Entrepreneurship - Future-proofing the Little Red Dot's Economy

It has been almost two years since I last blogged. A lot has happened since then - I left my job in the Army after 13 years in Jan 2012, and forayed bravely into the uncertain world of entrepreneurship with a radical startup, Tell My Friends. 

2 years - what a roller coaster ride of highs and lows! Emotionally it was liberating when I first started out - making decisions on things that I never had the opportunity to do so. It brought me to many places - Malaysia, Xiamen, Bangkok, New York, Austin TX. Lately it has hit a new low - an unpleasant end to a joint partnership in F&B, a standstill in my startup's development and growth due to a lack of funds and resources - and financially, I am dry.But now that I have some time on my hands before the next lap, I shall share my thoughts on why I still want to be an entrepreneur, in the bigger scheme of things.

Mention "Entrepreneurship" and most people will think,"Towkay" or "Boss", living the good life. It is, in fact, the opposite, at least for the first few years. Is entrepreneurship a career choice? In my 2 years of exploring and experiencing it for myself, I can tell you it is not. Entrepreneurship is the individual's ability to bring to life creative and innovative ideas. It is having the perseverance and persistence to see things through, from paper to execution. It is the resilience to take failure in stride and bounce back and thrive in the face of adversity. It is the "can-do" and "never-say-die" attitude. 

And Singapore needs this for our near future. 

Most people compare Singapore with Hong Kong. The formula for success for these two Asian Tigers are different. Singapore thrives on excellent central planning and Government Control, while Hong Kong has the vibrant and hungry drive to find opportunity in chaos. Such a stark difference in the cities' DNA. Singaporeans are in fact in a perilous state - the lack of drive and ability to take risk to venture out on our own is largely created by our efficient PAP-led government. It is not a bad thing - I'm not slamming our leaders, don't be mistaken. In fact, our success is our own folly. However, the ground noises can be heard - the people want less control and more autonomy. But are we prepared for it? Come 2016, if Facebook-addicted Singaporeans have their way, we could wake up to a Singapore without the Men-In-White. Not because the Opposition is good, but just because we are sick and tired of the PAP. Whatever the outcome may be, one thing is clear - our economy cannot remain a national enterprise. There's only so many jobs the government can create, and looking at the need to increase our market size to over 6 million, there will be immigrants in the form of skilled, semi skilled and unskilled labour competing for jobs. The key words here - "COMPETING FOR JOBS." 

Let me share with you my experience as a F&B manager (for a short three months). Nothing beats working at Ground Zero of any business to understand the deep issues. Not many Singaporeans are willing to work 10 hour shifts in the kitchen for less than $2000 a month, but there are tons of Malaysians that would. Singaporeans choose their jobs based on convenience and proximity to home or public transport that doesn't take more than 45 mins. Malaysians will take a bus from JB to Kranji MRT or ride their motorcycles daily to work anywhere in Singapore, nevermind if it takes 90 mins of daily commute, twice a day. Singaporeans won't want to work as a waiter or service staff because it is demeaning and low-status, while Philipinos and Malaysians would take that job anytime, even if it pays less than $2000 a month. I've encountered young students who would agree to work at the bar serving drinks, but would refuse to serve food at the restaurant. Simply put - Singaporeans work within our comfort zones...venturing out of this zone is undesirable and out of the question. We all want cushy jobs and high salaries. We don't want to work too hard for that extra dollar. I've offered jobs to Singaporeans in need like single parents. Only one took up the offer. The rest immediately rejected when they found the location too inconvenient to get to, or the pay is too low, even though I allowed them to bring their kids to work.

 

We need to start preparing our youth now to face the challenges of the future. I'm talking about as near as 5 to 10 years from now. We have lost our competitive edge as a work force, because the Singaporean Employee is expensive yet averse to hardship. We need to start with character development and resilience building to complement our existing education system. In other words, we should start training our youths to be entrepreneurs NOW.

It's not about teaching them how to set up a company and banking facilities. All these can come later when they are ready to run businesses. It's about character development and letting them have the experience of what it takes to be an entrepreneur, what failure feels like, how challenging it is to make a decision that requires risk taking, and working with others in a team.  Just as we choose scholars from the cream of the crop of A levels to be first-class civil servants, we should similarly identify and groom natural entrepreneurs from the academically mediocre and even failures to be the next Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. After all, they were all dropouts!  

It is the Entrepreneur that creates jobs for the economy. It is the Intrapreneur that drive changes and new businesses for corporate organisations. Both share similar traits : Being creative, analytical and innovative, AND taking action. Never say die, always can do!

