IN THIS week’s column, ARB Bhd executive director Datuk Seri Liew Kok Leong (pic) shares his experiences and views with SunBiz.
How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
My life experience has helped me to persevere even in the face of rejection as I’ve learned that rejection isn’t personal. Most of the time, it is important for us to focus on what we can bring to the table in any negotiation. I also assume the best in all situations that I encounter. This perspective has helped me to be a go-getter and a leader who sets the roadmap for a three-to-five-year plan.
I believe it is vital to for us to prioritise what matters and make decisions based on these priorities. This has helped us to persevere through difficult circumstances as we focus on our goals as individuals and as a unit. I’d like to think that my leadership traits are anchored on these traits.
What traits do you look for in your talent or how do you decide who is right for a job?
I believe organisations need to have a diverse talent pool in order to be successful. This is why we have to identify the talent gaps within our organisation and source for suitable candidates that can fit into these vacant positions. I also think that it is important for these new candidates to embrace the culture within our organisation.
This is why we put a lot of emphasis in growing them through a system that we have implemented at ARB. Through this, we help them to adapt to the consistently evolving world, train them with the needed skills and future-focus determination.
We believe that this will help to effectively engage, retain and motivate them to achieve long-term personal and business goals. We have also developed a comprehensive performance review and goal setting system to help us with our resource planning over the near-term and long-term.
How do you think the industry you are in will evolve?
The information technology (IT) industry is growing at a rapid pace. There will be a lot of focus on the next wave of technological breakthrough of the Industry 4.0. However, most people failed to realise that technology on its own is not going to transform the world that we live in. Instead, the Industry 4.0 is about empowering every individual and organisations to be better. This includes political and business leaders, policymakers and people from all income groups.
I believe that the digital revolution over the next decade will focus on harnessing converging technologies in order to create an inclusive, human-centred future. What I mean by this is that these new technologies will allow us to have the opportunity to work on things that matter to our lives.
For example, smart manufacturing with the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics will open up opportunities for us to focus on families, organisations and communities.
While we’re still in the early days of this evolution, I am confident that artificial intelligence (AI) will eventually eradicate the inequality that we’re seeing today and push mankind into an inclusive growth that is sustainable.
We all know about the industrial revolution, are we in for a technological revolution? Your thoughts.
I believe we’re already in the next phase of technological evolution. With big data, faster digital network and AI, this will accelerate our shift into the next technological breakthrough. However, as mentioned before, I believe this next evolution will focus on empowering every individual and organisations to be better. It is about what technology can do for humanity.
What do you want to accomplish in the next five years?
There is a huge potential in the industry, and we want to be a part of this growth over the next five years. Our aim is to increase 20% of our market share to become one of the top tier IT companies in Asean. We also want to be one of the best ROI companies in the region as we need to maintain our shareholders’ interest as our priority. Aside from that, we also want to be the best company to work for in order to attract the best talents in the industry.
Best piece of advice you ever received in your career.
There is no shortcut to success. It all boils down to the result of preparation, hard work and willingness to learn from failure.
How do you stay abreast of issues affecting your industry?
I think the best way to stay abreast of issues affecting our industry is through innovation. It is an open secret that we must innovate to keep up with the market’s pace of change. With technological advances disrupting all industries, companies must innovate in order to stay relevant and not be left behind. For us, we focus on the innovation of our business model to drive revenue.
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced? And what did you learn from it?
I think one of the biggest challenges that I have faced is in attracting and retaining talent.
With competition from global tech companies, it puts companies like us in a difficult position to get the best talent to work with us. This is part of the reason why we are looking to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange, which could boost the profile of the company significantly.
What are the top three factors you would attribute your success to?
Like I’ve said earlier, it’s all about persevering through every different challenge and obstacle. In order to do that, we need to first set our roadmap and business goals. The art of setting an agile roadmap to achieve a set of business goals is the key to my success.
With our priorities set, it is about breaking through barriers. There is a need to be decisive at the workplace, make clear-cut and timely decisions with the appropriate amount of information. By focusing on what we could do with the available information, we will be able to add values to our stakeholders including our customers, partners and shareholders.
The success that we achieve also helped to build our reputation in the industry. This has helped us to attract and retain talent in the industry, which keep our growth trajectory intact.
Source: The Sun Daily
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