Uncommon Business Sense
INTERVIEWS WITH BOLD LEADERS AND ENTREPRENEURS
www.prudenzconsulting.com
DEC
EM
BER
2013
Uncommon Business Sense | December 2013
Challenges & Opportunities Behind The Scenes
JOSHUA LIEW - Special Project Director of Espressolab Asia Pacific | FADZARUDIN SHAH ANUAR – Founder of FashionValet |
DATO’ IR. SANI KARIM – Patron of SRAFT | MICHAEL ATANDA BASHORUN – Foreign business owner | JACQUELYN CHAN
– Malaysian business owner in Singapore | PEARLIE NG Former KPMG Associate Director | MOHAMMAD RIDZUAN ABDUL
AZIZ – Director of RHT Compliance Solutions | TEUKU PUTRA AZIZ - Indonesian Fashion Director for Cosry | JOHAN IRWAN
KAMAROZAMAN – Soft Skills & Coloured Brain Trainer
Uncommon Business Sense | December 2013 Prudenz Consulting Sdn Bhd
6.03C, 6th Floor, Menara Keck Seng , 203, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur 55100, Malaysia
Phone: +60 3 2118 5117 Fax: +60 3 2145 7171 Email: [email protected]
www.prudenzconsulting.com
Kueh Joe Haur
Partner, Prudenz Consulting
Uncommon Business Sense - Editorial | December 2013 <
Dear readers, This year, similar to any other years
saw some continuation of familiar trends; familiar forms of
echoes in recognising milestones and achievements where
leadership icons in governmental sectors, multinational
organisations and government-linked companies are spoiled by
the depth and expected coverage, expressively in oil and gas,
construction of new office towers, transformation of the
education system and revision of policies.
demands a fast paced environment – more in tune with the
lifestyle that enables mobility, freedom of speech and selectivity.
They demonstrate diminishing interests in politics, distasteful
preference for boardroom politics and dread mundane duties.
A job that resonates a strong purpose and is deemed non-
traditional deserves their attention. We have encountered many
extraordinary personalities during our research, engagements,
seminars and events and in this issue of Uncommon Business
Sense , we talk to 9 of them. These outstanding individuals
combine extraordinary talent, impressive careers and the
determination and hurdles in being different. They shed some light
on the things that matter to them most through experience and
insights.
We hope this issue will give you a new perspective on the working
community; equally, we hope that you gain more insights into your business
as you read our future issues of Uncommon Business Sense.
www.prudenzconsulting.com
We made this issue of Uncommon Business Sense on
aspects of the working community that stretch away from the
“norm of predictable topics”. The turnover rate for employees of
medium and large corporations, banks and institutions is
alarmingly high and retention rate continues heading south as
the younger generation enters the workforce. This new strain
Khalid Hashim
Partner, Prudenz Consulting
www.prudenzconsulting.com
or Gain ?
> Uncommon Business Sense || Joshua Liew
He’s a key member behind Espressolab’s
innovations – Joshua Liew focuses on the competition, customer service and talent
to make the company’s strategy work.
Uncommon Business Sense: The
coffee industry in Malaysia has
exploded over the years where
we see a new café every other
week. As one of the early
pioneers of the coffee industry,
how sustainable do you think
is this industry in Malaysia?
We do not strive to replace or wipe out traditions but to introduce a new ‘species’ of drinks to fellow Malaysians.
Espressolab’s Special Project Director, Joshua Liew describes the abundance of
opportunities in the coffee market, seizing these opportunities and the people who
are willing to realise them with you
“
JL: The mushrooming of new
cafes is creating positive
competition in the coffee scene.
Instead of viewing new cafes as
rival, we are all actually in the
same boat helping each other out
by spreading the knowledge and
goodness of coffee. Hence, with
everyone on board, we are able
to spread the coffee culture to all
corners of Malaysia and make it
sustainable.
www.prudenzconsulting.com
Uncommon Business Sense:
Competition is getting heated in
the local scene and we are
extremely impressed with the
younger generation exhibiting
such creativity and twist in their
business concepts. How did the
Lab concept come around and
who would you regard as your
greatest competitor?
An integrated specialty coffee
company from farm all the way to the
cup - This sums up the very existence
of Espressolab which starts at the very
beginning where they source their coffees
from all over the world, direct from farm
and through reputable traders.
Uncommon Business Sense: Competition
is getting heated in the local scene and
we’re extremely impressed with the
younger generation exhibiting such
creativity and twist in their business
concepts. How did the Lab concept
come around and who would you regard
as your greatest competitior?
JL: We are an integrated coffee
company, which means that we are
involved in the whole process from
farm to cup. We source quality
green bean from around the world,
roast and blend them locally, and
use our own signature blend in all
Espressolab outlets. We are also a
coffee education company. In that
regard, we don't really feel there is
any competition.
However, in the world of business, opportunities do not come to you all the time.
Uncommon Business Sense: So, you
started off by providing
comprehensive and in-depth
coffee education and training.
Why did your team decide to
start EspressoLab?
JL: The ‘Lab’ was intended to be a
coffee laboratory, where people
can learn about the science and art
of coffee and how to appreciate
coffee. However, in the world of
business, opportunities do not
come to you all the times. We
seized the opportunity to engage
our first licensee, and the rest just
comes along the way when people
see value in our brand.
“
Uncommon Business Sense: Most of
us predominantly grew up
drinking Kopi-O, Teh-O and
definitely Nescafe 3-in-1. At
some stage, the bubble tea
craze hit all of us really hard and
this time around, it’s back again
and will be around for a very
long time. So how is
EspressoLab challenging
traditions?
JL: Espressolab is not trying to
challenge tradition. We are just
introducing something new to the
Malaysian market. Espresso based
coffee will never replace Kopi-O,
Teh-O, Nescafe or bubble tea as
they are totally different in nature.
We do not strive to replace or wipe
out the tradition but to introduce a
new ‘species’ of drinks to fellow
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5
Source: I. M Magazine, 2012
Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
Uncommon Business Sense: Competition
is getting heated in the local scene and
we’re extremely impressed with the
younger generation exhibiting such
creativity and twist in their business
concepts. How did the Lab concept
come around and who would you regard
as your greatest competitor?
Malaysians who are willing to
embrace and appreciate it. We
would like to see that traditional
drinks and espresso coffee exist
side by side and provide more
choices to consumers of all level.
Uncommon Business Sense: Are
Malaysians true coffee drinkers
or are we just bored with
Starbucks and Coffee Bean?
JL: As more and more young
Malaysians study or travel oversea
particularly to western countries,
they have certainly brought back
the coffee culture and appreciation
of good coffee. However, who are
we to give out the label of ‘true
coffee drinker’? Everyone has their
own unique preference and taste
palates. We are not here to
categorise people into true- or non-
coffee drinker, but to make sure
that everyone who comes to us
gets gratification from what they
consumed, be it coffee or non-
coffee drinks.
Uncommon Business Sense: Startups
and entrepreneurships are
greatly associated with food and
in this context, the beverage
industry. How would you
describe the scene in Malaysia?
JL: In the F&B scene, there is
always room for growth as food is
one of the essential elements of
living. As the economy progress,
the urban population now has
higher spending power to enjoy
quality food. I would say in this
saturated F&B market, we need
to provide a brand experience
that is consistent our identity, and
the second phase will be the
capacity and ability to scale up to
meet market demand. Hence I
always remind my staff of the
importance of customer service in
order to retain out customers.
