Leading by example

Of the Malta Business Review interviews Maltese technology company made up of the right people with the right skills. CEO, Handson Systems, a

reach all your aspirations.

How important was your career ladder and how has your role evolved within Handson Systems?

I have done practically every job and task possible within the company – and still do from time to time, to stay in touch with all the company’s various departments. It is important that you grow and evolve by teaching your skills to others and passing on your knowledge and experience. This takes time and it is not easy. I always try and replicate myself by passing on all my knowledge. I think that is the only way you can become a true CEO. I can never understand how the CEOs of big companies manage to run them without having the slightest understanding of the work their employees are doing.

How inspiring is it to see what you have accomplished with Handson Systems and how will such accomplishments have a positive impact on you, as well as your company?

Every success – and also every failure – inspires me to do more and achieve more. When I look back I see how much I have grown personally as well as professionally. Such experiences make your develop your character and your personality even further. You will start noticing that your attitude towards life’s trials and tribulations changes as well. You somehow become immune to certain things which worry you, while becoming more attentive and concerned about other things that did not worry you as much before. All this reflects on the company in general. I guess making time for anyone or anything to develop in life is very important. I talk to many people who expect that everything happens overnight. Anything that is significant simply does not happen overnight.

Would you say there is a tremendous opportunity for innovation in your sector?

In technology, in general, I believe there is endless opportunity. Technology is by far one of the few sectors in which you can never stop innovating. If you look back at the latest innovations – such as drones, driverless cars and smartphones – they have all been developed in the last three years. An analysis carried out by Ray Kurzweil called the ‘Law of Accelerating Returns’, shows that one can see that technology changes exponentially. So we won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century – it will be more like 20,000 years of progress. With new technology constantly being developed, the opportunity for innovation is endless.

What is the biggest challenge facing Handson Systems in the next couple of years?

I think one of the biggest challenges is to stay at the cutting edge but also to make our products and services known around the world. Coming from such a small island it gets harder to internationalise a product due to small economies of scale. Our budgets for business development are much smaller than companies similar to ours but located in the US, for example – where they obviously stand a bigger chance of internationalising their product. However, a lack of resources sometimes makes you stronger and more creative. It is sometimes ironic – but smaller really can be better!

To get to the top is relatively easy but to stay on top is relatively harder. Sometimes I see companies making the same cardinal mistake – they keep on growing but they forget their roots. The trick here is to keep thinking in the way that you were...