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Tik Tok, Tik Tok (Commentary by Craig J Selby) Companies have a false perception of time when they are faced with crises. They think they have time when they actually don't. More often than not, companies embody a frog in boiling water -- realising the danger of dire situation only when it's too late to act. In this video, MD Dr Craig J Selby explores the subject of crisis communications and why companies should have a plan to minimise damage and recover quickly, in order to avoid being "boiled alive".

Preparing for the Worst Imagine if a reputation-destroying crisis comes calling at your company, are you prepared to handle it confidently? Do you have an existing Crisis Communications Plan, or a well-trained crisis management team to help tackle the crisis effectively? Like any other business in the world, every organisation, big or small, is prone to experience a crisis at anytime, anywhere. Therefore, advanced planning and deliberate preparation are the keys to survival in the event of crisis. Check out our recent interview with Craig J Selby, Metanoia Ltd’s Director, who provides his expert insights on crafting a crisis communications plan. 1.     What are the types of crises that may occur? That said, can you really plan for a crisis? A crisis is anything that brings negative attention towards your business or your business outcomes. It may be the result of an internal fault, eg; the recent issues with Samsung or VolksWagen; or it may be the results...

Customer Obsession is about Humanising Brands For some of us, the Age of Manufacturing and the Age of Information probably ring a bell. However, as the world is now transforming into the Age of the Customer, business strategies have gradually diverted and been shaped by empowered customers across the world. Today’s customer-led market has created a paradigm shift in the business environment – from being customer-centric, or customer-focused, to now being customer-obsessed. Think about it, customers today have higher expectations towards a more consistent, and personalised customer experience. Ultimately, it is essential for brands, and companies to meet these expectations as this will show how they value their customers’ needs. To be clear, we have a number of brands out there which focus on putting their customer first. However, how many have truly succeeded in this? While many brands today pay lip service to customer-centricity, a market research company, Forrester pre...

Are Family Firms More Innovative? Not really a commentary per se, but just some interesting recent research I wanted to share. I am fascinated with the family firm model (remembering, this is the origin of modern business), but also because many development economists support the notion that SME’s and family firms are key drivers of an economy – a theory I also subscribe to. My own research into Chinese family firms in the mid 1990’s also highlighted similar findings – although innovation wasn’t necessarily the keyword back then.  Family firms aren’t typically thought of as particularly innovative. More often, they’re viewed as risk averse, traditional, and stagnant. However, many family-owned businesses are among the most innovative in their industries. Consider Herr’s Potato Chips and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. There are countless other examples of family firms that have brought innovations to market. We wanted to determine how family firms actually compare to their n...

Recovering From a Crisis How many of us think that recovering from a crisis is a near-impossible task? You’d be wrong though; but in all honesty, it is also not an easy task to achieve. Having watched many crises evolve over the past few years, and observing how the business responded and bounced back, for some, it can and will be an uphill battle. For others, a simple storm in a teacup. Regardless, organisations should not become complacent; planning for times of crisis is extremely important, and often the difference between riding out a crisis and being swallowed up in the tidal wave of public opinion, simply boils down to effective planning. Generally, it all depends how bad the crisis is. Samsung hit a major roadblock – first with its exploding mobile phones, and then with its washing machine issues. But, the crisis here played out differently than many expected. It hit hard financially. Recalling an entire product line, to the point of cancellation of the range cos...

A No Sweat Social Media Guide for Businesses (Commentary by Johnathen Tan) It has become unquestionable that social media has emerged as an essential communication tool for businesses. Companies – big or small – have to adopt practises in utilising their business social media accounts, to achieve organisational goals and more importantly, to build a good relationship with their consumers. After all, that’s what social media is all about – connecting people. Having attended a social media training conducted by MD Dr Craig J Selby for a local property development company, I gained some insight into how businesses should operate social media to their advantage. So, here are some tips. Your company has to maintain a balance between pushing information and pulling feedback or engagement. People no longer want facts, information and data shoved down their throats. They want to be impacted on an emotional level – and there is where social media can come into play for you. Aft...

Happy Labour Day! You might be someone who's elated with where you're at in life now -- you're content with your job, you've got a great bond with your colleagues and the big shots up there just can't get enough of you. Or, you might be someone who dreads getting up in the morning, and the mere thought of stepping to an office where everyone has a disdain for you, makes you wanna puke. Whoever and wherever you are in this crazy working world, you need a break from all that. So, from all of us here at Orchan, we wish you a Happy Labour Day. Have a well-deserved break because, hey, you know what -- you deserve it.