Uncommon Business Sense: Your
distinct presence in The
Gardens Mall, located at the
link between the said mall and
Mid Valley has worked out very
well with respect to brand
recognition. How important
would you say branding and
marketing are to a new
business?
Espresso based coffee will never replace Kopi-O, Teh-O, Nescafe or bubble tea as they are totally different in nature.
“
www.prudenzconsulting.com
5
Source: I. M Magazine, 2012
“44% Malaysians are unable to survive without a cup of coffee for a week!” I. M Magazine, 2012
www.prudenzconsulting.com
Uncommon Business Sense:
Competition is getting heated in
the local scene and we are
extremely impressed with the
younger generation exhibiting
such creativity and twist in their
business concepts. How did the
Lab concept come around and
who would you regard as your
greatest competitor?
Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
JL: Personally to me, the brand of
Espressolab is not just our logo or
our colour scheme of black, red
and white. A brand is an answer to
the market demand. The
consumers demand for good
quality coffee and Espressolab
steps in to provide just that. When
customers recognize our effort as a
solution to their need of quality
coffee, this is how we brand
ourselves. Hence, it is important for
new business to stay true to
consumers’ need. It is not how we
brand ourselves, but how much
consumers value our brand. When
you have a good solid brand or
solution to offer, marketing is just
an approach to reach out to wider
target audience that have the need
but yet to find the best solution.
grown at an exciting rate and we
certainly need to innovate in terms
of business model, operation,
management and most importantly
services to adapt to changes.
Innovation has been in the area of
backend processes by which we
created an ecosystem of coffee
delivery with apps and content
plugged in.
Uncommon Business Sense: They
say if you want innovation, you
have to invest in people. To what
extend would you agree with
statement?
JL: I could not agree more to this
statement. Our primary capital in
this business is not the roaster,
machines, or the outlets, but the
people who are willing to sacrifice
their time and effort to help the
company grow. We do not have
deep pocket to remunerate our
people as much as other giant
corporation, but we try our best to
give our staff flexibilities and share
with them the vision that we have
for this company. As a young start
up, we are still along the surge of
learning curve, and I would be
proud to see our people growing
together with the business Uncommon Business Sense: As an
entrepreneur, innovation is key
and guarantees the survival of
any business. How has
EspressoLab innovated since
inception?
JL: Yes of course! Throughout
these 2 years, Espressolab has
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*More information regarding eligibility criteria of the programme is located on the official website of TalentCorp Malaysia
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I don't think it's very difficult to convince anyone
nowadays to incorporate
“
At the age of 25, a former Deloitte Consulting Strategy
Consultant with an Imperial College Master of Aeronautical
Engineering education and winner of MyEG’s Make The Pitch
reality TV show Season 2, Fadzarudin Shah Anuar has set big
goals for himself and for the team at FashionValet. Fadzarudin
stresses on the high growth potential of eCommerce for online
fashion stores and the benefits that come with.
an online element into their businesses.
Uncommon Business Sense:
FashionValet has given
Malaysian designers a
marketplace to showcase
their creativity and
potential. That’s something
to feel really good about. As
an alternative to retail
stores, how does an
ecommerce business
convince brand owners to
benefit from the less
FAS: I don't think it's very
difficult to convince anyone
nowadays to incorporate an
online element into their
businesses. . Everyone knows
how rapidly the ecommerce
market is growing and they
don't want to be left behind.
physical oriented business
model to literally a virtual
presence?
> Uncommon Business Sense || Fadzarudin Shah Anuar
I don't think it's very difficult to convince anyone “ nowadays to incorporate an
online element into their businesses.
advertisement for Singapore Airlines, it
naturally became my first and only option that
I gave myself. And I went for the interview
and was accepted for the job right after I
graduated from university in New Zealand.
Three and a half years went by and I felt that
I have finally achieved my goals of seeing the
world, learning what team work and discipline
in a corporate setting was like and made a
decision to try something totally different. I
left SIA and joined the corporate world and
Everyone knows how rapidly the
ecommerce market is growing and
they don't want to be left behind. I
would caution physical retailers
though, to not underestimate the
difficulties of having an online
presence. The benefit of having a
physical store is that you are almost
guaranteed a number of walk-in
customers based on your location
even if you do nothing else but build
an attractive store. On the other
hand, it is very easy to launch your
online store, but the difficulty is
driving customers to your store. You
Fadzarudin’s
business partner
and wife, Vivy
Sofinas Yusof has
been his greatest
inspiration and
supporter since
the early days of
university where
Vivy was reading
law at the London
School of
Economics &
Political Science.
Vivy is the Chief
Operating Officer
of FashionValet. www.prudenzconsulting.com
www.prudenzconsulting.com
I would caution physical
retailers though, to not
underestimate the
difficulties of having an
online presence. The
benefit of having a
physical store is that you
are almost guaranteed a
number of walk-in
customers based on your
location even if you do
nothing else but build an
attractive store. On the
other hand, it is very easy
to launch your online
store, but the difficulty is
driving customers to your
store have to work very
hard to increase your
traffic and if you do
nothing, you're bound to
have zero traffic.
Uncommon Business Sense:
E-commerce fashion in
Malaysia has been
expanding whereby
many of them started as
a blog store. With the
availability of
Ecommerce platforms,
e.g Shopify which
enables beginners to
set up an online store in
10 minutes or maybe
just under that, what
innovative approaches
must take place for
FashionValet?
FAS: FashionValet is
already unique in the area
of product offerings, we
constantly bring in new
brands to the website
from the local scene. So
customers are excited by
the anticipation of "what's
going to be new in-store
tomorrow?" Apart from
that, we always have to
constantly improve
customer experience.
From the experience of
shopping on the website
to customer service to
delivery to the customer.
If we can do well
throughout this process, I
believe we will keep
getting more word-of-
mouth recommendations;
which is the best kind of
marketing.
Uncommon Business Sense:
What are the lessons for
other online fashion
stores? Why are we not
seeing more
‘FashionValets’?
FAS: There are a number
of smaller 'FashionValets'
around, however with our
model, traffic to the
website is key. Brands
come to us because they
know we have healthy
website traffic so they will
get coverage and sales.
Like I said earlier, the
hardest part about having
an online store is driving
consistent, quality traffic.
In our model, you have to
large enough traffic to
ensure the economics
makes sense. Earlier on,
I mentioned that the
hardest part about having
an online store is driving
consistent, quality traffic.
In our model, you have to
large enough traffic to
ensure the economics
makes sense.
Uncommon Business Sense:
Startups and
entrepreneurship are
the recurring themes in
the business world. The
local scene is
witnessing a
mushrooming of new
businesses at an
alarming rate despite
the survival rate of
startups at the early
stage of inception being
discouragingly low.
What decisions did your
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business and others make to fight the
trend?
FAS: That's a norm anywhere in the world.
Over 90% of startups are bound to fail in the
first few months, so it's not surprising that
that's the case here as well. I personally
think the startup environment here is very
healthy because we have a very united
startup community where events and
networking meet ups are always happening.
So it's up to the entrepreneurs to utilise
them. The only immature part of the
environment is the funding side.
Unfortunately, South-East Asia isn't blessed
with a large number of tech VC's. In
comparison to India and China who have a
combined VC list of over a thousand, SEA
only has less than 50.
From the experience of shopping on the website to customer service to delivery to the customer.
“
If we can do well throughout this process, I believe we will keep getting more word-of-mouth
recommendations; which is the best kind of marketing.
