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2022

  • 3 min read

My Hand Writes My Heart

I am writing this article in the hope of finding inner peace and self-reflection. Writing is therapeutic. At the moment, it helps me focus, gather my chaotic thoughts and ideas, and search my soul for answers to life's questions. It offers a solution to the issues that trouble me, disrupt my sleep, and rob me of peace.

Today, I lost my inner peace because it was the last day of my trip back home to Hong Kong, a place I hadn't visited for almost two years. Due to the COVID-19 situation and various government policies, I had been unable to travel freely. I stayed in Singapore, just 4 hours away by flight from my family and girlfriend, whom I hadn't seen for so long. Although I should have felt excited about being back in Hong Kong, I felt inexplicably frustrated, sad, and lost.

I should be grateful that my family is still here and my girlfriend is safe and communicates with me. However, Hong Kong has changed, and not for the better. I don't want to delve into politics, but this external change partly explains my sadness. Yet, the root cause of my emotional turmoil lies within me. I am disappointed in myself for not meeting certain expectations. Life would be simple if I were just living for myself; quarantining in a hotel for a week, away from work and others, brings me peace.

Reality, however, is unavoidable. I can't forever escape the relationships that demand my attention. Whether it's family, my girlfriend, colleagues, or friends, I have been using the pandemic as an excuse to avoid facing these responsibilities. Now that I am back home, I can no longer maintain my emotional distance, and this disrupts my inner peace.

Firstly, my family is wonderful, and it's good to be back. However, my parents are aging and heading towards retirement. I must find the courage to confront these facts. Health and financial challenges are inevitable, and I must prepare to take care of them. Though they are in Hong Kong and I'm four hours away in Singapore, it's manageable — despite the inconvenient travel restrictions.

Secondly, my girlfriend wants to get married but doesn't wish to leave Hong Kong, as her aging mother is there. We are limited by our differing perspectives, which is frustrating for me. I believe it's essential to consider emigration, especially from a political standpoint. Yet, she remains unconvinced, and I can't change her mind if she's unwilling to change her own.

Thirdly, I am dissatisfied with my own life. I'm unhappy about aging and losing hair, as well as not achieving traditional markers of success. I understand I shouldn't compare myself to others, but the societal pressures are difficult to resist, especially when old friends and classmates seem to be doing better according to Asian societal norms.

In summary, I feel like I have not reached my full potential, and this bothers me deeply. I am struggling to find inner peace, and it may be time to pause and meditate to understand myself better.

  • in zh
  • 1 min read

我的手寫出我的心

我寫這篇文章是希望找到內心的平靜和自我反思。寫作是有治療效果的。此刻，它幫助我專注，整理我混亂的思想和想法，並在我心中尋找生活問題的答案。它提供了一種解決困擾我、影響我的睡眠並奪走我內心平靜的問題的方法。

今天，我失去了內心的平靜，因為這是我回到香港的最後一天，這是我近兩年來沒有造訪的地方。由於 COVID-19 的情況和各種政府政策，我無法自由地旅行。我待在新加坡，距離我的家人和女朋友只有四小時的飛行時間，我已經很長時間沒有見到他們了。儘管我應該對返回香港感到興奮，但我卻無法理解地感到失落，難過，和迷茫。

我應該對我的家人仍在這裡，我的女朋友安全並和我保持溝通感到感激。然而，香港已經變了，而且不是變好。我不想深入討論政治，但是這種外在變化部分解釋了我的悲傷。然而，我情緒困擾的根本原因在於我自己。我對自己未能達到一些期望感到失望。如果我只是為自己活著，生活將會很簡單；在酒店隔離一周，遠離工作和其他人，讓我感到平靜。

然而，現實是無法避免的。我不能永遠逃避需要我付出關注的關係。不管是家人，我的女朋友，同事，還是朋友，我一直在用大流行病作為藉口來避免面對這些責任。現在我回到了家，我不能再保持我的情緒距離，這打亂了我的內心平靜。

首先，我的家人很棒，能回家真好。然而，我的父母正老去並且即將退休。我必須找到勇氣面對這些事實。健康和金融挑戰是無可避免的，我必須準備好照顧他們。雖然他們在香港，我在新加坡，距離只有四個小時的飛行時間，這是可以管理的 —— 儘管旅行限制造成了不便。

其次，我的女朋友想結婚，但不願離開香港，因為她年邁的母親在那裡。我們的觀點不同，這對我來說很沮喪。我認為考慮移民是非常重要的，尤其是從政治的角度來看。然而，她仍然不信服，如果她愿不愿改變自己的想法，我無法改變她的想法。

第三，我對我自己的生活不滿意。我對漸老和脫髮，以及未能達到傳統的成功標誌感到不開心。我明白我不應該和別人比較，但社會壓力難以抗拒，尤其是當舊朋友和同學似乎按照亞洲的社會規範做得更好。

總的來說，我覺得我還沒有發揮出我全部的潛力，這深深地困擾著我。我正在努力尋找內心的平静，也許现在是停下來冥想，更好地了解自己的时候。

  • 3 min read

Positioning for Technology Consultancy

Positioning involves applying a systematic, repeatable process to identify the unique attributes of my service, differentiate it from competitors, and articulate this positioning into an effective sales pitch. In this post, I aim to create a differentiated value proposition based on my service's unique features and capabilities.

