Seeing the World Differently: Lessons from a Hilarious Night in Chongqing

Hey Friends 👋,

I know it has been quite a while since the last update. Apologies for some intense projects happening the last few months. Well, anyway I am back with some latest updates:)

I just went on a family trip to Chongqing last week (after an intense project) and while enjoying the local hotpot and hilly scenery, my mom and I went to watch a stand-up comedy show performed in a mix of Mandarin and the local Chongqing dialect.

I was worried whether my mom and I, with her limited fluency in Mandarin and the local dialect, would be able to understand the jokes and enjoy the show. However, the show turned out to be incredibly enjoyable, and the hours flew by without us realizing how quickly time had passed.

One of the most memorable jokes was from a tall, slim-built young man (the dude with the pink ponytail) who performed last. His best pun was related to how incredibly "confident" a local Chongqing middle-aged man could appear in daily life. They walk along the street with their chin up, showing their big belly unembarrassed to everyone who passes by wearing a white vest.

The next morning after the stand-up comedy show, my family and I stepped into the elevator and came face-to-face with a middle-aged man. Trying to hold in our laughter, my mom and I exchanged glances. It was the perfect setup for a punchline, just like in a comedy sketch.

The best part? It was a real-life situation that perfectly captured the essence of the joke. This is why it's important to see the world through different lenses - you never know what gems you might find.

One of the unique lenses that I naturally wear is as a business consultant. My one-year career in the consulting industry has prompted me to ask questions about the business model when I pass by any commercially related entities that I find interesting.

For instance, within a few days, I stumbled upon an adventure playground in the newest shopping mall, Raffles Chongqing. It was like Jumping Gym USA in Hong Kong, but on steroids! What really caught my attention was their digital-native approach to gaming tokens. They accept e-payments like WeChat and Alipay, which is like a no-brainer in China now.

But wait, there's more! They also collaborated with leading e-commerce platforms like JD.com to allow anytime exchanges for reward items using their gaming tokens with free delivery. This not only provides their members with a much larger variety of reward items but also results in higher user stickiness.

Now, customers don't have to settle for something they don't like from the limited options available at the brick-and-mortar store. This playground knows how to keep their customers happy.

Here's another example to analyse the maturity of a specific industry in the city: check out the ads around you!

If they're all about function, quality, and technology, it's like swimming in a blue ocean with fewer competitors. They're probably all busy educating early adopters and haven't even noticed you yet!

But watch out when the distributors start promoting themselves instead of the manufacturers. That's when the competition gets real, and it's like playing dodgeball with flying sales pitches.

If you notice brands in the industry emphasizing more vague customer stories, such as a Rolex ad featuring Roger Federer that prompt you to feel like you can be serve like him by wearing the masterpiece on your wrist, then you know the market has matured to the point where both the product and channels alone cannot make it stand out, so that the brands gotta work really hard on storytelling to capture the target customers that echo to their story.

This is just a limited part of my observation during the trip using the lens of a business consultant.

Beyond that, you might as well try a different pair of lenses, be it a terrible, introverted guest who always looks for the best available ways to escape the place without others noticing, or a historian who can’t help but try to trace the cultural and historical background of that sculpture you come across on 5th Avenue.

So next time you're out and about, try putting on a different lens and see what surprises the world has in store for you. Who knows, you might just stumble upon the next big idea or find yourself laughing at a real-life punchline. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and embrace the unexpected. Happy exploring!

Things that I found interesting this week: