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Published on April 11, 2008

Some people may think this is not a key success factor, but being honest and true to yourself, your colleagues, bosses and customers is very important,37 year old Piya Sosothikul, executive vice president of Bangkok Bank, said.

There is no shortcut. One must work hard, be determined and have the right goal, he said. 

The goal should not be "I have to be the vice president within so many years, or to make so much money. These are the by-products. The true goal should be, 'I will help my company increase sales.' Everything else will follow", he said.

On average, Piya works 15 hours every weekday and 10 hours a day during weekends.

Last month, Piya, 37, became the first Thai to receive the "Promising Young Banker Award" in Asia Pacific from The Asian Banker.

Among his accomplishment was a turnaround of Bualuang Finance where he reduced non-performing loans from 80 per cent to 3 per cent and turned it around to make a Bt100-million profit in 2004. Before this, the company had never made more than Bt4 million annual profit in its 30-year history.

Leadership qualities are valuable. Piya said he does not consider accomplishments his personal success, but thinks of them as a team success.

Good mentors are crucial because success comes after success, he said.

And perhaps most important, one needs to have a passion to over-achieve.

"You must have a passion to over-achieve for the team, but not for yourself. If it's for yourself, you'll be dead," Piya said. "This is because success will feed success. That's why everyone wants to be part of my team. Everyone enjoys winning."

Although he holds three degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard, and is rapidly climbing

the ladder of success, Piya stays

humble and prefers to learn from his colleagues rather than preach to them.

"In Thailand, higher-ranking people tend to speak more," he said. "But I think of myself as a sponge. A 'pu-yai' [a senior executive] at the bank told me if I know how to learn from others, I'll excel."

Piya said his mission is to make Bangkok Bank the top banking institution in Southeast Asia.

Pichaya Changsorn

The Nation