How do organizations develop, retain & nurture talent?

The October 2011 installment of Live & Inspire – Business Insights introduced Alfian Abu Talib, the new Chief Executive Officer of Telekom Malaysia Info Media (TMIM) speaking to a live audience on the art of Nurturing Talent. The truly knowledgeable session saw one of the youngest CEOs in the country having a frank, no holds barred discussion with members of the audience about building, managing and appreciating talent in today’s competitive business environment.

Alfian was the 5th speaker to be introduced by the Live & Inspire team since the session began in June 2011. He carries 14 years of experience in strategy, market planning and operational improvements, especially in small and medium business operations. During his years of working within the specialization of SME operations, he has developed an eye towards viewing, understanding and transforming the SME segment.

Armed with a Masters in Marketing Management from New York University and a Bachelors in Electronics Engineering from King’s College London, Alfian started his career in 1998 as a Marketing Engineer for Exxon Chemical Ltd. Subsequently, he played a key role in the implementation of the Malaysian Government’s e-procurement system via a similar career with Commerce Dot Com Sdn Bhd. In 2005 he joined a local Malaysian engineering SME outfit, Aerosystems Tactical Sdn Bhd, and lead the company’s business development division.

In 2009, Alfian was head-hunted by Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and kick-started his career with the Government-Linked Company (GLC) as the Assistant General Manager for Business Strategy within the SME division. In 2010, he was promoted to General Manager for Business Strategy, Channel Programme Management within the same division and has recently resumed a new position as Chief Executive Officer of TM Info-Media Sdn Bhd (or commonly known as TM Yellow Pages).

The 5^th installment of Live & Inspire: Business Insights with Alfian touched not only on the how-tos in nurturing talent, but also discussions on what exactly constituted talent, the way through which talent could be expressed, approaches towards managing talent and much more. Alfian peppered his talk with interesting celebrity pop trivia, engaging audience members to guess the quotes flashed on screen to the right celebrity, causing audience members to gasp when the (mostly unexpected!) celebrity was revealed.

The subsequent Q&A session then became a lively affair as audience members asked, debated and discussed opinion points on talent and talent management, spurred on by some fantastic prizes by Starbucks and Borders Malaysia.

The 5th session of Live & Inspire: Business Insights also had the pleasure of not just one, but two acoustic performances during the live session. The young performers kept the audience on their toes throughout the performances, which were held at the beginning and at the end of the night. Another surprise for audience members came in the form of FREE Starbucks vouchers that were given to EVERYONE at the end of the session.

Live & Inspire – Business Insights, brought to you by Telekom Malaysia Berhad and ACCA Malaysia, is a 6-part series held monthly to introduce dynamic personalities from different business genres and the way they do what they do, differently. Each month, 1 – 2 speakers from a variety of different businesses are introduced to the audience in an intimate setting, allowing for closer communication, connection, interactivity and conversation about how he or she does business.

The 6th session of Live & Inspire: Business Insights is scheduled for the xxth of November 2011. To find out more about the business personalities who’ll be appearing on the series or how you can participate during the sessions, visit www.liveandinspire.com.

After interviewing Maria Brophy for Part 1, I thought over how I would write a follow up to that article. I will admit that there were more rejected drafts than salient points that I wanted to cover. I didn’t want to sound preachy, or do a “oh you guys just HAVE to do this or else you’ll FAIL” article, hence the metaphorical drafts scrunched up and thrown in the wastepaper basket.

It can’t be denied that local creative people have garnered a reputation of not being good at managing businesses or capitalizing on their creative talents to grow their business. I’m sure that there are many of us who understand how that came about. However, we shouldn’t be allowed to shrug our shoulders and say, “oh, well, that’s just the way creative people are” and nothing changes. Our industry and community can only grow by those who show the way, that you CAN be creative and entrepreneurial without screwing anyone over. After all, what’s entrepreneurship without creative flair?

Being a creative entrepreneur doesn’t mean that you have to have a swanky office and a group of bright- faced cheerful employees. It means that you run your own business, using what resources, skills and talents that you have. As a creative person, you tend to have to be that more resourceful in order to forge ahead. I call it being “#resourcesmart”. So what does that mean?

1.)Identify your resources:

What can you afford? What can you do without for now? Bootstrap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrapping) your business where you can.

If you are setting up an office, you don’t necessarily need new furniture and other items. Pre-loved items, refurbished items, sourcing for what’s required and what you can do without can be fun!

Look out for co-working spaces and the packages they offer, this definitely can help you with costs and still maintain a professional space.

2.)Identify your expertise and accept your limits:

You can’t do everything, tempting as it may be. Accept what you can do and then do it well.

3.)Scheduling and Professionalism:

Keep to deadlines, even when you propose to clients, add a buffer timeframe in case of any eventuality. We have to be realistic, life can get in the way of work at times and as creative entrepreneurs, we need to find that balance. Keep to what we agreed on to the client and make sure that we give them the quality expected, no matter how we feel about the project personally.

4.)Communicate:

It is important to keep the lines of communication open, more so with your clients. Give them progressive reports, especially in the beginning so as to ensure that you are on the right track. Also, communicate with the people you work with so people don’t feel that you are keeping them in the dark.

5.)Paperwork:

This is a necessary evil. Much as we prefer to work with the “my word is my bond,a handshake will do” casual style, we need to ensure that we are protected and things are spelled out clearly from project briefs, quotations, invoices and so on. This is especially useful when the dreaded Taxation comes into play, whether you are a sole proprietor, partnership or a Sdn. Bhd. (limited company). It’s a minefield out there but once you get processes going, it does get easier. Arm yourself with information and requirements and have someone advise you on accounts and taxation. Forewarned is forearmed as they say. This is definitely a point that many of us struggle with!

This is also a way to protect your work, ensure that you maintain copyright of any work that you’ve done, especially creatively, no matter how attractive the deal, you should hold onto your copyright. This is something sadly missing from the thought processes of our creative industry.

6.)Community and Collectives:

Referring to the ‘Know your limits’ point above, this is especially important. Even if you can’t do it yourself, you may know someone who can. This is where being a part of the community or a creative collective reaps its benefits. Reach out, be involved with your community, if we don’t support each other, how would our industry grow?

Making connections and knowing what each other’s expertise are will help you gain more projects. You may not be able to do the project yourself but depending on what you agree with your colleague, you can pass the project onto them, either for a small fee or you manage the project for them, making sure all is on deadline, again for a small fee. One thing to remember though, ensure that they are also reliable and professional about the work. It’s one thing to help out a friend, but when it comes to work, professionalism has to take precedence. After all, it’s your company’s reputation that will suffer accordingly. Lay it out clearly and things will go smoothly (we hope!).

7.)Updated Portfolio/website:

Yes, we are all guilty of that (I admit that we are also struggling to keep up with this), but keeping it updated is a great way to showcase your active projects. Using social/new media to keep things updated (without having to change your site umpteen times) is a great time saver and another way to interact with people and potential clients.

8.) Pimp it out:

This is something that creative entrepreneurs (whatever your scale) need to do. Using transmedia smartly is an effective way to get your work and messages across, and to interact with your community and potential (and existing clients). If you don’t promote your skills and your creative work, who will?

These are just some of the basic points that both Maria and many others have advised small businesses, especially creative ones. We try to keep to as many points as possible within the range of manageability. So returning to the question: Can we do this in Malaysia successfully? I think the answer is yes. Being a creative entrepreneur takes drive, determination, creative flair and attention to detail. Our industry, in order to grow and mature, needs to drop the diva attitude. Work has to be constant, not just one big project and that’s all. Grow by all means but steadily and consistently. Gaining funding is a useful thing yes but it is meant to be a stepping stone. There are far too many who rely on funding to sustain their business but wait for the “next step” to be told to them, rather than having planned that out and GOING for it. It’s about working smartly. Maintain that professionalism and keeping to deadlines etc- this goes a long while in improving the reputation of the creative industry.

There will be good days and there will be crazy days where you feel as if you are on a hamster wheel, running and yet seemingly going nowhere. Slot in time for family time and “me” time amidst all that craziness as we all need recharging from time to time. Be aware that sometimes you just need to walk away from a problem, breathe and come back to it. A great example of how someone has scheduled both work, personal projects and family time is the creator of the Wormworld Saga (http://www.wormworldsaga.com/). Follow his blog and see how he manages to do things, it’s truly inspirational and slightly scary too!

