Thaioil's CEO shares his '5 Ss' - guidelines to a happy life
I spent more than half my childhood in the United States and began my professional life there as well. Then I decided to come home and start working for PTT. I grew up in PTT before I moved to Thaioil, where I led a happy life and consider myself lucky to be given such a wonderful opportunity.
My family is into business, but I chose to do this because I like challenges and know that my work will be beneficial to the country. From my early days, I chose to be a small person in a big society. As a student, I was a small person in a big university and now, I'm still small in a big corporation. This is the way I have always operated - enjoying work itself rather than enjoying the position.
I enjoyed my time at PTT tremendously because of the opportunity I was given to not just gain experience in work but also to witness several role models, who I respect to this very day. Since I was young and because my responsibility usually involved meeting and seeking advice from the chairman and several executives, I learned their ideas and principles.
For example, PTT chairman, late Sivavong Changkasiri taught me how to think, become more detail-oriented and see things from a different perspective, while Privy Councillor Dr Chaovana Nasylvanta, did not just preach about responsibility and decency, but he also widened my perspective and made me realise that there is right and wrong in everything.
Then there was governor Thongchat Hongladarom, who taught me how to think outside the box and governor Pala Sookawesh, who taught me about making compromises. Sirin Nimmanhemin and Plew Mangkornkanok gave me lessons on finance; while Prasert Bunsumpun, president and CEO of PTT, as my supervisor for more than 30 years, proved himself to be a perfect example of someone with strong determination and sharp vision in doing business. I have gleaned words of wisdom from these excellent role models and in adapting their teachings to my way of life, I come up with my own guidelines to live and work by. I call them the "5 Ss".
--Material gains are nothing
These "5 Ss" are the formula that I lead my life by. At work, the first and foremost thing is sook, or being happy and contented. Happiness comes from your family, which should support you. I am a person who prefers to be emotionally happy rather than just materialistically happy. I was fortunate to be born into a family that was fulfilled materially, so possessions are very low on my list of priorities. Emotional happiness, happiness with friends, colleagues and work is far more important.
The second S is sanook, or fun, which means you must have fun in whatever you do, be it work, creativity, thinking outside the box or learning something new. I don't do anything that I don't find fun. For example, becoming a lawyer or a doctor can be gratifying because you get to help people, but that's not fun for me. I like what I am doing at the moment. I give it my all. I like the fact that we get to create and do things that will become public assets. We get to innovate and create our own innovations. That is having fun with work.
--Talk the talk
The third S is seu, or to communicate. This is essential in that we need to talk to people, and we talk to them about what they want to talk about. If we only talk about what we want, we will not make many friends. I can talk to you about a lot of topics, anything you want.
In fact, if you talk about something I am not familiar with, I have my way of talking about that too. That is, I will ask questions and let the other person answer. This also allows me to gain more knowledge for free.
The main thing here is communication. I think in Thai society, people use a lot of body language. We don't read that much and that is a disadvantage. So, communication is important. If we can talk to people, we have the upper hand, because we get to know them.
The fourth S is sood, or to persevere. This means you have to be strong. As a professional, you will probably be under constant pressure. During my time at PTT, working all night was normal. You leave work when your work is done, it has nothing to do with office hours.
The working culture at Thaioil conforms even more to professionalism because the company originated from Shell, which employs western standards. Therefore, Thaioil is quite outstanding in terms of time and commitment to work. So, sood here also means that you have to be able to persevere through various situations when you are under pressure, and know how to manage that pressure.
The last S is to samannachan, or to compromise. I like to act as a link. I can be a football that anybody can kick if it helps them understand each other. I'm willing to be the bad guy if it helps end a conflict. Whatever issue needs to be addressed should be done in an up-front manner and resolved right away. No need to gossip behind anybody's back.
Teamwork is very important. I am a team player and like to see a consensus. I make decisions based on valid reasons.
The higher up you are in the management strata, the more valid your reasons should be for every decision you make. I confirm that no matter what the size of the business is - be it at a corporate or national level - compromise will be needed. But this compromise has to depend on transparency and fairness, which are the fundamentals of work. Principles and rightfulness must come before personal satisfaction.
Following this "5 S" formula is especially easy when it doesn't involve your personal interests. I can work happily knowing that money isn't my top priority. I can leave if I am not happy. I am here to work, and I work for the benefit of the public. There is no condition as to what I will gain if I do something.
Surong Bulakul is chief executive officer of Thaioil, which is part of the PTT Group, and can be reached at surong@thaioilgroup.com.