A positioning challenge arises when some clients view me as a technology consultant while others see me as a software developer. Competing in both categories against fully staffed software vendors, I find myself without a clear positioning strategy. With a saturated market of technology consultants, even the best ones struggle to secure projects. Clients often wonder why they should choose my consultancy over the alternatives. Effective product positioning can help me stand out and capture the unique value of my service in a crowded market.

My ideal customers are those who already intuitively understand the value of my services. Specifically, CEOs and founders of growth-stage fintech startups who have a strong technical background. These individuals prioritize team expansion and product scaling, and they seek solutions to their technical challenges.

From my target customers' perspective, there are several alternatives they might consider before opting for my service:

Alternative 1: Outsourcing to consulting firms

  • Accenture
  • Deloitte
  • Capgemini

Alternative 2: Searching online for technical answers

  • Stack Overflow
  • Quora
  • Reddit

Alternative 3: Hiring in-house roles

  • Software Developer
  • Business Analyst
  • Architect

Alternative 4: Self-learning through videos

  • YouTube tutorials
  • Udemy courses
  • Online coding bootcamps

My service offers unique attributes that set it apart from at least one of these alternatives:

  • Blog content
  • Technical expertise
  • Knowledge sharing
  • Product management skills
  • Personal stories
  • Video content
  • Best practices
  • Business acumen

To identify the most compelling aspects of my service, I repeatedly ask the question "So what?" until I arrive at a value proposition that is clearly differentiated and directly beneficial to customers. Through this exercise, I've identified the following differentiated values:

Differentiated Value 1: CEOs are avid readers, often relying on recommended blogs. My blog offers:

  • 1.1 Blog Content: Condensed into an Amazon Kindle book for easy reading.
  • 1.2 Product Management Skills: Proven experience in product development.
  • 1.3 Technical Expertise: Hands-on software development capabilities.
  • 1.4 Business Acumen: Skills in stakeholder management, leadership, and communication.

Differentiated Value 2: My blog serves as an effective lead generation tool for my consultancy, particularly offering:

  • 2.1 Best Practices: Expertise in the banking industry.
  • 2.2 Knowledge Sharing: Insights into deploying new technical products in financial markets.

Differentiated Value 3: Clients can gauge my approach to business and technology before engaging my services, made possible through:

  • 3.1 Personal Stories: Revealing my experience in technology consulting in the banking industry.
  • 3.2 Video Content: Storytelling with humor.

With these differentiated values in mind, my blog aligns well with a framework that includes:

  • A. Competitive Alternatives: DIY approaches.
  • B. Unique Attributes: Concise, valuable blog posts.
  • C. Differentiated Value: Expertise and thought leadership.
  • D. Best-Fit Customers: CEOs of Series A and Series B fintech startups.
  • E. Market Category: Technology consultancy for financial companies.

As for the next steps, I plan to:

By April 2022

  • Update the landing page messages on my website.
  • Add more case studies.
  • Conduct interviews with top-five clients to refine messaging.

By May 2022

  • Create a sales pitch focused on technology consultancy.
  • Respond to Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
  • Add more technology and business content to my blog for brand awareness.

In summary, I am repositioning as a specialized technology consultant for financial companies. Leveraging a proven agile methodology, I aim to help such companies architect and develop software solutions that improve their business performance. My services range from software development for startups to consulting for larger tech companies and custom product management. To find out more, please visit https://victorleungtw.com/.

Feel free to reach out to discuss how I can assist your team in both business and technology.