This article isn’t meant as a lecture and a “how-to” article. It is just some things that many of us in the creative field need to think seriously about and continue to struggle with. I would like to see the day where we can stand up with pride and point to the many successes out there, where we see the quality of their work first, not just for clients but their own creative content. I would like to see a stronger story tellers movement where story is king, not just pretty pictures. I would like to see a time where we get awed by what we are watching or reading and then only it hits us, oh wow, it’s made by Malaysians, rather than getting beat on the head about Malaysia and Malaysiana. We have an amazing amount of creative talent in our country and we need to showcase that, think global, not just local. We can be bigger than that. Why not work together to make that happen, rather than as a fragmented community? After all, why fight for a smaller section of the pond, when you could instead make the pond grow bigger and bigger and be the envy of other ponds elsewhere? Before I end, here is the quote that hopefully will also inspire you:

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. “ – Christopher Reeve, actor, From speech at Democratic National Convention, August 1996

So go out there, live your dreams and keep on creating!

Support the Malaysian Games and Comics Convention, Dec 2011, Where all your heroes are. http://mgccon.org

We’ve all heard of Generation X, Y, the Millennials and the Baby Boomers. Which group you belong to does, of course, depend on the period in which you were born.

And each group has distinct characteristics — characteristics that the academics study and characteristics that the marketers embrace as they ‘target’ their products and services at particular groups.

But now a new group has emerged. It’s been given the tag of ‘Generation G’. Most significantly, Generation G is ageless — it is, if you will, a group that embraces each one of us.

Its bred – a new consumer, customer and client. It is, in fact, a movement; a movement unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a lifetime spent building great businesses and showing others how to do that.

And as the trend-watching experts at trendwatching.com pointed out, the G in Generation G doesn’t stand for ‘Greed’ — it stands for ‘Generosity’.

It shows itself in several ways, most notably in a huge surge in people volunteering and a significant ‘wave’ of people re-connecting with a basic human happiness trait — giving. And that in turn is deeply linked to finding a sense of purpose.

As someone put it recently, “Members of Generation Y are the first people to be born with everything, only to discover that they actually have nothing.”

And at the other end of the scale we have the Baby Boomers who’ve worked and worked in what was the ‘greed’ generation only to find that the money they earned bought them ‘stuff’ — stuff which when they looked around, had little or no meaning. So they too have become members of Generation G. They too had something missing in their lives.

And it’s not just that people are more giving, it’s that they want to connect with companies whom they feel really ‘get it’ too — companies who make a difference, companies who give back.

Authors John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio put it wonderfully in their new book ‘Spend Thrift’ published by Jossey-Bass. “….the future face of capitalism”, they say, “will be defined by delivering value and values.”

And studies in 2010 such as the Edelman Good Purpose study quote some fascinating numbers:

• Social purpose (at 47%) ranks higher as a purchase motivator than brand loyalty (27%) and design and innovation (26%).

• If a brand of similar quality supports a good cause, 75% of consumers claim they would buy it and 76% claim they would recommend and share positive experiences about such a brand.
• Sixty-two% of U.S. consumers say they would also switch brands if a brand of similar quality supported a good cause.
• U.S. consumers’ willingness to actually promote a brand that supports a good cause jumped 19% from 2008 (47%) to 2010 (66%).

But don’t think for one minute that these are simply US trends. They’re not. Consider:

• The new British Government launched its ‘Big Society’ initiative and as recently as 29 December 2010, Ministers were suggesting that people could give to charity every time they use bankcards in shops or at cash machines. The Government even is working on a new plan to prompt people to give money when they fill in tax returns, or apply for passports and driving licences, according to proposals.

• India’s Parliament introduced a Bill to require largest companies to donate 2% of their net profits to CSR activities.
• 8 in 10 consumers in the India, China, Mexico and Brazil expect brands to donate a portion of their profits to support a good cause.
• Globally 71% believe brands and consumers could do more to support good causes by working together.
• And globally again 63% want brands to make it easier for them to make a positive difference.

The authors of the Edleman study were, in effect, awed by the numbers. So much so that they now suggest that it adds a new P to the traditional 4 P’s of marketing (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). And the new P is, of course, PURPOSE.

Once you get that right, everything falls into place. You connect not only with yourself, but also with your team and your marketplace — effectively you become part of Generation G. It’s knowing (and articulating) what gets you up in the morning. Stay tuned…

What is it about you or your brand that makes people want to dance? We spoke briefly about selling the drama and how important winning the hearts of your audience is, but you also need a method for doing this.

Think of this method as your soundtrack. 
The world is, after all, one infinite playlist. (What? You didn’t know? C’mon, EVERYBODY knows that!)

Can YOU put a soundtrack to everything you do, or the way you do it?

