Ringside Perspectives
This article was published in the 2013 Social Space Journal by the Lien Centre for Social Innovation.
By Viswa Sadasivan
Dusty roads, inching traffic, and an incessant belting of horns—this is an everyday affair during peak hours in Mumbai. Well, not for poor Singaporean me for whom being caught in slow-moving traffic for 20 minutes is unacceptable. Trapped in the almost stationary car, I was feeling sorry for myself. And it would appear I was quite alone in this mood.
This interview was published on the independent.sg on September 25, 2013.
By P N Balji
Singapore’s race relations were put under the microscope in an exhaustive survey recently. The results showed that although Singaporeans are generally open to other races in the public sphere, they are not so in the private sphere. After half a century of enforcing and encouraging racial harmony, why this disharmony? Where did Singapore go wrong? Can race ever be wished away? Is race utopia ever possible? P N Balji talks to Viswa Sadasivan, former NMP and vice-president of Sinda’s executive committee.
This article was published in the Global-IS-Asian Journal on 26 December, 2011.
By Viswa Sadasivan
The mishandling of crises around the world boils down to a crisis of leadership, and those in positions of responsibility should demonstrate a higher level of integrity, transparency, empathy and compassion.
The year was 1982. Americans, and indeed the world, witnessed what has since been hailed by corporate heads and scholars alike as the finest example of crisis management.
This article was published on citynews.sg on 15 April, 2011.
By Yong Yung Shin
One of the several things the global audience has taken note of in the wake of the Japan is the grace and composure with which Prime Minister Naoto Kan has handled the pressure. So said Viswa Sadasivan, CEO of strategic media and crisis training firm Strategic Moves Pte Ltd at a talk titled “Leadership In Crisis Communication” during the third Educators Summit on March 18. The Summit, organized by impactus! Pte Ltd at HDB Hub, was themed Insights And Best Practices.
Using many real-life corporate case studies, Sadasivan drew out the fundamentals of leadership in times of crisis. “Crisis management is actually common sense. The focus has been on managerial leadership when it should in fact be on moral leadership,” he said. While a manager is responsible for doing a task right, a leader is focused on doing the right thing.
MOTION By Viswa Sadasivan (Nominated Member) on 22 November, 2010 in the Parliament of Singapore.
PRESCHOOL EDUCATION : That this House, with a view to better preparing our children for school and life, urges the Government to conduct a comprehensive review of pre-school education in Singapore by rationalising issues of continuity to formal schooling, variance in standards and fees, and equal opportunities.
This article was published in Volume 2, 2010 of the English Language Teaching World Online: Voices from the Classroom (ELTWO) Journal.
By Dr. Radhika Jaidev
“Strategic Communication is striking the ball into the net!”
“Erm…I beg your pardon?”
“Imagine a hockey forward who is able to dribble the ball all the way past the ‘D’ line, fending off all opposition, but is never able to strike the ball into the net.”
This is the analogy that Viswa, Nominated Member of Parliament (Singapore) and master trainer, used as he described “very highly qualified people who are holding key positions in the private and public sector” but who “have a distinct problem putting their point across in a manner that’s cogent and with a certain logic, focus and clarity.”
This article was published in tabla! and on asiaone.com on June 25, 2010.
HE IS normally clean-shaven. But when I met him, Mr Viswa Sadasivan had something close to a french beard.
He had lost his father a few weeks earlier and, as part of the mourning ritual, Mr Sadasivan had grown a beard.
When the mourning period ended, the beard gave way to the new look.
"Maybe it will be gone by the time I return from my holiday in Melbourne with Audresy (his wife) and Maya (his daughter)," he said with a laugh on the eve of their trip to Australia.
For nearly two hours we chatted. He spoke about his maiden speech in Parliament, his plans as a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP), his work as a consultant, his family and his late father...
MOTION By Mr Viswa Sadasivan (Nominated Member) on 18 August, 2009 in the Parliament of Singapore.
NATION BUILDING TENETS: That this House reaffirms its commitment to the nation building tenets as enshrined in the National Pledge when debating national policies, especially economic policies.
This article was published on the Online Citizen website on 11 May, 2008.
By Gerald Giam
Mr Viswa Sadasivan, CEO of communications training and consultancy Strategic Moves and renowned social commentator, recently gave a talk where he shared his views about politics in Singapore.
True to his style, Mr Viswa's off-the-cuff presentation was peppered with witty anecdotes, incisive observations and a strong sense of conviction about what Singapore needs to change in order to reach the next level of development and progress.
