Episode 19: Entrepreneurship

“In search of meaning” is the topic of the final episode of this inaugural season of “This PhD Thinks”. My guest, Albert Johnson-Mussad shares his views on how we can live a meaningful life. According to Albert, there are five ways where we can find meaning: - Relationships and connections and the experience of love - Work can represent a cause or a purpose - Vocation when there is a commitment to a greater good - Spiritual connection that is bigger than us - Enjoyment – relaxation, recreation, renewal, discovery, time to be and notice - Tradition and rituals The journey towards self-actualisation starts by setting intention. Albert tells us that being curious is one of his intentions. He also makes it a point to ask questions like: - What do I want? - Who do I want to be? - How can I contribute? - How can I connect to tradition? - How can I make this situation go better? He is also open to an eclectic mix of traditions and pathways. He notices facts versus stories. Facts can mean different things to different people. And stories can help us to have a more productive experience. Meaning in a life can be measured as satisfaction and gratitude. When we are anxious, the two questions that we can use to help us reduce anxiety are: - What matters? - What is the next step or the next right thing? Meaning is also about perspective or the view that affords the rewarding outcome. Meaning can be achieved in small moments, as well as big moments.

My guest, John Yan shares his views about entrepreneurship. To succeed as an entrepreneur, you essentially need 2 P’s, which are Passion and Persistence. You need to first find out what you are passionate about and stick with it for a long time. Additionally, you need to be agile, fail fast and pivot quickly to meet user needs. The tipping point happens when you reach the product-market fit when the product is in its growth stage. Most start-ups reach this stage in about 7 years. John’s advice for creating luck or opportunities is to be conversant of what you need to know, do and learn. Another advice from John is – if you have a desire to be an entrepreneur, start early.

My guest, Maleena Suppiah shares that well-being should be approached holistically where the mind, heart and soul are at peace with each other and are thriving. One way by which we can look at well-being is by using the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – to ensure that our needs including our physiological needs, our emotional needs etc. are taken care of. Of the many aspects of well being, the most important aspect of well being is social well being. Maleena advises us to be deliberate and preserve time for our well being. Even the pockets of time that we create in our days can make a difference in preserving our well being. Furthermore, Maleena talks about the importance of knowing and respecting who we really are, and having deep self knowledge.

My guest, Steve Wyatt, who is an authority of leading in the 4th Industrial Revolution, shares his insights on how to lead in this highly unpredictable time. The management practices that have served us well in the past, e.g., forecasting, ‘peck and chase’ strategy and processes don’t work well at a time when things are constantly changing. Which is why we need 3 important skills for us to work at speed in today’s world of change. The 3 skills are: (i) Sense and making sense of what is happening around us (ii) Seizing the opportunity by coming up with a solution (iii) And implementing the solution quickly not just at the home base but right across the world In my conversation with Steve, he stresses the importance of optionality. He also talks about knowing when to stop doing things as the tendency for many of us today is adding too much stuff onto the ‘To Do’ list. A good analogy of how all of us move forward is to use the analogy of crossing a river by stepping on stones. While we might not know all the steps to get ahead, we can’t stop moving as stopping would result in us being washed away by the currents of the river.

In this episode, Paul Lim shares his thoughts about adulting, which essentially means how to be an adult. The two reasons why youth are resisting growing up could be due to (i) pervasiveness of information on the internet, and (ii) fear of being cancelled. Paul gives the following advice on how we can help the youth: (i) Don’t cancel them or invalidate their perspectives (ii) Be empathetic, listen have a heart of humility to learn what the youth are going through (iii) Give them small wins to help them move along the adulting process As for the youth, please don't assume what you are going through is unique. And do reach out to someone older for advice.

In this episode, Jim Woodell shows us how the Venn Method can help us create value for our organisations and ourselves. Jim originally used the Venn Method to help universities drive economic development by looking at the intersection of talent, innovation and place. At work, we can use the Venn Method to find what we have in common with the other party to ascertain the shared vision, shared goals, commonalities etc. for enhancing collaboration. The Venn also enables us to understand each other unique strengths. In so doing, we can push ourselves forward to see what is possible for our organisation. Another benefit of the Venn is to use it to describe our unique proposition – our unique strengths but also the intersection of what we bring to the table.

In this episode, Jochen Reb shares the many benefits of mindfulness. The practice of mindfulness can help us to look inside and help us to cope with the challenges of life. Mindfulness is much more than for stress reduction. There are many benefits of mindfulness including calmness, clarity of mind and better decision making – which is a key reason why many CEOs are turning to mindfulness. Mindfulness can also help us to be more socially connected and understand of what is going around us. There are two key takeaways that Jochen would like to leave with us: 1)  Mindfulness is something we do every day in regulating our attention 2)  Mindfulness is something that we should try to experience for ourselves

In this episode, Hsien-Hsien Lei shows that everything we do in business is connected to science and policy. Science helps us to think and act in a rational manner. Policy, which is driven by scientific data and evidence, provides the guidelines for how we govern our business. Science training can also help us to better assess and manage risks. As a trained epidemiologist, Hsien advises us not to be complacent about COVID-19 as it is still an infectious disease that is still amongst us. Hence, mask wearing is highly recommended. Hsien also shares her views about happiness – happiness is something that comes from within and it can come from trying new experiences.

In this episode, Charleston Sin shares his views on how we can be more innovative. Innovation must involve both the mind and the hand. In other words, thinking and action. It is also imperative that we develop computational thinking – which is a thinking process that breaks a problem into small steps before solving it in a systematic way. Charleston informs us about the “App Inventor”, which is an easy application for anyone to develop apps for Android and IOS. Additionally, he tells us about the MIT innovation process -- which is a detailed 24-step framework. That said, the 2 steps that are critical for any innovation are:  (i) Defining the persona for the innovation, and (ii) Conducting primary market research. Given that most of us would probably have a 60-year career, it is important that we learn how to learn. As most of us have a finite capacity to learn, one important step for us to learn how to learn is to empty ourselves for the new things that we want to learn.

In this episode, Anne Gregory shares why communication is so fundamental for organisations. She also provides insights about reputation management. Communication is constitutive of organisation.  In other words, unless there is communication e.g., from a CEO/managers to the employees, employees to get their ideas across etc, the organisation will not exist. One way leaders can communicate better is to step into the other person’s shoes and understand his or her perspective. Reputation is a consequence of doing good things. This quote by Abraham Lincoln sums it aptly for us: “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Anne says that "if we do what makes our heart sings" -- do things well and with integrity -- our reputation will follow.