Nebulex Consulting

31/10/2021

People’s priorities change.

As much as a leader-subordinate relationship ought to be in for the long haul, circumstances and situations change, and therefore priorities change. A better offer, a new family member, a turn for the worse in health, or a change in heart could all end things prematurely.

That’s when destinations may stop overlapping to the point it is no longer viable to journey together.

Managing people is not about managing them individually, even if there is only one person to manage. Overdependence on any member of the team is going to be a recipe for the leader’s stumble, if not downfall.

Be prepared that journeys may end any time. Because if you don’t, you will find your own journey suddenly become way more difficult.

- Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Strategist
Nebulex Consulting

https://nebulex.com.sg

29/10/2021

A big thank you to WE Development for featuring Nebulex Consulting on their website:

To us, a silo mentality does not help a business to grow. Every aspect of the business is part of a greater machine. The 6Ps is our way of evaluating how primed for growth a business is. We are thankful to WE Development's sharing of our strategic thought, and are glad to have contributed to their one-stop resource centre for multi-level pathfinding and learning.

More information on WE Development here: https://www.wedevelopment.sg

More information on our strategic consulting model here: https://nebulex.com.sg/methodology/

-Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Strategist
Nebulex Consulting
https://nebulex.com.sg

Intro: Running a business is not the same as growing a business. Growing a business requires a more robust strategic approach. This 6P model provides a holistic basis to design a business growth strategy.

27/10/2021

What does a hire-and-fire culture say about a business?

Poor decision-making, lack of foresight, hasty judgements, unaccommodating, poor internal communications, unrealistic expectations, poor processes, wasteful and ineffective are just some possible reflections. And these weaknesses very likely spill over to affect their customer experience as well.

Rehiring and retraining can be significant in terms of costs, especially opportunity costs. Employee retention rate therefore is a key factor in business success. So if the leader-subordinate relationship is going to be a long journey, a hire-and-fire culture is like going on a destination-less expedition with a ragtag crew you don’t know and don’t trust.

Therefore, before hiring, know your destination and your route, then you will know who would make a good crew.

- Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Strategist
Nebulex Consulting

https://nebulex.com.sg

24/10/2021

Altruism is the worst possible business strategy. Appealing to people's sense of social justice, universal compassion and charitable heart to save the planet, the oceans, the forests, the animals, the poor, the marginalised, the victimised or the underprivileged is strategically highly unreliable.

Granted, the world is shifting towards greater awareness with the information explosion, but human rationality (or irrationality) still compels decisions. The world's largest charities have a myriad of ways to fundraise. People value altruistic euphoria differently.

In the end, people dine at your restaurant not fundamentally because you donate to dog shelters, but because your food is good; people buy from your fashion line not fundamentally because you participate in the Yellow Ribbon Project, but because your clothes look cool; and people appoint you as their electricity retailer not fundamentally because you harness green energy, but because your prices are better.

Altruism is a differentiator. Don't forget the table stakes.

- Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Strategist
Nebulex Consulting
https://nebulex.com.sg

22/10/2021

How many leaders have asked “how can I motivate my people?”

From intimidation and power play to pep talks and good jobs, fear and motivation have been the carrot and the stick in people management.

Only thing is, it’s the wrong question to ask.

Imagine leaders asking “how can I scare my people?”

Motivation, like fear, is a means to an end, a tool to achieve a goal.

Therefore the first question to ask is “where do our goals overlap?”

A business can have all kinds of systems – awards, medals, incentives, welfare, honour rolls, progression, promotions, bonuses, commissions and stuff like this – but systems answer a different question.

Therefore leaders have to understand where their goals overlap with their subordinates first, before asking “what motivates my people towards their goals?”

Try selling dog food to someone who doesn’t own a dog. Does it matter if you attach a 20% discount, a free dog leash or an e-book on “10 Ways to Walk Your Dog”?

So stop asking “how can I motivate my people” until you figure out what you should motivate them towards.

- Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Strategist
Nebulex Consulting
https://nebulex.com.sg

20/10/2021

To be able to add consulting value to a global market leader, a USD 17+ billion MNC, is very much a great learning experience and a career milestone. It is most exhilarating to have seen this engagement to successful fruition, no less with the full support and cooperation of the client's team.

- Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Strategist
Nebulex Consulting
https://nebulex.com.sg

17/10/2021

“My boss never listens.” Does this sound familiar? Guess the other side of the story? “Their ideas are not practical.”

How about “my boss thinks I’m a machine, no need to rest?” The other side: “why would it take so long to do something this simple?”

Or “it’s just a small matter, what’s the big fuss?” And the other side: “why they throw my face in front of the customer?”

People do things for a reason. To manage people well, a leader has to understand those reasons. You may disagree but if you play them down, you only succeed in triggering your subordinates’ defense mechanisms. They may stop arguing with you, but that doesn’t mean they accept your point of view. More likely, they’ve given up communicating with you.

