Hanxue's Thoughts on Business

How do you politely turn down a request to meet up for coffee?

2011-08-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

Stumbled into this interesting question in Quora. Some of the more illuminating answers are:

Maybe the person is just trying to be polite to ask you that. Answer with something vague like "OK, let's do it tomorrow", or just "OK, let's"
Want to weed out the pretenders? Ask them to perform a task, however trivial, to show they are serious and capable. If it is via email, request for clarification
Communicate via Skype for a short, to-the-point conversation. Or a phone call while you are on public transport, waiting, etc
Try group meetings, session where each of them wants to meet you one-on-one
Create "open houses" on Friday evenings where people can come to the company to meet, for those "grab a coffee" casual requests

Before you say "NO"

Remember you probably get a lot of help from strangers and important people along the way, who expected nothing in return
Don't burn bridges over a casual invite
Make it short or convenient for you
Take a cue from Larry Page: ask them the most challenging thing they have done, you could have learnt something there

Use a Copywriter for your marketing campaign

2011-08-05T03:12:00.000-07:00

I was reading through Groupon Malaysia's daily deals when I stumbled upon an interesting deal: Return tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore on Nice Luxury Coach for RM 88. The standard Highlights and Fine Print section all looked fine. Until I read the description provided by the supplying company.

When the wheels of the bus go round and round, it is advisable to keep all limbs in the vehicle and refrain from staring at the continuous spinning in case of motion sickness or accidental hypnosis. Look straight at the road ahead with today’s Groupon: for RM88, you get a two-way bus ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and back, on board the Nice++ executive coach (RM190 value).

Now isn't that a bit too flowery for a sales pitch? Perhaps something more straightforward like "Hate the hassle of airport security and arranging your ride to the airport? Enjoy a comfortable journey direct to your destination on board our Nice++ executive coach. Sign up now for today's Groupon at only RM88, and you save RM102.

Survey the countryside from the vantage point of a modern 26-seater carriage, or turn attention to the seat in front, fitted with individual LCD screens for watching various movies or default blue screens during the four-hour journey. Intrepid journeymen sit comfortable in wide, luxurious numbered seats setting themselves apart from others, while on-board snacks provide constant nutritional value and mouth exercise. After digesting meals and consuming diuretic liquids, travellers are permitted one stop lasting 20 minutes for displacing bowels. Attentive stewards conjure up pillows and blankets upon request, in the event that travellers grow weary of moving pictures or sweeping palm oil plantations.

The first sentence before the comma is completely fine. Then comes the grammatical error. Does anybody watch default blue screens? I personally would prefer business traveller than a fancy term like intrepid journeyman.

There must be a better way to describe the free meals rather than after digesting meals and consuming diuretic liquids. If you enjoy the meal, I am sure you will enjoy displacing your bowel.

Better yet, stewards will perform magic and conjure up pillows and blankets upon request. Why do you need them? Oh, that's because you grow weary of moving pictures. I am sure the centenarians will enjoy this classic description of LCD screen.

Nice Coaches collaborates with the Automotive Centre of Excellence to ensure safety and security for all bus journeys. All coach captains are qualified drivers trained in safety measures and conduct various checks to certify buses as road-worthy.

Well done. A sensible paragraph at last.

This is how I would write it:

Tired of the commute to and from the airport? Hate the airport security and scanning process? Fret no more, for a low price of RM 88 (usual RM 190), you can travel in First Class directly to your destination.

Enjoy the comfort of twice the seat size and a personal attendant throughout the journey. Miss watching movies on a limousine or on a long-haul flight? We have it all here on Nice++. During the journey, we will serve you with steaming hot and the ever popular Nasi Lemak, and top up your drinks whenever you need it.

Forget the dash to the airport, the long wait and all the other inconveniences. Enjoy the relaxing countryside view rather than staring at clouds in a flight. You can also be assured of your safety with our pre-screened and highly trained drivers, as well as our collaboration with Automotive Centre of Excellence.

Could have been better if I spend more time polishing it rather than fleshing it out directly as I blog this. But way better than what looks like a machine-translated effort which is hastily published. For a company that targets higher end travellers, especially business travellers, it only makes sense to invest in marketing to ensure the message is effectively conveyed to prospective customers.

Having said that, I bought the deal.

The Lesson: Get a good copywriter. If you are in Malaysia, there are a number of them who are good. For example: Banshee Creative, or individuals like Cristo and Amy Ng Studio.