“
www.prudenzconsulting.com
In fact, you can see big designers such as Valentino and Ellie Saab creating designs inspired by Islamic cultures. So perhaps we are creating the trend?
“
Uncommon Business Sense: The Malaysian Fashion industry
predominantly gets pigeonholed as conservative. How are
you working around this?
FAS: It's seen as conservative because that is what the market
demands. Fashion designers know that if they go too radical, the
market acceptance won't be as good. I don't think it's a problem,
every market has their own fashion trends. In fact, you can see
big designers such as Valentino and Ellie Saab creating designs
inspired by Islamic cultures. So perhaps we are creating the
trend???
Uncommon Business Sense: Where do you see the Malaysian
Fashion and eCommerce market size in 5 years?
FAS: eCommerce growth in Asia Pacific is set to outpace USA
and Europe for the next 5 years so that is extremely exciting for
any online business starting up. We are attracting more
international players to the region which is an assurance to us
here that this is the right place to be. Online fashion is very likely
going to be one of the leaders of this boom meaning competition
in the region will only get tougher. There will be more and more
casualties, but the ones who can survive the competition will be
the biggest winners of the growth.
FashionValet was
launched in 2010
with the primary
goal of giving the
local fashion
market a boost to
their sales and
marketing efforts
by adopting a
modern approach
to technology, e.g
eCommerce. With a
humble beginning
of 10 brands, FV’s
portfolio boasts
over 150 brands
with a strong and
extremely loyal
customer base
from the region.
www.prudenzconsulting.com
5
> Johan Irwan Kamarozaman
profit every year produced by ALS continued to skyrocket as the
ALS produced about S$6.2 million profit every year
The government has implemented initiatives through education and engagement, in
hope to aligning the community towards a stronger, market driven and economically
sustainable Sports industry. But what does this all mean? Datuk Ir. A. Sani Karim,
patron of Squash Racquet Association of Federal Territory, (SRAFT) shares his
views on the current state of the industry, the progress witnessed by the community
and why Squash deserves the same attention as other racquet games.
Datuk Ir. A. Sani Karim is a
notable figure in the world of
squash. Datuk has held
leadership positions in
federations, squash associations,
Olympic council of Malaysia and
the Royal Lake Club. Datuk
serves as an Executive Chairman
and principal owner of five
companies with interests ranging
from construction to bakery.
> Uncommon Business Sense || Datuk Ir. A. Sani Karim
Uncommon Business Sense: “To foster
open communication and a sense
of support, pride, enthusiasm, and
excellence in squash as One of the
Eight core sports in Malaysia.”
How has the journey been for
SRAFT?
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Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
DASK: SRAFT has been extremely
successful in attracting a more
youthful crowd to the sport. During
my leadership where I was Chairman
of SRAFT from 1997-2005, we fought
relentlessly to bring back the glory
days we enjoyed at the association.
We are thankful to the supporters,
parents and sponsors for
demonstrating their support for the
sport.
Datuk Ir. A. Sani Karim
has been instrumental in his involvement in
the World Squash Federation, Majlis Sukan
Negara, Lembaga Kejurulatihan Kebangsaan
National Sports Advisory Panel, Stadium
Merdeka Board, Asian Squash Federation and
Olympic Council of Malaysia..
Joshua Leong: XXX
Ralph C. Smedley said, "We learn best
in moments of enjoyment.“The correct
methodology also will make the knowledge
and lessons stick in the participants mind
for a longer time.
Uncommon Business Sense: Being educated
and raised in an Asian community,
academics performance is commonly
prioritised over sports. How does the
Association tackle this tradition?
DASK: Growing up in an Asian family, I can
relate personally to this because I was
passionate in all racquet sports especially
tennis and badminton. I am a golf man now
but my passion for racquet games will
always be there. Traditional upbringing is
where a parent will persistently make sure
that every child is given a better education
to enter a good university and land a good
job which pays well. It would be right for me
to say that most of us would have been
taught to believe that high academic
performance equals higher probability of
earning a higher income. Unfortunately, in
Malaysia, the possible benefits from
Squash are still very much at the premature
stage when it comes to monetary rewards.
For parents to see the monetary benefits of
pursuing sports over academics is a never
ending challenge but that’s why
associations like SRAFT and associations
of other sports as a matter of fact are
around - to spark interest in the respective
sport at a young age.
Uncommon Business Sense: The
International Olympic Committee
(IOC) voted to reinstate wrestling to
the Games rather than adding
squash or baseball / softball. Is this
a possibility of the greater interest
in other racquet games, e.g
badminton, tennis and table-tennis
over squash?
DASK: Badminton, tennis and table-
tennis have been and always will be
the more common sports amongst
Malaysians. Do remember that
badminton was only recently added to
the Games, roughly 20 years or so.
Ultimately, I do believe that China
does play a determining factor in this
successful attempt. Squash is a
relatively new sport in Malaysia but
having it recognised as a Game in the
Olympics would be pivotal in elevating
the interest and participation in the
Sport.
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Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
Uncommon Business Sense: Most
recently, Khairy Jamaluddin,
Minister of Youth and Sports
stated that the existing youth
programmes only draw the
participation of Malay youths. To
what extend is this relevant to
Squash?
DASK: As the Minister of Youth and
Sport , KJ definitely has the first-
hand updates and insights into the
Sport industry. With respect to
Squash, I would say that Squash
has been able to appear attractive
to all races. It’s difficult to pin down
on demographics because we
have winners, players, trainers and
supporters who are just so
passionate about squash.
Unfortunately, in Malaysia, the possible benefits from Squash are still very much at the premature stage when it comes to monetary rewards.
“
www.prudenzconsulting.com
Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
Ralph C. Smedley said, "We learn best
in moments of enjoyment.“The correct
methodology also will make the knowledge
and lessons stick in the participants mind
for a longer time.
Uncommon Business Sense: What
do you expect to take place in
the world of squash in the
years to come?
DASK: Squash will definitely be
one of the Games in the Olympic.
I am very sure this will happen.
Malaysian Squash has come a
long way. Squash is gaining in
popularity every day and with top
squash players being awarded
scholarships from top leading
American universities, we do see
an increase in youth participation.
Squash will continue being a sport
of interest amongst the straight
A’s students. The ‘lost’ of these
players will need to be resolved
by closer ties and collaboration
with local universities to strike a
more assuring and secured
promise with our top national
squash players. We will continue
producing top squash players but
much more work needs to be
done with all key stakeholders.
Foreign businesses in Malaysia are less than impressed and stunned by the
unwelcoming vibes they have encountered: Michael Atanda Bashorun, President of
BHL Rimbunan Teknologi Sdn Bhd explains the hurdles in overcoming labels.
The rejection is a common situation that everybody faces daily one way or
the other.
“
> Uncommon Business Sense || Michael Atanda Bashorun
www.prudenzconsulting.com
Uncommon Business Sense: There
are many Africans now in
Malaysia compared to 5 years
ago. They contribute to a
distinct proportion in the
breakdown of international
student numbers and African
businessmen are taking their
business ventures here. Why is
that?
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Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
MAB: The voluminous rise in African
population in Malaysia and Asian
countries could be attributed to the
growing economic development in
Asia. Concerning increase in
Students population, take a look at
Petronas Bhd, they have billions of
investment in Africa and they bring in
lots of African Students into Malaysia
for educating, secondly, LimKokWing
University aggressive student in-take
from Eastern, Western and Southern
Africa and finally we have many
Malaysia Institution of High Learning
appoints Representatives in Africa to
recruit student for them. On the sides
of Business, although still growing,
the rise in Africa restaurants is due to
“Need for Native food”. The
increasing rise in Africa Students in
Malaysia will definitely contribute to
different innovations and Africa
Business promotion in Malaysia.
Thirdly, Malaysia been a Trading
nation and currently one of the Top
Competitive business nation, makes
it an ideal location for aspiring and
intelligent Africans to explore
business opportunities between
Malaysia and Africa. Fourthly, Africa
Economic indexes have been
revolving around 7% growth for the
last 5 years and it’s expected to
remain so for another
Uncommon Business Sense: xxxxxxxxxxx
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Joshua Leong: XXX
Ralph C. Smedley said, "We learn best
in moments of enjoyment.“The correct
methodology also will make the knowledge
and lessons stick in the participants mind
for a longer time.
decade, this makes it imperatives to find
Africa Businessmen coming up in Malaysia.
Uncommon Business Sense: Business
propositions by African businessmen
are commonly received by the raising of
an eyebrow. How do you prove your
worthiness and legitimacy to your
prospective clients?
MAB: Racism is a global situation. Recently
Oprah was denied entry into a shop in
Europe because of her colour. The rejection
is a common situation that everybody faces
daily one way or the other. My advantage
was that, having worked in Malaysia and
Asian cities for some couple of years before
setting up my business, l have a little
understanding of the cultural difference and
the need to be honest in dealing with Asians
and Malaysians in particular. Suspicions
remains especially if you are trying to make
a new acquaintance. I build relationships
through business memberships,
reconnecting with former colleagues and
maintaining a high moral virtue.
Our business acumen is keenness and quickness in understanding and dealing with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome.
“
www.prudenzconsulting.com
photo by The Bode
Malaysia surged to 6th from 12th in
the 2014 Doing Business Report.
The World Bank commended on
favourable measures aimed at cutting
the number of procedures needed to
obtain a construction permit, lower the
time required for new electricity
connections and reduce company
registration fees.
~79,000 Africans entered the country last year. Of that number, 25,000 came in on student visas. Malaysia Department of Immigration
Uncommon Business Sense: Are you
more business savvy today?
www.prudenzconsulting.com
Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
MAB: At BHL Group {BHL Rimbunan
Teknologi Sdn Bhd, Malaysia, RC.
928752 – X, SSM Malaysia and BHL
Africa Plantation Nigeria Ltd, Nigeria,
RC. 931625, CAC Abuja Nigeria} our
Business acumen is keenness and
quickness in understanding and
dealing with a business situation in a
manner that is likely to lead to a good
outcome. The strategies has enable
us to build credibility, staff career,
executive mentality and continental
company named “BHL AFRICA
GROUP”
Uncommon Business Sense: How are you
playing your role in improving the image
of Africans / Nigerians in Malaysia?
MAB: Needless to highlight the negative
image about Africans in Malaysia, I am
currently involved in three forums to help
addressed some of the issues confronting
Africans especially Nigerians in Malaysia.
These forums are Nigerians in Diaspora
0rganization Malaysia {NIDO-MY}, Yoruba
Community Malaysia {YCM} and Malaysia –
Nigeria Business Council.
Uncommon Business Sense: As a
foreign national, the local
community has been regarded as
reserved and unwelcoming. With
the presence of this, how do
Africans, or in this case, Nigerians
build their network?
MAB: BHL belongs to the relevant
professional bodies and participate
more in program’s of Malaysia
Government Department and
Agencies. Few months ago, BHL
Group and Nigerbash Properties Co.
Ltd jointly did a write-up on “Doing
Business in Africa – A Construction
Perspective” for Construction Industry
Development Board, Malaysia “CIDB.”
During the book preview and review,
many industry players including Exim
Bank Bhd, Matrade Malaysia and
Master Builder Association of Malaysia
were in attendance and those eager to
tap in the growing infrastructure
industry of Africa
Foreign businesses in Malaysia are less than impressed and stunned by the
unwelcoming vibes they have encountered: Michael Atanda Bashorun, President of
BHL Rimbunan Teknologi Sdn Bhd explains the hurdles in overcoming labels.
“
Doing business outside of Malaysia. Jacquelyn is the founder of Rucksack Inn, a prominent name amongst travellers
visiting Singapore who are looking for affordable accommodation. She reckons
that Singapore provides more effective schemes in spurring entrepreneurship.
Uncommon Business Sense: You began
your career as an air stewardess
for Singapore Airlines and today,
you are the face of one of
Singapore’s most successful
hostels for backpackers. There
must be an interesting story behind
this success
JC: During my university days, I was
involved in a lot of community campus
activities and I realised that I was
really good at dealing with people, I
was a campus counselor and also a
gym instructor. When I chanced upon
an advertisement for Singapore
Airlines, it naturally became my first
and only option that I gave myself.
And I went for the interview and was
accepted for the job right after I
graduated from university in New
Zealand. Three and a half years went
by and I felt that I have finally
> Uncommon Business Sense || Jacquelyn Chan
www.prudenzconsulting.com
achieved my goals of
seeing the world, learning
what team work and
discipline in a corporate
setting was like and made
a decision to try
something totally
different. I left SIA and
worked as a Corporate
Communications
Executive in an audit firm
for just under 2 years.
Towards the end of my
career as a Marcom
executive, that was when
I met my current business
partner, Sam and started
Rucksack Inn. In 2009,
the financial crisis had hit
Singapore and it
happened just after I had
just resigned from my
position at the audit firm. I
had the jitters and
uncertainty as most
people would have felt
when they first start a
business but with
Samantha’s experience of
running her own business
previously, we pulled it off
and started our very first
Rucksack together in May
2009. The backpacker
scene was almost non-
existent in Singapore at
the time so it was a risk
that we were taking. Little
did we know that the
Uncommon Business Sense: Being educated and
raised in an Asian community, academics
performance is commonly prioritised over
sports. How does the Association tackle this
tradition?
Uncommon Business Sense:
Malaysia’s Returning
Expert Programme in
luring back the
Malaysian Diaspora is
spearheaded by
TalentCorp Malaysia.
How attractive is this
programme to you? JC: I’ve never heard about
this programme before.
JC: There are many SME
business schemes the
Singapore government has
implemented, one of them
is the PIC (Product &
Innovation Credit) which
the government subsidies
and gives a $1 match
*More information regarding eligibility criteria of the programme is located on the official website of TalentCorp Malaysia
financial crisis worked in
our favour; Travelers
downgraded from hotels to
budget hotels and budget
hotel travelers started
looking for an even
cheaper alternative to
accommodation and that’s
how we got our first few
customers. From my
experience in Singapore
Airlines, I learned so much
about exceeding
customer’s expectations,
and I applied that same
philosophy to my guests at
Rucksack. For just $22 a
night, the value from their
stay and service they
received were way beyond
their expectations and very
soon word of mouth and
reviews made us an award
winning hostel. Since then
we have grown to 3
properties around
Singapore. The
programme does sound
attractive. I guess I have
some researching to do.
I’ve never heard of the Returning
Expert Programme
by TalentCorp
Malaysia before.
“
RETURNING EXPERT PROGRAMME* (REP) was launched to facilitate
the return of Malaysian professionals from overseas with the objectives of
overcoming the shortage of professional and technical expertise in the
country, and creating a world-class workforce in Malaysia, especially in the
context of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). The REP is
constantly being improved to meet the needs of Malaysian expats. For
example, as of 12 April 2011, a revised scheme of benefits for the REP was
announced by the Prime Minister himself.
www.prudenzconsulting.com
Uncommon Business Sense: Being educated and
raised in an Asian community, academics
performance is commonly prioritised over
sports. How does the Association tackle this
tradition?
Uncommon Business Sense:
Singapore is ranked
amongst the top countries
in the world for
businesses. What has the
red-dot done right, in
comparison to Malaysia?
JC: There are many SME
business schemes the
Singapore government has
implemented, one of them is
the PIC (Product &
Innovation Credit) which the
government subsidies and
gives a $1 match bonus on
the cost of any product that
can benefit the efficiency of
the business. Also there are
business loans that the
government provides from
SPRING Singapore and IE
Singapore that help supports
cash flow of individual SME.
And the schemes are readily
available and made known to
all businesses. Something I
feel is lacking in the Malaysia
to enhance SME businesses.
For just $22 a night, the
value from their stay and
service they received were
way beyond their
expectations and very soon
word of mouth and reviews
made us an awardwinning
hostel. Since then we have
grown to 3 properties
around Singapore. The
programme does sound
attractive. I guess I have
some researching to do.
financial crisis worked in
our favour; Travelers
downgraded from hotels to
budget hotels and budget
hotel travelers started
looking for an even
cheaper alternative to
accommodation and that’s
how we got our first few
customers. From my
experience in Singapore
Airlines, I learned so much
about exceeding
customer’s expectations,
and I applied that same
philosophy to my guests at
Rucksack.
JC: I’ve never heard about
this programme before.
JC: There are plans for
Rucksack’s expansion in
Malaysia, so yes it believe
I would be spending a lot of
time back in my country
Uncommon Business Sense:
Would you be coming back
to Malaysia anytime soon
www.prudenzconsulting.com
Congestion charge <
Uncommon Business Sense: Being educated and
raised in an Asian community, academics
performance is commonly prioritised over
sports. How does the Association tackle this
tradition?
XXX
Demystifying
the HR Function
XXX
PN: What is one function in your
organisation that you find you can't quite
fully grasp in your hands? Certainly not the
numbers or financial concepts that you
keep as the foundation of your business.
Not even the tastes and behaviour of your
clients as you discover and deal with every
day. The one function that is both hard
facts and fluid uncertainties, which you
might not be able to grasp in full, could
very well be the managing of the people
that you have hired. According to Dr
Meredith Belbin, a researcher and
management theorist, "a team is not a
bunch of people with job titles, but a
congregation of individuals." We know
that when we have a bunch of individuals
working together—8 to 10 hours a day, 5
days a week—we will have in our hands a
whole plethora of challenges to handle.
To what extend is the Human Resource Department
appreciated? Only to a certain extend, says former KPMG
Advisory Associate Director, Pearlie Ng.
PN: What is one function in your organisation that you find you can't quite fully
grasp in your hands? Certainly not the numbers or financial concepts that you
keep as the foundation of your business. Not even the tastes and behaviour of
your clients as you discover and deal with every day. The one function that is
both hard facts and fluid uncertainties, which you might not be able to grasp in
full, could very well be the managing of the people that you have hired.
According to Dr Meredith Belbin, a researcher and management theorist, "a
team is not a bunch of people with job titles, but a congregation of
individuals." We know that when we have a bunch of individuals working
together—8 to 10 hours a day, 5 days a week—we will have in our hands a
whole plethora of challenges to handle.
“The Breadth,
the length, and
the depth of HR
in unravelling
the “invisible”
cog in any well-
functioning
organisation.
PN: What is one function in your organisation
that you find you can't quite fully grasp in your
hands? Certainly not the numbers or financial
concepts that you keep as the foundation of
your business. Not even the tastes and
behaviour of your clients as you discover and
deal with every day. The one function that is
both hard facts and fluid uncertainties, which
you might not be able to grasp in full, could
very well be the managing of the people that
you have hired. According to Dr Meredith
Belbin, a researcher and management
theorist, "a team is not a bunch of people with
job titles, but a congregation of individuals."
We know that when we have a bunch of
individuals working together—8 to 10 hours a
day, 5 days a week—we will have in our
hands a whole plethora of challenges to
handle.
> Uncommon Business Sense || Pearlie Ng
www.prudenzconsulting.com
In the running of an organisation, people are sourced and retained. They are managed by way of getting
the policies in place to ensure desired behaviour, setting the optimal metrics to ensure expected
performance, and deciding on the procedures to at least have the HR processes to manage the people in
the best possible way to run the operations of the business. This is where the hard facts meet the fluidity of
human behaviour. The challenge will be on how best to manage the people in your organisation and have
a group of different people in intellect and skills, in behaviour and preferences, to be productive together, to
work and assist one another towards the same goal in mind.
In this attempt to demystify the HR function, we will look at what I will term as the breadth, the length, and
the depth of HR.
What do you see when you step back and look at your HR department? What's the
breadth you are going with its practice? In other words, have you covered the
essentials that you need in managing your people? The questions to ask are like
these: do you have recruitment policies and procedures in place? Are your people
being fairly governed by a structure in how they are remunerated for their work and
performance? Do you plan and execute training programmes for them to improve
and grow in what they do? Do you have a procedure to handle their grievances or
When it comes to the "length" of the HR function, you need to look into why you
are doing what you are doing, and inversely why you are not doing what you are
not doing. It goes back to the one thing why your organisation exist. For example,
one company hires housewives as personal shoppers by piecemeal work and
another company is a typical supermarket with the whole works. The first will not
need an extensive remuneration practice as much as the second. The first will
definitely need a more sophisticated recruitment process compared to the more regular one of the second. The danger you may face though, in how far you should go in the practice of HR
function, is the desire to go the whole nine yards without really understanding why. Your employee
performance management is a good place to start. How do you implement your employee performance
review and why? Do your activities have direct links to the outcome? In my experience in bigger
organisations, we tend to complicate things when simplicity is the clear solution. We seem to think that
complex problems require complex solutions. In reality, we may not need to go the whole length to achieve
what we want. But is something still missing even though you are convinced that you have covered the
breadth and the length well? May it then be the depth that is the issue?
a set process to discipline them when you need to? In the history of the management of people, we have
come a long way. Whether or not we have put everything in practice, we know we need to cover all the
essential areas in HR in order to reduce the risks. The next important facet to evaluate as you continue to
look at your HR function is how far then must you go.
In reference to the depth of people management, I am not talking about the
management side of things but the people. The one most important question to ask
now is: how well do you understand your people? Much have been written and
talked about the Gen-Y and the likes but that is not the question, or at least not the
whole question. What is important is, do you know your people? What motivates
them? What do they do best, and worst? What principles do they hold on to? How
do they relate to each other as colleagues, as superiors, as subordinates? This is
where you need to round off your HR function with a good study on what makes
your people who they are and what will make them better. This may be the toughest thing to do but it will give
you a deeper insight into the why and how you carry out your HR function. There are many ways to go about
it—dialogues, surveys, mentoring, coaching, personality tools—but know exactly what, how and why you are
doing it. The HR department is quite often seen as the player behind the scene, but they are by no means
trivial. They are the manager of the football team sent out into the field to play to win. Your people may be the
stars of your business, but your HR department is the team manager that ensures who your people are, and
where you want them to be.
the Breadth
the Length
Depth the
www.prudenzconsulting.com
Uncommon Business Sense: The
“shadow banking” system –
the periphery sectors of the
financial markets has been
an issue of contention for
many years and with the
recent Financial Services Act
2013 and Islamic Financial
Services Act 2013 which had
come into force on 30 June
2013, compliance is a
mandatory exercise, rather
than an admiration of best
practices.
MRAA: The shadow banking
concept is rather pejorative
under the current
circumstance. It was introduced
with intention to assist
individuals with reasonable
amount of credits to spur
consumption vis-à-vis the
economic activities but it
requires financial discipline i.e.
compliance in order for it to be
positive to the nation’s
economy as a whole.
As far as Bank Negara
Malaysia (BNM) is concern,
shadow banking is a paradox –
with the implementation of
FSA/IFSA, the BNM is trying to
manage both sides – infusing
financial discipline by giving
itself more prescriptive
authority and power – and
continue to serve politicians’
needs by allowing the Minister
of Finance (or his delegate) to
decide on certain policy
matters.
Datuk Ir. A. Sani Karim
has been instrumental in his involvement in
the World Squash Federation, Majlis Sukan
Negara, Lembaga Kejurulatihan Kebangsaam
National Sports Advisory Panel, Stadium
Merdeka Board, Asian Squash Federation and
Olympic Council of Malaysia..
Uncommon Business Sense: Being educated and
raised in an Asian community, academics
performance is commonly prioritised over
sports. How does the Association tackle this
tradition?
DASK: Growing up in an Asian family, I can relate
personally to this because I was passionate in all
racquet sports especially tennis and badminton. I
am a golf man now but my passion for racquet
games will always be there. Traditional upbringing
is where a parent will persistently make sure that
every child is given a better education to enter a
good university and land a good job which pays
well. It would be right for me to say that most of us
would have been taught to believe that high
academic performance equals higher probability
of earning a higher income. Unfortunately, in
Malaysia, the possible benefits from Squash are
still very much at the premature stage when it
comes to monetary rewards. For parents to see
the monetary benefits of pursuing sports over
academics is a never ending challenge but that’s
why associations like SRAFT and associations of
other sports as a matter of fact are around - to
spark interest in the respective sport at a young
age.
Governance, Compliance and Enforcement!
Few people know the financial market situation in Malaysia better than Mohammad
Ridzuan Abdul Aziz. The regulatory and compliance advisor discusses the recent
modernisation of laws governing the conduct and supervision of financial institutions.
MRAA: There are many factors
with regard to the rationale of
FSA/IFSA implementation and
let’s look at three of them –
financial literacy among
Malaysians, financial institutions’
key risks efficacy and economic
climate/concentration of wealth.
First, it dawned upon BNM that
Malaysian in general is not a
savvy lot about financial matters.
Financial literacy can be defined
as ways individuals manage
their money in terms of insuring,
investing, savings and budgeting
. Financially literate individuals
would know how to manage their
money, understand how financial
institutions work, possess a
range of analytical skills, able to
handle their financial affairs
effectively and have the
discipline to be responsible
financially. Second, the key risks
efficacy of many financial
institutions in Malaysia has yet to
attain the level where it could
effectively manage the key-man
and systemic risks. This is
evident with the introduction of
Bridge Institution and further
requirements to obtain pre-
approval for the establishment of
a Financial Holding Group.
Third, it is prudent and logical for
the central bank to consolidate
its authority over all licensed
financial institutions in Malaysia.
The previous laws consolidated
under the FSA and IFSA
(Banking and Financial
Institutions Act, Exchange
Control Act,
Uncommon Business Sense: EPF,
MIDF, PNB and MBSB are
amongst the prominent
names in the financial
markets. What do you think
was the key factor that led to
Bank Negara Malaysia in
putting its foot down and
implementing the FSA 2013
and IFSA 2013?
Insurance Act and Payment
System Act) had served its
purposes well under a
domestic-focused economic
environment. However, with the
inevitable globalisation, the
Malaysia financial sector need
to be managed effectively and
under the current economic
circumstances, it is necessary
for a nation to be quick and
nimble to adapt to the fast
changing scenario.
It is wise and timely for BNM
to implement FSA and IFSA
given the circumstances.
However, having sound
legislative framework should
serve as a catalyst for key
players of the financial
segments to start thoroughly
understand their role,
respectively.
Uncommon Business Sense:
Market analysts, investors,
business school students and
enthusiasts are pointing the
fingers at several financial
market players, suggesting
the possibility of misconduct.
How credible is this
speculation?
> Uncommon Business Sense || Mohammad Ridzuan Abdul Aziz
www.prudenzconsulting.com
MRAA: Misconduct revolves
around human behaviour or
misbehaviour. In any financial
market, misconduct is often
driven by greed and when the
opportunity presented itself.
Greed is something that no
system could mend but it is
certainly possible to limit the
opportunities to commit
misconduct. Hence, it is the
responsibility of all involved in
the financial market to limit
these opportunities to curb
misconduct. One common
theme is the choices made by
the persons involved to commit
misconduct despite knowing at
certain stage that they were on
the wrong path.
Uncommon Business Sense: Being educated and
raised in an Asian community, academics
performance is commonly prioritised over
sports. How does the Association tackle this
tradition?
Operational impact presents these firms an
opportunity to improve their capability to
better serve clients and help create rooms
for business growth.
was required previously under
the old regime. There will be an
inevitable gestation period for
the new structure to adapt to the
new ways under the reorganized
structure, plus the need to
establish a Financial Holding
Company, where necessary. In
my view, this is quite a major
exercise and the insurance
/Takaful companies would need
time to realign resources and
infrastructure to deliver
services/products effectively to
clients. the reorganized
structured operational aspects
such as system configuration,
database, systems interlink, etc.
need to be revamped to
accommodate the new
operational needs. This would
require reconfiguration,
retraining, system architecture
redesign and various other
works that will add more cost,
including capital expenditures.
Uncommon Business Sense:
Insurance and Takaful
companies are expected to
be undergoing or have
begun major restructuring
exercises. How would daily
business operations be
affected?
MRAA: The FSA and IFSA
require insurance companies to
operate life and general
businesses under a separate
legal entity and the timeline to
comply is within the next 5
years, i.e. by 1 July 2018. The
re-insurance and re-Takaful
businesses are exempted from
this requirement. Details aside,
it is going to cost the
insurance/Takaful companies
more to manage separate
businesses, with additional
resources required for people
and infrastructure as well as
compliance. The other
possibility is that BNM may
impose higher capital
requirement for each business,
likely to be higher than what
In my view, this operational
impact presents these firms
an opportunity to improve
their capability to better serve
clients and help create rooms
for business growth.
However, these opportunities
would require extra
investment through capital
expenditure to help elevate
the operational standard of
their services. Given the
changes required, I reckon
some of these firms would
take the opportunity to
reorganize more than the
operational aspect and
corporate structure as the
implementation of FSA/IFSA
sort of put all existing players
on the same level and restart
all over again. Those firm
that have already started
making the required changes
would have an advantage
over others as they have
better understanding hence
able to adapt quicker. On the
contrary, those who choose
to wait will likely take longer
time to adapt and likely to
incur higher cost to make the
necessary operational
changes.
Uncommon Business Sense:
Insurance and Takaful
companies are expected to
be undergoing or have
begun major restructuring
exercises. How would daily
business operations be
affected?
MRAA: It is a fact that Malaysia is
one of the leading nations when
it comes to Islamic Finance “best
practices”. The implementation
of IFSA which stresses on
governance, compliance and
enforcement would give
conviction to the world that
Malaysia is the leading nation in
this space. However, it is yet to
be seen on how the IFSA would
be implemented and put in
practice given that there was
virtually zero case on
misconduct related to the Islamic
banking and finance industry,
especially in Malaysia, has
ever been tried and decided
upon. One of the main
questions is – which set of law
would be applicable in relation
to the Islamic banking and
finance alleged misconduct –
the conventional or the Shari’ah
laws? In my view, the
implementation of IFSA is a
step in the right direction as it
makes reference to the
Shari’ah Advisory Council’s
basis of verdict and/or decision
in evaluating an alleged
misconduct.
www.prudenzconsulting.com
Congestion charge <
Uncommon Business Sense: Being educated and
raised in an Asian community, academics
performance is commonly prioritised over
sports. How does the Association tackle this
tradition?
XXX
Do you see all financial markets players
complying?
MRAA: In my opinion, the market players have more reasons to
comply with the FSA and IFSA than otherwise. In a highly
regulated industry, it is inevitable that compliance with internal
and external requirements defines the market player’s level of
integrity and trustworthiness - both for the entity and its
representatives. As far as the regulator is concern, BNM has
continuously been effective in discharging their duties effectively
and manage to value add as well. Market participants in
Malaysia seems to be clear about the role that they need to play
partly because BNM managed to explain the laws and
regulations under its administration from the context that made
sense to its licensees.
Nonetheless, there will be occasion of non-compliance events
but it would likely be due to misunderstanding rather than a
blatant disregard. This is to be expected and depending on the
gravity of the consequences, I think BNM will take appropriate
remedial action swiftly to contain negative impact to investors
and public at large.
There is neither rationale nor incentive for a non-compliance
conduct by a licensed entity or its representatives as conviction
under the FSA and IFSA is heftier – larger fine and longer jail
term.
Malaysia is also seen as a
moderate practitioner of Islam
and has developed a
reasonably well thought-out
Islamic banking and finance
industry. This is evident by the
public and private sector
efforts/collaboration to establish
several training and
development entities such as
INCEIF, IBFIM and IIiBF for the
purpose of continuously
developing competent experts
to further grow the Islamic
banking and finance industry.
In short, the IFSA provides a
credible platform for the market
experts to put into practice the
theoretical aspects of the
market as there is more clarity
in terms on key terminologies
and scope of authority as well
as basis for enforcement
actions. The combination of
these elements with the
competent personnel is what
made Malaysia different (and
better) from other. I hope that
the current market players,
BNM and the training and
development entities will
continue to perform their duties
effectively..
www.prudenzconsulting.com
www.prudenzconsulting.com
5
Most trainers in the market train based on trend and
not passion
Most people become trainers because they see the opportunity that
the government provide especially the amount of money that they
can profit from, says Leap Integrated Solutions CEO, Johan Irwan
Kamarozaman.
“
Johan Irwan Kamarozaman
is an aspiring international
speaker, trainer and author on
Leadership & Communication
Skills.
> Uncommon Business Sense || Johan Irwan Kamarozaman
Uncommon Business Sense:
Organisations schedule trainings
every now and then with soft skills
training are commonly placed as a
secondary option. As a trainer, do
people warm up easily to the idea
of soft-skills training?
Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
JIK: I have to agree that soft skills
training is commonly placed as a
secondary option. The perception of
soft-skills are is that people should
already have developed them and
people may take-up the skills along
the way as they mature. But the fact
is most companies during recruitment,
they will look at the ability to
communicate. When we do business
dealing, people who communicate
better will have the advantage. These
are all soft-skills. And people who
master it, they will have some added
advantage. There is always a problem
especially in terms of communication
in any organisation – the opportunity
to develop in soft-skills, even though
people who have abundance of
experience. Unless people see the
needs to solve the problems, people
might have that kind of perception of
soft-skills as secondary in terms of
priority. In my opinion, you may have
the best hard-skills in the world, but if
you don’t communicate well, you will
still be a small potato. Take Thomas
Edison as an example. Light bulb was
originally invented by Nikola Tesla
Uncommon Business Sense: xxxxxxxxxxx
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Joshua Leong: XXX
Ralph C. Smedley said, "We learn best
in moments of enjoyment.”The correct
methodology also will make the knowledge
and lessons stick in the participants mind
for a longer time.
However, Thomas Edison was the first
person who communicate on the
invention, he has known to the world
as the inventor of the light bulb.
Furthermore, his invention has
impacted millions of lives because of
he know how to communicate better.
Same goes to people like Steve Jobs.
His ability to communicate has change
the whole industry, where Dennis
Ritchie who invented the C language
and Unix, which is the fundamental of
Windows and Apple was been ignored.
Uncommon Business Sense: We see
many providers marketing their
programmes. e.g creative thinking
and writing skills. What has
triggered the need for such
programmes which resulted in this
category of training programmes to
be considered generic?
JIK: Most trainers in the market train
based on trend. Not based on their
passion. If they train based on trend
this will result in the training becoming
generic. Especially when we talk about
creative thinking, it is a wide topic to
cover and often time a training is not
sufficient to make a person to become
creative.
www.prudenzconsulting.com
Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
That is how I see some trainers are
not effective, because they try to solve
things that is too generic. However,
some trainers are really specific in
terms of solutions that they provide
and they are often good at packaging
their training module. Take Blue
Ocean Strategy as an example, the
founder is trying to create a concept
which is part of creativity but how the
framework that they introduced
provides a solutions to solve specific
issue. Same goes to writing skills,
there is no way for a person to learn
how to write within 2 days. We learn in
schools to write for more than 10
years, yet most of us are still
struggling. But if the module is
focusing on solving specific issue in
writing, the training can be seen as
more effective and it will provide a
better return-on-investment. Because
of that, it is important to address
specific goals that can be achieved at
the end of the session. The training
objectives must specifically mentioned
what are the solutions that the
programme may offer.
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Joshua Leong: XXX
JIK: Based on my observation, most
people become trainers because they
see the opportunity that the
government provide especially the
amount of money that they can profit
from. As a result, most trainers don’t
really look at the impact that they can
make on the community or the
organisation. The government
initiatives are very much needed
especially to develop the skills of every
Malaysian. However, in terms of
implementation, the trainers need to
ensure that the training provides good
results for the participants. Not only
according to specification or certain
syllabus. Students must be convinced
with the benefits brought about from
training. If they are being forced to join
the training, they might have different
focus during the training session. In my
opinion, once the participants are in
the training venue, it is the trainer’s
responsibility to inspire the participants
to learn and to gain experience as
much as possible during that session.
This can be done by shifting their focus
to the learning objectives and
behaviour modification techniques.
Most trainers in the market train based
on trend. Not based on their passion. If
they train based on trend this will result
in the training becoming generic.
Especially when we talk about creative
thinking, it is a wide topic to cover and
often time a training is not sufficient to
Uncommon Business Sense: The
government has allocated
significant amount of budget on
training programmes over the
years. How successful would you
consider the government’s effort
in shaping “better Malaysians”?
Most trainers don’t
really look at the impact
that they can make on
the community or the organisation
“
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Practising uncommon business sense
Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
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Joshua Leong: XXX
Most trainers in the market train based
on trend. Not based on their passion. If
they train based on trend this will result
in the training becoming generic.
