By BARBARA SKADIANG-TEY

A 46-year-old company that has soared past two economic
recessions and one major regional financial crisis,
public-listed consumer food specialist Silver Bird Group Berhad
offers proof of the pudding that "a well managed company is one
that has gone through tough times and yet emerges stronger and
more resilient", as its Group Managing Director, Datuk Jackson
Tan, puts it.

The visionary leader of this award-winning enterprise is a
member of the MIM General Council who epitomises the institute's
touted model of excellent "managership" or management
leadership.

From his perspective as an entrepreneur who helped transform his
modest family-owned bakery into the professionally managed
entity with a 1,000-strong workforce today, Tan shares some of
the core management tenets he upholds, which have contributed to
his organisation's enduring success.

Never too busy to think

Noting that most people in today's era of rapid change have
difficulty finding time to reflect and think, Tan asserts, "It
is important to nurture managers of tomorrow who are thinkers,
rather than mere managers of today who are mainly operational.
Like a wise professor once said, 'A busy person is blind.'

"As in a chess game, one needs to learn how to be many steps
ahead in a hostile environment so that even when all of one's
pieces have fallen, one can still survive with a pawn," says the
self-confessed adherent of Chinese management philosophy.

Innovate and execute

A firm believer of continuous innovation and speed in execution,
Tan stresses, "I expect that when a task is given, it must be as
good as done! A company must be on the move all the time. That's
why I look for people with passion, integrity and high moral
principles. For it is passion that moves people into action
while integrity and moral principles guide their direction."

Tan, who describes himself as a very positive person, enthuses:
"Being passionate means our minds are always tuned towards
looking forward to another day of managing all the daily issues,
never feeling tired. You feel that burning energy that is
continuously recharged. You are self-motivated, and self
motivation equates with positive energy."

Lifelong learning

"Managing people in the 70s, 80, and 90s, and beyond requires
different skill sets," says Tan, who has enrolled in highly
specific marketing courses as well as a Harvard business school
programme.

"The pace of change over the past 10 years is greater than that
of the 100 years before that. Managers today must be able to
multitask rather than possess a single degree or single area of
expertise. Although a university degree is the foundation stone
for one to move up in one's career path, lifelong learning is
very important.

"Never stop learning. When I was young, I wanted to learn from
the old. Now, I am keen to learn from the young. At different
junctures in your life, you need to adapt yourself to different
learning approaches."

Knowledge

Tan subscribes to the old adage that "knowledge is power",
exhorting managers and leaders to capitalise on the wealth of
knowledge that is available today. "Be ahead in your knowledge,
so that you can move faster," he advises.

Nevertheless, Tan suggests that managers should accumulate
"miles of experience" rather than merely "years of experience",
that is, to be able to maximise mileage from their years of
experience and henceforth flourish, rather than possess many
years of experience but yet remain stagnant. Tan himself had
embarked on a journey of knowledge and experience when he
travelled abroad alone at 17.

"That's why we respect companies where CEOs are able to leverage
on a young management team to yield fantastic results," he says.

Personal sacrifices

On a practical note, Tan points out that good leaders and
managers understand the value of personal sacrifice.

"Certain events in our lives coincide - this seems to happen to
almost everyone - for instance, as your children are growing up,
your business or career also begins to take off! So you have to
make choices and yet strike a healthy balance. After all, one of
the hallmarks of a good manager is the ability to manage one's
family well."

He encourages all his managers to work single-mindedly in
supporting the organisation's common vision and goals, and yet
at the same time, to possess an entrepreneurial spirit.

In short, the winning ingredient that Tan prescribes for
corporate success is marketing-driven entrepreneurship combined
with a corporate mentality.

In running a marketing-driven operation, Tan places high premium
on the managers' ability and experience to manage the blend of
people, processes and machines.

"Some companies fail because their managers run them by 'remote
control'. Despite the pervasiveness of technology, we can only
practise remote control to a certain extent, but the rest
requires hands-on management," Tan observes.

Future outlook

What is Tan's future outlook for managers? "Managers need to
have a competitive edge to differentiate themselves but nowadays
differentiation constitutes a very thin line because whatever
benefit or advantage one manager has, others have as well, if
not better!

"Nevertheless, we have to inculcate in aspiring managers the
benefits of starting one's learning from young, for instance the
development of entrepreneurial skills."

Furthermore, Tan sees the need to equip young managers with
skill sets that are in line with the government's policy.

"For example, if there are plans to move towards biotechnology,
then we must develop a pool of people who can support the
government's national agenda. To do so, we need an appropriate
education policy and the relevant training programmes to move
forward, as well as a strong visionary leader to see it through.
This would ensure we have an adequate human capital pool ready."

MIM can always play that key role, Tan proposes.

Another key attribute of new millennium managers is mobility.

"Managers of 21st century enterprises must be ready to be
uprooted, able to adapt to change and move beyond one's local
frontiers to seek success in the global arena," Tan notes.

Personal motto

Tan aspires to achieve the 4Ls - live, love, learn and leave a
legacy behind, of which the last is the most difficult as it
entails doing something in one's lifetime that other people will
remember.

Practising what he preaches, Tan has built the world's largest
bread museum, which has been featured in a world baking guide.
It is also recognised by the local government and featured on
the website of the Tourism Ministry.

The museum, which constitutes Tan's community contribution,
provides visitors with an insight into the art and science of
the baking industry through "edutainment".

Tan shares the underlying message from a Benjamin E. Mays poem,
which he has carried with him for the past 30 years:"Never be
afraid to have goals and dreams; do your best to pursue them for
even if you fail, it is better than not having any goals or
dreams at all!"
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