ASB Experience – Page 3 – Asia School of Business

MALAYSIA’S independence was achieved with the collective strength of all races and religions. Her continued growth and success will also be defined by the continued empowerment of all. Recently, I spoke to a young Malaysian whom I believe exemplifies the Malaysian dream. Dreams usually begin with an idea. For Yizhen Fung from Kota Baru, Kelantan, the idea was planted from conversations that she had with friends made online.

“As a teen, I spent a lot of time on online forums. I befriended someone from Hong Kong and we frequently discussed world issues and future goals. I particularly enjoyed listening whenever she talked about her dream of going to Oxford University.” Slow as the days of dial-up and early broadband were, the Internet was her window to the world and gave her fresh perspectives on life – socially and culturally.

“The ideas planted in my mind through these interactions would somehow lead me to Oxford, and later on, the Asia School of Business in collaboration with MIT”.

Small Town Perspectives

As a Kelantanese native, Yizhen spent her early childhood in Kuala Lumpur, and moved back to her hometown of Kota Baru when her family decided to start their own business there. For a thirteen-year-old who could not speak a word of the local Kelantan dialect, the culture shock was apparent. At school, Yizhen was the only Chinese girl in her year. She quickly picked up the local dialect, made many friends and immersed herself in Kelantanese Malay culture.

Her teachers had to adapt to her too. These adolescent experiences deepened her perspective of religious and cultural diversity. Kota Baru was a much sleepier town then. Its first Starbucks opened only in 2018. “It was a blessing in disguise. I could focus on my studies”. One of two students in her school who achieved 10A1s in their SPM examinations, she decided to pursue law but unfortunately, could not secure any scholarship because “policies precluded science stream students from an arts scholarship”.

Undeterred, she enrolled into an A-levels programme at a college in Kuala Lumpur and excelled again. Equipped with her A-levels results and inspired from the conversations she had had with her online friends, Yizhen applied to do the undergraduate law programme at Oxford.

Stepping Towards the Dream

Yizhen recalls her Oxford University admission interview at the Renaissance Hotel in KL. “I printed out the Wikipedia page on ‘law’ and memorised it. While waiting, I overheard these two girls from a renowned boarding school chattering away about worldly issues. They spoke so eloquently. I was intimidated but also impressed. Despite being Malaysians, our worlds appeared so different”.

Yizhen aced her interview and was offered the opportunity to read law at Brasenose College, University of Oxford. This happy news was compounded by a further stroke of fate. Shortly after, the Government’s Public Services Department (PSD) announced scholarships for students who received an offer from any of the world’s top 5 universities (the scholarship no longer exists). This allowed Yizhen to pursue a pivotal opportunity that she otherwise would have lacked the means to.

City of Dreaming Spires

Yizhen recounts her time in Oxford as both very difficult but also very rewarding. “Oxford was a hard and fast lesson which made me realize how small I was and how little I knew about the world beyond Malaysia,” she said Oxford’s emphasis of independence in academic and critical thinking stood out. The professors were constantly pushing academic boundaries but were also willing to provide extra guidance.

With high expectations and tight deadlines, Yizhen learned to confront her insecurities and re-frame her mindset. “In a furnace environment, you either melt or emerge as steel. Progress is most important, rather than ‘perfection’ and knowing when to seek help.”

Off the Beaten Track

Yizhen graduated in 2011 and returned to Malaysia to fulfill her scholarship bond. Realising early on that legal practice was not her true passion, she spent five years servicing her scholarship bond at a capital market regulator, working first as policymaker and subsequently speechwriter and advisor at the chairman’s office.

Despite the fast-paced career trajectory, she yearned for something more. “While regulators play a noble role in facilitating innovation, the private sector is at the forefront of innovation, disruption and change. I wanted to be a part of that.”

MIT-Asia School of Business

Yizhen decided to go back to school. The MBA program at the Asia School of Business in collaboration with MIT Sloan (ASB), with its campus in Kuala Lumpur, was the perfect solution. “A dear friend I met many years ago was part of ASB’s inaugural class. I witnessed his transformation first-hand from a self-made entrepreneur to a well-rounded corporate leader. This convinced me to do the MBA.”

Of the 20 months programme, Yizhen spent 8 months abroad, including in Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong working on projects across manufacturing, financial services and consumer goods. She also spent 4 weeks taking classes at MIT in Boston. And all this was done together with 46 other classmates from 18 nationalities. “It was a truly global experience that trained me for an environment of constant change and collaboration.”

Yizhen returned to Malaysia shortly before the Covid pandemic escalated and graduated (virtually) in April 2020, winning both the Dean’s Award for outstanding academic performance and award for Best Action Learning project. Due to Covid-19, Yizhen had to turn down a job opportunity in Hong Kong. But as one door closes, another opens. She recently started her new role as chief of staff at a Southeast Asian conglomerate that is innovating rapidly for a post-Covid world.

Freedom Enabling Future

In the spirit of Malaysia’s National Day, I asked Yizhen about what independence means to her as a young Malaysian. As someone whose journey has taken her across cultures and continents, her response was simple: “The freedom to shape one’s own future, irrespective of the background they were born into. Social mobility transforms lives and transcends generations.”

