Everything’s Connected — Business, Government & Society

“Business, Government & Society” was a compulsory module if you did your undergrad at Singapore Management University. Something I’ll always be thankful for. Going through a semester of all things Business, Government & Society primed me to always think about how things are connected.

Things are always connected.

Recently I discovered my love for understanding networks (how’re things connected) & unveiling magic tricks (technology made simple). If I could, I’d have a room of CSI-like pins with colored yarns and sneaky photos of people and brands.

This is for anyone deciding on your major or considering a career switch, or maybe you’re a content strategist/writer with writers’ block. I find that thinking about how things are connected helps me ‘get out of the funk’. In fact, IDEO.org acknowledges the usefulness of extreme users in its design thinking methodology.

“More importantly, talking to Extreme users can spark your creativity by exposing you to use cases, hacks, and design opportunities that you’d never have imagined.” — IDEO.org

Reflecting on my 2020, I’m still amazed at how I have been living my dream (living & working outside of APAC) for a year now. Was this by design? Yes. And I definitely had help along the way. Here’s some encouragement to say, anything is possible, and everything’s related.

• I am a psychology major and now I’m a communications specialist.
• I’ve never been to Sweden before (nor lived anywhere else apart from Singapore) and here I am living and working in Stockholm.

Point being, the unexpected can be valuable — just like extreme users, or just keeping in mind that business, government and society are all connected.

Another example was when Ericsson UnBoxed Office social series featured an episode about technology, 5G, and connecting culture. The commonly featured themes have always been technology and social media as part of our social fabric. However, what the Ericsson UnBoxed Office series brought to the table was specific to the arts and entertainment industry (replay here). Something really close to my heart since I grew up with the Singapore street dance scene.

Almost 7 years into the working world, I’m increasingly appreciating the value of perspective and community spirit. I’ve been working in roles and companies where I’ve witnessed how intertwined government initiatives, politics, business agenda and social impact are. With that in mind, since there’s no running away, here’s how I decided to approach it all: to embrace your perspective and diversity of thought. Embrace that of others. For practical reasons too — the world is smaller than we think, because everything and everyone is connected.

I can ramble on forever about how things are connected. This shall suffice as an introduction. Hoping to share specifics in marketing, communications, social sciences, community building, technology and more soon.

p.s. there’s an episode of the Ericsson UnBoxed Office that reflects on 2020 and casts its gaze into the future. Deets and registration here (replay there or on LinkedIn).

extra p.s. this post isn’t a part of the Ericsson campaign. It’s a personal one that somehow made me think of the upcoming event. Oh well, everything’s connected I guess, even the synapses firing in my brain.