It is the first week of May. In the Philippines, the first day of May is Labor Day, which this year, fell on a Monday. This week follows the weekend of the Philippine hosting of the 30th ASEAN Summit, marking the 50th anniversary of the ASEAN with the theme of “Partnering for change, engaging the world.” Nearer to home, a group of students from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Master in Entrepreneurship (ME) program headed back to Manila last Friday from a week-long China trip.
It is, I suppose, fitting that the week that was capped off by the 30th ASEAN Summit was kicked off for some of our Entrepreneur students by a visit to the Canton Trade Fair. While the ASEAN ministers reaffirmed their support of the ASEAN Community’s Vision 2025, which seeks inclusive, innovation-led growth and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, our students were busy examining the most recent offerings of what many scholars call the world’s factory.
Community
The country’s hosting of the ASEAN summit follows its 2015 hosting of the APEC Summit. Unlike the APEC, which is very clearly labeled an economic cooperation, the group of nations in the ASEAN have labeled themselves a community. The ASEAN’s thematic priorities reflect its particular regional situation and priorities. In addition to inclusive, innovation-led growth, they include: a people-oriented and people-centered ASEAN, peace and stability in the region, maritime security and cooperation, ASEAN resilience, becoming a model of regionalism and being a global player.
In this list of priorities, it is quite easy to spot the matters that have been and continue to be thorny for ASEAN. Being home to countries that are constantly battered by crises, both natural and man-made, resilience and cooperation are particularly important for the region. In a region which includes emerging economies, inclusion and innovation are key to growth with peace and stability.
Perhaps most telling is the region’s clear focus on being a global player and partner for change. In fact, parallel to the ASEAN summit and the other meetings between ASEAN members are meetings with ASEAN dialogue partners. This year, these dialogue partners included eight other countries: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, USA, India, and Russia.
For the Philippines, currently expected to be one of the fastest-growing economies not only in the ASEAN but in the world, it is a time for looking forward and working together.
Growth
The ASEAN, like many similar organizations, essentially focuses on development goals. While many of these goals are non-economic, it should be clear to everyone that very few of the non-economic goals can be met if the economic ones are not met. This is especially true of emerging economies.
This is a challenge that entrepreneurs feel in the marrow of their bones. This, over and over again, is the lesson that every entrepreneur has to grapple with. Many goals must be juggled in the building of a thriving enterprise but, in the end, an enterprise that never learns to grow profitably will either stagnate or die.
For those in the business of helping entrepreneurs, one things has always been clear. Enterprises and entrepreneurs are most vulnerable in the early years and during growth transitions. It is the moment of inflection, that moment when the enterprise is poised to make the transition to high growth, however, that is most critical. It is that moment that can turn a fledgling start-up into a major player. It is that moment of great opportunity that can also be the moment of most danger. In studies of enterprises and entrepreneurs, the difference between success and failure at the moment of transition often boils down to a single matter: management capability. That gap, that moment – that is what the AIM Master in Entrepreneurship is designed to address.
Bridges
In the AIM ME, we say that entrepreneurs learn best by doing. Like other similar programs, such as the MBA or the executive MBA, ME students have to read articles and cases. They must attend class. However, in addition to all of this, they must also continue to run the business and, in the ME. They are expected to apply what they learn to their business.
In this program, one of the most important things students learn is that their community of classmates, who are also owners and general managers, forms part of one of their most important resources – their social network. They learn that economic capital is only one of their resources. Time, personal energy, inspiration, knowledge and a network of contacts is just as important. Hence, when one of our students proposed to organize a trip to China for factory visits and to go to the Canton Trade Fair, I was very supportive.
One of the challenges of entrepreneurs is the management of their time and their energy. It is easy to fall into the trap of trying to do too much operationally. The problem with being too immersed in operations is that this then leaves no time for other things – things such as examining what else is out there and widening their social network.
I am certain our students took home many lessons from our China trip. My favorite one was a story from Alan LI, Chairman and founder of TK holdings. In answer to my question about how he got started, he said this: “I literally swam from mainland China to Hong Kong. I only finished secondary school. No money. No social network. So, my advice for you young entrepreneurs – Don’t worry about all the things you do not have. What is important is you have the heart.” Building a company culture that has this heart is what Chairman Li believes will ensure his firm’s future. He echoes what James Leung, another entrepreneur we met explains about the real value of a business education: “The most important thing you get from an MBA education is an attitude of never giving up. That is what you learn in business school. There is always a way.”
In these days when we are looking at brighter prospects for our nation, that is a good thing to keep in mind. Instead of looking at all the things we don’t have, perhaps we should look for ways.
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Please visit me.aim.edu for more information about the AIM Master in Entrepreneurship program. Readers can email Maya at integrations_manila@yahoo.com. Or visit her site at http://integrations.tumblr.com. For academic publications, Maya uses her full name, Maria Elena Baltazar Herrera.