The sultry slow days of summer have caught up with Singapore. Relying on anecdotal evidence alone, I am told that some companies are shutting down for an entire week due to the record temps. As I gaze out the window at the summer that hasn’t really been here in Germany, it is hard to fathom that it is warm somewhere else.

As one of the four so-called tiger nations with a staggeringly low unemployment rate of 1.9% (March 2011), Singapore is as efficient, productive and immensely focused as they come (Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan are the other three tiger nations ~ all of which have copies of The Power of Slow in their respective languages). In fact, Singapore was rated as having the fastest pace of life according to a 2007 pace of life study by UK Professor Richard Wiseman.

That Singaporean companies are shuttering their doors for a week is a power of slow message. If you can’t stand the heat, slow it down. And if you really, really can’t stand the heat, come to Germany where the country shuts down for the entire month of August with, or in this case without, the heat!