Etiqa : The Journey Begins

Happy Thaipusam to all my dear Hindu friends and all Malaysians.

Many of you probably will still remember that I began my 2007 with an extensive program for Maybank/Takaful Nasional/MNI. It was called Personal Mastery for Managers. At that time, the managers of Maybank Fortis/Takaful Nasional and MNI were undergoing a Change Management program to prepare them for the eventual merger of the 3 entities. Since then, you would probably also have come to know Etiqa with its smiling face logo and striking colour. Etiqa is the new entity born out of that merger.

Once again, I am honoured to be involved in the continuing evolution of Maybank Fortis/Takaful Nasional/MNI as the brand new Etiqa. This time around, I will be sharing my ideas and thoughts with both its managers and executives on the areas of Brand Leadership and Customer Focus.

Etiqa, I am happy to tell you, is much more than a mere name change. It is definitely much more than a change of corporate logo. Etiqa is poised to become a new powerhouse in Malaysia's insurance and Takaful scene as for the first time, consumers in Malaysia will see the human side of insurance and takaful. This is the promise of Etiqa : Humanizing Insurance.

This new brand has 4 attributes : Performance with Conscience, Crystal Clear, Hand in Hand and Rock Solid. The people of Etiqa have made the commitment to behave in the following ways : Creative, Genuine, Generous, Inclusive and Dynamic.

As you can see, these are lofty promises but they are not whimsical ones. Much energy and soul searching has gone through it. Countless discussion sessions, focus groups and market analysis have been carried out to come to these promises. These promises, I am confident to say, will be kept as the people of Etiqa believe in them.

Of course, there will be challenges ahead as Etiqa is a story in the making and I am proud that i have had a small role to play in its continuous evolution.

At the end of the day, as I have always said, a brand is an experience. Experience is the only thing a customer takes away with her. That will be my key message for the 13 groups of managers and exceutives that I will be meeting over the next 3 months.

Have You Noticed Your Supervisors Lately?

As businesses become more complex so does management. Cliched? Yes. But, it still needs to be said. This is because things seem to be resistant to change more than we can imagine. Take for example the role of supervisors in our organizations. What roles do they play? What roles do we expect them to play? Surprisingly, many organizations that are embarking on complex change initiatives don't seem to think that change should and must happen at all levels of management and that includes the supervisory level. Oh yes I know! Supervisors are not 'management level' right? Wrong! Nothing could be more damaging to the eventual success of a change effort than neglecting the supervisors. In fact, some of the manufacturing concerns that I have rendered my services to are beginning to realize that supervisors are not merely 'quality control police' or 'keep-up-the-productivity' brigade. They are, in fact, an important part of the management's chain of command.They are no longer viewed as message carriers but as an important contributor of ideas and strategies that are received and acted upon by their managers. Many of these organizations are also comfortable in using management lingo and labels to deal with their supervisors.

Yet, there are instances where supervisors are viewed as nothing more than order carriers. Their skill development is neglected. There is nothing to give them pride as supervisors. Their suggestions and recommendations are often times disregarded arbitrarily even though they are the ones closest to the work floor. At the same time, somewhere in the plush offices of the 'management level' managers and their managers undergo extensive change management programs.

Ironic I must say!

Raring to Go!

Happy 2008 Everybody!


I hope all of you had a great New Year. I had a well deserved rest and had the opportunity to reflect back on 2007. It was such a luxury!

Well, 2008 is here and I have a feeling that it's going to be an exciting and fabulous year. I am not talking about the impending general election. I am talking about our daily bread and butter issues.

Since everybody seems to be in the game of predicting whats going to happen in 2008, I will add my 2 cents worth too:

1. The gap between Malaysia and Chindia (and Vietnam) will increase to the latter's favour and the true impact on our economy will become clearer.

2. There will be more mega M&As starting with the pharma industry and also possibly further consolidation in the automotive, steel and airline industries. For the first time Indian/Chinese companies will conduct more M&As on European/American companies than vice versa.

3. We may see the first non-Malay CEO of a GLC and/or ULC company before the year is out.

4. Africa will awaken vis a vis its importance to China and India as a critical supplier or raw materials.

5. The first energy-resource related armed conflict vis a vis Russia and it's former fellow Soviet Union republics.

6. India and China will firmly establish themselves as the favoured destination for business/technology education.

7. The 2008 Olympics will be one of the most successful yet controversial games ever!



And my wishes for 2008 are:

1. Malaysian CEO's take more direct interest in the training and development of their employees.

2. Our policy makers will institute some real measurable strategies for talent development.

3. CSR standards also include human capital development as part of its dimensions.

4. Air Asia acquires Tiger Airways!

5. Proton gets Tata or Nissan as its strategic partner!

6. Malaysia gains back loss ground to Singapore in the biotechnology industry.

7. Qualified technocrats are made ministers for critical ministries.


Have a great year ahead and I hope you continue to enjoy my FirstCoffee!