A few days ago, I had to sit through a meeting with some quite important people. Initially the thought of it was exciting and intriguing, but after the 1½ hour presentation (or rather 2 hours, since they were ridiculously late) I was left confused and tired with a splitting headache. The presentation was filled with information that did not really focus on what we were there for. The presenter seemed to enjoy talking and listening to himself talking. (Yeah, that does sound a bit rude…)

I, on the other hand, imagined him suddenly breaking into a song and throwing us all off centre. Needless to say, I felt a bit out of place like a mad scientist in a room full of account executives. All I could focus on in this 2-hour nightmare was tapping my feet accurately to the tune of “footloose” and using my jedi powers to stop my stomach from grumbling. My point is, there was no “rhythm” keeping me in tune with the unfolding “drama”. No method of engaging me. No soundtrack and absolutely no magic.

“Those who hear your music will remember how to dance.”

You know when watching a movie, even if we’re not consciously listening to the soundtrack, it is there, channeling our emotions, guiding us through the story. It adds some depth to the drama being presented. Imagine how bland a movie would be without it.

Other examples would be coffee shops and fast food joints. Coffee shops play slow, soothing sounds to keep you relaxed and, in so doing, keep you sitting there buying more coffee. Fast food joints normally opt for faster, more upbeat music, influencing the speed at which you eat so that you can leave quicker, making the table available to the next bunch of people. These are some literal examples but the concept behind it remains the same for your brand.

