Leadership Assignment - INSPIRE

1
INSPIRE|2014LimitedEdition
AlsoFeaturing
Robert Kuok
Zeti Akhtar
MEET The Leaders !
Great
movies,
great
books,
make your
day!
June 2014 RM9.00
INSPIRE
Case
Studies
Problems
Resolved!
To BE INSPRIED IS GREAT, TO INSPIRE IS INCREDIBLE

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Reviews:
Great Movie,
great books,
make your day!
Case STudies:
Problems Resolved!
Editor’s Comment
Editorial Team
true colors
personality test
inspirational
quotes
Interviews:
Meet the Leaders!
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5
6
13
23
20
31
49
CONTENTCOver Article:
Planting Your Legacy

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INSPIRE|2014LimitedEditionEDITOR’S NOTE
EDITOR
COMMNT
FIRST of all, we appreciate this golden opportunity given to us to produce this magazine.
With this opportunity, we not only inspired by the stories of Tan Sri Dato Seri Dr Zeti
Akhtar Aziz, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Robert Kuok, we also feel grateful to be given the chance to
interview some inspiring leaders, review some good leadership movies and books as well as solve some
case studies in the past ten weeks.
‘To be inspired is great, but taking actions to inspire others is incredible.’ With the theme of “legacy” in
mind, our magazine wishes that you would be inspired up to the point to create your own legacy and
inspire others. This is also why our magazine name is called ‘Inspire’.
So, you might now have this question in your mind: ‘How do I create my own legacy which can inspire
others?’ To help you to answer this question, turn to the cover story – “Planting Your Legacy”, to discover
how some of the brightest and most successful leaders in our country create their legacies by going through
various challenges. From their stories, perhaps you can get some ideas on how you can create your own
legacy. Prior to creating your legacy, you probably would want to know what is your own personality? Flip
to page 20!
If you are looking for more advice to sharpen your leadership skills, flip to the section called “Meet the
leaders”. The leaders we nominated to interview are experienced and inspiring. We hope that you can get
inspired by reading their stories!
Other than having interviewed some inspiring leaders, we wish to introduce you to some good leadership
movies and books in the section of “Great movies, great books, make your day!”. As we know, one of the
skills that leaders should have is problem solving. In the section of “Problem resolved!”, we have included
some analysis of how leaders will solve the scenarios provided in various case studies.
In short, we hope this magazine gets you inspired. Happy reading!
- Lee Hou Lek

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Acknowledgement
Design Director |
Ding Sze Ling
Deputy Editor |
Danny Tiah
Chief Editor |
Lee Hou Lek
| Managing Editor
Finance Director |
Liew Jun Zhen
Administrative Director |
Lee Phui Yee
| Deputy Editor
Kevin Chua
the editorialteam
Image: Kevin Chua, Sek Ying Phin, Danny Tiah, Ding Sze Ling, Lee Hou Lek, Lee Phui Yee and Liew Jun Zhen (from the left)
Sek Ying Phin
Advisor | Mr Shannon & Dr Jennie Soo
Photographer | Ccwhy Yao
Design Advisor | Chew Jue Liang, Daniel & Lee Jiok Li

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Carve your name on hearts,
not tombstones
Planting
“ ”
Leaders are also
those who pursue
the goals for the
collective good
and not for their
personal gain
”
“

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Imagine….. thatthere’sabuildingthatletsoutadark,thicksmokewhichappearstoreach
the clouds above it - a burning building. A leader and his subordinates are
trappedinside.There‘snowaytoescapebecausethefirstfloorisfullyengulfedinflames.Feelinghelpless,theyrun
up to the highest floor and they reach the rooftop. There is another building, almost the same height, right beside
thisburningbuilding.Thefireislikesomecreature,eatingeverythingitcould.Whatwouldtheleaderdo?Orrather
what should the leader do? How should this leader influence his subordinates to jump over to another building?
People often get influenced by a leader who leads by example. If the leader relies much on his/her
title to influence others, then that’s not real influencing skills. A leader who always leads
by example will not only be able to influence people, but also has the effect of inspiring people. The power of
influencing and inspiring followers is crucial for leaders to create their legacies. Now, let’s get inspired from the
legacies of Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Tan Sri Dato Seri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz and Tan Sri Robert Kuok Hock Nien.
Your Legacy
Everything on
earth is dynamic.
I can only give
my children a message,
not money. If they follow
it, we can go another
three or four
generations
“
”

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Tony
Fernandes
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has been the Group
CEO of AirAsia since December 2001. He
introducedthefirstbudgetno-frillsairline,
AirAsia, to Malaysians with the tagline
“Noweveryonecanfly”
Prior to AirAsia, he was the Financial
Controller of Virgin Communications
London. Then, he joined Warner Music
International London in 1989. He was
promoted to Managing Director, Warner
Music Malaysia in 1992 and to Regional
Managing Director, Warner Music South
East Asia in 1996. In 1999, he became
the Vice President of Warner Music South
EastAsia.
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes graduated from
Epsom College, UK, and the London School
of Economics. He is a fellow member of
the Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants (ACCA) and a member of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants in
EnglandandWales(ICAEW).
BACKGROUND
COVER ARTICLE: Planting Your Legacy
KeyAchievements
• Named “Airline Industry Leader of the Year”
at theAviation 100Awards 2014
• Awarded the Inaugural ‘Travel Business
LeadersAward’winner by CNBC (2011)
• Awarded the top title at the 1st Malaysian
Achievement Award at the prestigious Double
Tree by Hilton
• Awarded “Excellence In Leadership - Asia
Pacific Leadership Awards 2009” and
“Malaysia CEO of the year of the Year 2003”
Challenges faced and how it is dealt with
Challenges
faced and how it
is dealt with
One of the major challenges Tan Sri
Tony Fernandes faced was the lack
of experience of the airline industry.
He had spent the majority of his past
career in the music industry withWarner
Music. When he left his previous job
as Managing Director, he had completely no
experience of the airline industry.
Another challenge that Tan Sri Tony Fernandes
faced when starting his own airline company was
to obtain an airline licence. Unfortunately, his initial
application for an airline licence was rejected by the
Malaysian Government. He proceeded to consult
then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
who advised him to buy an existing airline instead of
starting from scratch. Ultimately, it came down to a
decision between buying Pelangi Air or Airasia, and
he made the latter decision.
Upon acquiring Airasia, Airasia was heavily in
debt and its assets only included two old aircrafts.
To make matters worse, Airasia was struggling and
making a loss. And to top it all off, Tony Fernandes
had to mortgage his home and use his personal
savings to acquire the company.
All the challenges faced above did not deter Tan
Sri Tony Fernandes. His main idea of reforming
Airasia as a short-haul low cost carrier was a major
success. He had a clear mission and vision for his
company; this is how the tagline ‘Now everyone
can fly’ came about. Moreover, he was able to
enlist some of the leading low-cost airline experts
to restructure Airasia’s business model. Another
major factor was that during his time of acquiring
Airasia, September 11 had just occurred; this caused
a reduction in aircraft leasing costs. It was also the
perfect opportunity for them to offer customers a cut-
rate air service, further saving them time and money.
Leadership Style
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes is no doubt a servant leader
to his people. He adopts participative management
in the company where he actively involves his
employees. For example, he adopts ‘walk around’
management style because he believes that if he sits
in his tower everyday just looking at the financial
reports, he is going to make some big mistakes.
Hence, he works on the ground or in the cabin crew
for a few days every month. This is what a great
leader needs in the hospitality industry, which is to
walk the talk. His staff will then be more appreciative
of their leader and are always motivated to do their
best.
Besides, he puts service before self-interest. It is
evident that he places employees before customers.
Tony once said, “Employees come number one,
customers come number two. If you have a happy
workforce they’ll look after your customers
anyway”, “You can have all the money you want in
the world, and you can have all the brilliant ideas but
if you don’t have the people, forget it” etc.
Tony helps his employees to grow and provides
opportunities for them to gain materially and
emotionally. “Hierarchy, what hierarchy?” he asks.
He does not believe in hierarchy. He is a leader
and a manager, but he is also one of the team. He
encourages his people to speak up. His office is
constructed in a way that there are no walls and no
doors. Everyone sees him and he sees everyone. He
is Tony to everyone, in his polo shirt with his famous
baseball cap.
He is always ready to serve the needs of others
and most importantly, he inspires trust by being
trustworthy. Tony was a young boy when he first
envisioned cheap flights across Asia. Being at
boarding school in England far from his childhood
home in Malaysia, half-term visits were out of the
question. He always dreamt about doing a long
haul low-cost airline ever since. He is trustworthy
as we can see from his operation style. He puts the
turnaround of the airline down to “culture, focus and
discipline”. He believes in keeping the operation
simple by separating the two companies, Air Asia
dedicates to low cost short-haul flights whileAirAsia
Xfocusesonlong-haulroutes.Despitetheseparation,
the two airlines a similar modus operandi: efficiency
is a key to keeping up with demand and ensuring a
healthy profit-margin. “We do a lot of practising on
doors, on the cabin crew, helping people sit down
quickly and clearing the aisles,” he explained. It is no
doubt that he has improved a lot on the organization’s
performance. Tony always sees the needs of others
and he has always achieved what the others require
thus leading him to be seen as a trustworthy person
which enables him to inspire trust.