  • in zh
  • 1 min read

定位為科技諮詢

定位涉及應用系統性、重複性的過程，以識別我的服務的獨特屬性，將其與競爭對手區別開來，並將此定位表述為一個有效的銷售話語。在這篇文章中，我目標是根據我的服務的獨特功能和能力創建一個差異化的價值主張。

當一些客戶將我視為技術顧問，而其他人將我視為軟體開發人員時，就會出現定位挑戰。在與完全由軟體供應商組成的兩個類別競爭中，我發現自己沒有清晰的定位策略。即使在科技顧問市場飽和的情況下，即使是最好的人也難以獲得項目。客戶經常想知道為什麼他們應該選擇我的諮詢服務而不是其他選擇。有效的產品定位可以幫助我在擁擠的市場中脫穎而出，並捕捉到我的服務的獨特價值。

我的理想客戶是那些已經直觀地理解我的服務價值的人。特別是具有強大技術背景的成長階段金融科技初創公司的CEO和創始人。這些人優先考慮擴張團隊和產品擴展，並尋求解決他們的技術挑戰的解決方案。

從我目標客戶的角度來看，在選擇我的服務之前，他們可能會考慮幾種替代方案：

替代方案1：外包給諮詢公司

  • Accenture
  • Deloitte
  • Capgemini

替代方案2：在線搜索技術答案

  • Stack Overflow
  • Quora
  • Reddit

替代方案3：聘請內部角色

  • 軟體開發人員
  • 業務分析師
  • 架構師

替代方案4：透過影片自學

  • YouTube教學
  • Udemy 課程
  • 在線編碼培訓班

我的服務提供獨特的屬性，使其至少可以與其中一個替代方案區別開來：

  • 部落格內容
  • 技術專長
  • 知識共享
  • 產品管理技能
  • 個人故事
  • 視頻內容
  • 最佳實踐
  • 商業智識

為了識別我的服務最引人注目的方面，我反覆問 "那又怎樣？" 的問題，直到我得到一個明確差異化並直接對客戶有益的價值主張。通過這個練習，我找到了以下差異化的價值：

差異化價值1：CEO 是熱衷的讀者，經常依靠推薦的部落格。我的部落格提供：

  • 1.1 部落格內容：匯總成 Amazon Kindle 書本，方便閱讀。
  • 1.2 產品管理技能：在產品開發中具有豐富經驗。
  • 1.3 技術專長：具有實際的軟體開發能力。
  • 1.4 商業智識：有利害關係人管理、領導和溝通能力。

差異化價值2：我的部落格充當我的顧問業的有效潛在客戶引導工具，特別提供：

  • 2.1 最佳實踐：在銀行業的專業知識。
  • 2.2 知識分享：對在金融市場部署新技術產品的見解。

差異化價值3： 客戶可以在聘請我的服務之前衡量我的商業和技術方法，這是通過以下方式實現的：

  • 3.1 個人故事： 揭示我在銀行業技術顧問的經驗。
  • 3.2 視頻內容：通過幽默講故事。

考慮到這些差異化價值，我的部落格與包括以下內容的框架相符：

  • A. 競爭替代方案：自己動手做。
  • B. 獨特屬性：簡潔、有價值的部落格文章。
  • C. 差異化價值：專門知識和思想領導。
  • D. 最佳適合的客戶：金融科技創業公司的A輪和B輪CEO。
  • E. 市場類別：為金融公司提供技術諮詢。

至於下一步，我計劃：

2022年4月

  • 更新我的網站上的登陸頁面信息。
  • 增加更多的案例研究。
  • 與前五名客戶進行訪談以微調訊息。

2022年5月

  • 創建專注於技術諮詢的銷售話語。
  • 回應提案請求（RFPs）。
  • 在我的部落格上增加更多的科技和商業內容以提高品牌知名度。

總的來說，我正在重新定位為金融公司的專門技術顧問。借助經過驗證的敏捷方法，我目標是幫助這些公司設計和開發提高業務績效的軟體解決方案。我的服務範疇從為初創公司開發軟體，到為較大的科技公司提供咨詢，以及定制產品管理。欲了解更多信息，請訪問 https://victorleungtw.com/。

歡迎隨時聯繫，討論我如何在商業和科技方面幫助您的團隊。

  • 3 min read

Connecting Apache Kafka to Azure Event Hubs

Recently, I worked on an integration with Azure Event Hubs. A colleague of mine faced challenges while trying to export messages from an existing Kafka topic and import them into Event Hubs. To assist, I've documented the steps below, which you may find useful.

Step 1: Download and Extract Apache Kafka

Apache Kafka is an open-source, distributed event streaming platform. It facilitates the construction of distributed systems and ensures high throughput. You can download Apache Kafka from the following link: Apache Kafka Download

tar -xzf kafka_2.13-3.1.0.tgz
cd kafka_2.13-3.1.0

Step 2: Start the Kafka Environment

Ensure that Java 8 or higher is already installed in your local environment. If not, download and install it from Oracle's website.