“The most empowering thing about social mobility is that the onus is not on the government alone; we all have a role we can play. I have grown immeasurably from the advice and help received from the countless friends, mentors and colleagues, all of whom were kind, generous and genuinely wanted me to succeed.” Yizhen’s final reflection, “Above all, be generous with your time and pay the kindness forward as you never know whose lives you might touch next!”

I believe Yizhen’s journey represents what an independent Malaysia has enabled us to achieve, from the opportunities to the possibilities. Malaysia is a still a work in progress, but 63 years on, there is a lot to build on. Happy 63rd National Day!

This article was originally published on The Star

Over the past few months, retail businesses have faced both enormous opportunities and unprecedented challenges. Their leaders have had to work hard and fast to take advantage of the changing landscape and transform their businesses, sometimes beyond recognition. Through a panel discussion led by the ASB Career Development Office as part of its “Rejuvenation & Reimagination Series,” we explored how retail operations have evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic and learned about the new opportunities that have arisen.

The discussion was led by ASB alumnus and branding expert Azra Becirovic, with insightful panelists Faizah Asma Mohamed Anuar of Lazada e-Logistics and Kristy Yong, Executive Director of the popular Malaysian retail outlet MS. READ. Both Lazada and MS. READ have had to fast-forward their operational plans in order to meet customer needs, creating two distinct challenges:

adapting to changes in customer demand
using digital technology to maintain customer intimacy

Read on to learn how they anticipated and addressed these challenges.

Challenge 1: Adapting to Changes in Customer Demand

When the Movement Control Order (MCO) was announced in Malaysia, e-commerce platforms like Lazada were perfectly positioned to deliver necessities to their consumers, while also supporting the businesses of their sellers. Not only did they have to onboard triple their normal rate of new sellers, they were also faced with the challenge of handling entirely new product categories, including fresh foods. Faizah explained:

“We had a crisis where our Cameron farmers had trouble getting produce to their customers, and they actually had to dump their produce. Because we had underlying tech, we had the ability to do same-day delivery within four hours. We had to make tweaks, and of course not sleep overnight… to adapt the tool to suit our sellers needs, but in two days we set up the Cameroon farmers.”

Lazada had already invested in its underlying logistics network and technology, which put them in a position to step in and serve a need earlier than previously planned. They have continued to innovate, launching an online fresh food bazaar for Ramadan, which despite the lockdown helped increase the reach of some of their sellers compared with previous years.

But what about businesses that are primarily brick-and-mortar, like MS. READ? Beyond restricting how consumers could access products, the MCO also changed consumer priorities. People are now more conscious of their material needs, looking for products that are long lasting and local. By keeping its brand’s purpose at the forefront of their strategy, MS. READ has been able to continue delivering customer value.

Kristy said, “The average basket size has definitely dropped. People are making more meaningful purchases. They’re just making more conscious decisions, so it’s really about upping that customer service to keep the sale.” By the time customers could return to the store, Kristy and the MS. READ team also paid special attention to making sure that both staff and customers felt safe.

With only three days prior notice before lockdown restrictions were lifted, they made the decision to move the opening day back by one day, so that the team could spend more time preparing and sanitizing the store and make sure they were set up for success. Lazada and MS. READ were able to navigate these challenges by focusing on what their customers needs are now and what they will be in the future. In both cases, preparation and adaptability played a huge role.

Challenge 2: Using Digital Technology to Maintain Customer Intimacy

As a technology platform, Lazada had access to a tremendous amount of data, and the resources to extract insights from that data. Faizah mentioned, “[Through these insights] we have meaningful discussions with our customers to get them to improve or allow us to support them better.” Their expertise in the digital space meant that they were already equipped with the tools they needed to handle the new normal.

But for MS. READ, the MCO gave them time to prepare a digital strategy for the first time. They started by having regular check-ins with customers over Whatsapp, but knew they needed a more robust system. As Kristy explained: “The downtime over the last MCO has given us an opportunity to build out our backend to have better visibility and integrate the customer journey online and offline.

This crisis has allowed us to build the visualizations that will enable us to read, understand, and use our data.” In this case, the crisis became an opportunity, allowing MS. READ to move forward with digital transformation initiatives and better serve their customers.

Advice for Job Seekers

The two speakers shared some wisdom on navigating the job market over the foreseeable future. The job market has changed drastically, which means everyone must reevaluate their options and think about where they ultimately want to go in their career. Now more than ever, those who are hiring are looking for adaptable and tech savvy leaders. Faizah said:

“It is a limited market, so you have to give and take… [The next job] may not be your ideal job. But if it takes you one step toward a role which can give you experience, then take it. It’s about how much you want it. It’s about learning. It’s about where you can bring value in the role that you are in. If you are fortunate enough to land that role, then value it. Be hungry.”

There are many more challenges ahead, which means tomorrow’s leaders will need to be resilient and able to add value in an uncertain environment.

Just as the MBA Class of 2020 gears up for the job hunt, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disrupts the global status quo. All around us, we hear news of some industries struggling to make ends meet, while others unexpectedly thrive. No matter the industry, a core resounding message is clear – pivot or face the consequences. This message is timely for MBA graduates too.

