Meet my mentors: people and the printed word

"I have many," I began. "My first role model is my father, who passed away when I was just 12. He was a quiet Chinese entrepreneur in Nakhon Sawan. We didn't really have a lot of father-son conversations, but there were a few things I observed about him that affected me."

"What were those things?" asked Noi, another participant.

"First, he was diligent. He woke up early, around 4 am. When I was studying and later when I was working, I tried to wake up around 5 am _ that was a habit that I had absorbed without anyone insisting I do it. Over the past five years, I've been able to rise at 4 or 4:30 am."

Pradit, another participant, entered the conversation. "No wonder _ our behaviour affects others around us," he told me. "I heard my son cursing in my car the other day. I said it was not good manners to do that. He said he saw his mom doing it all the time. 'What's wrong with that?' he asked me."

The group laughed.

I continued: "My father's stamina was another thing. He never complained about how difficult his work was. Sometimes at home, I observed him working hard. No one had ordered him to do it _ he just took the initiative to do things. Whenever I was discouraged I recalled his calm and 'never quit' attitude. Most of the time, I have been able to come back from adversity."

Noi asked another question: "What about the people you've worked with?"

"I learned a lot from all of my bosses during the 20 years of my employee life," I said. "The place I considered a real university was Citibank. I spent seven years there. I learned about management, selling, marketing, coaching and motivation from Khun Vichai Ekpatanapanich. I learned about analytical skills and assertiveness from Khun Thanachai Thanachai-aree, about leadership from Khun Napaporn Sarachitti, about managing change and retail bank marketing from Khun Chaivat Utaiwan."

"What about books?" Kung asked.

"Books are another type of mentor," I said. "The first book from which I learned lot about working with people was How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I read the Thai version 25 years ago. I still apply some of its techniques. Another book was Tang-Soo-Chivit (Adversity in Life) by Maj Gen Luang Vijit Vatakarn. It's the first real how-to book in Thai. Published in 1951, it featured examples from leadership figures from all around the world, and inspired me a lot in terms of my leadership style. Two leaders from this book who impressed me greatly were Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln. My values and beliefs were influenced by their stories."

"What about other books?"

"I also consider these as my mentors: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey on having a positive attitude and life skills; and Presenting to Win by Jerry Weissman on presentation skills. Good mentors for me on people management have been the Marcus Buckingham series: First Break All the Rules, Now Discover Your Strengths and One Thing You Need to Know. Rethinking the Future by Rowan Gibson and The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman are other books that helped me look to the future. Winning by Jack Welch is my handbook for executive coaching.

"On the spiritual side, I was inspired by books of the late Buddhadasa Bhikkhu: Pra Tham Bhidok, Luang Poo Cha."

"Who taught you to write in a story-telling style?" asked Tanate, who had been listening attentively.

I mentioned thre books. "The first was The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. Some people consider it 'new age', some see it as spiritual. I think it's a psychology book that tells a story as entertainingly as an Indiana Jones movie.

"The other two were management books in a story-telling format. One was Fish: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen. The other was Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership by Ken Blanchard and Patricia Zigarmi."

"You seem to have a very good, positive mental attitude," said Thanate. "How did you obtain it?"

"I learned about positive attitude a lot from books as well," I said, adding that among the other books people might like to explore are the following:

See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar

Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins

Adversity Quotient by Paul Stoltz

Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman

Attitude is Everything by Keith Harrell

Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

The Purpose of Your Life by Carole Adrienne and James Redfield

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor FranklHow Full is your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Donald Clifton.

KRIENGSAK NIRATPATTANASAI is the founder of TheCoach, specialising in executive coaching in leadership and cross-cultural skills. Copies of previous columns are available at www.thaicoach.com. He can be reached at 02-517-3126 or coachkriengsak@yahoo.com