9
Zeti Akhtar
Aziz
BACKGROUND
Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz is
the seventh and current governor of our
Bank Negara Malaysia. She has been
serving this position for over 14 years.
In Malaysia, she is the first woman to
hold this position. She is also the first
woman in Asia to lead central bank. She
is definitely a legacy in Malaysia and
Asia.
Zeti received her Bachelor degree in
Economic from University of Malaya.
She then furthered her studies in PhD in
monetaryandinternationaleconomicsat
UniversityofPennsylvania.Herexpertise
is in capital flows and implications for
monetary policy.
Key Achievements
• Accorded “Grade A” among the heads of
central banks for the 10th time by the Global
Finance magazine (2013)
• First woman who received the awards of
“Tokoh Ma’al Hijrah 1432H” at the national-
level Ma’al Hijrah celebration (2010)
Challenges faced
and how it is dealt
with
One of the key achievements of Zeti as a leader
was how she led her team during 1997 / 98
financial crisis. At that time, Malaysian ringgit
was attacked by speculators. This led to significant
increase of overnight rate from below 8% to over
40% which in turn rating downgrades and huge
sell off on stock and currency markets. During that
time, Zeti was inexperienced in monetary policy
but she took up the responsibility as an interim
governor of Bank Negara. Hence, Zeti practiced
her doctoral thesis on managing international
capital flows to resolve the crisis steadily and
successfully steered the Malaysia economy. Zeti
can be described as a “linchpin” as Zeti has the
courage to assume responsibility. She did not
only took an involvement in the crisis but she
also owned a diverse team and made the decision
as well as responsible for both good and bad
outcomes of her decisions.
From her recent interviews, she emphasized on
the importance of a diverse team, organizational
capability and clear goal for an organization. We
believe that she could resolve the 1997 / 98 crisis
steadily because she built up a diverse team and
set a clarity goal for her team. She would consult
her subordinates from diverse background about
opinions, suggestions and risks of each decision
and encourage them participate in decision
making.
The breakout of the subprime crisis has seen
to have affected the financial stability of many
countries. However, Zeti confidently said that
Asian banks are now more resilient and are better
capitalized since the financial crisis ten years
ago and hence would not be very much affected
this time. According to South-South Information
Gateway (SSIG), Zeti said that the Central Bank
has taken several measures in order to improve
the financial stability since 1997. One of the
many efforts would be establishing an agency
called Credit Guarantee Corporation for Small
Businesses, which allows banks to better assess
the exposure of companies. Besides that, The Sun
Daily on 17 November 2008 reported that Zeti was
being appointed to a high-level task force set up by
the United Nation (UN) to examine the possible
reform of the global financial system, she has to
work with other panelists from different countries,
cultures and backgrounds. In order to be able to
collaborate and cooperate effectively with panelist
from diverse culture and background, cultural
intelligence is very much needed.
In 2009, Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz was
selected by the Global Finance magazine to be
one of the world’s best central bank chief. In the
article of “Central Banker Report Cards”, Tan
Sri Dr. Zeti and six other central banks chief was
given grade “A” for their success in areas such
as inflation control, the target of economic
growth, stable currency and interest rate
management. This shows that Zeti have
led her team well in order to cushion the
country from the global financial crisis.
Zeti was also the key person in the
growth of Islamic finance in Malaysia
and also in other parts of Asia. The
challenge faced here was to deviate
from the orthodox and conventional
approaches. However, Zeti saw that there was
opportunity as Muslims began seeking financial
services that met Islamic principles. In 2002, Zeti
led a team to launch the Malaysian global Islamic
Sukuk, the world’s first Sukuk (a Shari’ah-
compliant security) to be issued by a sovereign.
Because of the vision and courage that Zeti has,
today Islamic banking accounts for at least 11
percent of Malaysia’s financial system. This
has paved the way to the launch of Malaysia
International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC)
which offers Islamic financial products and
services in international currencies.
Leadership Style
For her behavior, she can be categorized
under participative leadership by encouraging
her subordinates in decision making and
achievement-oriented leadership by setting clear
goals for her team. There is a leadership model
which suits for both participative leadership and
achievement-oriented leadership, which is Ohio
State Leadership Model. Zeti has fulfilled two
factors under this Ohio State Studies, which are
consideration which similar to her participative
leadership, while initiating structure which
similar to her achievement-oriented leadership as
mentioned above.

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Robert Kuok
BACKGROUND
Tan Sri Robert Kuok Hock Nien is the
richest entrepreneur in Malaysia and
South East Asia. According to Forbes, he
has an estimated networth of $12 billion
asof2014andrankedwithinthetop100
world’sbillionaireslist.
Robert was born in Johor Bahru on 6
October 1923. After graduating from the
RafflesinstitutioninSingapore,hestarted
his career in Mitsubishi, a Japanese
industrial company from 1942 to 1945.
Afterthepassingofthisfather,Robertand
his two brothers founded Kuok Brothers
Sdn Bhd in 1949. The business mainly
deals with agricultural commodities.
Robert’s company expanded exponentially
totheextenthewascontrolling80%ofthe
Malaysiansugarequivalentto10%ofworld
sugar production. Thus, he was nicknamed
the“SugarKingofAsia”.
Since then, Robert has expanded his
business by venturing into many other
fields such as hospitality, logistics,
media, property development and palm oil
which spans across different countries.
His biggest source of wealth comes from
his stake at a Singapore listed company,
Wilmar International which is the world’s
largestpalmoilprocessor.
KeyAchievements
• Earned the Tan Sri title in Malaysia.
• Established the Kuok Foundation.
• Owns East Asia’s most influential English
newspaper, the Hong Kong-based South China
Morning Post.
• Family-owned holding company, Kerry Group
Ltd., which Kuok chairs, has a total market
value of about $40 billion.
• Owns the Shangri-La hotel chain, nicknamed
the “Hotel King”
• Has ten bottling companies with Coca-Cola
• Awarded CCTV Economic Person of the Year
2012 in China.
Challenges faced
and how it is dealt
with
One of the obstacles Robert faced when running Kuok
Brothers Sdn Bhd was that the distribution of sugar
in Malaya was then mainly controlled by the British.
To overcome the monopoly of sugar imports by the
British,theKuokssourcedcheapersugarfromIndiaand
Cuba. Gradually, Kuok became the main importer and
distributor of sugar in Malaya. Furthermore, Robert’s
English fluency also gave him an advantage over other
Chinese businessmen as transactions in the international
marketwereconductedinEnglish.
Robert explained that he needed management skills
and experience that was beyond his family members
and even the Chinese. He leveraged on the strengths
and weaknesses of different groups. He recognized
that the Europeans were the best in the hospitality field
and appointed them to manage his Shangri-La Hotels.
More than other Chinese business organizations, Kuok
has been able to successfully retain the loyalty of his
professionals by giving them important roles within
the organization. He also significantly allows more
than 30% of shares in the three main family holding
companiestobeheldbynon-relatives.
One of the most prominent non-family figures in
Robert’s business is Martua Stiorus who founded
Wilmar International with Robert’s son, Kuok Khoon
Hong. He is in charge of running Wilmar’s large
operationsinIndonesia.
The NEPlaunched in 1971 could significantly constrain
Chinese businesses in Malaysia. To tackle this issue,
Robert ventured into China which was going through
reformation process. China’s reformation opened up
many opportunities for overseas Chinese businessmen
andRoberttookadvantageof it.
BeingfluentinChinese,Robertcancommunicateeasily
with the Chinese officials and has developed good
relations with them when he agreed to help in the dire
shortage of sugar in China in 1973 when two Chinese
officials met him in secret in Hong Kong regarding the
issue.Today, Chinese leaders regard him as a successful
businessmanandheis wellrespectedinChina.
Robert was also not heavily affected by the Asian
Financial Crisis in 1997 as his investments in different
countriessuchasChina,HongKongandEuropehelped
mitigatetheimpactonhis totalbusiness.
Leadership Style
Tan Sri Robert Kuok practices good democratic
management style. As the leader in his company, he
always prioritizes and takes good care of the employees
ashebelievesemployeesplayacrucialroletosustainthe
business.Besides,hisemployeeshadprovedthatRobert
has always contributing in the team in a motivational
way. Moreover, his team is able to get specific
percentages of shares based to their own contribution
towards the team. Also, Robert mainly recognize
honesty, hardworking and intelligence as the core value
of becominghis employees.
Robert also holds a very positive and good attitude no
matterheisintheworkplaceorfamily.Tobeasuccessful
businessman, one must be straight, humble and do not
take advantage of people.Robert always remind himself
and others, saying “when is person is arrogant, his/her
guardwillautomaticallylowered.Asaresult,theperson
willbedefeatedeasilybyhis rivals.”
Robert also emphasised that one must always brush all
his senses. Generally speaking, he has the ability to be
stay positive and aware of his surroundings to react in
the most appropriate way. In spite of all achievements,
Robert remains humble and passed down the simple
values to his children to always be humble and handle
their wealthwisely.
Robert’s philosophy in the corporate world can be
summed up into four words, work hard, work smart.
Since young, Robert has not only learned the value of
hard work and diligence, but also became aware that it
takes a broad set of thinking to become successful in the
business andinlife.
Besides, he always makes a mission to also contribute
back to the society through philanthropic work by
establishing the Kuok Foundation. This charitable
foundation aims to give scholarships to students from
poor background to pursue tertiary education. Robert
stronglybelievedinsocialresponsibilitywhereheisable
tosharehis wealthwiththeless fortunate.
Despite being 91 years old this year, Robert continues
to actively participate in his business. Being a servant
leader, he still serves as a voice of counsel and reason,
always encouraging and motivating the next generation
toputintheir bestefforttoattaintheir goalsinlife.

