Author Archives: Elijah Lim

Marketing Your Brand?

It seems that everyone is being encouraged to be a marketer these days. The Net’s a stage where each plays a part, and mine a blog one. I just checked – there are about 68 million WordPress blogs alone, not counting the many others. Each one is a marketing tool by default. Of course, quality […]

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Would you rather have an Optimizer or an Innovator?

Innovation. Buzzword for our times. People who innovate are seen as rainmakers. An “Innovator” is hailed as an inspiring leader, while an “optimizer” is popularly seen as someone who just does the mundane work of running the system. Innovators are seen as creative, bold, risk-takers, visionaries, strategically-minded, and a list of other accolades. Optimizers are relegated to the […]

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Deliberate Delegation. Reprint Of Newsletter Issue 62 – 18 Sep 2012

I keep seeing posts and discussions on delegation, so I thought I’d better post this again, so that people can keep this thing called “delegation” in its proper perspective. Is the word “delegation” a dreaded word at your workplace? If you are a leader, do you know who, what, where, when and why to delegate? […]

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Generational Generalities. How Germane. How Not.

Baby Boomers. Gen X. Gen Y. Gen Z. Gen Gap. Gen Repeat Process. Gen ad infinitum. We really love labelling, stereotyping and generalizing, don’t we? Just because some “expert” said that “studies have shown that…”, means we pick up the paint roller and give all and sundry the broad-brush treatment. Does that happen to you? […]

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I Know Awreddy, Lah!

For those unfamiliar with “Singlish”, which means “Sinful English” – no, just kidding, lah. “Singlish” is Singapore English, what someone called Toh Paik Choo used to call “Pasar Patois”. You donno? Why so goondu one? Well, for those still wondering, the title can also read “But I Know That Already!”. Of course you do. Then […]

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Psychometric Tools. Be DISCerning!

The more I deliver and participate in people development endeavours, the more I am convinced that all psychometric instruments are great snapshots of the people involved. They might even be great X-ray snapshots, but they are still snapshots. Snapshots are great conversation starters. They ought to be springboards toward great and fruitful relationships, but often […]

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Comfort Zone. Twilight Zone.

Many years ago, there was a television series called the “Twilight Zone”, which featured mysterious, paranormal-type events. Pretty scary stuff, in those days. At least, watching the episodes made your hair stand on end. Recently, we of course have had the “Twilight” series, which, as I understand, features werewolves and other similar things. I don’t […]

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Gamification. What Might Daniel Pink Have Said?

Daniel Pink, author of “Drive” and other books, says that people have three basic wants. They are Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. You might remember that a little better if you think that people like to be “AMPed”. I wonder what he might have said about gamification. As far as I can tell, gamification also fulfills […]

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Quality Expands Capacity For Increased Capability

Technology is looked upon as a multiplier, and of course it is. We expect it to expand our businesses, get us more customers, help us deliver better products, services and outcomes for our stakeholders and help us manage our businesses better. Just get some technology and…voila! Problems erased. Our quality goes up, capacity is increased […]

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Did I Make You Feel Good? Oh, Dear, I’m So Sorry…

I truly am. For good reason. During those times when you had been made to feel good, maybe with goosebumps all over you, what was one positive growth outcome you experienced? Lasting growth experience, not a bout of I’ll-do-it-because-I-feel-so-amped kind of thing? Right. I didn’t think so either. Anything wrong with feeling good? Obviously not. […]

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The Irrelevance Of Irreverence.

Reverence. Deep respect. Solemn, gloomy hallways. No fun. Wait a minute! Is there joy? Is there esteem for others? Esteem for self? Is there deep satisfaction? A bubbling up of enthusiasm from an ever-springing fountain? Would reverence be relevant to you? Irreverence. The opposite. Nothing is sacred. No limits. No boundaries. Free and easy. No […]

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Bandwagons. Meatwagons.

What are the more popular bandwagons in town these days? Know any? Are you riding on one, maybe two of them? I came across another article on open-plan offices, which sparked this post. Bandwagons. Jump in when they best serve your interests. Jump off when you’re done.  Because if you stay on, you might find […]

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Service Recovery. How Not To. Part 3. Final.

The sms voucher arrived last night. Here it is: This is (restaurant) dining SMS of S $50. Value. special for (my friend). The expiry date is 30th June 2013. Only valid for the ala cart menu and not for other promotion and discount.  Please show this Dining SMS to our (restaurant) waitress and my mobile number. […]

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Service Recovery. How Not To. Part 2.

If you’re following the previous post, you would have noticed Justin Fong giving his view on what happened. At this writing, the sms voucher from the restaurant has still to make its appearance. Justin mentioned two words that are the ultimate in service recovery. That’s right, “sincerity” and “execution”. Actually, it boils down to one […]

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