Sometimes, it’s not just about the work itself

With the ever-increasing market competition and client expectations, the nature of jobs has changed drastically in the last three decades or so.

Employees are forced to work in a high-pressure environment where one mistake can put their jobs at risk. The only way to be able to survive in their careers is to maintain excellent performance. Sometimes, the urge to do this can put them under tremendous pressure, which eventually can cause job burnout.

No matter if you’re part of a multinational company or a present-day startup, this is something that must have faced in the past or are likely to face at some point in your career. If you want to get through this situation as a winner and maintain a top-notch performance, then make some immediate changes in your lifestyle and habits.

These adjustments might seem difficult at first, but if you stay committed you can easily turn yourself into an achiever and get through any high-pressure situation at the workplace comfortably.

Here are some of those tips that you can pay attention to and get desired outcomes.

1. Make Friends at the Workplace

If you look closely at your routine, you’ll realise that almost one-third of your day goes in various work-related tasks. Add travel time to it, and the number will even rise further.

You may not realise it now, but to get through this period without feeling stressed and anxious, you need friends who understand you, help you in achieving your goals, and support you when you’re feeling low.

Even though true friendships at the workplace don’t exist, you can still maintain friendly relations with everyone around you and make the most of this opportunity.

For this to happen, you need to pay heed to a couple of important points. The first is to separate yourself from workplace politics and gossips. These two can do more damage to your career and relationships than anything else. You might not stop them from happening, but you can definitely choose not to become a part of them.

Also read: 5 research-backed stress-busters that can help you improve work-life balance

By maintaining a fair distance from such activities, you can avoid unnecessary controversies and be more productive.

The second thing is to be willing to support others whenever you can. Start with being approachable. Be respectful to your seniors, courteous to your fellow employees and kind to your juniors. Help them whenever they need (and it doesn’t put you under fire in any way) without expecting anything in return.

This might not bring you positive results immediately, but in the long run, your behavior won’t go unnoticed. Give it a shot, and you’ll know the difference.

2. Maintain a Routine

Most working professionals find themselves under tremendous pressure towards the month end because they have no fixed routine. Don’t make the same mistake if you want to be able to achieve desired outcomes at your workplace.

The first step in this regard is to reach the office on time. While coming late might seem cool, it will definitely hit your productivity in the worst possible way. The negative energy that will surround you right in the morning will keep troubling until you sign off for the day.

Don’t let it happen!

Come on time in the morning, do your work with 100% commitment throughout the day and leave on time in the evening so that you can balance your life and give proper attention to your family & friends as well.

Right before you are about to leave the office premise in the evening, make a to-do list for the next day so that you have a clear idea of what’s in store for tomorrow.

3. Sweat it Out

How on earth can people handle stress without their body being able to produce sufficient endorphins on a regular basis? It’s practically and theoretically impossible.

The easiest way to make your body produce endorphins is to work out.

When you lift weights, run on the treadmill or do any other activity which involves body movements, your brain releases certain chemicals that reduce stress and work as natural painkillers.

This is the reason why most business leaders managing billions of dollars worth of funds and portfolios are known for maintaining a physically active lifestyle. Since they live 24/7 under tremendous work pressure, regular work out helps them keep things in check and achieve great results.

It’s not just business leaders who like to spend time in the gym, but everyone who sets himself out to achieve massive success follows this routine.

All the sportspersons and athletes whom you admire like to spend hours in the gym so that their body and mind remain in perfect sync with each other. They don’t stop working out even when they’re down with an injury or not feeling on top of their game. Most athletes these days have started taking medical precautions to avoid injuries and maintain a good performance over time, but at no point, they consider quitting an option.

Workout is a part of their lifestyle as it prepares them mentally and physically to face larger-than-life challenges. You need to learn from them and make work out a part of your routine.

Also read: From fitness to business: An engineer’s journey in entrepreneurship

Even if you hit the gym for a couple of hours for 4-5 days a week, it can get you amazing results and ensure that workplace stress doesn’t pull you down.

I had a word in this regard with Joy Smith, a good friend, and self-proclaimed health nut. According to her, “With the rising awareness in the medical field, cannabinoids could perhaps be used as a tool for balancing our mental tranquility and living comfortably in our physical bodies, simultaneously.”

She isn’t alone who advocates precautionary measures during regular workout sessions to give the body the strength it requires. Many other market leaders and healthcare professionals have backed this claim. They believe this step can help people achieve physical strength over time and unlock the doors to mental wellbeing in a hassle-free manner.

