Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and Henry Ford. All three men were titans of America’s Industrial revolution. Today, they still rank among the richest humans to have ever walked the planet. But what I find interesting is that none of them started their corporate lives after leaving college with formal qualifications. They all worked their… [Read the full article]
Latest Thinking
Why we need to promote women in STEM subjects
For nine years, the United Nations has designated February 11 as its International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This is a subject, which is very close to my heart and one that THP strongly supports both in terms of our internal employment and external sponsorship. The international day promotes the full and equal… [Read the full article]
Why we need to think beyond the three-generation rule
When it comes to famous sayings relating to family businesses, I am sure you’ve heard of this one: “The first generation makes it, the second generation spends it and the third generation blows it.” On the surface, this isn’t a myth. The quote is based on a famous 1980s study of US manufacturing companies. It… [Read the full article]
Why Vietnamese consumers think healthy products are the cat’s whiskers
It is Tết Nguyên Đán, the lunar New Year here in Vietnam and in 2023 we are ushering in the year of the water cat (we have a different tradition to China, which is celebrating the year of the rabbit). A cat feels like an apt analogy for how Vietnamese consumer habits are changing. In… [Read the full article]
Why supply chain management is in focus
Creating an efficient supply chain is the bedrock of any successful manufacturing company. Just ask Apple CEO Tim Cook, who reportedly won the top job at the tech company (after founder Steve Jobs passed away) because of his success building up a smooth running supply chain, focused on Chinese suppliers. So supply chains are always… [Read the full article]
How a big clean generates even bigger rewards
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]
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]
