Save the People's Company!

It is ironic that when our national car company was in dire straits and was contemplating a new ‘strategic direction’ by going into partnership with an European manufacturer with an established brand name and R&D capabilities, a hue and cry was raised by certain quarters. They argued that Proton is a national asset and it should not be ‘given up’ so easily. The same people brought forth the argument that Proton is the people’s company and thus it should be protected. It mattered little to them that in business, having a strategic partnership is not the same as selling out. Nevertheless, the din that they raised was loud enough to scuttle those plans. At least temporarily.
Strangely lately, as a behind the scene battle is raging for control of Proton, these very same people have not argued for the ‘independence’ of Proton as a people’s company! One will have to be an avid reader of business publications to put the pieces together but suffice to say that there is an intense jostling by certain individuals and their companies to buy over the government’s stake in Proton which is currently held via Khazanah and the EPF. The asking price by these individuals for this stake is way below the real value of Proton currently; at least that's the impression I get by putting together the bits and pieces that are trickling out. I will not be surprised though that the offered price is obscenely low as such things have happened in corporate Malaysia before.
I have been critical of Proton. In fact, I used to just hate reading every move that Proton used to make. I used to wonder for whom exactly was Proton building its cars for? And what was all that raving about Proton’s export capability? And yes, the Islamic car! That too. But of late, Proton has shown it self to be a savvy company (the pun is intended). Like our national carrier, left alone to decide what is best for its business survival, Proton showed a remarkable ability to be creative, strategic and market savvy. Something that many pundits thought were no longer within Proton’s competencies after years of proxy wars and un-fair protection given to it by those who used its existence for their own political mileage…and empty nationalistic rhetoric and chest thumping.

Now that this venerable company is rising and recovering from an extremely bad patch in its history, there are those who are jostling for some low hanging fruits at the expense of Proton’s true value. Lets face it, Proton’s true value lies in 3 areas : Its land bank located in the prime area of Shah Alam which I reckon could be close to half a billion ringgit in value, its under utilized manufacturing facility in Tanjung Malim and; its new found sexiness among global automotive players. Also, as was one my wishes at the beginning the year, Proton is making serious inroads into the future of automotive market : India and China. Especially India where the market is less crowded although probably with more entrenched interests; but nothing Proton can’t handle as Malaysian companies are regarded highly in the subcontinent. Add to these, Proton’s successive hit models in the form of Persona and the new Saga (and I suspect the Exora too very soon), Proton has added a couple of hundred millions to its value by showing a strong future value proposition. The market is also enthusiastic with the planned arrival of the Mitsubishi Lancer as a Waja replacement model in 2010. Don’t forget that Proton has Lotus in its stable too. All these are surely mouth watering prospects for wily businessmen, their cohorts and their sons and daughters.
Hands off gentlemen! The Malaysian people suffered with Proton. We bought its cars despite its poor quality and horrible delivery time. We put up with its declining brand name. We stuck with it and now we should have a say in its direction.

Unless the offer being made to the government is something that is totally fair value for Proton’s current and future potential and unless the whole transaction is transparent and above board, the Malaysian people should send a clear message to the government that we will no longer tolerate the corporate musical chair of the past. We may yet see a new champion to be proud of. The current management team of Proton has done a remarkable job doing an almost thankless job. Lets give them time and see where they can take this company. The global automotive market is a largely transformed one today and Proton may yet find a lucrative niche for it self.

After all, those stalking Proton are also loved by the Malaysian people for their respective successes and charisma. Don’t get greedy now and loose that goodwill.

If ever, now is the time for Proton to be saved. It is a people’s company.

Paris of the East

“Where is the soul of this city”?

