Category Archives: Pitch ‘n’ Win 2.0

Business Applications of The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The experiment for small-group discussion without time limit went on. The 4th Pitch ‘n’ Win 2.0 session was conducted in Chinese in a new venue called Storyteller’s Cafe in Subang Jaya.

Pitch ‘n’ Win 2.0 – 商战孙子兵法 was organized on 6th November 2014 in the cafe full of books. As the event name suggested, the session was about business applications of The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

All of us were to introduce ourselves, what we do, and how we compete in business. For those of us who knew the book by Sun Tzu, they were welcome to share their strategies by employing Sun Tzu’s Art of War too.

The host Kiiwii Ng first introduced the event, followed by each of us briefly introducing ourselves. Then each of us started to share something about our business and the strategies we used.

Members having fun after discussing Sun Tzu

Members having fun after discussing Sun Tzu

Not all participants had a business though. Anyway, we all did share about ourselves and our views on Sun Tzu’s strategies. Not all of us understood Sun Tzu very well, some of us even questioned about his methods.

Anyway, a vibrant discussion went on as those who knew the book helped to explain Sun Tzu to the rest of us, and as ideas and viewpoints bounced from one another. It was a mutual beneficial session full of learning and peer sharing.

The cafe owner’s 18-year old daughter, Wong Siew Leng, obviously surprised the group by her wise and mature sharing. As a result, she was voted as the best contributor to the session.

After 4 trials of discussion in smaller group, we have learned a lot what might work and what might not. However, we decided not to adopt the new model as it is not much different from some other sharing events. But we still look forward to using the new format when necessary especially when the crowd size is small in future.

Key Lessons

  • We can apply Sun Tzu’s teaching into many aspects in life, including business.
  • If other event organizers can do a certain event better, try not to do the same thing.

Pitch ‘n’ Win 2.0 – 商战孙子兵法 – Photo album

Start with Why in Business & Life

Lately we experimented with a new event format where there is no time limit for each speaker to share. 2 sessions were conducted, one in English and one in Chinese based on the motto “Think Big, Start Small, Act Now”.

The 3rd session in the new event series was organized on 29th October 2014. Called Pitch ‘n’ Win 2.0 – Start With Why, this time it attracted a little bigger group than the targeted 8 participants.

Posing after discussing why we do what we do

Posing after discussing why we do what we do

Unlike the previous two sessions, this time the sharing was not divided into 2 rounds. Instead, there was only 1 round of sharing in which each of us shared about what we do, be it our business, our job or our life, and more importantly, WHY we do what we do.

The businesses shared included consulting, web development, event management, and network marketing. Each participant’s sharing was followed immediately by feedback and ideas put forward by others so that we could learn and help one another improve. Joseph Pereira was voted as the best contributor to the discussion.

Although there was no time restriction, We still managed to finish in time. Throughout these 3 trial sessions, it’s learned that good facilitation by the host was important to ensure we all share what we should share, stick to the topic, yet finish the discussion in time.

Key Lessons

  • Good facilitation is important, whether it’s a timed or untimed session.
  • There must be a why behind everything we do.

Pitch ‘n’ Win 2.0 – Start With Why – Photo album

New Event Format – Quality Sharing in Smaller Group

After organizing more than 110 events on Pitch ‘n’ Win platform in the past 15 months, we experimented with a new event format on 18th October 2014 in search for new event model for our participants.

Called Pitch ‘n’ Win 2.0 – Think Big * Start Small * Act Now, the session was for smaller group of at most 8 members. Instead of restricting each one to speak for 3 minutes, there was no time limit here as long as whoever speaking kept to the topic.

The topic chosen was a famous slogan from Lean Startup movement – Think Big, Start Small, Act Now. The host Ricky Soo first introduced and briefed the group on the Lean Startup idea.

The sharing session consists of 2 rounds. In the first round, each of us took turn to introduce ourselves, what we did, and any business, project or idea that we were venturing to start, and how we were going about doing it.

In the second round, each of us also took turn but commented on sharing by any other members in the group. One may give ideas, provide feedback, offer help and resources, or simply give his or her wishes.

Unexpected good outcome from new event format

Unexpected good outcome from new event format

All of us tried best to focus our discussion on the topic and not drift away. But the session still ended a little late. Nevertheless, the outcome was unexpectedly fruitful. We gave our best shot to help one another in achieving our ventures.

A round of voting was carried out to choose the best contributor to the session. Business consultant May Lai was chosen for her good questions, comments and ideas given to other members’ businesses.

Pitch ‘n’ Win 2.0 – Think Big * Start Small * Act Now – Photo album