Especially when we talk about creative
thinking, it is a wide topic to cover and
often time a training is not sufficient to
Uncommon Business Sense: It is
difficult to assess the credibility
of a trainer. The steepest hill
climb for any trainer is
maintaining that timespan where
the audience is captivated and
drawn to all wisdom being shared
in the room. As a trainer, how do
you find that connection with
your audience?
trainers will often be called back to
conduct other trainings even though
the subject might be not related. Ralph
C. Smedley said, "We learn best in
moments of enjoyment." The correct
methodology also will make the
knowledge and lessons stick in the
participants mind for a longer time. If
you can recall the last training session
that you have attended, what makes it
effective? Which training is more
memorable?
JIK: In any training, what makes the
training effective mainly is not
because of the content. It is always
the methodology. These days we
can get the content easily by buying
books or even by searching from the
internet. Even though we have such
good content, if the methodology is
not right, it might not contribute to
the effectiveness of the training. On
the other hand, if the methodology is
good, it will produce great training
results. That explains why good
Uncommon Business Sense: Some
people are unfamiliar with the
differences between a trainer and
a consultant. How would you
differentiate the two?
JIK: As a trainer, the main responsibility
is to develop people through learning
and experience during the training
session. The focus is to fill-up the
competency gap and the gap is
identified through training needs.
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Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
Uncommon Business Sense: xxxxxxxxxxx
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Joshua Leong: XXX
Most trainers in the market train based
on trend. Not based on their passion. If
they train based on trend this will result
in the training becoming generic.
Especially when we talk about creative
thinking, it is a wide topic to cover and
often time a training is not sufficient to
Uncommon Business Sense: There are hundreds of different training
programmes around the world. What makes yours so unique?
"We learn best in moments of enjoyment."
The correct methodology also will make
the knowledge and lessons stick in the
participants mind for a longer time. If you
can recall the last training session that you
have attended, what makes it effective?
Which training is more memorable?
JIK: Of course there are hundreds of training programmes out there but
each and everyone of them cater for different training needs. For our
training beside international recognition from American Institute of Business
Psychology, the programme is designed based on the fundamentals
psychology of leadership and communication. By identifying the basic
pattern of human thinking process and understand why people do what
they do, we will be able to identify the strength and weaknessess of
ourselves and people surround us. We would also understand what
motivate us to achieve more in our work and our life. Thus translate to
better performance in our work and we can inculcate better organizational
culture. Most of the time people trying to fix on things that they can see,
that they forgot that what they see is just the tip of the iceberg. Most
problem can only be solved by understanding the root cause and that is
what exactly the solutions that we provide.
Uncommon Business Sense: Some people
are unfamiliar with the differences
between a trainer and a consultant.
How would you differentiate the two?
As a trainer, the main responsibility is to
develop people through learning and
experience during the training session. The
focus is to fill-up the competency gap and
the gap is identified through training
needs. The trainer will facilitate a learning
session which the effectiveness of the
session is measured by how much the
participants gain in terms of skills, attitude
and knowledge. A consultant on the other
hand, the main responsibility is to develop
the business performance. The consultant
Uncommon Business Sense: What are the lessons for other
aspiring trainers in the field?
JIK: It’s about passion. Trainers is only for people who are
passionate to learn as well as helping others to develop. If
someone decided to become a trainer because they see the
other factor such as income they potentially earn or the flexible
time that a trainer might have, they might not be able to cope
since there are more challenges that a trainer needs to
overcome. At the end of the day, you need to ask yourself what is
the purpose of you becoming a trainer. If your answer is the
fulfillment you received by seeing people growing, that is the
ultimate satisfaction a trainer may have.
Singapore, London, San Diego,
Stockholm and Milan are the five cities
to implement Congestion Pricing
Uncommon Business Sense: XXX
MAB: , XXX
TEUKU PUTRA AZIZ is no stranger in
the local fashion scene and acknowledged for
his sophisticated detailing and extravagant
designs. Putra is the head designer at Cosry
and although the brand is associated with
royalties, celebrities and highly popularised
socialites, Putra shares his journey with us in
taking the brand to greater heights and why
he chose Malaysia to do so.
> Uncommon Business Sense || Teuku Putra Aziz
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‘It takes hard work to succeed a brand’ From the kebaya to wedding gowns to skin care, Putra has been key in the expansion
of Cosry’s product offerings. The fashion industry is witnessing a massive influx of
designers. This forces every designer to innovate, says Putra.
Uncommon Business Sense: So
why Malaysia?
TPA: (laughs) She was a very
young market when I first set
foot here. There were not many
kebaya designers and this was
the market that I wanted to see
flourish. Cosry has come a long
way and our recognition as a
high quality brand has definitely
set us as the preferred label
amongst our most loyal
customers and fashion
loyalists. Malaysia is so similar
to Indonesia – it was really
easy for me to make the
decision of coming here to
pursue my ambitions.
Uncommon Business Sense: Cosry
is perceived as a Malay label
which triggers an automatic
response to being translated
as Muslim fashion. How true
is this?
TPA: Our main target customer
is the Malay community. Our
designs are in tune with their
expectations but it would not be
accurate to assume that Cosry
ignores the other communities
in Malaysia. We are promoting
it as a fashion for all. Since our
branch opening in Bangsar, a
variety of customers are
frequenting our shop. This has
allowed us to plan for more
surprises in our fashion line
TPA: Exactly. To see so many
aspiring brands in the market,
this shows the opportunity that
exists in the fashion industry.
As the local scene is at a
maturing stage, the market is
facing a saturation of high
street fashion. At Cosry, we
distinguish our brand by
providing elegant and sleek
designs. We are targeting
more matured loyalists which
allow us to be more
accommodating.
Uncommon Business Sense:
Today, with access to better
education and better
standard of living, we see an
increasing number of
aspiring designers and
brands.
TPA: Cosry does not compete
directly with most of the local
brands in the market.
However, there are some
designers that provide custom
made tailoring and these are in
direct competition with us. It is
no secret that sourcing of
material plays a major factor in
providing a better customer
experience but we start with
the need of our customers. To
Uncommon Business Sense: So
you have more competitions.
How does that turn into
innovation?
fully understand the need, it
helps that the team has many
years of experience in fashion
and constitutes members from
different generations. Our skin
care line, for example, is our
response to a need.
TPA: This is a tough one. We
have recently opened our
flagship store in the Middle
East to tap into the Muslim
market. This undoubtedly
raised the awareness of our
brand but we underestimated
the importance of language
and cultural barriers. Branding
is still a mystery to us and we
are currently exploring ways to
perpetuate our brand.
Uncommon Business Sense:
Branding.
All businesses require some form
of introduction to new resources
and innovations. Ours include:
• Rolling out of e-commerce
platform
• Opening of new branches
• Hiring of talented designers
• Managing overheads
• Branding, branding, branding
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Prudenz Consulting is an independent consulting firm, committed to helping organisations
to achieve breakthrough improvements in overall performance. Our professionals have a
wide and varied range of industry experience and we worked closely with our clients to
ensure that their expectations and concerns are addressed. We cut across multiple
disciplines in an organisation – we search for risks which are less apparent but impact greatly
on efficiency. Simply put - we solutionise and provide realistic recommendations and not
single liners. We exercise creativity in providing commercially viable solutions to enhance the
control environment and mitigate any risks. For more information, please visit
www.prudenzconsulting.com
© Prudenz Consulting Sdn Bhd, 2013. All rights reserved.
The analyses in this report are based on public data and forecasts that have not been verified
by Prudenz Consulting and on assumptions that they are subject to uncertainty and change.
The analyses are intended only for general comparisons across companies and industries
and should not be used to support any individual investment decision.
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