Creative Idea Powerhouse

Master Card recently published a study paper on Asia Consumer Confidence Index. Out of all the major developing and developed countries in Asia, Japan is one of the country that suffer badly from the economy downturn, follow by South Korea. It is understandable that these two countries required more time to recover. However, one of the surprising fact is that Philippines also suffered badly and been the country after Japan, to have negative consumer confidence level among the other countries. Out of the survey conducted, Filipino response on the job employment with 43% response that employment in Philippines is getting worse. Is this the real fact, or the after effect of Typhoon Ondoy causing the people who did the survey feel hopeless and helpless and response with such negative result? As my observation from my stay in Manila during past 3 months, I noticed that the Pinoy spending power is much stronger compare to our Malaysia market. Their earning is 30% lower compare to Malaysiabut their spending power is either equal or even higher then our people working in KLCC area! Average spending per meal in Makati is approximately RM30 per person on average, and the occupation of their restaurant is mostly 80% full!

Is this a signal that Philippines require more time to recover? the people are lossing confident on overall job market? or the pinoy is waiting for the new president in this coming election to make a change to their living standard? Is it a good sign from economic point of view as more opportunities will arise in Philippines in next 3 years? Or otherwise? Worth a moment or two to think about it.

As a senior exec who always need to compile reports, proposals and plan for clients and management, I make myself to always seek out to learn from others good writer in the market, reading great reports and proposals from great people and constantly learning from these people. I have to say that I am always admire to the Corporate America who can always assemble a large team of professionals to spend a huge amount of man hours to combile the reports for industries players. Some did this for living, where you pay the price tag of Hundreds of US Dollars to Thousands to purchase their knowledge, and they get paid from people purchasing their reports. I can understand this perfectly. But somehow, we cant understand that there are firms that do all the same, and they open up their reports for people to download for free. Just imagine, a team of 20 more researchers with PhD in economics, hundreds of man hours from these professionals, and their works are distributing away for FOC online… one I admire most is always from JP Morgan & Morgan Stanley. In early Y2009, I get their report on What next of 2009 Internet Trend, giving good review on all the top public trade Internet company in Nasdaq. Every quarter, I get the report on Internet Trend Review, and what surprise me is this Mobile Internet Report. A stack of 600 over pages of Mobile Internet Report really going to make me spend days to finish reading it. A very interesting and resourcesful review on Mobile Trend, Mobile Internet, Mobile eco-system, and how those large players in the market going to shape the future of Mobile Internet battlefield. No doubt big new players such as Apple, Google, & Microsoft are aggresively entering the market, and existing players such as Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericson are rushing to come out their own mobile aps platform after realising the power of Apple Aps Store (which recently just celebrate 1 year anniversary?!) … make millions of purchase of application with months. What’s more? 10Billion mobile devices by Y2020, are we ready to capture this market? Read by yourself for this report, and you will fall in love with this report….

Here is a very good sharing of Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs. Some very interesting secrets of Steve Jobs presentation - Preparation, Demand for Best, Practice, and Practices. This may be no secret when you pick up any one out of millions books out there teaching about Public Speaking or Public Presentation, everyone talks about practices and rehersal, but go ask any good speaker their secret to deliver a good presentation, they will tell the same thing.

Personally, I did public presentations for many times,and I have to admit personally that when I able to put the entire slides from sequences, contents and visualize the entire process into my brain, I can always give a good talks to the audience. When I did a last minutes ramp up of slides, the result can tell, it is normally either boring or 'the moment of I should have include this point into my talks' came after the end of my presentations.

Another thing impress me is that the concept of telling story instead of selling products works and rocks me~! 96 hours to put up a story line presentation... well I cant agree more on this. Normally it took me 72 - 96 hours to really put up the entire story line of a presentation (not full 96 hours but normally took me 2 - 3 days); and the another 1 day to have my slide in place and finding good 'impact' picture that allow audience to associate the picture to my points, avoid using bullet (I try to limit max 2 - 3 slides to have bullet... Still improving). 

As far, I am very passionate about public speaking and looking forward to continue improving in this area. Lastly, am very happy with overall efforts and resources I have spent during the preparation of the recent Digital Filipino e-Commerce Summit presentation. Finally able to reduce my slide to 30, and have no bullet point in content I wish to deliver (except the last announcement part where need audience to write down some notes). Looking forward for this coming Monday event, and hope to once again give some good time and infortainment to the dear audience who have invested the time and resources to come and listen to me

Lastly, what make a normal presentation speaker to the good one, and to the best, and world best is all about practices. It took Jobs 30 years to be the best of the best in the world, compare to what he did during the time he launched Mac in 1984. No secret, is all about practices - according to the book, about 10,000 solid hours to make us pro... so I just did my 100 hours public presentation, still 9,900 more hours to go.. ahaha!