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Have you ever thought of giving up on a dream? Are you taking good things in life
for granted? Do you think you are communicating effectively with the people
around you?
There are definitely key values and characteristics that can be
obtained from the article’s three inspirational leaders in regards
to the questions above. Looking at Tan Sri Tony Fernandes,
he dreamed about running an airline, owning a Formula
One racing team and owning an English football club
during his childhood. He took up the courage to dream big
and eventually achieved all of his dreams. On the other
hand, Robert Kwok managed to seize countless business
opportunities even knowing there was the possibility of
failing. Most of the time, we do not know what we
are capable of until we see the results. We have to
dream big, to be passionate about your goals in
life and have the courage to pursue them.
Demonstrated in particular by Robert Kwok
is the importance of always being humble
and never forgetting to help others. He set
up a foundation to help students with financial
difficulties, which would result in creating a better
future for the country. Helping others by motivating and
providing them guidance is an essential component in
life. By practicing sincerity, generosity and humility
along our life, it will enable future generations to be more
civilized and developed. In contrast, we should learn not
to be materialistic and greedy, as all these are common
characteristics that would lead to our downfall.
A great leader must be willing to work well with
his/her team members. Breaking down hierarchy,
and practicing active listening are key strategies to
become a good leader and team player. Learning
from Zeti’s leadership qualities, diversity is
important when it comes to strengthening your
organizational capability. Thus, leaders should
always encourage people to voice out their opinions and
participate more actively by breaking down the walls of formality.
Looking past fame and fortune, these three inspirational leaders have
already created their own legacy which the future generation of leaders could follow. Their
leadership traits which include courage, passion, hard work, humility and team play can not
only significantly impact our lives but others as well. It is easier said than done when we
wish to be more than what we could be. However, it still comes down to our own sheer
determination to reflect upon ourselves and make that change. One of life’s greatest lessons is
to be humble and learn from others and also to learn from your own mistakes. Remember, the
only thing you take with you when you’re gone is what you leave behind.
“The planting of a tree, especially one of the long-living hardwood trees, is a gift which you
can make to posterity at almost no cost and with almost no trouble, and if the tree takes root it
will far outlive the visible effect of any of your other actions, good or evil.” - George Orwell ¶

13
Did your employees or subordinates feel
discouraged and perform poorly at your
workplace? Are you facing high turnover
rate and low productivity? Fret not! The 5
Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace
is a great tool for you not only to create
a more positive work environment, but also
to increase your company’s productivity and
reduce turnover rate.
The authors of the book, Gary
Chapman and Paul White are trying to help us
to understand the 5 languages of appreciation
which are (1) Words of affirmation; (2)
Quality Time; (3) Acts of Service; (4)
Tangible gifts and (5) Physical Touch and
identify our and others’ primary, secondary
and least meaningful language of appreciation.
Throughout this book, we can learn how to
retain talents and create a positive work
environment under a tight budget through
expressions of appreciation effectively.
In current business environment, the
employees are expected to work harder and
longer in hours with no increase in pay or
reductions of employees’ benefits. If they do
not feel appreciated by the higher management,
they may lose their morale in working which
in turn leads to high job turnover and poor
quality of services delivered. However, many
companies today cannot afford to express
appreciation to their staff through extrinsic
rewards due to a tight budget and economic
downturn.
Although extrinsic rewards may not
be the first option of expressing appreciation to
their staff for most companies, the companies
can use intrinsic rewards (5 languages of
appreciation) to express appreciation to
their staff. By using the intrinsic rewards,
the companies can increase the internal
satisfactions of employees and appeal to the
higher needs of employees as compared to
the extrinsic rewards (which only appeal to
the lower needs of employees).
In the ever-more-competitive
business environment, retaining talented
people is critical for every organization so the
organization is stayed competitive. Thus, if the
organisations failed to express appreciation,
they are failing to recognise one of the
company’s greatest assets. Servant leaders
will express their appreciation through intrinsic
positive approach to help their staff to enjoy
their work and gain a sense of accomplishment
as well as increase job satisfaction.
However, a general expression
of appreciation has very little impact on
motivation. Instead, appreciation is needed to
be tailored in accordance to the primary or
secondary language of the recipient. Thus,
for appreciation to be impactful for the
recipient, our actions of appreciation must be
individualized because each person will have
a different primary language of appreciation.
For example, if we are hungry but we are
offered a chair to sit, it is nice. However,
it does not meet the primary need of our
hunger. Similarly, if someone does not speak
our own primary language of appreciation, we
are not really encouraged.
What is your primary language of
appreciation? You may identify it from the
Motivating By Appreciation (MBA) Inventory
initiated by Paul and Gary. For more
information, please go to mbainventory.com.
In conclusion, creating a more
positive work environment through sincere
expression of appreciation is critical to every
leader. Believe me, this book is worth to
invest in order to fortify your legacy in your
organization!
REVIEWS: GREAT MOVIES, GREAT BOOKS, MAKE YOU DAY!
The 5
Languages
of
Appreciation
in the
Workplace - By Lee Hou Lek
“Synopsis:
To create a legacy in
an organisation, you
must empower its
people. To encourage
people, leaders have
to express sincere
appreciation to
their people so that
their people feel
appreciated.
”AUTHOR:
Gary Chapman & Paul White
PUBLISHER:
Northfield Publishing
DATE OF PUBLICATION:
2011
PLACE OF PURCHASE:
Popular Bookstores
PRICE:
RM 39.90

14
KARPAL
SINGH
- Tiger of Jelutong
Karpal Singh is considered a political and
legal force ever since he began his career in
both these areas. He joined the Democratic
Action Party and was made a Member of
Parliament in 1978 for the seat of Jelutong
in Penang. Many people would recognize
Karpal as ‘The Tiger of Jelutong’ due to
his fiery temperament and tenacious way in
defending his clients. In this book, I have
identified several scenarios which showcase
Karpal’s leadership traits.
In his early legal career, Karpal was
the unofficial lawyer for many communists
during the emergency period of Malaysia in
the 1970s. Being a strong opposer against
the death penalty, Karpal has the courage
to defend anyone including communists.
Besides that, I also believe Karpal has self
confidence and optimism. This was reflected
in the landmark case of Penang in 1976
where Karpal represented Teh who was
charged under the ISA and ESCAR. Despite
his unsuccessful previous attempts in
defending communists who faced the death
penalty when charged under the ESCAR,
Karpal remained confident and optimistic
that he could prevent Teh from having the
same fate. Karpal went all the way to the
Privy Council in London to appeal that the
ESCAR was unconstitutional. Although the
appeal was eventually unsuccessful, I can
see Karpal really went all out in defending
his client and learnt that we must not give
up hope easily.
Throughout the entire book, I can
clearly see a specific leadership quality in
Karpal which I believe is courage leadership.
Karpal’s courage can be seen in his quest
to subject Malaysian royals to the rule
of law as the rulers have immunity from
prosecution. From his action, I believe that
courage mean nonconformity where Karpal
decides to make a change for a larger ethical
purpose. Karpal has sued several sultans on
different cases and in one particular case
sued the sultan of Selangor for a statement
that he made where he will not pardon
convicted drug traffickers in his state and
led to the sultan being brought to court for
the first time. I am really inspired by his
courage which has led to the constitutional
change in 1993 that everyone including
sultans was subjected to the rule of law.
Besides that, I also believe that
Karpal has courage to fight for what he
believed in. Being a strong advocate of
human rights, he has defended numerous
foreigners who were convicted under the
Dangerous Drug Acts of Malaysia. One of
high profile cases will be involving New
Zealand mother and son Lorraine and Aaron
Cohen where Karpal successfully defended
them from death and life imprisonment. I
am really inspired by Karpal’s courage in
defending them despite being held under
the ISA at that time and learnt that courage
means fighting for what you truly believe
despite adversities.
During his imprisonment under the
ISA from 1987 to 1989 for 15 months, I
believe Karpal also found personal courage
to pull through that difficult period by drawing
strength from others. Poor living conditions
and his back issues did not break Karpal as
his family especially his wife has supported
him mentally and also helped run the law
firm during his imprisonment. In this case, it
has occurred to me that having support from
others is also a form of courage.
Reading this book, I have seen
numerous leadership traits in him where
courage leadership is the theme of his
story and career as he devoted his life into
fighting for what he believes in against all
odds. Despite his recent passing, Karpal
Singh will forever be remembered as a
fearless and courageous man.
AUTHOR:
Tim Donoghue
PUBLISHER:
Marhsall Cavendish Editions
DATE OF PUBLICATION:
2013
PLACE OF PURCHASE:
Popular Bookstores
PRICE:
RM 49.90
- By Kevin Chua
Synopsis
Karpal Singh is widely
regarded as one of the
most prominent legal
and political figures in
Malaysia. Being a strong
advocate for justicve
and human rights,
Karpal has also gained
international reputation
for his efforts. This book
has very well illustrated
Karpal’s long career in
the Malaysian legal and
political system and the
obstacles that
he faced.

15
Invictus is an uplifting movie which shows how prejudice and hatred
are overcome and, above all, a fascinating study of political leadership.
It has moments evoking great emotions as Nelson Mandela being
the first black South African President demonstrates how he works
towards the reconciliation of his nation. After many years under the
Apartheid ruling, having a black president was the black’s aspiration,
but the fear of the white Afrikaners. Thus, this movie portrays trust
and forgiveness to remove fear which became the key success factor
in building a rainbow nation.
The film unfolds with a montage that takes Nelson Mandela
from political prisoner on Robben Island to president of South Africa.
As played by Morgan Freeman, Mandela is calm and confident, but
fully aware that his country could erupt into political violence with the
least provocation. Mandela’s strategy is to embrace his opposition
which then distances him from his core supporters. Leaders often
make good decision but it may not be a popular decision.
Nelson Mandela is a leader who is clear of his goal
and has the courage to state his convictions openly. This was
demonstrated when Mandela personally travelled to the sports
committee to state his stand that the former name and colors of the
rugby team, Springbok has to be kept despite the vote of sports
committee unanimously agreed to change it. He justified that it is
one of the ways to reach out to the Afrikaners that mostly think their
presence would be get rid of. Although it did not went well with the
natives, Mandela still holds on to his believe and forges ahead with
his plans. In this event, Mandela can be seen as an emotionally
stable leader as he gave a calm and persuasive speech to convince
the sport committees.
Supportive leadership can also be seen to be applied by
Nelson Mandela as he shows concern for his people’s well-being
and personal needs. He knew that the team members of Springbok
needed inspiration to win the Rugby World Cup Championship.
Hence, he shared a Victorian poem, Invictus with Francois Pienaar
so to keep him motivated and can then influence his team members.
The most memorable and inspiring lines in the poem was ‘I am the
master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.’
Besides that, the most inspiriting scene in the movie is
when Mandela went over to the field just to shake hands with the
whole rugby team while wishing them good luck before the finals.
This shows us that Nelson Mandela is a servant leader as he
spends time to motivate people despite his busy schedule. The role
of a motivator can also be seen in Francois Pienaar as he brought
the spirit of the team up in the field when the opposing team was
leading.
Invictus is a great movie which incorporates sports to tell
us about the history of South Africa. The key message in this movie
is that nothing is impossible; there are no limits on what you can
achieve.
STARRING: Morgan Freeman,
Matt Damon
DIRECTOR: Clint Eastwood
RELEASE DATE: December11, 2009
Synopsis - ThefilmisaboutaninspiringtruestoryofhowNelson
Mandela joined forces with the captain of South
Africa’srugbyteam,FrancoisPienaar,tohelpunitetheircountry.NelsonMandela
being the newly elected president knows that his nation remains racially and
economicallydividedinthewakeofapartheid.Believingthattheuniversallanguage
ofsportwillbringthepeopletogether,MandelaralliesSouthAfrica’srugbyteamas
theymaketheirhistoricruntothe1995RugbyWorldCupChampionshipmatch.
- By Sek Ying Phin