To start all services, execute the following commands:

Start the ZooKeeper service:

bin/zookeeper-server-start.sh config/zookeeper.properties

Start the Kafka broker:

bin/kafka-server-start.sh config/server.properties

Step 3: Create and Set Up Configuration Files

Create a new file named connector.properties with the values below:

... (The content is mostly fine and technical, no changes)

Replace the placeholder values with those from your Azure endpoint. If you haven't already, create a new namespace and deploy Event Hubs resources from the Azure portal. Note that you might need to select the Standard pricing tier or higher to successfully create Kafka topics in the next step.

The required password can be found in the Shared access policies settings of the Event Hub namespace, under the SAS Policy labeled RootManageSharedAccessKey.

Step 4: Create Three Kafka Topics

To create the topics manually, use the kafka-topics commands:

Create the configs topic:

... (Commands are mostly fine and technical, no changes)

Create the offsets topic:

... (Commands are mostly fine and technical, no changes)

Create the status topic:

... (Commands are mostly fine and technical, no changes)

Step 5: Run Kafka Connect

Kafka Connect is a tool for reliably and scalably streaming data between Apache Kafka and Azure Event Hubs. To continuously import and export your data, start the worker locally in distributed mode.

bin/connect-distributed.sh path/to/connect-distributed.properties

With everything set up, you can proceed to test import and export functions.

Step 6: Create Input and Output Files

Create a directory and two files: one for seed data to be read by the FileStreamSource connector and another to be written to by the FileStreamSink connector.

mkdir ~/connect-demo
seq 1000 > ~/connect-demo/input.txt
touch ~/connect-demo/output.txt

Step 7: Create FileStreamSource Connector

Next, let me guide you through launching the FileStreamSource connector:

... (Commands are mostly fine and technical, no changes)

Step 8: Create FileStreamSink Connector

Similarly, let's proceed to launch the FileStreamSink connector:

... (Commands are mostly fine and technical, no changes)

Finally, confirm that the data has been replicated between files and is identical.

cat ~/connect-demo/output.txt

You should see that the output.txt file contains numbers from 1 to 1000, just like the input.txt file. That's it! If you update input.txt, output.txt will sync accordingly.

Please note that Azure Event Hubs' support for the Kafka Connect API is still in public preview. The FileStreamSource and FileStreamSink connectors deployed are not intended for production use and should only be used for demonstration purposes.

  • in zh
  • 1 min read

將Apache Kafka連接到Azure事件中樞

最近，我在與Azure事件中心的整合中進行了一些工作。我的一位同事在嘗試將消息從現有的Kafka主題中導出並導入到事件中心時遇到了困難。為了提供協助，我在下文中記錄了所謂的步驟，你可能會發現這很有用。

第一步：下載並提取Apache Kafka

Apache Kafka是一個開源的、分佈式的事件流平台。它促進了分佈式系統的構建並確保了高吞吐量。你可以從以下的鏈接下載Apache Kafka：Apache Kafka下載

tar -xzf kafka_2.13-3.1.0.tgz
cd kafka_2.13-3.1.0

第二步：啟動Kafka環境

確保Java 8或更高版本已經安裝在你的本地環境中。如果沒有，請從Oracle的網站下載並安裝。

執行以下命令以開始所有服務：

開始ZooKeeper服務：

bin/zookeeper-server-start.sh config/zookeeper.properties

開始Kafka經紀人：

bin/kafka-server-start.sh config/server.properties

第三步：創建並設置配置文件

創建一個名為connector.properties的新文件，並下列的值：

... (內容主要正確且技術含義實在, 無需改動)

用您的Azure端點的值替換佔位符值。如果您還沒有，請從Azure門戶網站創建一個新的命名空間並部署事件中樞資源。請注意，您可能需要選擇Standard或更高的定價層級，以成功在下一步中創建Kafka主題。

所需的密碼可以在事件中樞命名空間的Shared access policies設置中找到，位於稱為RootManageSharedAccessKey的SAS策略下。

第四步：創建三個Kafka主題

要手動創建主題，請使用kafka-topics命令：

創建configs主題：

... (命令主要正確且技術含義實在, 無需改動)

創建offsets主題：

... (命令主要正確且技術含義實在, 無需改動)

創建status主題：

... (命令主要正確且技術含義實在, 無需改動)

第五步：運行Kafka Connect

Kafka Connect是一種可靠且具有擴展性的数据流工具，用於Apache Kafka和Azure Event Hubs之間。要持續地導入和導出你的數據，請在本地以分佈式模式開始工作人員。

bin/connect-distributed.sh path/to/connect-distributed.properties

設置好所有的內容後，你可以繼續測試導入和導出功能。

第六步：創建輸入和輸出文件

創建一個目錄和兩個文件：一個用於FileStreamSource連接器讀取的種子數據，另一個用於FileStreamSink連接器寫入的文件。

mkdir ~/connect-demo
seq 1000 > ~/connect-demo/input.txt
touch ~/connect-demo/output.txt