Mckinsey: What China’s five-year plan means for business

2011-07-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

Test content

Signing up for Google Apps Free in 15 minutes

2011-07-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

Do you know that Google Apps is available for your business or organization for free? Although you are limited to only 10 users, and some of the advanced features such as Google Video and Google Groups for Business, custom security, guaranteed uptime and support SLA are not available, all the other great features are still available absolutely free of charge.

The only requirement is that you own your own domain name. You can sign up at http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/group/index.html

sIf you already own a domain name, key it in here. Alternatively you can purchase a domain name through Google's partner.

Key in your Administrator account as well as Organizational details.

TType in the administrator username and password. You need not choose your personal username at this moment. Note that while you should use a separate administrator account from your personal account, you are not recommended to choose a common name such as "admin" or "root" for security purposes.

Read through the user agreement to make sure you understand what is being offered. You may want to tick on the option to automatically enable new features in Google Apps as soon as they are available.

If you are already signed on to your Google account, you may be asked to switch to the new Google Apps account.

That's it! Your Google Apps account is now created. I strongly recommend you to go through the Setup process.

But before starting to use it, you will first have to activate it by proofing to Google that you down the domain name. I use Namecheap to register my domains, so I will have to use the DNS record method to verify that the domain belongs to me.

You will need to copy the TXT record generated by Google, and add it to your DNS record. For more information, refer to Google App documentation at http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=183895

The example below shows how I do it with Namecheap. After logging in, I just go to my domain list, click on the relevant domain and on the left hand pane click on All Host Records.

At the same time, I also select the option that allows Google Apps to handle my email

You can now go through the rest of the Google Apps Wizard to activate and set up all the available services.

Alternatively, just go to the dashboard and individually activate each service.

There you go - Google Apps ready for your organization's use in 15 minutes.

StartupLi.st - List your Startup there

2011-06-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

Always wanted to promote your startup in a single place and gain visibility? StartupLi.st is probably what you are looking for.

Sign up is painless using your Twitter account. Once you are in, edit your profile to introduce yourself. Don't forget to publish your Twitter, Facebook, blog and Angel List profile.

Next, add your startup. Here's your chance to share your juicy slogan and offer your pitch on why users should sign up with you.

It's that simple! What do you get out of it? If your startup is impressive, you stand a chance of being listed on the front page. Best of all, there is a call to action for users to Signup! There are links to your CrunchBase , Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn profile and so on for people to follow you.

Best of all, this is a free resource for your fans, users and potential investors to follow your company and get updated with newsfeed.

Should you be an Enterpeuner?

2010-02-19T04:54:00.000-08:00

Interesting quiz at Harvard Business Review: if you answer "yes" to 17 or more of the questions below, then you should be well suited to be an entrepeuner

I don't like being told what to do by people who are less capable than I am.
I like challenging myself.
I like to win.
I like being my own boss.
I always look for new and better ways to do things.
I like to question conventional wisdom.
I like to get people together in order to get things done.
People get excited by my ideas.
I am rarely satisfied or complacent.
I can't sit still.
I can usually work my way out of a difficult situation.
I would rather fail at my own thing than succeed at someone else's.
Whenever there is a problem, I am ready to jump right in.
I think old dogs can learn — even invent — new tricks.
Members of my family run their own businesses.
I have friends who run their own businesses.
I worked after school and during vacations when I was growing up.
I get an adrenaline rush from selling things.
I am exhilarated by achieving results.
I could have written a better test than Isenberg (and here is what I would change ....)

Complete article at http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/02/should_you_be_an_entrepreneur.html

How to handle a Lay-Off

2009-12-15T04:25:00.000-08:00

Being laid off is probably the last thing you want to happen to you, but what if you are laid off? Here's a very good article from BNET.com on graceful exits:

1. Don't Freak Out
Don't take it personally - it is a business decision. You are unlikely to convince anyone to change the reason behind the lay-off : accept what is happening and get the best out of it.

2. Negotiate Your Exit
... to ask for letters of reference, any outplacement service, extra insurance coverage, or moving costs...

3. Fine tune your To-Do list
Start looking for your own needs first. Prioritize on the high impact tasks rather than working round the clock

4. Save your contacts
Immediately save a copy of your contacts/address book. May help you to get a job, provide reference, etc

5. Live a balanced life
Stay healthy, good opportunity to stay in touch with relatives, friends

6. Update your networking protocol
Facebook status, twitter, etc are sources for new opportunities

7. Drink responsibly

How would I handle a laid-off? If I can see it coming, I would probably take some time to struggle with the imminent event until I finally accept it. Then probably there is a strong motivation - probably anger - to take the next steps to ensure I am still moving along life's plan. Will be helpful to remind myself that everything is impermanent, clinging will eventually lead to suffering. Having that insight will lead towards reasonable action.