Most people want to do well in their roles. Listen to why they yelled at the customer. Understand why they didn’t deliver on time. Observe how they felt about their workload. Ask how you can help them do better. When a leader acknowledges, accepts and validates their subordinates’ reasons, instead of one-sidedly judging them, it might just be easier to achieve your mutual objectives.

- Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Strategist
Nebulex Consulting
https://nebulex.com.sg

15/10/2021

I don't see the point of CDs, DVDs or ZIP files for software distribution any more. The hyperconnected world demands functionality, mobility, accessibility, security, operability, deliverability, customisability, quality and sustainability. The most optimal IT resource allocation model for most businesses would likely be some form of XaaS.

And therefore I would expect any business in the software sector to have considered SaaS as a business model right from inception. On-premise software in the future will only be a thing for users who do not want to pay and providers who cannot be trusted.

And I'd look forward to a possible software marketplace. A kind of App Store / Play Store that could serve as a launchpad for innovative software developers, complete with trust, transactions, rewards and support systems in place. A Capterra-ish platform perhaps with added features like single sign-on, data storage and desktop virtualisation too. Is it too far-fetched?

- Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Strategist
Nebulex Consulting
https://nebulex.com.sg

13/10/2021

Maybe the workers are skiving – got to keep an eye on them. Maybe the leaders earn bucketloads – why should I work so hard? And the mutual suspicion continues.

This is a business tragedy. When leaders and subordinates forget they are on the same side, it'll just be about how each makes the most use of the other. Throw loyalty, career progression, work ownership, customer experience, output quality, efficiency, competitiveness and profits out of the window.

This is not how businesses grow. When leaders look at subordinates as costs not investments, they will treat them as tools not humans. They will select the cheapest candidates but expect miracles, and fall for the most unrealistic résumés. They will be slow to empower but quick to criticize, and inspire no loyalty. And subordinates would then reflect on their leaders and decide they are not worth any more effort than minimal.

Lead, not because you need a troupe of slaves for your personal palanquin. Lead, because you want a band of brothers to better the world together. Treating subordinates like they’re on your side will keep them on your side.

- Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Strategist
Nebulex Consulting
https://nebulex.com.sg

10/10/2021

So a PR company asked if I would like to help promote their clients' dietary supplement product on my LinkedIn profile because I matched their target KOL audience. They would send me a sample of the product, and I was to post a photo of myself with the product talking about how it helps me as a business leader, complete with a custom hashtag. The challenge is obvious.

The nature of the PR campaign proposed looked very much more suited for a lifestyle or health and wellness KOL or influencer on a more casual social platform (say Instagram), rather than for a business consultant on a corporate social platform (as proposed, LinkedIn). I turned down the opportunity - it isn't why I'm on social media.

I consult on market/audience segmentation a lot, and it really isn't about a dictation - imposing your own marketing objectives on an identified segment and trying to make things work. As I see it, business leaders have next to no reason to be sharing on LinkedIn how a specific brand of dietary supplement help fuel their workday. When a brand does not get their audience segmentation and marcom strategy right, it's going to be quite a waste of marketing efforts.

- Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Consultant
Nebulex Consulting
https://nebulex.com.sg

08/10/2021

Picture this: a leader asks for ideas saying “I’m open to suggestions”, and then proceeds to shoot down every suggestion in order to spotlight his own ideas. Makes you wonder what all the openness is for.

Lip service is cheap. The surest way to break trust with and lose respect from subordinates is to not follow through words with action. There is no way leaders can encourage openness from subordinates if their own egos get in the way.

A declaration on openness is only as good as the commitment the leader puts into ensuring it. Openness means accepting that you do not know best, that you treat your team’s ideas seriously, and that you are not credit-hungry.

Because what’s the point of a team if all a leader cares about is a monologue.

- Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Strategist
Nebulex Consulting
https://nebulex.com.sg

03/10/2021

We all make mistakes sometimes. It’s pretty unimaginable for anyone to be right about everything every single time. But a lot of times, there’s this unfair, sometimes self-imposed, expectation that mistakes are not tolerated.

Would you find this familiar: subordinates avoid mistakes in ex*****on by doing only what can be literally interpreted from the leaders’ instructions; leaders avoid mistakes in decision by being vague and pushing the responsibility to figure out to subordinates. When mistakes occur, subordinates blame leaders for not being clearer in their decisions; leaders blame subordinates for not being smarter in their ex*****on.

This type of “not my idea, not my fault” culture is, ironically, a breeding ground for mistakes. When everyone is afraid of blame, no one is interested in improving processes because if things fall apart, blame someone else for their idea.

No one is infallible, and no one needs to be. Open discussions and room for experimentation means putting down egos and saying “let’s work this out together”, regardless you’re leader or subordinate.

- Kwan Bo Wen
Principal Strategist
Nebulex Consulting
https://nebulex.com.sg