Many of us have entered business schools with well-defined career aspirations but find ourselves at a crossroads, deciding whether to pivot or stay true to our original paths. To support the Class of 2020 and soon-to-graduate Class of 2021 to think about the way forward, the Career Development Office at Asia School of Business launched a “Rejuvenation & Reimagination Series,” a series of panels that explore industries that have evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic and the new opportunities that opened up with that change.

The first installment of this series, “The Role of Blockchain in the COVID-19 Crisis and Recovery,” presents two experts – Shi Khai Wei, COO of LongHash Ventures, and Sharad Malhautra, an Independent Consultant of EY with 15+ years of experience in the blockchain domain – who shared their perspectives on the evolution of the industry and what opportunities lie ahead for MBA students. It was also moderated by our very own blockchain explorer and expert, Varun Singhi (MBA Class of 2020).

The Case of Blockchain Supporting Global Supply Chains

The general lack of connectivity and data exchange built into our global supply chains has become painfully clear [1] during this pandemic. Sharad shared that companies are challenged to provide greater “visibility and resilience for the global supply chain,” and that is where digital technologies like blockchain will help. He further broke down this situation by explaining, “When it comes to supply chain, the two [most valuable] aspects of blockchain are visibility and reconciliation.

Even before COVID-19, the majority of companies, both large and small, have struggled with moving assets across cities. That’s predominantly because companies are moving products across different functional, business, or system silos.” Any silo in the supply chain will cause a lack of transparency, and with it, inefficiencies. Companies would have more inventory in some places than others, which necessitates higher working capital.

MBA graduates, who understand how supply chains work and how technology can play a part in breaking down silos, can improve planning and increase visibility. “Ask any logistics manager or supply chain planning manager, ‘Do you have 100% confidence in the inventory and supply data in your system today?’ and he will say, ‘I still have to do a lot of physical counting and verification.’

I think that’s what blockchain helps to alleviate by giving more visibility and real-time accuracy to your data and products. When you have that, you can make better planning decisions,” Sharad explained. Shi Khai chimed in by describing the kind of start-ups that are drawing the attention of VCs during this pandemic: “When we were facing this pandemic, we wanted to see how blockchain could help address some of the most immediate pain points.

We brought together enterprises from China and Singapore. We even had McKinsey as one of our partners, along with the technology arm of MDA and OneConnect, to identify solutions and score them… It’s really about transparency and reconciliation or settlement. The top winner was actually a supply chain solution [for a vaccine], and they are now part of our accelerator program.”

This bears good news for us, MBA students, who want to add value to global supply chains or even start our own businesses. How then, can the Classes of 2020 and 2021 make ourselves relevant?

The Skill of Digital Transformation

Sharad asserted that future MBA students will need the ability to navigate digital transformation. Graduates should understand how different technologies like blockchain, machine learning and AI work separately and together, figure out how new technologies can create accelerated value creation, and then translate them into business impact.

“[As MBA students], you understand supply chain and operations, but do you really understand blockchain enough to know exactly how to use it to generate value? It’s more about understanding digital from a solutions standpoint. What would a blockchain solution, an AI solution, a process automation look like in a large organization?” Sharad said.

IDC predicts that “over 50% of all IT spending will be directly for digital transformation and innovation (up from 31% in 2018)” by 2024. In addition, DXC Technology, an American multinational corporation that provides B2B IT services, adds that “digital transformation initiatives will take large traditional enterprises, on average, twice as long and cost twice as much as anticipated.” [2] This is the opportunity presented to MBA students.

“I don’t think digital transformation in enterprises is going anywhere in another 10 years. It is going to give a majority of graduating MBA students careers, so make sure you have the right skills. We see again and again that most entry-level MBA students going into the workforce are dealing with a lot of new technologies and are responsible for harnessing these technologies in organizations.”

Conclusion

Where there is crisis, there is opportunity. The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the gaps in many industries. This presents us with new opportunities, as long as we are able to see and seize them. As MBA graduates, we have been trained to look for the next opportunity and to position ourselves such that we could catch the megatrend of the next few decades. According to both experts, blockchain is one such opportunity. Shi Khai added:

“There is a lot of room to recreate a better version of the financial infrastructure that we see in the world today. There’s also a lot of room to make the fundamental blockchain infrastructure more mature. There’s so much more work to be done to make sure that security is waterproof, because once it’s on one chain, it’s gets exploited.

“When I came across blockchain, I thought it was something different, as it is the only technology that comes with a movement and a philosophy. The start-up industry for blockchain is [also consistently] different from the start-up industry of other technologies. There’s a lot of talk about decentralization and Web 3.0. Now, what do these mean?

“They represent a future where you no longer need the middleman. You could truly have peer-to-peer interactions. And with their open-source nature, you have a more inclusive and innovative ecosystem where anybody can come in and build on this technology, just like open APIs, by default. So fundamentally, it encourages open and inclusive innovation where everybody can collaborate on blockchain protocols.”

To learn more about blockchain, feel free to reach out to our very own blockchain explorer Varun, who would be more than happy to start a conversation about the opportunities available in this industry.

