Edmund Chok’s Post

In theory, in a brainstorming session, people are encouraged to be creative and suggest wild ideas. In reality, most people don’t do that. We do not want to raise stupid ideas and let others think we are dumb. That hinders creativity. Can we change that? One way to do so is to use “bad idea brainstorming”. Instead of asking people to brainstorm good ideas, we can ask people to brainstorm bad ideas. The worse the better. In this case, people would feel comfortable suggesting crazy, ridiculous, creative ideas. Then, we can turn those ideas into good ones by suggesting the opposite, replacing the bad attributes with the good ones, or getting inspirations from them. Try it out. Be creative and have fun! Learn more about our solutions: www.forwardtraining.com.hk #WinningWithDesignThinking #BadIdeaBrainstorming #Innovation #ForwardTrainingConsulting

[Learning opportunity for Hoteliers] 📣📣📣 AI and VR Technologies are developing fast these days. It is transforming the way we work. How can we apply these technologies in hotels to make our lives better and easier? In September, I will be partnering with Re:learn to deliver a workshop on "Enhancing Guest Experience and Work Efficiency with New Technology (VR & AI)”, with content tailor-made for hotel industry. Interested to know more? Join our upcoming workshop! Date: 10 September 2024 (Tue) Time: 1430 - 1800 Venue: HKMA Centre (TST East) Language: Cantonese Enrollment link: https://lnkd.in/gJN7CXRy Let’s turn these technologies into our friends! #HongKongHotelsAssociation #HKHA #HotelierLeadershipDevelopmentProgramme #HLDP #NewTechnology #AITraining #VRTraining #ForwardTrainingConsulting

How well do you know about yourself? At work, most of us are too busy to stop and reflect upon ourselves. It is easy for us to have some blind spots that we are not aware of. That’s why I strongly recommend all managers to complete personality profiling assessments and engage in such training workshop. With your own personality assessment report, self-reflection exercises and peer feedback sessions, you will be able to learn more about yourself and how others perceive you. Great leadership always starts with you. Learn more about our solutions: www.forwardtraining.com.hk #CommunicateAndInfluenceEffectivelyWithDISC #DISC #ForwardTrainingConsulting

This is the third time I run this workshop for a group of executives from various NGOs. Topic is Effective Handling of Difficult Service Users. Without real work experience in NGOs, this is not a topic that I am strongest at. The first one I did last year, the evaluation score was 4.89/6. I think I can do better. To prepare for my second workshop, I revisited the training materials, restructured the flow, and added in some case analyses. For the second workshop, the evaluation score was 5.11/6. I still think I can do better than that. When I prepared to run the workshop for the third time, I planned it all over again and replaced about 40% of the workshop with new content, based on the previous evaluation feedback. This time, I got 5.24/6. To me, there is still room for improvement. I am quite sure I will keep modifying it the next time I run this workshop. I believe: Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better. The sky is the limit. Keep moving forward. Learn more about our solutions: www.forwardtraining.com.hk #EffectiveHandlingOfDifficultServiceUsers #DifficultPeople #DifficultCustomers #KeepMovingForward #ForwardTrainingConsulting

“I just want to have someone who can check up on me every day, and make sure I am okay.” This is one of the most heartbreaking wishes I have heard recently. Nowadays, people are too busy to connect with one another on a personal level. Humans are social animals. A lack of real connections makes people feel lonely and depressed. When you have time, check up with your friends and your family members and see how they are doing. Listen to their worries. Tell them you care about them. Let them know you are always there for them if they need someone to talk to. Don’t underestimate the power of listening. This can save a life. #Loneliness #Depression #PowerOfListening #SuicidePreventionServices #PayItForward

Many managers tend to avoid having crucial conversations with their team members. In Chinese, there is a saying “以和為貴”, which literally means “harmony is a prized virtue”. To many people, having crucial conversations may imply damaging a relationship. While that might be true, avoiding crucial conversations usually causes more harm than good - creating unfairness among the team, affecting team morale, hindering long-term team performance, you name it. So, the issue is not whether you should have these crucial conversations, but how you can make these conversations less damaging and more constructive. Change your mindset. Learn some skills. Turn them into learning conversations. Don’t expect it to be easy. But, with the right mindset and skillset, you can do better every time. Learn more about our solutions: www.forwardtraining.com.hk #HavingCrucialConversationsAtWorkplace #FeedbackSkills #DifficultConversations #ForwardTrainingConsulting

We are all connected, and we can help each other to learn by sharing our experiences and ideas. My original aspiration of organizing the Hotelier Leadership Development Programme is to promote collaboration and build synergies across hotel industry. Today, I am so grateful to have more than 30 hoteliers from 13 hotels taking part in our upselling and cross-selling workshop! Thank you Debbie Bailey from Hospitality Impact Consulting for delivering a really lively and practical training workshop for us. You are awesome! Learn more about our solutions: www.forwardtraining.com.hk #HongKongHotelsAssociation #HKHA #HotelierLeadershipDevelopmentProgramme #HLDP #Upselling #CrossSelling #ForwardTrainingConsulting

These years, the world is full of conflicts, anger and sadness. We need something that can unite people, bringing us joy, hope and enlightenment. The Olympics Games just came at the right moment to remind us about the spirit of sportsmanship, as well as the importance of perseverance during tough times. Thank you, Paris Olympics. #Paris2024Olympics #KeepMovingForward

Is innovation a buzzword? To me, it depends. Innovation can be costly, and the success rate is usually not as high as expected. Indeed, researchers estimate that 70% to 90% of innovations fail. If your business is really good and forecast is positive, innovation is not necessary (unless you have some other reasons like realising your dream or promoting your brand). Yet, if you believe you still have plenty of room to do better - developing new businesses, enhancing productivity, streamlining processes, etc. - innovation can be a very effective strategy. Innovation is not about creating something completely new. It is about finding a better way to do things a little bit better. Don’t innovate for the sake of innovation. Drive practical and meaningful innovation. Learn more about our solutions: www.forwardtraining.com.hk #WinningWithDesignThinking #Innovation #ForwardTrainingConsulting

Every time you go to a networking event, you will get some name cards. What happens to those name cards? Eventually, they’ll all end up in the garbage bin after some time, when you start forgetting who that person is (or when the name cards got outdated). It is, indeed, a waste of your networking effort. That’s why I have a habit of adding people’s LinkedIn after getting their cards. With LinkedIn, you can stay connected with your new friends and keep updated about their latest job status. You can interact with each other on different posts, and keep exchanging insights. The connections are no longer lost and can be kept for years. Isn’t that cool? Learn more about our solutions: www.forwardtraining.com.hk #ConnectingAndEngagingPeople #PersonalBranding #ModernBusinessEtiquette #LinkedIn #NoAdvertisingFee #ForwardTrainingConsulting