Casual ’s Post

So, after spending the last six months in Bangkok, Saigon, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Seoul restarting my APAC and ASEAN creative consulting rebellions I am back in Finland/Europe for the summer. It’s been a solid first two weeks in Helsinki. A bit of consulting, a lot of concepting, multiple meetings with old and new clients and collaborators alike; random, casual and scheduled real life conversations about creativity, brand and storytelling, a few video and/or audio calls out to Japan, Korea, US, Singapore and Sweden and a couple of interesting co-op offers from some of the most intriguing brands in Europe. It’s been also nice to notice that my way of doing, thinking, saying and writing things - this gentle yet firm work rebel of mine based on ambition, differentiation, riot, chaos, humanity, respect, confidence, kindness, observing, freedom and independency - is something that all kinds of folks still find increasingly interesting. Not everyone though and that is precisely the way that I prefer it. If everybody everywhere likes my work, me or my creative philosophies; my work, I and my creative philosophies are simply too ordinary. No offense, just a fact. This is the view from my Helsinki office that is everything but a normal office. It’s a high-building balcony by the sea. Never work in the traditional office unless absolutely necessary. Just a fact, no offense. Rebel is real. #globalworkrebel #rebelisreal

The start-up life of fast decisions and teamwork Anyone working in a startup is aware of the fast-decision-environment. Last week, we realized that we needed a new rollup. And we needed it now. It needed to be ordered, printed, and shipped in just five days, because then it was needed in Doha and Singapore for exhibitions. But before we could order it, we needed to design it. We wanted a new rollup with a new message. It was an all-hands-on-deck situation to get it done in a few hours. We brainstormed around several different phrases. With teamwork, we managed to do it in time, and the rollup is now in Doha, and soon in Singapore. Be the change. Sustainability has never been easier. Bold new statement to get our message out there. #marketingmanager #teamwork #cetasol #rollup #message #bold #sustainability

Elite athletes are not born, they are made - and so it is for self-managed teams. Today leaders face a highly unpredictable environment. How can you lead with purpose when you have the pressure to continuously adapt and innovate? How can leadership shift from a posture of control to one of contextual guidance, fostering autonomy and empowering teams to achieve results with minimal oversight? Join our colleagues: Angelina Liew, Natalia Curusi and Adrian Bugaian, as they draw from their wealth of experience. Mark your calendars for next week's #TechTalks, where we will deeply dive into transformations across all dimensions - individual transformations, transformations inside teams, products, and organisations!

#CareerStory | From Candy POP store consultant to Regional Manager for Estonia and Latvia in 3 years? Check out the Delfi Lietuva interview with our talented Paulina Trinkaitė, illustrating how motivation creates powerful career shortcuts.   Our Lithuanian friends can find the link to the full interview in the comments, and for our international community, here are the main highlights:   🍭 Before joining the company, Paulina expected that a growing company would probably need people in senior positions, and she was right — determined motivation right from the start.   🍭 In less than six months, Paulina became the manager of a small store in Vilnius; within just a year she led the expansion of Candy POP in Estonia. Currently, she oversees the regions of Latvia and Estonia, managing 9 stores and 29 employees.   🍭 On average, 1 in 4 consultants become store managers, and many continue their careers in company administration. At Candy POP, every effort and the drive to improve are highly valued and recognized.   🍭 Paulina Trinkaitė, who frequently moves between Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, now spends most of her time in Estonia, having adapted to this lifestyle. “I have a cat and we moved to Estonia together. The cat is very supportive - I work, and the cat sleeps. We get along great," Paulina smiles.   Be like Paulina and take control of your career future! 🚀 ___ #CareerGrowth #SuccessStory #ProfessionalDevelopment #CountryManager

Leadership that’s On Point ? I recently bought a pair of On running shoes. As usual, I was late getting to this brand, the west-coast-tech side of the family found it 2 years ago. It’s a great product – nice look, functionality, and a compelling story. It's also a business aiming to reach $4bln turnover by 2026. On was founded by an interesting triumvirate; a marketer, a McKinsey consultant and a pro-triathlete. That struck me as a compelling illustration of how strengths can combine.  One person who is visual and creative. Another who is analytical and thinks in models and  frameworks. A third who is practical and focused on brilliant functional delivery. All three founders seem bright, ambitious, and competitive. Presumably, since they are still working together, they have learned to tolerate each other’s different approaches and remain loyal to a shared vision. 3 quite different types of intelligence bound together by mutual trust and a shared goal. In On’s case this pooling of diverse strengths and perspectives has overcome a total lack of experience in footwear design and manufacturing, allowing them to create a business worth perhaps $10bln in a 15-year period. Not a bad leadership model to emulate.  