[1] AlMuhairi, 2020, Why COVID-19 makes a compelling case for the wider integration of blockchain, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/why-covid-19-makes-a-compelling-case-for-wider-integration-of-blockchain/

[2] IDG Communications (2020) Key to sustained digital transformation in 2020: People, https://www.cio.com/article/3519273/key-to-sustained-digital-transformation-in-2020-people.html

Like many of my peers at ASB, I’ve always been an entrepreneur. But perhaps unlike my peers, I’ve often tried to convince myself that I wasn’t — that I was destined for a more traditional career at a prestigious company, following a well-worn path toward the “top.” A year of that later, and I have finally realized that I was always meant to work with people, not for them.

I moved to NYC shortly after graduating from ASB in 2019, convinced I’d landed my dream job, working as a Business Designer for an international design agency. It was exactly the job I’d been aiming for post-grad, and I was so proud of myself for landing it from all the way around the world. I still am.

But as I put in my hours at work, I spent my evenings keeping up the side-hustle I’d had for six years: designing websites for small business owners around the US. Over time, I realized that my favorite part of my 9-5 job was the same part I loved about my side-hustle: working deep in the trenches with clients to help them tell their story in a more impactful way.

So when my former employer announced they had been acquired by a Big 4 firm, it felt like the time had come. In the two months since I left, I officially decided to set out on my own as a full-time web designer building a full-suite creative shop.

I’ve been a freelance web designer, in some capacity, for over six years. Until recently, I thought of it as a vehicle — something that helped me do something else — and never a destination. Becoming a full-time web designer with my own small business never felt like a viable option until the mental reshuffling of a global pandemic helped me realize what was right in front of me.

The reality is that I’m not the same web designer I was when I started six years ago. I’m a hell of a lot better at web design, for one, but I’m also more than a web designer now. Web design is my tool, but my artwork is helping businesses grow. We can embody job titles without printing them on our business cards. For example, I am strategic in my web design practice, but my job is not that of a strategist.

I help my clients develop their business models through the visual lens of my phased web design process. MBAs are inherently generalist degrees. People come from all backgrounds into an MBA and leave to achieve a wide variety of things. We often view MBAs as a machine for career switchers — enter as an accountant, exit as a program manager. I think MBAs actually offer another, alternative route: that of a genuine entrepreneur. We can enter as a jill-of-all-trades and exit as a jill-of-even-more-trades.

The point I want to make is this: working for myself is the least prestigious thing I’ve done in my career, and it’s already the thing I’m most proud of. I’m grateful to have attended a school that celebrates the gamut of accomplishments of my peers. I have won things in raffles exactly twice. In 2013, I won a web design course. This past week, I won a bundle of digital nomad tools I’d put in an Amazon wish list raffle.

Call it coincidence, but I call it a sign—things tend to fall quickly into place once you’ve aligned your passion with your vision. The name of this venture is pending, but for now it lives under my own name, at www.fionaolearysloan.com. I truly couldn’t be more excited to grow into my new role as a bona-fide, full-time, proud entrepreneur.

An engineer and manager at PETRONAS as well as a mother of four, Anis has a demanding schedule. Despite this, she not only survived the ASB MBA, but considers it “the best educational experience” she has had. Read her advice, and find out how she has grown her career post-MBA, below.

What have you been up to since graduating from ASB?

I started working for PETRONAS, the national oil company in Malaysia, in 2005 as Drilling Engineer in the Wells Department. After 15 years, I am back in the same department. I call this the “Unexpected 15-Year Comeback!” I’m now responsible for a different work function and portfolio with greater responsibilities. I have been appointed as the Head of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) for the Wells Department, Centre of Technical Excellence, Upstream Business at PETRONAS.

This is a Senior Manager position responsible for strategizing and executing HSE plans and programs across Wells operations globally. Due to the current pandemic, our offices are currently closed and the staff must work from home. On May 5, 2020, just weeks after graduating from ASB, I reported for duty using Microsoft Teams and will continue working remotely until our offices reopen.

Apart from working from home, I am also currently serving as an official homeschool teacher and an unofficial “mommy monster” for 2 high school students, 1 primary school student, and 1 kindergarten student– all of whom are my kids! I have also resumed my machine embroidery hobby, which was put on hold while I was earning my MBA.

What were you doing before you joined ASB?

Before joining ASB, I was a Senior Manager of Business Development in the Strategy and Commercial departments at PETRONAS, where I drove acquisition and divestment of Upstream exploration and development blocks for two years, from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, I spearheaded the Wells Competency Assurance Section and was one of the key players who introduced the All Rounded Drilling program, a unique competency development program for fresh graduate drilling engineers in PETRONAS.

At the same time, I was also the first female Technical Coach in Wells, spearheading capability and competency matters for PETRONAS drilling engineers. I also spent 11 years in Wells leading, strategizing, and executing various complex drilling and completion projects, mainly in Malaysian waters. I was a PETRONAS scholar when I obtained my Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cardiff University, Wales. I had the opportunity to earn an MBA from Asia School of Business as a PETRONAS employee studying under corporate sponsorship.

What was your MBA journey like and how has ASB prepared you for your current role?

The first year at ASB was the hardest year for me. Managing my responsibility as a wife and mother of four sons while also fulfilling the MBA workload was a tremendous challenge. This experience has prepared me to handle even bigger responsibilities post-MBA which might demand more working hours, dealing with multiple stakeholders and being away from family. The learning curve at ASB was steep, like “drinking from a fire hose,” and taught me a great deal about prioritization and time management.

