Questions I would like to put forth are: -

1) As staff, what evolutions has been developed in yourself since the day you joined ECI?

It goes more way back then staff. I jumped straight into assisting right after my TCC in Nov ‘03 and it evolved from there. From solo lab rat working in its own ivory tower, I’m now in people’s business. Getting more human I suppose?

2) In terms of growth, what kind of skill sets including soft skills you have benefited.

Of course coaching, which itself requires several skill sets, which many are taken granted for, such as deep listening.
Jumping from research into an organic coaching business environment is certainly different; controlled vs chaos, solo vs group, facts vs emotions and many more. Think I’m finally living it up to a statement that I’ve once coined for myself, ‘having both extremes is my moderation’!

3) Compared so someone holding a 9 to 5 job, how are you different?

It’s very flow based and can’t be contained in a 9 to 5 pm structure. It’s something which I take on as a lifestyle. Once I took 30min during lunchtime to bake a chocolate cake. My form of taking a break.
And I’ve always said to myself, my boss is training the females into Amazonians and the guys into Spartans.

4) The job satisfaction that you got from your work.

Seeing my coachees break out of their shells. Rediscovering themselves again and again.

5) Values that you got for yourself that you view may not be obtainable elsewhere.

Consciousness with a conscience. I’m sure we are not the only ones around but it’s hard to come by.

6) Any benefits derived from the program conducted at ECI.

Read the Pick Me Up book.
 

7) 3 words to describe working in the organisation.

Flow. Wow. Now

Interviewer: Lai Cheng

Ever wondered what you can do to be a smoother schmoozer? Well, you will be elated to know you can pick up this skill the simple and fun way, and truly master proficiency at being a people magnet. Under the humorous and charismatic guidance of AdvantEdge’s Executive Coaches - Eric Feng and Soon Loo, unraveling the world of social networking has never been more straightforward and enjoyable.

 

But wait, the first question one should probably ask is ‘what is schmoozing?’ This concept may seem foreign for those who are not in the know, and many in all probability would consider it to be merely “idle chatter”. That would be a misconception however, as there really is nothing ‘idle’ about schmoozing. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, schmoozing is the ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection”, and ‘social connections’ are definitely relevant if you wish to get ahead in the world today. In this time and age where people are getting more connected, and where it is an unfortunate handicap for one to lack inter-relational skills, the art of schmoozing is indeed an ability worth acquiring. It is very fortunate then that AdvantEdge held a comprehensive schmoozing session last Wednesday, which managed to deliver in every way.

 

Before you begin to begin to find out more on how to charm the pants off others however, do allow the key speaker of the event to charm the pants off you. Do not be taken aback by the boyish good looks and youthful exuberance that Eric exudes, for the time-worn adage “age is just a number” never rang truer. Despite his youth, Eric has an impressive bevy of accomplishments under his belt. He is one of the youngest to hold an international coach certification in Singapore, and on top of that, is an award-winning Toastmaster, best-selling author and a highly sought after executive speech coach in both Singapore and the United States. Known for his generous dosages of humour, memorable anecdotes and captivating speeches, Eric effortlessly convinces and eases his listeners into the topic, and what ensues is a completely enjoyable evening of fun-filled exchanges and interactions.

 

Without a doubt, ‘fun’ was the theme of the evening and this was inadvertently accentuated by the number of smiles flooding the venue that night. With the aid of multimedia tools, tips on schmoozing techniques were delivered in a comprehensible and concise manner. Guests were also treated to an insightful glimpse into the dynamics of human relationships, and were taught how to leverage on the knowledge to draw influential and attractive people to themselves. Thankfully, Eric was also sporting enough to share his sometimes embarrassing and usually hilarious personal experiences which kept the topic interesting, and the audience captivated. His heartfelt sharing had also allowed the guests to relate even better to him because they were real and believable situations that everybody could learn from and, more importantly, laugh at.

 

In order to give participants a even more holistic approach on how to bond effectively with people in social settings, experienced guest speaker, Soon Loo stepped up to offer guidelines on how to build lasting and rewarding business relationships. Fortunately for the ladies, AdvantEdge is filled with extremely attractive and charming young individuals and Soon is no exception. An established, intelligent leader and an enigmatic coach, Soon was most recently Vice President in the regional office of AXA Japan & Asia Pacific. His forte lies in strategy and business development which makes him the person to go to for advice in business leadership and networking. Generously sharing with the guests his abundant stash of business wisdom, he epitomizes on the need for quality relationships rather than quantity. A man of action and opportunity, Soon was certainly an inspiration with his go-getting attitude.

 

In addition to the eye-candy the audience was treated to, the other highlights of the programme involved putting the newly acquired knowledge to good practice. Hence, the event was liberally peppered with many interactive opportunities that allowed for participants to mingle and hone the very skills that have been shared in the course of the few hours. Participants were encouraged to move about and enjoy the process of acquainting themselves with others. In the amazingly short span of three hours, they managed to secure a firm foundation and establish the stepping stone on how to expand group dynamics and increase one’s social circle, and all in good fun!

