Delivering conscious business philosophy in Singapore with Serene Seng

In this Candid Craic, we talk to Serene Seng about how she is working with Singaporean companies towards the delivery of a conscious business philosophy in the city.

After Serene explains what she means by conscious business and why it isn't anti shareholder value, we find out the four ways in which conscious business practices positively impact organisational performance. Serene and Oscar then reflect on the level to which companies in Singapore and Hong Kong are (or are not) embracing the concept, and explore whether those failing to do so will struggle to attract or retain future talent.

The Craic then takes a long tangent into the educational challenge in the region, as Serene laments that Singaporean education is producing great production workers when it needs to be producing great knowledge workers. We discuss where the future talent for Singapore and Hong Kong is going to come from; why Asian educational systems need to support and embrace ambiguity, sport and arts; how and why the current models are failing to help children discover their talents, and possibly delivering a life of poor mental health along the way; and how a conscious awareness of business and self might start addressing this issue.

We conclude with a dive into the future of work and leadership in the region, with Serene suggesting that the guild model might re-emerge in the Singaporean gig-work ecosystem, and exploring how leadership might need to be reimagined alongside such a development.

Timestamps
00:09 Hello Serene
00:58 Just what is it that Serene does?
Conscious Business
04:07 Is Conscious Business Anti Shareholder Value?
06:48 The Performance Impacts of Doing Conscious Business
09:10 Conscious Business in Singapore, Hong Kong and Asia
16:12 Why should the CEO care? Bridging the Employee-Consumer-Society Gaps
19:24 Develop and/or Import - where's the future talent?
26:27 Ambiguity, Activity and Arts in Children's Education
30:44 Middle Ways, Talent Spikes and Well-Rounded Mediocrities
39:38 Leadership Models and the Conscious Awareness of Self
46:30 Guilds and the Reimagination of Leadership in Singapore
54:14 The Nine Trillion Dollar Question