the next time you use a napkin... 7:56 pm

Even in our over-digitised lives, there is still room for the paper and pen. 

When I first heard about napkin pitches some years back, I was intrigued. The concept is that if you cannot sell your business model to a venture capitalist within the space of a napkin over dinner, you had better re-think your business idea. It was all about capturing the essence, the succinct crux of the business, within that short window, much like an elevator pitch. Since then, I've prepared "Napkins" for topics whilst studying in university; the succinct salient points that I need to know for each chapter.

Here is a NYTimes site that pays homage to this concept as well: capturing snapshots of financial advise on napkins. Enjoy: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/your-money/carl-richards-gallery.html?ref=your-money.

Better yet, how about a book dedicated to napkins and visual thinking? :)

Uncle T

it just keeps getting bigger. 1:56 pm

As some of you might know, I'm in the business of tourism. Part of what the Tourism Board does, and has to do, is continually push for the next big idea that will draw in the ever-demanding, ever-savvy bunch of travelers of the future.

Singapore continually reaches for the sky when it comes to tourism ideas. In fact, sometimes I do wonder if we do a dis-favour to ourselves my setting ourselves benchmarks that we are continually pressed to outdo.

But surely, competing with other cities on the basis of "bigger" and "larger" and "world's first" might not necessarily be a sustainable strategy. Just take a look at the latest Abu Dhabi added onto the global tourism map. A behemoth.

No. In this current world milieu, we have to move away from a strategy of building 'bigger and better' tourism products. We need to accept the reality that Singapore is well, Singapore; an island state.

Perhaps the way forward is to be an inspirational city; for our given size and circumstances, we have gone beyond what was dreamed possible for our limitations, and have become an inspiration. It is a very bold side-step, but possibly one we necessarily need to do if we want to continue to compete into the future.

Why try keep competing building better bicycles, trying to leap-frog the rest, and build the world's best bicycles? Why not start building spaceships instead?



Uncle T

sporeboyindelhi 10:22 am

Dear friends,

Having moved to Delhi for a year, you can follow my Delhi-specific journey at http://sporeboyindelhi.tumblr.com.

This blog will still exist, but Delhi-specific thoughts shall be penned there :)

Uncle T