When you take a look at everything you have worked out for your brand, think about how you would like it all to flow. What type of playlist or soundtrack will it have?

~~~ About the contributor ~~~

Sedick Sasman is a independent creative contractor based in South Africa. His goal is to help other small businesses/ start-ups to get their message out there. He believes that a successful brand combines it’s vision, creative strategy and design into one meaningful and impact-full force. To find out more, visit his site www.substance-creative.co.za

Amazing how the little things suddenly hit you.

And when they do, they change everything.

That happened to me just a few moments ago — and I’m excited. I ‘got’, if that’s the right way of describing it, the new WWW.

For years now, I’ve been talking about all three of them …… individually at first; then two together and until just now, the ‘obvious’ combining of all three just hit me. And they form 3 major keys to building a great business AND a great life. Come explore with me …..

The first W in our sequence is where it all starts — as Simon Sinek puts it: ‘Start with WHY’ Notice that; START with Why. Not figure it out after you’ve put everything in motion — start with it. And if you want to know WHY you start with it just go right here to Simon.

It is, of course, that ‘thing’ that gets you up in the morning — but go watch Simon. It’s got NOTHING to do with complex vision and mission statements and platitudes. It’s a real, honest to Goodness, simple thing — WHY? And ‘why’ in as few words as possible — certainly less than 10. (And if you’re wondering, what gets me up every morning is this — ‘to give you the power to change lives.’

Once you get that, you can jump straight to the third W in our list. But best you get the second in place ahead of it.

The second one is simply WOW — that spark that lights up our eyes when we connect with or see something we think is just great. Something that simply makes us go (for whatever reason) ‘WOW’.

And our responsibility in developing a business is to build in WOWs everywhere — tiny little things (there’s a major clue to WOWs right there) that make others light up and go WOW. You’ve got to have it — GOT TO.

Without it, you’re making it seriously challenging for people to buy what you have. WOWs come instantly. We don’t need to refer to spreadsheets to go WOW — we just get it — we get it in the gut if you like.

And if you don’t have the little things that make people go ‘WOW’ you are making it SO challenging. Little things like, for example, the way you set the alarms on an iPhone, or the flies etched into the toilets that act as ‘aiming devices’ in Terminal 3 at Singapore’s Changi Airport, or the way the new young Baristas at my local McCafe make brilliant designs with a toothpick in seconds on the top of my cappuccino). Simple, simple WOW things.

As I once observed to an MBA class, if you show me your business plan and it takes me more than 45 seconds to ‘get’ it; it’s either the wrong plan or I’m simply not in your target market.

Or, to put it another way, I’ve never seen a multi-page business plane (or indeed an Excel spreadsheet) that changed the world. It’s that initial idea, that ‘thing’ that springs from WHY and forms into a WOW that does it.

And that used to be enough — the WHY and the WOW. But no longer. Now we need that third W.

It’s what I call ‘WOOW’ — go on, say it out loud — you’ll actually hear that ‘WOOW is a much deeper ‘WOW’.

You see, here’s the thing with WOWs. They can be and frequently are, temporary. For example, the first iPhone I used to WOW about is no longer a WOW with the advent of an iPhone 4. So as you develop WOWs, you need to keep on re-inventing them. But WOOWs are much more ‘solid’.

They’re rarely ever about things — they’re about people — they’re about us giving back. And yes, they’re linked directly many, many times with our ‘WHY’

There is now this amazing wave (oh, look at that, another ‘w’) of WOOW — of people and businesses really getting the part we can play in our world. Staggeringly, statistics show that around 4 per cent (only 4%) of the 381 Billion that’s given to charities in the US as just one example, comes from businesses. We think it’s time to impact that number and really get to understand the leverage that those of us who run businesses actually have.

But get this — it’s NOT just about doing good in the accepted sense. Seth Godin expressed it brilliantly in a recent post: “giving a gift for no reason and with no transaction contemplated is actually incredibly powerful. It changes your approach to the market, it changes your relationship with the recipient and yes, it changes you.”

WOW ….. it changes you! Actually, in terms of depth, that’s a WOOW.
Which is why at B1G1 we always say it’s US that are always the true recipient of the giving.

So much so that we think giving has to become not a one-off, ad-hoc event. It’s not about Charity Balls, nice though they are, or Telethons (even though they do sometimes, only sometimes, raise more than they cost to run) or whatever other one-offs you can think of.

It’s about doing it every day, habitually, by doing what we normally do — business!

We buy things. We sell things. The world moves.
So at B1G1, we’re about giving your business the power to change our lives, habitually, effortlessly. It’s pretty simple — imagine it with me.

You’re in business. You own a coffee shop. Your WHY is to somehow make a difference to kids — one of whom dies every 22 seconds because of no access to clean water.

So, you combine your WHY, your WOW into a WOOW. And every time someone grabs a cup of coffee in your shop, a child in Africa gets access to water. You sell plasma TVs; you recognize how blessed you are that you AND your customers have sight. So your WHY becomes to do something about those who don’t.

And so, every time you sell a TV, a cataract-blind person in Bali gets the gift of sight. You sell a book, a tree gets planted. You go out for a meal, 37 children get fed. Someone buys YOUR product or service; something GREAT happens.

You see ….. habitually. Effortlessly. WHY, WOW and WOOW combined. That’s when the magic happens. That’s when it changes everything — us, our businesses and our world. That’s when we create together a happier world. A new WWW!

