Jon Yongfook Cockle is something of a modern-day digital renaissance man. With previous stints as a consultant for Dentsu, Avenue A and Razorfish, playing violin in a symphony orchestra, pioneering two SaaS (Software as a service) platforms, and selling his first Internet company, Nibbledish, a food recipe social network, all before the age of 30, Cockle embodies today’s notion of the always-on, globally connected, digitally-enabled businessman. Currently a Director at the high-end commerce site Glamour Sales (www.glamour-sales.com), Cockle offers some insight into his unique corporate methodology.
Q&A
Illustration by Adam Fitzcharles
01 | JOURNAL: How visible/transparent are you to your professional peers?
Cockle: I tweet quite relentlessly (twitter.com/yongfook) so my life is quite open on both personal and professional levels. My advice: Be as transparent as possible, but keep an ace up your sleeve once in a while. People like to be surprised now and again.
02 | JOURNAL: What was your most recent, big mistake?
Cockle: I can’t be specific, but the reason for the mistake was not going with my gut. Some part of me knew it would be a mistake, but I went ahead anyway. I listen to my gut more now—I’ve given my gut a board seat with veto rights.
03 | JOURNAL: What percentage of decisions do you base more on logic than emotion?
Cockle: I base small decisions on logic. Large decisions on emotion. It’s easy to quantify and measure the results of small decisions, so it’s easy to govern them with metrics and logic. Decisions based around product features, design etc.—these are metrics driven decisions for me. Decisions based around partnerships or big marketing spends on new or untested channels, those are more emotional.
04 | JOURNAL: When you travel abroad (outside of Japan) what is the most frequent, yet surprising response to your work?
Cockle: When I was in China most people I met with couldn’t believe operating with the small teams I work with. In my experience you definitely can do more with less (people) in Japan than in China. Fixed costs, however…
05 | JOURNAL: What are your top three strengths?
Cockle: 1) I know what I want. 2) I can quickly break down a large problem into smaller pieces. 3) I’m happy.
06 | JOURNAL: How do you take personal responsibility when you get things wrong?
Cockle: I am open about it and make sure the right people know: 1) Why the problem happened, and 2) What steps have been taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
I’ve even shaved my head once, Japanese salaryman style, in a display of my apology.
07 | JOURNAL: If you were stripped of your current professional position, do you think your ideas and approach would still resonate with those you interact with?
Cockle: Yes. Twitter and blogs give people the ability to cultivate their own personal brand, regardless of what their professional title is.
