ASB marks historic milestone
Asia School of Business’ graduates receive their MBA.
Asia School of Business graduates receive their MBA.
IT’S an exciting time to join the workforce because of fast-evolving, significant shifts, in the terrain. But as opportunities abound, so do challenges.
Whether you’re entering the workforce as entrepreneurs or startups, or joining social enterprises, conglomerates, or the public sector, you will have an opportunity to bring change, Asia School of Business (ASB) Board of Governors co-chair Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz told the school’s first batch of graduating students.
A collaboration between Bank Negara Malaysia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Sloan School of Management, ASB was established in 2015.
Speaking at the inaugural graduation ceremony in KL last Sunday, Zeti reminded graduates that while material success is important, impacting the lives of others is the greatest reward.
Among those present to witness 45 students from 12 countries including the US, Australia, and South Africa, receive their MBA degrees, were Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, ASB president and dean Prof Charles Fine, ASB Board of Governors co-chair Prof Richard Schmalensee, Board of Governors member and AirAsia Bhd group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, and MIT Sloan School dean Prof David Schmittlein.
Sharing her personal guiding principles, Bank Negara’s first lady governor who retired in 2016 after 16 years at the helm, advised graduates to have a strong sense of pur- pose.
“Why do you want to do something? What do you want to achieve? Pursue those goals with a passion. Find ways to impact communities. And always uphold your standards and values.”
You cannot know everything about the business you are going into, but having a diverse team that can complement your skills, experience and knowledge, helps, she added.
“The world is interconnected and inter-dependent. You cannot work in silo.
Be aware of risks and challenges because anticipation allows you to mitigate the impact.”
Hardwork - which would involve “not just long hours, but eating lots of ramen”, and perseverance in the face of setbacks, are vital, she said.
Prof Fine told the graduates that their whole life would be a series of action learning’ projects which the ASB curriculum is focused on.
Explaining the MBA’s action learning feature, he said it embeds students in challenging projects with ASB’s corporate partners. Every semester, students work on action learning projects in different countries.
While grades have been awarded, action learning projects are never done, he stressed. The real journey has only just begun. Problems are rarely solved. They’re mostly mitigated – hopefully well enough so one can go on to the next set of challenges.
But the journey, he said, is the best part, because that’s where the learning happens and that’s where the action is.
“In life, you don’t get to pick your projects. Do a great job on the project you’re given, and you’ll have more influence the next time around.
Action learning projects exist in imperfect organisations that are full of imperfect people. Acknowledge, and accept the chaos. Chaos can be tamed but they will always be with you.”
People, he said, need simplified models to make sense of their world and to move forward. But, there is no perfect metric, or qualifiable measure, in life. Often, you’ll need your own true north.
Stressing on persistence as the key to success, he said people rarely get it right on their first try. Improvisation, experimentation, and the need to keep trying, are crucial.