Guess who will be featured this coming Thursday (17 Feb 2011) at the Live and Inspire Series Season 3?Dennis Lau is an electric violinist, songwriter & producer. He obtained a Bachelors of Music graduate under the Newcastle Australian Music Degree Program. Dennis began his musical adventure with the piano at the tender age of three. Then he went on to obtain several diplomas in classical piano. Dennis’s violin training started at the age of eight.

Now an accomplished musician in the local music scene and in contemporary/jazz rhythms, Dennis has achieved a lot in a short span of time, already having shared the stage with Asia’s most prominent and popular artistes and celebrities and is also a regular guest performer on various television programs. Aside from performing, composing and working on his album, Dennis contributes to the evolution of the music industry through his other passion – teaching. Dennis manages to take time out from his otherwise extremely busy and hectic schedule to devote his skills, talent and patience to conduct music lessons for the young in his home studio.

Being the first instrumentalist signed under Sony Music Singapore, he recently produced a short film inspired by the song “Prelude in F Minor” which can be found in his limited edition CD/DVD album DiversiFy. His current project is acting in a leading role in a local movie production. With so much going on in his life, we sat down with Dennis and discovered the big passion behind it all.

What was the feedback from your family and friends when you decided to pursue music professionally?
Being a piano teacher herself, my mum first opened the doors to me when I was 3 and then sent me for violin lessons when I was 7. To be honest, I had actually no idea how professionally or seriously I want to pursue music. It was more of my passion and hobby. To be specific, it is like a routine to me. What I discovered later on was when I was performing part time, I realized the potential of it. I observed the logistics of it, comparing it with other jobs, hence thats why I gradually pursued it professionally. My family had no objections throughout this journey.

What is your favorite piece to play?
Definitely these two songs I composed: “Prelude in F minor” feat. Jimmy Sax and “MAHKOTA” feat. Syafinaz.

Who is your inspiration and why?
Michael Jackson. He redefined music, fashion, dance… everything in one. There could never be another pioneer like him and I believe that is something every musician/artist strives to innovate.

What is your ritual before a large performance?
There are two rituals I always practice regardless of large or small scale performances: Wash my face (because I want to feel fresh on stage) and of course, pray to the Almighty for His blessing.

What made you decide to teach?
Teaching was a part of me when I grew up and my mum was a music teacher. I have observed her teaching students (be it young or adult). Gradually, it became a natural instinct to teach after I finished high school.

What advice would you give to our up-and-coming musician’s on overcoming the fear and nerves of performing in front of a large crowd?
There’s nothing to be afraid or be nervous about when you are on stage. I once took this advice and it works even till today, ‘When you are on stage, you are the KING of the stage. Take control of it and inspire people like your inspiration inspires you.’

What can we expect from your Starbucks Live & Inspire session on Thursday?
Haha, that’s a good one. Come with no expectations as I’m performing for the first time, with a mic. =)

So meet Dennis in action this Thursday. Click here to find out more details of the event. For more information on Dennis, check out his Facebook Page or Official Website.

Who would have thought that Yoga could be a way of life, but to many out there, it is simply because there are certain practices that can be implemented in the way we live to ensure that we grow as a person throughout the challenges we face in life. Who shares better than Azmi Samdjaga, one of our regular contributors for the magazine. We heard about the great leap he has taken this year and sat down with him for a quick catch-up session on what he has been up to.

Congrats on the opening of My Yoga Sanctuary. Tell us a little about yourself.
First of all, thank you. The current owner and director, Alex, and I had been looking for a studio for 3 months before finally finding one that we could take over. Anyway, I am a Singaporean yoga teacher who has been teaching for 5 years. I have travelled to Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand and Italy to learn various forms of yoga. After my 3 months training with the late Guruji Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath in Mysore, India, I decided to pursue my practice in the Ashtanga system.

After 12 years of practice, I found Ashtanga by far to be the most systemized form of yoga system with a very progressive and organized practice. However, I also do teach other forms like Hatha, Yin, Vinyasa and Pre-Natal (only private tuition). In class, being personal in giving attention and taking time to study my students individually allows me to be close with my students so as to help them personally in dealing with their own issues. I do document each of my student’s progress and give feedbacks bi-annually.

What is the inspiration behind My Yoga Sanctuary?
MYS was actually an existing studio owned and ran by a former colleague and practitioner before Alex and I took over and officially put it out to the public. We retained the name because it represents the nature of yoga practice’s ambience and the certain calmness the name exudes. The preservation of the name was also due to the lack of time we had to generate new designs and the urgency in providing my students a conducive infrastructure for their practice. I used to conduct classes in my apartment.

What do you plan to achieve through this establishment?
MYS short term goal is to introduce an uncluttered and straightforward system of membership offering bona fide yoga practice taught by highly proficient and experienced teachers through honest, accurate and verifiable information and techniques. I have been working on many complaints from my students about several wrong and groundless information that they received in other classes. Consequently, MYS long term goal is to set a benchmark for various levels of yoga practice and to create a closer student-teacher connection through individual consultation. MYS would also like to cultivate an innovative way, a creative approach but safer modus operandi of asana (posture) practice. In other words, MYS will become a personal environment offering exclusive teaching to its members.

