Learn to ask for help to grow

One of the goals that SCG Paper believes will keep it a “sustainable business leader” is its focus on the environmental front.

Are you giving people the chance to help you? Chaovalit Ekabutr believes a key factor for success is learning to let others assist you.

The president of SCG Paper (part of Siam Cement Group) said a leader or a manager does not have to be more competent than everyone else in the organisation, but he or she should be able to supervise and get support from the team.

"Even today, I don't know [paper-] production techniques at the deepest level. I know it to the level that I should know and [get information] from the ones who know it better," he said.

Chaovalit said executives who know to ask for help from the team would find it easier to accomplish work than those who always show they are better than everyone else at everything. "When we accept there are people better than ourselves, we will open up the chance for them to help. Many capable people, without being aware of it, are not allowing others to help."

Besides having the work made easier, the one who knows how to open up for others to contribute to will tend to succeed, because such behaviour is a boon to working relationships.

"Work relationships help people progress because you are recognised. Many people are good at putting up a one-man show but are not accepted by others. And if you can't work well with others, it's difficult for you to advance," he said.

Learning the hard way: Chaovalit is perhaps luckier than many in that he has learnt how to fail since the early days of his career. After graduating  from Asian Institute of Technology, Chaovalit started his career as an analyst at the Siam Cement Group's computer centre. His first job was to implement a computer system at an SCG factory, which for the previous three years two other engineers had tried to make work but had failed,  and later resigned.

After trying for a year, Chaovalit realised even he could not make it work. It was discouraging for a young engineer like him, who had always scored a top grade in his class and had not been familiar with the word "failure".

But instead of waiting for others to tell him he had failed, or tender his resignation, Chaovalit walked up to his boss and suggested that the company stop thinking about that project because it would never be practically possible, and instead spend the time and resources on something else.

"This failure benefited me a lot. I learnt from the first job that success depends on many factors, including those things that we can and cannot control," he said.

After spending five years at the computer centre and the coordinate division, Chaovalit was moved to a project to set up Thailand's first television picture-tube factory, which was later incorporated as Thai CRT. After having worked at the Laemchabang-based company for about 10 years, Chaovalit was promoted to a significant post as the business development and project division manager of the parent company, Siam Cement Group (SCG) in May 1997.

But as Thailand was in its worst economic crisis at the time, there was no new project for Chaovalit to develop. He had worked on more crucial programmes as part of the core team at Siam Cement, which worked out the restructuring programme with McKinsey. When the government succumbed to the pressure to float the baht on July 2, 1997 SCG had US$5 billion (Bt167.8 billion) in debt, most of it unhedged.

Moving back to Bangkok helped Chaovalit soothe his personal life, as his wife had been diagnosed with cancer two years earlier. But despite all efforts to cure her, Chaovalit's wife succumbed to the disease just days before the currency devaluation.

"The important thing is whether or not we have done our best. I was sad that my wife had died, but I wasn't regretful that we had not tried our best [to cure the cancer]," he said.

Thai CRT - of which Chaovalit had been the managing director since January 1999 - closed down about three years later, following a shift in display technology, from cathode-ray tubes to liquid-crystal displays.

Chaovalit moved to the group's paper business and has been with it since November 2002, joining as managing director of Thai Paper. He is proud he could work with the existing team of Thai Paper to achieve the Deming Prize and the TQA award in 2003.

Management priorities: SCG Paper aims at growing its businesses amid unstable conditions and rising costs. The company has defined three areas it wants everyone to focus on:

Green: SCG Paper wants to be  leader on the environmental front.

Innovation: to be leader in the field.

Partnership: creating and enhancing partnerships with customers and suppliers.

Chaovalit said SCG Paper would aim at being a "sustainable business leader" by emphasising on the three areas mentioned above, rather than become a leader in size or volume.