16
The Shawshank Redemption is not your typical prison movie.
There is just something about it that generates a warm
feeling in our hearts when watching it. This unique movie
features the story of men who have forged a friendship
behind bars. It contains a deeper meaning compared to
most other films; about the journey through life, based on
friendship and hope. To top it off, the story is narrated in a
calm and observant voice which further amplifies the feeling
of being involved in the movie.
One of the many key characteristics of being a
leader is the capability to positively affect those around you,
and this characteristic is evidently displayed in this movie.
The protagonist, Andy Dufresne, is portrayed as an average
man that has been thrown into a dire situation. However, in
a situation where most people would have given up hope,
he instead decides continue living life in an extraordinary
way. Following this, he deeply impacts the lives of his fellow
prison mates - in particular his close friend ‘Red’.
Andy is not your typical leader as he does not
have any duties or obligations to act as a leader. But, his
strong sense of willpower motivates him to perform various
selfless acts of compassion to lift the spirits of the people
around him.
Examples of his unselfish act include obtaining
beers for his fellow inmates while risking being caught by the
brutal and merciless Captain Hadley. He also does his best
to improve the condition and facilities of the prison library,
and even provides academic guidance to a fellow inmate in
order to assist him in obtaining his high school certificate.
In one of the movies most iconic scenes, Andy
disables a guard in order to provide his prison mates a
short period of inspiring opera music that is broadcasted over
the prison radio. It is in these small but significant acts of
courage that Andy is portrayed as an unselfish leader - a
leader that is willing to make some sacrifices for the sake
of inspiring others.
Andy and Red both share a similar dream of being
able to live a new and renowned life, and leaving behind
their days at prison in the past. While Andy is confident of
achieving this vision, Red is doubtful as he is worried that
he would not be able to adjust to the life outside prison.
Eventually with the support and motivation from Andy, Red
is able to get over his fears and move on to a new life.
The Shawshank Redemption promises a great story
of leadership with a key message to takeaway: no matter
how bad a situation may turn out, it can be overcome as
long as you do not give up hope.
STARRING: Tim Robbins,
Morgan Freeman
DIRECTOR: Frank Darabot
RELEASE DATE: September 10, 1994
Synopsis
- By Danny Tiah
Andy Dufresne is a banker who has been
wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife
and as a result imprisoned in Shawshank
Prison. It is in the prison where he meets and
befriends Ellis ‘Red’ Redding, and through
sheer determination and not losing hope,
changes his own fate as well as the lives of the
inmates around him.

17
Without losing his charismatic old fashioned personalities with bionic
muscles, Steve Roger entered into the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D
as a field agent doing dangerous missions. However, Cap doubts
whether the work has fully lived up to his moral code. After a
devastating and shocking incident, the climax started when Cap is
no anymore longer to trust anyone or anything, and leads him on a
track to know the truth about who is really in charge and who he
is really working for.
In the movie, Cap is able to adapt postmodern essentials
like sarcasm, cynicism, some sense of humor and the art of the
passionate kiss. In crisis time, Cap stays his true logo, as for the
people goodness not the government power, and go rogue to deal
with powerful but evil men. I learnt that leaders need to make the
right decision when a situation needs him. Eventually, he leads the
team and save the world from a global termination threat. The movie
shows a sign of a great edit and a great script as audience will not
find a single extraneous scene when looking back. The script is well
structured and concise where the layers of movie’s mysteries unfold
in a gradual way and leading to a strong third act filled with impactful
follow ups.
Both assisting and opposing of Cap roles plays their
characters successfully where they expand and deepen the movie’s
plot. Natasha Romanoff, alias Black Widow plays a great contrast to
the Captain America, as her shades of grey worldview is not quite
compatible to Cap’s black and white view of morality. Yet, they work
and stand on each other sides with trusts. Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick
Fury, as the top man of S.H.I.E.L.D, finally gets involved to play an
action-heavy, expanded role in Marvel Studios Film. There is also a
new member known as Falcon (Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson), a
retired soldier who used to work in a specialized airborne unit. He
has the charisma and servant leadership, hence meshes so well with
Cap all along the movie fighting together against the threat and villain
while always motivating each other. The values of strong courage
and the willingness to sacrifice in all 4 characters inspire audiences
showing what a leader truly means.
The major villain this time is the Winter Soldier, played
by Sebastian Stan. The brainwashed assassin has his tremendous
plot presence, both thematically and actively. The soldier exists and
disappear all around the world literally like a ghost, turn up to be
a terrifying foe for Captain America, possessing amazing agility,
incredible strength, and a crushing metal arm. While battling against
the Winter Soldier and the reappearing HYDRA organization, Captain
struggles even that he is given power beyond normal men. However,
the real strength of Captain America isn’t his ability to throw his
shield, it’s his courage to keep getting back up, to keep going, no
matter what’s the cost. Transformed from a puny guy to Captain
America, he showed us that one must understand the true value of
strength by always being humble.
The First Avenger was no doubt an interesting fun
adventurer with wonderful storyline about honor and duty. In an era
where audiences are obsessed with brooding and dark superheroes,
the movie gives us a fresh breath, reminding us that a great hero
don’t have to be disturbed and dark to be interesting. The Winter
Soldier expands on those ideas while we still see what’s noble
and actions of humanity. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a
exceptionally-made, tense, thrilling ride, and whether you are going to
the cinema for the exciting story or a blockbuster action, you’ll leave
more than satisfied.
STARRING: Chris Evans,
Samuel L. Jackson,
Scarlett Johansson,
Sebastian Stan
DIRECTOR: Anthony Russo,
Joe Russo
RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2014
Synopsis - Steve Rogers, the Captain America
struggles to embrace his character
in the modern world and battles a new danger from old history: the
Soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier.
- By Liew Jun Zhen

18
This movie is indeed a mind-blowing one that keeps you engrossed
from start to finish. Even from the beginning, it has started with an
unforeseen tragic and devastating accident which causes the death
of the First Lady.
I believe that every leader can be a follower and every
follower can be a leader. This can be reflected in the character of
Mike Banning when he is striving to save the President from the
terrorist, Kang. If I were to describe the type of follower for Mike,
I would say he is no doubt an effective follower. Not only he is
independent and takes up responsibilities, he is also a critical thinker
from many aspects. During the accident, he saves the President
from going down with the car when it almost goes down the cliff.
Unfortunately, the First Lady is sacrificed in the event. This portrays
that sometimes, something important must be sacrificed for the
greater good. He has also mustered up the necessary courage in
the event of rescuing the President where the most essential one is
the courage to assume responsibility. Although he is no longer the
presidential protector of the President’s family, he still decides to run
into the White House to save the President despite knowing that he
might be sacrificed in the event and never have the chance to see
his beloved wife again. One of the most indispensable things he has
done is that he has acted fast and rescued the President’s son,
Connor from being held hostage and this prevents Kang from using
Connor to threaten the President for the Cerberus code which might
cause nuclear disaster. Mike becomes the sole hope of saving the
President and preventing a potential nuclear disaster that would end
all American lives. His strong willpower, determination and able to
think rationally when he is in danger are reasons of him manages
to keep the President alive.
President Asher has also displayed leadership qualities as
he does not negotiate even when his life is being threatened by
Kang. He is a servant leader which inspires me because he leads
by putting service before self-interest. He is willing to sacrifice himself
to save his people. For instance, he allows his Secretary of Defense,
McMillan who endures the rough treatment by Kang, to give away
the Cerberus code when he sees her being tortured and assures her
that Kang will never get his code no matter what happens to him.
Not to forget the Speaker of the House who is the acting
president, he knows how to control the situation and what to prioritize
when he is between devil and the deep blue sea. He chooses to
believe Mike because Mike is their sole hope. He is very tough and
stands very strong as a leader when he feels that General Clegg
has gone beyond his order. He is able to stay calm when situation
needs him to make the right decision. Eventually, he has worked
with the team and Mike and successfully save the President from the
terrorists.
I can’t think of the last time I watched a movie at such
rapt attention. “Olympus Has Fallen” makes me understand that
sacrifice is part of life. Sometimes, sacrifices ought to be made
by leaders for the greater good. It is not something to regret but
something to aspire to.
STARRING: Gerard Butler,
Aaron Eckhart,
Morgan Freeman
DIRECTOR: Antoine Fuqua
RELEASE DATE: March 22, 2013
Synopsis - When the White House (Secret Service Code:
“Olympus”) is captured by a North Korean
terrorist mastermind, Kang, and the President is kidnapped, disgraced former
Presidential Secret Service Agent Mike Banning finds himself trapped within
the building. As our national security team scrambles to respond, their only
choice is to rely on Banning’s inside knowledge to help retake the White House,
save the President from the kidnappers and avert an even bigger disaster.
- By Lee Phui Yee