How do you view Yoga and life?
I have been a passionate advocate of Yoga and after 12 years of practicing, it has proven to me to be the most effective and logical way of life. In my study and research on my own personal practice, I have found a direct relation between my personal life and my yoga practice. I saw my life’s representation through my practice on my mat. How the importance of breath in assisting me through my asana practice similarly represents the breath I take to live life. How I focus and concentrate in my posture tells how balance my life is and how the demanding postures I did on my mat represents the challenges I face in life. I then realized what I do on my mat epitomizes how I live my life. And in due practice, I discovered my potential as a person; physically, spiritually and emotionally in dealing with various issues that I had to face in reality. So yes, I do believe that yoga IS a way of life.

What is the significant difference that one can experience through Yoga?
In due practice, and upon the correct alignment of the body, one may experiences a certain shift in the way one lives by feeling physically healthier and having the clarity of one’s thoughts. However the most significant difference would be that after all the above, one may have found a rational and safest way or platform to deal with issues in one’s life. For over 5,000 years yoga has proven to remedy many ailments, help with anxieties and improve the quality and balance of life.

It is the science of the body and mind in achieving total health and reducing stress, which effects the growth and stimulation of the immune system to fight diseases. From the physical practice of yoga, study has shown evidence of the production of hormones by various organs in order to strengthen the immune system.

Anything else you would like to share with us?
I am pleased that yoga has gradually grown in size with its practitioners here in Malaysia. Be that as it may, many still have a profound misconception of the universal practice of yoga. Now this has to change. As more and more people are finding better means of being healthy, achieving calmer state of consciousness, sharpening the mind, and cultivating social and personal awareness through yoga practice, I am afraid those who refuse to try and see the practice in a different perspective may be universally lagged behind and thus, preventing the growth and evolution of the mind to progress and perform. My greatest hope is that yoga would provide another alternative for everyone and anyone searching to achieve a healthier body and a stronger mind.

Congratulations and thank you, Azmi, for spending your time with us. More happy news to all of you out there, Azmi has shared the opening promotion with us! Check out the flyer below for more information.

David Lai, a modern day mentalists or a Mind Magician, is one of the most sought after unique entertainer on our local shores. Having entertained some of the most prominent names in the country, and globally, David strives for improvement and raises his standard where possible .

David’s style of magic differentiates him from the rest. He does mentalism, a subdivision of magic dealing with the human mind. David incorporates metal bending , mind reading , hypnotic persuasion and telekinesis demonstrations into his acts.

Today, David lives his dream traveling all over the world creating the extraordinary. The L&I Series Season 3 featured David Lai, which was the perfect opportunity for us to catch up with him in person to discover more about this magician extraordinaire.

How long have you been a professional mentalist?
Professionally since I was 17, as that was when I started doing my 1st paying gig.

What was your first gig?
My 1st gig was performing at a birthday party, followed by mostly school functions. My 1st paying gig happened when the Rotary Club called me up for their annual installation dinner.

Do you have a mentor or were you self-taught?
I have no mentor, and it’s unfortunate as I could have shortened my learning curve by a lot.

What’s your secret about bending forks with your mind?
If it is a secret, I can’t really tell now can I? Haha!

Do you get many international gigs? Is there a specific country, which have you in demand?
Most of my shows are now overseas. In 2010, I was only in the country for 3 months over the year. I spent most of my time in Egypt followed by Singapore .

Does being a mentalist pay the bills?
It does, and so much more.

Where do you get the inspiration to keep going in an unconventional profession?
I get inspiration and motivation from my unique friends. Some of my best friends are models and comedians. Unconventional, if you asked me as well. They’re very supportive and we can relate to each other.

What made you consider and when did you realize that mentalism was your future?
When I was in university studying engineering. I knew this wasn’t for me and the only other thing I could do well was magic.

When and what was the proudest moment of your career?
When I was 22 and I directed the 1st ever magic show in Egypt with internationally renowned performers. It felt so good.

What is “magical” in your life?
It used to be my girlfriend. Haha!

Mentalism being a very new genre of magic, what would you say are obstacles that you face being a mentalist?
Well, the language barrier would be a main concern. I perform strictly in English and that doesn’t appeal to everyone. Mentalism is not really a visual art, therefore connecting with people would be the hardest obstacle to overcome.

Would you ever give your secrets away?
Well, that depends how soon I get married and pass everything down to my son.

Looks like David’s secrets are well-kept up his sleeves. Thanks for being on our platform on the L&I Series Season 3, David! And all the best with your work!

Jetstar Redemption — from NEVER AGAIN to WOW in one phone call. By Paul Dunn

Last month, I seriously ‘pasted’ Jetstar.

Today, I want to praise them.

And it has nothing to do with (or does it!) the way they fly their planes, their people behind the counter, the baggage handlers, the pilots, the Flight Attendants or indeed the meals on board.

