How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
The different phases of my life have contributed towards shaping different characteristics within me. All of those phases have made me the leader I am today. My six years of medical school in Moscow taught me the value of independence as I was in a position where I had to make decisions for myself. During that period I built and grew the element of entrepreneurship, as I began to dream and aspire of a life that I envisioned for myself.
What traits do you look for in your talent or how do you decide who is right for a job?
The most crucial element within my different businesses is building the right culture as it supersedes any individual’s capabilities or talents. Hence, looking for the right individuals with the right mindset, excitement, sense of motivation and ability to execute their tasks is crucial. While individuals with the right mindset, motivation and ability to execute are important, they must be aligned with the company culture.
How do you think the industry you are in will evolve?
A lot of what I’m doing, is technology driven. With H2GO Global, a water tech company focused on eradicating global water poverty, we have an innovative lab that is constantly seeking ways to improve our range of products.
Whereas with my line of medical aesthetics clinics, the industry is moving at such a rapid pace because of technology that one is able to witness evolution almost on a daily basis. Medical aesthetics procedures that may have required one to undergo the surgical knife five years ago, are being carried out now in a non-invasive manner.
Post-pandemic, the importance of creating a strong independent digital presence for any business in any industry is imperative for business leaders to look into. In the past year, digital platforms have allowed us to work as efficiently from home or any part of the world just as we would working from the office.
What advice can you offer those looking to start their career/own business?
Dream big; we are the only limiting factor to how big a dream we seek to have, especially when we’re about to start our career or own business.
Don’t overplan – there is no such thing as preparing the perfect business model and executing it as per that plan because there will always be challenges. Many people end up investing too much time in planning the business they want to establish, and because of this they sometimes lose out on the opportunity to kickstart that business. Hence, dream big and focus on execution rather than overplan.
Finally, formulating the right strategies to scale your business and progressing it into a direction of long-term sustenance.
We all know about the industrial revolution, are we in for a technological revolution?
I believe we are already in the era of a technological revolution. Businesses that were not willingly to innovate have been disrupted, especially in the past year. We have witnessed big businesses that were wiped out because of the turbulent patterns as a result of this technological revolution.
How has mentorship made a difference in your professional life?
I think it is extremely important to find yourself the right mentor. A mentor that can give you the right advice when you are getting started but also someone who encourages you to hold onto the right values and principles of doing business.
A good mentor is one who teaches you long-term values which would enable you to sustain yourself as an individual or business leader to further build a team that holds onto those right set of values and principles.
What do you want to accomplish in the next five years?
The past year we have witnessed an unprecedented time, with Covid-19 disrupting businesses across various sectors, which makes the next five years even more unpredictable. But business wise, I would hope to keep doing what I do best, which is innovating, building, scaling and sustaining.
Best piece of advice you ever received on your career.
First and foremost, the only thing that you have once when you are starting your career or business, is your reputation. You protect your reputation and you build your business around protecting your reputation. You create values within your organisation that help preserve your reputation as well. Personally, I believe that once your reputation takes a hit or is tarnished, it will be extremely challenging to regain it.
That is the best and strongest piece advice given to me, which I hold on to till today.
Most-admired business leader? Why?
There are many business leaders whom I admire but if I have to pick one, it would most certainly be Elon Musk. He has proven that materialistic success early on in your career should never cause you to slow down. Also, he is living a life where he believes that absolutely anything is possible and has allowed himself to dream beyond human comprehension.
If you could have an hour with any thought leader in the world, who would it be and why?
It would have to be John Lennon, I think so much of what he had shared with us through his music decades ago, is relevant even today.
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced? What did you learn from it?
I think the biggest challenge I faced was when I started my business journey. When I decided to quit medical practice and walk down the path of entrepreneurship, getting started was a huge hurdle and the only thing I learnt was that there is no such thing as the “perfect business plan”. Sometimes, many of us hold ourselves back because we are trying to create the perfect plan to execute, therefore my advice would be to just get started.
If you have an idea, get started and you will solve the issues that come along with it. Most importantly, believe in yourself and don’t expect anyone else to believe in you.
In a nutshell, dream big, believe in yourself and execute.
What man-made innovation confounds you? Why?
It has to be the internet. I am unable to comprehend how the world operated before the invention of Internet. Essentially, the world we’re living in currently is a byproduct of the internet, and I’m truly unable to grasp how people lived prior to this man-made innovation.
Malaysia’s greatest brand.
It’s unity and diversity. I feel that we live in a unique country where there are individuals of different ethnic groups living together in a harmonious manner. Celebrating and embracing the diversity we have is Malaysia’s greatest brand. However, politics is harming what took us decades to build and it has been divisive for the current as well as generations to come. We must push back against this by creating a stronger wave of unity among us all.
A must-read for every business owner/manager is ...
One of my favourite books is Animal Farm. I have read that book multiple times and every single time, I’m able to pick out a new life lesson.
What are the top three factors you would attribute your success to?
First, it has to be my stubborn nature, or rather, tenacity, one can say, which does not allow me to take no for an answer. Beyond that, I’m constantly dreaming and that has allowed me to pursue things that I never thought I ever would see myself doing.
Finally, the ability to work smart allows me to strategically manage my day – working smart definitely outweighs working hard.
Source: The Sun Daily
No comments:
Post a Comment