Consistent with my post and self-declaration as an entrepreneur, I'm focussing my next project on training our NexGen entrepreneurs - starting from schools. I'm writing this as I gather my thoughts and course materials, and instructional design. If all goes well, I'll be on the road next year preparing our youth for our future, and I hope one of them makes it as the next Sim Wong Woo. It's been almost 30 years since we shook the world!

Crowded Trains, Traffic Jams and COEs - Fixes that Fail

Recently Minister Lui announced that COE quota will be cut in order to control the car population and traffic conditions in Singapore. Political pundits will have a field day with the "I told you so" post-election prophecies coming true - everything will go up to fatten the Ah Gong coffers.

While that may not be the true intent, you really cannot expect people NOT to think that way. The whole issue comes down to one thing - poor urban planning.

I dare say our top-notch scholarly civil servants are a different breed from their predecessors - they somehow seem to lack the foresight and testicular courage of our founding fathers. I mean, come on! Yes, we understand we need that critical mass of 6 to 8 million in order for Singapore to be a competitive economy. But it doesn't mean you have to put every mother son down south!

Look at where the congestion centers around - Orchard, the CBD area, Jurong...the whole country practically wakes up in the morning to either travel south on CTE to town, or travel westwards on PIE to Jurong. I have a friend whose office is at Yishun, and he enjoys the light traffic along Lentor every morning, laughing to himself as the other side of the road is bumper to bumper. You just need one fender-bender to close off one lane and jam up traffic.

While the solutions Ah Gong have in mind is to improve public transport so that people will give up driving to work, the public transport system is also reaching max capacity, and it takes 5 years more more to build that infrastructure. Sunzi says it is all about timing - when the eagle soars, it times the descent exactly at the moment the prey is vulnerable to go for the kill. The current slew of traffic control and public transportation woes all points to one thing - either bear with it, or stay home.

What I'm trying to say is, we need to re-organise the way we work. Spread the business centres of gravity across the island, and with it the supporting amenities - and do it fast. There are quick ways to do this, simply by changing policies and rules, instead of building new roads and offices. For example, there are light industrial estates peppered along Woodlands/Sembawang, and some in the northern central areas like Thomson, Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, and even in the East like Eunos, Bedok, Changi. These places are affordable, but it is just that it's not exactly an exciting place to work. Perhaps if Ah Gong can loosen up on some legislation and licensing, these can be lively business parks where people can work and play.

One of the limitations currently is that entertainment outlets like pubs have limited alcohol retail licence, as well as public entertainment restrictions. While those in town can operate way past 1 to 2 am, those in the suburbs can only do so until maybe 12.30 am or 1. Also, no live music is allowed, although karaoke is ok. There are also trade restrictions for certain zones. I was at Midview City recently and was told that only a certain number of F and B, retail, childcare and other non "light-industrial" trades are allowed to operate.

If Singapore is serious about easing transport woes, it should look into the problem from all angles. Why do people NOT want to set up shop outside of CBD, even though there are places and space available? The thing is - no one goes to work just to work. Work time is easily more than 50% of our "awake" time, and we want to make work part of our lives - work-life balance. All the amenities, entertainment and shops in an industrial, commercial zone provides the much needed psychological markers to help the days and weeks go by pleasantly. We don't need to all trot to town if we can get our fix near where we work.

This "quick fix" may not be a permanent solution, but it buys time for the permanent solutions like public transport infra to develop. Who knows? By the time people get used to having a drink after work at Woodlands Bizlink or chill out at Midview City at Sin Ming, peak hour road traffic may actually get redistributed...

Public transport: All the Wrong Fixes

You've heard it so many times - complaints about our public transport system. Crowded, long waits, packed, unpleasant, etc....and the complaints pile up everyday to a point where it costed PAP votes and forced a change in leadership of the ministry. Tipping Point!

Billions of dollars are being spent to increase the frequencies of our MRT trains, but there is a real safety limit of how close each train can be between one another.Alas, engineering can be expensive and challenging. 

However, I strongly feel that LTA has got it WRONG this time. Look at the complaints carefully - angst, frustrations, crowding, waits....all are valid, and there are even tons of STOMP pictures of masses of people at stations and trains. What ever it is, one thing is clearly absent: no one is complaining that they are late. So why are we spending taxpayers money (which in turn translate to fare hikes) on the wrong thing?

