Sook Yee Tai
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management
Ron Fry
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Octave is a learning institute, a place for self-reflection, a place to where you can find support to grow and to heal, a place where learning is fun. Its’ programs tap into an inbuilt human resource, MINDFULNESS, which is present in every one of us. Through programs of learning, healing, renewing – Octave provides the environment to build connections, a source of creativity and in turn an inspiration for programs.
In the words of one of the Octave managers, “I am amazed by the synthesized plan of investment and philosophy, which is inspiring how a society should work. As I experience Octave learning programs, the changes will start to happen, first inside myself, begin to raise my self-awareness of “non-judgement”. The magic is when I find myself naturally embodying those changes into my life, applying it at work”.
Octave always pushes beyond boundaries. It is a place where minds meet to dialogue and shares new ideas on world harmony. It is a community that is purposeful, who labours with love to bring the best exchange and connections of humankind. All connections are designed to be impactful and influencing global leadership, everyday, everywhere.
As described collectively by three of the interviewees, they describe the uniqueness as, "At Octave, you will have fun while learning. You can choose to join in WE time to connect with others, or simply enjoy some ME time. We are a place for harmony and connection; where you feel free and relax; supported and loved, with rich offerings, so you have choices to learn, grow and evolve, your own and collective talents. At Octave, you will experience a safe environment to build trust, to learn appreciation, to learn from conflicts, to heal. We are a place for all ages, to nurture a renewed way to communicate, engage, connect! Celebrate life at Octave, as it brings the core materials of humanity out so leaders can make conscious purposeful decisions that serves and advances humanity."
Octave is a re-imagined business model built to deliver and share with humanity a life learning model to shift consciousness, so we can live a life that is purposeful where we are equipped with the ability to make conscious decisions. It is a translation of a philosophy into a business model to that provides learning to transform life, expressed in style.
At Octave, everyone is not selling a product, they are sharing a learning experience, welcoming one into the space like one would host a good friend in their home. Octave is a space that holds the lifestyle – not like another people business, they express their life changing experiences learnt from work and shared through their work. It is their own aspirations that seeds the nurturing of magical connections and bring clarity to life. A connection that is unique to everyone, like no two persons in this world have the exact same finger print. This is the differentiation, we are a place where you invite yourself to learn, grow and evolve.
This is inspired by Frederick Chavalit Tsao (“Fred”), a fourth-generation business owner, who started questioning the purpose of the role of business. A journey that started as a search for business sustainability, has now become a life long learning journey of self-cultivation for Fred. His mission of transforming businesses in response to the 21st century challenges that threatens business sustainability.
The inspiration that led to the birth of Octave dates back to 1995, when Fred built East West Cultural Research Center within his business, the IMC group. Its’ purpose, to explore sustainable development challenges. Research of sustainability and many cultural dialogue with world top scholars plus Fred’s mindfulness practices over decades made him believe that raising up consciousness is the key way for human’s holistic well-being. Life is evolution and change from the inside out, wellness needs to start from self, only then can one nurture family wellness, build healthy business to serve a society which forms the marketplace.
This is the inspiration behind the building of Octave business model, an integrated learning that supports changes in 6 critical life habits – for a holistic journey towards wellness.
After years of exploration, Octave philosophy and the Fred’s personal practices were physicalized in China. In 2014, The Living Room (“TLR”) By Octave an urban center was opened and in 2017 Sangha By Octave, a sub-urban wellness retreat was completed.
It is a source of inspiration not only to clients but also the internal staff as a community – the space and programs have and continues to have profound effect in the life of all who interface with Octave, whether it is the space or the learning journeys. As one of the staff members who have been Octave since the early days, “Octave is what wakes me up every morning, that my work at Octave makes impact. At the same time, I am growing and on the same journey as everyone else. This is a dedication to my life purpose, not a job. To me, this is a labour of love from the owner, there is no other reason for him to do this”.