4. Have a Hobby

It’s one of the most ignored yet important points that can improve your workplace performance by a significant margin.

Many working professionals do their jobs and return homes with the only purpose to come back again the next day and repeat the same cycle. You can break this boring unending loop by having a hobby that you like as much as your job. It can be writing, drawing, collecting coins, designing or anything else for that matter.

The goal is to have something that you can look up to even when you have had a bad day at work. It will keep you motivated to make the other half your day productive by indulging into something that you genuinely love.

This is a tried-and-tested way to keep your mind productive and ensure that it doesn’t fall prey to negativity ever.

These are some of the crucial tips through which you can fix your career, cope with the high work pressure and maintain peak performance.

Is there any other tip that you think should be on this list? Please comment below and let us know.

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This article was first published on e27, on October 24, 2018.

e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

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Essential tips on securing a successful round of fundraising from VC’s

 

Fundraising has never been an easy task, but yet it is usually one of the most crucial things that startups need to do in order to quickly scale their businesses to the next level and many are still wondering how to do it successfully.

Now with a lot more VC-fund available in the region compared to a decade ago, there never was a better time to fundraise with VC than today.

Therefore, here are some essential tips that you should consider when you’re fundraising with VC:

Invest enough time with your pitch deck

Pitch deck is essentially the CV of your company and it is almost definitely going to be the first thing that VC will ask to you if you want to be considered by them.

Also Read: How to write a PR pitch for your white paper

However, there have been many occasions where startup founders have put 30+ irrelevant slides in their deck which certainly does not increase their chances of being considered.

Hence, you should always keep your deck concise from 10-13 slides which include the following – name and purpose, the team,  the problems, your solution, the market size, the competition, the product and it’s a roadmap, the monetization model and the tractions.

Carefully identify all of the potential investors

Identifying and picking the right investors to be your partners is very important and you should never blindly send out your decks to all VC’s without taking your time to learn about them one-by-one.

The reason being that some VC’s may already have existing portfolios that have a similar business model and target market like your startups and you certainly don’t want to give them any leverage of your company’s secrets to competitors.

Hence, allocate enough time to identify and list the VCs that you want to send your deck to by knowing their backgrounds, current portfolios, investment thesis, sector focus, the analyst’sand partners.

Know what you want to say in the first meeting

Great! So you’ve already sent your deck and you get a response from the analyst/associate to invite you for a meeting.

Your first meeting with the VC will be similar like any first dates and your only main goal is to make them more interested in your company.

In order to do that well, you should prepare yourself with all critical and relevant data/information of your company and be prepared with all possible questions that will be asked.

Also Read: Pro pitch deck tips for beginners

Lastly, be passionate and sincere while talking about your company but never try to oversell.

Due diligence process

If you made it to the VC’s due diligence (DD) process, it means you’ve already made a significant milestone in your fundraising process.

DD process can take some time and the only thing you should do is to be patient and always give accurate answers for all detailed questions that will be asked by the VC.

If you think the DD process has taken too long, always be courteous in following-up with the VC and never put any pressure on them to rush the process.

The final process

Once the VC complete their DD process, it is usually going to be their final decision (either yes or no). If they say YES, congratulations!

All you need to do is wait until they give you the term sheet and pay careful attention with all of the terms and clauses.

But if you get a NO, try to request another meetup with the VC to ask for their feedback on why they decided to not proceed further with your startup and what other things you can improve.

It is also okay to ask them for any referrals but always does it in a polite manner and always ask it for no more than once.

Also Read: What you need to know before taking Venture (or Vulture?) Capital
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In addition to 99.co and ShareChat, there are also updates from An Vui and Alpha JWC Ventures

Singapore-based proptech platform 99.co raises US$M Series B funding round – Tech In Asia

Singapore-based proptech startup 99.co has raised a US$5 million Series B funding round, Tech In Asia reported.

In an email to e27, 99.co co-founder Darius Cheung stated that the platform’s Singapore traffic is about 1.5 million per month and has doubled in the last six months.

This number is said to be close to PropertyGuru’s traffic of 1.7 million.

PropertyGuru itself has recently made headline for increasing prices by 1,149 per cent in nine years.