19
Movies had long graced us with action, thrill and drama
however little do we know that many values can be drawn
from the characters in those movies to better improve our
lives. Stacker Pentecost played by Idris Elba, is one of these
character from the movie that bring forth soul and energy
into Pacific Rim from his outstanding leadership role displayed
in the Jaeger programme. At the helm of the driving wheel,
Pentecost keeps the Jaeger program together while inspiring
the crew to move forward and is the smart witted tactician
behind the last ditch effort to save the world. From his strange
personal vulnerability to his relationship with Mako Mori, there
is no shortage of excitement and intrigue that Elba brings to
the table through the eyes of Pentecost.
One of the skills required to be a successful virtual
team leader is to select right team members. Due to the
death of his father and sister, Luna along with the illness
and subsequent death of his co-pilot, Tamsin, Pentecost was
burdened with the responsibility of protecting the world from the
Kaiju and makes him responsible for Mako. Though he believes
she can pilot a Jaeger as well as anyone, there is little to
hide of his fear that her desire for revenge in the name of her
family will consume her. Their relationship is built on mutual
respect and understanding for one another.
One of the greatest traits of leadership within
Pentecost is the trait of servent leader. A servant leader do
not want sympathy from his team member but require his team
members’ compliance and skills, at the same time understand
their situation, strength and weakness to put them in the best
place in order for them to contribute to the team. Pentecost
is a decisive leader and this can be proved from the scene
when he insists of proceeding with his plan and heads for
the Anti-Kaiju Wall to find Raleigh when the UN is not willing
to help. Furthermore, he sacrifices his life to try and kill the
Kaiju, through the arming of the thermonuclear bomb – the
Gipsy Danger’s nuclear reactor during the process of fighting
the Category IV and V Kaiju.
A good leader generates the best result from what
is happening, a great leader generates the greatest result
from what is going to happen after the storm. This is exactly
how far sighted Pentecost is as a leader. During Anchorage
Shatterdome, he orders the Becket brothers to defend the
city against the approaching category III Kaiju. However when
Yancy realize the approach of a boat, Pentecost decided to
look onto the bigger picture and focus on the true task at
hand, saving the city from destruction. A leader knows when to
sacrifice something for the greater good no matter how harsh
and terrible the decision is.
STARRING: Charlie Hunnam,
Idris Elba,
Rinko Kikuchi
DIRECTOR: Guillermo del Toro
RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2013
To combat them, humans devised massive robots called jaegers
as weapons. But even Jaegers proved nearly defenseless against
creatures. Now on the verge of defeat, mankind must turn to two
unlikely heroes, teamed in a seemingly obsolete Jaeger, as the last
hope against a mounting apocalypse.
- By Ding Sze Ling
“The man who led the MONSTERS to fight MONSTERS”
Synopsis- When legions of monstrous alien
creatures stared rising from
the sea, a deadly war began.

20
True Colors Personality Test
For each box, read the words and decide which of the four letter choices
suits
you the most. Rank the order from “4” (most like you) to “1” (least like
you) for each box. You will end up with a box of four letter choices, ranked
from “4” Continue this process with the remaining four boxes until each
have a 4, 3, 2, and 1.
Active
Opportunistic
Spontaneous
A _____
Parental
Traditional
Responsible
B _____
Authentic
Harmonious
Compassionate
C _____
Versatile
Inventive
Competent
D _____
Curious
Conceptual
Knowledgeable
E _____
Unique
Empathetic
Communicative
F _____
Practical
Sensible
Dependable
G _____
Competitive
Impetuous
Impactful
H _____
Loyal
Conservative
Organized
I _____
Devoted
Warm
Poetic
J _____
Realistic
Open-minded
Adventuresome
K _____
Theoretical
Seeking
Ingenious
L _____
Concerned
Procedural
Cooperative
M _____
Daring
Impulsive
Fun
N _____
Tender
Inspirational
Dramatic
O _____
Determined
Complex
Composed
P _____
Box 5
Philosophical
Principled
Rational
Q _____
Vivacious
Affectionate
Sympathetic
R _____
Exciting
Courageous
Skillful
S _____
Orderly
Conventional
Caring
T _____
Now Sum up and see which color has the highest score, and that’s your
personality group:
A,H,K,N,S orange= _______ B,G,I,M,T red= _______
C,F,J,O,R blue = _______ D,E,L,P,Q green= _______

21
I need to feel unique and authentic
Enthusiastic, Sympathetic, Personal
I look for meaning and significance in life
Warm, Communicative, Compassionate
I need to contribute, to encourage,
and to care
Idealistic, Spiritual, Sincere
I value integrity and unity in relationships
Peaceful, Flexible, Imaginative
I am a natural romantic, a poet, a nurturer
I act on a moment's notice
Witty, Charming, Spontaneous
I consider life a game, here and now
Impulsive, Generous, Impactful
I need fun, variety, stimulation, and excitement
Optimistic, Eager, Bold
I value skill, resourcefulness, and courage
Physical, Immediate, Fraternal
I am a natural trouble shooter, a performer, a
competitor
I need to follow rules and respect authority
Loyal, Dependable, Prepared
I have a strong sense of what is right and wrong
in life
Thorough, Sensible, Punctual
I need to be useful and belong
Faithful, Stable, Organized
I value home, family, and tradition
Caring, Concerned, Concrete
I am a natural preserver, a parent, a helper
I seek knowledge and understanding
Analytical, Global, Conceptual
I live by my own standards
Cool, Calm, Collected
I need explanation and answers
Inventive, Logical, Perfectionist
I value intelligence, insight, fairness, and justice
Abstract, Hypothetical, Investigative
I am a natural non-conformist, a visionary,
a problem solver
nderstanding

23
1
What are the 3 most important values you strive to
demonstrate as a leader within your firm?
The first value is humility. It is about saying sorry. A leader
must seek to acknowledge his/her mistakes. No one is perfect,
even a leader. The second value is empathy. It means putting
yourself in the shoes of a team to understand their position and
point of view. The third value is trust and forgiveness. A leader
needs to entrust and empower employees when performing their
tasks. Such will lead the employees to be more accountable for their
actions and results. Forgiving someone who did not perform well
the first time is important. Everybody deserves a second chance.
2
What approaches or strategies do you use to
influence others on an important issue or your
decision made?
There are some circumstances where you need to support your
people, while there are circumstances where you need to make
firm decisions even though it might not a very popular one. At the
end of the day, it is important that a leader takes accountability.
The leader must be ready to be answerable for the decisions
made and whatever the outcome of the decisions. A leader must
also listen to advice pertaining to areas they may overlook before
making a decision. Consider the possible outcomes and weigh the
options carefully. As a leader, you can make a decision and you
can influence the decision, but more importantly be accountable
for the outcome of the decision we made!
3
Can you share some of the challenges faced at your
workplace as a leader and how did you deal with it?
The challenges begin when clients are unreasonable, and
this in turn puts undue pressure onto the staff. Other challenges
I face also include managing staff members who don’t work as a
team. Hence, people management is an important area for leaders
because it takes up a lot of time. To solve all these issues, I
always fall back onto my motto: The problems are caused by
people, thus people should have the solutions to all these issues.
Emotional intelligence is important for people management. Before
we do anything on emotion or on impulse, let’s take a step back
first. It is very important to control your own emotions in order to
deal with issues objectively.
4
How did you rally your team members and build
morale as well as gain commitment from your team
during peak period?
Firstly, be present with my staff. During peak periods, the staff
work late. To me, a supportive leader should be with the staff
when he/she is needed most. My business travels are therefore
deferred where possible to minimise my absence. Secondly,
showing your team that you care is crucial. For example, the
simple act of having “makan session” or running sessions with
my team is a good step in keeping a team cohesive.
5
What do you understand by the term ‘legacy’,
especially in the context of leadership? What do
you believe your legacy will be?
For me, legacy in the context of leadership is a tradition passed
down from previous leaders. However, as a current leader, it is
more important to be flexible, adapt to change, and be willing to
listen. Good traditions should be continued but if there is room
for improvement, why not? As for my own legacy, hopefully I can
inspire future leaders to focus on being people-oriented where
these leaders are able to speak to everyone as peers and foster
close relationships with his/her employees.
6
What advice would you like to share with the fresh
graduates who are inspired to be leaders?
Perhaps the more pertinent question to ask yourself is -
do you really aspire to be a leader? Some of us perform better
as specialists of our fields, despite having the potentials to be
a leader. On the flip side, if a person is chosen (not elected)
to lead, we should also consider whether that person will be
accepted as a leader. I don’t think it is a bad thing if you prefer
to be a specialist in your role instead of leading a team. In
my personal view, there are many roles people can play in the
society. It is only you who will know best when the time comes.
Ms.AngWeina(FCPA(S),FCPA(A),CA(M),ACTIM,B.Acc)
is a Tax Partner at Deloitte Malaysia’s tax practice and leads
Deloitte’s Global Employer Services (GES) team. She has
more than 20 years’ experience with Deloitte in Singapore,
Japan and Malaysia dealing in mobility, rewards and talent
issues ranging from tax compliance and immigration matters
of employees and employers to advisory on mobility policy,
equity incentive design and payroll compliance review. She
is also one of the advisors of Monash University – School of
Business (Sunway Campus).
INTERVIEW: MEET THE LEADERS!
Image: Kevin Chua, Ang Weina, Lee Hou Lek (from the left)
DO YOU
ASPIRE
TO BE A
LEADER?
- By Lee Hou Lek

