How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
I started working in China Communications Construction Group (CCCG), the parent company of Core Precious Development Sdn Bhd, after I graduated with my Master’s degree. To me, this company is like family. CCCG is a company that nurtures young talent; its employees feel a sense of belonging as hard work and ability is well rewarded.
When I started in CCCG, I willingly worked until 3am every day. My efforts paid off shortly after. In 2012, I was given the important responsibility to develop overseas real estate projects. Since then, I have spent several years expanding the footprint of CCCG around the world, bidding for, securing and developing projects worth several billion dollars.
While I was gaining precious experience, however, I never allowed myself to get comfortable. While juggling between work and my family, I still managed to squeeze in a few hours of reading and studying every single night. Eventually, I was quickly promoted to a senior position in the company, bypassing middle management positions.
Throughout my career, I learned that on top of hard work and determination, success also depends on making sure that you deliver once an opportunity is presented.
How do you think the industry you are in will evolve in the future?
Besides being an investment tool, the demand for real estate exists everywhere; regardless of whether you are rich or poor, you still need a roof. Therefore, it all depends on the capability of the developer to capture the market.
For example, the Kuala Lumpur property market is divided into various ranges, from below RM600 per sq ft to a few thousand ringgit per sq ft. There are different demands for different products.
At Core, we will continue to introduce advanced property products in Malaysia, focusing on prime locations. We aim to develop properties that can appreciate in value and build up our brand name as a reputable and trusted developer.
Who is the most-admired business leader? Why?
Everyone has their own unique strengths and capabilities. An example I can think of is Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei. He created the “wolf culture” – which signifies his employees’ aggressiveness, fearlessness and teamwork. I admire others as well, every great company’s leader has their own effective style. In fact, I think it is essential to learn the strengths of many different people to avoid as many weaknesses as possible.
How do you expect policies on Covid-19 to impact businesses in the future?
I think the Covid-19 pandemic will last at least until the middle of next year. The impact of this pandemic is felt all over the world. We have learned that the health and the safety of the people are of the greatest importance, not business or money. We must continue to work, of course, but now we must use a different approach to ensure that everyone is safe, and no one is put at risk.
In our sales gallery, for example, we have adopted the use of equipment to enforce standard operating procedures. We have also temporarily stopped walk-ins, and only allow appointments for now.
What do you want to accomplish in the next five years?
The development and growth of a company is not about now, it is about the future. At Core, we do not only look towards growing the company for the next one or two years, but five, 10, or even 20 years ahead. We will continue to search for new project opportunities, as we want to grow Core into a more prominent company that has projects in several places. My personal goals aside, my greatest ambition lies solely in growing the company first.
How has mentorship made a difference in your professional life?
I am blessed that whenever I had any important steps or decisions to make, there was always someone there to guide me. They are just like a nobleman in my life. It is your mentality; the Universe will answer your call. Depending on what kind of person you are, you will eventually attract the people with same bandwidth.
Best piece of advice you ever received on your career.
When you have made a choice, you must believe in the decision that you made. For example, if you decide to venture into the property industry, you must put in all your efforts to grow it and trust that your decision is right. It would help if you did not think about the opposite or other scenarios.
Do not ever have doubts. Do not wonder, what if I am in another industry, how would it be like? You must pay attention and concentrate, as there are no U-turns in life. This is the golden advice bestowed upon me by my senior when I started my career.
What traits do you look for in your talent or how do you decide who is right for a job?
I believe that the success of a company depends on effectively selecting and using talents. Reliability, wisdom, and the ability to work with others in full cooperation – these are some of the values that I look for when hiring someone in my company.
I also work best with people who are actively engaged at work, with high efficiency levels. Those who concentrate well and put in efforts tend to deliver good results.
As an employer, I appreciate those who strive for excellence at all times. When my whole team possess the same mindset, only then can the company go far and achieve big things. I encourage my employees, especially the young ones, to believe in themselves and to never hesitate.
Sure, mistakes can happen sometimes, but I personally believe that misfortunes can actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
Therefore, I see quality in people who have high problem-solving abilities. I also tend to let my team handle their own roles, set their target and realise it. No micromanaging. An employee has to be clear about their role in the company, and not focus on insignificant things. I also favour those who know how to maximise the value of the company, and not do only as they are told to.
How do you stay abreast of issues affecting your industry?
At Core, we have briefings every Monday. Our briefings consist of recapping the tasks of the previous week, and detailing the plans of the upcoming week. Questions usually asked in the briefings include – what is the new target, or how much have you achieved so far? Everyone here is required to do a daily report. It helps to develop a good routine about what you have done and be disciplined with your work. From there, we will know what issues are affecting the industry as well as our own business.
From our parent company CCCG, we also receive sets of information that cover the world, in various sectors. I get updates from there as well as from other colleagues. I also frequently mingle with social circles that consist of professionals from various backgrounds; from there I usually hear and discuss about the latest happenings.
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced? What did you learn from it?
The biggest challenges I have faced are in negotiating for projects. At the age of 33, I was already dealing with a billion dollar project. Before securing that particular project, I had already spent US$1.5 million in legal fees. The negotiations failed up to three times.
At that time, I remained resilient and stood strong with my company’s principles and, in the end, we won the negotiations. I believe in trusting yourself and believing in what you practise. It was a challenge indeed, but the important thing is I learned a lot from the experience.
What are the top three factors you would attribute your success to?
First is “belief”, you must trust yourself. Second is “be hardworking”. Third is “don’t panic”, don’t be entangled with your problems. See things from a different perspective. Ask yourself: if you are not here today, would that still be a problem? Do you ever think: how will the world be, without you in it?
There will be a day that you will leave the world, and I will be leaving it one day too. Everything will be unassociated with you after a period of time. The message I want to deliver here is that - the problem you see today may not be a problem for tomorrow.
A must-read for every business owner/manager is ...
I don’t have a book that I love the most, because I love reading and I read all kinds of books. Some can be about my own profession, and others on different professions, or on management skills. All books have their uniqueness.
Source: The Sun Daily
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