Twitter leads US$100 million funding round into India’s ShareChat – TechCrunch

Indian social network platform ShareChat raised a US$100 million Series D funding round led by social media giant Twitter, TechCrunch wrote.

TrustBridge Partners, as well as existing investors Shunwei Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, SAIF Capital, India Quotient and Morningside Venture Capital, also participated in the funding round.

ShareChat declined to comment on valuation but a source said that the round has pushed it to US$650 million.

“This investment will help ShareChat grow and provide the company’s management team access to Twitter’s executives as thought partners,” said Twitter India managing director Manish Maheshwari.

Also Read: Sharp rhetoric as Singapore court rules 99.co did not violate PropertyGuru copyright

Vietnamese logistics startup An Vui raises funding from VinaCapital Ventures – Deal Street Asia

Vietnam-based venture capital (VC) firm VinaCapital Ventures announces an investment into local logistics startup An Vui, according to a report by DealStreetAsia.

The company said that the investment by VinaCapital Ventures would be used to enter into more strategic partnerships for its business growth.

An Vui provides end-to-end software that helps build websites to facilitate mobile applications, ticket management, and parcel shipment management, and fuel cost management.

Alpha JWC Ventures expands F&B portfolio with US$5M investment into Goola – e27

Alpha JWC Ventures just added F&B company Goola into its rapidly expanding F&B portfolio with a US$5 million investment, the VC announced today.

This investment followed an investment into local coffee chain startup Kopi Kenangan.

Goola will expand its presence in Indonesia and kick off their expansion to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries next year.

The Jakarta-based company aims to bring local delicacies to the mass market through grab-and-go version of local drinks. It also aims to implement New Retail approach to its business.

Also Read: Following acquisition, Indonesian property portal UrbanIndo rebrands to 99.co

Carousell introduces new logo, claims fourfold revenue growth in 2018 – Press Release

Singapore-based classifieds platform Carousell introduced a new logo on its seventh anniversary.

The company also announced a fourfold revenue growth in 2018. It has expanded into six markets, added new channels for properties and automobiles, and recorded over 250 million listings.

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Goola specialises in selling authentic Indonesian drink. One of its co-founders is Gibran Rakabuming, son of Indonesian President Joko Widodo

Alpha JWC Ventures just added Goola into its rapidly expanding F&B portfolio with a US$5 million investment, the VC announced today.

This investment is made after the Indonesian VC firm completed funding in Kopi Kenangan, a local coffee chain startup.

With the fresh fund injection, Goola said it will expand its presence in first, second, and third-tier cities, and kick off their expansion to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries next year.

Goola is an “authentic Indonesian beverage chain startup” founded by Gibran Rakabuming, son of President Joko Widodo. He founded the company with Kevin Susanto and Benz Budiman (who is also known as CEO of Pomona).

Since 2018, Jakarta-based Goola aims to bring local delicacies to the mass market through grab-and-go version of local drinks: Es Doger Jeger (shaved sweetened ice served with glutinous rice, fermented cassava, and coconut meat), Es Kacang Hijau (iced mung beans with coconut cream), and Es Goola Aren (a traditional twist of popular brown-sugar boba).

Also Read: Alpha JWC invests US$8M to help Indonesia’s coffee chain Kopi Kenangan go mobile

“Goola was initially set up as a traditional F&B business, but then we realised that we can do something much bigger if we change how we conduct our business and if we incorporate tech in our daily operations,” said Susanto.

On their pipeline, Goola said, it is in the process of implementing a New Retail approach. It wants to set up a mobile application to reduce waiting time in stores. The app will also help the company analyse users’ consumption habits and preferences to improve overall customer experience.

“If bubble teas can do it, why can’t we? Goola is here to level the playing field against foreign brands,” Rakabuming added.

Alpha JWC Ventures Managing Partner Jefrey Joe also put out a statement regarding the continuous investment in the Indonesian F&B tech scene.

“Goola shares the same mission and ambition as us and we are excited to partner with experienced businessmen Gibran and Kevin to introduce local culture to the mass market and later, to the world. As Indonesian investor and team, we take pride in our mission to help Indonesian founders and companies to be successful in Indonesia and bring them to the global stage,” he said.

Also Read: Alpha JWC Ventures welcomes NS Solutions to its second fund

In October 2018, Alpha JWC Ventures made a notable move to invest in a local coffee chain startup riding the grab-n-go coffee chain trend, Kopi Kenangan. The investment was a seed funding of US$8 million that the startup said would be used to set up new stores, invest in R&D, as well as to develop its own mobile app.