24
1
What are the most important
values that you demonstrate as
a leader?
Well like I said a leader first has to be a
servant. A leader has to be a people person
and he needs to have the soft skills, not just
the technical skills. He needs to be able to
understand people and be able to get the
best. In other words, enhance their strengths
and correct their weaknesses so that whoever
works under the leader will be a better person.
A leader also has to inspire and coach the
person and sometimes have to take hard
decisions where the person many not be the
right fit for the organization. So a leader has
to be firm, but also has to be fair and has
the credibility in the organization. Credibility
means trust, being able to be charismatic
or a leader that people can respect. Those
are the values I demonstrate as a leader.
2
Can you share some of the
challenges faced in your
workplace as a leader and how
did you deal with it?
Not everyone shares the same vision and the
goals of the company. So the challenge for
me in this place is actually trying to understand
the different staff in terms of their age groups
because every age group has a different drives
and motivations as well as work habits. Thus, I
cannot categorize the workforce as homogenous
and I will have to adapt my leadership style
to the different diverse groups. In leadership,
there are many kinds of theories and leadership
styles. Some are situational leadership, directive
kind of leadership and participative where you
allow the candidates to participate and share in
the consensus building. Therefore I will have
to apply leadership styles to different diverse
groups and cannot have a one size fits all
leadership style.
3
What are the approaches did
you use to influence others on
an important issue?
Before doing anything I will have to accept that
companies are political organizations. So if I
have a project that involves other departments,
I will actually have to touch base with those
affected groups and gain their support first,
so that’s politics. So how would I be able to
influence them? Firstly, I will have to share with
them and agree on the common objectives of
the project. Now I don’t believe in forcing upon
the staff. It’s better to get them to buy into your
projects and share with them the same vision
that you have. As a result, they will be much
more motivated and inspired to do well in the
project. That’s the approach I will use in getting
the support and trust of others.
4
How do you rally your team
members and build morale as
well as gaining commitment
from them?
In order to get the team together and build
morale is to share with them the rationale for
doing a particular project. Once they accept
that rationale, the next thing I would do is to
actually coach and inspire them. Participative
and yet directive leadership is important in
gaining morale and commitment because you
know the purpose of the project but you have
to gain the trust and commitment of your staff.
There are also situations where the staff did
something which is not in line with the purpose
of the project. So my action will be to personally
counsel them. By doing this, I am respecting
the staff and also his pride. So I will tell him
where he went wrong and show him how he
should improve. The most important thing is
don’t demoralize a person because once you
demoralize a person it’s very difficult to build the
person up again.
5
All leaders have to deal with
conflict situations. What
strategies or approaches that
you have used in resolving conflicts?
As a leader, I have come across different
people or departments that are always in a
collusion path with each other. The manner
which I resolve conflict is by bringing the
conflicting parties together where I act as the
neutral mediator. As a neutral mediator, I will
have to dissect the conflict by taking away the
personal issues first and define what really the
problem is. Once you take out the personal and
you deal with it in on a neutral basis with the
two conflicting parties, I think you can actually
solve conflicts. I always mention to my staff that
you don’t have to like one another but you can
work with one another.
6
What is the legacy that you will
like to pass on to others?
What I would like to pass on to this
organization is that I would like to see a team
that works well together and be able to share
the same vision and goals of the company. So
building such a team is the legacy I would like
to leave in this organization.
7
Lastly, what advice do you
have for the young generation
who aspire to be leaders in the
future?
So my advice to the young generation would
be to learn the soft skills if you want to be
a leader. Learn how to interact with people
and most important is to be humble. There is
nothing to lose in being a humble but everything
to gain. So what makes you different is can
you motivate the next person to do what you
want? So that is the big challenge and not how
intelligent you are. Can you get the whole group
to believe and trust in you as well to share the
same goals as you? That is the difference and
that is what leadership is all about.
Image: Kevin Chua, Y.P. Lim (from the left)
Conquering
Diversity- By Kevin Chua
Mr. Y.P. Lim graduated from University Malaya in the 1970s and subsequently
obtained an MBA in the later part of his career. He started off his career as an
accounting trainee in GoodyearTyres which is an American multinational corporation
and got promoted to a directorial role. Mr Lim eventually left GoodyearTyres and
served as the group executive director in another local conglomerate. Currently, he
is the executive director of Q-Dees Worldwide, a company which specializes in pre-
schooleducation.

25
1
Looking over your life, what
is your greatest achievement
to date?
To me the most satisfying is the
relationship I had with my farm workers
at the farm. They were all Orang Asli.
They had very little education. They
were considered as people with little
skills and knowledge. But I proved to a
lot of people that that’s a myth, that’s
not true. They learnt things far better
than a lot of people that I’ve met in
my life. That to me has been a great
achievement because it’s against a lot
of odds. And more importantly, I’ve
made a difference to their life.
2
What are the most important
values and ethics you think a
leader should demonstrate?
Honesty, fairness and firm decision
making. We only live one life. So let’s
not be haunted by dishonest values.
3
Can you share what is the
biggest challenge that you
have faced in your career?
It had been my current business,
which is TJM Perth, a 4 wheel drive
accessories concern. Being a trained
lawyer, I knew nothing about this.
And I was in a new country, with no
friends, no history and nobody to fall
back on. I had to train myself and
proof myself. The challenge here was
that I knew very little about the industry
and I hardly knew anybody. I had to
depend on people to start the business
so that I can learn more about the
business. Besides applying business
principles, you have to know about the
business so that you are not overly
dependent on your staff. I was very
conscious of the fact that my staffs
might walk out on me one day. So,
people management becomes important.
You want them to respect you as the
owner and at the same time you want
them to do their job properly for which
they are paid for.
4
How do you stay motivated
in times of adversity? Are
there any quotes that kept u
motivated?
I always remembered when I was a
school boy, I passed by a bookshop
and saw a poster which says that ‘The
heights that great men reached and
kept were not attained through sudden
flight, but while their companions slept,
they were toiling through the night’. I
saved up money and bought that poster
and bought another poster which says
‘Be true to your highest convictions’.
These are the quotes I remember till
today.
5
What would be your legacy
that you want to pass on to
the younger generation?
It’s values more than anything. I
don’t believe in things like materials,
properties, wealth and so forth. It
only spoils the younger generation.
Just provide what is enough. It’s not
so much of being remembered but
probably being remembered for having
important values which would make a
difference in their life. And this differs
from person to person.
6
Lastly, as an entrepreneur,
what advice do you have for
the new entrepreneurs who
aspire to be successful?
First, work hard. Second work smart.
Third, know what is relevant and what is
not relevant to your career or business.
I use to spend quite a substantial part
of my budget for advertising. About
6 years ago, when search engine
was very new, I decided to have a
serious consideration on it. I started
reading about it, talking to people about
it. Then, I decided to invest money
in it and cut of traditional mode of
advertising. A lot of people think I was
doing the wrong thing. But now a lot of
people realised that I had a good head
start. I proved them wrong. This has
really increased my bottom line quite
big time. It’s much cheaper to advertise
through internet and you can reach the
customers quickly. So I felt that if I did
not know what is relevant and what is
not, I may not be where I am today.
And what is relevant today may not be
relevant tomorrow, what was relevant
yesterday may not be relevant today.
That’s what it’s all about.
Image: Koo Patrick, Sek Ying Phin (from the left)
Courage to
Change &
Excel! - By Sek Ying Phin
Mr. Koo Patrickstarted off his career as a deputy public prosecutor and then moved on to private practice as a legal
assistant and eventually owned a law practice firm. After 13 years of working in the legal industry, he called it a day and
madeabolddecisiontobeagoatfarmer.Hehasledagroupoforangasliwhohelpedhimmanagethefarmandinlessthan2
years,hegotanawardfromthePrimeMinisterforbeingthetopgoatbreederinthecountry.AftermigratingtoAustralia,
he started a new business venture in the auto industry and has successfully turned around the company to be the top
distributor in Southern Australia.

26
1
What is the one characteristic that you believe
every leader should possess?
I think an important characteristic is to have a clear vision
and purpose in life.
This serves as a strong foundation for all the activities a
leader performs because it helps prioritizes the important and
filter out the not important goals in life. For example, Tony
Fernandes childhood dream was to owning a budget airline, a
football club and a race car team.
Having that dream in mind, it was a strong driving force in his
life to achieve his vision and goals. This is also evident in
other great leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa
whom all had a clear vision of their calling in life.
2
What are the greatest challenges you have faced
as a leader?
Leaving a comfortable corporate job and stepping out to
finance and start a new business. Some of the challenges
include looking for client and hiring people for the company.
The biggest challenge going into my mind was “Why and
what would attract a potential employee to join a small and
unknown start up company?” I didn’t have an answer. Over
time, I learnt to build and communicate your dream and
vision that is bigger than just yourself and to include your
people. This draws people together when they can identify
and resonate with your vision. I realized this when we had
people from our competitors applying to join us.
3
What are you doing to ensure you continue to
grow and develop as a leader?
By adopting the attitude of being a life long learner. Always
wanting to learn, viewing different perspectives and building
discipline habits in life.
This can include taking time to attend seminar/courses, seeking
our mentors in life and mentoring the younger generation. I’ve
had mentoring groups which some have lasted more than 13
years. Small groups like these help me to have accountability
partners and keep me grounded to my feet to become a
better person.
4
Do you have any roles models that influenced
your leadership philosophy or development?
One of the the business role model I look up to is David
Ong who is the founder of Reapfield real estate service. He
came from a humble beginning from Penang, went astray in
his younger life as a drug addict before turning around his
life anew in his family and business in being one of the top
real estate company in Malaysia. Another great business
leader is Malek Ali the founder of BFM radio station which
is a relatively new business radio station. His journey from
securing the loan, recruiting his team, obtaining the radio
license, facing resistance from authorities for standing up to
his ethics and having a “start up” attitude has helped the
company to grow very successfully.
5
How do you perceive legacy?
Legacy is moving from success to building a life of significance.
You are not only successful but you leave behind a significant
benefit or lasting blessing.
6
What do you want people to remember the most
about you?
The people who are closest to me would definitely be my
family. I would like my three sons to remember me as being
a hero! And my wife remembers me for being a good husband
who loves her dearly. To my friends, I see myself as both
a career coach and a life coach. I hope in my time spent
with them, I have had the opportunity to encourage, direct
and point them to live life significantly to the fullest everyday.
7
Lastly, what is the best advice you would want to
pass to the younger generation?
My 8 years old son favorite word is “PLAY” which is his
motto as a young child. Likewise for the younger generation, I
hope they can identify what keeps them happy, motivated and
successful. Know what and how to “press the right buttons” in
your life journey. What is worth your time and energy to PLAY
to the fullest in life?
Mr.VincentgraduatedfromSunwayUniversityin1995.Hestartedoffhiscareer
with PricewaterhouseCoopers in HR consulting before moving into Receuitment
in the year 2000. He has since started his own company, Pentagonplus where he
currently serves as a Director.
Image:VincentandDannyTiah(fromtheleft)
“Follow your
Dreams” - By Danny Tiah