The ASB MBA was a journey for my family too. For the 20 months of my MBA, my husband and mother helped with the kids while I was on campus or on Action Learning projects outside of Malaysia. They deserve a special award, or at least the same MBA degree recognition that I do. Without them, I would not have been able to complete my MBA.

In particular, my husband has learned a lot of cooking skills and tried out different recipes which turned out to be delicious, and I must say that now he is a better cook than me! Being close to my big family and staying in my home country had its own benefits. However, it was also very demanding. On top of my existing commitments to my family, friends, and community, I also had a commitment to my new “family” – ASB. This prepared me to be ready to manage multiple stakeholders.

I also learned to say no to others while maintaining professionalism and not jeopardizing my commitments. This is the most important lesson I’ve learned from ASB. Additionally, the rigor and diversity of the program have not only taught me the value of focus and empathy but also heightened the value of friendship and trust.

The MBA has prepared me to fail forward – “try it until I make it,” be attentive to feedback, and widen my view beyond the energy industry. It has prepared me to learn about other industries and overcome my fear of networking, especially with those outside of my work circle.

What are some of your key takeaways from the ASB experience?

During the MBA, I have not only made new friends from more than 20 countries, but also gained a new family – the ASB family. The connections and bonds created within the ASB community, especially among the ASB MBA 2020 Cohort, are beyond words. My ASB experience was the best educational experience I’ve had so far, and it definitely ranks among the most unconventional and unforgettable memories of my whole life.

Looking back on my ASB experience, here are some of my key takeaways:

It’s important to take a break occasionally and reflect on your progress and past achievements. Don’t be afraid to let go and embrace new adventures.
Never underestimate your ability to learn new things and don’t be afraid to learn something new. It’s never too late to acquire new knowledge and skills. It’s important for your self-growth, and knowledge and skills are the things that no one can take away from you.
Never be afraid to fail but fail forward. It is the best way to learn and improve! It fosters growth and makes you a better version of yourself.
Be authentic and stay true to yourself – it’s the only thing that differentiates you from others and makes you truly happy
Age and experience do not make you wiser and more mature, but willingness to unlearn and relearn, to listen attentively, and to receive constructive feedback and reflect on it will take you far.

What are your plans for this next chapter of your life?

Looking forward, I am determined to continue learning. The MBA taught me a lot and prepared me well for my current role. However, I am determined to continue learning and equipping myself with new skills. While working from home, I have managed to up-skill myself with data science courses as a continuation of the R programming elective taken during my final year in MBA.

I hope to continue developing my data analytics skills. I am also looking forward to developing my coaching and mentoring skills and am currently looking for opportunities to get a professional coaching certification to complement my current technical and business skills. The 20-month journey at ASB was the time for me to learn more about myself, my strengths, my growth opportunities, and my fears.

I learned how to build valuable connections with other people and overcome the impostor syndrome. It was a golden opportunity for me to reflect on the last 39 years of my life, question my true values and beliefs, and set the path for my future post-MBA. For sure, there is a lot of room for improvement, and with the tools and knowledge gained through the MBA, I am all set for a great new adventure.

One of the best things about ASB is the opportunity to explore multiple industries and functions that we may not have otherwise through hands-on projects. Action Learning arms us with relevant experience that maximizes our opportunities when we graduate. For Jonathan, Jenie, Utkarsh and me, it meant being part of the scaling journey of Green Packet, a fintech company based in Malaysia.

The firm boasts a track record of “firsts” such as the white label e-wallet as a service (WaaS), its latest “first” in the fintech industry. In this highly competitive industry, moving fast and executing well is everything. Despite COVID-19, companies cannot afford to decelerate lest they be left behind. So how does a company like Green Packet, which has recently shaken the industry, transform itself while keeping up with competitors?

With this question at the back of our minds, we “went and saw” what it would be like to scale a fintech company. We determined what worked and what didn’t and came up with the three key lessons below.

Lesson #1: When in unknown territory, map it out first

At ASB, we are trained to think like consultants, and the first thing consultants do when embarking on a new project is map the current situation. That way, no matter how unfamiliar the territory is, we still know what we’re dealing with. “Mapping out different processes and customer journeys is more important than it sounds. Operational issues may seem mundane, but they have a big impact on an organization’s overall productivity and efficiency,” Jonathan explains.

We began by mapping the customer journeys of two key fintech products. We interviewed every key team lead involved in the process to understand what worked and uncover the pain points and their root causes. After four days of intense interviews, we ended up with 61 opportunities. That’s when the exciting work truly began. Research has shown that when a company is ready to scale, it needs to part ways with its established systems, processes, policies and practices.

That’s because what brought the company this far may not bring the company further. MIT-ASB Professors Charles Fine and Loredana Padurean have written about this, noting, “The ‘scaling’ stage begins once a company has proven some key aspects (e.g., technology, customers, pricing) of its value proposition and must now grow in parallel to its market alongside its production and delivery capabilities.”

