It has been my practise that I’ll go for lunch with people who I can learn from (either contractors, business partner, supplier, customers, etc.) every Friday and ask them a few questions.
Today I went for lunch with #1 freight forwarder contractor in Honeywell; he is in late 40’s, and running this business for more than 15 years. With no proper education form school, his company profits more than one million dollar a year. All of his business come only from word-of-mouth. He spoke to me with Teo-Chew English accent.
I asked him this question: “What are your 3 key success factors that allow your business to be where it is today? If without these factors you will not be where you are today”
He said “1) Work Hard: you got to work hard, while other people sleeping and if you working you will succeed. And keep trying, you won’t know whether you can make it or not unless you try. And I work hard”
He continue “2) Honesty: whatever you promise, you better deliver. Do what you say you will do, and do it. When I say I will pack with this material, this spec, and I do it. Sometimes, I get my man do it and I double check, if they didn’t according to the spec, I’ll ask them to redo it again. My man sometimes scare of me ask them to rework too. And you must be humble.”
“And 3) Keep Learning: in my business, there is no book about packing. And I sometimes do unpacking so I learn from it, this packing come from this country, that country which they are having different style. So I unpacked it properly see what material they use, layer by layer and keep improving my services.”
His excellence workmanship is in packing is a result from his believe “I believe that other people already put hard work in the article that I’m going to pack, so I must do excellence job to take care those articles, so that those hard work don’t go wasted”
This is interesting, isn’t it?
If I were to add his forth 4th success factor, I would say… he has diversify customer profile that allow him to have overall constant jobs no matter overall economic go down because some of his client still doing well even economic goes down. And he’s humble too.
How do you apply his wisdom to whatever you are doing right now, no matter your own business or if you work for someone, give some comments?
December 23rd, 2005 at 6:56 pm
Hi,
I was just wondering how you manage to contact people such as towkays & Ceos for lunch?
December 23rd, 2005 at 10:15 pm
Hi Penny,
Ask then you shall receive!!! I just simply ask them. Successful people loves to share their story, and there is always a story behind their success. You just need to know what drive them.
PS: And I always pay for lunch
December 24th, 2005 at 6:53 pm
Penny,
I am not trying to be rigid or anything just like to highlight that Paiboon stated “either contractors, business partner, supplier, customers, etc” so your question is rather redundant.
I guess this entire thing points to 1 thing: Take the opportunity to ask quality questions when you meet successful people…