Wendy acts from the ideals of authenticity, courage, life long growth and care for others. Her commitment to these values is demonstrated in her personal and work life. She has a unique strength in building client relationships based on trust and openness. She helps clients build capacity to deal with difficult organizational and personal leadership issues by asking powerful questions which enable the client to stay with high-tension situations to gain insight and resolution.

She has worked as a psychologist in the Singapore Police Force and as an organization development consultant in GlaxoSmithKline. She has competencies in leadership development, managing change, culture change, organization diagnosis, staff engagement, team development, employee resilience, and community development.

She obtained her Bachelors of Social Science in Psychology (2nd upper honours) from National University of Singapore. She has also completed a Masters of Science in Organization Development from Pepperdine University. This is an experiential program with an emphasis on using self as an instrument of change. She has participated in global consulting projects in the United States, Canada, Mexico and China. She has recently completed a rigorous research study documenting the process of leadership development and return on investment of a leadership development program using Jack Phillips’ 5 levels of training evaluation.

Propelled by a sense of curiosity about the world, she participated in a three-month long expedition to Mongolia; she also has experience as a teacher, a production worker, and as a market researcher. Her work in different cultures has raised her consciousness about individuality, community and the uniqueness of Singapore. She believes that awareness of one’s strengths, the courage to act on one’s best possibilities and community empowerment are key in the evolution of Singapore’s development. These ideas propelled her to establish The Flame Centre with like-minded friends.

Kang Yam’s life has been transformed from an inward-looking individual to one who believes that everyone has power to be who they want if only they open their minds. His philosophy in life is “simplicity with a purpose.” He runs frequently to clear his mind and strengthen himself and has found fulfilment in setting up the Flame Centre to help people discover who they are.

His expertise has led him to Thailand and Sri Lanka where he consulted on World Bank-funded projects for the Government of Thailand and Government of Sri Lanka to develop strategies and systems for eGovernment.

His life has been closely intertwined with information technology. He was trained as an economist but ended up helping organizations deal with change and technology. His past projects have given him the opportunities to tackle with change issues relating to large-scale implementation of IT projects.

Another key area of exploration for him is Knowledge Management. Like a detective, he has led projects to systematically identify opportunities to improve the knowledge-flow of organizations. His interest and experience has also enabled him to conduct Knowledge Management workshops at the Institute of System Sciences.

His clients have included Accountant-General’s Department, Aljunied Town Council, Ministry of Education, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, Singapore Police Force, Temasek Polytechnic, GRANDBANKS Yacht Public Limited Company, SPRING Singapore, Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Association, Gracehaven, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Pauline has been a part time citizen of Singapore for the past 17 years; and has worked with many Singaporean Ministries; she has been based at the Civil Service College, Institute of Public Administration and Management where she regularly teaches Principles of Organization Development, Dialogue Skills, Appreciative Inquiry, as well as Training Needs Assessment and Training Evaluation.

Pauline spent 15 years in the University of Southern California, School of Policy Planning and Development where she served as Director of the International Training of Trainers Program and the Centre for International Training and Development. She currently teaches Organization Behavior in the Public Sector.

Pauline’s career has been anchored in the global marketplace. She has worked in Bahrain, Jordan, Pakistan, Botswana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia as well as Singapore on projects funded by host countries and the United Nations, the World Bank and USAID. She has worked with scores of American organizations as well. She has applied organization development principles in many settings including supply chain management. This story of this project for Southern California Edison resulted in Harnessing Value in the Supply Chain (John Wiley & Sons, 1999). While in Thailand she authored Principles of Facilitation (UNDP/Royal Thai Institute of Public Administration, 1979).

The experience of working in so many cultures has confirmed that all development is self development; that whole people help create positive workplaces where people experience the privilege of their roles in serving others, the organization, and the nation. Singapore is much more than an economic miracle; it is a demonstration of what is best in the human spirit.

Peter Block, founding partner

Peter Block is an author, consultant and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. His work is to bring change into the world through consent and connectedness rather than through mandate and force.

His first visit to Singapore awakened him to miracle that has occurred here. Singaporean values about community, family and care for the whole challenge most of what is dominant in the west. Peter comes to Singapore to support and learn from our culture. If a global way of thinking is what will secure our economic, political and social future, then all our thinking about change and organizational effectiveness needs to change. Peter believes there are few places in the world that offer a brighter possibility than Singapore.

Peter is the author of several best selling books. Flawless Consulting (2nd edition 1999) is about having impact when you have no direct control and has become a classic for anyone in a consulting role. Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest (1993) is about the right use of power and designing organizations for service. The Empowered Manager: Positive Political Skills at Work (1987) focuses on creating an organization of your own choosing.

The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters (Berrett Koehler 2002) is about giving priority to what matters over what simply works. It won the 2002 Independent Publisher Book Award for Business Breakthrough Book of the Year. Other books include Flawless Consulting Fieldbook & Companion: A Guide to Understanding Your Expertise, published in November 2000 and Freedom and Accountability at Work: Applying Philosophic Insight to the Real World, was co-authored with consultant and philosopher Peter Koestenbaum (Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2001).

He has received national awards in the US for outstanding contributions in the field of training and development, including the American Society for Training and Development Award for Distinguished Contributions; the Association for Quality and Participation President’s Award; and Training Magazine HRD Hall of Fame.

Peter is also a partner in Designed Learning, a US-based training company that offers workshops designed by Peter to build the skills outlined in his books.