第七步：創建FileStreamSource連接器

接下來，讓我引導你啟動FileStreamSource連接器：

... (命令主要正確且技術含義實在, 無需改動)

第八步：創建FileStreamSink連接器

同樣地，讓我們繼續啟動FileStreamSink連接器：

... (命令主要正確且技術含義實在, 無需改動)

最後，確認數據已經在文件之間復制並且是相同的。

cat ~/connect-demo/output.txt

你應該會看到output.txt文件包含從1到1000的數字，就像input.txt文件一樣。就是這樣！如果你更新input.txt，output.txt將相應地同步。

請注意，Azure事件中樞對Kafka Connect API的支持仍處於公共預覽階段。已部署的FileStreamSource和FileStreamSink連接器不適合生產用途，只應用於演示目的。

  • 4 min read

Product Engagement Strategy

I recently took a class on the Psychology of Engagement, where I learned the methodologies and vocabulary needed to create highly engaging products. I am applying these concepts to a product of my choosing.

One product that has me "hooked" is an app I use daily to manage my savings and investments. The intended behavior of this product is to encourage users to deposit and save money. I find it rewarding to check my account balance every night and see my progress. The internal trigger driving my engagement with this product is my goal of achieving financial freedom.

I currently work at Thought Machine, a product company that has developed a core banking product aimed at transforming the banking industry. This product empowers banks to offer innovative financial services to their customers. We recently raised $200 million in our Series C funding round, backed by industry-leading venture capitalists and major global banks like Nyca Partners, Molten Ventures, JPMorgan, and Standard Chartered. This has brought our total funding to $350 million, valuing the company at over £1 billion.

According to customer feedback, banks are enamored with our Vault product. It's a ledger system that operates on cloud-native platforms like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure, without relying on legacy technology. Vault can be configured through Smart Contracts to run any type of retail banking product, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, loans, credit cards, and mortgages. However, bank customers often find it easy to spend money but difficult to save.

To identify behaviors with strong habit-forming potential, I've utilized "habit zones." Here are three behaviors my company could focus on:

  • Behavior 1: Spending money (e.g., paying monthly rent through a checking account)
  • Behavior 2: Saving money (e.g., accruing daily interest in a savings account)
  • Behavior 3: Borrowing money (e.g., using a credit card that offers reward points or taking out a personal loan)

Based on my personal experience, the behavior with the greatest habit-forming potential is saving money while monitoring daily interest accruals.

To better understand this behavior, I asked myself "why?" five times:

  1. Why? Because I want to check my bank account for daily interest accrual.
  2. Why? To monitor my progress and see how much interest has accumulated.
  3. Why? To gauge whether I am saving enough to meet my financial goals.
  4. Why? Because I fear not having enough money for significant life events like a wedding.
  5. Why? Due to uncertainties about the future, I feel more secure with a financial cushion for emergencies.

I then applied the 5 Panels framework to design an external trigger that cues customers to perform the intended behavior.

Persona:

  • Characteristics: Alex is a 34-year-old working professional in Singapore.
  • Values: Enjoys life, loves coffee, cars, and cooking.
  • Needs: To pay for a wedding, purchase a car, repay loans, buy a coffee machine.
  • Constraints: Faces high inflation, has no savings, and spends his entire monthly salary.

Internal Trigger: Alex wants to start saving money while controlling his expenses. He feels anxious about not being able to afford his upcoming wedding.

Context: Alex is discussing wedding plans and finances with Melanie at a coffee shop. During the conversation, he mentions a car he wishes to purchase.

External Trigger: Alex feels social pressure as his peers are getting married and starting families.

Association: Fear of not saving enough for the wedding = Checking bank account for daily interest accrual.

Action Phase: Steps and hurdles a customer faces:

  1. Receive salary: Financial commitment towards monthly rent and loan repayment.
  2. Allocate 10% for savings: Monetary discipline required, can't spend that money now.
  3. Log into the bank account: Physical effort needed to open the app and click.
  4. Transfer money to the savings account: Another click required.
  5. Wait for the next day: Time needed to see any significant interest accrual.
  6. Verify daily interest accrual: Cognitive load to check if the amount is correct.
  7. Resist temptation: Numerous reasons may tempt the user to withdraw the saved money.

From the customer's perspective, the most challenging hurdle is to allocate 10% of income for savings.

User Story: As a working professional, I find it difficult to save money because of my many expenses and loan repayments. To save, I need to cut back on unnecessary spending and determine a savings target.

Solution Description: Through daily interest accrual, our app can reward users for saving. It can project future savings and interest accruals, enabling customers to set aside money more effectively. The app can also tailor its services based on the user's risk profile and savings goals.

Engagement Strategy:

  • Trigger: Notification reminders to allocate money for savings, along with projections for future account balances.
  • Action: Schedule automatic transfers to a savings account and view daily interest accruals.
  • Variable Rewards: Offer a sense of achievement as users get closer to their financial goals. Provide tips on saving money and reducing daily expenses, along with cash back offers and discount notifications.
  • Investment: Incentivize users to refer friends, which earns them a higher interest rate on their savings account.

Strategic Priorities: The next step for Thought Machine is to enhance user engagement by offering more rewarding incentives for saving money.

KPIs:

  • Number of reminder notifications sent
  • Number of new savings accounts opened through referrals
  • Total amount of interest paid to customer savings accounts

Conclusion: The Hooked Model is a powerful framework that synthesizes decades of research into a simple four-phase process. By understanding and applying these principles, we can encourage more people to save money effectively and ethically through our product design.

  • in zh
  • 4 min read

Product Engagement Strategy

I recently took a class on the Psychology of Engagement, where I learned the methodologies and vocabulary needed to create highly engaging products. I am applying these concepts to a product of my choosing.

One product that has me "hooked" is an app I use daily to manage my savings and investments. The intended behavior of this product is to encourage users to deposit and save money. I find it rewarding to check my account balance every night and see my progress. The internal trigger driving my engagement with this product is my goal of achieving financial freedom.

I currently work at Thought Machine, a product company that has developed a core banking product aimed at transforming the banking industry. This product empowers banks to offer innovative financial services to their customers. We recently raised $200 million in our Series C funding round, backed by industry-leading venture capitalists and major global banks like Nyca Partners, Molten Ventures, JPMorgan, and Standard Chartered. This has brought our total funding to $350 million, valuing the company at over £1 billion.

According to customer feedback, banks are enamored with our Vault product. It's a ledger system that operates on cloud-native platforms like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure, without relying on legacy technology. Vault can be configured through Smart Contracts to run any type of retail banking product, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, loans, credit cards, and mortgages. However, bank customers often find it easy to spend money but difficult to save.

To identify behaviors with strong habit-forming potential, I've utilized "habit zones." Here are three behaviors my company could focus on:

  • Behavior 1: Spending money (e.g., paying monthly rent through a checking account)
  • Behavior 2: Saving money (e.g., accruing daily interest in a savings account)
  • Behavior 3: Borrowing money (e.g., using a credit card that offers reward points or taking out a personal loan)

Based on my personal experience, the behavior with the greatest habit-forming potential is saving money while monitoring daily interest accruals.

To better understand this behavior, I asked myself "why?" five times:

  1. Why? Because I want to check my bank account for daily interest accrual.
  2. Why? To monitor my progress and see how much interest has accumulated.
  3. Why? To gauge whether I am saving enough to meet my financial goals.
  4. Why? Because I fear not having enough money for significant life events like a wedding.
  5. Why? Due to uncertainties about the future, I feel more secure with a financial cushion for emergencies.

I then applied the 5 Panels framework to design an external trigger that cues customers to perform the intended behavior.

Persona:

  • Characteristics: Alex is a 34-year-old working professional in Singapore.
  • Values: Enjoys life, loves coffee, cars, and cooking.
  • Needs: To pay for a wedding, purchase a car, repay loans, buy a coffee machine.
  • Constraints: Faces high inflation, has no savings, and spends his entire monthly salary.

Internal Trigger: Alex wants to start saving money while controlling his expenses. He feels anxious about not being able to afford his upcoming wedding.

Context: Alex is discussing wedding plans and finances with Melanie at a coffee shop. During the conversation, he mentions a car he wishes to purchase.

External Trigger: Alex feels social pressure as his peers are getting married and starting families.

Association: Fear of not saving enough for the wedding = Checking bank account for daily interest accrual.

Action Phase: Steps and hurdles a customer faces:

  1. Receive salary: Financial commitment towards monthly rent and loan repayment.
  2. Allocate 10% for savings: Monetary discipline required, can't spend that money now.
  3. Log into the bank account: Physical effort needed to open the app and click.
  4. Transfer money to the savings account: Another click required.
  5. Wait for the next day: Time needed to see any significant interest accrual.
  6. Verify daily interest accrual: Cognitive load to check if the amount is correct.
  7. Resist temptation: Numerous reasons may tempt the user to withdraw the saved money.

From the customer's perspective, the most challenging hurdle is to allocate 10% of income for savings.

User Story: As a working professional, I find it difficult to save money because of my many expenses and loan repayments. To save, I need to cut back on unnecessary spending and determine a savings target.

Solution Description: Through daily interest accrual, our app can reward users for saving. It can project future savings and interest accruals, enabling customers to set aside money more effectively. The app can also tailor its services based on the user's risk profile and savings goals.

Engagement Strategy:

  • Trigger: Notification reminders to allocate money for savings, along with projections for future account balances.
  • Action: Schedule automatic transfers to a savings account and view daily interest accruals.
  • Variable Rewards: Offer a sense of achievement as users get closer to their financial goals. Provide tips on saving money and reducing daily expenses, along with cash back offers and discount notifications.
  • Investment: Incentivize users to refer friends, which earns them a higher interest rate on their savings account.

Strategic Priorities: The next step for Thought Machine is to enhance user engagement by offering more rewarding incentives for saving money.

KPIs:

  • Number of reminder notifications sent
  • Number of new savings accounts opened through referrals
  • Total amount of interest paid to customer savings accounts

Conclusion: The Hooked Model is a powerful framework that synthesizes decades of research into a simple four-phase process. By understanding and applying these principles, we can encourage more people to save money effectively and ethically through our product design.

  • 4 min read

Finding a Fulfilling Job

Last week, I received a bonus from my company. Things are going well, and the bonus served as a good financial incentive, rewarding me for my hard work over the past year. Receiving a 13th-month salary is pretty standard practice in Singapore, and the variable pay I received aligns with industry norms. My salary is about average within the expat community, providing me a decent standard of living as a single person. Despite this financial stability, I've been contemplating my career development and searching for a job that I truly love. I'm also focused on making a more significant impact rather than merely working harder to justify my salary.

Meanwhile, I face some challenges in my current role. Just yesterday, I met a new client at an event. Although he was friendly and pleasant, I found myself at a loss for words when trying to establish a strong business connection. As my company grows, the demand for my soft skills, including presentation, networking, and communication abilities, is increasing. I need to conquer my fear of engaging with strangers and develop my leadership skills to succeed in the global job market.

If my sole aim were to maximize income and status, I would probably become a full-time salesperson. They possess the soft skills I admire: the ability to influence clients, negotiate for profit, and generate new business opportunities. The potential earnings in commission are also very appealing. However, I've avoided this career path because I'm an introvert, and the thought of approaching strangers and maintaining a high level of energy in social settings daunts me.

As a child, I loved reading history books. I was particularly fascinated by stories of ordinary people rising to become advisors to kings. They would use their exceptional communication skills to earn trust, unite nations, and thwart common enemies, saving their communities in the process. This appealed to me deeply, though my own experiences were limited to strategic computer games and essay writing. What drove my interest was the strategic element—the joy of using knowledge and tactics to achieve goals.

As an adult, I still value strategy. I am continually learning, reading books, and taking online courses to absorb new information. My desire is to be a trusted advisor, helping others succeed while achieving something bigger than myself. I am driven by empathy and the joy of making others happy.

I often find myself envying figures like Elon Musk, Leonardo DiCaprio, and other highly successful people. Yet, I recognize that each of these paths comes with its own set of challenges and sacrifices. Instead, I focus on what aspects of their lives I genuinely admire, such as their impact on the world or their financial competence.

The joy in my work comes from making money, learning new technologies, leading teams, and helping people. I believe that solving complex, real-world problems through collaboration could lead to innovative and scalable solutions in the private sector.

If I knew I couldn't fail, my next step would be to start my own business and build a scalable product to dominate global markets. However, my biggest fear is that this new venture might not be profitable, and I could end up taking excessive risks, leading to financial ruin.

My family tends to value traditional job roles like engineering, accounting, and culinary arts. They're less familiar with digital-era positions like Scrum Master or Data Scientist. Their primary concern is for me to secure a stable, financially rewarding career. Political roles, especially those in opposition to the Chinese Communist Party, would be a cause for concern.

However, I aspire to exceed my family's achievements by becoming financially independent and gaining international exposure. I wish to help them broaden their perspectives, both through travel and technological literacy.

My social circle has its own challenges. While my university classmates and former business partners support my ambitions, my girlfriend has different interests and a different risk appetite. This creates a tension between pursuing my passions and dedicating time to our relationship.

In the end, the voice I need to listen to is that of "Intrinsic Love." If someone dislikes me, it's essential to remember that I can't please everyone.

Many people dream of working at companies like Google, drawn by the culture, cutting-edge technology, and high salaries. But the same benefits can often be found in tech startups or even in running your own business.

Despite my fears—of starting a business, speaking to strangers, or public speaking—I don't need to be the wealthiest person in the world to be content. Side hustles, new opportunities, and meaningful connections can provide not just tolerable work but a fulfilling career full of purpose, camaraderie, and creativity.

To achieve this, we'll need to focus intensely on the complexities that underpin finding truly fulfilling work. If you share this goal, I'd love to hear from you. Together, we can explore not just work that pays the bills but work that we deeply, profoundly appreciate.

  • in zh
  • 1 min read

尋找充實的工作

上週，我從公司收到了一筆獎金。事情進行得很順利，這筆獎金作為一種良好的經濟獎勵，回報我過去一年的辛勤工作。在新加坡，獲得第13個月的薪資是相當標準的做法，而我收到的變動薪酬也符合行業慣例。我的薪資在外籍人士社區中大約屬於平均水平，讓我能維持單身的生活水平。儘管有這種經濟穩定性，我一直在思考我的職業發展並尋找我真正熱愛的工作。我也專注於產生更大的影響，而不僅僅是工作更努力來證明我的薪資價值。

與此同時，我在目前的角色中面臨一些挑戰。就在昨天，我在一個活動中遇到了一個新的客戶。雖然他友善且愉快，但當我試圖建立強而有力的商業關係時，我卻語無倫次。隨著我的公司成長，對我的軟性技能，包括演講，網絡和溝通能力的需求正在增加。我需要克服與陌生人交往的恐懼，並發展我的領導才能以成功於全球工作市場。

如果我唯一的目標是最大化收入和地位，我可能會成為一名全職銷售人員。他們擁有我崇敬的軟性技能：影響客戶的能力，謀求利潤和產生新的商業機會。傭金中的潛在收入也非常吸引人。然而，我避開了這條職業道路，因為我是個內向的人，面對陌生人並在社交場合保持高能量的想法讓我感到害怕。

在我還是個孩子的時候，我喜歡閱讀歷史書籍。我尤其被普通人通過他們卓越的溝通技能贏得信任，團結民族，打敗共同敵人，從而拯救他們的社區，最終崛起成為國王顧問的故事所吸引。這深深地吸引了我，儘管我的自身經驗僅限於策略性的電腦遊戲和寫作。激發我興趣的是策略元素——使用知識和策略來實現目標的樂趣。

作為一個成年人，我仍然重視策略。我不斷學習，閱讀書籍，並參加在線課程來吸收新資訊。我的願望是成為一個值得信賴的顧問，幫助他人成功並實現比我自己更大的事情。我被同理心和使他人快樂的樂趣所驅動。

我常常羨慕像埃隆·馬斯克，萊昂納多·狄卡皮歐等非常成功的人。然而，我意識到每條這樣的道路都伴隨著自身的挑戰和犧牲。相反，我專注於他們生活中我真正欽佩的方面，例如他們對世界的影響力或他們的財務能力。

我工作中的樂趣來自於賺錢，學習新技術，帶領團隊和幫助人們。我相信，通過協作解決複雜的現實世界問題可能導致私營部門創新和可擴展的解決方案。

如果我知道我不會失敗，我下一步將是創建我自己的企業，並構建一款可擺脫全球市場的可擴展產品。然而，我最大的恐懼是這個新企業可能不會盈利，並且我可以冒著過大的風險，導致財務破產。

我的家庭傾向於尊重傳統的職業角色，如工程，會計，廚藝等方面。他們對數位時代的職位，如 Scrum Master 或 Data Scientist不太熟悉。他們的主要憂慮是我要有一個穩定的，財富回報豐厚的職業。政治角色，特別是那些反對中國共產黨的角色，將是他們的擔憂。

然而，我渴望超越家庭的成就，成為具有國際視野和獨立經濟來源的人。我希望透過旅遊和科技普及幫助他們擴闊視野。

我的社交圈也有自己的挑戰。雖然我的大學同學和前商業合作夥伴支持我的野心，但我的女朋友則有不同的興趣和冒險胃口。這在追求我的熱情和投入關係的時間上造成了緊張。

最後，我需要聆聽的聲音是「內在的愛」。如果有人不喜歡我，重要的是記住我不能取悅所有人。

許多人夢想在像 Google 這樣的公司工作，著迷於他們的文化，前沿技術和高薪資。但同樣的好處也常常可以在科技新創企業，甚至在創業時找到。

儘管我有恐懼--創業，和陌生人說話，或公開演講--我不必成為世界上最富有的人才能感到滿足。創業、新機會和有意義的關係可以提供不只是能忍受的工作，還有充滿目標，友誼和創意的充實職業。

要實現這一點，我們需要集中研究找到真正充實工作的複雜性。如果您有同樣的目標，我很想聽聽您的看法。我們可以一起探索不只是付錢的工作，而是我們深深，非常欣賞的工作。