Conversation with
My Mentor

Mark Edleson,
Founder of Alila Hotels & Resorts

Leadership, Productivity

Untold Founder Stories: Shuhei Morofuji, Reapra

As one of the youngest and fastest entrepreneurs in Japan to reach an IPO for a startup, Shuhei Morofuji shares how a journey fuelled by curiosity led the way to success.

News and Views

Scribbles from Su Anne Mi, Director of Asset Management

What is your morning hack for a productive day? Wake up an hour earlier. Bonus if I can start with a small accomplishment like a workout.  What’s your super-hero costume and/or accessory that you rely on for the most important business meetings? A good blazer.  In COVID-times, I’m loving interesting skype/zoom backgrounds. My favourite is The…

Design, Productivity

Lights, Action: How Lighting Affects your Productivity

Yet good lighting does a lot more than, well, make one look good. “There is a well-researched science behind light and its effect on productivity. In simple terms: light has to enable our visual tasks, encourage connectivity to the environment around us and reinforce our physiology. When it does this, we are more productive,” explains David Skelley, the Chairman of DJCoalition.

Productivity, Research

COVID-19 Covered: How to Ramp Up your Brand Positioning in a Pandemic

There is no better time than now to build and strengthen your brand positioning and messaging through digital platforms. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the world into a new normal: a life conducted online. How can companies leverage on this to build and strengthen their brand position and messaging during this extraordinary time? Experts from The Great Room community weigh in.

Productivity

Your Great Room – Downloadable Backdrops for your Zoom/Skype Meetings

There are these moments when we don’t have the ‘right books’ on our shelves (because we are actually reading them bedside) or we couldn’t quite decide between 2 designer cabinets. To make sure we never need to look anything less than grown up, wherever we are. Here are some backdrops of The Great Room for your next Zoom meetings.

Productivity

Wonderful Things

The bit and pieces of learning, entertainment, wellness, work and tech for working from home

Research

Goals versus Storytelling | The Power of Storytelling

Workplace goals are useful, but they’re just part of the process. Here’s why storytelling matters. Who doesn’t love a great story? Whether you’re reading it, watching it, or listening to it, a compelling story will have you captivated; for minutes if not hours. Stories are something we hear and tell every day; to ourselves, to…

Productivity

The Power of Pause

When life is good we enjoy it fully and when life throws us a curveball, remember that better days are on the way… The human race has never before united by a singular enemy, democratic and global. And we are responding, in record time and record numbers. As scientists race towards new diagnostics, antivirals, vaccines and therapeutics at exponential speeds, we are also figuring out new things for ourselves. We still need to believe, even when it is difficult to do. We need to straighten our shoulders and develop a little resolve to ride out the uncertainty.

Leadership

Conversation with My Mentor – Jaelle Ang and Mark Edleson

In this inaugural session, Jaelle Ang, CEO and Co-Founder of The Great Room chats with Mark Edleson. A legend in the hospitality industry, Mark has been associated with a number of successful brands in his multiple roles: as a founding partner of hotel management company GHM Indonesia and leading global operator of resort spas Mandara Spa Asia, and founder of Alila Hotels & Resorts, which was acquired by the Hyatt group in 2018. Here, we sift out the shining nuggets of wisdom: