Human Capital Asia Inc.

A recent article that appeared in a local daily pointed out that the first thing to do in developing an effective creative team in the workplace is finding the right fit. What we believe the writer meant was that for a team member to make it in this group, there must be some form of conformity with the team leader first and then the team members second. A clearer example would be likening the prospective associate to a part of a finely engineered gear in an expensive timepiece. His or her gears should mesh with the gears of the other members, and most importantly, with those of the person heading the team. Great, maybe, if what you want to do is make a watch that keeps perfect time, but not so great if what you had in mind was a team that was not afraid to change the game or question the status quo. (more…)

One of the most persistent personalities you will encounter in the gas stations are those sales agents offering credit cards that reward you with a 5% rebate when used to load gas or diesel. Over and above your usual credit card for shopping they offer an extra credit card just for loading processed fossil fuels into your car. The problem was not that people did not like the idea of having a credit card for gasoline but that one normally did not have the time to fill out the forms and whatever other requirements were needed to have the card. It’s a gas station for heaven’s sake and what a normal motorist wants to do is put the gas into the car and go. (more…)

A week and a half ago we had the opportunity to listen to a multi-awarded inventor talk about the machines he would make when he was still a child. One of his favorites was the toy crane he made with two halves of a milk can that was controlled by strings to pick up things like tennis balls and the like. He said he built this toy so that he would not need to climb over the neighbor’s fence to pick up the ball that his friends happen to be playing with. It made life easier for him and his playmates and the game did not have to be delayed longer than it should. As a young boy, he was on the lookout for ways to make life easier for him and for other people. He had, by wanting to simplify his life, devised a short cut to retrieving the ball that went over the neighbor’s fence. To some it would seem as an imaginative way to get things done, while others might conclude that it was a lazy boy’s way of getting the ball back into play. (more…)

In a survey conducted by the American Management Association, 81% of the CEOs they interviewed, put forward the conclusion that innovation will be the key element that will insure the success of their business in the future. The survival of their organizations will most likely depend on the capacity to innovate and be creative. To advance and gain advantage in corporate concerns such as quality, employee relations, key products, customer loyalty, efficiency, profit, et cetera, will depend on the company’s ability to innovate. (more…)

Every day thousands, if not millions of new ideas are presented in meetings, and for every good idea there is the sinister voice of at least one team member saying, “Can I just play the Devil’s Advocate for a moment…” An untold wealth of concepts, plans, solutions are slaughtered by this simple phrase. The Devil’s Advocate position does not just present itself as a critical thinking tool but attacks any idea with every negative and downside opinion that they can muster. The Devil’s Advocate does not build on the idea but rather designs itself to tear down the idea even before it can stand. (more…)

A group of about seven children, living in the same apartment block, aged 6 to 9 years old, decided one day to put up a club. The core purpose of the club would be to help the neighborhood residents recycle the waste that was lying around the area. They were doing quite well with the program until a few of the members started quarrelling with each other. In an effort to work out the problem the 9 year old girl, who was the elected president of the club, decided to list down six major rules that would govern the behavior of the members. She wrote this down on an A4 size paper using blue permanent marker ink. She wrote it down in print and used large size letters that almost filled out the page. On the heading she noted the word “Rules” and underneath proceeded to write down the set of laws as you might call it. They were as follows: (more…)

Today it is the world of the “creator’s economy”! How you lead your people to freely exist in this type of economy will determine where your company will be in the future. (more…)