Sharing my thoughts with the community in a new Pháp luật article published Sunday morning, August 28.
My company has also opened a kindergarten with spacious facilities, an educational environment for 250 children. It has only been open a short time and has done no marketing, yet already has nearly 150 children thanks to its quality and the staff's dedication. Alongside our entrepreneurship training organization is the dream of a school for preschool ‘blank pages’! Parents enrolling their children can visit the school at 111 Phan Đăng Lưu, Ward 7, Phú Nhuận District!
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“Leading seven major organizations and companies at age 28”
(PL)- Born in 1988, Tạ Minh Tuấn is already a familiar name to young entrepreneurs. At 28, he became the leader of seven social organizations and major companies. He was honored by the prestigious Forbes magazine in two consecutive years (2015 and 2016).
The young man of those days has now become a pioneering entrepreneur in many business fields still relatively new in Vietnam.
“One should… see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise” – F. Scott Fitzgerald. I asked, “What % of this statement accurately describes your entrepreneurial journey?” Without much thought, Tuấn immediately answered 0%. Before I could ask anything else, Tuấn asked why I had posed that question. It was because I had read something he once shared: “When I learned that my father had cancer, I felt very sad and wondered whether I could do anything to help people with the same illness. The more deeply I explored the ‘ailments’ not only of patients but of our country’s healthcare system itself, the more courage I gained to act, because I wanted to ‘change something.’
A little surprised, Tuấn smiled and said: “I always hold onto hope. At some point we may think hope is merely a mask of disappointment, nothing more. Even so, hold onto a ray of hope, however small—even if it is only 1%, it is still hope!” And so our conversation began…
1. Always hold on to hope
Returning to Tuấn’s entrepreneurial story, what was truly the most difficult period? After a moment’s thought, he continued: It was when we became the first private organization to build a business model still quite new and groundbreaking in Vietnam. Because it was new, there were no laws and it could not be regulated. We were therefore not permitted to implement it, even though we could do it and bring value to the community. I remember having only two choices: do nothing and blame broader factors, or create a solution and persist in resolving the problem. I chose the second. But it was only the beginning, because the model was not yet widespread despite its real benefits. To gain recognition and enable broad operation in the community, we had to advocate for legislation and contribute legal proposals for this new model in Vietnam, now widely known as ‘family doctors.’ The community knows me largely through this business’s success, but for me it is only the starting point. I have many other businesses, and when my connection with this one reaches fulfillment, I will gladly continue with my next missions and dreams. Perhaps everything that brought Tuấn into business was a destined connection bringing Tạ Minh Tuấn closer to the journey of self-discovery, to what he calls giving back!
2. A career is repayment and continuation
Tuấn said: “I started my business amid many disadvantages, lacking capital, relationships, and experience. Through the good fortune of receiving guidance, mentoring, and teaching from many people, I overcame difficulties and obstacles, achieved goals, and created today's results. So the best way to ‘repay’ that kindness is to pass the help on to those who need me later.” Continuing the conversation, I asked what one term he would use to describe his career. “It would have to be ‘paying it forward,’ because that is also my philosophy of life and work,” Tuấn shared.
I noticed a certain reserve in this young man, who already had many achievements that others wished for. That very humility made me truly want to understand the deeper thoughts of this young CEO, born in the 1980s and honored by Forbes twice. Was it an advantage or an obstacle?
Without waiting for my question, Tuấn added, “Speaking of my achievements, I see them as recognition of the tireless efforts of organizations and teams, with me merely representing them in receiving it. Nobody succeeds alone. Being human, I am delighted when my efforts and the team's are recognized. It makes our journey feel more joyful and meaningful. But it also creates pressure: the community assumes that because I have succeeded, everything I do afterward must succeed. For someone of the 8X generation like me, that thinking can make me afraid to risk what I have now in order to ‘stay hungry.’ There have certainly been many exhausting times. But I must overcome them to preserve my enthusiasm and the courage to fail!”
3. An everlasting entrepreneurial spirit
Tuấn was asked what he thought about the many CEOs who struggle to sustain the “careers” they worked so hard to build. It is difficult, but possible! As long as we keep asking ourselves “What’s next?”, we will remain connected to our vision of the future. We will then be less complacent, conceited and self-satisfied, and instead keep challenging ourselves to move beyond old limits. This, too, is a form of “entrepreneurial spirit”: refusing to settle into the old equilibrium, wanting to innovate and create a better new state, accepting challenges and daring to fail on the path to breakthroughs, learning deeply from experience and continually improving ourselves to create value for others. That is all it takes to remain ourselves while continuously reinventing ourselves and sustaining our career momentum forward.
Tuấn added that young CEOs like him must always preserve “an entrepreneurial spirit forever.” Decline begins when you become satisfied with yourself. To avoid that, remind yourself that although you may be capable, what are you compared with the exceptionally capable—or compared with the world? Or what matters is whether you are better today than yesterday, whether you have overcome yourself. Because the most worthwhile action in this life is creating value for others!
At this point, I understand more and feel some admiration for the next generation of CEOs. The world is changing very quickly while our country is changing very slowly, and this society needs more people who contribute tirelessly to the country's development and rise.
I once heard this saying somewhere: “Anyone who can make every moment of their life bring value to others will extend their life into infinity.” Once again, I feel that it fits Tuấn's career very well. Do you always want to set yourself big goals, Tuấn? Yes, I like setting highly challenging goals because they inspire both me and my team. The bigger the goals and challenges, the more I can attract talented, positive people to “fight” alongside me. At this point, I understand more deeply the saying CEOs often use: if you want to go far, go with your team.
TRANG QUỲNH – Thanks Trang Quỳnh wrote a good, thoughtful article that “touched” the subject. Reading it, I can still recognize myself :- )
Original link: http://plo.vn/ho-so-phong-su/28-tuoi-lanh-dao-bay-to-chuc-va-cong-ty-lon-649148.html