Alpha JWC Ventures is a Southeast Asian venture capital firm with an Indonesia angle and a focussed value-add approach. The firm currently manages two funds of US$ 50 million and US$ 100 million; and more than 28 active portfolio companies.

Today, Goola said it has opened five stores in Jakarta with 15 more ready to open doors this year. By 2020, they aim to reach 100 stores in Indonesia and reach for regional and even global expansion.

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Image Credit: Goola

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How social media can be an effective tool for small businesses

If you are a small business owner, you always look for new ways to attract more business.

One of the most effective and proven ways to grow your customer base and your reach is through social media.

It provides ways to engage with existing customers and to create meaningful conversations with the new ones.

This is how social media usage and SEO services can benefit small businesses today:

Budget-friendly advertising

Even though there are several channels for paid advertising, social media usage is free.

You can easily advertise your products and services within the radius you intend to.

In other words, this is a form of free advertising. They do not have the burden of launching expensive marketing campaigns but have to focus their attention within the local community.

Also Read: Best B2B marketing KPIs that directly impact sales growth

Features like stories, photos, videos, and their description contribute to creating a good understanding and promotion for your products.

Further, your customers can act as your ambassadors. Since small businesses know their customers personally, it becomes easier for them to share their experience on social media platforms.

Small businesses focus on communities and individuals

Apart from the huge differences between big and small businesses in factors like employee count and revenue, there are other factors like customer engagement.

Small businesses are more involved with smaller communities and individuals. This means that they can easily mingle with their customers and their community through social media.

Further, there are several features in social media, which allows you to create engaging conversations about new products and services.

If the businesses can respond to the queries, reviews, and feedback, this will be a bonus for the business.

Also Read: 5 benefits of marketing automation for a CMO

Personalised attention

Small businesses can give more priority to personalisation.

Since the number of customers involved is limited, it is possible to provide a personalised experience for every customer. Survey shows that more customers are interested in small businesses if they receive a customised experience.

Social media can aid this by forming an effective medium through which conversations can be conducted. Survey shows that more customers are interested in small businesses if they receive a personalised experience.

Combined social media marketing campaigns

Many small businesses can join hands and target customers through different strategies. For instance, you can use one platform to mention that you would get offers for buying from another entity.

The reverse can also be worked out. This way, your business can reach out to customers while attracting sales through different means.

Small businesses can use the help of big advertising

Several large organizations hold events which can assist small businesses through their social media marketing campaigns.

People might be familiar with the big names while you can participate in their campaigns through your active social media presence.

This will help you reach thousands of customers which would otherwise have cost you huge amounts of money.

Also Read: 5 content marketing trends you need to heed

It is obvious that social media is a very effective tool at the hands of small businesses.

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With strong negotiation skills, you may be able to win over a hard-to-get prospect or ensure better pricing on a specific business project

Startups are busy trying to scale up. In doing this, they need to ensure they address multiple tasks: supplies should be fully stocked and business should be open on the expected day, among a wide range of responsibilities. While these tasks are important, the art of negotiation is invaluable for the success of any startup – and any organisation today.

With strong negotiation skills, you may be able to win over a hard-to-get prospect or ensure better pricing on a specific business project. Interestingly, negotiation can be applied in almost every aspect of today’s business landscape. This, in fact, can work in your favor, as you strive to realise the best value from deals. Whether you are faced with difficulties fixing a price point for a product or new business deal, or you are looking to build networking relationships, understanding the art of negotiation will significantly boost your chances of achieving a positive outcome.

However, negotiation involves more than just applying a few sales tricks or using open-ended questioning for prospects, business partners, and potential networks. Here are nine simple ideas that will stand you in good stead and achieve high level of success in your negotiations.

1. Practice Confident Mental Strength and Body Language

Preparation is everything. According to negotiation experts, 55 percent of what goes on in our head is given away through our body language. Simple movements such as folding one or both arms across your chest can send the wrong message from the onset and turn people off even before the negotiations begin.

On the other hand, a strong and confident handshake sets the tone for a great conversation as it makes for a good first impression. Your ability to back up your words with corresponding physical actions that exudes confidence and honesty increases the desire of the other party to cooperate with you and reach a favorable agreement. So having the right mental approach is important. Before going into a negotiation, know the value of your offer and how it helps the other party. Always think: “We both need each other”. When you feel in control before negotiations begin, you can better take charge of conversations and achieve higher level of success.