27
1
What are the elements that you like and dislike in this
company?
The people in the company have one objective and mission
and all of us are in the same page. And it is a company that I look
forward to work with. The company has clear targets , strategies,
strategic application, foresight and most important the support from
senior management and the marketing team. Of course we all have
our own different opinions, but we will not involve anything personal.
Sometimes people may disagree which are all personal opinion, yet I
always fight for my rights. However, it is only good provided you have
the basics, where your conscious is clear and your thoughts are not
malicious, which your intentions are noble towards your client support,
directions and the company’s objective.
2
How do you demonstrate leadership in your personal
life or work place?
Working in the assurance industry, the environment is people
oriented, which is more into building relationship and connection. In order
for you to do this business, you need to be motivated by yourself, and
your biggest motivation comes from your customers and the ability to
secure their account. In terms of leadership, you need to have a very
focus mind on what you want to do and what you want your team
to achieve. And in each of them they have their own characteristics,
you need to identify those and make sure they are falling in line. So
once you have identified the employees personalities and potentials,
you work towards them. A good leadership is to listen what people
want to say, regardless right or wrong. It is good to work as a team
to understand and move together. If you do not listen to your staff
or heads of department, and you do not know the policy, you cannot
move forward. Also, dealing with Y-generation, you have to educate
and talk to them about the career, the potentials of the industry can
provide, and the possibilities of them enhancing their education in this
industry. You need to guide and motivate them, if you let them work
by themselves, they are very independent and will not have a clear
vision of the future. I always believe in 3 objectives: to be sincere, be
honest and transparent. When you have these 3 qualities, people will
respect and look up to you.
3
As a leader so far, what is the greatest challenge you
encountered and how did you cope with it?
It is usually difficult going into bigger client accounts, fighting
against competitors and brokers. At the end of the day, we still have
to be sincere and honest towards our customers. For me, sometimes
some big accounts I went in I lose out. But when you lose out, you
take it as a positive outcome and a lesson. I will be more prepared
when I am approaching similar issues again. There was one scenario,
a particular account my team and I working for 9 months, and for 9
months I have been trying to knock on their door and convince them to
move with me. The company was very comfortable working with other
assurance firm and it was reluctant to make changes. I did not give
up and eventually, I got my letter of appointment successfully from the
client, because I promised to give my best effort and provide the best
quality of assurance. Sometimes you cannot take things for granted, you
have to sit down, wait for the opportunity, size up the customers and
work towards his expectation.
4
What is your legacy that you want to pass on to others?
In terms of dealing with customers and achieving targeted
accounts. I did the ways which were different from others, I
always tend to build a solid business relationship. Of course, styles might
have to change from time to time, but I would want people to remember
few areas of me and my team did. During the time we implemented
the Airasia account, the market and my team never thought we could
succeed. The whole market thought that local company cannot do the
business because we are taking over from foreign company - AIG. In
the end, we succeed dealing with the partners outside Malaysia. The
business module we have been practicing is to understand and know
others before working with them. This communication and relationship
bonding is important especially when people come to deal with
foreigners. This is the principle I would like other people to emulate for
the future. Another aspect is that my leadership and management style
might not be agreeable by everybody, but I think I have been quite
successful in achieving success of things by always going flexible and
adapt to the situation with the positive mindset. And Lastly never give
up to do your best.
5
Lastly, what advice would you like to give to someone
that is going into a leadership position for the first time?
The first thing I would suggest is one must dare to take up
challenges, be more matured, focused, willing to learn from mistakes
and most importantly learning from the failure. This is because when
you are from the position of rank and file, you will understand how
the operation works. If you are going straight to a leadership position,
then you must be prepared to learn, even an office boy may give
you a value-add proposal because he is a specialist and expert in
his own field. And if you are willing to learn and sacrifice the time to
learn working with people and understanding, will help you to win the
heart of people, you will find yourself achieving things more effectively.
Leadership requires time to learn and take steps to build relationships,
don’t rush because success automatically comes when you are ready.
Mr.PaulDavisisthegeneralmanagerinMulti-PurposeInsuranceBerhad(MPIB).
Hewasselfemployedin1981to1984doingvideotaperentingbusinessandalso
was supplying medical solutions to the government. Now, he has almost 30 years
experience in the assurance industry.He is currently in charge of corporate and
agency departments under agency business in MPIB.
Image:LiewJunZhenandPaulDavis(fromtheleft)
“Be positive, Be ready”
- By Liew Jun Zhen

28
1
What kind of leader do you think you are, task-
oriented or relationship-oriented?
I think you need to be both, to be fair. To be a leader, you
need to be flexible. One of the characteristics of being a good leader
is to be able to quickly analyse and judge what kind of leadership is
needed at different levels. Also, you have to consider the individual
that you are leading. Some individuals would need more directions
while others would thrive if you empower them and let them run but
of course with guidance along the way. I wouldn’t say I’m solely
either task oriented (directive) or relationship oriented (empowering)
but I continue try to refine my ability to adapt my leadership skills
to the individual.
2
Which event would you consider as a significant
turning point in your life?
One of the persons that I look up to and respect tremendously
is YB Dato Seri Idris Jala, the guy who brought me into MAS.
One of his key to success is Divine Intervention. It means if you
look back in your life, often times you realize that you didn’t plan
to be where you are today. Things conspire to happen to allow
you to be where you are today, things that perhaps you may look
at it negatively when it first occurred, but you know that if it didn’t
happen, you will be totally a different person, be at a totally different
place, and the circumstances would be different. Every point in my
life has contributed to who I am and where I am today. I think one
that is perhaps impactful for me which happened to me at a young
age is that I was very fortunate to receive a conditional
offer to study Economics in Cambridge together with a
scholarship. However, I think at that time I was a little bit
young, a little full of myself for the knowledge of getting
into such a prestigious university got to my head a little bit.
The conditional offer was not too difficult in my opinion
it was 3As at A-levels. I kind of took it for granted.
To cut a long story short, I didn’t meet the conditional
offer so I had to go to another university consequently.
But the most important thing is what I learned from the
episode. I learned never to take anything for granted. I
think I had to work for everything I achieved in life. That
episode also taught me humility. The point is that we are
all put into this world as equals, if you’re too sure of
yourself and if you’re too proud or arrogant, somehow
things come and bite you eventually.
3
What is one characteristic that you believe every
leader should possess?
Humility. As one climbs in the ladder and leads more people,
it’s very easy then to be full of yourself and naturally one becomes
very arrogant and doesn’t believe that they can do any wrong. The
larger the leader, the more they need to realize that no human
knows everything and can be correct all the time. The bottom line
is I’ve seen leaders believe too much in the respect that they are
given and it gets to their head and they lose sight of who they really
are. You need to be true to yourself and have their feet planted
firmly on the ground to be able to accept honest feedback and
opinions. This in turn encourages those around the leader to give
the honest assessment of the situation which would allow a good
leader to make an informed decision. It’s a virtuous cycle. Being fed
with only good news doesn’t provide key information for leaders to
make good decisions.
4
What are you doing to ensure that you continueto
grow and develop as a leader?
I continue to learn, observe, reflect on my actions, and
seek guidance from my seniors, mentors and people around me. I
continue to get honest feedbacks without fear or repercussion from
my peers and subordinates as well. Doing that periodic check or
reflection is very important. Not everything somebody tells you might
be true. Different people have different views. So at the end of the
day it’s for me to sit down and reflect on what I have done, what
are the feedbacks, how can I improve things and continue to ask
myself questions like how I would do things differently.
5
How do you perceive legacy? What kind of
legacy do you want to pass on to the others?
I think it ties to a lot of things. We are measured
by the things that we do and the things that we say. If
we are guided by our conscience, we hope to do the
best that we can. If things don’t turn out as planned,
that’s ok, we must have the humility to accept it, to
change and to try to remedy the situation, to try to
improve. It’s a learning process, to know that we
cannot change everything we want to change and
it’s also to be true to ourselves. Make the best
possible decision with all angles hopefully covered.
So 3 lessons which I hope to pass on to those just
starting out is to be guided by conscience, to have
humility and to always to continue to learn.
Mr. Song Eu Jin is currently the General Manager for the
Corporate Affairs Division at Bumi Armada Bhd. Most of his
careershavebeeninfinancebutinthelast5years,hehasmoved
on more to communication work. In the past, he has been an
analystinKualaLumpurOptionsandFinancialFuturesExchange,
an investment banker with Schroder Salomon Smith Barney in
London,afundmanagerwithMaybankLife(nowknownasEtika),
Senior Equity Research Analyst in ECM Libra, Vice President
of Strategic Transactions at MAS, Director for Corporate
and Finance practice in Ogilvy Public Relations in Singapore and
founderofhisownbusiness.
“What every leader needs”
Image:SongEuJinandLeePhuiYee(fromtheleft)
- By Lee Phui Yee