Someone asked me this of Shanghai recently as we both admired this city that acquired its importance and status since 1297. As the morning mist and pollutants gave up the fight against a brilliant autumn sun, and as the hustle and bustle of the most fashionable city of China began, it is easy to forget that you are in China with her more than 1 billion souls where a huge portion of this are too far away from the modern cities lining its shorelines. China is not one country. There are two. Each feeding on the other. One of peasants and one of merchants. Shanghai is without doubt the lair of the merchants and the bourgeois. In the same breath as the question was asked, this great city was compared to the mega cities of India where despite great leaps into modernity and progress, Indian cities have maintained their ‘Indianess’. For many, India is seen as not having sold its soul for modernization…unlike cities like Shanghai. But then to me, Shanghai is not any other city. It has never been.In fact it is unlike any other city in the middle kingdom. Even the communists could not keep it’s spirits down. The Japanese tried before that but Shanghai survived. Long before the Japanese, the imperial powers of old Europe carved out little plots of the city to themselves. The hotel that I stayed in is in the French concession and I could have bluffed you by saying that I was in France by showing an early morning photo taken from my hotel room’s balcony. There is no city in Asia that embraced western mores as wholeheartedly as Shanghai. There is no city as full of intrigue and romance as Shanghai too. One needs to know a little bit of Far Eastern history to appreciate this. Shanghai is different. Historically, she is incomparable. To appreciate this great city, you need to see beyond the sky scrappers that had mushroomed in the last 15 years or so. Chinese history is far more colourful than what we know by reading western sinologists works and in any narration of Chinese history, Shanghai will always get a special mention. People say that China had become a confident country in the last few decades but they forget that long before the rest of China became comfortable in her own skin, Shanghai had already proclaimed it self as the mother of all cities. The place to be. The place where high fashion lived side by side with third world poverty.

They say that the world that you see is determined by the lenses that you use. In my case, the world that I see is very much influenced by my search for the similarities and the universality of us. Not the differences. Without fail, as I prepare to board the plane home from another strange land, I often think to my self that it was not a strange land after all. In the end, we are indeed the same. Human greatness and its inherent weakness are abound everywhere. A perfect example of this was illustrated by an experience I had in the Old Town of Shanghai. As I waited in line at a designated taxi stand, I noticed that some of those who were in the line became impatient and walked a couple of metres ahead to hail a cab (which means that they are ‘hijacking’ a cab away from whoever was the first in line at that moment). For some strange reason the cab drivers seem to be more than willing to entertain these ‘line breakers’ although they know that there is a lot of would be passengers waiting just a few metres down the road at the designated taxi stand. Things were made worst by those who just pop in and stop a cab from nowhere leaving the 6 or 7 of us lining up looking bewildered. As the evening wore on, I noticed a remarkable thing. Those who lined up were essentially made up of two kinds of people although we were of different colours and nationalities: 1. Those who kept to the principle of waiting for their rightful turn; and 2. Those who took a shortcut to the detriment of others. The former stood their ground and refused to take the shortcut while the latter thought and behaved otherwise.

While I was contemplating this, an African couple came by and stood behind me and moments later a group of street vendors surrounded them with all kinds of wares; from laser pointers, fake LVs to fake Omegas. I heard the man telling one of the vendors that he needs a taxi not a watch. At this, one of them said in broken English that he will get him a taxi for a tip. My fellow African traveler agreed and off the street vendor went. He walked a few steps ahead to highjack a taxi that was approaching the waiting would be passengers! This time it was me who was at the head of the waiting line of people. As the taxi pulled up at the curb this vendor just ran along and asked the taxi to stop at where we were waiting. You get the picture? He is not doing anything. He did not cross the street or go any distance to find a cab. He just took an easy way to make a few bucks. When the taxi stopped in front of me, the street vendor blocked my path with one arm and ushered in the African couple with the other. At that exact moment, I had another reason to believe in my fellow humans. The African guy refused to take the taxi as I was up next. I suppose he had the same idea as the rest of us when the street vendor offered to find a taxi….to actually go out of his way and look for a taxi. Not steal one from those who had already lined up for close to 45 minutes. His refusal was met with English curse words. I looked up at him and thanked him. He just smiled and said “ no problem bro”. As my taxi pulled away, I looked back and saw the street vendor venting his anger with more verbal assault. I thanked that African guy again. This time silently and for his action that once again affirmed my belief that left alone by priests and politicians; we can do what is right. We can make this world a better place. Kinder and perhaps a little bit more happier. We can live harmoniously and keep the extremists and the vulgar among us in check. We can live the middle path and keep the liars and manipulators at bay.