2. Master the Gentle Art of Saying No

The truth is, you can never be as productive as you should if you always agree to everything during a negotiation process. While saying “no” may sound too simple, doing this comfortably is key to ensuring you get the best out of a negotiation. However, you must realise that saying “no” may disappoint the other party – and that is usually not fun. By practicing the art of saying no, you will be able to detach yourself from commitments that do not align with your priorities.

The fear of missing out or the desire to please people make many persons struggle with saying no to certain offers. While this art takes a lot of effort, mastering it will help you work your way through favorable outcomes.

3. Negotiate A Win-Win

Effective negotiation is like winning at poker. Both require that you play your cards close to the vest, maintain a straight face, and know when to hold or fold. Poker is a strategic game – and it would be wise to find a group so you can play it regularly if you are not currently doing so. If you stake too much in tha game, you risk losing other players in the deal.

As you improve your poker game skills, you will be better able to mitigate any potential risks and get the best value for your business during negotiations. Playing with a new group of people allows you an opportunity to win some new clients and customers over to your side. The game of poker helps you master the art of effective negotiations. The best hand is when a negotiation allows everyone to leave the table winning, when possible.

Also read: 10 negotiating tips every woman needs in her arsenal

4. Prepare Beforehand

Preparation is everything. In order to offer a tailored response to fit the demands of different individuals, it is important that you do your homework on the other party beforehand. Knowing all the right details: figuring out the type of individual involved and the language that best fits the negotiation process, will help you persuade as well as counter where necessary.

For instance, at the end of every negotiation, you want the other party to feel like everyone’s a winner. Preparation will give you a chance to understand what you can bring to the table so you can get what you want. It can also help you view the conversation from their perspective before going into it. By preparing and strengthening your negotiation skills before a negotiation process begins, you will be able to adapt your approach to fit the needs of the other party, and this goes a long way.

5. Rather than Sell, Discuss

Negotiations should revolve around discussions concerning how to achieve a mutually agreeable result. By offering a “this is how we can help you” pitch, you will have something to negotiate with, since this allows you tell the other party why they need your product or service.

It is also important that you identify trade-offs – those things that are off high value to the other party yet low cost. For instance, if your startup is into the sales of IT systems, and part of your offer includes a two-day on-site assistance from your engineer, you could offer three days, since you already you already cover the costs for that person, so an extra day will not cost you much.

But, if on the other hand, you charge $500 to send your engineer out for a service daily, your service will be really valuable to them. So how can you help them and receive help in return? It is important that you do not move away from your normal price point. But what can you offer that still brings value to the table?

6. Ask for a Break

Do not be scared to ask for some time out during negotiations. Negotiations may get really tricky and you may just need time to go away and collect your thoughts. If you are not against a fixed deadline, do well to ask for some time to recalibrate your thoughts and reconsider your options.

7. Understand Your Position

Before going into negotiations, consider three positions: what you could potentially get away with (often your opening bid), what you should expect (based on the outcome), and the other party. In the heat of the conversation, it is easy to offer more than you normally want to, hence, it is important that you understand your position well in advance.

While it is fine to be extreme during negotiations, it is also ideal that you are realistic with your offers and opening bid. By taking realistic positions, you can win the trust of your deal breakers and ensure fruitful collaborations with your business.

8. Get to Know Their Position

One of the biggest mistakes startup owners make is failing to understand the position of their opponent. When selling a product or service, for instance, ask what a potential customer is willing to pay if they do not want to meet your asking price. When you are able to uncover the thoughts of the other party, you will now have two positions to work with – and there is an opportunity for negotiation.

9. Practice, Practice, Practice

Mastering strong negotiation strategies that become innate requires practice and more practice. As you prepare to utilise your negotiation skills in business, a sense of vigilance is required. Think about the best concepts that will apply to different individuals and businesses, practice them all the time: with friends, family, and even at work. If you consciously apply your new negotiation strategies in different applications, they would gradually become nature, and take the place of the old patterns.

Closing Thoughts

Negotiation is a key part of the business process – and even our everyday life. By applying these simple practices, you will be better able to scale up your business and achieve the best outcomes for your startup. Practice these skills, continuously challenge yourself, but be kind to yourself when you make mistakes. These mistakes help you develop stronger skills – and help you strike the best deals in the long run.

