Southeast Asia Business Excellence Award My Journey To Making It To The Top
How time flies. A year ago, I was still experiencing the euphoria of being awarded the Southeast Asia Business Excellence Award 2013. It was such an honour to be an honoree.
Now fast forward to 2014. I have graduated from newly minted award recipient to award alumni.
As a business owner of 6 businesses, the importance of business excellence cannot be over-emphasised. It is not difficult to start a business. In fact, it is easy. What is challenging is to grow a business from scratch and nurture it into something big. I play big in life. It’s either I go all out to become the industry leader or I completely bow out. There is no room for mediocrity.
Business excellence may mean different things to different people. To me, it simply means managing the business system competently and producing results. And these practices should be institutionalized and inculcated in each and every team member in the organization. With this in mind, I choose my team members carefully. Only those who speak the same language and are encoded with the same DNA are admitted into the team. This is because reputation is difficult to build yet easy to be undone.
I am particularly proud of my first two loves – fitness and image consultancy. Having started my fitness business in 2009, followed by my image consultancy business in 2010; the journey has been a super fulfilling one filled with new heights and greater heights.
Having withstood the test of time through these years and despite increased competition, my business excellence model is to innovate. With new offerings for the market and my clients, my team and I continue to delight you with surprises. And this alone, is the trump card. We are proud of our numerous achievements and accolades. Our branding in both fitness and image consultancy is strong. We deliver tangible results that have propelled us forward to become the industry leaders. We made lifestyle sexy and sustainable.
I received the invitation to grace the upcoming awards ceremony on 5 January 2015. And along with this invitation, I was invited to be the award sponsor for the Southeast Asia Business Excellence Award 2015. As award sponsor, I would be adopting the award and be on stage congratulating all winners while handing them their award plaques.
When the organisers asked me what colour I would like the 2015 edition to be, I did not hesitate and chose blue. To me, blue holds many significance.
I love blue as it signifies the calmness of the seas that separates this band of brotherhood in each Southeast Asian (otherwise collectively known as Asean) nation. More importantly, blue is a color of trust, peace, order and loyalty. Similarly, when you see a clear blue sky, you know it is a good sign (there’s no storm). Harvest will be bountiful. So for the 2015 edition, one can expect the logo colour to be changed from its original yellow (representing royalty) to my favourite blue colour!
It is personal gratification to be at the receiving end. It is an even higher honour to be giving. When you are in a position to give, it shows that you have truly arrived. It is a blessing. I also see it as a succession – to hand the torch of Southeast Asia Business Excellence to a select team of entrepreneurs who have survived the baptism of fire.
I have not met the new winners yet but I offer my heartiest congratulations to all the winners of the Southeast Asia Business Excellence Award 2015 in advance. I look forward to meeting each and every one of them to connect further on awards night. Hailing from the different Southeast Asian countries, they have demonstrated business excellence in each of their chosen fields. And like me, I await their ascent to the pinnacle.