BOOK: Innovating Like a Startup Executing Like a Corporation

Contributed article in our business series. We’re delighted to feature this book, written by our brilliant and experienced colleague Dr. Jean-Claude Junqua. Enjoy! – Kimberly

Why did I write this book?

Through the experience acquired with large corporations and working with many startups, I could understand the strengths and weaknesses of these two worlds, and also the gaps that currently exist with both types of organization to innovate and create new business. It became clear to me that the front-end and the back-end of innovation were often disconnected or had severe weaknesses that would prevent startups and corporations from effectively searching for new business and, when deciding to go forward with an opportunity, to execute it successfully. This realization prompted me to write this book and share my understanding, experience, and knowledge with the innovation and business community at large. This book will benefit innovators, entrepreneurs, founders, managers, and executives who are trying to break through innovation barriers by avoiding common mistakes and getting answers about practical challenges.Continue reading→

TRAVEL, LIVE, WORK, INVEST & RETIRE IN SINGAPORE

 

Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

One of the many benefits of travel is it gives you the opportunity to explore the amazing variety of cultures around the world. The thrills, adventures, and experiences that traveling offers make the long or short hours on the plane worth it.

Singapore is one of the many countries around the world that is known for its high-tech infrastructure, rapid development, and economy. Hence, it is not surprising to see lots of people around the world wanting to either travel, work, invest or retire in this country.

In this post, we will give you a quick guide to traveling, living, working, investing, and retiring in Singapore.

Home Options in Singapore

Unlike many countries, most people in Singapore live in condos. This is not degrading in any way as this is the norm in here; especially if you are looking to rent a home in the inner city. If you go for new apartments, there is a huge chance that you will also have access to playgrounds, function rooms, pools, and gyms there. You may have to move out to the suburbs to rent a single home though; and keep in mind that these homes do not have gardens — and in most cases, they even don’t have backyards.Continue reading→

5 Simple Tips On Choosing The Best HRMS Solution For Your Business

Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

Having the right Human Resources Management Software (HRMS) solution is essential in modern businesses. As more organizations move away from traditional business models and embrace the flexibility of remote work, a streamlined system is a necessity.

If you’ve been trying to evaluate which software you need for your growing organization, keep it simple. Here are five simple tips on choosing the best HRMS solution for you.

Define Your Needs

The first step to choosing the right HRMS solution for your business is to define your needs. Different options will have a variety of capabilities. Some organizations will require a robust user interface that supports a large enterprise while others need something simple and streamlined for a small team.

The primary focal points of HRMS includes payroll, recruitment, and onboarding, scheduling, self-service, benefits, and performance (source: https://www.hrpayrollsystems.net/hrms/). Figuring out which components your company requires now, as well as in the immediate future, is the key to choosing the right system.Continue reading→

Make Smart Mistakes To Achieve Impossible Goals

Originally published on Forbes 14 Oct. 2014.

Author: Kimberly Wiefling

Like most kids, I was taught to avoid mistakes. Perfection was the goal, and errors were punished—sometimes with lower grades, and occasionally with a swat on the behind. Imperfection wasn’t rewarded in adulthood either, where a narrow definition of beauty left me wishing I had a supermodel figure and a more attractive face. Then came the innovation era in the business world. Suddenly we were supposed to cast off years of perfectionism and become wildly creative.

Unfortunately, a famous NASA study showed that the typical 98% creativity scores of five-year-olds falls to a mere 2% by the time these same children become adults. Creativity is messy! The creative path is dotted with imperfection and temporary setbacks, sometimes called failure. We learn to avoid mistakes, and thus stop expressing our creativity, in order to survive in our families, at school, and at work.

Here are five ways to breathe new life into the creativity with which you were born. (For the rest of this, please see the full article on Forbes here.)

Why You Should Use Secure Email Services Instead of Popular Ones

Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

Email – you can’t really live without it anymore since that’s how you keep in touch with people, network, and apply to jobs nowadays.

And while it is appealing to just use the most popular email service (Gmail, Yahoo!, or AOL), it’s better to switch to a safer option.

Why?

Because the popular services simply aren’t secure enough.


What Risks Do Unsecured Email Services Expose You to?

You’d think popular email services have got your back, but the reality is completely different.

Here are the kinds of privacy threats you have to deal with if you use them:

1. Advertisers Breaching Your Privacy

Here’s the harsh truth – if you use a service like AOL, Yahoo!, or Gmail, you’re pretty much giving advertisers and third party apps access to your email contents.Continue reading→

Why Team Building is Necessary for a Good Working Culture

If you care about having a great working culture, Real Simple’s Maggie Seaver shares that you need to ensure that every employee feels a sense of belonging — and one great way to do that is through team building. And with everyone from the world’s largest corporations to the smallest of startups investing in team building, is all the hype about it justified?

What is team building?

At its core, team building is any action or process that aims to turn a group of employees into a cohesive team. It helps with the employees’ transition from having an individualistic to a collaborative mindset. And this is important because when employees focus on tasks and results on an individual level only, Forbes points out that the whole organization misses out in terms of productivity and effectiveness.

Team building ranges from small activities like bowling or a game night, to big activities like a sportsfest or a three-day retreat at the beach. However, it still has a bad rap for a lot of employees, many of whom see it as some mandatory “fun” activity where they must put on a happy-go-lucky face. But if done right, it doesn’t just serve as a stress reliever for the whole team. It also brings serious benefits and advantages to the whole organizational culture of the company.Continue reading→

Purpose & Different Types of Services From an Ideal French Translation Firm

Contributed article in our business series, especially for our friends doing business with France. Enjoy! – Kimberly

Translation has emerged as a lucrative business in today’s economy.  It involves a lot of money and thus attracts unscrupulous players in its market. We ensure that our customers get the best services at affordable rates. Our company translates the documents with utmost precision in the French language so that you can understand the meaning of it.

What goes on Behind the Scenes??Continue reading→