Every member of Octave that we interview shares that the mission can only be experienced, not explained. When they see clients transforming from their experiences in Octave, it is their inspiration. It is the joy of making positive impact in lives of others – and it helps when clients are prepared to pay good money for an Octave experience that is life changing.
Clients who experience Octave programs will discover, begin to question, seek within themselves for healing, to learn and change life habits. It is a holistic system – impact is a more purposeful life for Octave clients.
Octave is about evolution and consciousness, it is changes the way one will see life – see life through new lenses. A tangible impact is the embodiment of mindfulness practices in daily life of both internal employee and external market face. It changes the way we relate and connect with self, others and environment – brings clarity to life thus taking back control of life choices. Many clients on reflection feel that there is a shift in their purpose or deeper alignment internally after the Octave experience.
How do we measure impact? The best way is when we have repeat clients, who comes back for more, who brings friends to experience our programs, who radiates joy and calmness amidst a VUCA world, and who pays for the experience. A personal sharing from an Octave staff, “…in the market, though there is business in each segment like hotel, clinic, wellness programs, learning programs, family center, relationship therapy… there is no single place that is integrating all the elements into a comprehensive learning experience with clear guidance like Octave.”
The philosophy itself builds brand image and creates competitive advantage. Doing business with consciousness and impacting others to do same, to live life with consciousness drives the services, offerings and experiences clients have when they join the Octave eco-system. The impact is gradually seen in the corporate clients, who journey deeper into the mindfulness application at work that increase staff engagement, and they see the positive impact it has on their business performance. Clients who started with trial programs have moved on to being regular (some even daily) clients of Octave. We see the programs and learning being introduced deeper within business enterprises, including incorporation into EAP particularly in parenting. It is impacting life of our corporate clients at the leadership level and at the organization level. Octave is a partner and a friend to our corporate clients as they seek personal coaching as well as group coaching / intervention at the leadership level. The culture of the Octave business model and its offering is the main influence on our clients purchase decision and weighs heavier than the price factor.
The beauty of Octave is its’ holistic impact. Business, social, environment and self are inter-connected not separated. A business model with its offerings built on the foundation of oneness, will have inter-related effect that affects throughout the systems. At the end, we are tens trillions of cells making up our human form, in turn we are part of a family, where society is made of trillions of households. The Octave business is to bring harmony throughout the whole system, starting from self to family to business. Conscious humankind will have business leaders that will make conscious purposeful decisions that benefits society and the environment. It is not the outcome which is the focus – the only way to make this impact is when leaders, who are in position of power and influence are able to make conscious decisions. In the meantime, Octave manifest this in its’ own expression and impact, in the way the space has been designed and built. Its property is constructed without use of any quarried products, built with natural materials, designed to maximize natural light, crystalized for energy (“chi”). The space is designed to suit the operating needs, which is focus on serving the societal needs of wellness.
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Margie Chiang, Director, Business Development, Octave Group
Dr Carol Wang, Director, Family Canter, AITIA Institute
Fiona Yan, Center Manager, Octave Living Room
Yiyi Zhu, Business Development Manager, Octave Group
Clare Chen, Senior Brand Associate, Octave Group
Octave, is a business unit with the IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group, a 4th generation family business owned by Frederick Chavalit Tsao. It is designed as a 5 property eco system with a business to provide an environment for holistic wellness for individuals, communities, and organisations. Two of the five properties has been built with the others in the planning stage.
The first property known as The Living Room (TLR) is located in the Former French Concession area in Shanghai. TLR is a urban center that integrates all the components of wellness needed for urbanites, opened in 2014. The second property is a sub-urban retreat center known as Sangha located in Suzhou, a 90 minute drive from Shanghai. This property recently completed in 2017, is only soft launched for trials and target to be fully operational by 2019.
As described in its website, "OCTAVE is a worldview that integrates eastern wisdom and quantum science. It was created to promote mindful living as a solution to the evolving lifestyle needs of the 21st century. OCTAVE seek to restore your physical and spiritual wellness, by balancing your mind, body and spirit. It will guide and support your journey to self-clarity and well-being with a customize approach to living, through learning, healing and practice."