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First, was the Thai proverb his mother taught him when he was a child - "An honest man gets all the help he needs; a dishonest man gets help only once".

Chaovalit said as he grew in his career, he could see better how true the proverb was. "I have seen people take advantage of others for immediate benefits, but that was not sustainable. We must be honest with others and with ourselves." The SCG Paper president was also inspired by the book "People Before Products: the Human Factor in Business" by Konosuke Matsushita.

"What I like and always recommend to others is in that book, [Matsushita] suggests the qualifications for leaders or managers - that they have to pay attention to work no less than their staff. Whenever you pay less attention to work than your staff, you do not deserve to be their boss," he said.

Lastly, he learnt that "life is a journey". Chaovalit said he focuses on the "present" and the "means" rather than on the future and the ends or the destination.