The thing is, it is not how fast the trains are, or how many trains you have - it is the perception and quality of the wait. A classic psychology case study is that of Sasser et al's elevator ride. People complained about how slow the elevators were, and when a mirror was installed (and some time later, elevator musak was born), the complaints went down. The problem, correctly framed, is a perception rather than an engineering problem. David Maister wrote a great summary called The Psychology of Waiting Lines.

I must confess that I'm not a regular public transport commuter, but whenever I can, I would prefer to take a bus or train and leave the car at home. I enjoyed taking the buses when there was TV Mobile, and time seemed to pass so fast when Tan Ah Teck was telling his "long long ago" story to his kids, and sometimes I wished the bus would be slower just so I could finish the show!

You don't have to spend billions of dollars to buy more trains or build more tracks. Just spend money to make the wait more pleasant - music, videos, comfort.....allow baskers to liven up the mood at the platforms during peak hours, show The Noose or re-runs of PCK, pipe easy-listening music, or better yet, have your own MRT in-house radio station where commuters can SMS in to request songs or make dedications....and that, I believe, is the final missing piece of  a world class public transport system.

The Folly of Success: HDB and the woes of Singaporeans

With the elections out of the way, it's time to address the issues bothering Singaporeans. 

For this analysis, I have to give a little more background before explaining how HDB has played a significant role, consciously or unconsciously,  in the woes of Singaporeans.  And of course, I'll throw in a proposal on what needs to be done.

BACKGROUND

Oftentimes we hear pockets of conversations about foreign talent, declining birth rates, expensive public housing, crowded public transport, traffic jams, shortage of HDB parking spaces, rising food costs, greying population etc. These are the very issues which touches the HEART of Singaporeans, and these are also the reasons why PAP lost ground. Winning hearts and minds is important for any government to do well. Unfortunately, the former is much harder than the latter for obvious reasons.

But what then is the fundamental issue? In order to make sense of the numerous issues, you cannot address them in isolation. Such is the challenge of a complex adaptive situation. Fundamental to all is this: population size.  The government has rightly pointed out that we need a critical mass of 6.5 million or more to survive, or rather, thrive strategically. Given no natural resources other than people, no one can argue that our options for the means of survival is limited to only people, or human resource. This must be communicated clearly and repeatedly to all Singaporeans....something which the government has yet to do.

The solutioning so far for all the problems have been ineffective. Even in the cases where they are effective, they create other problems. One such example is the import of labour at both ends of the job market. You increase the work force and critical mass but create social problems like an escalating sense of xenophobia. Using Levels of Perspectives, you would realize that the issues are framed rather low at the Event or Behaviour levels, and solutions are reactionary and often not permanent. 

The results of the Cabinet reshuffle speaks for itself - First Order Change is needed in Housing and Transport. The internal security change is just repentance.

HDB: THE FOLLY OF SUCCESS

The HDB is the pride of the Singapore Success Story. We owe a big debt of gratitude to Mr Lim Kim San for such a successful public housing program. Incidentally, I had the honor to be part of the pall-bearers for Mr Lim's state-assisted funeral. 

The HDB is the SHARPEST tool our government has in shaping our social fabric, because it creates the structure of Singapore's society. From racial quotas, family size, elderly care, childcare etc...all of these are driven by the way we live. The HDB started off in the context of a young nation with industrial aspirations, and the overly successful "Stop at 2" policy. Today, we have moved on to the Information Age, and our economy is no longer driven by production lines but by services or high-end manufacturing. 

If you look at HDB flats, we are always "oversold" in terms of rooms! A 5-room flat doesn't have 5 bedrooms, but only 3,  while 3-room/4 room flats have only 2.  Whichever way you see it, personal space in HDB is limited to either 2 or 3. There are some with 4, but these are exceptions and few.

It is EXACTLY this design problem which has caused our woes, because HDB is overly successful in implementing a STOP-AT-2 policy, and forgot to adapt to the new economic landscape. Imagine living in a 3 bedroom apartment (5 room flat). The master bedroom is for the young couple, the centre of the family nucleus. 2 other rooms will either be for 2 kids and maid (this is already a structural component of our economy), or 1 kid and 1 study/computer room (we ARE in the Information Age already).  It will be similar for 2 bedroom apartments. 

Because of this, you have all the daily problems compounded over time to become socio-economic problems that threaten national survival. Couples getting married will be hesitant to want more than 1 kid because there is simply not enough space, given today's social norms. The family nucleus is at best a two-generation model, and grandparents live apart, probably in another block or part of Singapore. The best childcare is probably family, which for Singaporeans past and present, are grandparents. So the couple drops Junior off at Ah Gong Ah Ma's place before work, and then go over to Ah Gong Ah Ma's place after work to pick up the kid, and also have dinner. In order to do so, they have to park their car at Ah Gong Ah Ma's HDB car park, which pisses residents off when they can't find parking. For those who don't drive, they have to take the train or bus to get from work to Ah Gong Ah Ma, and later cab or train/bus back home.

