Ep.88 FIFTY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE DESIGN THAT MOVES PEOPLE with Simon Ong, Deputy Chairman & Co-Founder, Kingsmen Creatives Ltd.

About Simon Ong: LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-ong-89095b12/ Website: https://kingsmen-int.com email: simonong@kingsmen-int.com Bio: Kingsmen Creatives / Singapore / Deputy Chairman / Co-founder Simon Ong oversees the strategic planning and development, as well as the creative and brand standards, of Kingsmen, a leading communication design and production group with 18 offices spanning the Asia Pacific region and North America. One of the Group’s two founders, he has significantly contributed to its growth.  Simon is actively serving in the creative industry and is currently an honorary advisor to the Society of Interior Designers Singapore and a member of Singapore Interior Design Accreditation Council. He served as the Chairman of the design sector of Singapore Workforce Development Agency, and a board member of SHOP!, a leading Association of Retail Environments in USA. In 2019, he was inducted into the SHOP! Hall of Fame in recognition of his significant contributions to the industry. Most recently, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Interior Designers Singapore for his substantial contributions to the design industry.  An ardent advocate of education, Simon currently serves as a board director of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. He served as a member of the Advisory Board to the School of Design & Environment at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Temasek Polytechnic School of Design, and a member of the Design Education Review Committee, Singapore (DERC). He was the former Chairman of the School Advisory Board of Cedar Girls’ Secondary School, and Vice-Chairman of the Potong-Pasir CC Management Committee.  Simon graduated with a Master’s Degree in Design from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of South Australia. SHOW INTRO: Welcome to Episode 88! of the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast and my conversation with Simon Ong the Deputy Chairman & Co-founder of Kingsmen Creatives in Singapore.. *                            *                                  *                                  * As we come to a different phase of our professional life you get to thinking back over the years that you invested in growing something that it was hard but it was also fun it was challenging and it was sometimes desperate sometimes you felt elation sometimes you worried about how we're going to pay the next bill there's a cycle of experience in 50 years of growing a company like that is worth reflecting on and saying ‘you know we have had big wins and we’ve made mistakes we've learned a lot about ourselves and how to grow a business - how to remain relevant. I think the relevancy issue means having a sense of empathy tapping into the zeitgeist around you and saying i need to relate to that because if i don't I’ll become irrelevant and i can't i can't communicate The challenge is put to new leaders and old to listen, be introspective, be flexible to adjust to the sometimes overwhelming sea of change between now and next.  You hopefully get better at saying both been there done that and been there not doing that anymore period. When early in my retail design career I had, I guess I would call her a mentor, Jackie Glanz the president of a store fixture manufacturing company called MG Concepts and I recall her drilling into me some core lessons about business and marketing, namely  respond to the e-mail or phone call - immediately don't wait because everybody's time is valuable not just yours and it's a sign of respect of the other individual to get back to them right away never burn a bridge especially in the context of a retail community that once you reach a certain level everybody knows everybody else and word travels fast. Maintain your industry friendships even when they are halfway around the world. Because you just never know when you're going to come into a situation where reaching out will make the difference between growth and stagnation, or success and failure or a door opening up or door being closed. It could be with some of those relationships that you never actually do business with them with the mutual support and the benefit of connection extends beyond a project or profit in the physical sense but sometimes is more valuable in a sense of community already perhaps spiritual way the people along your path make a difference. I have often shared with people that I certainly like working on projects but in the end it's relationships that I value most. I'm sure