• My reflections

    I am passionate about social innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership, coworking, learning, creativity, the future of everything and development and changes happening in China and South East Asia where I live with my family, I write about them to capture and share my thoughts. Your comments and feedback are highly appreciated ;)

    October 30, 2021 · travel
    August 5, 2020 · mindfulness,lifeplanner,habitbuilding,meditation
  • The Short Story about me

    Learn to dance in the rain!

    I have been working as a social entrepreneur for a decade. I started the first coworking space in China – Xindanwei, with the ambition to mingle people from different disciplines in China, and the curiosity to see what they would come up with by challenging each other and working together. My entrepreneurial journey began with my strong belief that co-creation is the most exciting and effective way to solve the most complex problems in the world and my drive to make it happen in China.

     

    In 2013, I graduated from THNK founding class and started Ask Lab and Loving the Crowd because I came to realize that the desire of co-creation among the community I serve was already there and people were looking for tools, talents, methodologies, mentorship, channels and funding to make the co-creation work for them, I decided to close the coworking space and set up new initiatives to fully focus on the cultivation and facilitation of learning, co-creation and accelerating great people and great projects.

     

    In September 2014, I was invited to work as the co-founder and chief curator of China Australian Millennium project, aka, CAMP, a 100 day part-time incubator program including (12-week online plus the 5 day Summit in Sydney), designed to train, mentor and empower emerging young Australian and Chinese leaders and entrepreneurs to first collaborate online and then unite in Sydney to tackle 20 most important societal challenges faced by both nations.

     

    Next to my endeavor at CAMP and a few other social ventures, I also work with top executives learning organizations such as Duke CE, WDHB and Thnk and provide co-creation, experiential learning and innovation training solutions to a number of multinational, government agencies and social enterprises to help individual and business with an increased capacity for creative problem solving and an understanding of innovation processes. My clients include Audi, British government, Kempinski, Schneider Electric, Carrefour, Standard bank, Google, L'Oreal, BP, Wipro, Nudge Foundation and Transist.

     

    In August 2016, I moved to Singapore with my family. The transition has provided me a different dimension and plenty of headspace to reflect on the work I have been doing and how I could focus even more on my personal value and creating positive impact to the world with the best of my strengths.

     

    In 2017 I joined Base of Pyramid Hub as director and co-founded School of Gumption to develop social entrepreneurship among youth. My expertise is in designing and facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue and collaboration on systemic design, human center design, social entrepreneurship and future impact creation.

     

    In parallel with my entrepreneurial work, I also support UNDP, fortune 500 companies and top executive learning institutes such as DUKE Corporate Education, Hyper Island and THNK Creative Leadership School with co-creation, experiential learning and innovation solutions.  

     

    My super power is being resilient to changes and able to find a sense of belonging almost everywhere. :)

     

    " Once we realize the change is the norm of our life, the best thing we could do is to be grounded like a tree, build our inner clarity and confidence, open up to anything unknown, tune in, and learn to dance in the rain!"

  • What I believe in

    "We live intellectually, morally and physically in the present. We value the wellness of our own as well as others. We accept the dynamic fact that the human community and the planet are interdependent and a whole, that humankind is essentially one. We are mindful about co-existence and we celebrate diversity, both in daily life and contacts with others. We make this world a better place to live in harmoniously by studying and respecting the viewpoints of others from any cultures or disciplines in the world. Mutual trust is basic to our lifestyle."

    Through empathy, we can move mountains

    We are dealing with a world that is changing rapidly. I believe that complex problem in our society can only be solved through collaborative efforts. And everyone can be part of the solutions once they have great level of empathy and are empowered with creative tools.

     

    On the inter-personal side, empathy simply makes us happier. It not only helps to forge and navigate relationships in family, work and community; It is the foundation for good communication, teamwork, strong leadership and a more resilient culture; And it also provides opportunity for creativity and innovation, which begins with inclusivity and diversity of thought and attitude: the opposite of conformity and standardisation.

     

    In a time of super connectivity and rapid change, empathy also allows us to connect with our inner self in the deep level and "embrace courageously every problem and challenge with the gift of not knowing.” Not knowing used to be something to be ashamed of or even a taboo, but it has turned to become the most normal thing in our workplace in the future while the knowledge is being updated with the speed of light. While the problems we are facing are becoming super complex, to turn your fear of not knowing into curiosity and the openness to work with others enables us to work through a problem without being limited to an assumed answer or limited resources. We don’t take a “no” for “no”, we ask “Why not?” and “What if?” to envision the new possibility and a better future.

     

    "Our world is full of complex challenges, where the decision of one person can have ripple effects through communities and cultures. Empathy gives us the will and the tools to be effective change-makers. Today’s complex challenges cannot be solved by one person or one organization. Empathy motivates us to build something better together and helps us do so with imagination and respect—guided by a deep understanding for the people and the world around us. ( ASHOKA and StartEmpathy.org, 2015 )"

     

     

  • Coworking Manual

    There is no receiving without giving

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    There is no receiving without giving

    “We believe nowadays the value of any knowledge can not last and old knowledge can only generate new knowledge through the process of sharing, and that there is no receiving without giving.”

     

    “We also believe good ideas can only be valuable, implemented and expanded upon when shared with others.”

     

    “We hope ‘Coworking Communities’ can actually change our working style in China, along with the way we think and the way we innovate. However, such change can not solely be achieved by ‘Xindanwei’. Hence we hope more and more people and resources will join in the momentum of change.”

     

    These are the sentences I have written at the preface of Coworking Manuel, a book I have written in 2012 in order to help others who are interested in establishing coworking communities, I was hoping more coworking communities will rise up because of this little book, which later became THE inspiration for many coworking pioneers in China and the world including the vibrant Yi-gether space. 

  • Talk

    Some of the talks and interview I have given.

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    From Profession to Vision, From Creation to Co-creation

    I am invited as the keynote speaker of the innovation mixer event attended by 33 top executives from BP, Google, L'Oréal, Schneider Electric, and Wipro globally to share my personal journey and learning as an innovator and a leader and my insights about innovation in China.

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    The Rise of Chinese Entrepreneurship

    My talk on “The Rise of Chinese Entrepreneurship” at Amplify Festival in Australia.

     

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    Preparing for the Future of Work

    My talk "Preparing for the Future of Work" at the panel "Future Shock: Dramatic Disruption and Future Opportunities" during Vivid Festival Sydney in 2014. 

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    Coworking as the Future of Work

     

    My talk on “coworking as the future of work” at Creative Enterprise Conference in Brisbane. 

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    Re-imaging the network for Social Innovation in China

     

    My talk on “Re-imaging the network for Social Innovation in China” at Skoll World Forum, Oxford, UK.



     

     

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    Coworking in China

    Liu Yan’s talk on “Coworking in China” at the 3rd Space conference, the Netherlands

     

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    Entrepreneurship in China

    Invited by Osher Gunsberg, a one-and-half hour podcast on co-creation, coworking, entrepreneurship in China 

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    Chinese creative and manufacturing economy

    A short interview with Liu Yan at Australian Broadcasting ABC international about “Chinese creative and manufacturing economy”

     

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    Creating Global Coworksphere

    This is the key note talk I did at Coworking European Conference in Berlin 2011. Great feedback from audiences!!!

  • Thank you for visiting my site. I hope you have a better idea who I am, what I am passionate about and what I am capable of.

    I love to hear from you :)

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