Tips and Tricks for cheaper airfare

2009-11-23T08:45:00.000-08:00

Interesting article at BNet.com on airfare savings:

Alternative airports: Much cheaper to use secondary airports, but beware of additional transport costs

Departure days and times: Avoid business traveler days and choose Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays

A two-step search: Try different airlines instead of the same airline each way

Checking airline sites: If you use a fare search engine, try booking directly at the airline website for cheaper rate.

Read more at http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/blog/real-time-money/airfare-shopping-made-tougher-by-demand-for-economy-seats/235/

Also read more on Investment mistakes and smart money moves at http://ct.bnet.com/clicks?t=494792748-9aabfc56dca8937c1bf58dd69159e934-bf&brand=BNET&s=5

Web 2.0 , SOA and Cloud Computing? Its still about People to People

2009-10-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting article at BNET showing that online shoppers are co-related spatially.

While it may seem that the latest technology promises magical results such as "Market of One", worldwide reach, etc , having a succesful business still requires the basics: innovation and marketing. Nothing beats selling a product or service that is what customers want exactly, and intimate understanding of the customer on a personal basis.

The meaning of Visa

2008-08-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

The other day while in the car, ML asked the meaning of the word "visa". Specifically the document that we need to visit another country, not the credit card. Albeit a simple word, I have never thought the real meaning. I actually conjured up an ill-fitting "meaning": VISiting Approval :P

Anyway, I googled a bit and found this:

A visa (short for the Latin carta visa, lit. "the document having been seen") is a document issued by a country giving a certain individual permission to formally request entrance to the country during a given period of time and for certain purposes (see below for caveats and exceptions).

Top 7 things that great leaders do

2008-07-21T23:07:00.000-07:00

This is a very good article on leadership, concise yet complete. I encourage you to read the article rather than the summary of points here:

Continuously learn
Serve others in business, community and others
Positive attitude
Believe in and help those around them to fulfill their potential
Balanced in every area of life
Good decision making, taking full responsibilities
Creative people who see life as an adventure
Work life balance

Blue Ocean Strategy: nothing significant, really

2008-04-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

My colleague was asking about business and competition, and I mention that the concept of positioning and creation of new market (or at least creation of value) is very important. Otherwise, one would be stuck on a war of lowering cost, competing with the likes of China, India, Vietnam and CIS countries.

To better understand the concept of creating niches and market value, try reading the Blue Ocean Strategy. Here's a good introduction to the concepts introduced in the book:

| View | Upload your own

That said, I do not buy into all the hot air presented in Blue Ocean Strategy. Its just an easy-to-grasp presentation of what is essentially Porter's Five Forces model. So stick to a classic like

Competitive Advantage

Additional slides on Blue Ocean Strategy:

| View | Upload your own

Useful strategy map:

| View | Upload your own

Transport Security Administration Blog

2008-04-02T09:41:00.001-07:00

Very informative blog by TSA on travel security.

http://www.tsa.gov/blog/

The right metric is important

2008-04-02T04:29:00.000-07:00

In business, it is important to know the current position you are in, and where you are headed to. That can only be the case if you start measuring. Almost every business is aware of it, but sometimes we are too caught up with measuring, so much so that:

it does not accurately reflect the real situation
it hinders business growth

Take for example marketing expenditure. Marketing should be seen as an investment, because its goals (customer retention, customer satisfaction, advertising awareness) should lead towards increased profits. So the best way is to use Return on Investment (ROI).

Now let's dive into a specific example. In the 80's when AT&T's monopoly was just broken up, the marketing ROI was measured. But what is the exact measure? Cost of marketing campaign v.s. total revenue from customers. In most cases it should be fine, but one need to take into account that:

AT&T is in a monopoly position
The other notable competitors, Sprint & MCI, have relatively poor quality. So much so that without doing anything AT&T can easily retain 95% of its customer base

Thus, the simple ROI metric above may lead to the wrong conclusion that minimal marketing expenditure is optimal due to its high ROI.

It is always very important to take into account:

why the metric is in place (i.e. what are we trying to achieve)
the external environment, and how the metric will shape the business direction
finally the bottom line of long-term increased revenue and reduced cost (profit)

Delegating tasks and assigning responsibility

2008-04-02T02:43:00.000-07:00

One of the important values in leadership is to develop the capabilities of your staff, and delegating tasks. Delegation sounds simple enough: you have 10 things to do, and 3 of them can be done by your staff. Assign these 3 tasks to your staff.

