Few people in life enjoy cleaning and de-cluttering with the exception of some well-known gurus like the Japanese consultant Marie Kondo. And yet we all know how cathartic it can be. It’s a principle that rings true for both our home and work lives. So what explains this disconnect: we avoid cleaning and throwing things… [Read the full article]
Latest Thinking
2022 in Review: A Year of Transition
Every year, the world’s leading dictionaries and many global publishers come up with a “word of the year”. For me, there is one very clear one to describe 2022: transition. Last year was the one when the world acclimatized to living with Covid-19. Even the last country to hold out – China – had opted… [Read the full article]
Why Kindness Matters
It’s that time of year when many of us are preparing to switch off from work and spend time with our loved ones. In many cultures, it is a time to give and receive gifts. But the greatest gift of all – and the one, which our loved ones are most likely to value –… [Read the full article]
Combating unethical business practices
In a recent blog post, I wrote about the reassuring findings of Edelman’s 2022 Trust Barometer. It found that, globally, trust in business is growing because people view companies as a reliable and credible source of information in the fake news era. I also wrote about how THP views trust as the core part of… [Read the full article]
Learning to face fear in order to embrace it
How many of us dare to face our fears? I am sure that quite a few of us would like to say that we are willing to give it a go. There is always the possibility and the hope that we will come out the other side physically or psychologically stronger. However, at the same… [Read the full article]
Why informality not hierarchy is the watchword for Vietnamese business
One issue that often confounds Westerners when they come to visit us at THP is the gulf between their pre-conceived notions about the way that Asians value hierarchy and what they perceive happening on the ground. In some ways, this is very understandable. It is well known that Vietnam is a Confucian society. This is… [Read the full article]
How to align individual attainment with a company’s business goals
One of the most difficult and fundamental issues that any company faces is getting the right balance between many peoples’ innate desire for self-advancement and the need for collaboration to achieve common goals. I am always reminded about former US President Harry Truman’s quote on the ideal scenario: “It’s amazing what you can achieve when… [Read the full article]
Developing PDCA Skills
At THP we recently conducted some PDCA training sessions for employees across the organization. PDCA stands for Plan-Do-Check-Act and it is a very popular management technique for ensuring continuous improvement whether that is for a product, a process or a person. The concept was originally developed by the American engineer Dr. William Deming in 1950… [Read the full article]
How to avoid complacency
There are not many people who enjoy being told that they are set in their ways. It is not a good look and it is never a compliment: implying a fixed way of approaching life that no longer fits the circumstances. Yet as we age, many people find comfort in doing things in familiar ways…. [Read the full article]
Being a Teacher
Each year since 1982, we have celebrated Teacher’s Day on November 20th here in Vietnam. It is a chance for students, past and present, to show respect and admiration for the teachers among us. And one of our most famous sayings about education always reminds me of my father and his great childhood friend Uncle… [Read the full article]