Bearing this in mind, we looked at the opportunities we identified, matched them with Green Packet’s strategy and operations, and put on our thinking hats to determine if these opportunities were worth pursuing. We asked:

Is this really important?
What difference would it make?
Is it aligned with the company’s vision and direction?

Lesson #2: Develop a SWOT team dedicated to scaling the company

Professors Fine and Padurean stated in their research that companies have to consider ten strategic thrusts when scaling:

1. Professionalisation
2. Processification
3. Segmentation
4. Platformization
5. Capitalization

6. Culturalization
7. Automation
8. Collaboration
9. Multiplication
10. Evaluation

A scaling company needs “scalers,” or people who have the tools, frameworks and experience that provide structure and discipline in execution. These are people who can orchestrate change and pull different forces together to deliver excellent results. “Strategy may be the thing everybody fixates on, but without the ability to manage processes on a micro level, the best-laid strategy will fall apart,” Jonathan adds.

The Group CEO of Green Packet had this insight in mind when he brought our Action Learning host, Joel Wong, onboard. An ex-Accenture consultant, Joel has a plethora of experience in professionalizing processes and operations. In fact, he designed our onsite sessions with Agile in mind.

Lesson #3: The work is easy, the people are not

Spending four weeks with Joel provided us with many insights about what it takes to manage different stakeholders through change. He grilled us on the secret art of winning people’s confidence, building rapport and relationships, and establishing common ground from the onset. He also taught us the importance of clearance meetings to gain confidence and attain buy-in as we put together our final proposal.

Not just professional growth, but personal growth too

We started out with the desire to understand how to scale a fintech company, but we walked away with more than just that. In four weeks, we managed to put together a proposal of 29 recommendations and an implementation plan as a “blueprint” for the company to move forward. The journey has been challenging, but the team worked well together and made it happen.

But that was not all. “The Action Learning journey is a personal journey and one needs to make the most of it, regardless of the circumstances,” Utkarsh shared. We even walked away with tools that we could implement in our lives. “Seeing a company practice the ‘4 Disciplines of Execution’ was eye-opening. It’s something I would like to use in my daily life,” Jonathan added.

If we could go back in time, would we have done the same thing, the same way? Absolutely. We finished this project having grown both professionally and personally – and that has made all the difference to us.

“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.”
— James Cash Penney, Founder, JC Penney

Earlier in March this year, the 32^nd ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) Chairs’ Meeting was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, to finalize actionable recommendations under the Roadmap for ASEAN Sustainable Capital Markets, the concept of which had been endorsed by the 5^th ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting just over a year ago in April 2019.

It was during this ACMF Chairs’ Meeting in Hanoi where four students of the Asia School of Business (ASB) presented their findings and recommendations to the heads of capital market regulators in the ASEAN region. ASB was commissioned by ACMF, with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in the Fall of 2019 to undertake an initiative that would further explore the opportunities for the ACMF to facilitate and mobilize private sector capital for the financing of sustainable projects via the capital markets in ASEAN.

ASB had taken this unique opportunity to allocate the project to its senior class students interested in capital markets and sustainable development. Students from the MBA Class of 2020 – Duncan Marwick (South Africa), Janice Tan Ying (Malaysia), Rajiv Chawla (India), and Zoe Victoria Tate (United Kingdom/Netherlands) – volunteered and were selected to embark on this journey to produce a roadmap as an ‘Action Learning’ project during their 4^th Term at ASB.

These four students were on the road attending different platforms in the region to comprehensively engage with high-level stakeholders from all three sectors – public/private/non-profit – so as to gather as much data and insights as possible in formulating a universally-acceptable set of recommendations.

The Roadmap provides a strategic direction and recommendations for the creation of a sustainable asset class in ASEAN to support ASEAN’s sustainable development agenda for the next five years so as to mitigate the social and environmental risks linked to climate change. The document sets out recommendations under four priority areas, namely strengthening foundations, catalysing products, and enabling access to under-served areas, raising awareness and capacity building, and increasing regional connectivity.

Deputy Chief Executive of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC Malaysia), Datuk Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin, thanked ASB and the students for their significant contribution towards the development of the Roadmap. “On behalf of the ACMF, I would like to express my appreciation for the efforts put in by ASB in delivering this collaborative work.

It was inspiring to have the students, tomorrow’s leaders of the world, take part in this important ASEAN initiative, which charts the path for the future in which sustainable finance will play a key role.” SC Malaysia is co-chair of the ACMF Sustainable Finance Working Group and served as a facilitator in the development of the Roadmap.

As expected, these findings and recommendations were not something that materialized overnight. For these four students, it was certainly not the typical 3-month ASB Action Learning project conducted in 1 academic term. Due to the extensive and complicated nature of this topic, this initiative was extended through to their 5^th and final term before graduation, making it a 7-month endeavor.

Under the continued attention and guidance of ASB’s renowned faculty in Central Banking – Professors Gabriele Ciminelli and Hans Genberg – the students had committed themselves to go above and beyond their required curriculum, taking in significantly added workload to digest their schedules on top of academic studies and post-graduation job search, resulting in the successful delivery of this Roadmap document.