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This article was first published on e27, on October 24, 2018.

Mark Sands, co-founder of High Risk Merchant Account LLC, a leader specialising in high risk merchant account and high risk ach processing. Mark is an authoritative expert in the merchant services industry and enjoys writing about the issues facing entrepreneurs in the current marketplace environment.

e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

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Core reasons to be positive about logistics tech in Asia

Market size and lack of investment in technology

Also Read: 4 key points to consider when scaling in Southeast Asia

The logistics industry is in the top three sectors by size in every Southeast Asian country. However, the level of investment in logistics-tech startups has lagged other sectors, such as finance.

For example, in the last five years, eCommerce and FinTech startups have each closed over 1500 funding rounds, whereas logistics companies have only had 400 funding rounds.

This lack of investment has meant that startups entering a sector of the logistics market often face very little competition (with the notable exception of last-mile delivery) and have

Market structure

More important than the overall size of the market is the structure of the logistics market.

For example, in Singapore alone, there are over 7000 logistics companies, and 80 per cent of trucking companies have under ten trucks. The result is often an extremely inefficient market, in Singapore, for example, over 50 per cent of haulage trips are empty.

Also Read: These agritech startups will take Southeast Asia’s emerging market to the next level

These market inefficiencies are ideal for technology solutions to aggregate supply and demand and provide insights and guidance on operational efficiency.

E-commerce growth

E-commerce in Southeast Asia is currently growing over 50 per cent year-on-year and still only accounts for less than 3 per cent of retail sales. There are two pillars that support eCommerce – finance (primarily payments) and logistics. ‘

In our opinion, the opportunity for early-stage investing in payments is limited. This is because several well-financed payments companies are already established in each market, the same is not true of logistics where (apart from last-mile delivery) there are few well-financed startups.

For example, warehousing is an essential component of the eCommerce supply chain.

However, most warehouses have minimal technology to assist in stock management or to integrate the storage with last-mile delivery.

E-commerce also puts very different requirements on the logistics network. eCommerce loads are smaller and more frequent, and thus more expensive and complicated than the traditional FTL/FCL (Full-Truckload / Full Container Load) model.

Technology is an essential component of eCommerce logistics both to manage costs and increase supply-chain flexibility.

Deliveries were previous a low-priority function for most retailers and manufacturers. eCommerce has dramatically changed this, with delivery now being a key issue for customer satisfaction. Over 40per cent of all product reviews on Asian eCommerce sites are for the delivery experience as opposed to the product itself).

Customers are now demanding fast, low-cost deliveries and granular order tracking and eCommerce vendors will need to make extensive use of logistics-tech to fulfil those demands.

Low-profit margins

The low margin nature of the logistics industry provides an opportunity for startups to offer cost-saving technology solutions.

In trucking, for example, profit margins in Asia (ex-China) have declined from 30 per cent in 2007 to just over 10 per cent in 2017. Thus, trucking companies are actively seeking solutions that will reduce costs and increase efficiency to counter the downward trend in margins.

Technologies, which can reduce costs by just a few percentage points, will have a meaningful impact on profitability. In contrast, industries with high margins (like finance or healthcare) are often less receptive to cost-saving technology since it will not make a significant difference to profitability.

Also Read: How to get smart capital in Southeast Asia

Low regulation

Logistics tends to be very lightly regulated compared with many other large industries such as finance, insurance or healthcare. The lack of regulation allows startups to grow faster and more efficiently.

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Co-leading the investment into Logisly are Convergence Ventures and Genesia Ventures

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Convergence Ventures is an investor at Optimatic, the parent company of e27.

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Why is a representational approach towards training managers more effective?

Several weeks ago, I attended a 4-day workshop in Singapore about facilitating powerful conversation. This short excursion is part of the personal development program in Product Narrative. 2 that of us went to.

The workshop covered a lot of materials about somatic (body), language, and emotion.

However, one thing that struck me the most was how the workshop was set up and conducted. It was apparent that a lot of effort, if not all, was done to create an environment or situation that supports real learning. Hence, for example, during a discussion of sadness or pity, the environment was able to evoke that emotion for many of the participants.

This experiential learning environment made the participants learn and understand the material in the real context.

This is not an attempt to summarise the content or experience of that multi-day workshop into a short article. I’d be sceptical of the quality of any of such effort, really.