It has to do with one lady — Abbie. And I’ve never met her.

But without doing anything, other than listening, she’s connected me with Jetstar in a way I’ve never been connected before.

One hour ago, I got a phone call. Here’s how it began:

“Hello Mr. Dunn, thank you for taking my call. The CEO of Jetstar, Bruce Buchanan, has asked me to give you a call — it’s about the blog you wrote about us. Oh, my name’s Abbie one of the Customer Care Analysts at Jetstar and Mr. Buchanan was wondering if you could take some time just to go a little deeper on your experiences so we can learn something about what’s happened and take steps to put it right. Mr. Buchanan has asked me to take lots of notes so if that’s OK, Mr. Dunn, can we take that time now?”

How disarming is that? When I first heard Abbie mention ‘Jetstar’ I was half-expecting she’d say ….. ‘from the Jetstar legal department’!

Crucially, really crucially, during the 50 minutes — yes — 50 full minutes we were on the call, Abbie never once ‘justified’ anything or attempted to say ‘well, the reason that happened was …..’.

Instead each time I spoke it was either:

‘Oh, I’m so sorry that was your experience ..’

or

“Hmmm, please tell me some more about that’

or

“So let me just check Mr. Dunn so that I’m clear — you’re saying it’s a cultural thing. And it would be great if, like the other airlines you’ve mentioned, we started referring to and thinking of passengers NOT as passengers or even customers but as ‘guests’.

Oh yes, we went very, very deep. Even too …

‘So Mr. Dunn, you’re saying that a lot of our people at the airline counters need to really be aware of their grooming. And tell me, Mr. Dunn, I notice you spend a lot of time in Singapore so is that your experience with us in Asia or is that in our Australian operations?

Abbie was great — a great voice — soft most times. But ‘bouncy’, carrying the conversation nicely along. And at the end of it, I almost wanted to step on a Jetstar plane there and then.

Abbie stressed all along that she was just one of a team of people committed to listening and making the airline great. And just a minute ago, I received a fax from Abbie’s boss, Michael, the head of Customer Care.

Amongst other things Michael tells me that Abbie ‘has taken detailed notes of your conversation and the feedback you’ve provided. This information will be passed on directly to Bruce Buchanan, our Chief Executive Officer.’

Cool stuff. And how cool is it that Jetstar actively found the original piece out there in Cyberspace.

I hope there’ll find this one too and give Abbie a gold star or whatever it takes to have others recognise the value of what she did.

Maybe there’s more to come …. stay tuned.

Selling the Drama. By Sedick Sasman

What is this “drama” you ask? This is what is going to keep your audience engaged. This drama is the essence and the climax of your story. This “drama”, my dear reader, is what your brand stands for.

It is what will make crowds stand up and cheer your name. (and sometimes take their tops off…) It is what you will be remembered for.

Imagine this: Your product or service goes on sale after a shiny-over-the-top marketing campaign. You sell out and make millions! Successful, some might say. But, is it really?

What are you going to do now, besides buy a yacht? Have you captured the hearts of your audience? How about, NO. You have created a business that makes a huge amount of money. No drama. No substance. No encore. A one hit wonder. A relationship between you and your audience was not formed.

Remember your first love. (Yes, I’m going there… mostly because I can… and nobody is stopping me.) You all know what I’m talking about right? Either partner wanted the other to know exactly what they wanted, when they wanted. (Please stop thinking what I think you’re thinking!) You had to develop a sense of mutual understanding, trust, and a little bit of telepathy. You ignited the passion in each other and rooms came alive with your presence. Every song was about you and your lives were dramatic, thrilling and exciting. Now you didn’t get here by being a douche. You took the risk of letting your partner into your life.

And THAT risk is an important one.

Even if this sounds like a fairy tale to you, the relationship between your brand and customer is much the same. Or at least, when you start believing that your customers are partners in your brand’s success rather than just buyers. Your customers are as much a part of your brand, as your brand is of their lives.

Keeping that in mind, ask yourself these questions: “Do I know what my partner wants?”(“partner” being your customer… focus!); “Do I want my partner to stick around because of my awesome products or my brand’s values?” And the most important question: “Do I want my partner/customer to be part of who I am?”

The answer to that last one should be “Yes”.

Now take a look at what your brand is communicating. Your brand should be conveying the right message by selling, advertising and marketing more than just its products and services. (Like you eventually convinced the love of your life that you are more than a flashy car.) Honesty and transparency in your creative strategy plays a bigger part in this than you might think. Your creative communications needs to convey the essence and the climax of your story. It needs to make crowds stand up and cheer your name.

In other words, you need to invite your customers to share in the DRAMA that is your brand. You want them to buy INTO your offering.

If you communicate this effectively, you will not only gain customers, but lifelong partners. This is a good risk to take. (Unless you like spending your days writing sad sonnets in the basement.)

Your brand is your customer, and your customer is your brand. Making money is not the primary objective. Your communication should strive to make them aware of this by having a story of truth, and with substance.

~~~ About the contributor ~~~

Sedick Sasman is a independent creative contractor based in South Africa. His goal is to help other small businesses/ start-ups to get their message out there. He believes that a successful brand combines it’s vision, creative strategy and design into one meaningful and impact-full force. To find out more, visit  www.substance-creative.co.za