VIEWS | beside winning

  • A thought struck me when I won at Cannes Lions – Winning is great, but what is learnt is much more interesting.

    Therefore, I wrote about what shaped my leadership based on the lessons I learned.

    This gave birth to this edition.

  • We were told to chase success as if it were the only game worth playing.
    But….
    What if success, at least the way we’ve been taught, is blinding us?
    What if the metrics we trust, the systems we serve, and the stories we tell ourselves all tell the wrong story?

    Not because we lack intelligence.
    But because we’ve been too distracted to see clearly.

    This is where VIEWS begins.

    VIEWS is not another platform trying to be loud in a noisy world.
    It’s a pause. A reset. A return to clarity.
    A place where we examine the present—not with panic or nostalgia, but with unflinching honesty and high-resolution thinking.

    If you’re here, maybe you’ve already tasted success.
    Or perhaps you’ve tasted burnout.
    Perhaps you’ve wondered what it's all for. 

    Good. That means you’re awake.

    That means VIEWS is for you.

    I’ve watched my dad wrestle with being outdated and an outcast.
    I’ve watched myself follow paths others told me were “best”—only to lose sight of what was true.
    I’ve watched brilliant people slow down until they became invisible.
    I’ve seen bold, gifted minds falter—not because they failed, but because they were misaligned in a fast-changing world that forgot how to honour the North within.

    So no, this isn’t about trends.
    It’s about what happens when we stop outsourcing our clarity.

    How VIEWS was started.

    I write not as an authority, but as a fellow thinker.
    A strategist who has walked the halls of the world’s biggest brands, and also walked away, stepped into many rabbit holes, awakened to purpose, and returned to North.

    Every word here is written to invite reflection, not perfection.
    To provoke, to pause, to care and to move with purpose.
    For all like me—creatives, leaders, humans—to see again. Not through hype. But through FLOW.

    You’re not late.
    You’re right on time.

    Let’s upskill with VIEWS.

    Hi, I am Nicki Wong,
    Editor-in-Chief of VIEWS

    I like to collaborate together with you.

As a young creative, I was just happy to create.
But after years of trying under different bosses, I started to wonder if awards were meant for others, not me.

Then I met Tan Kien Eng.

He didn't give me an award-winning brief.
He gave me an opportunity.
He put me on a team that had already won Gold at Cannes.
I wasn't even their equal on paper. But maybe he saw something.

My first assignment? Lion Dance.
A job most had passed on—no budget, no time, no interest.

I said,

// Give me an hour //


Came back with the core idea.
Kien looked at me and said in his elegant manner,

// Stay true to the idea //

He didn't push. He didn't over-direct.
He guided. He trusted.

Because of that, I gave it everything.
I illustrated the piece myself. I wrote the Chinese draft and got it polished.
I handled every detail like it mattered—because it did.

And that's how Lion Dance became my first One Show Finalist.
From zero awards… to eight wins across global shows.

But here's what stayed with me:
A master shows up when you're ready to rise.
Every opportunity reveals something in you—if you let it.

That moment didn't just make me an award-winning creative; it also made me a better person.
It shifted the way I lead.

Kien taught me the meaning of leadership.

 // Look for the gold in every opportunity //

Even in unlikely places and people.

This philosophy guides me today as I continue to lead, grow, and nurture the creativity of those around me. That moment didn't just make me an award-winning creative—it reshaped how I lead. It taught me to see the gold in others, and that's how I continue to build successful teams, innovative ideas, and thriving careers.

Thank you, Kien. You didn't give me the idea.
You put me on the path to see it.
And that changed my creative life.