Cultivating Cross-Cultural Talent: Learning from Lori and Caleb’s Global Internship Journey in Singapore For most students, a summer internship is a stepping stone to gain hands-on experience and build a resume. For Lori Olga Agbabian, a business student and Caleb Benjamin Kawano, a mathematics major student from the University of California, Berkeley, their six-week internship with Advenz in Singapore became something much more a rare chance to live and work in a region they had never set foot in before, to challenge their worldviews, and to grow professionally in ways that surprised even themselves. This was their first time in Asia. And what started as a professional internship quickly transformed into an experience of personal discovery, cross-cultural appreciation, and insights…
Article 2/2 Leadership and Sales: Bridging Strategy and Execution Building on the discussion of sales team hiring and building a high-performing sales team in Article 1, this second article delves into the Leadership Role in Sales and Sales in a Changing Environment, with an emphasis on how AI and technology are transforming sales functions. The discussion will conclude with Professor Cespedes’s practical advice for SMB business leaders looking to improve their sales performance. About Professor Frank Cespedes Frank Cespedes teaches at Harvard Business School and for 12 years was Managing Partner at a professional services firm. He has worked with companies on go-to-market and strategy issues, and has been a Board member at consumer goods, industrial products, services, PE and…
Image by patpitchaya on Shutterstock So, you may be wondering, is corporate social responsibility (CSR) really necessary? Couldn't corporations just focus on their primary purpose: providing shareholders with satisfactory returns? Well, that line of thinking, quite frankly, is now considered as outdated as fax machines. While it's true that businesses exist to make a profit, the measures of corporate success today have broadened. The emergence of CSR as an essential primer of modern corporate governance is no accident. It's a reflection of the evolving societal expectations of corporations. So, why has CSR become a non-negotiable for businesses? What is the definition of CSR? "Corporate Social Responsibility means pursuing business objectives in a manner that enhances your company's positive impact on society…
With the enormous growth of wealth in Greater China, many wealth managers are focusing on capturing the High Net Worth (HNW) market in the region. Eric Phua is one of the Market Heads at Pictet Wealth Management who looks at this sector. With more than two decades of career experience in the wealth management space, spanning prestigious financial institutions such as Citibank and UOB, he and his team of bankers specialise in partnering HNW clients in Greater China to manage, preserve and help with the transfer of their wealth across generations. In this interview, Eric shares some insights on his career, the needs of HNW clients, methods of wealth transfer and management, as well as trends in Greater China. Mr…
Rooted Leadership: What Business Can Learn from the Natural World The modern business landscape pushes for relentless acceleration, propelled by an undercurrent of continuous innovation, rapid scaling, and an 'always-on' operational mindset. Leaders are under pressure to deliver continuous growth and chase new milestones which often inadvertently cultivate a "hustle" culture. However, this pursuit of acceleration exacts a heavy toll: employee burnout, resource depletion, and a struggle for sustained relevance. We have collectively fallen for the myth of endless productivity, believing that the more efficient our processes, the more work we can (and should) undertake. This mindset traps us in a loop of constant doing, neglecting the essential value of pause, renewal, and strategic timing. In contrast, the natural world…