But really, delegation is more than that; it is an opportunity to

coach and develop others (which is deeply satisfying)
help others reach their goals
let others be more involved in their job
train your replacement, for your career advancement
business continuity (when you are not available)

If delegation is done too formally, it feels more like a burden to the person taking up the role. Speak to the employee informally, and discuss about possibilities where he/she can contribute. Remember, always work from strength. If the delegated task is the assignee's weakness, then it is an uphill battle which may result in frustration and giving up.

In addition, the correct expectations need to be set up front: a performance agreement will be useful.

It is most likely that the delegated task is new or unfamiliar to the employee. If that so, isn't it unreasonable to expect the employee to automatically excel at the task? Therefore, it is important to delegate tasks in a bite-sized chunk, and provide guidance along the way. SMART goals are very helpful in this scenario.

I have seen discussions where tasks are delegated, and there is even a formal role. What really did not work out was the formal role (announced to the team/department), and lack of follow up.

Developing your staff is a continuous effort, not only during the performance review discussion ;)

Culture of Excellence that created RAZR in Motorala

2008-03-26T23:28:00.000-07:00

These are the lessons that Geoffrey Frost, widely acclaimed as the father of RAZR shares:

1. "It was a bet being made, not a base being covered. We didn't even include it in the sector's business plan."

2. "No compromise was the standard operating procedure. We didn't juggle tradeoffs, we just insisted on excellence."

3. "We didn't try to predict the market for the product based on history, we bet that if it was good enough, it would make its own market."

4. "We put the best, brightest, craziest, and most passionate people we had on it."

Read more from Remembering Geoffrey Frost.

$10 Music CDs

2008-03-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

This article may be a bit old, but the interesting information at the end shows the break down of a CD's cost:

Total price = $15.99

$0.17 Musicians' unions
$0.80 Packaging/manufacturing
$0.82 Publishing royalties
$0.80 Retail profit
$0.90 Distribution
$1.60 Artists' royalties
$1.70 Label profit
$2.40 Marketing/promotion
$2.91 Label overhead
$3.89 Retail overhead

Note that the retail store's maximum margin is only 24.3%

In my opinion, CDs are priced much too highly these days. The music labels and artistes are taking an unreasonable cut of the revenue, and there is too much of extravagant marketing. This will be fine if the industry is competitive, but it is pretty much an oligopoly, with the music labels controlling almost everything, including consumer's choice (i.e. they decide which artiste makes it or breaks it)

Whatever it is, I hope I can get cheap CDs in Malaysia in the future :)

Mega Regions

2008-03-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

I first got introduced to the concept of Mega Regions from this BNET article. Some interesting (but unrelated) bites from the article:

Never knew there is a sunbelt from Houston to New Orleans, although both are oil & gas centres
Tijuana specializes in high-tech electronic manufacturing (was assuming it is into apparel and low-tech manufacturing)
Texas has overtaken California in terms of wind-generated energy - in a state with the highest oil & gas production!

Key criteria to be classified a mega region: contigous with >1 city centre, population of >5 million, produce >100 billion. According to this article, it makes for some 40 mega regions

Mega Regions are defined as large networks of metropolitan areas linked by geography, infrastructure, environment, economic linkages, cultures and history. For further details, read on at http://www.angeloueconomics.com/megaregions.html

For futher reading, try this book: Who's your city

An interview with Richard Florida, author of the book at BNET

Further information in Wikipedia (Megalopolis)

How Steve Jobs played hardball on iPhone

2008-03-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered how Steve Jobs rolled out iPhone with an exclusive carrier arrangement with Cingular? That Steve even considered offering Apple's one cellphone service. How he convinced the carriers to buy into the iPhone idea and even manage to cut a profit sharing deal for network traffic?

Informative article at Wall Street Journal online

Bottom line: Giving the customer what they really wants really pays

Branding

2008-03-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

Was surfing through SlideShare and chance upon some interesting materials on branding:

The 2007 Brand Markerters Report (pdf)

There are some very interesting slideshows on branding:

Self-Branding
The Brand Gap

Insecurity: Stumbling Block to success

2008-03-06T10:55:00.000-08:00

We often read about success factors, and yes one should always look at the positive side to really progress. On the other hand, it is good to sometimes reflect back: is there anything which is really holding me back?

I find that insecurity is a plague that affects almost all of us. This insecure feeling can be buried really deep down inside, and the busyness of daily challenges results in a facade that beautiful entomb our deepest fears.

Yet it is exactly these fears that rear their ugly head at the most inopportune time: stakes are high and pressure is at the boiling point.