Little did I know that as I was considering these thoughts, the supreme leaders of our very own leading political party, UMNO, were giving inspiring speeches back home to pull this great political party to the middle path. UMNO has the ability to bring the best out of this nation. It has the ability to play the middle ground and do what is right. Left alone by racial zealots, the Malay masses who support this party will allow the middle path to blossom and the non-Malay components of this great land will willingly allow this party to lead. But I digress…

As I boarded my plane I took one last breath of this ancient land of emperors and great teachers and I mentally separated this nation from the Chinese Communist Party and the recent economic prowess it has enjoyed; and what was left behind in my mind’s eye is the Middle Kingdom. A nation that was at peace with it self and one that was self sufficient and willingly thought and learnt from others. After a long, long time this country has awaken to do justice for a gorgeous historical city like Shanghai. China has now earned its right to host this great city! If China is ever to lead the world, that is the past that she has to rely one. Not, her current superiority as measured by western matrices. Rome’s greatness was not in its empire but in it’s legacy of knowledge and honour. China needs to reach out much further into her history of wisdom and balance than the mere 60 years that has been celebrated recently. Paris of the East was what I imagined it would be and maybe we all can learn a thing or two about survival and dogged determination from her.

Her soul is there for all to see. If only we knew where to look.

People Management in the Upturn

According to psychologists, déjà vu (yes, Denzel Washington experienced this big time on one of his movies too !) is an intense feeling of familiarity although the situation or experience seems to be the first that you can recall. But somehow you feel that you have been there, said that, or did that. The faces that you seem to have seen somewhere before, the utterances that seems to be said at a time and circumstances not entirely the first time. Jamais vu on the other hand is an experience or situation which you find strange although by right you should be familiar with it as you have indeed experienced it before. A name you should know, a response you should be familiar with.

As we move into 2010, there will be two kinds of people managers; one who has a déjà vu and one that has a jamais vu. Which one are you? You have been there before haven’t you. Or, have you forgotten? For those of you who have gone through a period of downturn before, you will find all these strangely familiar while for some, you might be scratching your heads to remember what exactly you did the last time you had to manage people during an upturn.

The economic crisis has blown over. I bet my money on this. But I must tell you that I don’t have much money. Still, my bet is that 2010 will see a definite bullish market. Though I was not planning to argue my case why I think so (as you can see, the title is on people management), I think it is prudent to do so just in case you are still using the ‘downturn’ as an excuse to push your usually excellent people management skills to the back burners.

Here are some reasons why I think the economic crisis is over and that there will be a definite pick-up in 2010. BUT…this will be true only if Israel doesn’t attack Iran, India doesn’t attack Pakistan, North Korea doesn’t attack the South and/or Japan, China doesn’t attack Taiwan/Tibet and Russia doesn’t throw a nuclear missile into Georgia and a few hundred other former Soviet block nations bent on humiliating Vladimir Putin and the other guy who is supposedly to be running the country. Other than that, the reasons are clear why 2010 will be a robust economic year. Now, for my reasons to be optimistic:

1. This was not an economic crisis. It was a financial fiasco. The big fat financial manipulators are out of the way (or so they tell me).
2. Indian and Chinese banks have been pretty much protected from the devastation thanks to their conservative lending policies. So are most of South East Asian banks.
3. The African economic potential will begin to be felt and once again we must thank the Chinese and Indians for this as they are re-igniting the dark continent long forsaken by the west and by default by much of the free world.
4. World Cup 2010 in South Africa. It will not be the grandest but the stock market in the FTSE is going to hit the ceiling especially if the English team is doing well and the ripple effect will be felt through Europe. South Africa will make this an African dream and the whole continent will stir from its slumber. We will know more about South Africa and the African Continent than we did for the last 100 years. Advance thanks to ESPN, BBC, FIFA and the SkySports.
5. With the awarding of the 2016 Olympics to party town, Rio, the whole geo-politics of South America will be more business driven. Just like South Africa’s World Cup, Rio’s Olympics will be a South American event. Good for business I tell you as maybe finally the world will remember that there was a time when the Brazilian economy was bigger than the United States and that Argentina were the India and China of an age long gone by.
6. Barrack Obama – conservative whites-Iran-Russia-China-Europe- Israel. I can’t explain this but whatever he does will flow in this continuum and somehow I feel he will not loose which will be good news for the stock market. The fact that he couldn’t swing votes to Chicago at the IOC voting should not be an issue. Please!
7. The Japanese is stirring from their extended sake fueled slumber. Can you feel it? I can..and that is going to be good news for world business. Imagine all that money saved by Japanese housewives flooding the market. Imagine the purchasing power.
8. The Ikeas, Nokias, IBMs, GEs, Fords, VWs, Samsungs, Philips and Sonys of the world will do more of their business in Asia which will help them reduce their costs and open up more markets in Asia, Africa, South America AND parts of Europe that will enjoy a dramatically lowered pricing of goods and services. There is a huge slice of the Eastern European market that is under served as they are unable to enjoy the same purchasing power of their more affluent cousins in Western Europe. I have a feeling this is the market Ratan Tata is eyeing with his European version of Nano.


Now that you are convinced with my scholarly arguments for the recovery, I am sure you are eager to hear my expert advise on how to manage people in the upturn. Thank you. Here it goes :

1. Remember that your people are damn angry with you. In fact, they have sharpened their knives. Your situation will be worst off if you had downsized, froze promotions, cut budgets, reduced employee welfare, closed plants, etc. Don’t expect any love. Your survivors didn’t stay around and keep their knives in their pockets because they love you. They just knew better. But with things getting better and with job opportunities opening up, you are in trouble buster. Be closer to your people than you have ever been or you are going to loose valuable battle hardened talents to your competitors. Find out what they are planning to do in 2010, how they feel as we move into a new financial year, how did they take the whole downturn and its effects.

2. Whatever credibility and good-will that you had accumulated over the years have evaporated. You have to begin all over again from ground zero. You have to win over your people again. Your soldiers are wary and battle scarred. They are also questioning your loyalty to them. This is the time to use your personal power more than your expert power. Win them over (again) with your heart. Huddle together with them while waiting for the sun to rise over the horizon and allow the old familiar warm feeling of trust and security to emerge.

3. Your carefully and lovingly developed talent structure, power base, chain of influence, and internal sponsors are all gone or dramatically re-configured. You are back where you started when you first began. You will not wield the same kind of influence anymore. Your wise words and motivational advise will not have the same kind of effect. You will have to slowly develop new relationships. There are bound to be those who had to take the plunge into new roles and responsibilities when you downsized. Nurture them as you did their predecessors. Take time to build new relationships. Give all, expect little for the next one year.

4. You probably broke every promise you made to your people – with the board’s blessing. The board had probably covered your back these last 12 months or so. Now, they want to see results and they are no longer going to protect you. Ironically, the ones that you will depend on again are your people. You will have to dig deep into your people management skills to re energize and reignite the team. Go for refresher courses. Take your team to team-bonding sessions. Allow time for venting and get all unresolved issues out of the way. Remember, your board is impatient for results. Your results, as always, depend on how well you manage your people.

5. Take some time off. If you are like most of the people leaders that I have met in the last 15 months, you have probably worked non-stop with total disregard to your physical and emotional health. Go refresh your self. You need to allow that punching-bag body of yours time to heal. Enjoy your family and friends. The storm is over. Time to dust your self, pull up that tie, put that lipstick on and face the new year with renewed hope and energy.

Remember : Give it all you got, expect little in return.
Good luck.