In 2017, I boarded a flight to Boston with a notebook, curiosity… and zero clue what I was getting myself into. I had just joined Residential College 4 (RC4), National University of Singapore…
Blog
This blog attempts to capture the full description and essence of the adventures and their associated reflections of our Coddiwompling endeavours to make deep impacts to the clients, the society and world we live in. It will also be a place for expert sharing in the field of systems thinking, facilitation and coaching and mentoring as part of my contribution to society and the clients that I serve.
🚒 I Thought Systems Thinking Was Dry… Until It Helped Me Save Lives 🚒
At the end of the recent Singapore Civil Defence Force Senior Leaders and Commanders (SLC) Systems Thinking Habits Programme, a senior officer shared, something to this effect with me in front of the…
Systems thinking has no place in security operations.
I’ve heard this more times than I can count, from frontline officers to seasoned professionals in both physical and cybersecurity. And I get it. When the job is to respond fast and follow…
What we stay alive for …
There is a famous saying in the movie “Dead Poet’s Society” when Robin Williams words has been planted deep into my Being since 1989 when it was first aired. He was a teacher…
🪤 “Don’t get trapped in a life that’s not yours.”
I was watching a reel by Robin Sharma recently when he outlined eight forms of wealth beyond just money: growth, wellness, family, craft, community, adventure, service, and money itself. You can find the…
🔴 How many road deaths are acceptable? 70? 40? 10?
The answer… should always be zero. I recently came across a moving road safety video ad 🔗: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ULKYHsz8M3k A man was informed that over 400 fatal accidents had occurred on a particular road.…
🎯 Not everything that counts can be counted.
And in learning and leadership, what can be counted often distracts us from what really matters. Recently, I ran a masterclass called “Failing Forward Through Play.” at Singapore Institute of Technology Applied Learning…
What does it take to shift mindsets in just 2 hours, with 120 people?
What does it take to shift mindsets in just 2 hours, with 120 people, and 9 facilitators on what real teamwork looks and feels like? That was the challenge I took on with…
🌪️ “I tried everything. And it still didn’t work.”
That was me a few years ago, standing at the front of a successful leadership programme in a USD billion-dollar company Monde Nissin Corporation, watching leaders nod and say “great tools”… but change…
Cambodia Women’s Leadership Conference 2025
They say lying on a bed of roses feels amazing. I said yes… and you know why? Take a closer look at the keynote lineup for the Women’s Leadership Conference 2025 organised by…
From Failure to Fulfilment — One Habit, One Company and One Leader at a Time
Five years ago, I failed spectacularly. As Chief Learning Officer of Monde Nissin Corporation (USD 1B MNC), I launched a systems thinking programme. Evaluations were glowing, but no real-world impact. Leaders didn’t apply…
✨ Help or Control? A Fine Line We All Walk ✨
“Help is the sunny side of control.” — Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart This line hit me hard while I was listening to Atlas of the Heart on the MRT. It stopped…
🌟 Embracing the Growth Mindset: My Journey from Programmer to Emcee of Large Scale Event and Moderator of High-Profile Panels
What an incredible honour it was to emcee and moderate the TechAI Workshop & Networking Session, sponsored by e2i, Employment & Employability Institute and Jalan Besar GRC, featuring esteemed panelists like Minister Josephine…
Transformation is hard
“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change” – Michael Jackson – Man in the Mirror. Transformation is hard. You are…
🚀 You’re Ahead of the Curve – Let’s Supercharge Your Leadership with Systems Thinking Habits
Every day, leaders like you face complex, interconnected challenges that demand more than quick fixes: – Banking executives balancing sales transformation with legacy systems – Civil Defense commanders making life-and-death resource decisions –…
🚀 Transform Your Leadership with Systems Thinking Habits 🚀
What if the key to tackling complex challenges isn’t just about tools—but about building habits that last a lifetime? My Systems Thinking Habits for Leaders program isn’t just another leadership course. It’s a…
🌟 Gratitude & Passion: Enhancing Leadership Through Systems Thinking 🌟
I am deeply honored and grateful to the Singapore Civil Defence Force for entrusting me once again to lead their esteemed senior commanders and directors from Oman through my Systems Thinking Habits for…
The joy of an educator
Leaving a job of c-suite can be very hard. Lot of things that seems certain to my life to give up. Yet, embracing the unknown for a gut feeling of making impacts to…
Getting my ICF Professional Certified Coach
After close to 3 years of clocking more than 600 paid coaching hours, going through the months of training and sitting through the 3 hrs coaching knowledge assessment test since obtaining my ACC,…
🚀 Honored to contribute to RSAF’s Annual Strategy Planning Review! 🚀
On 16 Jan 2025, I had the immense privilege of integrating LEGO® Serious Play® into the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s Strategy Planning Review. The feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive! 🙌 🙏…
🚗🌍 Systems Thinking in Action: Lessons from the China EV Megatrend
The video below is a powerful example of how systems thinking habits can help leaders decode complexity and navigate real-world challenges. Here’s what we can learn: 1️⃣ Habit 5 (Observe how elements change…
Three Years of Coddiwompling: Gratitude and Growth
As 2024 wraps up, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported Coddiwompling over the last three years. When I started this journey, I wasn’t sure if we’d even…
Harnessing En-ROADS for Climate Action: A Call to Leaders
Addressing climate change requires deep understanding and innovative solutions in our complex world. Professor John Sterman highlighted the En-ROADS climate change simulation as a powerful tool for leaders to grasp this complexity and…
Finding Purpose in the Melting Moments in Life
This video led me to a deep reflection on life, death, and the essence of living. Watching as the artist pushed a massive block of ice under the scorching sun until it melted…