All these reaches a tipping point that becomes what we are facing today. Low birth rates, inconveniences, and future elderly care worries. All because structurally, we are forced to live that way. The grouses of escalating housing costs, food costs, foreigners etc are second- and third order issues that stem from something as fundamental as HDB's folly of success.

THE WAY AHEAD

I don't have the resources for research and modeling, but I feel this is worth exploring by MND. 

1) Revamp flat designs COMPLETELY. Stop the 3/4/5 room classifications and sell them AS IS, i.e., count bedrooms rather than over-inflate the room count. It was necessary last time to give kampong folks a sense of progress and value for money, but hey, stop kidding us. We are a product of the other pride of the Singapore Story called education.

2) Change baseline flat designs to have minimum of 4 bedrooms, of which 2 come with attached bathrooms. The reason is simple. You want to have a 3-generation family nucleus that is self-sustainable in terms of childcare and elder care. Having 2 bedrooms with attached bathrooms facilitates procreation, and privacy. Ah Gong Ah Ma will still need to cuddle and make out/wash up, and Young Couple will need to do the do to make babies. The other bedrooms will be boys' room and girls' room, or children's room and study room, or whatever configurations deem fit. It can EVEN be sublet out to foreigners like Malaysians and Philipinos working in our IRs or hospitals.

3) Keep the price of these new flats the same as current 5 room flats. Come on, we all know the price of public housing is over-inflated and not priced by building cost. Land cost is free, and all of us have the right to own it because we defend it too. But that's water under the bridge, so no point arguing to correct the mistake. The mistake had been made, but correcting it will be more costly, so I guess we have to live with that. However, it would appeal to Singaporeans if you price bigger flats at the same price of older flats. Put in controls like 10 year no-sell period for new generation flats. Why 10 years? Well, it stabilizes the market, and it also takes about 10 years to have 3 kids.


4) Nationally, MCYS should promote the 3-generation family nucleus. Bring back the San Dai Tong Tang. It takes time for bonds to develop deep enough for us, as a gracious society, to say "NO" to old folks' home. I can share my anecdotal stories, but that's for another blog.

The benefits, I believe, will solve many of our socio-economic issues. Better integration with foreigners, increase TFR, structurally prepare for self-sustaining elder care, better use of land, less short-term parking demands at HDB, reduced transport load (ok this is a stretch, but I think so la..).

Views, anyone?

Philipenglish Demystified!

Here's a re-post of one of my older fun blogs from FB. Enjoy!




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I had a hilarious afternoon the other day when my mum-in-law was talking to Lily, my domestic help. 

Lily hails from Philippines. So anyway Samantha was not feeling well and had a light case of HFMD, and was being monitored by Lily on her temperature. 

So Lily said to MIL,"Gramma, Samantha still have a bit of peber." 
MIL was perplexed. "What?" 
Lily repeated,"Samantha still have some peber." 
MIL,"I don't understand, what's that?" 
Lily got a bit annoyed. "Peber, gramma. PEBER." 
MIL:"What'a a PEBER?!?!" 
Lily said, "Peber lah!" 
Seeing that this could go on all day, I decided to stop watching the silly exchange and end their misery by explaining to my MIL that most Filipinas pronounce their Ps as Fs and V as Bs, just like how some Indians switch their Vs and Ws, and Japs have this thing with Rs and Ls. 

So, what Lily was really trying to say was Samantha still has a bit of FEVER. 

Maybe it's because Philippines is pronounced as Fee-Lee-pins, so the PH / F thing starts from there. I dunno. Or it could be some Tagalog language phonetics thingie. 

So, I noticed Samantha is picking up some of these mispronunciations, I I try hard to correct her. Actually the real challenge is to correct Lily because Samantha hangs out with her the whole day, so she will pick up from what ever Lily says. 

Here are some creeping problems emerging: 

Actual: Hi-Five Philipenglish: Hi-Pibe. 
Actual: Fish Philipenglish: Pish (Although Ben and Jerry's do have a flavor called Phish Food - that's not helping. Damn) 
Actual: Finish Philipenglish: Pinish. 

So here is a quick list to help you decipher what your Philippines native is trying to say in normal conversation: 

Example: 
I hab Pibe priends coming on Priday. 
I have five friends coming on Friday. 

