today Monday 23 September 2013

26

management
Heart, smarts, luck ... but Singaporeans need more guts
4 elements to building a great business

Cynthia Owens

hat qualities does it take to build a great business? According to Mr Hsieh Tsun Yan, a former Senior Director at McKinsey, counsellor to global CEOs, author and now professor, it takes a combination of heart, smarts, guts and luck. His book, a New York Times bestseller which takes these four elements as its title, says the key to success is for leaders to be willing to make ourselves vulnerable, generous, open andauthentic. Singaporeans, he says, as a whole are two-and-a-half times less likely than the global average to start their

own business, and only 1 per cent of would-be entrepreneurs actually get their business ideas off the ground. It is time for Singaporeans to gain more guts, he told a recent forum: When in doubt, do something. Its not that we dont have money, Mr Hsieh said to the gathering organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. Our wouldbe entrepreneurs biggest stumbling block, even among those who profess to be seriously thinking about it ... is the failure to start. He said extensive research had shown that successful entrepreneurs and business builders understand that they cannot just sit back content with the status quo.

This is adapted from an article published on NUS Business Schools Think Business portal (thinkbusiness. nus.edu).

Singaporeans, he says, are two-and-a-half times less likely than the global average to start their own business. It is time for them to gain more guts: When in doubt, do something.
ness context, it means a combination of humility, optimism and networking. Humility comes from understanding that you may not know something, but may be able to find others who are experts. Optimism is about retaining a positive outlook, while networking as well as being a crucial business skill means spending time with people who are different and who may bring different perspectives and talents. Guts, the final element in the quartet, breaks down into three parts. MrHsieh said: Guts to start, guts to persevere and guts to evolve.
ADVICE FOR SCARED YOUNG SINGAPOREANS

Mr Hsieh was with McKinsey for more than three decades, before leaving to set up his own management advisory firm, the LinHart Group. He is a Provost Chair Professor of the National University of Singapore Business School. TODAY FILE PHOTO

When it aint broken, break it anyway and fix it, Mr Hsieh said, noting that, in too many cases, leaders fail to evolve their business model. It takes courage to tamper with the wellspring of success. His book is co-authored with MrRichard Harrington, former President and CEO of Thomson Corporation, and Mr Anthony Tjan, Managing Partner of venture capital firm Cue Ball. Between them, they surveyed more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and business builders to uncover what motivates them and how they make decisions. They found that both share a combination of these four key factors.
THE FOUR ELEMENTS

The first, heart, is about passion, Mr Hsieh said. Successful entrepreneurs set aside other things to fulfil their dreams and push through challenges such as when Singaporean parents ask: When are you going to get a real job? Smarts, Mr Hsieh said, has nothing to do with books. Rather, there are two critical components: Pattern recognition and judgment. The first is about being able to connect the dots and see things in alternative arenas. The second, judgment, is crucial when entrepreneurs are choosing business partners. Going into business with friends, while possibly fun, is not always smart, he said. Luck is about attitude. In the busi-

Finally, Mr Hsieh shared the key learnings that he said were important for a Singapore audience. Young entrepreneurs needed more guts to start their own businesses, and he challenged them with six questions: What terrifies you? Gutsy people are not fearless. They have the ability to turn negative energy or fear into the positive energy of action. What is the worst that can happen? What have you got to lose? The best time to start is when you are young, because you can lose. Are you truly and madly in love with the business you are trying to build? Those are the businesses thatsucceed. Which risk are you better positioned to take? There are two kinds of gutsy people: Those who have a high tolerance of risk for long periods of time, and others who occasionally step up for risks that they are uniquely positioned to take. How can I experience and learn from a crisis? Most people think about it as a thinking exercise, contingency planning. That is all wonderful, but crisis management is experiential. It is not a thinking exercise. How would you team up to complement your leadership qualities? The best leaders know that they are not dominant in every aspect ofbusiness.