“This project gave us deep exposure to the highly relevant and urgent topic of sustainable finance, which is a growing area of significant interest to our generation and more to come. The opportunity to engage with global leaders, navigate complex multilateral relations, and present our final report to high-level representatives from the 10 ASEAN member countries provided the team with an unparalleled MBA learning experience that we would not have had otherwise. We are grateful to ACMF, SC Malaysia, ADB, ASB, and all others who provided mentorship and guidance to ensure the delivery of a successful project,”

Duncan Marwick (MBA Class of 2020)

ASB Professor of Finance and Director of Central Banking, Dr. Eli Remolona, congratulated the students and said, “Our students worked hard on this 5-year roadmap. They helped develop it through extensive discussions with major stakeholders. We hope that this will contribute meaningfully to shaping ASEAN capital markets that support a sustainable future.”

The Roadmap was originally planned to be presented at the 6^th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting in April this year, but that has been postponed to a later date due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation. ASB President and Dean, Professor Charles Fine, commented that “ASB is honored to have taken part in this regional initiative and we are truly proud of our students and the faculty who supported them through the School’s Action Learning program.

I believe this world-class, professional work that has been delivered in and outside the classroom demonstrates the level of excellence we ask of our students. It is also a reflection of the strong commitment that ASB’s faculty and staff have to offer its students, external partners, and ultimately, the community which we take part in trying to make a better place.”

A digital copy of the Roadmap has recently been made available to the general public and can be downloaded from here.

If you are interested to know more about hosting an Action Learning project with ASB, please contact actionlearning@asb.edu.my.

MAY 1 – The last few months have been incredibly difficult. Life has never felt more uncertain. The pandemic has reshaped the way we live in very fundamental ways – we have established a new normal in every aspect of our lives, from how we work, consume, and the way we socialise. In these times, both the best and worst in people has emerged. We have recently seen a rising tide of anger towards migrants and refugees in Malaysia.

This has led to a debate on how we should deal with migrant and informal populations during this crisis. As researchers on migration issues, we strongly believe in our moral obligation to help refugees who have been driven from their homes by war and persecution, as well as migrant workers who do essential “3D” jobs for wages we would never accept for ourselves.

Read the full article here.
This article was originally published on Malaymail.com

Disclaimer
The views in this article are that of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of ASB as an organization. Readers should not act based on this article solely and should seek proper legal or other professional advise specific to their situation.

They say teamwork makes the dream work… but how do you make that happen in the face of a crisis like COVID-19? For the Class of 2021, this year was supposed to be the time of our lives. Full-time MBA students get to travel to different parts of Southeast Asia for their second, third, and fourth Action Learning projects, working with various host companies on real-life challenges.

Indeed, this international exposure is what many of us came here for and is a hallmark of the ASB experience. But as the virus spread across the region in February, it soon became clear that international travel was off the table. My team had to change plans in a hurry and let go of an exciting project with a fintech company in Jakarta.

However, the ASB Action Learning team came through for us and quickly secured Malaysian projects for all groups. It was a good alternative under the circumstances – we would still gain the invaluable real-world learning we signed up for while staying away from a potentially life-threatening infection.

Locked down, but not out

Just when we thought we had the virus beat, the Malaysian government issued a nationwide lockdown in mid-March. At the time, we were halfway through our Action Learning semester, and ASB had to think of yet another alternative. After several sleepless nights, the Action Learning team came back to us with a proposal to finish the projects remotely, effectively turning our “AL Onsite” into an “AL Offsite”.

The irony was not lost on us, and the projects would become even more difficult than they already were as most students had flown back to their home countries. For some groups, that meant being in completely opposite time zones. At least for my team, one thing that helped us pull through was the fact that we could count on each other through times such as these – or as they say, “we got your back.” Below are some thoughts from my amazing teammates Jenie, Jon and Utkarsh on how to stay together as a team when the going gets COVID-tough.

Start with empathy

“Having good teammates really helps!” says Utkarsh. “I am incredibly lucky to have team members who were understanding. They made sure we could have meetings and interviews scheduled after 11:00 AM so I would be comfortable working remotely in a different time zone.” For our group, being empathetic meant not only accommodating each other’s time zones but also personal time, which is easily forgotten in a work-from-home, always-on environment.

“Losing track of time has been the biggest challenge,” Utkarsh adds. “When you are working at home, you don’t tend to have a hard stop, so you continue working beyond the usual hours, leading to a loss of work-life balance.” Nonetheless, we tried to fill in for each other as much as we could. When I lost my internet connection during a Zoom presentation to our Action Learning host, Jenie quickly jumped in to continue where I left off.

When Utkarsh’s computer shut down unexpectedly during another meeting, Jon took over without missing a beat. What we found is that in difficult or even crisis situations, the team dynamic is more important than ever. Only by sticking together can we keep ourselves from going under.

Next, seek alignment

When things change or fall apart, the first priority should be to ensure the team can get back into alignment, and everyone is on the same page on how to move forward, says Jenie. In any Action Learning assignment, disagreements are a given because of the complexity of the projects and the fact that everybody has strong opinions. It doesn’t help that things tend to get lost in translation when communication is confined to a voice or an image on a screen.