I notice that for the past 4 years I have not been making a lot of progress, and when I really pick up the courage to face myself, a lot of it is due to the insecurities deep inside. While one can move forward propelled by negative forces, it is not sustainable and comes with it a lot of negative effects. You need to know yourself; what you really want from life, and to be truly happy. Only then, can you find the "perfect" job and experience that smooth road to success which always seems to come so easily and naturally for some people.

If the positives does not motivate you enough, then think of the implications when you let your insecurities take control. You will fear change, rather than adapt to it. You want to control the situation, and make other people to act as you wish them to be. If you were a leader, you could potentially derail many a talented person; who deserve a shot at glory just like yourself :)

Know thy enemy and know thyself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know thyself but not thy enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not thyself, wallow in defeat everytime.
-- Sun Tzu

No Silver Bullet for Stragetic Management

2007-03-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

Article: The halo effect, and other managerial delusions
Author / Publisher: McKinsey Quaterly
URL: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_page.aspx?ar=1928&L2=21&L3=37&srid=17&gp=0

There are plenty of books that promises to provide "The Solution" to strategic management problems. Alas, the data which "proves" the theory are flawed, and greatly skewed by the Halo effect.

What's the Halo effect? During the dot net boom in the late 90's, Cisco was praised for its briliant strategy, spate of successful acquisition and customer focus. With the resulting dot net bust, Cisco was critizied with flawed strategy and poor acquisition. In reality, not much change within Cisco.

Another mantra frequently used is to reach an absolute target (x% of return in 5 years, y% defect, z% capital growth, etc). In reality, we live in a constantly changing world. What would be ideal today, is barely acceptable in 3 years' time. It is important to be not caught up with some target set in stone, without taking into account the changing circumstances.

One of the most illuminating point of the article is the fact that there is no such thing as lasting success. Any lasting success is a statistical anomaly, and in reality it is a string of multiple, short-term successes.

Pursuing a dream of enduring greatness may divert attention from the need to win more imemdiate battles.

What makes strategic management so challenging is because there is no guaranteed keys to success. Otherwise, strategic decision making could just be simplified to a chore of ticking boxes and following simple rules.

We have to accept the uncertainty in the business environment:

Strategic choice is making decision in the face of uncertainty
Its up to customers to accept / reject a new product/service. Even if that is predictable, competitors reaction is difficult to anticipate
Technological change could bring about unexpected results

Wise managers should approach problems as interlocking probabilities. The aim is to increase the odd of success, rather than looking for a 100% result. There are 2 types of forces:

External: industry, customer trends, competitors' reaction
Internal: capabilities, resources, risk preferences

Robert E. Rubin: “Once you’ve internalized the concept that you can’t prove anything in absolute terms, life becomes all the more about odds, chances, and trade-offs. In a world without provable truths, the only way to refine the probabilities that remain is through greater knowledge and understanding.”

"Good decisions don’t always lead to favorable outcomes, and unfavorable outcomes are not always the result of mistakes." It is only through in-depth analysis that you can find out the true worth of an action.

Book Review: What customers really want

2007-03-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

Will post full review soon.

Ask and thou shalth be answered

2007-02-16T05:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes one must have the courage to ask. You never know what the result is going to be until you ask. How bad could it be? You do not receive an answer that you expect? You get laughed off? At least you have given your best shot, and you do not lose anything in the process.

In fact, most people would be more than glad to assist you, if you would put your shyness aside for a moment and just ask.

Today I manage to sum up the courage to ask a very high-ranking manager for some feedback and assistance. I am glad I did: I probably just had the best conversation in my company, ever.

Hanxue's Thoughts on Business

How do you politely turn down a request to meet up for coffee?

Related articles

Use a Copywriter for your marketing campaign

Mckinsey: What China’s five-year plan means for business

Signing up for Google Apps Free in 15 minutes

StartupLi.st - List your Startup there

Should you be an Enterpeuner?

How to handle a Lay-Off

Tips and Tricks for cheaper airfare

Web 2.0 , SOA and Cloud Computing? Its still about People to People

The meaning of Visa

Top 7 things that great leaders do

Blue Ocean Strategy: nothing significant, really

Transport Security Administration Blog

The right metric is important

Delegating tasks and assigning responsibility

Culture of Excellence that created RAZR in Motorala

$10 Music CDs

Mega Regions

How Steve Jobs played hardball on iPhone

Branding

Insecurity: Stumbling Block to success

No Silver Bullet for Stragetic Management

Book Review: What customers really want

Ask and thou shalth be answered