Transforming the system through Theory U
I recently finished an awesome book called “The Essentials of Theory U” which drew its inspiration from systems thinking and advocates that the leverage point of systemic change within the system starts by…
Surviving the Journey of Becoming an Entrepreneurer to Fulfill One’s Dream
Every year I would travel more than 6,000 miles twice to arrive at Turiba University, Latvia to complete my teaching with the University. This university has a special place in my heart. Not…
Becoming the Best Executive Coach for my Clients
Like many things in my life, it started purely out of curiosity of noticing a friend who is also a coach contributing to AI-generated posts on the topic of executive coaching managed by…
Fake it until you become … how our body language changes our mind
I just finished the book by Amy Cuddy called Presence. It reminded me of her TED talk video that I watched years ago which I have attached to this post (https://lnkd.in/gGqsPKcE). I remembered how…
1-3-1 systems thinking problem solution method to organisation challenges
The 1-3-1 problem solution method embraces many of the philosophies of the systems thinking habits. (1) What is the problem? A problem well defined is a problem half solved [Habit 5]. If you…
Tech Talent AssemBly (TTAB) Overseas Learning Trip Shanghai 2024
The start of Tech Talent AssemBly (TTAB) Overseas Learning Trip 2024 … Excited about this trip that took more than 6 months to plan and execute with a group of buddies from Shanghai……
How to be a friend? Life-changing transformative questions to ask ourselves
When I fall, trip, or get hurt, my friends will be there for me and not my work. It is a great reminder to me to always remember that the most important and…
True love knows no boundary or limit
True love knows no boundary or limit. What is true love? Really what it is? To me, true love is the feeling I feel for my special someone that is in between my…
The Joy of Being a Teacher
More than a decade ago when we first met, I knew in my heart that Joanna Zhou will be unstoppable in the things that she does. She has very high EQ, a nature…
You don’t need to wait for transformative changes to happen to you, you become the change
This photo is taken at the Universal Hall that can host more than 300 pax that is located in the community started by Findhorn Foundation. The Findhorn Foundation in Scotland was found in…
Achieving Sustainability in our Food Systems – Insights from a 94 years-old Balaton Group Member
A tree that grown for perhaps more than a thousand years behind the backyard of the house of a 94 years old Balaton Group member, Dr Ulrich Loening. Dr Ulric is an inspiring…
Becoming a Rumi’s Inspired Coach
I have always been enormously inspired by Rumi and his poem. I don’t know why. It seems that Rumi always have a way to speak a truth that is so profound and simple.…
Go Slow, Play, Seek Out & Speak the Truth and Be in Awe
Watching this video filled my heart with so much joy, peace and balance that I can’t possibly described. https://youtu.be/r-rHc8tm5_c?si=shph6HBiFGYDCYYCVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: To Be In Awe – Wisdom from…
Navigating Success with LEGO®: A Journey of Innovation and Synergy
At Coddiwompling, we’re all about navigating through uncharted territories with confidence and creativity. Recently, the Vice President of NUS Ecosystem enlisted our expertise to design a bespoke strategy development workshop for their senior…
The Power of Coaching: A Journey of Transformation and Success
Jo and Dr. Jenson first crossed paths at Monde Nissin Corporation, where Jo was the General Manager of a leading fast-moving consumer goods brand in Australia, and Dr. Jenson served as the Chief…
Who are you really?
Ever wonder about this question: Who I am? How will you answer this question if you are being asked. I was reading the book called “Atomic Habits – an Easy and Proven Way…
LEGO(R) Six Bricks for 220 Students During Edusave Awards
The trimester of teaching ended two weeks earlier. I was feeling the tiredness of developing and carrying out a new course. Maybe age has finally caught up with my ever-positive spirit. There are…
Change Your Question = Change People Perspective
If you understand Mandarin, this is a great demonstration of how a change in the way you ask questions can change another person’s perspective literally… View this post on Instagram A…
The Inner Joy of Serving my Nation
The inner joy of serving. Several years back, I had the privilege of being induced to Tech Talent AssemBly (TTAB) as their career advisor before being co-opted as an Executive Committee Member and…
Coach the person, not the problem
There were times in my life when I would occasionally be hit by a deep evocation moment that made me question everything about my life and my way of living. It makes me…
Don’t hold our mental model too tightly
This video of Steve Jobs makes me think what are my core values and what I want people to know about them. How about my company’s core values? https://youtu.be/keCwRdbwNQY?si=zpoLNrclu22WaHH6Video can’t be loaded because…
Purposeful Coaching with Colin (CIO, HCSA Community Services)
Making an impact to people through a purposeful coaching process. Almost half a year ago, I raised my hand when ITMA was calling for volunteer to participate in a 1 year National Council…
Transforming Leadership: Creating Thinkers, One Company at a Time
At Coddiwompling, we’re all about navigating through uncharted territories with confidence and creativity. Recently, the Vice President of NUS Ecosystem enlisted our expertise to design a bespoke strategy development workshop for their senior…
Customizing LEGO(R) Six Bricks Level 1 and 2 Training for Facilitators
I am one of the rare few certified Lead Trainer for LEGO(R) Six Bricks by the inventors at Care for Education in Singapore. LEGO(R) Six Bricks is a learning through play method that…
How do you solve the Pertinent Problem of Losting Talents to the Market?
Have a blast conducting a specially customized industry engagement keynote speech for ITE Workplace Learning Division to their 40 partners’ companies. The first 2-hour session in late 2022 on “How do you solve…
How learning LEGO(R) Six Bricks has transformed my life?
Since getting certified as a facilitator in LEGO(R) Six Bricks in 2019 and then becoming a Certified Lead Trainer in 2021, the learning through methodology has truly transformed my life. First, it has…