29
1
Firstly, could you share with me your career path and
what are your responsibilities in your current position?
I graduated in Finance & Economic back in 1998 while selling
air freshener as my first job. Subsequently, I was relocated to a
chemical manufacturing company servicing its existing customers based
in northern region. About few months later, I was offered a marketing
role in FMCG industry to promote a new brand which then became a
nationwide success. Spending about a year there, I decided to shift to
IT industry which gave me access to valuable IT knowledge. The next
few years saw me getting exposed to a few international companies
in charge of business development and market penetration strategies in
south East Asia.
Currently I owned a few companies that specialize from event
management, IT software, e-commerce to mobile application. Two of
my current responsibilities are ensuring that my businesses are being
run smoothly while constantly seeking out new opportunities.
2
How do you build relationships with other members of
your team?
Dealing with people is an essential part in corporate life; it is
a rite of passage that cannot be avoided. Therefore establishing good
rapports among team members is crucial to grasp. Brisk conversation
is a good starter and being a good listener would attract more friends.
Through these conversations, I’m able to discover their hobbies and
interest. Getting involved with them in common activities is a great
place to bring conversation to the next level. Through these activities,
I can converse and express my expectation and goals with them in a
stress-free environment.
3
Was there a point in your life as a leader where you
think that you didn’t do as well as you thought?
Well I believe everybody will eventually hit a wall during leadership
role. In my case I was too reliant and complacent when good times
are rolling which cause me to lose out on profitable projects. When I
did the post-mortem, I found out couple of factors leading to the loss.
Firstly, I found out that the project team was not properly structured.
There were too many layers of reporting in between. Secondly, each
of the team members’ job scope was not clearly specified. There was
a lack of initiative and pro-activeness in the team. Thirdly, there was
only a meeting at the end of the month – thus no close monitoring
process was conducted. Soon after failure of securing the project, I had
restructured my company and set up a “special task force” of which of
the project members were assessed with a set of KPIs. Weekly meeting
was conducted and individual’s performance was evaluated.
4
Describe a situation where you were able to influence
others on an important issue. What are the approaches
that you have used in resolving conflicts?
Most of the time I call the shot based on factual information supported
by data and numbers. I normally try to resolve it in harmonic manner.
However, there are few approaches that I could share to resolve
conflicts. I usually avoid the conflict by not appearing to be interested
into the subject matter or by accommodating which mean sacrificing your
own interest by allowing the other party’s interests to take precedence.
I will also compromise such as making a concession by accepting a
solution that could partially satisfy the other party’s interests. The next
approach would be collaboration where a solution can satisfy both
parties’ interest. The last resort would be confrontation where I will
dominate and interrupt the other party right away.
5
Whatisthelegacythatyouwillliketopassontoothers?
When things get tougher, it makes us stronger. Take a break,
rethink your strategy and always be open to third’s party
suggestions. Be willing to talk to more people and share your ideas.
When it comes to a point where change is inevitable, do it as change
is the only constant thing in life. However, be always inspired of what
your end objective is. Keep your eyes open and be ready to take on
challenges that may arise. And only when you are ready, both mentally
and physically, the opportunity would knock at your doorstep. I want
to be a reminder to the readers that your network is always your net
worth. Do expand your people network and business circles. You will
find them precious when you are in need of help one day.
Mr. Vilsonm Wong, who was the graduate of Victoria University
(VU)MBAprogrammein2008,istheCEOofFRAMEITSdnBhd,owner
of CatchTheEye Events & Production House, and project consultant
for Alibaba group responsible for the promotion of Malaysia Tourism
to china tourists. His forte are mainly into exploring new businesses
in this region and market penetration strategy. He was recently the
recipient of Digital Malaysia Corporate Accelerator Programme II
2014 nationwide organized by TM, MDec, and StartupMalaysia for a
mobile application, TANYA, that provides an alternative Q&A problem-
solvingtoMalaysian.TANYAisaimedtolaunchinSunwayUniversityby
July2014.
Image:VilsonmWongandDingSzeLing(Fromtheleft)
“Build
Bridges”- By Ding Sze Ling

31
Justin Salisbury is a super-franchiser for a
large chain of soup-and-sandwich
shops. He owns twelve shops in the same region, having
invested $2 million to own these stores. One-half the
investment in the stores came from inheritance and
investments Justin had made prior to becoming a
franchiser. The other half of the money was borrowed,
so Justin feels considerable pressure to earn enough
gross profit from the stores to make his debt payments
and earn a living.
Justin concluded that he needed to increase
revenues from his stores about 15 percent in order to
net enough profit for a comfortable living. He believed
that his business processes were good enough to make
a profit, and that the company was giving his franchise
operations enough marketing and advertising support.
Justin also thought that his managers were running
efficient operations. He was concerned, however,
that they weren’t trying hard enough to achieve good
customer service by encouraging the order takers at the
stores to pay more attention to customers. For example,
when Justin visited the stores (or sent a family member
in his place), the order takers didn’t smile enough or ask
frequently enough, “What else would you like with your
order?”
Justin decided that he shouldn’t micromanage
by telling the store managers how to motivate their
staffs. Yet he decided to discuss with his managers
what he wanted – more profit by doing a better job
of motivating the order takers and cashiers. He also
pointed out his twelve store managers that he would
be rewarding and recognizing their accomplishments
in boosting store revenues. After consulting with the
managers, Justin established the goal of a 15 percent
increases in revenues within twelve months.
Two weeks after the goal-setting discussions
with the twelve store managers, Justin announced that
he would be recognizing and rewarding attaining a 15
percent or better increase in revenue with two of the
following forms of recognition:
• A wall plaque designating the manager as a “Store
Manager of the Year”.
• A year’s membership in an athletic club for the
manager and a spouse or partner.
• A bonus equivalent to 2 percent of annual salary
Choice of an iPad or an iPod.
• An expense-paid trip for the manager and his or
her family to one day at an amusement park or
theme park.
Justin waited for responses from his managers
to the proposed recognition plan. He received several
e-mail messages acknowledging an appreciation of his
program, yet no burst of enthusiasm. Justin thought
to himself, “I guess the managers don’t understand
yet how great it feels to be recognized for making a
tough financial target. I think that when they earn their
recognition awards, I will see a lot more enthusiasm.”
Justin
Salisbury
Tries a Little
Recognition - By Lee Hou Lek
CASE STUDIES: PROBLEMS RESOLVED!

32
1
What advice can you give
Justin Salisbury about the
most likely motivational
consequences of his recognition
program?
Justin’s recognition program is an
extrinsic reward for their store managers.
It is undeniable that Justin’s recognition
program can improve the performance of
the store managers. However, implementing
his recognition program solely may not
motivate his store managers to the extent
of achieving his goal of 15% increases
in revenue. One of the rationales is his
recognition programme appeals to lower
needs of his store managers. Justin’s
recognition programme is to control the
behaviour of his store managers by
manipulating their decisions about how to
act. By doing so, the higher needs of the
managers are unmet with his recognition
programme. This is due to the fact that
the managers do not receive intrinsic
satisfaction from their work.
Furthermore, according to
Chapman and White, managers may feel
that Justin’s recognition program is top-
down recognition which lack of genuineness
in communicating appreciation and only
focuses on what the person does instead of
on who the person is. The managers may
feel that the recognition program is a means
to help Justin to achieve his own goal of
living comfortably, rather than appreciating
their efforts to achieve the financial target.
In other words, the managers feel that
the program is an impersonal, top-down
corporate policy approach instead of being
personal and individualized. Furthermore,
not all managers are high achievers,
but all managers need appreciation and
encouragement.
Good leaders will not only rely
on their extrinsic rewards as their primary
motivational tool. From my perspective,
his recognition program has little effect in
stimulating a lot more enthusiasm from his
store managers even after the managers
get a taste of recognition because the
managers will only perform adequately to
receive the rewards. Nevertheless, they will
not be motivated to perform beyond the
standards to receive the rewards although
they have the abilities and competencies to
perform better.
2
What other form of
recognition should Justin offer
the store managers?
In my view, in order to understand
what form of recognition or appreciation the
store managers prefer, Justin should talk
with all the store managers individually and
observe them carefully to discover what
form of recognition and/or appreciation
suits each manager most.
Moreover, Justin’s recognition
program (extrinsic rewards) should not
be implemented at the current stage.
Instead, Justin can consider implementing
a recognition programme which focuses
on people. In other words, Justin should
motivate his people by using the intrinsic
rewards because it can satisfy the higher
needs of managers and become intrinsically
rewarded. One of these “People First”
recognition programmes is Motivating
by Appreciation (MBA) Model which
is initiated by Gary Chapman and Paul
White. The MBA model focuses on the
5 languages of appreciation, e.g. (1)
Words of affirmation; (2) quality time;
(3) acts of service; (4) tangible gifts
and (5) physical touch. By implementing
the MBA model, Justin understands the
primary appreciating language of each store
manager as different individuals, tend to
have preferential languages of appreciation
of being shown that they are appreciated
and valued. In other words, motivation and
encouragement effects will occur when the
messages of appreciation are sent in the
language of appreciation which is most
valued by the receiver. For example, if
the primary language of appreciation of the
store manager is quality time, then Justin
should go to the stores to motivate them
and listen to their difficulties in achieving
the financial target and come out with the
solutions together with the store managers.
The advantages of implementing
MBA model into Justin’s franchise business
are to enhance the emotional climate in
Justin’s twelve stores and increase the level
of productivity in store managers. Moreover,
MBA model might help the business to
lower the financial cost incurred from
recognition or extrinsic rewards approach as
the recognition approach increases the cost
of a business and is not a “good fit” in
today’s competitive business environment.
Furthermore, the MBA model also
encourages the leaders to empower their
employees. Other than appreciating the
efforts of managers, Justin can give them
more control over their work and power
to achieve the goals and outcomes they
want. This allows them to have freedom to
choose their preferred actions, the managers
will feel good and rewarded intrinsically for
their good performance. This in turn leads
the managers to become more creative,
innovative, and have a greater commitment
in their work and strive to best possible
performance.
In future, Justin’s recognition
program (which focuses mainly on extrinsic
rewards) can be implemented hand-in-
hand with MBA model because the lower
and higher needs of the managers would
be recognized. His recognition program
would be more effective if Justin allows his
store managers to choose freely whether
or not they would like to participate as the
primary language of appreciation of some
individuals might not be the recognition
rewards.
3
Would it be better for Justin
to have a recognition program
aimed directly at the order
takers and cashiers than at their
managers? Explain your reasoning.
No, I do not agree that Justin’s
recognition program only aims directly at
the order takers and cashiers than at their
managers. Undoubtedly, it would be a
great idea to motivate the order takers and
cashier through the recognition program as
they are the first group of people who
contact with the customers. However, the
store managers should not be neglected as
they are the individuals who come out with
all the strategies to attract the customers.
Hence, in my opinion, the recognition
program should include managers and
order takers and cashiers as well as every
employee in the stores because every
member in the stores has his/her own
respective role to play and contribute.
Eveyone’s role and responsibility is crucial
in achieving the goal or mission of the
organization.
Justin’s recognition programme
should not only focus on order takers
and cashiers. Instead, his recognition
programme should include his managers
because his managers play an important
role in determining the ways cashiers and
order takers as well as other employees
are engaged and motivated. In his franchise
business, Justin is unable to apply cookie-
cutter approach as each individual or
employee is different. Therefore, Justin
should not forget to motivate and empower
his managers as they are the intermediates
to motivate his order takers and cashiers.¶
CASE STUDIES: PROBLEMS RESOLVED!

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