But, I’d like to call out a similarity between the setup that was created in the workshop and the learning environment created from adopting OKR (Objectives and Key Results)

As it is challenging to learn about emotions just by reading, it is analogously hard and incomplete to learn to become a better manager by merely reading or attending workshops.

Both require experiential learning. Real circumstances must support learning.

Also Read: How to help managers improve performance appraisals?

We’ll explore how implementing OKR in your organisation essentially creates a real environment to train your managers to become better leaders.

“Managers matter a lot and can have a significant impact on employee performance “— Google re Work

Also, how does it eventually encourage behaviours that support more efficient meetings? We’ll look into the former topic in this article and continue with the latter in the next post.

When learning does not support the real environment

Have you read a typical how-to-become-a-good-manager article?

Such an article usually lists down a few pieces of advice such as “learn to delegate” or “do not micromanage.” Or, perhaps, had you enrolled in a training program that covers a long list of skills for managers?

A quick Google search will give us many to choose from, e.g. essential skills for managers, new manager boot camp, or how to supervise and manage your team effectively.

If you answered yes to any of the questions, you understand that they provide valuable knowledge.

To take it further, you might also agree that many of those materials were created based on good intention: to help managers to get better.

But, why is it challenging to follow through and practice the knowledge in the real world, e.g. in your office?

Wendy Palmer, in her book “Embodied Leadership” shares a useful hint:

“When I read books on personal development, I am in a safe place, usually my bed or favourite chair, and all of the recommendations make sense to me. However, when I experience a stressful situation outside of my comfortable environment, all those good ideas about how to work with stress go out the window”.

It is about the learning environment.

Also Read: 4 reasons why startups should recruit more women than ever

OKR facilitates a real learning environment and frequent practice

When you implement OKR in your organisation, you mainly facilitate the creation of a learning environment to practice the essential skills to become a good manager.

Let’s take two things that always come up in any to-become-a-great-manager material:

1.Delegating work

2.Communicating with your team, as in giving feedback

And, let’s see how OKR provides a framework that naturally positions you to delegate and communicate frequently:

The timeframe referred in the above table (e.g. “… each person’s weekly OKR …”) assumes that we’re doing a weekly OKR. Bi-weekly is another typical timeframe for OKR cadence.

The Setup and Review sessions, which shape the cadence, allow you to learn and practice frequently in the real working environment.

Closing thoughts

Becoming a good manager will not happen soon after graduating from a management training course, nor by reading a hundred articles that list down the how-to.

It requires real learning context to practice the skills, such as delegation and communication, and a healthy dose of repetition.

Another quote from the same book by Palmer:

“If reading a book were all we had to do to achieve our full potential, then we would all be there. Part of the problem with just reading and understanding the information is that we do not have the embodied experience of the theory”.

Also Read: 7 effective ways to motivate employees

OKR facilitates that embodied experience of the (how-to-become-a-good-manager) theory.

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Meal Temple will deploy its tech and operations locally through its food delivery unit DrukFood

Meal Temple Group, a Cambodia-based food delivery and logistics company with operations in Laos, has announced its entry into the Kingdom of Bhutan with an investment in DrukRide, an online bus ticket booking platform.

Founded by Jigme Thinley Yoezer Rinzin, DrukRide.com has developed an app that allows local and international travellers to book and buy bus tickets in the country.

The partnership with Meal Temple will help Thimphu-based DrukRide to expand its operations into other parts of Bhutan. Although it is small compared to others in the region, Bhutan is still untapped, and the demand for online and delivery services is growing.

Meal Temple will deploy its tech and operations locally through its food delivery unit DrukFood. More than 80 restaurants are already working with the local team to offer meals to customers throughout the city, leveraging a network of thousands of drivers that DrukRide has collected through its ride-hailing service MyDrukRide.

Also Read: ShweProperty raises US$3M in fresh funding as 500 Startups makes an entry into Myanmar

DrukRide will also offer a range of new services it is offering in other markets to become a super app eventually.

“Thanks to our local knowledge and their (Meal Temple’s) industry experience, acquired through other similar frontier markets in Asia, we will be able to address hundreds of daily orders within the next few weeks,” Rinzin said.

In June, Meal Temple Group announced a strategic equity investment into Freshgora.com, an on-demand food and grocery delivery startup in Myanmar.

Last October, Cambodia-based startup Meal Temple raised a six-figure round from private Australian and European investors.

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