evil, think again. Or shall I say, revise your paradigm of money. (Anyway, money isn't the root of all evil, love of money is. See 1 Timothy 6:10)

Money can be viewed as:

1. Options. Money is merely options. The more money you have, the more options that are available to you. When you consume money, you choose one option but sacrifice other options.
2. Social Lubricant or Fluid. Yes, we've heard of the term "greasing palms". But money does move people around. People migrate because of opportunities and it is usually to make more money. People make decisions because of cost, or choose the best value for money. Brake fluid transmits force from your feet to gears in the same way money also transmits forces that move business, governments, economies and social fabric. It enables people to work together by compensating one another equitably for goods provided or services rendered.
3. Concentrated life. I've heard a preacher use this analogy. Basically, he meant that whatever you worked in life, the results are the money that you get, one month of life or effort is represented by your salary.
4. Value Indicator. A crude one but valuable nonetheless. Price often gives a indicator of value and used as the basis of comparison. Unfortunately, it is also used sometimes to compare the value of prospective husbands.
5. Applause. Customers who value your product pay for it. Your profit is the amount of applause that people appreciate your work.
6. Organizational Nourishment. Businesses, churches, charities, clubs, governments all need money to survive and thrive. Even non-profit organizations need some money pay the bills. Heck, even terrorists need money to fund their nefarious deeds. Without money, an organization dies. If it wants to grow, it doesn't just need money to survive, it needs to make profit.

Posted by Nico at 7:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For those who are interested in the scientific basis of my blog entery "Limited Mind Ram". The concept is described in this scientific article, The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information" by George Miller, Distinguished University Professor at Princton, in The Psychological Review, 1956.

A link to a reproduction of the article is available here.

Posted by Nico at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Blogging helps me to:

1. Remember what I read, by compelling myself to write a review and summary.
2. Achieve my goals, by writing my goals down and making them public commitments.
3. Organize my thoughts, and putting them somewhere for reference, rather than letting them be floating around in my mind.
4. Communicate with friends what is happening to me.
5. Solve problems by writing down the issues down. It's much like journalling. But the thing is, by making them public, I am compelled to consider the issue in a much more mature and logical manner.
6. Get feedback on thoughts and opinions.
7. Practise and improve my writing.

Posted by Nico at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Perhaps we have a misconception about compensation and work done...

Let's say we get paid $2000 and we put in 8 hours of work daily.

Suppose we then get paid $4000 in another job. Do we then put in 16 hours of work a day? Do we expect ourselves to put in 16 hours a day?

However, sometimes in a workplace this happens, but not with us, but with perception of others.

The reason for this is equity theory.

I get X for doing 8 hours of work. But Mr. Expat gets 3X for doing 8 hours or even less amount of work. So in our minds we feel that there is inequity or unfairness.

Which leads to this conclusion, our salary isn't really "fair". You and I are also products and services. We sell our services to a company according to a price negotiated and agreed upon.

Your price is based on perception of value.

Price is always about value, or should I say perception of value. Because value is only a concept.

One person's piece of junk is another's priceless artifact.

Therefore the only way we can increase our salary is to increase our value or should I say perception of value.

Value is merely a concept, it cannot be held, it cannot be touched, it is intangible, it is abstract, existing only in the mind.

People pay for value.

Gold is valuable only because it is perceived to be valuable. It is useful no doubt. As a conductor, as plating, etc. However most gold isn't used. It's hoarded, bought and sold but never used.

Isn't it interesting that a lot our existence and work now revolves around abstract concepts? Something imaginary perhaps? Are we chasing illusions in our lives?

Posted by Nico at 2:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Skill isn't just learning how to use an instrument, it's the meta-knowledge, the creativity and the feel in intuitively knowing when to use a certain feature or command.

It's when you instinctively know what is the right thing to do or to say or to where to move or who to talk to or what you must do.

In music, learning just the chords of a guitar and what notes each string plays when plucked doesn't make you skilled.

In IT for example, a lot of "programmers" call themselves programmers just because they know what commands do what in a programming language or operating system. But a skilled programmer is one who knows how to blend them all in to create a work of art.

In management, just because you know what privileges and power a manager can do doesn't make you a manager. It's when you know what to do and when to do it that makes you a manager.

Posted by Nico at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The world is a small place.

I'm currently working in Kuala Lumpur with Finnish and Filipino colleagues.

I read a couple of pages of "The Creative Class". The world's talent goes to where the hubs of talent are. They are not restricted by nationalistic borders.

They go to where the money is.

I see economies of countries not really linked to the physical boundaries of their borders but to the prosperity of their cities.

Even within the USA, we see competition between cities. Boeing deciding to shift their headquarters to Chicago from Seattle for Instance.

I believe that it isn't just national policies that will be the major factor in prosperity. It will be in the development of vibrant cities. Cities that become a hub and meeting place of the creative class, the people who will be the movers and shakers of the millennium. These are the people who are the ones who created unique added value.

In a time when labour is being commoditized and the world is shrinking, it isn't just natural resources that are the advantage. It is those brains that control these resources that are the ones generating added value. Hollywood movies, computer games, software are all products that are made out of thin-air. It is the imagination and talent that fuels this new age of intellectual property.

Therefore, these people are the movable resources in the world. They are valuable resources that are not locked in like oil in the ground, or gold deep in the earth.

The valuable resources now are people. And they are mobile.

Like bees attracted to flowers, countries and cities must build and provide fertile environments to attract these people.

Posted by Nico at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Having the option to eat almost anything you want isn't such a great deal that you think.

After 3 months, I'm tired of eating. Steaks, buffets, ice-cream, pasta, nasi lemak and all that doesn't seem to bring me a lot of pleasure.

In fact, if I could I wouldn't want to eat for an entire month. Unfortunately, without food I will die. :)

Posted by Nico at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)