But divided, we fall. As such, the team never lets any disagreements or egos get in the way of completing the project. For Jon, alignment means letting the team take the lead and listening to everyone’s perspectives. “It’s the team that makes the project,” he says. “Do whatever it takes to achieve alignment because without it, the same issues will resurface. Everyone gets to have a say – when it comes to people, slow is fast.”

Remote work is easier than you think

Action Learning is a hands-on affair, so you can imagine our initial disappointment when we were told we could only use digital hands. But we didn’t let that get us down as a team. We were enlisted to help our host accelerate its transition toward a high-performance culture, and our scope involved speaking to various employees across the organization to diagnose the “as-is” state.

Instead of meeting face-to-face, we conducted interviews and meetings on Zoom and other digital platforms, and successfully completed interviews with nearly 20 people over two days. To keep everyone in the loop in spite of our remote locations, we had daily check-ins on Zoom not only with the team but also with our faculty advisors and business coach.

On top of that, our host was extremely gracious with his time and guided us every step of the way. “I personally enjoyed working digitally because everyone has the autonomy to work at his or her convenience,” says Utkarsh. “It was easy for everyone to juggle work for Action Learning and personal work.”

Dream works

Action Learning is certainly not the same when an onsite becomes an offsite. But you can make it work, and that’s the attitude my team and I had going into it. The process can still be transformative if you let it. For me, it was about building resilience and not giving up when I encounter roadblocks. Just having a can-do attitude amidst these difficult times is a big win.

But the most crucial lesson from this experience is to work through problems as a team. That’s how anything great ever gets done. “I think it’s the team that makes the experience,” says Jon. “From afar or near, having a great team makes the ride enjoyable.” Ditto.

Many of us are waiting for the day that our respective governments declare the ‘lockdowns’ over and we can continue on with life as we once knew it. There is however a misconception that everything will go back to normal anytime soon. A lockdown is not a cure, it’s a measure to ensure that the spread of the virus is curtailed, buying us time to find solutions while keeping the healthcare systems able to treat those who are in need.

Bill Gates argues that things will only get back to normal once a vaccine is developed which will take anywhere between 18-36 months. Mobilizing such a vaccine for the world population is also another challenge which will inevitably take more time. In reality, what will probably happen is a scenario of a ‘Socially Distant Economy’. A Socio-Economic reality where trade and commerce continue while controlling and managing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

It is a fine balancing act between public health and economic disaster. The first step towards this ‘Socially Distant Economy’ is ensuring that the critical supply chains of food and medical services are kept operational and can meet the respective demand. While speaking in the ASB COVID-19 webinar series discussing critical supply chains, Prof Charles Fine, who serves as the Dean of the Asia School of Business & an authority in ‘Supply Chain Strategy’ , highlighted that the challenges are caused by both ‘not enough supply’ and ‘too much demand’.

Too much demand is caused by people increasing their safety stocks (hoarding) in the anticipation of no/limited supply, as well as movements in usage shifts as household consumption increases from more people staying at home. It is ok if a few families increase their consumption, but if all households increase its consumption by just 10%, it creates a major spike in demand on the larger scale.

On the supply side, lockdowns have caused bottlenecks in various points of the supply chain via inability to work, lack of mobility, closure of manufacturing, breakdown of logistics or even capital which is not able to flow. There are, of course, solutions to these problems but as the problems stems from government policy, the solution should also start from the same source.

Alok Mishra, CEO of a consultancy that helps MedTech companies build capabilities in strategy and marketing, argues that policy makers have a crucial role to play in ensuring that supply chains continue to function. In the same webinar which was moderated by ASB Senior Director of Corporate Development Zalina Jamaluddin, Alok who has vast experience in the medical supplies industry advocates that the medical supply chain is a critical function that must continue to work in our ongoing battle against COVID-19.

The medical services supply chain must be viewed holistically not only from a facility and equipment point of view but also from a human capital perspective. There are only a finite number of ready health professionals available and keeping them safe, able and willing to work is of utmost importance. Without them, all the facilities and equipment are rendered useless.

Governments need to pay attention to all the factors that enable the medical industry to operate and ensure that all the chains of supply leading up to it are allowed to run within the confinements of the lockdown. The question that arises now is how do you open up supply chains without the supply chains themselves being a potential cause for the spread of the virus.

Automation is of course what naturally comes to mind, but Prof Fine argues that the complexity and inter relation of modern supply chains makes it difficult to automate them in a hurry. Food supply chains are relatively heavy on manual labor and while automation can be introduced, it may take some time to do so. An immediate solution is to adjust work and processes to be ‘Socially Distance’ compliant and for industries to think about how they can protect their workers while keeping supply chains functioning.

A more data centric approach to assessing supply and demand may also help in determining what needs to be produced and in what quantities. For this, governments need to step in, collate and share such data with industry so that uncertainty is reduced. Governments also need to work closely with industry in identifying and then strengthening the weak links in the critical supply chains.

If this can be done, and with safety measures introduced, there is a chance that we may be able to strike a balance and create ‘Socially Distant Supply Chains’ that can feed the essential demand for food and medical services. It is then upon policy makers to look at other non-critical supply chains and see how they can be opened up safely as prolonged lockdown does not seem to be a sustainable solution.

The ASIA SCHOOL of BUSINESS holds a weekly webinar on topics in response to COVID-19.

Category: ASB Experience