 

As the evening wound down, it was heartening and inspiring to see strangers from all walks of life and ages come together and enthusiastically engage each other in conversations. Individuals who were initially shy and more guarded had learnt to open up over the evening and there was an energetic buzz in the room even as the night came to a close. Many willingly exchanged their name cards and contact information, and left with a glow on their faces, a warmth in their mobile phone memory cards, and a fuzzy feeling of connectedness. It was a stimulating experience, even for a newbie to such events, and I am sure the upcoming lineup of programmes put together by AdvantEdge will be something to look forward to.

What is Printeet?

Printeet is an online personal publishing service. We love to print photos, whether is it the normal paper kinds or photo gifts such as Mugs. If you make it, we love to print it!

We have created an online site that allows people to print, share and store their important photo memories. We provide a service that can help people make their digital photos real and express their creativity in terms of customizing their photos and designing photo gifts, all while having fun at the same time!

Our vision is to build a fun, top notch and high value digital print service that allows our customers to share their happy moments with the people they care about.

Our mission is to make a positive difference in this world by helping people express themselves creatively and share their joy.

Printeet also loves to dream up of new products and tools to enable people to connect and express their moments of joy with their friends and family. Afterall, this is what makes life interesting!

How Printeet came about?

Printeet is a result of a convergence of needs wants and interests. Dionis has always loved to print photos and make photo gifts online when she was in the U.S.

However, when she came back to Singapore, she realized that there were not many sites around that could provide such a service locally. Just at the same time, Dionis’ father, who has been in the photocopying and finishing machine business for the past 20 years, got frustrated with the lack of local support for online prints and had a conversation with Dionis about it.

They were discussing how difficult it was to operate the sites and how it was too costly to ship the items back here when suddenly, an epiphany struck them: Since they have the interest as well as the required machines, why don’t they make this happen? Hence, that fateful day in October 2006 marked the beginning of Printeet!

About Candid Creation Publishing LLP

Candid Creation Publishing LLP is founded by Phoon Kwee Hian in 1999.  Leveraging on her extensive experience as published author, publisher, researcher and literary critic, Candid Creation Publishing understands the needs of our authors and readers and is thus able to add value and creativity to the books that are published with us.

We have published over 200 books till date in a wide variety of genres from literature, arts, humanities, finance, critical prose, medical, health and fitness, autobiographies, personalities profile, children literature, music etc. We take pride in our professional editorial and design services which have helped us gain the invaluable support and trust of many authors and readers.

With our creative ideas, eye-catching design, professional and efficient service, and strength in promotion and distribution, the books published by us are very well-received by readers.  Our literary books are especially popular in schools and are often recommended by teachers for their schools’ supplementary reading programme.

Candid Creation Publishing is discerning on the authors we worked with and the books we published.  We have always valued quality over quantity as our vision is to build a brand name for “Published in Singapore” books.  With our professional and high-quality production, we became a publisher-of-choice for many renowned personalities simply by word of mouth marketing. Besides helping authors to publish their works, our creativity has also been recognised by many government bodies and they have given us tremendous support. In 2004, we received support from Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports to publish a book entitled “The Joy of Grandparenting” and was the finalist in the “Best Intergenerational Bonding Programme Award”.

 In 2005, we partnered Team Singapore from Singapore Sports Council to produce and published a first-of-its-kind 12-book series comprising of 3 titles in 4 official language editions entitled “Singapore Sporting Icons Series.”  The 3 titles are “In the Spotlight – Stories of Singapore Sports Celebrities”, “Achievements off the Beaten Track – Stories of Singapore Sports Veteran” and “A Fledgling Sporting Singapore – Stories of Singapore Young Sports Talents”. We are also the first publishing company to be awarded the “Partnership for Arts Businesses” by National Arts Council in 2005 to publish the 9-volume “Selected Works of Tan Swie Hian”. This epic collection compiles Tan Swie Hian’s poetry, stories, essays, criticisms, fables and translated works of world literary giants. It represents a culmination of over 42 years (from 1964 to 2006) of Tan Swie Hian’s endeavour in the field of literature and translation.

In Singapore, we are also the leading publisher for authors from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). We have published books for 2 previous PRC’s ambassador for Singapore and also numerous officials and eminent personalities.

Our Services

·        Planning/ Conceptualisation

·        Interviewing/ Reporting

·        Scriptwriting

·        Editing/ Proof-reading

·        Translation

·        Graphic Design/ Layout Design/ Typesetting

·        Multimedia content development/ Website design

·        Audio-video production

·        Printing

·        Circulation and distribution

·        Publicity and marketing support