October 8, 2007

Bangkok Post - As part of the sixth Thailand Corporate Excellence Report for 2006 prepared by the Thailand Management Association (TMA), the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University and MarketWise Ltd, there was...

Q: You were one of the initiators of the Thailand Corporate Excellence Awards. What is the background of these awards?

A: At that time, TMA and Sasin were talking about organising an event where we could learn about management and best practices from several Thai organisations. So we formed a working committee from both institutes. The goal was to allow small and medium-sized enterprises to learn best management practices from leading organisations. The committee then came up with the criteria and procedures for the awards.

It was not a new idea at that time. In most international organisations there is a passion to learn from examples of management excellence. There were several Thai companies that were successful locally. Nevertheless, only a few of these organisations were successful internationally. In the modern era, there are new management techniques, learning from these successful organisations is a shortcut.

Q: What do you think are the factors that won the votes from the business community for the winning firms?

A: I think it comes from the efforts of management commitment to development. These organisations have demonstrated in the past that their management invests in organisational development, people development, social contribution and research and development.

These are organisations that share a long-term view. They do not focus only on the bottom line for short-term gain. They value all developments as investments, not as expenses. This is the strong evidence of long-term sustainable growth, and valuing all stakeholders both internal and external.

Q: What are your suggestions for those organisations that have not registered in the rankings?

A: Each organisation needs to have a long-term view. Do not focus only on short-term goals such as market share or revenue because, when the economy is unstable or the environment changes, it will not be sustainable. If we look at these excellent companies, they are long-term players. They do business and develop at the same time. They balance all aspects, such as business development, organisational development, human resource development, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.

These are sustainable organisations that have withstood several crises.

I also want to encourage all small and medium-sized firms that they can participate in this programme. They have a chance to be innovative or take some initiative that may not require a huge R&D budget. The new economy is not only limited to scale. It is about leadership, ideas, innovation or speed.

Q: Let's shift our discussion to the leadership perspective. You have experience in both the private and public service sectors. What are your leadership tips?

A: First of all, a leader must be able to set a clear direction, both long and short term. Second, adversity is a part of life. Along the way, there will be challenges. The road is not full of roses. Leaders must have a commitment to fight. Leaders must stick to the goal. If leaders are unstable, the organisation would be in jeopardy. In business you have competition and in the public service you have a lot of uncertainty and also a political agenda.

Third, good leaders encourage new ideas, new initiatives and innovation. It could be a new perspective on old things. It could be a relaunch or new launch in the business world. In the organisation, we must encourage people to think outside the box. However, when people talk about innovation, we perceive it to be about R&D or high investment.

Fourth, leaders must be able to inspire people. It is not easy, particularly during periods of crisis. It's like you are on a shaky boat _ if the leader jumps ship, the boat sinks sooner. Leaders need to stay put and fight adversity. Inspiration is necessary, both during normal situations and crisis periods.

Lastly, leaders care for society. Business is now more and more concerned about the environment and society. Organisations should allocate budgets to support those who are less fortunate. The higher your position and profile, the more concerned you have to be.

Q: You mentioned fighting adversity, how do you cope with it?

A: Usually, people have good days and bad days. We do have frustrations or discouragements from time to time. Each person has a different way of coping with this. For myself, during my business career, I had to be accountable. Now, as the Governor, I have even more accountability since I serve 10 million people. I have to remind myself that I chose this path with full awareness of the challenge. I have to stick with my ideology.

Kriengsak Niratpattanasai provides executive coaching in leadership and diversity management under the brand TheCoach. He can be reached at coachkriengsak@yahoo.com.

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