We will meet on the pip ploor. 
We will meet on the fifth floor. 

I plugged a tucksi and went to Lucky Flahza. 
I flagged a taxi and went to Lucky PLaza. 

I bought Pibe kilos of presh pruits por Pipty-Pibe dollars and pipty-pibe cents. Puck! 
I bought five kilos of fresh fruits for $55.55. Damn! 

I pinished the housework in the ebening, so I turned on the telebision and watched a bit of peer pucktor. 
I finished the housework in the evening, so I turned on the television and watch a bit of Fear Factor. 

My paborite band is Pibe Por Piting. 
My favourite band is Five for Fighting. 

I like to wear Buggikorlorpunts. 
I like to wear baggy colored pants. 

Pelix, can you flease fass the prench pries? 
Felix, can you please pass the french fries? 

What the puck? 
What the hell? 

You better wash your hand abter you come back from flayground, if not you get hand poot moub disease. 
Yo better wash your hands after coming back from the playground, or else you can get hand foot mouth disease. 

No R21 in the Heartlands!

I applaud Ah Gong for not allowing R21 in the heartlands. Yes, some of you may cry (cow peh cow bu) and call Singaporeans prudish and hypocritical.  Who doesn't catch some porn at home anyways?

Indeed there are many reasons for the performing arts community to lobby for a more liberal arts scene. Expressing oneself, being creative etc are hallmarks of a 1st World country. It is shouting to the world "We have arrived and no longer hungry. We've fed our stomachs, so now let's feed our minds."

However, as a parent of 3 kids (yes, I met quota liao and should be given a National Day Award...heehee), I couldn't agree more with Ah Gong's stand.  Just 2 weeks back, my 5-year old daughter needed new leotards for her ballet class, so we drove to Orchard Plaza on a Sunday to pick it up. Kids that age are amazing, because when they start to learn to read, they read everything they can see....Message boards along our expressways, street signs, adverts, posters....whatever. So when I turned into Cavenagh Road, right at the corner was a shop that shouts out, rather indiscretely, "SEX TOYS".  Of course, with the usual life-sized posters of skimpily clad girls with less dressing than a Caesar salad. I was just praying hard that she didn't notice that and not ask questions which I am not prepared to answer, at least not to a 5 year old.

Thank goodness, she didn't. It was an awkward moment, but thankfully I don't have to put myself in that situation often. Can you imagine what every parent have to face if we bring our families to heartland malls like AMK Hub or Bishan Junction 8? 

"Aiya, nobody ask you to go to the cinema, so why should you impose YOUR needs on mine?" The CheekoPek might ask. 

Well, have you seen how malls are designed? Cinemas are usually at the top level (lower rent cos less human traffic?). But so are food courts and family entertainment centres and arcades. You cannot avoid passing by the movie posters when you go to these places.

So while it made the headlines today in the Straits Times, I think it is a good thing. For the rest of those who want to catch an R21 movie, just take a train to Outram. Don't forget the foldable umbrella hor? If you can't afford the travelling time, get yourself a broadband account and watch from home. 100 symbolic banned sites, but there are 1000s of others which you can find.

小姐请你给我爱拼音

Trying to learn this song, but can't find the English phonetic lyrics. My Hokkien is not so good, but I'll try to transcribe this. Please help correct if you spot any mistakes.

小姐请你给我爱

歌名:小姐!請你給我愛
附註:
語言:國語,  曲長:0m0s
作曲:印尼曲,  編曲:
監製:,  填詞:黃敏

男：見面幾落擺當做不熟識　

Kin bin gui ah bai dong zoh boh sit sai

實在不應該

see zai boh ying gai

女：我愛你在心內　

Gua ai li zai xim nai

不敢講出來不敢給人知

mm gah gong chut lai mm gah hor lang zai
男：想看覓你想看覓　我對你怎樣關懷

xiu kua mai le xiu kua mai gua dui li za yeoh guan huai
女：你的心意　我也不是完全不了解

li eh xim yi gua ya mm see guan juan boh liao gai
男：小姐　你請你給我愛

sio jia! li chia li hor gua ai
女：先生　人歹勢在心內

sen sei lang pai seh zai xim nai
男：有你在身邊　我的心　就充滿了愛的光彩

wu li zai xin pee gua eh xim jio chong ban liao ai eh gong chai
女：有了你的愛　我一生　就沉醉在愛的世界

wu liao li eh ai gua jit xin jio dim zui zai ai eh sei kai