My activity today involved a train journey from Penang to Kuala Lumpur, and the book I am reading is ‘From Individual to Brand' by Shalini Subramaniam - Personal Branding Coach. 🚝📒 I’m halfway through it and I must say I love it! This book has the potential to take your personal branding game to next level. 💪 From the book: “ When you know the ‘real you’, your brand becomes consistent, making content creation and attracting true fans easier.” 🎯 Want to dive deeper? You can grab a copy of the book from Shalini Subramaniam - Personal Branding Coach! ✨ Do you enjoy reading while you're on a journey? 👇 #personalbranding #travel #read #entrepreneurlife

“ Its either you want to do it or dont want to do it “ To be honest, im not kind of active and yet so far from pro active employee. Im more to passive and conservative. Most of the time i just be follower rather to be the leader. Always play safe. Dont want to be under the spotlight. If u assign me a task. I will do it for sure but im not gonna offer my self to do it at first. I believe most of the employee in the industry are just like me. Sometimes we just take for granted and start to complain & nagging without looking for opportunities to find a space to improve. If you want to get different outcome you need to do a different thing. This year, i started to do experiment to myself. Put a challenge to my self to do something againts the norm. I decided to join the employees club in my company. They called it as Electroclub. Suprisingly im been assigned under communication & content team whereby all the communication email and poster need to be created and cascade to all electrolux Malaysia employees. For the first time i touched Canva and learn to write a proper and formal email. Eventhough my creativity only at standard 6 kid’s level but i just do it. If you dont try you will never know. By becoming a member, i got opportunitiy to learn more in communication & design. At least this is something that i can put in my CV 😜. At the end of the day, there is no excuse to be success. Its either you want to do it or you dont want to do it. The choice is always at your hand. #Electrolux #Electroclub #Employee #HRpractitioner

Looking for some fun ways to get creative with your team? Look no further! Check out our list of the best creative team activities in Singapore - perfect for inspiring creativity and collaboration. 📌 Check out more of #FunEmpireRecommends from our blog page here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gAJazjyb • • • • #FunEmpire #FunStartsHere #bestinsingapore #explorepage #igsg #teamworkmakesthedreamwork #teambuildinginSG #Singapore #creativeTeamActivities #teamwork #activities

Creative agencies like T Brand Studio (The New York Times) and B/NDL Studios (The Jakarta Post Group) blend creativity and media uniquely. Operations management is crucial for maintaining competitiveness and delivering impactful campaigns for these agencies' clients. The latest trends are shaping operations management in these unique blended environments. 📈 These trends transform creative agencies' operations, leading to greater innovation, efficiency, and client satisfaction. #operationsmanagement #storytelling #media #creative

What is hospitable space? Most of us have experience hosting and being hosted, at our homes or public spaces, but how can we be more intentional about creating a space that invites collective insight to emerge? As I prepare to host our monthly Asia-Pacific Community Cafe tomorrow (Tuesday, August 22 at 10am Jakarta time), I'm thinking about the "little things" the hosting team does to create an online space that is alive, inviting, and open to new ways of seeing and connecting. ☕️ We personally greet every person as they join. Especially if they are new, we try to make sure every person feels welcomed. ☕️ We keep the process and technology as simple as possible to minimize stress and ensure that participants from a wide range of countries and internet connectivity capacity can join. ☕️ We use language that is simple but still captures the point, without resorting to jargon and colloquialisms that privilege native English speakers. ☕️ We incorporate beauty and playfulness into the flow, for example by preparing a visually appealing virtual tablecloth (a Jamboard or google doc for our Cafes) and encouraging participants to upload images. ☕️ We play soft music during the break and incorporate it into reflection time. ☕️ We provide written reminders in addition to verbal directions, so that participants know what to expect throughout the session. ☕️ We broadcast a one-minute warning before the breakout rooms close, to allow participants time to wrap up their conversation. ☕️ We pre-assign our roles as conversation hosts and tech hosts beforehand, so that the process feels as smooth and effortless as possible for participants. ☕️ Most importantly: when things go wrong or not how we expected, we go with the flow and treat ourselves and each other with grace. I could go on... I didn't realize that there were so many until I wrote them out! I would love to hear what you would add. And don't forget to register for our Community Cafe through this link: https://bit.ly/3QOWuty #conversationsthatmatter #spaces #hosting